Drop the stale open-work claim from the TODO status section

The milestone is the authoritative count and the section already says
so; the lead-in asserted work remaining independently of it.

README.md

@@ -686,6 +686,44 @@ databases written by `database` targets (`archive-{uuid}.db`). Mount
 this as a persistent volume to preserve data across container
 restarts.
 
+**The bind-mounted directory must be owned by UID 1000, or the
+container does not start.** Docker creates a `-v` source path that
+does not exist yet as `root:root`, and the process runs as UID 1000,
+so it cannot take its `DATA_DIR` lock:
+
+```
+webhooker: locking data directory /var/lib/webhooker: open
+/var/lib/webhooker/webhooker.lock: permission denied
+```
+
+It exits non-zero at that point, before opening any database. Create
+the directory ahead of the first `docker run`:
+
+```bash
+mkdir -p /path/to/data
+chown 1000:1000 /path/to/data
+chmod 750 /path/to/data
+```
+
+The same `chown` is what a restore needs — see step 4 of
+[Restore](#restore). A **named volume** does not have this problem:
+Docker copies the image's ownership onto a volume it initializes, and
+the image creates `/var/lib/webhooker` owned by `webhooker`.
+
+**The file modes are not yours to set, and do not depend on the
+directory.** `webhooker.db` holds target configuration in plaintext —
+bearer tokens, API keys, Slack webhook URLs — along with the session
+encryption key, so webhooker creates every SQLite file it owns `0600`:
+each database and both of its `-wal` and `-shm` sidecars, across all
+three tiers. Files an earlier build left `0644` are tightened when
+they are opened. A `DATA_DIR` webhooker creates itself is `0750`, but
+a bind mount supplies its own directory and Docker's default for one
+it creates is `0755`; the `0600` files hold there regardless. The
+`chmod 750` above is defence in depth — it stops other local users
+listing the directory and learning your webhook UUIDs from the
+`events-{uuid}.db` filenames — not the barrier protecting the
+credentials.
+
 ## Deployment behind a reverse proxy
 
 webhooker terminates no TLS of its own. It serves plaintext HTTP and
@@ -1196,6 +1234,16 @@ webhooker solves this by acting as a durable intermediary:
    backoff. Every delivery attempt is logged with status codes, response
    bodies, and timing.
 
+   **That guarantee is at-least-once, not exactly-once.** When a send
+   reaches its target but the write recording that outcome fails, the
+   delivery is deliberately left in a recoverable state rather than
+   marked done — losing a delivery is the worse failure — so the
+   pending sweep picks it up about fifteen minutes later, or the next
+   restart does, and the target receives a payload it already got.
+   webhooker adds no delivery identifier of its own to an outbound
+   request, so **make your receiver idempotent** against whatever the
+   payload itself carries.
+
 3. **Observability** — Full request/response logging for every webhook
    received and every delivery attempted. Prometheus metrics expose
    volume, latency, and error rates. The web UI provides real-time
@@ -1642,6 +1690,11 @@ webhooker uses **separate SQLite database files**: a main application
 database for configuration data and per-webhook databases for event
 storage. All database files live in the `DATA_DIR` directory.
 
+Every one of them is created `0600`, and so is each `-wal` and `-shm`
+sidecar. See
+[Running with Docker](#running-with-docker) for what that does and
+does not protect.
+
 **Main Application Database** (`{DATA_DIR}/webhooker.db`) — stores
 configuration and application state:
 
@@ -2573,12 +2626,15 @@ abuse limit later; they are tracked as future work.
 | `POST` | `/source/{id}/edit`      | Edit webhook submission |
 | `POST` | `/source/{id}/delete`    | Delete webhook |
 | `GET`  | `/source/{id}/logs`      | Webhook event logs |
+| `GET`  | `/source/{id}/logs/{eventID}/body` | Download an event's full stored body. The log page renders each body only up to its cap, so this is the only route that serves a whole one; it is offered wherever a body is shown truncated |
 | `POST` | `/source/{id}/deliveries/{deliveryID}/replay` | Replay a finished delivery: creates a new delivery for the same event against the target's current configuration (30 per minute per bucket, then `429`) |
 | `POST` | `/source/{id}/events/{eventID}/resubmit` | Resubmit a stored event: creates a new event copying it and fans that out to every currently active target (30 per minute per bucket, then `429`) |
 | `POST` | `/source/{id}/entrypoints` | Add entrypoint to webhook |
 | `POST` | `/source/{id}/entrypoints/{entrypointID}/delete` | Delete an entrypoint |
 | `POST` | `/source/{id}/entrypoints/{entrypointID}/toggle` | Enable or disable an entrypoint |
 | `POST` | `/source/{id}/targets`   | Add target to webhook |
+| `GET`  | `/source/{id}/targets/{targetID}/edit` | Edit target form. The one page that renders a target's destination URL and header values in full, rather than masked |
+| `POST` | `/source/{id}/targets/{targetID}/edit` | Edit target submission |
 | `POST` | `/source/{id}/targets/{targetID}/delete` | Delete a target |
 | `POST` | `/source/{id}/targets/{targetID}/toggle` | Enable or disable a target |
 
@@ -2617,6 +2673,8 @@ webhooker/
 ├── internal/
 │   ├── banner/
 │   │   └── banner.go          # Ruled block for the one credential shown in the clear
+│   ├── ciscript/
+│   │   └── doc.go             # Tests for the CI shell scripts in script/; no runtime code
 │   ├── resetpw/
 │   │   └── resetpw.go         # `webhooker resetpw`: set an account's password, stopped deployments only
 │   ├── config/
@@ -2686,13 +2744,17 @@ webhooker/
 │   │   ├── ratelimit.go       # Per-IP rate limiting middleware (go-chi/httprate)
 │   │   ├── loginguard.go      # Login failure counters and the Argon2id verification semaphore
 │   │   └── testing.go         # NewForTest: Middleware without the fx lifecycle
+│   ├── reqtls/
+│   │   └── reqtls.go          # IsTLS: the one TLS predicate, r.TLS or X-Forwarded-Proto
 │   ├── server/
 │   │   ├── server.go          # Server struct, fx lifecycle, signal handling
 │   │   ├── http.go            # HTTP server setup with timeouts
 │   │   └── routes.go          # All route definitions
-│   └── session/
-│       ├── session.go         # Cookie-based session management
-│       └── testing.go         # NewForTest: Session without the fx lifecycle
+│   ├── session/
+│   │   ├── session.go         # Cookie-based session management
+│   │   └── testing.go         # NewForTest: Session without the fx lifecycle
+│   └── versionscript/
+│       └── doc.go             # Tests for script/version and the build files that use it
 ├── static/
 │   ├── static.go              # //go:embed directive
 │   ├── css/input.css          # Tailwind input, source for tailwind.css (make css)

TODO.md

@@ -18,18 +18,27 @@ Issue branches do NOT touch this file — the manager maintains it on
 
 # Status
 
-1.0.0 is open, with work remaining. The milestone
-(https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/webhooker/milestone/9) is the authoritative
-list, and the only place to read a count or a state of play from. This
-file records where the project is, not what is in flight: a sentence
-whose truth depends on a branch being unmerged is wrong the moment it
-merges, and this file has been wrong that way before.
+The milestone (https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/webhooker/milestone/9) is the
+authoritative list, and the only place to read a count or a state of
+play from. This file records where the project is, not what is in
+flight: a sentence whose truth depends on a branch being unmerged is
+wrong the moment it merges, and this file has been wrong that way
+before.
 
-The tag is held on a durability defect
-(https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/webhooker/issues/256): a concurrent reader
-of a per-webhook event database strands delivered webhooks at
-`pending`, and the next restart re-delivers them. That issue gates
-`v1.0.0`, and is where the fix's own state is tracked.
+The durability defect that held the tag has landed
+(https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/webhooker/issues/256, commit `8d64259`).
+Every SQLite handle opens with WAL journaling and a busy timeout, a
+bookkeeping write that fails leaves its delivery in a recoverable
+state rather than a lying one, and recovery skips a delivery that
+already has a successful result row. Final pre-tag verification
+exercised it and confirmed it holds. Whatever the milestone still
+shows open is what remains before `v1.0.0`.
+
+Delivery is at-least-once by design, not by accident: a send whose
+result row does not land is attempted again, so a receiver can see a
+duplicate. That is deliberate — the alternative is a silent lost
+delivery — and the README says so under Rationale. It is not a defect
+to re-file.
 
 One caveat on reading a green check: a docs-only commit deliberately
 replays from the layer cache
@@ -39,11 +48,11 @@ commit invalidates the `COPY` layer and genuinely executes.
 
 # Next Step
 
-Land https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/webhooker/issues/256, then clear the
-rest of the open 1.0.0 milestone and tag `v1.0.0`. Merging `next` into
-`main` is a separate act from tagging and waits on neither of those:
-`next` is kept mergeable at all times, which is the point of the
-branch.
+Clear the rest of the open 1.0.0 milestone
+(https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/webhooker/milestone/9) and tag `v1.0.0`.
+Merging `next` into `main` is a separate act from tagging and waits on
+neither of those: `next` is kept mergeable at all times, which is the
+point of the branch.
 
 # Completed Steps
 

internal/database/sqlite_mode_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,240 @@
+package database_test
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"io/fs"
+	"net/http"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/google/uuid"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+	"go.uber.org/fx/fxtest"
+	"sneak.berlin/go/webhooker/internal/config"
+	"sneak.berlin/go/webhooker/internal/database"
+	"sneak.berlin/go/webhooker/internal/globals"
+	"sneak.berlin/go/webhooker/internal/logger"
+)
+
+// ownerOnly is the mode every SQLite file the service owns must have.
+// Spelled out rather than referencing database.SQLiteFilePerm so the
+// test fails if the constant itself is loosened.
+const ownerOnly fs.FileMode = 0o600
+
+// requireOwnerOnly asserts that path exists and is readable and
+// writable by its owner and by nobody else.
+func requireOwnerOnly(t *testing.T, path string) {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	info, err := os.Stat(path)
+	require.NoError(t, err, "%s must exist", path)
+	assert.Equal(
+		t,
+		ownerOnly,
+		info.Mode().Perm(),
+		"%s holds credentials and must not be readable by "+
+			"anyone but its owner",
+		path,
+	)
+}
+
+// requireDatabaseSetOwnerOnly asserts the mode of a database file and
+// of both WAL sidecars. The sidecars carry the same rows as the
+// database, so tightening only the main file fixes nothing.
+func requireDatabaseSetOwnerOnly(t *testing.T, dbPath string) {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	requireOwnerOnly(t, dbPath)
+	requireOwnerOnly(t, dbPath+"-wal")
+	requireOwnerOnly(t, dbPath+"-shm")
+}
+
+// TestMainDatabaseFilesAreOwnerOnly covers the tier the defect was
+// reported against: webhooker.db holds targets.config in plaintext —
+// bearer tokens, API keys, Slack webhook URLs — and the session
+// encryption key.
+func TestMainDatabaseFilesAreOwnerOnly(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	lc := fxtest.NewLifecycle(t)
+
+	l, err := logger.New(lc, logger.LoggerParams{
+		Globals: &globals.Globals{
+			Appname: testAppname,
+			Version: testVersion,
+		},
+	})
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	// A directory the application creates itself, not one t.TempDir
+	// made at 0700, so the mode below is the application's.
+	dataDir := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "data")
+
+	db, err := database.New(lc, database.DatabaseParams{
+		Config: &config.Config{DataDir: dataDir},
+		Logger: l,
+	})
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	ctx := context.Background()
+	require.NoError(t, lc.Start(ctx))
+
+	defer func() { require.NoError(t, lc.Stop(ctx)) }()
+
+	// Write through the real model so the WAL is populated and both
+	// sidecars are on disk while the handle is open.
+	require.NoError(t, db.DB().Create(&database.Webhook{
+		Name: testWebhookName,
+	}).Error)
+
+	requireDatabaseSetOwnerOnly(
+		t, filepath.Join(dataDir, database.MainDBFileName),
+	)
+
+	// The data directory grants nothing to `other`. Asserted as a
+	// property rather than as an exact 0750, because MkdirAll applies
+	// the ambient umask: the exact mode is the developer's umask as
+	// much as the application's request, and pinning it would make
+	// `make check` pass or fail on where it is run. The group bits are
+	// deliberately left unasserted — deployments may rely on them.
+	info, err := os.Stat(dataDir)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Zero(
+		t,
+		info.Mode().Perm()&0o007,
+		"the data directory must not be world-accessible",
+	)
+}
+
+// TestPerWebhookEventDatabaseFilesAreOwnerOnly covers the events-*.db
+// tier. These carry no credential canaries since
+// https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/webhooker/issues/206, but they hold every
+// received request body and header.
+func TestPerWebhookEventDatabaseFilesAreOwnerOnly(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	mgr, lc := setupTestWebhookDBManager(t)
+	ctx := context.Background()
+	require.NoError(t, lc.Start(ctx))
+
+	defer func() { require.NoError(t, lc.Stop(ctx)) }()
+
+	webhookID := uuid.New().String()
+
+	db, err := mgr.GetDB(webhookID)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	require.NoError(t, db.Create(&database.Event{
+		WebhookID:    webhookID,
+		EntrypointID: uuid.New().String(),
+		Method:       http.MethodPost,
+		Body:         "{}",
+	}).Error)
+
+	requireDatabaseSetOwnerOnly(t, mgr.DBPath(webhookID))
+}
+
+// TestArchiveDatabaseFilesAreOwnerOnly covers the archive-*.db tier.
+// internal/delivery builds that path and opens it through OpenSQLite,
+// the same single open path exercised here, so the mode is settled for
+// all three tiers in one place.
+func TestArchiveDatabaseFilesAreOwnerOnly(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	ctx := context.Background()
+	path := filepath.Join(
+		t.TempDir(), "archive-"+uuid.New().String()+".db",
+	)
+
+	sqlDB, err := database.OpenSQLite(path, database.SQLiteModeCreate)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	defer func() { require.NoError(t, sqlDB.Close()) }()
+
+	_, err = sqlDB.ExecContext(ctx, "create table t (id integer)")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	requireDatabaseSetOwnerOnly(t, path)
+}
+
+// TestOpenSQLiteTightensFilesLeftWorldReadable is the upgrade case: a
+// data directory an earlier build left at 0644, including a
+// developer's own scratch directory, is fixed when it is opened rather
+// than staying exposed until it is recreated.
+func TestOpenSQLiteTightensFilesLeftWorldReadable(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	path := filepath.Join(dir, database.MainDBFileName)
+
+	// A database and both sidecars as the pre-fix build left them.
+	for _, p := range []string{path, path + "-wal", path + "-shm"} {
+		require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile(p, nil, 0o644)) //nolint:gosec // the mode under test
+	}
+
+	sqlDB, err := database.OpenSQLite(path, database.SQLiteModeCreate)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	require.NoError(t, sqlDB.Close())
+
+	requireDatabaseSetOwnerOnly(t, path)
+}
+
+// TestOpenSQLiteExistingModeDoesNotCreateTheFile guards the mechanism
+// the fix uses: OpenSQLite now creates the database file itself, and
+// must not do so for a caller that asked for an existing database. An
+// empty file materialized here would turn a missing-database error
+// into a silently empty one.
+func TestOpenSQLiteExistingModeDoesNotCreateTheFile(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	ctx := context.Background()
+	path := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "absent.db")
+
+	sqlDB, err := database.OpenSQLite(path, database.SQLiteModeExisting)
+	if err == nil {
+		// sql.Open is lazy: force the connection that fails.
+		require.Error(t, sqlDB.PingContext(ctx))
+		require.NoError(t, sqlDB.Close())
+	}
+
+	_, statErr := os.Stat(path)
+	assert.ErrorIs(t, statErr, fs.ErrNotExist)
+}
+
+// TestReopenAfterRestartKeepsFilesOwnerOnly is the restart case: a
+// process that closed its files must be able to open them again at
+// 0600, including through a gorm handle, and the sidecars must come
+// back at 0600 too rather than at SQLite's own default.
+func TestReopenAfterRestartKeepsFilesOwnerOnly(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	ctx := context.Background()
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	path := filepath.Join(dir, database.MainDBFileName)
+
+	first, err := database.OpenSQLite(path, database.SQLiteModeCreate)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	_, err = first.ExecContext(ctx, "create table t (id integer)")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.NoError(t, first.Close())
+
+	second, err := database.OpenSQLite(path, database.SQLiteModeCreate)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	defer func() { require.NoError(t, second.Close()) }()
+
+	_, err = second.ExecContext(ctx, "insert into t (id) values (1)")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	requireDatabaseSetOwnerOnly(t, path)
+
+	var got int
+
+	require.NoError(t,
+		second.QueryRowContext(ctx, "select id from t").Scan(&got))
+	assert.Equal(t, 1, got)
+}

internal/database/sqlite_open.go

@@ -2,8 +2,11 @@ package database
 
 import (
 	"database/sql"
+	"errors"
 	"fmt"
+	"io/fs"
 	"net/url"
+	"os"
 	"time"
 
 	_ "modernc.org/sqlite" // Pure Go SQLite driver
@@ -72,6 +75,90 @@ const (
 	sqliteConnMaxIdleTime = time.Minute
 )
 
+// SQLiteFilePerm is the mode every SQLite file this service owns is
+// created with and held at: owner read/write, nothing for group or
+// other.
+//
+// These files hold credentials in plaintext. The main database stores
+// `targets.config` — bearer tokens, API keys, Slack webhook URLs — and
+// the session encryption key. SQLite left to itself creates them 0644
+// (see reserveSQLiteFile), which made the 0750 data directory the only
+// barrier; a bind-mounted directory supplied at 0755 removes it and
+// every local user on the host can read every stored credential.
+//
+// This is a file-mode fix and not encryption at rest. An unattended
+// process needs a key it can read without a human, so the key lands
+// beside the data and an attacker who can read the database can read
+// it too. See https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/webhooker/issues/212.
+const SQLiteFilePerm fs.FileMode = 0o600
+
+// reserveSQLiteFile puts path at SQLiteFilePerm before the driver ever
+// touches it, and tightens any sidecar already on disk.
+//
+// The mode has to be settled here rather than by a chmod after opening,
+// because SQLite picks it: robust_open substitutes
+// SQLITE_DEFAULT_FILE_PERMISSIONS (0644) whenever it is handed mode 0,
+// and findCreateFileMode yields 0 for a main database opened by URI
+// with no `modeof` parameter. A chmod afterwards would leave a window
+// in which the credentials are on disk world-readable.
+//
+// Creating the file ourselves also settles the sidecars, which is the
+// half that could quietly not work. SQLite does not create those at a
+// mode we choose — it derives both from the main database file:
+// `-wal` through findCreateFileMode, which stats the path with the
+// suffix stripped, and `-shm` in unixOpenSharedMemory from an fstat of
+// the already-open database descriptor. A main file at 0600 therefore
+// produces sidecars at 0600. A zero-length file is a valid empty
+// database, so reserving it changes nothing else.
+//
+// create says whether the caller is opening in a mode that may create
+// the database. When it is false a missing file is left missing, so
+// SQLite still reports the absence rather than this function
+// materializing an empty database the caller asked not to create.
+//
+// Chmod of a file that already exists is what tightens a data
+// directory an earlier build left at 0644 — including a developer's
+// own scratch directory — without any migration machinery.
+func reserveSQLiteFile(path string, create bool) error {
+	if create {
+		// gosec G304: the path is the database file the caller asked
+		// to open, and the driver is about to open the same path
+		// anyway. Creating it here is what fixes its mode.
+		f, err := os.OpenFile( //nolint:gosec // see above
+			path, os.O_RDWR|os.O_CREATE, SQLiteFilePerm,
+		)
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("creating %s: %w", path, err)
+		}
+
+		err = f.Close()
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("closing %s: %w", path, err)
+		}
+	}
+
+	// O_CREATE leaves an existing file's mode alone, and umask can only
+	// have narrowed a new one. Chmod settles both cases at exactly
+	// SQLiteFilePerm.
+	for _, p := range append(
+		[]string{path}, sqliteSidecarPaths(path)...,
+	) {
+		err := os.Chmod(p, SQLiteFilePerm)
+		if err != nil && !errors.Is(err, fs.ErrNotExist) {
+			return fmt.Errorf("securing %s: %w", p, err)
+		}
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}
+
+// sqliteSidecarPaths returns the files SQLite maintains beside a
+// database under WAL. They carry the same rows as the database itself,
+// so a fix that tightens only the main file has fixed nothing.
+func sqliteSidecarPaths(path string) []string {
+	return []string{path + "-wal", path + "-shm"}
+}
+
 // SQLiteDSN builds the connection string for one database file.
 //
 // mode is the SQLite URI open mode: "rwc" to create the file when it
@@ -138,9 +225,17 @@ func SQLiteDSN(path, mode string) string {
 // durability settings and pool bounds applied. mode is the SQLite URI
 // open mode ("rwc" or "rw").
 //
+// The file and its WAL sidecars are settled at SQLiteFilePerm before
+// the driver sees the path; see reserveSQLiteFile.
+//
 // The handle is returned rather than a *gorm.DB because the callers
 // wrap it in gorm themselves with their own logger.
 func OpenSQLite(path, mode string) (*sql.DB, error) {
+	err := reserveSQLiteFile(path, mode == SQLiteModeCreate)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
 	sqlDB, err := sql.Open("sqlite", SQLiteDSN(path, mode))
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf(

internal/delivery/engine.go

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ package delivery
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"log/slog"
 	"net/http"
@@ -439,7 +440,7 @@ func (e *Engine) processNewTask(
 
 	event := buildEventFromTask(task)
 
-	event, err = e.resolveEventBody(
+	event, err = e.hydrateEvent(
 		webhookDB, event, task,
 	)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -505,9 +506,13 @@ func (e *Engine) processRetryTask(
 		return
 	}
 
+	if e.abandonRetryForMissingTarget(webhookDB, d, task) {
+		return
+	}
+
 	event := buildEventFromTask(task)
 
-	event, err = e.resolveEventBody(
+	event, err = e.hydrateEvent(
 		webhookDB, event, task,
 	)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -529,6 +534,64 @@ func (e *Engine) processRetryTask(
 	e.processDelivery(ctx, webhookDB, d, task)
 }
 
+// abandonRetryForMissingTarget stops a retry chain whose target has
+// been deleted, and reports whether it did.
+//
+// A scheduled retry lives in memory as a time.AfterFunc holding the
+// target's configuration as it was when the chain began, and nothing
+// else on this path reads the target row. Without this check a
+// deletion stops nothing: the timer keeps firing and keeps sending to
+// the destination the operator removed, for the whole remaining
+// backoff chain. Terminalising in the recovery and sweep paths alone
+// is not enough, because those only see the delivery once nothing
+// holds it in memory — which is to say after a restart.
+//
+// The worker already owns this delivery, so the terminal write happens
+// here directly, exactly as a target's own Deliver fails one. Claiming
+// it again through the recovery gate would only fail against the
+// reference the worker itself is holding.
+//
+// A lookup that fails for any other reason is not a deletion — it is
+// the main database being unreadable — and the delivery goes ahead as
+// it did before. A guard that terminally failed deliveries on a
+// transient fault would be worse than the bug it fixes.
+func (e *Engine) abandonRetryForMissingTarget(
+	webhookDB *gorm.DB,
+	d *database.Delivery,
+	task *Task,
+) bool {
+	_, err := e.loadTarget(task.TargetID)
+	if err == nil {
+		return false
+	}
+
+	if !errors.Is(err, gorm.ErrRecordNotFound) {
+		e.log.Warn(
+			"could not confirm the target of a retrying "+
+				"delivery still exists; attempting anyway",
+			"delivery_id", task.DeliveryID,
+			"target_id", task.TargetID,
+			"error", err,
+		)
+
+		return false
+	}
+
+	targetType, reason := e.missingTargetReason(task.TargetID)
+
+	e.log.Warn(
+		"abandoning scheduled retry: target is gone",
+		"webhook_id", task.WebhookID,
+		"delivery_id", task.DeliveryID,
+		"target_id", task.TargetID,
+		"target_type", targetType,
+	)
+
+	e.failDelivery(webhookDB, d, targetType, reason)
+
+	return true
+}
+
 func (e *Engine) recoverInFlight(ctx context.Context) {
 	var webhookIDs []string
 
@@ -633,6 +696,20 @@ func (e *Engine) recoverSingleRetry(
 ) {
 	target, err := e.loadTarget(d.TargetID)
 	if err != nil {
+		// A target that is merely gone is an operator action with a
+		// terminal answer. Any other failure is the main database
+		// refusing to read, which is transient and must leave the
+		// delivery alone: failing every retrying delivery of every
+		// webhook on one bad read would be a far larger fault than
+		// the strand it is meant to clear.
+		if errors.Is(err, gorm.ErrRecordNotFound) {
+			e.failMissingTargetRetry(
+				webhookDB, webhookID, d,
+			)
+
+			return
+		}
+
 		e.log.Error(
 			"failed to load target for retrying "+
 				"delivery recovery",
@@ -1028,6 +1105,16 @@ func (e *Engine) sweepSingleRetry(
 ) {
 	target, err := e.loadTarget(d.TargetID)
 	if err != nil {
+		// Deleted is terminal, unreadable is not; see
+		// recoverSingleRetry.
+		if errors.Is(err, gorm.ErrRecordNotFound) {
+			e.failMissingTargetRetry(
+				webhookDB, webhookID, d,
+			)
+
+			return
+		}
+
 		e.log.Error(
 			"retry sweep: failed to load target",
 			"delivery_id", d.ID,
@@ -1134,6 +1221,113 @@ func (e *Engine) failUnretryableRetry(
 		target.Type,
 	)
 
+	e.failDelivery(webhookDB, d, target.Type, reason)
+}
+
+// failMissingTargetRetry terminally fails an orphaned retrying
+// delivery whose target row is gone. Both restart recovery and the
+// periodic sweep call it, so the transition exists once.
+//
+// Until it existed both paths logged the failed lookup and returned,
+// which left the delivery retrying for the life of the database and
+// the sweep repeating the same error every minute forever. Failing it
+// with a recorded reason is the treatment the other orphaned-retry
+// cases already get, so all of them read alike in the event log.
+//
+// Logged at warn rather than error: a deleted target is an operator
+// action, not a system fault.
+func (e *Engine) failMissingTargetRetry(
+	webhookDB *gorm.DB,
+	webhookID string,
+	d *database.Delivery,
+) {
+	// Terminal, and reached from the recovery paths, so it takes
+	// ownership like every other write they make.
+	if !e.inflight.retainIdle(d.ID) {
+		return
+	}
+
+	defer e.inflight.release(d.ID)
+
+	targetType, reason := e.missingTargetReason(d.TargetID)
+
+	e.log.Warn(
+		"failing orphaned retrying delivery: "+
+			"its target no longer exists",
+		"webhook_id", webhookID,
+		"delivery_id", d.ID,
+		"target_id", d.TargetID,
+		"target_type", targetType,
+	)
+
+	e.failDelivery(webhookDB, d, targetType, reason)
+}
+
+// missingTargetReason describes a target id that no longer resolves,
+// and returns the type of the deleted row where there still is one.
+//
+// The lookup is Unscoped because deletes are soft: the row survives
+// with deleted_at set, invisible to loadTarget's default scope.
+// Reading it is what separates "you deleted this target" from "this id
+// never named a row" — different things to whoever reads the event
+// log, and only the first is something an operator did. The widened
+// scope is deliberately confined to this terminal path: the engine's
+// normal target loading must go on refusing a deleted target, or
+// deleting one would stop nothing.
+//
+// The type comes back so the caller can label the delivery's status
+// transition with it. Where the row is gone entirely there is no type
+// to give, and updateDeliveryStatus leaves the counter alone rather
+// than opening a series named by the empty string.
+func (e *Engine) missingTargetReason(
+	targetID string,
+) (database.TargetType, string) {
+	var target database.Target
+
+	err := e.database.DB().Unscoped().
+		First(&target, "id = ?", targetID).Error
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Sprintf(
+			"target %s no longer exists; the delivery "+
+				"cannot be retried and has been failed "+
+				"terminally",
+			targetID,
+		)
+	}
+
+	return target.Type, fmt.Sprintf(
+		"target %q (type %s) was deleted; the delivery "+
+			"cannot be retried and has been failed terminally",
+		target.Name, target.Type,
+	)
+}
+
+// failDelivery records why a delivery is over and then marks it
+// failed. The caller must already own the delivery: every call site is
+// either a worker holding the reference runTask took, or a recovery
+// path that took one through retainIdle.
+//
+// The result row is written first and a failure to write it stops the
+// transition, which is what keeps a delivery from ending failed with
+// an empty event log — the state that leaves an operator with nothing
+// but a server log line to work out what happened. A delivery whose
+// reason could not be recorded stays in the non-terminal state it
+// already holds, where the sweep will find it again; see
+// bookkeepingFailed.
+//
+// The target type is a parameter rather than read off d because the
+// orphaned-retry callers deliberately hold a delivery loaded without
+// its Target relation: populating d.Target would make GORM's
+// SaveBeforeAssociations upsert the whole target row — plaintext
+// config, which for a slack target is the credential — into the
+// per-webhook event database. See
+// https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/webhooker/issues/206.
+func (e *Engine) failDelivery(
+	webhookDB *gorm.DB,
+	d *database.Delivery,
+	targetType database.TargetType,
+	reason string,
+) {
 	err := e.recordResult(
 		webhookDB,
 		d,
@@ -1150,14 +1344,8 @@ func (e *Engine) failUnretryableRetry(
 		return
 	}
 
-	// The type is passed rather than assigned onto d: the delivery
-	// is loaded here without its target relation, and populating
-	// d.Target would make GORM's SaveBeforeAssociations upsert the
-	// whole target row — plaintext config, which for a slack target
-	// is the credential — into the per-webhook event database. See
-	// https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/webhooker/issues/206.
 	e.settleStatus(
-		webhookDB, d, target.Type,
+		webhookDB, d, targetType,
 		database.DeliveryStatusFailed,
 	)
 }
@@ -1178,9 +1366,19 @@ func (e *Engine) processDelivery(
 			"type", d.Target.Type,
 		)
 
-		e.settleStatus(
+		// The reason is recorded, not just logged. This branch used
+		// to fail the delivery with no DeliveryResult at all, which
+		// showed in the event log as "failed, no attempts recorded
+		// yet" and left one server log line as the only account of
+		// why anywhere.
+		e.failDelivery(
 			webhookDB, d, d.Target.Type,
-			database.DeliveryStatusFailed,
+			fmt.Sprintf(
+				"unknown target type %q: this build has no "+
+					"delivery implementation for it, so no "+
+					"attempt was made",
+				d.Target.Type,
+			),
 		)
 
 		return
@@ -1349,6 +1547,11 @@ func truncate(s string, maxLen int) string {
 
 // --- Helper functions ---
 
+// buildEventFromTask reconstructs the event a Task describes, as far
+// as the Task itself goes. The fields it cannot fill — the body when
+// it was too large to inline, and the receipt time, which no Task
+// carries — come from the stored row in hydrateEvent, which every
+// caller of this function runs next.
 func buildEventFromTask(task *Task) database.Event {
 	event := database.Event{
 		EntrypointID: task.EntrypointID,
@@ -1376,28 +1579,66 @@ func buildTargetFromTask(task *Task) database.Target {
 	return target
 }
 
-func (e *Engine) resolveEventBody(
+// hydrateEvent fills in the event fields a Task does not carry, by
+// reading the stored event row.
+//
+// CreatedAt is the event's receipt time and lives only in that row.
+// The Slack target renders it into every message it sends, so an
+// unhydrated event puts the zero time in front of a human on every
+// notification the product delivers. See
+// https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/webhooker/issues/257.
+//
+// The body comes from the same row when the Task did not inline it,
+// which is the case for a body at or above MaxInlineBodySize.
+//
+// A read failure is fatal to the delivery only when the body depended
+// on it. When the Task inlined the body, the delivery has everything
+// it needs to be sent and goes ahead with the timestamp unset: the row
+// can be gone under a retention reap while a queued delivery still
+// holds its body, and dropping a deliverable event to protect one
+// metadata field would be a worse failure than the one it prevents.
+func (e *Engine) hydrateEvent(
 	webhookDB *gorm.DB,
 	event database.Event,
 	task *Task,
 ) (database.Event, error) {
-	if task.Body != nil {
-		event.Body = *task.Body
+	columns := []string{"created_at"}
 
-		return event, nil
+	if task.Body == nil {
+		columns = append(columns, "body")
 	}
 
 	var dbEvent database.Event
 
-	err := webhookDB.Select("body").
+	err := webhookDB.Select(columns).
 		First(&dbEvent, "id = ?", task.EventID).Error
 	if err != nil {
+		if task.Body == nil {
 			return event, fmt.Errorf(
 				"fetching event body: %w", err,
 			)
 		}
 
+		e.log.Warn(
+			"could not read the stored event; delivering "+
+				"the inlined body without its receipt time",
+			"event_id", task.EventID,
+			"delivery_id", task.DeliveryID,
+			"error", err,
+		)
+
+		event.Body = *task.Body
+
+		return event, nil
+	}
+
+	event.CreatedAt = dbEvent.CreatedAt
+
+	if task.Body != nil {
+		event.Body = *task.Body
+	} else {
 		event.Body = dbEvent.Body
+	}
 
 	return event, nil
 }

internal/delivery/engine_integration_test.go

@@ -377,6 +377,17 @@ func TestProcessRetryTask_SuccessfulRetry(t *testing.T) {
 
 	bodyStr := event.Body
 	cfg := iHTTPConfig(ts.URL)
+
+	// The target row exists because the engine confirms a scheduled
+	// retry's target has not been deleted before it runs it. A retry
+	// task whose target id names no row at all is a state the service
+	// does not produce: the handler read that target to build the
+	// task. See https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/webhooker/issues/107.
+	iCreateTarget(
+		t, s.MainDB, targetID, s.WebhookID, "retry-target",
+		database.TargetTypeHTTP, cfg, 5,
+	)
+
 	task := iTask(
 		d, event, s.WebhookID, targetID,
 		"retry-target", cfg, 5, 2, &bodyStr,
@@ -456,6 +467,12 @@ func TestProcessRetryTask_LargeBody_FetchFromDB(
 	)
 
 	cfg := iHTTPConfig(ts.URL)
+
+	iCreateTarget(
+		t, s.MainDB, targetID, s.WebhookID, "retry-large",
+		database.TargetTypeHTTP, cfg, 5,
+	)
+
 	task := iTask(
 		d, event, s.WebhookID, targetID,
 		"retry-large", cfg, 5, 2, nil,
@@ -558,6 +575,12 @@ func TestWorkerLifecycle_ProcessesRetryChannel(
 
 	bodyStr := event.Body
 	cfg := iHTTPConfig(ts.URL)
+
+	iCreateTarget(
+		t, s.MainDB, targetID, s.WebhookID, "retry-chan-test",
+		database.TargetTypeHTTP, cfg, 5,
+	)
+
 	task := iTask(
 		d, event, s.WebhookID, targetID,
 		"retry-chan-test", cfg, 5, 2, &bodyStr,

internal/delivery/event_db_isolation_test.go

@@ -96,7 +96,15 @@ func TestEventDBHoldsNoTargetRows(t *testing.T) {
 	)
 	assertNoTargetRows(t, dbPath)
 
-	// A retry.
+	// A retry. Its target exists in the main database, because the
+	// engine confirms a scheduled retry's target has not been
+	// deleted before running it; see
+	// https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/webhooker/issues/107.
+	iCreateTarget(
+		t, s.MainDB, targetID, s.WebhookID, "leaky-target",
+		database.TargetTypeHTTP, cfg, 5,
+	)
+
 	rd := iSeedDelivery(
 		t, s.WebhookDB, event.ID, targetID,
 		database.DeliveryStatusRetrying,

internal/delivery/event_timestamp_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,442 @@
+package delivery_test
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"io"
+	"net/http"
+	"net/http/httptest"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/google/uuid"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+	"gorm.io/gorm"
+	"sneak.berlin/go/webhooker/internal/database"
+	"sneak.berlin/go/webhooker/internal/delivery"
+)
+
+// tsEventCreatedAt is the receipt time seeded on the events these
+// tests deliver. It is far enough from both the zero time and from
+// now that neither can be mistaken for it.
+func tsEventCreatedAt() time.Time {
+	return time.Date(
+		2026, time.March, 4, 5, 6, 7, 0, time.UTC,
+	)
+}
+
+// tsZeroStamp is what a Slack message renders when the event handed
+// to FormatSlackMessage carries no CreatedAt.
+const tsZeroStamp = "*Timestamp:* `0001-01-01T00:00:00Z`"
+
+// tsEventBody is the body seeded on every event in this file. It is
+// small enough that a Task can inline it.
+const tsEventBody = `{"hello":"world"}`
+
+// tsUndeliverableHook stands in for a Slack incoming webhook on the
+// tests that never send: the config parser requires a URL, but no
+// request is made.
+const tsUndeliverableHook = "https://hooks.slack.com/services/T/B/x"
+
+// tsSink is a stand-in Slack incoming webhook that records the raw
+// body posted to it.
+type tsSink struct {
+	*httptest.Server
+
+	bodies chan []byte
+}
+
+func newTSSink(t *testing.T) *tsSink {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	s := &tsSink{bodies: make(chan []byte, 8)}
+
+	s.Server = httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(
+		func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+			body, _ := io.ReadAll(r.Body)
+
+			select {
+			case s.bodies <- body:
+			default:
+			}
+
+			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+		},
+	))
+
+	t.Cleanup(s.Close)
+
+	return s
+}
+
+// text returns the Slack message text from the single payload the
+// sink received.
+func (s *tsSink) text(t *testing.T) string {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	select {
+	case raw := <-s.bodies:
+		t.Logf("raw slack payload: %s", raw)
+
+		var payload struct {
+			Text string `json:"text"`
+		}
+
+		require.NoError(t, json.Unmarshal(raw, &payload))
+
+		return payload.Text
+	case <-time.After(5 * time.Second):
+		t.Fatal("slack sink received no payload")
+
+		return ""
+	}
+}
+
+func tsSlackConfig(t *testing.T, url string) string {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	data, err := json.Marshal(
+		delivery.SlackTargetConfig{WebhookURL: url},
+	)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	return string(data)
+}
+
+// tsSeedEvent writes an event whose CreatedAt is tsEventCreatedAt
+// rather than the write time, so an assertion on the rendered
+// timestamp cannot pass by accident against "roughly now".
+func tsSeedEvent(
+	t *testing.T, db *gorm.DB, webhookID string,
+) database.Event {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	event := database.Event{
+		WebhookID:    webhookID,
+		EntrypointID: uuid.New().String(),
+		Method:       http.MethodPost,
+		Headers:      `{}`,
+		Body:         tsEventBody,
+		ContentType:  "application/json",
+	}
+	event.ID = uuid.New().String()
+	event.CreatedAt = tsEventCreatedAt()
+	event.UpdatedAt = tsEventCreatedAt()
+
+	require.NoError(t, db.Create(&event).Error)
+
+	var stored database.Event
+
+	require.NoError(t,
+		db.First(&stored, "id = ?", event.ID).Error,
+	)
+	require.Equal(t,
+		tsEventCreatedAt().UTC(), stored.CreatedAt.UTC(),
+		"seeded created_at did not round-trip",
+	)
+
+	return event
+}
+
+// tsSeedTarget writes the slack target row into the main database.
+// The retry path confirms the target still exists before sending.
+func tsSeedTarget(
+	t *testing.T, mainDB *gorm.DB, webhookID, config string,
+) database.Target {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	target := database.Target{
+		WebhookID: webhookID,
+		Name:      "slack-sink",
+		Type:      database.TargetTypeSlack,
+		Config:    config,
+		Active:    true,
+	}
+
+	require.NoError(t, mainDB.Create(&target).Error)
+
+	return target
+}
+
+func tsTask(
+	d database.Delivery,
+	event database.Event,
+	webhookID string,
+	target database.Target,
+	attemptNum int,
+	body *string,
+) delivery.Task {
+	return delivery.Task{
+		DeliveryID:   d.ID,
+		EventID:      event.ID,
+		WebhookID:    webhookID,
+		EntrypointID: event.EntrypointID,
+		TargetID:     target.ID,
+		TargetName:   target.Name,
+		TargetType:   database.TargetTypeSlack,
+		TargetConfig: target.Config,
+		MaxRetries:   0,
+		Method:       event.Method,
+		Headers:      event.Headers,
+		ContentType:  event.ContentType,
+		Body:         body,
+		AttemptNum:   attemptNum,
+	}
+}
+
+func tsAssertRealTimestamp(t *testing.T, text string) {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	assert.NotContains(t, text, tsZeroStamp,
+		"slack message carries the zero timestamp",
+	)
+	assert.Contains(t, text,
+		"*Timestamp:* `"+
+			tsEventCreatedAt().UTC().Format(time.RFC3339)+"`",
+		"slack message does not carry the event's receipt time",
+	)
+}
+
+// tsCase is one end-to-end delivery of a seeded event to a slack
+// sink, over whichever engine path `process` names.
+type tsCase struct {
+	// status is the delivery row's status before the engine runs.
+	// The retry path refuses a delivery that is not retrying.
+	status database.DeliveryStatus
+
+	// inlineBody mirrors a Task built for a body under
+	// MaxInlineBodySize. When false the engine reads the body back
+	// from the stored row.
+	inlineBody bool
+
+	attemptNum int
+
+	process func(
+		ctx context.Context, e *delivery.Engine, task *delivery.Task,
+	)
+}
+
+// run delivers one event through the named path and returns the
+// Slack message text the sink received.
+func (c tsCase) run(t *testing.T) (iSetup, database.Delivery, string) {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	s := newISetup(t)
+	sink := newTSSink(t)
+
+	cfg := tsSlackConfig(t, sink.URL)
+	target := tsSeedTarget(t, s.MainDB, s.WebhookID, cfg)
+	event := tsSeedEvent(t, s.WebhookDB, s.WebhookID)
+
+	d := iSeedDelivery(
+		t, s.WebhookDB, event.ID, target.ID, c.status,
+	)
+
+	var body *string
+
+	if c.inlineBody {
+		bodyStr := event.Body
+		body = &bodyStr
+	}
+
+	task := tsTask(
+		d, event, s.WebhookID, target, c.attemptNum, body,
+	)
+
+	c.process(context.TODO(), s.Engine, &task)
+
+	return s, d, sink.text(t)
+}
+
+// TestSlackFirstAttemptCarriesEventTimestamp covers the path an
+// event takes on its first delivery: the task comes from the
+// receiver and the engine reconstructs the event from it.
+func TestSlackFirstAttemptCarriesEventTimestamp(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	s, d, text := tsCase{
+		status:     database.DeliveryStatusPending,
+		inlineBody: true,
+		attemptNum: 1,
+		process: func(
+			ctx context.Context,
+			e *delivery.Engine,
+			task *delivery.Task,
+		) {
+			e.ExportProcessNewTask(ctx, task)
+		},
+	}.run(t)
+
+	tsAssertRealTimestamp(t, text)
+
+	iAssertStatus(t, s.WebhookDB, d.ID,
+		database.DeliveryStatusDelivered,
+	)
+}
+
+// TestSlackFirstAttemptLargeBodyCarriesEventTimestamp covers the
+// first-attempt path for an event whose body exceeded
+// MaxInlineBodySize, so the task carries no body and the engine
+// reads it back from the stored row.
+func TestSlackFirstAttemptLargeBodyCarriesEventTimestamp(
+	t *testing.T,
+) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	_, _, text := tsCase{
+		status:     database.DeliveryStatusPending,
+		inlineBody: false,
+		attemptNum: 1,
+		process: func(
+			ctx context.Context,
+			e *delivery.Engine,
+			task *delivery.Task,
+		) {
+			e.ExportProcessNewTask(ctx, task)
+		},
+	}.run(t)
+
+	tsAssertRealTimestamp(t, text)
+}
+
+// TestSlackRetryCarriesEventTimestamp covers the retry path, which
+// reconstructs the event from the same task the first attempt used.
+func TestSlackRetryCarriesEventTimestamp(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	s, d, text := tsCase{
+		status:     database.DeliveryStatusRetrying,
+		inlineBody: true,
+		attemptNum: 2,
+		process: func(
+			ctx context.Context,
+			e *delivery.Engine,
+			task *delivery.Task,
+		) {
+			e.ExportProcessRetryTask(ctx, task)
+		},
+	}.run(t)
+
+	tsAssertRealTimestamp(t, text)
+
+	iAssertStatus(t, s.WebhookDB, d.ID,
+		database.DeliveryStatusDelivered,
+	)
+}
+
+// TestFormatSlackMessageOverTaskReconstructedEvent asserts on the
+// formatted message directly, over the event the delivery paths
+// reconstruct from a Task. It is the unit-level guard under the
+// end-to-end tests: revert the CreatedAt population in hydrateEvent
+// and this fails on the zero timestamp.
+func TestFormatSlackMessageOverTaskReconstructedEvent(
+	t *testing.T,
+) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	s := newISetup(t)
+
+	cfg := tsSlackConfig(t, tsUndeliverableHook)
+	target := tsSeedTarget(t, s.MainDB, s.WebhookID, cfg)
+	event := tsSeedEvent(t, s.WebhookDB, s.WebhookID)
+
+	d := iSeedDelivery(
+		t, s.WebhookDB, event.ID, target.ID,
+		database.DeliveryStatusPending,
+	)
+
+	bodyStr := event.Body
+	task := tsTask(d, event, s.WebhookID, target, 1, &bodyStr)
+
+	rebuilt, err := s.Engine.ExportEventForTask(
+		s.WebhookDB, &task,
+	)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.False(t, rebuilt.CreatedAt.IsZero(),
+		"reconstructed event carries the zero time",
+	)
+	assert.Equal(t,
+		tsEventCreatedAt().UTC(), rebuilt.CreatedAt.UTC(),
+	)
+
+	tsAssertRealTimestamp(
+		t, delivery.FormatSlackMessage(&rebuilt),
+	)
+}
+
+// TestFormatSlackMessageZeroTimestamp asserts the rendering choice
+// directly, without going through the engine: a zero CreatedAt (the
+// shape a reaped-row fallback produces) renders as "unknown" rather
+// than the year-1 zero time, while a real CreatedAt still renders as
+// RFC3339.
+func TestFormatSlackMessageZeroTimestamp(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	zeroEvent := database.Event{
+		Method:      http.MethodPost,
+		ContentType: testContentType,
+		Body:        tsEventBody,
+	}
+
+	zeroText := delivery.FormatSlackMessage(&zeroEvent)
+
+	assert.NotContains(t, zeroText, "0001-01-01",
+		"slack message carries the zero-time year",
+	)
+	assert.Contains(t, zeroText, "*Timestamp:* `unknown`",
+		"slack message does not mark an unset receipt time as unknown",
+	)
+
+	nonZeroEvent := zeroEvent
+	nonZeroEvent.CreatedAt = tsEventCreatedAt()
+
+	nonZeroText := delivery.FormatSlackMessage(&nonZeroEvent)
+
+	assert.Contains(t, nonZeroText,
+		"*Timestamp:* `"+
+			tsEventCreatedAt().UTC().Format(time.RFC3339)+"`",
+		"slack message does not render a real receipt time as RFC3339",
+	)
+}
+
+// TestEventReconstructionSurvivesAReapedRow pins the fallback: an
+// event row reaped by retention while its delivery still holds the
+// body inline is still delivered, with the receipt time unset,
+// rather than dropped.
+func TestEventReconstructionSurvivesAReapedRow(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	s := newISetup(t)
+
+	cfg := tsSlackConfig(t, tsUndeliverableHook)
+	target := tsSeedTarget(t, s.MainDB, s.WebhookID, cfg)
+	event := tsSeedEvent(t, s.WebhookDB, s.WebhookID)
+
+	d := iSeedDelivery(
+		t, s.WebhookDB, event.ID, target.ID,
+		database.DeliveryStatusPending,
+	)
+
+	bodyStr := event.Body
+	task := tsTask(d, event, s.WebhookID, target, 1, &bodyStr)
+
+	require.NoError(t, s.WebhookDB.Unscoped().Delete(
+		&database.Event{}, "id = ?", event.ID,
+	).Error)
+
+	rebuilt, err := s.Engine.ExportEventForTask(
+		s.WebhookDB, &task,
+	)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Equal(t, bodyStr, rebuilt.Body)
+	assert.True(t, rebuilt.CreatedAt.IsZero())
+
+	// A task with no inlined body has nothing left to deliver, so
+	// the same reaped row is an error there.
+	noBody := task
+	noBody.Body = nil
+
+	_, err = s.Engine.ExportEventForTask(s.WebhookDB, &noBody)
+	require.Error(t, err)
+}

internal/delivery/export_test.go

@@ -151,6 +151,16 @@ func (e *Engine) ExportProcessRetryTask(
 	e.processRetryTask(ctx, task)
 }
 
+// ExportEventForTask exposes the event reconstruction the delivery
+// paths run: buildEventFromTask followed by hydrateEvent.
+func (e *Engine) ExportEventForTask(
+	webhookDB *gorm.DB, task *Task,
+) (database.Event, error) {
+	return e.hydrateEvent(
+		webhookDB, buildEventFromTask(task), task,
+	)
+}
+
 // ExportProcessDelivery exposes processDelivery.
 func (e *Engine) ExportProcessDelivery(
 	ctx context.Context,

internal/delivery/metrics_test.go

@@ -229,6 +229,13 @@ func mExhaustRetries(t *testing.T, s iSetup) {
 	body := event.Body
 	cfg := iHTTPConfig(ts.URL)
 
+	// The retry below is only run if its target still exists; see
+	// https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/webhooker/issues/107.
+	iCreateTarget(
+		t, s.MainDB, targetID, s.WebhookID, "metrics-fail",
+		database.TargetTypeHTTP, cfg, 2,
+	)
+
 	first := iTask(
 		d, event, s.WebhookID, targetID,
 		"metrics-fail", cfg, 2, 1, &body,
@@ -289,6 +296,13 @@ func TestDeliveryMetrics_CircuitBreakerGauge(t *testing.T) {
 	// rather than the budget is what stops the delivery.
 	maxRetries := delivery.ExportDefaultFailureThreshold + 5
 
+	// The retries below are only run if their target still exists;
+	// see https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/webhooker/issues/107.
+	iCreateTarget(
+		t, s.MainDB, targetID, s.WebhookID, "metrics-trip",
+		database.TargetTypeHTTP, cfg, maxRetries,
+	)
+
 	first := iTask(
 		d, event, s.WebhookID, targetID,
 		"metrics-trip", cfg, maxRetries, 1, &body,
@@ -353,6 +367,11 @@ func TestDeliveryMetrics_BreakerBlockedIsNotAnAttempt(
 	cfg := iHTTPConfig(ts.URL)
 	maxRetries := delivery.ExportDefaultFailureThreshold + 5
 
+	iCreateTarget(
+		t, s.MainDB, targetID, s.WebhookID, "metrics-blocked",
+		database.TargetTypeHTTP, cfg, maxRetries,
+	)
+
 	first := iTask(
 		d, event, s.WebhookID, targetID,
 		"metrics-blocked", cfg, maxRetries, 1, &body,

internal/delivery/target_slack.go

@@ -231,10 +231,15 @@ func FormatSlackMessage(
 		event.ContentType,
 	)
 
+	timestamp := "unknown"
+	if !event.CreatedAt.IsZero() {
+		timestamp = event.CreatedAt.UTC().Format(time.RFC3339)
+	}
+
 	fmt.Fprintf(
 		&b,
 		"*Timestamp:* `%s`\n",
-		event.CreatedAt.UTC().Format(time.RFC3339),
+		timestamp,
 	)
 
 	fmt.Fprintf(

internal/delivery/terminal_state_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,531 @@
+package delivery_test
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"net/http"
+	"net/http/httptest"
+	"sync/atomic"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/google/uuid"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+	"sneak.berlin/go/webhooker/internal/database"
+	"sneak.berlin/go/webhooker/internal/delivery"
+)
+
+// The two terminal-state gaps of
+// https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/webhooker/issues/107: a delivery failed
+// with nothing in its event log to say why, and a retrying delivery
+// whose target was deleted, which used to keep sending and then never
+// terminalise.
+
+// tUnknownType is a target type no build implements. It stands in for
+// a target whose type was written by a build that knew a type this one
+// does not.
+const tUnknownType = database.TargetType("pubsub")
+
+// tSeedDeletedTarget creates a target, a retrying delivery against it
+// with one recorded failed attempt, and then deletes the target the
+// way the source page does.
+//
+// It asserts the delete is soft, because that is the whole reason the
+// engine could not tell a deleted target from a target id that never
+// named a row: the surviving row is invisible to a scoped read.
+func tSeedDeletedTarget(
+	t *testing.T,
+	s iSetup,
+	name, url string,
+) string {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	targetID := uuid.New().String()
+
+	iCreateTarget(
+		t, s.MainDB, targetID, s.WebhookID, name,
+		database.TargetTypeHTTP, iHTTPConfig(url), 5,
+	)
+
+	event := iSeedEvent(
+		t, s.WebhookDB, s.WebhookID, `{"target":"deleted"}`,
+	)
+
+	d := iSeedDelivery(
+		t, s.WebhookDB, event.ID, targetID,
+		database.DeliveryStatusRetrying,
+	)
+
+	iSeedFailedResult(t, s.WebhookDB, d.ID)
+
+	require.NoError(t, s.MainDB.Delete(
+		&database.Target{}, "id = ?", targetID,
+	).Error)
+
+	var scoped, unscoped int64
+
+	require.NoError(t, s.MainDB.
+		Model(&database.Target{}).
+		Where("id = ?", targetID).
+		Count(&scoped).Error)
+
+	require.NoError(t, s.MainDB.Unscoped().
+		Model(&database.Target{}).
+		Where("id = ?", targetID).
+		Count(&unscoped).Error)
+
+	require.Zero(t, scoped,
+		"the deleted target is still visible to a scoped read",
+	)
+	require.Equal(t, int64(1), unscoped,
+		"the delete was hard, so this test proves nothing about "+
+			"the soft-delete case it exists for",
+	)
+
+	return d.ID
+}
+
+// tLastResult returns a delivery's final recorded attempt, asserting
+// the expected number of them.
+func tLastResult(
+	t *testing.T,
+	s iSetup,
+	deliveryID string,
+	want int,
+) database.DeliveryResult {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	results := iResults(t, s.WebhookDB, deliveryID)
+	require.Len(t, results, want)
+
+	return results[want-1]
+}
+
+// --- 1. A failure with nothing recorded ---
+
+func TestProcessDelivery_UnknownTargetType_RecordsWhy(
+	t *testing.T,
+) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	s := newISetup(t)
+
+	targetID := uuid.New().String()
+
+	event := iSeedEvent(
+		t, s.WebhookDB, s.WebhookID, `{"unknown":"type"}`,
+	)
+
+	seeded := iSeedDelivery(
+		t, s.WebhookDB, event.ID, targetID,
+		database.DeliveryStatusPending,
+	)
+
+	target := database.Target{
+		Name:   "mystery",
+		Type:   tUnknownType,
+		Config: iHTTPConfig("http://example.com/hook"),
+	}
+	target.ID = targetID
+
+	d := database.Delivery{
+		EventID:  event.ID,
+		TargetID: targetID,
+		Status:   database.DeliveryStatusPending,
+		Event:    event,
+		Target:   target,
+	}
+	d.ID = seeded.ID
+
+	body := event.Body
+	task := iTask(
+		seeded, event, s.WebhookID, targetID, "mystery",
+		target.Config, 0, 1, &body,
+	)
+	task.TargetType = tUnknownType
+
+	s.Engine.ExportProcessDelivery(
+		context.Background(), s.WebhookDB, &d, &task,
+	)
+
+	iAssertStatus(
+		t, s.WebhookDB, d.ID, database.DeliveryStatusFailed,
+	)
+
+	last := tLastResult(t, s, d.ID, 1)
+
+	assert.False(t, last.Success)
+	assert.Equal(t, 1, last.AttemptNum)
+	assert.Contains(t, last.Error, string(tUnknownType),
+		"the recorded reason does not name the offending type",
+	)
+}
+
+// --- 2. A retrying delivery whose target is gone ---
+
+func TestRecoverSingleRetry_TargetDeleted(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	s := newISetup(t)
+
+	iCreateWebhook(
+		t, s.MainDB, s.WebhookID, "deleted-target-recovery",
+	)
+
+	deliveryID := tSeedDeletedTarget(
+		t, s, "gone-on-recovery", "http://example.com/hook",
+	)
+
+	s.Engine.ExportRecoverWebhookDeliveries(
+		context.Background(), s.WebhookID,
+	)
+
+	iAssertStatus(
+		t, s.WebhookDB, deliveryID,
+		database.DeliveryStatusFailed,
+	)
+
+	last := tLastResult(t, s, deliveryID, 2)
+
+	assert.False(t, last.Success)
+	assert.Equal(t, 2, last.AttemptNum)
+	assert.Contains(t, last.Error, "gone-on-recovery")
+	assert.Contains(t, last.Error, "was deleted")
+
+	assert.Empty(t, s.Engine.ExportRetryCh(),
+		"a delivery whose target is gone was rescheduled",
+	)
+	assert.Zero(t, s.Engine.ExportInflightHeld(),
+		"the terminal path leaked its ownership reference",
+	)
+}
+
+func TestSweepSingleRetry_TargetDeleted(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	s := newISetup(t)
+
+	iCreateWebhook(
+		t, s.MainDB, s.WebhookID, "deleted-target-sweep",
+	)
+
+	deliveryID := tSeedDeletedTarget(
+		t, s, "gone-on-sweep", "http://example.com/hook",
+	)
+
+	// Twice, because the bug was an error the sweep repeated every
+	// minute for the life of the database: the second sweep must
+	// find nothing left to do.
+	s.Engine.ExportSweepWebhookRetries(
+		context.Background(), s.WebhookID,
+	)
+	s.Engine.ExportSweepWebhookRetries(
+		context.Background(), s.WebhookID,
+	)
+
+	iAssertStatus(
+		t, s.WebhookDB, deliveryID,
+		database.DeliveryStatusFailed,
+	)
+
+	last := tLastResult(t, s, deliveryID, 2)
+
+	assert.Contains(t, last.Error, "gone-on-sweep")
+	assert.Contains(t, last.Error, "was deleted")
+
+	assert.Empty(t, s.Engine.ExportRetryCh())
+	assert.Zero(t, s.Engine.ExportInflightHeld())
+}
+
+// TestSweepSingleRetry_TargetNeverExisted covers the other half of the
+// soft-delete distinction: an id with no row at all, deleted or
+// otherwise, must not be reported as something the operator deleted.
+func TestSweepSingleRetry_TargetNeverExisted(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	s := newISetup(t)
+
+	iCreateWebhook(
+		t, s.MainDB, s.WebhookID, "target-never-existed",
+	)
+
+	targetID := uuid.New().String()
+
+	event := iSeedEvent(
+		t, s.WebhookDB, s.WebhookID, `{"target":"absent"}`,
+	)
+
+	d := iSeedDelivery(
+		t, s.WebhookDB, event.ID, targetID,
+		database.DeliveryStatusRetrying,
+	)
+
+	iSeedFailedResult(t, s.WebhookDB, d.ID)
+
+	s.Engine.ExportSweepWebhookRetries(
+		context.Background(), s.WebhookID,
+	)
+
+	iAssertStatus(
+		t, s.WebhookDB, d.ID, database.DeliveryStatusFailed,
+	)
+
+	last := tLastResult(t, s, d.ID, 2)
+
+	assert.Contains(t, last.Error, targetID)
+	assert.Contains(t, last.Error, "no longer exists")
+	assert.NotContains(t, last.Error, "was deleted",
+		"an id that never named a row was reported as a deletion",
+	)
+}
+
+// TestFailMissingTargetRetry_WritesNoTargetRow holds the new terminal
+// path to the same rule as the existing one: no target row, and so no
+// plaintext target config, may be written into the per-webhook event
+// database. See https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/webhooker/issues/206.
+func TestFailMissingTargetRetry_WritesNoTargetRow(
+	t *testing.T,
+) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	s := newISetup(t)
+
+	iCreateWebhook(
+		t, s.MainDB, s.WebhookID, "no-target-row-deleted",
+	)
+
+	hookURL := "https://hooks.slack.com/services/T00/B00/x"
+
+	deliveryID := tSeedDeletedTarget(
+		t, s, "credential-bearing", hookURL,
+	)
+
+	s.Engine.ExportSweepWebhookRetries(
+		context.Background(), s.WebhookID,
+	)
+
+	iAssertStatus(
+		t, s.WebhookDB, deliveryID,
+		database.DeliveryStatusFailed,
+	)
+
+	var configs []string
+
+	require.NoError(t, s.WebhookDB.
+		Table("targets").
+		Pluck("config", &configs).Error)
+
+	assert.Empty(t, configs,
+		"the deleted-target terminal path wrote a target row "+
+			"into the per-webhook event database",
+	)
+}
+
+// --- 3. The scheduled retry chain ---
+
+// tRetryChainSetup wires a counting sink and a retrying delivery
+// against a live target pointing at it, and returns the task a
+// scheduled retry would carry — config and all, snapshotted as
+// ScheduleRetry snapshots it.
+func tRetryChainSetup(
+	t *testing.T,
+	s iSetup,
+	name string,
+	hits *atomic.Int64,
+) (delivery.Task, string) {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	ts := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(
+		func(w http.ResponseWriter, _ *http.Request) {
+			hits.Add(1)
+			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+		},
+	))
+	t.Cleanup(ts.Close)
+
+	iCreateWebhook(t, s.MainDB, s.WebhookID, name)
+
+	targetID := uuid.New().String()
+	cfg := iHTTPConfig(ts.URL)
+
+	iCreateTarget(
+		t, s.MainDB, targetID, s.WebhookID, name,
+		database.TargetTypeHTTP, cfg, 5,
+	)
+
+	event := iSeedEvent(
+		t, s.WebhookDB, s.WebhookID, `{"chain":"retry"}`,
+	)
+
+	d := iSeedDelivery(
+		t, s.WebhookDB, event.ID, targetID,
+		database.DeliveryStatusRetrying,
+	)
+
+	iSeedFailedResult(t, s.WebhookDB, d.ID)
+
+	body := event.Body
+
+	return iTask(
+		d, event, s.WebhookID, targetID, name, cfg, 5, 2, &body,
+	), targetID
+}
+
+// TestProcessRetryTask_TargetDeleted_MakesNoAttempt is the half the
+// deployability audit found worse than filed: terminalising on
+// recovery and sweep alone leaves the already-scheduled timer chain
+// running, and it holds the target's configuration from before the
+// deletion, so it goes on sending to a destination that was removed.
+func TestProcessRetryTask_TargetDeleted_MakesNoAttempt(
+	t *testing.T,
+) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	s := newISetup(t)
+
+	var hits atomic.Int64
+
+	task, targetID := tRetryChainSetup(
+		t, s, "gone-mid-chain", &hits,
+	)
+
+	require.NoError(t, s.MainDB.Delete(
+		&database.Target{}, "id = ?", targetID,
+	).Error)
+
+	s.Engine.ExportProcessRetryTask(
+		context.Background(), &task,
+	)
+
+	assert.Zero(t, hits.Load(),
+		"a scheduled retry fired at a target the operator "+
+			"had already deleted",
+	)
+
+	iAssertStatus(
+		t, s.WebhookDB, task.DeliveryID,
+		database.DeliveryStatusFailed,
+	)
+
+	last := tLastResult(t, s, task.DeliveryID, 2)
+
+	assert.False(t, last.Success)
+	assert.Contains(t, last.Error, "was deleted")
+
+	assert.Zero(t, s.Engine.ExportInflightHeld())
+}
+
+// TestProcessRetryTask_TargetPresent_StillDelivers is the guard's
+// mutation check: a liveness check that refused every retry would pass
+// the test above and break every retry there is.
+func TestProcessRetryTask_TargetPresent_StillDelivers(
+	t *testing.T,
+) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	s := newISetup(t)
+
+	var hits atomic.Int64
+
+	task, _ := tRetryChainSetup(t, s, "still-there", &hits)
+
+	s.Engine.ExportProcessRetryTask(
+		context.Background(), &task,
+	)
+
+	assert.Equal(t, int64(1), hits.Load())
+
+	iAssertStatus(
+		t, s.WebhookDB, task.DeliveryID,
+		database.DeliveryStatusDelivered,
+	)
+}
+
+// TestProcessRetryTask_TargetUnreadable_StillDelivers pins the other
+// half of the guard: only a target that is confirmed gone stops a
+// retry. A main database that cannot be read is a transient fault, and
+// a guard that abandoned deliveries on one would be a worse bug than
+// the one it fixes.
+func TestProcessRetryTask_TargetUnreadable_StillDelivers(
+	t *testing.T,
+) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	s := newISetup(t)
+
+	var hits atomic.Int64
+
+	task, _ := tRetryChainSetup(t, s, "unreadable-main", &hits)
+
+	sqlDB, err := s.MainDB.DB()
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.NoError(t, sqlDB.Close())
+
+	s.Engine.ExportProcessRetryTask(
+		context.Background(), &task,
+	)
+
+	assert.Equal(t, int64(1), hits.Load(),
+		"a retry was abandoned because the main database "+
+			"could not be read, not because its target was gone",
+	)
+
+	iAssertStatus(
+		t, s.WebhookDB, task.DeliveryID,
+		database.DeliveryStatusDelivered,
+	)
+}
+
+// TestRecoverSingleRetry_TargetUnreadable_LeavesDeliveryAlone is the
+// same rule on the recovery path. A read failure that is not
+// "record not found" must leave every retrying delivery of every
+// webhook exactly as it was.
+func TestRecoverSingleRetry_TargetUnreadable_LeavesDeliveryAlone(
+	t *testing.T,
+) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	s := newISetup(t)
+
+	iCreateWebhook(
+		t, s.MainDB, s.WebhookID, "unreadable-on-recovery",
+	)
+
+	targetID := uuid.New().String()
+
+	iCreateTarget(
+		t, s.MainDB, targetID, s.WebhookID, "healthy",
+		database.TargetTypeHTTP,
+		iHTTPConfig("http://example.com/hook"), 5,
+	)
+
+	event := iSeedEvent(
+		t, s.WebhookDB, s.WebhookID, `{"still":"retrying"}`,
+	)
+
+	d := iSeedDelivery(
+		t, s.WebhookDB, event.ID, targetID,
+		database.DeliveryStatusRetrying,
+	)
+
+	iSeedFailedResult(t, s.WebhookDB, d.ID)
+
+	sqlDB, err := s.MainDB.DB()
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.NoError(t, sqlDB.Close())
+
+	s.Engine.ExportRecoverRetryingDeliveries(
+		s.WebhookDB, s.WebhookID,
+	)
+
+	iAssertStatus(
+		t, s.WebhookDB, d.ID,
+		database.DeliveryStatusRetrying,
+	)
+
+	assert.Len(t, iResults(t, s.WebhookDB, d.ID), 1,
+		"an unreadable main database produced a terminal "+
+			"failure row",
+	)
+
+	assert.Zero(t, s.Engine.ExportInflightHeld())
+}