fix: enforce DNS-first ordering for port and TLS checks

DNS checks now always complete before port or TLS checks begin,
ensuring those checks use freshly resolved IP addresses instead of
potentially stale ones from a previous cycle.

Changes:
- Extract runDNSChecks() from runDNSAndPortChecks() so DNS resolution
  can be invoked independently
- Run DNS before TLS on the TLS ticker (previously TLS ran alone with
  whatever IPs were in state from the last DNS cycle, up to 12h stale)
- RunOnce uses explicit 3-phase ordering: DNS → ports → TLS
- Add TestDNSRunsBeforePortAndTLSChecks to verify fresh IPs propagate
- Update README monitoring lifecycle to document DNS-first ordering

closes #58

README.md

@@ -367,9 +367,15 @@ docker run -d \
    triggering change notifications).
 2. **Initial check**: Immediately perform all DNS, port, and TLS checks
    on startup.
-3. **Periodic checks**:
-   - DNS and port checks: every `DNSWATCHER_DNS_INTERVAL` (default 1h).
-   - TLS checks: every `DNSWATCHER_TLS_INTERVAL` (default 12h).
+3. **Periodic checks** (DNS always runs first):
+   - DNS checks: every `DNSWATCHER_DNS_INTERVAL` (default 1h). Also
+     re-run before every TLS check cycle to ensure fresh IPs.
+   - Port checks: every `DNSWATCHER_DNS_INTERVAL`, after DNS completes.
+   - TLS checks: every `DNSWATCHER_TLS_INTERVAL` (default 12h), after
+     DNS completes.
+   - Port and TLS checks always use freshly resolved IP addresses from
+     the DNS phase that immediately precedes them — never stale IPs
+     from a previous cycle.
 4. **On change detection**: Send notifications to all configured
    endpoints, update in-memory state, persist to disk.
 5. **Shutdown**: Persist final state to disk, complete in-flight

internal/watcher/watcher.go

@@ -141,9 +141,16 @@ func (w *Watcher) Run(ctx context.Context) {
 
 			return
 		case <-dnsTicker.C:
-			w.runDNSAndPortChecks(ctx)
+			w.runDNSChecks(ctx)
+
+			w.checkAllPorts(ctx)
 			w.saveState()
 		case <-tlsTicker.C:
+			// Run DNS first so TLS checks use freshly
+			// resolved IP addresses, not stale ones from
+			// a previous cycle.
+			w.runDNSChecks(ctx)
+
 			w.runTLSChecks(ctx)
 			w.saveState()
 		}
@@ -151,10 +158,26 @@ func (w *Watcher) Run(ctx context.Context) {
 }
 
 // RunOnce performs a single complete monitoring cycle.
+// DNS checks run first so that port and TLS checks use
+// freshly resolved IP addresses. Port checks run before
+// TLS because TLS checks only target IPs with an open
+// port 443.
 func (w *Watcher) RunOnce(ctx context.Context) {
 	w.detectFirstRun()
-	w.runDNSAndPortChecks(ctx)
+
+	// Phase 1: DNS resolution must complete first so that
+	// subsequent checks use fresh IP addresses.
+	w.runDNSChecks(ctx)
+
+	// Phase 2: Port checks populate port state that TLS
+	// checks depend on (TLS only targets IPs where port
+	// 443 is open).
+	w.checkAllPorts(ctx)
+
+	// Phase 3: TLS checks use fresh DNS IPs and current
+	// port state.
 	w.runTLSChecks(ctx)
+
 	w.saveState()
 	w.firstRun = false
 }
@@ -171,7 +194,11 @@ func (w *Watcher) detectFirstRun() {
 	}
 }
 
-func (w *Watcher) runDNSAndPortChecks(ctx context.Context) {
+// runDNSChecks performs DNS resolution for all configured domains
+// and hostnames, updating state with freshly resolved records.
+// This must complete before port or TLS checks run so those
+// checks operate on current IP addresses.
+func (w *Watcher) runDNSChecks(ctx context.Context) {
 	for _, domain := range w.config.Domains {
 		w.checkDomain(ctx, domain)
 	}
@@ -179,8 +206,6 @@ func (w *Watcher) runDNSAndPortChecks(ctx context.Context) {
 	for _, hostname := range w.config.Hostnames {
 		w.checkHostname(ctx, hostname)
 	}
-
-	w.checkAllPorts(ctx)
 }
 
 func (w *Watcher) checkDomain(

internal/watcher/watcher_test.go

@@ -682,6 +682,80 @@ func TestGracefulShutdown(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func setupHostnameIP(
+	deps *testDeps,
+	hostname, ip string,
+) {
+	deps.resolver.allRecords[hostname] = map[string]map[string][]string{
+		"ns1.example.com.": {"A": {ip}},
+	}
+	deps.portChecker.results[ip+":80"] = true
+	deps.portChecker.results[ip+":443"] = true
+	deps.tlsChecker.certs[ip+":"+hostname] = &tlscheck.CertificateInfo{
+		CommonName:              hostname,
+		Issuer:                  "DigiCert",
+		NotAfter:                time.Now().Add(90 * 24 * time.Hour),
+		SubjectAlternativeNames: []string{hostname},
+	}
+}
+
+func updateHostnameIP(deps *testDeps, hostname, ip string) {
+	deps.resolver.mu.Lock()
+	deps.resolver.allRecords[hostname] = map[string]map[string][]string{
+		"ns1.example.com.": {"A": {ip}},
+	}
+	deps.resolver.mu.Unlock()
+
+	deps.portChecker.mu.Lock()
+	deps.portChecker.results[ip+":80"] = true
+	deps.portChecker.results[ip+":443"] = true
+	deps.portChecker.mu.Unlock()
+
+	deps.tlsChecker.mu.Lock()
+	deps.tlsChecker.certs[ip+":"+hostname] = &tlscheck.CertificateInfo{
+		CommonName:              hostname,
+		Issuer:                  "DigiCert",
+		NotAfter:                time.Now().Add(90 * 24 * time.Hour),
+		SubjectAlternativeNames: []string{hostname},
+	}
+	deps.tlsChecker.mu.Unlock()
+}
+
+func TestDNSRunsBeforePortAndTLSChecks(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	cfg := defaultTestConfig(t)
+	cfg.Hostnames = []string{"www.example.com"}
+
+	w, deps := newTestWatcher(t, cfg)
+
+	setupHostnameIP(deps, "www.example.com", "10.0.0.1")
+
+	ctx := t.Context()
+	w.RunOnce(ctx)
+
+	snap := deps.state.GetSnapshot()
+	if _, ok := snap.Ports["10.0.0.1:80"]; !ok {
+		t.Fatal("expected port state for 10.0.0.1:80")
+	}
+
+	// DNS changes to a new IP; port and TLS must pick it up.
+	updateHostnameIP(deps, "www.example.com", "10.0.0.2")
+
+	w.RunOnce(ctx)
+
+	snap = deps.state.GetSnapshot()
+
+	if _, ok := snap.Ports["10.0.0.2:80"]; !ok {
+		t.Error("port check used stale DNS: missing 10.0.0.2:80")
+	}
+
+	certKey := "10.0.0.2:443:www.example.com"
+	if _, ok := snap.Certificates[certKey]; !ok {
+		t.Error("TLS check used stale DNS: missing " + certKey)
+	}
+}
+
 func TestNSFailureAndRecovery(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Parallel()