diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index bb276b0..e0c6e27 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ If instructed to "run all tests" or "get ready for a commit" or other summative,
 ./scripts/all_quality.sh
 ```
 
-This runs all linting, formatting, type checking, tests, and builds for both backend and frontend sequentially. All checks must pass green.
+This is the repo's end-to-end quality gate. It runs backend/frontend autofixers first, then type checking, tests, and the standard frontend build. All checks must pass green, and the script may leave formatting/lint edits behind.
 
 ## Overview
 
@@ -193,8 +193,8 @@ This message-layer echo/path handling is independent of raw-packet storage dedup
 │   │       ├── MapView.tsx       # Leaflet map showing node locations
 │   │       └── ...
 │   └── vite.config.ts
-├── scripts/
-│   ├── all_quality.sh      # Run all lint, format, typecheck, tests, and the standard frontend build
+├── scripts/                # Quality / release helpers (listing below is representative, not exhaustive)
+│   ├── all_quality.sh      # Repo-standard autofix + validate gate
 │   ├── collect_licenses.sh # Gather third-party license attributions
 │   ├── e2e.sh              # End-to-end test runner
 │   └── publish.sh          # Version bump, changelog, docker build & push
@@ -282,7 +282,7 @@ npm run test:run
 
 ### Before Completing Changes
 
-**Always run `./scripts/all_quality.sh` before finishing any changes that have modified code or tests.** This runs all linting, formatting, type checking, tests, and the standard frontend build sequentially, catching type mismatches, breaking changes, and compilation errors. This is not necessary for docs-only changes.
+**Always run `./scripts/all_quality.sh` before finishing any changes that have modified code or tests.** It is the standard repo gate: autofix first, then type checks, tests, and the standard frontend build. This is not necessary for docs-only changes.
 
 ## API Summary
 
diff --git a/app/AGENTS.md b/app/AGENTS.md
index a5f00d0..bff1faf 100644
--- a/app/AGENTS.md
+++ b/app/AGENTS.md
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ app/
 ├── services/            # Shared orchestration/domain services
 │   ├── messages.py              # Shared message creation, dedup, ACK application
 │   ├── message_send.py          # Direct send, channel send, resend workflows
+│   ├── dm_ingest.py             # Shared direct-message ingest / dedup seam for packet + fallback paths
 │   ├── dm_ack_tracker.py        # Pending DM ACK state
 │   ├── contact_reconciliation.py # Prefix-claim, sender-key backfill, name-history wiring
 │   ├── radio_lifecycle.py       # Post-connect setup and reconnect/setup helpers
@@ -74,7 +75,7 @@ app/
 1. Radio emits events.
 2. `on_rx_log_data` stores raw packet and tries decrypt/pipeline handling.
 3. Shared message-domain services create/update `messages` and shape WS payloads.
-4. `CONTACT_MSG_RECV` is a fallback DM path when packet pipeline cannot decrypt.
+4. Direct-message storage is centralized in `services/dm_ingest.py`; packet-processor DMs and `CONTACT_MSG_RECV` fallback events both route through that seam.
 
 ### Outgoing messages
 
@@ -112,6 +113,12 @@ app/
 - Server is source of truth (`contacts.last_read_at`, `channels.last_read_at`).
 - `GET /api/read-state/unreads` returns counts, mention flags, and `last_message_times`.
 
+### DM ingest + ACKs
+
+- `services/dm_ingest.py` is the one place that should decide fallback-context resolution, DM dedup/reconciliation, and packet-linked vs. content-based storage behavior.
+- `CONTACT_MSG_RECV` is a fallback path, not a parallel source of truth. If you change DM storage behavior, trace both `event_handlers.py` and `packet_processor.py`.
+- DM ACK tracking is an in-memory pending/buffered map in `services/dm_ack_tracker.py`, with periodic expiry from `radio_sync.py`.
+
 ### Echo/repeat dedup
 
 - Message uniqueness: `(type, conversation_key, text, sender_timestamp)`.
@@ -278,7 +285,7 @@ Note: MQTT, community MQTT, and bot configs were migrated to the `fanout_configs
 
 ## Security Posture (intentional)
 
-- No authn/authz.
+- No per-user authn/authz model; optionally, operators may enable app-wide HTTP Basic auth for both HTTP and WS entrypoints.
 - No CORS restriction (`*`).
 - Bot code executes user-provided Python via `exec()`.
 
diff --git a/frontend/AGENTS.md b/frontend/AGENTS.md
index 08a6bf6..9b02bcb 100644
--- a/frontend/AGENTS.md
+++ b/frontend/AGENTS.md
@@ -35,7 +35,6 @@ frontend/src/
 ├── types.ts                # Shared TS contracts
 ├── useWebSocket.ts         # WS lifecycle + event dispatch
 ├── wsEvents.ts             # Typed WS event parsing / discriminated union
-├── messageCache.ts         # Conversation-scoped cache
 ├── prefetch.ts             # Consumes prefetched API promises started in index.html
 ├── index.css               # Global styles/utilities
 ├── styles.css              # Additional global app styles
@@ -201,7 +200,7 @@ High-level state is delegated to hooks:
 - `useConversationRouter`: URL hash → active conversation routing
 - `useConversationNavigation`: search target, conversation selection reset, and info-pane state
 - `useConversationActions`: send/resend/trace/block handlers and channel override updates
-- `useConversationMessages`: conversation switch loading, cache restore, jump-target loading, pagination, dedup/update helpers, and pending ACK buffering
+- `useConversationMessages`: conversation switch loading, embedded conversation-scoped cache, jump-target loading, pagination, dedup/update helpers, reconnect reconciliation, and pending ACK buffering
 - `useUnreadCounts`: unread counters, mention tracking, recent-sort timestamps
 - `useRealtimeAppState`: typed WS event application, reconnect recovery, cache/unread coordination
 - `useRepeaterDashboard`: repeater dashboard state (login, pane data/retries, console, actions)
@@ -233,6 +232,8 @@ High-level state is delegated to hooks:
 - Backend also emits WS `message` for outgoing sends so other clients stay in sync.
 - ACK/repeat updates arrive as `message_acked` events.
 - Outgoing channel messages show a 30-second resend control; resend calls `POST /api/messages/channel/{message_id}/resend`.
+- Conversation-scoped message caching now lives inside `useConversationMessages.ts` rather than a standalone `messageCache.ts` module. If you touch message timeline restore/dedup/reconnect behavior, start there.
+- `contact_resolved` is a real-time identity migration event, not just a contact-list update. Changes in that area need to consider active conversation state, cached messages, unread state keys, and reconnect reconciliation together.
 
 ### Visualizer behavior