v2.0.2 - Stabilize websocket queue draining, add db config count helper, and align NIP-45/50 test expectations

Dockerfile.alpine-musl

@@ -28,7 +28,8 @@ RUN apk add --no-cache \
     sqlite-static \
     linux-headers \
     wget \
-    bash
+    bash \
+    openssh-client
 
 # Set working directory
 WORKDIR /build
@@ -68,15 +69,8 @@ RUN cd /tmp && \
     make install && \
     rm -rf /tmp/libwebsockets
 
-# Copy only submodule configuration and git directory
-COPY .gitmodules /build/.gitmodules
-COPY .git /build/.git
-
-# Clean up any stale submodule references (nips directory is not a submodule)
-RUN git rm --cached nips 2>/dev/null || true
-
-# Initialize submodules (cached unless .gitmodules changes)
-RUN git submodule update --init --recursive
+# Submodules are provided in the local build context and copied explicitly below.
+# Avoid network/SSH dependency inside Docker image build.
 
 # Copy nostr_core_lib source files (cached unless nostr_core_lib changes)
 COPY nostr_core_lib /build/nostr_core_lib/
@@ -84,11 +78,13 @@ COPY nostr_core_lib /build/nostr_core_lib/
 # Copy c_utils_lib source files (cached unless c_utils_lib changes)
 COPY c_utils_lib /build/c_utils_lib/
 
-# Build c_utils_lib with MUSL-compatible flags (cached unless c_utils_lib changes)
+# Build c_utils_lib static library for relay logging utilities
+# (build only debug.c to avoid broken/missing version header surface in submodule revision)
 RUN cd c_utils_lib && \
-    sed -i 's/CFLAGS = -Wall -Wextra -std=c99 -O2 -g/CFLAGS = -U_FORTIFY_SOURCE -D_FORTIFY_SOURCE=0 -Wall -Wextra -std=c99 -O2 -g/' Makefile && \
-    make clean && \
-    make
+    mkdir -p build && \
+    gcc -U_FORTIFY_SOURCE -D_FORTIFY_SOURCE=0 -Wall -Wextra -std=c99 -O2 -g \
+        -Isrc -Iinclude -c src/debug.c -o build/debug.o && \
+    ar rcs libc_utils.a build/debug.o
 
 # Build nostr_core_lib with required NIPs (cached unless nostr_core_lib changes)
 # Disable fortification in build.sh to prevent __*_chk symbol issues
@@ -122,6 +118,7 @@ RUN if [ "$DEBUG_BUILD" = "true" ]; then \
     src/main.c src/config.c src/dm_admin.c src/request_validator.c \
     src/nip009.c src/nip011.c src/nip013.c src/nip040.c src/nip042.c \
     src/websockets.c src/subscriptions.c src/api.c src/embedded_web_content.c src/ip_ban.c \
+    src/db_ops.c src/thread_pool.c \
     -o /build/c_relay_static \
     c_utils_lib/libc_utils.a \
     nostr_core_lib/libnostr_core_x64.a \

Makefile

@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ LIBS = -lsqlite3 -lwebsockets -lz -ldl -lpthread -lm -L/usr/local/lib -lsecp256k
 BUILD_DIR = build
 
 # Source files
-MAIN_SRC = src/main.c src/config.c src/dm_admin.c src/request_validator.c src/nip009.c src/nip011.c src/nip013.c src/nip040.c src/nip042.c src/websockets.c src/subscriptions.c src/api.c src/embedded_web_content.c src/ip_ban.c
+MAIN_SRC = src/main.c src/config.c src/dm_admin.c src/request_validator.c src/nip009.c src/nip011.c src/nip013.c src/nip040.c src/nip042.c src/websockets.c src/subscriptions.c src/api.c src/embedded_web_content.c src/ip_ban.c src/db_ops.c src/thread_pool.c
 NOSTR_CORE_LIB = nostr_core_lib/libnostr_core_x64.a
 C_UTILS_LIB = c_utils_lib/libc_utils.a
 

api/index.css

@@ -1486,3 +1486,16 @@ body.dark-mode .admin-verification-content {
     font-size: 12px;
 }
 
+
+/* ================================
+   IP BANS TABLE - compact rows
+   ================================ */
+#ip-bans-table td, #ip-bans-table th {
+    padding: 4px 8px;
+    line-height: 1.3;
+    font-size: 13px;
+}
+#ip-bans-table button {
+    padding: 2px 8px;
+    font-size: 12px;
+}

api/index.html

@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
             <li><button class="nav-item" data-page="subscriptions">Subscriptions</button></li>
             <li><button class="nav-item" data-page="configuration">Configuration</button></li>
             <li><button class="nav-item" data-page="authorization">Authorization</button></li>
+            <li><button class="nav-item" data-page="ip-bans">IP BANS</button></li>
             <li><button class="nav-item" data-page="relay-events">Relay Events</button></li>
             <li><button class="nav-item" data-page="dm">DM</button></li>
             <li><button class="nav-item" data-page="database">Database Query</button></li>
@@ -111,6 +112,10 @@
                             <td>Process ID</td>
                             <td id="process-id">-</td>
                         </tr>
+                        <tr>
+                            <td>WebSocket Connections</td>
+                            <td id="websocket-connections">-</td>
+                        </tr>
                         <tr>
                             <td>Active Subscriptions</td>
                             <td id="active-subscriptions">-</td>
@@ -119,14 +124,14 @@
                             <td>Memory Usage</td>
                             <td id="memory-usage">-</td>
                         </tr>
-                        <tr>
-                            <td>CPU Core</td>
-                            <td id="cpu-core">-</td>
-                        </tr>
                         <tr>
                             <td>CPU Usage</td>
                             <td id="cpu-usage">-</td>
                         </tr>
+                        <tr>
+                            <td>CPU Core</td>
+                            <td id="cpu-core">-</td>
+                        </tr>
                         <tr>
                             <td>Oldest Event</td>
                             <td id="oldest-event">-</td>
@@ -382,6 +387,109 @@ WEB OF TRUST
         </div>
     </div>
 
+    <!-- IP BANS Section -->
+    <div class="section" id="ipBansSection" style="display: none;">
+        <div class="section-header">
+            IP BAN MANAGEMENT
+        </div>
+
+        <!-- Statistics Cards -->
+        <div class="input-group">
+            <div class="config-table-container">
+                <table class="config-table" id="ip-bans-stats-table">
+                    <thead>
+                        <tr>
+                            <th>Total IPs Tracked</th>
+                            <th>Currently Banned</th>
+                            <th>Total Bans Issued</th>
+                        </tr>
+                    </thead>
+                    <tbody>
+                        <tr>
+                            <td id="ip-bans-total">-</td>
+                            <td id="ip-bans-active">-</td>
+                            <td id="ip-bans-issued">-</td>
+                        </tr>
+                    </tbody>
+                </table>
+            </div>
+        </div>
+
+        <!-- Add Ban Form -->
+        <div class="input-group">
+            <h3>Manually Ban IP Address</h3>
+            <div class="form-group">
+                <label for="ban-ip-input">IP Address:</label>
+                <input type="text" id="ban-ip-input" placeholder="192.168.1.100">
+            </div>
+            <div class="form-group">
+                <label for="ban-duration-select">Ban Duration:</label>
+                <select id="ban-duration-select">
+                    <option value="3600">1 Hour</option>
+                    <option value="86400" selected>24 Hours</option>
+                    <option value="604800">7 Days</option>
+                    <option value="2592000">30 Days</option>
+                    <option value="31536000">1 Year</option>
+                    <option value="999999999">Permanent</option>
+                </select>
+            </div>
+            <div class="inline-buttons">
+                <button type="button" id="add-ban-btn">BAN IP</button>
+            </div>
+            <div id="add-ban-status" class="status-message"></div>
+        </div>
+
+        <!-- Whitelist Management -->
+        <div class="input-group">
+            <h3>IP Whitelist (Never Banned)</h3>
+            <p style="font-size:13px;opacity:0.8;">IPs in this list are never idle-banned. Comma-separated.</p>
+            <div class="form-group">
+                <label for="whitelist-ip-input">Add IP to Whitelist:</label>
+                <input type="text" id="whitelist-ip-input" placeholder="103.81.231.220">
+            </div>
+            <div class="inline-buttons">
+                <button type="button" id="add-whitelist-btn">ADD TO WHITELIST</button>
+            </div>
+            <div id="whitelist-status" class="status-message"></div>
+            <div id="whitelist-current" style="margin-top:8px;font-size:13px;"></div>
+        </div>
+
+        <!-- Filter Controls -->
+        <div class="input-group">
+            <div class="inline-buttons">
+                <button type="button" id="ip-ban-filter-all" class="active">All IPs</button>
+                <button type="button" id="ip-ban-filter-banned">Currently Banned</button>
+                <button type="button" id="ip-ban-filter-expired">Expired</button>
+                <button type="button" id="refresh-ip-bans-btn">REFRESH</button>
+            </div>
+        </div>
+
+        <!-- IP Bans List -->
+        <div class="input-group">
+            <label>Banned IP Addresses:</label>
+            <div class="config-table-container">
+                <table class="config-table" id="ip-bans-table">
+                        <thead>
+                            <tr>
+                                <th>IP Address</th>
+                                <th>Status</th>
+                                <th>Banned Until</th>
+                                <th>Failures</th>
+                                <th>Authed Successfully</th>
+                                <th>Connection Attempts</th>
+                                <th>Actions</th>
+                            </tr>
+                        </thead>
+                    <tbody id="ip-bans-tbody">
+                        <tr>
+                                                    <td colspan="7" style="text-align: center;">Click REFRESH to load IP bans</td>
+                                                </tr>
+                    </tbody>
+                </table>
+            </div>
+        </div>
+    </div>
+
     <!-- RELAY EVENTS Section -->
     <div class="section" id="relayEventsSection" style="display: none;">
         <div class="section-header">
@@ -467,6 +575,10 @@ WEB OF TRUST
                     <option value="event_kinds">Event Kinds Distribution</option>
                     <option value="time_stats">Time-based Statistics</option>
                 </optgroup>
+                <optgroup label="IP Ban Queries">
+                    <option value="banned_ips_summary">Banned IPs Summary</option>
+                    <option value="banned_ips_list">All Banned IP Addresses</option>
+                </optgroup>
                 <optgroup label="Query History" id="history-group">
                     <!-- Dynamically populated from localStorage -->
                 </optgroup>

api/nostr.bundle.js

@@ -3297,8 +3297,18 @@ var NostrTools = (() => {
       this.enablePing = opts.enablePing;
     }
     async ensureRelay(url, params) {
+      const rawUrl = url;
+      const debugEnabled = typeof window !== "undefined" && !!window.__SIMPLE_POOL_DEBUG__;
       url = normalizeURL(url);
       let relay = this.relays.get(url);
+      if (debugEnabled) {
+        console.log("🔎 SIMPLE_POOL ensureRelay START", {
+          rawUrl,
+          normalizedUrl: url,
+          hadRelay: !!relay,
+          relayMapKeysBefore: Array.from(this.relays.keys())
+        });
+      }
       if (!relay) {
         relay = new AbstractRelay(url, {
           verifyEvent: this.trustedRelayURLs.has(url) ? alwaysTrue : this.verifyEvent,
@@ -3306,13 +3316,38 @@ var NostrTools = (() => {
           enablePing: this.enablePing
         });
         relay.onclose = () => {
+          if (debugEnabled) {
+            console.log("🔎 SIMPLE_POOL ensureRelay onclose", {
+              normalizedUrl: url,
+              relayMapKeysBeforeDelete: Array.from(this.relays.keys())
+            });
+          }
           this.relays.delete(url);
+          if (debugEnabled) {
+            console.log("🔎 SIMPLE_POOL ensureRelay onclose complete", {
+              normalizedUrl: url,
+              relayMapKeysAfterDelete: Array.from(this.relays.keys())
+            });
+          }
         };
         if (params?.connectionTimeout)
           relay.connectionTimeout = params.connectionTimeout;
         this.relays.set(url, relay);
+        if (debugEnabled) {
+          console.log("🔎 SIMPLE_POOL ensureRelay created relay", {
+            normalizedUrl: url,
+            relayMapKeysAfterCreate: Array.from(this.relays.keys())
+          });
+        }
       }
       await relay.connect();
+      if (debugEnabled) {
+        console.log("🔎 SIMPLE_POOL ensureRelay connected", {
+          normalizedUrl: url,
+          relayConnected: relay.connected,
+          relayMapKeysAfterConnect: Array.from(this.relays.keys())
+        });
+      }
       return relay;
     }
     close(relays) {
@@ -3334,16 +3369,26 @@ var NostrTools = (() => {
     }
     subscribeMany(relays, filters, params) {
       params.onauth = params.onauth || params.doauth;
+      const debugEnabled = typeof window !== "undefined" && !!window.__SIMPLE_POOL_DEBUG__;
       const request = [];
       const uniqUrls = [];
       for (let i2 = 0; i2 < relays.length; i2++) {
         const url = normalizeURL(relays[i2]);
         if (uniqUrls.indexOf(url) === -1) {
+          uniqUrls.push(url);
           for (let f2 = 0; f2 < filters.length; f2++) {
             request.push({ url, filter: filters[f2] });
           }
         }
       }
+      if (debugEnabled) {
+        console.log("🔎 SIMPLE_POOL subscribeMany", {
+          relaysInput: relays,
+          uniqUrls,
+          filtersCount: filters.length,
+          requestsCount: request.length
+        });
+      }
       return this.subscribeMap(request, params);
     }
     subscribeMap(requests, params) {
@@ -3391,14 +3436,31 @@ var NostrTools = (() => {
         _knownIds.add(id);
         return have;
       };
+      const debugEnabled = typeof window !== "undefined" && !!window.__SIMPLE_POOL_DEBUG__;
       const allOpened = Promise.all(
         requests.map(async ({ url, filter }, i2) => {
+          if (debugEnabled) {
+            console.log("🔎 SIMPLE_POOL subscribeMap request", {
+              index: i2,
+              url,
+              filterKinds: filter?.kinds,
+              hasAuthorFilter: !!filter?.authors,
+              hasPTagFilter: !!filter?.["#p"]
+            });
+          }
           let relay;
           try {
             relay = await this.ensureRelay(url, {
               connectionTimeout: params.maxWait ? Math.max(params.maxWait * 0.8, params.maxWait - 1e3) : void 0
             });
           } catch (err) {
+            if (debugEnabled) {
+              console.log("🔎 SIMPLE_POOL subscribeMap ensureRelay FAILED", {
+                index: i2,
+                url,
+                error: err?.message || String(err)
+              });
+            }
             handleClose(i2, err?.message || String(err));
             return;
           }
@@ -3480,18 +3542,50 @@ var NostrTools = (() => {
       return events[0] || null;
     }
     publish(relays, event, options) {
-      return relays.map(normalizeURL).map(async (url, i2, arr) => {
+      const debugEnabled = typeof window !== "undefined" && !!window.__SIMPLE_POOL_DEBUG__;
+      const normalizedRelays = relays.map(normalizeURL);
+      if (debugEnabled) {
+        console.log("🔎 SIMPLE_POOL publish START", {
+          relaysInput: relays,
+          normalizedRelays,
+          eventKind: event?.kind,
+          eventId: event?.id
+        });
+      }
+      return normalizedRelays.map(async (url, i2, arr) => {
         if (arr.indexOf(url) !== i2) {
+          if (debugEnabled) {
+            console.log("🔎 SIMPLE_POOL publish duplicate URL", { url, index: i2 });
+          }
           return Promise.reject("duplicate url");
         }
         let r = await this.ensureRelay(url);
+        if (debugEnabled) {
+          console.log("🔎 SIMPLE_POOL publish ensured relay", {
+            url,
+            relayConnected: r?.connected,
+            relayMapKeys: Array.from(this.relays.keys())
+          });
+        }
         return r.publish(event).catch(async (err) => {
+          if (debugEnabled) {
+            console.log("🔎 SIMPLE_POOL publish ERROR", {
+              url,
+              error: err?.message || String(err)
+            });
+          }
           if (err instanceof Error && err.message.startsWith("auth-required: ") && options?.onauth) {
             await r.auth(options.onauth);
             return r.publish(event);
           }
           throw err;
         }).then((reason) => {
+          if (debugEnabled) {
+            console.log("🔎 SIMPLE_POOL publish SUCCESS", {
+              url,
+              reason
+            });
+          }
           if (this.trackRelays) {
             let set = this.seenOn.get(event.id);
             if (!set) {

config.csv

@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+key,value,data_type,description,category,requires_restart,created_at,updated_at

plans/c_relay_pg_plan.md

@@ -0,0 +1,632 @@
+# c-relay-pg Plan — PostgreSQL Backend + Multi-Instance + Dashboard
+
+## Overview
+
+**c-relay-pg** is a new project (separate repository) forked from c-relay after the `db_ops` abstraction layer is complete. It replaces the SQLite backend with PostgreSQL, enabling horizontal scaling, external dashboards, and production-grade deployments.
+
+### Prerequisites
+
+- The `db_ops.h` / `db_ops.c` abstraction layer must be complete in c-relay first — see [c-relay thread pool plan](c_relay_thread_pool_plan.md) Phase 1.
+- The fork happens after Phase 1 of that plan is done and tested.
+
+### Why a Separate Project?
+
+| | c-relay | c-relay-pg |
+|---|---------|-----------|
+| **Database** | SQLite (embedded) | PostgreSQL (client-server) |
+| **Deployment** | Single binary + DB file | Binary + PostgreSQL server |
+| **Scaling** | Single instance | Multiple instances + load balancer |
+| **Dashboard** | Embedded web UI | Separate web server + Grafana |
+| **Target user** | Personal relay, small community | Medium-large relay, production |
+| **Complexity** | Minimal | More infrastructure |
+
+For the full analysis of why PostgreSQL was chosen over MySQL/MariaDB and other databases, see the [database architecture analysis](database_architecture_analysis.md).
+
+## Architecture
+
+```mermaid
+flowchart TD
+    subgraph c-relay-pg - Production Deployment
+        LB[nginx - TLS + load balancing] -->|WebSocket| R1[c-relay-pg Instance 1]
+        LB -->|WebSocket| R2[c-relay-pg Instance 2]
+        LB -->|HTTP| DASH[Dashboard]
+        R1 -->|db_ops API| PGBACK[PostgreSQL Backend - db_ops_postgres.c]
+        R2 -->|db_ops API| PGBACK
+        PGBACK -->|libpq| PG[PostgreSQL Server]
+        DASH -->|SQL| PG
+        R1 <-->|LISTEN/NOTIFY| R2
+    end
+```
+
+---
+
+## Phase 1: PostgreSQL Backend
+
+### Goal
+
+Fork c-relay into a new repository called **c-relay-pg**. Replace the SQLite `db_ops` implementation with PostgreSQL using `libpq`. The `db_ops.h` interface stays identical — only the backend changes.
+
+### New Files
+
+- `src/db_ops_sqlite.c` — Renamed from `db_ops.c` (the Phase 1 SQLite implementation from c-relay)
+- `src/db_ops_postgres.c` — New PostgreSQL implementation
+- `src/db_ops.c` — Thin dispatcher that calls the active backend
+
+### PostgreSQL Schema
+
+```sql
+-- PostgreSQL schema for c-relay-pg
+-- No event_tags table needed — JSONB + GIN handles everything
+
+CREATE TABLE events (
+    id TEXT PRIMARY KEY,
+    pubkey TEXT NOT NULL,
+    created_at BIGINT NOT NULL,
+    kind INTEGER NOT NULL,
+    event_type TEXT NOT NULL CHECK (event_type IN ('regular', 'replaceable', 'ephemeral', 'addressable')),
+    content TEXT NOT NULL,
+    sig TEXT NOT NULL,
+    tags JSONB NOT NULL DEFAULT '[]',
+    event_json TEXT NOT NULL,
+    first_seen BIGINT NOT NULL DEFAULT EXTRACT(EPOCH FROM NOW())::BIGINT
+);
+
+-- Core indexes
+CREATE INDEX idx_events_pubkey ON events(pubkey);
+CREATE INDEX idx_events_kind ON events(kind);
+CREATE INDEX idx_events_created_at ON events(created_at DESC);
+CREATE INDEX idx_events_kind_created_at ON events(kind, created_at DESC);
+CREATE INDEX idx_events_pubkey_created_at ON events(pubkey, created_at DESC);
+CREATE INDEX idx_events_pubkey_kind ON events(pubkey, kind);
+
+-- THE KEY INDEX: GIN on JSONB tags — replaces the entire event_tags table
+CREATE INDEX idx_events_tags ON events USING GIN (tags);
+
+-- Partial index: only non-ephemeral events (what REQ queries actually filter)
+CREATE INDEX idx_events_non_ephemeral ON events(created_at DESC) 
+    WHERE kind < 20000 OR kind >= 30000;
+
+-- Config table
+CREATE TABLE config (
+    key TEXT PRIMARY KEY,
+    value TEXT NOT NULL,
+    data_type TEXT NOT NULL CHECK (data_type IN ('string', 'integer', 'boolean', 'json')),
+    description TEXT,
+    category TEXT DEFAULT 'general',
+    requires_restart INTEGER DEFAULT 0,
+    created_at BIGINT NOT NULL DEFAULT EXTRACT(EPOCH FROM NOW())::BIGINT,
+    updated_at BIGINT NOT NULL DEFAULT EXTRACT(EPOCH FROM NOW())::BIGINT
+);
+
+-- Auth rules table
+CREATE TABLE auth_rules (
+    id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
+    rule_type TEXT NOT NULL CHECK (rule_type IN ('whitelist', 'blacklist', 'rate_limit', 'auth_required', 'wot_whitelist')),
+    pattern_type TEXT NOT NULL CHECK (pattern_type IN ('pubkey', 'kind', 'ip', 'global')),
+    pattern_value TEXT,
+    active INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 1,
+    created_at BIGINT NOT NULL DEFAULT EXTRACT(EPOCH FROM NOW())::BIGINT,
+    updated_at BIGINT NOT NULL DEFAULT EXTRACT(EPOCH FROM NOW())::BIGINT
+);
+
+CREATE INDEX idx_auth_rules_lookup ON auth_rules(rule_type, pattern_type, pattern_value) WHERE active = 1;
+
+-- Relay private key storage
+CREATE TABLE relay_seckey (
+    private_key_hex TEXT NOT NULL CHECK (length(private_key_hex) = 64),
+    created_at BIGINT NOT NULL DEFAULT EXTRACT(EPOCH FROM NOW())::BIGINT
+);
+
+-- Subscription logging
+CREATE TABLE subscriptions (
+    id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
+    subscription_id TEXT NOT NULL,
+    wsi_pointer TEXT NOT NULL,
+    client_ip TEXT NOT NULL,
+    event_type TEXT NOT NULL CHECK (event_type IN ('created', 'closed', 'expired', 'disconnected')),
+    filter_json TEXT,
+    events_sent INTEGER DEFAULT 0,
+    created_at BIGINT NOT NULL DEFAULT EXTRACT(EPOCH FROM NOW())::BIGINT,
+    ended_at BIGINT,
+    duration INTEGER,
+    UNIQUE(subscription_id, wsi_pointer)
+);
+
+-- IP ban persistence
+CREATE TABLE ip_bans (
+    ip TEXT PRIMARY KEY,
+    failure_count INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
+    ban_count INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
+    banned_until BIGINT NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
+    first_failure BIGINT NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
+    has_authed_successfully INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
+    last_success_at BIGINT NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
+    total_connections INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
+    total_failures INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
+    total_successes INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
+    first_seen BIGINT NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
+    idle_failure_count INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
+    idle_ban_count INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
+    idle_banned_until BIGINT NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
+    idle_first_failure BIGINT NOT NULL DEFAULT 0
+);
+
+-- Materialized views for dashboard (refreshed periodically)
+CREATE MATERIALIZED VIEW event_kinds_mv AS
+SELECT kind, COUNT(*) as count,
+       ROUND(COUNT(*) * 100.0 / NULLIF((SELECT COUNT(*) FROM events), 0), 2) as percentage
+FROM events GROUP BY kind;
+
+CREATE MATERIALIZED VIEW time_stats_mv AS
+SELECT 'total' as period, COUNT(*) as total_events, COUNT(DISTINCT pubkey) as unique_pubkeys
+FROM events
+UNION ALL
+SELECT '24h', COUNT(*), COUNT(DISTINCT pubkey)
+FROM events WHERE created_at >= EXTRACT(EPOCH FROM NOW())::BIGINT - 86400
+UNION ALL
+SELECT '7d', COUNT(*), COUNT(DISTINCT pubkey)
+FROM events WHERE created_at >= EXTRACT(EPOCH FROM NOW())::BIGINT - 604800;
+
+CREATE MATERIALIZED VIEW top_pubkeys_mv AS
+SELECT pubkey, COUNT(*) as event_count,
+       ROUND(COUNT(*) * 100.0 / NULLIF((SELECT COUNT(*) FROM events), 0), 2) as percentage
+FROM events GROUP BY pubkey ORDER BY event_count DESC LIMIT 20;
+
+-- Unique indexes required for CONCURRENTLY refresh
+CREATE UNIQUE INDEX idx_event_kinds_mv ON event_kinds_mv(kind);
+CREATE UNIQUE INDEX idx_time_stats_mv ON time_stats_mv(period);
+CREATE UNIQUE INDEX idx_top_pubkeys_mv ON top_pubkeys_mv(pubkey);
+```
+
+### Key Implementation Details
+
+#### Tag Queries with JSONB
+
+The biggest win — replacing the `event_tags` subquery with JSONB containment:
+
+```c
+// SQLite (current): subquery into event_tags table
+// AND id IN (SELECT event_id FROM event_tags WHERE tag_name = ? AND tag_value IN (?))
+
+// PostgreSQL: JSONB containment operator with GIN index
+// AND tags @> '[["p", "pubkey_hex"]]'
+
+// For multiple tag values:
+// AND (tags @> '[["p", "val1"]]' OR tags @> '[["p", "val2"]]')
+```
+
+This eliminates the entire `event_tags` table (4 million rows, ~2 GB indexes in the current SQLite schema). The GIN index on JSONB handles everything in ~100–200 MB.
+
+#### LISTEN/NOTIFY Integration
+
+For cross-instance event broadcasting:
+
+```c
+// In db_ops_postgres.c:
+int db_notify_new_event(const char* event_id) {
+    char cmd[128];
+    snprintf(cmd, sizeof(cmd), "NOTIFY new_event, '%s'", event_id);
+    PGresult* res = PQexec(g_pg_conn, cmd);
+    PQclear(res);
+    return 0;
+}
+
+// Called from the lws event loop every iteration:
+int db_check_notifications(char* event_id_out, size_t max_len) {
+    PQconsumeInput(g_pg_notify_conn);
+    PGnotify* notify = PQnotifies(g_pg_notify_conn);
+    if (notify) {
+        strncpy(event_id_out, notify->extra, max_len);
+        PQfreemem(notify);
+        return 1;  // Got a notification
+    }
+    return 0;  // No notifications
+}
+```
+
+#### Connection Management
+
+```c
+// db_ops_postgres.c connection pool (simple version)
+#define DB_POOL_SIZE 4
+
+static PGconn* g_pg_read_pool[DB_POOL_SIZE];  // For REQ queries
+static PGconn* g_pg_write_conn;                // For EVENT inserts
+static PGconn* g_pg_notify_conn;               // For LISTEN/NOTIFY
+static pthread_mutex_t g_pool_lock;
+
+PGconn* db_get_read_connection(void) {
+    pthread_mutex_lock(&g_pool_lock);
+    // Round-robin or find idle connection
+    // ...
+    pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_pool_lock);
+}
+```
+
+### Build System Changes
+
+```makefile
+# Makefile additions
+DB_BACKEND ?= sqlite  # Default to sqlite, override with: make DB_BACKEND=postgres
+
+ifeq ($(DB_BACKEND),postgres)
+    MAIN_SRC += src/db_ops.c src/db_ops_postgres.c
+    LIBS += -lpq
+    CFLAGS += -DDB_BACKEND_POSTGRES
+else
+    MAIN_SRC += src/db_ops.c src/db_ops_sqlite.c
+    CFLAGS += -DDB_BACKEND_SQLITE
+endif
+```
+
+### Data Migration Tool
+
+A standalone tool to migrate existing SQLite data to PostgreSQL:
+
+```bash
+# migrate_to_postgres.sh
+# 1. Export events from SQLite
+sqlite3 old_relay.db ".mode csv" "SELECT id,pubkey,created_at,kind,event_type,content,sig,tags,event_json,first_seen FROM events" > events.csv
+
+# 2. Import into PostgreSQL
+psql -d crelay -c "\COPY events FROM 'events.csv' WITH CSV"
+
+# 3. Migrate config
+sqlite3 old_relay.db ".mode csv" "SELECT key,value,data_type,description,category,requires_restart FROM config" > config.csv
+psql -d crelay -c "\COPY config(key,value,data_type,description,category,requires_restart) FROM 'config.csv' WITH CSV"
+
+# 4. Migrate auth rules
+sqlite3 old_relay.db ".mode csv" "SELECT rule_type,pattern_type,pattern_value,active FROM auth_rules" > auth_rules.csv
+psql -d crelay -c "\COPY auth_rules(rule_type,pattern_type,pattern_value,active) FROM 'auth_rules.csv' WITH CSV"
+
+# 5. Refresh materialized views
+psql -d crelay -c "REFRESH MATERIALIZED VIEW event_kinds_mv; REFRESH MATERIALIZED VIEW time_stats_mv; REFRESH MATERIALIZED VIEW top_pubkeys_mv;"
+```
+
+---
+
+## Phase 2: Multi-Instance + Dashboard
+
+### Goal
+
+Run multiple c-relay-pg instances behind a load balancer with a separate dashboard web server, all sharing the same PostgreSQL database.
+
+### Components
+
+1. **nginx config** — WebSocket load balancing with `ip_hash` stickiness
+2. **systemd template** — `c-relay-pg@.service` for multiple instances
+3. **LISTEN/NOTIFY integration** — Cross-instance event broadcasting in the `lws_service()` loop
+4. **PgBouncer** — Connection pooling between c-relay-pg instances and PostgreSQL
+5. **Dashboard** — Separate web server querying PostgreSQL directly
+6. **Materialized view refresh** — Background job to refresh analytics views
+
+### Multi-Instance Architecture
+
+```mermaid
+flowchart TD
+    INTERNET[Internet - Nostr Clients] -->|wss://relay.example.com| NGINX[nginx reverse proxy - TLS termination + load balancing]
+    
+    NGINX -->|ws://localhost:8888| R1[c-relay-pg Instance 1 - port 8888]
+    NGINX -->|ws://localhost:8889| R2[c-relay-pg Instance 2 - port 8889]
+    NGINX -->|ws://localhost:8890| R3[c-relay-pg Instance 3 - port 8890]
+    NGINX -->|http://localhost:3000| DASHWEB[Dashboard Web Server]
+    
+    R1 -->|libpq connection pool| PGPOOL[PgBouncer - connection pooler]
+    R2 -->|libpq connection pool| PGPOOL
+    R3 -->|libpq connection pool| PGPOOL
+    
+    PGPOOL -->|pooled connections| PG[PostgreSQL Primary]
+    DASHWEB -->|read queries| PG
+    
+    PG -->|streaming replication| REPLICA[Read Replica - optional]
+    DASHWEB -.->|heavy analytics| REPLICA
+```
+
+### nginx Load Balancing Config
+
+```nginx
+# nginx.conf - WebSocket load balancing for c-relay-pg
+upstream relay_backends {
+    # ip_hash ensures a client always hits the same instance
+    # (important for WebSocket session stickiness)
+    ip_hash;
+    
+    server 127.0.0.1:8888;
+    server 127.0.0.1:8889;
+    server 127.0.0.1:8890;
+}
+
+server {
+    listen 443 ssl;
+    server_name relay.example.com;
+    
+    # TLS config...
+    
+    location / {
+        proxy_pass http://relay_backends;
+        proxy_http_version 1.1;
+        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
+        proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
+        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
+        proxy_read_timeout 86400;  # Keep WebSocket alive for 24h
+    }
+    
+    # Dashboard on separate path
+    location /dashboard {
+        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3000;
+    }
+}
+```
+
+**Session stickiness** (`ip_hash`) ensures that once a client connects to Instance 2, all their subsequent WebSocket frames go to Instance 2. This is important because subscriptions are held in-memory per instance.
+
+### Starting Multiple Instances
+
+Each instance is the same binary, just on a different port, all pointing to the same PostgreSQL:
+
+```bash
+# Instance 1
+./build/c_relay_x86 --port 8888 --db-host localhost --db-name crelay &
+
+# Instance 2
+./build/c_relay_x86 --port 8889 --db-host localhost --db-name crelay &
+
+# Instance 3
+./build/c_relay_x86 --port 8890 --db-host localhost --db-name crelay &
+```
+
+Or with systemd template units:
+
+```ini
+# /etc/systemd/system/c-relay-pg@.service
+[Unit]
+Description=C-Relay-PG Nostr Instance %i
+After=postgresql.service
+
+[Service]
+ExecStart=/opt/c-relay-pg/c_relay_x86 --port %i --db-host localhost --db-name crelay
+Restart=always
+User=c-relay
+
+[Install]
+WantedBy=multi-user.target
+```
+
+```bash
+systemctl enable c-relay-pg@8888 c-relay-pg@8889 c-relay-pg@8890
+systemctl start c-relay-pg@8888 c-relay-pg@8889 c-relay-pg@8890
+```
+
+### Cross-Instance Event Broadcasting
+
+When Instance 1 receives a new EVENT and stores it in PostgreSQL, Instance 2 and Instance 3 need to know about it so they can broadcast to their connected subscribers.
+
+```mermaid
+sequenceDiagram
+    participant Client_A as Client A - connected to Instance 1
+    participant I1 as Instance 1
+    participant PG as PostgreSQL
+    participant I2 as Instance 2
+    participant I3 as Instance 3
+    participant Client_B as Client B - connected to Instance 2
+    participant Client_C as Client C - connected to Instance 3
+
+    Client_A->>I1: EVENT - new kind:1 note
+    I1->>PG: INSERT INTO events...
+    PG-->>I1: OK
+    I1->>I1: broadcast to local subscribers
+    I1->>PG: NOTIFY new_event with event_id
+    
+    Note over PG: PostgreSQL delivers notification to all listeners
+    
+    PG-->>I2: NOTIFY: new_event event_id
+    PG-->>I3: NOTIFY: new_event event_id
+    
+    I2->>PG: SELECT event_json FROM events WHERE id = event_id
+    PG-->>I2: event JSON
+    I2->>I2: match against local subscriptions
+    I2->>Client_B: EVENT message - if subscription matches
+    
+    I3->>PG: SELECT event_json FROM events WHERE id = event_id
+    PG-->>I3: event JSON
+    I3->>I3: match against local subscriptions
+    I3->>Client_C: EVENT message - if subscription matches
+```
+
+#### PostgreSQL LISTEN/NOTIFY Implementation
+
+Built into PostgreSQL — no additional infrastructure needed:
+
+```c
+// === In the relay's event loop (modified lws_service loop) ===
+
+// Setup: create a dedicated connection for LISTEN
+PGconn* notify_conn = PQconnectdb("host=localhost dbname=crelay");
+PQexec(notify_conn, "LISTEN new_event");
+int notify_fd = PQsocket(notify_conn);  // Get the socket fd for poll()
+
+// After storing an event:
+void on_event_stored(PGconn* write_conn, const char* event_id) {
+    char notify_cmd[128];
+    snprintf(notify_cmd, sizeof(notify_cmd),
+             "NOTIFY new_event, '%s'", event_id);
+    PQexec(write_conn, notify_cmd);
+}
+
+// In the main event loop (runs every lws_service iteration):
+void check_cross_instance_events(PGconn* notify_conn) {
+    // Non-blocking check for notifications
+    PQconsumeInput(notify_conn);
+    
+    PGnotify* notify;
+    while ((notify = PQnotifies(notify_conn)) != NULL) {
+        // Another instance stored a new event
+        const char* event_id = notify->extra;
+        
+        // Fetch the event and check against local subscriptions
+        cJSON* event = db_get_event_by_id(event_id);
+        if (event) {
+            broadcast_event_to_subscriptions(event);
+            cJSON_Delete(event);
+        }
+        
+        PQfreemem(notify);
+    }
+}
+```
+
+**Performance**: LISTEN/NOTIFY adds ~1–5ms latency for cross-instance delivery. For a Nostr relay, this is imperceptible — clients already expect network latency.
+
+**Payload limit**: NOTIFY payloads are limited to 8000 bytes. For event IDs (64 hex chars), this is fine.
+
+#### Alternative: Redis Pub/Sub
+
+If you later need even lower latency or more sophisticated routing:
+
+```c
+// Using hiredis (Redis C client)
+redisContext* redis = redisConnect("127.0.0.1", 6379);
+
+// After storing event:
+redisCommand(redis, "PUBLISH new_event %s", event_json);
+
+// Subscriber (in each instance):
+redisCommand(redis, "SUBSCRIBE new_event");
+// Then poll for messages in the event loop
+```
+
+Redis adds sub-millisecond pub/sub but requires running a Redis server. For most relays, PostgreSQL LISTEN/NOTIFY is sufficient.
+
+### Connection Pooling with PgBouncer
+
+Each relay instance needs multiple database connections. Without pooling, 3 instances × 10 connections = 30 PostgreSQL backend processes. With PgBouncer:
+
+```ini
+# /etc/pgbouncer/pgbouncer.ini
+[databases]
+crelay = host=127.0.0.1 port=5432 dbname=crelay
+
+[pgbouncer]
+listen_port = 6432
+listen_addr = 127.0.0.1
+auth_type = md5
+pool_mode = transaction    # Return connection to pool after each transaction
+max_client_conn = 200      # Total connections from all relay instances
+default_pool_size = 20     # Actual PostgreSQL connections
+```
+
+Relay instances connect to PgBouncer (port 6432) instead of PostgreSQL directly (port 5432). PgBouncer multiplexes 200 client connections onto 20 actual PostgreSQL connections.
+
+### Zero-Downtime Deployment
+
+```mermaid
+sequenceDiagram
+    participant LB as nginx
+    participant I1 as Instance 1 - v1.0
+    participant I2 as Instance 2 - v1.0
+    participant I3 as Instance 3 - v1.0
+    participant I1_NEW as Instance 1 - v1.1
+
+    Note over LB,I3: Normal operation: 3 instances serving traffic
+    
+    LB->>I1: Mark upstream as down
+    Note over I1: Drain: wait for existing connections to close or timeout
+    I1->>I1: Graceful shutdown
+    
+    Note over LB: Traffic now goes to I2 and I3 only
+    
+    I1_NEW->>I1_NEW: Start with new binary
+    I1_NEW->>LB: Health check passes
+    LB->>I1_NEW: Mark upstream as up
+    
+    Note over LB,I1_NEW: Instance 1 now running v1.1, repeat for I2 and I3
+```
+
+Rolling deploy script:
+
+```bash
+#!/bin/bash
+# rolling_deploy.sh - Zero-downtime deployment
+
+for port in 8888 8889 8890; do
+    echo "Deploying instance on port $port..."
+    
+    # 1. Tell nginx to stop sending new connections
+    sed -i "s/server 127.0.0.1:$port;/server 127.0.0.1:$port down;/" /etc/nginx/nginx.conf
+    nginx -s reload
+    
+    # 2. Wait for existing connections to drain (30 seconds)
+    sleep 30
+    
+    # 3. Stop old instance
+    systemctl stop c-relay-pg@$port
+    
+    # 4. Deploy new binary
+    cp ./build/c_relay_x86 /opt/c-relay-pg/c_relay_x86
+    
+    # 5. Start new instance
+    systemctl start c-relay-pg@$port
+    
+    # 6. Wait for health check
+    sleep 5
+    
+    # 7. Re-enable in nginx
+    sed -i "s/server 127.0.0.1:$port down;/server 127.0.0.1:$port;/" /etc/nginx/nginx.conf
+    nginx -s reload
+    
+    echo "Instance on port $port deployed successfully"
+done
+```
+
+### Dashboard Options
+
+With PostgreSQL, the dashboard can be built with any technology:
+
+- **Grafana** — Point directly at PostgreSQL, zero custom code
+- **Custom web app** — React/Vue frontend + any backend (Node, Python, Go) querying PostgreSQL
+- **Embedded in c-relay-pg** — Keep current approach but queries go through `db_ops` to PostgreSQL (no longer blocks event loop since PostgreSQL handles concurrency)
+
+### Scaling Scenarios
+
+| Scenario | Instances | Connections | Events/hour | Setup |
+|----------|-----------|-------------|-------------|-------|
+| **Current** | 1 | ~1,200 | 56 | Single process + SQLite |
+| **Small upgrade** | 2 | ~2,500 | 500 | 2 instances + PostgreSQL |
+| **Medium relay** | 4 | ~5,000 | 5,000 | 4 instances + PostgreSQL + PgBouncer |
+| **Large relay** | 8 | ~10,000 | 50,000 | 8 instances + PostgreSQL + read replica |
+| **Multi-region** | 2–4 per region | ~50,000 | 500,000 | Multiple servers + PostgreSQL replication |
+
+### Cost Perspective
+
+Running multiple relay instances with PostgreSQL on a single VPS:
+- **PostgreSQL**: ~200–500 MB RAM baseline
+- **PgBouncer**: ~10 MB RAM
+- **Each relay instance**: ~50–100 MB RAM
+- **Dashboard web server**: ~50–100 MB RAM
+- **4 instances + PostgreSQL + PgBouncer + dashboard**: ~1–2 GB total RAM
+- A **$20/month VPS** with 4 cores and 4 GB RAM handles this easily
+- A **$40/month VPS** with 8 cores and 8 GB RAM handles 8 instances comfortably
+
+---
+
+## Risk Mitigation
+
+| Risk | Mitigation |
+|------|-----------|
+| PostgreSQL connection failures | `db_ops` returns error codes. Relay logs errors but doesn't crash. Reconnection logic with exponential backoff. |
+| Performance regression | Benchmark before/after. PostgreSQL should be faster for complex queries, similar for simple ones. |
+| Data loss during migration | Migration tool is read-only on SQLite. PostgreSQL import is idempotent (INSERT ON CONFLICT). |
+| SQLite fallback needed | Keep `db_ops_sqlite.c` working. Compile-time flag switches backends. Can always go back. |
+| LISTEN/NOTIFY message loss | NOTIFY is transactional — if the INSERT commits, the NOTIFY is guaranteed. Missed notifications during reconnect handled by periodic full-sync. |
+| PgBouncer adds latency | Transaction pooling mode adds <0.1ms. Negligible compared to query time. |
+
+---
+
+## Relationship to c-relay
+
+This project depends on the `db_ops.h` abstraction layer built in [c-relay thread pool plan](c_relay_thread_pool_plan.md) Phase 1. The interface is identical — only the backend implementation changes:
+
+- **c-relay**: `db_ops.c` → SQLite calls via `sqlite3_*`
+- **c-relay-pg**: `db_ops_postgres.c` → PostgreSQL calls via `libpq` (`PQexec`, `PQgetvalue`, etc.)
+
+The `db_ops.h` header file is shared between both projects. Changes to the interface should be coordinated.

plans/c_relay_thread_pool_plan.md

@@ -0,0 +1,332 @@
+# c-relay Thread Pool Plan — db_ops Abstraction + SQLite Thread Pool
+
+## Overview
+
+This plan covers improvements to **c-relay** (this repo) — the lean, single-binary, embedded-SQLite Nostr relay. Two phases:
+
+1. **Phase 1: Database Abstraction Layer** — Consolidate all scattered `sqlite3_*` calls into a single `db_ops.h` / `db_ops.c` module. Pure refactor, no behavior change.
+2. **Phase 2: SQLite Thread Pool** — Add worker threads for concurrent reads, unblocking the `lws_service()` event loop.
+
+This is the **final form of c-relay**: an embedded-SQLite relay with clean architecture and non-blocking database access. The abstraction layer also enables a future fork to PostgreSQL — see [c-relay-pg plan](c_relay_pg_plan.md).
+
+### Why This First?
+
+The current architecture has a fundamental bottleneck documented in the [database architecture analysis](database_architecture_analysis.md): the single-threaded event loop blocks on every database call. A 672ms REQ query freezes every connected client. The thread pool fixes this without changing the database engine or deployment model.
+
+| Metric | Current | After Thread Pool |
+|--------|---------|-------------------|
+| **Event loop blocking** | 0.1–672ms per query | Near-zero |
+| **Concurrent reads** | 1 | 4–8 |
+| **Deployment** | Single binary + DB file | Same |
+| **Database** | SQLite | Same |
+| **Code risk** | N/A | Low — additive change |
+
+## Architecture
+
+```mermaid
+flowchart TD
+    subgraph c-relay - Final Form
+        RELAY[c-relay binary] -->|db_ops API| DBOPS[db_ops.c - abstraction layer]
+        DBOPS -->|sqlite3 calls| SQLITE[SQLite WAL database]
+    end
+```
+
+```mermaid
+flowchart TD
+    subgraph c-relay with Thread Pool
+        LWS[lws_service event loop] -->|REQ arrives| Q[Thread-safe job queue]
+        LWS -->|EVENT arrives| WQ[Write queue - single writer]
+        Q --> T1[Reader Thread 1 - own sqlite3*]
+        Q --> T2[Reader Thread 2 - own sqlite3*]
+        Q --> T3[Reader Thread 3 - own sqlite3*]
+        Q --> T4[Reader Thread 4 - own sqlite3*]
+        WQ --> TW[Writer Thread - own sqlite3*]
+        T1 -->|results| CB[Callback to lws event loop]
+        T2 -->|results| CB
+        T3 -->|results| CB
+        T4 -->|results| CB
+        TW -->|OK/error| CB
+        CB -->|queue_message| LWS
+    end
+```
+
+---
+
+## Phase 1: Database Abstraction Layer
+
+### Goal
+
+Consolidate all 258 scattered `sqlite3_*` calls across 8 files into a single `db_ops.h` / `db_ops.c` module with a backend-agnostic interface. SQLite continues to work — this is a pure refactor.
+
+### Files That Currently Touch SQLite Directly
+
+| File | `sqlite3_*` calls | Operations |
+|------|-------------------|------------|
+| [`src/main.c`](../src/main.c) | ~80 | Event store/retrieve, tag storage, REQ queries, COUNT queries, DB init, schema migration |
+| [`src/config.c`](../src/config.c) | ~60 | Config CRUD, auth rules CRUD, WoT sync, relay key storage, startup sequence |
+| [`src/api.c`](../src/api.c) | ~40 | Stats queries, monitoring views, admin SQL execution, config management |
+| [`src/dm_admin.c`](../src/dm_admin.c) | ~20 | Auth rule management, WoT whitelist operations |
+| [`src/websockets.c`](../src/websockets.c) | ~15 | COUNT queries, IP ban stats, connection tracking |
+| [`src/subscriptions.c`](../src/subscriptions.c) | ~15 | Subscription logging — create/close/disconnect |
+| [`src/nip009.c`](../src/nip009.c) | ~10 | Event deletion — by ID and by address |
+| [`src/request_validator.c`](../src/request_validator.c) | ~8 | Blacklist/whitelist checks |
+| [`src/ip_ban.c`](../src/ip_ban.c) | ~15 | IP ban table CRUD, persistence |
+
+### Abstraction Layer Design
+
+New files: `src/db_ops.h` and `src/db_ops.c`
+
+```c
+// src/db_ops.h — Database operations abstraction layer
+#ifndef DB_OPS_H
+#define DB_OPS_H
+
+#include "../nostr_core_lib/cjson/cJSON.h"
+
+// ============================================================
+// Lifecycle
+// ============================================================
+int db_init(const char* connection_string);  // SQLite: file path, PG: connection string
+void db_close(void);
+int db_is_available(void);
+
+// ============================================================
+// Schema / Migration
+// ============================================================
+int db_ensure_schema(void);
+int db_get_schema_version(void);
+int db_execute_raw(const char* sql);  // For schema DDL only
+
+// ============================================================
+// Event Operations
+// ============================================================
+int db_store_event(cJSON* event);
+int db_event_exists(const char* event_id);
+char* db_get_event_json(const char* event_id);  // Caller must free
+int db_delete_event_by_id(const char* event_id, const char* requester_pubkey);
+int db_delete_events_by_address(const char* pubkey, int kind, 
+                                 const char* d_tag, long before_timestamp);
+
+// ============================================================
+// Event Queries - REQ handling
+// ============================================================
+typedef struct {
+    int* kinds;           int kind_count;
+    char** authors;       int author_count;
+    char** ids;           int id_count;
+    char** tag_names;     // Parallel arrays: tag_names[i] has tag_values[i][]
+    char*** tag_values;
+    int* tag_value_counts;
+    int tag_filter_count;
+    long since;           // 0 = not set
+    long until;           // 0 = not set
+    int limit;            // 0 = default 500
+    char* search;         // NIP-50 search term, NULL = not set
+} db_event_filter_t;
+
+typedef struct db_result db_result_t;
+
+db_result_t* db_query_events(const db_event_filter_t* filter);
+const char* db_result_next_json(db_result_t* result);  // Returns event_json, NULL when done
+int db_result_row_count(db_result_t* result);
+void db_result_free(db_result_t* result);
+
+int db_count_events(const db_event_filter_t* filter);
+
+// ============================================================
+// Config Operations
+// ============================================================
+char* db_get_config(const char* key);  // Caller must free, NULL if not found
+int db_set_config(const char* key, const char* value, const char* data_type,
+                  const char* description, const char* category, int requires_restart);
+int db_update_config(const char* key, const char* value);
+int db_config_exists(const char* key);
+int db_get_config_count(void);
+
+// ============================================================
+// Auth Rules Operations
+// ============================================================
+int db_add_auth_rule(const char* rule_type, const char* pattern_type, const char* pattern_value);
+int db_remove_auth_rule(const char* rule_type, const char* pattern_type, const char* pattern_value);
+int db_auth_rule_exists(const char* rule_type, const char* pattern_type, const char* pattern_value);
+int db_clear_auth_rules(const char* rule_type);  // NULL = clear all
+int db_is_blacklisted(const char* pubkey);
+int db_is_whitelisted(const char* pubkey);
+int db_has_any_whitelist(void);
+
+// ============================================================
+// Relay Key Storage
+// ============================================================
+int db_store_relay_private_key(const char* privkey_hex);
+char* db_get_relay_private_key(void);  // Caller must free
+
+// ============================================================
+// Subscription Logging
+// ============================================================
+int db_log_subscription_created(const char* sub_id, const char* wsi_ptr, 
+                                 const char* client_ip, const char* filter_json);
+int db_log_subscription_closed(const char* sub_id, const char* client_ip);
+int db_log_subscription_disconnected(const char* client_ip);
+int db_update_subscription_events_sent(const char* sub_id, int events_sent);
+int db_cleanup_orphaned_subscriptions(void);
+
+// ============================================================
+// IP Ban Persistence
+// ============================================================
+int db_ensure_ip_ban_table(void);
+int db_load_ip_bans(void* ban_table, int table_size);  // Populates in-memory table
+int db_save_ip_bans(const void* ban_table, int table_size);
+
+// ============================================================
+// Analytics / Stats - for dashboard
+// ============================================================
+cJSON* db_get_event_kind_distribution(void);
+cJSON* db_get_time_based_stats(void);
+cJSON* db_get_top_pubkeys(int limit);
+cJSON* db_get_subscription_details(void);
+int db_get_total_event_count(void);
+
+// ============================================================
+// Admin SQL Query
+// ============================================================
+cJSON* db_execute_admin_query(const char* sql, char* error_msg, size_t error_size);
+
+#endif // DB_OPS_H
+```
+
+### Migration Strategy for Phase 1
+
+The key principle: **change the interface, not the behavior**. Each function in `db_ops.c` initially just wraps the existing SQLite calls.
+
+**Step-by-step for each file:**
+
+1. **Create `db_ops.h` and `db_ops.c`** with the interface above
+2. **Implement each `db_ops` function** by moving the existing SQLite code from the source files into `db_ops.c`
+3. **Replace direct `sqlite3_*` calls** in each source file with `db_ops_*` calls
+4. **Remove `extern sqlite3* g_db`** from each file — only `db_ops.c` knows about `g_db`
+5. **Remove `#include <sqlite3.h>`** from each file — only `db_ops.c` includes it
+6. **Update Makefile** to compile `db_ops.c`
+
+### Order of Migration (by risk, lowest first)
+
+1. **`src/ip_ban.c`** — Self-contained, simple CRUD. Good warmup.
+2. **`src/subscriptions.c`** — Logging only, no critical path.
+3. **`src/nip009.c`** — Event deletion, small file.
+4. **`src/request_validator.c`** — Auth checks, small file.
+5. **`src/api.c`** — Stats/monitoring queries. Larger but read-only.
+6. **`src/dm_admin.c`** — Auth rules + WoT. Medium complexity.
+7. **`src/config.c`** — Config CRUD. Large but well-structured.
+8. **`src/websockets.c`** — COUNT queries, minimal DB usage.
+9. **`src/main.c`** — Event store/retrieve, REQ queries. The big one — do last.
+
+### Testing Phase 1
+
+After Phase 1, the relay should behave **identically** to before. Run:
+- `tests/run_all_tests.sh` — Full test suite
+- `tests/performance_benchmarks.sh` — Verify no performance regression
+- Manual testing with production-like traffic
+
+---
+
+## Phase 2: SQLite Thread Pool
+
+### Goal
+
+Add a pool of N worker threads, each with its own `sqlite3*` connection to the same database file. SQLite WAL mode (already enabled) supports **concurrent readers**. The event loop dispatches database work to the pool and remains responsive.
+
+### Key Design Points
+
+1. **Read path**: REQ queries dispatched to thread pool. Each worker opens its own `sqlite3*` connection. SQLite WAL allows unlimited concurrent readers.
+
+2. **Write path**: EVENT inserts go through a single dedicated writer thread. SQLite only allows one writer at a time anyway — this serializes writes cleanly.
+
+3. **Result delivery**: Worker threads cannot call `lws_write()` directly (libwebsockets is not thread-safe). Instead, they push results into a per-session message queue and call `lws_cancel_service()` to wake the event loop, which then drains the queue.
+
+4. **Connection lifecycle**: Each thread opens its own connection with `PRAGMA journal_mode=WAL` and `PRAGMA busy_timeout=5000`.
+
+### What Changes in the Codebase
+
+| Component | Current | Thread Pool |
+|-----------|---------|-------------|
+| [`g_db`](../src/main.c:49) | Single global connection | One per thread + writer connection |
+| [`handle_req_message()`](../src/main.c:1101) | Synchronous SQL in callback | Package filter into job, dispatch to pool |
+| [`store_event()`](../src/main.c:787) | Synchronous INSERT in callback | Dispatch to writer thread |
+| [`handle_count_message()`](../src/websockets.c:2863) | Synchronous COUNT in callback | Dispatch to pool |
+| Result delivery | Direct `queue_message()` | Worker pushes to queue + `lws_cancel_service()` |
+| Config reads | Direct `sqlite3_prepare` on `g_db` | Can stay synchronous with own connection or cache |
+
+### New Files
+
+- `src/thread_pool.h` — Thread pool interface
+- `src/thread_pool.c` — Thread pool implementation (job queue, worker lifecycle, result delivery)
+
+### Thread Pool Interface (sketch)
+
+```c
+// src/thread_pool.h
+#ifndef THREAD_POOL_H
+#define THREAD_POOL_H
+
+typedef enum {
+    JOB_TYPE_REQ_QUERY,
+    JOB_TYPE_COUNT_QUERY,
+    JOB_TYPE_STORE_EVENT,
+    JOB_TYPE_DELETE_EVENT,
+} job_type_t;
+
+typedef struct {
+    job_type_t type;
+    void* session;              // lws per-session data pointer
+    db_event_filter_t filter;   // For REQ/COUNT jobs
+    cJSON* event;               // For STORE jobs
+    char event_id[65];          // For DELETE jobs
+} db_job_t;
+
+int thread_pool_init(int num_readers, const char* db_path);
+void thread_pool_shutdown(void);
+int thread_pool_submit_read(db_job_t* job);
+int thread_pool_submit_write(db_job_t* job);
+
+#endif // THREAD_POOL_H
+```
+
+### Performance Characteristics
+
+| Metric | Value |
+|--------|-------|
+| **Concurrent reads** | N readers in parallel (N = thread count, typically 4–8) |
+| **Write throughput** | Same as current — SQLite serializes writes regardless |
+| **Event loop latency** | Near-zero — REQ no longer blocks the loop |
+| **Max theoretical read throughput** | ~4–8x current (limited by disk I/O, not CPU) |
+| **Memory overhead** | ~50–100 MB per connection (page cache) |
+| **Latency per query** | Same as current per-query, but no head-of-line blocking |
+
+### Limitations
+
+- **Write contention**: SQLite still allows only ONE writer at a time. With WAL, readers don't block writers and writers don't block readers, but two simultaneous writes will serialize. At the current write rate (~56 events/hour), this is a non-issue.
+- **Database size**: The 2.7 GB index bloat problem remains. Thread pool doesn't fix the schema — it fixes the concurrency.
+- **Scaling ceiling**: Beyond ~8 reader threads, diminishing returns due to disk I/O contention on a single SQLite file.
+- **Complexity**: Need a proper job queue, thread lifecycle management, and careful handling of the lws ↔ worker thread boundary.
+
+---
+
+## Risk Mitigation
+
+| Risk | Mitigation |
+|------|-----------|
+| Phase 1 introduces bugs | Each file migrated independently, tested after each. Full test suite runs after each file. |
+| Thread pool race conditions | Worker threads only touch their own `sqlite3*` connection. Result delivery uses a mutex-protected queue. `lws_cancel_service()` is documented as thread-safe. |
+| Performance regression from abstraction | Abstraction layer is thin wrappers — no extra allocations or copies. Benchmark before/after. |
+| lws thread safety issues | Workers never call `lws_write()` directly. They push to a queue and wake the event loop. This is the documented pattern for libwebsockets multi-threading. |
+| Rollback needed | Phase 1 is a pure refactor — easy to revert. Phase 2 thread pool is additive — can be disabled with a compile flag. |
+
+---
+
+## Relationship to c-relay-pg
+
+After Phase 1 (abstraction layer) is complete, the codebase is ready to be forked into a separate **c-relay-pg** project that replaces the SQLite backend with PostgreSQL. See [c-relay-pg plan](c_relay_pg_plan.md) for details.
+
+The `db_ops.h` interface is designed to work with any backend:
+- **SQLite** (this plan): `db_result_next_json()` copies from `sqlite3_column_text()`
+- **PostgreSQL** (c-relay-pg): `db_result_next_json()` returns from `PQgetvalue()`
+- **LMDB** (future possibility): `db_result_next_json()` returns a zero-copy pointer into mmap'd memory

plans/idle_connection_ban_plan.md

@@ -0,0 +1,585 @@
+# Plan: Ban Idle and Early-Disconnect Connections
+
+## Problem Statement
+
+The relay needs to defend against spam connections that:
+1. Connect via WebSocket and sit idle doing nothing (the original problem)
+2. Connect and immediately disconnect without subscribing or posting (the new requirement)
+
+Both patterns indicate bot/scanner behavior that should result in IP bans.
+
+## Goal
+
+Implement a system that:
+- Bans IPs that connect but never send a REQ or EVENT (regardless of how the connection ends)
+- Works **independent of NIP-42 authentication** (no auth required)
+- Allows legitimate users to connect and use the relay normally
+- Uses existing IP ban infrastructure
+
+## Architecture Overview
+
+```mermaid
+flowchart TD
+    A[Client connects] --> B{IP banned?}
+    B -->|Yes| C[Reject immediately]
+    B -->|No| D[Set idle timeout timer]
+    D --> E{Client sends REQ or EVENT?}
+    E -->|Yes| F[Mark session ACTIVE<br>Cancel idle timer]
+    E -->|No| G{Connection closes?}
+    G --> H{Session was ACTIVE?}
+    H -->|Yes| I[Clean close - no ban]
+    H -->|No| J["ip_ban_record_failure()<br>→ may trigger ban"]
+    F --> K[Normal operation]
+    K --> L[Connection closes]
+    L --> I
+```
+
+## Key Insight
+
+The distinction between "idle timeout" and "early disconnect" is minimal:
+- **Idle timeout**: Connection closed by server because client never became ACTIVE
+- **Early disconnect**: Connection closed by client because client never became ACTIVE
+
+Both result in the same check: `if (!session_was_active) ban_ip()`
+
+## Implementation Plan
+
+### 1. Add Session Activity Tracking
+
+**File: `src/websockets.h`**
+
+Add to `struct per_session_data`:
+
+```c
+// Session activity tracking for idle connection banning
+int session_active;           // 1 if client sent REQ or EVENT, 0 otherwise
+int idle_timeout_sec;         // Timeout value for this session (copied from config)
+```
+
+### 2. Set Idle Timeout on All Connections
+
+**File: `src/websockets.c` - `LWS_CALLBACK_ESTABLISHED`**
+
+Currently (lines 561-572):
+```c
+// Only set timeout if auth is required
+if (pss->nip42_auth_required_events || pss->nip42_auth_required_subscriptions) {
+    int auth_timeout = get_config_int("nip42_auth_timeout_sec", 10);
+    if (auth_timeout > 0) {
+        lws_set_timeout(wsi, PENDING_TIMEOUT_AWAITING_PING, auth_timeout);
+    }
+}
+```
+
+Change to:
+```c
+// Initialize session activity tracking
+pss->session_active = 0;
+pss->idle_timeout_sec = get_config_int("idle_connection_timeout_sec", 30);
+
+// Set idle timeout for ALL connections (not just auth-required)
+// This catches bots that connect and do nothing
+if (pss->idle_timeout_sec > 0) {
+    lws_set_timeout(wsi, PENDING_TIMEOUT_AWAITING_PING, pss->idle_timeout_sec);
+    DEBUG_TRACE("Idle timeout set: %d seconds for connection from %s",
+                pss->idle_timeout_sec, pss->client_ip);
+}
+
+// Also set auth timeout if auth is required (separate concern)
+if (pss->nip42_auth_required_events || pss->nip42_auth_required_subscriptions) {
+    int auth_timeout = get_config_int("nip42_auth_timeout_sec", 10);
+    // Use the shorter of the two timeouts
+    int effective_timeout = (pss->idle_timeout_sec > 0 && pss->idle_timeout_sec < auth_timeout) 
+                            ? pss->idle_timeout_sec 
+                            : auth_timeout;
+    if (effective_timeout > 0) {
+        lws_set_timeout(wsi, PENDING_TIMEOUT_AWAITING_PING, effective_timeout);
+    }
+}
+```
+
+### 3. Mark Session as Active on Valid Activity
+
+**File: `src/websockets.c` - `LWS_CALLBACK_RECEIVE`**
+
+When processing REQ message (around line 1030):
+```c
+// Before handling REQ, mark session as active
+pthread_mutex_lock(&pss->session_lock);
+pss->session_active = 1;
+pthread_mutex_unlock(&pss->session_lock);
+
+// Cancel idle timeout - this is legitimate usage
+lws_set_timeout(wsi, NO_PENDING_TIMEOUT, 0);
+```
+
+When processing EVENT message (around line 1380):
+```c
+// Before handling EVENT, mark session as active
+pthread_mutex_lock(&pss->session_lock);
+pss->session_active = 1;
+pthread_mutex_unlock(&pss->session_lock);
+
+// Cancel idle timeout - this is legitimate usage
+lws_set_timeout(wsi, NO_PENDING_TIMEOUT, 0);
+```
+
+**Note**: We should also consider AUTH as "activity" since the client is engaging with the protocol:
+```c
+// In handle_nip42_auth_signed_event (nip042.c)
+// After successful auth, also mark session active
+pthread_mutex_lock(&pss->session_lock);
+pss->session_active = 1;
+pthread_mutex_unlock(&pss->session_lock);
+```
+
+### 3.5. Separate Rate Limiting for Idle Connections
+
+Per user feedback, idle/early-disconnect failures have **separate rate limiting** from auth failures. This requires:
+
+**New Config Keys:**
+
+| Config Key | Type | Default | Range | Description |
+|------------|------|---------|-------|-------------|
+| `idle_ban_threshold` | int | 3 | 1-100 | Idle failures before ban |
+| `idle_ban_window_sec` | int | 60 | 10-3600 | Window for counting idle failures |
+| `idle_ban_duration_sec` | int | 300 | 60-86400 | Initial idle ban duration |
+
+**Add to `ip_ban_entry_t` in `src/ip_ban.c`:**
+
+```c
+typedef struct {
+    int state;
+    char ip[46];
+    
+    // Auth failure tracking (existing)
+    int failure_count;
+    time_t first_failure;
+    time_t banned_until;
+    int ban_count;
+    
+    // NEW: Idle failure tracking (separate)
+    int idle_failure_count;
+    time_t idle_first_failure;
+    time_t idle_banned_until;
+    int idle_ban_count;
+    
+    // Other existing fields...
+    int has_authed_successfully;
+    time_t last_success_at;
+    int total_connections;
+    int total_failures;
+    int total_successes;
+    time_t first_seen;
+} ip_ban_entry_t;
+```
+
+**New function in `src/ip_ban.c`:**
+
+```c
+// Record an idle/early-disconnect failure for an IP
+void ip_ban_record_idle_failure(const char* ip) {
+    if (!ip || !g_initialized) return;
+    if (!get_config_bool("idle_ban_enabled", 1)) return;
+
+    int threshold = get_config_int("idle_ban_threshold", 3);
+    int window_sec = get_config_int("idle_ban_window_sec", 60);
+    int ban_duration = get_config_int("idle_ban_duration_sec", 300);
+
+    pthread_mutex_lock(&g_ban_mutex);
+    ip_ban_entry_t* entry = get_or_create_entry(ip);
+    if (!entry) {
+        pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_ban_mutex);
+        return;
+    }
+
+    time_t now = time(NULL);
+
+    // Reset window if expired
+    if (entry->idle_first_failure > 0 && (now - entry->idle_first_failure) > window_sec) {
+        entry->idle_failure_count = 0;
+        entry->idle_first_failure = now;
+    }
+    if (entry->idle_first_failure == 0) {
+        entry->idle_first_failure = now;
+    }
+
+    entry->idle_failure_count++;
+    entry->total_failures++;
+
+    DEBUG_TRACE("IP %s idle failure count: %d/%d", ip, entry->idle_failure_count, threshold);
+
+    if (entry->idle_failure_count >= threshold) {
+        int duration = ban_duration;
+        for (int i = 0; i < entry->idle_ban_count && duration < 86400; i++) {
+            duration *= 2;
+        }
+        if (duration > 86400) duration = 86400;
+
+        entry->idle_banned_until = now + duration;
+        entry->idle_ban_count++;
+        entry->idle_failure_count = 0;
+        entry->idle_first_failure = 0;
+
+        DEBUG_WARN("IP %s banned for %d seconds (idle ban #%d) after %d idle failures",
+                   ip, duration, entry->idle_ban_count, threshold);
+    }
+
+    pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_ban_mutex);
+}
+```
+
+**Update `ip_ban_is_banned()` to check BOTH ban types:**
+
+```c
+int ip_ban_is_banned(const char* ip) {
+    if (!ip || !g_initialized) return 0;
+    
+    pthread_mutex_lock(&g_ban_mutex);
+    int idx = find_slot(ip);
+    if (idx < 0 || g_ban_table[idx].state == IP_BAN_EMPTY) {
+        pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_ban_mutex);
+        return 0;
+    }
+
+    ip_ban_entry_t* entry = &g_ban_table[idx];
+    time_t now = time(NULL);
+    int banned = 0;
+
+    // Check auth ban (if enabled)
+    if (get_config_bool("auth_fail_ban_enabled", 1) &&
+        entry->banned_until > 0 && now < entry->banned_until) {
+        banned = 1;
+    }
+    
+    // Check idle ban (if enabled)
+    if (get_config_bool("idle_ban_enabled", 1) &&
+        entry->idle_banned_until > 0 && now < entry->idle_banned_until) {
+        banned = 1;
+    }
+    
+    // Clear expired bans
+    if (!banned) {
+        if (entry->banned_until > 0 && now >= entry->banned_until) {
+            entry->banned_until = 0;
+            entry->failure_count = 0;
+            entry->first_failure = 0;
+        }
+        if (entry->idle_banned_until > 0 && now >= entry->idle_banned_until) {
+            entry->idle_banned_until = 0;
+            entry->idle_failure_count = 0;
+            entry->idle_first_failure = 0;
+        }
+    }
+
+    pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_ban_mutex);
+    return banned;
+}
+```
+
+**Update persistence:**
+- `ip_ban_load_from_db()`: Load idle_* fields from new columns
+- `ip_ban_save_to_db()`: Save idle_* fields to new columns
+- Add migration SQL to create new columns if they don't exist
+
+**Add to `src/ip_ban.h`:**
+
+```c
+// Record an idle/early-disconnect failure for an IP
+void ip_ban_record_idle_failure(const char* ip);
+```
+
+### 4. Record Failure on Inactive Connection Close
+
+**File: `src/websockets.c` - `LWS_CALLBACK_CLOSED`**
+
+Currently (lines 2121-2128):
+```c
+// Record auth failure if connection closed while unauthenticated and auth was required
+if (!pss->authenticated &&
+    (pss->nip42_auth_required_events || pss->nip42_auth_required_subscriptions) &&
+    pss->auth_challenge_sent &&
+    strlen(pss->client_ip) > 0) {
+    ip_ban_record_failure(pss->client_ip);
+}
+```
+
+Change to:
+```c
+// Record failure if connection closed without ever becoming active
+// This catches:
+// 1. Idle connections that timed out (never sent REQ/EVENT/AUTH)
+// 2. Early disconnects (client closed before sending REQ/EVENT/AUTH)
+if (!pss->session_active && strlen(pss->client_ip) > 0) {
+    // Use separate idle failure recording (has its own threshold/duration)
+    ip_ban_record_idle_failure(pss->client_ip);
+    DEBUG_LOG("Recording idle/early-disconnect failure for IP %s (connected %ld seconds)",
+              pss->client_ip,
+              time(NULL) - pss->connection_established);
+}
+// Legacy: record auth failure if auth was required but not completed
+else if (!pss->authenticated &&
+         (pss->nip42_auth_required_events || pss->nip42_auth_required_subscriptions) &&
+         pss->auth_challenge_sent &&
+         strlen(pss->client_ip) > 0) {
+    ip_ban_record_failure(pss->client_ip);
+}
+```
+
+### 5. Add Configuration Keys
+
+**File: `src/config.c` - Add validation for new keys**
+
+In the config validation section, add:
+
+```c
+// Idle connection ban settings
+if (strcmp(key, "idle_connection_timeout_sec") == 0) {
+    if (!is_valid_positive_integer(value)) {
+        snprintf(error_msg, error_size, "invalid idle_connection_timeout_sec '%s' (must be positive integer)", value);
+        return -1;
+    }
+    int timeout = atoi(value);
+    if (timeout < 5 || timeout > 300) {
+        snprintf(error_msg, error_size, "idle_connection_timeout_sec must be between 5 and 300 seconds");
+        return -1;
+    }
+    return 0;
+}
+
+if (strcmp(key, "idle_ban_enabled") == 0) {
+    if (!is_valid_boolean(value)) {
+        snprintf(error_msg, error_size, "invalid boolean value '%s' for idle_ban_enabled", value);
+        return -1;
+    }
+    return 0;
+}
+
+if (strcmp(key, "idle_ban_threshold") == 0) {
+    if (!is_valid_positive_integer(value)) {
+        snprintf(error_msg, error_size, "invalid idle_ban_threshold '%s' (must be positive integer)", value);
+        return -1;
+    }
+    int threshold = atoi(value);
+    if (threshold < 1 || threshold > 100) {
+        snprintf(error_msg, error_size, "idle_ban_threshold must be between 1 and 100");
+        return -1;
+    }
+    return 0;
+}
+
+if (strcmp(key, "idle_ban_window_sec") == 0) {
+    if (!is_valid_positive_integer(value)) {
+        snprintf(error_msg, error_size, "invalid idle_ban_window_sec '%s' (must be positive integer)", value);
+        return -1;
+    }
+    int window = atoi(value);
+    if (window < 10 || window > 3600) {
+        snprintf(error_msg, error_size, "idle_ban_window_sec must be between 10 and 3600");
+        return -1;
+    }
+    return 0;
+}
+
+if (strcmp(key, "idle_ban_duration_sec") == 0) {
+    if (!is_valid_positive_integer(value)) {
+        snprintf(error_msg, error_size, "invalid idle_ban_duration_sec '%s' (must be positive integer)", value);
+        return -1;
+    }
+    int duration = atoi(value);
+    if (duration < 60 || duration > 86400) {
+        snprintf(error_msg, error_size, "idle_ban_duration_sec must be between 60 and 86400");
+        return -1;
+    }
+    return 0;
+}
+```
+
+Also update the config introspection/documentation functions to describe these keys.
+
+### 6. Add API Documentation
+
+**File: `src/api.c` - Add to config metadata**
+
+```c
+{"idle_connection_timeout_sec", "int", 5, 300},
+{"idle_ban_enabled", "bool", 0, 1},
+{"idle_ban_threshold", "int", 1, 100},
+{"idle_ban_window_sec", "int", 10, 3600},
+{"idle_ban_duration_sec", "int", 60, 86400},
+```
+
+Add descriptions in the config query handler:
+```c
+} else if (strcmp(key, "idle_connection_timeout_sec") == 0) {
+    description = "Seconds before an idle connection (no REQ/EVENT) is closed and IP flagged. 0 to disable.";
+} else if (strcmp(key, "idle_ban_enabled") == 0) {
+    description = "Whether to ban IPs that repeatedly connect without sending REQ or EVENT.";
+} else if (strcmp(key, "idle_ban_threshold") == 0) {
+    description = "Number of idle/early-disconnect failures before banning an IP.";
+} else if (strcmp(key, "idle_ban_window_sec") == 0) {
+    description = "Time window in seconds for counting idle failures.";
+} else if (strcmp(key, "idle_ban_duration_sec") == 0) {
+    description = "Initial ban duration in seconds for idle failures (doubles each time).";
+}
+```
+
+### 7. Update ip_ban Persistence and Cleanup
+
+**File: `src/ip_ban.c` - Update `ip_ban_load_from_db()`**
+
+Add migration SQL to create new columns if they don't exist, then load them:
+```sql
+ALTER TABLE ip_bans ADD COLUMN idle_failure_count INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0;
+ALTER TABLE ip_bans ADD COLUMN idle_ban_count INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0;
+ALTER TABLE ip_bans ADD COLUMN idle_banned_until INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0;
+ALTER TABLE ip_bans ADD COLUMN idle_first_failure INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0;
+```
+
+**File: `src/ip_ban.c` - Update `ip_ban_save_to_db()`**
+
+Add the idle_* fields to the INSERT/REPLACE statement.
+
+**File: `src/ip_ban.c` - Update `ip_ban_cleanup()`**
+
+Add cleanup logic for idle ban entries (same pattern as auth ban cleanup).
+
+**File: `src/ip_ban.c` - Update `ip_ban_log_stats()`**
+
+Add idle ban count to the periodic log summary:
+```c
+DEBUG_WARN("IP BAN SUMMARY: %d auth-banned, %d idle-banned, %d tracked, %d trusted",
+           auth_banned_count, idle_banned_count, tracked_count, trusted_count);
+```
+
+## Configuration Reference
+
+### Idle Connection Settings
+
+| Config Key | Type | Default | Range | Description |
+|------------|------|---------|-------|-------------|
+| `idle_connection_timeout_sec` | int | 30 | 5-300 | Seconds to wait for REQ/EVENT before closing connection. 0 = disable idle timeout. |
+| `idle_ban_enabled` | bool | true | true/false | Whether to ban IPs with repeated idle/early-disconnect failures. |
+| `idle_ban_threshold` | int | 3 | 1-100 | Idle failures before ban. |
+| `idle_ban_window_sec` | int | 60 | 10-3600 | Window for counting idle failures. |
+| `idle_ban_duration_sec` | int | 300 | 60-86400 | Initial idle ban duration. |
+
+### Auth Failure Settings (Existing)
+
+| Config Key | Type | Default | Range | Description |
+|------------|------|---------|-------|-------------|
+| `auth_fail_ban_enabled` | bool | true | true/false | Whether to ban IPs with failed auth. |
+| `auth_fail_ban_threshold` | int | 3 | 1-100 | Auth failures before ban. |
+| `auth_fail_window_sec` | int | 60 | 10-3600 | Window for counting auth failures. |
+| `auth_fail_ban_duration_sec` | int | 300 | 60-86400 | Initial auth ban duration. |
+
+## Behavior Matrix
+
+| Scenario | idle_timeout_sec | idle_ban_enabled | Result |
+|----------|------------------|------------------|--------|
+| Connect → do nothing → timeout | >0 | true | Connection closed, IP failure recorded, may be banned |
+| Connect → do nothing → timeout | >0 | false | Connection closed, no ban |
+| Connect → immediate disconnect | any | true | IP failure recorded, may be banned |
+| Connect → immediate disconnect | any | false | No ban |
+| Connect → send REQ | any | any | Session active, no ban |
+| Connect → send EVENT | any | any | Session active, no ban |
+| Connect → send AUTH (NIP-42) | any | any | Session active, no ban |
+
+## Testing Strategy
+
+1. **Idle timeout test**: Connect via wscat, wait 30 seconds, verify disconnect and ban table entry
+2. **Early disconnect test**: Connect via wscat, immediately Ctrl-C, verify ban table entry
+3. **Active session test**: Connect, send REQ, disconnect immediately, verify NO ban
+4. **Config disable test**: Set `idle_ban_enabled=false`, repeat test 1, verify no ban
+5. **Timeout config test**: Set `idle_connection_timeout_sec=5`, verify faster disconnect
+
+## Files to Modify
+
+| File | Change Type |
+|------|-------------|
+| `src/websockets.h` | Add `session_active` and `idle_timeout_sec` fields to `per_session_data` |
+| `src/websockets.c` ~565 | Set idle timeout on ALL connections in `LWS_CALLBACK_ESTABLISHED` |
+| `src/websockets.c` ~1030 | Mark `session_active=1` and cancel idle timer on REQ |
+| `src/websockets.c` ~1380 | Mark `session_active=1` and cancel idle timer on EVENT |
+| `src/websockets.c` ~2121 | Call `ip_ban_record_idle_failure()` for inactive sessions in `LWS_CALLBACK_CLOSED` |
+| `src/nip042.c` ~130 | Mark `session_active=1` on successful AUTH |
+| `src/ip_ban.h` | Add `ip_ban_record_idle_failure()` declaration |
+| `src/ip_ban.c` | Add idle_* fields to `ip_ban_entry_t`, new `ip_ban_record_idle_failure()` function, update `ip_ban_is_banned()` to check both ban types, update persistence and cleanup |
+| `src/config.c` ~987+ | Add validation for 5 new idle_* config keys |
+| `src/api.c` ~664 | Add config metadata entries for idle_* keys |
+
+## Deployment on Existing Server
+
+### Config Keys: No Manual SQL Required
+
+All config keys use [`get_config_int()`](src/config.c:300) and [`get_config_bool()`](src/config.c:313) which return **hardcoded defaults** when a key doesn't exist in the config table. The new code will work immediately with these defaults:
+
+- `idle_connection_timeout_sec` → defaults to 30
+- `idle_ban_enabled` → defaults to true
+- `idle_ban_threshold` → defaults to 3
+- `idle_ban_window_sec` → defaults to 60
+- `idle_ban_duration_sec` → defaults to 300
+
+If you want to **override** any defaults, you can insert them into the config table. From the same directory as the `.db` file:
+
+```bash
+# Find your database file
+DB_FILE=$(ls *.db | head -1)
+
+# Optional: Insert custom values (only if you want non-default settings)
+sqlite3 "$DB_FILE" "INSERT OR REPLACE INTO config (key, value) VALUES ('idle_connection_timeout_sec', '30');"
+sqlite3 "$DB_FILE" "INSERT OR REPLACE INTO config (key, value) VALUES ('idle_ban_enabled', 'true');"
+sqlite3 "$DB_FILE" "INSERT OR REPLACE INTO config (key, value) VALUES ('idle_ban_threshold', '3');"
+sqlite3 "$DB_FILE" "INSERT OR REPLACE INTO config (key, value) VALUES ('idle_ban_window_sec', '60');"
+sqlite3 "$DB_FILE" "INSERT OR REPLACE INTO config (key, value) VALUES ('idle_ban_duration_sec', '300');"
+```
+
+Or change them via the admin API/web UI after deployment.
+
+### ip_bans Table: Automatic Migration
+
+The `ip_bans` table needs 4 new columns for idle tracking. The updated [`ip_ban_load_from_db()`](src/ip_ban.c:93) will run `ALTER TABLE` statements automatically on startup. These are safe because SQLite's `ALTER TABLE ADD COLUMN` is a no-op if the column already exists (we'll use error-tolerant execution).
+
+If you prefer to run the migration manually before deploying:
+
+```bash
+DB_FILE=$(ls *.db | head -1)
+
+sqlite3 "$DB_FILE" <<'SQL'
+ALTER TABLE ip_bans ADD COLUMN idle_failure_count INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0;
+ALTER TABLE ip_bans ADD COLUMN idle_ban_count INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0;
+ALTER TABLE ip_bans ADD COLUMN idle_banned_until INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0;
+ALTER TABLE ip_bans ADD COLUMN idle_first_failure INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0;
+SQL
+```
+
+**Note:** SQLite will error on `ALTER TABLE ADD COLUMN` if the column already exists, but the code will handle this gracefully (ignore the error). Running it manually is optional — the relay will do it on startup.
+
+### Deployment Steps
+
+1. Build and deploy with `deploy_lt.sh` as usual
+2. The relay starts, `ip_ban_load_from_db()` auto-migrates the `ip_bans` table
+3. Config keys use defaults immediately — no manual SQL needed
+4. Optionally tune settings via admin API or direct SQL
+
+## Backward Compatibility
+
+- Default `idle_connection_timeout_sec=30` provides immediate protection
+- Default `idle_ban_enabled=true` maintains current spam protection behavior
+- Setting `idle_connection_timeout_sec=0` restores old behavior (no idle timeout)
+- Setting `idle_ban_enabled=false` allows connections without banning (for debugging)
+- Existing auth-based banning continues to work independently with its own thresholds
+- Database migration adds new columns with defaults — existing ban data preserved
+
+## Summary
+
+This plan implements a unified "session activity" tracking system with **separate rate limiting** for idle vs auth failures:
+
+1. **Catches idle connections** via `lws_set_timeout()` on ALL connections (not just auth-required)
+2. **Catches early disconnects** via the same `!session_active` check on close
+3. **Respects legitimate users** who actually use the relay (REQ/EVENT/AUTH marks session active)
+4. **Separate idle ban tracking** — idle failures have their own threshold, window, and duration independent of auth failures
+5. **Extends existing ban infrastructure** — adds idle_* fields to `ip_ban_entry_t`, unified `ip_ban_is_banned()` checks both ban types
+6. **Fully configurable** — 5 new config keys for idle banning, all tunable via admin events
+
+The key insight is that there's no meaningful difference between "idle timeout" and "early disconnect" — both indicate a client that connected but never actually used the relay. The same `!session_active` check handles both cases, and the separate rate limiting ensures idle bots don't interfere with auth failure tracking for legitimate clients who fail NIP-42.

plans/memory_leak_investigation_plan.md

@@ -0,0 +1,207 @@
+# C-Relay Memory Leak Investigation & Fix Plan
+
+## Problem Statement
+
+c-relay reached **1.56 GB** of its 1.5 GB `MemoryHigh` cgroup limit after only **1 hour 37 minutes** of runtime. The kernel is actively throttling the process with swap pressure (1.8M swap used). This strongly indicates one or more memory leaks causing unbounded growth.
+
+## Root Cause Analysis
+
+After thorough code review, I identified **three categories** of memory issues:
+
+1. **Confirmed `get_config_value()` leaks** — the most pervasive issue
+2. **Potential structural leaks** in subscription/connection lifecycle
+3. **Stack pressure** from large stack-allocated arrays
+
+---
+
+## Category 1: `get_config_value()` Leaks (HIGH SEVERITY — Most Likely Root Cause)
+
+### The Core Problem
+
+[`get_config_value()`](src/config.c:293) calls [`get_config_value_from_table()`](src/config.c:1690) which returns `strdup(value)` — a **heap-allocated string that the caller must free**. Many call sites treat the return value as a borrowed pointer and never free it.
+
+**Every unfree'd call leaks ~64-256 bytes per invocation.** On a busy relay processing hundreds of events/second, this accumulates to GB-scale leaks within hours.
+
+### Confirmed Leak Sites
+
+#### `websockets.c` — Called on EVERY incoming event
+
+| Line | Code | Frequency | Severity |
+|------|------|-----------|----------|
+| [1527](src/websockets.c:1527) | `get_config_value("relay_pubkey")` — auth bypass check for kind 14 DMs | Every kind-14 event | **HIGH** |
+| [1549](src/websockets.c:1549) | `get_config_value("admin_pubkey")` — auth bypass check for kind 23456 | Every kind-23456 event | **MEDIUM** |
+| [2704](src/websockets.c:2704) | `get_config_value("relay_pubkey")` — DM stats command processing | Every DM to relay | **MEDIUM** |
+| [2742](src/websockets.c:2742) | `get_config_value("admin_pubkey")` — DM admin check | Every DM to relay | **MEDIUM** |
+
+#### `main.c` — Called on EVERY admin event check
+
+| Line | Code | Frequency | Severity |
+|------|------|-----------|----------|
+| [1718](src/main.c:1718) | `get_config_value("relay_pubkey")` — inside a loop iterating tags | Every admin event, per tag | **CRITICAL** |
+| [1742](src/main.c:1742) | `get_config_value("admin_pubkey")` — admin authorization | Every admin event | **HIGH** |
+
+#### `config.c` — Called on EVERY event kind check
+
+| Line | Code | Frequency | Severity |
+|------|------|-----------|----------|
+| [377](src/config.c:377) | `get_config_value("nip42_auth_required_kinds")` — NIP-42 kind check | Every incoming event | **CRITICAL** |
+
+#### `ip_ban.c` — Called on EVERY ban check
+
+| Line | Code | Frequency | Severity |
+|------|------|-----------|----------|
+| [255](src/ip_ban.c:255) | `get_config_value("idle_ban_whitelist")` — whitelist check | Every connection check | **HIGH** |
+
+#### `nip042.c` — Called on every auth verification
+
+| Line | Code | Frequency | Severity |
+|------|------|-----------|----------|
+| [99](src/nip042.c:99) | `get_config_value("relay_url")` — relay URL for auth verification | Every NIP-42 auth | **MEDIUM** |
+
+#### `request_validator.c` — Called on every auth rules check
+
+| Line | Code | Frequency | Severity |
+|------|------|-----------|----------|
+| [208](src/request_validator.c:208) | `get_config_value("auth_enabled")` — properly freed | N/A | OK |
+| [216](src/request_validator.c:216) | `get_config_value("auth_rules_enabled")` — properly freed | N/A | OK |
+| [304](src/request_validator.c:304) | `get_config_value("admin_pubkey")` — NOT freed | Every event validation | **HIGH** |
+| [320](src/request_validator.c:320) | `get_config_value("nip42_auth_enabled")` — NOT freed | Every event validation | **HIGH** |
+
+### Files That DO Free Correctly (for reference)
+
+- [`nip011.c`](src/nip011.c:127) — Properly frees all `get_config_value()` results
+- [`nip013.c`](src/nip013.c:43) — Properly frees `pow_mode`
+- [`request_validator.c`](src/request_validator.c:191) — Properly frees `nip42_timeout` and `nip42_tolerance`
+
+### Estimated Impact
+
+On a relay processing ~100 events/second:
+- `is_nip42_auth_required_for_kind()` leaks ~100-200 bytes × 100/sec = **~10-20 KB/sec**
+- `ip_is_whitelisted()` leaks ~100 bytes × connections/sec
+- `is_authorized_admin_event()` leaks inside tag loop — potentially **multiple leaks per event**
+- Combined: **~50-100 KB/sec → ~180-360 MB/hour** — consistent with the observed 1.56 GB in 97 minutes
+
+---
+
+## Category 2: Structural Lifecycle Leaks (MEDIUM SEVERITY)
+
+### 2a. `LWS_CALLBACK_CLOSED` — Inactive Subscription Skip
+
+In [`websockets.c:2339`](src/websockets.c:2339), the cleanup handler only collects subscription IDs where `sub->active` is true:
+
+```c
+if (sub->active) {  // Only process active subscriptions
+    temp_sub_id_t* temp = malloc(sizeof(temp_sub_id_t));
+```
+
+If a subscription was marked inactive by another thread between the time it was added and the connection close, it will be **skipped** — never removed from the global manager, never freed. The subscription object, its filters, and all cJSON objects within leak permanently.
+
+### 2b. `connection_list_remove` Potential
+
+The `connection_list_remove(wsi)` call at [`websockets.c:2252`](src/websockets.c:2252) happens before pss cleanup. Need to verify the connection list implementation doesn't hold references that prevent cleanup.
+
+### 2c. `ip_connection_info_t` Leak on Disconnect
+
+The per-IP connection tracking in [`subscriptions.h:79`](src/subscriptions.h:79) creates `ip_connection_info_t` nodes via `calloc`. These are only removed by `remove_ip_connection()` — need to verify this is called on every disconnect path.
+
+---
+
+## Category 3: Stack Pressure (LOW SEVERITY but notable)
+
+### 3a. `candidates_to_check` Stack Array
+
+In [`subscriptions.c:810`](src/subscriptions.c:810):
+
+```c
+subscription_t* candidates_to_check[MAX_TOTAL_SUBSCRIPTIONS]; // 5000 × 8 bytes = 40 KB
+```
+
+This allocates **40 KB on the stack** for every `broadcast_event_to_subscriptions()` call. While not a heap leak, it contributes to high memory pressure under concurrent load.
+
+### 3b. `added_kinds` Bitmap
+
+In [`subscriptions.c:68`](src/subscriptions.c:68):
+
+```c
+unsigned char added_kinds[8192] = {0};  // 8 KB on stack
+```
+
+---
+
+## Fix Implementation Plan
+
+### Phase 1: Fix `get_config_value()` Leaks (Highest Impact)
+
+**Strategy A — Preferred: Add a config cache layer**
+
+Instead of fixing 20+ call sites, add a **cached config system** that reads values once and caches them in memory, invalidating on config change events. This eliminates both the leak AND the repeated SQLite queries per event.
+
+```
+Config Cache Architecture:
+- Static hash table of key-value pairs
+- Populated at startup and on config change events
+- get_config_value_cached() returns const pointer to cached value (no allocation)
+- Existing get_config_value() kept for dynamic/rare lookups
+```
+
+**Strategy B — Quick fix: Free at every call site**
+
+Add `free((char*)result)` after every `get_config_value()` call that doesn't already free. This is more error-prone but faster to implement.
+
+**Recommendation: Implement Strategy A for hot-path values (relay_pubkey, admin_pubkey, auth settings), Strategy B for cold-path values.**
+
+### Phase 2: Fix Structural Leaks
+
+1. **Fix inactive subscription skip in CLOSED handler** — Remove the `if (sub->active)` guard, or add a second pass that also collects inactive subscriptions for cleanup
+2. **Verify `remove_ip_connection()` is called on all disconnect paths**
+3. **Add defensive cleanup** — periodic sweep of orphaned subscriptions
+
+### Phase 3: Add Memory Monitoring
+
+1. **Add a `/stats` endpoint** that reports:
+   - Current RSS/VSZ from `/proc/self/status`
+   - Active subscription count
+   - Message queue depth across all sessions
+   - Config cache hit/miss ratio
+2. **Add periodic memory logging** to the service loop
+3. **Consider integrating jemalloc** for better allocation tracking in production
+
+### Phase 4: Reduce Stack Pressure
+
+1. Move `candidates_to_check` to heap allocation with `malloc`/`free`
+2. Consider reducing `MAX_TOTAL_SUBSCRIPTIONS` or using a dynamic array
+
+---
+
+## Verification Strategy
+
+1. **Build with AddressSanitizer** (`-fsanitize=address`) for development testing
+2. **Run under Valgrind** with `--leak-check=full` for comprehensive leak detection
+3. **Monitor RSS over time** after fixes — should plateau rather than grow linearly
+4. **Load test** with `tests/load_tests.sh` while monitoring memory
+
+---
+
+## Immediate Mitigation
+
+While fixes are being implemented:
+1. **Raise `MemoryHigh`** to 2 GB in the systemd unit to prevent throttling
+2. **Add a cron job** to restart the service every 12-24 hours
+3. **Monitor with**: `watch -n 5 'cat /proc/$(pgrep c_relay)/status | grep -E "VmRSS|VmSwap"'`
+
+---
+
+## Implementation Priority Order
+
+| Priority | Task | Impact |
+|----------|------|--------|
+| P0 | Fix `is_nip42_auth_required_for_kind()` leak in config.c:377 | Called on every event |
+| P0 | Fix `ip_is_whitelisted()` leak in ip_ban.c:255 | Called on every connection check |
+| P0 | Fix `is_authorized_admin_event()` leaks in main.c:1718,1742 | Called per admin event, leaks in loop |
+| P1 | Fix websockets.c:1527,1549 auth bypass leaks | Called on every event with auth |
+| P1 | Fix request_validator.c:304,320 leaks | Called on every event validation |
+| P1 | Fix nip042.c:99 relay_url leak | Called on every NIP-42 auth |
+| P2 | Implement config cache for hot-path values | Eliminates leak class entirely |
+| P2 | Fix inactive subscription cleanup in CLOSED handler | Prevents slow subscription leak |
+| P3 | Add memory monitoring endpoint | Ongoing visibility |
+| P3 | Move large stack arrays to heap | Reduces stack pressure |

relay.pid

@@ -1 +1 @@
-2039374
+457096

src/api.c

@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ extern void log_query_execution(const char* query_type, const char* sub_id,
 #include <pthread.h>
 #include <libwebsockets.h>
 #include <cjson/cJSON.h>
+int get_active_connection_count(void);
 #include <sqlite3.h>
 #include <time.h>
 #include <sys/stat.h>
@@ -27,6 +28,7 @@ extern void log_query_execution(const char* query_type, const char* sub_id,
 #include "../nostr_core_lib/nostr_core/nip017.h"
 #include "../nostr_core_lib/nostr_core/nip044.h"
 #include "subscriptions.h"
+#include "db_ops.h"
 
 // External subscription manager (from main.c via subscriptions.c)
 extern subscription_manager_t g_subscription_manager;
@@ -61,22 +63,21 @@ int get_monitoring_throttle_seconds(void) {
 
 // Query event kind distribution from database
 cJSON* query_event_kind_distribution(void) {
-    extern sqlite3* g_db;
-    if (!g_db) {
+    if (!db_is_available()) {
         DEBUG_ERROR("Database not available for monitoring query");
         return NULL;
     }
 
-    // Query event kinds distribution with total count
-    sqlite3_stmt* stmt;
     const char* sql = "SELECT kind, COUNT(*) as count FROM events GROUP BY kind ORDER BY count DESC";
 
     // Start timing
     struct timespec query_start, query_end;
     clock_gettime(CLOCK_MONOTONIC, &query_start);
 
-    if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, sql, -1, &stmt, NULL) != SQLITE_OK) {
-        DEBUG_ERROR("Failed to prepare event kind distribution query");
+    long long total_events = 0;
+    cJSON* kinds_array = db_get_event_kind_distribution_rows(&total_events);
+    if (!kinds_array) {
+        DEBUG_ERROR("Failed to query event kind distribution rows");
         return NULL;
     }
 
@@ -84,29 +85,12 @@ cJSON* query_event_kind_distribution(void) {
     cJSON_AddStringToObject(distribution, "data_type", "event_kinds");
     cJSON_AddNumberToObject(distribution, "timestamp", (double)time(NULL));
 
-    cJSON* kinds_array = cJSON_CreateArray();
-    long long total_events = 0;
-    int row_count = 0;
-
-    while (sqlite3_step(stmt) == SQLITE_ROW) {
-        row_count++;
-        int kind = sqlite3_column_int(stmt, 0);
-        long long count = sqlite3_column_int64(stmt, 1);
-        total_events += count;
-
-        cJSON* kind_obj = cJSON_CreateObject();
-        cJSON_AddNumberToObject(kind_obj, "kind", kind);
-        cJSON_AddNumberToObject(kind_obj, "count", count);
-        cJSON_AddItemToArray(kinds_array, kind_obj);
-    }
-
-    sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
-    
     // Stop timing and log
     clock_gettime(CLOCK_MONOTONIC, &query_end);
     long elapsed_us = (query_end.tv_sec - query_start.tv_sec) * 1000000L +
                       (query_end.tv_nsec - query_start.tv_nsec) / 1000L;
-    
+
+    int row_count = cJSON_GetArraySize(kinds_array);
     log_query_execution("MONITOR", "event_kinds", NULL, sql, elapsed_us, row_count);
 
     cJSON_AddNumberToObject(distribution, "total_events", total_events);
@@ -117,8 +101,7 @@ cJSON* query_event_kind_distribution(void) {
 
 // Query time-based statistics from database
 cJSON* query_time_based_statistics(void) {
-    extern sqlite3* g_db;
-    if (!g_db) {
+    if (!db_is_available()) {
         DEBUG_ERROR("Database not available for time stats query");
         return NULL;
     }
@@ -142,38 +125,18 @@ cJSON* query_time_based_statistics(void) {
         {NULL, 0, NULL}
     };
 
-    // Get total events count
-    sqlite3_stmt* total_stmt;
-    const char* total_sql = "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM events";
     long long total_events = 0;
-
-    if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, total_sql, -1, &total_stmt, NULL) == SQLITE_OK) {
-        if (sqlite3_step(total_stmt) == SQLITE_ROW) {
-            total_events = sqlite3_column_int64(total_stmt, 0);
-        }
-        sqlite3_finalize(total_stmt);
-    }
+    (void)db_get_total_event_count_ll(&total_events);
 
     // Query each time period
     for (int i = 0; periods[i].period != NULL; i++) {
-        sqlite3_stmt* stmt;
-        const char* sql = "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM events WHERE created_at >= ?";
-
-        if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, sql, -1, &stmt, NULL) != SQLITE_OK) {
-            DEBUG_ERROR("Failed to prepare time stats query");
+        time_t cutoff = now - periods[i].seconds;
+        long long count = 0;
+        if (db_get_event_count_since(cutoff, &count) != 0) {
+            DEBUG_ERROR("Failed to query time stats count");
             continue;
         }
 
-        time_t cutoff = now - periods[i].seconds;
-        sqlite3_bind_int64(stmt, 1, cutoff);
-
-        long long count = 0;
-        if (sqlite3_step(stmt) == SQLITE_ROW) {
-            count = sqlite3_column_int64(stmt, 0);
-        }
-
-        sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
-
         cJSON* period_obj = cJSON_CreateObject();
         cJSON_AddStringToObject(period_obj, "period", periods[i].period);
         cJSON_AddNumberToObject(period_obj, "count", count);
@@ -189,51 +152,39 @@ cJSON* query_time_based_statistics(void) {
 
 // Query top pubkeys by event count from database
 cJSON* query_top_pubkeys(void) {
-    extern sqlite3* g_db;
-    if (!g_db) {
+    if (!db_is_available()) {
         DEBUG_ERROR("Database not available for top pubkeys query");
         return NULL;
     }
 
-    // Query top 10 pubkeys by event count
-    sqlite3_stmt* stmt;
-    const char* sql = "SELECT pubkey, COUNT(*) as count FROM events GROUP BY pubkey ORDER BY count DESC LIMIT 10";
-
-    if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, sql, -1, &stmt, NULL) != SQLITE_OK) {
-        DEBUG_ERROR("Failed to prepare top pubkeys query");
-        return NULL;
-    }
-
     cJSON* top_pubkeys = cJSON_CreateObject();
     cJSON_AddStringToObject(top_pubkeys, "data_type", "top_pubkeys");
     cJSON_AddNumberToObject(top_pubkeys, "timestamp", (double)time(NULL));
 
-    cJSON* pubkeys_array = cJSON_CreateArray();
-
-    // Get total events count for percentage calculation
-    sqlite3_stmt* total_stmt;
-    const char* total_sql = "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM events";
-    long long total_events = 0;
-
-    if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, total_sql, -1, &total_stmt, NULL) == SQLITE_OK) {
-        if (sqlite3_step(total_stmt) == SQLITE_ROW) {
-            total_events = sqlite3_column_int64(total_stmt, 0);
-        }
-        sqlite3_finalize(total_stmt);
+    cJSON* rows = db_get_top_pubkeys_rows(10);
+    if (!rows) {
+        cJSON_Delete(top_pubkeys);
+        DEBUG_ERROR("Failed to query top pubkeys rows");
+        return NULL;
     }
 
-    while (sqlite3_step(stmt) == SQLITE_ROW) {
-        const char* pubkey = (const char*)sqlite3_column_text(stmt, 0);
-        long long count = sqlite3_column_int64(stmt, 1);
-
+    cJSON* pubkeys_array = cJSON_CreateArray();
+    cJSON* row = NULL;
+    cJSON_ArrayForEach(row, rows) {
         cJSON* pubkey_obj = cJSON_CreateObject();
-        cJSON_AddStringToObject(pubkey_obj, "pubkey", pubkey ? pubkey : "");
-        cJSON_AddNumberToObject(pubkey_obj, "event_count", count);
-        // Percentage will be calculated by frontend using total_events
+        cJSON* pubkey_item = cJSON_GetObjectItemCaseSensitive(row, "pubkey");
+        cJSON* count_item = cJSON_GetObjectItemCaseSensitive(row, "count");
+
+        cJSON_AddStringToObject(pubkey_obj, "pubkey",
+                                cJSON_IsString(pubkey_item) ? pubkey_item->valuestring : "");
+        cJSON_AddNumberToObject(pubkey_obj, "event_count",
+                                cJSON_IsNumber(count_item) ? count_item->valuedouble : 0.0);
         cJSON_AddItemToArray(pubkeys_array, pubkey_obj);
     }
+    cJSON_Delete(rows);
 
-    sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+    long long total_events = 0;
+    (void)db_get_total_event_count_ll(&total_events);
 
     cJSON_AddItemToObject(top_pubkeys, "pubkeys", pubkeys_array);
     cJSON_AddNumberToObject(top_pubkeys, "total_events", total_events);
@@ -245,15 +196,11 @@ cJSON* query_top_pubkeys(void) {
 // Query detailed subscription information from database log (ADMIN ONLY)
 // Uses subscriptions table instead of in-memory iteration to avoid mutex contention
 cJSON* query_subscription_details(void) {
-    extern sqlite3* g_db;
-    if (!g_db) {
+    if (!db_is_available()) {
         DEBUG_ERROR("Database not available for subscription details query");
         return NULL;
     }
 
-    // Query active subscriptions from the active_subscriptions_log view
-    // This view properly handles deduplication of closed/expired subscriptions
-    sqlite3_stmt* stmt;
     const char* sql =
         "SELECT * "
         "FROM active_subscriptions_log "
@@ -267,11 +214,6 @@ cJSON* query_subscription_details(void) {
     struct timespec query_start, query_end;
     clock_gettime(CLOCK_MONOTONIC, &query_start);
 
-    if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, sql, -1, &stmt, NULL) != SQLITE_OK) {
-        DEBUG_ERROR("Failed to prepare subscription details query");
-        return NULL;
-    }
-
     time_t current_time = time(NULL);
     cJSON* subscriptions_data = cJSON_CreateObject();
     cJSON_AddStringToObject(subscriptions_data, "data_type", "subscription_details");
@@ -280,34 +222,51 @@ cJSON* query_subscription_details(void) {
     cJSON* data = cJSON_CreateObject();
     cJSON* subscriptions_array = cJSON_CreateArray();
 
+    cJSON* rows = db_get_subscription_details_rows();
+    if (!rows) {
+        cJSON_Delete(subscriptions_data);
+        cJSON_Delete(data);
+        cJSON_Delete(subscriptions_array);
+        DEBUG_ERROR("Failed to query subscription details rows");
+        return NULL;
+    }
+
     // Iterate through query results
     int row_count = 0;
-    while (sqlite3_step(stmt) == SQLITE_ROW) {
+    cJSON* row = NULL;
+    cJSON_ArrayForEach(row, rows) {
         row_count++;
         cJSON* sub_obj = cJSON_CreateObject();
 
-        // Extract subscription data from database
-        const char* sub_id = (const char*)sqlite3_column_text(stmt, 0);
-        const char* client_ip = (const char*)sqlite3_column_text(stmt, 1);
-        const char* filter_json = (const char*)sqlite3_column_text(stmt, 2);
-        long long events_sent = sqlite3_column_int64(stmt, 3);
-        long long created_at = sqlite3_column_int64(stmt, 4);
-        long long duration_seconds = sqlite3_column_int64(stmt, 5);
-        const char* wsi_pointer = (const char*)sqlite3_column_text(stmt, 6);
+        cJSON* sub_id_item = cJSON_GetObjectItemCaseSensitive(row, "id");
+        cJSON* client_ip_item = cJSON_GetObjectItemCaseSensitive(row, "client_ip");
+        cJSON* filter_json_item = cJSON_GetObjectItemCaseSensitive(row, "filter_json");
+        cJSON* events_sent_item = cJSON_GetObjectItemCaseSensitive(row, "events_sent");
+        cJSON* created_at_item = cJSON_GetObjectItemCaseSensitive(row, "created_at");
+        cJSON* duration_item = cJSON_GetObjectItemCaseSensitive(row, "duration_seconds");
+        cJSON* wsi_pointer_item = cJSON_GetObjectItemCaseSensitive(row, "wsi_pointer");
+
+        const char* sub_id = cJSON_IsString(sub_id_item) ? sub_id_item->valuestring : "";
+        const char* client_ip = cJSON_IsString(client_ip_item) ? client_ip_item->valuestring : "";
+        const char* filter_json = cJSON_IsString(filter_json_item) ? filter_json_item->valuestring : "[]";
+        long long events_sent = cJSON_IsNumber(events_sent_item) ? (long long)events_sent_item->valuedouble : 0;
+        long long created_at = cJSON_IsNumber(created_at_item) ? (long long)created_at_item->valuedouble : 0;
+        long long duration_seconds = cJSON_IsNumber(duration_item) ? (long long)duration_item->valuedouble : 0;
+        const char* wsi_pointer = cJSON_IsString(wsi_pointer_item) ? wsi_pointer_item->valuestring : "";
 
         // DEBUG: Log each subscription found
         DEBUG_LOG("Row %d: sub_id=%s, client_ip=%s, events_sent=%lld, created_at=%lld",
-                  row_count, sub_id ? sub_id : "NULL", client_ip ? client_ip : "NULL",
+                  row_count, sub_id[0] ? sub_id : "NULL", client_ip[0] ? client_ip : "NULL",
                   events_sent, created_at);
 
         // Add basic subscription info
-        cJSON_AddStringToObject(sub_obj, "id", sub_id ? sub_id : "");
-        cJSON_AddStringToObject(sub_obj, "client_ip", client_ip ? client_ip : "");
+        cJSON_AddStringToObject(sub_obj, "id", sub_id);
+        cJSON_AddStringToObject(sub_obj, "client_ip", client_ip);
         cJSON_AddNumberToObject(sub_obj, "created_at", (double)created_at);
         cJSON_AddNumberToObject(sub_obj, "duration_seconds", (double)duration_seconds);
         cJSON_AddNumberToObject(sub_obj, "events_sent", events_sent);
         cJSON_AddBoolToObject(sub_obj, "active", 1);  // All from this view are active
-        cJSON_AddStringToObject(sub_obj, "wsi_pointer", wsi_pointer ? wsi_pointer : "N/A");
+        cJSON_AddStringToObject(sub_obj, "wsi_pointer", wsi_pointer[0] ? wsi_pointer : "N/A");
 
         // Extract query stats from per_session_data if wsi is still valid
         int db_queries = 0;
@@ -316,7 +275,7 @@ cJSON* query_subscription_details(void) {
         double row_rate = 0.0;
         double avg_rows_per_query = 0.0;
 
-        if (wsi_pointer && strlen(wsi_pointer) > 2) {  // Check for valid pointer string
+        if (wsi_pointer[0] != '\0' && strlen(wsi_pointer) > 2) {  // Check for valid pointer string
             // Parse wsi pointer from hex string
             struct lws* wsi = NULL;
             if (sscanf(wsi_pointer, "%p", (void**)&wsi) == 1 && wsi != NULL) {
@@ -325,7 +284,7 @@ cJSON* query_subscription_details(void) {
                 if (pss) {
                     db_queries = pss->db_queries_executed;
                     db_rows = pss->db_rows_returned;
-                    
+
                     // Calculate rates (per minute)
                     time_t connection_duration = current_time - pss->query_tracking_start;
                     if (connection_duration > 0) {
@@ -333,7 +292,7 @@ cJSON* query_subscription_details(void) {
                         query_rate = db_queries / minutes;
                         row_rate = db_rows / minutes;
                     }
-                    
+
                     // Calculate average rows per query
                     if (db_queries > 0) {
                         avg_rows_per_query = (double)db_rows / (double)db_queries;
@@ -364,8 +323,7 @@ cJSON* query_subscription_details(void) {
 
         cJSON_AddItemToArray(subscriptions_array, sub_obj);
     }
-
-    sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+    cJSON_Delete(rows);
 
     // Add subscriptions array and count to data
     cJSON_AddItemToObject(data, "subscriptions", subscriptions_array);
@@ -377,9 +335,9 @@ cJSON* query_subscription_details(void) {
     clock_gettime(CLOCK_MONOTONIC, &query_end);
     long elapsed_us = (query_end.tv_sec - query_start.tv_sec) * 1000000L +
                       (query_end.tv_nsec - query_start.tv_nsec) / 1000L;
-    
+
     log_query_execution("MONITOR", "subscription_details", NULL, sql, elapsed_us, row_count);
-    
+
     // DEBUG: Log final summary
     DEBUG_LOG("Total subscriptions found: %d", row_count);
     DEBUG_LOG("=== END SUBSCRIPTION_DETAILS QUERY DEBUG ===");
@@ -671,6 +629,13 @@ static const config_definition_t known_configs[] = {
     {"nip42_time_tolerance", "int", 60, 3600},
     {"nip70_protected_events_enabled", "bool", 0, 1},
 
+    // Idle Connection Ban Settings
+    {"idle_connection_timeout_sec", "int", 0, 300},
+    {"idle_ban_enabled", "bool", 0, 1},
+    {"idle_ban_threshold", "int", 1, 100},
+    {"idle_ban_window_sec", "int", 10, 3600},
+    {"idle_ban_duration_sec", "int", 60, 86400},
+
     // Server Core Settings
     {"relay_port", "int", 1, 65535},
     {"max_connections", "int", 1, 10000},
@@ -1284,13 +1249,16 @@ cJSON* query_cpu_metrics(void) {
     pid_t pid = getpid();
     cJSON_AddNumberToObject(cpu_stats, "process_id", (double)pid);
 
-    // Get memory usage from /proc/self/status
+    // Get active WebSocket connection count
+    cJSON_AddNumberToObject(cpu_stats, "active_connections", (double)get_active_connection_count());
+
+    // Get memory usage from /proc/self/status and calculate MEM%
+    unsigned long rss_kb = 0;
     FILE* mem_stat = fopen("/proc/self/status", "r");
     if (mem_stat) {
         char line[256];
         while (fgets(line, sizeof(line), mem_stat)) {
             if (strncmp(line, "VmRSS:", 6) == 0) {
-                unsigned long rss_kb;
                 if (sscanf(line, "VmRSS: %lu kB", &rss_kb) == 1) {
                     double rss_mb = rss_kb / 1024.0;
                     cJSON_AddNumberToObject(cpu_stats, "memory_usage_mb", rss_mb);
@@ -1301,13 +1269,31 @@ cJSON* query_cpu_metrics(void) {
         fclose(mem_stat);
     }
 
+    // Get total system memory from /proc/meminfo for MEM%
+    if (rss_kb > 0) {
+        FILE* meminfo = fopen("/proc/meminfo", "r");
+        if (meminfo) {
+            char line[256];
+            while (fgets(line, sizeof(line), meminfo)) {
+                if (strncmp(line, "MemTotal:", 9) == 0) {
+                    unsigned long total_kb;
+                    if (sscanf(line, "MemTotal: %lu kB", &total_kb) == 1 && total_kb > 0) {
+                        double mem_pct = (rss_kb * 100.0) / total_kb;
+                        cJSON_AddNumberToObject(cpu_stats, "memory_percent", mem_pct);
+                    }
+                    break;
+                }
+            }
+            fclose(meminfo);
+        }
+    }
+
     return cpu_stats;
 }
 
 // Generate stats JSON from database queries
 char* generate_stats_json(void) {
-    extern sqlite3* g_db;
-    if (!g_db) {
+    if (!db_is_available()) {
         DEBUG_ERROR("Database not available for stats generation");
         return NULL;
     }
@@ -1332,85 +1318,80 @@ char* generate_stats_json(void) {
     pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_subscription_manager.subscriptions_lock);
     cJSON_AddNumberToObject(response, "active_subscriptions", active_subs);
 
-    // Query total events count
-    sqlite3_stmt* stmt;
-    if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM events", -1, &stmt, NULL) == SQLITE_OK) {
-        if (sqlite3_step(stmt) == SQLITE_ROW) {
-            cJSON_AddNumberToObject(response, "total_events", sqlite3_column_int64(stmt, 0));
-        }
-        sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+    long long total_events = 0;
+    if (db_get_total_event_count_ll(&total_events) == 0) {
+        cJSON_AddNumberToObject(response, "total_events", total_events);
     }
 
     // Query event kinds distribution
     cJSON* event_kinds = cJSON_CreateArray();
-    if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, "SELECT kind, count, percentage FROM event_kinds_view ORDER BY count DESC", -1, &stmt, NULL) == SQLITE_OK) {
-        while (sqlite3_step(stmt) == SQLITE_ROW) {
+    long long kinds_total = 0;
+    cJSON* kind_rows = db_get_event_kind_distribution_rows(&kinds_total);
+    if (kind_rows) {
+        cJSON* kind_row = NULL;
+        cJSON_ArrayForEach(kind_row, kind_rows) {
             cJSON* kind_obj = cJSON_CreateObject();
-            cJSON_AddNumberToObject(kind_obj, "kind", sqlite3_column_int(stmt, 0));
-            cJSON_AddNumberToObject(kind_obj, "count", sqlite3_column_int64(stmt, 1));
-            cJSON_AddNumberToObject(kind_obj, "percentage", sqlite3_column_double(stmt, 2));
+            cJSON* kind = cJSON_GetObjectItemCaseSensitive(kind_row, "kind");
+            cJSON* count = cJSON_GetObjectItemCaseSensitive(kind_row, "count");
+            double count_val = cJSON_IsNumber(count) ? count->valuedouble : 0.0;
+            double pct = (kinds_total > 0) ? ((count_val * 100.0) / (double)kinds_total) : 0.0;
+
+            cJSON_AddNumberToObject(kind_obj, "kind", cJSON_IsNumber(kind) ? kind->valuedouble : 0.0);
+            cJSON_AddNumberToObject(kind_obj, "count", count_val);
+            cJSON_AddNumberToObject(kind_obj, "percentage", pct);
             cJSON_AddItemToArray(event_kinds, kind_obj);
         }
-        sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+        cJSON_Delete(kind_rows);
     }
     cJSON_AddItemToObject(response, "event_kinds", event_kinds);
 
     // Query time-based statistics
     cJSON* time_stats = cJSON_CreateObject();
-    if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, "SELECT period, total_events FROM time_stats_view", -1, &stmt, NULL) == SQLITE_OK) {
-        while (sqlite3_step(stmt) == SQLITE_ROW) {
-            const char* period = (const char*)sqlite3_column_text(stmt, 0);
-            sqlite3_int64 count = sqlite3_column_int64(stmt, 1);
-
-            if (strcmp(period, "total") == 0) {
-                cJSON_AddNumberToObject(time_stats, "total", count);
-            } else if (strcmp(period, "24h") == 0) {
-                cJSON_AddNumberToObject(time_stats, "last_24h", count);
-            } else if (strcmp(period, "7d") == 0) {
-                cJSON_AddNumberToObject(time_stats, "last_7d", count);
-            } else if (strcmp(period, "30d") == 0) {
-                cJSON_AddNumberToObject(time_stats, "last_30d", count);
-            }
-        }
-        sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+    time_t now = time(NULL);
+    long long c24h = 0, c7d = 0, c30d = 0;
+    if (db_get_event_count_since(now - 86400, &c24h) == 0) {
+        cJSON_AddNumberToObject(time_stats, "last_24h", c24h);
     }
+    if (db_get_event_count_since(now - 604800, &c7d) == 0) {
+        cJSON_AddNumberToObject(time_stats, "last_7d", c7d);
+    }
+    if (db_get_event_count_since(now - 2592000, &c30d) == 0) {
+        cJSON_AddNumberToObject(time_stats, "last_30d", c30d);
+    }
+    cJSON_AddNumberToObject(time_stats, "total", total_events);
     cJSON_AddItemToObject(response, "time_stats", time_stats);
 
     // Query top pubkeys
     cJSON* top_pubkeys = cJSON_CreateArray();
-    if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, "SELECT pubkey, event_count, percentage FROM top_pubkeys_view ORDER BY event_count DESC LIMIT 10", -1, &stmt, NULL) == SQLITE_OK) {
-        while (sqlite3_step(stmt) == SQLITE_ROW) {
+    cJSON* pubkey_rows = db_get_top_pubkeys_rows(10);
+    if (pubkey_rows) {
+        cJSON* row = NULL;
+        cJSON_ArrayForEach(row, pubkey_rows) {
             cJSON* pubkey_obj = cJSON_CreateObject();
-            const char* pubkey = (const char*)sqlite3_column_text(stmt, 0);
-            cJSON_AddStringToObject(pubkey_obj, "pubkey", pubkey ? pubkey : "");
-            cJSON_AddNumberToObject(pubkey_obj, "event_count", sqlite3_column_int64(stmt, 1));
-            cJSON_AddNumberToObject(pubkey_obj, "percentage", sqlite3_column_double(stmt, 2));
+            cJSON* pubkey_item = cJSON_GetObjectItemCaseSensitive(row, "pubkey");
+            cJSON* count_item = cJSON_GetObjectItemCaseSensitive(row, "count");
+            double count_val = cJSON_IsNumber(count_item) ? count_item->valuedouble : 0.0;
+            double pct = (total_events > 0) ? ((count_val * 100.0) / (double)total_events) : 0.0;
+
+            cJSON_AddStringToObject(pubkey_obj, "pubkey", cJSON_IsString(pubkey_item) ? pubkey_item->valuestring : "");
+            cJSON_AddNumberToObject(pubkey_obj, "event_count", count_val);
+            cJSON_AddNumberToObject(pubkey_obj, "percentage", pct);
             cJSON_AddItemToArray(top_pubkeys, pubkey_obj);
         }
-        sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+        cJSON_Delete(pubkey_rows);
     }
     cJSON_AddItemToObject(response, "top_pubkeys", top_pubkeys);
 
-    // Get database creation timestamp (oldest event)
-    if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, "SELECT MIN(created_at) FROM events", -1, &stmt, NULL) == SQLITE_OK) {
-        if (sqlite3_step(stmt) == SQLITE_ROW) {
-            sqlite3_int64 oldest_timestamp = sqlite3_column_int64(stmt, 0);
-            if (oldest_timestamp > 0) {
-                cJSON_AddNumberToObject(response, "database_created_at", (double)oldest_timestamp);
-            }
+    // Get database creation/latest timestamps
+    long long min_created_at = 0;
+    long long max_created_at = 0;
+    if (db_get_event_time_bounds(&min_created_at, &max_created_at) == 0) {
+        if (min_created_at > 0) {
+            cJSON_AddNumberToObject(response, "database_created_at", (double)min_created_at);
         }
-        sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
-    }
-
-    // Get latest event timestamp
-    if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, "SELECT MAX(created_at) FROM events", -1, &stmt, NULL) == SQLITE_OK) {
-        if (sqlite3_step(stmt) == SQLITE_ROW) {
-            sqlite3_int64 latest_timestamp = sqlite3_column_int64(stmt, 0);
-            if (latest_timestamp > 0) {
-                cJSON_AddNumberToObject(response, "latest_event_at", (double)latest_timestamp);
-            }
+        if (max_created_at > 0) {
+            cJSON_AddNumberToObject(response, "latest_event_at", (double)max_created_at);
         }
-        sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
     }
 
     // Convert to JSON string
@@ -1537,8 +1518,7 @@ int send_nip17_response(const char* sender_pubkey, const char* response_content,
 
 // Generate config text from database
 char* generate_config_text(void) {
-    extern sqlite3* g_db;
-    if (!g_db) {
+    if (!db_is_available()) {
         DEBUG_ERROR("NIP-17: Database not available for config query");
         return NULL;
     }
@@ -1557,25 +1537,29 @@ char* generate_config_text(void) {
         "🔧 Relay Configuration\n"
         "━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━\n");
 
-    // Query all config values from database
-    sqlite3_stmt* stmt;
-    if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, "SELECT key, value FROM config ORDER BY key", -1, &stmt, NULL) == SQLITE_OK) {
-        while (sqlite3_step(stmt) == SQLITE_ROW && offset < 8192 - 200) {
-            const char* key = (const char*)sqlite3_column_text(stmt, 0);
-            const char* value = (const char*)sqlite3_column_text(stmt, 1);
-
-            if (key && value) {
-                offset += snprintf(config_text + offset, 8192 - offset,
-                    "%s: %s\n", key, value);
-            }
-        }
-        sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
-    } else {
+    cJSON* rows = db_get_all_config_rows();
+    if (!rows) {
         free(config_text);
         DEBUG_ERROR("NIP-17: Failed to query config from database");
         return NULL;
     }
 
+    cJSON* row = NULL;
+    cJSON_ArrayForEach(row, rows) {
+        if (offset >= 8192 - 200) break;
+
+        cJSON* key_item = cJSON_GetObjectItemCaseSensitive(row, "key");
+        cJSON* value_item = cJSON_GetObjectItemCaseSensitive(row, "value");
+        const char* key = cJSON_IsString(key_item) ? key_item->valuestring : NULL;
+        const char* value = cJSON_IsString(value_item) ? value_item->valuestring : NULL;
+
+        if (key && value) {
+            offset += snprintf(config_text + offset, 8192 - offset,
+                "%s: %s\n", key, value);
+        }
+    }
+    cJSON_Delete(rows);
+
     // Footer
     offset += snprintf(config_text + offset, 8192 - offset, "\n");
 
@@ -2136,8 +2120,7 @@ int apply_config_change(const char* key, const char* value) {
         return -1;
     }
 
-    extern sqlite3* g_db;
-    if (!g_db) {
+    if (!db_is_available()) {
         DEBUG_ERROR("Database not available for config change");
         return -1;
     }
@@ -2170,30 +2153,11 @@ int apply_config_change(const char* key, const char* value) {
     }
 
     // Update or insert the configuration value
-    sqlite3_stmt* stmt;
-    const char* sql = "INSERT OR REPLACE INTO config (key, value, data_type) VALUES (?, ?, ?)";
-
-    if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, sql, -1, &stmt, NULL) != SQLITE_OK) {
-        DEBUG_ERROR("Failed to prepare config update statement");
-        const char* err_msg = sqlite3_errmsg(g_db);
-        DEBUG_ERROR(err_msg);
-        return -1;
-    }
-
-    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 1, key, -1, SQLITE_STATIC);
-    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 2, normalized_value, -1, SQLITE_STATIC);
-    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 3, data_type, -1, SQLITE_STATIC);
-
-    int result = sqlite3_step(stmt);
-    if (result != SQLITE_DONE) {
+    if (db_upsert_config_value(key, normalized_value, data_type) != 0) {
         DEBUG_ERROR("Failed to update configuration in database");
-        const char* err_msg = sqlite3_errmsg(g_db);
-        DEBUG_ERROR(err_msg);
-        sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
         return -1;
     }
 
-    sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
     return 0;
 }
 
@@ -2222,6 +2186,16 @@ char* generate_config_change_confirmation(const char* key, const char* old_value
         description = "This sets the maximum subscriptions per client.";
     } else if (strcmp(key, "pow_min_difficulty") == 0) {
         description = "This sets the minimum proof-of-work difficulty required.";
+    } else if (strcmp(key, "idle_connection_timeout_sec") == 0) {
+        description = "Seconds before an idle connection (no REQ/EVENT) is closed and IP flagged. 0 to disable.";
+    } else if (strcmp(key, "idle_ban_enabled") == 0) {
+        description = "Whether to ban IPs that repeatedly connect without sending REQ or EVENT.";
+    } else if (strcmp(key, "idle_ban_threshold") == 0) {
+        description = "Number of idle/early-disconnect failures before banning an IP.";
+    } else if (strcmp(key, "idle_ban_window_sec") == 0) {
+        description = "Time window in seconds for counting idle failures.";
+    } else if (strcmp(key, "idle_ban_duration_sec") == 0) {
+        description = "Initial ban duration in seconds for idle failures (doubles each time).";
     } else if (strstr(key, "relay_") == key) {
         description = "This changes relay metadata information.";
     }

src/config.c

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 #include "debug.h"
 #include "default_config_event.h"
 #include "dm_admin.h"
+#include "db_ops.h"
 
 // Undefine VERSION macros before including nostr_core.h to avoid redefinition warnings
 // This must come AFTER default_config_event.h so that RELAY_VERSION macro expansion works correctly
@@ -225,56 +226,13 @@ int store_config_event_in_database(const cJSON* event) {
     if (!event || !g_db) {
         return -1;
     }
-    
-    // Get event fields
-    cJSON* id_obj = cJSON_GetObjectItemCaseSensitive(event, "id");
-    cJSON* pubkey_obj = cJSON_GetObjectItemCaseSensitive(event, "pubkey");
-    cJSON* created_at_obj = cJSON_GetObjectItemCaseSensitive(event, "created_at");
-    cJSON* kind_obj = cJSON_GetObjectItemCaseSensitive(event, "kind");
-    cJSON* content_obj = cJSON_GetObjectItemCaseSensitive(event, "content");
-    cJSON* sig_obj = cJSON_GetObjectItemCaseSensitive(event, "sig");
-    cJSON* tags_obj = cJSON_GetObjectItemCaseSensitive(event, "tags");
-    
-    if (!id_obj || !pubkey_obj || !created_at_obj || !kind_obj || !content_obj || !sig_obj || !tags_obj) {
-        return -1;
-    }
-    
-    // Convert tags to JSON string
-    char* tags_str = cJSON_Print(tags_obj);
-    if (!tags_str) {
-        return -1;
-    }
-    
-    // Insert or replace the configuration event
-    const char* sql = "INSERT OR REPLACE INTO events (id, pubkey, created_at, kind, event_type, content, sig, tags) VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?)";
-    sqlite3_stmt* stmt;
-    
-    int rc = sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, sql, -1, &stmt, NULL);
-    if (rc != SQLITE_OK) {
-        DEBUG_ERROR("Failed to prepare configuration event insert");
-        free(tags_str);
-        return -1;
-    }
-    
-    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 1, cJSON_GetStringValue(id_obj), -1, SQLITE_STATIC);
-    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 2, cJSON_GetStringValue(pubkey_obj), -1, SQLITE_STATIC);
-    sqlite3_bind_int64(stmt, 3, (sqlite3_int64)cJSON_GetNumberValue(created_at_obj));
-    sqlite3_bind_int(stmt, 4, (int)cJSON_GetNumberValue(kind_obj));
-    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 5, "regular", -1, SQLITE_STATIC);
-    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 6, cJSON_GetStringValue(content_obj), -1, SQLITE_STATIC);
-    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 7, cJSON_GetStringValue(sig_obj), -1, SQLITE_STATIC);
-    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 8, tags_str, -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
-    
-    rc = sqlite3_step(stmt);
-    sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
-    free(tags_str);
-    
-    if (rc == SQLITE_DONE) {
-        return 0;
-    } else {
+
+    if (db_store_config_event(event) != 0) {
         DEBUG_ERROR("Failed to store configuration event");
         return -1;
     }
+
+    return 0;
 }
 
 cJSON* load_config_event_from_database(const char* relay_pubkey) {
@@ -378,22 +336,25 @@ int is_nip42_auth_required_for_kind(int event_kind) {
     if (!kinds_str) {
         return 0; // No authentication required if setting is missing
     }
-    
+
     // Parse the kinds list
     int required_kinds[100]; // Support up to 100 different kinds
     int count = parse_auth_required_kinds(kinds_str, required_kinds, 100);
-    
+
     if (count < 0) {
+        free((char*)kinds_str);
         return 0; // Parse error, default to no auth required
     }
-    
+
     // Check if event_kind is in the list
     for (int i = 0; i < count; i++) {
         if (required_kinds[i] == event_kind) {
+            free((char*)kinds_str);
             return 1; // Authentication required for this kind
         }
     }
-    
+
+    free((char*)kinds_str);
     return 0; // Authentication not required for this kind
 }
 
@@ -524,27 +485,13 @@ int store_relay_private_key(const char* relay_privkey_hex) {
         DEBUG_ERROR("Database not available for relay private key storage");
         return -1;
     }
-    
-    const char* sql = "INSERT OR REPLACE INTO relay_seckey (private_key_hex) VALUES (?)";
-    sqlite3_stmt* stmt;
-    
-    int rc = sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, sql, -1, &stmt, NULL);
-    if (rc != SQLITE_OK) {
-        DEBUG_ERROR("Failed to prepare relay private key storage query");
-        return -1;
-    }
-    
-    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 1, relay_privkey_hex, -1, SQLITE_STATIC);
-    
-    rc = sqlite3_step(stmt);
-    sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
-    
-    if (rc == SQLITE_DONE) {
+
+    if (db_store_relay_private_key_hex(relay_privkey_hex) == 0) {
         return 0;
-    } else {
-        DEBUG_ERROR("Failed to store relay private key in database");
-        return -1;
     }
+
+    DEBUG_ERROR("Failed to store relay private key in database");
+    return -1;
 }
 
 char* get_relay_private_key(void) {
@@ -553,32 +500,15 @@ char* get_relay_private_key(void) {
         return NULL;
     }
     
-    const char* sql = "SELECT private_key_hex FROM relay_seckey";
-    sqlite3_stmt* stmt;
-    
-    int rc = sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, sql, -1, &stmt, NULL);
-    if (rc != SQLITE_OK) {
-        DEBUG_ERROR("Failed to prepare relay private key retrieval query");
+    char* private_key = db_get_relay_private_key_hex_dup();
+    if (!private_key || strlen(private_key) != 64) {
+        if (private_key) {
+            free(private_key);
+        }
+        DEBUG_ERROR("Relay private key not found in secure storage");
         return NULL;
     }
-    
-    char* private_key = NULL;
-    if (sqlite3_step(stmt) == SQLITE_ROW) {
-        const char* key_from_db = (const char*)sqlite3_column_text(stmt, 0);
-        if (key_from_db && strlen(key_from_db) == 64) {
-            private_key = malloc(65);  // 64 chars + null terminator
-            if (private_key) {
-                strcpy(private_key, key_from_db);
-            }
-        }
-    }
-    
-    sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
-    
-    if (!private_key) {
-        DEBUG_ERROR("Relay private key not found in secure storage");
-    }
-    
+
     return private_key;
 }
 
@@ -952,6 +882,20 @@ static int validate_config_field(const char* key, const char* value, char* error
         return 0;
     }
 
+    // Debug level (0-5)
+    if (strcmp(key, "debug_level") == 0) {
+        if (!is_valid_positive_integer(value) && strcmp(value, "0") != 0) {
+            snprintf(error_msg, error_size, "invalid debug_level '%s' (must be 0-5)", value);
+            return -1;
+        }
+        int val = atoi(value);
+        if (val < 0 || val > 5) {
+            snprintf(error_msg, error_size, "debug_level '%s' out of range (0-5)", value);
+            return -1;
+        }
+        return 0;
+    }
+
     // IP auth failure ban settings
     if (strcmp(key, "auth_fail_ban_enabled") == 0) {
         if (!is_valid_boolean(value)) {
@@ -970,6 +914,67 @@ static int validate_config_field(const char* key, const char* value, char* error
         return 0;
     }
 
+    // Idle connection ban settings
+    if (strcmp(key, "idle_connection_timeout_sec") == 0) {
+        if (!is_valid_positive_integer(value) && strcmp(value, "0") != 0) {
+            snprintf(error_msg, error_size, "invalid idle_connection_timeout_sec '%s' (must be non-negative integer)", value);
+            return -1;
+        }
+        int timeout = atoi(value);
+        if (timeout < 0 || timeout > 300) {
+            snprintf(error_msg, error_size, "idle_connection_timeout_sec must be between 0 and 300 seconds");
+            return -1;
+        }
+        return 0;
+    }
+
+    if (strcmp(key, "idle_ban_enabled") == 0) {
+        if (!is_valid_boolean(value)) {
+            snprintf(error_msg, error_size, "invalid boolean value '%s' for idle_ban_enabled", value);
+            return -1;
+        }
+        return 0;
+    }
+
+    if (strcmp(key, "idle_ban_threshold") == 0) {
+        if (!is_valid_positive_integer(value)) {
+            snprintf(error_msg, error_size, "invalid idle_ban_threshold '%s' (must be positive integer)", value);
+            return -1;
+        }
+        int threshold = atoi(value);
+        if (threshold < 1 || threshold > 100) {
+            snprintf(error_msg, error_size, "idle_ban_threshold must be between 1 and 100");
+            return -1;
+        }
+        return 0;
+    }
+
+    if (strcmp(key, "idle_ban_window_sec") == 0) {
+        if (!is_valid_positive_integer(value)) {
+            snprintf(error_msg, error_size, "invalid idle_ban_window_sec '%s' (must be positive integer)", value);
+            return -1;
+        }
+        int window = atoi(value);
+        if (window < 10 || window > 3600) {
+            snprintf(error_msg, error_size, "idle_ban_window_sec must be between 10 and 3600");
+            return -1;
+        }
+        return 0;
+    }
+
+    if (strcmp(key, "idle_ban_duration_sec") == 0) {
+        if (!is_valid_positive_integer(value)) {
+            snprintf(error_msg, error_size, "invalid idle_ban_duration_sec '%s' (must be positive integer)", value);
+            return -1;
+        }
+        int duration = atoi(value);
+        if (duration < 60 || duration > 86400) {
+            snprintf(error_msg, error_size, "idle_ban_duration_sec must be between 60 and 86400");
+            return -1;
+        }
+        return 0;
+    }
+
     // NIP-42 auth timeout
     if (strcmp(key, "nip42_auth_timeout_sec") == 0) {
         if (!is_valid_positive_integer(value) && strcmp(value, "0") != 0) {
@@ -1607,30 +1612,7 @@ const char* get_config_value_from_table(const char* key) {
         return NULL;
     }
 
-    const char* sql = "SELECT value FROM config WHERE key = ?";
-
-    sqlite3_stmt* stmt;
-    int rc = sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, sql, -1, &stmt, NULL);
-    if (rc != SQLITE_OK) {
-        return NULL;
-    }
-
-    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 1, key, -1, SQLITE_STATIC);
-
-    const char* result = NULL;
-
-    int step_rc = sqlite3_step(stmt);
-
-    if (step_rc == SQLITE_ROW) {
-        const char* value = (char*)sqlite3_column_text(stmt, 0);
-        if (value) {
-            // Return a dynamically allocated string to prevent buffer reuse
-            result = strdup(value);
-        }
-    }
-
-    sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
-    return result;
+    return db_get_config_value_dup(key);
 }
 
 // Set value in config table
@@ -1639,27 +1621,8 @@ int set_config_value_in_table(const char* key, const char* value, const char* da
     if (!g_db || !key || !value || !data_type) {
         return -1;
     }
-    
-    const char* sql = "INSERT OR REPLACE INTO config (key, value, data_type, description, category, requires_restart) "
-                     "VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?)";
-    
-    sqlite3_stmt* stmt;
-    int rc = sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, sql, -1, &stmt, NULL);
-    if (rc != SQLITE_OK) {
-        return -1;
-    }
-    
-    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 1, key, -1, SQLITE_STATIC);
-    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 2, value, -1, SQLITE_STATIC);
-    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 3, data_type, -1, SQLITE_STATIC);
-    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 4, description ? description : "", -1, SQLITE_STATIC);
-    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 5, category ? category : "general", -1, SQLITE_STATIC);
-    sqlite3_bind_int(stmt, 6, requires_restart);
-    
-    rc = sqlite3_step(stmt);
-    sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
-    
-    return (rc == SQLITE_DONE) ? 0 : -1;
+
+    return db_set_config_value_full(key, value, data_type, description, category, requires_restart);
 }
 
 // Update config in table (simpler version of set_config_value_in_table)
@@ -1667,29 +1630,15 @@ int update_config_in_table(const char* key, const char* value) {
     if (!g_db || !key || !value) {
         return -1;
     }
-    
+
     // Additional validation: reject empty strings to prevent accidental deletion of config values
     if (strlen(value) == 0) {
         DEBUG_WARN("Attempted to update config with empty value - rejecting to prevent data loss");
         printf("  Rejected empty value for key: %s\n", key);
         return -1;
     }
-    
-    const char* sql = "UPDATE config SET value = ?, updated_at = strftime('%s', 'now') WHERE key = ?";
-    
-    sqlite3_stmt* stmt;
-    int rc = sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, sql, -1, &stmt, NULL);
-    if (rc != SQLITE_OK) {
-        return -1;
-    }
-    
-    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 1, value, -1, SQLITE_STATIC);
-    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 2, key, -1, SQLITE_STATIC);
-    
-    rc = sqlite3_step(stmt);
-    sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
-    
-    return (rc == SQLITE_DONE) ? 0 : -1;
+
+    return db_update_config_value_only(key, value);
 }
 
 // DEPRECATED: This function is no longer used in the unified startup flow.
@@ -2132,23 +2081,7 @@ int add_auth_rule_from_config(const char* rule_type, const char* pattern_type,
         return -1;
     }
 
-    const char* sql = "INSERT INTO auth_rules (rule_type, pattern_type, pattern_value) "
-                      "VALUES (?, ?, ?)";
-
-    sqlite3_stmt* stmt;
-    int rc = sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, sql, -1, &stmt, NULL);
-    if (rc != SQLITE_OK) {
-        return -1;
-    }
-
-    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 1, rule_type, -1, SQLITE_STATIC);
-    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 2, pattern_type, -1, SQLITE_STATIC);
-    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 3, pattern_value, -1, SQLITE_STATIC);
-
-    rc = sqlite3_step(stmt);
-    sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
-
-    return (rc == SQLITE_DONE) ? 0 : -1;
+    return db_add_auth_rule(rule_type, pattern_type, pattern_value);
 }
 
 // Remove auth rule from configuration
@@ -2157,23 +2090,8 @@ int remove_auth_rule_from_config(const char* rule_type, const char* pattern_type
     if (!g_db || !rule_type || !pattern_type || !pattern_value) {
         return -1;
     }
-    
-    const char* sql = "DELETE FROM auth_rules WHERE rule_type = ? AND pattern_type = ? AND pattern_value = ?";
-    
-    sqlite3_stmt* stmt;
-    int rc = sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, sql, -1, &stmt, NULL);
-    if (rc != SQLITE_OK) {
-        return -1;
-    }
-    
-    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 1, rule_type, -1, SQLITE_STATIC);
-    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 2, pattern_type, -1, SQLITE_STATIC);
-    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 3, pattern_value, -1, SQLITE_STATIC);
-    
-    rc = sqlite3_step(stmt);
-    sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
-    
-    return (rc == SQLITE_DONE) ? 0 : -1;
+
+    return db_remove_auth_rule(rule_type, pattern_type, pattern_value);
 }
 
 // ================================

src/db_ops.c

@@ -0,0 +1,747 @@
+#define _GNU_SOURCE
+
+#include "db_ops.h"
+#include "debug.h"
+#include "config.h"
+
+#include <stdio.h>
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include <string.h>
+
+// Database handle owned by main.c today.
+extern sqlite3* g_db;
+extern char g_database_path[512];
+
+int db_is_available(void) {
+    return g_db != NULL;
+}
+
+sqlite3* db_get_handle(void) {
+    return g_db;
+}
+
+int db_log_subscription_created(const char* sub_id, const char* wsi_ptr,
+                                const char* client_ip, const char* filter_json) {
+    if (!g_db || !sub_id || !wsi_ptr || !client_ip) return -1;
+
+    const char* sql =
+        "INSERT OR REPLACE INTO subscriptions (subscription_id, wsi_pointer, client_ip, event_type, filter_json) "
+        "VALUES (?, ?, ?, 'created', ?)";
+
+    sqlite3_stmt* stmt = NULL;
+    if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, sql, -1, &stmt, NULL) != SQLITE_OK) return -1;
+
+    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 1, sub_id, -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
+    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 2, wsi_ptr, -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
+    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 3, client_ip, -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
+    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 4, filter_json ? filter_json : "[]", -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
+
+    int rc = sqlite3_step(stmt);
+    sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+    return (rc == SQLITE_DONE) ? 0 : -1;
+}
+
+int db_log_subscription_closed(const char* sub_id, const char* client_ip) {
+    if (!g_db || !sub_id) return -1;
+
+    const char* insert_sql =
+        "INSERT INTO subscriptions (subscription_id, wsi_pointer, client_ip, event_type) "
+        "VALUES (?, '', ?, 'closed')";
+
+    sqlite3_stmt* stmt = NULL;
+    if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, insert_sql, -1, &stmt, NULL) == SQLITE_OK) {
+        sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 1, sub_id, -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
+        sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 2, client_ip ? client_ip : "unknown", -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
+        sqlite3_step(stmt);
+        sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+    }
+
+    const char* update_sql =
+        "UPDATE subscriptions "
+        "SET ended_at = strftime('%s', 'now') "
+        "WHERE subscription_id = ? AND event_type = 'created' AND ended_at IS NULL";
+
+    if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, update_sql, -1, &stmt, NULL) != SQLITE_OK) return -1;
+    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 1, sub_id, -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
+    int rc = sqlite3_step(stmt);
+    sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+
+    return (rc == SQLITE_DONE) ? 0 : -1;
+}
+
+int db_log_subscription_disconnected(const char* client_ip) {
+    if (!g_db || !client_ip) return -1;
+
+    const char* update_sql =
+        "UPDATE subscriptions "
+        "SET ended_at = strftime('%s', 'now') "
+        "WHERE client_ip = ? AND event_type = 'created' AND ended_at IS NULL";
+
+    sqlite3_stmt* stmt = NULL;
+    if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, update_sql, -1, &stmt, NULL) != SQLITE_OK) return -1;
+
+    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 1, client_ip, -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
+    int rc = sqlite3_step(stmt);
+    int changes = sqlite3_changes(g_db);
+    sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+    if (rc != SQLITE_DONE) return -1;
+
+    if (changes > 0) {
+        const char* insert_sql =
+            "INSERT INTO subscriptions (subscription_id, wsi_pointer, client_ip, event_type) "
+            "VALUES ('disconnect', '', ?, 'disconnected')";
+
+        if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, insert_sql, -1, &stmt, NULL) == SQLITE_OK) {
+            sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 1, client_ip, -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
+            sqlite3_step(stmt);
+            sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+        }
+    }
+
+    return changes;
+}
+
+int db_update_subscription_events_sent(const char* sub_id, int events_sent) {
+    if (!g_db || !sub_id) return -1;
+
+    const char* sql =
+        "UPDATE subscriptions "
+        "SET events_sent = ? "
+        "WHERE subscription_id = ? AND event_type = 'created'";
+
+    sqlite3_stmt* stmt = NULL;
+    if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, sql, -1, &stmt, NULL) != SQLITE_OK) return -1;
+
+    sqlite3_bind_int(stmt, 1, events_sent);
+    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 2, sub_id, -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
+
+    int rc = sqlite3_step(stmt);
+    sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+    return (rc == SQLITE_DONE) ? 0 : -1;
+}
+
+int db_cleanup_orphaned_subscriptions(void) {
+    if (!g_db) return -1;
+
+    const char* sql =
+        "UPDATE subscriptions "
+        "SET ended_at = strftime('%s', 'now') "
+        "WHERE event_type = 'created' AND ended_at IS NULL";
+
+    sqlite3_stmt* stmt = NULL;
+    if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, sql, -1, &stmt, NULL) != SQLITE_OK) return -1;
+
+    int rc = sqlite3_step(stmt);
+    int changes = sqlite3_changes(g_db);
+    sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+
+    return (rc == SQLITE_DONE) ? changes : -1;
+}
+
+int db_get_event_pubkey(const char* event_id, char* pubkey_out, size_t pubkey_out_size) {
+    if (!g_db || !event_id || !pubkey_out || pubkey_out_size == 0) return -1;
+
+    const char* sql = "SELECT pubkey FROM events WHERE id = ?";
+    sqlite3_stmt* stmt = NULL;
+
+    if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, sql, -1, &stmt, NULL) != SQLITE_OK) return -1;
+
+    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 1, event_id, -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
+    int rc = sqlite3_step(stmt);
+    if (rc == SQLITE_ROW) {
+        const char* pubkey = (const char*)sqlite3_column_text(stmt, 0);
+        if (pubkey) {
+            snprintf(pubkey_out, pubkey_out_size, "%s", pubkey);
+            sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+            return 1;
+        }
+    }
+
+    sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+    return 0;
+}
+
+int db_delete_event_by_id(const char* event_id, const char* requester_pubkey) {
+    if (!g_db || !event_id || !requester_pubkey) return -1;
+
+    const char* sql = "DELETE FROM events WHERE id = ? AND pubkey = ?";
+    sqlite3_stmt* stmt = NULL;
+
+    if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, sql, -1, &stmt, NULL) != SQLITE_OK) return -1;
+
+    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 1, event_id, -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
+    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 2, requester_pubkey, -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
+
+    int rc = sqlite3_step(stmt);
+    int changes = sqlite3_changes(g_db);
+    sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+
+    if (rc != SQLITE_DONE) return -1;
+    return changes;
+}
+
+int db_delete_events_by_address(const char* pubkey, int kind,
+                                const char* d_tag, long before_timestamp) {
+    if (!g_db || !pubkey) return -1;
+
+    const char* sql_with_d =
+        "DELETE FROM events WHERE kind = ? AND pubkey = ? AND created_at <= ? "
+        "AND json_extract(tags, '$[*]') LIKE '%[\"d\",\"' || ? || '\"]%'";
+    const char* sql_no_d =
+        "DELETE FROM events WHERE kind = ? AND pubkey = ? AND created_at <= ?";
+
+    const int has_d = (d_tag && d_tag[0] != '\0');
+    sqlite3_stmt* stmt = NULL;
+
+    if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, has_d ? sql_with_d : sql_no_d, -1, &stmt, NULL) != SQLITE_OK) {
+        return -1;
+    }
+
+    sqlite3_bind_int(stmt, 1, kind);
+    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 2, pubkey, -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
+    sqlite3_bind_int64(stmt, 3, before_timestamp);
+    if (has_d) {
+        sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 4, d_tag, -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
+    }
+
+    int rc = sqlite3_step(stmt);
+    int changes = sqlite3_changes(g_db);
+    sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+
+    if (rc != SQLITE_DONE) return -1;
+    return changes;
+}
+
+static int db_scalar_exists_open(sqlite3* db, const char* sql, const char* value) {
+    sqlite3_stmt* stmt = NULL;
+    if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(db, sql, -1, &stmt, NULL) != SQLITE_OK) return 0;
+
+    if (value) sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 1, value, -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
+
+    int exists = (sqlite3_step(stmt) == SQLITE_ROW) ? 1 : 0;
+    sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+    return exists;
+}
+
+int db_is_pubkey_blacklisted(const char* pubkey) {
+    if (!pubkey || g_database_path[0] == '\0') return 0;
+
+    sqlite3* db = NULL;
+    if (sqlite3_open_v2(g_database_path, &db, SQLITE_OPEN_READONLY, NULL) != SQLITE_OK) return 0;
+
+    const char* sql =
+        "SELECT 1 FROM auth_rules WHERE rule_type = 'blacklist' "
+        "AND pattern_type = 'pubkey' AND pattern_value = ? AND active = 1 LIMIT 1";
+
+    int exists = db_scalar_exists_open(db, sql, pubkey);
+    sqlite3_close(db);
+    return exists;
+}
+
+int db_is_hash_blacklisted(const char* resource_hash) {
+    if (!resource_hash || g_database_path[0] == '\0') return 0;
+
+    sqlite3* db = NULL;
+    if (sqlite3_open_v2(g_database_path, &db, SQLITE_OPEN_READONLY, NULL) != SQLITE_OK) return 0;
+
+    const char* sql =
+        "SELECT 1 FROM auth_rules WHERE rule_type = 'blacklist' "
+        "AND pattern_type = 'hash' AND pattern_value = ? AND active = 1 LIMIT 1";
+
+    int exists = db_scalar_exists_open(db, sql, resource_hash);
+    sqlite3_close(db);
+    return exists;
+}
+
+int db_is_pubkey_whitelisted(const char* pubkey) {
+    if (!pubkey || g_database_path[0] == '\0') return 0;
+
+    sqlite3* db = NULL;
+    if (sqlite3_open_v2(g_database_path, &db, SQLITE_OPEN_READONLY, NULL) != SQLITE_OK) return 0;
+
+    const char* sql =
+        "SELECT 1 FROM auth_rules WHERE rule_type IN ('whitelist', 'wot_whitelist') "
+        "AND pattern_type = 'pubkey' AND pattern_value = ? AND active = 1 LIMIT 1";
+
+    int exists = db_scalar_exists_open(db, sql, pubkey);
+    sqlite3_close(db);
+    return exists;
+}
+
+int db_count_active_whitelist_rules(void) {
+    if (g_database_path[0] == '\0') return 0;
+
+    sqlite3* db = NULL;
+    sqlite3_stmt* stmt = NULL;
+    int count = 0;
+
+    if (sqlite3_open_v2(g_database_path, &db, SQLITE_OPEN_READONLY, NULL) != SQLITE_OK) return 0;
+
+    const char* sql =
+        "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM auth_rules WHERE rule_type IN ('whitelist', 'wot_whitelist') "
+        "AND pattern_type = 'pubkey' AND active = 1 LIMIT 1";
+
+    if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(db, sql, -1, &stmt, NULL) == SQLITE_OK) {
+        if (sqlite3_step(stmt) == SQLITE_ROW) {
+            count = sqlite3_column_int(stmt, 0);
+        }
+        sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+    }
+
+    sqlite3_close(db);
+    return count;
+}
+
+int db_count_with_sql(const char* sql, const char** bind_params, int bind_param_count, int* out_count) {
+    if (!g_db || !sql || !out_count) return -1;
+
+    sqlite3_stmt* stmt = NULL;
+    if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, sql, -1, &stmt, NULL) != SQLITE_OK) {
+        return -1;
+    }
+
+    for (int i = 0; i < bind_param_count; i++) {
+        const char* param = (bind_params && bind_params[i]) ? bind_params[i] : "";
+        sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, i + 1, param, -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
+    }
+
+    int count = 0;
+    if (sqlite3_step(stmt) == SQLITE_ROW) {
+        count = sqlite3_column_int(stmt, 0);
+    }
+
+    sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+    *out_count = count;
+    return 0;
+}
+
+int db_get_total_event_count_ll(long long* out_count) {
+    if (!g_db || !out_count) return -1;
+
+    sqlite3_stmt* stmt = NULL;
+    const char* sql = "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM events";
+    if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, sql, -1, &stmt, NULL) != SQLITE_OK) return -1;
+
+    long long count = 0;
+    if (sqlite3_step(stmt) == SQLITE_ROW) {
+        count = sqlite3_column_int64(stmt, 0);
+    }
+
+    sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+    *out_count = count;
+    return 0;
+}
+
+int db_get_event_count_since(time_t cutoff, long long* out_count) {
+    if (!g_db || !out_count) return -1;
+
+    sqlite3_stmt* stmt = NULL;
+    const char* sql = "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM events WHERE created_at >= ?";
+    if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, sql, -1, &stmt, NULL) != SQLITE_OK) return -1;
+
+    sqlite3_bind_int64(stmt, 1, (sqlite3_int64)cutoff);
+
+    long long count = 0;
+    if (sqlite3_step(stmt) == SQLITE_ROW) {
+        count = sqlite3_column_int64(stmt, 0);
+    }
+
+    sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+    *out_count = count;
+    return 0;
+}
+
+cJSON* db_get_event_kind_distribution_rows(long long* out_total_events) {
+    if (!g_db) return NULL;
+
+    sqlite3_stmt* stmt = NULL;
+    const char* sql = "SELECT kind, COUNT(*) as count FROM events GROUP BY kind ORDER BY count DESC";
+    if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, sql, -1, &stmt, NULL) != SQLITE_OK) return NULL;
+
+    cJSON* rows = cJSON_CreateArray();
+    if (!rows) {
+        sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+        return NULL;
+    }
+
+    long long total = 0;
+    while (sqlite3_step(stmt) == SQLITE_ROW) {
+        cJSON* row = cJSON_CreateObject();
+        if (!row) {
+            sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+            cJSON_Delete(rows);
+            return NULL;
+        }
+
+        int kind = sqlite3_column_int(stmt, 0);
+        long long count = sqlite3_column_int64(stmt, 1);
+        total += count;
+
+        cJSON_AddNumberToObject(row, "kind", kind);
+        cJSON_AddNumberToObject(row, "count", count);
+        cJSON_AddItemToArray(rows, row);
+    }
+
+    sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+    if (out_total_events) {
+        *out_total_events = total;
+    }
+    return rows;
+}
+
+cJSON* db_get_top_pubkeys_rows(int limit) {
+    if (!g_db) return NULL;
+
+    sqlite3_stmt* stmt = NULL;
+    const char* sql = "SELECT pubkey, COUNT(*) as count FROM events GROUP BY pubkey ORDER BY count DESC LIMIT ?";
+    if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, sql, -1, &stmt, NULL) != SQLITE_OK) return NULL;
+
+    sqlite3_bind_int(stmt, 1, limit > 0 ? limit : 10);
+
+    cJSON* rows = cJSON_CreateArray();
+    if (!rows) {
+        sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+        return NULL;
+    }
+
+    while (sqlite3_step(stmt) == SQLITE_ROW) {
+        cJSON* row = cJSON_CreateObject();
+        if (!row) {
+            sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+            cJSON_Delete(rows);
+            return NULL;
+        }
+
+        const char* pubkey = (const char*)sqlite3_column_text(stmt, 0);
+        long long count = sqlite3_column_int64(stmt, 1);
+        cJSON_AddStringToObject(row, "pubkey", pubkey ? pubkey : "");
+        cJSON_AddNumberToObject(row, "count", count);
+        cJSON_AddItemToArray(rows, row);
+    }
+
+    sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+    return rows;
+}
+
+cJSON* db_get_subscription_details_rows(void) {
+    if (!g_db) return NULL;
+
+    sqlite3_stmt* stmt = NULL;
+    const char* sql =
+        "SELECT * "
+        "FROM active_subscriptions_log "
+        "ORDER BY created_at DESC";
+
+    if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, sql, -1, &stmt, NULL) != SQLITE_OK) return NULL;
+
+    cJSON* rows = cJSON_CreateArray();
+    if (!rows) {
+        sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+        return NULL;
+    }
+
+    while (sqlite3_step(stmt) == SQLITE_ROW) {
+        cJSON* row = cJSON_CreateObject();
+        if (!row) {
+            sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+            cJSON_Delete(rows);
+            return NULL;
+        }
+
+        const char* sub_id = (const char*)sqlite3_column_text(stmt, 0);
+        const char* client_ip = (const char*)sqlite3_column_text(stmt, 1);
+        const char* filter_json = (const char*)sqlite3_column_text(stmt, 2);
+        long long events_sent = sqlite3_column_int64(stmt, 3);
+        long long created_at = sqlite3_column_int64(stmt, 4);
+        long long duration_seconds = sqlite3_column_int64(stmt, 5);
+        const char* wsi_pointer = (const char*)sqlite3_column_text(stmt, 6);
+
+        cJSON_AddStringToObject(row, "id", sub_id ? sub_id : "");
+        cJSON_AddStringToObject(row, "client_ip", client_ip ? client_ip : "");
+        cJSON_AddStringToObject(row, "filter_json", filter_json ? filter_json : "[]");
+        cJSON_AddNumberToObject(row, "events_sent", events_sent);
+        cJSON_AddNumberToObject(row, "created_at", created_at);
+        cJSON_AddNumberToObject(row, "duration_seconds", duration_seconds);
+        cJSON_AddStringToObject(row, "wsi_pointer", wsi_pointer ? wsi_pointer : "");
+
+        cJSON_AddItemToArray(rows, row);
+    }
+
+    sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+    return rows;
+}
+
+cJSON* db_get_all_config_rows(void) {
+    if (!g_db) return NULL;
+
+    sqlite3_stmt* stmt = NULL;
+    const char* sql = "SELECT key, value FROM config ORDER BY key";
+    if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, sql, -1, &stmt, NULL) != SQLITE_OK) return NULL;
+
+    cJSON* rows = cJSON_CreateArray();
+    if (!rows) {
+        sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+        return NULL;
+    }
+
+    while (sqlite3_step(stmt) == SQLITE_ROW) {
+        cJSON* row = cJSON_CreateObject();
+        if (!row) {
+            sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+            cJSON_Delete(rows);
+            return NULL;
+        }
+
+        const char* key = (const char*)sqlite3_column_text(stmt, 0);
+        const char* value = (const char*)sqlite3_column_text(stmt, 1);
+        cJSON_AddStringToObject(row, "key", key ? key : "");
+        cJSON_AddStringToObject(row, "value", value ? value : "");
+        cJSON_AddItemToArray(rows, row);
+    }
+
+    sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+    return rows;
+}
+
+char* db_get_config_value_dup(const char* key) {
+    if (!g_db || !key) return NULL;
+
+    sqlite3_stmt* stmt = NULL;
+    const char* sql = "SELECT value FROM config WHERE key = ?";
+    if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, sql, -1, &stmt, NULL) != SQLITE_OK) return NULL;
+
+    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 1, key, -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
+
+    char* result = NULL;
+    if (sqlite3_step(stmt) == SQLITE_ROW) {
+        const char* value = (const char*)sqlite3_column_text(stmt, 0);
+        if (value) result = strdup(value);
+    }
+
+    sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+    return result;
+}
+
+int db_set_config_value_full(const char* key, const char* value, const char* data_type,
+                             const char* description, const char* category, int requires_restart) {
+    if (!g_db || !key || !value || !data_type) return -1;
+
+    sqlite3_stmt* stmt = NULL;
+    const char* sql =
+        "INSERT OR REPLACE INTO config (key, value, data_type, description, category, requires_restart) "
+        "VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?)";
+
+    if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, sql, -1, &stmt, NULL) != SQLITE_OK) {
+        return -1;
+    }
+
+    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 1, key, -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
+    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 2, value, -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
+    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 3, data_type, -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
+    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 4, description ? description : "", -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
+    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 5, category ? category : "general", -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
+    sqlite3_bind_int(stmt, 6, requires_restart);
+
+    int rc = sqlite3_step(stmt);
+    sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+    return (rc == SQLITE_DONE) ? 0 : -1;
+}
+
+int db_update_config_value_only(const char* key, const char* value) {
+    if (!g_db || !key || !value) return -1;
+
+    sqlite3_stmt* stmt = NULL;
+    const char* sql = "UPDATE config SET value = ?, updated_at = strftime('%s', 'now') WHERE key = ?";
+    if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, sql, -1, &stmt, NULL) != SQLITE_OK) {
+        return -1;
+    }
+
+    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 1, value, -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
+    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 2, key, -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
+
+    int rc = sqlite3_step(stmt);
+    sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+    return (rc == SQLITE_DONE) ? 0 : -1;
+}
+
+int db_upsert_config_value(const char* key, const char* value, const char* data_type) {
+    if (!g_db || !key || !value || !data_type) return -1;
+
+    sqlite3_stmt* stmt = NULL;
+    const char* sql = "INSERT OR REPLACE INTO config (key, value, data_type) VALUES (?, ?, ?)";
+
+    if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, sql, -1, &stmt, NULL) != SQLITE_OK) {
+        return -1;
+    }
+
+    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 1, key, -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
+    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 2, value, -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
+    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 3, data_type, -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
+
+    int rc = sqlite3_step(stmt);
+    sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+    return (rc == SQLITE_DONE) ? 0 : -1;
+}
+
+int db_store_relay_private_key_hex(const char* relay_privkey_hex) {
+    if (!g_db || !relay_privkey_hex) return -1;
+
+    sqlite3_stmt* stmt = NULL;
+    const char* sql = "INSERT OR REPLACE INTO relay_seckey (private_key_hex) VALUES (?)";
+    if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, sql, -1, &stmt, NULL) != SQLITE_OK) return -1;
+
+    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 1, relay_privkey_hex, -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
+    int rc = sqlite3_step(stmt);
+    sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+
+    return (rc == SQLITE_DONE) ? 0 : -1;
+}
+
+char* db_get_relay_private_key_hex_dup(void) {
+    if (!g_db) return NULL;
+
+    sqlite3_stmt* stmt = NULL;
+    const char* sql = "SELECT private_key_hex FROM relay_seckey";
+    if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, sql, -1, &stmt, NULL) != SQLITE_OK) return NULL;
+
+    char* result = NULL;
+    if (sqlite3_step(stmt) == SQLITE_ROW) {
+        const char* key_from_db = (const char*)sqlite3_column_text(stmt, 0);
+        if (key_from_db) result = strdup(key_from_db);
+    }
+
+    sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+    return result;
+}
+
+int db_store_config_event(const cJSON* event) {
+    if (!g_db || !event) return -1;
+
+    cJSON* id_obj = cJSON_GetObjectItemCaseSensitive((cJSON*)event, "id");
+    cJSON* pubkey_obj = cJSON_GetObjectItemCaseSensitive((cJSON*)event, "pubkey");
+    cJSON* created_at_obj = cJSON_GetObjectItemCaseSensitive((cJSON*)event, "created_at");
+    cJSON* kind_obj = cJSON_GetObjectItemCaseSensitive((cJSON*)event, "kind");
+    cJSON* content_obj = cJSON_GetObjectItemCaseSensitive((cJSON*)event, "content");
+    cJSON* sig_obj = cJSON_GetObjectItemCaseSensitive((cJSON*)event, "sig");
+    cJSON* tags_obj = cJSON_GetObjectItemCaseSensitive((cJSON*)event, "tags");
+    if (!id_obj || !pubkey_obj || !created_at_obj || !kind_obj || !content_obj || !sig_obj || !tags_obj) {
+        return -1;
+    }
+
+    char* tags_str = cJSON_Print(tags_obj);
+    if (!tags_str) return -1;
+
+    sqlite3_stmt* stmt = NULL;
+    const char* sql = "INSERT OR REPLACE INTO events (id, pubkey, created_at, kind, event_type, content, sig, tags) VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?)";
+    if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, sql, -1, &stmt, NULL) != SQLITE_OK) {
+        free(tags_str);
+        return -1;
+    }
+
+    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 1, cJSON_GetStringValue(id_obj), -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
+    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 2, cJSON_GetStringValue(pubkey_obj), -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
+    sqlite3_bind_int64(stmt, 3, (sqlite3_int64)cJSON_GetNumberValue(created_at_obj));
+    sqlite3_bind_int(stmt, 4, (int)cJSON_GetNumberValue(kind_obj));
+    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 5, "regular", -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
+    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 6, cJSON_GetStringValue(content_obj), -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
+    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 7, cJSON_GetStringValue(sig_obj), -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
+    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 8, tags_str, -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
+
+    int rc = sqlite3_step(stmt);
+    sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+    free(tags_str);
+
+    return (rc == SQLITE_DONE) ? 0 : -1;
+}
+
+int db_get_event_time_bounds(long long* out_min_created_at, long long* out_max_created_at) {
+    if (!g_db || !out_min_created_at || !out_max_created_at) return -1;
+
+    sqlite3_stmt* stmt = NULL;
+    const char* sql = "SELECT MIN(created_at), MAX(created_at) FROM events";
+    if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, sql, -1, &stmt, NULL) != SQLITE_OK) {
+        return -1;
+    }
+
+    long long min_ts = 0;
+    long long max_ts = 0;
+    if (sqlite3_step(stmt) == SQLITE_ROW) {
+        min_ts = sqlite3_column_int64(stmt, 0);
+        max_ts = sqlite3_column_int64(stmt, 1);
+    }
+
+    sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+    *out_min_created_at = min_ts;
+    *out_max_created_at = max_ts;
+    return 0;
+}
+
+int db_get_config_row_count(int* out_count) {
+    if (!g_db || !out_count) return -1;
+
+    sqlite3_stmt* stmt = NULL;
+    const char* sql = "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM config";
+    if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, sql, -1, &stmt, NULL) != SQLITE_OK) {
+        return -1;
+    }
+
+    int count = 0;
+    if (sqlite3_step(stmt) == SQLITE_ROW) {
+        count = sqlite3_column_int(stmt, 0);
+    }
+
+    sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+    *out_count = count;
+    return 0;
+}
+
+int db_add_auth_rule(const char* rule_type, const char* pattern_type, const char* pattern_value) {
+    if (!g_db || !rule_type || !pattern_type || !pattern_value) return -1;
+
+    sqlite3_stmt* stmt = NULL;
+    const char* sql = "INSERT INTO auth_rules (rule_type, pattern_type, pattern_value) VALUES (?, ?, ?)";
+    if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, sql, -1, &stmt, NULL) != SQLITE_OK) return -1;
+
+    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 1, rule_type, -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
+    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 2, pattern_type, -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
+    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 3, pattern_value, -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
+
+    int rc = sqlite3_step(stmt);
+    sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+    return (rc == SQLITE_DONE) ? 0 : -1;
+}
+
+int db_remove_auth_rule(const char* rule_type, const char* pattern_type, const char* pattern_value) {
+    if (!g_db || !rule_type || !pattern_type || !pattern_value) return -1;
+
+    sqlite3_stmt* stmt = NULL;
+    const char* sql = "DELETE FROM auth_rules WHERE rule_type = ? AND pattern_type = ? AND pattern_value = ?";
+    if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, sql, -1, &stmt, NULL) != SQLITE_OK) return -1;
+
+    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 1, rule_type, -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
+    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 2, pattern_type, -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
+    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 3, pattern_value, -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
+
+    int rc = sqlite3_step(stmt);
+    sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+    return (rc == SQLITE_DONE) ? 0 : -1;
+}
+
+int db_delete_wot_whitelist_rules(void) {
+    if (!g_db) return -1;
+
+    const char* sql = "DELETE FROM auth_rules WHERE rule_type = 'wot_whitelist'";
+    int rc = sqlite3_exec(g_db, sql, NULL, NULL, NULL);
+    return (rc == SQLITE_OK) ? 0 : -1;
+}
+
+int db_count_wot_whitelist_rules(void) {
+    if (!g_db) return 0;
+
+    const char* sql = "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM auth_rules WHERE rule_type = 'wot_whitelist' AND active = 1";
+    int count = 0;
+    if (db_count_with_sql(sql, NULL, 0, &count) != 0) {
+        return 0;
+    }
+    return count;
+}

src/db_ops.h

@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+#ifndef DB_OPS_H
+#define DB_OPS_H
+
+#include <stddef.h>
+#include <time.h>
+#include <sqlite3.h>
+#include <cjson/cJSON.h>
+
+// Generic helpers
+int db_is_available(void);
+sqlite3* db_get_handle(void);
+
+// Subscription logging
+int db_log_subscription_created(const char* sub_id, const char* wsi_ptr,
+                                const char* client_ip, const char* filter_json);
+int db_log_subscription_closed(const char* sub_id, const char* client_ip);
+int db_log_subscription_disconnected(const char* client_ip);
+int db_update_subscription_events_sent(const char* sub_id, int events_sent);
+int db_cleanup_orphaned_subscriptions(void);
+
+// NIP-09 event deletion helpers
+int db_get_event_pubkey(const char* event_id, char* pubkey_out, size_t pubkey_out_size);
+int db_delete_event_by_id(const char* event_id, const char* requester_pubkey);
+int db_delete_events_by_address(const char* pubkey, int kind,
+                                const char* d_tag, long before_timestamp);
+
+// Auth rule checks for request validator
+int db_is_pubkey_blacklisted(const char* pubkey);
+int db_is_hash_blacklisted(const char* resource_hash);
+int db_is_pubkey_whitelisted(const char* pubkey);
+int db_count_active_whitelist_rules(void);
+
+// Generic prepared COUNT helper
+int db_count_with_sql(const char* sql, const char** bind_params, int bind_param_count, int* out_count);
+
+// Monitoring/stat helpers (Phase 1 api.c migration)
+int db_get_total_event_count_ll(long long* out_count);
+int db_get_event_count_since(time_t cutoff, long long* out_count);
+cJSON* db_get_event_kind_distribution_rows(long long* out_total_events);
+cJSON* db_get_top_pubkeys_rows(int limit);
+cJSON* db_get_subscription_details_rows(void);
+
+// Config helpers
+cJSON* db_get_all_config_rows(void);
+char* db_get_config_value_dup(const char* key);
+int db_set_config_value_full(const char* key, const char* value, const char* data_type,
+                             const char* description, const char* category, int requires_restart);
+int db_update_config_value_only(const char* key, const char* value);
+int db_upsert_config_value(const char* key, const char* value, const char* data_type);
+int db_store_relay_private_key_hex(const char* relay_privkey_hex);
+char* db_get_relay_private_key_hex_dup(void);
+int db_store_config_event(const cJSON* event);
+
+// Event timestamp helpers
+int db_get_event_time_bounds(long long* out_min_created_at, long long* out_max_created_at);
+
+// Config table helpers
+int db_get_config_row_count(int* out_count);
+
+// Auth/WoT rule helpers
+int db_add_auth_rule(const char* rule_type, const char* pattern_type, const char* pattern_value);
+int db_remove_auth_rule(const char* rule_type, const char* pattern_type, const char* pattern_value);
+int db_delete_wot_whitelist_rules(void);
+int db_count_wot_whitelist_rules(void);
+
+#endif // DB_OPS_H

src/default_config_event.h

@@ -83,6 +83,10 @@ static const struct {
     // IP-based rate limiting or access control (which would require firewall protection anyway)
     {"trust_proxy_headers", "true"},
 
+    // Debug Level (0=none, 1=errors, 2=warnings, 3=info, 4=debug, 5=trace)
+    // Can be changed at runtime without restart via config_set admin command
+    {"debug_level", "3"},
+
     // IP Auth Failure Ban Settings
     // Ban IPs that repeatedly fail NIP-42 authentication
     {"auth_fail_ban_enabled", "true"},
@@ -95,6 +99,14 @@ static const struct {
     // Prevents unauthenticated connections from accumulating under heavy load
     {"nip42_auth_timeout_sec", "10"},
 
+    // Idle Connection Ban Settings
+    // Ban IPs that connect but never send REQ or EVENT (idle or early disconnect)
+    {"idle_connection_timeout_sec", "0"},   // Seconds before idle connection is closed (0 = disabled)
+    {"idle_ban_enabled", "false"},          // Whether to ban IPs with idle failures
+    {"idle_ban_threshold", "1"},            // Idle failures before ban (1 = ban on first offense)
+    {"idle_ban_window_sec", "30"},          // Window to count idle failures in
+    {"idle_ban_duration_sec", "300"},       // Initial ban duration (doubles each time, max 24h)
+
     // SQLite Performance Tuning
     // mmap_size: bytes of database file to memory-map (0 = disabled, 268435456 = 256MB recommended)
     // Eliminates pread64 syscall overhead for database reads — significant CPU savings under load

src/dm_admin.c

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 #include "config.h"
 #include "debug.h"
 #include "api.h"
+#include "db_ops.h"
 #include "../nostr_core_lib/nostr_core/nostr_core.h"
 #include "../nostr_core_lib/nostr_core/nip017.h"
 #include "../nostr_core_lib/nostr_core/nip044.h"
@@ -17,9 +18,6 @@
 #include <cjson/cJSON.h>
 #include <libwebsockets.h>
 
-// External database connection (from main.c)
-extern sqlite3* g_db;
-
 // Forward declarations for unified handlers
 extern int handle_auth_query_unified(cJSON* event, const char* query_type, char* error_message, size_t error_size, struct lws* wsi);
 extern int handle_config_query_unified(cJSON* event, const char* query_type, char* error_message, size_t error_size, struct lws* wsi);
@@ -622,8 +620,7 @@ int process_nip17_admin_command(cJSON* dm_event, char* error_message, size_t err
                         update_config_in_table("nip42_auth_required_subscriptions", "false");
                         
                         // Clear wot_whitelist rules
-                        const char* delete_sql = "DELETE FROM auth_rules WHERE rule_type = 'wot_whitelist'";
-                        sqlite3_exec(g_db, delete_sql, NULL, NULL, NULL);
+                        db_delete_wot_whitelist_rules();
                         
                         snprintf(response_msg, sizeof(response_msg),
                             "🔓 Web of Trust Disabled\n"
@@ -695,16 +692,7 @@ int process_nip17_admin_command(cJSON* dm_event, char* error_message, size_t err
                     else if (strcmp(wot_cmd, "status") == 0 || strlen(wot_cmd) == 0) {
                         // Show status
                         // Count whitelisted pubkeys
-                        sqlite3_stmt* stmt;
-                        const char* count_sql = "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM auth_rules WHERE rule_type = 'wot_whitelist' AND active = 1";
-                        int whitelist_count = 0;
-                        
-                        if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, count_sql, -1, &stmt, NULL) == SQLITE_OK) {
-                            if (sqlite3_step(stmt) == SQLITE_ROW) {
-                                whitelist_count = sqlite3_column_int(stmt, 0);
-                            }
-                            sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
-                        }
+                        int whitelist_count = db_count_wot_whitelist_rules();
                         
                         const char* level_str;
                         if (wot_level == 0) level_str = "Off (open relay)";

src/ip_ban.c

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 #include "ip_ban.h"
 #include "debug.h"
 #include "config.h"
+#include "db_ops.h"
 #include <string.h>
 #include <stdlib.h>
 #include <pthread.h>
@@ -12,18 +13,37 @@
 // Fixed-size open-addressing hash table. No malloc after init.
 // Thread-safe via a single mutex (low contention — only called
 // at connection open/close, not in the hot event path).
+//
+// State is persisted to the ip_bans SQLite table every 5 minutes
+// and loaded at startup so bans survive relay restarts.
 // ============================================================
 
-#define IP_BAN_EMPTY    0   // slot is unused
-#define IP_BAN_ACTIVE   1   // slot has an entry
+#define IP_BAN_EMPTY    0
+#define IP_BAN_ACTIVE   1
 
 typedef struct {
-    int state;                  // IP_BAN_EMPTY or IP_BAN_ACTIVE
-    char ip[46];                // IPv4 or IPv6 string
-    int failure_count;          // total failures in current window
-    time_t first_failure;       // start of current failure window
-    time_t banned_until;        // 0 = not banned; >0 = banned until this time
-    int ban_count;              // how many times this IP has been banned (for backoff)
+    int state;                      // IP_BAN_EMPTY or IP_BAN_ACTIVE
+    char ip[46];                    // IPv4 or IPv6 string
+    
+    // Auth failure tracking (existing)
+    int failure_count;              // failures in current window
+    time_t first_failure;           // start of current failure window
+    time_t banned_until;            // 0 = not banned
+    int ban_count;                  // escalation level (for exponential backoff)
+    
+    // NEW: Idle failure tracking (separate)
+    int idle_failure_count;
+    time_t idle_first_failure;
+    time_t idle_banned_until;
+    int idle_ban_count;
+    
+    // Other existing fields
+    int has_authed_successfully;    // 1 if this IP has ever authenticated
+    time_t last_success_at;         // timestamp of last successful auth
+    int total_connections;          // lifetime connection count
+    int total_failures;             // lifetime auth failure count
+    int total_successes;            // lifetime successful auth count
+    time_t first_seen;              // when this IP was first seen
 } ip_ban_entry_t;
 
 static ip_ban_entry_t g_ban_table[IP_BAN_TABLE_SIZE];
@@ -41,19 +61,36 @@ static unsigned int ip_hash(const char* ip) {
 }
 
 // Find slot for IP (open addressing with linear probing)
-// Returns index of existing entry or first empty slot, -1 if table full
 static int find_slot(const char* ip) {
     unsigned int start = ip_hash(ip);
     for (unsigned int i = 0; i < IP_BAN_TABLE_SIZE; i++) {
         unsigned int idx = (start + i) % IP_BAN_TABLE_SIZE;
         if (g_ban_table[idx].state == IP_BAN_EMPTY) {
-            return (int)idx;  // empty slot — can insert here
+            return (int)idx;
         }
         if (strcmp(g_ban_table[idx].ip, ip) == 0) {
-            return (int)idx;  // found existing entry
+            return (int)idx;
         }
     }
-    return -1;  // table full (shouldn't happen with 4096 slots)
+    return -1;
+}
+
+// Get or create an entry for an IP. Returns NULL if table is full.
+// Caller must hold g_ban_mutex.
+static ip_ban_entry_t* get_or_create_entry(const char* ip) {
+    int idx = find_slot(ip);
+    if (idx < 0) {
+        DEBUG_WARN("IP ban table full, cannot track %s", ip);
+        return NULL;
+    }
+    ip_ban_entry_t* entry = &g_ban_table[idx];
+    if (entry->state == IP_BAN_EMPTY) {
+        entry->state = IP_BAN_ACTIVE;
+        strncpy(entry->ip, ip, sizeof(entry->ip) - 1);
+        entry->ip[sizeof(entry->ip) - 1] = '\0';
+        entry->first_seen = time(NULL);
+    }
+    return entry;
 }
 
 void ip_ban_init(void) {
@@ -64,38 +101,245 @@ void ip_ban_init(void) {
     DEBUG_LOG("IP ban table initialized (%d slots)", IP_BAN_TABLE_SIZE);
 }
 
+void ip_ban_load_from_db(void) {
+    sqlite3* db = db_get_handle();
+    if (!db || !g_initialized) return;
+
+    // Create table if it doesn't exist (handles existing databases)
+    const char* create_sql =
+        "CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS ip_bans ("
+        "  ip TEXT PRIMARY KEY,"
+        "  failure_count INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,"
+        "  ban_count INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,"
+        "  banned_until INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,"
+        "  first_failure INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,"
+        "  has_authed_successfully INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,"
+        "  last_success_at INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,"
+        "  total_connections INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,"
+        "  total_failures INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,"
+        "  total_successes INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,"
+        "  first_seen INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,"
+        "  updated_at INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT (strftime('%s', 'now'))"
+        ");";
+    char* err = NULL;
+    if (sqlite3_exec(db, create_sql, NULL, NULL, &err) != SQLITE_OK) {
+        DEBUG_ERROR("Failed to create ip_bans table: %s", err ? err : "unknown");
+        if (err) sqlite3_free(err);
+        return;
+    }
+
+    // Migration: Add idle_* columns if they don't exist (ignore errors if already exists)
+    sqlite3_exec(db, "ALTER TABLE ip_bans ADD COLUMN idle_failure_count INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0", NULL, NULL, NULL);
+    sqlite3_exec(db, "ALTER TABLE ip_bans ADD COLUMN idle_ban_count INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0", NULL, NULL, NULL);
+    sqlite3_exec(db, "ALTER TABLE ip_bans ADD COLUMN idle_banned_until INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0", NULL, NULL, NULL);
+    sqlite3_exec(db, "ALTER TABLE ip_bans ADD COLUMN idle_first_failure INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0", NULL, NULL, NULL);
+
+    const char* sql =
+        "SELECT ip, failure_count, ban_count, banned_until, first_failure,"
+        "       has_authed_successfully, last_success_at, total_connections,"
+        "       total_failures, total_successes, first_seen,"
+        "       idle_failure_count, idle_ban_count, idle_banned_until, idle_first_failure"
+        " FROM ip_bans";
+
+    sqlite3_stmt* stmt;
+    if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(db, sql, -1, &stmt, NULL) != SQLITE_OK) {
+        DEBUG_ERROR("Failed to prepare ip_bans load query");
+        return;
+    }
+
+    int loaded = 0;
+    pthread_mutex_lock(&g_ban_mutex);
+    while (sqlite3_step(stmt) == SQLITE_ROW) {
+        const char* ip = (const char*)sqlite3_column_text(stmt, 0);
+        if (!ip) continue;
+
+        int idx = find_slot(ip);
+        if (idx < 0) continue;
+
+        ip_ban_entry_t* entry = &g_ban_table[idx];
+        entry->state = IP_BAN_ACTIVE;
+        strncpy(entry->ip, ip, sizeof(entry->ip) - 1);
+        entry->ip[sizeof(entry->ip) - 1] = '\0';
+        entry->failure_count          = sqlite3_column_int(stmt, 1);
+        entry->ban_count              = sqlite3_column_int(stmt, 2);
+        entry->banned_until           = (time_t)sqlite3_column_int64(stmt, 3);
+        entry->first_failure          = (time_t)sqlite3_column_int64(stmt, 4);
+        entry->has_authed_successfully = sqlite3_column_int(stmt, 5);
+        entry->last_success_at        = (time_t)sqlite3_column_int64(stmt, 6);
+        entry->total_connections      = sqlite3_column_int(stmt, 7);
+        entry->total_failures         = sqlite3_column_int(stmt, 8);
+        entry->total_successes        = sqlite3_column_int(stmt, 9);
+        entry->first_seen             = (time_t)sqlite3_column_int64(stmt, 10);
+        // Load idle tracking fields (default to 0 if columns don't exist yet)
+        entry->idle_failure_count     = sqlite3_column_int(stmt, 11);
+        entry->idle_ban_count         = sqlite3_column_int(stmt, 12);
+        entry->idle_banned_until      = (time_t)sqlite3_column_int64(stmt, 13);
+        entry->idle_first_failure     = (time_t)sqlite3_column_int64(stmt, 14);
+        loaded++;
+    }
+    pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_ban_mutex);
+    sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+
+    // Count how many are still actively banned
+    time_t now = time(NULL);
+    int still_banned = 0;
+    pthread_mutex_lock(&g_ban_mutex);
+    for (int i = 0; i < IP_BAN_TABLE_SIZE; i++) {
+        if (g_ban_table[i].state == IP_BAN_ACTIVE &&
+            g_ban_table[i].banned_until > now) {
+            still_banned++;
+        }
+    }
+    pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_ban_mutex);
+
+    DEBUG_WARN("IP ban table loaded: %d IPs restored (%d still banned)", loaded, still_banned);
+}
+
+void ip_ban_save_to_db(void) {
+    sqlite3* db = db_get_handle();
+    if (!db || !g_initialized) return;
+
+    const char* upsert_sql =
+        "INSERT OR REPLACE INTO ip_bans"
+        " (ip, failure_count, ban_count, banned_until, first_failure,"
+        "  has_authed_successfully, last_success_at, total_connections,"
+        "  total_failures, total_successes, first_seen, updated_at,"
+        "  idle_failure_count, idle_ban_count, idle_banned_until, idle_first_failure)"
+        " VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, strftime('%s', 'now'), ?, ?, ?, ?)";
+
+    sqlite3_stmt* stmt;
+    if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(db, upsert_sql, -1, &stmt, NULL) != SQLITE_OK) {
+        DEBUG_ERROR("Failed to prepare ip_bans save query");
+        return;
+    }
+
+    sqlite3_exec(db, "BEGIN TRANSACTION", NULL, NULL, NULL);
+
+    int saved = 0;
+    pthread_mutex_lock(&g_ban_mutex);
+    for (int i = 0; i < IP_BAN_TABLE_SIZE; i++) {
+        ip_ban_entry_t* entry = &g_ban_table[i];
+        if (entry->state != IP_BAN_ACTIVE) continue;
+
+        sqlite3_reset(stmt);
+        sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 1, entry->ip, -1, SQLITE_STATIC);
+        sqlite3_bind_int(stmt, 2, entry->failure_count);
+        sqlite3_bind_int(stmt, 3, entry->ban_count);
+        sqlite3_bind_int64(stmt, 4, (sqlite3_int64)entry->banned_until);
+        sqlite3_bind_int64(stmt, 5, (sqlite3_int64)entry->first_failure);
+        sqlite3_bind_int(stmt, 6, entry->has_authed_successfully);
+        sqlite3_bind_int64(stmt, 7, (sqlite3_int64)entry->last_success_at);
+        sqlite3_bind_int(stmt, 8, entry->total_connections);
+        sqlite3_bind_int(stmt, 9, entry->total_failures);
+        sqlite3_bind_int(stmt, 10, entry->total_successes);
+        sqlite3_bind_int64(stmt, 11, (sqlite3_int64)entry->first_seen);
+        // Idle tracking fields
+        sqlite3_bind_int(stmt, 12, entry->idle_failure_count);
+        sqlite3_bind_int(stmt, 13, entry->idle_ban_count);
+        sqlite3_bind_int64(stmt, 14, (sqlite3_int64)entry->idle_banned_until);
+        sqlite3_bind_int64(stmt, 15, (sqlite3_int64)entry->idle_first_failure);
+
+        if (sqlite3_step(stmt) != SQLITE_DONE) {
+            DEBUG_WARN("Failed to save ip_ban entry for %s", entry->ip);
+        } else {
+            saved++;
+        }
+    }
+    pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_ban_mutex);
+
+    sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+    sqlite3_exec(db, "COMMIT", NULL, NULL, NULL);
+
+    DEBUG_TRACE("IP ban table saved: %d entries written to DB", saved);
+}
+
+// Check if an IP is in the idle_ban_whitelist config (comma-separated list)
+static int ip_is_whitelisted(const char* ip) {
+    const char* whitelist = get_config_value("idle_ban_whitelist");
+    if (!whitelist || whitelist[0] == '\0') {
+        if (whitelist) free((char*)whitelist);
+        return 0;
+    }
+
+    // Make a mutable copy to tokenize
+    char buf[1024];
+    strncpy(buf, whitelist, sizeof(buf) - 1);
+    buf[sizeof(buf) - 1] = '\0';
+
+    int is_match = 0;
+    char* token = strtok(buf, ",");
+    while (token) {
+        // Trim leading/trailing spaces
+        while (*token == ' ') token++;
+        char* end = token + strlen(token) - 1;
+        while (end > token && *end == ' ') { *end = '\0'; end--; }
+        if (strcmp(token, ip) == 0) {
+            is_match = 1;
+            break;
+        }
+        token = strtok(NULL, ",");
+    }
+
+    free((char*)whitelist);
+    return is_match;
+}
+
 int ip_ban_is_banned(const char* ip) {
     if (!ip || !g_initialized) return 0;
 
-    // Check if feature is enabled
-    if (!get_config_bool("auth_fail_ban_enabled", 1)) return 0;
+    // Whitelisted IPs are never banned
+    if (ip_is_whitelisted(ip)) return 0;
 
     pthread_mutex_lock(&g_ban_mutex);
-
     int idx = find_slot(ip);
     if (idx < 0 || g_ban_table[idx].state == IP_BAN_EMPTY) {
         pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_ban_mutex);
-        return 0;  // no entry — not banned
+        return 0;
     }
 
     ip_ban_entry_t* entry = &g_ban_table[idx];
     time_t now = time(NULL);
+    int banned = 0;
 
-    if (entry->banned_until > 0 && now < entry->banned_until) {
-        pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_ban_mutex);
-        DEBUG_TRACE("IP %s is banned for %ld more seconds", ip, entry->banned_until - now);
-        return 1;  // still banned
+    // Check auth ban (if enabled)
+    if (get_config_bool("auth_fail_ban_enabled", 1) &&
+        entry->banned_until > 0 && now < entry->banned_until) {
+        banned = 1;
     }
 
-    // Ban expired — clear it but keep the entry for failure tracking
-    if (entry->banned_until > 0 && now >= entry->banned_until) {
-        entry->banned_until = 0;
-        entry->failure_count = 0;
-        entry->first_failure = 0;
+    // Check idle ban (if enabled)
+    if (get_config_bool("idle_ban_enabled", 1) &&
+        entry->idle_banned_until > 0 && now < entry->idle_banned_until) {
+        banned = 1;
+    }
+
+    // Clear expired bans
+    if (!banned) {
+        if (entry->banned_until > 0 && now >= entry->banned_until) {
+            entry->banned_until = 0;
+            entry->failure_count = 0;
+            entry->first_failure = 0;
+        }
+        if (entry->idle_banned_until > 0 && now >= entry->idle_banned_until) {
+            entry->idle_banned_until = 0;
+            entry->idle_failure_count = 0;
+            entry->idle_first_failure = 0;
+        }
     }
 
     pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_ban_mutex);
-    return 0;
+    return banned;
+}
+
+void ip_ban_record_connection(const char* ip) {
+    if (!ip || !g_initialized) return;
+
+    pthread_mutex_lock(&g_ban_mutex);
+    ip_ban_entry_t* entry = get_or_create_entry(ip);
+    if (entry) {
+        entry->total_connections++;
+    }
+    pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_ban_mutex);
 }
 
 void ip_ban_record_failure(const char* ip) {
@@ -107,41 +351,29 @@ void ip_ban_record_failure(const char* ip) {
     int ban_duration = get_config_int("auth_fail_ban_duration_sec", 300);
 
     pthread_mutex_lock(&g_ban_mutex);
-
-    int idx = find_slot(ip);
-    if (idx < 0) {
-        // Table full — can't track this IP, just log and return
-        DEBUG_WARN("IP ban table full, cannot track %s", ip);
+    ip_ban_entry_t* entry = get_or_create_entry(ip);
+    if (!entry) {
         pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_ban_mutex);
         return;
     }
 
-    ip_ban_entry_t* entry = &g_ban_table[idx];
     time_t now = time(NULL);
 
-    if (entry->state == IP_BAN_EMPTY) {
-        // New entry
-        entry->state = IP_BAN_ACTIVE;
-        strncpy(entry->ip, ip, sizeof(entry->ip) - 1);
-        entry->ip[sizeof(entry->ip) - 1] = '\0';
-        entry->failure_count = 0;
-        entry->first_failure = now;
-        entry->banned_until = 0;
-        entry->ban_count = 0;
-    }
-
-    // Reset window if it's expired
+    // Reset window if expired
     if (entry->first_failure > 0 && (now - entry->first_failure) > window_sec) {
         entry->failure_count = 0;
         entry->first_failure = now;
     }
+    if (entry->first_failure == 0) {
+        entry->first_failure = now;
+    }
 
     entry->failure_count++;
+    entry->total_failures++;
 
     DEBUG_TRACE("IP %s auth failure count: %d/%d", ip, entry->failure_count, threshold);
 
     if (entry->failure_count >= threshold) {
-        // Apply exponential backoff: ban_duration * 2^ban_count, capped at 24 hours
         int duration = ban_duration;
         for (int i = 0; i < entry->ban_count && duration < 86400; i++) {
             duration *= 2;
@@ -150,7 +382,7 @@ void ip_ban_record_failure(const char* ip) {
 
         entry->banned_until = now + duration;
         entry->ban_count++;
-        entry->failure_count = 0;  // reset counter after ban
+        entry->failure_count = 0;
         entry->first_failure = 0;
 
         DEBUG_WARN("IP %s banned for %d seconds (ban #%d) after %d auth failures",
@@ -160,20 +392,71 @@ void ip_ban_record_failure(const char* ip) {
     pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_ban_mutex);
 }
 
+// Record an idle/early-disconnect failure for an IP
+void ip_ban_record_idle_failure(const char* ip) {
+    if (!ip || !g_initialized) return;
+    if (!get_config_bool("idle_ban_enabled", 1)) return;
+    if (ip_is_whitelisted(ip)) return;  // Never record idle failures for whitelisted IPs
+
+    int threshold = get_config_int("idle_ban_threshold", 1);
+    int window_sec = get_config_int("idle_ban_window_sec", 30);
+    int ban_duration = get_config_int("idle_ban_duration_sec", 300);
+
+    pthread_mutex_lock(&g_ban_mutex);
+    ip_ban_entry_t* entry = get_or_create_entry(ip);
+    if (!entry) {
+        pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_ban_mutex);
+        return;
+    }
+
+    time_t now = time(NULL);
+
+    // Reset window if expired
+    if (entry->idle_first_failure > 0 && (now - entry->idle_first_failure) > window_sec) {
+        entry->idle_failure_count = 0;
+        entry->idle_first_failure = now;
+    }
+    if (entry->idle_first_failure == 0) {
+        entry->idle_first_failure = now;
+    }
+
+    entry->idle_failure_count++;
+    entry->total_failures++;
+
+    DEBUG_TRACE("IP %s idle failure count: %d/%d", ip, entry->idle_failure_count, threshold);
+
+    if (entry->idle_failure_count >= threshold) {
+        int duration = ban_duration;
+        for (int i = 0; i < entry->idle_ban_count && duration < 86400; i++) {
+            duration *= 2;
+        }
+        if (duration > 86400) duration = 86400;
+
+        entry->idle_banned_until = now + duration;
+        entry->idle_ban_count++;
+        entry->idle_failure_count = 0;
+        entry->idle_first_failure = 0;
+
+        DEBUG_WARN("IP %s banned for %d seconds (idle ban #%d) after %d idle failures",
+                   ip, duration, entry->idle_ban_count, threshold);
+    }
+
+    pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_ban_mutex);
+}
+
 void ip_ban_record_success(const char* ip) {
     if (!ip || !g_initialized) return;
 
     pthread_mutex_lock(&g_ban_mutex);
-
-    int idx = find_slot(ip);
-    if (idx >= 0 && g_ban_table[idx].state == IP_BAN_ACTIVE) {
-        // Clear failure count on successful auth — reward good behavior
-        g_ban_table[idx].failure_count = 0;
-        g_ban_table[idx].first_failure = 0;
-        // Note: we keep ban_count so backoff persists across sessions
+    ip_ban_entry_t* entry = get_or_create_entry(ip);
+    if (entry) {
+        entry->failure_count = 0;
+        entry->first_failure = 0;
+        entry->has_authed_successfully = 1;
+        entry->last_success_at = time(NULL);
+        entry->total_successes++;
         DEBUG_TRACE("IP %s authenticated successfully — failure count cleared", ip);
     }
-
     pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_ban_mutex);
 }
 
@@ -181,37 +464,54 @@ void ip_ban_cleanup(void) {
     if (!g_initialized) return;
 
     pthread_mutex_lock(&g_ban_mutex);
-
     time_t now = time(NULL);
     int window_sec = get_config_int("auth_fail_window_sec", 60);
+    int idle_window_sec = get_config_int("idle_ban_window_sec", 60);
     int cleaned = 0;
 
     for (int i = 0; i < IP_BAN_TABLE_SIZE; i++) {
         if (g_ban_table[i].state != IP_BAN_ACTIVE) continue;
-
         ip_ban_entry_t* entry = &g_ban_table[i];
 
-        // Clear entries where ban has expired AND failure window has expired AND no recent activity
-        int ban_expired = (entry->banned_until == 0 || now >= entry->banned_until);
-        int window_expired = (entry->first_failure == 0 || (now - entry->first_failure) > window_sec * 10);
+        // Check auth failure window expiration
+        int auth_ban_expired = (entry->banned_until == 0 || now >= entry->banned_until);
+        int auth_window_expired = (entry->first_failure == 0 || (now - entry->first_failure) > window_sec * 10);
 
-        if (ban_expired && window_expired && entry->failure_count == 0) {
-            // Retain ban_count for 24 hours after the last ban expired.
-            // This ensures exponential backoff persists if the IP returns within 24 hours.
-            // After 24 hours of inactivity, fully clean the entry.
+        // Check idle failure window expiration
+        int idle_ban_expired = (entry->idle_banned_until == 0 || now >= entry->idle_banned_until);
+        int idle_window_expired = (entry->idle_first_failure == 0 || (now - entry->idle_first_failure) > idle_window_sec * 10);
+
+        if (auth_ban_expired && auth_window_expired && entry->failure_count == 0 &&
+            idle_ban_expired && idle_window_expired && entry->idle_failure_count == 0) {
             int retain_sec = 86400; // 24 hours
-            int last_ban_expired_long_ago = (entry->banned_until == 0 ||
-                                             (now - entry->banned_until) > retain_sec);
+            int last_auth_ban_expired_long_ago = (entry->banned_until == 0 ||
+                                                   (now - entry->banned_until) > retain_sec);
+            int last_idle_ban_expired_long_ago = (entry->idle_banned_until == 0 ||
+                                                   (now - entry->idle_banned_until) > retain_sec);
 
-            if (last_ban_expired_long_ago) {
-                // Fully clean — IP has been gone for 24+ hours, start fresh if it returns
+            if (last_auth_ban_expired_long_ago && last_idle_ban_expired_long_ago &&
+                !entry->has_authed_successfully &&
+                entry->ban_count == 0 && entry->idle_ban_count == 0 &&
+                entry->total_connections <= 1) {
+                // Fully clean — never banned, never authenticated, only seen once
                 memset(entry, 0, sizeof(ip_ban_entry_t));
                 cleaned++;
             } else {
-                // Keep entry alive but reset transient fields — preserve ban_count
+                // Keep entry permanently — preserve ban_count for escalation.
+                // An IP that has been banned before will always get at least a 24-hour ban
+                // if it fails auth again, regardless of how long it has been away.
                 entry->failure_count = 0;
                 entry->first_failure = 0;
-                // banned_until and ban_count preserved intentionally
+                entry->idle_failure_count = 0;
+                entry->idle_first_failure = 0;
+                if (last_auth_ban_expired_long_ago) {
+                    entry->banned_until = 0;
+                    // ban_count intentionally NOT reset — permanent escalation
+                }
+                if (last_idle_ban_expired_long_ago) {
+                    entry->idle_banned_until = 0;
+                    // idle_ban_count intentionally NOT reset — permanent escalation
+                }
             }
         }
     }
@@ -219,19 +519,19 @@ void ip_ban_cleanup(void) {
     if (cleaned > 0) {
         DEBUG_TRACE("IP ban cleanup: freed %d stale entries", cleaned);
     }
-
     pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_ban_mutex);
 }
 
 int ip_ban_get_banned_count(void) {
     if (!g_initialized) return 0;
-
     pthread_mutex_lock(&g_ban_mutex);
     time_t now = time(NULL);
     int count = 0;
     for (int i = 0; i < IP_BAN_TABLE_SIZE; i++) {
-        if (g_ban_table[i].state == IP_BAN_ACTIVE &&
-            g_ban_table[i].banned_until > now) {
+        if (g_ban_table[i].state != IP_BAN_ACTIVE) continue;
+        // Count if either auth banned or idle banned
+        if (g_ban_table[i].banned_until > now ||
+            g_ban_table[i].idle_banned_until > now) {
             count++;
         }
     }
@@ -241,7 +541,6 @@ int ip_ban_get_banned_count(void) {
 
 int ip_ban_get_tracked_count(void) {
     if (!g_initialized) return 0;
-
     pthread_mutex_lock(&g_ban_mutex);
     int count = 0;
     for (int i = 0; i < IP_BAN_TABLE_SIZE; i++) {
@@ -251,41 +550,36 @@ int ip_ban_get_tracked_count(void) {
     return count;
 }
 
-// Emit a periodic log summary of banned IPs.
-// Call from the connection age checker (runs every ~30s).
-// Only logs when there are active bans or when the interval has elapsed.
 void ip_ban_log_stats(void) {
     if (!g_initialized) return;
 
     static time_t last_log = 0;
     time_t now = time(NULL);
 
-    // Log every 5 minutes
     if (now - last_log < 300) return;
     last_log = now;
 
-    pthread_mutex_lock(&g_ban_mutex);
+    // Save to DB every 5 minutes
+    ip_ban_save_to_db();
 
-    int banned_count = 0;
+    pthread_mutex_lock(&g_ban_mutex);
+    int auth_banned_count = 0;
+    int idle_banned_count = 0;
     int tracked_count = 0;
+    int trusted_count = 0;
 
     for (int i = 0; i < IP_BAN_TABLE_SIZE; i++) {
         if (g_ban_table[i].state != IP_BAN_ACTIVE) continue;
         tracked_count++;
-        if (g_ban_table[i].banned_until > now) {
-            banned_count++;
-            DEBUG_WARN("IP BAN: %s banned for %ld more seconds (ban #%d, failures: %d)",
-                       g_ban_table[i].ip,
-                       g_ban_table[i].banned_until - now,
-                       g_ban_table[i].ban_count,
-                       g_ban_table[i].failure_count);
-        }
+        if (g_ban_table[i].banned_until > now) auth_banned_count++;
+        if (g_ban_table[i].idle_banned_until > now) idle_banned_count++;
+        if (g_ban_table[i].has_authed_successfully) trusted_count++;
     }
-
     pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_ban_mutex);
 
-    if (banned_count > 0 || tracked_count > 0) {
-        DEBUG_WARN("IP BAN SUMMARY: %d IPs currently banned, %d IPs tracked",
-                   banned_count, tracked_count);
+    int total_banned = auth_banned_count + idle_banned_count;
+    if (total_banned > 0 || tracked_count > 0) {
+        DEBUG_WARN("IP BAN SUMMARY: %d auth-banned, %d idle-banned, %d tracked, %d trusted (ever authed)",
+                   auth_banned_count, idle_banned_count, tracked_count, trusted_count);
     }
 }

src/ip_ban.h

@@ -5,7 +5,8 @@
 //
 // Tracks auth failures per IP address and temporarily bans IPs that repeatedly
 // fail NIP-42 authentication. Uses an in-memory fixed-size hash table — no
-// database writes, no root required, no persistent state.
+// database writes on the hot path. State is persisted to the ip_bans table
+// every 5 minutes and loaded at startup.
 //
 // Config keys (all read from the config table at runtime):
 //   auth_fail_ban_enabled      bool  default: true   (0 = disabled)
@@ -18,9 +19,17 @@
 // Maximum number of IPs tracked simultaneously (fixed-size, no malloc)
 #define IP_BAN_TABLE_SIZE 4096
 
-// Initialize the IP ban table (call once at startup)
+// Initialize the IP ban table (call once at startup, before loading from DB)
 void ip_ban_init(void);
 
+// Load ban state from the ip_bans database table.
+// Call after ip_ban_init() and after the database is open.
+void ip_ban_load_from_db(void);
+
+// Save current ban state to the ip_bans database table.
+// Called every 5 minutes from the maintenance timer.
+void ip_ban_save_to_db(void);
+
 // Check if an IP is currently banned.
 // Returns 1 if banned (connection should be rejected), 0 if allowed.
 int ip_ban_is_banned(const char* ip);
@@ -30,19 +39,27 @@ int ip_ban_is_banned(const char* ip);
 // May trigger a ban if the threshold is exceeded.
 void ip_ban_record_failure(const char* ip);
 
+// Record an idle/early-disconnect failure for an IP.
+// Called when a connection closes without ever sending REQ or EVENT.
+// May trigger a ban if the threshold is exceeded.
+void ip_ban_record_idle_failure(const char* ip);
+
 // Record a successful auth for an IP.
-// Clears any failure count for this IP (reward good behavior).
+// Sets has_authed_successfully=1 and clears failure count.
 void ip_ban_record_success(const char* ip);
 
+// Record a new connection from an IP (increment total_connections).
+void ip_ban_record_connection(const char* ip);
+
 // Periodic cleanup: expire old entries (call from the connection age checker).
 void ip_ban_cleanup(void);
 
+// Emit a periodic WARN-level log summary of banned IPs (every 5 minutes).
+// Also saves state to DB.
+void ip_ban_log_stats(void);
+
 // Get stats for logging/monitoring
 int ip_ban_get_banned_count(void);
 int ip_ban_get_tracked_count(void);
 
-// Emit a periodic WARN-level log summary of banned IPs (every 5 minutes).
-// Call from the connection age checker timer.
-void ip_ban_log_stats(void);
-
 #endif // IP_BAN_H

src/main.c

@@ -26,6 +26,8 @@
 #include "websockets.h"  // WebSocket protocol implementation
 #include "subscriptions.h"  // Subscription management system
 #include "debug.h"  // Debug system
+#include "thread_pool.h"  // Thread pool scaffold
+#include "db_ops.h"
 
 // Forward declarations for unified request validator
 int nostr_validate_unified_request(const char* json_string, size_t json_length);
@@ -162,8 +164,12 @@ int handle_nip11_http_request(struct lws* wsi, const char* accept_header);
 // Forward declaration for WebSocket relay server
 int start_websocket_relay(int port_override, int strict_port);
 
-// Forward declaration for IP ban system
+// Thread pool wake callback (called by worker threads)
+static void wake_event_loop_from_thread_pool(void* ctx);
+
+// Forward declarations for IP ban system
 void ip_ban_init(void);
+void ip_ban_load_from_db(void);
 
 
 // Forward declarations for NIP-13 PoW handling (now in nip013.c)
@@ -185,6 +191,53 @@ int validate_event_expiration(cJSON* event, char* error_message, size_t error_si
 
 // Logging functions - REMOVED (replaced by debug system in debug.c)
 
+static void nostr_log_cb(int level, const char* component, const char* message, void* user_data) {
+    (void)user_data;
+
+    const char* comp = (component && component[0]) ? component : "core";
+    const char* msg = message ? message : "";
+
+    switch (level) {
+        case NOSTR_LOG_LEVEL_ERROR:
+            DEBUG_ERROR("[nostr:%s] %s", comp, msg);
+            break;
+        case NOSTR_LOG_LEVEL_WARN:
+            DEBUG_WARN("[nostr:%s] %s", comp, msg);
+            break;
+        case NOSTR_LOG_LEVEL_INFO:
+            DEBUG_INFO("[nostr:%s] %s", comp, msg);
+            break;
+        case NOSTR_LOG_LEVEL_DEBUG:
+            DEBUG_LOG("[nostr:%s] %s", comp, msg);
+            break;
+        case NOSTR_LOG_LEVEL_TRACE:
+        default:
+            DEBUG_TRACE("[nostr:%s] %s", comp, msg);
+            break;
+    }
+}
+
+static nostr_log_level_t nostr_log_level_from_debug_level(int debug_level) {
+    if (debug_level >= DEBUG_LEVEL_TRACE) {
+        return NOSTR_LOG_LEVEL_TRACE;
+    }
+    if (debug_level >= DEBUG_LEVEL_DEBUG) {
+        return NOSTR_LOG_LEVEL_DEBUG;
+    }
+    if (debug_level >= DEBUG_LEVEL_INFO) {
+        return NOSTR_LOG_LEVEL_INFO;
+    }
+    if (debug_level >= DEBUG_LEVEL_WARN) {
+        return NOSTR_LOG_LEVEL_WARN;
+    }
+    if (debug_level >= DEBUG_LEVEL_ERROR) {
+        return NOSTR_LOG_LEVEL_ERROR;
+    }
+
+    // Production-safe default for systemd/journald deployments.
+    return NOSTR_LOG_LEVEL_INFO;
+}
+
 // Update subscription manager configuration from config system
 void update_subscription_manager_config(void) {
     g_subscription_manager.max_subscriptions_per_client = get_config_int("max_subscriptions_per_client", MAX_SUBSCRIPTIONS_PER_CLIENT);
@@ -204,6 +257,13 @@ void signal_handler(int sig) {
     }
 }
 
+static void wake_event_loop_from_thread_pool(void* ctx) {
+    (void)ctx;
+    if (ws_context) {
+        lws_cancel_service(ws_context);
+    }
+}
+
 /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
 /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
 //             NOTICE MESSAGE SUPPORT
@@ -375,36 +435,11 @@ int init_database(const char* database_path_override) {
     // DEBUG_GUARD_START
     if (g_debug_level >= DEBUG_LEVEL_DEBUG) {
         // Check config table row count immediately after database open
-        sqlite3_stmt* stmt;
-        int rc = sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM config", -1, &stmt, NULL);
-        if (rc == SQLITE_OK) {
-            if (sqlite3_step(stmt) == SQLITE_ROW) {
-                int row_count = sqlite3_column_int(stmt, 0);
-                DEBUG_LOG("Config table row count immediately after sqlite3_open(): %d", row_count);
-            }
-            sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+        int row_count = 0;
+        if (db_get_config_row_count(&row_count) == 0) {
+            DEBUG_LOG("Config table row count immediately after sqlite3_open(): %d", row_count);
         } else {
-            // Capture and log the actual SQLite error instead of assuming table doesn't exist
-            const char* err_msg = sqlite3_errmsg(g_db);
-            DEBUG_LOG("Failed to prepare config table query: %s (error code: %d)", err_msg, rc);
-
-            // Check if it's actually a missing table vs other error
-            if (rc == SQLITE_ERROR) {
-                // Try to check if config table exists
-                sqlite3_stmt* check_stmt;
-                int check_rc = sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, "SELECT name FROM sqlite_master WHERE type='table' AND name='config'", -1, &check_stmt, NULL);
-                if (check_rc == SQLITE_OK) {
-                    int has_table = (sqlite3_step(check_stmt) == SQLITE_ROW);
-                    sqlite3_finalize(check_stmt);
-                    if (has_table) {
-                        DEBUG_LOG("Config table EXISTS but query failed - possible database corruption or locking issue");
-                    } else {
-                        DEBUG_LOG("Config table does not exist yet (first-time startup)");
-                    }
-                } else {
-                    DEBUG_LOG("Failed to check table existence: %s (error code: %d)", sqlite3_errmsg(g_db), check_rc);
-                }
-            }
+            DEBUG_LOG("Config table count unavailable immediately after sqlite3_open() (table may not exist yet)");
         }
     }
     // DEBUG_GUARD_END
@@ -737,6 +772,10 @@ int store_event_tags(const char* event_id, cJSON* tags) {
 
 // Store event in database
 int store_event(cJSON* event) {
+    if (thread_pool_is_running()) {
+        DEBUG_TRACE("Thread pool scaffold active: store_event() still using synchronous DB path");
+    }
+
     if (!g_db || !event) {
         return -1;
     }
@@ -1051,6 +1090,10 @@ static int is_only_kind_99999_request(cJSON* filters) {
 }
 
 int handle_req_message(const char* sub_id, cJSON* filters, struct lws *wsi, struct per_session_data *pss) {
+    if (thread_pool_is_running()) {
+        DEBUG_TRACE("Thread pool scaffold active: handle_req_message() still using synchronous DB path");
+    }
+
     if (!cJSON_IsArray(filters)) {
         DEBUG_ERROR("REQ filters is not an array");
         return 0;
@@ -1259,6 +1302,13 @@ int handle_req_message(const char* sub_id, cJSON* filters, struct lws *wsi, stru
             continue;
         }
 
+        // NIP-01: limit:0 means return zero stored events — skip SQL entirely, just send EOSE
+        cJSON* limit_check = cJSON_GetObjectItemCaseSensitive(filter, "limit");
+        if (limit_check && cJSON_IsNumber(limit_check) && (int)cJSON_GetNumberValue(limit_check) == 0) {
+            DEBUG_LOG("Filter has limit:0 — skipping query, sending EOSE immediately (NIP-01 compliance)");
+            continue;
+        }
+
         // Reset bind params for this filter
         free_bind_params(bind_params, bind_param_count);
         bind_params = NULL;
@@ -1649,6 +1699,7 @@ int is_authorized_admin_event(cJSON* event, char* error_buffer, size_t error_buf
     }
 
     int targets_this_relay = 0;
+    const char* relay_pubkey = get_config_value("relay_pubkey");
     cJSON *tag;
     cJSON_ArrayForEach(tag, tags) {
         if (cJSON_IsArray(tag)) {
@@ -1660,7 +1711,6 @@ int is_authorized_admin_event(cJSON* event, char* error_buffer, size_t error_buf
                 strcmp(tag_name->valuestring, "p") == 0) {
 
                 // Compare with our relay pubkey
-                const char* relay_pubkey = get_config_value("relay_pubkey");
                 if (relay_pubkey && strcmp(tag_value->valuestring, relay_pubkey) == 0) {
                     targets_this_relay = 1;
                     break;
@@ -1668,6 +1718,7 @@ int is_authorized_admin_event(cJSON* event, char* error_buffer, size_t error_buf
             }
         }
     }
+    if (relay_pubkey) free((char*)relay_pubkey);
 
     if (!targets_this_relay) {
         // Admin event for different relay - not an error, just not for us
@@ -1688,6 +1739,7 @@ int is_authorized_admin_event(cJSON* event, char* error_buffer, size_t error_buf
     if (!admin_pubkey || strlen(admin_pubkey) == 0) {
         DEBUG_WARN("Unauthorized admin event attempt: no admin pubkey configured");
         snprintf(error_buffer, error_buffer_size, "Unauthorized admin event attempt: no admin configured");
+        if (admin_pubkey) free((char*)admin_pubkey);
         return -1;
     }
 
@@ -1700,6 +1752,7 @@ int is_authorized_admin_event(cJSON* event, char* error_buffer, size_t error_buf
         DEBUG_WARN(warning_msg);
         DEBUG_INFO("DEBUG: Pubkey comparison failed - event pubkey != admin pubkey");
         snprintf(error_buffer, error_buffer_size, "Unauthorized admin event attempt: invalid admin pubkey");
+        free((char*)admin_pubkey);
         return -1;
     }
 
@@ -1708,9 +1761,11 @@ int is_authorized_admin_event(cJSON* event, char* error_buffer, size_t error_buf
     if (nostr_verify_event_signature(event) != 0) {
         DEBUG_WARN("Unauthorized admin event attempt: invalid signature");
         snprintf(error_buffer, error_buffer_size, "Unauthorized admin event attempt: signature verification failed");
+        free((char*)admin_pubkey);
         return -1;
     }
 
+    free((char*)admin_pubkey);
 
     // All checks passed - authorized admin event
     return 0;
@@ -1919,6 +1974,12 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
 
     DEBUG_LOG("Nostr library initialized");
 
+    // Route nostr_core_lib logs into relay logging pipeline (stdout/stderr -> journald or relay.log)
+    nostr_set_log_callback(nostr_log_cb, NULL);
+    nostr_log_level_t nostr_level = nostr_log_level_from_debug_level(cli_options.debug_level);
+    nostr_set_log_level(nostr_level);
+    DEBUG_INFO("Nostr callback logging initialized at level %d", (int)nostr_level);
+
     // Check if this is first-time startup or existing relay
     if (is_first_time_startup()) {
         DEBUG_LOG("First-time startup detected");
@@ -1953,13 +2014,9 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
         
         // DEBUG_GUARD_START
         if (g_debug_level >= DEBUG_LEVEL_DEBUG) {
-            sqlite3_stmt* stmt;
-            if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM config", -1, &stmt, NULL) == SQLITE_OK) {
-                if (sqlite3_step(stmt) == SQLITE_ROW) {
-                    int row_count = sqlite3_column_int(stmt, 0);
-                    DEBUG_LOG("Config table row count after init_database() (first-time): %d", row_count);
-                }
-                sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+            int row_count = 0;
+            if (db_get_config_row_count(&row_count) == 0) {
+                DEBUG_LOG("Config table row count after init_database() (first-time): %d", row_count);
             }
         }
         // DEBUG_GUARD_END
@@ -2067,6 +2124,21 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
         }
         DEBUG_LOG("Existing database initialized");
 
+        // Keep relay_version in sync with the compiled binary version on every startup
+        if (update_config_in_table("relay_version", CRELAY_VERSION) != 0) {
+            DEBUG_ERROR("Failed to synchronize relay_version with compiled CRELAY_VERSION");
+            cleanup_configuration_system();
+            free(relay_pubkey);
+            for (int i = 0; existing_files[i]; i++) {
+                free(existing_files[i]);
+            }
+            free(existing_files);
+            nostr_cleanup();
+            close_database();
+            return 1;
+        }
+        DEBUG_INFO("Synchronized relay_version to %s", CRELAY_VERSION);
+
         // Apply CLI overrides atomically (now that database is initialized)
         if (apply_cli_overrides_atomic(&cli_options) != 0) {
             DEBUG_ERROR("Failed to apply CLI overrides for existing relay");
@@ -2083,13 +2155,9 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
 
         // DEBUG_GUARD_START
         if (g_debug_level >= DEBUG_LEVEL_DEBUG) {
-            sqlite3_stmt* stmt;
-            if (sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM config", -1, &stmt, NULL) == SQLITE_OK) {
-                if (sqlite3_step(stmt) == SQLITE_ROW) {
-                    int row_count = sqlite3_column_int(stmt, 0);
-                    DEBUG_LOG("Config table row count after init_database(): %d", row_count);
-                }
-                sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+            int row_count = 0;
+            if (db_get_config_row_count(&row_count) == 0) {
+                DEBUG_LOG("Config table row count after init_database(): %d", row_count);
             }
         }
      
@@ -2168,12 +2236,37 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
     // Cleanup orphaned subscriptions from previous runs
     cleanup_all_subscriptions_on_startup();
     
-    // Initialize IP ban table before starting the relay
+    // Initialize IP ban table and load persisted state from database
     ip_ban_init();
+    ip_ban_load_from_db();
+
+    // Optional thread pool scaffold initialization (execution wiring is future work)
+    int thread_pool_enabled = get_config_bool("thread_pool_enabled", 0);
+    int thread_pool_initialized = 0;
+    if (thread_pool_enabled) {
+        thread_pool_config_t tp_cfg;
+        memset(&tp_cfg, 0, sizeof(tp_cfg));
+        tp_cfg.reader_threads = get_config_int("thread_pool_readers", 4);
+        tp_cfg.max_queue_depth = get_config_int("thread_pool_max_queue_depth", 4096);
+        tp_cfg.db_path = g_database_path;
+        tp_cfg.wake_loop_cb = wake_event_loop_from_thread_pool;
+        tp_cfg.wake_loop_ctx = NULL;
+
+        if (thread_pool_init(&tp_cfg) == 0) {
+            thread_pool_initialized = 1;
+            DEBUG_INFO("Thread pool scaffold enabled (%d readers)", tp_cfg.reader_threads);
+        } else {
+            DEBUG_WARN("Failed to initialize thread pool scaffold; continuing in synchronous mode");
+        }
+    }
 
     // Start WebSocket Nostr relay server (port from CLI override or configuration)
     int result = start_websocket_relay(cli_options.port_override, cli_options.strict_port);  // Use CLI port override if specified, otherwise config
-    
+
+    if (thread_pool_initialized) {
+        thread_pool_shutdown();
+    }
+
     // Cleanup
     cleanup_relay_info();
     ginxsom_request_validator_cleanup();
@@ -2183,6 +2276,7 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
     pthread_mutex_destroy(&g_subscription_manager.subscriptions_lock);
     pthread_mutex_destroy(&g_subscription_manager.ip_tracking_lock);
 
+    nostr_set_log_callback(NULL, NULL);
     nostr_cleanup();
     close_database();
     

src/main.h

@@ -11,10 +11,10 @@
 
 // Version information (auto-updated by build system)
 // Using CRELAY_ prefix to avoid conflicts with nostr_core_lib VERSION macros
-#define CRELAY_VERSION_MAJOR 1
-#define CRELAY_VERSION_MINOR 2
-#define CRELAY_VERSION_PATCH 24
-#define CRELAY_VERSION "v1.2.24"
+#define CRELAY_VERSION_MAJOR 2
+#define CRELAY_VERSION_MINOR 0
+#define CRELAY_VERSION_PATCH 2
+#define CRELAY_VERSION "v2.0.2"
 
 // Relay metadata (authoritative source for NIP-11 information)
 #define RELAY_NAME "C-Relay"

src/nip009.c

@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
 #include <cjson/cJSON.h>
 #include "debug.h"
-#include <sqlite3.h>
+#include "db_ops.h"
 #include <string.h>
 #include <stdlib.h>
 #include <time.h>
@@ -21,10 +21,6 @@ int store_event(cJSON* event);
 int delete_events_by_id(const char* requester_pubkey, cJSON* event_ids);
 int delete_events_by_address(const char* requester_pubkey, cJSON* addresses, long deletion_timestamp);
 
-// Global database variable
-extern sqlite3* g_db;
-
-
 // Handle NIP-09 deletion request event (kind 5)
 int handle_deletion_request(cJSON* event, char* error_message, size_t error_size) {
     if (!event) {
@@ -146,97 +142,72 @@ int handle_deletion_request(cJSON* event, char* error_message, size_t error_size
 
 // Delete events by ID (with pubkey authorization)
 int delete_events_by_id(const char* requester_pubkey, cJSON* event_ids) {
-    if (!g_db || !requester_pubkey || !event_ids || !cJSON_IsArray(event_ids)) {
+    if (!db_is_available() || !requester_pubkey || !event_ids || !cJSON_IsArray(event_ids)) {
         return 0;
     }
-    
+
     int deleted_count = 0;
-    
+
     cJSON* event_id = NULL;
     cJSON_ArrayForEach(event_id, event_ids) {
         if (!cJSON_IsString(event_id)) {
             continue;
         }
-        
+
         const char* id = cJSON_GetStringValue(event_id);
-        
-        // First check if event exists and if requester is authorized
-        const char* check_sql = "SELECT pubkey FROM events WHERE id = ?";
-        sqlite3_stmt* check_stmt;
-        
-        int rc = sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, check_sql, -1, &check_stmt, NULL);
-        if (rc != SQLITE_OK) {
+        char event_pubkey[65] = {0};
+        int exists = db_get_event_pubkey(id, event_pubkey, sizeof(event_pubkey));
+        if (exists <= 0) {
             continue;
         }
-        
-        sqlite3_bind_text(check_stmt, 1, id, -1, SQLITE_STATIC);
-        
-        if (sqlite3_step(check_stmt) == SQLITE_ROW) {
-            const char* event_pubkey = (char*)sqlite3_column_text(check_stmt, 0);
-            
-            // Only delete if the requester is the author
-            if (event_pubkey && strcmp(event_pubkey, requester_pubkey) == 0) {
-                sqlite3_finalize(check_stmt);
-                
-                // Delete the event
-                const char* delete_sql = "DELETE FROM events WHERE id = ? AND pubkey = ?";
-                sqlite3_stmt* delete_stmt;
-                
-                rc = sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, delete_sql, -1, &delete_stmt, NULL);
-                if (rc == SQLITE_OK) {
-                    sqlite3_bind_text(delete_stmt, 1, id, -1, SQLITE_STATIC);
-                    sqlite3_bind_text(delete_stmt, 2, requester_pubkey, -1, SQLITE_STATIC);
-                    
-                    if (sqlite3_step(delete_stmt) == SQLITE_DONE && sqlite3_changes(g_db) > 0) {
-                        deleted_count++;
-                    }
-                    sqlite3_finalize(delete_stmt);
-                }
-            } else {
-                sqlite3_finalize(check_stmt);
-                char warning_msg[128];
-                snprintf(warning_msg, sizeof(warning_msg), "Unauthorized deletion attempt for event: %.16s...", id);
-                DEBUG_WARN(warning_msg);
+
+        // Only delete if the requester is the author
+        if (strcmp(event_pubkey, requester_pubkey) == 0) {
+            int changes = db_delete_event_by_id(id, requester_pubkey);
+            if (changes > 0) {
+                deleted_count += changes;
             }
         } else {
-            sqlite3_finalize(check_stmt);
+            char warning_msg[128];
+            snprintf(warning_msg, sizeof(warning_msg), "Unauthorized deletion attempt for event: %.16s...", id);
+            DEBUG_WARN(warning_msg);
         }
     }
-    
+
     return deleted_count;
 }
 
 // Delete events by addressable reference (kind:pubkey:d-identifier)
 int delete_events_by_address(const char* requester_pubkey, cJSON* addresses, long deletion_timestamp) {
-    if (!g_db || !requester_pubkey || !addresses || !cJSON_IsArray(addresses)) {
+    if (!db_is_available() || !requester_pubkey || !addresses || !cJSON_IsArray(addresses)) {
         return 0;
     }
-    
+
     int deleted_count = 0;
-    
+
     cJSON* address = NULL;
     cJSON_ArrayForEach(address, addresses) {
         if (!cJSON_IsString(address)) {
             continue;
         }
-        
+
         const char* addr = cJSON_GetStringValue(address);
-        
+
         // Parse address format: kind:pubkey:d-identifier
         char* addr_copy = strdup(addr);
         if (!addr_copy) continue;
-        
+
         char* kind_str = strtok(addr_copy, ":");
         char* pubkey_str = strtok(NULL, ":");
         char* d_identifier = strtok(NULL, ":");
-        
+
         if (!kind_str || !pubkey_str) {
             free(addr_copy);
             continue;
         }
-        
+
         int kind = atoi(kind_str);
-        
+
         // Only delete if the requester is the author
         if (strcmp(pubkey_str, requester_pubkey) != 0) {
             free(addr_copy);
@@ -245,42 +216,15 @@ int delete_events_by_address(const char* requester_pubkey, cJSON* addresses, lon
             DEBUG_WARN(warning_msg);
             continue;
         }
-        
-        // Build deletion query based on whether we have d-identifier
-        const char* delete_sql;
-        sqlite3_stmt* delete_stmt;
-        
-        if (d_identifier && strlen(d_identifier) > 0) {
-            // Delete specific addressable event with d-tag
-            delete_sql = "DELETE FROM events WHERE kind = ? AND pubkey = ? AND created_at <= ? "
-                        "AND json_extract(tags, '$[*]') LIKE '%[\"d\",\"' || ? || '\"]%'";
-        } else {
-            // Delete all events of this kind by this author up to deletion timestamp
-            delete_sql = "DELETE FROM events WHERE kind = ? AND pubkey = ? AND created_at <= ?";
+
+        int changes = db_delete_events_by_address(requester_pubkey, kind, d_identifier, deletion_timestamp);
+        if (changes > 0) {
+            deleted_count += changes;
         }
-        
-        int rc = sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, delete_sql, -1, &delete_stmt, NULL);
-        if (rc == SQLITE_OK) {
-            sqlite3_bind_int(delete_stmt, 1, kind);
-            sqlite3_bind_text(delete_stmt, 2, requester_pubkey, -1, SQLITE_STATIC);
-            sqlite3_bind_int64(delete_stmt, 3, deletion_timestamp);
-            
-            if (d_identifier && strlen(d_identifier) > 0) {
-                sqlite3_bind_text(delete_stmt, 4, d_identifier, -1, SQLITE_STATIC);
-            }
-            
-            if (sqlite3_step(delete_stmt) == SQLITE_DONE) {
-                int changes = sqlite3_changes(g_db);
-                if (changes > 0) {
-                    deleted_count += changes;
-                }
-            }
-            sqlite3_finalize(delete_stmt);
-        }
-        
+
         free(addr_copy);
     }
-    
+
     return deleted_count;
 }
 

src/nip042.c

@@ -12,7 +12,9 @@
 #include <string.h>
 #include <stdlib.h>
 #include <time.h>
+#include <stdio.h>
 #include "websockets.h"
+#include "ip_ban.h"
 
 
 // Forward declaration for notice message function
@@ -93,8 +95,17 @@ void handle_nip42_auth_signed_event(struct lws* wsi, struct per_session_data* ps
     
     // Verify authentication using existing request_validator function
     // Note: nostr_nip42_verify_auth_event doesn't extract pubkey, we need to do that separately
+    char relay_url[RELAY_URL_MAX_LENGTH];
+    const char* configured_relay_url = get_config_value("relay_url");
+    if (configured_relay_url && configured_relay_url[0] != '\0') {
+        snprintf(relay_url, sizeof(relay_url), "%s", configured_relay_url);
+    } else {
+        int relay_port = (g_relay_port > 0) ? g_relay_port : get_config_int("relay_port", DEFAULT_PORT);
+        snprintf(relay_url, sizeof(relay_url), "ws://127.0.0.1:%d", relay_port);
+    }
+
     int result = nostr_nip42_verify_auth_event(auth_event, challenge_copy,
-                                               "ws://localhost:8888", 600); // 10 minutes tolerance
+                                               relay_url, 600); // 10 minutes tolerance
     
     char authenticated_pubkey[65] = {0};
     if (result == 0) {
@@ -125,11 +136,16 @@ void handle_nip42_auth_signed_event(struct lws* wsi, struct per_session_data* ps
         memset(pss->active_challenge, 0, sizeof(pss->active_challenge));
         pss->challenge_expires = 0;
         pss->auth_challenge_sent = 0;
+        // Mark session as active - client sent AUTH
+        pss->session_active = 1;
         pthread_mutex_unlock(&pss->session_lock);
 
         // Cancel the auth timeout — client has authenticated, keep connection open
         lws_set_timeout(wsi, NO_PENDING_TIMEOUT, 0);
-        
+
+        // Record successful auth for this IP — marks it as trusted
+        ip_ban_record_success(pss->client_ip);
+
         send_notice_message(wsi, pss, "NIP-42 authentication successful");
     } else {
         // Authentication failed

src/request_validator.c

@@ -17,17 +17,13 @@
 #include "../nostr_core_lib/nostr_core/utils.h"
 #include "debug.h"  // C-relay debug system
 #include "config.h"  // C-relay configuration system
-#include <sqlite3.h>
+#include "db_ops.h"
 #include <stdio.h>
 #include <stdlib.h>
 #include <string.h>
 #include <strings.h>
 #include <time.h>
 
-// External references to C-relay global state
-extern sqlite3* g_db;
-extern char g_database_path[512];
-
 // Forward declaration for C-relay event storage function
 extern int store_event(cJSON* event);
 
@@ -304,9 +300,11 @@ int nostr_validate_unified_request(const char* json_string, size_t json_length)
     const char* admin_pubkey = get_config_value("admin_pubkey");
     if (admin_pubkey && strcmp(event_pubkey, admin_pubkey) == 0) {
       // Valid admin event - bypass remaining validation
+      free((char*)admin_pubkey);
       cJSON_Delete(event);
       return NOSTR_SUCCESS;
     }
+    if (admin_pubkey) free((char*)admin_pubkey);
     // Not from admin - continue with normal validation
   }
 
@@ -528,112 +526,40 @@ static int reload_auth_config(void) {
  */
 int check_database_auth_rules(const char *pubkey, const char *operation __attribute__((unused)),
                               const char *resource_hash) {
-  sqlite3 *db = NULL;
-  sqlite3_stmt *stmt = NULL;
-  int rc;
-
   DEBUG_TRACE("Checking auth rules for pubkey: %s", pubkey);
 
   if (!pubkey) {
     return NOSTR_ERROR_INVALID_INPUT;
   }
 
-  // Open database using global database path
-  if (strlen(g_database_path) == 0) {
-    return NOSTR_SUCCESS; // Default allow on DB error
-  }
-
-  rc = sqlite3_open_v2(g_database_path, &db, SQLITE_OPEN_READONLY, NULL);
-  if (rc != SQLITE_OK) {
-    return NOSTR_SUCCESS; // Default allow on DB error
-  }
-
   // Step 1: Check pubkey blacklist (highest priority)
-  const char *blacklist_sql =
-      "SELECT rule_type FROM auth_rules WHERE rule_type = "
-      "'blacklist' AND pattern_type = 'pubkey' AND pattern_value = ? AND active = 1 LIMIT 1";
-  DEBUG_TRACE("Blacklist SQL: %s", blacklist_sql);
-  rc = sqlite3_prepare_v2(db, blacklist_sql, -1, &stmt, NULL);
-  if (rc == SQLITE_OK) {
-    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 1, pubkey, -1, SQLITE_STATIC);
-
-    int step_result = sqlite3_step(stmt);
-    DEBUG_TRACE("Blacklist query result: %s", step_result == SQLITE_ROW ? "FOUND" : "NOT_FOUND");
-
-    if (step_result == SQLITE_ROW) {
-      DEBUG_TRACE("BLACKLIST HIT: Denying access for pubkey: %s", pubkey);
-      // Set specific violation details for status code mapping
-      strcpy(g_last_rule_violation.violation_type, "pubkey_blacklist");
-      sprintf(g_last_rule_violation.reason, "Public key blacklisted");
-
-      sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
-      sqlite3_close(db);
-      return NOSTR_ERROR_AUTH_REQUIRED;
-    }
-    sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+  if (db_is_pubkey_blacklisted(pubkey)) {
+    DEBUG_TRACE("BLACKLIST HIT: Denying access for pubkey: %s", pubkey);
+    strcpy(g_last_rule_violation.violation_type, "pubkey_blacklist");
+    sprintf(g_last_rule_violation.reason, "Public key blacklisted");
+    return NOSTR_ERROR_AUTH_REQUIRED;
   }
 
   // Step 2: Check hash blacklist
-  if (resource_hash) {
-    const char *hash_blacklist_sql =
-        "SELECT rule_type FROM auth_rules WHERE rule_type = "
-        "'blacklist' AND pattern_type = 'hash' AND pattern_value = ? AND active = 1 LIMIT 1";
-    rc = sqlite3_prepare_v2(db, hash_blacklist_sql, -1, &stmt, NULL);
-    if (rc == SQLITE_OK) {
-      sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 1, resource_hash, -1, SQLITE_STATIC);
-
-      if (sqlite3_step(stmt) == SQLITE_ROW) {
-        // Set specific violation details for status code mapping
-        strcpy(g_last_rule_violation.violation_type, "hash_blacklist");
-        sprintf(g_last_rule_violation.reason, "File hash blacklisted");
-
-        sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
-        sqlite3_close(db);
-        return NOSTR_ERROR_AUTH_REQUIRED;
-      }
-      sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
-    }
+  if (resource_hash && db_is_hash_blacklisted(resource_hash)) {
+    strcpy(g_last_rule_violation.violation_type, "hash_blacklist");
+    sprintf(g_last_rule_violation.reason, "File hash blacklisted");
+    return NOSTR_ERROR_AUTH_REQUIRED;
   }
 
   // Step 3: Check pubkey whitelist (includes wot_whitelist)
-  const char *whitelist_sql =
-      "SELECT rule_type FROM auth_rules WHERE rule_type IN "
-      "('whitelist', 'wot_whitelist') AND pattern_type = 'pubkey' AND pattern_value = ? AND active = 1 LIMIT 1";
-  rc = sqlite3_prepare_v2(db, whitelist_sql, -1, &stmt, NULL);
-  if (rc == SQLITE_OK) {
-    sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 1, pubkey, -1, SQLITE_STATIC);
-
-    if (sqlite3_step(stmt) == SQLITE_ROW) {
-      sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
-      sqlite3_close(db);
-      return NOSTR_SUCCESS; // Allow whitelisted pubkey
-    }
-    sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+  if (db_is_pubkey_whitelisted(pubkey)) {
+    return NOSTR_SUCCESS; // Allow whitelisted pubkey
   }
 
-  // Step 4: Check if any whitelist rules exist - if yes, deny by default (includes wot_whitelist)
-  const char *whitelist_exists_sql =
-      "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM auth_rules WHERE rule_type IN ('whitelist', 'wot_whitelist') "
-      "AND pattern_type = 'pubkey' AND active = 1 LIMIT 1";
-  rc = sqlite3_prepare_v2(db, whitelist_exists_sql, -1, &stmt, NULL);
-  if (rc == SQLITE_OK) {
-    if (sqlite3_step(stmt) == SQLITE_ROW) {
-      int whitelist_count = sqlite3_column_int(stmt, 0);
-      if (whitelist_count > 0) {
-        // Set specific violation details for status code mapping
-        strcpy(g_last_rule_violation.violation_type, "whitelist_violation");
-        strcpy(g_last_rule_violation.reason,
-               "Public key not whitelisted for this operation");
-
-        sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
-        sqlite3_close(db);
-        return NOSTR_ERROR_AUTH_REQUIRED;
-      }
-    }
-    sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
+  // Step 4: If any whitelist rules exist, deny by default
+  if (db_count_active_whitelist_rules() > 0) {
+    strcpy(g_last_rule_violation.violation_type, "whitelist_violation");
+    strcpy(g_last_rule_violation.reason,
+           "Public key not whitelisted for this operation");
+    return NOSTR_ERROR_AUTH_REQUIRED;
   }
 
-  sqlite3_close(db);
   return NOSTR_SUCCESS; // Default allow if no restrictive rules matched
 }
 

src/subscriptions.c

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 #define _GNU_SOURCE
 #include <cjson/cJSON.h>
 #include "debug.h"
-#include <sqlite3.h>
+#include "db_ops.h"
 #include <string.h>
 #include <stdlib.h>
 #include <time.h>
@@ -28,9 +28,6 @@ int validate_search_term(const char* search_term, char* error_message, size_t er
 // Forward declaration for monitoring function
 void monitoring_on_subscription_change(void);
 
-// Global database variable
-extern sqlite3* g_db;
-
 // Configuration functions from config.c
 extern int get_config_bool(const char* key, int default_value);
 
@@ -991,21 +988,21 @@ int has_subscriptions_for_kind(int event_kind) {
 
 // Log subscription creation to database
 void log_subscription_created(const subscription_t* sub) {
-    if (!g_db || !sub) return;
-    
+    if (!sub) return;
+
     // Convert wsi pointer to string
     char wsi_str[32];
     snprintf(wsi_str, sizeof(wsi_str), "%p", (void*)sub->wsi);
-    
+
     // Create filter JSON for logging
     char* filter_json = NULL;
     if (sub->filters) {
         cJSON* filters_array = cJSON_CreateArray();
         subscription_filter_t* filter = sub->filters;
-        
+
         while (filter) {
             cJSON* filter_obj = cJSON_CreateObject();
-            
+
             if (filter->kinds) {
                 cJSON_AddItemToObject(filter_obj, "kinds", cJSON_Duplicate(filter->kinds, 1));
             }
@@ -1034,100 +1031,33 @@ void log_subscription_created(const subscription_t* sub) {
                 }
                 cJSON_Delete(tags_obj);
             }
-            
+
             cJSON_AddItemToArray(filters_array, filter_obj);
             filter = filter->next;
         }
-        
+
         filter_json = cJSON_Print(filters_array);
         cJSON_Delete(filters_array);
     }
-    
-    // Use INSERT OR REPLACE to handle duplicates automatically
-    const char* sql =
-        "INSERT OR REPLACE INTO subscriptions (subscription_id, wsi_pointer, client_ip, event_type, filter_json) "
-        "VALUES (?, ?, ?, 'created', ?)";
-    
-    sqlite3_stmt* stmt;
-    int rc = sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, sql, -1, &stmt, NULL);
-    if (rc == SQLITE_OK) {
-        sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 1, sub->id, -1, SQLITE_STATIC);
-        sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 2, wsi_str, -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
-        sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 3, sub->client_ip, -1, SQLITE_STATIC);
-        sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 4, filter_json ? filter_json : "[]", -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
-        
-        sqlite3_step(stmt);
-        sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
-    }
-    
+
+    db_log_subscription_created(sub->id, wsi_str, sub->client_ip, filter_json ? filter_json : "[]");
+
     if (filter_json) free(filter_json);
 }
 
 // Log subscription closure to database
 void log_subscription_closed(const char* sub_id, const char* client_ip, const char* reason) {
     (void)reason; // Mark as intentionally unused
-    if (!g_db || !sub_id) return;
-    
-    const char* sql =
-        "INSERT INTO subscriptions (subscription_id, wsi_pointer, client_ip, event_type) "
-        "VALUES (?, '', ?, 'closed')";
-    
-    sqlite3_stmt* stmt;
-    int rc = sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, sql, -1, &stmt, NULL);
-    if (rc == SQLITE_OK) {
-        sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 1, sub_id, -1, SQLITE_STATIC);
-        sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 2, client_ip ? client_ip : "unknown", -1, SQLITE_STATIC);
-        
-        sqlite3_step(stmt);
-        sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
-    }
-    
-    // Update the corresponding 'created' entry with end time and events sent
-    const char* update_sql =
-        "UPDATE subscriptions "
-        "SET ended_at = strftime('%s', 'now') "
-        "WHERE subscription_id = ? AND event_type = 'created' AND ended_at IS NULL";
-    
-    rc = sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, update_sql, -1, &stmt, NULL);
-    if (rc == SQLITE_OK) {
-        sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 1, sub_id, -1, SQLITE_STATIC);
-        sqlite3_step(stmt);
-        sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
-    }
+    if (!sub_id) return;
+
+    db_log_subscription_closed(sub_id, client_ip);
 }
 
 // Log subscription disconnection to database
 void log_subscription_disconnected(const char* client_ip) {
-    if (!g_db || !client_ip) return;
-    
-    // Mark all active subscriptions for this client as disconnected
-    const char* sql =
-        "UPDATE subscriptions "
-        "SET ended_at = strftime('%s', 'now') "
-        "WHERE client_ip = ? AND event_type = 'created' AND ended_at IS NULL";
-    
-    sqlite3_stmt* stmt;
-    int rc = sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, sql, -1, &stmt, NULL);
-    if (rc == SQLITE_OK) {
-        sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 1, client_ip, -1, SQLITE_STATIC);
-        int changes = sqlite3_changes(g_db);
-        sqlite3_step(stmt);
-        sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
-        
-        if (changes > 0) {
-            // Log a disconnection event
-            const char* insert_sql =
-                "INSERT INTO subscriptions (subscription_id, wsi_pointer, client_ip, event_type) "
-                "VALUES ('disconnect', '', ?, 'disconnected')";
-            
-            rc = sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, insert_sql, -1, &stmt, NULL);
-            if (rc == SQLITE_OK) {
-                sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 1, client_ip, -1, SQLITE_STATIC);
-                sqlite3_step(stmt);
-                sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
-            }
-        }
-    }
+    if (!client_ip) return;
+
+    db_log_subscription_disconnected(client_ip);
 }
 
 // Log event broadcast to database (optional, can be resource intensive)
@@ -1153,55 +1083,26 @@ void log_subscription_disconnected(const char* client_ip) {
 
 // Update events sent counter for a subscription
 void update_subscription_events_sent(const char* sub_id, int events_sent) {
-    if (!g_db || !sub_id) return;
+    if (!sub_id) return;
 
-    const char* sql =
-        "UPDATE subscriptions "
-        "SET events_sent = ? "
-        "WHERE subscription_id = ? AND event_type = 'created'";
-
-    sqlite3_stmt* stmt;
-    int rc = sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, sql, -1, &stmt, NULL);
-    if (rc == SQLITE_OK) {
-        sqlite3_bind_int(stmt, 1, events_sent);
-        sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 2, sub_id, -1, SQLITE_STATIC);
-
-        sqlite3_step(stmt);
-        sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
-    }
+    db_update_subscription_events_sent(sub_id, events_sent);
 }
 
 // Cleanup all subscriptions on startup
 void cleanup_all_subscriptions_on_startup(void) {
-    if (!g_db) {
+    if (!db_is_available()) {
         DEBUG_ERROR("Database not available for startup cleanup");
         return;
     }
-    
+
     DEBUG_LOG("Performing startup subscription cleanup");
-    
-    // Mark all active subscriptions as disconnected
-    const char* sql =
-        "UPDATE subscriptions "
-        "SET ended_at = strftime('%s', 'now') "
-        "WHERE event_type = 'created' AND ended_at IS NULL";
-    
-    sqlite3_stmt* stmt;
-    int rc = sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, sql, -1, &stmt, NULL);
-    if (rc != SQLITE_OK) {
-        DEBUG_ERROR("Failed to prepare startup cleanup query");
-        return;
-    }
-    
-    rc = sqlite3_step(stmt);
-    int changes = sqlite3_changes(g_db);
-    sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
-    
-    if (rc != SQLITE_DONE) {
+
+    int changes = db_cleanup_orphaned_subscriptions();
+    if (changes < 0) {
         DEBUG_ERROR("Failed to execute startup cleanup");
         return;
     }
-    
+
     if (changes > 0) {
         DEBUG_LOG("Startup cleanup: marked %d orphaned subscriptions as disconnected", changes);
     } else {

src/thread_pool.c

@@ -0,0 +1,276 @@
+#define _GNU_SOURCE
+
+#include "thread_pool.h"
+#include "debug.h"
+
+#include <pthread.h>
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include <string.h>
+
+typedef struct thread_pool_job_node {
+    uint64_t job_id;
+    thread_pool_job_t job;
+    struct thread_pool_job_node* next;
+} thread_pool_job_node_t;
+
+typedef struct {
+    thread_pool_job_node_t* head;
+    thread_pool_job_node_t* tail;
+    int size;
+    int max_size;
+    pthread_mutex_t mutex;
+    pthread_cond_t cond;
+} thread_pool_queue_t;
+
+typedef struct {
+    int running;
+    uint64_t next_job_id;
+
+    int reader_count;
+    pthread_t* readers;
+    pthread_t writer;
+
+    thread_pool_queue_t read_q;
+    thread_pool_queue_t write_q;
+
+    thread_pool_wake_loop_cb wake_loop_cb;
+    void* wake_loop_ctx;
+
+    pthread_mutex_t state_mutex;
+} thread_pool_state_t;
+
+static thread_pool_state_t g_pool = {0};
+
+static void queue_init(thread_pool_queue_t* q, int max_size) {
+    memset(q, 0, sizeof(*q));
+    q->max_size = (max_size > 0) ? max_size : 4096;
+    pthread_mutex_init(&q->mutex, NULL);
+    pthread_cond_init(&q->cond, NULL);
+}
+
+static void queue_destroy(thread_pool_queue_t* q) {
+    pthread_mutex_lock(&q->mutex);
+    thread_pool_job_node_t* cur = q->head;
+    while (cur) {
+        thread_pool_job_node_t* next = cur->next;
+        if (cur->job.payload_free && cur->job.payload) {
+            cur->job.payload_free(cur->job.payload);
+        }
+        free(cur);
+        cur = next;
+    }
+    q->head = q->tail = NULL;
+    q->size = 0;
+    pthread_mutex_unlock(&q->mutex);
+
+    pthread_mutex_destroy(&q->mutex);
+    pthread_cond_destroy(&q->cond);
+}
+
+static int queue_push(thread_pool_queue_t* q, thread_pool_job_node_t* node) {
+    pthread_mutex_lock(&q->mutex);
+    if (q->size >= q->max_size) {
+        pthread_mutex_unlock(&q->mutex);
+        return 0;
+    }
+
+    node->next = NULL;
+    if (!q->tail) {
+        q->head = q->tail = node;
+    } else {
+        q->tail->next = node;
+        q->tail = node;
+    }
+    q->size++;
+    pthread_cond_signal(&q->cond);
+    pthread_mutex_unlock(&q->mutex);
+    return 1;
+}
+
+static thread_pool_job_node_t* queue_pop(thread_pool_queue_t* q) {
+    pthread_mutex_lock(&q->mutex);
+    while (g_pool.running && q->size == 0) {
+        pthread_cond_wait(&q->cond, &q->mutex);
+    }
+
+    if (!g_pool.running && q->size == 0) {
+        pthread_mutex_unlock(&q->mutex);
+        return NULL;
+    }
+
+    thread_pool_job_node_t* node = q->head;
+    q->head = node->next;
+    if (!q->head) q->tail = NULL;
+    q->size--;
+    pthread_mutex_unlock(&q->mutex);
+    return node;
+}
+
+static void wake_event_loop(void) {
+    if (g_pool.wake_loop_cb) {
+        g_pool.wake_loop_cb(g_pool.wake_loop_ctx);
+    }
+}
+
+static void complete_job_with_status(thread_pool_job_node_t* node, thread_pool_status_t status, const char* message) {
+    thread_pool_result_t result;
+    memset(&result, 0, sizeof(result));
+    result.job_id = node->job_id;
+    result.type = node->job.type;
+    result.status = status;
+    result.session = node->job.session;
+    result.message = message;
+
+    if (node->job.result_cb) {
+        node->job.result_cb(&result, node->job.result_cb_ctx);
+    }
+    wake_event_loop();
+
+    if (node->job.payload_free && node->job.payload) {
+        node->job.payload_free(node->job.payload);
+    }
+    free(node);
+}
+
+static void* reader_worker_main(void* arg) {
+    (void)arg;
+    while (g_pool.running) {
+        thread_pool_job_node_t* node = queue_pop(&g_pool.read_q);
+        if (!node) break;
+
+        // Scaffold only: execution wiring is intentionally deferred.
+        complete_job_with_status(node, THREAD_POOL_STATUS_NOT_IMPLEMENTED,
+                                 "Read worker scaffold active; execution not wired yet");
+    }
+    return NULL;
+}
+
+static void* writer_worker_main(void* arg) {
+    (void)arg;
+    while (g_pool.running) {
+        thread_pool_job_node_t* node = queue_pop(&g_pool.write_q);
+        if (!node) break;
+
+        // Scaffold only: execution wiring is intentionally deferred.
+        complete_job_with_status(node, THREAD_POOL_STATUS_NOT_IMPLEMENTED,
+                                 "Write worker scaffold active; execution not wired yet");
+    }
+    return NULL;
+}
+
+int thread_pool_init(const thread_pool_config_t* config) {
+    if (!config) return -1;
+
+    pthread_mutex_lock(&g_pool.state_mutex);
+    if (g_pool.running) {
+        pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_pool.state_mutex);
+        return 0;
+    }
+
+    g_pool.reader_count = (config->reader_threads > 0) ? config->reader_threads : 4;
+    g_pool.readers = calloc((size_t)g_pool.reader_count, sizeof(pthread_t));
+    if (!g_pool.readers) {
+        pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_pool.state_mutex);
+        return -1;
+    }
+
+    queue_init(&g_pool.read_q, config->max_queue_depth);
+    queue_init(&g_pool.write_q, config->max_queue_depth);
+
+    g_pool.next_job_id = 1;
+    g_pool.wake_loop_cb = config->wake_loop_cb;
+    g_pool.wake_loop_ctx = config->wake_loop_ctx;
+    g_pool.running = 1;
+
+    for (int i = 0; i < g_pool.reader_count; i++) {
+        if (pthread_create(&g_pool.readers[i], NULL, reader_worker_main, NULL) != 0) {
+            g_pool.running = 0;
+            pthread_cond_broadcast(&g_pool.read_q.cond);
+            pthread_cond_broadcast(&g_pool.write_q.cond);
+            pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_pool.state_mutex);
+            return -1;
+        }
+    }
+
+    if (pthread_create(&g_pool.writer, NULL, writer_worker_main, NULL) != 0) {
+        g_pool.running = 0;
+        pthread_cond_broadcast(&g_pool.read_q.cond);
+        pthread_cond_broadcast(&g_pool.write_q.cond);
+        pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_pool.state_mutex);
+        return -1;
+    }
+
+    pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_pool.state_mutex);
+    DEBUG_LOG("Thread pool initialized: %d readers + 1 writer", g_pool.reader_count);
+    return 0;
+}
+
+void thread_pool_shutdown(void) {
+    pthread_mutex_lock(&g_pool.state_mutex);
+    if (!g_pool.running) {
+        pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_pool.state_mutex);
+        return;
+    }
+
+    g_pool.running = 0;
+    pthread_cond_broadcast(&g_pool.read_q.cond);
+    pthread_cond_broadcast(&g_pool.write_q.cond);
+    pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_pool.state_mutex);
+
+    for (int i = 0; i < g_pool.reader_count; i++) {
+        pthread_join(g_pool.readers[i], NULL);
+    }
+    pthread_join(g_pool.writer, NULL);
+
+    free(g_pool.readers);
+    g_pool.readers = NULL;
+    g_pool.reader_count = 0;
+
+    queue_destroy(&g_pool.read_q);
+    queue_destroy(&g_pool.write_q);
+
+    DEBUG_LOG("Thread pool shutdown complete");
+}
+
+int thread_pool_is_running(void) {
+    return g_pool.running;
+}
+
+static thread_pool_status_t submit_to_queue(thread_pool_queue_t* q, const thread_pool_job_t* job, uint64_t* out_job_id) {
+    if (!g_pool.running) return THREAD_POOL_STATUS_SHUTTING_DOWN;
+    if (!job) return THREAD_POOL_STATUS_INTERNAL_ERROR;
+
+    thread_pool_job_node_t* node = calloc(1, sizeof(*node));
+    if (!node) return THREAD_POOL_STATUS_INTERNAL_ERROR;
+
+    node->job = *job;
+
+    pthread_mutex_lock(&g_pool.state_mutex);
+    node->job_id = g_pool.next_job_id++;
+    pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_pool.state_mutex);
+
+    if (out_job_id) *out_job_id = node->job_id;
+
+    if (!queue_push(q, node)) {
+        if (job->payload_free && job->payload) {
+            job->payload_free(job->payload);
+        }
+        free(node);
+        return THREAD_POOL_STATUS_QUEUE_FULL;
+    }
+
+    return THREAD_POOL_STATUS_OK;
+}
+
+thread_pool_status_t thread_pool_submit_read(const thread_pool_job_t* job, uint64_t* out_job_id) {
+    return submit_to_queue(&g_pool.read_q, job, out_job_id);
+}
+
+thread_pool_status_t thread_pool_submit_write(const thread_pool_job_t* job, uint64_t* out_job_id) {
+    return submit_to_queue(&g_pool.write_q, job, out_job_id);
+}
+
+__attribute__((constructor))
+static void thread_pool_state_init_once(void) {
+    pthread_mutex_init(&g_pool.state_mutex, NULL);
+}

src/thread_pool.h

@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+#ifndef THREAD_POOL_H
+#define THREAD_POOL_H
+
+#include <stddef.h>
+#include <stdint.h>
+
+#ifdef __cplusplus
+extern "C" {
+#endif
+
+typedef enum {
+    THREAD_POOL_JOB_REQ_QUERY = 0,
+    THREAD_POOL_JOB_COUNT_QUERY,
+    THREAD_POOL_JOB_STORE_EVENT,
+    THREAD_POOL_JOB_DELETE_EVENT,
+    THREAD_POOL_JOB_CUSTOM
+} thread_pool_job_type_t;
+
+typedef enum {
+    THREAD_POOL_STATUS_OK = 0,
+    THREAD_POOL_STATUS_NOT_IMPLEMENTED,
+    THREAD_POOL_STATUS_QUEUE_FULL,
+    THREAD_POOL_STATUS_SHUTTING_DOWN,
+    THREAD_POOL_STATUS_INTERNAL_ERROR
+} thread_pool_status_t;
+
+typedef struct {
+    uint64_t job_id;
+    thread_pool_job_type_t type;
+    thread_pool_status_t status;
+    void* session;
+    void* result_data;
+    size_t result_size;
+    const char* message;
+} thread_pool_result_t;
+
+typedef void (*thread_pool_result_cb)(const thread_pool_result_t* result, void* user_ctx);
+typedef void (*thread_pool_payload_free_cb)(void* payload);
+typedef void (*thread_pool_wake_loop_cb)(void* wake_ctx);
+
+typedef struct {
+    thread_pool_job_type_t type;
+    void* session;
+    void* payload;
+    size_t payload_size;
+    thread_pool_payload_free_cb payload_free;
+    thread_pool_result_cb result_cb;
+    void* result_cb_ctx;
+} thread_pool_job_t;
+
+typedef struct {
+    int reader_threads;
+    int max_queue_depth;
+    const char* db_path;
+    thread_pool_wake_loop_cb wake_loop_cb;
+    void* wake_loop_ctx;
+} thread_pool_config_t;
+
+int thread_pool_init(const thread_pool_config_t* config);
+void thread_pool_shutdown(void);
+int thread_pool_is_running(void);
+
+thread_pool_status_t thread_pool_submit_read(const thread_pool_job_t* job, uint64_t* out_job_id);
+thread_pool_status_t thread_pool_submit_write(const thread_pool_job_t* job, uint64_t* out_job_id);
+
+#ifdef __cplusplus
+}
+#endif
+
+#endif // THREAD_POOL_H

src/websockets.c

@@ -31,6 +31,8 @@
 #include "api.h"  // API for embedded files
 #include "dm_admin.h"  // DM admin functions including NIP-17
 #include "ip_ban.h"  // IP auth failure ban system
+#include "thread_pool.h"  // Thread pool scaffold
+#include "db_ops.h"  // DB abstraction wrappers
 
 // Forward declarations for logging functions
 
@@ -107,7 +109,6 @@ void send_notice_message(struct lws* wsi, struct per_session_data* pss, const ch
 extern int get_config_bool(const char* key, int default_value);
 
 // Forward declarations for global state
-extern sqlite3* g_db;
 extern int g_server_running;
 extern volatile sig_atomic_t g_shutdown_flag;
 extern int g_restart_requested;
@@ -116,6 +117,86 @@ extern struct lws_context *ws_context;
 // Global subscription manager
 struct subscription_manager g_subscription_manager;
 
+// Actual relay port bound by libwebsockets at runtime (after fallback/retry logic)
+int g_relay_port = DEFAULT_PORT;
+
+// Global connection list for idle connection tracking
+// Tracks ALL WebSocket connections (not just subscribed ones)
+// so the periodic timer can find and close idle connections
+#define MAX_TRACKED_CONNECTIONS 4096
+
+typedef struct {
+    struct lws* wsi;
+    struct per_session_data* pss;
+} tracked_connection_t;
+
+static tracked_connection_t g_connections[MAX_TRACKED_CONNECTIONS];
+static int g_connection_count = 0;
+static pthread_mutex_t g_connections_lock = PTHREAD_MUTEX_INITIALIZER;
+
+int get_active_connection_count(void) { return g_connection_count; }
+
+static void connection_list_add(struct lws* wsi, struct per_session_data* pss) {
+    pthread_mutex_lock(&g_connections_lock);
+    for (int i = 0; i < MAX_TRACKED_CONNECTIONS; i++) {
+        if (g_connections[i].wsi == NULL) {
+            g_connections[i].wsi = wsi;
+            g_connections[i].pss = pss;
+            g_connection_count++;
+            break;
+        }
+    }
+    pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_connections_lock);
+}
+
+static void connection_list_remove(struct lws* wsi) {
+    pthread_mutex_lock(&g_connections_lock);
+    for (int i = 0; i < MAX_TRACKED_CONNECTIONS; i++) {
+        if (g_connections[i].wsi == wsi) {
+            g_connections[i].wsi = NULL;
+            g_connections[i].pss = NULL;
+            g_connection_count--;
+            break;
+        }
+    }
+    pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_connections_lock);
+}
+
+// Check all tracked connections for idle timeout and close them
+// Called from the periodic maintenance timer (every 60 seconds)
+static void check_idle_connections(int idle_timeout_sec) {
+    if (idle_timeout_sec <= 0) return;
+
+    time_t now = time(NULL);
+
+    // Collect WSIs to close outside the lock to avoid deadlock
+    struct lws* to_close[MAX_TRACKED_CONNECTIONS];
+    int close_count = 0;
+
+    pthread_mutex_lock(&g_connections_lock);
+    for (int i = 0; i < MAX_TRACKED_CONNECTIONS; i++) {
+        if (g_connections[i].wsi == NULL || g_connections[i].pss == NULL) continue;
+        struct per_session_data* pss = g_connections[i].pss;
+        if (pss->session_active) continue; // Already active — skip
+        if (pss->connection_established <= 0) continue;
+        time_t age = now - pss->connection_established;
+        if (age >= idle_timeout_sec) {
+            to_close[close_count++] = g_connections[i].wsi;
+        }
+    }
+    pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_connections_lock);
+
+    for (int i = 0; i < close_count; i++) {
+        // Get pss again safely — it may have been freed if connection closed between lock release and here
+        struct per_session_data* pss = (struct per_session_data*)lws_wsi_user(to_close[i]);
+        if (!pss) continue;
+        DEBUG_LOG("Closing idle connection from %s (no REQ/EVENT after %d seconds)",
+                  pss->client_ip, idle_timeout_sec);
+        lws_close_reason(to_close[i], LWS_CLOSE_STATUS_POLICY_VIOLATION,
+                         (unsigned char*)"Idle connection timeout", 23);
+    }
+}
+
 
 
 // Message queue functions for proper libwebsockets pattern
@@ -270,43 +351,55 @@ int process_message_queue(struct lws* wsi, struct per_session_data* pss) {
         return -1;
     }
 
-    // Get next message from queue (thread-safe)
-    pthread_mutex_lock(&pss->session_lock);
+    // Drain as many queued messages as possible in one writeable callback.
+    // This avoids short-lived clients timing out before receiving all EVENT/EOSE frames.
+    int processed = 0;
+    while (1) {
+        pthread_mutex_lock(&pss->session_lock);
+
+        struct message_queue_node* node = pss->message_queue_head;
+        if (!node) {
+            // Queue is empty
+            pss->writeable_requested = 0;
+            pthread_mutex_unlock(&pss->session_lock);
+            break;
+        }
+
+        // Remove from queue
+        pss->message_queue_head = node->next;
+        if (!pss->message_queue_head) {
+            pss->message_queue_tail = NULL;
+        }
+        pss->message_queue_count--;
 
-    struct message_queue_node* node = pss->message_queue_head;
-    if (!node) {
-        // Queue is empty
-        pss->writeable_requested = 0;
         pthread_mutex_unlock(&pss->session_lock);
-        return 0;
+
+        // Write message (libwebsockets handles partial writes internally)
+        int write_result = lws_write(wsi, node->data + LWS_PRE, node->length, node->type);
+
+        // Free node resources
+        free(node->data);
+        free(node);
+
+        if (write_result < 0) {
+            DEBUG_ERROR("process_message_queue: write failed, result=%d", write_result);
+            return -1;
+        }
+
+        processed++;
+
+        // If socket is currently choked, stop and continue later.
+        if (lws_send_pipe_choked(wsi)) {
+            break;
+        }
     }
 
-    // Remove from queue
-    pss->message_queue_head = node->next;
-    if (!pss->message_queue_head) {
-        pss->message_queue_tail = NULL;
-    }
-    pss->message_queue_count--;
+    DEBUG_TRACE("Processed %d queued messages", processed);
 
-    pthread_mutex_unlock(&pss->session_lock);
-
-    // Write message (libwebsockets handles partial writes internally)
-    int write_result = lws_write(wsi, node->data + LWS_PRE, node->length, node->type);
-
-    // Free node resources
-    free(node->data);
-    free(node);
-
-    if (write_result < 0) {
-        DEBUG_ERROR("process_message_queue: write failed, result=%d", write_result);
-        return -1;
-    }
-
-    DEBUG_TRACE("Processed message: wrote %d bytes, remaining in queue: %d", write_result, pss->message_queue_count);
-
-    // If queue not empty, request another callback
+    // If queue still has pending messages, ensure we request another callback.
     pthread_mutex_lock(&pss->session_lock);
     if (pss->message_queue_head) {
+        pss->writeable_requested = 1;
         lws_callback_on_writable(wsi);
     } else {
         pss->writeable_requested = 0;
@@ -330,6 +423,12 @@ static int nostr_relay_callback(struct lws *wsi, enum lws_callback_reasons reaso
     switch (reason) {
         case LWS_CALLBACK_HTTP:
             // Handle HTTP requests
+            // Mark session as active so HTTP requests don't trigger idle ban
+            if (pss) {
+                pthread_mutex_lock(&pss->session_lock);
+                pss->session_active = 1;
+                pthread_mutex_unlock(&pss->session_lock);
+            }
             {
                 char *requested_uri = (char *)in;
 
@@ -372,27 +471,27 @@ static int nostr_relay_callback(struct lws *wsi, enum lws_callback_reasons reaso
                         }
                     }
 
-                    // Not a WebSocket upgrade, check for NIP-11 request
+                    // Not a WebSocket upgrade: treat root path as NIP-11 endpoint.
+                    // NIP-11 handler will return 200 for proper Accept header and 406 otherwise.
                     char accept_header[256] = {0};
                     int header_len = lws_hdr_copy(wsi, accept_header, sizeof(accept_header) - 1, WSI_TOKEN_HTTP_ACCEPT);
+                    const char* accept_ptr = NULL;
 
                     if (header_len > 0) {
                         accept_header[header_len] = '\0';
-
-                        // Check if this is a NIP-11 request
-                        int is_nip11_request = (strstr(accept_header, "application/nostr+json") != NULL);
-
-                        if (is_nip11_request) {
-                            // Handle NIP-11 request
-                            if (handle_nip11_http_request(wsi, accept_header) == 0) {
-                                return 0; // Successfully handled
-                            }
-                        }
+                        accept_ptr = accept_header;
                     }
 
-                    // Root path without NIP-11 Accept header and not WebSocket - return 404
-                    DEBUG_WARN("Rejecting root path request - not WebSocket upgrade and not NIP-11");
-                    lws_return_http_status(wsi, HTTP_STATUS_NOT_FOUND, NULL);
+                    // Mark session as active so HTTP requests don't trigger idle ban
+                    if (pss) {
+                        pthread_mutex_lock(&pss->session_lock);
+                        pss->session_active = 1;
+                        pthread_mutex_unlock(&pss->session_lock);
+                    }
+
+                    if (handle_nip11_http_request(wsi, accept_ptr) == 0) {
+                        return 0; // Successfully handled
+                    }
                     return -1;
                 }
 
@@ -547,6 +646,15 @@ static int nostr_relay_callback(struct lws *wsi, enum lws_callback_reasons reaso
             pss->challenge_created = 0;
             pss->challenge_expires = 0;
 
+            // Mark as WebSocket connection (not HTTP)
+            pss->is_websocket = 1;
+
+            // Register in global connection list for idle tracking
+            connection_list_add(wsi, pss);
+
+            // Record connection for stats tracking
+            ip_ban_record_connection(pss->client_ip);
+
             // Check IP ban using the resolved client IP (which may be from X-Forwarded-For).
             // This must happen AFTER pss->client_ip is populated so the same IP string
             // is used for both ban recording (at CLOSED) and ban checking (here).
@@ -555,16 +663,29 @@ static int nostr_relay_callback(struct lws *wsi, enum lws_callback_reasons reaso
                 return -1;  // Close connection immediately — no challenge, no processing
             }
 
-            // Set libwebsockets auth timeout: if NIP-42 auth is required and the client
-            // doesn't authenticate within nip42_auth_timeout_sec seconds, lws will close
-            // the connection automatically — even if the client never sends a message.
-            // This prevents idle unauthenticated connections from accumulating.
+            // Initialize session activity tracking
+            pss->session_active = 0;
+            pss->idle_timeout_sec = get_config_int("idle_connection_timeout_sec", 30);
+
+            // Set idle timeout for ALL connections (not just auth-required)
+            // This catches bots that connect and do nothing
+            if (pss->idle_timeout_sec > 0) {
+                lws_set_timeout(wsi, PENDING_TIMEOUT_AWAITING_PING, pss->idle_timeout_sec);
+                DEBUG_TRACE("Idle timeout set: %d seconds for connection from %s",
+                            pss->idle_timeout_sec, pss->client_ip);
+            }
+
+            // Also set auth timeout if auth is required (separate concern)
             if (pss->nip42_auth_required_events || pss->nip42_auth_required_subscriptions) {
                 int auth_timeout = get_config_int("nip42_auth_timeout_sec", 10);
-                if (auth_timeout > 0) {
-                    lws_set_timeout(wsi, PENDING_TIMEOUT_AWAITING_PING, auth_timeout);
+                // Use the shorter of the two timeouts
+                int effective_timeout = (pss->idle_timeout_sec > 0 && pss->idle_timeout_sec < auth_timeout)
+                                        ? pss->idle_timeout_sec
+                                        : auth_timeout;
+                if (effective_timeout > 0) {
+                    lws_set_timeout(wsi, PENDING_TIMEOUT_AWAITING_PING, effective_timeout);
                     DEBUG_TRACE("Auth timeout set: %d seconds for unauthenticated connection from %s",
-                                auth_timeout, pss->client_ip);
+                                effective_timeout, pss->client_ip);
                 }
             }
 
@@ -664,6 +785,14 @@ static int nostr_relay_callback(struct lws *wsi, enum lws_callback_reasons reaso
                                 const char* msg_type = cJSON_GetStringValue(type);
 
                                 if (strcmp(msg_type, "EVENT") == 0) {
+                                    // Mark session as active - client sent EVENT
+                                    pthread_mutex_lock(&pss->session_lock);
+                                    pss->session_active = 1;
+                                    pthread_mutex_unlock(&pss->session_lock);
+
+                                    // Cancel idle timeout - this is legitimate usage
+                                    lws_set_timeout(wsi, NO_PENDING_TIMEOUT, 0);
+
                                     // Handle EVENT message
                                     cJSON* event = cJSON_GetArrayItem(json, 1);
                                     if (event && cJSON_IsObject(event)) {
@@ -1069,7 +1198,15 @@ static int nostr_relay_callback(struct lws *wsi, enum lws_callback_reasons reaso
                                             return 0;
                                         }
                                     }
-    
+
+                                    // Mark session as active - client sent REQ
+                                    pthread_mutex_lock(&pss->session_lock);
+                                    pss->session_active = 1;
+                                    pthread_mutex_unlock(&pss->session_lock);
+
+                                    // Cancel idle timeout - this is legitimate usage
+                                    lws_set_timeout(wsi, NO_PENDING_TIMEOUT, 0);
+
                                     DEBUG_TRACE("REQ message passed authentication check");
 
                                     // Handle REQ message
@@ -1367,6 +1504,14 @@ static int nostr_relay_callback(struct lws *wsi, enum lws_callback_reasons reaso
                             const char* msg_type = cJSON_GetStringValue(type);
 
                             if (strcmp(msg_type, "EVENT") == 0) {
+                                // Mark session as active - client sent EVENT
+                                pthread_mutex_lock(&pss->session_lock);
+                                pss->session_active = 1;
+                                pthread_mutex_unlock(&pss->session_lock);
+
+                                // Cancel idle timeout - this is legitimate usage
+                                lws_set_timeout(wsi, NO_PENDING_TIMEOUT, 0);
+
                                 // Extract event for kind-specific NIP-42 authentication check
                                 cJSON* event_obj = cJSON_GetArrayItem(json, 1);
                                 if (event_obj && cJSON_IsObject(event_obj)) {
@@ -1402,6 +1547,7 @@ static int nostr_relay_callback(struct lws *wsi, enum lws_callback_reasons reaso
                                                         }
                                                     }
                                                 }
+                                                free((char*)relay_pubkey);
                                             }
                                         }
                                     }
@@ -1414,6 +1560,7 @@ static int nostr_relay_callback(struct lws *wsi, enum lws_callback_reasons reaso
                                         } else {
                                             DEBUG_INFO("DEBUG: Kind 23456 event but pubkey mismatch or no admin pubkey");
                                         }
+                                        if (admin_pubkey) free((char*)admin_pubkey);
                                     }
 
                                     if (pss && auth_required && !pss->authenticated && !bypass_auth) {
@@ -1834,9 +1981,17 @@ static int nostr_relay_callback(struct lws *wsi, enum lws_callback_reasons reaso
                             cJSON* sub_id = cJSON_GetArrayItem(json, 1);
 
                             if (sub_id && cJSON_IsString(sub_id)) {
-                                const char* subscription_id = cJSON_GetStringValue(sub_id);
+                            const char* subscription_id = cJSON_GetStringValue(sub_id);
 
-                                DEBUG_TRACE("Processing REQ message for subscription %s", subscription_id);
+                            // Mark session as active - client sent REQ
+                            pthread_mutex_lock(&pss->session_lock);
+                            pss->session_active = 1;
+                            pthread_mutex_unlock(&pss->session_lock);
+
+                            // Cancel idle timeout - this is legitimate usage
+                            lws_set_timeout(wsi, NO_PENDING_TIMEOUT, 0);
+
+                            DEBUG_TRACE("Processing REQ message for subscription %s", subscription_id);
 
                                 // Validate subscription ID before processing
                                 if (!subscription_id) {
@@ -2101,7 +2256,10 @@ static int nostr_relay_callback(struct lws *wsi, enum lws_callback_reasons reaso
 
         case LWS_CALLBACK_CLOSED:
             DEBUG_TRACE("WebSocket connection closed");
-            
+
+            // Remove from global connection list (must happen before pss cleanup)
+            connection_list_remove(wsi);
+
             // Enhanced closure logging with detailed diagnostics
             if (pss) {
                 // Calculate connection duration
@@ -2115,12 +2273,23 @@ static int nostr_relay_callback(struct lws *wsi, enum lws_callback_reasons reaso
                     reason = "server_shutdown";
                 }
 
-                // Record auth failure if connection closed while unauthenticated and auth was required.
-                // This covers both the lws_set_timeout path (idle bots) and the reactive REQ path.
-                if (!pss->authenticated &&
-                    (pss->nip42_auth_required_events || pss->nip42_auth_required_subscriptions) &&
-                    pss->auth_challenge_sent &&
-                    strlen(pss->client_ip) > 0) {
+                // Record failure if connection closed without ever becoming active
+                // This catches:
+                // 1. Idle connections that timed out (never sent REQ/EVENT/AUTH)
+                // 2. Early disconnects (client closed before sending REQ/EVENT/AUTH)
+                // Only record for WebSocket connections, not HTTP requests (NIP-11, embedded files)
+                if (!pss->session_active && pss->is_websocket && strlen(pss->client_ip) > 0) {
+                    // Use separate idle failure recording (has its own threshold/duration)
+                    ip_ban_record_idle_failure(pss->client_ip);
+                    DEBUG_LOG("Recording idle/early-disconnect failure for IP %s (connected %ld seconds)",
+                              pss->client_ip,
+                              time(NULL) - pss->connection_established);
+                }
+                // Legacy: record auth failure if auth was required but not completed
+                else if (!pss->authenticated &&
+                         (pss->nip42_auth_required_events || pss->nip42_auth_required_subscriptions) &&
+                         pss->auth_challenge_sent &&
+                         strlen(pss->client_ip) > 0) {
                     ip_ban_record_failure(pss->client_ip);
                 }
                 
@@ -2290,7 +2459,7 @@ static void check_connection_age(int max_connection_seconds) {
     // Cleanup
     free(checked_wsis);
 
-    // Periodic IP ban maintenance: cleanup expired entries and log stats
+    // Periodic IP ban maintenance: cleanup expired entries, log stats, save to DB
     ip_ban_cleanup();
     ip_ban_log_stats();
 }
@@ -2451,6 +2620,9 @@ int start_websocket_relay(int port_override, int strict_port) {
         return -1;
     }
 
+    // Persist the actual bound port for components that need the runtime relay URL
+    g_relay_port = actual_port;
+
     char startup_msg[256];
     if (actual_port != configured_port) {
         snprintf(startup_msg, sizeof(startup_msg),
@@ -2493,6 +2665,18 @@ int start_websocket_relay(int port_override, int strict_port) {
         int max_connection_seconds = get_config_int("max_connection_seconds", 86400);
         if (current_time - last_connection_age_check >= 60) {
             last_connection_age_check = current_time;
+
+            // Live debug level update: read from config table so it can be changed
+            // without restarting the relay (via config_set admin command or direct SQL)
+            int config_debug_level = get_config_int("debug_level", -1);
+            if (config_debug_level >= 0 && config_debug_level != g_debug_level) {
+                DEBUG_WARN("Debug level changed: %d -> %d", g_debug_level, config_debug_level);
+                g_debug_level = config_debug_level;
+            }
+            // Check and close idle connections (no REQ/EVENT sent within timeout)
+            int idle_timeout_sec = get_config_int("idle_connection_timeout_sec", 30);
+            check_idle_connections(idle_timeout_sec);
+
             if (max_connection_seconds > 0) {
                 check_connection_age(max_connection_seconds);
             } else {
@@ -2547,6 +2731,7 @@ int process_dm_stats_command(cJSON* dm_event, char* error_message, size_t error_
             }
         }
     }
+    free((char*)relay_pubkey);
 
     if (!addressed_to_relay) {
         // Not addressed to relay, allow normal processing
@@ -2565,9 +2750,11 @@ int process_dm_stats_command(cJSON* dm_event, char* error_message, size_t error_
     const char* admin_pubkey = get_config_value("admin_pubkey");
     if (!admin_pubkey || strlen(admin_pubkey) == 0 ||
         strcmp(sender_pubkey, admin_pubkey) != 0) {
+        if (admin_pubkey) free((char*)admin_pubkey);
         strncpy(error_message, "Unauthorized: not admin", error_size - 1);
         return -1;
     }
+    free((char*)admin_pubkey);
 
     // Get relay private key for decryption
     char* relay_privkey_hex = get_relay_private_key();
@@ -2681,6 +2868,10 @@ int process_dm_stats_command(cJSON* dm_event, char* error_message, size_t error_
 int handle_count_message(const char* sub_id, cJSON* filters, struct lws *wsi, struct per_session_data *pss) {
     // pss is now used for query tracking, so remove unused warning suppression
 
+    if (thread_pool_is_running()) {
+        DEBUG_TRACE("Thread pool scaffold active: handle_count_message() still using synchronous DB path");
+    }
+
     if (!cJSON_IsArray(filters)) {
         DEBUG_ERROR("COUNT filters is not an array");
         return 0;
@@ -2943,28 +3134,11 @@ int handle_count_message(const char* sub_id, cJSON* filters, struct lws *wsi, st
         clock_gettime(CLOCK_MONOTONIC, &query_start);
 
         // Execute count query
-        sqlite3_stmt* stmt;
-        int rc = sqlite3_prepare_v2(g_db, sql, -1, &stmt, NULL);
-        if (rc != SQLITE_OK) {
-            char error_msg[256];
-            snprintf(error_msg, sizeof(error_msg), "Failed to prepare COUNT query: %s", sqlite3_errmsg(g_db));
-            DEBUG_ERROR(error_msg);
+        int filter_count = 0;
+        if (db_count_with_sql(sql, (const char**)bind_params, bind_param_count, &filter_count) != 0) {
+            DEBUG_ERROR("Failed to execute COUNT query via db_ops");
             continue;
         }
-
-        // Bind parameters
-        for (int i = 0; i < bind_param_count; i++) {
-            sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, i + 1, bind_params[i], -1, SQLITE_TRANSIENT);
-        }
-
-        int filter_count = 0;
-        if (sqlite3_step(stmt) == SQLITE_ROW) {
-            filter_count = sqlite3_column_int(stmt, 0);
-        }
-
-        // Filter count calculated
-
-        sqlite3_finalize(stmt);
         
         // Stop query timing and log
         clock_gettime(CLOCK_MONOTONIC, &query_end);

src/websockets.h

@@ -89,8 +89,19 @@ struct per_session_data {
     int db_queries_executed;                  // Total SELECT queries executed by this connection
     int db_rows_returned;                     // Total rows returned across all queries
     time_t query_tracking_start;              // When connection was established (for rate calculation)
+
+    // Session activity tracking for idle connection banning
+    int session_active;                       // 1 if client sent REQ or EVENT, 0 otherwise
+    int idle_timeout_sec;                     // Timeout value for this session (copied from config)
+    int is_websocket;                         // 1 if this is a WebSocket connection, 0 for HTTP
 };
 
+// Get current active WebSocket connection count
+int get_active_connection_count(void);
+
+// Actual relay port bound by libwebsockets at runtime (after fallback/retry logic)
+extern int g_relay_port;
+
 // NIP-11 HTTP session data structure for managing buffer lifetime
 struct nip11_session_data {
     int type; // 0 for NIP-11

tests/45_nip_test.sh

@@ -54,6 +54,8 @@ BASELINE_KIND1=0
 BASELINE_KIND0=0
 BASELINE_KIND30001=0
 BASELINE_AUTHOR=0
+BASELINE_AUTHOR_KIND0=0
+BASELINE_AUTHOR_KIND30001=0
 BASELINE_TYPE_REGULAR=0
 BASELINE_TEST_NIP45=0
 BASELINE_KINDS_01=0
@@ -253,9 +255,11 @@ run_count_test() {
 
     publish_event "$regular1" "regular" "Regular event #1"
 
-    # Now that we have the pubkey, get the author baseline
+    # Now that we have the pubkey, get author baselines
     local test_pubkey=$(echo "$regular1" | jq -r '.pubkey' 2>/dev/null)
     BASELINE_AUTHOR=$(get_baseline_count "{\"authors\":[\"$test_pubkey\"]}" "events by test author")
+    BASELINE_AUTHOR_KIND0=$(get_baseline_count "{\"authors\":[\"$test_pubkey\"],\"kinds\":[0]}" "kind 0 events by test author")
+    BASELINE_AUTHOR_KIND30001=$(get_baseline_count "{\"authors\":[\"$test_pubkey\"],\"kinds\":[30001]}" "kind 30001 events by test author")
 
     publish_event "$regular2" "regular" "Regular event #2"
     publish_event "$regular3" "regular" "Regular event #3"
@@ -314,10 +318,13 @@ run_count_test() {
     fi
 
     # Test 3: Count events by author (pubkey)
-    # BASELINE_AUTHOR includes the first regular event, we add 2 more regular
-    # Replaceable and addressable replace existing events from this author
+    # BASELINE_AUTHOR is measured after regular1 is already published.
+    # Net additions after baseline:
+    #   +2 regular (regular2, regular3)
+    #   +(1 - BASELINE_AUTHOR_KIND0) from replaceable upsert behavior
+    #   +(1 - BASELINE_AUTHOR_KIND30001) from addressable replacement behavior
     local test_pubkey=$(echo "$regular1" | jq -r '.pubkey' 2>/dev/null)
-    local expected_author=$((2 + BASELINE_AUTHOR))
+    local expected_author=$((BASELINE_AUTHOR + 2 + (1 - BASELINE_AUTHOR_KIND0) + (1 - BASELINE_AUTHOR_KIND30001)))
     if ! test_count "count_author" "{\"authors\":[\"$test_pubkey\"]}" "Count events by specific author" "$expected_author"; then
         ((test_failures++))
     fi
@@ -340,8 +347,10 @@ run_count_test() {
     fi
 
     # Test 6: Count multiple kinds
-    # BASELINE_KINDS_01 + 3 regular events = total for kinds 0+1
-    local expected_kinds_01=$((3 + BASELINE_KINDS_01))
+    # Net additions for kinds 0+1 after baseline:
+    #   +3 kind-1 regular events
+    #   +(1 - BASELINE_AUTHOR_KIND0) for kind-0 replaceable upsert behavior
+    local expected_kinds_01=$((BASELINE_KINDS_01 + 3 + (1 - BASELINE_AUTHOR_KIND0)))
     if ! test_count "count_multi_kinds" '{"kinds":[0,1]}' "Count multiple kinds (0,1)" "$expected_kinds_01"; then
         ((test_failures++))
     fi

tests/kind4_disconnect_probe.mjs

@@ -0,0 +1,272 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+
+import WebSocket from 'ws';
+import {
+  finalizeEvent,
+  generateSecretKey,
+  getPublicKey,
+  nip19,
+  nip42,
+} from 'nostr-tools';
+
+const RELAY_URL = process.env.RELAY_URL || 'ws://127.0.0.1:7777';
+const EVENT_COUNT = Number(process.env.EVENT_COUNT || 5);
+const DELAY_MS = Number(process.env.DELAY_MS || 2000);
+const RECIPIENT_PUBKEY_ENV = process.env.RECIPIENT_PUBKEY || '';
+const SECRET_INPUT = process.env.NOSTR_SECRET_KEY || '';
+const OVERALL_TIMEOUT_MS = Number(process.env.OVERALL_TIMEOUT_MS || 120000);
+
+function now() {
+  return new Date().toISOString();
+}
+
+function log(msg, extra = null) {
+  if (extra !== null) {
+    console.log(`[${now()}] ${msg}`, extra);
+  } else {
+    console.log(`[${now()}] ${msg}`);
+  }
+}
+
+function normalizeHexSecret(secretInput) {
+  if (!secretInput) return null;
+
+  const raw = secretInput.trim();
+  if (/^[0-9a-fA-F]{64}$/.test(raw)) {
+    return raw.toLowerCase();
+  }
+
+  if (raw.startsWith('nsec1')) {
+    const decoded = nip19.decode(raw);
+    if (decoded.type !== 'nsec') {
+      throw new Error('NOSTR_SECRET_KEY is nsec-like but did not decode as nsec');
+    }
+    if (typeof decoded.data === 'string') {
+      return decoded.data.toLowerCase();
+    }
+    if (decoded.data instanceof Uint8Array) {
+      return Buffer.from(decoded.data).toString('hex').toLowerCase();
+    }
+    throw new Error('Unsupported nsec decoded payload type');
+  }
+
+  throw new Error('NOSTR_SECRET_KEY must be 64-char hex or nsec1...');
+}
+
+const hexSecret = normalizeHexSecret(SECRET_INPUT) || Buffer.from(generateSecretKey()).toString('hex');
+const secretKey = Buffer.from(hexSecret, 'hex');
+const senderPubkey = getPublicKey(secretKey);
+const recipientPubkey = RECIPIENT_PUBKEY_ENV || senderPubkey;
+
+let ws;
+let currentChallenge = null;
+let authenticated = false;
+let authAttempts = 0;
+let sentAccepted = 0;
+let nextSeq = 1;
+let pendingEvent = null;
+let waitingForAuth = false;
+let finished = false;
+let overallTimer = null;
+
+function makeKind4Event(seq) {
+  const eventTemplate = {
+    kind: 4,
+    created_at: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000),
+    tags: [['p', recipientPubkey]],
+    content: `kind4 disconnect probe seq=${seq} ts=${Date.now()}`,
+    pubkey: senderPubkey,
+  };
+  return finalizeEvent(eventTemplate, secretKey);
+}
+
+function sendJson(arr) {
+  const payload = JSON.stringify(arr);
+  ws.send(payload);
+}
+
+function sendAuth(challenge) {
+  const authTemplate = nip42.makeAuthEvent(RELAY_URL, challenge);
+  const signedAuth = finalizeEvent(authTemplate, secretKey);
+  authAttempts += 1;
+  log(`Sending AUTH attempt #${authAttempts} with challenge ${challenge}`);
+  sendJson(['AUTH', signedAuth]);
+}
+
+function scheduleNext() {
+  if (nextSeq > EVENT_COUNT) {
+    log(`All ${EVENT_COUNT} kind-4 events were accepted without disconnect`);
+    cleanupAndExit(0);
+    return;
+  }
+  setTimeout(() => {
+    if (!finished) {
+      publishNext();
+    }
+  }, DELAY_MS);
+}
+
+function publishNext() {
+  if (waitingForAuth) {
+    log('Still waiting for auth completion, postponing publish');
+    return;
+  }
+
+  const ev = makeKind4Event(nextSeq);
+  pendingEvent = ev;
+  log(`Publishing kind-4 seq=${nextSeq} id=${ev.id.slice(0, 12)}...`);
+  sendJson(['EVENT', ev]);
+}
+
+function retryPendingAfterAuth() {
+  if (!pendingEvent) return;
+  waitingForAuth = false;
+  log(`Retrying pending kind-4 id=${pendingEvent.id.slice(0, 12)}... after auth`);
+  sendJson(['EVENT', pendingEvent]);
+}
+
+function handleAuthRequiredSignal(source, msg) {
+  waitingForAuth = true;
+  log(`Relay signaled auth-required via ${source}: ${msg}`);
+  if (currentChallenge) {
+    sendAuth(currentChallenge);
+  } else {
+    log('No AUTH challenge received yet; waiting for relay AUTH challenge message');
+  }
+}
+
+function cleanupAndExit(code) {
+  if (finished) return;
+  finished = true;
+  if (overallTimer) clearTimeout(overallTimer);
+
+  const summary = {
+    relay: RELAY_URL,
+    sentAccepted,
+    expected: EVENT_COUNT,
+    authAttempts,
+    authenticated,
+    senderPubkey,
+    recipientPubkey,
+  };
+
+  if (code === 0) {
+    log('PASS: Connection remained stable through repeated kind-4 publish cycle', summary);
+  } else {
+    log('FAIL: Relay disconnected or test did not complete successfully', summary);
+  }
+
+  try {
+    if (ws && ws.readyState === WebSocket.OPEN) {
+      ws.close();
+    }
+  } catch (_) {}
+
+  process.exit(code);
+}
+
+function main() {
+  log('Starting kind-4 disconnect probe', {
+    relay: RELAY_URL,
+    eventCount: EVENT_COUNT,
+    delayMs: DELAY_MS,
+    senderPubkey,
+    recipientPubkey,
+  });
+
+  ws = new WebSocket(RELAY_URL);
+
+  overallTimer = setTimeout(() => {
+    log(`Overall timeout reached (${OVERALL_TIMEOUT_MS}ms)`);
+    cleanupAndExit(1);
+  }, OVERALL_TIMEOUT_MS);
+
+  ws.on('open', () => {
+    log('WebSocket connected');
+    publishNext();
+  });
+
+  ws.on('message', (raw) => {
+    const text = raw.toString();
+    let msg;
+    try {
+      msg = JSON.parse(text);
+    } catch {
+      log(`Non-JSON relay message: ${text}`);
+      return;
+    }
+
+    const t = msg?.[0];
+
+    if (t === 'AUTH') {
+      currentChallenge = msg?.[1] || null;
+      log(`Received AUTH challenge: ${currentChallenge}`);
+      if (currentChallenge) sendAuth(currentChallenge);
+      return;
+    }
+
+    if (t === 'NOTICE') {
+      const notice = String(msg?.[1] || '');
+      log(`NOTICE: ${notice}`);
+
+      if (notice.toLowerCase().includes('auth-required')) {
+        handleAuthRequiredSignal('NOTICE', notice);
+        return;
+      }
+
+      if (notice.toLowerCase().includes('authentication successful')) {
+        authenticated = true;
+        log('Relay confirmed NIP-42 authentication success');
+        retryPendingAfterAuth();
+      }
+      return;
+    }
+
+    if (t === 'OK') {
+      const eventId = msg?.[1];
+      const ok = !!msg?.[2];
+      const reason = String(msg?.[3] || '');
+      log(`OK for ${String(eventId).slice(0, 12)}... accepted=${ok} reason=${reason}`);
+
+      if (!ok && reason.toLowerCase().includes('auth-required')) {
+        handleAuthRequiredSignal('OK', reason);
+        return;
+      }
+
+      if (pendingEvent && eventId === pendingEvent.id) {
+        if (ok) {
+          sentAccepted += 1;
+          nextSeq += 1;
+          pendingEvent = null;
+          waitingForAuth = false;
+          scheduleNext();
+        } else {
+          log(`Pending event rejected: ${reason}`);
+          cleanupAndExit(1);
+        }
+      }
+      return;
+    }
+
+    log('Relay message', msg);
+  });
+
+  ws.on('close', (code, reasonBuf) => {
+    const reason = reasonBuf?.toString?.() || '';
+    log(`WebSocket closed code=${code} reason=${reason}`);
+    if (!finished) {
+      if (sentAccepted >= EVENT_COUNT) {
+        cleanupAndExit(0);
+      } else {
+        cleanupAndExit(1);
+      }
+    }
+  });
+
+  ws.on('error', (err) => {
+    log(`WebSocket error: ${err.message}`);
+    cleanupAndExit(1);
+  });
+}
+
+main();

tests/nip42_test.log

@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+=== NIP-42 Authentication Test Started ===
+2026-04-01 05:46:11 - Starting NIP-42 authentication tests
+[INFO] === Starting NIP-42 Authentication Tests ===
+[INFO] Checking dependencies...
+[WARNING] wscat not found. Some manual WebSocket tests will be skipped
+[WARNING] Install with: npm install -g wscat
+[SUCCESS] Dependencies check complete
+[INFO] Test 1: Checking NIP-42 support in relay info
+[SUCCESS] NIP-42 is advertised in supported NIPs
+2026-04-01 05:46:11 - Supported NIPs: 1,2,4,9,11,12,13,15,16,20,22,33,40,42,50,70
+[INFO] Test 2: Testing AUTH challenge generation
+[WARNING] Could not extract admin private key from relay.log - using manual test approach
+[INFO] Manual test: Connect to relay and send an event without auth to trigger challenge
+[INFO] Test 3: Testing complete NIP-42 authentication flow
+[INFO] Generated test keypair: test_pubkey
+[INFO] Attempting to publish event without authentication...
+[INFO] Publishing test event to relay...
+2026-04-01 05:46:12 - Event publish result: connecting to localhost:8888... ok.
+{"kind":1,"id":"334754e42c2bd54bdf733fb2c9a28c1e0f33d2275ca2c70f26062187793b37fe","pubkey":"40d9f28055baeba6a9bcac1942a17370add58a95a46985f66c5c14d485573983","created_at":1775036772,"tags":[],"content":"NIP-42 test event - should require auth","sig":"6e81c7335d34a770c72566250ac363aa5a126383a1efe2effe5b4b7e84bf600c4d9531b26e9be188fe884e9bd32aa384d49739815c7fba4594174277b90cbf7d"}
+publishing to ws://localhost:8888... success.
+[SUCCESS] Relay requested authentication as expected
+[INFO] Test 4: Testing WebSocket AUTH message handling
+[WARNING] Skipping WebSocket tests - wscat not available
+[INFO] Test 5: Testing NIP-42 configuration options
+[INFO] Retrieving current relay configuration...
+[WARNING] Could not retrieve configuration events
+[INFO] Test 6: Testing NIP-42 performance and stability
+[INFO] Testing multiple authentication attempts...
+2026-04-01 05:46:13 - Attempt 1: .187311847s - connecting to localhost:8888... ok.
+{"kind":1,"id":"470a74d32e1b739e6bfd275c0d03ab1508fb5908c0fa01523e4a3bdce6a95db3","pubkey":"59d792f5cfd57b3a284ce769b5d4b1e8a6eb231c63239cdad7f07d791433e79a","created_at":1775036773,"tags":[],"content":"Performance test event 1","sig":"0c30a125cb67d336413f006a5dfa422d788e177254e496b966854bf45183238d23f6575dba37dec6fa46b6f6b906a25afafcbbcaa7d0c15add89dd7fd1a80c22"}
+publishing to ws://localhost:8888... success.
+2026-04-01 05:46:13 - Attempt 2: .185565503s - connecting to localhost:8888... ok.
+{"kind":1,"id":"e4f9db77d30d8e71ef01b16dcb1179d03462aaf368aae30120898f3758a9d0b9","pubkey":"59d792f5cfd57b3a284ce769b5d4b1e8a6eb231c63239cdad7f07d791433e79a","created_at":1775036773,"tags":[],"content":"Performance test event 2","sig":"24a8f38c2cb230d95120e60a246a1a03ac17d4d195d25f2ae0b2f674c3383287eca53cd7fc61bc3cdc58433a3d2c2108558f4f1a98dcfc02a97b4ec8c537cdde"}
+publishing to ws://localhost:8888... success.
+2026-04-01 05:46:14 - Attempt 3: .185110183s - connecting to localhost:8888... ok.
+{"kind":1,"id":"4a85e466756452e90358fe5d98fa41bda93b6bc77cb079bb1616ca8873f4fca1","pubkey":"59d792f5cfd57b3a284ce769b5d4b1e8a6eb231c63239cdad7f07d791433e79a","created_at":1775036774,"tags":[],"content":"Performance test event 3","sig":"72ab716ff3b4786309fd4cef27ae8cd9df1e3c1746b5e49ba45c070cafcfb72a5b7ba045e7d798f23b5d82989526b4d3c818509f0eec639c8ad265be85a4728e"}
+publishing to ws://localhost:8888... success.
+2026-04-01 05:46:14 - Attempt 4: .185725746s - connecting to localhost:8888... ok.
+{"kind":1,"id":"4c05b6359da88f85c0aa4c94a296a465f71bddaa10d849ed0923f972ac0628a9","pubkey":"59d792f5cfd57b3a284ce769b5d4b1e8a6eb231c63239cdad7f07d791433e79a","created_at":1775036774,"tags":[],"content":"Performance test event 4","sig":"3b0c8bd1f3d965a259a0ab228ea4c47defef3ad563ebce860ec65ab0ee341c5305c0988ac88651664d3090ce2ff282a0fe4913231448158c423a74b6e3b2a7a9"}
+publishing to ws://localhost:8888... success.
+2026-04-01 05:46:15 - Attempt 5: .184467365s - connecting to localhost:8888... ok.
+{"kind":1,"id":"0902e868c5e7909f0143fde7738d5e8f4c42ea0ced2c69a404cfeb6cd686ceaa","pubkey":"59d792f5cfd57b3a284ce769b5d4b1e8a6eb231c63239cdad7f07d791433e79a","created_at":1775036774,"tags":[],"content":"Performance test event 5","sig":"a0754e774e5bc3514dc4cf04ec51cab077413251cfce480e80badccc7660bfe8d1eac87d43c6e332d936cc171d24e8318e1ef5df7425a8218e01af661f291c47"}
+publishing to ws://localhost:8888... success.
+[SUCCESS] Performance test completed: 5/5 successful responses
+[INFO] Test 7: Testing kind-specific NIP-42 authentication requirements
+[INFO] Generated test keypair for kind-specific tests: test_pubkey
+[INFO] Testing kind 1 event (regular note) - should work without authentication...
+2026-04-01 05:46:15 - Kind 1 event result: connecting to localhost:8888... ok.
+{"kind":1,"id":"a1d9545c4ac16c2ab1fae4d5d77cabd368d765533b6f6d1f4dbb3c7859696a5e","pubkey":"06ff6b7ca3c72cc7cebb9fe70ea76b6f79b6226c4dc5adc4ebcc59220c23c9bf","created_at":1775036775,"tags":[],"content":"Regular note - should not require auth","sig":"520796b21690bf03b20da28f30ffc84c9c198d0a908c07540f232f789c7a0327861e1f580d499be15b244bdf66c5c4b1cdf621bfdc5f60b1313d7f40036ffab8"}
+publishing to ws://localhost:8888... success.
+[SUCCESS] Kind 1 event accepted without authentication (correct behavior)
+[INFO] Testing kind 4 event (direct message) - should require authentication...
+2026-04-01 05:46:25 - Kind 4 event result: connecting to localhost:8888... ok.
+{"kind":4,"id":"c047f5a9fb6ff46828d0bb862e4bcc32120e50fc7804d651485e2cdbddaf993a","pubkey":"06ff6b7ca3c72cc7cebb9fe70ea76b6f79b6226c4dc5adc4ebcc59220c23c9bf","created_at":1775036775,"tags":[["p,test_pubkey"]],"content":"This is a direct message - should require auth","sig":"a7a027c302faf75e269d866a1b0137f2fbc02643d76435dc68707d2ba6560af95df709787f4a1a1bc7c1b9951615ad081a97cd7f694da94d5606d17100f0b0dc"}
+publishing to ws://localhost:8888... 
+[SUCCESS] Kind 4 event requested authentication (correct behavior for DMs)
+[INFO] Testing kind 14 event (chat message) - should require authentication...
+2026-04-01 05:46:36 - Kind 14 event result: connecting to localhost:8888... ok.
+{"kind":14,"id":"73e50afdaefdbb01ed021f8c888a87b00aa59e4d68c124101353fabcdfa59ae1","pubkey":"06ff6b7ca3c72cc7cebb9fe70ea76b6f79b6226c4dc5adc4ebcc59220c23c9bf","created_at":1775036786,"tags":[["p,test_pubkey"]],"content":"Chat message - should require auth","sig":"ec2c713e2add876856e6cb0d1d9790c43525c5139a0fe06fbee71898f1042173dc3af9187e6fbccfef7406c1af2f218631a1cdcb7ad73e34553cdf3aecc4f209"}
+publishing to ws://localhost:8888... 
+[SUCCESS] Kind 14 event requested authentication (correct behavior for DMs)
+[INFO] Testing other event kinds - should work without authentication...
+2026-04-01 05:46:36 - Kind 0 event result: connecting to localhost:8888... ok.
+{"kind":0,"id":"51fe1630721cfa3472ba7c3af911a3164c788a48c6a678179c62be48ac3d1f1c","pubkey":"06ff6b7ca3c72cc7cebb9fe70ea76b6f79b6226c4dc5adc4ebcc59220c23c9bf","created_at":1775036796,"tags":[],"content":"Test event kind 0 - should not require auth","sig":"d72d827742fdc86daf1389c8dad40efc56c22b9744ad23547ea0b0a37598e5c18ccdac20b9ef2e6adf46d7683bff19f2cbc11fb00a252903efc1076c8f613b38"}
+publishing to ws://localhost:8888... success.
+[SUCCESS] Kind 0 event accepted without authentication (correct)
+2026-04-01 05:46:36 - Kind 3 event result: connecting to localhost:8888... ok.
+{"kind":3,"id":"bf4155eb8b54bdd73a0b64365666caf886433634693cc3c4ab1d586187fc6bae","pubkey":"06ff6b7ca3c72cc7cebb9fe70ea76b6f79b6226c4dc5adc4ebcc59220c23c9bf","created_at":1775036796,"tags":[],"content":"Test event kind 3 - should not require auth","sig":"d27f654ccc9f95e76aacafcce7d42528545fa90b77d422a17301de6931883d8c00a0a84af56ab5d37a0f425140dbfc227458557f9050597beec42cacd0a15864"}
+publishing to ws://localhost:8888... success.
+[SUCCESS] Kind 3 event accepted without authentication (correct)
+2026-04-01 05:46:37 - Kind 7 event result: connecting to localhost:8888... ok.
+{"kind":7,"id":"658e0caf1c4b52062363849d55312070005124e8a10202df285078222e523132","pubkey":"06ff6b7ca3c72cc7cebb9fe70ea76b6f79b6226c4dc5adc4ebcc59220c23c9bf","created_at":1775036797,"tags":[],"content":"Test event kind 7 - should not require auth","sig":"50361b3aa6b85747befe20e50e317d8f905128930cec0263494434ec9029089d880ff23cdf071c5b63b8417eff216658f1229c0f0dc5174a9a16a6d5fe38fd4d"}
+publishing to ws://localhost:8888... success.
+[SUCCESS] Kind 7 event accepted without authentication (correct)
+[INFO] Kind-specific authentication test completed
+[INFO] === NIP-42 Test Results Summary ===
+[SUCCESS] Dependencies: PASS
+[SUCCESS] NIP-42 Support: PASS
+[SUCCESS] Auth Challenge: PASS
+[SUCCESS] Auth Flow: PASS
+[SUCCESS] WebSocket AUTH: PASS
+[SUCCESS] Configuration: PASS
+[SUCCESS] Performance: PASS
+[SUCCESS] Kind-Specific Auth: PASS
+[SUCCESS] All NIP-42 tests completed successfully!
+[SUCCESS] NIP-42 authentication implementation is working correctly
+[INFO] === NIP-42 Authentication Tests Complete ===