fix(fuse,cli): recover the mount after a watchdog kill

A daemon killed by the watchdog left its FUSE mounts dead. A dead mount
answers ENOTCONN, which create_dir_all took for an absent directory, so
every restart failed with EEXIST and retried forever without reaching the
code that clears stale mounts. mount_once now goes through
prepare_mountpoint, which clears a dead mount first.

Startup on a large account (70 s hydrating 48k nodes) plus the supervisor's
first ping one full period later outlasted WatchdogSec=120, so a restart
that did mount was aborted again. The daemon now asks for a 10-minute
watchdog before startup, the supervisor pings on its first tick, and the
unit's own timeout is restored once the control socket answers.

Records B279.

crates/pdfs-cli/src/main.rs

@@ -2520,7 +2520,10 @@ fn mount_once(mountpoint: Option<PathBuf>) -> Result<pdfs_fuse::MountOutcome> {
     // An explicit `--mountpoint` wins; otherwise honor the Settings-page choice
     // (config), falling back to the default location.
     let mountpoint = mountpoint.unwrap_or_else(|| dirs.resolved_mountpoint(&config));
-    std::fs::create_dir_all(&mountpoint)
+    // Hydrating a large account and remounting its folders can outlast the
+    // unit's watchdog before the supervisor sends its first ping (B279).
+    pdfs_fuse::stretch_watchdog_for_startup();
+    pdfs_fuse::prepare_mountpoint(&mountpoint)
         .with_context(|| format!("create mountpoint {}", mountpoint.display()))?;
 
     let username = auth::load().map(|s| s.username).unwrap_or_default();

crates/pdfs-fuse/src/lib.rs

@@ -119,13 +119,14 @@ mod workers;
 use background::{forget_and_notify, run_event_sync, run_local_index, run_photos_event_sync};
 use link::BATCH_CALL_TIMEOUT;
 pub(crate) use mount::is_stale_mount;
+pub use mount::prepare_mountpoint;
 pub use mount::{MountOptions, MountOutcome, mount};
 use mount::{
     SecondaryInsertRejection, SecondaryMount, clear_stale_mount, fuse_connection_id, spawn_session,
 };
 use reads::{BlockFlight, BlockRing, PREFETCH_BUDGET, Prefetch, ReaderSlot, STREAM_BYPASS_MIN};
 use state::{Entry, Intervals, PendingRevision, State, StateGuard, WriteHandle};
-pub use systemd::{idle_sleep, status as notify_status};
+pub use systemd::{idle_sleep, status as notify_status, stretch_watchdog_for_startup};
 use tracing::{debug, error, info, warn};
 use transfers::{CountingWriter, JobGuard, OwnedCountingReader, TransferRegistry};
 use r#virtual::{

crates/pdfs-fuse/src/mount.rs

@@ -196,6 +196,20 @@ pub(super) fn clear_stale_mount(mountpoint: &Path) {
     }
 }
 
+/// Make sure `mountpoint` is a directory a mount can go on, clearing a dead
+/// mount a killed daemon left there first.
+///
+/// A dead mount answers `ENOTCONN`, which `create_dir_all` takes for "absent";
+/// it then tries `mkdir` and fails with `EEXIST`. The daemon retried that error
+/// forever and never got as far as [`check_mountpoint`], which would have
+/// cleared the mount (`docs/BUGS.md` B279).
+pub fn prepare_mountpoint(mountpoint: &Path) -> std::io::Result<()> {
+    if is_stale_mount(mountpoint) {
+        clear_stale_mount(mountpoint);
+    }
+    std::fs::create_dir_all(mountpoint)
+}
+
 /// Refuse to mount My files over a folder that already has files in it: FUSE
 /// would hide them, unsent and out of sight, until the service stops
 /// (`docs/BUGS.md` B277). Runs before the root fetch and before any worker

crates/pdfs-fuse/src/supervisor.rs

@@ -57,7 +57,10 @@ pub(crate) fn run(core: Core, control_socket: PathBuf) {
     }
 
     let mut last_rss = Instant::now();
-    let mut last_ping = Instant::now();
+    // `None` until the first probe, which runs on the first tick: startup has
+    // already used up much of the watchdog's time (`docs/BUGS.md` B279).
+    let mut last_ping: Option<Instant> = None;
+    let mut restored = false;
     // Per-lane completion counts from the previous tick, to tell a queue that is
     // being worked through from one that is not moving at all.
     let mut last_completed = (0_u64, 0_u64);
@@ -84,16 +87,22 @@ pub(crate) fn run(core: Core, control_socket: PathBuf) {
         // throw away in-flight uploads. The probe decides that; a stall only
         // gets said out loud.
         if let Some(period) = watchdog
-            && last_ping.elapsed() >= period
+            && ping_due(last_ping, period)
         {
             if probe(&control_socket) {
+                if !restored {
+                    // Startup ran on the longer timeout the daemon asked for.
+                    // The socket answers now, so the unit's own one applies.
+                    systemd::restore_watchdog();
+                    restored = true;
+                }
                 systemd::watchdog_ping();
             } else {
                 warn!(
                     "daemon did not answer its own control socket; withholding the watchdog ping"
                 );
             }
-            last_ping = Instant::now();
+            last_ping = Some(Instant::now());
         }
     }
 }
@@ -165,6 +174,11 @@ fn report_stalls(report: &pdfs_core::control::Diagnostics, last_completed: (u64,
     stalled
 }
 
+/// Whether the watchdog wants its next ping. The first one is due at once.
+fn ping_due(last_ping: Option<Instant>, period: Duration) -> bool {
+    last_ping.is_none_or(|at| at.elapsed() >= period)
+}
+
 /// One round trip over the control socket: connect, ask for the cheapest
 /// request there is, read the answer.
 ///
@@ -205,6 +219,18 @@ mod tests {
         }
     }
 
+    /// The first ping goes out on the first tick, not a full period after the
+    /// supervisor starts: startup has already spent most of the watchdog's time
+    /// (`docs/BUGS.md` B279).
+    #[test]
+    fn first_watchdog_ping_is_due_at_once() {
+        let period = Duration::from_secs(60);
+        assert!(ping_due(None, period));
+        assert!(!ping_due(Some(Instant::now()), period));
+        let long_ago = Instant::now().checked_sub(period).expect("uptime");
+        assert!(ping_due(Some(long_ago), period));
+    }
+
     /// A worker doing normal work must not be reported: a WARN every tick is a
     /// WARN nobody reads.
     #[test]

crates/pdfs-fuse/src/systemd.rs

@@ -102,6 +102,37 @@ pub fn idle_sleep(duration: Duration) {
     }
 }
 
+/// How long a mount may take to start before the watchdog counts it as hung.
+///
+/// Startup has no control socket to probe yet, and on a large account it is
+/// long: hydrating 48 000 nodes took 70 s on 2026-11-12, and the secondary
+/// mounts followed. Under the 2-minute `WatchdogSec` that run was aborted just
+/// before its first ping, and left six dead mounts behind (`docs/BUGS.md` B279).
+const STARTUP_WATCHDOG: Duration = Duration::from_secs(600);
+
+/// Give the mount about to start [`STARTUP_WATCHDOG`] before the watchdog fires.
+///
+/// Sends `WATCHDOG_USEC=`, which replaces the unit's timeout and restarts its
+/// timer. The supervisor puts the configured timeout back with
+/// [`restore_watchdog`] once it can prove the daemon answers. A startup that
+/// wedges for good is still aborted, only later.
+pub fn stretch_watchdog_for_startup() {
+    if watchdog_period().is_some() {
+        notify(&format!("WATCHDOG_USEC={}\n", STARTUP_WATCHDOG.as_micros()));
+    }
+}
+
+/// Put back the timeout the unit configured, undoing
+/// [`stretch_watchdog_for_startup`].
+pub(crate) fn restore_watchdog() {
+    if watchdog_period().is_none() {
+        return;
+    }
+    if let Ok(usec) = std::env::var("WATCHDOG_USEC") {
+        notify(&format!("WATCHDOG_USEC={usec}\n"));
+    }
+}
+
 /// Tell the manager the daemon is stopping, so a slow teardown is not mistaken
 /// for a hang by the watchdog it is racing.
 pub(crate) fn stopping() {

docs/BUGS.md

@@ -109,6 +109,7 @@ a live account since.
 
 | Entry | Title |
 |---|---|
+| [B279](#b279--after-a-watchdog-kill-the-mount-never-comes-back) | After a watchdog kill the mount never comes back |
 | [B278](#b278--sync-list-and-devices-list-show-the-last-sync-as-epoch-seconds) | `sync list` and `devices list` show the last sync as epoch seconds |
 | [B277](#b277--my-files-mounted-over-a-folder-with-files-in-it-and-hid-them) | My files mounted over a folder with files in it, and hid them |
 | [B274](#b274--opening-a-file-for-writing-fails-with-eio-while-its-queued-revision-lands) | Opening a file for writing fails with EIO while its queued revision lands |
@@ -381,6 +382,47 @@ a live account since.
 
 Newest first.
 
+### B279 — After a watchdog kill the mount never comes back
+
+**Status:** Fixed, not verified live
+**Found:** 2026-11-12, copying a folder of pictures into `~/ProtonDrive/Pictures`. The daemon
+stopped answering, the watchdog aborted it after 4 h 39 min (2.5 GiB memory peak, 11.8 GiB swap
+peak), and every restart then logged
+`create mountpoint /home/narl/ProtonDrive: File exists (os error 17)`. After the dead mounts were
+cleared by hand, the next start mounted all six folders and was aborted again, 120 s after it
+began, leaving six dead mounts behind once more.
+**Where:** `mount_once` in `crates/pdfs-cli/src/main.rs`; `prepare_mountpoint` in
+`crates/pdfs-fuse/src/mount.rs`; `crates/pdfs-fuse/src/supervisor.rs`;
+`crates/pdfs-fuse/src/systemd.rs`
+
+**Repro:** Kill the daemon with `SIGABRT` while it is mounted. Each restart fails with `EEXIST`
+until `fusermount3 -uz` clears every mount. Then restart on an account where hydrating the
+metadata cache takes about a minute: the watchdog aborts the new daemon before it pings.
+
+**Cause.** Two faults, one after the other.
+
+1. A dead FUSE mount answers `ENOTCONN`. `create_dir_all` in `mount_once` read that as "absent",
+   tried `mkdir`, and failed with `EEXIST`. The daemon retried that error forever and never
+   reached `check_mountpoint`, which clears a dead mount.
+2. systemd arms the watchdog when the process starts, but the supervisor sent its first ping one
+   full period (60 s) after it started. The supervisor starts only once the mount is live: 74 s
+   in on this account (70 s of that is hydrating 47 958 nodes). 74 s + 60 s is past the 120 s
+   `WatchdogSec`, so the run was aborted just before its first ping.
+
+**Fix.** `mount_once` calls `prepare_mountpoint`, which clears a dead mount before it creates the
+directory. Before startup, the daemon sends `WATCHDOG_USEC=` to allow 10 minutes. When the
+supervisor first gets an answer from the control socket, it sends the unit's own timeout back.
+The supervisor also probes and pings on its first tick, not one period later. A startup that
+hangs for good is still aborted, only later.
+
+What is left: why the daemon stopped answering during the copy. Its swap use points at memory
+growth during a large batch of new files (compare [B91](#b91--the-daemon-hung-overnight-and-nothing-could-say-what-it-was-waiting-on)).
+
+**Test:** `first_watchdog_ping_is_due_at_once` in `crates/pdfs-fuse/src/supervisor.rs`. The
+stale-mount path and the watchdog handshake need a live systemd unit to check.
+
+---
+
 ### B278 — `sync list` and `devices list` show the last sync as epoch seconds
 
 **Status:** Fixed, not verified live