You are a constitutional council ranking individual git commits for ownership allocation.

Compare these two commits. Decide which contributed more lasting value to the project.

Judge substance, not spectacle:
- Prefer correct, lasting design and real bugfixes over churn, formatting, renames, or generated noise.
- Prefer clarity and necessity over sheer line count. A small precise change can beat a large diffuse one.
- Do not favor a side merely because its patch is longer or noisier.
- Weight what the change does for the project, not the contributor's name.

Return ONLY a JSON object: {"winner": "A" or "B", "ratio": "N:M", "explanation": "..."}
The explanation must cite concrete differences in the patches (1-3 sentences).

Side A — contributor: tommy-mor
Side A — commit message:
[88577c56] reconfigure

Side A — unified diff (full patch):
diff --git a/server/src/api/ui_html.rs b/server/src/api/ui_html.rs
index c4ab9d65c7b3cd42a5b4d093ba429993c101e9a8..82b2aa51d21ada1d0d849d3ddfc3a81e4241d861 100644
--- a/server/src/api/ui_html.rs
+++ b/server/src/api/ui_html.rs
@@ -9,7 +9,9 @@ use crate::{
     html::{js_string_literal, ranking_panel, JsBuilder},
     parser::parse_reddit_url,
     parser_render::navigate_panel,
-    state::AppState,
+    path_types::ItemId,
+    reddit::ensure_partial_tree,
+    state::{parse_item_param, AppState},
     ui_action::{parse_html_ui_from_form, HtmlUiAction},
 };
 
@@ -25,6 +27,10 @@ fn ui_js_warn(msg: &str) -> Response {
         .unwrap()
 }
 
+fn parent_from_scope(scope: &str) -> ItemId {
+    parse_item_param(scope)
+}
+
 pub async fn post_ui_html(
     State(state): State<AppState>,
     Form(form): Form<HashMap<String, String>>,
@@ -42,24 +48,36 @@ pub async fn post_ui_html(
             ratio_right,
             scope,
         } => {
+            let parent = parent_from_scope(&scope);
             if let Err(e) = state
-                .record_vote(&scope, &a, &b, ratio_left, ratio_right)
+                .record_vote(&parent, &a, &b, ratio_left, ratio_right)
                 .await
             {
                 return ui_js_warn(&e).into_response();
             }
-            let scope = crate::state::normalize_scope(&scope);
-            let groups = state.groups.read().await;
+            let tree = state.tree.read().await;
             let empty = crate::reducer::GroupState::new();
-            let group = groups.get(&scope).unwrap_or(&empty);
-            let panel = ranking_panel(&scope, group);
+            let group = tree
+                .get(&parent)
+                .map(|n| &n.local_ranking)
+                .unwrap_or(&empty);
+            let panel = ranking_panel(&parent, group);
             JsBuilder::new()
                 .morph_selector("#ranking-panel", panel)
                 .into_response()
         }
         HtmlUiAction::ParseQuery { query } => match parse_reddit_url(&query) {
-            Ok(subreddit) => {
-                let dest = format!("/?sub={subreddit}");
+            Ok(item) => {
+                {
+                    let mut tree = state.tree.write().await;
+                    ensure_partial_tree(&mut tree, &item);
+                }
+                let _ = state.ensure_node(&item).await;
+                let dest = if item.is_root() {
+                    "/".to_string()
+                } else {
+                    format!("/?item={}", item.as_str())
+                };
                 JsBuilder::new()
                     .raw(&format!(
                         "window.location.href={};",
diff --git a/server/src/events.rs b/server/src/events.rs
index a862370fc840ffe02184a11c578e18239cc9474d..ed5be6b13b9d46e838831d6ce0f96f569b401730 100644
--- a/server/src/events.rs
+++ b/server/src/events.rs
@@ -5,8 +5,8 @@ use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
 pub enum Event {
     /// Page view recorded (path → counter in views.json).
     ViewRecorded { path: String, ts: i64 },
-    /// Pairwise comparison vote (replayed into the scope's [`crate::reducer::GroupState`] on boot).
-    /// `scope` is the ranking subject (e.g. a subreddit); empty string is the default/global scope.
+    /// Pairwise comparison vote (replayed into the parent node's [`crate::reducer::GroupState`] on boot).
+    /// `scope` is the parent [`crate::path_types::ItemId`] string; empty string is the tree root.
     VoteRecorded {
         ts: i64,
         a: String,
@@ -16,4 +16,6 @@ pub enum Event {
         #[serde(default)]
         scope: String,
     },
+    /// Register a node path in the fractal tree (no external fetch).
+    NodeEnsured { id: String },
 }
diff --git a/server/src/html/mod.rs b/server/src/html/mod.rs
index 9650d333d29c4ac94ceb407aee3ee00399c7f40b..c973cb718ac74b95570dabea76e24459417790b9 100644
--- a/server/src/html/mod.rs
+++ b/server/src/html/mod.rs
@@ -12,9 +12,10 @@ use serde::Deserialize;
 use crate::{
     form_template::template_json_compact,
     parser_render::navigate_panel,
+    path_types::ItemId,
     ranking::{top_bottom, RankedItem},
-    reducer::GroupState,
-    state::{normalize_scope, AppState},
+    reducer::{GroupState, NodeState},
+    state::{parse_item_param, AppState},
     ui_action::UI_RPC_FIELD,
 };
 
@@ -216,6 +217,48 @@ fn layout(title: &str, body: Markup, views: u64, theme: &str, theme_next: &str)
     }
 }
 
+fn item_href(id: &ItemId) -> String {
+    if id.is_root() {
+        "/".to_string()
+    } else {
+        format!("/?item={}", id.as_str())
+    }
+}
+
+fn segment_label(seg: &str) -> &str {
+    seg
+}
+
+/// Generic breadcrumb trail from an [`ItemId`] path.
+pub fn breadcrumb_path(item: &ItemId) -> Markup {
+    html! {
+        nav class="breadcrumbs" aria-label="Breadcrumb" {
+            a href="/" { "Internet" }
+            @for path in item.breadcrumb_paths() {
+                @let seg = path.segments().last().map_or("", |v| *v);
+                span class="separator" { " / " }
+                a href=(item_href(&path)) { (segment_label(seg)) }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+fn entity_panel(node: &NodeState) -> Markup {
+    html! {
+        @if let Some(data) = &node.data {
+            section id="entity-panel" class="demo-panel entity-card" {
+                h2 { (data.title) }
+                @if let Some(author) = &data.author {
+                    p class="muted small" { "by " (author) }
+                }
+                @if let Some(body) = &data.body_html {
+                    div class="entity-body" { (maud::PreEscaped(body)) }
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 fn rank_list(label: &str, items: &[RankedItem], start_rank: usize) -> Markup {
     html! {
         @if !items.is_empty() {
@@ -224,7 +267,9 @@ fn rank_list(label: &str, items: &[RankedItem], start_rank: usize) -> Markup {
                 @for (i, r) in items.iter().enumerate() {
                     li {
                         span class="rank-num" { (start_rank + i) ". " }
-                        strong { (r.item.as_str()) }
+                        a href=(item_href(&r.item)) {
+                            strong { (display_label(&r.item)) }
+                        }
                         span class="muted" {
                             " — "
                             ({ format!("{:.1}%", r.score * 100.0) })
@@ -236,23 +281,30 @@ fn rank_list(label: &str, items: &[RankedItem], start_rank: usize) -> Markup {
     }
 }
 
-pub fn ranking_panel(scope: &str, group: &GroupState) -> Markup {
+fn display_label(id: &ItemId) -> String {
+    id.segments()
+        .last()
+        .map_or("Internet", |v| *v)
+        .to_string()
+}
+
+pub fn ranking_panel(item: &ItemId, group: &GroupState) -> Markup {
     let total = group.idx_to_item.len();
     let (top, bottom) = top_bottom(group, 8);
     html! {
         section id="ranking-panel" class="demo-panel" {
             h2 {
                 "Ranking"
-                @if !scope.is_empty() {
-                    " — " span class="scope-name" { "r/" (scope) }
+                @if !item.is_root() {
+                    " — " span class="scope-name" { (item.as_str()) }
                 }
             }
             @if total == 0 {
                 p class="muted" {
-                    @if scope.is_empty() {
+                    @if item.is_root() {
                         "No votes yet — compare two items below."
                     } @else {
-                        "No votes yet for r/" (scope) " — compare two items below to start the ranking."
+                        "No votes yet for " (item.as_str()) " — compare two items below to start the ranking."
                     }
                 }
             } @else {
@@ -266,7 +318,8 @@ pub fn ranking_panel(scope: &str, group: &GroupState) -> Markup {
     }
 }
 
-pub fn vote_panel(scope: &str) -> Markup {
+pub fn vote_panel(parent: &ItemId) -> Markup {
+    let parent_str = parent.as_str();
     let rpc = template_json_compact(&serde_json::json!({
         "action": "record_vote",
         "a": {"$form": "item_a"},
@@ -280,16 +333,17 @@ pub fn vote_panel(scope: &str) -> Markup {
         section id="vote-panel" class="demo-panel" {
             h2 { "Compare" }
             p class="muted small" {
-                @if scope.is_empty() {
+                @if parent.is_root() {
                     "Left item wins at 2:1. Votes append to the JSONL log and update rank centrality."
                 } @else {
-                    "Ranking " span class="scope-name" { "r/" (scope) }
+                    "Ranking children of "
+                    span class="scope-name" { (parent_str) }
                     ". Left item wins at 2:1; each vote updates this ranking."
                 }
             }
             form method="post" action="/ui" id="vote-form" {
                 input type="hidden" name=(UI_RPC_FIELD) value=(rpc);
-                input type="hidden" name="scope" value=(scope);
+                input type="hidden" name="scope" value=(parent_str);
                 div class="vote-fields" {
                     label {
                         "Left (wins) "
@@ -329,17 +383,30 @@ pub async fn home(
     let views = state.views.get_views(&path);
     let theme = theme_from_jar(&jar);
     let theme_next = theme_next_from_uri(&uri);
-    let scope = normalize_scope(&query_param(&uri, "sub").unwrap_or_default());
 
-    let groups = state.groups.read().await;
-    let empty = GroupState::new();
-    let group = groups.get(&scope).unwrap_or(&empty);
+    let item_raw = query_param(&uri, "item")
+        .or_else(|| query_param(&uri, "sub").map(|sub| {
+            if sub.is_empty() {
+                String::new()
+            } else {
+                format!("reddit.com/r/{sub}")
+            }
+        }))
+        .unwrap_or_default();
+    let item = parse_item_param(&item_raw);
+
+    let tree = state.tree.read().await;
+    let empty_node = NodeState::default();
+    let node = tree.get(&item).unwrap_or(&empty_node);
+    let group = &node.local_ranking;
 
     let body = html! {
         h1 { "sorter2" }
+        (breadcrumb_path(&item))
         (navigate_panel("", None))
-        (vote_panel(&scope))
-        (ranking_panel(&scope, group))
+        (entity_panel(node))
+        (vote_panel(&item))
+        (ranking_panel(&item, group))
     };
     layout("sorter2", body, views, theme, &theme_next)
 }
diff --git a/server/src/journal.rs b/server/src/journal.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..b02ca025683621470ffdf8cd85cf9b85c56d024d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/src/journal.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,89 @@
+use std::sync::Arc;
+
+use tokio::sync::{mpsc, oneshot, RwLock};
+
+use crate::{
+    event_log::EventLog,
+    events::Event,
+    path_types::ItemId,
+    reducer::{GlobalTree, VoteData},
+};
+
+pub struct JournalCommand {
+    pub parent: ItemId,
+    pub vote: VoteData,
+    pub event: Event,
+    pub reply: oneshot::Sender<Result<(), String>>,
+}
+
+#[derive(Clone)]
+pub struct JournalClient {
+    tx: mpsc::Sender<JournalCommand>,
+}
+
+impl JournalClient {
+    pub fn spawn(tree: Arc<RwLock<GlobalTree>>, event_log: Arc<EventLog>) -> Self {
+        let (tx, rx) = mpsc::channel(64);
+        tokio::spawn(journal_worker(rx, tree, event_log));
+        Self { tx }
+    }
+
+    pub async fn record_vote(
+        &self,
+        parent: ItemId,
+        vote: VoteData,
+        event: Event,
+    ) -> Result<(), String> {
+        let (reply, rx) = oneshot::channel();
+        self.tx
+            .send(JournalCommand {
+                parent,
+                vote,
+                event,
+                reply,
+            })
+            .await
+            .map_err(|_| "journal worker stopped".to_string())?;
+        rx.await
+            .map_err(|_| "journal worker stopped".to_string())?
+    }
+}
+
+async fn journal_worker(
+    mut rx: mpsc::Receiver<JournalCommand>,
+    tree: Arc<RwLock<GlobalTree>>,
+    event_log: Arc<EventLog>,
+) {
+    while let Some(first) = rx.recv().await {
+        let mut batch = vec![first];
+        while let Ok(more) = rx.try_recv() {
+            batch.push(more);
+        }
+
+        let mut disk_err: Option<String> = None;
+        for cmd in &batch {
+            if let Err(e) = event_log.append(&cmd.event).await {
+                disk_err = Some(e.to_string());
+                break;
+            }
+        }
+
+        if let Some(err) = disk_err {
+            for cmd in batch {
+                let _ = cmd.reply.send(Err(err.clone()));
+            }
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        {
+            let mut w = tree.write().await;
+            for cmd in &batch {
+                w.apply_vote(&cmd.parent, cmd.vote.clone());
+            }
+        }
+
+        for cmd in batch {
+            let _ = cmd.reply.send(Ok(()));
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/server/src/lib.rs b/server/src/lib.rs
index de8bca48cbf689cad22337883e7791966e7c4919..14e7cfbc38feb5d07aff859b64bce6e2ec45cf91 100644
--- a/server/src/lib.rs
+++ b/server/src/lib.rs
@@ -7,8 +7,9 @@ pub mod parser;
 pub mod parser_render;
 pub mod path_types;
 pub mod ranking;
+pub mod reddit;
 pub mod reducer;
-pub mod settlement;
+pub mod journal;
 pub mod state;
 pub mod ui_action;
 pub mod views;
diff --git a/server/src/parser.rs b/server/src/parser.rs
index 50571a59f0d3ece1e2538f88e00ef46ec40ea545..51aa0e0f982546aab68bd5e1ca0cb726e88b3f50 100644
--- a/server/src/parser.rs
+++ b/server/src/parser.rs
@@ -1,47 +1,18 @@
-//! Extract a subreddit name from a pasted Reddit URL or path.
+//! Extract a canonical [`crate::path_types::ItemId`] from a pasted Reddit URL or path.
 
-pub fn parse_reddit_url(query: &str) -> Result<String, String> {
+use crate::path_types::ItemId;
+
+pub fn parse_reddit_url(query: &str) -> Result<ItemId, String> {
     let q = query.trim();
     if q.is_empty() {
         return Err("Paste a Reddit URL or r/subreddit path".into());
     }
 
-    if let Some(sub) = subreddit_after_prefix(q, "r/") {
-        return Ok(sub);
-    }
-
-    if let Some(sub) = subreddit_from_path_segment(q, "/r/") {
-        return Ok(sub);
+    if let Some(id) = ItemId::from_url(q) {
+        return Ok(id);
     }
 
-    Err("Could not find a subreddit in that URL".into())
-}
-
-fn subreddit_after_prefix(text: &str, prefix: &str) -> Option<String> {
-    let rest = text.strip_prefix(prefix)?;
-    let sub = rest.split(['/', '?', '#']).next()?.trim();
-    valid_subreddit(sub)
-}
-
-fn subreddit_from_path_segment(text: &str, needle: &str) -> Option<String> {
-    let idx = text.find(needle)?;
-    let rest = &text[idx + needle.len()..];
-    let sub = rest.split(['/', '?', '#']).next()?.trim();
-    valid_subreddit(sub)
-}
-
-fn valid_subreddit(name: &str) -> Option<String> {
-    if name.is_empty() {
-        return None;
-    }
-    if name
-        .chars()
-        .all(|c| c.is_ascii_alphanumeric() || c == '_')
-    {
-        Some(name.to_ascii_lowercase())
-    } else {
-        None
-    }
+    Err("Could not parse that Reddit URL".into())
 }
 
 #[cfg(test)]
@@ -50,34 +21,37 @@ mod tests {
 
     #[test]
     fn parses_short_path() {
-        assert_eq!(parse_reddit_url("r/rust").unwrap(), "rust");
-    }
-
-    #[test]
-    fn parses_path_with_trailing_slash() {
-        assert_eq!(parse_reddit_url("r/rust/").unwrap(), "rust");
+        assert_eq!(
+            parse_reddit_url("r/rust").unwrap().as_str(),
+            "reddit.com/r/rust"
+        );
     }
 
     #[test]
     fn parses_full_url() {
         assert_eq!(
-            parse_reddit_url("https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/hot").unwrap(),
-            "programming"
+            parse_reddit_url("https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/hot")
+                .unwrap()
+                .as_str(),
+            "reddit.com/r/programming"
         );
     }
 
     #[test]
-    fn parses_url_without_scheme() {
+    fn parses_post_url() {
+        let id = parse_reddit_url(
+            "https://old.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/comments/1trnvdl/aita_for_cancelling/",
+        )
+        .unwrap();
         assert_eq!(
-            parse_reddit_url("reddit.com/r/AskReddit").unwrap(),
-            "askreddit"
+            id.as_str(),
+            "reddit.com/r/amitheasshole/comments/1trnvdl"
         );
     }
 
     #[test]
     fn rejects_empty() {
         assert!(parse_reddit_url("").is_err());
-        assert!(parse_reddit_url("   ").is_err());
     }
 
     #[test]
diff --git a/server/src/parser_render.rs b/server/src/parser_render.rs
index f2341afe21476b689a536137798d97277211a962..acf2e7403f4238291677ef0c79d5766302ea78cf 100644
--- a/server/src/parser_render.rs
+++ b/server/src/parser_render.rs
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ pub fn navigate_panel(query: &str, error: Option<&str>) -> Markup {
             p class="muted small" {
                 "Paste a Reddit URL or "
                 code { "r/subreddit" }
-                " path, then click Go to rank that subreddit."
+                " path. Breadcrumb links drill down the tree; rankings apply to each node's children."
             }
             form method="post" action="/ui" id="parser-form" {
                 textarea
diff --git a/server/src/path_types.rs b/server/src/path_types.rs
index 1cdc96a25b1954f11aaf955203e2b9907b578366..b5c41444f7bcd4d8d289ed3af464bc3f14d0df99 100644
--- a/server/src/path_types.rs
+++ b/server/src/path_types.rs
@@ -1,11 +1,13 @@
 use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
 use std::fmt;
 
-/// Stable item key for votes and rankings (opaque string for now).
-#[derive(Debug, Clone, Hash, PartialEq, Eq, PartialOrd, Ord, Serialize, Deserialize)]
+/// Canonical hierarchical identity for any URL/path in the fractal tree.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Hash, PartialEq, Eq, PartialOrd, Ord, Serialize, Deserialize, Default)]
 pub struct ItemId(String);
 
 impl ItemId {
+    /// Parse an already-canonical path (no URL normalization). Empty string is invalid here;
+    /// use [`Self::root`] for the tree root.
     pub fn parse(s: &str) -> Option<Self> {
         let t = s.trim();
         if t.is_empty() {
@@ -14,13 +16,170 @@ impl ItemId {
         Some(Self(t.to_string()))
     }
 
+    /// Build an opaque item key (legacy demo votes, non-URL items).
     pub fn opaque(s: impl Into<String>) -> Self {
         Self(s.into())
     }
 
+    /// Root of the internet tree (empty path).
+    pub fn root() -> Self {
+        Self(String::new())
+    }
+
+    pub fn is_root(&self) -> bool {
+        self.0.is_empty()
+    }
+
     pub fn as_str(&self) -> &str {
         &self.0
     }
+
+    /// Creates a canonical ID from a raw URL or path. Normalizes domains and
+    /// trims tracking query params.
+    pub fn from_url(raw_url: &str) -> Option<Self> {
+        Self::canonicalize(raw_url).map(Self)
+    }
+
+    /// Map legacy scope keys (`""`, `"rust"`) to fractal parent nodes.
+    pub fn from_legacy_scope(raw: &str) -> Self {
+        let s = raw.trim();
+        if s.is_empty() {
+            return Self::root();
+        }
+        Self(format!("reddit.com/r/{s}"))
+    }
+
+    /// Extract the parent, e.g. `reddit.com/r/aww/comments/1trnvdl` →
+    /// `reddit.com/r/aww`.
+    pub fn parent(&self) -> Option<Self> {
+        if self.0.is_empty() {
+            return None;
+        }
+
+        let parts: Vec<&str> = self.0.trim_end_matches('/').split('/').collect();
+        if parts.len() <= 1 {
+            return None;
+        }
+
+        if self.0.contains("/comments/") {
+            return Some(Self(parts[..parts.len().saturating_sub(2)].join("/")));
+        }
+
+        Some(Self(parts[..parts.len() - 1].join("/")))
+    }
+
+    pub fn segments(&self) -> Vec<&str> {
+        self.0.split('/').filter(|s| !s.is_empty()).collect()
+    }
+
+    /// Cumulative paths for breadcrumb rendering, e.g.
+    /// `reddit.com/r/movies` → `["reddit.com", "reddit.com/r", "reddit.com/r/movies"]`.
+    pub fn breadcrumb_paths(&self) -> Vec<ItemId> {
+        let segs = self.segments();
+        let mut paths = Vec::with_capacity(segs.len());
+        let mut current = String::new();
+        for seg in segs {
+            if current.is_empty() {
+                current = seg.to_string();
+            } else {
+                current.push('/');
+                current.push_str(seg);
+            }
+            paths.push(ItemId(current.clone()));
+        }
+        paths
+    }
+
+    fn canonicalize(raw: &str) -> Option<String> {
+        let s = raw.trim();
+        if s.is_empty() {
+            return None;
+        }
+
+        let owned = if let Some(rest) = s.strip_prefix("r/") {
+            format!("reddit.com/r/{rest}")
+        } else if let Some(rest) = s.strip_prefix("/r/") {
+            format!("reddit.com/r/{rest}")
+        } else {
+            s.to_string()
+        };
+
+        let (host_path, _query) = split_query(&owned);
+        let host_path = host_path.trim_end_matches('/');
+
+        let path = if host_path.contains("://") {
+            parse_url_host_path(host_path)?
+        } else if host_path.starts_with("reddit.com") || host_path.starts_with("www.reddit.com") {
+            normalize_reddit_host_path(host_path)
+        } else if host_path.contains('/') {
+            host_path.to_string()
+        } else {
+            return None;
+        };
+
+        Some(normalize_reddit_path(&path))
+    }
+}
+
+fn split_query(s: &str) -> (&str, Option<&str>) {
+    if let Some((path, q)) = s.split_once('?') {
+        (path, Some(q))
+    } else {
+        (s, None)
+    }
+}
+
+fn parse_url_host_path(url: &str) -> Option<String> {
+    let rest = url
+        .strip_prefix("https://")
+        .or_else(|| url.strip_prefix("http://"))
+        .unwrap_or(url);
+    let (host, path) = rest.split_once('/').unwrap_or((rest, ""));
+    let host = normalize_host(host);
+    if path.is_empty() {
+        Some(host)
+    } else {
+        Some(format!("{host}/{path}"))
+    }
+}
+
+fn normalize_host(host: &str) -> String {
+    let h = host
+        .strip_prefix("www.")
+        .unwrap_or(host)
+        .to_ascii_lowercase();
+    if h == "old.reddit.com" || h == "new.reddit.com" || h == "reddit.com" {
+        "reddit.com".to_string()
+    } else {
+        h
+    }
+}
+
+fn normalize_reddit_host_path(s: &str) -> String {
+    let (host, path) = s.split_once('/').unwrap_or((s, ""));
+    let host = normalize_host(host);
+    if path.is_empty() {
+        host
+    } else {
+        format!("{host}/{path}")
+    }
+}
+
+/// Lowercase subreddit segment, drop listing suffixes, drop title slug after post id.
+fn normalize_reddit_path(path: &str) -> String {
+    let mut parts: Vec<String> = path.split('/').map(str::to_string).collect();
+    if parts.len() >= 3 && parts[1] == "r" {
+        parts[2] = parts[2].to_ascii_lowercase();
+    }
+    if let Some(i) = parts.iter().position(|p| p == "comments") {
+        if parts.len() > i + 2 {
+            parts.truncate(i + 2);
+        }
+    } else if parts.len() > 3 && parts.get(1).map(|s| s.as_str()) == Some("r") {
+        // reddit.com/r/{sub}/hot → reddit.com/r/{sub}
+        parts.truncate(3);
+    }
+    parts.join("/")
 }
 
 impl fmt::Display for ItemId {
@@ -28,3 +187,69 @@ impl fmt::Display for ItemId {
         f.write_str(&self.0)
     }
 }
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn from_url_normalizes_reddit_domains() {
+        let id = ItemId::from_url(
+            "https://old.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/comments/1trnvdl/aita_for_cancelling/",
+        )
+        .unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(
+            id.as_str(),
+            "reddit.com/r/amitheasshole/comments/1trnvdl"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn from_url_strips_query() {
+        let id = ItemId::from_url("https://www.reddit.com/r/rust/?sort=top").unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(id.as_str(), "reddit.com/r/rust");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn from_url_short_path() {
+        assert_eq!(
+            ItemId::from_url("r/rust").unwrap().as_str(),
+            "reddit.com/r/rust"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn parent_of_post_is_subreddit() {
+        let id = ItemId::parse("reddit.com/r/aww/comments/1trnvdl").unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(
+            id.parent().unwrap().as_str(),
+            "reddit.com/r/aww"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn parent_of_subreddit_is_r_segment() {
+        let id = ItemId::parse("reddit.com/r/movies").unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(id.parent().unwrap().as_str(), "reddit.com/r");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn breadcrumb_paths() {
+        let id = ItemId::parse("reddit.com/r/movies").unwrap();
+        let crumbs = id.breadcrumb_paths();
+        let paths: Vec<_> = crumbs.iter().map(|p| p.as_str()).collect();
+        assert_eq!(
+            paths,
+            vec!["reddit.com", "reddit.com/r", "reddit.com/r/movies"]
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn legacy_scope_maps_to_reddit_sub() {
+        assert_eq!(
+            ItemId::from_legacy_scope("rust").as_str(),
+            "reddit.com/r/rust"
+        );
+        assert!(ItemId::from_legacy_scope("").is_root());
+    }
+}
diff --git a/server/src/reddit.rs b/server/src/reddit.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d203dca09245daf869b3aa942898447700ae69fb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/src/reddit.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+//! Reddit API import (async, decoupled from UI request path).
+
+use crate::{
+    path_types::ItemId,
+    reducer::{EntityData, GlobalTree},
+};
+
+/// Bootstrap blank nodes along a URL path so breadcrumbs and voting work before fetch.
+pub fn ensure_partial_tree(tree: &mut GlobalTree, id: &ItemId) {
+    tree.ensure_path(id);
+}
+
+/// Placeholder for Reddit JSON import. Returns entity data when implemented.
+pub async fn fetch_reddit_entity(_id: &ItemId) -> Option<EntityData> {
+    None
+}
+
+/// Apply fetched entity data to a node (called from async worker).
+pub fn apply_entity(tree: &mut GlobalTree, id: &ItemId, data: EntityData) {
+    tree.set_entity_data(id, data);
+}
diff --git a/server/src/reducer.rs b/server/src/reducer.rs
index 8d28353e1f2a67e71b7d17a2041a0988150f3245..077f700bf00ddefe18ffd004bb5288bdc7c4adaf 100644
--- a/server/src/reducer.rs
+++ b/server/src/reducer.rs
@@ -115,6 +115,96 @@ impl GroupState {
     }
 }
 
+/// Structured data imported from Reddit or elsewhere.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Serialize, Deserialize)]
+pub struct EntityData {
+    pub title: String,
+    pub author: Option<String>,
+    pub body_html: Option<String>,
+    pub thumb_url: Option<String>,
+}
+
+/// One node in the fractal tree: entity + ranked children.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Default)]
+pub struct NodeState {
+    pub id: ItemId,
+    pub data: Option<EntityData>,
+    pub children: HashSet<ItemId>,
+    pub local_ranking: GroupState,
+}
+
+impl NodeState {
+    fn new(id: ItemId) -> Self {
+        Self {
+            id,
+            ..Default::default()
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+/// Global fractal graph: every URL is both an item and a ranking scope for its children.
+#[derive(Default)]
+pub struct GlobalTree {
+    pub nodes: HashMap<ItemId, NodeState>,
+}
+
+impl GlobalTree {
+    pub fn new() -> Self {
+        let mut tree = Self::default();
+        tree.ensure_node(&ItemId::root());
+        tree
+    }
+
+    pub fn ensure_node(&mut self, id: &ItemId) -> &mut NodeState {
+        if !self.nodes.contains_key(id) {
+            self.nodes.insert(id.clone(), NodeState::new(id.clone()));
+        }
+        self.nodes.get_mut(id).expect("node just inserted")
+    }
+
+    /// Register a node and wire parent→child links along the canonical path.
+    pub fn ensure_path(&mut self, id: &ItemId) {
+        if id.is_root() {
+            self.ensure_node(id);
+            return;
+        }
+        self.ensure_node(&ItemId::root());
+        for path in id.breadcrumb_paths() {
+            self.ensure_node(&path);
+            if let Some(parent) = path.parent() {
+                self.ensure_node(&parent);
+                if let Some(p) = self.nodes.get_mut(&parent) {
+                    p.children.insert(path.clone());
+                }
+            } else if let Some(r) = self.nodes.get_mut(&ItemId::root()) {
+                r.children.insert(path.clone());
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    pub fn get(&self, id: &ItemId) -> Option<&NodeState> {
+        self.nodes.get(id)
+    }
+
+    pub fn apply_vote(&mut self, parent: &ItemId, vote: VoteData) {
+        self.ensure_path(parent);
+        self.ensure_path(&vote.a);
+        self.ensure_path(&vote.b);
+        if let Some(node) = self.nodes.get_mut(parent) {
+            node.children.insert(vote.a.clone());
+            node.children.insert(vote.b.clone());
+            node.local_ranking.apply_vote(vote);
+        }
+    }
+
+    pub fn set_entity_data(&mut self, id: &ItemId, data: EntityData) {
+        self.ensure_path(id);
+        if let Some(node) = self.nodes.get_mut(id) {
+            node.data = Some(data);
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod from_recorded_tests {
     use super::*;
@@ -125,7 +215,20 @@ mod from_recorded_tests {
     }
 
     #[test]
-    fn rejects_empty() {
+    fn rejects_empty_pair() {
         assert!(VoteData::from_recorded(1, "", "b", 2, 1).is_none());
     }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn ensure_path_wires_children() {
+        let mut tree = GlobalTree::new();
+        let id = ItemId::parse("reddit.com/r/rust").unwrap();
+        tree.ensure_path(&id);
+        let root = tree.get(&ItemId::root()).unwrap();
+        assert!(root.children.contains(&ItemId::parse("reddit.com").unwrap()));
+        let reddit = tree.get(&ItemId::parse("reddit.com").unwrap()).unwrap();
+        assert!(reddit.children.contains(&ItemId::parse("reddit.com/r").unwrap()));
+        let sub = tree.get(&id).unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(sub.id, id);
+    }
 }
diff --git a/server/src/settlement.rs b/server/src/settlement.rs
deleted file mode 100644
index 7a44495512b7f788239b8aeefbbd0a83656eeac6..0000000000000000000000000000000000000000
--- a/server/src/settlement.rs
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,94 +0,0 @@
-use std::collections::HashMap;
-use std::sync::Arc;
-
-use tokio::sync::{mpsc, oneshot, RwLock};
-
-use crate::{
-    event_log::EventLog,
-    events::Event,
-    reducer::{GroupState, VoteData},
-};
-
-/// Per-scope ranking state, keyed by scope (e.g. subreddit; "" is the default scope).
-pub type GroupMap = HashMap<String, GroupState>;
-
-pub struct SettlementCommand {
-    pub scope: String,
-    pub vote: VoteData,
-    pub event: Event,
-    pub reply: oneshot::Sender<Result<(), String>>,
-}
-
-#[derive(Clone)]
-pub struct SettlementClient {
-    tx: mpsc::Sender<SettlementCommand>,
-}
-
-impl SettlementClient {
-    pub fn spawn(groups: Arc<RwLock<GroupMap>>, event_log: Arc<EventLog>) -> Self {
-        let (tx, rx) = mpsc::channel(64);
-        tokio::spawn(settlement_worker(rx, groups, event_log));
-        Self { tx }
-    }
-
-    pub async fn record_vote(
-        &self,
-        scope: String,
-        vote: VoteData,
-        event: Event,
-    ) -> Result<(), String> {
-        let (reply, rx) = oneshot::channel();
-        self.tx
-            .send(SettlementCommand {
-                scope,
-                vote,
-                event,
-                reply,
-            })
-            .await
-            .map_err(|_| "settlement worker stopped".to_string())?;
-        rx.await
-            .map_err(|_| "settlement worker stopped".to_string())?
-    }
-}
-
-async fn settlement_worker(
-    mut rx: mpsc::Receiver<SettlementCommand>,
-    groups: Arc<RwLock<GroupMap>>,
-    event_log: Arc<EventLog>,
-) {
-    while let Some(first) = rx.recv().await {
-        let mut batch = vec![first];
-        while let Ok(more) = rx.try_recv() {
-            batch.push(more);
-        }
-
-        let mut disk_err: Option<String> = None;
-        for cmd in &batch {
-            if let Err(e) = event_log.append(&cmd.event).await {
-                disk_err = Some(e.to_string());
-                break;
-            }
-        }
-
-        if let Some(err) = disk_err {
-            for cmd in batch {
-                let _ = cmd.reply.send(Err(err.clone()));
-            }
-            continue;
-        }
-
-        {
-            let mut w = groups.write().await;
-            for cmd in &batch {
-                w.entry(cmd.scope.clone())
-                    .or_default()
-                    .apply_vote(cmd.vote.clone());
-            }
-        }
-
-        for cmd in batch {
-            let _ = cmd.reply.send(Ok(()));
-        }
-    }
-}
diff --git a/server/src/state.rs b/server/src/state.rs
index 2d9e5226057f8615897aac48bce947643a230fb4..cc1722f5a5bf4d415f2327ea585c488a15a75592 100644
--- a/server/src/state.rs
+++ b/server/src/state.rs
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-use std::collections::HashMap;
 use std::sync::Arc;
 
 use tokio::sync::RwLock;
@@ -6,14 +5,22 @@ use tokio::sync::RwLock;
 use crate::{
     event_log::EventLog,
     events::Event,
-    reducer::VoteData,
-    settlement::{GroupMap, SettlementClient},
+    path_types::ItemId,
+    reducer::{GlobalTree, VoteData},
+    journal::JournalClient,
     views::ViewStore,
 };
 
-/// Normalize a raw ranking subject into a scope key: strip an optional `r/`
-/// prefix, keep only `[a-z0-9_]`, lowercase, and cap the length. Empty string
-/// is the default/global scope.
+/// Parse `?item=` query value into a canonical node id.
+pub fn parse_item_param(raw: &str) -> ItemId {
+    let s = raw.trim();
+    if s.is_empty() {
+        return ItemId::root();
+    }
+    ItemId::from_url(s).or_else(|| ItemId::parse(s)).unwrap_or_else(|| ItemId::opaque(s))
+}
+
+/// Legacy: normalize raw ranking subject into a scope key for old event replay.
 pub fn normalize_scope(raw: &str) -> String {
     let s = raw.trim();
     let s = s
@@ -27,6 +34,14 @@ pub fn normalize_scope(raw: &str) -> String {
         .collect()
 }
 
+fn parent_from_event_scope(scope: &str) -> ItemId {
+    if scope.contains('/') {
+        ItemId::parse(scope).unwrap_or_else(|| ItemId::from_legacy_scope(scope))
+    } else {
+        ItemId::from_legacy_scope(scope)
+    }
+}
+
 #[derive(Clone)]
 pub struct AppConfig {
     pub data_dir: String,
@@ -56,8 +71,8 @@ pub struct AppState {
     pub cfg: Arc<AppConfig>,
     pub event_log: Arc<EventLog>,
     pub views: ViewStore,
-    pub groups: Arc<RwLock<GroupMap>>,
-    settlement: SettlementClient,
+    pub tree: Arc<RwLock<GlobalTree>>,
+    journal: JournalClient,
 }
 
 impl AppState {
@@ -66,7 +81,7 @@ impl AppState {
         let views_path = format!("{}/views.json", cfg.data_dir);
         let views = ViewStore::new(&views_path);
 
-        let mut groups: GroupMap = HashMap::new();
+        let mut tree = GlobalTree::new();
         if let Ok((events, _)) = event_log.load_all().await {
             for ev in events {
                 match ev {
@@ -81,29 +96,45 @@ impl AppState {
                         if let Some(vote) =
                             VoteData::from_recorded(ts, &a, &b, ratio_left, ratio_right)
                         {
-                            groups.entry(scope).or_default().apply_vote(vote);
+                            let parent = parent_from_event_scope(&scope);
+                            tree.apply_vote(&parent, vote);
                         }
                     }
                     Event::ViewRecorded { .. } => {}
+                    Event::NodeEnsured { id } => {
+                        if let Some(parsed) = ItemId::parse(&id).or_else(|| ItemId::from_url(&id)) {
+                            tree.ensure_path(&parsed);
+                        }
+                    }
                 }
             }
         }
 
-        let groups = Arc::new(RwLock::new(groups));
-        let settlement = SettlementClient::spawn(groups.clone(), event_log.clone());
+        let tree = Arc::new(RwLock::new(tree));
+        let journal = JournalClient::spawn(tree.clone(), event_log.clone());
 
         Self {
             cfg: Arc::new(cfg),
             event_log,
             views,
-            groups,
-            settlement,
+            tree,
+            journal,
         }
     }
 
+    pub async fn ensure_node(&self, id: &ItemId) -> Result<(), String> {
+        let event = Event::NodeEnsured {
+            id: id.as_str().to_string(),
+        };
+        self.event_log.append(&event).await.map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
+        let mut w = self.tree.write().await;
+        w.ensure_path(id);
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
     pub async fn record_vote(
         &self,
-        scope: &str,
+        parent: &ItemId,
         a: &str,
         b: &str,
         ratio_left: i32,
@@ -113,23 +144,24 @@ impl AppState {
         let vote = VoteData::from_recorded(ts, a, b, ratio_left, ratio_right)
             .ok_or_else(|| "invalid vote: need two distinct non-empty items".to_string())?;
 
-        let scope = normalize_scope(scope);
         let event = Event::VoteRecorded {
             ts,
             a: vote.a.as_str().to_string(),
             b: vote.b.as_str().to_string(),
             ratio_left: vote.ratio_left,
             ratio_right: vote.ratio_right,
-            scope: scope.clone(),
+            scope: parent.as_str().to_string(),
         };
 
-        self.settlement.record_vote(scope, vote, event).await
+        self.journal
+            .record_vote(parent.clone(), vote, event)
+            .await
     }
 }
 
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
-    use super::normalize_scope;
+    use super::{normalize_scope, parse_item_param};
 
     #[test]
     fn normalize_scope_strips_prefix_and_lowercases() {
@@ -138,4 +170,15 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(normalize_scope("r/web_dev!!"), "web_dev");
         assert_eq!(normalize_scope(""), "");
     }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn parse_item_param_from_url() {
+        let id = parse_item_param("https://reddit.com/r/rust");
+        assert_eq!(id.as_str(), "reddit.com/r/rust");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn parse_item_param_empty_is_root() {
+        assert!(parse_item_param("").is_root());
+    }
 }
diff --git a/server/src/ui_action.rs b/server/src/ui_action.rs
index 0e030b3448b8e45acbe49d2de47ea26372445c54..d798874d1d94c0dfee59ec1ff703f9ee6ef432c0 100644
--- a/server/src/ui_action.rs
+++ b/server/src/ui_action.rs
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ pub enum HtmlUiAction {
         b: String,
         ratio_left: i32,
         ratio_right: i32,
-        /// Ranking subject (e.g. a subreddit). Empty string = default/global scope.
+        /// Parent node [`ItemId`] string; empty = tree root.
         #[serde(default)]
         scope: String,
     },
diff --git a/server/static/theme_default.css b/server/static/theme_default.css
index 6ad0ac712bbc840bedee60f613794de9385fbbd1..1bf8ac7a25207336c019f93cd4119bd0e06229f0 100644
--- a/server/static/theme_default.css
+++ b/server/static/theme_default.css
@@ -137,6 +137,38 @@ code {
   margin-top: 0.5rem;
 }
 
+.breadcrumbs {
+  font-size: 0.875rem;
+  margin-bottom: 1rem;
+  color: var(--muted);
+}
+
+.breadcrumbs a {
+  color: var(--accent);
+  text-decoration: none;
+}
+
+.breadcrumbs a:hover {
+  text-decoration: underline;
+}
+
+.breadcrumbs .separator {
+  color: var(--muted);
+}
+
+.rank-list a {
+  color: var(--accent);
+  text-decoration: none;
+}
+
+.rank-list a:hover {
+  text-decoration: underline;
+}
+
+.entity-card h2 {
+  margin-top: 0;
+}
+
 .scope-name {
   color: var(--accent);
   font-weight: 600;
diff --git a/server/tests/integration_ui.rs b/server/tests/integration_ui.rs
index afeeee24e32f2d7f1d852ca96ac799fac8bce665..f7ac9c26bf9f9277ad5f5708603224c095165fb8 100644
--- a/server/tests/integration_ui.rs
+++ b/server/tests/integration_ui.rs
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ use std::collections::HashMap;
 use std::net::SocketAddr;
 
 use axum::Router;
-use sorter2_server::{create_app, create_app_state, state::AppConfig, ui_action::UI_RPC_FIELD};
+use sorter2_server::{create_app, create_app_state, path_types::ItemId, state::AppConfig, ui_action::UI_RPC_FIELD};
 use tempfile::TempDir;
 use tokio::net::TcpListener;
 
@@ -63,9 +63,9 @@ async fn post_ui_record_vote_morphs_ranking_and_persists() {
         port: 0,
     };
     let state = create_app_state(cfg).await;
-    let groups = state.groups.read().await;
-    let group = groups.get("").expect("default scope group after replay");
-    let ranked = sorter2_server::ranking::ranked_items(group);
+    let tree = state.tree.read().await;
+    let root = tree.get(&ItemId::root()).expect("root node after replay");
+    let ranked = sorter2_server::ranking::ranked_items(&root.local_ranking);
     assert_eq!(ranked.len(), 2);
     assert_eq!(ranked[0].item.as_str(), "alpha");
 }
@@ -93,5 +93,5 @@ async fn post_ui_parse_query_redirects_to_subreddit() {
         .unwrap();
 
     assert!(body.contains("window.location.href"));
-    assert!(body.contains("/?sub=rust"));
+    assert!(body.contains("/?item=reddit.com/r/rust"));
 }


Side B — contributor: tommy-mor
Side B — commit message:
[c3cbcaa7] refactor

Side B — unified diff (full patch):
diff --git a/server/src/api/auth.rs b/server/src/api/auth.rs
index b3631b06153d52f88348fef927e7a024b7b85ad6..cd556eb89e9dd8203eba6c8969ffd144db5d329d 100644
--- a/server/src/api/auth.rs
+++ b/server/src/api/auth.rs
@@ -71,6 +71,24 @@ pub fn optional_principal(headers: &HeaderMap, jar: &CookieJar, reduced: &Reduce
     verify_token(reduced, c.value()).ok()
 }
 
+/// Browser session: principal + bearer token string (same shape as CLI session cookie).
+#[derive(Debug, Clone)]
+pub struct WebSession {
+    pub username: String,
+    pub bearer: String,
+}
+
+/// Resolve username and bearer together for `POST /ui` dispatch (one read of headers + jar).
+pub fn resolve_web_session(headers: &HeaderMap, jar: &CookieJar, reduced: &ReducerState) -> Option<WebSession> {
+    let username = optional_principal(headers, jar, reduced)?;
+    let bearer = headers
+        .get(header::AUTHORIZATION)
+        .and_then(|v| v.to_str().ok())
+        .and_then(|s| s.strip_prefix("Bearer ").map(|t| t.trim().to_string()))
+        .or_else(|| jar.get(SLUG_SESSION_COOKIE).map(|c| c.value().to_string()))?;
+    Some(WebSession { username, bearer })
+}
+
 fn redirect_with_session_cookie(public_url: &str, path_and_query: &str, bearer: &str, jar: &CookieJar) -> Response {
     let mut res = Response::builder()
         .status(StatusCode::TEMPORARY_REDIRECT)
diff --git a/server/src/api/mod.rs b/server/src/api/mod.rs
index a986f706ea4b261cbaf004c02b4cf84184b41371..4e223a7460997c464706dca850281447bd754ed5 100644
--- a/server/src/api/mod.rs
+++ b/server/src/api/mod.rs
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@ mod rpc;
 mod stream;
 mod validate;
 mod ui_html;
-mod web_post;
 
 pub use auth::{
     get_join_invite,
@@ -19,7 +18,9 @@ pub use auth::{
     get_web_login,
     get_logout,
     optional_principal,
+    resolve_web_session,
     session_cookie_header_value,
+    WebSession,
     SLUG_SESSION_COOKIE,
 };
 
@@ -35,7 +36,6 @@ pub use stream::{get_html_stream, get_stream};
 pub use validate::{normalize_room_and_thread, validate_ingest_document, ValidatedIngest};
 
 pub use ui_html::post_ui_html;
-pub use web_post::{check_web_ingest, post_web_ingest, post_web_redact};
 
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
diff --git a/server/src/api/ui_html.rs b/server/src/api/ui_html.rs
index 2b40a72059981d558768f73d189b991f3448c257..497f8fdd222a8ec7c3d76b0695e0352e973ca3ba 100644
--- a/server/src/api/ui_html.rs
+++ b/server/src/api/ui_html.rs
@@ -1,25 +1,29 @@
-//! Single `POST /ui` entry for browser [`crate::html::ui_action::HtmlUiAction`] (JSON in `__rpc__` + holes).
+//! Single `POST /ui` entry: parse `__rpc__` → [`HtmlUiAction`], resolve [`WebSession`] once, dispatch.
 
 use axum::{
-    body::Body,
+    body,
     extract::State,
-    http::{header, HeaderMap, StatusCode},
+    http::{header, HeaderMap, HeaderValue, StatusCode},
     response::{IntoResponse, Response},
     Form,
 };
 use axum_extra::extract::cookie::CookieJar;
+use slug_types::{RpcBatch, RpcBatchResponse, RpcCommand, RpcResult};
 use std::collections::HashMap;
 
 use crate::{
     api::{
-        auth::optional_principal,
-        web_post::{run_check_web_ingest, run_post_web_ingest, run_post_web_redact, WebPostForm, WebRedactForm},
+        auth::{resolve_web_session, WebSession},
+        handle_rpc_batch,
+        rpc::{rpc_post_redact, rpc_post_with_bearer},
     },
+    canonical_path::canonicalize_tag,
     html::{
         fragment_public_new_thread_form, fragment_room_new_thread_form, login_to_post_hint_markup,
-        parse_html_ui_from_form, user_can_post_room, user_can_view_room, HtmlUiAction, JsBuilder,
-        ThreadNav,
+        parse_html_ui_from_form, thread_feed_html, thread_feed_html_for_room, thread_feed_region_markup,
+        user_can_post_room, user_can_view_room, HtmlUiAction, JsBuilder, ThreadNav,
     },
+    reducer::{scope_from_room_wire, ScopeId},
     state::AppState,
 };
 
@@ -34,6 +38,19 @@ pub async fn post_ui_html(
         Err(e) => return ui_js_warn(&e.to_string()).into_response(),
     };
 
+    let reduced = state.reduced.read().await;
+    let session = resolve_web_session(&headers, &jar, &reduced);
+    drop(reduced);
+
+    dispatch_ui_action(&state, session.as_ref(), action).await
+}
+
+/// All UI command logic: HTTP extractors stop above; this only sees [`AppState`], session, and [`HtmlUiAction`].
+async fn dispatch_ui_action(
+    state: &AppState,
+    session: Option<&WebSession>,
+    action: HtmlUiAction,
+) -> Response {
     match action {
         HtmlUiAction::PostIngest {
             room,
@@ -42,47 +59,87 @@ pub async fn post_ui_html(
             error_target,
             form_id,
         } => {
-            run_post_web_ingest(
-                &state,
-                &headers,
-                &jar,
-                WebPostForm {
-                    room,
-                    thread_tag,
-                    text,
-                    error_target,
-                    form_id,
-                },
-            )
-            .await
+            let Some(session) = session else {
+                return js_redirect("/login").into_response();
+            };
+            let room = room.trim().to_string();
+            let thread_tag = thread_tag.trim().to_string();
+            if text.trim().is_empty() {
+                return form_js_error(
+                    error_target.as_ref(),
+                    "empty post",
+                    "Write something in the text area (DSL / prose).",
+                )
+                .into_response();
+            }
+            match rpc_post_with_bearer(state, &session.bearer, room.clone(), thread_tag.clone(), text).await {
+                Ok(RpcResult::PostOk { .. }) => {
+                    post_success_response(
+                        state,
+                        &room,
+                        &thread_tag,
+                        error_target.as_ref(),
+                        form_id.as_ref(),
+                        Some(session.username.as_str()),
+                    )
+                    .await
+                    .into_response()
+                }
+                Ok(_) => form_js_error(
+                    error_target.as_ref(),
+                    "unexpected response",
+                    "Post did not return PostOk.",
+                )
+                .into_response(),
+                Err((msg, hint)) => form_js_error(error_target.as_ref(), &msg, hint.as_deref().unwrap_or("")).into_response(),
+            }
         }
         HtmlUiAction::CheckIngest {
             room,
             thread_tag,
             text,
             error_target,
-            form_id,
+            form_id: _,
         } => {
-            run_check_web_ingest(
-                &state,
-                &headers,
-                &jar,
-                WebPostForm {
-                    room,
-                    thread_tag,
-                    text,
-                    error_target,
-                    form_id,
-                },
-            )
-            .await
+            let Some(session) = session else {
+                return js_redirect("/login").into_response();
+            };
+            let room = room.trim().to_string();
+            let thread_tag = canonicalize_tag(&thread_tag);
+            if thread_tag.is_empty() {
+                return form_js_error(
+                    error_target.as_ref(),
+                    "missing thread tag",
+                    "Set a thread tag before posting.",
+                )
+                .into_response();
+            }
+            if text.trim().is_empty() {
+                return js_clear_errors(&form_error_target(error_target.as_ref())).into_response();
+            }
+            match rpc_check_with_bearer(state, &session.bearer, room, text.clone()).await {
+                Ok(RpcResult::CheckOk { .. }) => js_clear_errors(&form_error_target(error_target.as_ref())).into_response(),
+                Ok(_) => form_js_error(error_target.as_ref(), "unexpected response", "Check did not return CheckOk.").into_response(),
+                Err((msg, hint)) => form_js_error(error_target.as_ref(), &msg, hint.as_deref().unwrap_or("")).into_response(),
+            }
         }
         HtmlUiAction::RedactPost { post_id } => {
-            run_post_web_redact(&state, &headers, &jar, WebRedactForm { post_id }).await
+            let Some(session) = session else {
+                return js_redirect("/login").into_response();
+            };
+            let h = headers_from_bearer(&session.bearer);
+            match rpc_post_redact(state, &h, post_id).await {
+                Ok(RpcResult::RedactPostOk {}) => redact_success_response(state).await.into_response(),
+                Ok(_) => (StatusCode::BAD_REQUEST, "unexpected response").into_response(),
+                Err((msg, hint)) => {
+                    let detail = hint.as_deref().unwrap_or("");
+                    js_error("#errors", &msg, detail).into_response()
+                }
+            }
         }
         HtmlUiAction::ExpandPublicNewThreadForm => {
             let reduced = state.reduced.read().await;
-            let user = optional_principal(&headers, &jar, &reduced);
+            let user = session.map(|s| s.username.as_str());
             drop(reduced);
             let markup = if user.is_some() {
                 fragment_public_new_thread_form(true)
@@ -99,18 +156,18 @@ pub async fn post_ui_html(
                 return ui_js_warn("missing room").into_response();
             }
             let reduced = state.reduced.read().await;
-            let user = optional_principal(&headers, &jar, &reduced);
+            let user = session.map(|s| s.username.as_str());
             if !reduced.rooms.contains(&room_wire) {
                 drop(reduced);
                 return ui_js_warn("room not found").into_response();
             }
-            if !user_can_view_room(&reduced, &room_wire, user.as_deref()) {
+            if !user_can_view_room(&reduced, &room_wire, user) {
                 drop(reduced);
                 return ui_js_warn("forbidden").into_response();
             }
-            let can_post = user
+            let can_post = session
                 .as_ref()
-                .map(|u| user_can_post_room(&reduced, &room_wire, u))
+                .map(|s| user_can_post_room(&reduced, &room_wire, &s.username))
                 .unwrap_or(false);
             drop(reduced);
             let Some(nav) = ThreadNav::from_room_id(&room_wire) else {
@@ -128,12 +185,195 @@ pub async fn post_ui_html(
     }
 }
 
+fn headers_from_bearer(bearer: &str) -> HeaderMap {
+    let mut headers = HeaderMap::new();
+    if let Ok(hv) = HeaderValue::from_str(&format!("Bearer {bearer}")) {
+        headers.insert(header::AUTHORIZATION, hv);
+    }
+    headers
+}
+
+fn post_redirect_location(room: &str, thread_tag: &str) -> String {
+    let tag = canonicalize_tag(thread_tag);
+    if room.trim() == "public" {
+        format!("/t/{tag}")
+    } else {
+        let room = room.trim();
+        let Some((a, b)) = room.split_once('/') else {
+            return "/".to_string();
+        };
+        format!("/r/{a}/{b}/t/{tag}")
+    }
+}
+
+fn js_quote(s: &str) -> String {
+    serde_json::to_string(s).expect("js string escaping must succeed")
+}
+
+fn js_redirect(to: &str) -> Response {
+    let js = format!("window.location = {};", js_quote(to));
+    Response::builder()
+        .status(StatusCode::OK)
+        .header(header::CONTENT_TYPE, "text/javascript; charset=utf-8")
+        .body(axum::body::Body::from(js))
+        .unwrap()
+}
+
+fn js_error(error_target: &str, title: &str, detail: &str) -> Response {
+    let markup = maud::html! {
+        div id=(error_target.trim_start_matches('#')) {
+            p class="auth-error" { (title) }
+            @if !detail.is_empty() {
+                pre class="muted" { (detail) }
+            }
+        }
+    };
+    JsBuilder::new()
+        .morph_selector(error_target, markup)
+        .into_response()
+}
+
+fn form_error_target(error_target: Option<&String>) -> String {
+    error_target
+        .map(|s| s.as_str())
+        .filter(|s| !s.trim().is_empty())
+        .map(|s| {
+            if s.starts_with('#') {
+                s.to_string()
+            } else {
+                format!("#{s}")
+            }
+        })
+        .unwrap_or_else(|| "#errors".to_string())
+}
+
+fn form_js_error(error_target: Option<&String>, title: &str, detail: &str) -> Response {
+    js_error(&form_error_target(error_target), title, detail)
+}
+
+fn js_clear_errors(error_target: &str) -> Response {
+    let markup = maud::html! {
+        div id=(error_target.trim_start_matches('#')) {}
+    };
+    JsBuilder::new()
+        .morph_selector(error_target, markup)
+        .into_response()
+}
+
+fn empty_error_markup(error_target: &str) -> maud::Markup {
+    maud::html! {
+        div id=(error_target.trim_start_matches('#')) {}
+    }
+}
+
+async fn rpc_check_with_bearer(
+    state: &AppState,
+    bearer_token: &str,
+    room: String,
+    text: String,
+) -> Result<RpcResult, (String, Option<String>)> {
+    let mut headers = HeaderMap::new();
+    let hv = HeaderValue::from_str(&format!("Bearer {bearer_token}"))
+        .map_err(|_| ("invalid session token".into(), None))?;
+    headers.insert(header::AUTHORIZATION, hv);
+
+    let response = handle_rpc_batch(
+        State(state.clone()),
+        headers,
+        axum::Json(RpcBatch(vec![RpcCommand::Check { room, text }])),
+    )
+    .await
+    .into_response();
+
+    let status = response.status();
+    if !status.is_success() {
+        return Err((format!("rpc check http {}", status), None));
+    }
+
+    let body = body::to_bytes(response.into_body(), usize::MAX)
+        .await
+        .map_err(|e| (e.to_string(), None))?;
+    let parsed: RpcBatchResponse =
+        serde_json::from_slice(&body).map_err(|e| (e.to_string(), None))?;
+    let line = parsed
+        .results
+        .into_iter()
+        .next()
+        .ok_or_else(|| ("empty rpc check response".to_string(), None))?;
+    if line.ok {
+        line.result
+            .ok_or_else(|| ("missing rpc check result".to_string(), None))
+    } else {
+        Err((
+            line.error.unwrap_or_else(|| "check failed".to_string()),
+            line.hint,
+        ))
+    }
+}
+
+async fn post_success_response(
+    state: &AppState,
+    room: &str,
+    thread_tag: &str,
+    error_target: Option<&String>,
+    form_id: Option<&String>,
+    viewer: Option<&str>,
+) -> Response {
+    let error_target = form_error_target(error_target);
+    let room = room.trim().to_string();
+    let thread_tag = canonicalize_tag(thread_tag);
+    let thread_location = post_redirect_location(&room, &thread_tag);
+    let form_id = form_id.map(|s| s.as_str()).unwrap_or("");
+    let scope = scope_from_room_wire(&room);
+    let feed_markup = match &scope {
+        ScopeId::Public => thread_feed_html(state).await,
+        ScopeId::Room(_) => thread_feed_html_for_room(state, &room).await,
+    };
+    let thread_markup = thread_feed_region_markup(
+        state,
+        match &scope {
+            ScopeId::Public => None,
+            ScopeId::Room(_) => Some(room.as_str()),
+        },
+        &thread_tag,
+        viewer.as_deref(),
+    )
+    .await;
+    let feed_selector = match &scope {
+        ScopeId::Public => "#thread-feed",
+        ScopeId::Room(_) => "#room-thread-feed",
+    };
+
+    let builder = JsBuilder::new()
+        .morph_selector(&error_target, empty_error_markup(&error_target))
+        .morph_selector(feed_selector, feed_markup)
+        .if_current_path_matches(&thread_location, |builder| {
+            let builder = builder.morph_selector("#thread-feed-region", thread_markup);
+            let builder = if !form_id.trim().is_empty() {
+                builder.qs(&format!("#{form_id}")).reset()
+            } else {
+                builder
+            };
+            builder
+        })
+        .if_current_path_not_matches(&thread_location, |builder| builder.redirect(&thread_location));
+
+    builder.into_response()
+}
+
+async fn redact_success_response(state: &AppState) -> Response {
+    let feed_markup = thread_feed_html(state).await;
+    JsBuilder::new()
+        .morph_selector("#thread-feed", feed_markup)
+        .into_response()
+}
+
 fn ui_js_warn(msg: &str) -> Response {
     use crate::html::js_string_literal;
     let js = format!("console.warn({});", js_string_literal(msg));
     Response::builder()
         .status(StatusCode::OK)
         .header(header::CONTENT_TYPE, "text/javascript; charset=utf-8")
-        .body(Body::from(js))
+        .body(axum::body::Body::from(js))
         .unwrap()
 }
diff --git a/server/src/api/web_post.rs b/server/src/api/web_post.rs
deleted file mode 100644
index 265025f41ff1548d05b2d2d5d84202245388053f..0000000000000000000000000000000000000000
--- a/server/src/api/web_post.rs
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,362 +0,0 @@
-use axum::{
-    body,
-    extract::State,
-    http::{header, HeaderMap, HeaderValue, StatusCode},
-    response::{IntoResponse, Response},
-    Form,
-};
-use axum_extra::extract::cookie::CookieJar;
-use serde::Deserialize;
-use slug_types::{RpcBatch, RpcBatchResponse, RpcCommand, RpcResult};
-
-use crate::{
-    api::{
-        auth::{optional_principal, SLUG_SESSION_COOKIE},
-        handle_rpc_batch,
-        rpc::{rpc_post_redact, rpc_post_with_bearer},
-    },
-    canonical_path::canonicalize_tag,
-    html::{thread_feed_html, thread_feed_html_for_room, thread_feed_region_markup, JsBuilder},
-    reducer::{scope_from_room_wire, ScopeId},
-    state::AppState,
-};
-
-#[derive(Debug, Deserialize)]
-pub struct WebPostForm {
-    pub room: String,
-    pub thread_tag: String,
-    pub text: String,
-    #[serde(default)]
-    pub error_target: Option<String>,
-    #[serde(default)]
-    pub form_id: Option<String>,
-}
-
-#[derive(Debug, Deserialize)]
-pub struct WebRedactForm {
-    pub post_id: String,
-}
-
-fn post_redirect_location(room: &str, thread_tag: &str) -> String {
-    let tag = canonicalize_tag(thread_tag);
-    if room.trim() == "public" {
-        format!("/t/{tag}")
-    } else {
-        let room = room.trim();
-        let Some((a, b)) = room.split_once('/') else {
-            return "/".to_string();
-        };
-        format!("/r/{a}/{b}/t/{tag}")
-    }
-}
-
-fn js_quote(s: &str) -> String {
-    serde_json::to_string(s).expect("js string escaping must succeed")
-}
-
-fn js_redirect(to: &str) -> Response {
-    let js = format!("window.location = {};", js_quote(to));
-    Response::builder()
-        .status(StatusCode::OK)
-        .header(header::CONTENT_TYPE, "text/javascript; charset=utf-8")
-        .body(axum::body::Body::from(js))
-        .unwrap()
-}
-
-fn js_error(error_target: &str, title: &str, detail: &str) -> Response {
-    let markup = maud::html! {
-        div id=(error_target.trim_start_matches('#')) {
-            p class="auth-error" { (title) }
-            @if !detail.is_empty() {
-                pre class="muted" { (detail) }
-            }
-        }
-    };
-    JsBuilder::new()
-        .morph_selector(error_target, markup)
-        .into_response()
-}
-
-fn form_error_target(form: &WebPostForm) -> String {
-    form.error_target
-        .as_deref()
-        .filter(|s| !s.trim().is_empty())
-        .map(|s| {
-            if s.starts_with('#') {
-                s.to_string()
-            } else {
-                format!("#{s}")
-            }
-        })
-        .unwrap_or_else(|| "#errors".to_string())
-}
-
-fn form_js_error(form: &WebPostForm, title: &str, detail: &str) -> Response {
-    js_error(&form_error_target(form), title, detail)
-}
-
-fn js_clear_errors(error_target: &str) -> Response {
-    let markup = maud::html! {
-        div id=(error_target.trim_start_matches('#')) {}
-    };
-    JsBuilder::new()
-        .morph_selector(error_target, markup)
-        .into_response()
-}
-
-fn empty_error_markup(error_target: &str) -> maud::Markup {
-    maud::html! {
-        div id=(error_target.trim_start_matches('#')) {}
-    }
-}
-
-async fn rpc_check_with_bearer(
-    state: &AppState,
-    bearer_token: &str,
-    room: String,
-    text: String,
-) -> Result<RpcResult, (String, Option<String>)> {
-    let mut headers = HeaderMap::new();
-    let hv = HeaderValue::from_str(&format!("Bearer {bearer_token}"))
-        .map_err(|_| ("invalid session token".into(), None))?;
-    headers.insert(header::AUTHORIZATION, hv);
-
-    let response = handle_rpc_batch(
-        State(state.clone()),
-        headers,
-        axum::Json(RpcBatch(vec![RpcCommand::Check { room, text }])),
-    )
-    .await
-    .into_response();
-
-    let status = response.status();
-    if !status.is_success() {
-        return Err((format!("rpc check http {}", status), None));
-    }
-
-    let body = body::to_bytes(response.into_body(), usize::MAX)
-        .await
-        .map_err(|e| (e.to_string(), None))?;
-    let parsed: RpcBatchResponse =
-        serde_json::from_slice(&body).map_err(|e| (e.to_string(), None))?;
-    let line = parsed
-        .results
-        .into_iter()
-        .next()
-        .ok_or_else(|| ("empty rpc check response".to_string(), None))?;
-    if line.ok {
-        line.result
-            .ok_or_else(|| ("missing rpc check result".to_string(), None))
-    } else {
-        Err((
-            line.error.unwrap_or_else(|| "check failed".to_string()),
-            line.hint,
-        ))
-    }
-}
-
-fn post_success_response<'a>(
-    state: &'a AppState,
-    form: &'a WebPostForm,
-    headers: &'a HeaderMap,
-    jar: &'a CookieJar,
-) -> impl std::future::Future<Output = Response> + 'a {
-    async move {
-        let error_target = form_error_target(form);
-        let room = form.room.trim().to_string();
-        let thread_tag = canonicalize_tag(&form.thread_tag);
-        let thread_location = post_redirect_location(&room, &thread_tag);
-        let form_id = form.form_id.as_deref().unwrap_or_default();
-        let scope = scope_from_room_wire(&room);
-        let viewer = {
-            let reduced = state.reduced.read().await;
-            optional_principal(headers, jar, &reduced)
-        };
-        let feed_markup = match &scope {
-            ScopeId::Public => thread_feed_html(state).await,
-            ScopeId::Room(_) => thread_feed_html_for_room(state, &room).await,
-        };
-        let thread_markup = thread_feed_region_markup(
-            state,
-            match &scope {
-                ScopeId::Public => None,
-                ScopeId::Room(_) => Some(room.as_str()),
-            },
-            &thread_tag,
-            viewer.as_deref(),
-        )
-        .await;
-        let feed_selector = match &scope {
-            ScopeId::Public => "#thread-feed",
-            ScopeId::Room(_) => "#room-thread-feed",
-        };
-
-        let builder = JsBuilder::new()
-            .morph_selector(&error_target, empty_error_markup(&error_target))
-            .morph_selector(feed_selector, feed_markup)
-            .if_current_path_matches(&thread_location, |builder| {
-                let builder = builder.morph_selector("#thread-feed-region", thread_markup);
-                let builder = if !form_id.trim().is_empty() {
-                    builder.qs(&format!("#{form_id}")).reset()
-                } else {
-                    builder
-                };
-                builder
-            })
-            .if_current_path_not_matches(&thread_location, |builder| builder.redirect(&thread_location));
-
-        builder.into_response()
-    }
-}
-
-async fn redact_success_response(state: &AppState) -> Response {
-    let feed_markup = thread_feed_html(state).await;
-    JsBuilder::new()
-        .morph_selector("#thread-feed", feed_markup)
-        .into_response()
-}
-
-pub async fn post_web_redact(
-    State(state): State<AppState>,
-    headers: HeaderMap,
-    jar: CookieJar,
-    Form(form): Form<WebRedactForm>,
-) -> impl IntoResponse {
-    run_post_web_redact(&state, &headers, &jar, form).await
-}
-
-/// Shared with [`crate::api::ui_html::post_ui_html`].
-pub(crate) async fn run_post_web_redact(
-    state: &AppState,
-    headers: &HeaderMap,
-    jar: &CookieJar,
-    form: WebRedactForm,
-) -> Response {
-    let reduced = state.reduced.read().await;
-    let Some(_username) = optional_principal(headers, jar, &reduced) else {
-        drop(reduced);
-        return js_redirect("/login").into_response();
-    };
-    drop(reduced);
-
-    let bearer = headers
-        .get(axum::http::header::AUTHORIZATION)
-        .and_then(|v| v.to_str().ok())
-        .and_then(|s| s.strip_prefix("Bearer ").map(|t| t.trim().to_string()))
-        .or_else(|| jar.get(SLUG_SESSION_COOKIE).map(|c| c.value().to_string()));
-
-    let Some(_bearer) = bearer else {
-        return js_redirect("/login").into_response();
-    };
-
-    match rpc_post_redact(state, headers, form.post_id).await {
-        Ok(RpcResult::RedactPostOk {}) => redact_success_response(state).await.into_response(),
-        Ok(_) => (StatusCode::BAD_REQUEST, "unexpected response").into_response(),
-        Err((msg, hint)) => {
-            let detail = hint.as_deref().unwrap_or("");
-            js_error("#errors", &msg, detail).into_response()
-        }
-    }
-}
-
-pub async fn post_web_ingest(
-    State(state): State<AppState>,
-    headers: HeaderMap,
-    jar: CookieJar,
-    Form(form): Form<WebPostForm>,
-) -> impl IntoResponse {
-    run_post_web_ingest(&state, &headers, &jar, form).await
-}
-
-/// Shared with [`crate::api::ui_html::post_ui_html`] (`POST /ui`).
-pub(crate) async fn run_post_web_ingest(
-    state: &AppState,
-    headers: &HeaderMap,
-    jar: &CookieJar,
-    form: WebPostForm,
-) -> Response {
-    let reduced = state.reduced.read().await;
-    let Some(_username) = optional_principal(headers, jar, &reduced) else {
-        drop(reduced);
-        return js_redirect("/login").into_response();
-    };
-
-    let bearer = headers
-        .get(axum::http::header::AUTHORIZATION)
-        .and_then(|v| v.to_str().ok())
-        .and_then(|s| s.strip_prefix("Bearer ").map(|t| t.trim().to_string()))
-        .or_else(|| jar.get(SLUG_SESSION_COOKIE).map(|c| c.value().to_string()));
-
-    drop(reduced);
-
-    let Some(bearer) = bearer else {
-        return js_redirect("/login").into_response();
-    };
-
-    let room = form.room.trim().to_string();
-    let thread_tag = form.thread_tag.trim().to_string();
-    let text = form.text.clone();
-
-    if text.trim().is_empty() {
-        return form_js_error(&form, "empty post", "Write something in the text area (DSL / prose).")
-            .into_response();
-    }
-
-    match rpc_post_with_bearer(state, &bearer, room.clone(), thread_tag.clone(), text).await {
-        Ok(RpcResult::PostOk { .. }) => post_success_response(state, &form, headers, jar)
-            .await
-            .into_response(),
-        Ok(_) => form_js_error(&form, "unexpected response", "Post did not return PostOk.").into_response(),
-        Err((msg, hint)) => form_js_error(&form, &msg, hint.as_deref().unwrap_or("")).into_response(),
-    }
-}
-
-pub async fn check_web_ingest(
-    State(state): State<AppState>,
-    headers: HeaderMap,
-    jar: CookieJar,
-    Form(form): Form<WebPostForm>,
-) -> impl IntoResponse {
-    run_check_web_ingest(&state, &headers, &jar, form).await
-}
-
-/// Shared with [`crate::api::ui_html::post_ui_html`] (`POST /ui`).
-pub(crate) async fn run_check_web_ingest(
-    state: &AppState,
-    headers: &HeaderMap,
-    jar: &CookieJar,
-    form: WebPostForm,
-) -> Response {
-    let reduced = state.reduced.read().await;
-    let Some(_username) = optional_principal(headers, jar, &reduced) else {
-        drop(reduced);
-        return js_redirect("/login").into_response();
-    };
-
-    let bearer = headers
-        .get(axum::http::header::AUTHORIZATION)
-        .and_then(|v| v.to_str().ok())
-        .and_then(|s| s.strip_prefix("Bearer ").map(|t| t.trim().to_string()))
-        .or_else(|| jar.get(SLUG_SESSION_COOKIE).map(|c| c.value().to_string()));
-    drop(reduced);
-
-    let Some(bearer) = bearer else {
-        return js_redirect("/login").into_response();
-    };
-
-    let room = form.room.trim().to_string();
-    let thread_tag = canonicalize_tag(&form.thread_tag);
-    if thread_tag.is_empty() {
-        return form_js_error(&form, "missing thread tag", "Set a thread tag before posting.").into_response();
-    }
-
-    if form.text.trim().is_empty() {
-        return js_clear_errors(&form_error_target(&form)).into_response();
-    }
-
-    match rpc_check_with_bearer(state, &bearer, room, form.text.clone()).await {
-        Ok(RpcResult::CheckOk { .. }) => js_clear_errors(&form_error_target(&form)).into_response(),
-        Ok(_) => form_js_error(&form, "unexpected response", "Check did not return CheckOk.").into_response(),
-        Err((msg, hint)) => form_js_error(&form, &msg, hint.as_deref().unwrap_or("")).into_response(),
-    }
-}
diff --git a/server/src/html/forum.rs b/server/src/html/forum.rs
index b1c037f3dd93c7bb96d6624cab6019228432c501..a173e7aea7a81c7cfab5f2f6a5549e0db560fb2b 100644
--- a/server/src/html/forum.rs
+++ b/server/src/html/forum.rs
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ use crate::{
     state::AppState,
     timeago,
 };
+use serde_json::json;
 
 use super::ui_action::{HtmlUiAction, UI_RPC_FIELD};
 
@@ -182,8 +183,8 @@ fn post_header_row(
         div class="ingest-header-row" {
             (meta)
             @if show_delete {
-                form class="post-delete-form" method="POST" action="/post/redact" {
-                    input type="hidden" name="post_id" value=(ing.id);
+                form class="post-delete-form" method="POST" action="/ui" {
+                    input type="hidden" name=(UI_RPC_FIELD) value=(template_json_compact(&HtmlUiAction::RedactPost { post_id: ing.id.clone() }).unwrap());
                     button type="submit" class="post-delete-btn" { "delete" }
                 }
             }
@@ -427,13 +428,28 @@ fn compose_form(nav: &ThreadNav, thread_tag: &str, show: bool) -> Markup {
     if !show {
         return html! {};
     }
+    let rpc_post = template_json_compact(&json!({
+        "action": "post_ingest",
+        "room": nav.room_wire,
+        "thread_tag": thread_tag,
+        "text": {"$form": "text"},
+        "error_target": "thread-compose-errors",
+        "form_id": "thread-compose-form",
+    }))
+    .unwrap();
+    let rpc_check = template_json_compact(&json!({
+        "action": "check_ingest",
+        "room": nav.room_wire,
+        "thread_tag": thread_tag,
+        "text": {"$form": "text"},
+        "error_target": "thread-compose-errors",
+        "form_id": "thread-compose-form",
+    }))
+    .unwrap();
     html! {
         section class="compose" id="thread-compose" {
-            form id="thread-compose-form" method="POST" action="/post" data-check-action="/post/check" {
-                input type="hidden" name="room" value=(nav.room_wire.clone());
-                input type="hidden" name="thread_tag" value=(thread_tag);
-                input type="hidden" name="error_target" value="thread-compose-errors";
-                input type="hidden" name="form_id" value="thread-compose-form";
+            form id="thread-compose-form" method="POST" action="/ui" data-check-action="/ui" data-check-rpc=(rpc_check) {
+                input type="hidden" name=(UI_RPC_FIELD) value=(rpc_post);
                 textarea name="text" rows="5" cols="80" placeholder="prose or ~/items and votes…" {}
                 p {
                     button type="submit" { "post" }
@@ -463,10 +479,22 @@ fn new_thread_form_public(show: bool) -> Markup {
             h3 { "new public thread" }
             p class="muted" { "Set thread tag and body. Example: start with a title line or use the CLI-shaped DSL." }
             div id="public-new-thread-errors" {}
-            form id="public-new-thread-form" method="POST" action="/post" data-check-action="/post/check" {
-                input type="hidden" name="room" value="public";
-                input type="hidden" name="error_target" value="public-new-thread-errors";
-                input type="hidden" name="form_id" value="public-new-thread-form";
+            form id="public-new-thread-form" method="POST" action="/ui" data-check-action="/ui" data-check-rpc=(template_json_compact(&json!({
+                "action": "check_ingest",
+                "room": "public",
+                "thread_tag": {"$form": "thread_tag"},
+                "text": {"$form": "text"},
+                "error_target": "public-new-thread-errors",
+                "form_id": "public-new-thread-form",
+            })).unwrap()) {
+                input type="hidden" name=(UI_RPC_FIELD) value=(template_json_compact(&json!({
+                    "action": "post_ingest",
+                    "room": "public",
+                    "thread_tag": {"$form": "thread_tag"},
+                    "text": {"$form": "text"},
+                    "error_target": "public-new-thread-errors",
+                    "form_id": "public-new-thread-form",
+                })).unwrap());
                 label for="new-thread-tag" { "thread tag" }
                 input type="text" id="new-thread-tag" name="thread_tag" pattern="[a-z0-9_\\-]{1,64}" placeholder="my-topic";
                 label for="new-thread-text" { "text" }
@@ -946,10 +974,22 @@ fn new_thread_form_for_room(nav: &ThreadNav, show: bool) -> Markup {
         section class="compose" id="room-new-thread-compose" hidden {
             h3 { "new thread in this room" }
             div id="room-new-thread-errors" {}
-            form id="room-new-thread-form" method="POST" action="/post" data-check-action="/post/check" {
-                input type="hidden" name="room" value=(nav.room_wire.clone());
-                input type="hidden" name="error_target" value="room-new-thread-errors";
-                input type="hidden" name="form_id" value="room-new-thread-form";
+            form id="room-new-thread-form" method="POST" action="/ui" data-check-action="/ui" data-check-rpc=(template_json_compact(&json!({
+                "action": "check_ingest",
+                "room": nav.room_wire,
+                "thread_tag": {"$form": "thread_tag"},
+                "text": {"$form": "text"},
+                "error_target": "room-new-thread-errors",
+                "form_id": "room-new-thread-form",
+            })).unwrap()) {
+                input type="hidden" name=(UI_RPC_FIELD) value=(template_json_compact(&json!({
+                    "action": "post_ingest",
+                    "room": nav.room_wire,
+                    "thread_tag": {"$form": "thread_tag"},
+                    "text": {"$form": "text"},
+                    "error_target": "room-new-thread-errors",
+                    "form_id": "room-new-thread-form",
+                })).unwrap());
                 label for="room-new-tag" { "thread tag" }
                 input type="text" id="room-new-tag" name="thread_tag" pattern="[a-z0-9_\\-]{1,64}" required;
                 textarea name="text" rows="4" placeholder="First post body…" required {}
diff --git a/server/src/html/mod.rs b/server/src/html/mod.rs
index a4fd2dd60ac283f7eb9b2e64522501b21d1e27e9..63f723804be511af80b5c13e792109754b606fce 100644
--- a/server/src/html/mod.rs
+++ b/server/src/html/mod.rs
@@ -373,9 +373,14 @@ script { (maud::PreEscaped(r#"
                         async function runFormCheck(form) {
                             const action = form.getAttribute('data-check-action');
                             if (!action) return;
+                            const fd = new URLSearchParams(new FormData(form));
+                            const checkRpc = form.getAttribute('data-check-rpc');
+                            if (checkRpc) {
+                                fd.set('__rpc__', checkRpc);
+                            }
                             const resp = await fetch(action, {
                                 method: 'POST',
-                                body: new URLSearchParams(new FormData(form)),
+                                body: fd,
                                 headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded' },
                                 credentials: 'same-origin',
                             });
diff --git a/server/src/html/ui_action.rs b/server/src/html/ui_action.rs
index 3bc69ecbb7e16a59d2d393b2d59f9cd3fedb12b1..73180737db8ba8d16fb7b42b790e44d2d7b796f5 100644
--- a/server/src/html/ui_action.rs
+++ b/server/src/html/ui_action.rs
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ pub const UI_RPC_FIELD: &str = "__rpc__";
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, Serialize, Deserialize, PartialEq, Eq)]
 #[serde(tag = "action", rename_all = "snake_case")]
 pub enum HtmlUiAction {
-    /// Same semantics as `POST /post` (forum ingest).
+    /// Forum ingest via `POST /ui`.
     PostIngest {
         room: String,
         thread_tag: String,
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ pub enum HtmlUiAction {
         #[serde(default)]
         form_id: Option<String>,
     },
-    /// Same as `POST /post/check`.
+    /// DSL check / validation via `POST /ui`.
     CheckIngest {
         room: String,
         thread_tag: String,
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ pub enum HtmlUiAction {
         #[serde(default)]
         form_id: Option<String>,
     },
-    /// Same as `POST /post/redact`.
+    /// Author redacts own post via `POST /ui`.
     RedactPost {
         post_id: String,
     },
diff --git a/server/src/lib.rs b/server/src/lib.rs
index 5f5b6b0f01b29350c7415e5801ec5caa74f0b452..c28c2335d23080671e71155ea3fb023f9b8d98c4 100644
--- a/server/src/lib.rs
+++ b/server/src/lib.rs
@@ -31,9 +31,6 @@ pub fn create_app(state: AppState) -> Router {
         .route("/", get(crate::html::home))
         .route("/login", get(api::get_web_login))
         .route("/logout", get(api::get_logout))
-        .route("/post", post(api::post_web_ingest))
-        .route("/post/redact", post(api::post_web_redact))
-        .route("/post/check", post(api::check_web_ingest))
         .route("/ui", post(api::post_ui_html))
         .route("/theme", post(crate::html::post_theme))
         .route("/sse", get(api::get_html_stream))
@@ -64,6 +61,7 @@ pub fn create_app(state: AppState) -> Router {
         )
         .route("/t/:tag/:index", get(crate::html::thread_post_view))
         .route("/t/:tag", get(crate::html::thread_view))
+        // TODO DELETE THESE AND USE __RPC__ PATTERN
         .route(
             "/r/:room_short/:room_slug/t/:thread_tag/:index/expand",
             get(crate::html::room_thread_post_expand),
diff --git a/server/tests/integration.rs b/server/tests/integration.rs
index d86de2dd446516807a3c8a607aa88787d1b136b0..831722430d6b41308e3f03d485cd62f887ace799 100644
--- a/server/tests/integration.rs
+++ b/server/tests/integration.rs
@@ -21,6 +21,30 @@ fn test_bearer() -> String {
     format!("slug_{token_id}_{secret}")
 }
 
+/// Compact JSON for `POST /ui` (`HtmlUiAction::PostIngest`).
+fn ui_post_ingest_rpc(room: &str, thread_tag: &str, text: &str) -> String {
+    serde_json::json!({
+        "action": "post_ingest",
+        "room": room,
+        "thread_tag": thread_tag,
+        "text": text,
+    })
+    .to_string()
+}
+
+/// Compact JSON for `POST /ui` (`HtmlUiAction::CheckIngest`).
+fn ui_check_ingest_rpc(room: &str, thread_tag: &str, text: &str, error_target: &str) -> String {
+    serde_json::json!({
+        "action": "check_ingest",
+        "room": room,
+        "thread_tag": thread_tag,
+        "text": text,
+        "error_target": error_target,
+        "form_id": "thread-compose-form",
+    })
+    .to_string()
+}
+
 /// `commands` is a JSON array of RPC commands (`RpcBatch` is a transparent `Vec`).
 async fn rpc_batch(
     client: &reqwest::Client,
@@ -343,14 +367,11 @@ async fn test_private_room_thread_urls_use_t_segment() {
         .to_string();
     let (room_short, room_slug) = room_id.split_once('/').unwrap();
 
+    let rpc = ui_post_ingest_rpc(&room_id, "main-thread", "private post via web");
     let post = client
-        .post(format!("http://{addr}/post"))
+        .post(format!("http://{addr}/ui"))
         .header("Authorization", format!("Bearer {bearer}"))
-        .form(&[
-            ("room", room_id.as_str()),
-            ("thread_tag", "main-thread"),
-            ("text", "private post via web"),
-        ])
+        .form(&[("__rpc__", rpc.as_str())])
         .send()
         .await
         .unwrap();
@@ -404,14 +425,15 @@ async fn test_private_room_post_links_use_private_garden_routes() {
         .to_string();
     let (room_short, room_slug) = room_id.split_once('/').unwrap();
 
+    let rpc = ui_post_ingest_rpc(
+        &room_id,
+        "garden-thread",
+        "~/secret/item {classified}\n~/secret/other {other body}\n~/secret/item 3:1 ~/secret/other {because}\n",
+    );
     let post = client
-        .post(format!("http://{addr}/post"))
+        .post(format!("http://{addr}/ui"))
         .header("Authorization", format!("Bearer {bearer}"))
-        .form(&[
-            ("room", room_id.as_str()),
-            ("thread_tag", "garden-thread"),
-            ("text", "~/secret/item {classified}\n~/secret/other {other body}\n~/secret/item 3:1 ~/secret/other {because}\n"),
-        ])
+        .form(&[("__rpc__", rpc.as_str())])
         .send()
         .await
         .unwrap();
@@ -449,15 +471,11 @@ async fn test_post_check_returns_targeted_js_error_for_missing_thread_tag() {
         .unwrap();
     let bearer = test_bearer();
 
+    let rpc = ui_check_ingest_rpc("public", "", "hello", "thread-compose-errors");
     let resp = client
-        .post(format!("http://{addr}/post/check"))
+        .post(format!("http://{addr}/ui"))
         .header("Authorization", format!("Bearer {bearer}"))
-        .form(&[
-            ("room", "public"),
-            ("thread_tag", ""),
-            ("text", "hello"),
-            ("error_target", "thread-compose-errors"),
-        ])
+        .form(&[("__rpc__", rpc.as_str())])
         .send()
         .await
         .unwrap();
@@ -553,14 +571,11 @@ async fn test_sse_stream_emits_evalable_js_after_post() {
         .unwrap();
     assert!(sse_resp.status().is_success());
 
+    let rpc = ui_post_ingest_rpc(&room_id, "live-thread", "hello over sse");
     let _post = client
-        .post(format!("http://{addr}/post"))
+        .post(format!("http://{addr}/ui"))
         .header("Authorization", format!("Bearer {bearer}"))
-        .form(&[
-            ("room", room_id.as_str()),
-            ("thread_tag", "live-thread"),
-            ("text", "hello over sse"),
-        ])
+        .form(&[("__rpc__", rpc.as_str())])
         .send()
         .await
         .unwrap();
diff --git a/test/walkthrough_fixture.clj b/test/walkthrough_fixture.clj
index ec7914464b1a0389e40c5be53af59cf8ed82b09e..4b814822029c913e38151ca53848d1c64fb58373 100644
--- a/test/walkthrough_fixture.clj
+++ b/test/walkthrough_fixture.clj
@@ -52,22 +52,28 @@
                          "~/secret/item {classified}\n"
                          "~/secret/other {secondary}\n"
                          "~/secret/item 3:1 ~/secret/other {because}\n")
+          rpc (json/generate-string
+                {:action "post_ingest"
+                 :room room-id
+                 :thread_tag "walkthrough-thread"
+                 :text wall-text})
           post-resp (oauth/http-post-form
-                      (str base-url "/post")
-                      {:room room-id
-                       :thread_tag "walkthrough-thread"
-                       :text wall-text}
+                      (str base-url "/ui")
+                      {:__rpc__ rpc}
                       :headers {"Authorization" (str "Bearer " alice-token)})]
       (assert! (= 200 (:status post-resp)) "seed post must succeed"))
     (let [bob-reply (str "Bob here — reply with another long block so the thread has multiple cards.\n\n"
                          "Paragraph two: repeating slugs ~/secret/item and ~/secret/other for cross-post link styling. "
                          "If everything wraps cleanly, monospace pre + serif body (in craft theme) should still feel readable.\n\n"
                          "More overflow: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX\n")
+          bob-rpc (json/generate-string
+                    {:action "post_ingest"
+                     :room room-id
+                     :thread_tag "walkthrough-thread"
+                     :text bob-reply})
           bob-post (oauth/http-post-form
-                     (str base-url "/post")
-                     {:room room-id
-                      :thread_tag "walkthrough-thread"
-                      :text bob-reply}
+                     (str base-url "/ui")
+                     {:__rpc__ bob-rpc}
                      :headers {"Authorization" (str "Bearer " bob-token)})]
       (assert! (= 200 (:status bob-post)) "seed reply post must succeed"))
     {:users {:alice {:token alice-token}