fix: use a monotonic clock and only mark metrics persisted once written

Two review findings on the throttle, both right.

The interval compared wall-clock timestamps. These devices have no RTC, so
the clock jumps by however far off boot-time was the moment NTP first syncs
-- a forward jump would allow an early write, a backward one would stall the
snapshot well past the interval. time.monotonic() is not subject to either.

The timestamp was also recorded before cache_manager.set(). A set() that
raised would buy the next interval's silence without leaving a snapshot
behind, which is the one case where skipping the write is least affordable.
Recorded after the write lands instead, so a failure is retried on the next
call.

Verified by restoring the original ordering: the new test then reports one
write where two are expected.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01STMbQE4YctTacQXfbYqKuW

src/plugin_system/resource_monitor.py

@@ -49,6 +49,20 @@ class ResourceMetrics:
             self.total_execution_time = self.total_execution_time / self.call_count
 
 
+#: How often a plugin's metrics are written to the cache, in seconds.
+#:
+#: Persisting on every call meant a small file rewritten roughly nine times a
+#: minute per plugin. On a rig with fourteen active plugins that was ~126
+#: writes a minute for metrics alone, and since each ~350-byte file costs a
+#: 4KB block plus an ext4 journal entry, it dominated the device's write
+#: volume -- on an SD card, which wears out.
+#:
+#: The in-memory copy stays authoritative and exact; only the cross-process
+#: snapshot the web UI reads is delayed, and telemetry up to half a minute old
+#: is still a fair description of a long-running plugin.
+_METRICS_PERSIST_INTERVAL = 30.0
+
+
 class PluginResourceMonitor:
     """
     Monitors resource usage for plugins.
@@ -75,6 +89,10 @@ class PluginResourceMonitor:
         # Resource metrics per plugin
         self._metrics: Dict[str, ResourceMetrics] = {}
         self._limits: Dict[str, ResourceLimits] = {}
+        # When each plugin's metrics last reached the cache. Metrics change on
+        # every call, so they cannot be de-duplicated the way health state can;
+        # they are rate-limited instead. See _METRICS_PERSIST_INTERVAL.
+        self._metrics_persisted_at: Dict[str, float] = {}
 
         # Thread-local storage for execution tracking
         self._local = threading.local()
@@ -232,18 +250,8 @@ class PluginResourceMonitor:
                     # CPU is harder to measure per-call, so we track it separately
                     metrics.cpu_percent = self._get_process_cpu_percent()
                 
-                # Persist metrics
-                cache_key = self._get_metrics_key(plugin_id)
-                self.cache_manager.set(cache_key, {
-                    'memory_mb': metrics.memory_mb,
-                    'cpu_percent': metrics.cpu_percent,
-                    'execution_time': metrics.execution_time,
-                    'call_count': metrics.call_count,
-                    'total_execution_time': metrics.total_execution_time,
-                    'max_execution_time': metrics.max_execution_time,
-                    'min_execution_time': metrics.min_execution_time if metrics.min_execution_time != float('inf') else 0.0,
-                    'last_update_time': metrics.last_update_time
-                })
+                # Persist metrics, at most once per interval per plugin.
+                self._persist_metrics(plugin_id, metrics)
             
             # Check limits
             if limits:
@@ -363,6 +371,37 @@ class PluginResourceMonitor:
             summaries[plugin_id] = self.get_metrics_summary(plugin_id)
         return summaries
     
+    def _persist_metrics(self, plugin_id: str, metrics: ResourceMetrics,
+                         force: bool = False) -> None:
+        """Write a plugin's metrics to the cache, at most once per interval.
+
+        Caller must hold ``self._lock``.
+        """
+        # Monotonic, not wall clock: these devices have no RTC, so the clock
+        # jumps by however far off boot-time was the moment NTP first syncs.
+        # A forward jump would allow an early write, a backward one would
+        # stall the snapshot well past the interval.
+        now = time.monotonic()
+        if not force and now - self._metrics_persisted_at.get(plugin_id, 0.0) \
+                < _METRICS_PERSIST_INTERVAL:
+            return
+        cache_key = self._get_metrics_key(plugin_id)
+        self.cache_manager.set(cache_key, {
+            'memory_mb': metrics.memory_mb,
+            'cpu_percent': metrics.cpu_percent,
+            'execution_time': metrics.execution_time,
+            'call_count': metrics.call_count,
+            'total_execution_time': metrics.total_execution_time,
+            'max_execution_time': metrics.max_execution_time,
+            'min_execution_time': (metrics.min_execution_time
+                                   if metrics.min_execution_time != float('inf')
+                                   else 0.0),
+            'last_update_time': metrics.last_update_time,
+        })
+        # Only after the write lands. Marking it first would mean a failed
+        # set() bought the next interval's silence without leaving a snapshot.
+        self._metrics_persisted_at[plugin_id] = now
+
     def reset_metrics(self, plugin_id: str) -> None:
         """Reset metrics for a plugin."""
         with self._lock:
@@ -370,4 +409,7 @@ class PluginResourceMonitor:
                 self._metrics[plugin_id] = ResourceMetrics()
                 cache_key = self._get_metrics_key(plugin_id)
                 self.cache_manager.delete(cache_key)
+                # Let the next call persist immediately rather than leaving the
+                # deleted key absent for the rest of the interval.
+                self._metrics_persisted_at.pop(plugin_id, None)
 

test/test_checkbox_group_stale_values.py

@@ -0,0 +1,113 @@
+"""A checkbox group must not post back options it cannot show.
+
+The enum that lets the widget draw checkboxes is also what validates the
+saved value. When a league retires a team code -- OAK for the Athletics, ARI
+for the Coyotes -- or a schema drops an option, a config that still holds the
+old value has nothing to render for it. The value stayed in the hidden
+``_data`` input regardless, because that input is seeded from the stored array
+and only rebuilt by ``updateCheckboxGroupData()`` on change. Editing any other
+field on that plugin therefore posted the stale value back, the schema
+rejected it, and the save endpoint returned 400
+``CONFIG_VALIDATION_FAILED`` -- so the whole plugin became uneditable until
+the user worked out which invisible entry was at fault.
+
+Runtime was never affected: plugin loading treats schema violations as
+warn/degrade, and the stale code already matched no team. Only the web UI
+blocked.
+
+These tests render the checkbox-group block lifted *out of the shipped
+template*, following test_enum_option_labels.py, so they exercise the
+production expression rather than a copy that could drift from it.
+"""
+import json
+import re
+from pathlib import Path
+
+from jinja2 import DictLoader, Environment
+
+PROJECT_ROOT = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent
+CONFIG_FORM = (PROJECT_ROOT / 'web_interface' / 'templates' / 'v3' / 'partials'
+               / 'plugin_config.html')
+
+# The checkbox-group branch: from its `{% elif %}` guard through the sentinel
+# hidden input that closes it. Anchored on the guard so the match cannot run on
+# into a neighbouring widget branch.
+BLOCK_RE = re.compile(
+    r"\{%\s*elif x_widget == 'checkbox-group'\s*%\}(.*?)"
+    r"<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"\{\{ full_key \}\}\[\]\" value=\"\">",
+    re.S,
+)
+
+
+def _shipped_block() -> str:
+    """Return the live checkbox-group block lifted from plugin_config.html."""
+    source = CONFIG_FORM.read_text(encoding='utf-8')
+    match = BLOCK_RE.search(source)
+    assert match, (
+        'could not find the checkbox-group block in plugin_config.html — the '
+        'template changed shape and this guard needs updating'
+    )
+    block = match.group(1)
+    assert 'data-option-value' in block, 'extracted the wrong branch'
+    assert '{% elif' not in block, 'extraction ran past the checkbox-group branch'
+    return block
+
+
+def _render(prop: dict, value=None) -> str:
+    env = Environment(loader=DictLoader({'f': _shipped_block()}), autoescape=True)
+    return env.get_template('f').render(
+        prop=prop, value=value, field_id='fid', full_key='k'
+    )
+
+
+def _submitted(html: str) -> list:
+    """The array the form will actually post: the hidden _data input."""
+    match = re.search(r'id="fid_data"[^>]*\svalue=\'([^\']*)\'', html)
+    assert match, f'hidden _data input not found in:\n{html}'
+    return json.loads(match.group(1).replace('&#39;', "'"))
+
+
+def _checked(html: str) -> list:
+    return re.findall(r'data-option-value="([^"]+)"[^>]*checked', html)
+
+
+MLB = {'type': 'array', 'items': {'type': 'string', 'enum': ['NYY', 'BOS', 'ATH']},
+       'x-widget': 'checkbox-group'}
+
+
+def test_a_retired_code_is_not_posted_back() -> None:
+    """The regression: OAK became ATH, and OAK used to ride along on save."""
+    html = _render(MLB, ['NYY', 'OAK'])
+    assert _submitted(html) == ['NYY'], 'stale value would still be submitted'
+
+
+def test_the_dropped_value_is_named_rather_than_vanishing() -> None:
+    html = _render(MLB, ['NYY', 'OAK'])
+    assert 'OAK' in html
+    assert 'data-stale-options' in html
+
+
+def test_valid_values_are_untouched_and_still_checked() -> None:
+    html = _render(MLB, ['NYY', 'ATH'])
+    assert _submitted(html) == ['NYY', 'ATH']
+    assert sorted(_checked(html)) == ['ATH', 'NYY']
+    assert 'data-stale-options' not in html
+
+
+def test_an_all_stale_selection_clears_rather_than_blocking() -> None:
+    html = _render(MLB, ['OAK', 'SD'])
+    assert _submitted(html) == []
+
+
+def test_an_empty_enum_leaves_the_value_alone() -> None:
+    """No options means nothing to validate against — filtering would wipe it."""
+    prop = {'type': 'array', 'items': {'type': 'string'}, 'x-widget': 'checkbox-group'}
+    html = _render(prop, ['ANYTHING', 'GOES'])
+    assert _submitted(html) == ['ANYTHING', 'GOES']
+
+
+def test_unset_value_falls_back_to_the_default() -> None:
+    prop = dict(MLB, default=['BOS'])
+    html = _render(prop, None)
+    assert _submitted(html) == ['BOS']
+    assert _checked(html) == ['BOS']

test/test_onboarding_checklist.py

@@ -0,0 +1,241 @@
+"""
+Getting Started checklist: what the server decides, and what it must not.
+
+The timezone step used to tick server-side when the saved timezone differed
+from the shipped default, OR-ed with the saved city. That made the step
+unsatisfiable for anyone genuinely in the default zone (the card nagged
+forever), and let a saved city tick it off while the timezone was still wrong.
+The step is now verified in the browser against its own zone, so the server's
+only job is to hand over the configured value and stay out of the decision.
+
+These tests pin that contract: the panel-size step still reflects config, the
+timezone step never pre-ticks, it carries the configured zone, and the city
+has no influence on it.
+"""
+
+import copy
+import re
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+from unittest.mock import MagicMock
+
+import pytest
+from flask import Flask
+
+PROJECT_ROOT = Path(__file__).parent.parent
+sys.path.insert(0, str(PROJECT_ROOT))
+
+BASE_CONFIG = {
+    "timezone": "America/New_York",
+    "location": {"city": "Tampa", "state": "Florida", "country": "US"},
+    "display": {
+        "hardware": {"rows": 32, "cols": 64, "chain_length": 2, "parallel": 1},
+        "runtime": {},
+        "double_sided": {"enabled": False},
+        "vegas_scroll": {"plugin_order": [], "excluded_plugins": []},
+        "plugin_rotation_order": [],
+    },
+    "plugin_system": {},
+    "schedule": {},
+    "dim_schedule": {},
+    "sync": {},
+}
+
+
+def render(config):
+    """Render the overview partial against one config, as app.py would."""
+    base = PROJECT_ROOT / "web_interface"
+    app = Flask(
+        __name__,
+        template_folder=str(base / "templates"),
+        static_folder=str(base / "static"),
+    )
+    app.config["TESTING"] = True
+
+    from web_interface.blueprints import pages_v3 as pv
+
+    # pages_v3 is a module-level singleton shared across the test process;
+    # restore whatever the previous test left on it.
+    original_cm = getattr(pv.pages_v3, "config_manager", None)
+    original_pm = getattr(pv.pages_v3, "plugin_manager", None)
+
+    mock_cm = MagicMock()
+    mock_cm.load_config.return_value = config
+    mock_cm.get_raw_file_content.return_value = config
+    pv.pages_v3.config_manager = mock_cm
+
+    mock_pm = MagicMock()
+    mock_pm.plugins = {}
+    mock_pm.get_all_plugin_info.return_value = []
+    mock_pm.get_plugin_display_modes.side_effect = lambda pid: []
+    pv.pages_v3.plugin_manager = mock_pm
+
+    app.register_blueprint(pv.pages_v3, url_prefix="")
+    try:
+        resp = app.test_client().get("/partials/overview")
+        assert resp.status_code == 200, resp.status_code
+        return resp.get_data(as_text=True)
+    finally:
+        pv.pages_v3.config_manager = original_cm
+        pv.pages_v3.plugin_manager = original_pm
+
+
+def timezone_step(body):
+    """The checklist <button> for the timezone step."""
+    match = re.search(r"<button[^>]*data-check=\"timezone\"[^>]*>", body)
+    assert match, "timezone step not found in the rendered checklist"
+    return match.group(0)
+
+
+def config_with(**overrides):
+    config = copy.deepcopy(BASE_CONFIG)
+    for key, value in overrides.items():
+        config[key] = value
+    return config
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "timezone",
+    ["America/New_York", "America/Los_Angeles", "Europe/Madrid", "Asia/Kolkata"],
+)
+def test_timezone_step_never_pre_ticks_server_side(timezone):
+    """The browser owns this decision; the server must not pre-empt it.
+
+    The default zone is in the list deliberately: that is the case the old
+    default-comparison could never tick.
+    """
+    step = timezone_step(render(config_with(timezone=timezone)))
+    assert 'data-done="0"' in step, step
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "timezone",
+    ["America/New_York", "Europe/Madrid", "Pacific/Auckland"],
+)
+def test_timezone_step_carries_the_configured_zone(timezone):
+    """JS compares data-tz against the browser, so it has to be the real value."""
+    assert f'data-tz="{timezone}"' in timezone_step(render(config_with(timezone=timezone)))
+
+
+def test_city_does_not_influence_the_timezone_step():
+    """The coupling this change removes: city said nothing about the timezone,
+    and OR-ing it let a saved city tick the step off with the zone still wrong.
+
+    timezone_step() returns the opening tag only, so this compares the state
+    the step is in -- data-done and data-tz -- and not the label, which does
+    still show the configured city as context and so differs between the two.
+    """
+    tampa = timezone_step(render(config_with(
+        location={"city": "Tampa", "state": "Florida", "country": "US"})))
+    seattle = timezone_step(render(config_with(
+        location={"city": "Seattle", "state": "Washington", "country": "US"})))
+    assert tampa == seattle
+
+
+def test_missing_timezone_leaves_the_step_open():
+    """Nothing saved means nothing to verify: the step stays unticked and the
+    JS bails on the empty value rather than comparing against ''."""
+    step = timezone_step(render(config_with(timezone="")))
+    assert 'data-tz=""' in step
+    assert 'data-done="0"' in step
+
+
+def test_zone_comparison_asks_for_the_time_of_day():
+    """Guard on the Intl options, which look like a stylistic choice.
+
+    dateStyle/timeStyle are late additions (Firefox shipped them in 91). An
+    implementation that does not know them ignores them and formats the date
+    alone -- which compares New York, Chicago and Madrid as equal and ticks
+    the step for a timezone that is plainly wrong. Explicit numeric fields
+    have been in Intl since ECMA-402 v1.
+    """
+    template = (PROJECT_ROOT / "web_interface" / "templates" / "v3"
+                / "partials" / "overview.html").read_text()
+    body = template[template.index("function sameZone"):]
+    body = body[:body.index("}())")]
+    # The comment above the options names dateStyle/timeStyle to explain why
+    # they are not used, so match on code only.
+    body = "\n".join(line for line in body.splitlines()
+                     if not line.lstrip().startswith("//"))
+    assert "dateStyle" not in body and "timeStyle" not in body, (
+        "zone comparison must not depend on dateStyle/timeStyle")
+    for field in ("hour:", "minute:", "year:", "month:", "day:"):
+        assert field in body, f"zone comparison dropped {field!r}"
+
+
+def test_zone_comparison_samples_both_sides_of_dst():
+    """One instant is not enough, and the shortfall is invisible for months.
+
+    America/New_York and America/Lima hold the same offset all winter, so a
+    check against now alone ticks the step in January for a panel that runs an
+    hour off from March. The comparison has to sample instants either side of
+    DST -- mid-January and mid-July, which covers both hemispheres.
+    """
+    template = (PROJECT_ROOT / "web_interface" / "templates" / "v3"
+                / "partials" / "overview.html").read_text()
+    body = template[template.index("function sameZone"):]
+    body = body[:body.index("}())")]
+    code = "\n".join(line for line in body.splitlines()
+                     if not line.lstrip().startswith("//"))
+    assert "Date.UTC" in code, (
+        "zone comparison samples only the current instant, so zones that "
+        "coincide seasonally would read as equal")
+    assert code.count("Date.UTC") >= 2, "expected an instant either side of DST"
+
+
+def _stamp(zone, instant):
+    """The JS comparison's algorithm, for pinning what it must decide.
+
+    There is no JS runtime here (and the repo has no JS test infra), so this
+    mirrors sameZone rather than executing it: same instants, same wall-clock
+    equality. It records the verdicts the shipped code has to reach.
+    """
+    from zoneinfo import ZoneInfo
+    return instant.astimezone(ZoneInfo(zone)).strftime("%m/%d/%Y %H:%M")
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "left,right,equivalent",
+    [
+        # Aliases: one zone under two names.
+        ("Asia/Calcutta", "Asia/Kolkata", True),
+        ("Europe/Kiev", "Europe/Kyiv", True),
+        # Same rules year-round: either renders the same times, so a panel set
+        # to one and browsed from the other is correctly configured.
+        ("America/New_York", "America/Toronto", True),
+        # Coincide in winter only -- the case a single-instant check gets wrong.
+        ("America/New_York", "America/Lima", False),
+        ("America/Phoenix", "America/Los_Angeles", False),
+        ("Australia/Sydney", "Pacific/Guadalcanal", False),
+        # Plainly different.
+        ("America/New_York", "America/Chicago", False),
+        ("America/New_York", "Europe/Madrid", False),
+    ],
+)
+def test_which_zone_pairs_must_count_as_the_same(left, right, equivalent):
+    from datetime import datetime
+    from zoneinfo import ZoneInfo
+
+    year = 2026
+    instants = [datetime(year, 1, 15, 12, tzinfo=ZoneInfo("UTC")),
+                datetime(year, 7, 15, 12, tzinfo=ZoneInfo("UTC"))]
+    matched = all(_stamp(left, at) == _stamp(right, at) for at in instants)
+    assert matched is equivalent, (
+        f"{left} vs {right}: sampling both seasons gave {matched}")
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "hardware,expected",
+    [
+        ({"rows": 32, "cols": 64, "chain_length": 2, "parallel": 1}, "1"),
+        ({"rows": 0, "cols": 0, "chain_length": 0, "parallel": 1}, "0"),
+    ],
+)
+def test_panel_size_step_still_reflects_config(hardware, expected):
+    """Regression guard: the hardware step is still decided server-side."""
+    config = config_with()
+    config["display"]["hardware"] = hardware
+    body = render(config)
+    match = re.search(r"<button[^>]*data-tab=\"display\"[^>]*>", body)
+    assert match, "panel-size step not found"
+    assert f'data-done="{expected}"' in match.group(0), match.group(0)

test/test_resource_monitor.py

@@ -127,3 +127,67 @@ class TestForceReload:
         fresh = mon.get_metrics_summary("p", force_reload=True)
         assert fresh["call_count"] == 7
         assert any(c.kwargs.get("memory_ttl") == 0 for c in cache.get.call_args_list)
+
+
+class TestMetricsPersistenceChurn:
+    """Metrics are telemetry; writing them on every call wore the SD card.
+
+    Each write is a ~350-byte file, which on ext4 costs a 4KB block plus a
+    journal entry. At roughly nine calls a minute per plugin across fourteen
+    plugins it dominated the device's write volume.
+    """
+
+    def test_repeated_calls_persist_once_per_interval(self):
+        cache = _cache()
+        mon = PluginResourceMonitor(cache, enable_monitoring=False)
+        for _ in range(50):
+            mon.monitor_call("p", lambda: None)
+        writes = [c for c in cache.set.call_args_list
+                  if c.args and str(c.args[0]).startswith("plugin_metrics:")]
+        assert len(writes) == 1, (
+            f"50 calls produced {len(writes)} metric writes; expected 1")
+
+    def test_the_interval_elapsing_allows_the_next_write(self, monkeypatch):
+        import src.plugin_system.resource_monitor as rm
+        cache = _cache()
+        mon = PluginResourceMonitor(cache, enable_monitoring=False)
+        mon.monitor_call("p", lambda: None)
+        # pretend the interval has passed
+        mon._metrics_persisted_at["p"] -= rm._METRICS_PERSIST_INTERVAL + 1
+        mon.monitor_call("p", lambda: None)
+        writes = [c for c in cache.set.call_args_list
+                  if c.args and str(c.args[0]).startswith("plugin_metrics:")]
+        assert len(writes) == 2
+
+    def test_in_memory_metrics_stay_exact_while_writes_are_skipped(self):
+        mon = PluginResourceMonitor(_cache(), enable_monitoring=False)
+        for _ in range(20):
+            mon.monitor_call("p", lambda: None)
+        assert mon.get_metrics("p").call_count == 20
+
+    def test_reset_lets_the_next_call_persist_immediately(self):
+        cache = _cache()
+        mon = PluginResourceMonitor(cache, enable_monitoring=False)
+        mon.monitor_call("p", lambda: None)
+        mon.reset_metrics("p")
+        mon.monitor_call("p", lambda: None)
+        writes = [c for c in cache.set.call_args_list
+                  if c.args and str(c.args[0]).startswith("plugin_metrics:")]
+        assert len(writes) == 2, "reset should clear the throttle timestamp"
+
+    def test_a_failed_write_does_not_buy_the_next_interval_of_silence(self):
+        """A set() that raises must not count as having persisted.
+
+        Marking the timestamp before the write would leave no snapshot in the
+        cache and still suppress the next 30 seconds of attempts.
+        """
+        cache = _cache()
+        cache.set.side_effect = [OSError("disk full"), None]
+        mon = PluginResourceMonitor(cache, enable_monitoring=False)
+        with pytest.raises(OSError):
+            mon.monitor_call("p", lambda: None)
+        # the very next call must try again rather than skip the interval
+        mon.monitor_call("p", lambda: None)
+        writes = [c for c in cache.set.call_args_list
+                  if c.args and str(c.args[0]).startswith("plugin_metrics:")]
+        assert len(writes) == 2, "a failed write should be retried, not skipped"

web_interface/templates/v3/partials/overview.html

@@ -63,13 +63,13 @@
 
 <!-- Getting Started checklist: non-gating, dismissible (localStorage), items
      auto-check from existing config/endpoints — no new persisted state.
-     Known heuristic limits (acceptable, disclosed): values left at legitimate
-     defaults (e.g. a user actually in Tampa) read as "not done". -->
+     The timezone step is verified against the browser's own zone rather than
+     compared to the shipped default; see the data-check="timezone" block below
+     for why. -->
 {% set _hw = main_config.display.hardware if main_config and main_config.display else {} %}
 {% set _hw_done = (_hw.rows or 0) > 0 and (_hw.cols or 0) > 0 and (_hw.chain_length or 0) > 0 %}
 {% set _loc = main_config.location if main_config and main_config.location else {} %}
-{% set _loc_done = (main_config.timezone and main_config.timezone != 'America/New_York')
-                   or (_loc.city and _loc.city != 'Tampa') %}
+{% set _tz = (main_config.timezone if main_config else '') or '' %}
 <div id="getting-started-card" class="bg-blue-50 border border-blue-200 rounded-lg p-4 mb-4" style="display:none" role="region" aria-label="Getting started checklist">
     <div class="flex items-start justify-between">
         <div class="flex-1">
@@ -78,8 +78,8 @@
             <ul class="space-y-1 text-sm" id="getting-started-items">
                 <li><button type="button" class="gs-item text-left w-full" data-done="{{ '1' if _hw_done else '0' }}" data-tab="display">
                     <i class="far fa-square mr-2"></i>Set your panel size (Display tab)</button></li>
-                <li><button type="button" class="gs-item text-left w-full" data-done="{{ '1' if _loc_done else '0' }}" data-tab="general">
-                    <i class="far fa-square mr-2"></i>Set your timezone and location (General tab)</button></li>
+                <li><button type="button" class="gs-item text-left w-full" data-done="0" data-check="timezone" data-tz="{{ _tz }}" data-tab="general">
+                    <i class="far fa-square mr-2"></i>Set your timezone{% if _tz %} — currently {{ _tz }}{% if _loc.city %}, {{ _loc.city }}{% endif %}{% endif %} (General tab)<span data-gs-tz-note class="text-xs"></span></button></li>
                 <li><button type="button" class="gs-item text-left w-full" data-done="0" data-check="installed" data-tab="plugins">
                     <i class="far fa-square mr-2"></i>Install a plugin from the Plugin Store</button></li>
                 <li><button type="button" class="gs-item text-left w-full" data-done="0" data-check="enabled" data-tab="plugins">
@@ -165,6 +165,91 @@
     });
     maybeAutoHide();
 
+    // Timezone: verified against the browser's own zone.
+    //
+    // This step used to tick when the saved timezone differed from the value
+    // config.template.json ships (America/New_York), with the saved city
+    // OR-ed in. Two things were wrong with that. "Differs from the default"
+    // answers "did somebody edit this?", but what the checklist needs to know
+    // is whether the value is RIGHT — so anyone who genuinely lives in the
+    // default zone could never satisfy it and the card nagged forever. And
+    // the city has no bearing on whether the timezone is set: because the two
+    // were OR-ed, saving a city ticked the step off with the timezone still
+    // wrong, which is the direction that actually breaks displays (event
+    // times render in the wrong zone).
+    //
+    // The browser already knows its zone, so compare against that: no new
+    // persisted state, no network, and it catches the reverse case too — a
+    // panel still set to the old zone after a move now stays unticked, where
+    // the old test ticked it the moment the value stopped being the default.
+    function sameZone(a, b) {
+        if (a === b) return true;
+        // Compare the wall-clock time each zone yields, not the identifiers:
+        // aliases (Asia/Calcutta vs Asia/Kolkata, Europe/Kiev vs Europe/Kyiv)
+        // name one zone and must not read as a mismatch.
+        //
+        // Sampled at three instants, all of which have to agree. Checking only
+        // now is not enough: America/New_York and America/Lima hold the same
+        // offset all winter, so a panel set to the wrong one of those would
+        // tick in January and then run an hour off from March. Mid-January and
+        // mid-July sit either side of DST in both hemispheres, so only zones
+        // that agree year-round match -- while Toronto still matches New York,
+        // which is right, since either renders the same times.
+        try {
+            var now = new Date();
+            var year = now.getUTCFullYear();
+            var instants = [now,
+                            new Date(Date.UTC(year, 0, 15, 12)),
+                            new Date(Date.UTC(year, 6, 15, 12))];
+            var stamp = function (tz, at) {
+                // Explicit numeric fields rather than dateStyle/timeStyle:
+                // those are late additions to Intl (Firefox shipped them in
+                // 91), and an implementation that does not know them ignores
+                // them and formats the date alone. That would compare
+                // New York, Chicago and Madrid as equal and tick the step for
+                // a timezone that is plainly wrong -- the exact failure this
+                // check exists to catch. These options have been in Intl
+                // since ECMA-402 v1.
+                return new Intl.DateTimeFormat('en-US', {
+                    timeZone: tz, year: 'numeric', month: '2-digit',
+                    day: '2-digit', hour: '2-digit', minute: '2-digit',
+                    hour12: false
+                }).format(at);
+            };
+            for (var i = 0; i < instants.length; i++) {
+                if (stamp(a, instants[i]) !== stamp(b, instants[i])) {
+                    return false;
+                }
+            }
+            return true;
+        } catch (e) {
+            // An unparseable zone in the config is worth surfacing, not hiding.
+            return false;
+        }
+    }
+
+    (function () {
+        var tzBtn = card.querySelector('[data-check="timezone"]');
+        if (!tzBtn) return;
+        var configured = tzBtn.dataset.tz || '';
+        if (!configured) return;          // nothing saved yet: leave it open
+        var local = '';
+        try {
+            local = (Intl.DateTimeFormat().resolvedOptions().timeZone) || '';
+        } catch (e) {
+            return;                        // no Intl: leave it to the manual tick
+        }
+        if (!local) return;
+        if (sameZone(configured, local)) {
+            markDone(tzBtn);
+            return;
+        }
+        // Unticked on its own says "wrong" without saying why; name the zone
+        // the browser is in so the step is actionable.
+        var note = tzBtn.querySelector('[data-gs-tz-note]');
+        if (note) note.textContent = ' — this browser is in ' + local;
+    }());
+
     // Plugin-derived states from the existing installed-plugins endpoint.
     fetch('/api/v3/plugins/installed')
         .then(function (r) { return r.json(); })

web_interface/templates/v3/partials/plugin_config.html

@@ -296,7 +296,27 @@
                 {% set enum_items = items_schema.get('enum') or [] %}
                 {% set x_options = prop.get('x-options') or {} %}
                 {% set labels = x_options.get('labels') or {} %}
-                
+                {# A saved value that is no longer one of the options -- a team
+                   code the league retired, an option dropped from the schema --
+                   has no checkbox to render, so it would sit unseen in the
+                   hidden input below and be posted back on save. The schema
+                   rejects it and the save endpoint returns 400, which blocks
+                   editing any other field on the plugin until the stale entry
+                   is found and removed. Drop them here instead, and say which,
+                   so the value is not lost silently. Only when the widget
+                   actually has options: an empty enum means nothing to check
+                   against, and filtering on it would wipe the field. #}
+                {% set stale_values = (array_value | reject('in', enum_items) | list) if enum_items else [] %}
+                {% set array_value = (array_value | select('in', enum_items) | list) if enum_items else array_value %}
+
+                {% if stale_values %}
+                <div class="mt-1 mb-2 rounded border border-amber-300 bg-amber-50 px-3 py-2 text-sm text-amber-800"
+                     data-stale-options="{{ field_id }}">
+                    No longer offered, and will be removed when you save:
+                    <span class="font-mono">{{ stale_values | join(', ') }}</span>.
+                </div>
+                {% endif %}
+
                 <div class="mt-1 space-y-2">
                     {% for option in enum_items %}
                     {% set is_checked = option in array_value %}