diff --git a/.github/workflows/test.yml b/.github/workflows/test.yml
index 9b1921a75c..fc5f5781f8 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/test.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/test.yml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Install test dependencies
         run: |
           sudo apt-get update
-          sudo apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends lua5.4 shellcheck
+          sudo apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends lua5.4 shellcheck fish
           sudo ln -sf /usr/bin/lua5.4 /usr/local/bin/lua
           sudo ln -sf /usr/bin/luac5.4 /usr/local/bin/luac
 
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           lua -v
           shellcheck --version
+          fish --version
           python3 --version
 
       - name: Run the test suite
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 416e049bd2..e01f14f6c3 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -15,6 +15,12 @@ The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/),
 - Hyprland: dropped the legacy hyprlang dot, the files it deployed no longer exist
 
 ### Fixed
+- Fish: `~/.local/bin` reaches `PATH` again, so `hyde-shell` and everything the keybinds call resolve in a fish session; the directory was handed to `fish_add_path` joined to the rest of `PATH` by colons, which is one path that exists nowhere and is dropped without a word
+- Weather Applet: Avoid crashes from unknown weather codes or unavailable wttr.in responses.
+- Core: an install no longer ends at the Lua step on a machine that cannot build `lgi`; the introspection headers it compiles against are declared as a dependency, and an optional rock that still fails is reported and skipped instead of taking the run down before any dotfile is deployed
+- Hyprland: a session on a machine with a discrete NVIDIA GPU no longer comes up with a timed-out configuration; driver detection reads `/proc` and `/sys`, and the library directories are found by opening the candidate paths, so the budget Hyprland allows the whole configuration is no longer spent waiting on a subprocess
+- Core: an install deploys the cursor dots again instead of aborting on an existing theme file; the locked `deez-dots` revision predated the extraction fix, so every install kept running the defect the fix had already closed
+- Core: Pyprland commands keep their arguments when `nc`, `socat`, and `ncat` are unavailable, so commands such as `hyde-shell pypr toggle console` work through the CLI fallback again
 - Hyprland: a session started without `XDG_CONFIG_HOME`, such as one launched from a TTY, no longer dies with a Lua error before the first window; the unset variable is treated as unset instead of being pasted into a path
 - Hyprland: a home directory containing an apostrophe no longer makes the session load its libraries from the system directory instead of the user's own, and an empty `XDG_RUNTIME_DIR` reads as unset rather than resolving against the working directory
 - Waybar: the theme module and the HyDE menu call `theme.switch` again; `themeswitch` was removed and the calls failed outright
diff --git a/Configs/.config/fish/conf.d/hyde.fish b/Configs/.config/fish/conf.d/hyde.fish
index 7bb2c98e14..a8ce696136 100644
--- a/Configs/.config/fish/conf.d/hyde.fish
+++ b/Configs/.config/fish/conf.d/hyde.fish
@@ -82,7 +82,10 @@ end
 end
 end
 
-fish_add_path $HOME/.local/bin:$PATH
+# One directory per argument: fish_add_path does not split on ":", so a
+# colon-joined string is a single path that exists nowhere, and a path that
+# does not exist is dropped without a word.
+fish_add_path $HOME/.local/bin
 
 
 if type -q starship
diff --git a/Configs/.config/fish/functions/_hyde_editor.fish b/Configs/.config/fish/functions/_hyde_editor.fish
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..ff24d24859
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Configs/.config/fish/functions/_hyde_editor.fish
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+# The editor a selection opens in, discovered rather than chosen. Mirrors
+# Configs/.config/zsh/functions/fzf.zsh: the user's own answer first, then an
+# order of discovery over what this machine already has. HyDE installs none of
+# them.
+function _hyde_editor -d "Print the first usable editor on this machine"
+    for candidate in $EDITOR $VISUAL nvim vim helix hx nano micro emacs
+        if test -n "$candidate"; and type -q -- $candidate
+            echo $candidate
+            return 0
+        end
+    end
+    return 1
+end
diff --git a/Configs/.config/fish/functions/fzf/ffe.fish b/Configs/.config/fish/functions/fzf/ffe.fish
index ba9b8bab22..337657e2cc 100644
--- a/Configs/.config/fish/functions/fzf/ffe.fish
+++ b/Configs/.config/fish/functions/fzf/ffe.fish
@@ -18,8 +18,13 @@ function ffe -d "Find file with fzf and open in Editor"
     set selected_file (find . -maxdepth $max_depth -type f 2>/dev/null | fzf $fzf_options)
 
     if test -n "$selected_file"; and test -f "$selected_file"
+        set editor (_hyde_editor)
+        if test -z "$editor"
+            echo "No editor found. Install one, or set EDITOR in ~/.config/fish/user.fish."
+            return 1
+        end
         cd (dirname $selected_file)
-        nvim (basename $selected_file)
+        $editor (basename $selected_file)
     else
         return 1
     end
diff --git a/Configs/.config/fish/functions/fzf/ffec.fish b/Configs/.config/fish/functions/fzf/ffec.fish
index 043f0c0f0c..a7aea7da33 100644
--- a/Configs/.config/fish/functions/fzf/ffec.fish
+++ b/Configs/.config/fish/functions/fzf/ffec.fish
@@ -20,8 +20,13 @@ function ffec -d "Fuzzy search by file content and open in Editor"
     set selected_file (grep -irl -- "$grep_pattern" ./ 2>/dev/null | fzf $fzf_options)
 
     if test -n "$selected_file"
+        set editor (_hyde_editor)
+        if test -z "$editor"
+            echo "No editor found. Install one, or set EDITOR in ~/.config/fish/user.fish."
+            return 1
+        end
         cd (dirname $selected_file)
-        nvim (basename $selected_file)
+        $editor (basename $selected_file)
     else
         echo "No file selected or search returned no results."
     end
diff --git a/Configs/.config/fish/user.fish b/Configs/.config/fish/user.fish
index caf105a908..b32a145341 100644
--- a/Configs/.config/fish/user.fish
+++ b/Configs/.config/fish/user.fish
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@
 # Add your configurations here
 
 # set EDITOR nvim
-set EDITOR code
+# set EDITOR code
 
 # set aurhelper yay
 set aurhelper yay
diff --git a/Configs/.config/hypr/hyprland.lua b/Configs/.config/hypr/hyprland.lua
index d110b85860..0e03779d07 100644
--- a/Configs/.config/hypr/hyprland.lua
+++ b/Configs/.config/hypr/hyprland.lua
@@ -1,3 +1,19 @@
+-- Hyprland loads this file when it is started without a config, and it prefers
+-- it over hyprland.conf. HyDE loads it too, last, as the override layer below.
+-- The block keeps the two apart: hyde.lua sets `hyde` on its first line, so it
+-- runs only when this file is the entry point and HyDE has not been loaded.
+-- Removing it leaves a session with a cursor and nothing else.
+if not hyde then
+	local share = os.getenv("XDG_DATA_HOME") or (os.getenv("HOME") .. "/.local/share")
+	local entry = share .. "/hypr/hyde.lua"
+	local handle = io.open(entry, "r")
+	if not handle then
+		error("HyDE is not installed at " .. entry .. ". Run install.sh -r, or point Hyprland at your own config.")
+	end
+	handle:close()
+	dofile(entry)
+end
+
 -- Your Hyprland configuration. HyDE never overwrites this file.
 --
 -- It loads after HyDE's own binds, so settings here take precedence. Replacing
diff --git a/Configs/.config/zsh/.zshrc b/Configs/.config/zsh/.zshrc
index 9e81274ad2..5b2fe31254 100644
--- a/Configs/.config/zsh/.zshrc
+++ b/Configs/.config/zsh/.zshrc
@@ -38,6 +38,6 @@
 #  This is your file 
 # Add your configurations here
 # export EDITOR=nvim
-export EDITOR=code
+# export EDITOR=code
 
 # unset -f command_not_found_handler # Uncomment to prevent searching for commands not found in package manager
diff --git a/Configs/.config/zsh/functions/fzf.zsh b/Configs/.config/zsh/functions/fzf.zsh
index ff0474560e..65bb571137 100644
--- a/Configs/.config/zsh/functions/fzf.zsh
+++ b/Configs/.config/zsh/functions/fzf.zsh
@@ -1,4 +1,21 @@
 # best fzf aliases ever
+
+# The editor a selection opens in, discovered rather than chosen. The user's own
+# answer comes first; the rest is an order of discovery over what this machine
+# already has. HyDE installs none of them, so a machine with no editor gets a
+# message naming the fix instead of a guess.
+_hyde_editor() {
+    local candidate
+    for candidate in "$EDITOR" "$VISUAL" nvim vim helix hx nano micro emacs; do
+        [[ -n "$candidate" ]] || continue
+        if command -v "$candidate" &>/dev/null; then
+            printf '%s' "$candidate"
+            return 0
+        fi
+    done
+    return 1
+}
+
 _fuzzy_change_directory() {
     local initial_query="$1"
     local selected_dir
@@ -34,11 +51,12 @@ _fuzzy_edit_search_file_content() {
     selected_file=$(grep -irl "${1:-}" ./ | fzf "${fzf_options[@]}")
 
     if [[ -n "$selected_file" ]]; then
-        if command -v "$EDITOR" &>/dev/null; then
-            "$EDITOR" "$selected_file"
+        local editor
+        if editor=$(_hyde_editor); then
+            "$editor" "$selected_file"
         else
-            echo "EDITOR is not specified. using vim.  (you can export EDITOR in ~/.zshrc)"
-            vim "$selected_file"
+            echo "No editor found. Install one, or export EDITOR from \$ZDOTDIR/user.zsh or \$HOME/.user.zsh."
+            return 1
         fi
 
     else
@@ -61,11 +79,12 @@ _fuzzy_edit_search_file() {
     selected_file=$(find . -maxdepth $max_depth -type f 2>/dev/null | fzf "${fzf_options[@]}")
 
     if [[ -n "$selected_file" && -f "$selected_file" ]]; then
-        if command -v "$EDITOR" &>/dev/null; then
-            "$EDITOR" "$selected_file"
+        local editor
+        if editor=$(_hyde_editor); then
+            "$editor" "$selected_file"
         else
-            echo "EDITOR is not specified. using vim.  (you can export EDITOR in ~/.zshrc)"
-            vim "$selected_file"
+            echo "No editor found. Install one, or export EDITOR from \$ZDOTDIR/user.zsh or \$HOME/.user.zsh."
+            return 1
         fi
     else
         return 1
diff --git a/Configs/.local/bin/hyde-shell b/Configs/.local/bin/hyde-shell
index 5c7cb32530..d27bdd819f 100755
--- a/Configs/.local/bin/hyde-shell
+++ b/Configs/.local/bin/hyde-shell
@@ -377,11 +377,12 @@ run_pypr() {
         fi
 
         if [[ -S "$socket_path" ]] && pgrep -u "$USER" pypr >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-            message="${*:-"help"}"
-            if ! printf "%s" "${message[@]}" | nc -N -U "$socket_path" 2>/dev/null; then
-                if ! printf "%s" "${message[@]}" | socat - UNIX-CONNECT:"$socket_path" 2>/dev/null; then
-                    if ! printf "%s" "${message[@]}" | ncat -U "$socket_path" 2>/dev/null; then
-                        if ! pypr "${message[@]}"; then
+            local -a msg=("$@")
+            ((${#msg[@]} == 0)) && msg=("help")
+            if ! printf '%s\n' "${msg[*]}" | nc -N -U "$socket_path" 2>/dev/null; then
+                if ! printf '%s\n' "${msg[*]}" | socat - UNIX-CONNECT:"$socket_path" 2>/dev/null; then
+                    if ! printf '%s\n' "${msg[*]}" | ncat -U "$socket_path" 2>/dev/null; then
+                        if ! pypr "${msg[@]}"; then
                             print_log -sec "pypr" "Error communicating with socket: $socket_path"
                             exit 1
                         fi
diff --git a/Configs/.local/lib/hyde/pyutils/lua_env.json b/Configs/.local/lib/hyde/pyutils/lua_env.json
index 1f5d042aea..b33ba159d3 100644
--- a/Configs/.local/lib/hyde/pyutils/lua_env.json
+++ b/Configs/.local/lib/hyde/pyutils/lua_env.json
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
     {"name": "dkjson", "version": "2.11-1"},
     {"name": "luasocket", "version": "3.1.0-1"},
     {"name": "luafilesystem", "version": "1.9.0-1"},
-    "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lgi-devs/lgi/master/lgi-scm-1.rockspec"
+    {"name": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lgi-devs/lgi/master/lgi-scm-1.rockspec", "optional": true}
   ],
   "snapshot_exclude": [
     {"name": "luasec", "version": "1.3.2-1"},
diff --git a/Configs/.local/lib/hyde/pyutils/lua_env.py b/Configs/.local/lib/hyde/pyutils/lua_env.py
index 881483ea06..8202209cf3 100644
--- a/Configs/.local/lib/hyde/pyutils/lua_env.py
+++ b/Configs/.local/lib/hyde/pyutils/lua_env.py
@@ -64,10 +64,16 @@ def load_bootstrap_config():
             return install, snapshot_exclude
 
     def _parse_pkg_entry(entry):
+        """Reads one package entry as (name, version, optional).
+
+        An entry may mark itself optional, which decides what happens when the
+        rock refuses to build: a required one stops the caller, an optional one
+        is reported and skipped.
+        """
         if isinstance(entry, dict) and "name" in entry:
-            return (entry["name"], entry.get("version"))
+            return (entry["name"], entry.get("version"), bool(entry.get("optional")))
         elif isinstance(entry, str):
-            return (entry, None)
+            return (entry, None, False)
         return None
 
     if isinstance(config, dict):
@@ -79,7 +85,7 @@ def _parse_pkg_entry(entry):
         if exclude_cfg is None:
             exclude_cfg = config.get("exclude")
 
-        # install: list of (name, version) tuples
+        # install: list of (name, version, optional) tuples
         if isinstance(install_cfg, list):
             install = []
             for item in install_cfg:
@@ -97,7 +103,7 @@ def _parse_pkg_entry(entry):
         else:
             snapshot_exclude = set()
         # Always exclude bootstrap_install names
-        snapshot_exclude = set([name for name, _ in install]) | snapshot_exclude
+        snapshot_exclude = set([entry[0] for entry in install]) | snapshot_exclude
 
     return install, snapshot_exclude
 
@@ -201,6 +207,33 @@ def install_rock(name, version=None, force=False):
     run(args)
 
 
+def install_bootstrap(bootstrap_install, force=False):
+    """Installs the bootstrap rocks, skipping the optional ones that fail.
+
+    A rock that refuses to build stops the caller only when the bootstrap
+    config declares it required. lgi is the reason this distinction exists: it
+    is compiled against the GObject introspection headers, and a system without
+    them used to take the whole installation down at the Lua step, before a
+    single dotfile had been deployed.
+    """
+    skipped = []
+
+    for name, version, optional in bootstrap_install:
+        try:
+            install_rock(name, version, force=force)
+        except subprocess.CalledProcessError:
+            if not optional:
+                raise
+            skipped.append(name)
+            print(f"[lua_env] {name} did not build; it is optional, continuing without it")
+
+    if skipped:
+        print(f"[lua_env] {len(skipped)} optional package(s) skipped: {', '.join(skipped)}")
+        print("[lua_env] install their build dependencies and run 'hyde-shell luainit' to retry")
+
+    return skipped
+
+
 def create_env(force=False):
     ensure_system_tools()
     print(f"[lua_env] Using system Lua: {LUA_BIN}")
@@ -209,8 +242,7 @@ def create_env(force=False):
 
     bootstrap_install, _ = load_bootstrap_config()
     ensure_state_dir()
-    for name, version in bootstrap_install:
-        install_rock(name, version, force=force)
+    install_bootstrap(bootstrap_install, force=force)
 
     restore_saved_rocks(force=force)
 
@@ -236,8 +268,7 @@ def sync_env():
     ensure_state_dir()
     # Reinstall all bootstrap_install packages to latest or pinned version
     bootstrap_install, _ = load_bootstrap_config()
-    for name, version in bootstrap_install:
-        install_rock(name, version, force=True)
+    install_bootstrap(bootstrap_install, force=True)
     # Now snapshot only user-installed rocks
     snapshot_installed_rocks()
 
diff --git a/Configs/.local/lib/hyde/uv.lock b/Configs/.local/lib/hyde/uv.lock
index 3be71c4a14..5892dbe29b 100644
--- a/Configs/.local/lib/hyde/uv.lock
+++ b/Configs/.local/lib/hyde/uv.lock
@@ -340,7 +340,7 @@ wheels = [
 [[package]]
 name = "deez-dots"
 version = "0.1.0"
-source = { git = "https://github.com/HyDE-Project/deez-dots.git#406d5602cd60600bd05e9d1139bc5ec0dd5eaa44" }
+source = { git = "https://github.com/HyDE-Project/deez-dots.git#e514a3215d4d0a691ac532accfa12e982d41160e" }
 
 [[package]]
 name = "frozenlist"
diff --git a/Configs/.local/lib/hyde/weather.py b/Configs/.local/lib/hyde/weather.py
index 88927edc72..e6d68dd071 100755
--- a/Configs/.local/lib/hyde/weather.py
+++ b/Configs/.local/lib/hyde/weather.py
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ class WttrResponse(TypedDict):
 WEATHER_CODES = {
     **dict.fromkeys(["113"], "☀️ "),
     **dict.fromkeys(["116"], "⛅ "),
-    **dict.fromkeys(["119", "122", "143", "248", "260"], "☁️ "),
+    **dict.fromkeys(["119", "122", "143", "149", "248", "260"], "☁️ "),
     **dict.fromkeys(
         [
             "176",
@@ -136,7 +136,7 @@ def load_env_file(filepath: Path) -> None:
 
 def get_weather_icon(weatherinstance: CurrentCondition | HourlyPoint) -> str:
     """Returns the appropriate weather icon based on the weather code."""
-    return WEATHER_CODES[weatherinstance["weatherCode"]]
+    return WEATHER_CODES.get(weatherinstance["weatherCode"], "☁️ ")
 
 
 def get_description(weatherinstance: CurrentCondition | HourlyPoint) -> str:
@@ -325,6 +325,37 @@ def get_default_locale() -> tuple[str, TempUnit, TimeFormat, WindUnit]:
 windspeed_unit: WindUnit = "km/h"
 
 
+def get_weather_data(url: str, headers: dict[str, str]) -> WttrResponse | None:
+    try:
+        response = requests.get(url, timeout=10, headers=headers)
+        response.raise_for_status()
+        weather = response.json()
+    except (requests.exceptions.RequestException, json.decoder.JSONDecodeError):
+        return None
+
+    if not isinstance(weather, dict):
+        return None
+
+    current_condition = weather.get("current_condition")
+    forecast = weather.get("weather")
+    nearest_area = weather.get("nearest_area")
+    if not (
+        isinstance(current_condition, list)
+        and len(current_condition) > 0
+        and isinstance(forecast, list)
+        and len(forecast) > 0
+        and isinstance(nearest_area, list)
+        and len(nearest_area) > 0
+    ):
+        return None
+
+    return cast(WttrResponse, weather)
+
+
+def print_weather_unavailable() -> None:
+    print(json.dumps({"text": "Weather --", "tooltip": "Weather unavailable: wttr.in did not return usable data", "class": "error"}))
+
+
 def main() -> None:
     global weather_lang, temp_unit, time_format, windspeed_unit
 
@@ -391,12 +422,15 @@ def main() -> None:
 
     # Get the weather data
     headers = {"User-Agent": "Mozilla/5.0"}
-    response = requests.get(url, timeout=10, headers=headers)
-    try:
-        weather = cast(WttrResponse, response.json())
-    except json.decoder.JSONDecodeError:
-        sys.exit(1)
-    current_weather = weather["current_condition"][0]
+    weather = get_weather_data(url, headers)
+    if weather is None:
+        print_weather_unavailable()
+        sys.exit(0)
+    current_conditions = weather.get("current_condition")
+    if not current_conditions:
+        print_weather_unavailable()
+        sys.exit(0)
+    current_weather = current_conditions[0]
 
     # Get the data to display
     # waybar text
diff --git a/Configs/.local/share/hypr/lua/env.lua b/Configs/.local/share/hypr/lua/env.lua
index b91f292925..9e965cf633 100644
--- a/Configs/.local/share/hypr/lua/env.lua
+++ b/Configs/.local/share/hypr/lua/env.lua
@@ -9,14 +9,30 @@ hl.env("DCONF_PROFILE",  ((os.getenv("XDG_CONFIG_HOME") ~= "" and os.getenv("XDG
 -- This is only a bare minimum to get NVIDIA working.
 -- User may need to add specific variables for their
 -- setup in ~/.config/hypr/hyprland.lua
+-- The probe reads two files and never leaves the process. It used to run
+-- nvidia-smi, which is what took whole sessions down: Hyprland gives the
+-- entire configuration 1500 ms and its watchdog counts VM instructions, so it
+-- cannot interrupt a blocked C call. A laptop that has to wake a sleeping
+-- discrete GPU to answer spends the budget here, and every module loaded after
+-- this one dies with a timeout reported somewhere unrelated.
 local function has_nvidia_working()
-	local f = io.open("/proc/driver/nvidia/version", "r")
-	if not f then
+	local version = io.open("/proc/driver/nvidia/version", "r")
+	if not version then
 		return false
 	end
-	f:close()
-	local ok, _, code = os.execute("nvidia-smi >/dev/null 2>&1")
-	return ok == true or code == 0
+	version:close()
+
+	-- The module registers /proc as it comes up, so a driver that is still
+	-- loading or on its way out is ruled out by its recorded state.
+	local initstate = io.open("/sys/module/nvidia/initstate", "r")
+	if not initstate then
+		return true
+	end
+
+	local state = initstate:read("*l")
+	initstate:close()
+
+	return state == "live"
 end
 if has_nvidia_working() then
 	hl.env("LIBVA_DRIVER_NAME", "nvidia")
diff --git a/Configs/.local/share/hypr/lua/hyde/path.lua b/Configs/.local/share/hypr/lua/hyde/path.lua
index fe88e2e8bd..7aca9d0747 100644
--- a/Configs/.local/share/hypr/lua/hyde/path.lua
+++ b/Configs/.local/share/hypr/lua/hyde/path.lua
@@ -57,39 +57,40 @@ P.data = env("XDG_DATA_HOME", "/.local/share")
 --- so it reads as nil rather than as the working directory.
 P.runtime = env("XDG_RUNTIME_DIR")
 
---- Wraps a value so the shell reads it as one literal word.
----
---- Single quotes protect everything except a single quote itself, which has to
---- leave the quoted run, contribute an escaped quote and open a new run. Values
---- here are derived from HOME, and a home directory is free to contain one.
----
---- @param value string Value to pass to the shell.
---- @return string quoted The value as a single quoted shell word.
----
---- Example:
----   shell_quote("/home/o'brien") --> "'/home/o'\\''brien'"
-local function shell_quote(value)
-    return "'" .. value:gsub("'", "'\\''") .. "'"
-end
+--- Errno the open reports when the path exists but may not be read.
+local EACCES = 13
 
 --- Reports whether a path is a directory.
 ---
---- Plain Lua cannot stat, so this asks the shell. The pipe is closed on every
---- outcome — leaving it open leaks a handle per probe, and this module runs on
---- every configuration reload.
+--- Plain Lua cannot stat, so this asks the path itself, and asks for the entry
+--- inside it that only a directory has: `dir/.` opens, while `file/.` and
+--- `fifo/.` fail with ENOTDIR before anything is opened. Probing the bare path
+--- instead would hand the resolver a way to hang — opening a FIFO with no
+--- writer blocks until one arrives, and this runs before Hyprland has a window
+--- on screen. The handle is closed on every outcome; leaving it open leaks one
+--- per probe, and this module runs on every configuration reload.
+---
+--- Asking the shell instead, as this used to, costs a fork per probe. Hyprland
+--- gives the whole configuration a single 1500 ms budget and its watchdog
+--- counts VM instructions, so time spent waiting on a subprocess is time no
+--- part of the configuration can account for.
+---
+--- A refusal on permission grounds counts as a directory. A directory that
+--- grants search but not read cannot be listed and cannot be opened this way,
+--- yet a file inside it still loads by name — which is all `package.path` ever
+--- does with it, and what `test -d` reported here before.
 ---
 --- @param path string Absolute path to test.
 --- @return boolean exists True when the path is a directory.
 local function is_directory(path)
-    local pipe = io.popen("[ -d " .. shell_quote(path) .. " ] && echo 1 || echo 0")
-    if not pipe then
-        return false
+    local handle, _, code = io.open(path .. "/.", "r")
+    if not handle then
+        return code == EACCES
     end
 
-    local answer = pipe:read("*l")
-    pipe:close()
+    handle:close()
 
-    return answer == "1"
+    return true
 end
 
 --- Returns the first candidate that exists, preferring the user's own.
diff --git a/MIGRATION-LUA.md b/MIGRATION-LUA.md
index ee6e6a4767..1a3b5bb780 100644
--- a/MIGRATION-LUA.md
+++ b/MIGRATION-LUA.md
@@ -36,8 +36,9 @@ Two things worth knowing before you run it:
 
 - `git pull` on its own changes nothing on your machine. The deployment and the
   migration step both live in `install.sh -r`.
-- If `install.sh -r` stops with `deez-dots not found in Python environment`, run
-  `./install.sh -p` once to rebuild the Python environment, then retry `-r`.
+- `install.sh -r` refreshes the Python environment before it deploys anything,
+  so the dot deployment runs the dependency revisions this checkout pins rather
+  than whatever was installed last time.
 
 ## The failures are silent
 
diff --git a/Scripts/dots-groups/core.toml b/Scripts/dots-groups/core.toml
index e025a3fe73..a19365aaa6 100644
--- a/Scripts/dots-groups/core.toml
+++ b/Scripts/dots-groups/core.toml
@@ -2,20 +2,24 @@
 [global]
     action      = "preserve"                                 #
     git         = "https://github.com/HyDE-Project/HyDE.git"
-    git_branch  = "lua"
     owner       = "The HyDE Project"                         #
     pre_command = "echo 'starting deployment'"
     version     = "0.1.0"
     # dots = ["kitty", "hyprland"] # List of dots to be used in the configuration file
     # We can call it core packages!
+    # Order matters: dots are deployed in the order they are listed here. The
+    # archives download over the network and write into /usr/local under sudo,
+    # which is the most likely thing in this group to fail and the least
+    # important thing in it to have. Everything that makes up the desktop is
+    # deployed before them.
     include = [
         "../dots/deps.toml",
-        "../dots/archives.toml",
         "../dots/hyde.toml",
         "../dots/hyprland.toml",
         "../dots/wallbash.toml",
         "../dots/waybar.toml",
         "../dots/rofi.toml",
+        "../dots/archives.toml",
     ]
 
 # Loads an array of package manager commands
diff --git a/Scripts/dots/deps.toml b/Scripts/dots/deps.toml
index b5f76d5fad..dd682fa10c 100644
--- a/Scripts/dots/deps.toml
+++ b/Scripts/dots/deps.toml
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ pacman = [
   # System
   "lua", # for lua runtime
   "luarocks", # Core scripts lib
+  "libgirepository", # headers and pkg-config data the lgi rock is built against
   "uwsm", # A standalone Wayland session manager
   "pipewire", # audio/video server
   "pipewire-alsa", # pipewire alsa client
@@ -62,7 +63,8 @@ pacman = [
   "firefox", # browser
   "ark", # kde file archiver
   "unzip", # extracting zip files
-  "vim", # terminal text editor
+  # No text editor: HyDE runs none of its own, and the one it configures
+  # (Scripts/dots/wallbash-vim.toml) brings its own vim when it is opted into.
   # * "code", # ide text editor
   "nwg-displays", # monitor management utility
   "fzf", # Command-line fuzzy finder
diff --git a/Scripts/dots/hyde.toml b/Scripts/dots/hyde.toml
index 33db2c2bb0..e0e02ab9a8 100644
--- a/Scripts/dots/hyde.toml
+++ b/Scripts/dots/hyde.toml
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 [hyde]
 description = "Hyde core configuration"
 pre_command = "echo 'HyDE Is the Best!'"
-version = "v26.7.4"
+version = "v26.8.1"
 
 #? Core configuration
 [[hyde.files]]
diff --git a/Scripts/global_fn.sh b/Scripts/global_fn.sh
index a51e3e7c93..9c0e3fe216 100755
--- a/Scripts/global_fn.sh
+++ b/Scripts/global_fn.sh
@@ -181,6 +181,37 @@ print_log() {
     fi
 }
 
+# Creates the Python environment and syncs it against this checkout's lock.
+#
+# The dot deployment, the dependency checks and hyde-shell all run out of that
+# environment, and the revisions they run are the ones this checkout pins. A
+# run that skips this works with whatever was installed the last time it did
+# not, so a corrected pin never reaches the machine that needs it. It lives
+# here rather than in a script of its own so the pre-install path and the
+# installer cannot drift apart.
+setup_python_env() {
+    local pyutils="${cloneDir}/Configs/.local/lib/hyde/pyutils/python_env.py"
+    local python_env_dir="${HOME}/.local/state/hyde/python_env"
+
+    if [ "${flg_DryRun:-0}" -eq 1 ]; then
+        print_log -y "[PYTHON] " -b "dry-run :: " "Would setup Python environment"
+        return 0
+    fi
+
+    if ! python3 "${pyutils}" create; then
+        print_log -err "[PYTHON] " -crit "ERROR" "Failed to create the Python environment; the error above says why"
+        print_log -err "[PYTHON] " -crit "HINT" "A missing python3 or base-devel is the usual cause"
+        return 1
+    fi
+
+    if ! "${python_env_dir}/bin/python" "${pyutils}" sync; then
+        print_log -err "[PYTHON] " -crit "ERROR" "Failed to install dependencies"
+        return 1
+    fi
+
+    print_log -g "[PYTHON] " -b "complete :: " "Environment setup complete"
+}
+
 # Runs each migration in "$1" missing from the record in "$2", in version order,
 # and records the ones that exit zero. Migrations must therefore be safe to run
 # on a machine that has no record yet, which replays all of them once.
diff --git a/Scripts/install.sh b/Scripts/install.sh
index f6400104d2..d3c84b09d8 100755
--- a/Scripts/install.sh
+++ b/Scripts/install.sh
@@ -159,8 +159,18 @@ EOF
 	exit 0
 fi
 
+# Both branches below run out of the Python environment, and the revisions they
+# run are the ones this checkout's lock pins. Without this step a restore
+# deploys with whatever was installed last time, so a corrected pin never
+# arrives. It has to happen here, above the first use of deez: the dependency
+# checks reach it before the deployment does. The pre-install script covers it
+# for a combined run; on its own each operation gets the environment alone,
+# since the rest of that script rewrites the bootloader and pacman
+# configuration and has no business running on a restore.
 if has_operation "install" && has_operation "restore"; then
-	"${scrDir}/install_pre.sh"
+	"${scrDir}/install_pre.sh" || exit 1
+elif has_operation "install" || has_operation "restore"; then
+	setup_python_env || exit 1
 fi
 
 #------------#
@@ -303,6 +313,7 @@ if has_operation "restore"; then
 EOF
 
 	deez_exe="${HOME}/.local/state/hyde/python_env/bin/deez"
+	deploy_failed=0
 
 	#------------------------------------------#
 	# rebuild transient TOML: core deps+nvidia  #
@@ -401,13 +412,26 @@ EOF
 			exit 1
 		}
 
+		# A failed deployment used to end the run here, which cost the user
+		# every step below it — the theme, the wallpaper cache, the migrations,
+		# the services. Those are what bring a partly deployed tree back into
+		# shape, so they are exactly what should still run. The failure is
+		# carried to the end of the restore and reported there.
 		print_log -g "[DEEZ-DOTS] " -b "deploy :: " "Installing core dotfiles..."
-		"${deez_exe}" --source "${cloneDir}" --config "${scrDir}/dots-groups/core.toml" dots --skip-git --deploy all || exit 1
+		"${deez_exe}" --source "${cloneDir}" --config "${scrDir}/dots-groups/core.toml" dots --skip-git --deploy all || {
+			print_log -err "[DEEZ-DOTS] " -crit "ERROR" "Core dotfiles deployed with failures"
+			deploy_failed=1
+		}
 
 		print_log -g "[DEEZ-DOTS] " -b "deploy :: " "Installing extra dotfiles..."
-		"${deez_exe}" --source "${cloneDir}" --config "${scrDir}/dots-groups/extra.toml" dots --skip-git --deploy || exit 1
+		"${deez_exe}" --source "${cloneDir}" --config "${scrDir}/dots-groups/extra.toml" dots --skip-git --deploy || {
+			print_log -err "[DEEZ-DOTS] " -crit "ERROR" "Extra dotfiles deployed with failures"
+			deploy_failed=1
+		}
 
-		print_log -g "[DEEZ-DOTS] " -b "complete :: " "Dotfiles deployed"
+		if [ "${deploy_failed}" -eq 0 ]; then
+			print_log -g "[DEEZ-DOTS] " -b "complete :: " "Dotfiles deployed"
+		fi
 	fi
 
 	"${scrDir}/restore_thm.sh"
@@ -475,6 +499,14 @@ EOF
 	"${scrDir}/restore_svc.sh"
 fi
 
+# Reported here rather than where it happened, so the theme, the migrations and
+# the services above still run against the dots that did land.
+if [ "${deploy_failed:-0}" -ne 0 ]; then
+	print_log -err "[DEEZ-DOTS] " -crit "ERROR" "Some dots were not deployed. Deal with the failures reported above and run the restore again."
+	print_log -b "Log" " :: " -y "View logs at ${cacheDir}/logs/${HYDE_LOG}"
+	exit 1
+fi
+
 if has_operation "install"; then
 	echo ""
 	print_log -g "Installation" " :: " "COMPLETED!"
diff --git a/Scripts/install_pre.sh b/Scripts/install_pre.sh
index 1fae176448..8585c3f20d 100755
--- a/Scripts/install_pre.sh
+++ b/Scripts/install_pre.sh
@@ -15,28 +15,10 @@ flg_DryRun=${flg_DryRun:-0}
 flg_Grub=${flg_Grub:-1}
 flg_Nvidia=${flg_Nvidia:-1}
 
-# Python environment setup
-if [ "${flg_DryRun}" -eq 1 ]; then
-    print_log -y "[PYTHON] " -b "dry-run :: " "Would setup Python environment"
-else
-    python_env_dir="${HOME}/.local/state/hyde/python_env"
-
-    # Create venv using system python3
-    if ! python3 "${cloneDir}/Configs/.local/lib/hyde/pyutils/python_env.py" create; then
-        print_log -err "[PYTHON] " -crit "ERROR" "Failed to create Python environment"
-        print_log -err "[PYTHON] " -crit "ERROR" "Did you you forgot to install base-devel?"
-        exit 1
-    fi
-
-    # Sync dependencies using venv python
-    python_exe="${python_env_dir}/bin/python"
-    if ! "${python_exe}" "${cloneDir}/Configs/.local/lib/hyde/pyutils/python_env.py" sync; then
-        print_log -err "[PYTHON] " -crit "ERROR" "Failed to install dependencies"
-        exit 1
-    fi
-
-    print_log -g "[PYTHON] " -b "complete :: " "Environment setup complete"
-fi
+# Python environment setup. The installer runs the same function on its own for
+# a restore, which needs the environment without the bootloader and pacman
+# changes that follow here.
+setup_python_env || exit 1
 
 # grub
 if [ "${flg_Grub}" -eq 1 ] && pkg_installed grub && [ -f /boot/grub/grub.cfg ]; then
diff --git a/Scripts/migrations/v26.8.1.sh b/Scripts/migrations/v26.8.1.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..09d45b2c64
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Scripts/migrations/v26.8.1.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,100 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env sh
+
+# Hyprland resolves "$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/hypr/hyprland.lua" before hyprland.conf
+# and ignores the latter once the former exists. HyDE deploys that path as the
+# user's override layer, loaded last by hyde.lua, and its entry point lives in
+# the data directory where Hyprland never looks. A session started without
+# HYPRLAND_CONFIG therefore loads the override layer on its own: a valid,
+# empty configuration, so no error, and a compositor with a cursor and nothing
+# else.
+#
+# The file is deployed with the preserve action, so a corrected template only
+# reaches new installs. This puts the loader at the top of the copy already on
+# disk. Nothing else in the file is touched, and a file that already has the
+# loader is left alone.
+
+config_home="${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-${HOME}/.config}"
+target="${config_home}/hypr/hyprland.lua"
+backup_dir="${XDG_STATE_HOME:-${HOME}/.local/state}/hyde/migration/v26.8.1"
+
+# A dangling link is checked before absence: exiting zero on one would have the
+# runner record this migration as applied, and repairing the link afterwards
+# would leave the loader missing for good.
+if [ -L "${target}" ]; then
+    # A config kept under a dotfile manager is a symlink into that tree.
+    # Replacing the link with a regular file would take the machine off the
+    # managed copy, so the rewrite follows it and edits what it points at.
+    resolved=$(readlink -f "${target}")
+    if [ -z "${resolved}" ] || [ ! -f "${resolved}" ]; then
+        echo "  ${target} is a symlink that leads nowhere, leaving it alone" >&2
+        exit 1
+    fi
+    echo "  ${target} is a symlink, editing ${resolved}"
+    target="${resolved}"
+fi
+
+[ -f "${target}" ] || exit 0
+
+if grep -q '^if not hyde then$' "${target}"; then
+    echo "  ${target} already loads HyDE, nothing to do"
+    exit 0
+fi
+
+if ! mkdir -p "${backup_dir}"; then
+    echo "  cannot create ${backup_dir}, leaving ${target} alone" >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# The copy is taken before the rewrite: a failure past this point leaves the
+# original recoverable rather than half written.
+if ! cp -p "${target}" "${backup_dir}/hyprland.lua"; then
+    echo "  cannot back up ${target}, leaving it alone" >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+rewritten="${target}.hyde-migration"
+
+# Seeding the new file from the old one carries its mode across; the
+# redirection below truncates the copy rather than creating a file under the
+# current umask.
+if ! cp -p "${target}" "${rewritten}"; then
+    echo "  cannot stage the rewrite of ${target}, leaving it alone" >&2
+    rm -f "${rewritten}"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+{
+    cat <<'LOADER'
+-- Hyprland loads this file when it is started without a config, and it prefers
+-- it over hyprland.conf. HyDE loads it too, last, as the override layer below.
+-- The block keeps the two apart: hyde.lua sets `hyde` on its first line, so it
+-- runs only when this file is the entry point and HyDE has not been loaded.
+-- Removing it leaves a session with a cursor and nothing else.
+if not hyde then
+	local share = os.getenv("XDG_DATA_HOME") or (os.getenv("HOME") .. "/.local/share")
+	local entry = share .. "/hypr/hyde.lua"
+	local handle = io.open(entry, "r")
+	if not handle then
+		error("HyDE is not installed at " .. entry .. ". Run install.sh -r, or point Hyprland at your own config.")
+	end
+	handle:close()
+	dofile(entry)
+end
+
+LOADER
+    cat "${target}"
+} >"${rewritten}" || {
+    echo "  cannot write ${rewritten}, leaving ${target} alone" >&2
+    rm -f "${rewritten}"
+    exit 1
+}
+
+if ! mv "${rewritten}" "${target}"; then
+    echo "  cannot replace ${target}, the original is unchanged" >&2
+    rm -f "${rewritten}"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+echo "  ${target} now loads HyDE when Hyprland picks it"
+echo "  the copy from before this change is at ${backup_dir}/hyprland.lua"
+exit 0
diff --git a/Scripts/migrations/v26.8.2.sh b/Scripts/migrations/v26.8.2.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..31a5f14f75
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Scripts/migrations/v26.8.2.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,124 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env sh
+
+# The Lua release deleted the hyprlang configuration from the repository, but
+# deployment overwrites files and never removes the ones that disappeared
+# upstream. The whole chain is therefore still on every upgraded machine, and
+# it is not inert: Hyprland falls back to "$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/hypr/hyprland.conf"
+# whenever no Lua config is found, and that file sources the rest. A session
+# that lands on it runs the pre-Lua configuration — the battery notification
+# still names a script that was moved aside, and the close-window binds still
+# call one that no longer exists.
+#
+# Nothing is deleted here. Everything is moved into a backup directory, which
+# for most of these files is the only copy of settings the user wrote.
+#
+# This runs only when the Lua entry point is in place. Moving hyprland.conf out
+# of the way while nothing else can be found would leave Hyprland to generate a
+# fresh default config, which is worse than the leftovers.
+
+config_home="${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-${HOME}/.config}"
+data_home="${XDG_DATA_HOME:-${HOME}/.local/share}"
+backup_dir="${XDG_STATE_HOME:-${HOME}/.local/state}/hyde/migration/v26.8.2"
+
+entry_point="${data_home}/hypr/hyde.lua"
+user_config="${config_home}/hypr/hyprland.lua"
+
+# Readable, not merely present: the loader opens this file, and an unreadable
+# one would fail there with the fallback configuration already moved away.
+if [ ! -r "${entry_point}" ]; then
+    echo "  ${entry_point} is missing or unreadable, leaving the hyprlang configuration in place"
+    exit 0
+fi
+
+if [ ! -f "${user_config}" ] || ! grep -q '^if not hyde then$' "${user_config}"; then
+    echo "  ${user_config} does not load HyDE yet, leaving the hyprlang configuration in place"
+    exit 0
+fi
+
+# Paths are relative to the two roots below. The compositor configuration only:
+# hyprlock, hypridle and hyprsunset are still hyprlang and still shipped.
+config_leftovers="
+animations.conf
+hyprland.conf
+keybindings.conf
+monitors.conf
+nvidia.conf
+shaders.conf
+userprefs.conf
+windowrules.conf
+workflows.conf
+animations
+workflows
+"
+
+data_leftovers="
+hypr/defaults.conf
+hypr/dynamic.conf
+hypr/env.conf
+hypr/finale.conf
+hypr/hyprland.conf
+hypr/migration.conf
+hypr/startup.conf
+hypr/variables.conf
+hypr/windowrules.conf
+hyde/hyprland.conf
+hyde/keybindings.conf
+hyde/templates/hypr
+"
+
+moved=0
+failed=0
+
+move_leftover() {
+    src="$1"
+    rel="$2"
+
+    # A link that leads nowhere still occupies a retired path, and it is still
+    # a copy of what the user had. Both tests, or a dangling one is skipped and
+    # the path stays behind forever.
+    [ -e "${src}" ] || [ -L "${src}" ] || return 0
+
+    dst="${backup_dir}/${rel}"
+
+    # A rerun after the file was restored would otherwise destroy the copy kept
+    # by the first run, so an occupied destination is reported and left alone.
+    if [ -e "${dst}" ] || [ -L "${dst}" ]; then
+        echo "  skipped ${rel}, a backup already exists at ${dst}" >&2
+        failed=$((failed + 1))
+        return 0
+    fi
+
+    if ! mkdir -p "$(dirname "${dst}")"; then
+        echo "  failed to create the backup directory for ${rel}" >&2
+        failed=$((failed + 1))
+        return 0
+    fi
+
+    if mv "${src}" "${dst}"; then
+        echo "  moved ${rel}"
+        moved=$((moved + 1))
+    else
+        echo "  failed to move ${rel}" >&2
+        failed=$((failed + 1))
+    fi
+}
+
+for rel in ${config_leftovers}; do
+    move_leftover "${config_home}/hypr/${rel}" "config/hypr/${rel}"
+done
+
+for rel in ${data_leftovers}; do
+    move_leftover "${data_home}/${rel}" "data/${rel}"
+done
+
+if [ "${moved}" -gt 0 ]; then
+    echo "Moved ${moved} hyprlang leftover(s) to ${backup_dir}"
+    echo "They are the only copy of what you had configured before the Lua release."
+fi
+
+if [ "${failed}" -gt 0 ]; then
+    echo "Left ${failed} hyprlang leftover(s) in place" >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+exit 0
diff --git a/dots.toml b/dots.toml
index 62d4266969..2948b5b69e 100644
--- a/dots.toml
+++ b/dots.toml
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@ version = "0.1.0"                                # Version of the configuration
 owner = "The HyDE Project"                       # Owner of the configuration file
 action = "preserve"                              # Actions can either be sync or preserve
 git = "https://github.com/HyDE-Project/HyDE.git"
-git_branch = "lua"
 pre_command = "./Scripts/install_aur.sh"
 post_command = "notify-send 'deez done'"
 # dots = ["kitty", "hyprland"] # List of dots to be used in the configuration file
diff --git a/tests/test_config_reload.sh b/tests/test_config_reload.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..5f7270edb8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_config_reload.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env sh
+# Hyprland runs the whole Lua configuration under a single 1500 ms budget, and
+# its watchdog is installed with LUA_MASKCOUNT: it counts VM instructions, so it
+# cannot interrupt a blocked C call. A subprocess started while the
+# configuration loads therefore spends the budget where nothing can attribute
+# it, and the timeout surfaces in whichever module runs next — a parser, a bind
+# table, anything with a tight Lua loop, none of which are the cause.
+#
+# Nothing the session loads at reload time may fork. The scan covers the whole
+# shipped hypr tree, entry point included, since that is what Hyprland executes.
+
+# shellcheck source=tests/lib/common.sh
+. "$(dirname -- "$0")/lib/common.sh"
+
+config_dir="$REPO_ROOT/Configs/.local/share/hypr"
+[ -d "$config_dir" ] || {
+    fail "the shipped Hyprland directory is missing"
+    finish
+}
+
+list=$(mktemp)
+trap 'rm -f "$list"' EXIT
+find "$config_dir" -name '*.lua' -type f | sort > "$list"
+
+# The TOML parser is the one library outside that tree the configuration pulls
+# in — hyde/config.lua requires it, and it requires nothing further. The rest of
+# luautils is shared with command line tools, where a subprocess is legitimate.
+toml="$REPO_ROOT/Configs/.local/lib/hyde/luautils/toml.lua"
+[ -f "$toml" ] && printf '%s\n' "$toml" >> "$list"
+
+count=0
+while IFS= read -r file; do
+    count=$((count + 1))
+
+    hits=$(grep -nE 'io\.popen|os\.execute' "$file")
+    status=$?
+
+    # grep answers 1 for a file with no match and 2 or more for a failure to
+    # read one, which must not pass as "nothing found".
+    if [ "$status" -gt 1 ]; then
+        fail "${file#"$REPO_ROOT"/} could not be scanned"
+        continue
+    fi
+
+    [ -z "$hits" ] && continue
+
+    printf '%s\n' "$hits" | while IFS= read -r hit; do
+        printf '    %s:%s\n' "${file#"$REPO_ROOT"/}" "$hit"
+    done
+    fail "${file#"$REPO_ROOT"/} blocks the configuration on a subprocess"
+done < "$list"
+
+# A guard that scans nothing passes for the wrong reason, and would keep doing
+# so if the tree moved out from under it.
+[ "$count" -gt 0 ] ||
+    fail "no Lua file was scanned, the configuration tree is not where this expects it"
+
+printf '    %d file(s) checked\n' "$count"
+
+finish
diff --git a/tests/test_dots.sh b/tests/test_dots.sh
index 60afbee5b5..6173655160 100755
--- a/tests/test_dots.sh
+++ b/tests/test_dots.sh
@@ -20,4 +20,39 @@ if grep -q 'feature-grimblast-toplevel-handle' "$hyde_metafile"; then
     fail "grimblast still uses the double-selection experimental branch"
 fi
 
+# Dots are deployed in the order the group lists them. The archives download
+# over the network and write into /usr/local under sudo, so they are the most
+# likely member of the core group to fail and the least important one to have.
+# Everything the desktop is made of has to be deployed before them.
+core_group="$REPO_ROOT/Scripts/dots-groups/core.toml"
+core_order=$(sed -n '/include = \[/,/^ *\]/p' "$core_group" |
+    sed -n 's|.*"\.\./dots/\([A-Za-z0-9_-]*\)\.toml".*|\1|p')
+
+position_in_core() {
+    printf '%s\n' "$core_order" | grep -nxF "$1" | head -n 1 | cut -d: -f1
+}
+
+archives_at=$(position_in_core archives)
+# The packages the rest of the group needs are installed by the first entry,
+# so it is the one member whose position is fixed rather than merely early.
+deps_at=$(position_in_core deps)
+if [ -z "$deps_at" ]; then
+    fail "the core group no longer includes deps.toml"
+elif [ "$deps_at" -ne 1 ]; then
+    fail "deps.toml is no longer the first entry in the core group"
+fi
+
+if [ -z "$archives_at" ]; then
+    fail "the core group no longer includes archives.toml, or the include list could not be read"
+else
+    for required in hyde hyprland; do
+        required_at=$(position_in_core "$required")
+        if [ -z "$required_at" ]; then
+            fail "the core group no longer includes $required.toml"
+        elif [ "$required_at" -gt "$archives_at" ]; then
+            fail "$required.toml is deployed after archives.toml in the core group"
+        fi
+    done
+fi
+
 finish
diff --git a/tests/test_fish_env.sh b/tests/test_fish_env.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..40625688ef
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_fish_env.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env sh
+# Everything HyDE installs for the user lives in ~/.local/bin, so the fish
+# drop-in has to put that directory on PATH. It is easy to get wrong in a way
+# nothing reports: fish_add_path takes one directory per argument, does not
+# split on ":", and drops a path that does not exist without a word. A
+# colon-joined string therefore adds nothing at all and the shell comes up
+# looking healthy with no hyde-shell in it.
+
+# shellcheck source=tests/lib/common.sh
+. "$(dirname -- "$0")/lib/common.sh"
+
+drop_in="$REPO_ROOT/Configs/.config/fish/conf.d/hyde.fish"
+
+[ -f "$drop_in" ] || {
+    fail "the fish drop-in is missing"
+    finish
+}
+
+# Resolved here rather than called by name below: the run is started with a
+# PATH of its own, and a fish installed anywhere but there would not be found.
+fish_bin=$(command -v fish 2>/dev/null)
+if [ -z "$fish_bin" ]; then
+    skip "fish is not installed"
+    finish
+fi
+
+work_dir=$(mktemp -d)
+trap 'rm -rf "$work_dir"' EXIT
+
+home="$work_dir/home"
+mkdir -p "$home/.local/bin" "$work_dir/data" "$work_dir/config"
+
+# An isolated home keeps the universal variables fish_add_path writes out of
+# the one running the suite. Past the line under test the drop-in calls a
+# function defined elsewhere in the shipped config, which is not sourced here;
+# fish reports that on stderr and carries on, so stderr is discarded rather
+# than the rest of the configuration being pulled in to silence it.
+path_entries=$(
+    env -i HOME="$home" \
+        XDG_DATA_HOME="$work_dir/data" \
+        XDG_CONFIG_HOME="$work_dir/config" \
+        PATH=/usr/bin:/bin \
+        TERM=dumb \
+        "$fish_bin" -c "source '$drop_in' 2>/dev/null; for entry in \$PATH; echo \$entry; end" 2>/dev/null
+)
+
+printf '%s\n' "$path_entries" | grep -qxF "$home/.local/bin" ||
+    fail "the drop-in did not put ~/.local/bin on PATH, so no HyDE command resolves in fish"
+
+# The failure this case exists for leaves a single entry holding the whole
+# joined string, which is a path in name only. Only the entries this drop-in
+# contributes are judged; what the machine's own fish configuration puts on
+# PATH is not this file's business.
+stray=$(printf '%s\n' "$path_entries" | grep "^$home" | grep ':')
+[ -n "$stray" ] &&
+    fail "PATH holds a colon-joined entry, which is one path that exists nowhere: $stray"
+
+printf '    %d PATH entry(ies) checked\n' "$(printf '%s\n' "$path_entries" | grep -c .)"
+
+finish
diff --git a/tests/test_hyprlang_leftovers.sh b/tests/test_hyprlang_leftovers.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..3d8dd4cdbb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_hyprlang_leftovers.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,133 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# The hyprlang configuration the Lua release deleted is still on every upgraded
+# machine, because deployment overwrites files and never removes the ones that
+# disappeared upstream. It is not inert: Hyprland falls back to hyprland.conf
+# when no Lua config is found, and that file sources the rest, so a session can
+# land on the pre-Lua configuration entirely.
+#
+# The migration moves it aside, and only when the Lua entry point is in place —
+# taking the fallback away while nothing else can be found would leave Hyprland
+# to generate a default config, which is worse than the leftovers.
+
+. "$(dirname -- "$0")/lib/common.sh"
+
+migration="$REPO_ROOT/Scripts/migrations/v26.8.2.sh"
+
+if [ ! -f "$migration" ]; then
+    fail "no migration retires the hyprlang configuration"
+    finish
+fi
+
+work_dir=$(mktemp -d)
+trap 'rm -rf "$work_dir"' EXIT
+
+home_dir="$work_dir/home"
+config_home="$work_dir/config"
+data_home="$work_dir/data"
+state_home="$work_dir/state"
+
+leftovers_config="animations.conf hyprland.conf keybindings.conf monitors.conf nvidia.conf shaders.conf userprefs.conf windowrules.conf workflows.conf"
+leftovers_data="hypr/defaults.conf hypr/dynamic.conf hypr/env.conf hypr/finale.conf hypr/hyprland.conf hypr/migration.conf hypr/startup.conf hypr/variables.conf hypr/windowrules.conf hyde/hyprland.conf hyde/keybindings.conf"
+# Still hyprlang, still shipped: these must survive untouched.
+kept_config="hypridle.conf hyprlock.conf hyprsunset.conf"
+
+seed() {
+    rm -rf "$home_dir" "$config_home" "$data_home" "$state_home"
+    mkdir -p "$home_dir" "$config_home/hypr" "$data_home/hypr" "$data_home/hyde" "$state_home"
+
+    for rel in $leftovers_config $kept_config; do
+        printf 'old %s\n' "$rel" >"$config_home/hypr/$rel"
+    done
+    mkdir -p "$config_home/hypr/animations" "$config_home/hypr/workflows" "$config_home/hypr/shaders"
+    printf 'old animation\n' >"$config_home/hypr/animations/theme.conf"
+    printf 'old workflow\n' >"$config_home/hypr/workflows/default.conf"
+    printf 'still shipped\n' >"$config_home/hypr/shaders/wallbash.frag"
+
+    for rel in $leftovers_data; do
+        mkdir -p "$(dirname "$data_home/$rel")"
+        printf 'old %s\n' "$rel" >"$data_home/$rel"
+    done
+    mkdir -p "$data_home/hyde/templates/hypr"
+    printf 'old template\n' >"$data_home/hyde/templates/hypr/keybindings.conf"
+    printf 'still shipped\n' >"$data_home/hypr/hyprlock.conf"
+
+    # The gate: the entry point exists and the user's config loads it.
+    printf 'hyde = hyde or {}\n' >"$data_home/hypr/hyde.lua"
+    printf 'if not hyde then\nend\n' >"$config_home/hypr/hyprland.lua"
+}
+
+run_migration() {
+    (
+        HOME="$home_dir" XDG_CONFIG_HOME="$config_home" XDG_DATA_HOME="$data_home" \
+            XDG_STATE_HOME="$state_home" sh "$migration" </dev/null
+    ) >"$work_dir/out.log" 2>&1
+}
+
+backup="$state_home/hyde/migration/v26.8.2"
+
+# The whole chain is retired, the files still in use are not, and every moved
+# file is recoverable.
+seed
+run_migration
+status=$?
+
+[ "$status" -eq 0 ] || fail "the migration failed on a machine it should act on: $(cat "$work_dir/out.log")"
+
+for rel in $leftovers_config; do
+    [ -e "$config_home/hypr/$rel" ] && fail "$rel was left in place"
+    [ -f "$backup/config/hypr/$rel" ] || fail "$rel was not kept in the backup"
+done
+for rel in $leftovers_data; do
+    [ -e "$data_home/$rel" ] && fail "$rel was left in place"
+    [ -f "$backup/data/$rel" ] || fail "$rel was not kept in the backup"
+done
+[ -e "$config_home/hypr/animations" ] && fail "the animations directory was left in place"
+[ -e "$config_home/hypr/workflows" ] && fail "the workflows directory was left in place"
+[ -e "$data_home/hyde/templates/hypr" ] && fail "the hyprlang templates were left in place"
+
+for rel in $kept_config; do
+    [ -f "$config_home/hypr/$rel" ] || fail "$rel is still hyprlang and still shipped, but was moved"
+done
+[ -f "$config_home/hypr/shaders/wallbash.frag" ] || fail "the shader directory was moved"
+[ -f "$data_home/hypr/hyprlock.conf" ] || fail "the shipped hyprlock config was moved"
+[ -f "$config_home/hypr/hyprland.lua" ] || fail "the Lua config was moved"
+[ -f "$data_home/hypr/hyde.lua" ] || fail "the entry point was moved"
+
+# Nothing to do on a second pass.
+run_migration
+[ "$?" -eq 0 ] || fail "a second run failed"
+
+# No entry point: the fallback has to stay, or the machine is left with nothing
+# to load at all.
+seed
+rm -f "$data_home/hypr/hyde.lua"
+run_migration
+[ "$?" -eq 0 ] || fail "the migration failed instead of skipping without an entry point"
+[ -f "$config_home/hypr/hyprland.conf" ] ||
+    fail "the fallback config was moved with no entry point to replace it"
+
+# An unreadable entry point is no entry point: the loader opens it.
+seed
+chmod 000 "$data_home/hypr/hyde.lua"
+run_migration
+chmod 644 "$data_home/hypr/hyde.lua"
+[ -f "$config_home/hypr/hyprland.conf" ] ||
+    fail "the fallback config was moved while the entry point could not be read"
+
+# The user's config does not load HyDE yet: same reasoning.
+seed
+printf 'hl.config({})\n' >"$config_home/hypr/hyprland.lua"
+run_migration
+[ -f "$config_home/hypr/hyprland.conf" ] ||
+    fail "the fallback config was moved before the user's config could load HyDE"
+
+# A retired path left as a dangling symlink still has to go, or it stays
+# forever and the migration reports success.
+seed
+rm -f "$config_home/hypr/hyprland.conf"
+ln -s "$work_dir/nothing-here.conf" "$config_home/hypr/hyprland.conf"
+run_migration
+[ -e "$config_home/hypr/hyprland.conf" ] || [ -L "$config_home/hypr/hyprland.conf" ] &&
+    fail "a dangling symlink at a retired path was left behind"
+
+finish
diff --git a/tests/test_install_env.sh b/tests/test_install_env.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..0c23807ffc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_install_env.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,126 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# The Python environment has to be refreshed before anything reaches deez.
+#
+# The dot deployment and both dependency checks run out of that environment,
+# and the revisions they run are the ones this checkout's lock pins. A run that
+# skips the step works with whatever was installed the last time it did not, so
+# a corrected pin never reaches the machine. Ordering is the whole point: the
+# dependency checks reach deez well before the deployment does.
+
+. "$(dirname -- "$0")/lib/common.sh"
+
+grep -q '^setup_python_env()' "$REPO_ROOT/Scripts/global_fn.sh" ||
+    fail "global_fn.sh does not define the Python environment step"
+
+grep -qE '^[[:space:]]*setup_python_env' "$REPO_ROOT/Scripts/install_pre.sh" ||
+    fail "install_pre.sh no longer runs the Python environment step"
+
+grep -q 'python_env\.py' "$REPO_ROOT/Scripts/install_pre.sh" &&
+    fail "install_pre.sh sets up the environment itself instead of using the shared step"
+
+work_dir=$(mktemp -d)
+trap 'rm -rf "$work_dir"' EXIT
+
+clone_dir="$work_dir/clone"
+home_dir="$work_dir/home"
+mkdir -p "$clone_dir" "$home_dir/.local/lib/hyde/wallpaper" "$home_dir/.local/state/hyde/python_env/bin"
+cp -a "$REPO_ROOT/Scripts" "$clone_dir/Scripts"
+
+# Every hand-off is a stub that records the fact, so a case can only fail on
+# the flow under test and nothing reaches the machine running the suite.
+ran_log="$work_dir/ran.log"
+for stub in install_pre install_aur install_pst restore_thm restore_svc; do
+    printf '#!/usr/bin/env sh\nprintf "%%s\\n" "%s" >>"%s"\n' "$stub" "$ran_log" \
+        >"$clone_dir/Scripts/$stub.sh"
+    chmod +x "$clone_dir/Scripts/$stub.sh"
+done
+rm -f "$clone_dir/Scripts/migrations"/*.sh
+
+mkdir -p "$clone_dir/Configs/.local/lib/hyde/pyutils"
+printf 'import sys\nsys.exit(0)\n' >"$clone_dir/Configs/.local/lib/hyde/pyutils/lua_env.py"
+
+# The environment step and deez both record what they were asked to do, in the
+# same log, so their order is part of what the case checks.
+write_python_stub() {
+    cat >"$clone_dir/Configs/.local/lib/hyde/pyutils/python_env.py" <<PY
+import sys
+
+with open("$ran_log", "a") as handle:
+    handle.write("python_env " + sys.argv[1] + "\n")
+
+sys.exit(${1:-0} if sys.argv[1] == "create" else 0)
+PY
+}
+write_python_stub 0
+
+ln -sf "$(command -v python3)" "$home_dir/.local/state/hyde/python_env/bin/python"
+printf '#!/usr/bin/env sh\nprintf "deez %%s\\n" "$1" >>"%s"\n' "$ran_log" \
+    >"$home_dir/.local/state/hyde/python_env/bin/deez"
+chmod +x "$home_dir/.local/state/hyde/python_env/bin/deez"
+
+for helper in "wallpaper/cache.sh" "theme.switch.sh" "waybar.py"; do
+    printf '#!/usr/bin/env sh\nexit 0\n' >"$home_dir/.local/lib/hyde/$helper"
+    chmod +x "$home_dir/.local/lib/hyde/$helper"
+done
+
+run_installer() {
+    : >"$ran_log"
+    rm -rf "$work_dir/state"
+    (
+        env -u HYPRLAND_INSTANCE_SIGNATURE \
+            HOME="$home_dir" \
+            XDG_STATE_HOME="$work_dir/state" \
+            XDG_CACHE_HOME="$work_dir/cache" \
+            CLONE_DIR="$clone_dir" \
+            "$clone_dir/Scripts/install.sh" "$@" <<<"n"
+    ) >"$work_dir/out.log" 2>&1
+}
+
+ran() { grep -qxF "$1" "$ran_log" 2>/dev/null; }
+line_of() { grep -nxF "$1" "$ran_log" 2>/dev/null | head -n 1 | cut -d: -f1; }
+
+# A restore on its own refreshes the environment, and does it before the first
+# thing that runs out of it.
+run_installer -r
+ran "python_env create" || fail "a restore did not create the Python environment"
+ran "python_env sync" || fail "a restore did not sync the Python environment"
+ran install_pre && fail "a restore ran the pre-install script"
+
+first_deez=$(line_of "deez deps")
+sync_at=$(line_of "python_env sync")
+if [ -z "$first_deez" ] || [ -z "$sync_at" ]; then
+    fail "a restore did not reach both steps, the ordering could not be checked"
+elif [ "$sync_at" -gt "$first_deez" ]; then
+    fail "the environment was synced after deez had already run"
+fi
+
+# An install on its own reaches deez for the dependency check, so it needs the
+# environment just as much.
+run_installer -i
+ran "python_env sync" || fail "an install did not refresh the Python environment"
+ran install_pre && fail "an install on its own ran the pre-install script"
+
+# The pre-install operation and a combined run keep going through
+# install_pre.sh, unchanged from before.
+run_installer -p
+ran install_pre || fail "the pre-install operation no longer runs install_pre.sh"
+
+run_installer -i -r
+ran install_pre || fail "a combined install and restore no longer runs install_pre.sh"
+
+# A failed create has to stop the run: syncing into an environment that was
+# never built would report success over a machine that has nothing installed.
+write_python_stub 1
+run_installer -r
+status=$?
+write_python_stub 0
+
+[ "$status" -ne 0 ] || fail "the run reported success after the environment failed to build"
+ran "python_env sync" && fail "the environment was synced after it failed to build"
+ran "deez deps" && fail "deez ran after the environment failed to build"
+
+# Dry run reports and touches nothing.
+run_installer -r -t
+ran "python_env create" && fail "the environment was built under dry-run"
+
+finish
diff --git a/tests/test_install_restore.sh b/tests/test_install_restore.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..04d2e983e6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_install_restore.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,120 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# A dot that fails to deploy must not cost the user the rest of the restore.
+#
+# The theme, the wallpaper cache, the migrations and the services are what put
+# a partly deployed tree back into shape, so they are exactly the steps that
+# have to keep running when a deployment reports failures. The run still has to
+# end non-zero and say so, or a half-migrated install looks like a clean one.
+
+. "$(dirname -- "$0")/lib/common.sh"
+
+work_dir=$(mktemp -d)
+trap 'rm -rf "$work_dir"' EXIT
+
+clone_dir="$work_dir/clone"
+home_dir="$work_dir/home"
+mkdir -p "$clone_dir" "$home_dir"
+cp -a "$REPO_ROOT/Scripts" "$clone_dir/Scripts"
+
+ran_log="$work_dir/ran.log"
+deez_log="$work_dir/deez.log"
+
+# Everything the restore hands off to is a stub that records the fact, so a
+# case can only fail on the flow under test and nothing reaches the machine
+# running the suite.
+for stub in install_pre install_aur install_pst restore_thm restore_svc; do
+    printf '#!/usr/bin/env sh\nprintf "%%s\\n" "%s" >>"%s"\n' "$stub" "$ran_log" \
+        >"$clone_dir/Scripts/$stub.sh"
+    chmod +x "$clone_dir/Scripts/$stub.sh"
+done
+rm -f "$clone_dir/Scripts/migrations"/*.sh
+printf '#!/usr/bin/env sh\nprintf "%%s\\n" "migration" >>"%s"\n' "$ran_log" \
+    >"$clone_dir/Scripts/migrations/v99.9.9.sh"
+chmod +x "$clone_dir/Scripts/migrations/v99.9.9.sh"
+
+mkdir -p "$clone_dir/Configs/.local/lib/hyde/pyutils"
+printf 'import sys\nsys.exit(0)\n' >"$clone_dir/Configs/.local/lib/hyde/pyutils/lua_env.py"
+# The restore refreshes the Python environment before it reaches deez, so the
+# script it calls has to answer here too. Whether it does is checked by
+# test_install_env; this case only needs it out of the way.
+printf 'import sys\nsys.exit(0)\n' >"$clone_dir/Configs/.local/lib/hyde/pyutils/python_env.py"
+
+mkdir -p "$home_dir/.local/state/hyde/python_env/bin" "$home_dir/.local/lib/hyde/wallpaper"
+for helper in "wallpaper/cache.sh" "theme.switch.sh" "waybar.py"; do
+    printf '#!/usr/bin/env sh\nprintf "%%s\\n" "%s" >>"%s"\n' "$(basename "$helper")" "$ran_log" \
+        >"$home_dir/.local/lib/hyde/$helper"
+    chmod +x "$home_dir/.local/lib/hyde/$helper"
+done
+
+deez_exe="$home_dir/.local/state/hyde/python_env/bin/deez"
+# The environment step syncs through the interpreter in that environment.
+ln -sf "$(command -v python3)" "$home_dir/.local/state/hyde/python_env/bin/python"
+
+# The stub records every invocation and can be told to fail the core deploy,
+# which is the call that used to end the run.
+write_deez_stub() {
+    {
+        printf '#!/usr/bin/env sh\n'
+        printf 'printf "%%s\\n" "$*" >>"%s"\n' "$deez_log"
+        if [ "$1" = "fail-core" ]; then
+            printf 'case "$*" in\n'
+            printf '    *dots-groups/core.toml*dots*) exit 1 ;;\n'
+            printf 'esac\n'
+        fi
+        printf 'exit 0\n'
+    } >"$deez_exe"
+    chmod +x "$deez_exe"
+}
+
+run_restore() {
+    : >"$ran_log"
+    : >"$deez_log"
+    # A fresh state directory per run: the migration runner records what it
+    # applied, so a shared one would make the second run look like it skipped
+    # the step it was told to repeat.
+    rm -rf "$work_dir/state"
+    (
+        # The run ends by asking about a reboot. Answering keeps the question
+        # from reading EOF, which would end the script on its own.
+        env -u HYPRLAND_INSTANCE_SIGNATURE \
+            HOME="$home_dir" \
+            XDG_STATE_HOME="$work_dir/state" \
+            XDG_CACHE_HOME="$work_dir/cache" \
+            CLONE_DIR="$clone_dir" \
+            "$clone_dir/Scripts/install.sh" -r -s <<<"n"
+    ) >"$work_dir/out.log" 2>&1
+}
+
+ran() { grep -qxF "$1" "$ran_log" 2>/dev/null; }
+
+# A clean deployment: everything runs and the run succeeds.
+write_deez_stub ok
+run_restore
+status=$?
+
+[ "$status" -eq 0 ] || fail "a clean restore exited with $status: $(tail -n 5 "$work_dir/out.log")"
+grep -q 'dots-groups/core.toml' "$deez_log" || fail "a clean restore never deployed the core dots"
+ran restore_thm || fail "a clean restore did not apply the theme"
+ran migration || fail "a clean restore did not run the migrations"
+ran restore_svc || fail "a clean restore did not enable the services"
+ran cache.sh || fail "a clean restore did not rebuild the wallpaper cache"
+
+# The core deployment fails: the remaining steps still run, and the run ends
+# non-zero saying what happened.
+write_deez_stub fail-core
+run_restore
+status=$?
+
+[ "$status" -ne 0 ] || fail "a restore whose core deployment failed reported success"
+grep -q 'dots-groups/extra.toml' "$deez_log" ||
+    fail "a failed core deployment stopped the extra dots from being deployed"
+ran restore_thm || fail "a failed deployment stopped the theme from being applied"
+ran migration || fail "a failed deployment stopped the migrations from running"
+ran restore_svc || fail "a failed deployment stopped the services from being enabled"
+ran cache.sh || fail "a failed deployment stopped the wallpaper cache from being rebuilt"
+grep -q 'Some dots were not deployed' "$work_dir/out.log" ||
+    fail "a failed deployment did not say so at the end of the run"
+grep -q 'COMPLETED' "$work_dir/out.log" &&
+    fail "a failed deployment still reported the run as completed"
+
+finish
diff --git a/tests/test_lua_entry_point.sh b/tests/test_lua_entry_point.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..67aa67f7ba
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_lua_entry_point.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,128 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# The file Hyprland actually loads has to load HyDE.
+#
+# Hyprland resolves "$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/hypr/hyprland.lua" ahead of hyprland.conf
+# and ignores the latter once the former exists. HyDE deploys that path as the
+# user's override layer, which hyde.lua pulls in last, and keeps its own entry
+# point in the data directory where Hyprland never looks. Without the loader a
+# session started with no HYPRLAND_CONFIG gets a valid empty configuration: no
+# error, no bar, no binds.
+
+. "$(dirname -- "$0")/lib/common.sh"
+
+template="$REPO_ROOT/Configs/.config/hypr/hyprland.lua"
+migration="$REPO_ROOT/Scripts/migrations/v26.8.1.sh"
+
+grep -q '^if not hyde then$' "$template" ||
+    fail "the shipped hyprland.lua does not load HyDE when it is the entry point"
+
+grep -q 'hypr/hyde.lua' "$template" ||
+    fail "the shipped hyprland.lua does not name HyDE's entry point"
+
+[ -f "$migration" ] || {
+    fail "no migration adds the loader to the copies already deployed"
+    finish
+}
+
+work_dir=$(mktemp -d)
+trap 'rm -rf "$work_dir"' EXIT
+
+home_dir="$work_dir/home"
+config_home="$work_dir/config"
+state_home="$work_dir/state"
+mkdir -p "$home_dir" "$config_home/hypr" "$state_home"
+
+target="$config_home/hypr/hyprland.lua"
+user_line='hl.config({ general = { gaps_in = 7 } })'
+
+run_migration() {
+    (
+        HOME="$home_dir" XDG_CONFIG_HOME="$config_home" XDG_STATE_HOME="$state_home" \
+            sh "$migration" </dev/null
+    ) >"$work_dir/out.log" 2>&1
+}
+
+# A file without the loader gets it, keeps what the user wrote, and the copy
+# from before the change is recoverable.
+printf '%s\n' "$user_line" >"$target"
+run_migration
+status=$?
+
+[ "$status" -eq 0 ] || fail "the migration failed on a file that needed the loader: $(cat "$work_dir/out.log")"
+grep -q '^if not hyde then$' "$target" || fail "the migration did not add the loader"
+grep -qxF "$user_line" "$target" || fail "the migration dropped what the user had written"
+[ "$(head -n 1 "$target")" != "$user_line" ] || fail "the loader was not added before the user's own config"
+grep -qxF "$user_line" "$state_home/hyde/migration/v26.8.1/hyprland.lua" ||
+    fail "the migration kept no recoverable copy of the original"
+
+# Running it again changes nothing.
+before=$(cat "$target")
+run_migration
+[ "$(cat "$target")" = "$before" ] || fail "a second run of the migration changed the file again"
+[ "$(grep -c '^if not hyde then$' "$target")" -eq 1 ] || fail "a second run added the loader twice"
+
+# The file mode survives the rewrite: a config the user tightened must not come
+# back readable by everyone because the new file was written under the umask.
+rm -f "$target"
+printf '%s\n' "$user_line" >"$target"
+chmod 600 "$target"
+run_migration
+[ "$(stat -c '%a' "$target")" = "600" ] ||
+    fail "the migration changed the file mode to $(stat -c '%a' "$target")"
+
+# A config kept under a dotfile manager is a symlink into that tree. The
+# rewrite has to follow it, or the machine silently comes off the managed copy.
+rm -f "$target"
+managed_dir="$work_dir/dotfiles"
+mkdir -p "$managed_dir"
+managed="$managed_dir/hyprland.lua"
+printf '%s\n' "$user_line" >"$managed"
+ln -s "$managed" "$target"
+run_migration
+
+[ -L "$target" ] || fail "the migration replaced the symlink with a regular file"
+grep -q '^if not hyde then$' "$managed" ||
+    fail "the migration did not add the loader to the file the symlink points at"
+
+# A link pointing at nothing has to be reported rather than counted as "no file
+# here": the runner records a zero exit as applied, and repairing the link
+# afterwards would leave the loader missing for good.
+rm -f "$target"
+ln -s "$work_dir/nothing-here.lua" "$target"
+run_migration
+[ "$?" -ne 0 ] || fail "a config symlink pointing at nothing was treated as applied"
+
+# No file, nothing to do.
+rm -f "$target"
+run_migration
+[ "$?" -eq 0 ] || fail "the migration failed when there was no file to change"
+[ -f "$target" ] && fail "the migration created a config that was not there"
+
+# The loader itself: it runs when HyDE has not been loaded, and stays out of
+# the way when HyDE is the one loading this file.
+command -v lua >/dev/null 2>&1 || {
+    skip "lua is not installed, the loader was not executed"
+    finish
+}
+
+mkdir -p "$work_dir/data/hypr"
+printf 'hyde = hyde or {}\nloaded = (loaded or 0) + 1\n' >"$work_dir/data/hypr/hyde.lua"
+printf '%s\n' "$user_line" >"$target"
+run_migration
+
+entry_runs=$(XDG_DATA_HOME="$work_dir/data" lua -e "
+    local ok, err = pcall(dofile, '$target')
+    if not ok and not tostring(err):match('hl') then print('error: ' .. tostring(err)) end
+    print(loaded or 0)
+" 2>/dev/null | tail -n 1)
+[ "$entry_runs" = "1" ] || fail "the loader did not reach HyDE when the file was the entry point, got '$entry_runs'"
+
+layer_runs=$(XDG_DATA_HOME="$work_dir/data" lua -e "
+    hyde = {}
+    local ok, err = pcall(dofile, '$target')
+    if not ok and not tostring(err):match('hl') then print('error: ' .. tostring(err)) end
+    print(loaded or 0)
+" 2>/dev/null | tail -n 1)
+[ "$layer_runs" = "0" ] || fail "the loader ran again while HyDE was loading this file, got '$layer_runs'"
+
+finish
diff --git a/tests/test_lua_env.sh b/tests/test_lua_env.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..1f1b026022
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_lua_env.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,110 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env sh
+# The Lua environment is bootstrapped from a list of rocks, and one of them —
+# lgi — is compiled against the GObject introspection headers. A machine
+# without them cannot build it, and that used to end the whole installation at
+# the Lua step, before a single dotfile was deployed.
+#
+# An optional rock that fails is reported and skipped; a required one still
+# stops the run.
+
+# shellcheck source=tests/lib/common.sh
+. "$(dirname -- "$0")/lib/common.sh"
+
+if ! command -v python3 >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    skip "python3 is not installed"
+    finish
+fi
+
+module="$REPO_ROOT/Configs/.local/lib/hyde/pyutils/lua_env.py"
+[ -f "$module" ] || {
+    fail "lua_env.py is missing"
+    finish
+}
+
+work_dir=$(mktemp -d)
+trap 'rm -rf "$work_dir"' EXIT
+
+cp "$module" "$work_dir/lua_env.py"
+
+# Stands in for luarocks: every install of the package named below fails, the
+# rest succeeds. `list` answers with nothing, so the snapshot stays empty.
+cat > "$work_dir/luarocks" <<'STUB'
+#!/usr/bin/env sh
+for arg in "$@"; do
+    case $arg in
+    list) exit 0 ;;
+    *unbuildable*) exit 1 ;;
+    esac
+done
+exit 0
+STUB
+chmod +x "$work_dir/luarocks"
+
+printf '#!/usr/bin/env sh\nexit 0\n' > "$work_dir/lua"
+chmod +x "$work_dir/lua"
+
+# Runs one command against a bootstrap list written for the case at hand.
+run_with() {
+    printf '%s\n' "$2" > "$work_dir/lua_env.json"
+    XDG_STATE_HOME="$work_dir/state" \
+        LUA="$work_dir/lua" \
+        LUAROCKS="$work_dir/luarocks" \
+        python3 "$work_dir/lua_env.py" "$1" >"$work_dir/out" 2>&1
+}
+
+# The package name alone proves nothing — the failing command line carries it
+# too. What has to appear is the handler's own account of the skip, so these
+# look for the words only it writes.
+expect_skip_report() {
+    grep -q 'it is optional, continuing without it' "$work_dir/out" ||
+        fail "$1 did not report the skipped optional package"
+    grep -q 'optional package(s) skipped' "$work_dir/out" ||
+        fail "$1 did not summarise what was skipped"
+    grep -q 'hyde-shell luainit' "$work_dir/out" ||
+        fail "$1 did not name the command that retries it"
+}
+
+# A non-zero status on its own would also be satisfied by a broken stub or a
+# misspelled subcommand, so the reason has to be the package that failed.
+expect_required_failure() {
+    grep -q 'CalledProcessError' "$work_dir/out" ||
+        fail "$1 ended for a reason other than the failed package: $(cat "$work_dir/out")"
+}
+
+run_with create '{"bootstrap_install": [{"name": "dkjson", "version": "2.11-1"}, {"name": "unbuildable", "optional": true}]}' ||
+    fail "an optional package that failed to build ended the run: $(cat "$work_dir/out")"
+expect_skip_report create
+
+run_with create '{"bootstrap_install": [{"name": "unbuildable"}]}' &&
+    fail "a required package that failed to build did not end the run"
+expect_required_failure create
+
+# `hyde-shell luainit` reinstalls through sync rather than create, and falls
+# back to a full rebuild when it fails. Without the same tolerance there, an
+# unbuildable optional rock would tear the rocks tree down on every routine
+# refresh of the environment.
+run_with sync '{"bootstrap_install": [{"name": "dkjson", "version": "2.11-1"}, {"name": "unbuildable", "optional": true}]}' ||
+    fail "sync ended the run over an optional package: $(cat "$work_dir/out")"
+expect_skip_report sync
+
+run_with sync '{"bootstrap_install": [{"name": "unbuildable"}]}' &&
+    fail "sync did not end the run over a required package"
+expect_required_failure sync
+
+# The shipped list has to mark lgi optional, otherwise the guard above protects
+# nothing on a real installation.
+python3 - "$REPO_ROOT/Configs/.local/lib/hyde/pyutils/lua_env.json" <<'CHECK' || fail "the shipped bootstrap list does not mark lgi optional"
+import json
+import sys
+
+with open(sys.argv[1], encoding="utf-8") as handle:
+    config = json.load(handle)
+
+entries = config.get("bootstrap_install", [])
+lgi = [e for e in entries if isinstance(e, dict) and "lgi" in e.get("name", "")]
+sys.exit(0 if lgi and lgi[0].get("optional") else 1)
+CHECK
+
+printf "    %d bootstrap case(s) checked\n" 5
+
+finish
diff --git a/tests/test_paths.sh b/tests/test_paths.sh
index 24453f828b..f2c651f028 100755
--- a/tests/test_paths.sh
+++ b/tests/test_paths.sh
@@ -22,15 +22,18 @@ work_dir=$(mktemp -d)
 trap 'rm -rf "$work_dir"' EXIT
 mkdir -p "$work_dir/home/.config"
 
-# Prints the resolved value of one field, or "error" when loading blew up.
+# Prints the resolved value of one field, or "error" when loading blew up. A
+# module that fails to load exits non-zero as well: a case that expects a path
+# not to be chosen would otherwise be satisfied by the module never running.
 resolve() {
     lua -e "
         local ok, err = pcall(dofile, [[$path_module]])
         if not ok then
             io.write('error: ', tostring(err))
-        else
-            io.write(tostring(hyde.path.$1))
+            os.exit(1)
         end
+
+        io.write(tostring(hyde.path.$1))
     " 2>&1
 }
 
@@ -69,8 +72,10 @@ runtime=$(HOME="$work_dir/home" XDG_RUNTIME_DIR="$work_dir/run" resolve runtime)
 [ "$runtime" = "$work_dir/run" ] ||
     fail "a set XDG_RUNTIME_DIR was not honoured: $runtime"
 
-# The directory probe shells out, so a home directory is allowed to contain a
-# quote: it has to be found, and it must not be able to run anything.
+# A home directory is allowed to contain a quote: it has to be found, and it
+# must not be able to run anything. The probe no longer goes through a shell,
+# which is what makes the second half of that hold; the case stays as the guard
+# that says so.
 quoted_home="$work_dir/qu'ote"
 mkdir -p "$quoted_home/.local/lib"
 lib=$(HOME="$quoted_home" resolve lib)
@@ -82,6 +87,56 @@ HOME="$work_dir/x'; touch \"$marker\"; echo '" resolve lib >/dev/null 2>&1
 [ -e "$marker" ] &&
     fail "a crafted HOME executed a command through the directory probe"
 
+# A candidate that is not a directory has to be rejected, and a FIFO is the one
+# that can do more than that: opening it with no writer on the other end blocks
+# until one turns up, and this resolver runs before the session has a window on
+# screen. It must answer, and it must answer no.
+if command -v mkfifo >/dev/null 2>&1 && command -v timeout >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    fifo_home="$work_dir/fifo"
+    mkdir -p "$fifo_home/.local"
+    mkfifo "$fifo_home/.local/lib"
+
+    lib=$(HOME="$fifo_home" timeout 5 lua -e "
+        local ok, err = pcall(dofile, [[$path_module]])
+        if not ok then
+            io.write('error: ', tostring(err))
+            os.exit(1)
+        end
+
+        io.write(tostring(hyde.path.lib))
+    " 2>&1)
+    case $? in
+    0) ;;
+    124) fail "a FIFO in place of a candidate directory hung the resolver" ;;
+    *) fail "the resolver raised on a FIFO candidate instead of skipping it: $lib" ;;
+    esac
+    [ "$lib" = "$fifo_home/.local/lib" ] &&
+        fail "a FIFO was resolved as a directory: $lib"
+else
+    skip "mkfifo or timeout is not available, FIFO case not run"
+fi
+
+# A regular file where a directory is expected is the same question without the
+# hazard, and the answer has to be the same.
+file_home="$work_dir/file"
+mkdir -p "$file_home/.local"
+: > "$file_home/.local/lib"
+lib=$(HOME="$file_home" resolve lib) ||
+    fail "the resolver raised on a regular file candidate: $lib"
+[ "$lib" = "$file_home/.local/lib" ] &&
+    fail "a regular file was resolved as a directory: $lib"
+
+# A directory that grants search but not read still serves files by name, which
+# is all package.path asks of it, so it counts. Running as root makes the
+# distinction disappear, and the case then only asserts the ordinary answer.
+xonly_home="$work_dir/xonly"
+mkdir -p "$xonly_home/.local/lib"
+chmod 111 "$xonly_home/.local/lib"
+lib=$(HOME="$xonly_home" resolve lib)
+chmod 755 "$xonly_home/.local/lib"
+[ "$lib" = "$xonly_home/.local/lib" ] ||
+    fail "an unreadable candidate directory was skipped: $lib"
+
 # The consumer has to be prepared for that, otherwise the guard above buys
 # nothing: dynamic.lua must not concatenate the config path unconditionally.
 dynamic="$REPO_ROOT/Configs/.local/share/hypr/lua/dynamic.lua"
diff --git a/tests/test_pypr_wrapper.sh b/tests/test_pypr_wrapper.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..acbe932ef6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_pypr_wrapper.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# The Pyprland wrapper must preserve command arguments when socket helper
+# programs are unavailable and it falls back to the Pyprland CLI.
+
+# shellcheck source=tests/lib/common.sh
+. "$(dirname -- "$0")/lib/common.sh"
+
+hyde_shell="$REPO_ROOT/Configs/.local/bin/hyde-shell"
+fixture=$(mktemp -d)
+server_pid=
+
+cleanup() {
+    if [[ -n "$server_pid" ]]; then
+        kill "$server_pid" 2>/dev/null || true
+        wait "$server_pid" 2>/dev/null || true
+    fi
+    rm -rf "$fixture"
+}
+trap cleanup EXIT HUP INT TERM
+
+mkdir -p \
+    "$fixture/bin" \
+    "$fixture/config/pypr" \
+    "$fixture/runtime/hypr/test-instance" \
+    "$fixture/state/hyde/python_env/bin"
+: >"$fixture/config/pypr/config.toml"
+: >"$fixture/state/hyde/python_env/bin/activate"
+
+for helper in nc socat ncat; do
+    cat >"$fixture/bin/$helper" <<'EOF'
+#!/usr/bin/env sh
+exit 1
+EOF
+done
+
+cat >"$fixture/bin/pgrep" <<'EOF'
+#!/usr/bin/env sh
+exit 0
+EOF
+
+cat >"$fixture/bin/pypr" <<'EOF'
+#!/usr/bin/env sh
+printf '<%s>\n' "$@"
+EOF
+chmod +x "$fixture/bin/"*
+
+socket_path="$fixture/runtime/hypr/test-instance/.pyprland.sock"
+python3 - "$socket_path" <<'PY' &
+import socket
+import sys
+import time
+
+server = socket.socket(socket.AF_UNIX)
+server.bind(sys.argv[1])
+time.sleep(30)
+PY
+server_pid=$!
+
+for _ in {1..100}; do
+    [[ -S "$socket_path" ]] && break
+    sleep 0.01
+done
+
+if [[ ! -S "$socket_path" ]]; then
+    fail "test Pyprland socket was not created"
+    finish
+fi
+
+output=$(
+    PATH="$fixture/bin:/usr/bin:/bin" \
+        XDG_CONFIG_HOME="$fixture/config" \
+        XDG_RUNTIME_DIR="$fixture/runtime" \
+        XDG_STATE_HOME="$fixture/state" \
+        HYPRLAND_INSTANCE_SIGNATURE=test-instance \
+        "$hyde_shell" pypr toggle console 2>"$fixture/hyde-shell.stderr"
+)
+status=$?
+
+if [[ "$status" -ne 0 ]]; then
+    fail "Pyprland CLI fallback exited with $status: $(<"$fixture/hyde-shell.stderr")"
+fi
+
+if [[ "$output" != $'<toggle>\n<console>' ]]; then
+    fail "Pyprland CLI fallback did not preserve command arguments: $output"
+fi
+
+finish