feat: add PRIVATE_MODE site-wide auth gate (0.48.0)

When `PRIVATE_MODE=true`, every API path except a small allowlist
(`/health`, `/auth/{config,login,logout,register}`) requires a valid
session cookie or bearer token — anonymous reads are rejected with
401. Self-registration is force-disabled in private mode regardless
of `ALLOW_SELF_REGISTER`, so a locked-down instance flips with a
single switch (admins still mint accounts via `POST /admin/users`).

The backend gate is a tower middleware that reuses the existing
`CurrentUser` extractor, so the cookie + bearer paths cannot drift
from per-handler auth. `/auth/config` now exposes the flag plus the
effective `self_register_enabled` value so the frontend can render
the navbar correctly on the first paint.

On the frontend, a new universal root `+layout.ts` fetches the
config and redirects anonymous visitors to `/login?next=<path>`
before page-specific loads fire. The redirect is UX only — the
backend middleware is the source of truth, so crafted requests
still 401.

Defaults stay public (`PRIVATE_MODE=false`); existing deployments
need no env change.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

.env.example

@@ -74,6 +74,10 @@ CRAWLER_DOWNLOAD_ALLOWLIST=
 CRAWLER_ALLOW_ANY_HOST=false
 # Hard cap on a single image body. Default 32 MiB.
 CRAWLER_MAX_IMAGE_BYTES=33554432
+# Max manga detail fetches per metadata pass (both the in-process daemon
+# and the `bin/crawler` CLI). 0 means no cap — let the source walker run
+# to completion. Useful for capped test runs against a new source.
+CRAWLER_LIMIT=0
 # Path to a system Chromium binary. When set, the crawler skips the
 # bundled-fetcher download. Required on platforms without a usable
 # upstream Chromium build (notably Linux_arm64 / Raspberry Pi). On
@@ -83,6 +87,43 @@ CRAWLER_MAX_IMAGE_BYTES=33554432
 # the image actually contains the binary.
 CRAWLER_CHROMIUM_BINARY=
 
+# ----- Crawler TOR proxy + recircuit -----
+# The compose stack ships a `tor` service (dockurr/tor) and defaults
+# CRAWLER_PROXY to it, so by default all crawler traffic exits via the
+# TOR network. To opt out, set CRAWLER_PROXY= (empty) AND
+# CRAWLER_TOR_CONTROL_URL= (empty) below — the tor service can stay
+# running, it just won't be used.
+#
+# Going through TOR adds latency to every fetch; image downloads in
+# particular slow noticeably. The win is on sites that rate-limit or
+# fingerprint by exit IP — NEWNYM recirculation makes a fresh exit
+# cheap to reach for.
+#
+# CRAWLER_PROXY: SOCKS5(h) URL. Use `socks5h://` (not `socks5://`) so
+# DNS resolution also goes through TOR, avoiding leaks via the host's
+# resolver. Leave unset to talk to the upstream directly.
+CRAWLER_PROXY=socks5h://tor:9050
+# Control-port URL for SIGNAL NEWNYM ("get a fresh circuit"). Triggered
+# automatically on bad pages (broken-page body, missing #logo) and on
+# the Unauthenticated session probe outcome. Leave unset to disable
+# the recircuit feature (the SOCKS proxy still works).
+CRAWLER_TOR_CONTROL_URL=tcp://tor:9051
+# Max NEWNYM-and-retry cycles per recircuit-eligible failure. Default 3.
+CRAWLER_TOR_RECIRCUIT_MAX_ATTEMPTS=3
+
+# ----- TOR control-port password -----
+# Shared between the bundled dockurr/tor service (which hashes it into
+# its HashedControlPassword) and the backend's
+# CRAWLER_TOR_CONTROL_PASSWORD. REQUIRED — docker-compose.yml fails
+# fast if absent. Generate a strong random string; rotate by setting
+# a new value and restarting both `tor` and `backend`.
+#
+# Operators running their own non-dockurr tor daemon with cookie-file
+# auth can ignore this var and instead set
+# CRAWLER_TOR_CONTROL_COOKIE_PATH on the backend — the TorController
+# prefers cookie when both are present.
+TOR_CONTROL_PASSWORD=change-me-to-a-strong-random-string
+
 # ----- Frontend -----
 # The frontend container runs SvelteKit's Node adapter on :3000 and
 # proxies /api/* to BACKEND_URL via src/hooks.server.ts. In compose the

backend/Cargo.lock

@@ -1470,7 +1470,7 @@ checksum = "c41e0c4fef86961ac6d6f8a82609f55f31b05e4fce149ac5710e439df7619ba4"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "mangalord"
-version = "0.45.1"
+version = "0.48.0"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "argon2",

backend/Cargo.toml

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [package]
 name = "mangalord"
-version = "0.45.1"
+version = "0.48.0"
 edition = "2021"
 default-run = "mangalord"
 

backend/src/api/auth.rs

@@ -42,18 +42,22 @@ pub fn routes() -> Router<AppState> {
         .route("/auth/tokens/:id", delete(delete_token))
 }
 
-/// Public, unauthenticated. Exposes anonymous-relevant auth policy
+/// Public, unauthenticated. Exposes anonymous-relevant auth policy so
-/// (currently just whether self-registration is open) so the frontend
+/// the frontend can render its login / register affordances correctly
-/// can render its login / register affordances correctly without a
+/// without a probe request that would conflate "disabled" with
-/// probe request that would conflate "disabled" with "rate-limited".
+/// "rate-limited". `self_register_enabled` is the *effective* value
+/// (`allow_self_register && !private_mode`), so a private-mode
+/// instance reports `false` even if the raw flag is on.
 #[derive(Debug, Serialize)]
 pub struct AuthConfigResponse {
     pub self_register_enabled: bool,
+    pub private_mode: bool,
 }
 
 async fn auth_config(State(state): State<AppState>) -> Json<AuthConfigResponse> {
     Json(AuthConfigResponse {
-        self_register_enabled: state.auth.allow_self_register,
+        self_register_enabled: state.auth.allow_self_register && !state.auth.private_mode,
+        private_mode: state.auth.private_mode,
     })
 }
 
@@ -103,7 +107,10 @@ async fn register(
     // disabled and enabled paths both consume a token, and disabled
     // returns 403 instead of running argon2.
     check_auth_rate_limit(&state, "register")?;
-    if !state.auth.allow_self_register {
+    // Private mode force-blocks self-registration regardless of
+    // ALLOW_SELF_REGISTER — operators of locked-down instances mint
+    // accounts via `POST /admin/users` instead.
+    if !state.auth.allow_self_register || state.auth.private_mode {
         return Err(AppError::Forbidden);
     }
     let username = input.username.trim();

backend/src/app.rs

@@ -3,8 +3,10 @@ use std::sync::atomic::AtomicBool;
 
 use anyhow::Context;
 use async_trait::async_trait;
-use axum::extract::DefaultBodyLimit;
+use axum::extract::{DefaultBodyLimit, FromRequestParts, Request, State};
 use axum::http::{HeaderName, HeaderValue, Method};
+use axum::middleware::{self, Next};
+use axum::response::Response;
 use axum::Router;
 use sqlx::postgres::PgPoolOptions;
 use sqlx::PgPool;
@@ -12,7 +14,9 @@ use tokio_util::sync::CancellationToken;
 use tower_http::cors::{AllowOrigin, CorsLayer};
 use tower_http::trace::TraceLayer;
 
+use crate::auth::extractor::CurrentUser;
 use crate::auth::rate_limit::AuthRateLimiter;
+use crate::error::AppError;
 use crate::config::{AuthConfig, Config, CrawlerConfig, UploadConfig};
 use crate::crawler::browser_manager::{self, BrowserManager};
 use crate::crawler::content::{self, SyncOutcome};
@@ -123,29 +127,49 @@ async fn spawn_crawler_daemon(
     }
     let rate = Arc::new(rate);
 
+    let tor = crate::crawler::tor::TorController::from_parts(
+        cfg.tor_control_url.as_deref(),
+        cfg.tor_control_password.as_deref(),
+        cfg.tor_control_cookie_path.as_deref(),
+    )
+    .context("build TorController from CRAWLER_TOR_CONTROL_* env")?
+    .map(Arc::new);
+    if let Some(t) = &tor {
+        tracing::info!(?t, "TOR control configured; transient pages will trigger NEWNYM");
+    }
+    let tor_recircuit_max = cfg.tor_recircuit_max_attempts;
+
     // Browser manager. on_launch re-injects PHPSESSID on every fresh
     // chromium spawn so an idle teardown followed by re-launch stays
     // authenticated without operator action.
     let mut launch_opts = cfg.browser.clone();
     if let Some(proxy) = &cfg.proxy {
-        launch_opts.extra_args.push(format!("--proxy-server={proxy}"));
+        let chromium_proxy = crate::crawler::url_utils::chromium_proxy_arg(proxy);
+        launch_opts.extra_args.push(format!("--proxy-server={chromium_proxy}"));
     }
     let on_launch = match (&cfg.phpsessid, &cfg.cookie_domain, &cfg.start_url) {
         (Some(sid), Some(domain), Some(start_url)) => {
             let sid = sid.clone();
             let domain = domain.clone();
             let start_url = start_url.clone();
+            let tor_for_launch = tor.as_ref().map(Arc::clone);
             let on_launch: browser_manager::OnLaunch = Arc::new(move |browser| {
                 let sid = sid.clone();
                 let domain = domain.clone();
                 let start_url = start_url.clone();
+                let tor_for_launch = tor_for_launch.as_ref().map(Arc::clone);
                 Box::pin(async move {
                     session::inject_phpsessid(&browser, &sid, &domain)
                         .await
                         .context("on_launch: inject_phpsessid")?;
-                    session::verify_session(&browser, &start_url)
+                    session::verify_session_with_recircuit(
-                        .await
+                        &browser,
-                        .context("on_launch: verify_session")?;
+                        &start_url,
+                        tor_for_launch.as_deref(),
+                        tor_recircuit_max,
+                    )
+                    .await
+                    .context("on_launch: verify_session")?;
                     Ok(())
                 })
             });
@@ -165,8 +189,10 @@ async fn spawn_crawler_daemon(
             http: http.clone(),
             rate: Arc::clone(&rate),
             start_url: url.clone(),
+            manga_limit: cfg.manga_limit,
             download_allowlist: cfg.download_allowlist.clone(),
             max_image_bytes: cfg.max_image_bytes,
+            tor: tor.as_ref().map(Arc::clone),
         });
         m
     });
@@ -179,6 +205,7 @@ async fn spawn_crawler_daemon(
         rate: Arc::clone(&rate),
         download_allowlist: cfg.download_allowlist.clone(),
         max_image_bytes: cfg.max_image_bytes,
+        tor: tor.as_ref().map(Arc::clone),
     });
 
     // Shared cancellation: daemon shutdown cancels the BrowserManager's
@@ -230,8 +257,10 @@ struct RealMetadataPass {
     http: reqwest::Client,
     rate: Arc<HostRateLimiters>,
     start_url: String,
+    manga_limit: usize,
     download_allowlist: DownloadAllowlist,
     max_image_bytes: usize,
+    tor: Option<Arc<crate::crawler::tor::TorController>>,
 }
 
 #[async_trait]
@@ -244,10 +273,11 @@ impl MetadataPass for RealMetadataPass {
             &self.http,
             &self.rate,
             &self.start_url,
-            0,
+            self.manga_limit,
             false,
             &self.download_allowlist,
             self.max_image_bytes,
+            self.tor.as_deref(),
         )
         .await;
         if let Err(e) = &result {
@@ -267,6 +297,7 @@ struct RealChapterDispatcher {
     rate: Arc<HostRateLimiters>,
     download_allowlist: DownloadAllowlist,
     max_image_bytes: usize,
+    tor: Option<Arc<crate::crawler::tor::TorController>>,
 }
 
 #[async_trait]
@@ -298,6 +329,7 @@ impl ChapterDispatcher for RealChapterDispatcher {
                     false,
                     &self.download_allowlist,
                     self.max_image_bytes,
+                    self.tor.as_deref(),
                 )
                 .await;
                 drop(lease);
@@ -325,11 +357,62 @@ pub fn router(state: AppState) -> Router {
     let max_request_bytes = state.upload.max_request_bytes;
     Router::new()
         .nest("/api/v1", crate::api::routes())
+        .layer(middleware::from_fn_with_state(
+            state.clone(),
+            private_mode_guard,
+        ))
         .layer(DefaultBodyLimit::max(max_request_bytes))
         .with_state(state)
         .layer(TraceLayer::new_for_http())
 }
 
+/// Paths reachable anonymously even when `PRIVATE_MODE=true`. Login and
+/// logout are needed for the auth flow itself; `/health` is reserved
+/// for load-balancer probes; `/auth/config` lets the frontend decide
+/// whether to render the login form or its anonymous alternatives;
+/// `/auth/register` is exempted from the gate so the handler can
+/// return its informative `registration_disabled` 403 (the same code
+/// public-mode deployments use when `ALLOW_SELF_REGISTER=false`) —
+/// the handler itself force-blocks the request body in private mode,
+/// so no account ever gets created here. Everything else demands a
+/// valid session cookie or bearer token.
+fn is_public_in_private_mode(path: &str) -> bool {
+    matches!(
+        path,
+        "/api/v1/health"
+            | "/api/v1/auth/config"
+            | "/api/v1/auth/login"
+            | "/api/v1/auth/logout"
+            | "/api/v1/auth/register"
+    )
+}
+
+/// Site-wide auth gate for `PRIVATE_MODE=true`. With the flag off this
+/// is a no-op pass-through, so public deployments take no extra DB
+/// hit. With it on, the guard reuses [`CurrentUser`] — the same
+/// session-cookie-then-bearer-token logic the per-handler extractor
+/// uses — so the two paths can never drift.
+async fn private_mode_guard(
+    State(state): State<AppState>,
+    req: Request,
+    next: Next,
+) -> Result<Response, AppError> {
+    if !state.auth.private_mode {
+        return Ok(next.run(req).await);
+    }
+    if is_public_in_private_mode(req.uri().path()) {
+        return Ok(next.run(req).await);
+    }
+    let (mut parts, body) = req.into_parts();
+    match CurrentUser::from_request_parts(&mut parts, &state).await {
+        Ok(_) => {
+            let req = Request::from_parts(parts, body);
+            Ok(next.run(req).await)
+        }
+        Err(_) => Err(AppError::Unauthenticated),
+    }
+}
+
 pub(crate) fn cors_layer(allowed_origins: &[String]) -> CorsLayer {
     if allowed_origins.is_empty() {
         // Same-origin only — no CORS headers emitted.

backend/src/bin/crawler.rs

@@ -78,6 +78,21 @@ async fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
     let proxy_url = std::env::var("CRAWLER_PROXY")
         .ok()
         .filter(|s| !s.trim().is_empty());
+    let tor_control_url = std::env::var("CRAWLER_TOR_CONTROL_URL")
+        .ok()
+        .filter(|s| !s.trim().is_empty());
+    let tor_control_password = std::env::var("CRAWLER_TOR_CONTROL_PASSWORD")
+        .ok()
+        .filter(|s| !s.trim().is_empty());
+    let tor_control_cookie_path = std::env::var("CRAWLER_TOR_CONTROL_COOKIE_PATH")
+        .ok()
+        .filter(|s| !s.trim().is_empty())
+        .map(std::path::PathBuf::from);
+    let tor_recircuit_max_attempts: u32 = std::env::var("CRAWLER_TOR_RECIRCUIT_MAX_ATTEMPTS")
+        .ok()
+        .and_then(|s| s.parse().ok())
+        .unwrap_or(3)
+        .max(1);
     let keep_browser_open = env_bool("CRAWLER_KEEP_BROWSER_OPEN", false);
 
     let db = PgPoolOptions::new()
@@ -112,7 +127,8 @@ async fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
 
     let mut options = LaunchOptions::from_env();
     if let Some(proxy) = &proxy_url {
-        options.extra_args.push(format!("--proxy-server={proxy}"));
+        let chromium_proxy = mangalord::crawler::url_utils::chromium_proxy_arg(proxy);
+        options.extra_args.push(format!("--proxy-server={chromium_proxy}"));
     }
     let keep_open = match (keep_browser_open, options.mode) {
         (true, BrowserMode::Headed) => true,
@@ -144,6 +160,17 @@ async fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
         "starting crawler"
     );
 
+    let tor = mangalord::crawler::tor::TorController::from_parts(
+        tor_control_url.as_deref(),
+        tor_control_password.as_deref(),
+        tor_control_cookie_path.as_deref(),
+    )
+    .context("build TorController from CRAWLER_TOR_CONTROL_* env")?
+    .map(Arc::new);
+    if let Some(t) = &tor {
+        tracing::info!(?t, "TOR control configured");
+    }
+
     // BrowserManager with idle_timeout = ZERO so the CLI keeps Chromium
     // alive for the entire run — same lifecycle as the old direct
     // `browser::launch()` flow. on_launch re-injects PHPSESSID + runs the
@@ -153,17 +180,24 @@ async fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
             let sid = sid.clone();
             let domain = domain.clone();
             let start_url_clone = start_url.clone();
+            let tor_for_launch = tor.as_ref().map(Arc::clone);
             Arc::new(move |browser| {
                 let sid = sid.clone();
                 let domain = domain.clone();
                 let start_url = start_url_clone.clone();
+                let tor_for_launch = tor_for_launch.as_ref().map(Arc::clone);
                 Box::pin(async move {
                     session::inject_phpsessid(&browser, &sid, &domain)
                         .await
                         .context("inject_phpsessid")?;
-                    session::verify_session(&browser, &start_url)
+                    session::verify_session_with_recircuit(
-                        .await
+                        &browser,
-                        .context("verify_session")?;
+                        &start_url,
+                        tor_for_launch.as_deref(),
+                        tor_recircuit_max_attempts,
+                    )
+                    .await
+                    .context("verify_session")?;
                     Ok(())
                 })
             })
@@ -187,6 +221,7 @@ async fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
         skip_chapter_content || !session_ready,
         chapter_workers,
         force_refetch_chapters,
+        tor.clone(),
     )
     .await;
 
@@ -216,6 +251,7 @@ async fn run(
     skip_chapter_content: bool,
     chapter_workers: usize,
     force_refetch_chapters: bool,
+    tor: Option<Arc<mangalord::crawler::tor::TorController>>,
 ) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
     let mut rate = HostRateLimiters::new(Duration::from_millis(rate_ms));
     if let Some(host) = cdn_host {
@@ -267,6 +303,7 @@ async fn run(
         skip_chapters,
         allowlist.as_ref(),
         max_image_bytes,
+        tor.as_deref(),
     )
     .await?;
     tracing::info!(?stats, "metadata pass complete");
@@ -283,6 +320,7 @@ async fn run(
             force_refetch_chapters,
             Arc::clone(&allowlist),
             max_image_bytes,
+            tor.clone(),
         )
         .await?;
     }
@@ -308,6 +346,7 @@ async fn sync_bookmarked_chapter_content(
     force_refetch: bool,
     allowlist: Arc<mangalord::crawler::safety::DownloadAllowlist>,
     max_image_bytes: usize,
+    tor: Option<Arc<mangalord::crawler::tor::TorController>>,
 ) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
     let pending: Vec<(Uuid, Uuid, String)> = sqlx::query_as(
         r#"
@@ -345,6 +384,7 @@ async fn sync_bookmarked_chapter_content(
             let rate = Arc::clone(&rate);
             let manager = Arc::clone(&manager);
             let allowlist = Arc::clone(&allowlist);
+            let tor = tor.clone();
             let stats = &stats;
             async move {
                 if session_expired.load(std::sync::atomic::Ordering::Relaxed) {
@@ -371,6 +411,7 @@ async fn sync_bookmarked_chapter_content(
                     force_refetch,
                     allowlist.as_ref(),
                     max_image_bytes,
+                    tor.as_deref(),
                 )
                 .await;
                 drop(lease);

backend/src/config.rs

@@ -19,6 +19,14 @@ pub struct AuthConfig {
     /// `POST /admin/users`. Defaults to `true` (open registration)
     /// for backward compatibility.
     pub allow_self_register: bool,
+    /// When `true`, every API path except a small allowlist
+    /// (`/health`, `/auth/config`, `/auth/login`, `/auth/logout`)
+    /// requires a valid session cookie or bearer token — anonymous
+    /// reads are rejected with 401. Self-registration is also
+    /// force-disabled regardless of [`Self::allow_self_register`]
+    /// so a private instance is locked down with a single switch.
+    /// Defaults to `false` (current public behaviour).
+    pub private_mode: bool,
 }
 
 impl Default for AuthConfig {
@@ -33,6 +41,7 @@ impl Default for AuthConfig {
             // defaults.
             rate_limit: crate::auth::rate_limit::RateLimitConfig::default(),
             allow_self_register: true,
+            private_mode: false,
         }
     }
 }
@@ -97,6 +106,20 @@ pub struct CrawlerConfig {
     pub cookie_domain: Option<String>,
     pub user_agent: Option<String>,
     pub proxy: Option<String>,
+    /// `tcp://host:port`, `host:port`, or bare `host` (default port
+    /// 9051). When `None`, TOR-recircuit-on-transient is disabled and
+    /// the crawler behaves identically to pre-TOR releases.
+    pub tor_control_url: Option<String>,
+    /// HashedControlPassword auth. Used only when
+    /// `tor_control_cookie_path` is `None`.
+    pub tor_control_password: Option<String>,
+    /// Cookie-file auth path (e.g.
+    /// `/var/lib/tor/control_auth_cookie`). Takes precedence over
+    /// password when both are set.
+    pub tor_control_cookie_path: Option<PathBuf>,
+    /// Maximum NEWNYM-and-retry cycles per recircuit-eligible failure.
+    /// Defaults to 3.
+    pub tor_recircuit_max_attempts: u32,
     pub browser: LaunchOptions,
     /// Hosts the crawler is allowed to download images / covers from.
     /// Always seeded with the host of `start_url` and (when set) the
@@ -105,6 +128,10 @@ pub struct CrawlerConfig {
     pub download_allowlist: DownloadAllowlist,
     /// Hard upper bound on a single image download. Defaults to 32 MiB.
     pub max_image_bytes: usize,
+    /// Max manga detail fetches per metadata pass. `0` means no cap
+    /// (full sweep up to the source's own bound). Sourced from
+    /// `CRAWLER_LIMIT`, mirroring the CLI binary.
+    pub manga_limit: usize,
 }
 
 impl Default for CrawlerConfig {
@@ -124,9 +151,14 @@ impl Default for CrawlerConfig {
             cookie_domain: None,
             user_agent: None,
             proxy: None,
+            tor_control_url: None,
+            tor_control_password: None,
+            tor_control_cookie_path: None,
+            tor_recircuit_max_attempts: 3,
             browser: LaunchOptions::headless(),
             download_allowlist: DownloadAllowlist::new(),
             max_image_bytes: DEFAULT_MAX_IMAGE_BYTES,
+            manga_limit: 0,
         }
     }
 }
@@ -158,6 +190,7 @@ impl Config {
                     ) as u32,
                 },
                 allow_self_register: env_bool("ALLOW_SELF_REGISTER", true),
+                private_mode: env_bool("PRIVATE_MODE", false),
             },
             upload: UploadConfig {
                 max_request_bytes: env_usize("MAX_REQUEST_BYTES", 200 * 1024 * 1024),
@@ -234,9 +267,22 @@ impl CrawlerConfig {
             proxy: std::env::var("CRAWLER_PROXY")
                 .ok()
                 .filter(|s| !s.trim().is_empty()),
+            tor_control_url: std::env::var("CRAWLER_TOR_CONTROL_URL")
+                .ok()
+                .filter(|s| !s.trim().is_empty()),
+            tor_control_password: std::env::var("CRAWLER_TOR_CONTROL_PASSWORD")
+                .ok()
+                .filter(|s| !s.trim().is_empty()),
+            tor_control_cookie_path: std::env::var("CRAWLER_TOR_CONTROL_COOKIE_PATH")
+                .ok()
+                .filter(|s| !s.trim().is_empty())
+                .map(PathBuf::from),
+            tor_recircuit_max_attempts: env_u64("CRAWLER_TOR_RECIRCUIT_MAX_ATTEMPTS", 3)
+                .max(1) as u32,
             browser: LaunchOptions::from_env(),
             download_allowlist,
             max_image_bytes: env_usize("CRAWLER_MAX_IMAGE_BYTES", DEFAULT_MAX_IMAGE_BYTES),
+            manga_limit: env_usize("CRAWLER_LIMIT", 0),
         })
     }
 }
@@ -310,3 +356,64 @@ fn env_usize(name: &str, default: usize) -> usize {
         .unwrap_or(default)
 }
 
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+    use std::sync::Mutex;
+
+    // Serialise env-touching tests so concurrent cargo-test threads don't
+    // race on the process-global env. Re-acquire on poison since a
+    // panicking test still leaves the env in a consistent state for us
+    // (we set/unset within each guard region).
+    static ENV_GUARD: Mutex<()> = Mutex::new(());
+
+    #[test]
+    fn crawler_limit_env_populates_manga_limit() {
+        let _g = ENV_GUARD.lock().unwrap_or_else(|p| p.into_inner());
+        std::env::set_var("CRAWLER_LIMIT", "96");
+        let cfg = CrawlerConfig::from_env().expect("from_env");
+        std::env::remove_var("CRAWLER_LIMIT");
+        assert_eq!(cfg.manga_limit, 96);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn crawler_limit_unset_defaults_to_zero() {
+        let _g = ENV_GUARD.lock().unwrap_or_else(|p| p.into_inner());
+        std::env::remove_var("CRAWLER_LIMIT");
+        let cfg = CrawlerConfig::from_env().expect("from_env");
+        assert_eq!(cfg.manga_limit, 0);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn private_mode_env_parses_true() {
+        let _g = ENV_GUARD.lock().unwrap_or_else(|p| p.into_inner());
+        std::env::set_var("PRIVATE_MODE", "true");
+        std::env::set_var("DATABASE_URL", "postgres://test");
+        let cfg = Config::from_env().expect("from_env");
+        std::env::remove_var("PRIVATE_MODE");
+        std::env::remove_var("DATABASE_URL");
+        assert!(cfg.auth.private_mode);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn private_mode_env_parses_false() {
+        let _g = ENV_GUARD.lock().unwrap_or_else(|p| p.into_inner());
+        std::env::set_var("PRIVATE_MODE", "false");
+        std::env::set_var("DATABASE_URL", "postgres://test");
+        let cfg = Config::from_env().expect("from_env");
+        std::env::remove_var("PRIVATE_MODE");
+        std::env::remove_var("DATABASE_URL");
+        assert!(!cfg.auth.private_mode);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn private_mode_defaults_to_false() {
+        let _g = ENV_GUARD.lock().unwrap_or_else(|p| p.into_inner());
+        std::env::remove_var("PRIVATE_MODE");
+        std::env::set_var("DATABASE_URL", "postgres://test");
+        let cfg = Config::from_env().expect("from_env");
+        std::env::remove_var("DATABASE_URL");
+        assert!(!cfg.auth.private_mode);
+    }
+}
+

backend/src/crawler/content.rs

@@ -73,39 +73,36 @@ pub enum SyncOutcome {
     SessionExpired,
 }
 
-/// Fetch all images for one chapter and persist them atomically. On
+/// Per-chapter max fetch attempts when TOR is configured. `N = 3` means
-/// any error after the first storage put, the DB transaction rolls
+/// up to 3 total page fetches with 2 NEWNYM signals between them. When
-/// back so the chapter stays at `page_count = 0` and is retried on the
+/// TOR is not configured the effective budget collapses to 1 (single
-/// next run. Bytes already written to storage become orphans; a future
+/// attempt, no retry, no recircuit — bit-for-bit pre-TOR behavior).
-/// reaper sweeps them.
+const CHAPTER_RECIRCUIT_MAX_ATTEMPTS: u32 = 3;
-#[allow(clippy::too_many_arguments)]
-pub async fn sync_chapter_content(
-    browser: &chromiumoxide::Browser,
-    db: &PgPool,
-    storage: &dyn Storage,
-    http: &reqwest::Client,
-    rate: &HostRateLimiters,
-    chapter_id: Uuid,
-    manga_id: Uuid,
-    source_url: &str,
-    force_refetch: bool,
-    allowlist: &DownloadAllowlist,
-    max_image_bytes: usize,
-) -> anyhow::Result<SyncOutcome> {
-    // Skip if already fetched, unless caller explicitly forces.
-    if !force_refetch {
-        let (page_count,): (i32,) =
-            sqlx::query_as("SELECT page_count FROM chapters WHERE id = $1")
-                .bind(chapter_id)
-                .fetch_one(db)
-                .await
-                .context("read chapter page_count")?;
-        if page_count > 0 {
-            return Ok(SyncOutcome::Skipped);
-        }
-    }
 
-    // Nav to chapter page (rate-limited per host).
+/// Outcome of [`fetch_chapter_html_with_recircuit`]. `Ok` carries the
+/// final reader HTML; the other two map to `sync_chapter_content`'s
+/// existing failure modes.
+#[derive(Debug)]
+enum ChapterFetchOutcome {
+    Ok(String),
+    /// `ChapterProbe::Unauthenticated` after exhausting recircuit
+    /// budget (or with budget=0). Caller returns
+    /// `SyncOutcome::SessionExpired`.
+    SessionExpired,
+    /// `ChapterProbe::Transient` after exhausting recircuit budget
+    /// (or with budget=0). Caller bails so the dispatcher does
+    /// exponential backoff.
+    PersistentTransient,
+}
+
+/// Single rate-limited Chromium navigation to the chapter URL,
+/// returning the page HTML. Extracted from `sync_chapter_content` so
+/// the recircuit loop can call it once per attempt.
+async fn fetch_chapter_html_once(
+    browser: &chromiumoxide::Browser,
+    rate: &HostRateLimiters,
+    source_url: &str,
+) -> anyhow::Result<String> {
     rate.wait_for(source_url).await?;
     let page = browser
         .new_page(source_url)
@@ -124,28 +121,135 @@ pub async fn sync_chapter_content(
         crate::crawler::nav::SELECTOR_TIMEOUT,
     )
     .await;
-
     let html = page.content().await.context("read chapter html")?;
     page.close().await.ok();
+    Ok(html)
+}
 
-    // Three-way session classification: distinguishes a transient
+/// Pure-over-IO loop: fetch + classify, up to `max_attempts` total
-    // hiccup (broken-page body or logged-in-but-no-reader) from a
+/// fetches. Between attempts, `recircuit` is invoked (a no-op when
-    // genuine PHPSESSID expiry (no reader and no avatar widget). The
+/// TOR isn't configured). `max_attempts = 1` collapses to the
-    // earlier binary `#avatar_menu` check conflated both and froze
+/// original single-shot behavior — `Unauthenticated` →
-    // every worker on a layout shift.
+/// `SessionExpired`, `Transient` → `PersistentTransient` on the first
-    match session::classify_chapter_probe(&html) {
+/// hit, no recircuit.
-        ChapterProbe::Unauthenticated => return Ok(SyncOutcome::SessionExpired),
+///
-        ChapterProbe::Transient => {
+/// Semantics match [`crate::crawler::detect::retry_on_transient`] and
+/// [`run_session_probe_loop`]: `N` is **total attempts including the
+/// first**, so `N = 3` means 3 fetches and up to 2 NEWNYM calls.
+/// `Unauthenticated` and `Transient` share the budget — the loop
+/// doesn't distinguish, so a sequence like Transient → Unauth → Ok
+/// counts as 3 attempts.
+async fn fetch_chapter_html_with_recircuit<F, Fut, R, RFut>(
+    mut fetch: F,
+    mut recircuit: R,
+    max_attempts: u32,
+    source_url_for_msg: &str,
+) -> anyhow::Result<ChapterFetchOutcome>
+where
+    F: FnMut() -> Fut,
+    Fut: std::future::Future<Output = anyhow::Result<String>>,
+    R: FnMut() -> RFut,
+    RFut: std::future::Future<Output = ()>,
+{
+    debug_assert!(max_attempts >= 1, "max_attempts must be at least 1");
+    let mut attempt = 0u32;
+    loop {
+        attempt += 1;
+        let html = fetch().await?;
+        match session::classify_chapter_probe(&html) {
+            ChapterProbe::Ok => return Ok(ChapterFetchOutcome::Ok(html)),
+            ChapterProbe::Unauthenticated => {
+                if attempt >= max_attempts {
+                    return Ok(ChapterFetchOutcome::SessionExpired);
+                }
+                tracing::warn!(
+                    attempt,
+                    max = max_attempts,
+                    url = source_url_for_msg,
+                    "chapter probe Unauthenticated; signaling TOR NEWNYM and retrying"
+                );
+                recircuit().await;
+            }
+            ChapterProbe::Transient => {
+                if attempt >= max_attempts {
+                    return Ok(ChapterFetchOutcome::PersistentTransient);
+                }
+                tracing::warn!(
+                    attempt,
+                    max = max_attempts,
+                    url = source_url_for_msg,
+                    "chapter probe Transient; signaling TOR NEWNYM and retrying"
+                );
+                recircuit().await;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+/// Fetch all images for one chapter and persist them atomically. On
+/// any error after the first storage put, the DB transaction rolls
+/// back so the chapter stays at `page_count = 0` and is retried on the
+/// next run. Bytes already written to storage become orphans; a future
+/// reaper sweeps them.
+#[allow(clippy::too_many_arguments)]
+pub async fn sync_chapter_content(
+    browser: &chromiumoxide::Browser,
+    db: &PgPool,
+    storage: &dyn Storage,
+    http: &reqwest::Client,
+    rate: &HostRateLimiters,
+    chapter_id: Uuid,
+    manga_id: Uuid,
+    source_url: &str,
+    force_refetch: bool,
+    allowlist: &DownloadAllowlist,
+    max_image_bytes: usize,
+    tor: Option<&crate::crawler::tor::TorController>,
+) -> anyhow::Result<SyncOutcome> {
+    // Skip if already fetched, unless caller explicitly forces.
+    if !force_refetch {
+        let (page_count,): (i32,) =
+            sqlx::query_as("SELECT page_count FROM chapters WHERE id = $1")
+                .bind(chapter_id)
+                .fetch_one(db)
+                .await
+                .context("read chapter page_count")?;
+        if page_count > 0 {
+            return Ok(SyncOutcome::Skipped);
+        }
+    }
+
+    // Fetch + classify. With TOR configured, allow up to
+    // CHAPTER_RECIRCUIT_MAX_ATTEMPTS total page fetches with NEWNYM
+    // between each. Without TOR, collapse to 1 attempt (no retry, no
+    // recircuit) — matches the pre-TOR single-shot behavior bit-for-bit.
+    let max_attempts = if tor.is_some() { CHAPTER_RECIRCUIT_MAX_ATTEMPTS } else { 1 };
+    let html = match fetch_chapter_html_with_recircuit(
+        || fetch_chapter_html_once(browser, rate, source_url),
+        || async {
+            if let Some(t) = tor {
+                if let Err(e) = t.new_identity().await {
+                    tracing::warn!(error = %e, "TOR NEWNYM failed; continuing with same circuit");
+                }
+            }
+        },
+        max_attempts,
+        source_url,
+    )
+    .await?
+    {
+        ChapterFetchOutcome::Ok(html) => html,
+        ChapterFetchOutcome::SessionExpired => return Ok(SyncOutcome::SessionExpired),
+        ChapterFetchOutcome::PersistentTransient => {
             // Surface as a typed Err so the dispatcher path runs
             // ack_failed with exponential backoff (rather than the
             // session-expired sticky flag).
             anyhow::bail!(
-                "chapter page at {source_url} returned a transient response \
+                "chapter page at {source_url} returned a transient response after \
-                 (broken-page body or reader didn't render); will retry"
+                 {max_attempts} attempt(s); will retry"
             );
         }
-        ChapterProbe::Ok => {}
+    };
-    }
 
     let images = parse_chapter_pages(&html)
         .with_context(|| format!("parse chapter pages at {source_url}"))?;
@@ -304,4 +408,214 @@ mod tests {
         let err = parse_chapter_pages(html).expect_err("expected Transient");
         assert!(err.is_transient(), "got non-transient: {err}");
     }
+
+    // --- fetch_chapter_html_with_recircuit -------------------------------
+
+    const OK_HTML: &str = r#"<html><body><a id="pic_container"><img id="page1" src="x"/></a></body></html>"#;
+    const UNAUTH_HTML: &str = r#"<html><body><header><div id="logo">x</div></header><main>please log in</main></body></html>"#;
+    const TRANSIENT_HTML: &str = "<html><body><p>we're sorry, the request file are not found.</p></body></html>";
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn recircuit_loop_ok_first_attempt() {
+        let mut recircuits = 0u32;
+        let mut fetches = 0u32;
+        let outcome = fetch_chapter_html_with_recircuit(
+            || {
+                fetches += 1;
+                async { Ok(OK_HTML.to_string()) }
+            },
+            || {
+                recircuits += 1;
+                async {}
+            },
+            3,
+            "https://example/c",
+        )
+        .await
+        .expect("ok");
+        assert!(matches!(outcome, ChapterFetchOutcome::Ok(_)));
+        assert_eq!(fetches, 1);
+        assert_eq!(recircuits, 0);
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn recircuit_loop_unauth_with_single_attempt_returns_session_expired() {
+        // max_attempts=1 = TOR disabled, fail-fast on first Unauthenticated.
+        let mut recircuits = 0u32;
+        let mut fetches = 0u32;
+        let outcome = fetch_chapter_html_with_recircuit(
+            || {
+                fetches += 1;
+                async { Ok(UNAUTH_HTML.to_string()) }
+            },
+            || {
+                recircuits += 1;
+                async {}
+            },
+            1,
+            "https://example/c",
+        )
+        .await
+        .expect("ok-result");
+        assert!(matches!(outcome, ChapterFetchOutcome::SessionExpired));
+        assert_eq!(fetches, 1);
+        assert_eq!(recircuits, 0, "no recircuit when budget is 1 (TOR disabled)");
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn recircuit_loop_unauth_then_ok_within_budget() {
+        // max_attempts=3 = up to 3 fetches with 2 recircuits between.
+        let mut recircuits = 0u32;
+        let mut fetch_n = 0u32;
+        let outcome = fetch_chapter_html_with_recircuit(
+            || {
+                fetch_n += 1;
+                let n = fetch_n;
+                async move {
+                    if n == 1 {
+                        Ok(UNAUTH_HTML.to_string())
+                    } else {
+                        Ok(OK_HTML.to_string())
+                    }
+                }
+            },
+            || {
+                recircuits += 1;
+                async {}
+            },
+            3,
+            "https://example/c",
+        )
+        .await
+        .expect("ok");
+        assert!(matches!(outcome, ChapterFetchOutcome::Ok(_)));
+        assert_eq!(fetch_n, 2);
+        assert_eq!(recircuits, 1);
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn recircuit_loop_unauth_exhausts_budget_returns_session_expired() {
+        let mut recircuits = 0u32;
+        let mut fetch_n = 0u32;
+        let outcome = fetch_chapter_html_with_recircuit(
+            || {
+                fetch_n += 1;
+                async { Ok(UNAUTH_HTML.to_string()) }
+            },
+            || {
+                recircuits += 1;
+                async {}
+            },
+            3,
+            "https://example/c",
+        )
+        .await
+        .expect("ok-result");
+        assert!(matches!(outcome, ChapterFetchOutcome::SessionExpired));
+        assert_eq!(fetch_n, 3, "max_attempts=3 → 3 fetches total");
+        assert_eq!(recircuits, 2, "2 recircuits between 3 fetches");
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn recircuit_loop_transient_then_ok_within_budget() {
+        let mut recircuits = 0u32;
+        let mut fetch_n = 0u32;
+        let outcome = fetch_chapter_html_with_recircuit(
+            || {
+                fetch_n += 1;
+                let n = fetch_n;
+                async move {
+                    if n < 3 {
+                        Ok(TRANSIENT_HTML.to_string())
+                    } else {
+                        Ok(OK_HTML.to_string())
+                    }
+                }
+            },
+            || {
+                recircuits += 1;
+                async {}
+            },
+            3,
+            "https://example/c",
+        )
+        .await
+        .expect("ok");
+        assert!(matches!(outcome, ChapterFetchOutcome::Ok(_)));
+        assert_eq!(fetch_n, 3);
+        assert_eq!(recircuits, 2);
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn recircuit_loop_transient_exhausts_budget_returns_persistent() {
+        let mut recircuits = 0u32;
+        let mut fetch_n = 0u32;
+        let outcome = fetch_chapter_html_with_recircuit(
+            || {
+                fetch_n += 1;
+                async { Ok(TRANSIENT_HTML.to_string()) }
+            },
+            || {
+                recircuits += 1;
+                async {}
+            },
+            3,
+            "https://example/c",
+        )
+        .await
+        .expect("ok-result");
+        assert!(matches!(outcome, ChapterFetchOutcome::PersistentTransient));
+        assert_eq!(fetch_n, 3, "max_attempts=3 → 3 fetches total");
+        assert_eq!(recircuits, 2, "2 recircuits between 3 fetches");
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn recircuit_loop_mixed_transient_then_unauth_then_ok_shares_budget() {
+        // Audit-prompted regression: outcomes share the attempt counter.
+        // Sequence: Transient (attempt 1) → Unauth (attempt 2) → Ok (3).
+        let mut recircuits = 0u32;
+        let mut fetch_n = 0u32;
+        let outcome = fetch_chapter_html_with_recircuit(
+            || {
+                fetch_n += 1;
+                let n = fetch_n;
+                async move {
+                    match n {
+                        1 => Ok(TRANSIENT_HTML.to_string()),
+                        2 => Ok(UNAUTH_HTML.to_string()),
+                        _ => Ok(OK_HTML.to_string()),
+                    }
+                }
+            },
+            || {
+                recircuits += 1;
+                async {}
+            },
+            3,
+            "https://example/c",
+        )
+        .await
+        .expect("ok");
+        assert!(matches!(outcome, ChapterFetchOutcome::Ok(_)));
+        assert_eq!(fetch_n, 3);
+        assert_eq!(recircuits, 2);
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn recircuit_loop_propagates_fetch_errors() {
+        let mut fetch_n = 0u32;
+        let err = fetch_chapter_html_with_recircuit(
+            || {
+                fetch_n += 1;
+                async { Err(anyhow::anyhow!("nav timeout")) }
+            },
+            || async {},
+            3,
+            "https://example/c",
+        )
+        .await
+        .expect_err("fetch error bubbles");
+        assert_eq!(fetch_n, 1);
+        assert!(format!("{err:#}").contains("nav timeout"));
+    }
 }

backend/src/crawler/detect.rs

@@ -80,13 +80,36 @@ pub fn has_logo_sentinel(doc: &scraper::Html) -> bool {
 /// caller can fall back on the job system's retry/backoff once the
 /// inline budget is exhausted.
 pub async fn retry_on_transient<F, Fut, T>(
-    mut op: F,
+    op: F,
     max_attempts: u32,
     delay: Duration,
 ) -> Result<T, PageError>
 where
     F: FnMut() -> Fut,
     Fut: Future<Output = Result<T, PageError>>,
+{
+    retry_on_transient_with_hook(op, max_attempts, delay, || async {}).await
+}
+
+/// Like [`retry_on_transient`] but invokes `on_retry` between a
+/// transient failure and the subsequent sleep+retry. The hook does
+/// **not** fire on the first attempt, after a non-transient error, or
+/// after the final attempt (no retry follows). Hook failures are not
+/// propagated — return `()` from the future and log inside if needed.
+///
+/// Wire the TOR controller's `new_identity` here to rotate circuits
+/// between page-fetch retries; see [`crate::crawler::tor`].
+pub async fn retry_on_transient_with_hook<F, Fut, T, H, HFut>(
+    mut op: F,
+    max_attempts: u32,
+    delay: Duration,
+    mut on_retry: H,
+) -> Result<T, PageError>
+where
+    F: FnMut() -> Fut,
+    Fut: Future<Output = Result<T, PageError>>,
+    H: FnMut() -> HFut,
+    HFut: Future<Output = ()>,
 {
     debug_assert!(max_attempts >= 1, "max_attempts must be at least 1");
     let mut attempt = 0u32;
@@ -101,8 +124,9 @@ where
                     attempt,
                     max_attempts,
                     error = %e,
-                    "transient error; sleeping before retry"
+                    "transient error; running on-retry hook and sleeping before retry"
                 );
+                on_retry().await;
                 tokio::time::sleep(delay).await;
             }
         }
@@ -247,4 +271,92 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(result.unwrap(), 7);
         assert_eq!(attempt, 1);
     }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn hook_fires_once_between_transient_and_success() {
+        let mut attempt = 0u32;
+        let mut hook_calls = 0u32;
+        let result: Result<i32, PageError> = retry_on_transient_with_hook(
+            || {
+                attempt += 1;
+                let n = attempt;
+                async move {
+                    if n < 2 {
+                        Err(PageError::transient("once"))
+                    } else {
+                        Ok(99)
+                    }
+                }
+            },
+            5,
+            Duration::from_millis(0),
+            || {
+                hook_calls += 1;
+                async {}
+            },
+        )
+        .await;
+        assert_eq!(result.unwrap(), 99);
+        assert_eq!(attempt, 2);
+        assert_eq!(hook_calls, 1, "hook fires exactly once between attempts");
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn hook_does_not_fire_when_first_attempt_succeeds() {
+        let mut hook_calls = 0u32;
+        let result: Result<i32, PageError> = retry_on_transient_with_hook(
+            || async { Ok(1) },
+            5,
+            Duration::from_millis(0),
+            || {
+                hook_calls += 1;
+                async {}
+            },
+        )
+        .await;
+        assert!(result.is_ok());
+        assert_eq!(hook_calls, 0);
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn hook_does_not_fire_after_non_transient_error() {
+        let mut hook_calls = 0u32;
+        let result: Result<i32, PageError> = retry_on_transient_with_hook(
+            || async { Err(PageError::Other(anyhow::anyhow!("permanent"))) },
+            5,
+            Duration::from_millis(0),
+            || {
+                hook_calls += 1;
+                async {}
+            },
+        )
+        .await;
+        assert!(result.is_err());
+        assert_eq!(hook_calls, 0, "non-transient must short-circuit before hook");
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn hook_does_not_fire_after_final_failed_attempt() {
+        // With max_attempts=3 and three persistent transients, the hook
+        // should run twice (between 1→2 and 2→3) — never a third time,
+        // because no retry follows attempt 3.
+        let mut attempt = 0u32;
+        let mut hook_calls = 0u32;
+        let result: Result<i32, PageError> = retry_on_transient_with_hook(
+            || {
+                attempt += 1;
+                async { Err(PageError::transient("always")) }
+            },
+            3,
+            Duration::from_millis(0),
+            || {
+                hook_calls += 1;
+                async {}
+            },
+        )
+        .await;
+        assert!(result.is_err());
+        assert_eq!(attempt, 3);
+        assert_eq!(hook_calls, 2, "hook fires N-1 times for N attempts that all fail transient");
+    }
 }

backend/src/crawler/mod.rs

@@ -26,4 +26,5 @@ pub mod rate_limit;
 pub mod safety;
 pub mod session;
 pub mod source;
+pub mod tor;
 pub mod url_utils;

backend/src/crawler/pipeline.rs

@@ -103,6 +103,7 @@ pub async fn run_metadata_pass(
     skip_chapters: bool,
     allowlist: &DownloadAllowlist,
     max_image_bytes: usize,
+    tor: Option<&crate::crawler::tor::TorController>,
 ) -> anyhow::Result<MetadataStats> {
     let lease = browser_manager
         .acquire()
@@ -121,6 +122,7 @@ pub async fn run_metadata_pass(
     let ctx = FetchContext {
         browser: browser_ref,
         rate,
+        tor,
     };
 
     let source_id = source.id();

backend/src/crawler/session.rs

@@ -162,37 +162,123 @@ const PROBE_RETRY_DELAY: Duration = Duration::from_secs(2);
 /// limiter. The trade is worth it — failing here costs ~1s; failing 30
 /// minutes into a backfill costs 30 minutes.
 pub async fn verify_session(browser: &Browser, probe_url: &str) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
-    let mut attempt = 0u32;
+    verify_session_with_recircuit(browser, probe_url, None, 0).await
+}
+
+/// Like [`verify_session`] but, when `tor` is `Some`, signals
+/// `SIGNAL NEWNYM` between retries on transient pages AND treats
+/// `Unauthenticated` as recoverable (up to `tor_max_attempts` total
+/// probes, calling NEWNYM between each).
+///
+/// `verify_session` is `verify_session_with_recircuit(..., None, _)`,
+/// which collapses the `Unauthenticated` budget to 1 attempt — i.e.
+/// fail-fast, exactly the pre-TOR behavior.
+pub async fn verify_session_with_recircuit(
+    browser: &Browser,
+    probe_url: &str,
+    tor: Option<&crate::crawler::tor::TorController>,
+    tor_max_attempts: u32,
+) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+    let unauth_max_attempts = if tor.is_some() { tor_max_attempts.max(1) } else { 1 };
+    run_session_probe_loop(
+        || fetch_probe_html(browser, probe_url),
+        || async {
+            if let Some(t) = tor {
+                if let Err(e) = t.new_identity().await {
+                    tracing::warn!(error = %e, "TOR NEWNYM failed; continuing with same circuit");
+                }
+            }
+        },
+        PROBE_MAX_ATTEMPTS,
+        unauth_max_attempts,
+        PROBE_RETRY_DELAY,
+        probe_url,
+    )
+    .await
+}
+
+/// Pure-over-IO loop body for the session probe. Generic over the
+/// fetch and recircuit closures so it can be unit-tested without a
+/// real browser or TOR daemon.
+///
+/// Both budgets count **total attempts**, including the first — so
+/// `transient_max_attempts = 3` allows 3 fetches and 2 recircuits
+/// between them, and `unauth_max_attempts = 1` means "fail-fast, no
+/// retry". This matches [`crate::crawler::detect::retry_on_transient`]
+/// and the content-path recircuit loop.
+///
+/// Outcomes:
+/// - `SessionProbe::Ok` → return `Ok(())`.
+/// - `SessionProbe::Unauthenticated` → recircuit + retry while
+///   under the unauth budget. After the cap, bail with the
+///   "PHPSESSID expired" diagnostic, mentioning the attempt count so
+///   a TOR-misconfig diagnosis is easier.
+/// - `SessionProbe::Transient` → same shape against the transient
+///   budget; bails with "site down or rate-limiting" after the cap.
+async fn run_session_probe_loop<F, Fut, R, RFut>(
+    mut fetch_html: F,
+    mut recircuit: R,
+    transient_max_attempts: u32,
+    unauth_max_attempts: u32,
+    retry_delay: Duration,
+    probe_url_for_msg: &str,
+) -> anyhow::Result<()>
+where
+    F: FnMut() -> Fut,
+    Fut: std::future::Future<Output = anyhow::Result<String>>,
+    R: FnMut() -> RFut,
+    RFut: std::future::Future<Output = ()>,
+{
+    debug_assert!(transient_max_attempts >= 1);
+    debug_assert!(unauth_max_attempts >= 1);
+    let mut transient_attempts = 0u32;
+    let mut unauth_attempts = 0u32;
     loop {
-        attempt += 1;
+        let html = fetch_html().await?;
-        let html = fetch_probe_html(browser, probe_url).await?;
         match classify_probe(&html) {
             SessionProbe::Ok => {
-                tracing::info!(attempt, "session probe ok — #logo + #avatar_menu present");
+                tracing::info!(
+                    transient_attempts,
+                    unauth_attempts,
+                    "session probe ok — #logo + #avatar_menu present"
+                );
                 return Ok(());
             }
             SessionProbe::Unauthenticated => {
-                return Err(anyhow!(
+                unauth_attempts += 1;
-                    "session probe failed — #avatar_menu not present at {probe_url} \
+                if unauth_attempts >= unauth_max_attempts {
-                     (page rendered the normal layout); PHPSESSID is missing, expired, \
+                    return Err(anyhow!(
-                     or revoked. Refresh CRAWLER_PHPSESSID and re-run."
+                        "session probe failed — #avatar_menu not present at {probe_url_for_msg} \
-                ));
+                         after {unauth_attempts} attempt(s); PHPSESSID is missing, \
-            }
+                         expired, or revoked. Refresh CRAWLER_PHPSESSID and re-run."
-            SessionProbe::Transient if attempt < PROBE_MAX_ATTEMPTS => {
+                    ));
+                }
                 tracing::warn!(
-                    attempt,
+                    attempt = unauth_attempts,
-                    max_attempts = PROBE_MAX_ATTEMPTS,
+                    max_attempts = unauth_max_attempts,
-                    "session probe got a transient page; retrying"
+                    "session probe Unauthenticated despite PHPSESSID; signaling TOR \
+                     NEWNYM and retrying"
                 );
-                tokio::time::sleep(PROBE_RETRY_DELAY).await;
+                recircuit().await;
+                tokio::time::sleep(retry_delay).await;
             }
             SessionProbe::Transient => {
-                return Err(anyhow!(
+                transient_attempts += 1;
-                    "session probe failed — probe page at {probe_url} returned a \
+                if transient_attempts >= transient_max_attempts {
-                     broken-page response after {PROBE_MAX_ATTEMPTS} attempts. \
+                    return Err(anyhow!(
-                     The site appears to be down or rate-limiting us; try again \
+                        "session probe failed — probe page at {probe_url_for_msg} returned \
-                     later before refreshing CRAWLER_PHPSESSID."
+                         a broken-page response after {transient_max_attempts} attempts. \
-                ));
+                         The site appears to be down or rate-limiting us; try again \
+                         later before refreshing CRAWLER_PHPSESSID."
+                    ));
+                }
+                tracing::warn!(
+                    attempt = transient_attempts,
+                    max_attempts = transient_max_attempts,
+                    "session probe got a transient page; recircuit + retry"
+                );
+                recircuit().await;
+                tokio::time::sleep(retry_delay).await;
             }
         }
     }
@@ -336,6 +422,204 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(classify_chapter_probe(html), ChapterProbe::Ok);
     }
 
+    // --- run_session_probe_loop -----------------------------------------
+    //
+    // These tests exercise the recircuit-aware loop without a real
+    // browser. The fetch and recircuit closures are mocked over Vecs of
+    // canned outcomes / counters.
+
+    const OK_HTML: &str = r#"<html><body><div id="logo"></div><div id="avatar_menu"></div></body></html>"#;
+    const UNAUTH_HTML: &str = r#"<html><body><div id="logo"></div></body></html>"#;
+    const TRANSIENT_HTML: &str = "<html><body><p>we're sorry, the request file are not found.</p></body></html>";
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn probe_loop_ok_on_first_attempt_does_not_recircuit() {
+        let mut recircuits = 0u32;
+        let mut fetched = 0u32;
+        run_session_probe_loop(
+            || {
+                fetched += 1;
+                async { Ok(OK_HTML.to_string()) }
+            },
+            || {
+                recircuits += 1;
+                async {}
+            },
+            3,
+            3,
+            Duration::from_millis(0),
+            "https://example/probe",
+        )
+        .await
+        .expect("ok on first attempt");
+        assert_eq!(fetched, 1);
+        assert_eq!(recircuits, 0);
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn probe_loop_unauth_then_ok_when_attempt_budget_available() {
+        // Budget = 3 total attempts. Unauth on call 1, ok on call 2.
+        let mut recircuits = 0u32;
+        let mut call = 0u32;
+        run_session_probe_loop(
+            || {
+                call += 1;
+                let n = call;
+                async move {
+                    if n == 1 {
+                        Ok(UNAUTH_HTML.to_string())
+                    } else {
+                        Ok(OK_HTML.to_string())
+                    }
+                }
+            },
+            || {
+                recircuits += 1;
+                async {}
+            },
+            3,
+            3,
+            Duration::from_millis(0),
+            "https://example/probe",
+        )
+        .await
+        .expect("recovers after one recircuit");
+        assert_eq!(call, 2);
+        assert_eq!(recircuits, 1);
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn probe_loop_unauth_with_single_attempt_budget_fails_fast() {
+        // Budget = 1 total attempt = no retry (matches no-TOR behavior).
+        let mut recircuits = 0u32;
+        let mut call = 0u32;
+        let err = run_session_probe_loop(
+            || {
+                call += 1;
+                async { Ok(UNAUTH_HTML.to_string()) }
+            },
+            || {
+                recircuits += 1;
+                async {}
+            },
+            3,
+            1,
+            Duration::from_millis(0),
+            "https://example/probe",
+        )
+        .await
+        .expect_err("budget=1 → fail-fast");
+        assert_eq!(call, 1, "no retry when budget is 1");
+        assert_eq!(recircuits, 0);
+        let msg = format!("{err:#}");
+        assert!(msg.contains("Refresh CRAWLER_PHPSESSID"), "msg: {msg}");
+        assert!(msg.contains("after 1 attempt"), "expected attempt count in msg: {msg}");
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn probe_loop_unauth_after_exhausting_budget_emits_attempt_count() {
+        let mut recircuits = 0u32;
+        let mut call = 0u32;
+        let err = run_session_probe_loop(
+            || {
+                call += 1;
+                async { Ok(UNAUTH_HTML.to_string()) }
+            },
+            || {
+                recircuits += 1;
+                async {}
+            },
+            10, // transient budget irrelevant here
+            3,  // 3 attempts total, 2 recircuits between
+            Duration::from_millis(0),
+            "https://example/probe",
+        )
+        .await
+        .expect_err("exhausts unauth budget");
+        assert_eq!(call, 3);
+        assert_eq!(recircuits, 2);
+        let msg = format!("{err:#}");
+        assert!(msg.contains("after 3 attempt"), "expected attempt count in error, got: {msg}");
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn probe_loop_transient_repeats_until_max_then_errors() {
+        let mut recircuits = 0u32;
+        let mut call = 0u32;
+        let err = run_session_probe_loop(
+            || {
+                call += 1;
+                async { Ok(TRANSIENT_HTML.to_string()) }
+            },
+            || {
+                recircuits += 1;
+                async {}
+            },
+            3,
+            1,
+            Duration::from_millis(0),
+            "https://example/probe",
+        )
+        .await
+        .expect_err("transient until max → fail");
+        assert_eq!(call, 3);
+        // Recircuit fires between attempts: 3 attempts → 2 recircuits.
+        assert_eq!(recircuits, 2);
+        let msg = format!("{err:#}");
+        assert!(msg.contains("broken-page response after 3 attempts"), "msg: {msg}");
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn probe_loop_transient_then_ok_returns_ok_after_one_recircuit() {
+        let mut recircuits = 0u32;
+        let mut call = 0u32;
+        run_session_probe_loop(
+            || {
+                call += 1;
+                let n = call;
+                async move {
+                    if n == 1 {
+                        Ok(TRANSIENT_HTML.to_string())
+                    } else {
+                        Ok(OK_HTML.to_string())
+                    }
+                }
+            },
+            || {
+                recircuits += 1;
+                async {}
+            },
+            3,
+            1,
+            Duration::from_millis(0),
+            "https://example/probe",
+        )
+        .await
+        .expect("ok on second try");
+        assert_eq!(call, 2);
+        assert_eq!(recircuits, 1);
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn probe_loop_propagates_fetch_errors_immediately() {
+        let mut call = 0u32;
+        let err = run_session_probe_loop(
+            || {
+                call += 1;
+                async { Err(anyhow!("nav timeout")) }
+            },
+            || async {},
+            5,
+            5,
+            Duration::from_millis(0),
+            "https://example/probe",
+        )
+        .await
+        .expect_err("fetch error bubbles");
+        assert_eq!(call, 1);
+        assert!(format!("{err:#}").contains("nav timeout"));
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn classify_probe_trusts_broken_body_over_stray_avatar_match() {
         // Defensive: if a broken-page body somehow contains an

backend/src/crawler/source.rs

@@ -67,6 +67,10 @@ pub struct SourceChapter {
 pub struct FetchContext<'a> {
     pub browser: &'a Browser,
     pub rate: &'a crate::crawler::rate_limit::HostRateLimiters,
+    /// Optional TOR control-port client. When `Some`, retry helpers
+    /// signal `NEWNYM` between transient-page attempts so the next try
+    /// draws a fresh exit. `None` keeps pre-TOR behavior.
+    pub tor: Option<&'a crate::crawler::tor::TorController>,
 }
 
 /// Lazy iterator over discovered manga refs. The caller drives the

backend/src/crawler/source/target.rs

@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ use super::{
     SourceMangaRef,
 };
 use crate::crawler::detect::{
-    has_logo_sentinel, is_broken_page_body, retry_on_transient, PageError,
+    has_logo_sentinel, is_broken_page_body, retry_on_transient_with_hook, PageError,
 };
 use crate::crawler::nav::{wait_for_nav, wait_for_selector, NavError, SELECTOR_TIMEOUT};
 
@@ -79,12 +79,13 @@ impl Source for TargetSource {
         // and the HTML is handed straight to the first `next_batch` call
         // so the walker doesn't re-fetch it. Page count is discovered
         // incrementally — see `TargetSourceWalker::next_batch`.
-        let first_html = retry_on_transient(
+        let first_html = retry_on_transient_with_hook(
             || async {
                 navigate(ctx, self.base_url.as_str(), LIST_PAGE_MARKER).await
             },
             PAGE_TRANSIENT_RETRY_ATTEMPTS,
             PAGE_TRANSIENT_RETRY_DELAY,
+            || async { recircuit_if_configured(ctx.tor).await },
         )
         .await?;
 
@@ -169,7 +170,7 @@ impl DiscoverWalk for TargetSourceWalker {
                     parse_manga_list_from(&doc)?
                 }
                 None => {
-                    retry_on_transient(
+                    retry_on_transient_with_hook(
                         || async {
                             let html = navigate(
                                 ctx,
@@ -182,12 +183,13 @@ impl DiscoverWalk for TargetSourceWalker {
                         },
                         PAGE_TRANSIENT_RETRY_ATTEMPTS,
                         PAGE_TRANSIENT_RETRY_DELAY,
+                        || async { recircuit_if_configured(ctx.tor).await },
                     )
                     .await?
                 }
             }
         } else {
-            retry_on_transient(
+            retry_on_transient_with_hook(
                 || async {
                     let url = page_url(&self.base_url, page_num);
                     let html = navigate(ctx, &url, LIST_PAGE_MARKER).await?;
@@ -196,6 +198,7 @@ impl DiscoverWalk for TargetSourceWalker {
                 },
                 PAGE_TRANSIENT_RETRY_ATTEMPTS,
                 PAGE_TRANSIENT_RETRY_DELAY,
+                || async { recircuit_if_configured(ctx.tor).await },
             )
             .await?
         };
@@ -274,6 +277,20 @@ fn classify_navigate_html(html: String) -> Result<String, PageError> {
     Ok(html)
 }
 
+/// Hook for [`retry_on_transient_with_hook`]: when TOR is configured,
+/// signal `NEWNYM` so the next navigation draws a fresh exit. Errors
+/// from the controller are logged and swallowed — failing to recircuit
+/// shouldn't take down the crawl, the next attempt just runs on the
+/// same circuit as before.
+async fn recircuit_if_configured(tor: Option<&crate::crawler::tor::TorController>) {
+    if let Some(t) = tor {
+        if let Err(e) = t.new_identity().await {
+            tracing::warn!(error = %e, "TOR NEWNYM failed; retrying on same circuit");
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+
 /// Substitutes the first `/N/` path segment with the target page
 /// number. Source impls that paginate via a different URL shape can
 /// override this — for the modeled site the segment is always present.

backend/src/crawler/tor.rs

@@ -0,0 +1,446 @@
+//! TOR control-port client for `SIGNAL NEWNYM` ("recircuit").
+//!
+//! The crawler can be proxied through TOR (`CRAWLER_PROXY=socks5h://tor:9050`)
+//! to randomize the exit IP seen by the target site. When the target
+//! returns a "bad page" (its broken-template body, missing layout
+//! sentinel, or unauthenticated probe despite a valid PHPSESSID), it
+//! is often the current exit being rate-limited or fingerprinted rather
+//! than a real failure. Asking the local TOR daemon for a new identity
+//! over its control port (port 9051 by default) makes subsequent
+//! connections draw a fresh circuit; combined with `IsolateDestAddr`
+//! in torrc this is usually enough to clear the failure.
+//!
+//! Scope is deliberately tiny — `AUTHENTICATE` + `SIGNAL NEWNYM` over
+//! a one-shot TCP connection. No `torut` dep, no hidden-service
+//! plumbing, no event streaming.
+//!
+//! **Caveat for in-flight connections:** Chromium reuses sockets, so a
+//! `NEWNYM` only affects *new* connections (in TOR terms, new circuits).
+//! That's fine for our retry path — the next navigation opens a fresh
+//! connection. We do not try to forcibly close existing streams.
+
+use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
+use std::time::Duration;
+
+use anyhow::{anyhow, bail, Context};
+use tokio::io::{AsyncBufReadExt, AsyncWriteExt, BufReader};
+use tokio::net::TcpStream;
+use tokio::time::timeout;
+
+/// Default control-port (`tor --defaults-torrc` ships 9051).
+const DEFAULT_CONTROL_PORT: u16 = 9051;
+/// Connect timeout — generous enough for a slow compose start, short
+/// enough that a misconfigured controller doesn't stall a crawl.
+const CONNECT_TIMEOUT: Duration = Duration::from_secs(5);
+/// Per-command read timeout. `SIGNAL NEWNYM` returns instantly on the
+/// happy path; bound it so a half-broken control port can't hang us.
+const READ_TIMEOUT: Duration = Duration::from_secs(5);
+
+/// How the controller authenticates to the control port.
+///
+/// `Cookie` is preferred for compose deploys where the auth cookie file
+/// is shared between the `tor` and `backend` containers via a named
+/// volume. `Password` is the fallback when the cookie file isn't
+/// reachable (different gid, no shared volume, etc.). `None` matches a
+/// torrc with no `CookieAuthentication 1` and no `HashedControlPassword`
+/// — useful for local experimentation, not for production.
+///
+/// `Debug` is implemented manually to redact the password (and the
+/// cookie path, which is non-sensitive but uninteresting in logs).
+/// Don't add `#[derive(Debug)]` — the controller is `?`-logged at
+/// startup and a derive would expand the password into the trace.
+#[derive(Clone)]
+pub enum TorAuth {
+    None,
+    Password(String),
+    Cookie(PathBuf),
+}
+
+impl std::fmt::Debug for TorAuth {
+    fn fmt(&self, f: &mut std::fmt::Formatter<'_>) -> std::fmt::Result {
+        match self {
+            TorAuth::None => f.write_str("None"),
+            TorAuth::Password(_) => f.write_str("Password(<redacted>)"),
+            TorAuth::Cookie(_) => f.write_str("Cookie(<path>)"),
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+#[derive(Debug, Clone)]
+pub struct TorController {
+    /// `host:port` string. Kept as a string (not a `SocketAddr`) so
+    /// docker-compose hostnames like `tor:9051` resolve at connect time.
+    addr: String,
+    auth: TorAuth,
+}
+
+impl TorController {
+    pub fn new(addr: impl Into<String>, auth: TorAuth) -> Self {
+        Self { addr: addr.into(), auth }
+    }
+
+    /// Build a controller from the env-config shape:
+    /// `url` (e.g. `tcp://tor:9051`, `127.0.0.1:9051`, or `tor`),
+    /// optional password, optional cookie path. Returns `Ok(None)` when
+    /// `url` is absent — that's the "TOR feature disabled" signal.
+    /// Cookie wins over password when both are set (rotates with TOR;
+    /// no secret to manage).
+    pub fn from_parts(
+        url: Option<&str>,
+        password: Option<&str>,
+        cookie_path: Option<&Path>,
+    ) -> anyhow::Result<Option<Self>> {
+        let Some(url) = url else { return Ok(None) };
+        let addr = parse_control_url(url)?;
+        let auth = match (cookie_path, password) {
+            (Some(p), _) => TorAuth::Cookie(p.to_path_buf()),
+            (None, Some(p)) => TorAuth::Password(p.to_string()),
+            (None, None) => TorAuth::None,
+        };
+        Ok(Some(Self { addr, auth }))
+    }
+
+    /// Open the control port, `AUTHENTICATE`, `SIGNAL NEWNYM`, `QUIT`.
+    /// Each invocation is a fresh connection; the controller is cheap
+    /// to clone and stateless across calls.
+    pub async fn new_identity(&self) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+        let stream = timeout(CONNECT_TIMEOUT, TcpStream::connect(&self.addr))
+            .await
+            .with_context(|| {
+                format!("timed out connecting to TOR control port {}", self.addr)
+            })?
+            .with_context(|| format!("connect to TOR control port {}", self.addr))?;
+        let (read, mut write) = stream.into_split();
+        let mut read = BufReader::new(read);
+
+        let auth_line = self.build_auth_line().await?;
+        write_line(&mut write, &auth_line).await?;
+        timeout(READ_TIMEOUT, expect_250(&mut read))
+            .await
+            .map_err(|_| anyhow!("TOR control AUTHENTICATE timed out"))?
+            .context("AUTHENTICATE")?;
+
+        write_line(&mut write, "SIGNAL NEWNYM").await?;
+        timeout(READ_TIMEOUT, expect_250(&mut read))
+            .await
+            .map_err(|_| anyhow!("TOR control SIGNAL NEWNYM timed out"))?
+            .context("SIGNAL NEWNYM")?;
+
+        // QUIT is courtesy; ignore errors — the daemon may close the
+        // socket before our QUIT lands and that's perfectly fine.
+        let _ = write_line(&mut write, "QUIT").await;
+        // Debug-level: a busy crawl can rotate circuits many times per
+        // minute, INFO is too chatty. Failures still log at WARN.
+        tracing::debug!(addr = %self.addr, "TOR NEWNYM signaled");
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    async fn build_auth_line(&self) -> anyhow::Result<String> {
+        match &self.auth {
+            TorAuth::None => Ok("AUTHENTICATE".to_string()),
+            TorAuth::Password(p) => Ok(format!("AUTHENTICATE \"{}\"", escape_quoted(p))),
+            TorAuth::Cookie(path) => {
+                let bytes = tokio::fs::read(path)
+                    .await
+                    .with_context(|| format!("read TOR cookie file {}", path.display()))?;
+                Ok(format!("AUTHENTICATE {}", hex_encode(&bytes)))
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+/// Parse `tcp://host:port`, `host:port`, or bare `host` into a
+/// connect-time string. Default port is [`DEFAULT_CONTROL_PORT`].
+fn parse_control_url(url: &str) -> anyhow::Result<String> {
+    let stripped = url.strip_prefix("tcp://").unwrap_or(url);
+    if stripped.is_empty() {
+        bail!("TOR control url is empty");
+    }
+    if stripped.contains(':') {
+        Ok(stripped.to_string())
+    } else {
+        Ok(format!("{stripped}:{DEFAULT_CONTROL_PORT}"))
+    }
+}
+
+fn escape_quoted(s: &str) -> String {
+    s.replace('\\', r"\\").replace('"', r#"\""#)
+}
+
+fn hex_encode(bytes: &[u8]) -> String {
+    let mut s = String::with_capacity(bytes.len() * 2);
+    for b in bytes {
+        s.push_str(&format!("{b:02x}"));
+    }
+    s
+}
+
+async fn write_line<W: tokio::io::AsyncWrite + Unpin>(
+    w: &mut W,
+    line: &str,
+) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+    w.write_all(line.as_bytes()).await?;
+    w.write_all(b"\r\n").await?;
+    w.flush().await?;
+    Ok(())
+}
+
+/// Drain a TOR control reply, accepting only status `250`. Handles
+/// the protocol's three line forms: `XYZ ...` (single/end), `XYZ-...`
+/// (continuation), `XYZ+...` (data block ended by a lone `.`). Our
+/// commands only ever produce single-line `250 OK`, but we honor the
+/// continuation forms so a future torrc that adds events / banners
+/// doesn't confuse the parser.
+async fn expect_250<R: AsyncBufReadExt + Unpin>(r: &mut R) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+    loop {
+        let mut line = String::new();
+        let n = r.read_line(&mut line).await?;
+        if n == 0 {
+            bail!("TOR control port closed connection mid-reply");
+        }
+        let trimmed = line.trim_end_matches(['\r', '\n']);
+        if trimmed.len() < 4 {
+            bail!("malformed TOR control reply: {trimmed:?}");
+        }
+        let (code, rest) = trimmed.split_at(3);
+        if code != "250" {
+            bail!("TOR control replied {trimmed:?}");
+        }
+        let sep = rest.as_bytes()[0];
+        match sep {
+            b' ' => return Ok(()),
+            b'-' => continue,
+            b'+' => {
+                // Data block — read until a line consisting of only ".".
+                loop {
+                    let mut data = String::new();
+                    let n = r.read_line(&mut data).await?;
+                    if n == 0 {
+                        bail!("TOR control port closed mid-data-block");
+                    }
+                    if data.trim_end_matches(['\r', '\n']) == "." {
+                        break;
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+            _ => bail!("malformed TOR control reply separator: {trimmed:?}"),
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+    use std::sync::{Arc, Mutex};
+    use tokio::io::AsyncWriteExt;
+    use tokio::net::TcpListener;
+
+    /// Spawn a mock control port that responds to each \r\n-terminated
+    /// inbound line with the next entry from `replies`. Each reply has
+    /// its own `\r\n` appended. Records received lines into `recorder`.
+    /// After `replies.len()` exchanges the task drops the socket — this
+    /// matches the real TOR behavior for QUIT (close after acking).
+    async fn spawn_mock(
+        replies: Vec<&'static str>,
+        recorder: Arc<Mutex<Vec<String>>>,
+    ) -> String {
+        let listener = TcpListener::bind("127.0.0.1:0").await.unwrap();
+        let addr = listener.local_addr().unwrap().to_string();
+        tokio::spawn(async move {
+            let (sock, _) = listener.accept().await.unwrap();
+            let (r, mut w) = sock.into_split();
+            let mut r = BufReader::new(r);
+            for reply in replies {
+                let mut line = String::new();
+                let n = r.read_line(&mut line).await.unwrap_or(0);
+                if n == 0 {
+                    return;
+                }
+                recorder
+                    .lock()
+                    .unwrap()
+                    .push(line.trim_end_matches(['\r', '\n']).to_string());
+                w.write_all(reply.as_bytes()).await.unwrap();
+                w.write_all(b"\r\n").await.unwrap();
+                w.flush().await.unwrap();
+            }
+        });
+        addr
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn password_auth_then_newnym_writes_expected_sequence() {
+        let recorder = Arc::new(Mutex::new(Vec::new()));
+        // Two replies: AUTHENTICATE then SIGNAL NEWNYM. QUIT is
+        // fire-and-forget; the mock dropping the socket is the
+        // expected real-world behavior.
+        let addr =
+            spawn_mock(vec!["250 OK", "250 OK"], Arc::clone(&recorder)).await;
+        let controller = TorController::new(addr, TorAuth::Password("secret".into()));
+        controller.new_identity().await.expect("new_identity ok");
+        let recorded = recorder.lock().unwrap().clone();
+        assert_eq!(recorded.first().map(String::as_str), Some("AUTHENTICATE \"secret\""));
+        assert_eq!(recorded.get(1).map(String::as_str), Some("SIGNAL NEWNYM"));
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn cookie_auth_hex_encodes_file_bytes() {
+        let tmp = tempfile::NamedTempFile::new().unwrap();
+        let cookie: Vec<u8> = (0u8..32).collect();
+        std::fs::write(tmp.path(), &cookie).unwrap();
+        let recorder = Arc::new(Mutex::new(Vec::new()));
+        let addr =
+            spawn_mock(vec!["250 OK", "250 OK"], Arc::clone(&recorder)).await;
+        let controller =
+            TorController::new(addr, TorAuth::Cookie(tmp.path().to_path_buf()));
+        controller.new_identity().await.expect("new_identity ok");
+        let recorded = recorder.lock().unwrap().clone();
+        let expected_hex: String = cookie.iter().map(|b| format!("{b:02x}")).collect();
+        assert_eq!(
+            recorded.first().map(String::as_str),
+            Some(format!("AUTHENTICATE {expected_hex}").as_str())
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn no_auth_sends_bare_authenticate() {
+        let recorder = Arc::new(Mutex::new(Vec::new()));
+        let addr =
+            spawn_mock(vec!["250 OK", "250 OK"], Arc::clone(&recorder)).await;
+        let controller = TorController::new(addr, TorAuth::None);
+        controller.new_identity().await.expect("new_identity ok");
+        let recorded = recorder.lock().unwrap().clone();
+        assert_eq!(recorded.first().map(String::as_str), Some("AUTHENTICATE"));
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn non_250_reply_returns_err_with_reply_text() {
+        let recorder = Arc::new(Mutex::new(Vec::new()));
+        let addr = spawn_mock(
+            vec!["515 Bad authentication"],
+            Arc::clone(&recorder),
+        )
+        .await;
+        let controller =
+            TorController::new(addr, TorAuth::Password("wrong".into()));
+        let err = controller.new_identity().await.expect_err("should fail");
+        let msg = format!("{err:#}");
+        assert!(msg.contains("515"), "expected 515 in error, got: {msg}");
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn closed_connection_mid_reply_is_an_error() {
+        // Listener accepts the AUTH line then drops without replying —
+        // this exercises the EOF-mid-reply path in expect_250 (rather
+        // than tor's own error replies which are covered elsewhere).
+        let listener = TcpListener::bind("127.0.0.1:0").await.unwrap();
+        let addr = listener.local_addr().unwrap().to_string();
+        tokio::spawn(async move {
+            if let Ok((sock, _)) = listener.accept().await {
+                let (r, _w) = sock.into_split();
+                let mut r = BufReader::new(r);
+                let mut line = String::new();
+                let _ = r.read_line(&mut line).await; // read AUTH, ignore
+                // Drop _w (and the read half via scope exit) so the
+                // peer sees an immediate EOF on the next read.
+            }
+        });
+        let controller = TorController::new(addr, TorAuth::None);
+        let err = controller.new_identity().await.expect_err("should fail");
+        let msg = format!("{err:#}");
+        assert!(
+            msg.contains("closed connection"),
+            "expected EOF-mid-reply error, got: {msg}"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn multi_line_250_continuation_is_accepted() {
+        let recorder = Arc::new(Mutex::new(Vec::new()));
+        // AUTHENTICATE reply uses the `250-...\r\n250 OK\r\n` form.
+        // Single reply string contains the whole multi-line response.
+        let addr = spawn_mock(
+            vec!["250-banner=foo\r\n250 OK", "250 OK"],
+            Arc::clone(&recorder),
+        )
+        .await;
+        let controller = TorController::new(addr, TorAuth::None);
+        controller.new_identity().await.expect("new_identity ok");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn from_parts_returns_none_when_url_unset() {
+        let c = TorController::from_parts(None, None, None).unwrap();
+        assert!(c.is_none());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn from_parts_prefers_cookie_over_password() {
+        let c = TorController::from_parts(
+            Some("tor:9051"),
+            Some("pw"),
+            Some(Path::new("/var/lib/tor/control_auth_cookie")),
+        )
+        .unwrap()
+        .expect("controller built");
+        assert!(matches!(c.auth, TorAuth::Cookie(_)));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn from_parts_falls_back_to_password_without_cookie() {
+        let c = TorController::from_parts(Some("tor:9051"), Some("pw"), None)
+            .unwrap()
+            .expect("controller built");
+        assert!(matches!(c.auth, TorAuth::Password(p) if p == "pw"));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn parse_control_url_accepts_tcp_scheme() {
+        assert_eq!(parse_control_url("tcp://127.0.0.1:9051").unwrap(), "127.0.0.1:9051");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn parse_control_url_defaults_port_when_omitted() {
+        assert_eq!(parse_control_url("tor").unwrap(), "tor:9051");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn parse_control_url_passes_through_host_port() {
+        assert_eq!(parse_control_url("tor:9999").unwrap(), "tor:9999");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn parse_control_url_rejects_empty() {
+        assert!(parse_control_url("").is_err());
+        assert!(parse_control_url("tcp://").is_err());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn escape_quoted_handles_quotes_and_backslashes() {
+        assert_eq!(escape_quoted(r#"a"b\c"#), r#"a\"b\\c"#);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn debug_format_redacts_password_and_cookie_path() {
+        // Regression: app.rs / bin/crawler.rs log the controller at
+        // startup via `tracing::info!(?t, ...)`. A derived Debug on
+        // TorAuth would expand TorAuth::Password(p) and leak the
+        // plaintext into logs.
+        let c = TorController::new("tor:9051", TorAuth::Password("super-secret".into()));
+        let dbg = format!("{c:?}");
+        assert!(!dbg.contains("super-secret"), "password leaked: {dbg}");
+        assert!(dbg.contains("<redacted>"), "expected <redacted>, got: {dbg}");
+
+        let c = TorController::new(
+            "tor:9051",
+            TorAuth::Cookie("/var/lib/tor/control_auth_cookie".into()),
+        );
+        let dbg = format!("{c:?}");
+        assert!(!dbg.contains("control_auth_cookie"), "cookie path leaked: {dbg}");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn hex_encode_zero_pads_low_bytes() {
+        assert_eq!(hex_encode(&[0x00, 0x0f, 0xff]), "000fff");
+    }
+}

backend/src/crawler/url_utils.rs

@@ -91,6 +91,26 @@ pub fn registrable_domain(url: &str) -> Option<String> {
     Some(format!(".{}", registrable.join(".")))
 }
 
+/// Normalise a SOCKS proxy URL for Chromium's `--proxy-server=` flag.
+///
+/// reqwest accepts both `socks5://` (resolve locally) and
+/// `socks5h://` (resolve via the SOCKS server — important when the
+/// proxy is TOR and we don't want the host's resolver to see the
+/// target hostname). Chromium does **not** know the `socks5h` scheme
+/// and refuses navigations with `ERR_NO_SUPPORTED_PROXIES`. It
+/// already sends destination hostnames over SOCKS5 by default
+/// regardless, so stripping the `h` is a pure scheme rename — the
+/// remote-DNS behaviour is preserved.
+///
+/// Non-SOCKS schemes pass through unchanged.
+pub fn chromium_proxy_arg(proxy: &str) -> String {
+    if let Some(rest) = proxy.strip_prefix("socks5h://") {
+        format!("socks5://{rest}")
+    } else {
+        proxy.to_string()
+    }
+}
+
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
     use super::*;
@@ -191,4 +211,34 @@ mod tests {
             Some("[2001:db8::1]")
         );
     }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn chromium_proxy_arg_strips_socks5h_to_socks5() {
+        // Regression: passing socks5h:// to Chromium yields
+        // ERR_NO_SUPPORTED_PROXIES at navigation time.
+        assert_eq!(
+            chromium_proxy_arg("socks5h://127.0.0.1:9050"),
+            "socks5://127.0.0.1:9050"
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            chromium_proxy_arg("socks5h://tor:9050"),
+            "socks5://tor:9050"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn chromium_proxy_arg_passes_socks5_unchanged() {
+        assert_eq!(
+            chromium_proxy_arg("socks5://127.0.0.1:9050"),
+            "socks5://127.0.0.1:9050"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn chromium_proxy_arg_passes_non_socks_unchanged() {
+        assert_eq!(
+            chromium_proxy_arg("http://proxy.example:8080"),
+            "http://proxy.example:8080"
+        );
+    }
 }

backend/tests/api_private_mode.rs

@@ -0,0 +1,189 @@
+//! Site-wide auth gate (`PRIVATE_MODE=true`).
+//!
+//! With private mode on, every API path except a small allowlist
+//! (`/health`, `/auth/config`, `/auth/login`, `/auth/logout`) requires
+//! a valid session cookie or bearer token, and `/auth/register` is
+//! force-blocked regardless of `ALLOW_SELF_REGISTER`. With private mode
+//! off (the default), nothing changes — the `public_mode_*` test
+//! pins that regression guard.
+
+mod common;
+
+use serde_json::json;
+use sqlx::PgPool;
+use tower::ServiceExt;
+
+use axum::http::StatusCode;
+
+#[sqlx::test(migrations = "./migrations")]
+async fn private_mode_blocks_anonymous_manga_list(pool: PgPool) {
+    let h = common::harness_with_private_mode(pool);
+    let resp = h.app.oneshot(common::get("/api/v1/mangas")).await.unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(resp.status(), StatusCode::UNAUTHORIZED);
+}
+
+#[sqlx::test(migrations = "./migrations")]
+async fn private_mode_blocks_anonymous_files(pool: PgPool) {
+    let h = common::harness_with_private_mode(pool);
+    // The path doesn't have to exist — the guard runs before routing,
+    // so the response is 401 (not 404). That's the property the test
+    // is pinning: nothing leaks via crafted URLs.
+    let resp = h
+        .app
+        .oneshot(common::get("/api/v1/files/anything.png"))
+        .await
+        .unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(resp.status(), StatusCode::UNAUTHORIZED);
+}
+
+#[sqlx::test(migrations = "./migrations")]
+async fn private_mode_allows_session_cookie_read(pool: PgPool) {
+    // Register through a non-private harness sharing the same DB pool
+    // so the session row exists. Then exercise the gate using a fresh
+    // private-mode harness against the same DB.
+    let public = common::harness(pool.clone());
+    let (_, cookie) = common::register_user(&public.app).await;
+
+    let private = common::harness_with_private_mode(pool);
+    let resp = private
+        .app
+        .oneshot(common::get_with_cookie("/api/v1/mangas", &cookie))
+        .await
+        .unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(resp.status(), StatusCode::OK);
+}
+
+#[sqlx::test(migrations = "./migrations")]
+async fn private_mode_allows_bearer_token_read(pool: PgPool) {
+    let public = common::harness(pool.clone());
+    let (_, cookie) = common::register_user(&public.app).await;
+
+    let resp = public
+        .app
+        .clone()
+        .oneshot(common::post_json_with_cookie(
+            "/api/v1/auth/tokens",
+            json!({ "name": "private-mode-bot" }),
+            &cookie,
+        ))
+        .await
+        .unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(resp.status(), StatusCode::CREATED);
+    let body = common::body_json(resp).await;
+    let bearer = body["bearer"].as_str().unwrap().to_string();
+
+    let private = common::harness_with_private_mode(pool);
+    let resp = private
+        .app
+        .oneshot(common::get_with_bearer("/api/v1/mangas", &bearer))
+        .await
+        .unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(resp.status(), StatusCode::OK);
+}
+
+#[sqlx::test(migrations = "./migrations")]
+async fn private_mode_allows_login_endpoint_anonymous(pool: PgPool) {
+    // Seed a user via the public harness so login has credentials to
+    // verify against.
+    let public = common::harness(pool.clone());
+    let _ = public
+        .app
+        .clone()
+        .oneshot(common::post_json(
+            "/api/v1/auth/register",
+            json!({ "username": "alice", "password": "hunter2hunter2" }),
+        ))
+        .await
+        .unwrap();
+
+    let private = common::harness_with_private_mode(pool);
+    let resp = private
+        .app
+        .oneshot(common::post_json(
+            "/api/v1/auth/login",
+            json!({ "username": "alice", "password": "hunter2hunter2" }),
+        ))
+        .await
+        .unwrap();
+    // Reaches the login handler and succeeds — *not* 401 from the
+    // gate. That's the property we're pinning.
+    assert_eq!(resp.status(), StatusCode::OK);
+}
+
+#[sqlx::test(migrations = "./migrations")]
+async fn private_mode_allows_health_and_config_anonymous(pool: PgPool) {
+    let h = common::harness_with_private_mode(pool);
+
+    let r = h
+        .app
+        .clone()
+        .oneshot(common::get("/api/v1/health"))
+        .await
+        .unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(r.status(), StatusCode::OK);
+
+    let r = h
+        .app
+        .oneshot(common::get("/api/v1/auth/config"))
+        .await
+        .unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(r.status(), StatusCode::OK);
+}
+
+#[sqlx::test(migrations = "./migrations")]
+async fn private_mode_blocks_register_even_when_self_register_enabled(pool: PgPool) {
+    // harness_with_private_mode keeps `allow_self_register=true` (the
+    // default) — private mode is supposed to force-block register
+    // regardless. That's what this test pins.
+    let h = common::harness_with_private_mode(pool);
+    let resp = h
+        .app
+        .oneshot(common::post_json(
+            "/api/v1/auth/register",
+            json!({ "username": "alice", "password": "hunter2hunter2" }),
+        ))
+        .await
+        .unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(resp.status(), StatusCode::FORBIDDEN);
+    let body = common::body_json(resp).await;
+    assert_eq!(body["error"]["code"], "forbidden");
+}
+
+#[sqlx::test(migrations = "./migrations")]
+async fn auth_config_reports_private_mode_and_effective_self_register(pool: PgPool) {
+    let h = common::harness_with_private_mode(pool);
+    let resp = h
+        .app
+        .oneshot(common::get("/api/v1/auth/config"))
+        .await
+        .unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(resp.status(), StatusCode::OK);
+    let body = common::body_json(resp).await;
+    assert_eq!(body["private_mode"], true);
+    // Effective value: `allow_self_register && !private_mode` is false
+    // here even though the raw `allow_self_register` is true.
+    assert_eq!(body["self_register_enabled"], false);
+}
+
+#[sqlx::test(migrations = "./migrations")]
+async fn public_mode_does_not_gate_anonymous_reads(pool: PgPool) {
+    // Regression guard: with private_mode off (the default), the gate
+    // must be a no-op so existing public deployments stay public.
+    let h = common::harness(pool);
+    let resp = h.app.oneshot(common::get("/api/v1/mangas")).await.unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(resp.status(), StatusCode::OK);
+}
+
+#[sqlx::test(migrations = "./migrations")]
+async fn public_mode_reports_private_mode_false(pool: PgPool) {
+    let h = common::harness(pool);
+    let resp = h
+        .app
+        .oneshot(common::get("/api/v1/auth/config"))
+        .await
+        .unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(resp.status(), StatusCode::OK);
+    let body = common::body_json(resp).await;
+    assert_eq!(body["private_mode"], false);
+    assert_eq!(body["self_register_enabled"], true);
+}

backend/tests/common/mod.rs

@@ -92,6 +92,21 @@ pub fn harness_with_self_register_disabled(pool: PgPool) -> Harness {
     harness_with_auth_config(pool, storage, storage_dir, auth)
 }
 
+/// Like [`harness`] but flips `PRIVATE_MODE` on so the site-wide auth
+/// gate is exercised. `allow_self_register` stays at its default `true`
+/// to verify that private mode force-disables self-registration on top
+/// of whatever `ALLOW_SELF_REGISTER` says.
+pub fn harness_with_private_mode(pool: PgPool) -> Harness {
+    let storage_dir = tempfile::tempdir().expect("tempdir");
+    let storage = Arc::new(LocalStorage::new(storage_dir.path()));
+    let auth = AuthConfig {
+        cookie_secure: false,
+        private_mode: true,
+        ..AuthConfig::default()
+    };
+    harness_with_auth_config(pool, storage, storage_dir, auth)
+}
+
 /// Like [`harness`] but configures a tight auth rate limit. Used by
 /// the brute-force-rate-limiting test.
 pub fn harness_with_auth_rate_limit(

docker-compose.dev.yml

@@ -17,5 +17,28 @@ services:
       timeout: 5s
       retries: 10
 
+  # Optional: TOR daemon for crawler dev. Ports bind to 127.0.0.1 only
+  # — never the LAN — so a native `cargo run` on the host can reach
+  # 127.0.0.1:9050 / 9051. Mirrors the prod tor service (see
+  # docker-compose.yml), just with host-loopback ports and a default
+  # password baked in for friction-free dev.
+  tor:
+    image: dockurr/tor:latest
+    entrypoint: ["/bin/sh", "/usr/local/bin/mangalord-entrypoint.sh"]
+    environment:
+      PASSWORD: ${TOR_CONTROL_PASSWORD:-dev-tor-password}
+    volumes:
+      - ./tor/torrc:/etc/tor/torrc:ro
+      - ./tor/entrypoint.sh:/usr/local/bin/mangalord-entrypoint.sh:ro
+    ports:
+      - "127.0.0.1:9050:9050"
+      - "127.0.0.1:9051:9051"
+    healthcheck:
+      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "nc -z 127.0.0.1 9050 && nc -z 127.0.0.1 9051"]
+      interval: 5s
+      timeout: 5s
+      retries: 20
+      start_period: 30s
+
 volumes:
   mangalord-postgres-dev:

docker-compose.yml

@@ -19,11 +19,48 @@ services:
       timeout: 5s
       retries: 10
 
+  tor:
+    # SOCKS5 proxy for the crawler, plus a control port so the backend
+    # can signal NEWNYM on bad pages. See tor/torrc for the daemon
+    # config; both ports are only `expose`d (compose-internal), never
+    # bound on the host.
+    #
+    # We bypass dockurr/tor's stock entrypoint because it binds the
+    # control port to localhost (unreachable from the backend
+    # container) and skips its own HashedControlPassword injection
+    # when the user's torrc declares a ControlPort. Our wrapper
+    # (tor/entrypoint.sh) generates the hash from $PASSWORD and execs
+    # tor with our torrc. Backend authenticates with the same plain
+    # string via CRAWLER_TOR_CONTROL_PASSWORD.
+    image: dockurr/tor:latest
+    entrypoint: ["/bin/sh", "/usr/local/bin/mangalord-entrypoint.sh"]
+    environment:
+      PASSWORD: ${TOR_CONTROL_PASSWORD:?TOR_CONTROL_PASSWORD must be set in .env}
+    volumes:
+      - ./tor/torrc:/etc/tor/torrc:ro
+      - ./tor/entrypoint.sh:/usr/local/bin/mangalord-entrypoint.sh:ro
+    expose:
+      - "9050"
+      - "9051"
+    # Wait for both control + SOCKS ports to listen before downstream
+    # services start. dockurr/tor's main process spawns before tor
+    # itself is bound, so `service_started` alone races the first
+    # NEWNYM call.
+    healthcheck:
+      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "nc -z 127.0.0.1 9050 && nc -z 127.0.0.1 9051"]
+      interval: 5s
+      timeout: 5s
+      retries: 20
+      start_period: 30s
+    restart: unless-stopped
+
   backend:
     build: ./backend
     depends_on:
       postgres:
         condition: service_healthy
+      tor:
+        condition: service_healthy
     environment:
       DATABASE_URL: postgres://${POSTGRES_USER:-mangalord}:${POSTGRES_PASSWORD:?POSTGRES_PASSWORD must be set in .env}@postgres:5432/${POSTGRES_DB:-mangalord}
       BIND_ADDRESS: 0.0.0.0:8080
@@ -44,6 +81,16 @@ services:
       # arm64 deployments. Pair with `--build-arg INSTALL_CHROMIUM=true`
       # so the image actually contains the binary.
       CRAWLER_CHROMIUM_BINARY: ${CRAWLER_CHROMIUM_BINARY:-}
+      # TOR proxy + NEWNYM recircuit (see .env.example for details).
+      # Defaults assume the bundled `tor` service above; override
+      # CRAWLER_PROXY=  and CRAWLER_TOR_CONTROL_URL=  (both empty) in
+      # .env to disable. CRAWLER_TOR_CONTROL_PASSWORD MUST match the
+      # tor service's PASSWORD (both wired to the same TOR_CONTROL_PASSWORD
+      # .env var below).
+      CRAWLER_PROXY: ${CRAWLER_PROXY-socks5h://tor:9050}
+      CRAWLER_TOR_CONTROL_URL: ${CRAWLER_TOR_CONTROL_URL-tcp://tor:9051}
+      CRAWLER_TOR_CONTROL_PASSWORD: ${TOR_CONTROL_PASSWORD:?TOR_CONTROL_PASSWORD must be set in .env}
+      CRAWLER_TOR_RECIRCUIT_MAX_ATTEMPTS: ${CRAWLER_TOR_RECIRCUIT_MAX_ATTEMPTS:-3}
     volumes:
       - storage-data:/var/lib/mangalord/storage
     # No host port mapping in the default setup — the frontend proxies

frontend/e2e/private-mode.spec.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,101 @@
+import { test, expect, type Page } from '@playwright/test';
+
+// Network-level mocks for the private-mode UX. The backend integration
+// tests (api_private_mode.rs) cover the actual gate; here we only
+// verify that the SvelteKit universal load redirects anonymous
+// visitors to /login and then back to where they were going.
+
+const userFixture = {
+    id: 'user-1',
+    username: 'alice',
+    created_at: '2026-01-01T00:00:00Z',
+    is_admin: false
+};
+const emptyPage = { items: [], page: { limit: 50, offset: 0, total: null } };
+
+async function stubPrivateInstance(page: Page) {
+    let loggedIn = false;
+
+    // The flag that flips the gate on. Frontend reads it in
+    // `+layout.ts` to decide whether to redirect.
+    await page.route('**/api/v1/auth/config', async (route) => {
+        await route.fulfill({
+            status: 200,
+            contentType: 'application/json',
+            body: JSON.stringify({
+                self_register_enabled: false,
+                private_mode: true
+            })
+        });
+    });
+
+    await page.route('**/api/v1/auth/me', async (route) => {
+        if (loggedIn) {
+            await route.fulfill({
+                status: 200,
+                contentType: 'application/json',
+                body: JSON.stringify({ user: userFixture })
+            });
+        } else {
+            await route.fulfill({
+                status: 401,
+                contentType: 'application/json',
+                body: JSON.stringify({
+                    error: { code: 'unauthenticated', message: 'unauthenticated' }
+                })
+            });
+        }
+    });
+
+    await page.route('**/api/v1/auth/login', async (route) => {
+        loggedIn = true;
+        await route.fulfill({
+            status: 200,
+            contentType: 'application/json',
+            body: JSON.stringify({ user: userFixture })
+        });
+    });
+
+    // The real backend would 401 these too in private mode; we stub
+    // success so the post-login navigation can render the home page
+    // without an additional redirect cycle.
+    await page.route('**/api/v1/mangas*', async (route) => {
+        await route.fulfill({
+            status: 200,
+            contentType: 'application/json',
+            body: JSON.stringify(emptyPage)
+        });
+    });
+}
+
+test('private mode: anonymous visit to / redirects to /login?next=%2F', async ({ page }) => {
+    await stubPrivateInstance(page);
+    await page.goto('/');
+    await expect(page).toHaveURL(/\/login\?next=%2F$/);
+    await expect(page.getByTestId('login-username')).toBeVisible();
+});
+
+test('private mode: register link is hidden', async ({ page }) => {
+    await stubPrivateInstance(page);
+    await page.goto('/login');
+    await expect(page.getByTestId('nav-login')).toBeVisible();
+    // self_register_enabled is the effective value (false in private
+    // mode regardless of ALLOW_SELF_REGISTER), so the navbar must
+    // never render the register affordance here.
+    await expect(page.getByTestId('nav-register')).toHaveCount(0);
+});
+
+test('private mode: after login the user lands back on the requested page', async ({ page }) => {
+    await stubPrivateInstance(page);
+
+    // Visit a deep link → bounced to /login with next= preserving it.
+    await page.goto('/');
+    await expect(page).toHaveURL(/\/login\?next=%2F$/);
+
+    await page.getByTestId('login-username').fill('alice');
+    await page.getByTestId('login-password').fill('hunter2hunter2');
+    await page.getByTestId('login-submit').click();
+
+    // Authenticated → can now reach the home page without bouncing.
+    await expect(page.getByTestId('session-user')).toContainText('alice');
+});

frontend/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "mangalord-frontend",
-  "version": "0.45.1",
+  "version": "0.48.0",
   "private": true,
   "type": "module",
   "scripts": {

frontend/src/lib/api/auth.ts

@@ -102,10 +102,14 @@ export async function deleteToken(id: string): Promise<void> {
 }
 
 export type AuthConfig = {
-    /** When false, /v1/auth/register returns 403 and the UI should
+    /** Effective value (`allow_self_register && !private_mode`).
+     * When false, /v1/auth/register returns 403 and the UI should
      * hide its register affordance. Admins can still mint accounts
      * via POST /v1/admin/users. */
     self_register_enabled: boolean;
+    /** When true, every read endpoint requires auth and anonymous
+     * visitors are redirected to `/login` (see `+layout.ts`). */
+    private_mode: boolean;
 };
 
 /** Public — no auth, no cookie required. */

frontend/src/lib/auth-config.svelte.ts

@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ import { getAuthConfig } from './api/auth';
 
 class AuthConfigStore {
     self_register_enabled = $state(true);
+    private_mode = $state(false);
     loaded = $state(false);
     private loading = false;
 
@@ -25,6 +26,7 @@ class AuthConfigStore {
         try {
             const cfg = await getAuthConfig();
             this.self_register_enabled = cfg.self_register_enabled;
+            this.private_mode = cfg.private_mode;
             this.loaded = true;
         } catch {
             // Keep optimistic default; next page mount will retry.
@@ -32,6 +34,16 @@ class AuthConfigStore {
             this.loading = false;
         }
     }
+
+    /** Seed from server-rendered layout data so the very first paint
+     *  doesn't flash the loading state. Used by `+layout.ts` /
+     *  `+layout.svelte` on the universal-load path. Safe to call from
+     *  SSR (no `browser` guard) since it touches only reactive state. */
+    seed(cfg: { self_register_enabled: boolean; private_mode: boolean }): void {
+        this.self_register_enabled = cfg.self_register_enabled;
+        this.private_mode = cfg.private_mode;
+        this.loaded = true;
+    }
 }
 
 export const authConfig = new AuthConfigStore();

frontend/src/routes/+layout.svelte

@@ -14,15 +14,23 @@
     import Shield from '@lucide/svelte/icons/shield';
     import '$lib/styles/tokens.css';
 
-    let { children } = $props();
+    let { children, data } = $props();
     let loggingOut = $state(false);
     let headerEl: HTMLElement | undefined = $state();
 
+    // Seed authConfig from the universal layout load. $effect keeps
+    // the store in sync if `data` is replaced by a subsequent layout
+    // load (client-side nav). The first run also covers initial
+    // hydration so the navbar's register link reflects the real
+    // server flag without a separate fetch.
+    $effect(() => {
+        authConfig.seed(data.authConfig);
+    });
+
     onMount(() => {
         theme.init();
         preferences.init();
         if (!session.loaded) session.refresh();
-        if (!authConfig.loaded) authConfig.load();
 
         // Publish the header's measured height as a CSS custom
         // property so sticky descendants (e.g. the reader nav) can

frontend/src/routes/+layout.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+// Universal root load. Surfaces /auth/config to every page so the
+// navbar + layout can render without an extra round-trip, and — when
+// the backend reports PRIVATE_MODE=true — bounces anonymous visitors
+// to /login before any page-specific load fires. The backend
+// middleware is still the source of truth for the gate; this just
+// matches the UX so users don't see a page full of failed fetches.
+import type { LayoutLoad } from './$types';
+import { redirect } from '@sveltejs/kit';
+import { getAuthConfig, me, type AuthConfig } from '$lib/api/auth';
+
+// Paths reachable anonymously even when private_mode is on. /login is
+// the entry point of the auth flow; everything else (including
+// /register, which is force-blocked in private mode) bounces.
+const PRIVATE_MODE_BYPASS = new Set(['/login']);
+
+const PUBLIC_DEFAULTS: AuthConfig = {
+    self_register_enabled: true,
+    private_mode: false
+};
+
+export const load: LayoutLoad = async ({ url }) => {
+    let authConfig: AuthConfig = PUBLIC_DEFAULTS;
+    try {
+        authConfig = await getAuthConfig();
+    } catch {
+        // Fail-soft: keep the optimistic public-mode defaults so a
+        // backend hiccup doesn't lock anyone out of the login page.
+        // No private data can leak through here — the backend
+        // middleware is still authoritative for the gate.
+    }
+
+    if (authConfig.private_mode && !PRIVATE_MODE_BYPASS.has(url.pathname)) {
+        const user = await me().catch(() => null);
+        if (!user) {
+            const next = url.pathname + url.search;
+            redirect(302, `/login?next=${encodeURIComponent(next)}`);
+        }
+    }
+
+    return { authConfig };
+};

frontend/src/routes/layout.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,113 @@
+import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach } from 'vitest';
+
+// Mock the API client *before* importing the load function so the
+// module under test picks up the mock when it resolves its imports.
+vi.mock('$lib/api/auth', () => ({
+    getAuthConfig: vi.fn(),
+    me: vi.fn()
+}));
+
+import { load } from './+layout';
+import { getAuthConfig, me, type AuthConfig } from '$lib/api/auth';
+
+type MinimalLoadEvent = { url: { pathname: string; search: string } };
+
+function event(pathname: string, search = ''): MinimalLoadEvent {
+    return { url: { pathname, search } };
+}
+
+// `LayoutLoad`'s declared return type is `void | …`. Our `load`
+// always returns `{ authConfig }`, but TypeScript can't narrow on
+// that at the call site. Wrap to remove the `void` arm so the
+// assertions stay terse.
+async function callLoad(ev: MinimalLoadEvent): Promise<{ authConfig: AuthConfig }> {
+    // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-explicit-any
+    const result = await load(ev as any);
+    return result as { authConfig: AuthConfig };
+}
+
+const PUBLIC_CFG = { self_register_enabled: true, private_mode: false };
+const PRIVATE_CFG = { self_register_enabled: false, private_mode: true };
+
+const aliceUser = {
+    id: 'u1',
+    username: 'alice',
+    created_at: '2026-01-01T00:00:00Z',
+    is_admin: false
+};
+
+describe('root +layout load', () => {
+    beforeEach(() => {
+        vi.mocked(getAuthConfig).mockReset();
+        vi.mocked(me).mockReset();
+    });
+
+    it('public mode: returns authConfig data, never calls me()', async () => {
+        vi.mocked(getAuthConfig).mockResolvedValue(PUBLIC_CFG);
+        const data = await callLoad(event('/'));
+        expect(data.authConfig).toEqual(PUBLIC_CFG);
+        expect(me).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    });
+
+    it('private mode + anonymous on `/`: throws redirect(302) to /login with next=', async () => {
+        vi.mocked(getAuthConfig).mockResolvedValue(PRIVATE_CFG);
+        vi.mocked(me).mockResolvedValue(null);
+        // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-explicit-any
+        await expect(load(event('/') as any)).rejects.toMatchObject({
+            status: 302,
+            location: '/login?next=%2F'
+        });
+    });
+
+    it('private mode + anonymous on `/login`: passes through without redirect', async () => {
+        vi.mocked(getAuthConfig).mockResolvedValue(PRIVATE_CFG);
+        const data = await callLoad(event('/login'));
+        expect(data.authConfig.private_mode).toBe(true);
+        // me() must not run on the login page itself, otherwise anonymous
+        // visits make an extra round-trip every page load.
+        expect(me).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    });
+
+    it('private mode + logged-in user: no redirect, returns authConfig', async () => {
+        vi.mocked(getAuthConfig).mockResolvedValue(PRIVATE_CFG);
+        vi.mocked(me).mockResolvedValue(aliceUser);
+        const data = await callLoad(event('/'));
+        expect(data.authConfig).toEqual(PRIVATE_CFG);
+    });
+
+    it('private mode + anonymous: preserves pathname AND search in next=', async () => {
+        vi.mocked(getAuthConfig).mockResolvedValue(PRIVATE_CFG);
+        vi.mocked(me).mockResolvedValue(null);
+        await expect(
+            // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-explicit-any
+            load(event('/manga/abc', '?page=3') as any)
+        ).rejects.toMatchObject({
+            status: 302,
+            location: '/login?next=%2Fmanga%2Fabc%3Fpage%3D3'
+        });
+    });
+
+    it('private mode + anonymous on /register: redirects to /login (register is never reachable in private mode)', async () => {
+        vi.mocked(getAuthConfig).mockResolvedValue(PRIVATE_CFG);
+        vi.mocked(me).mockResolvedValue(null);
+        // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-explicit-any
+        await expect(load(event('/register') as any)).rejects.toMatchObject({
+            status: 302,
+            location: '/login?next=%2Fregister'
+        });
+    });
+
+    it('getAuthConfig failure: falls back to public-mode defaults, no redirect', async () => {
+        // The backend middleware is the source of truth for the gate;
+        // if the config probe blips, fail soft so a brief outage doesn't
+        // lock everyone out of even the login page. No private data
+        // can leak because the backend still 401s every request.
+        vi.mocked(getAuthConfig).mockRejectedValue(new Error('network'));
+        const data = await callLoad(event('/'));
+        expect(data.authConfig).toEqual({
+            self_register_enabled: true,
+            private_mode: false
+        });
+        expect(me).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    });
+});

tor/entrypoint.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+# Mangalord wrapper around dockurr/tor's tor binary.
+#
+# We bypass the image's stock entrypoint for two reasons:
+#   1. It generates a `ControlPort 9051` line that binds to localhost
+#      only (tor's default), but our backend lives in a separate
+#      container and needs to reach 0.0.0.0:9051.
+#   2. It then *skips* writing HashedControlPassword whenever the
+#      user's torrc declares a ControlPort, so we can't both bind to
+#      0.0.0.0 and benefit from its auto-hashing — it's one or the
+#      other. Doing the hashing ourselves is simpler than threading
+#      around its logic.
+#
+# This wrapper hashes $PASSWORD with `tor --hash-password`, appends a
+# `HashedControlPassword` line to a writable copy of /etc/tor/torrc,
+# then execs tor. Container runs as root (image default); tor binds
+# 9050/9051 which don't require root and is fine inside a single-
+# purpose container.
+
+set -eu
+
+if [ -z "${PASSWORD:-}" ]; then
+    echo "ERROR: PASSWORD env must be set (the plain string the backend will" >&2
+    echo "       send as CRAWLER_TOR_CONTROL_PASSWORD)" >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# `tor --hash-password` prints the hash on the last line of stdout
+# (preceded by initialization noise).
+HASH=$(tor --hash-password "$PASSWORD" 2>/dev/null | tail -n1)
+if [ -z "$HASH" ]; then
+    echo "ERROR: 'tor --hash-password' produced no output" >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# /etc/tor/torrc is bind-mounted read-only, so copy + append.
+cp /etc/tor/torrc /tmp/torrc
+printf '\n# Injected by mangalord-entrypoint.sh from $PASSWORD env.\nHashedControlPassword %s\n' "$HASH" >> /tmp/torrc
+
+exec tor -f /tmp/torrc

tor/torrc

@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+# torrc for the Mangalord crawler.
+#
+# Mounted into the dockurr/tor container at /etc/tor/torrc. The
+# crawler talks to this daemon over the internal compose network only:
+# `expose:` on the tor service surfaces 9050/9051 to sibling
+# containers, never to the host.
+
+# SOCKS5 proxy that reqwest and Chromium use. IsolateDestAddr +
+# IsolateDestPort means each new (destination IP, port) draws a fresh
+# circuit — so a SIGNAL NEWNYM picks up promptly on the next
+# navigation instead of having to wait for an existing dirty circuit
+# to age out.
+SOCKSPort 0.0.0.0:9050 IsolateDestAddr IsolateDestPort
+
+# Control port for SIGNAL NEWNYM. We rely on the dockurr/tor
+# entrypoint to inject `HashedControlPassword <hash>` from its
+# PASSWORD env var (see docker-compose.yml `tor.environment.PASSWORD`)
+# via a higher-priority --defaults-torrc. We just need to declare the
+# port itself here.
+ControlPort 0.0.0.0:9051
+
+# Keep circuits dirty for a while so a single chapter (which serial-
+# fetches all its images through the same SOCKS endpoint) finishes on
+# one circuit rather than mid-circuit-rotating in a way that looks like
+# anti-bot evasion to the target. NEWNYM still forces a fresh circuit
+# immediately when we want one — this is just the idle-rotation knob.
+MaxCircuitDirtiness 600
+
+# Drop privileges to the image's `tor` user after binding ports.
+# Required because /var/lib/tor (the image's DataDirectory volume)
+# is owned by tor:tor and tor refuses to use a data dir it doesn't
+# own. Our entrypoint runs as root only so it can call
+# `tor --hash-password` and write /tmp/torrc.
+User tor
+
+# Data + logs.
+DataDirectory /var/lib/tor
+Log notice stdout