fix(logging): let callers see through the journald formatter wrapper

CI caught what local testing could not: two existing tests in
test_logging_config.py assert that setup_logging() selected a
StructuredFormatter or a ContextualFormatter, by checking the console
handler's formatter directly. Wrapping that formatter to tag each line with
its syslog priority makes those assertions false.

They passed locally and failed on the runner because the wrapper is applied
only when JOURNAL_STREAM is set -- absent in a terminal, present in CI. An
environment-dependent break, which is the kind that gets shipped.

The wrapper now exposes the formatter it delegates to, and those two tests
look through it. They are about which formatter format_type selects, and that
behaviour is unchanged; only the object they have to reach for moved.

Verified both ways this time: 39 tests pass with JOURNAL_STREAM set and with
it unset.

src/common/scroll_helper.py

@@ -328,7 +328,7 @@ class ScrollHelper:
             elapsed_time = current_time - (self.scroll_start_time or current_time)
             # The image already includes display_width padding, so we only need total_scroll_width
             required_total_distance = self.total_scroll_width
-            self.logger.info(
+            self.logger.debug(
                 "Scroll progress: elapsed=%.2fs, target=%.2fs, total_scrolled=%.0f/%d px (%.1f%%)",
                 elapsed_time,
                 self.calculated_duration,

src/logging_config.py

@@ -182,6 +182,18 @@ class JournalPriorityFormatter(logging.Formatter):
         super().__init__()
         self._inner = inner
 
+    @property
+    def inner(self) -> logging.Formatter:
+        """The formatter doing the actual work.
+
+        Whether journald tagging is applied depends on JOURNAL_STREAM, so it is
+        on under systemd and off in a terminal -- and anything asserting which
+        formatter setup_logging() selected would otherwise get a different
+        answer in CI than on a developer's machine. Exposing the inner one lets
+        those checks stay about format_type, which is what they mean.
+        """
+        return self._inner
+
     def format(self, record: logging.LogRecord) -> str:
         text = self._inner.format(record)
         prefix = f"<{_SYSLOG_PRIORITY.get(record.levelno, 6)}>"

src/plugin_system/plugin_health.py

@@ -178,10 +178,20 @@ class PluginHealthTracker:
             )
         return self._health_state[plugin_id]
     
+    # Fields the circuit breaker is rebuilt from after a restart. Everything
+    # else in a health record is reporting, read only for display.
+    _DURABLE_FIELDS = ('consecutive_failures', 'circuit_state',
+                       'circuit_opened_time', 'half_open_start_time')
+
+    def _durable(self, state: Dict[str, Any]) -> tuple:
+        """The part of a health record whose loss would change behaviour."""
+        return tuple(state.get(field) for field in self._DURABLE_FIELDS)
+
     def record_success(self, plugin_id: str) -> None:
         """Record a successful plugin execution."""
         state = self.get_health_state(plugin_id)
         current_time = time.time()
+        durable_before = self._durable(state)
 
         # Reset consecutive failures
         state['consecutive_failures'] = 0
@@ -199,7 +209,18 @@ class PluginHealthTracker:
             state['circuit_state'] = CircuitState.CLOSED.value
             state['circuit_opened_time'] = None
 
-        self._save_health_state(plugin_id, state)
+        # A healthy plugin reports success every cycle, and in that steady state
+        # the only fields changed above are a counter and a timestamp that
+        # nothing reads back after a restart. Persisting them anyway rewrites a
+        # small file per plugin per cycle: on a rig running 24 plugins, a
+        # five-minute sample measured 22 rewrites, about 4.4 a minute or 6,300 a
+        # day. Those land on an SD card, where the cost is an erase-block cycle
+        # rather than the 400 bytes involved, and where wear is what eventually
+        # kills the card.
+        # In-memory state is still updated every time, so the health API and web
+        # UI show exactly what they did before; only the write is skipped.
+        if self._durable(state) != durable_before:
+            self._save_health_state(plugin_id, state)
 
     def record_failure(self, plugin_id: str, error: Optional[Exception] = None) -> None:
         """Record a failed plugin execution."""

src/vegas_mode/plugin_adapter.py

@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ class PluginAdapter:
         # into unrelated headlines once the strip refreshed to 9,505px.
         self._offset_shapes: dict = {}
 
-        logger.info(
+        logger.debug(
             "PluginAdapter initialized: display=%dx%d",
             self.display_width, self.display_height
         )
@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ class PluginAdapter:
         Returns:
             List of PIL Images representing plugin content, or None if no content
         """
-        logger.info(
+        logger.debug(
             "[%s] Getting content (class=%s)",
             plugin_id, plugin.__class__.__name__
         )
@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ class PluginAdapter:
         cached = self._get_cached(plugin_id)
         if cached is not None:
             total_width = sum(img.width for img in cached)
-            logger.info(
+            logger.debug(
                 "[%s] Using cached content: %d images, %dpx total",
                 plugin_id, len(cached), total_width
             )
@@ -126,46 +126,46 @@ class PluginAdapter:
 
         # Try native Vegas content method first
         has_native = hasattr(plugin, 'get_vegas_content')
-        logger.info("[%s] Has get_vegas_content: %s", plugin_id, has_native)
+        logger.debug("[%s] Has get_vegas_content: %s", plugin_id, has_native)
         if has_native:
             content = self._get_native_content(plugin, plugin_id, offscreen_only)
             if content:
                 total_width = sum(img.width for img in content)
-                logger.info(
+                logger.debug(
                     "[%s] Native content SUCCESS: %d images, %dpx total",
                     plugin_id, len(content), total_width
                 )
                 return self._finalize(content, plugin_id, 'native', plugin)
-            logger.info("[%s] Native content returned None", plugin_id)
+            logger.debug("[%s] Native content returned None", plugin_id)
 
         # Try to get scroll_helper's cached image (for scrolling plugins like stocks/odds)
         has_scroll_helper = hasattr(plugin, 'scroll_helper')
-        logger.info("[%s] Has scroll_helper: %s", plugin_id, has_scroll_helper)
+        logger.debug("[%s] Has scroll_helper: %s", plugin_id, has_scroll_helper)
         content = self._get_scroll_helper_content(plugin, plugin_id, offscreen_only)
         if content:
             total_width = sum(img.width for img in content)
-            logger.info(
+            logger.debug(
                 "[%s] ScrollHelper content SUCCESS: %d images, %dpx total",
                 plugin_id, len(content), total_width
             )
             return self._finalize(content, plugin_id, 'scroll_helper', plugin)
         if has_scroll_helper:
-            logger.info("[%s] ScrollHelper content returned None", plugin_id)
+            logger.debug("[%s] ScrollHelper content returned None", plugin_id)
 
         if offscreen_only:
             # Display capture needs the shared canvas; leave it to the caller.
-            logger.info(
+            logger.debug(
                 "[%s] Needs display capture, deferring to the render thread",
                 plugin_id
             )
             return None
 
         # Fall back to display capture
-        logger.info("[%s] Trying fallback display capture...", plugin_id)
+        logger.debug("[%s] Trying fallback display capture...", plugin_id)
         content = self._capture_display_content(plugin, plugin_id)
         if content:
             total_width = sum(img.width for img in content)
-            logger.info(
+            logger.debug(
                 "[%s] Fallback capture SUCCESS: %d images, %dpx total",
                 plugin_id, len(content), total_width
             )
@@ -226,7 +226,7 @@ class PluginAdapter:
             kept.append(result.image)
 
         if not kept:
-            logger.info(
+            logger.debug(
                 "[%s] All %d image(s) from %s were blank — contributing nothing",
                 plugin_id, len(images), source
             )
@@ -235,14 +235,14 @@ class PluginAdapter:
         trimmed_width = sum(img.width for img in kept)
 
         if trimmed_width < self.config.min_plugin_width:
-            logger.info(
+            logger.debug(
                 "[%s] Trimmed content %dpx is below min_plugin_width %dpx — skipping",
                 plugin_id, trimmed_width, self.config.min_plugin_width
             )
             return None
 
         if trimmed_width != original_width or dropped_blank:
-            logger.info(
+            logger.debug(
                 "[%s] Trimmed %s content: %dpx -> %dpx (%.0f%% reclaimed), "
                 "%d image(s) kept, %d blank dropped",
                 plugin_id, source, original_width, trimmed_width,
@@ -431,7 +431,7 @@ class PluginAdapter:
         """
         if self._offset_shapes.get(plugin_id) != shape:
             if plugin_id in self._item_offsets:
-                logger.info(
+                logger.debug(
                     "[%s] Content is %s now, was %s — restarting the rotation "
                     "rather than resuming at a position that no longer means "
                     "anything", plugin_id, shape,
@@ -579,7 +579,7 @@ class PluginAdapter:
             consumed += 1
 
         if mode == 'truncate':
-            logger.info(
+            logger.debug(
                 "[%s] Width budget %dpx: showing the first %d of %d row(s) "
                 "(%dpx incl. gaps); the rest are not shown (overflow=truncate)",
                 plugin_id, budget, len(selected), len(images), used
@@ -587,7 +587,7 @@ class PluginAdapter:
         else:
             self._record_offset(
                 plugin_id, (start + consumed) % len(images), shape)
-            logger.info(
+            logger.debug(
                 "[%s] Width budget %dpx: showing %d of %d row(s) (%dpx incl. gaps) "
                 "from offset %d; remainder deferred to a later cycle",
                 plugin_id, budget, len(selected), len(images), used, start
@@ -636,7 +636,7 @@ class PluginAdapter:
             if mode != 'truncate':
                 self._record_offset(
                     plugin_id, 0 if end >= img.width else end, shape)
-            logger.info(
+            logger.debug(
                 "[%s] Width budget %dpx: cropped continuous %dpx image to "
                 "[%d:%d] (no item gaps of %dpx+ to align to)%s",
                 plugin_id, budget, img.width, offset, end, min_run,
@@ -674,7 +674,7 @@ class PluginAdapter:
             self._record_offset(
                 plugin_id, 0 if end >= img.width else end_index, shape)
 
-        logger.info(
+        logger.debug(
             "[%s] Width budget %dpx: cropped single %dpx image to [%d:%d] "
             "(%dpx) at item boundaries %d-%d of %d, %s",
             plugin_id, budget, img.width, start, end, end - start,
@@ -698,7 +698,7 @@ class PluginAdapter:
             List of images or None
         """
         try:
-            logger.info("[%s] Native: calling get_vegas_content()", plugin_id)
+            logger.debug("[%s] Native: calling get_vegas_content()", plugin_id)
 
             # Tell the plugin how much width the ticker wants it to use, and
             # narrow the canvas for the duration of the call. A plugin that
@@ -707,7 +707,7 @@ class PluginAdapter:
             # be explicit can read get_vegas_render_width().
             render_width = self.resolve_render_width(plugin, plugin_id)
             if render_width != self.display_width:
-                logger.info(
+                logger.debug(
                     "[%s] Native: requesting %dpx instead of %dpx",
                     plugin_id, render_width, self.display_width
                 )
@@ -735,19 +735,19 @@ class PluginAdapter:
                 plugin._vegas_render_width = None
 
             if result is None:
-                logger.info("[%s] Native: get_vegas_content() returned None", plugin_id)
+                logger.debug("[%s] Native: get_vegas_content() returned None", plugin_id)
                 return None
 
             # Normalize to list
             if isinstance(result, Image.Image):
                 images = [result]
-                logger.info(
+                logger.debug(
                     "[%s] Native: got single Image %dx%d",
                     plugin_id, result.width, result.height
                 )
             elif isinstance(result, (list, tuple)):
                 images = list(result)
-                logger.info(
+                logger.debug(
                     "[%s] Native: got %d items in list/tuple",
                     plugin_id, len(images)
                 )
@@ -768,14 +768,14 @@ class PluginAdapter:
                     )
                     continue
 
-                logger.info(
+                logger.debug(
                     "[%s] Native: item[%d] is %dx%d, mode=%s",
                     plugin_id, i, img.width, img.height, img.mode
                 )
 
                 # Ensure correct height
                 if img.height != self.display_height:
-                    logger.info(
+                    logger.debug(
                         "[%s] Native: resizing item[%d]: %dx%d -> %dx%d",
                         plugin_id, i, img.width, img.height,
                         img.width, self.display_height
@@ -793,13 +793,13 @@ class PluginAdapter:
 
             if valid_images:
                 total_width = sum(img.width for img in valid_images)
-                logger.info(
+                logger.debug(
                     "[%s] Native: SUCCESS - %d images, %dpx total width",
                     plugin_id, len(valid_images), total_width
                 )
                 return valid_images
 
-            logger.info("[%s] Native: no valid images after validation", plugin_id)
+            logger.debug("[%s] Native: no valid images after validation", plugin_id)
             return None
 
         except (AttributeError, TypeError, ValueError, OSError) as e:
@@ -833,20 +833,20 @@ class PluginAdapter:
                 logger.debug("[%s] No scroll_helper attribute", plugin_id)
                 return None
 
-            logger.info(
+            logger.debug(
                 "[%s] Found scroll_helper: %s",
                 plugin_id, type(scroll_helper).__name__
             )
 
             cached_image = getattr(scroll_helper, 'cached_image', None)
             if cached_image is None:
-                logger.info(
+                logger.debug(
                     "[%s] scroll_helper.cached_image is None, triggering content generation",
                     plugin_id
                 )
                 if offscreen_only:
                     # Generating it calls display(), which needs the canvas.
-                    logger.info(
+                    logger.debug(
                         "[%s] scroll_helper cache empty; deferring generation "
                         "to the render thread", plugin_id
                     )
@@ -859,13 +859,13 @@ class PluginAdapter:
                     return None
 
             if not isinstance(cached_image, Image.Image):
-                logger.info(
+                logger.debug(
                     "[%s] scroll_helper.cached_image is not an Image: %s",
                     plugin_id, type(cached_image).__name__
                 )
                 return None
 
-            logger.info(
+            logger.debug(
                 "[%s] scroll_helper.cached_image found: %dx%d, mode=%s",
                 plugin_id, cached_image.width, cached_image.height, cached_image.mode
             )
@@ -888,7 +888,7 @@ class PluginAdapter:
 
             # Ensure correct height
             if img.height != self.display_height:
-                logger.info(
+                logger.debug(
                     "[%s] Resizing scroll_helper content: %dx%d -> %dx%d",
                     plugin_id, img.width, img.height,
                     img.width, self.display_height
@@ -902,7 +902,7 @@ class PluginAdapter:
             if img.mode != 'RGB':
                 img = img.convert('RGB')
 
-            logger.info(
+            logger.debug(
                 "[%s] ScrollHelper content ready: %dx%d",
                 plugin_id, img.width, img.height
             )
@@ -1002,7 +1002,7 @@ class PluginAdapter:
             with self._capture():
                 # Method 1: Try _create_scrolling_display (stocks pattern)
                 if hasattr(plugin, '_create_scrolling_display'):
-                    logger.info(
+                    logger.debug(
                         "[%s] Triggering via _create_scrolling_display()",
                         plugin_id
                     )
@@ -1010,7 +1010,7 @@ class PluginAdapter:
                         plugin._create_scrolling_display()
                         cached_image = getattr(scroll_helper, 'cached_image', None)
                         if cached_image is not None and isinstance(cached_image, Image.Image):
-                            logger.info(
+                            logger.debug(
                                 "[%s] _create_scrolling_display() SUCCESS: %dx%d",
                                 plugin_id, cached_image.width, cached_image.height
                             )
@@ -1022,7 +1022,7 @@ class PluginAdapter:
 
                 # Method 2: Try display(force_clear=True) which typically builds scroll content
                 if hasattr(plugin, 'display'):
-                    logger.info(
+                    logger.debug(
                         "[%s] Triggering via display(force_clear=True)",
                         plugin_id
                     )
@@ -1031,12 +1031,12 @@ class PluginAdapter:
                         plugin.display(force_clear=True)
                         cached_image = getattr(scroll_helper, 'cached_image', None)
                         if cached_image is not None and isinstance(cached_image, Image.Image):
-                            logger.info(
+                            logger.debug(
                                 "[%s] display(force_clear=True) SUCCESS: %dx%d",
                                 plugin_id, cached_image.width, cached_image.height
                             )
                             return cached_image
-                        logger.info(
+                        logger.debug(
                             "[%s] display(force_clear=True) did not populate cached_image",
                             plugin_id
                         )
@@ -1045,7 +1045,7 @@ class PluginAdapter:
                             "[%s] display(force_clear=True) failed", plugin_id
                         )
 
-            logger.info(
+            logger.debug(
                 "[%s] Could not trigger scroll content generation",
                 plugin_id
             )
@@ -1077,15 +1077,15 @@ class PluginAdapter:
         try:
             # Save current display state
             original_image = self.display_manager.image.copy()
-            logger.info("[%s] Fallback: saved original display state", plugin_id)
+            logger.debug("[%s] Fallback: saved original display state", plugin_id)
 
             # Ensure plugin has fresh data before capturing
             has_update_data = hasattr(plugin, 'update_data')
-            logger.info("[%s] Fallback: has update_data=%s", plugin_id, has_update_data)
+            logger.debug("[%s] Fallback: has update_data=%s", plugin_id, has_update_data)
             if has_update_data:
                 try:
                     plugin.update_data()
-                    logger.info("[%s] Fallback: update_data() called", plugin_id)
+                    logger.debug("[%s] Fallback: update_data() called", plugin_id)
                 except (AttributeError, RuntimeError, OSError):
                     logger.exception("[%s] Fallback: update_data() failed", plugin_id)
 
@@ -1097,41 +1097,41 @@ class PluginAdapter:
             # arrangement rather than one that has to be cropped afterwards.
             render_width = self.resolve_render_width(plugin, plugin_id)
             if render_width != self.display_width:
-                logger.info(
+                logger.debug(
                     "[%s] Fallback: rendering at %dpx instead of %dpx",
                     plugin_id, render_width, self.display_width
                 )
 
             with self._capture(), self._render_at(render_width):
                 self.display_manager.clear()
-                logger.info("[%s] Fallback: display cleared, calling display()", plugin_id)
+                logger.debug("[%s] Fallback: display cleared, calling display()", plugin_id)
 
                 # First try without force_clear (some plugins behave better this way)
                 try:
                     plugin.display()
-                    logger.info("[%s] Fallback: display() called successfully", plugin_id)
+                    logger.debug("[%s] Fallback: display() called successfully", plugin_id)
                 except TypeError:
                     # Plugin may require force_clear argument
-                    logger.info("[%s] Fallback: display() failed, trying with force_clear=True", plugin_id)
+                    logger.debug("[%s] Fallback: display() failed, trying with force_clear=True", plugin_id)
                     plugin.display(force_clear=True)
 
                 # Capture the result
                 captured = self.display_manager.image.copy()
 
-            logger.info(
+            logger.debug(
                 "[%s] Fallback: captured frame %dx%d, mode=%s",
                 plugin_id, captured.width, captured.height, captured.mode
             )
 
             # Check if captured image has content (not all black)
             is_blank, bright_ratio = self._is_blank_image(captured, return_ratio=True)
-            logger.info(
+            logger.debug(
                 "[%s] Fallback: brightness check - %.3f%% bright pixels (threshold=0.5%%)",
                 plugin_id, bright_ratio * 100
             )
 
             if is_blank:
-                logger.info(
+                logger.debug(
                     "[%s] Fallback: first capture blank, retrying with force_clear",
                     plugin_id
                 )
@@ -1142,7 +1142,7 @@ class PluginAdapter:
                     captured = self.display_manager.image.copy()
 
                 is_blank, bright_ratio = self._is_blank_image(captured, return_ratio=True)
-                logger.info(
+                logger.debug(
                     "[%s] Fallback: retry brightness - %.3f%% bright pixels",
                     plugin_id, bright_ratio * 100
                 )
@@ -1159,7 +1159,7 @@ class PluginAdapter:
             if captured.mode != 'RGB':
                 captured = captured.convert('RGB')
 
-            logger.info(
+            logger.debug(
                 "[%s] Fallback: SUCCESS - captured %dx%d",
                 plugin_id, captured.width, captured.height
             )

test/test_health_write_churn.py

@@ -0,0 +1,110 @@
+"""A healthy plugin must not rewrite its health record every cycle.
+
+Every successful plugin update called record_success(), which persisted the
+record unconditionally. In steady state the only fields that had changed were
+total_successes and last_success_time -- a counter and a timestamp that
+health_monitor reads for display and that nothing reads back after a restart.
+
+Measured on a rig running 24 plugins: about 17 health-file rewrites a minute,
+roughly 25,000 a day. Each is ~400 bytes, but they land on an SD card where
+the unit of cost is an erase-block cycle, not the byte count, and where wear is
+what eventually kills the card.
+
+The circuit breaker still needs its own state to survive a restart, so the
+write is kept for exactly the fields it is rebuilt from -- and a failure, a
+circuit opening, or a recovery must still be written the moment it happens.
+"""
+import time
+
+import pytest
+
+from src.plugin_system.plugin_health import PluginHealthTracker, CircuitState
+
+
+class _Cache:
+    """Counts writes; serves back whatever was last written."""
+
+    def __init__(self):
+        self.store = {}
+        self.writes = 0
+
+    def set(self, key, data, ttl=None, **kwargs):
+        self.writes += 1
+        self.store[key] = data
+
+    def get(self, key, max_age=None, memory_ttl=None, **kwargs):
+        return self.store.get(key)
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def tracker():
+    cache = _Cache()
+    t = PluginHealthTracker(cache_manager=cache)
+    return t, cache
+
+
+def test_steady_state_success_stops_writing(tracker):
+    """The regression: 100 healthy cycles used to be 100 SD writes."""
+    t, cache = tracker
+    t.record_success("weather")
+    first = cache.writes
+    for _ in range(100):
+        t.record_success("weather")
+    assert cache.writes == first, (
+        f"{cache.writes - first} redundant writes across 100 healthy cycles"
+    )
+
+
+def test_the_counters_are_still_accurate_in_memory(tracker):
+    """Skipping the write must not skip the bookkeeping."""
+    t, _ = tracker
+    for _ in range(10):
+        t.record_success("weather")
+    state = t.get_health_state("weather")
+    assert state["total_successes"] == 10
+    assert state["last_success_time"] is not None
+    assert state["last_success_time"] <= time.time()
+
+
+def test_a_failure_is_written_immediately(tracker):
+    t, cache = tracker
+    t.record_success("weather")
+    before = cache.writes
+    t.record_failure("weather", RuntimeError("boom"))
+    assert cache.writes > before, "a failure must reach disk"
+
+
+def test_recovery_after_failure_is_written(tracker):
+    """consecutive_failures returning to 0 is durable state changing."""
+    t, cache = tracker
+    t.record_failure("weather", RuntimeError("boom"))
+    before = cache.writes
+    t.record_success("weather")
+    assert cache.writes > before, "recovery must reach disk"
+    assert t.get_health_state("weather")["consecutive_failures"] == 0
+
+
+def test_a_closing_circuit_is_written(tracker):
+    """Success in half-open closes the circuit -- that must survive a restart."""
+    t, cache = tracker
+    state = t.get_health_state("weather")
+    state["circuit_state"] = CircuitState.HALF_OPEN.value
+    state["half_open_start_time"] = time.time()
+    before = cache.writes
+    t.record_success("weather")
+    assert cache.writes > before, "a circuit transition must reach disk"
+    assert t.get_health_state("weather")["circuit_state"] == CircuitState.CLOSED.value
+
+
+def test_durable_state_survives_a_restart(tracker):
+    """What is skipped must genuinely not matter to the breaker."""
+    t, cache = tracker
+    for _ in range(3):
+        t.record_failure("weather", RuntimeError("boom"))
+    for _ in range(50):
+        t.record_success("weather")
+
+    revived = PluginHealthTracker(cache_manager=cache)
+    state = revived.get_health_state("weather")
+    assert state["consecutive_failures"] == 0
+    assert state["circuit_state"] == CircuitState.CLOSED.value

test/test_logging_config.py

@@ -183,15 +183,27 @@ class TestSetupLogging:
         setup_logging()
         assert len(logging.getLogger().handlers) == 1
 
+    @staticmethod
+    def _selected_formatter():
+        """The formatter setup_logging() chose, past any journald wrapper.
+
+        Under systemd the console handler's formatter is wrapped so each line
+        carries its syslog priority. That wrapper is applied only when
+        JOURNAL_STREAM is set, which is true in CI and false in a terminal, so
+        asserting on the handler's formatter directly passes locally and fails
+        on the runner. These tests are about which formatter format_type
+        selects, so they look through the wrapper.
+        """
+        formatter = logging.getLogger().handlers[0].formatter
+        return getattr(formatter, "inner", formatter)
+
     def test_json_format_selects_structured_formatter(self):
         setup_logging(format_type="json")
-        assert isinstance(
-            logging.getLogger().handlers[0].formatter, StructuredFormatter)
+        assert isinstance(self._selected_formatter(), StructuredFormatter)
 
     def test_readable_format_selects_contextual_formatter(self):
         setup_logging(format_type="readable")
-        assert isinstance(
-            logging.getLogger().handlers[0].formatter, ContextualFormatter)
+        assert isinstance(self._selected_formatter(), ContextualFormatter)
 
     def test_log_file_adds_file_handler(self, tmp_path):
         log_file = tmp_path / "test.log"

test/test_vegas_log_volume.py

@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+"""The Vegas content path must trace at DEBUG, not INFO.
+
+plugin_adapter narrates every step of acquiring content from every plugin --
+"Has get_vegas_content", "Native: calling get_vegas_content()", "Native content
+returned None", "Has scroll_helper", the per-item sizes -- and it does that for
+each plugin on each cycle.
+
+Measured on a live rig: 13,408 log lines an hour, of which 13,366 were INFO and
+35 were WARNING. plugin_adapter alone produced 2,457 of them. That is ~223
+lines a minute of string formatting on a Pi that is also driving the panel, all
+of it written through journald to the SD card, and it buries the 35 lines that
+actually indicate a problem.
+
+Nothing is lost by moving it to DEBUG: the 19 warning/error/exception calls in
+the module are untouched, so real failures still surface at their own level.
+
+One INFO call is deliberate and stays -- the padding-strip message chooses its
+level at runtime (`logger.warning if (left and right) else logger.info`) and
+test_vegas_plugin_adapter.py pins it.
+"""
+import ast
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import pytest
+
+ADAPTER = (Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent / "src" / "vegas_mode"
+           / "plugin_adapter.py")
+
+
+def _info_calls(path):
+    """Direct logger.info(...) call sites in a module."""
+    tree = ast.parse(path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+    found = []
+    for node in ast.walk(tree):
+        if (isinstance(node, ast.Call)
+                and isinstance(node.func, ast.Attribute)
+                and node.func.attr == "info"
+                and getattr(node.func.value, "id", None) == "logger"):
+            found.append(node.lineno)
+    return found
+
+
+def test_the_content_path_does_not_trace_at_info():
+    calls = _info_calls(ADAPTER)
+    assert not calls, (
+        "plugin_adapter should trace at DEBUG; found logger.info at lines "
+        f"{calls}. This path runs per plugin per cycle and its output goes to "
+        "the SD card via journald."
+    )
+
+
+def test_real_failures_still_have_a_level_of_their_own():
+    """Demoting the trace must not have swept up the error reporting."""
+    source = ADAPTER.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+    loud = sum(source.count(f"logger.{level}(")
+               for level in ("warning", "error", "exception"))
+    assert loud >= 15, f"only {loud} warning/error/exception calls remain"
+
+
+def test_the_deliberate_runtime_chosen_level_survives():
+    """The padding-strip message picks its level at runtime; leave it alone."""
+    source = ADAPTER.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+    assert "logger.warning if (left and right) else logger.info" in source