proxy: snapshot in-flight counts before sorting (least_conn selection O(n)) (#124)

## Why

`least_conn` mirror selection (`baseURLAttemptOrder`) scaled super-linearly. After rotating the pool by the round-robin cursor it `sort.SliceStable`d with a comparator that called `inflightCounter` on **every comparison** — and each call did a `remoteName+"\x00"+url` concat plus a `sync.Map` `LoadOrStore` with a speculative `new(atomic.Int64)`. So each selection cost O(n·log n) map lookups + allocations, all on the cache-miss/upstream path.

## How

Snapshot each mirror's in-flight count **once**, then sort the snapshot — O(n) map loads, zero comparator allocations.

- Add read-only `inflightCount(name, url) int64`: plain `sync.Map` `Load`, returns 0 when the gauge is absent (no `LoadOrStore`, no speculative allocation).
- `least_conn` branch builds a `{url, count}` snapshot via one `inflightCount` per rotated URL, `sort.SliceStable` by `count` ascending, then extracts the URLs.
- `beginAttempt`/`endAttempt` keep the create-on-write `inflightCounter` path — they legitimately need to create the gauge.

## Numbers (`BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_LeastConn`, Ryzen 7 4700U, best of 3)

| pool | before ns/op | after ns/op | before allocs | after allocs | before B/op | after B/op |
|------|-------------:|------------:|--------------:|-------------:|------------:|-----------:|
| 3    | ~2516        | ~1492       | 22            | 8            | 474         | 296        |
| 8    | ~14647       | ~3319       | 131–132       | 8            | 2688        | 568        |

Allocs are now **constant** regardless of pool size; pool-8 is ~4.8x faster with ~16x fewer allocations.

## Behavior

Unchanged: least-loaded first, RR rotation as the stable tie-break, `round_robin` and single-URL paths untouched. Pure internal optimization — no API/schema/DB change. Added a multi-mirror tie-break test asserting all-equal load yields the RR rotation; `make test` (`-race`) green, vet/fmt clean.
Reviewed-on: #124
Co-authored-by: unkin-agent <unkin-agent@unkin.net>
Co-committed-by: unkin-agent <unkin-agent@unkin.net>

docker-compose.e2e.yml

@@ -9,6 +9,18 @@ services:
     # No host port needed: only the artifactapi container talks to it, and the
     # tests compare served bytes against the on-disk fixtures.
 
+  # Two constant-body upstreams for the multi-base_url suite: each returns a
+  # distinct, upstream-identifying body for any path, so round-robin
+  # distribution across a two-mirror remote is directly observable.
+  mockupstreama:
+    image: nginx:alpine
+    volumes:
+      - ./e2e-docker/mirror-conf/a.conf:/etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf:ro,z
+  mockupstreamb:
+    image: nginx:alpine
+    volumes:
+      - ./e2e-docker/mirror-conf/b.conf:/etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf:ro,z
+
   artifactapi:
     # The host port is set via ARTIFACTAPI_PORT (see scripts/docker-e2e.sh),
     # defaulting to 8000; the e2e run uses 8001 to avoid colliding with a
@@ -16,3 +28,7 @@ services:
     depends_on:
       mockupstream:
         condition: service_started
+      mockupstreama:
+        condition: service_started
+      mockupstreamb:
+        condition: service_started

e2e-docker/README.md

@@ -30,6 +30,18 @@ already-running stack.
   index), rpm (real package + **automatic repodata** generation).
 - **Virtual repositories** — pypi simple-index merge and helm `index.yaml` merge
   across two members.
+- **Mirrorlist** — an rpm remote with a `mirrorlist` of extra upstream mirrors
+  (pool = `base_url` + `mirrorlist`): round-robin distribution across both mirrors
+  (constant-body `mockupstreama` / `mockupstreamb`), failover past a dead primary,
+  no-mirrorlist regression, and a real `dnf` (stock `rockylinux:9` container)
+  `makecache` + `install` through a two-mirror rpm remote whose `base_url` is dead
+  — a dead mirror must not break the client.
+- **Mirror strategy (`least_conn`)** — a `mirror_strategy: least_conn` rpm remote
+  over the two constant-body mirrors exercises the least-connections selection
+  path end-to-end (both mirrors serve, all requests succeed), plus a real `dnf`
+  install through a `least_conn` remote with a dead primary (failover unchanged).
+  The precise least-loaded pick is asserted deterministically in the proxy unit
+  test, since an in-flight-skew assertion over HTTP is timing-sensitive.
 
 ## Fixtures
 

e2e-docker/fixtures/rpm-mirror/repodata/repomd.xml

@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+<repomd xmlns="http://linux.duke.edu/metadata/repo" xmlns:rpm="http://linux.duke.edu/metadata/rpm">
+  <revision>1786573032</revision>
+  <data type="primary">
+    <checksum type="sha256">d82f717e4da1afe96b8e7857de9e852f5785c0d75734e50d0f8afdcbc6261b08</checksum>
+    <open-checksum type="sha256">3345bb631380ae6c0620fe2a29cf7dff2ed4e28c5cb06c91e8a1628ba1979bcb</open-checksum>
+    <location href="repodata/d82f717e4da1afe96b8e7857de9e852f5785c0d75734e50d0f8afdcbc6261b08-primary.xml.gz"/>
+    <timestamp>1786573032</timestamp>
+    <size>631</size>
+    <open-size>1192</open-size>
+  </data>
+  <data type="filelists">
+    <checksum type="sha256">daa313cc5eeb7df556e1d4885d7701b10b9f012f436ef239fa46827f966222be</checksum>
+    <open-checksum type="sha256">648bd0ce00fda09abbc6e9c3ff3278518a76f258576ac24cd10c12e41e0e5bd7</open-checksum>
+    <location href="repodata/daa313cc5eeb7df556e1d4885d7701b10b9f012f436ef239fa46827f966222be-filelists.xml.gz"/>
+    <timestamp>1786573032</timestamp>
+    <size>256</size>
+    <open-size>338</open-size>
+  </data>
+  <data type="other">
+    <checksum type="sha256">8510c74a6f288828bbc92abee5d0d8ae9687d3c31a2579ea95e31a4c3a320d85</checksum>
+    <open-checksum type="sha256">c42cfd3843e9c53a60ad84bded44aa46c65faae7b3da99a099a9ca0b018872a9</open-checksum>
+    <location href="repodata/8510c74a6f288828bbc92abee5d0d8ae9687d3c31a2579ea95e31a4c3a320d85-other.xml.gz"/>
+    <timestamp>1786573032</timestamp>
+    <size>296</size>
+    <open-size>399</open-size>
+  </data>
+  <data type="primary_db">
+    <checksum type="sha256">f6bd7755da13d9726381048f467992869104a4c5521338ef740dc35eb85b9b71</checksum>
+    <open-checksum type="sha256">c45c85d12ccb0f8172b7bfae466362c08ac1867559574a9fb9cb2118c04daddb</open-checksum>
+    <location href="repodata/f6bd7755da13d9726381048f467992869104a4c5521338ef740dc35eb85b9b71-primary.sqlite.bz2"/>
+    <timestamp>1786573032</timestamp>
+    <size>1740</size>
+    <open-size>106496</open-size>
+    <database_version>10</database_version>
+  </data>
+  <data type="filelists_db">
+    <checksum type="sha256">be3c6e4c7a13ece48bd5d6a4d6d5e6a2395fe006ef9c5f217f5b87144f465e57</checksum>
+    <open-checksum type="sha256">1ccfa3dff532d782ce3225aae807506a4ce4534291386f1c47455dcc6b70cfd6</open-checksum>
+    <location href="repodata/be3c6e4c7a13ece48bd5d6a4d6d5e6a2395fe006ef9c5f217f5b87144f465e57-filelists.sqlite.bz2"/>
+    <timestamp>1786573032</timestamp>
+    <size>764</size>
+    <open-size>28672</open-size>
+    <database_version>10</database_version>
+  </data>
+  <data type="other_db">
+    <checksum type="sha256">ba593cd8ab5ec1e127888707c1fd882920996f1ce173fd7a589d647918fd7da4</checksum>
+    <open-checksum type="sha256">5d4d38380f0e359bfc0a50033d4faa84c75c5ae8fe2ef11c1c82d64748e9b8e2</open-checksum>
+    <location href="repodata/ba593cd8ab5ec1e127888707c1fd882920996f1ce173fd7a589d647918fd7da4-other.sqlite.bz2"/>
+    <timestamp>1786573032</timestamp>
+    <size>738</size>
+    <open-size>24576</open-size>
+    <database_version>10</database_version>
+  </data>
+</repomd>

e2e-docker/leastconn_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,105 @@
+//go:build dockere2e
+
+package e2edocker
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"net/http"
+	"os"
+	"os/exec"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// TestLeastConnMultiBaseURL configures an rpm remote with mirror_strategy =
+// least_conn over a two-mirror pool and drives distinct cache-miss paths through
+// it, asserting every request succeeds and both mirrors serve traffic. This
+// exercises the least-connections selection path (leastConnOrder + the in-flight
+// gauge inc/dec around each upstream call) end-to-end through a real HTTP client.
+// A precise least-loaded assertion is timing-sensitive over HTTP and is covered
+// deterministically by the proxy unit test (TestLeastConnPicksLeastLoaded);
+// here, with requests issued serially, in-flight counts return to zero between
+// them so equal-load mirrors are spread by the round-robin tie-break.
+func TestLeastConnMultiBaseURL(t *testing.T) {
+	name := "e2e-leastconn"
+	createRepo(t, fmt.Sprintf(`{
+		"name": %q,
+		"package_type": "rpm",
+		"repo_type": "remote",
+		"base_url": %q,
+		"mirrorlist": [%q],
+		"mirror_strategy": "least_conn",
+		"stale_on_error": false
+	}`, name, mockUpstreamA(), mockUpstreamB()))
+	defer deleteRepo(t, name)
+
+	seenA, seenB := false, false
+	const n = 12
+	for i := 0; i < n; i++ {
+		url := api(fmt.Sprintf("/api/v1/remote/%s/lc/%d", name, i))
+		resp, body := doRequest(t, http.MethodGet, url, nil, "")
+		if resp.StatusCode != http.StatusOK {
+			t.Fatalf("request %d: status %d: %s", i, resp.StatusCode, body)
+		}
+		switch strings.TrimSpace(string(body)) {
+		case "UPSTREAM-A":
+			seenA = true
+		case "UPSTREAM-B":
+			seenB = true
+		default:
+			t.Fatalf("request %d: unexpected body %q", i, body)
+		}
+	}
+	if !seenA || !seenB {
+		t.Fatalf("least_conn remote did not reach both upstreams: A=%v B=%v", seenA, seenB)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestLeastConnDnfInstall drives a real dnf (stock rockylinux container) at a
+// two-mirror rpm remote configured with mirror_strategy = least_conn whose
+// primary base_url is dead: makecache + install must succeed via the live mirror.
+// This proves a real package-manager client installs correctly through a
+// least_conn remote and that failover semantics are unchanged under the new
+// strategy. Requires the compose network exported by scripts/docker-e2e.sh.
+func TestLeastConnDnfInstall(t *testing.T) {
+	network := os.Getenv("COMPOSE_NETWORK")
+	internal := os.Getenv("ARTIFACTAPI_INTERNAL")
+	if network == "" || internal == "" {
+		t.Skip("COMPOSE_NETWORK/ARTIFACTAPI_INTERNAL not set; run via scripts/docker-e2e.sh")
+	}
+	if _, err := exec.LookPath("docker"); err != nil {
+		t.Skip("docker not available on the test host")
+	}
+
+	name := "e2e-leastconn-dnf"
+	createRepo(t, fmt.Sprintf(`{
+		"name": %q,
+		"package_type": "rpm",
+		"repo_type": "remote",
+		"base_url": "http://mockupstream-dead:80",
+		"mirrorlist": [%q],
+		"mirror_strategy": "least_conn",
+		"stale_on_error": false
+	}`, name, mockUpstream()))
+	defer deleteRepo(t, name)
+
+	repoURL := strings.TrimRight(internal, "/") + "/api/v1/remote/" + name + "/rpm-mirror"
+	repoConf := fmt.Sprintf("[dnflc]\nname=dnflc\nbaseurl=%s\nenabled=1\ngpgcheck=0\nsslverify=0\nmetadata_expire=0\n", repoURL)
+	script := "set -euo pipefail; " +
+		"printf '%s' \"$REPO\" > /etc/yum.repos.d/dnflc.repo; " +
+		"dnf -y --disablerepo='*' --enablerepo=dnflc makecache; " +
+		"dnf -y --disablerepo='*' --enablerepo=dnflc install e2e-testpkg; " +
+		"rpm -q e2e-testpkg"
+
+	cmd := exec.Command("docker", "run", "--rm",
+		"--network", network,
+		"-e", "REPO="+repoConf,
+		"rockylinux:9", "bash", "-c", script)
+	out, err := cmd.CombinedOutput()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("real dnf install through a least_conn remote failed: %v\n%s", err, out)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(string(out), "e2e-testpkg-1.0-1") {
+		t.Fatalf("dnf did not install the expected package via least_conn remote; output:\n%s", out)
+	}
+}

e2e-docker/local_test.go

@@ -3,7 +3,10 @@
 package e2edocker
 
 import (
+	"archive/tar"
 	"bytes"
+	"compress/gzip"
+	"io"
 	"net/http"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
@@ -136,3 +139,55 @@ func TestLocalDebRepo(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("deb content mismatch")
 	}
 }
+
+// TestLocalAlpineIndex uploads an .apk to an alpine local repo and validates
+// that a per-arch APKINDEX.tar.gz is generated automatically from the parsed
+// .PKGINFO (the apk-local analog of rpm repodata / deb Packages generation).
+func TestLocalAlpineIndex(t *testing.T) {
+	createRepo(t, `{"name":"local-alpine","package_type":"alpine","repo_type":"local"}`)
+	defer deleteRepo(t, "local-alpine")
+
+	apk := testsupport.MinimalApk("e2e-testpkg", "1.0-r0", "x86_64")
+	uploadFile(t, "local-alpine", "x86_64/e2e-testpkg-1.0-r0.apk", apk, "application/vnd.android.package-archive")
+
+	// The index is generated asynchronously after upload; poll for it.
+	resp, body := getEventually(t, api("/api/v1/local/local-alpine/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz"), 15*time.Second)
+	if resp.StatusCode != http.StatusOK {
+		t.Fatalf("APKINDEX: status %d: %s", resp.StatusCode, body)
+	}
+
+	zr, err := gzip.NewReader(bytes.NewReader(body))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("APKINDEX not gzip: %v", err)
+	}
+	tarBytes, _ := io.ReadAll(zr)
+	tr := tar.NewReader(bytes.NewReader(tarBytes))
+	var index string
+	for {
+		hdr, err := tr.Next()
+		if err == io.EOF {
+			break
+		}
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("APKINDEX not tar: %v", err)
+		}
+		if hdr.Name == "APKINDEX" {
+			b, _ := io.ReadAll(tr)
+			index = string(b)
+		}
+	}
+	for _, want := range []string{"P:e2e-testpkg", "V:1.0-r0", "A:x86_64", "C:Q1", "S:", "I:"} {
+		if !strings.Contains(index, want) {
+			t.Fatalf("APKINDEX missing %q:\n%s", want, index)
+		}
+	}
+
+	// The .apk downloads back byte-identical from its arch path.
+	resp, body = doRequest(t, http.MethodGet, api("/api/v1/local/local-alpine/x86_64/e2e-testpkg-1.0-r0.apk"), nil, "")
+	if resp.StatusCode != http.StatusOK {
+		t.Fatalf("download apk: status %d: %s", resp.StatusCode, body)
+	}
+	if !bytes.Equal(body, apk) {
+		t.Fatalf("apk content mismatch")
+	}
+}

e2e-docker/mirror-conf/a.conf

@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+# Mock upstream A for the multi-base_url e2e: any path returns a constant,
+# upstream-identifying body so round-robin distribution is observable.
+server {
+    listen 80;
+    location / {
+        default_type text/plain;
+        return 200 "UPSTREAM-A";
+    }
+}

e2e-docker/mirror-conf/b.conf

@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+# Mock upstream B for the multi-base_url e2e (see a.conf).
+server {
+    listen 80;
+    location / {
+        default_type text/plain;
+        return 200 "UPSTREAM-B";
+    }
+}

e2e-docker/multibaseurl_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,163 @@
+//go:build dockere2e
+
+package e2edocker
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"net/http"
+	"os"
+	"os/exec"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// mockUpstreamA/B are the constant-body upstreams (see docker-compose.e2e.yml)
+// that let the round-robin test observe which mirror served each request.
+func mockUpstreamA() string {
+	if v := os.Getenv("MOCK_UPSTREAM_A_INTERNAL"); v != "" {
+		return strings.TrimRight(v, "/")
+	}
+	return "http://mockupstreama"
+}
+
+func mockUpstreamB() string {
+	if v := os.Getenv("MOCK_UPSTREAM_B_INTERNAL"); v != "" {
+		return strings.TrimRight(v, "/")
+	}
+	return "http://mockupstreamb"
+}
+
+// TestMultiBaseURLRoundRobin configures an rpm remote with base_url = mirror A
+// and mirrorlist = [mirror B] and drives distinct paths through it, asserting
+// both mirrors serve traffic. Each path is a cache miss, so every request reaches
+// upstream and the round-robin cursor alternates mirrors.
+func TestMultiBaseURLRoundRobin(t *testing.T) {
+	name := "e2e-rr"
+	createRepo(t, fmt.Sprintf(`{
+		"name": %q,
+		"package_type": "rpm",
+		"repo_type": "remote",
+		"base_url": %q,
+		"mirrorlist": [%q],
+		"stale_on_error": false
+	}`, name, mockUpstreamA(), mockUpstreamB()))
+	defer deleteRepo(t, name)
+
+	seenA, seenB := false, false
+	const n = 12
+	for i := 0; i < n; i++ {
+		url := api(fmt.Sprintf("/api/v1/remote/%s/rr/%d", name, i))
+		resp, body := doRequest(t, http.MethodGet, url, nil, "")
+		if resp.StatusCode != http.StatusOK {
+			t.Fatalf("request %d: status %d: %s", i, resp.StatusCode, body)
+		}
+		switch strings.TrimSpace(string(body)) {
+		case "UPSTREAM-A":
+			seenA = true
+		case "UPSTREAM-B":
+			seenB = true
+		default:
+			t.Fatalf("request %d: unexpected body %q", i, body)
+		}
+	}
+	if !seenA || !seenB {
+		t.Fatalf("round-robin did not reach both upstreams: A=%v B=%v", seenA, seenB)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestMultiBaseURLFailover points a two-mirror remote at a dead primary and a
+// healthy secondary and asserts every request still succeeds via the secondary.
+func TestMultiBaseURLFailover(t *testing.T) {
+	name := "e2e-failover"
+	createRepo(t, fmt.Sprintf(`{
+		"name": %q,
+		"package_type": "rpm",
+		"repo_type": "remote",
+		"base_url": "http://mockupstream-dead:80",
+		"mirrorlist": [%q],
+		"stale_on_error": false
+	}`, name, mockUpstreamB()))
+	defer deleteRepo(t, name)
+
+	for i := 0; i < 6; i++ {
+		url := api(fmt.Sprintf("/api/v1/remote/%s/fo/%d", name, i))
+		resp, body := doRequest(t, http.MethodGet, url, nil, "")
+		if resp.StatusCode != http.StatusOK {
+			t.Fatalf("request %d: dead primary broke fetch: status %d: %s", i, resp.StatusCode, body)
+		}
+		if got := strings.TrimSpace(string(body)); got != "UPSTREAM-B" {
+			t.Fatalf("request %d: body %q, want UPSTREAM-B (served via failover)", i, got)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// TestSingleBaseURLRegression asserts a remote with no mirrorlist works exactly
+// as before the mirrorlist change.
+func TestSingleBaseURLRegression(t *testing.T) {
+	name := "e2e-single"
+	createRepo(t, fmt.Sprintf(`{
+		"name": %q,
+		"package_type": "rpm",
+		"repo_type": "remote",
+		"base_url": %q,
+		"stale_on_error": false
+	}`, name, mockUpstreamA()))
+	defer deleteRepo(t, name)
+
+	resp, body := doRequest(t, http.MethodGet, api("/api/v1/remote/"+name+"/solo/0"), nil, "")
+	if resp.StatusCode != http.StatusOK {
+		t.Fatalf("single-url fetch: status %d: %s", resp.StatusCode, body)
+	}
+	if got := strings.TrimSpace(string(body)); got != "UPSTREAM-A" {
+		t.Fatalf("single-url body %q, want UPSTREAM-A", got)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestMultiBaseURLDnfFailover drives a real dnf (stock rockylinux container) at
+// a two-mirror rpm remote whose primary is dead: makecache + install must
+// succeed via the live secondary mirror, proving a dead mirror does not break a
+// real package-manager client. Requires the compose network and internal API
+// URL exported by scripts/docker-e2e.sh; skipped when run standalone.
+func TestMultiBaseURLDnfFailover(t *testing.T) {
+	network := os.Getenv("COMPOSE_NETWORK")
+	internal := os.Getenv("ARTIFACTAPI_INTERNAL")
+	if network == "" || internal == "" {
+		t.Skip("COMPOSE_NETWORK/ARTIFACTAPI_INTERNAL not set; run via scripts/docker-e2e.sh")
+	}
+	if _, err := exec.LookPath("docker"); err != nil {
+		t.Skip("docker not available on the test host")
+	}
+
+	name := "e2e-dnf-failover"
+	// Primary base_url is dead; the live mirror serves the real yum repo under
+	// fixtures/rpm-mirror via the shared mock upstream.
+	createRepo(t, fmt.Sprintf(`{
+		"name": %q,
+		"package_type": "rpm",
+		"repo_type": "remote",
+		"base_url": "http://mockupstream-dead:80",
+		"mirrorlist": [%q],
+		"stale_on_error": false
+	}`, name, mockUpstream()))
+	defer deleteRepo(t, name)
+
+	repoURL := strings.TrimRight(internal, "/") + "/api/v1/remote/" + name + "/rpm-mirror"
+	repoConf := fmt.Sprintf("[dnffo]\nname=dnffo\nbaseurl=%s\nenabled=1\ngpgcheck=0\nsslverify=0\nmetadata_expire=0\n", repoURL)
+	script := "set -euo pipefail; " +
+		"printf '%s' \"$REPO\" > /etc/yum.repos.d/dnffo.repo; " +
+		"dnf -y --disablerepo='*' --enablerepo=dnffo makecache; " +
+		"dnf -y --disablerepo='*' --enablerepo=dnffo install e2e-testpkg; " +
+		"rpm -q e2e-testpkg"
+
+	cmd := exec.Command("docker", "run", "--rm",
+		"--network", network,
+		"-e", "REPO="+repoConf,
+		"rockylinux:9", "bash", "-c", script)
+	out, err := cmd.CombinedOutput()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("real dnf install through a dead primary mirror failed: %v\n%s", err, out)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(string(out), "e2e-testpkg-1.0-1") {
+		t.Fatalf("dnf did not install the expected package via failover; output:\n%s", out)
+	}
+}

internal/api/v2/errorpaths_test.go

@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ func do(t *testing.T, h http.Handler, method, path, body string) int {
 }
 
 func TestRemotesErrorPaths(t *testing.T) {
-	h := NewRemotesHandler(closedDB(t), nil).Routes()
+	h := NewRemotesHandler(closedDB(t), nil, nil).Routes()
 	if c := do(t, h, "GET", "/", ""); c != 500 {
 		t.Errorf("list with dead db = %d, want 500", c)
 	}

internal/api/v2/remotes.go

@@ -1,8 +1,10 @@
 package v2
 
 import (
+	"context"
 	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
+	"log/slog"
 	"net/http"
 
 	"github.com/go-chi/chi/v5"
@@ -17,15 +19,23 @@ type Primer interface {
 	EnqueuePrime(remote models.Remote)
 }
 
+// MetadataFlusher purges a remote's cached mutable metadata (repodata / Release
+// / APKINDEX freshness keys). *cache.Redis satisfies it.
+type MetadataFlusher interface {
+	FlushRemote(ctx context.Context, remote string) error
+}
+
 type RemotesHandler struct {
 	db      *database.DB
+	cache   MetadataFlusher
 	primers map[models.PackageType]Primer
 }
 
-// NewRemotesHandler wires the handler to the per-type metadata primers. primers
+// NewRemotesHandler wires the handler to the metadata cache and per-type
-// may be nil; a package type with no registered primer simply skips priming.
+// primers. cache may be nil (flush-on-backend-change is skipped); primers may
-func NewRemotesHandler(db *database.DB, primers map[models.PackageType]Primer) *RemotesHandler {
+// be nil (a package type with no registered primer simply skips priming).
-	return &RemotesHandler{db: db, primers: primers}
+func NewRemotesHandler(db *database.DB, cache MetadataFlusher, primers map[models.PackageType]Primer) *RemotesHandler {
+	return &RemotesHandler{db: db, cache: cache, primers: primers}
 }
 
 func (h *RemotesHandler) Routes() chi.Router {
@@ -78,6 +88,14 @@ func (h *RemotesHandler) create(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 		http.Error(w, "base_url is required for remote repositories", http.StatusBadRequest)
 		return
 	}
+	if err := remote.ValidateMirrorlist(); err != nil {
+		http.Error(w, err.Error(), http.StatusBadRequest)
+		return
+	}
+	if err := remote.ValidateMirrorStrategy(); err != nil {
+		http.Error(w, err.Error(), http.StatusBadRequest)
+		return
+	}
 	if err := remote.ValidatePatterns(); err != nil {
 		http.Error(w, err.Error(), http.StatusBadRequest)
 		return
@@ -102,14 +120,42 @@ func (h *RemotesHandler) update(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 		return
 	}
 	remote.Name = name
+	if err := remote.ValidateMirrorlist(); err != nil {
+		http.Error(w, err.Error(), http.StatusBadRequest)
+		return
+	}
+	if err := remote.ValidateMirrorStrategy(); err != nil {
+		http.Error(w, err.Error(), http.StatusBadRequest)
+		return
+	}
 	if err := remote.ValidatePatterns(); err != nil {
 		http.Error(w, err.Error(), http.StatusBadRequest)
 		return
 	}
+	// Capture the current backend before the update so we can tell whether the
+	// remote's base_url (its upstream) changed. A read failure just means we
+	// skip the freshness flush; it must not block the update.
+	oldBaseURL, oldKnown := "", false
+	if existing, err := h.db.GetRemote(r.Context(), name); err == nil {
+		oldBaseURL, oldKnown = existing.BaseURL, true
+	}
 	if err := h.db.UpdateRemote(r.Context(), &remote); err != nil {
 		http.Error(w, err.Error(), http.StatusInternalServerError)
 		return
 	}
+	// Changing the backend invalidates any cached mutable metadata (repodata /
+	// Release / APKINDEX): purge it so the next request re-fetches from the new
+	// upstream instead of serving stale data until TTL expiry. A flush failure
+	// is logged but does not fail the request — the DB update already landed.
+	if oldKnown && oldBaseURL != remote.BaseURL && h.cache != nil {
+		if err := h.cache.FlushRemote(r.Context(), name); err != nil {
+			slog.Warn("flush cached metadata after base_url change failed",
+				"remote", name, "error", err)
+		} else {
+			slog.Info("flushed cached metadata after base_url change",
+				"remote", name, "old_base_url", oldBaseURL, "new_base_url", remote.BaseURL)
+		}
+	}
 	writeJSON(w, http.StatusOK, remote)
 }
 

internal/api/v2/remotes_flush_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,96 @@
+package v2
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"errors"
+	"testing"
+
+	"git.unkin.net/unkin/artifactapi/internal/database"
+	"git.unkin.net/unkin/artifactapi/pkg/models"
+)
+
+// fakeFlusher records FlushRemote calls so a test can assert whether — and how
+// often — a remote's cached metadata was purged.
+type fakeFlusher struct {
+	calls []string
+	err   error
+}
+
+func (f *fakeFlusher) FlushRemote(_ context.Context, remote string) error {
+	f.calls = append(f.calls, remote)
+	return f.err
+}
+
+func seedRemote(t *testing.T, db *database.DB, name, baseURL string) {
+	t.Helper()
+	err := db.CreateRemote(context.Background(), &models.Remote{
+		Name:        name,
+		PackageType: models.PackageRPM,
+		RepoType:    models.RepoTypeRemote,
+		BaseURL:     baseURL,
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("seed remote: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+// A base_url change must flush the remote's cached metadata exactly once, while
+// an update that leaves base_url untouched must not flush at all.
+func TestUpdateFlushesCacheOnBaseURLChange(t *testing.T) {
+	if testDSN == "" {
+		t.Skip("Docker unavailable")
+	}
+	db, err := database.New(testDSN)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	defer db.Close()
+
+	const name = "rpm-flush-change"
+	seedRemote(t, db, name, "https://old.example.com/repo")
+
+	ff := &fakeFlusher{}
+	h := NewRemotesHandler(db, ff, nil).Routes()
+
+	if c := do(t, h, "PUT", "/"+name, `{"package_type":"rpm","repo_type":"remote","base_url":"https://new.example.com/repo"}`); c != 200 {
+		t.Fatalf("update (backend change) = %d, want 200", c)
+	}
+	if len(ff.calls) != 1 || ff.calls[0] != name {
+		t.Fatalf("flush calls = %v, want exactly one flush of %q", ff.calls, name)
+	}
+
+	// Re-updating with the same (now current) base_url must not flush again.
+	ff.calls = nil
+	if c := do(t, h, "PUT", "/"+name, `{"package_type":"rpm","repo_type":"remote","base_url":"https://new.example.com/repo"}`); c != 200 {
+		t.Fatalf("update (no backend change) = %d, want 200", c)
+	}
+	if len(ff.calls) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("flush calls = %v, want no flush when base_url is unchanged", ff.calls)
+	}
+}
+
+// A flush error must be swallowed: the DB update already succeeded, so the
+// request still returns 200.
+func TestUpdateFlushFailureStillSucceeds(t *testing.T) {
+	if testDSN == "" {
+		t.Skip("Docker unavailable")
+	}
+	db, err := database.New(testDSN)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	defer db.Close()
+
+	const name = "rpm-flush-error"
+	seedRemote(t, db, name, "https://old.example.com/repo")
+
+	ff := &fakeFlusher{err: errors.New("redis down")}
+	h := NewRemotesHandler(db, ff, nil).Routes()
+
+	if c := do(t, h, "PUT", "/"+name, `{"package_type":"rpm","repo_type":"remote","base_url":"https://new.example.com/repo"}`); c != 200 {
+		t.Fatalf("update with failing flush = %d, want 200", c)
+	}
+	if len(ff.calls) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("flush calls = %v, want exactly one attempted flush", ff.calls)
+	}
+}

internal/database/alpine_github_sync.go

@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+package database
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"errors"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/jackc/pgx/v5"
+
+	"git.unkin.net/unkin/artifactapi/pkg/models"
+)
+
+// ListGitHubAlpineRemotes returns every github_alpine remote so the syncer can
+// sweep them on each poll tick.
+func (db *DB) ListGitHubAlpineRemotes(ctx context.Context) ([]models.Remote, error) {
+	rows, err := db.Pool.Query(ctx, `SELECT `+remoteCols+` FROM remotes WHERE package_type = $1 ORDER BY name`, models.PackageGitHubAlpine)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	defer rows.Close()
+
+	var remotes []models.Remote
+	for rows.Next() {
+		var r models.Remote
+		if err := scanRemote(rows, &r); err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+		remotes = append(remotes, r)
+	}
+	return remotes, rows.Err()
+}
+
+// ClaimGitHubAlpineSyncLease atomically claims the per-remote sync lease. It
+// succeeds only when the remote is due (never synced, or synced longer than
+// freshness ago) and no live lease is held by another replica. A zero freshness
+// (prime scans) ignores the recency gate. The returned etag is the stored
+// releases-list ETag, shared across replicas.
+func (db *DB) ClaimGitHubAlpineSyncLease(ctx context.Context, remoteName, owner string, freshness, lease time.Duration) (bool, string, error) {
+	row := db.Pool.QueryRow(ctx, `
+		INSERT INTO github_alpine_sync_state AS s (remote_name, sync_lease_owner, sync_lease_expires)
+		VALUES ($1, $2, now() + make_interval(secs => $4))
+		ON CONFLICT (remote_name) DO UPDATE
+			SET sync_lease_owner   = $2,
+			    sync_lease_expires = now() + make_interval(secs => $4)
+			WHERE (s.last_synced_at IS NULL OR s.last_synced_at < now() - make_interval(secs => $3))
+			  AND (s.sync_lease_expires IS NULL OR s.sync_lease_expires < now())
+		RETURNING s.etag
+	`, remoteName, owner, freshness.Seconds(), lease.Seconds())
+
+	var etag string
+	if err := row.Scan(&etag); err != nil {
+		if errors.Is(err, pgx.ErrNoRows) {
+			return false, "", nil
+		}
+		return false, "", err
+	}
+	return true, etag, nil
+}
+
+// ReleaseGitHubAlpineSyncLease records the completed scan and frees the lease.
+// Only the owning replica may release; last_synced_at advances so the next poll
+// waits a full freshness window, and etag is persisted for the next conditional
+// request.
+func (db *DB) ReleaseGitHubAlpineSyncLease(ctx context.Context, remoteName, owner, etag string, syncedAt time.Time) error {
+	_, err := db.Pool.Exec(ctx, `
+		UPDATE github_alpine_sync_state
+		   SET last_synced_at = $3, etag = $4, sync_lease_owner = '', sync_lease_expires = NULL
+		 WHERE remote_name = $1 AND sync_lease_owner = $2
+	`, remoteName, owner, syncedAt, etag)
+	return err
+}

internal/database/alpine_metadata.go

@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+package database
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"strings"
+
+	"git.unkin.net/unkin/artifactapi/internal/provider"
+)
+
+func (db *DB) InsertAlpineMetadata(ctx context.Context, meta *provider.AlpineMetadata) error {
+	_, err := db.Pool.Exec(ctx, `
+		INSERT INTO alpine_metadata (
+			repo_name, file_path, content_hash, checksum,
+			name, version, arch, download_size, installed_size,
+			description, url, license, origin, maintainer,
+			build_time, commit_hash, provider_priority,
+			depends, provides, install_if
+		) VALUES ($1,$2,$3,$4,$5,$6,$7,$8,$9,$10,$11,$12,$13,$14,$15,$16,$17,$18,$19,$20)
+		ON CONFLICT (repo_name, file_path) DO NOTHING
+	`,
+		meta.RepoName, meta.FilePath, meta.ContentHash, meta.Checksum,
+		meta.Name, meta.Version, meta.Arch, meta.DownloadSize, meta.InstalledSize,
+		meta.Description, meta.URL, meta.License, meta.Origin, meta.Maintainer,
+		meta.BuildTime, meta.Commit, meta.ProviderPriority,
+		strings.Join(meta.Depends, " "), strings.Join(meta.Provides, " "), strings.Join(meta.InstallIf, " "),
+	)
+	return err
+}
+
+func (db *DB) DeleteAlpineMetadata(ctx context.Context, repoName, filePath string) error {
+	_, err := db.Pool.Exec(ctx, `DELETE FROM alpine_metadata WHERE repo_name = $1 AND file_path = $2`, repoName, filePath)
+	return err
+}
+
+func (db *DB) ListAlpineMetadataEntries(ctx context.Context, repoName string) ([]provider.AlpineMetadata, error) {
+	rows, err := db.Pool.Query(ctx, `
+		SELECT repo_name, file_path, content_hash, checksum,
+			name, version, arch, download_size, installed_size,
+			description, url, license, origin, maintainer,
+			build_time, commit_hash, provider_priority,
+			depends, provides, install_if
+		FROM alpine_metadata
+		WHERE repo_name = $1
+		ORDER BY name, version, arch, file_path
+	`, repoName)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	defer rows.Close()
+
+	var result []provider.AlpineMetadata
+	for rows.Next() {
+		var m provider.AlpineMetadata
+		var depends, provides, installIf string
+		if err := rows.Scan(
+			&m.RepoName, &m.FilePath, &m.ContentHash, &m.Checksum,
+			&m.Name, &m.Version, &m.Arch, &m.DownloadSize, &m.InstalledSize,
+			&m.Description, &m.URL, &m.License, &m.Origin, &m.Maintainer,
+			&m.BuildTime, &m.Commit, &m.ProviderPriority,
+			&depends, &provides, &installIf,
+		); err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+		m.Depends = strings.Fields(depends)
+		m.Provides = strings.Fields(provides)
+		m.InstallIf = strings.Fields(installIf)
+		result = append(result, m)
+	}
+	return result, rows.Err()
+}

internal/database/database_test.go

@@ -99,6 +99,53 @@ func TestRemotesCRUD(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestRemoteMirrorlistRoundTrip(t *testing.T) {
+	requireDB(t)
+	mirrors := []string{"https://b.example", "https://c.example"}
+	if err := testDB.CreateRemote(ctx(), &models.Remote{
+		Name: "r-mirror", PackageType: models.PackageRPM, RepoType: models.RepoTypeRemote,
+		BaseURL: "https://a.example", Mirrorlist: mirrors, MutableTTL: 3600,
+	}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("create mirrorlist remote: %v", err)
+	}
+	defer testDB.DeleteRemote(ctx(), "r-mirror")
+
+	got, err := testDB.GetRemote(ctx(), "r-mirror")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("get: %v", err)
+	}
+	if got.BaseURL != "https://a.example" {
+		t.Fatalf("BaseURL = %q, want https://a.example", got.BaseURL)
+	}
+	if len(got.Mirrorlist) != 2 || got.Mirrorlist[0] != mirrors[0] || got.Mirrorlist[1] != mirrors[1] {
+		t.Fatalf("Mirrorlist round-trip = %v, want %v", got.Mirrorlist, mirrors)
+	}
+	// An unset strategy is stored as the round_robin default.
+	if got.MirrorStrategy != models.MirrorStrategyRoundRobin {
+		t.Fatalf("MirrorStrategy default = %q, want %q", got.MirrorStrategy, models.MirrorStrategyRoundRobin)
+	}
+
+	// Updating to least_conn round-trips.
+	got.MirrorStrategy = models.MirrorStrategyLeastConn
+	if err := testDB.UpdateRemote(ctx(), got); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("update to least_conn: %v", err)
+	}
+	got, _ = testDB.GetRemote(ctx(), "r-mirror")
+	if got.MirrorStrategy != models.MirrorStrategyLeastConn {
+		t.Fatalf("MirrorStrategy after update = %q, want least_conn", got.MirrorStrategy)
+	}
+
+	// Clearing the mirrorlist on update persists an empty list.
+	got.Mirrorlist = nil
+	if err := testDB.UpdateRemote(ctx(), got); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("update clearing mirrorlist: %v", err)
+	}
+	got, _ = testDB.GetRemote(ctx(), "r-mirror")
+	if len(got.Mirrorlist) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("mirrorlist after clear = %v, want empty", got.Mirrorlist)
+	}
+}
+
 func TestArtifactsAndBlobs(t *testing.T) {
 	requireDB(t)
 	seedRemote(t, "r-art")

internal/database/deb_metadata.go

@@ -31,10 +31,10 @@ func (db *DB) ListDebMetadataEntries(ctx context.Context, repoName string) ([]pr
 	rows, err := db.Pool.Query(ctx, `
 		SELECT repo_name, file_path, content_hash,
 			name, version, architecture, control,
-			size, md5, sha256
+			size, md5, sha256, created_at
 		FROM deb_metadata
 		WHERE repo_name = $1
-		ORDER BY name, version, architecture
+		ORDER BY name, version, architecture, file_path
 	`, repoName)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ func (db *DB) ListDebMetadataEntries(ctx context.Context, repoName string) ([]pr
 		if err := rows.Scan(
 			&m.RepoName, &m.FilePath, &m.ContentHash,
 			&m.Name, &m.Version, &m.Architecture, &m.Control,
-			&m.Size, &m.MD5, &m.SHA256,
+			&m.Size, &m.MD5, &m.SHA256, &m.CreatedAt,
 		); err != nil {
 			return nil, err
 		}

internal/database/postgres.go

@@ -44,6 +44,8 @@ func (db *DB) migrate() error {
 			package_type    TEXT NOT NULL,
 			repo_type       TEXT DEFAULT 'remote',
 			base_url        TEXT NOT NULL DEFAULT '',
+			mirrorlist      TEXT[] DEFAULT '{}',
+			mirror_strategy TEXT NOT NULL DEFAULT 'round_robin',
 			description     TEXT DEFAULT '',
 			username        TEXT DEFAULT '',
 			password        TEXT DEFAULT '',
@@ -124,6 +126,8 @@ func (db *DB) migrate() error {
 		CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS idx_access_log_remote_time ON access_log(remote_name, created_at);
 
 		ALTER TABLE remotes ADD COLUMN IF NOT EXISTS repo_type TEXT DEFAULT 'remote';
+		ALTER TABLE remotes ADD COLUMN IF NOT EXISTS mirrorlist TEXT[] DEFAULT '{}';
+		ALTER TABLE remotes ADD COLUMN IF NOT EXISTS mirror_strategy TEXT NOT NULL DEFAULT 'round_robin';
 		ALTER TABLE remotes ADD COLUMN IF NOT EXISTS upstream_dial_timeout INTEGER DEFAULT 0;
 		ALTER TABLE remotes ADD COLUMN IF NOT EXISTS upstream_tls_timeout INTEGER DEFAULT 0;
 		ALTER TABLE remotes ADD COLUMN IF NOT EXISTS upstream_response_header_timeout INTEGER DEFAULT 0;
@@ -182,6 +186,35 @@ func (db *DB) migrate() error {
 
 		CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS idx_deb_metadata_repo ON deb_metadata(repo_name);
 
+		CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS alpine_metadata (
+			id                BIGSERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
+			repo_name         TEXT NOT NULL,
+			file_path         TEXT NOT NULL,
+			content_hash      TEXT NOT NULL,
+			checksum          TEXT NOT NULL,
+			name              TEXT NOT NULL,
+			version           TEXT NOT NULL,
+			arch              TEXT NOT NULL,
+			download_size     BIGINT DEFAULT 0,
+			installed_size    BIGINT DEFAULT 0,
+			description       TEXT DEFAULT '',
+			url               TEXT DEFAULT '',
+			license           TEXT DEFAULT '',
+			origin            TEXT DEFAULT '',
+			maintainer        TEXT DEFAULT '',
+			build_time        BIGINT DEFAULT 0,
+			commit_hash       TEXT DEFAULT '',
+			provider_priority TEXT DEFAULT '',
+			depends           TEXT DEFAULT '',
+			provides          TEXT DEFAULT '',
+			install_if        TEXT DEFAULT '',
+			created_at        TIMESTAMPTZ DEFAULT NOW(),
+			UNIQUE(repo_name, file_path)
+		);
+
+		CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS idx_alpine_metadata_repo ON alpine_metadata(repo_name);
+		CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS idx_alpine_metadata_repo_arch ON alpine_metadata(repo_name, arch);
+
 		CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS github_rpm_sync_state (
 			remote_name        TEXT PRIMARY KEY,
 			etag               TEXT DEFAULT '',
@@ -198,6 +231,14 @@ func (db *DB) migrate() error {
 			sync_lease_expires TIMESTAMPTZ
 		);
 
+		CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS github_alpine_sync_state (
+			remote_name        TEXT PRIMARY KEY,
+			etag               TEXT DEFAULT '',
+			last_synced_at     TIMESTAMPTZ,
+			sync_lease_owner   TEXT DEFAULT '',
+			sync_lease_expires TIMESTAMPTZ
+		);
+
 		CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS signing_keys (
 			purpose             TEXT PRIMARY KEY,
 			private_key_armor   TEXT NOT NULL,

internal/database/remotes.go

@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ import (
 	"git.unkin.net/unkin/artifactapi/pkg/models"
 )
 
-const remoteCols = `name, package_type, repo_type, base_url, description, username, password,
+const remoteCols = `name, package_type, repo_type, base_url, mirrorlist, mirror_strategy, description, username, password,
 	immutable_ttl, mutable_ttl, check_mutable,
 	patterns, blocklist, mutable_patterns, immutable_patterns,
 	ban_tags_enabled, ban_tags,
@@ -15,9 +15,18 @@ const remoteCols = `name, package_type, repo_type, base_url, description, userna
 	upstream_dial_timeout, upstream_tls_timeout, upstream_response_header_timeout,
 	created_at, updated_at`
 
+// normalizeMirrorStrategy maps an empty strategy to the round_robin default so
+// the NOT NULL mirror_strategy column always stores a canonical value.
+func normalizeMirrorStrategy(s string) string {
+	if s == "" {
+		return models.MirrorStrategyRoundRobin
+	}
+	return s
+}
+
 func scanRemote(scanner interface{ Scan(...any) error }, r *models.Remote) error {
 	return scanner.Scan(
-		&r.Name, &r.PackageType, &r.RepoType, &r.BaseURL, &r.Description, &r.Username, &r.Password,
+		&r.Name, &r.PackageType, &r.RepoType, &r.BaseURL, &r.Mirrorlist, &r.MirrorStrategy, &r.Description, &r.Username, &r.Password,
 		&r.ImmutableTTL, &r.MutableTTL, &r.CheckMutable,
 		&r.Patterns, &r.Blocklist, &r.MutablePatterns, &r.ImmutablePatterns,
 		&r.BanTagsEnabled, &r.BanTags,
@@ -58,22 +67,24 @@ func (db *DB) ListRemotes(ctx context.Context) ([]models.Remote, error) {
 func (db *DB) CreateRemote(ctx context.Context, r *models.Remote) error {
 	_, err := db.Pool.Exec(ctx, `
 		INSERT INTO remotes (
-			name, package_type, repo_type, base_url, description, username, password,
+			name, package_type, repo_type, base_url, mirrorlist, description, username, password,
 			immutable_ttl, mutable_ttl, check_mutable,
 			patterns, blocklist, mutable_patterns, immutable_patterns,
 			ban_tags_enabled, ban_tags,
 			quarantine_enabled, quarantine_days, stale_on_error,
 			releases_remote, managed_by,
-			upstream_dial_timeout, upstream_tls_timeout, upstream_response_header_timeout
+			upstream_dial_timeout, upstream_tls_timeout, upstream_response_header_timeout,
-		) VALUES ($1,$2,$3,$4,$5,$6,$7,$8,$9,$10,$11,$12,$13,$14,$15,$16,$17,$18,$19,$20,$21,$22,$23,$24)
+			mirror_strategy
+		) VALUES ($1,$2,$3,$4,$5,$6,$7,$8,$9,$10,$11,$12,$13,$14,$15,$16,$17,$18,$19,$20,$21,$22,$23,$24,$25,$26)
 	`,
-		r.Name, r.PackageType, r.RepoType, r.BaseURL, r.Description, r.Username, r.Password,
+		r.Name, r.PackageType, r.RepoType, r.BaseURL, r.Mirrorlist, r.Description, r.Username, r.Password,
 		r.ImmutableTTL, r.MutableTTL, r.CheckMutable,
 		r.Patterns, r.Blocklist, r.MutablePatterns, r.ImmutablePatterns,
 		r.BanTagsEnabled, r.BanTags,
 		r.QuarantineEnabled, r.QuarantineDays, r.StaleOnError,
 		r.ReleasesRemote, r.ManagedBy,
 		r.UpstreamDialTimeout, r.UpstreamTLSTimeout, r.UpstreamResponseHeaderTimeout,
+		normalizeMirrorStrategy(r.MirrorStrategy),
 	)
 	return err
 }
@@ -81,13 +92,14 @@ func (db *DB) CreateRemote(ctx context.Context, r *models.Remote) error {
 func (db *DB) UpdateRemote(ctx context.Context, r *models.Remote) error {
 	_, err := db.Pool.Exec(ctx, `
 		UPDATE remotes SET
-			package_type=$2, repo_type=$3, base_url=$4, description=$5, username=$6, password=$7,
+			package_type=$2, repo_type=$3, base_url=$4, mirrorlist=$25, description=$5, username=$6, password=$7,
 			immutable_ttl=$8, mutable_ttl=$9, check_mutable=$10,
 			patterns=$11, blocklist=$12, mutable_patterns=$13, immutable_patterns=$14,
 			ban_tags_enabled=$15, ban_tags=$16,
 			quarantine_enabled=$17, quarantine_days=$18, stale_on_error=$19,
 			releases_remote=$20, managed_by=$21,
 			upstream_dial_timeout=$22, upstream_tls_timeout=$23, upstream_response_header_timeout=$24,
+			mirror_strategy=$26,
 			updated_at=NOW()
 		WHERE name=$1
 	`,
@@ -98,6 +110,8 @@ func (db *DB) UpdateRemote(ctx context.Context, r *models.Remote) error {
 		r.QuarantineEnabled, r.QuarantineDays, r.StaleOnError,
 		r.ReleasesRemote, r.ManagedBy,
 		r.UpstreamDialTimeout, r.UpstreamTLSTimeout, r.UpstreamResponseHeaderTimeout,
+		r.Mirrorlist,
+		normalizeMirrorStrategy(r.MirrorStrategy),
 	)
 	return err
 }

internal/database/rpm_metadata.go

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package database
 import (
 	"context"
 	"encoding/json"
+	"time"
 
 	"git.unkin.net/unkin/artifactapi/internal/provider"
 )
@@ -65,6 +66,7 @@ type RPMMetadataRow struct {
 	Obsoletes     json.RawMessage
 	Files         json.RawMessage
 	Changelogs    json.RawMessage
+	CreatedAt     time.Time
 }
 
 func (db *DB) ListRPMMetadataEntries(ctx context.Context, repoName string) ([]provider.RPMMetadata, error) {
@@ -94,6 +96,7 @@ func (db *DB) ListRPMMetadataEntries(ctx context.Context, repoName string) ([]pr
 			SourceRPM:     r.SourceRPM,
 			URL:           r.URL,
 			Packager:      r.Packager,
+			CreatedAt:     r.CreatedAt,
 		}
 		json.Unmarshal(r.Requires, &meta.Requires)
 		json.Unmarshal(r.Provides, &meta.Provides)
@@ -112,10 +115,11 @@ func (db *DB) ListRPMMetadata(ctx context.Context, repoName string) ([]RPMMetada
 			name, epoch, version, release, arch,
 			summary, description, rpm_size, installed_size,
 			license, vendor, build_group, build_host, source_rpm, url, packager,
-			requires, provides, conflicts, obsoletes, files, changelogs
+			requires, provides, conflicts, obsoletes, files, changelogs,
+			created_at
 		FROM rpm_metadata
 		WHERE repo_name = $1
-		ORDER BY name, epoch, version, release, arch
+		ORDER BY name, epoch, version, release, arch, file_path
 	`, repoName)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
@@ -131,6 +135,7 @@ func (db *DB) ListRPMMetadata(ctx context.Context, repoName string) ([]RPMMetada
 			&r.Summary, &r.Description, &r.RPMSize, &r.InstalledSize,
 			&r.License, &r.Vendor, &r.Group, &r.BuildHost, &r.SourceRPM, &r.URL, &r.Packager,
 			&r.Requires, &r.Provides, &r.Conflicts, &r.Obsoletes, &r.Files, &r.Changelogs,
+			&r.CreatedAt,
 		); err != nil {
 			return nil, err
 		}

internal/provider/alpine/alpine.go

@@ -1,12 +1,27 @@
 package alpine
 
 import (
+	"bufio"
+	"bytes"
+	"compress/gzip"
 	"context"
+	"crypto/sha1"
+	"encoding/base64"
+	"errors"
+	"fmt"
+	"io"
+	"log/slog"
 	"net/http"
+	"path"
+	"strconv"
 	"strings"
+	"time"
+
+	"archive/tar"
 
 	"git.unkin.net/unkin/artifactapi/internal/auth"
 	"git.unkin.net/unkin/artifactapi/internal/provider"
+	"git.unkin.net/unkin/artifactapi/internal/storage"
 	"git.unkin.net/unkin/artifactapi/pkg/models"
 )
 
@@ -46,3 +61,349 @@ func (p *Provider) RewriteResponse(_ []byte, _ models.Remote, _ string) ([]byte,
 func (p *Provider) AuthHeaders(_ context.Context, remote models.Remote) (http.Header, error) {
 	return auth.BasicHeaders(remote), nil
 }
+
+// --- LocalUploader: hosting real .apk packages -----------------------------
+
+// ValidateUpload accepts any *.apk and preserves the client-supplied directory
+// (the arch prefix) as the storage path, since arch cannot be parsed from the
+// filename alone and the generic uploader hands us only the path. apk clients
+// fetch packages at <arch>/<file>.apk, so publishers upload to that same path;
+// AfterUpload records the true arch (from .PKGINFO) for index filtering.
+func (p *Provider) ValidateUpload(filePath string) (storagePath, contentType string, err error) {
+	clean := strings.TrimPrefix(path.Clean("/"+filePath), "/")
+	filename := clean
+	if i := strings.LastIndex(clean, "/"); i >= 0 {
+		filename = clean[i+1:]
+	}
+	if !strings.HasSuffix(strings.ToLower(filename), ".apk") {
+		return "", "", fmt.Errorf("file must be a .apk package")
+	}
+	return clean, "application/vnd.android.package-archive", nil
+}
+
+func (p *Provider) UploadResponse(storagePath, contentHash string, sizeBytes int64) map[string]any {
+	filename := storagePath
+	if i := strings.LastIndex(storagePath, "/"); i >= 0 {
+		filename = storagePath[i+1:]
+	}
+	return map[string]any{
+		"filename":     filename,
+		"content_hash": contentHash,
+		"size_bytes":   sizeBytes,
+	}
+}
+
+func (p *Provider) AfterUpload(ctx context.Context, repoName, storagePath, contentHash string, blobs provider.BlobReader, db provider.MetadataStore) {
+	s3Key := storage.BlobKey(strings.TrimPrefix(contentHash, "sha256:"))
+
+	reader, blobSize, err := blobs.Download(ctx, s3Key)
+	if err != nil {
+		slog.Error("alpine metadata: download failed", "repo", repoName, "path", storagePath, "error", err)
+		return
+	}
+	defer reader.Close()
+
+	raw, err := io.ReadAll(reader)
+	if err != nil {
+		slog.Error("alpine metadata: read failed", "repo", repoName, "path", storagePath, "error", err)
+		return
+	}
+
+	meta, err := parseApk(raw)
+	if err != nil {
+		slog.Error("alpine metadata: parse failed", "repo", repoName, "path", storagePath, "error", err)
+		return
+	}
+	meta.RepoName = repoName
+	meta.FilePath = storagePath
+	meta.ContentHash = contentHash
+	meta.DownloadSize = blobSize
+
+	if meta.Name == "" || meta.Arch == "" {
+		slog.Error("alpine metadata: .PKGINFO missing pkgname/arch", "repo", repoName, "path", storagePath)
+		return
+	}
+
+	store, ok := db.(provider.AlpineMetadataStore)
+	if !ok {
+		slog.Error("alpine metadata: store does not support alpine metadata", "repo", repoName)
+		return
+	}
+	if err := store.InsertAlpineMetadata(ctx, meta); err != nil {
+		slog.Error("alpine metadata: insert failed", "repo", repoName, "path", storagePath, "error", err)
+		return
+	}
+	slog.Info("alpine metadata: parsed", "repo", repoName, "name", meta.Name, "version", meta.Version, "arch", meta.Arch)
+}
+
+func (p *Provider) AfterDelete(ctx context.Context, repoName, storagePath string, db provider.MetadataDeleter) error {
+	deleter, ok := db.(provider.AlpineMetadataDeleter)
+	if !ok {
+		return nil
+	}
+	if err := deleter.DeleteAlpineMetadata(ctx, repoName, storagePath); err != nil {
+		slog.Error("alpine metadata: delete failed", "repo", repoName, "path", storagePath, "error", err)
+		return err
+	}
+	slog.Info("alpine metadata: deleted", "repo", repoName, "path", storagePath)
+	return nil
+}
+
+// --- LocalIndexer: generating a per-arch APKINDEX.tar.gz -------------------
+
+// normalizeIndexPath collapses apk's dot-segment prefix: an /etc/apk/repositories
+// line of "<url>/api/v1/local/<name>" makes apk request "./<arch>/APKINDEX.tar.gz".
+// Mirrors deb's flat-repo normalization.
+func normalizeIndexPath(p string) string {
+	return strings.TrimPrefix(path.Clean("/"+p), "/")
+}
+
+func (p *Provider) ServeLocalIndex(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request, files provider.FileStore, repoName, reqPath string) bool {
+	clean := normalizeIndexPath(reqPath)
+	if !strings.HasSuffix(clean, "APKINDEX.tar.gz") {
+		return false
+	}
+	arch := strings.TrimSuffix(clean, "APKINDEX.tar.gz")
+	arch = strings.Trim(arch, "/")
+	if arch == "" || strings.Contains(arch, "/") {
+		http.Error(w, "APKINDEX must be requested per-arch: <arch>/APKINDEX.tar.gz", http.StatusNotFound)
+		return true
+	}
+
+	reader, ok := files.(provider.AlpineMetadataReader)
+	if !ok {
+		http.Error(w, "alpine metadata not available", http.StatusInternalServerError)
+		return true
+	}
+
+	metas, err := reader.ListAlpineMetadataEntries(r.Context(), repoName)
+	if err != nil {
+		if errors.Is(err, context.Canceled) || errors.Is(err, context.DeadlineExceeded) {
+			slog.Warn("alpine: metadata read canceled", "repo", repoName, "error", err)
+			http.Error(w, "metadata read canceled", http.StatusServiceUnavailable)
+			return true
+		}
+		http.Error(w, err.Error(), http.StatusInternalServerError)
+		return true
+	}
+
+	var filtered []provider.AlpineMetadata
+	for _, m := range metas {
+		if m.Arch == arch {
+			filtered = append(filtered, m)
+		}
+	}
+
+	w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/gzip")
+	w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+	w.Write(generateAPKIndex(filtered))
+	return true
+}
+
+func (p *Provider) GenerateLocalIndex(ctx context.Context, files provider.FileStore, repoName, path string) ([]byte, error) {
+	return nil, fmt.Errorf("alpine local index generation for virtual repos not supported")
+}
+
+// --- pure-Go .apk parsing --------------------------------------------------
+
+// parseApk reads an .apk (up to three concatenated, independently gzipped tar
+// streams: optional signature, control, data). It locates the control stream by
+// its .PKGINFO member, computes the apk pull checksum C: = "Q1" +
+// base64(sha1(<control gzip stream bytes>)), and reads the .PKGINFO fields.
+func parseApk(raw []byte) (*provider.AlpineMetadata, error) {
+	members, err := gzipMembers(raw)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	for _, m := range members {
+		pkginfo, ok := pkginfoFromTar(m.tar)
+		if !ok {
+			continue
+		}
+		meta := parsePkginfo(pkginfo)
+		sum := sha1.Sum(m.raw)
+		meta.Checksum = "Q1" + base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString(sum[:])
+		return meta, nil
+	}
+	return nil, errors.New("no .PKGINFO found in any .apk gzip stream")
+}
+
+type gzMember struct {
+	raw []byte // the raw bytes of this gzip stream (for the Q1 checksum)
+	tar []byte // the decompressed tar payload
+}
+
+// gzipMembers splits the concatenated gzip streams, returning each stream's raw
+// bytes alongside its decompressed tar. It relies on bytes.Reader being an
+// io.ByteReader (so compress/gzip does not over-read past a member's trailer)
+// to recover exact stream boundaries via Multistream(false)+Reset.
+func gzipMembers(data []byte) ([]gzMember, error) {
+	br := bytes.NewReader(data)
+	zr, err := gzip.NewReader(br)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	var members []gzMember
+	prev := 0
+	for {
+		zr.Multistream(false)
+		out, err := io.ReadAll(zr)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+		end := len(data) - br.Len()
+		members = append(members, gzMember{raw: data[prev:end], tar: out})
+		prev = end
+		if err := zr.Reset(br); err != nil {
+			if err == io.EOF {
+				break
+			}
+			return nil, err
+		}
+	}
+	return members, nil
+}
+
+func pkginfoFromTar(tarBytes []byte) (string, bool) {
+	tr := tar.NewReader(bytes.NewReader(tarBytes))
+	for {
+		hdr, err := tr.Next()
+		if err != nil {
+			return "", false
+		}
+		if strings.TrimPrefix(hdr.Name, "./") == ".PKGINFO" {
+			b, err := io.ReadAll(tr)
+			if err != nil {
+				return "", false
+			}
+			return string(b), true
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// parsePkginfo reads the "key = value" .PKGINFO text, collecting the repeated
+// depend/provides/install_if keys into slices.
+func parsePkginfo(text string) *provider.AlpineMetadata {
+	m := &provider.AlpineMetadata{}
+	sc := bufio.NewScanner(strings.NewReader(text))
+	sc.Buffer(make([]byte, 0, 64*1024), 1024*1024)
+	for sc.Scan() {
+		line := strings.TrimSpace(sc.Text())
+		if line == "" || strings.HasPrefix(line, "#") {
+			continue
+		}
+		idx := strings.Index(line, "=")
+		if idx < 0 {
+			continue
+		}
+		key := strings.TrimSpace(line[:idx])
+		val := strings.TrimSpace(line[idx+1:])
+		switch key {
+		case "pkgname":
+			m.Name = val
+		case "pkgver":
+			m.Version = val
+		case "arch":
+			m.Arch = val
+		case "pkgdesc":
+			m.Description = val
+		case "url":
+			m.URL = val
+		case "license":
+			m.License = val
+		case "origin":
+			m.Origin = val
+		case "maintainer":
+			m.Maintainer = val
+		case "builddate":
+			if n, err := strconv.ParseInt(val, 10, 64); err == nil {
+				m.BuildTime = n
+			}
+		case "commit":
+			m.Commit = val
+		case "size":
+			if n, err := strconv.ParseInt(val, 10, 64); err == nil {
+				m.InstalledSize = n
+			}
+		case "provider_priority":
+			m.ProviderPriority = val
+		case "depend":
+			if val != "" {
+				m.Depends = append(m.Depends, val)
+			}
+		case "provides":
+			if val != "" {
+				m.Provides = append(m.Provides, val)
+			}
+		case "install_if":
+			if val != "" {
+				m.InstallIf = append(m.InstallIf, val)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	return m
+}
+
+// generateAPKIndex builds the APKINDEX.tar.gz = gzip(tar(APKINDEX)) for the
+// given (already arch-filtered) rows. Records are blank-line separated; fields
+// follow the canonical C/P/V/A/S/I/T/U/L/o/m/t/c/k/D/p/i order and empties are
+// omitted. Unsigned (clients use --allow-untrusted), matching rpm gpgcheck=0.
+func generateAPKIndex(metas []provider.AlpineMetadata) []byte {
+	var idx bytes.Buffer
+	for i, m := range metas {
+		if i > 0 {
+			idx.WriteString("\n")
+		}
+		writeField(&idx, "C", m.Checksum)
+		writeField(&idx, "P", m.Name)
+		writeField(&idx, "V", m.Version)
+		writeField(&idx, "A", m.Arch)
+		writeField(&idx, "S", intField(m.DownloadSize))
+		writeField(&idx, "I", intField(m.InstalledSize))
+		writeField(&idx, "T", m.Description)
+		writeField(&idx, "U", m.URL)
+		writeField(&idx, "L", m.License)
+		writeField(&idx, "o", m.Origin)
+		writeField(&idx, "m", m.Maintainer)
+		writeField(&idx, "t", intField(m.BuildTime))
+		writeField(&idx, "c", m.Commit)
+		writeField(&idx, "k", m.ProviderPriority)
+		writeField(&idx, "D", strings.Join(m.Depends, " "))
+		writeField(&idx, "p", strings.Join(m.Provides, " "))
+		writeField(&idx, "i", strings.Join(m.InstallIf, " "))
+	}
+
+	var tarBuf bytes.Buffer
+	tw := tar.NewWriter(&tarBuf)
+	body := idx.Bytes()
+	// ModTime is pinned to the Unix epoch (never wall clock) so APKINDEX.tar.gz
+	// is byte-identical across replicas and regenerations (issue #117); apk
+	// clients ignore the tar mtime.
+	tw.WriteHeader(&tar.Header{Name: "APKINDEX", Mode: 0o644, Size: int64(len(body)), Typeflag: tar.TypeReg, ModTime: time.Unix(0, 0)})
+	tw.Write(body)
+	tw.Close()
+
+	var gzBuf bytes.Buffer
+	gz := gzip.NewWriter(&gzBuf)
+	gz.Write(tarBuf.Bytes())
+	gz.Close()
+	return gzBuf.Bytes()
+}
+
+func writeField(b *bytes.Buffer, key, val string) {
+	if val == "" {
+		return
+	}
+	b.WriteString(key)
+	b.WriteString(":")
+	b.WriteString(val)
+	b.WriteString("\n")
+}
+
+func intField(n int64) string {
+	if n == 0 {
+		return ""
+	}
+	return strconv.FormatInt(n, 10)
+}

internal/provider/alpine/alpine_deterministic_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+package alpine
+
+import (
+	"archive/tar"
+	"bytes"
+	"compress/gzip"
+	"io"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"git.unkin.net/unkin/artifactapi/internal/provider"
+)
+
+func apkFixture() []provider.AlpineMetadata {
+	return []provider.AlpineMetadata{
+		{
+			RepoName: "r", FilePath: "x86_64/aaa-1.0-r0.apk", Checksum: "Q1aaa",
+			Name: "aaa", Version: "1.0-r0", Arch: "x86_64", DownloadSize: 100, InstalledSize: 10,
+			Description: "pkg aaa", URL: "https://a", License: "MIT",
+			Depends: []string{"so:libc"}, Provides: []string{"cmd:aaa"}, BuildTime: 1710000000,
+		},
+		{
+			RepoName: "r", FilePath: "x86_64/bbb-2.0-r0.apk", Checksum: "Q1bbb",
+			Name: "bbb", Version: "2.0-r0", Arch: "x86_64", DownloadSize: 200, InstalledSize: 20,
+		},
+	}
+}
+
+// TestAPKIndexDeterministic asserts APKINDEX.tar.gz is byte-identical across two
+// generations separated by wall-clock time, so the two no-affinity replicas and
+// every regeneration serve the same bytes (issue #117).
+func TestAPKIndexDeterministic(t *testing.T) {
+	metas := apkFixture()
+
+	first := generateAPKIndex(metas)
+	time.Sleep(10 * time.Millisecond)
+	second := generateAPKIndex(metas)
+
+	if !bytes.Equal(first, second) {
+		t.Error("APKINDEX.tar.gz differs across generations")
+	}
+}
+
+// TestAPKIndexTarModTimePinned guards the tar header: its ModTime must be the
+// pinned Unix epoch, never wall clock. Fails if a future edit stamps time.Now().
+func TestAPKIndexTarModTimePinned(t *testing.T) {
+	metas := apkFixture()
+
+	zr, err := gzip.NewReader(bytes.NewReader(generateAPKIndex(metas)))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("gzip: %v", err)
+	}
+	if !zr.ModTime.IsZero() && zr.ModTime.Unix() != 0 {
+		t.Errorf("gzip header ModTime = %v, want zero/epoch", zr.ModTime)
+	}
+
+	tarBytes, err := io.ReadAll(zr)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("gunzip: %v", err)
+	}
+	tr := tar.NewReader(bytes.NewReader(tarBytes))
+	hdr, err := tr.Next()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("tar: %v", err)
+	}
+	if hdr.Name != "APKINDEX" {
+		t.Fatalf("tar entry = %q, want APKINDEX", hdr.Name)
+	}
+	if hdr.ModTime.Unix() != 0 {
+		t.Errorf("APKINDEX tar ModTime = %v (unix %d), want epoch (0)", hdr.ModTime, hdr.ModTime.Unix())
+	}
+}

internal/provider/alpine/alpine_local_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,324 @@
+package alpine
+
+import (
+	"archive/tar"
+	"bytes"
+	"compress/gzip"
+	"context"
+	"crypto/sha1"
+	"encoding/base64"
+	"io"
+	"net/http"
+	"net/http/httptest"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"git.unkin.net/unkin/artifactapi/internal/provider"
+	"git.unkin.net/unkin/artifactapi/internal/testsupport"
+)
+
+type fakeBlobReader struct{ data []byte }
+
+func (f fakeBlobReader) Download(_ context.Context, _ string) (io.ReadCloser, int64, error) {
+	return io.NopCloser(bytes.NewReader(f.data)), int64(len(f.data)), nil
+}
+
+type errBlobReader struct{}
+
+func (errBlobReader) Download(_ context.Context, _ string) (io.ReadCloser, int64, error) {
+	return nil, 0, io.ErrUnexpectedEOF
+}
+
+// fakeAlpineStore satisfies provider.MetadataStore (shared) and
+// provider.AlpineMetadataStore, recording the row AfterUpload writes.
+type fakeAlpineStore struct{ inserted *provider.AlpineMetadata }
+
+func (f *fakeAlpineStore) InsertRPMMetadata(context.Context, *provider.RPMMetadata) error { return nil }
+func (f *fakeAlpineStore) InsertDebMetadata(context.Context, *provider.DebMetadata) error { return nil }
+func (f *fakeAlpineStore) InsertAlpineMetadata(_ context.Context, m *provider.AlpineMetadata) error {
+	f.inserted = m
+	return nil
+}
+
+// fakeAlpineDeleter satisfies provider.MetadataDeleter and AlpineMetadataDeleter.
+type fakeAlpineDeleter struct{ deleted bool }
+
+func (f *fakeAlpineDeleter) DeleteRPMMetadata(context.Context, string, string) error { return nil }
+func (f *fakeAlpineDeleter) DeleteDebMetadata(context.Context, string, string) error { return nil }
+func (f *fakeAlpineDeleter) DeleteAlpineMetadata(context.Context, string, string) error {
+	f.deleted = true
+	return nil
+}
+
+// fakeAlpineReader is a FileStore that also serves alpine metadata rows.
+type fakeAlpineReader struct{ metas []provider.AlpineMetadata }
+
+func (f fakeAlpineReader) ListAlpineMetadataEntries(context.Context, string) ([]provider.AlpineMetadata, error) {
+	return f.metas, nil
+}
+func (f fakeAlpineReader) ListFilesByPrefix(context.Context, string, string) ([]provider.FileEntry, error) {
+	return nil, nil
+}
+func (f fakeAlpineReader) ListPackages(context.Context, string) ([]string, error) { return nil, nil }
+
+type errAlpineReader struct{}
+
+func (errAlpineReader) ListAlpineMetadataEntries(context.Context, string) ([]provider.AlpineMetadata, error) {
+	return nil, io.ErrUnexpectedEOF
+}
+func (errAlpineReader) ListFilesByPrefix(context.Context, string, string) ([]provider.FileEntry, error) {
+	return nil, nil
+}
+func (errAlpineReader) ListPackages(context.Context, string) ([]string, error) { return nil, nil }
+
+func TestAlpineValidateUpload(t *testing.T) {
+	p := &Provider{}
+	sp, ct, err := p.ValidateUpload("x86_64/foo-1.0-r0.apk")
+	if err != nil || sp != "x86_64/foo-1.0-r0.apk" || ct != "application/vnd.android.package-archive" {
+		t.Errorf("sp=%q ct=%q err=%v", sp, ct, err)
+	}
+	// Dot-segment prefix is normalized away.
+	if sp, _, err := p.ValidateUpload("./aarch64/bar-2.0-r1.apk"); err != nil || sp != "aarch64/bar-2.0-r1.apk" {
+		t.Errorf("dot-seg: sp=%q err=%v", sp, err)
+	}
+	if _, _, err := p.ValidateUpload("foo.rpm"); err == nil {
+		t.Error("expected error for non-apk")
+	}
+	resp := p.UploadResponse("x86_64/foo-1.0-r0.apk", "sha256:abc", 42)
+	if resp["filename"] != "foo-1.0-r0.apk" || resp["content_hash"] != "sha256:abc" || resp["size_bytes"] != int64(42) {
+		t.Errorf("upload response %v", resp)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestAlpineAfterUpload(t *testing.T) {
+	data := testsupport.MinimalApk("hello", "1.0-r0", "x86_64")
+	store := &fakeAlpineStore{}
+	(&Provider{}).AfterUpload(context.Background(), "myrepo", "x86_64/hello-1.0-r0.apk",
+		"sha256:deadbeef", fakeBlobReader{data: data}, store)
+
+	m := store.inserted
+	if m == nil {
+		t.Fatal("no metadata inserted")
+	}
+	if m.Name != "hello" || m.Version != "1.0-r0" || m.Arch != "x86_64" {
+		t.Errorf("unexpected metadata: %+v", m)
+	}
+	if m.DownloadSize != int64(len(data)) {
+		t.Errorf("DownloadSize = %d, want %d", m.DownloadSize, len(data))
+	}
+	if m.InstalledSize != 4 {
+		t.Errorf("InstalledSize = %d, want 4", m.InstalledSize)
+	}
+	if m.License != "MIT" || m.Origin != "hello" || !strings.HasPrefix(m.Maintainer, "e2e") {
+		t.Errorf("scalar fields not parsed: %+v", m)
+	}
+	if len(m.Depends) != 1 || m.Depends[0] != "so:libc.musl-x86_64.so.1" {
+		t.Errorf("Depends = %v", m.Depends)
+	}
+	if len(m.Provides) != 1 || m.Provides[0] != "cmd:hello=1.0-r0" {
+		t.Errorf("Provides = %v", m.Provides)
+	}
+
+	// The Q1 checksum is the sha1 of the CONTROL gzip stream (the member whose
+	// tar carries .PKGINFO), not of the whole file.
+	controlRaw := controlStreamBytes(t, data)
+	sum := sha1.Sum(controlRaw)
+	want := "Q1" + base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString(sum[:])
+	if m.Checksum != want {
+		t.Errorf("Checksum = %q, want %q (sha1 of control stream)", m.Checksum, want)
+	}
+	// And explicitly NOT the sha1 of the whole apk.
+	whole := sha1.Sum(data)
+	if m.Checksum == "Q1"+base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString(whole[:]) {
+		t.Error("Checksum was computed over the whole file, not the control stream")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestAlpineAfterUploadErrors(t *testing.T) {
+	store := &fakeAlpineStore{}
+	(&Provider{}).AfterUpload(context.Background(), "r", "x86_64/p.apk", "sha256:x", errBlobReader{}, store)
+	if store.inserted != nil {
+		t.Error("no metadata should be inserted on download error")
+	}
+	store2 := &fakeAlpineStore{}
+	(&Provider{}).AfterUpload(context.Background(), "r", "x86_64/p.apk", "sha256:x", fakeBlobReader{data: []byte("not an apk")}, store2)
+	if store2.inserted != nil {
+		t.Error("no metadata should be inserted on parse error")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestAlpineAfterDelete(t *testing.T) {
+	d := &fakeAlpineDeleter{}
+	if err := (&Provider{}).AfterDelete(context.Background(), "r", "x86_64/p.apk", d); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("AfterDelete: %v", err)
+	}
+	if !d.deleted {
+		t.Error("DeleteAlpineMetadata not called")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestAlpineServeLocalIndex(t *testing.T) {
+	p := &Provider{}
+	reader := fakeAlpineReader{metas: []provider.AlpineMetadata{
+		{Name: "aaa", Version: "1.0-r0", Arch: "x86_64", Checksum: "Q1aaa", DownloadSize: 100, InstalledSize: 10,
+			Description: "pkg aaa", URL: "https://a", License: "MIT", Depends: []string{"so:libc"}, Provides: []string{"cmd:aaa"}},
+		{Name: "bbb", Version: "2.0-r0", Arch: "aarch64", Checksum: "Q1bbb", DownloadSize: 200, InstalledSize: 20},
+	}}
+
+	// x86_64 index contains only aaa, with its fields, and not bbb.
+	w := serveIndex(t, p, reader, "x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz")
+	if w.Code != 200 {
+		t.Fatalf("code %d", w.Code)
+	}
+	idx := untarIndex(t, w.Body.Bytes())
+	for _, want := range []string{"C:Q1aaa", "P:aaa", "V:1.0-r0", "A:x86_64", "S:100", "I:10", "T:pkg aaa", "U:https://a", "L:MIT", "D:so:libc", "p:cmd:aaa"} {
+		if !strings.Contains(idx, want) {
+			t.Errorf("x86_64 APKINDEX missing %q:\n%s", want, idx)
+		}
+	}
+	if strings.Contains(idx, "P:bbb") {
+		t.Errorf("x86_64 APKINDEX leaked aarch64 package:\n%s", idx)
+	}
+
+	// aarch64 index contains only bbb.
+	w = serveIndex(t, p, reader, "aarch64/APKINDEX.tar.gz")
+	idx = untarIndex(t, w.Body.Bytes())
+	if !strings.Contains(idx, "P:bbb") || strings.Contains(idx, "P:aaa") {
+		t.Errorf("aarch64 filtering wrong:\n%s", idx)
+	}
+
+	// Non-index and .apk paths are not owned by the indexer.
+	for _, path := range []string{"x86_64/foo-1.0-r0.apk", "x86_64/", "README"} {
+		w := httptest.NewRecorder()
+		r := httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, "/"+path, nil)
+		if p.ServeLocalIndex(w, r, reader, "repo", path) {
+			t.Errorf("ServeLocalIndex should return false for %q", path)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// Empty fields are omitted from the record (bbb has no description/url).
+func TestAlpineIndexOmitsEmptyFields(t *testing.T) {
+	p := &Provider{}
+	reader := fakeAlpineReader{metas: []provider.AlpineMetadata{
+		{Name: "bbb", Version: "2.0-r0", Arch: "x86_64", Checksum: "Q1bbb", DownloadSize: 200, InstalledSize: 20},
+	}}
+	idx := untarIndex(t, serveIndex(t, p, reader, "x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz").Body.Bytes())
+	for _, absent := range []string{"T:", "U:", "L:", "D:", "p:", "i:", "o:", "m:", "c:", "k:"} {
+		if strings.Contains(idx, absent) {
+			t.Errorf("empty field %q should be omitted:\n%s", absent, idx)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// apk requests "./<arch>/APKINDEX.tar.gz" for a bare repo base URL; the
+// dot-segment must be collapsed and yield the same bytes as the plain path.
+func TestAlpineServeLocalIndexDotSegment(t *testing.T) {
+	p := &Provider{}
+	reader := fakeAlpineReader{metas: []provider.AlpineMetadata{
+		{Name: "aaa", Version: "1.0-r0", Arch: "x86_64", Checksum: "Q1aaa", DownloadSize: 100, InstalledSize: 10},
+	}}
+	plain := untarIndex(t, serveIndex(t, p, reader, "x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz").Body.Bytes())
+	dotted := untarIndex(t, serveIndex(t, p, reader, "./x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz").Body.Bytes())
+	if plain != dotted {
+		t.Errorf("dot-segment path differs:\nplain=%q\ndotted=%q", plain, dotted)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestAlpineServeLocalIndexArchRequired(t *testing.T) {
+	p := &Provider{}
+	reader := fakeAlpineReader{}
+	w := httptest.NewRecorder()
+	r := httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, "/APKINDEX.tar.gz", nil)
+	if !p.ServeLocalIndex(w, r, reader, "repo", "APKINDEX.tar.gz") {
+		t.Fatal("bare APKINDEX should be owned (and rejected) by the indexer")
+	}
+	if w.Code != http.StatusNotFound {
+		t.Errorf("bare APKINDEX code = %d, want 404", w.Code)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestAlpineServeMetadataError(t *testing.T) {
+	p := &Provider{}
+	w := httptest.NewRecorder()
+	r := httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, "/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz", nil)
+	p.ServeLocalIndex(w, r, errAlpineReader{}, "repo", "x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz")
+	if w.Code != 500 {
+		t.Errorf("failing reader code = %d, want 500", w.Code)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestAlpineGenerateLocalIndexUnsupported(t *testing.T) {
+	if _, err := (&Provider{}).GenerateLocalIndex(context.Background(), fakeAlpineReader{}, "r", "x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz"); err == nil {
+		t.Error("expected unsupported error")
+	}
+}
+
+func serveIndex(t *testing.T, p *Provider, files provider.FileStore, path string) *httptest.ResponseRecorder {
+	t.Helper()
+	w := httptest.NewRecorder()
+	r := httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, "/"+path, nil)
+	if !p.ServeLocalIndex(w, r, files, "repo", path) {
+		t.Fatalf("ServeLocalIndex returned false for %q", path)
+	}
+	return w
+}
+
+// untarIndex un-gzips and un-tars an APKINDEX.tar.gz and returns the APKINDEX text.
+func untarIndex(t *testing.T, gzTar []byte) string {
+	t.Helper()
+	zr, err := gzip.NewReader(bytes.NewReader(gzTar))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("APKINDEX not gzip: %v", err)
+	}
+	tarBytes, _ := io.ReadAll(zr)
+	tr := tar.NewReader(bytes.NewReader(tarBytes))
+	for {
+		hdr, err := tr.Next()
+		if err == io.EOF {
+			break
+		}
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("APKINDEX not tar: %v", err)
+		}
+		if hdr.Name == "APKINDEX" {
+			b, _ := io.ReadAll(tr)
+			return string(b)
+		}
+	}
+	t.Fatal("no APKINDEX member in tarball")
+	return ""
+}
+
+// controlStreamBytes returns the raw bytes of the gzip stream whose tar carries
+// .PKGINFO, so the test can independently compute the expected Q1 checksum.
+func controlStreamBytes(t *testing.T, apk []byte) []byte {
+	t.Helper()
+	br := bytes.NewReader(apk)
+	zr, err := gzip.NewReader(br)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("gzip: %v", err)
+	}
+	prev := 0
+	for {
+		zr.Multistream(false)
+		out, _ := io.ReadAll(zr)
+		end := len(apk) - br.Len()
+		tr := tar.NewReader(bytes.NewReader(out))
+		for {
+			h, err := tr.Next()
+			if err != nil {
+				break
+			}
+			if strings.TrimPrefix(h.Name, "./") == ".PKGINFO" {
+				return apk[prev:end]
+			}
+		}
+		prev = end
+		if err := zr.Reset(br); err != nil {
+			break
+		}
+	}
+	t.Fatal("no control stream found")
+	return nil
+}

internal/provider/alpine/github.go

@@ -0,0 +1,714 @@
+package alpine
+
+import (
+	"bytes"
+	"compress/gzip"
+	"context"
+	"crypto/sha1"
+	"encoding/base64"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"errors"
+	"fmt"
+	"io"
+	"log/slog"
+	"net/http"
+	"net/url"
+	"regexp"
+	"strings"
+	"sync"
+	"time"
+
+	"golang.org/x/time/rate"
+
+	"git.unkin.net/unkin/artifactapi/internal/githubauth"
+	"git.unkin.net/unkin/artifactapi/internal/provider"
+	"git.unkin.net/unkin/artifactapi/pkg/models"
+)
+
+// gitHubProvider is the process-wide singleton for github_alpine. The background
+// Syncer binds its shared rate limiter and work queue onto this instance so the
+// request path and the syncer drive the same derive machinery.
+var gitHubProvider = newGitHubProvider()
+
+func init() {
+	provider.Register(gitHubProvider)
+}
+
+// Tuning knobs for the no-precache control fetch. An .apk is up to three
+// concatenated gzip streams (optional signature, control, data); the control
+// stream carrying .PKGINFO sits near the front, so a small prefix reliably
+// covers it.
+const (
+	defaultHeaderRangeInitial = 32 << 10 // 32 KiB — covers the control stream of almost every .apk
+	defaultHeaderRangeMax     = 16 << 20 // 16 MiB — give up past this and skip the asset
+	defaultReleasePageCap     = 10       // 100 releases/page * 10 pages
+
+	defaultScanTimeout  = 10 * time.Minute
+	defaultServeTimeout = 30 * time.Second
+	defaultColdWait     = 8 * time.Second
+)
+
+// GitHubProvider is a metadata-only remote: it scans a GitHub repo's releases
+// for .apk assets, derives per-asset .PKGINFO metadata via a ranged prefix fetch
+// (never downloading whole packages), synthesizes a per-arch APKINDEX from that
+// cached metadata, and redirects package downloads to a backend "releases_remote"
+// (the generic github.com remote) that serves the actual bytes.
+type GitHubProvider struct {
+	client *http.Client
+
+	headerInitial int64
+	headerMax     int64
+	pageCap       int
+	scanTimeout   time.Duration
+	serveTimeout  time.Duration
+	coldWait      time.Duration
+
+	limiter *rate.Limiter
+	syncer  *Syncer
+
+	serverCred githubauth.Credential
+
+	mu       sync.Mutex
+	scanning map[string]bool
+	lastScan map[string]time.Time
+}
+
+func newGitHubProvider() *GitHubProvider {
+	return &GitHubProvider{
+		client:        &http.Client{},
+		headerInitial: defaultHeaderRangeInitial,
+		headerMax:     defaultHeaderRangeMax,
+		pageCap:       defaultReleasePageCap,
+		scanTimeout:   defaultScanTimeout,
+		serveTimeout:  defaultServeTimeout,
+		coldWait:      defaultColdWait,
+		scanning:      map[string]bool{},
+		lastScan:      map[string]time.Time{},
+	}
+}
+
+func (p *GitHubProvider) limiterWait(ctx context.Context) error {
+	if p.limiter == nil {
+		return nil
+	}
+	return p.limiter.Wait(ctx)
+}
+
+func (p *GitHubProvider) Type() models.PackageType { return models.PackageGitHubAlpine }
+
+func (p *GitHubProvider) Classify(path string) provider.Mutability {
+	if strings.HasSuffix(path, "APKINDEX.tar.gz") {
+		return provider.Mutable
+	}
+	return provider.Immutable
+}
+
+func (p *GitHubProvider) ContentType(path string) string {
+	switch {
+	case strings.HasSuffix(path, ".apk"):
+		return "application/vnd.android.package-archive"
+	case strings.HasSuffix(path, ".tar.gz"):
+		return "application/gzip"
+	}
+	return "application/octet-stream"
+}
+
+func (p *GitHubProvider) UpstreamURL(remote models.Remote, path string) string {
+	return strings.TrimRight(remote.BaseURL, "/") + "/" + strings.TrimLeft(path, "/")
+}
+
+func (p *GitHubProvider) RewriteResponse(_ []byte, _ models.Remote, _ string) ([]byte, error) {
+	return nil, nil
+}
+
+func (p *GitHubProvider) AuthHeaders(ctx context.Context, remote models.Remote) (http.Header, error) {
+	return p.githubHeaders(ctx, remote, false)
+}
+
+// ServeRemote answers a request against a github_alpine remote. It refreshes the
+// derived metadata (bounded by mutable_ttl), serves a synthesized per-arch
+// APKINDEX.tar.gz, and 302-redirects .apk downloads to the backend
+// releases_remote. Returns false only for paths it does not own.
+func (p *GitHubProvider) ServeRemote(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request, remote models.Remote, reqPath, proxyBaseURL string, store provider.RemoteMetadataStore) bool {
+	p.onRequest(remote, store)
+
+	// apk requests the index at "./<arch>/APKINDEX.tar.gz"; collapse the
+	// dot-segment before matching, mirroring the local indexer.
+	path := normalizeIndexPath(reqPath)
+
+	if strings.HasSuffix(path, "APKINDEX.tar.gz") {
+		p.serveIndex(w, r, remote, path, store)
+		return true
+	}
+
+	if strings.HasSuffix(path, ".apk") {
+		if remote.ReleasesRemote == "" {
+			http.Error(w, "github_alpine remote has no releases_remote configured for downloads", http.StatusInternalServerError)
+			return true
+		}
+		p.serveApkRedirect(w, r, remote, path, proxyBaseURL, store)
+		return true
+	}
+
+	return false
+}
+
+// serveApkRedirect resolves an apk-reconstructed download path — apk builds
+// "<arch>/<name>-<version>.apk" itself because APKINDEX carries no filename — to
+// the real github-relative asset path stored on the metadata row, then redirects
+// to the backend releases_remote. Passing the inbound path through verbatim would
+// point at a nonexistent, allowlist-denied github.com path.
+func (p *GitHubProvider) serveApkRedirect(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request, remote models.Remote, path, proxyBaseURL string, store provider.RemoteMetadataStore) {
+	arch := strings.TrimSuffix(path[:strings.LastIndex(path, "/")+1], "/")
+	basename := path[strings.LastIndex(path, "/")+1:]
+	if arch == "" || strings.Contains(arch, "/") {
+		http.Error(w, "apk download must be requested per-arch: <arch>/<name>-<version>.apk", http.StatusNotFound)
+		return
+	}
+
+	reader, ok := store.(provider.AlpineMetadataReader)
+	if !ok {
+		http.Error(w, "alpine metadata not available", http.StatusInternalServerError)
+		return
+	}
+	sctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.WithoutCancel(r.Context()), p.serveTimeout)
+	defer cancel()
+	rows, err := reader.ListAlpineMetadataEntries(sctx, remote.Name)
+	if err != nil {
+		http.Error(w, err.Error(), http.StatusInternalServerError)
+		return
+	}
+
+	for _, row := range rows {
+		if row.Arch == arch && row.Name+"-"+row.Version+".apk" == basename {
+			loc := strings.TrimRight(proxyBaseURL, "/") + "/api/v1/remote/" + remote.ReleasesRemote + "/" + strings.TrimLeft(row.FilePath, "/")
+			http.Redirect(w, r, loc, http.StatusFound)
+			return
+		}
+	}
+	http.Error(w, "package not found", http.StatusNotFound)
+}
+
+func (p *GitHubProvider) serveIndex(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request, remote models.Remote, path string, store provider.RemoteMetadataStore) {
+	arch := strings.TrimSuffix(path, "APKINDEX.tar.gz")
+	arch = strings.Trim(arch, "/")
+	if arch == "" || strings.Contains(arch, "/") {
+		http.Error(w, "APKINDEX must be requested per-arch: <arch>/APKINDEX.tar.gz", http.StatusNotFound)
+		return
+	}
+
+	// Serve on a context detached from the inbound request so a client disconnect
+	// never cancels the metadata DB read and surfaces as a 500.
+	sctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.WithoutCancel(r.Context()), p.serveTimeout)
+	defer cancel()
+
+	if p.syncer != nil && !p.ensurePrimed(sctx, remote, store) {
+		w.Header().Set("Retry-After", "5")
+		http.Error(w, "metadata is being prepared, retry shortly", http.StatusServiceUnavailable)
+		return
+	}
+
+	reader, ok := store.(provider.AlpineMetadataReader)
+	if !ok {
+		http.Error(w, "alpine metadata not available", http.StatusInternalServerError)
+		return
+	}
+	metas, err := reader.ListAlpineMetadataEntries(sctx, remote.Name)
+	if err != nil {
+		if errors.Is(err, context.Canceled) || errors.Is(err, context.DeadlineExceeded) {
+			http.Error(w, "metadata read canceled", http.StatusServiceUnavailable)
+			return
+		}
+		http.Error(w, err.Error(), http.StatusInternalServerError)
+		return
+	}
+
+	var filtered []provider.AlpineMetadata
+	for _, m := range metas {
+		if m.Arch == arch {
+			filtered = append(filtered, m)
+		}
+	}
+
+	w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/gzip")
+	w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+	w.Write(generateAPKIndex(filtered))
+}
+
+// onRequest keeps a remote's derived metadata fresh off the request path.
+func (p *GitHubProvider) onRequest(remote models.Remote, store provider.RemoteMetadataStore) {
+	if p.syncer != nil {
+		p.syncer.enqueue(remote, false)
+		return
+	}
+	p.refresh(remote, store)
+}
+
+// ensurePrimed returns true once the remote has at least one cached row. On an
+// empty cache it enqueues a prime and polls briefly for it to land.
+func (p *GitHubProvider) ensurePrimed(ctx context.Context, remote models.Remote, store provider.RemoteMetadataStore) bool {
+	if !p.cacheEmpty(ctx, store, remote.Name) {
+		return true
+	}
+	if p.syncer != nil {
+		p.syncer.enqueue(remote, true)
+	}
+
+	deadline := time.Now().Add(p.coldWait)
+	for time.Now().Before(deadline) {
+		select {
+		case <-ctx.Done():
+			return false
+		case <-time.After(400 * time.Millisecond):
+		}
+		if !p.cacheEmpty(ctx, store, remote.Name) {
+			return true
+		}
+	}
+	return false
+}
+
+func (p *GitHubProvider) cacheEmpty(ctx context.Context, store provider.RemoteMetadataStore, name string) bool {
+	reader, ok := store.(provider.AlpineMetadataReader)
+	if !ok {
+		return false
+	}
+	rows, err := reader.ListAlpineMetadataEntries(ctx, name)
+	if err != nil {
+		return false
+	}
+	return len(rows) == 0
+}
+
+// refresh brings the derived metadata up to date without coupling the scan to
+// the inbound request (legacy inline path used without a syncer / in unit tests).
+func (p *GitHubProvider) refresh(remote models.Remote, store provider.RemoteMetadataStore) {
+	ttl := time.Duration(remote.MutableTTL) * time.Second
+	if ttl <= 0 {
+		ttl = 5 * time.Minute
+	}
+
+	p.mu.Lock()
+	last, ok := p.lastScan[remote.Name]
+	fresh := ok && time.Since(last) < ttl
+	if fresh || p.scanning[remote.Name] {
+		p.mu.Unlock()
+		return
+	}
+	p.scanning[remote.Name] = true
+	p.mu.Unlock()
+
+	if p.cacheEmpty(context.Background(), store, remote.Name) {
+		p.runScan(remote, store)
+		return
+	}
+	go p.runScan(remote, store)
+}
+
+func (p *GitHubProvider) runScan(remote models.Remote, store provider.RemoteMetadataStore) {
+	defer func() {
+		p.mu.Lock()
+		delete(p.scanning, remote.Name)
+		p.mu.Unlock()
+	}()
+
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), p.scanTimeout)
+	defer cancel()
+
+	if err := p.scan(ctx, remote, store); err != nil {
+		slog.Error("github_alpine: release scan failed", "remote", remote.Name, "error", err)
+		return
+	}
+
+	p.mu.Lock()
+	p.lastScan[remote.Name] = time.Now()
+	p.mu.Unlock()
+}
+
+// scan runs a full unconditional derive. Retained for the legacy inline refresh
+// path and existing tests; the syncer uses scanWithState.
+func (p *GitHubProvider) scan(ctx context.Context, remote models.Remote, store provider.RemoteMetadataStore) error {
+	_, _, err := p.scanWithState(ctx, remote, store, "")
+	return err
+}
+
+// scanWithState derives metadata incrementally. It sends the prior releases-list
+// ETag as a conditional request: a 304 means nothing changed. On a 200 it diffs
+// the release assets against the cache, derives only new/changed assets, prunes
+// assets that disappeared, and returns the new ETag.
+func (p *GitHubProvider) scanWithState(ctx context.Context, remote models.Remote, store provider.RemoteMetadataStore, etag string) (newEtag string, changed bool, err error) {
+	inserter, ok := store.(provider.AlpineMetadataStore)
+	if !ok {
+		return etag, false, errors.New("store does not support alpine metadata writes")
+	}
+	deleter, ok := store.(provider.AlpineMetadataDeleter)
+	if !ok {
+		return etag, false, errors.New("store does not support alpine metadata deletes")
+	}
+	reader, ok := store.(provider.AlpineMetadataReader)
+	if !ok {
+		return etag, false, errors.New("store does not support alpine metadata reads")
+	}
+
+	releases, newEtag, notModified, err := p.fetchReleases(ctx, remote, etag)
+	if err != nil {
+		return etag, false, err
+	}
+	if notModified {
+		return etag, false, nil
+	}
+
+	existing, err := reader.ListAlpineMetadataEntries(ctx, remote.Name)
+	if err != nil {
+		return newEtag, false, err
+	}
+	existingByPath := make(map[string]provider.AlpineMetadata, len(existing))
+	for _, m := range existing {
+		existingByPath[m.FilePath] = m
+	}
+
+	allow, err := compilePatterns(remote.Patterns)
+	if err != nil {
+		return newEtag, false, err
+	}
+
+	seen := map[string]bool{}
+	for _, rel := range releases {
+		if rel.Draft {
+			continue
+		}
+		for _, asset := range rel.Assets {
+			if !strings.HasSuffix(strings.ToLower(asset.Name), ".apk") {
+				continue
+			}
+			if !matchesAny(allow, asset.Name) {
+				continue
+			}
+			fp := assetPath(asset)
+			if fp == "" {
+				continue
+			}
+			seen[fp] = true
+
+			if cur, ok := existingByPath[fp]; ok {
+				if asset.Digest == "" || cur.ContentHash == asset.Digest {
+					continue
+				}
+				_ = deleter.DeleteAlpineMetadata(ctx, remote.Name, fp)
+			}
+
+			meta, err := p.deriveAsset(ctx, remote, asset, fp)
+			if err != nil {
+				slog.Warn("github_alpine: derive asset failed", "remote", remote.Name, "asset", asset.Name, "error", err)
+				continue
+			}
+			if err := inserter.InsertAlpineMetadata(ctx, meta); err != nil {
+				slog.Error("github_alpine: insert metadata failed", "remote", remote.Name, "asset", asset.Name, "error", err)
+				continue
+			}
+			slog.Info("github_alpine: derived asset", "remote", remote.Name, "name", meta.Name, "version", meta.Version, "arch", meta.Arch)
+		}
+	}
+
+	for fp := range existingByPath {
+		if !seen[fp] {
+			_ = deleter.DeleteAlpineMetadata(ctx, remote.Name, fp)
+		}
+	}
+	return newEtag, true, nil
+}
+
+type ghRelease struct {
+	TagName string    `json:"tag_name"`
+	Draft   bool      `json:"draft"`
+	Assets  []ghAsset `json:"assets"`
+}
+
+type ghAsset struct {
+	Name               string `json:"name"`
+	Size               int64  `json:"size"`
+	BrowserDownloadURL string `json:"browser_download_url"`
+	Digest             string `json:"digest"`
+}
+
+// fetchReleases lists a repo's releases, sending the prior ETag as If-None-Match
+// on page 1 so an unchanged repo short-circuits to notModified. Every call waits
+// on the shared limiter first.
+func (p *GitHubProvider) fetchReleases(ctx context.Context, remote models.Remote, etag string) (all []ghRelease, newEtag string, notModified bool, err error) {
+	base := strings.TrimRight(remote.BaseURL, "/") + "/releases"
+	for page := 1; page <= p.pageCap; page++ {
+		u := fmt.Sprintf("%s?per_page=100&page=%d", base, page)
+		req, err := http.NewRequestWithContext(ctx, http.MethodGet, u, nil)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, "", false, err
+		}
+		hdr, err := p.githubHeaders(ctx, remote, true)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, "", false, err
+		}
+		copyHeaders(req, hdr)
+		if page == 1 && etag != "" {
+			req.Header.Set("If-None-Match", etag)
+		}
+
+		if err := p.limiterWait(ctx); err != nil {
+			return nil, "", false, err
+		}
+		resp, err := p.client.Do(req)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, "", false, err
+		}
+		if page == 1 && resp.StatusCode == http.StatusNotModified {
+			io.Copy(io.Discard, resp.Body)
+			resp.Body.Close()
+			return nil, etag, true, nil
+		}
+		body, err := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
+		respEtag := resp.Header.Get("ETag")
+		resp.Body.Close()
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, "", false, err
+		}
+		if resp.StatusCode != http.StatusOK {
+			return nil, "", false, fmt.Errorf("github releases API %s: status %d", u, resp.StatusCode)
+		}
+		if page == 1 {
+			newEtag = respEtag
+		}
+		var releases []ghRelease
+		if err := json.Unmarshal(body, &releases); err != nil {
+			return nil, "", false, fmt.Errorf("decode releases: %w", err)
+		}
+		if len(releases) == 0 {
+			break
+		}
+		all = append(all, releases...)
+		if len(releases) < 100 {
+			break
+		}
+	}
+	return all, newEtag, false, nil
+}
+
+func (p *GitHubProvider) deriveAsset(ctx context.Context, remote models.Remote, asset ghAsset, fp string) (*provider.AlpineMetadata, error) {
+	meta, err := p.fetchPkginfo(ctx, remote, asset.BrowserDownloadURL)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	if meta.Name == "" || meta.Arch == "" {
+		return nil, errors.New(".PKGINFO missing pkgname/arch")
+	}
+
+	meta.RepoName = remote.Name
+	meta.FilePath = fp
+	// S: the on-disk .apk size comes straight from the releases API, so we never
+	// download the body just to size it.
+	meta.DownloadSize = asset.Size
+	// ContentHash records the GitHub asset digest (when present) purely so the
+	// next scan can detect a changed asset; unlike deb it is not the index
+	// checksum (that is the Q1 control-stream sum already set in fetchPkginfo).
+	if asset.Digest != "" {
+		meta.ContentHash = asset.Digest
+	}
+	return meta, nil
+}
+
+// fetchPkginfo pulls only the front of the .apk with a ranged GET and derives the
+// .PKGINFO fields plus the apk pull checksum (C: = Q1 + base64(sha1(control gzip
+// stream))). The control stream sits near the front, so a small prefix suffices;
+// a prefix that truncates it doubles the range and retries.
+func (p *GitHubProvider) fetchPkginfo(ctx context.Context, remote models.Remote, downloadURL string) (*provider.AlpineMetadata, error) {
+	n := p.headerInitial
+	for {
+		body, full, err := p.rangeGet(ctx, remote, downloadURL, n)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+		meta, complete, perr := pkginfoFromPrefix(body)
+		if perr != nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("parse apk .PKGINFO: %w", perr)
+		}
+		if complete {
+			return meta, nil
+		}
+		if full || n >= p.headerMax {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf(".PKGINFO not found within %d bytes of %s", n, downloadURL)
+		}
+		n *= 2
+		if n > p.headerMax {
+			n = p.headerMax
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// pkginfoFromPrefix parses the concatenated gzip streams present in a front
+// prefix of an .apk. It walks each fully-covered gzip member until it finds the
+// control stream (the one whose tar carries .PKGINFO), computes the Q1 pull
+// checksum from that stream's raw bytes, and reads the .PKGINFO fields. A prefix
+// too short to fully cover the control stream returns complete=false so the
+// caller can widen the range.
+func pkginfoFromPrefix(prefix []byte) (meta *provider.AlpineMetadata, complete bool, err error) {
+	br := bytes.NewReader(prefix)
+	zr, zerr := gzip.NewReader(br)
+	if zerr != nil {
+		if zerr == io.EOF || zerr == io.ErrUnexpectedEOF {
+			return nil, false, nil
+		}
+		return nil, false, zerr
+	}
+	prev := 0
+	for {
+		zr.Multistream(false)
+		out, rerr := io.ReadAll(zr)
+		if rerr != nil {
+			// A member truncated by the range boundary is not an error — widen.
+			if rerr == io.ErrUnexpectedEOF || rerr == io.EOF {
+				return nil, false, nil
+			}
+			return nil, false, rerr
+		}
+		end := len(prefix) - br.Len()
+		raw := prefix[prev:end]
+
+		if pkginfo, ok := pkginfoFromTar(out); ok {
+			m := parsePkginfo(pkginfo)
+			sum := sha1.Sum(raw)
+			m.Checksum = "Q1" + base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString(sum[:])
+			return m, true, nil
+		}
+
+		prev = end
+		if rsterr := zr.Reset(br); rsterr != nil {
+			if rsterr == io.EOF {
+				// No more complete members in the prefix; the control stream is
+				// either not covered yet or genuinely absent — let the caller
+				// decide by widening (or hitting the full-object guard).
+				return nil, false, nil
+			}
+			if rsterr == io.ErrUnexpectedEOF {
+				return nil, false, nil
+			}
+			return nil, false, rsterr
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// rangeGet returns the first n bytes of downloadURL. full is true when the
+// response body was shorter than n (i.e. we already have the whole object).
+func (p *GitHubProvider) rangeGet(ctx context.Context, remote models.Remote, downloadURL string, n int64) ([]byte, bool, error) {
+	req, err := http.NewRequestWithContext(ctx, http.MethodGet, downloadURL, nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, false, err
+	}
+	hdr, err := p.githubHeaders(ctx, remote, false)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, false, err
+	}
+	copyHeaders(req, hdr)
+	req.Header.Set("Range", fmt.Sprintf("bytes=0-%d", n-1))
+
+	if err := p.limiterWait(ctx); err != nil {
+		return nil, false, err
+	}
+	resp, err := p.client.Do(req)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, false, err
+	}
+	defer resp.Body.Close()
+	if resp.StatusCode != http.StatusOK && resp.StatusCode != http.StatusPartialContent {
+		return nil, false, fmt.Errorf("range GET %s: status %d", downloadURL, resp.StatusCode)
+	}
+
+	body, err := io.ReadAll(io.LimitReader(resp.Body, n))
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, false, err
+	}
+	full := int64(len(body)) < n
+	return body, full, nil
+}
+
+// assetPath is the package's location relative to github.com — the path the
+// backend releases_remote (base https://github.com) proxies. It doubles as the
+// alpine_metadata key and the redirect target, so an .apk download resolves back
+// to this remote and redirects to the backend.
+func assetPath(asset ghAsset) string {
+	u, err := url.Parse(asset.BrowserDownloadURL)
+	if err != nil {
+		return ""
+	}
+	return strings.TrimPrefix(u.Path, "/")
+}
+
+// githubHeaders builds the outbound headers for a GitHub request, attaching a
+// bearer credential when one is available. A per-remote credential wins; absent
+// that, the process-wide server credential is used; absent both, the request is
+// unauthenticated.
+func (p *GitHubProvider) githubHeaders(ctx context.Context, remote models.Remote, api bool) (http.Header, error) {
+	h := http.Header{}
+	if api {
+		h.Set("Accept", "application/vnd.github+json")
+		h.Set("X-GitHub-Api-Version", "2022-11-28")
+	}
+	tok, err := p.githubToken(ctx, remote)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	if tok != "" {
+		h.Set("Authorization", "Bearer "+tok)
+	}
+	return h, nil
+}
+
+// githubToken resolves the bearer token for a remote. Precedence: a per-remote
+// credential (password, then username) overrides the server credential.
+func (p *GitHubProvider) githubToken(ctx context.Context, remote models.Remote) (string, error) {
+	if remote.Password != "" {
+		return remote.Password, nil
+	}
+	if remote.Username != "" {
+		return remote.Username, nil
+	}
+	if c := p.serverCredential(); c != nil {
+		return c.Token(ctx)
+	}
+	return "", nil
+}
+
+func (p *GitHubProvider) serverCredential() githubauth.Credential {
+	if p.serverCred != nil {
+		return p.serverCred
+	}
+	return githubauth.Server()
+}
+
+func copyHeaders(req *http.Request, h http.Header) {
+	for k, vals := range h {
+		for _, v := range vals {
+			req.Header.Add(k, v)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func compilePatterns(patterns []string) ([]*regexp.Regexp, error) {
+	var out []*regexp.Regexp
+	for _, p := range patterns {
+		re, err := regexp.Compile(p)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid pattern %q: %w", p, err)
+		}
+		out = append(out, re)
+	}
+	return out, nil
+}
+
+func matchesAny(res []*regexp.Regexp, s string) bool {
+	if len(res) == 0 {
+		return true
+	}
+	for _, re := range res {
+		if re.MatchString(s) {
+			return true
+		}
+	}
+	return false
+}

internal/provider/alpine/github_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,497 @@
+package alpine
+
+import (
+	"archive/tar"
+	"bytes"
+	"compress/gzip"
+	"context"
+	"crypto/sha256"
+	"encoding/hex"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"fmt"
+	"io"
+	"net/http"
+	"net/http/httptest"
+	"strconv"
+	"strings"
+	"sync"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"git.unkin.net/unkin/artifactapi/internal/provider"
+	"git.unkin.net/unkin/artifactapi/internal/testsupport"
+	"git.unkin.net/unkin/artifactapi/pkg/models"
+)
+
+// fakeStore is an in-memory provider.RemoteMetadataStore + AlpineMetadata
+// store/reader/deleter keyed by file_path, mirroring the (repo_name, file_path)
+// uniqueness of the real alpine_metadata table.
+type fakeStore struct {
+	mu   sync.Mutex
+	rows map[string]provider.AlpineMetadata
+}
+
+func newFakeStore() *fakeStore { return &fakeStore{rows: map[string]provider.AlpineMetadata{}} }
+
+func (f *fakeStore) InsertAlpineMetadata(_ context.Context, m *provider.AlpineMetadata) error {
+	f.mu.Lock()
+	defer f.mu.Unlock()
+	if _, ok := f.rows[m.FilePath]; ok {
+		return nil // ON CONFLICT DO NOTHING
+	}
+	f.rows[m.FilePath] = *m
+	return nil
+}
+
+func (f *fakeStore) DeleteAlpineMetadata(_ context.Context, _, filePath string) error {
+	f.mu.Lock()
+	defer f.mu.Unlock()
+	delete(f.rows, filePath)
+	return nil
+}
+
+func (f *fakeStore) ListAlpineMetadataEntries(ctx context.Context, _ string) ([]provider.AlpineMetadata, error) {
+	if err := ctx.Err(); err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	f.mu.Lock()
+	defer f.mu.Unlock()
+	out := make([]provider.AlpineMetadata, 0, len(f.rows))
+	for _, m := range f.rows {
+		out = append(out, m)
+	}
+	return out, nil
+}
+
+// The generic RemoteMetadataStore surface (rpm/deb) is unused by the alpine
+// github provider but required to satisfy the interface passed to ServeRemote.
+func (f *fakeStore) InsertRPMMetadata(context.Context, *provider.RPMMetadata) error { return nil }
+func (f *fakeStore) DeleteRPMMetadata(context.Context, string, string) error        { return nil }
+func (f *fakeStore) ListRPMMetadataEntries(context.Context, string) ([]provider.RPMMetadata, error) {
+	return nil, nil
+}
+func (f *fakeStore) InsertDebMetadata(context.Context, *provider.DebMetadata) error { return nil }
+func (f *fakeStore) DeleteDebMetadata(context.Context, string, string) error        { return nil }
+
+var _ provider.RemoteMetadataStore = (*fakeStore)(nil)
+
+// githubFixture serves the releases API and the .apk asset downloads (with Range
+// support) for a set of packages. digest controls whether the asset carries a
+// sha256 digest (change-detection path) or not.
+type githubFixture struct {
+	srv         *httptest.Server
+	apkBytes    map[string][]byte
+	rangeHit    map[string]int
+	fullHit     map[string]int
+	etag        string
+	releasesHit int
+	notModHit   int
+	releaseAuth string
+	assetAuth   string
+	mu          sync.Mutex
+}
+
+func newGitHubFixture(t *testing.T, withDigest bool) *githubFixture {
+	t.Helper()
+	f := &githubFixture{
+		apkBytes: map[string][]byte{},
+		rangeHit: map[string]int{},
+		fullHit:  map[string]int{},
+	}
+	f.apkBytes["demo-1.2.3-r0.apk"] = testsupport.MinimalApk("demo", "1.2.3-r0", "x86_64")
+
+	mux := http.NewServeMux()
+	mux.HandleFunc("/repos/acme/tools/releases", func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		page := r.URL.Query().Get("page")
+		if page != "" && page != "1" {
+			w.Write([]byte("[]"))
+			return
+		}
+		f.mu.Lock()
+		f.releasesHit++
+		f.releaseAuth = r.Header.Get("Authorization")
+		etag := f.etag
+		if etag != "" && r.Header.Get("If-None-Match") == etag {
+			f.notModHit++
+			f.mu.Unlock()
+			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusNotModified)
+			return
+		}
+		f.mu.Unlock()
+		if etag != "" {
+			w.Header().Set("ETag", etag)
+		}
+		var assets []map[string]any
+		for name := range f.apkBytes {
+			a := map[string]any{
+				"name":                 name,
+				"size":                 len(f.apkBytes[name]),
+				"browser_download_url": f.srv.URL + "/acme/tools/releases/download/v1.2.3/" + name,
+			}
+			if withDigest {
+				sum := sha256.Sum256(f.apkBytes[name])
+				a["digest"] = "sha256:" + hex.EncodeToString(sum[:])
+			}
+			assets = append(assets, a)
+		}
+		rel := []map[string]any{{"tag_name": "v1.2.3", "draft": false, "assets": assets}}
+		json.NewEncoder(w).Encode(rel)
+	})
+	mux.HandleFunc("/acme/tools/releases/download/", func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		name := r.URL.Path[strings.LastIndex(r.URL.Path, "/")+1:]
+		body, ok := f.apkBytes[name]
+		if !ok {
+			http.Error(w, "not found", 404)
+			return
+		}
+		rng := r.Header.Get("Range")
+		f.mu.Lock()
+		f.assetAuth = r.Header.Get("Authorization")
+		if rng != "" {
+			f.rangeHit[name]++
+		} else {
+			f.fullHit[name]++
+		}
+		f.mu.Unlock()
+
+		if rng == "" {
+			w.WriteHeader(200)
+			w.Write(body)
+			return
+		}
+		var end int
+		fmt.Sscanf(rng, "bytes=0-%d", &end)
+		if end >= len(body)-1 {
+			end = len(body) - 1
+		}
+		w.Header().Set("Content-Range", fmt.Sprintf("bytes 0-%d/%d", end, len(body)))
+		w.Header().Set("Content-Length", strconv.Itoa(end+1))
+		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusPartialContent)
+		w.Write(body[:end+1])
+	})
+	f.srv = httptest.NewServer(mux)
+	t.Cleanup(f.srv.Close)
+	return f
+}
+
+func (f *githubFixture) remote() models.Remote {
+	return models.Remote{
+		Name:           "acme-apk",
+		PackageType:    models.PackageGitHubAlpine,
+		BaseURL:        f.srv.URL + "/repos/acme/tools",
+		ReleasesRemote: "github",
+		MutableTTL:     3600,
+	}
+}
+
+func newTestProvider() *GitHubProvider {
+	p := newGitHubProvider()
+	p.headerInitial = 32 // force the ranged-fetch retry loop against the tiny fixture
+	p.headerMax = 1 << 20
+	return p
+}
+
+const demoPath = "acme/tools/releases/download/v1.2.3/demo-1.2.3-r0.apk"
+
+func TestGitHubScanDerivesPkginfoFromPrefix(t *testing.T) {
+	fx := newGitHubFixture(t, true)
+	p := newTestProvider()
+	store := newFakeStore()
+
+	if err := p.scan(context.Background(), fx.remote(), store); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("scan: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	metas, _ := store.ListAlpineMetadataEntries(context.Background(), "acme-apk")
+	if len(metas) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("want 1 metadata row, got %d", len(metas))
+	}
+	m := metas[0]
+	if m.Name != "demo" || m.Version != "1.2.3-r0" || m.Arch != "x86_64" {
+		t.Fatalf("bad .PKGINFO fields: %+v", m)
+	}
+	if m.FilePath != demoPath {
+		t.Fatalf("FilePath = %q, want %q", m.FilePath, demoPath)
+	}
+	if int(m.DownloadSize) != len(fx.apkBytes["demo-1.2.3-r0.apk"]) {
+		t.Fatalf("DownloadSize = %d, want %d", m.DownloadSize, len(fx.apkBytes["demo-1.2.3-r0.apk"]))
+	}
+	if !strings.HasPrefix(m.Checksum, "Q1") {
+		t.Fatalf("Checksum not a Q1 pull checksum: %q", m.Checksum)
+	}
+	// The C: checksum must equal Q1 over the raw control gzip stream, matching the
+	// local-upload parser applied to the same bytes.
+	want, err := parseApk(fx.apkBytes["demo-1.2.3-r0.apk"])
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("reference parseApk: %v", err)
+	}
+	if m.Checksum != want.Checksum {
+		t.Fatalf("Checksum = %q, want %q (Q1 of control stream)", m.Checksum, want.Checksum)
+	}
+	if fx.fullHit["demo-1.2.3-r0.apk"] != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("expected no full download, got %d", fx.fullHit["demo-1.2.3-r0.apk"])
+	}
+	if fx.rangeHit["demo-1.2.3-r0.apk"] == 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("expected ranged .PKGINFO fetch")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestGitHubServeRemoteIndexAndRedirect(t *testing.T) {
+	fx := newGitHubFixture(t, true)
+	p := newTestProvider()
+	store := newFakeStore()
+	remote := fx.remote()
+	const proxyBase = "https://artifactapi.example"
+
+	// The per-arch index is served and triggers the initial scan.
+	rec := httptest.NewRecorder()
+	req := httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, "/api/v1/remote/acme-apk/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz", nil)
+	if !p.ServeRemote(rec, req, remote, "x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz", proxyBase, store) {
+		t.Fatal("ServeRemote did not handle APKINDEX")
+	}
+	if rec.Code != 200 {
+		t.Fatalf("APKINDEX bad: code=%d body=%s", rec.Code, rec.Body.String())
+	}
+	idx := readAPKIndex(t, rec.Body.Bytes())
+	if !strings.Contains(idx, "P:demo") || !strings.Contains(idx, "A:x86_64") {
+		t.Fatalf("APKINDEX missing package record: %s", idx)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(idx, "C:Q1") {
+		t.Fatalf("APKINDEX missing pull checksum: %s", idx)
+	}
+
+	// A different arch yields an empty (but valid) index.
+	rec = httptest.NewRecorder()
+	req = httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, "/x", nil)
+	if !p.ServeRemote(rec, req, remote, "aarch64/APKINDEX.tar.gz", proxyBase, store) {
+		t.Fatal("ServeRemote did not handle aarch64 APKINDEX")
+	}
+	if rec.Code != 200 {
+		t.Fatalf("empty-arch index bad: %d", rec.Code)
+	}
+	if got := readAPKIndex(t, rec.Body.Bytes()); strings.Contains(got, "P:demo") {
+		t.Fatalf("aarch64 index should not carry the x86_64 package: %s", got)
+	}
+
+	// An .apk request arrives in apk's reconstructed shape
+	// "<arch>/<name>-<version>.apk" (APKINDEX carries no filename), NOT as the
+	// github-relative FilePath. ServeRemote must resolve it back to the stored
+	// FilePath before redirecting to the backend releases_remote.
+	rec = httptest.NewRecorder()
+	req = httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, "/api/v1/remote/acme-apk/x86_64/demo-1.2.3-r0.apk", nil)
+	if !p.ServeRemote(rec, req, remote, "x86_64/demo-1.2.3-r0.apk", proxyBase, store) {
+		t.Fatal("ServeRemote did not handle .apk")
+	}
+	if rec.Code != http.StatusFound {
+		t.Fatalf("want 302, got %d", rec.Code)
+	}
+	wantLoc := proxyBase + "/api/v1/remote/github/" + demoPath
+	if got := rec.Header().Get("Location"); got != wantLoc {
+		t.Fatalf("Location = %q, want %q (must be the stored FilePath, not the inbound path)", got, wantLoc)
+	}
+}
+
+// An apk download whose reconstructed "<arch>/<name>-<version>.apk" matches no
+// cached row must 404, never redirect to a bad path.
+func TestGitHubServeRemoteApkRedirectNotFound(t *testing.T) {
+	fx := newGitHubFixture(t, true)
+	p := newTestProvider()
+	store := newFakeStore()
+	remote := fx.remote()
+
+	// Warm the cache so the store is populated but lacks the requested package.
+	if err := p.scan(context.Background(), remote, store); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("warm scan: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	rec := httptest.NewRecorder()
+	req := httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, "/api/v1/remote/acme-apk/x86_64/nope-9.9.9.apk", nil)
+	if !p.ServeRemote(rec, req, remote, "x86_64/nope-9.9.9.apk", "https://x", store) {
+		t.Fatal("ServeRemote did not handle .apk")
+	}
+	if rec.Code != http.StatusNotFound {
+		t.Fatalf("want 404 for unknown package, got %d (Location=%q)", rec.Code, rec.Header().Get("Location"))
+	}
+}
+
+// apk requests the index at "./<arch>/APKINDEX.tar.gz"; ServeRemote must collapse
+// the dot-segment and synthesize the same index as the un-prefixed request.
+func TestGitHubServeRemoteApkDotSegment(t *testing.T) {
+	fx := newGitHubFixture(t, true)
+	p := newTestProvider()
+	store := newFakeStore()
+	remote := fx.remote()
+	const proxyBase = "https://artifactapi.example"
+
+	serve := func(path string) *httptest.ResponseRecorder {
+		rec := httptest.NewRecorder()
+		req := httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, "/api/v1/remote/acme-apk/"+path, nil)
+		if !p.ServeRemote(rec, req, remote, path, proxyBase, store) {
+			t.Fatalf("ServeRemote did not handle %q", path)
+		}
+		return rec
+	}
+
+	plain, dotted := serve("x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz"), serve("./x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz")
+	if plain.Code != 200 || dotted.Code != 200 {
+		t.Fatalf("index: plain=%d dotted=%d, want 200/200", plain.Code, dotted.Code)
+	}
+	if !bytes.Equal(plain.Body.Bytes(), dotted.Body.Bytes()) {
+		t.Error("./<arch>/APKINDEX.tar.gz body differs from the un-prefixed body")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestGitHubServeRemoteRejectsNonPerArchIndex(t *testing.T) {
+	fx := newGitHubFixture(t, true)
+	p := newTestProvider()
+	store := newFakeStore()
+
+	rec := httptest.NewRecorder()
+	req := httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, "/x", nil)
+	if !p.ServeRemote(rec, req, fx.remote(), "APKINDEX.tar.gz", "https://x", store) {
+		t.Fatal("expected handled")
+	}
+	if rec.Code != http.StatusNotFound {
+		t.Fatalf("bare APKINDEX must 404 (per-arch required), got %d", rec.Code)
+	}
+}
+
+// A canceled inbound request must still serve the warm cache (detached context),
+// not turn the metadata read into a 500.
+func TestGitHubServeRemoteCanceledRequestServesCache(t *testing.T) {
+	fx := newGitHubFixture(t, true)
+	p := newTestProvider()
+	store := newFakeStore()
+	remote := fx.remote()
+
+	if err := p.scan(context.Background(), remote, store); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("warm scan: %v", err)
+	}
+	p.mu.Lock()
+	p.lastScan[remote.Name] = time.Now()
+	p.mu.Unlock()
+
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
+	cancel()
+	rec := httptest.NewRecorder()
+	req := httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, "/api/v1/remote/acme-apk/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz", nil).WithContext(ctx)
+
+	if !p.ServeRemote(rec, req, remote, "x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz", "https://x", store) {
+		t.Fatal("ServeRemote did not handle APKINDEX")
+	}
+	if rec.Code != http.StatusOK {
+		t.Fatalf("canceled request must serve cache, not error; got code=%d body=%s", rec.Code, rec.Body.String())
+	}
+	if got := readAPKIndex(t, rec.Body.Bytes()); !strings.Contains(got, "P:demo") {
+		t.Fatalf("expected index served from cache, got %s", got)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestGitHubServeRemoteRedirectRequiresReleasesRemote(t *testing.T) {
+	fx := newGitHubFixture(t, true)
+	p := newTestProvider()
+	store := newFakeStore()
+	remote := fx.remote()
+	remote.ReleasesRemote = ""
+
+	rec := httptest.NewRecorder()
+	req := httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, "/x", nil)
+	if !p.ServeRemote(rec, req, remote, demoPath, "https://x", store) {
+		t.Fatal("expected handled")
+	}
+	if rec.Code != http.StatusInternalServerError {
+		t.Fatalf("want 500 when releases_remote unset, got %d", rec.Code)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestGitHubScanPrunesRemovedAssets(t *testing.T) {
+	fx := newGitHubFixture(t, true)
+	p := newTestProvider()
+	store := newFakeStore()
+
+	if err := p.scan(context.Background(), fx.remote(), store); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("scan: %v", err)
+	}
+	if rows, _ := store.ListAlpineMetadataEntries(context.Background(), "acme-apk"); len(rows) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("want 1 row after first scan, got %d", len(rows))
+	}
+
+	delete(fx.apkBytes, "demo-1.2.3-r0.apk")
+	if err := p.scan(context.Background(), fx.remote(), store); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("rescan: %v", err)
+	}
+	if rows, _ := store.ListAlpineMetadataEntries(context.Background(), "acme-apk"); len(rows) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("want 0 rows after prune, got %d", len(rows))
+	}
+}
+
+func TestGitHubAssetPatternFilter(t *testing.T) {
+	fx := newGitHubFixture(t, true)
+	fx.apkBytes["other-9-r0.apk"] = testsupport.MinimalApk("other", "9-r0", "aarch64")
+	p := newTestProvider()
+	store := newFakeStore()
+	remote := fx.remote()
+	remote.Patterns = []string{`^demo-.*\.apk$`}
+
+	if err := p.scan(context.Background(), remote, store); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("scan: %v", err)
+	}
+	rows, _ := store.ListAlpineMetadataEntries(context.Background(), "acme-apk")
+	if len(rows) != 1 || rows[0].Name != "demo" {
+		t.Fatalf("pattern filter failed, rows=%+v", rows)
+	}
+}
+
+// Multi-arch: each asset's index record lands under its own arch bucket.
+func TestGitHubServeRemotePerArchGrouping(t *testing.T) {
+	fx := newGitHubFixture(t, true)
+	fx.apkBytes["demo-1.2.3-r0-aarch64.apk"] = testsupport.MinimalApk("demo", "1.2.3-r0", "aarch64")
+	p := newTestProvider()
+	store := newFakeStore()
+	remote := fx.remote()
+	const proxyBase = "https://x"
+
+	if err := p.scan(context.Background(), remote, store); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("scan: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	serve := func(arch string) string {
+		rec := httptest.NewRecorder()
+		req := httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, "/x", nil)
+		if !p.ServeRemote(rec, req, remote, arch+"/APKINDEX.tar.gz", proxyBase, store) {
+			t.Fatalf("ServeRemote did not handle %s", arch)
+		}
+		return readAPKIndex(t, rec.Body.Bytes())
+	}
+
+	x86 := serve("x86_64")
+	if !strings.Contains(x86, "A:x86_64") || strings.Contains(x86, "A:aarch64") {
+		t.Fatalf("x86_64 index leaked another arch: %s", x86)
+	}
+	arm := serve("aarch64")
+	if !strings.Contains(arm, "A:aarch64") || strings.Contains(arm, "A:x86_64") {
+		t.Fatalf("aarch64 index leaked another arch: %s", arm)
+	}
+}
+
+func readAPKIndex(t *testing.T, gzBytes []byte) string {
+	t.Helper()
+	gz, err := gzip.NewReader(bytes.NewReader(gzBytes))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("gzip: %v", err)
+	}
+	tr := tar.NewReader(gz)
+	for {
+		hdr, err := tr.Next()
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal("APKINDEX member missing from tar.gz")
+		}
+		if strings.TrimPrefix(hdr.Name, "./") == "APKINDEX" {
+			body, err := io.ReadAll(tr)
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatalf("read APKINDEX: %v", err)
+			}
+			return string(body)
+		}
+	}
+}

internal/provider/alpine/syncer.go

@@ -0,0 +1,238 @@
+package alpine
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"crypto/rand"
+	"encoding/hex"
+	"log/slog"
+	"os"
+	"sync"
+	"time"
+
+	"golang.org/x/time/rate"
+
+	"git.unkin.net/unkin/artifactapi/internal/provider"
+	"git.unkin.net/unkin/artifactapi/pkg/models"
+)
+
+const (
+	syncLeaseDuration    = 15 * time.Minute
+	defaultSyncFreshness = 5 * time.Minute
+	jobQueueDepth        = 256
+)
+
+// SyncStore is the persistence surface the alpine syncer needs: the metadata
+// cache it primes plus the shared sync-state coordination (remote enumeration
+// and the per-remote lease). *database.DB satisfies it.
+type SyncStore interface {
+	provider.RemoteMetadataStore
+	ListGitHubAlpineRemotes(ctx context.Context) ([]models.Remote, error)
+	ClaimGitHubAlpineSyncLease(ctx context.Context, remoteName, owner string, freshness, lease time.Duration) (claimed bool, etag string, err error)
+	ReleaseGitHubAlpineSyncLease(ctx context.Context, remoteName, owner, etag string, syncedAt time.Time) error
+}
+
+// SyncConfig tunes the shared syncer. Zero values fall back to safe defaults.
+type SyncConfig struct {
+	RatePerSec   float64
+	Burst        int
+	Workers      int
+	PollInterval time.Duration
+}
+
+type syncJob struct {
+	remote models.Remote
+	prime  bool
+}
+
+// Syncer is the single per-process background worker that keeps every
+// github_alpine remote's derived metadata fresh. It owns a deduped work queue, a
+// pool of workers, and a global token-bucket rate limiter shared across all
+// remotes and bound onto the github_alpine provider. Periodic checks are gated by
+// a shared DB lease so, across replicas, only one performs each scan.
+type Syncer struct {
+	store   SyncStore
+	prov    *GitHubProvider
+	limiter *rate.Limiter
+	cfg     SyncConfig
+	owner   string
+
+	jobs   chan syncJob
+	mu     sync.Mutex
+	active map[string]bool
+}
+
+// NewSyncer builds the syncer bound to the process-wide github_alpine provider
+// singleton. Call Run to start it.
+func NewSyncer(store SyncStore, cfg SyncConfig) *Syncer {
+	return newSyncer(store, gitHubProvider, cfg)
+}
+
+func newSyncer(store SyncStore, prov *GitHubProvider, cfg SyncConfig) *Syncer {
+	if cfg.RatePerSec <= 0 {
+		cfg.RatePerSec = 1
+	}
+	if cfg.Burst <= 0 {
+		cfg.Burst = 5
+	}
+	if cfg.Workers <= 0 {
+		cfg.Workers = 3
+	}
+	if cfg.PollInterval <= 0 {
+		cfg.PollInterval = 60 * time.Second
+	}
+
+	lim := rate.NewLimiter(rate.Limit(cfg.RatePerSec), cfg.Burst)
+	s := &Syncer{
+		store:   store,
+		prov:    prov,
+		limiter: lim,
+		cfg:     cfg,
+		owner:   leaseOwner(),
+		jobs:    make(chan syncJob, jobQueueDepth),
+		active:  map[string]bool{},
+	}
+	prov.limiter = lim
+	prov.syncer = s
+	return s
+}
+
+// Run starts the worker pool and the periodic scheduler and blocks until ctx is
+// canceled, at which point it drains in-flight scans and returns.
+func (s *Syncer) Run(ctx context.Context) {
+	slog.Info("github_alpine syncer started",
+		"rate_per_sec", s.cfg.RatePerSec, "burst", s.cfg.Burst,
+		"workers", s.cfg.Workers, "poll_interval", s.cfg.PollInterval, "owner", s.owner)
+
+	var wg sync.WaitGroup
+	for i := 0; i < s.cfg.Workers; i++ {
+		wg.Add(1)
+		go func() {
+			defer wg.Done()
+			s.worker(ctx)
+		}()
+	}
+
+	ticker := time.NewTicker(s.cfg.PollInterval)
+	defer ticker.Stop()
+
+	s.schedule(ctx)
+	for {
+		select {
+		case <-ctx.Done():
+			wg.Wait()
+			slog.Info("github_alpine syncer stopped")
+			return
+		case <-ticker.C:
+			s.schedule(ctx)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// schedule enqueues a periodic check for every github_alpine remote. The DB lease
+// enforces the per-remote mutable_ttl cadence and cross-replica coordination.
+func (s *Syncer) schedule(ctx context.Context) {
+	remotes, err := s.store.ListGitHubAlpineRemotes(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		slog.Error("github_alpine syncer: list remotes", "error", err)
+		return
+	}
+	for _, r := range remotes {
+		s.enqueue(r, false)
+	}
+}
+
+// EnqueuePrime queues an immediate background prime for a freshly created remote.
+func (s *Syncer) EnqueuePrime(remote models.Remote) {
+	if s == nil {
+		return
+	}
+	s.enqueue(remote, true)
+}
+
+// enqueue adds a job unless the remote is already queued or in-flight, coalescing
+// duplicate requests down to one scan. It never blocks.
+func (s *Syncer) enqueue(remote models.Remote, prime bool) {
+	s.mu.Lock()
+	if s.active[remote.Name] {
+		s.mu.Unlock()
+		return
+	}
+	s.active[remote.Name] = true
+	s.mu.Unlock()
+
+	select {
+	case s.jobs <- syncJob{remote: remote, prime: prime}:
+	default:
+		s.mu.Lock()
+		delete(s.active, remote.Name)
+		s.mu.Unlock()
+	}
+}
+
+func (s *Syncer) worker(ctx context.Context) {
+	for {
+		select {
+		case <-ctx.Done():
+			return
+		case job := <-s.jobs:
+			s.process(ctx, job)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// process claims the shared lease and, if won, runs an incremental scan. Losing
+// the claim (another replica scanning, or not yet due) is a no-op.
+func (s *Syncer) process(ctx context.Context, job syncJob) {
+	defer func() {
+		s.mu.Lock()
+		delete(s.active, job.remote.Name)
+		s.mu.Unlock()
+	}()
+
+	freshness := time.Duration(job.remote.MutableTTL) * time.Second
+	if freshness <= 0 {
+		freshness = defaultSyncFreshness
+	}
+	if job.prime {
+		freshness = 0
+	}
+
+	claimed, etag, err := s.store.ClaimGitHubAlpineSyncLease(ctx, job.remote.Name, s.owner, freshness, syncLeaseDuration)
+	if err != nil {
+		slog.Error("github_alpine syncer: claim lease", "remote", job.remote.Name, "error", err)
+		return
+	}
+	if !claimed {
+		return
+	}
+
+	scanCtx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(ctx, s.prov.scanTimeout)
+	defer cancel()
+
+	newEtag, changed, scanErr := s.prov.scanWithState(scanCtx, job.remote, s.store, etag)
+	releaseEtag := etag
+	if scanErr == nil {
+		releaseEtag = newEtag
+	} else {
+		slog.Error("github_alpine syncer: scan failed", "remote", job.remote.Name, "error", scanErr)
+	}
+
+	relCtx, relCancel := context.WithTimeout(context.WithoutCancel(ctx), 10*time.Second)
+	defer relCancel()
+	if err := s.store.ReleaseGitHubAlpineSyncLease(relCtx, job.remote.Name, s.owner, releaseEtag, time.Now()); err != nil {
+		slog.Warn("github_alpine syncer: release lease", "remote", job.remote.Name, "error", err)
+	}
+
+	if scanErr == nil && changed {
+		slog.Info("github_alpine syncer: refreshed", "remote", job.remote.Name, "prime", job.prime)
+	}
+}
+
+// leaseOwner is a per-replica identity for the lease: hostname plus a random
+// suffix so restarts and colocated replicas never collide.
+func leaseOwner() string {
+	host, _ := os.Hostname()
+	var b [6]byte
+	_, _ = rand.Read(b[:])
+	return host + "-" + hex.EncodeToString(b[:])
+}

internal/provider/alpine/syncer_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,300 @@
+package alpine
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"net/http"
+	"net/http/httptest"
+	"sync"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"golang.org/x/time/rate"
+
+	"git.unkin.net/unkin/artifactapi/internal/provider"
+	"git.unkin.net/unkin/artifactapi/internal/testsupport"
+	"git.unkin.net/unkin/artifactapi/pkg/models"
+)
+
+// fakeSyncStore is an in-memory SyncStore: the metadata cache (via the embedded
+// fakeStore) plus the shared sync-state lease, whose claim mirrors the atomic
+// semantics of the real SQL (recency gate AND no live lease).
+type fakeSyncStore struct {
+	*fakeStore
+
+	mu         sync.Mutex
+	remotes    []models.Remote
+	leaseOwner map[string]string
+	leaseExp   map[string]time.Time
+	lastSynced map[string]time.Time
+	etags      map[string]string
+}
+
+func newFakeSyncStore() *fakeSyncStore {
+	return &fakeSyncStore{
+		fakeStore:  newFakeStore(),
+		leaseOwner: map[string]string{},
+		leaseExp:   map[string]time.Time{},
+		lastSynced: map[string]time.Time{},
+		etags:      map[string]string{},
+	}
+}
+
+func (f *fakeSyncStore) ListGitHubAlpineRemotes(_ context.Context) ([]models.Remote, error) {
+	f.mu.Lock()
+	defer f.mu.Unlock()
+	return append([]models.Remote(nil), f.remotes...), nil
+}
+
+func (f *fakeSyncStore) ClaimGitHubAlpineSyncLease(_ context.Context, name, owner string, freshness, lease time.Duration) (bool, string, error) {
+	f.mu.Lock()
+	defer f.mu.Unlock()
+	now := time.Now()
+	ls, hasLS := f.lastSynced[name]
+	exp, hasExp := f.leaseExp[name]
+	freshOK := !hasLS || now.Sub(ls) >= freshness
+	leaseOK := !hasExp || exp.Before(now)
+	if freshOK && leaseOK {
+		f.leaseOwner[name] = owner
+		f.leaseExp[name] = now.Add(lease)
+		return true, f.etags[name], nil
+	}
+	return false, "", nil
+}
+
+func (f *fakeSyncStore) ReleaseGitHubAlpineSyncLease(_ context.Context, name, owner, etag string, syncedAt time.Time) error {
+	f.mu.Lock()
+	defer f.mu.Unlock()
+	if f.leaseOwner[name] != owner {
+		return nil
+	}
+	f.lastSynced[name] = syncedAt
+	f.etags[name] = etag
+	delete(f.leaseOwner, name)
+	delete(f.leaseExp, name)
+	return nil
+}
+
+func testSyncConfig() SyncConfig {
+	return SyncConfig{RatePerSec: 1000, Burst: 100, Workers: 1, PollInterval: time.Hour}
+}
+
+// (a) A 304 conditional response must derive nothing: no asset fetches and
+// changed=false, so an unchanged repo is nearly free.
+func TestSyncerConditionalNotModifiedSkipsDerive(t *testing.T) {
+	fx := newGitHubFixture(t, true)
+	fx.etag = `"v1"`
+	p := newTestProvider()
+	store := newFakeStore()
+	remote := fx.remote()
+
+	etag1, changed, err := p.scanWithState(context.Background(), remote, store, "")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("first scan: %v", err)
+	}
+	if !changed || etag1 != `"v1"` {
+		t.Fatalf("first scan changed=%v etag=%q, want true and \"v1\"", changed, etag1)
+	}
+	priorRange := fx.rangeHit["demo-1.2.3-r0.apk"]
+	if priorRange == 0 {
+		t.Fatal("first scan should have fetched the asset .PKGINFO")
+	}
+
+	etag2, changed2, err := p.scanWithState(context.Background(), remote, store, etag1)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("second scan: %v", err)
+	}
+	if changed2 {
+		t.Fatal("304 scan must report changed=false")
+	}
+	if etag2 != etag1 {
+		t.Fatalf("etag changed across 304: %q -> %q", etag1, etag2)
+	}
+	if fx.notModHit != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("want exactly one 304 releases response, got %d", fx.notModHit)
+	}
+	if got := fx.rangeHit["demo-1.2.3-r0.apk"]; got != priorRange {
+		t.Fatalf("304 scan re-fetched asset .PKGINFO: %d -> %d", priorRange, got)
+	}
+}
+
+// (b) On a real change, only the newly added asset is derived.
+func TestSyncerIncrementalDerivesOnlyNewAsset(t *testing.T) {
+	fx := newGitHubFixture(t, true)
+	fx.etag = `"v1"`
+	p := newTestProvider()
+	store := newFakeStore()
+	remote := fx.remote()
+
+	if _, _, err := p.scanWithState(context.Background(), remote, store, ""); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("first scan: %v", err)
+	}
+	demoRange := fx.rangeHit["demo-1.2.3-r0.apk"]
+
+	fx.apkBytes["other-9-r0.apk"] = testsupport.MinimalApk("other", "9-r0", "aarch64")
+	fx.etag = `"v2"`
+
+	if _, changed, err := p.scanWithState(context.Background(), remote, store, `"v1"`); err != nil || !changed {
+		t.Fatalf("second scan changed=%v err=%v", changed, err)
+	}
+
+	rows, _ := store.ListAlpineMetadataEntries(context.Background(), remote.Name)
+	if len(rows) != 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("want 2 cached rows after incremental derive, got %d", len(rows))
+	}
+	if got := fx.rangeHit["demo-1.2.3-r0.apk"]; got != demoRange {
+		t.Fatalf("already-cached asset was re-fetched: %d -> %d", demoRange, got)
+	}
+	if fx.rangeHit["other-9-r0.apk"] == 0 {
+		t.Fatal("newly added asset was not derived")
+	}
+}
+
+// (c) The shared limiter caps the request rate.
+func TestRateLimiterCapsRequestRate(t *testing.T) {
+	fx := newGitHubFixture(t, true)
+	p := newTestProvider()
+	p.limiter = rate.NewLimiter(rate.Every(120*time.Millisecond), 1)
+	remote := fx.remote()
+
+	start := time.Now()
+	for i := 0; i < 3; i++ {
+		if _, _, _, err := p.fetchReleases(context.Background(), remote, ""); err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("fetchReleases %d: %v", i, err)
+		}
+	}
+	if elapsed := time.Since(start); elapsed < 200*time.Millisecond {
+		t.Fatalf("rate limiter did not throttle: 3 calls took %v, want >= 200ms", elapsed)
+	}
+}
+
+// (d) Concurrent enqueues for the same remote coalesce to a single queued job.
+func TestSyncerEnqueueDedup(t *testing.T) {
+	store := newFakeSyncStore()
+	p := newTestProvider()
+	s := newSyncer(store, p, testSyncConfig())
+	remote := models.Remote{Name: "acme-apk", PackageType: models.PackageGitHubAlpine, MutableTTL: 3600}
+
+	var wg sync.WaitGroup
+	for i := 0; i < 10; i++ {
+		wg.Add(1)
+		go func() { defer wg.Done(); s.enqueue(remote, false) }()
+	}
+	wg.Wait()
+
+	if got := len(s.jobs); got != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("want exactly 1 coalesced job, got %d", got)
+	}
+}
+
+// (e) Prime-on-create enqueues a prime job.
+func TestSyncerEnqueuePrime(t *testing.T) {
+	store := newFakeSyncStore()
+	p := newTestProvider()
+	s := newSyncer(store, p, testSyncConfig())
+	remote := models.Remote{Name: "acme-apk", PackageType: models.PackageGitHubAlpine, MutableTTL: 3600}
+
+	s.EnqueuePrime(remote)
+	select {
+	case job := <-s.jobs:
+		if !job.prime || job.remote.Name != "acme-apk" {
+			t.Fatalf("bad prime job: %+v", job)
+		}
+	default:
+		t.Fatal("EnqueuePrime did not enqueue a job")
+	}
+}
+
+// (f) A held lease prevents a second replica from scanning.
+func TestSyncerLeasePreventsSecondReplica(t *testing.T) {
+	fx := newGitHubFixture(t, true)
+	fx.etag = `"v1"`
+	store := newFakeSyncStore()
+	p := newTestProvider()
+	s := newSyncer(store, p, testSyncConfig())
+	remote := fx.remote()
+
+	claimed, _, err := store.ClaimGitHubAlpineSyncLease(context.Background(), remote.Name, "replica-1", time.Duration(remote.MutableTTL)*time.Second, syncLeaseDuration)
+	if err != nil || !claimed {
+		t.Fatalf("replica-1 claim: claimed=%v err=%v", claimed, err)
+	}
+
+	s.process(context.Background(), syncJob{remote: remote})
+
+	if fx.releasesHit != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("second replica scanned while lease held: %d releases calls", fx.releasesHit)
+	}
+	if rows, _ := store.ListAlpineMetadataEntries(context.Background(), remote.Name); len(rows) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("second replica derived metadata while lease held: %d rows", len(rows))
+	}
+}
+
+// With the syncer wired and the cache empty, an index request enqueues a prime
+// and returns a retryable 503 when it has not landed within the cold wait.
+func TestServeRemoteColdStartReturns503(t *testing.T) {
+	fx := newGitHubFixture(t, true)
+	store := newFakeSyncStore()
+	p := newTestProvider()
+	p.coldWait = 300 * time.Millisecond
+	_ = newSyncer(store, p, testSyncConfig()) // binds p.syncer, but no workers running
+	remote := fx.remote()
+
+	rec := httptest.NewRecorder()
+	req := httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, "/api/v1/remote/acme-apk/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz", nil)
+	if !p.ServeRemote(rec, req, remote, "x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz", "https://x", store) {
+		t.Fatal("ServeRemote did not handle APKINDEX")
+	}
+	if rec.Code != http.StatusServiceUnavailable {
+		t.Fatalf("cold empty cache must return 503, got %d", rec.Code)
+	}
+	if rec.Header().Get("Retry-After") == "" {
+		t.Fatal("503 should carry Retry-After")
+	}
+	if got := len(p.syncer.jobs); got != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("cold start did not enqueue a prime, jobs=%d", got)
+	}
+}
+
+// With the cache warm, the same request serves the index immediately (no 503).
+func TestServeRemoteWarmCacheServesImmediately(t *testing.T) {
+	fx := newGitHubFixture(t, true)
+	store := newFakeSyncStore()
+	p := newTestProvider()
+	_ = newSyncer(store, p, testSyncConfig())
+	remote := fx.remote()
+
+	if err := p.scan(context.Background(), remote, store); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("warm scan: %v", err)
+	}
+	rec := httptest.NewRecorder()
+	req := httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, "/api/v1/remote/acme-apk/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz", nil)
+	if !p.ServeRemote(rec, req, remote, "x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz", "https://x", store) {
+		t.Fatal("ServeRemote did not handle APKINDEX")
+	}
+	if rec.Code != http.StatusOK {
+		t.Fatalf("warm cache must serve 200, got %d body=%s", rec.Code, rec.Body.String())
+	}
+}
+
+// A prime job (freshness 0) runs even right after a sync; a periodic job at the
+// same moment is gated by the recency window.
+func TestSyncerPrimeBypassesRecencyPeriodicDoesNot(t *testing.T) {
+	fx := newGitHubFixture(t, true)
+	fx.etag = `"v1"`
+	store := newFakeSyncStore()
+	p := newTestProvider()
+	s := newSyncer(store, p, testSyncConfig())
+	remote := fx.remote()
+
+	var _ provider.RemoteMetadataStore = store
+
+	s.process(context.Background(), syncJob{remote: remote, prime: true})
+	if rows, _ := store.ListAlpineMetadataEntries(context.Background(), remote.Name); len(rows) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("prime did not derive: %d rows", len(rows))
+	}
+	releasesAfterPrime := fx.releasesHit
+
+	s.process(context.Background(), syncJob{remote: remote, prime: false})
+	if fx.releasesHit != releasesAfterPrime {
+		t.Fatalf("periodic scan ran inside recency window: %d -> %d releases calls", releasesAfterPrime, fx.releasesHit)
+	}
+}

internal/provider/deb/deb.go

@@ -395,7 +395,7 @@ func generateRelease(metas []provider.DebMetadata) []byte {
 	arches := uniqueArches(metas)
 
 	var b bytes.Buffer
-	fmt.Fprintf(&b, "Date: %s\n", time.Now().UTC().Format(time.RFC1123Z))
+	fmt.Fprintf(&b, "Date: %s\n", releaseDate(metas).Format(time.RFC1123Z))
 	fmt.Fprintf(&b, "Architectures: %s\n", strings.Join(arches, " "))
 	b.WriteString("Acquire-By-Hash: no\n")
 
@@ -410,6 +410,21 @@ func generateRelease(metas []provider.DebMetadata) []byte {
 	return b.Bytes()
 }
 
+// releaseDate derives the Release Date: from the newest package's persisted
+// created_at (in UTC) so the file is byte-identical across the no-affinity
+// replicas and across regenerations (issue #117); an empty repo falls back to
+// the Unix epoch. This never uses wall clock, which also keeps Date: from
+// running ahead of any Valid-Until logic.
+func releaseDate(metas []provider.DebMetadata) time.Time {
+	newest := time.Unix(0, 0)
+	for _, m := range metas {
+		if m.CreatedAt.After(newest) {
+			newest = m.CreatedAt
+		}
+	}
+	return newest.UTC()
+}
+
 func writeReleaseEntry(b *bytes.Buffer, hash string, size int, name string) {
 	fmt.Fprintf(b, " %s %d %s\n", hash, size, name)
 }

internal/provider/deb/deb_deterministic_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,172 @@
+package deb
+
+import (
+	"bytes"
+	"strconv"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"git.unkin.net/unkin/artifactapi/internal/provider"
+)
+
+// debFixture returns a fixed set of rows with persisted created_at values, in
+// the total order ListDebMetadataEntries produces (name, version, arch,
+// file_path), so the generators are exercised on a stable input.
+func debFixture() []provider.DebMetadata {
+	t1 := time.Date(2026, 3, 1, 8, 30, 0, 0, time.UTC)
+	t2 := time.Date(2026, 4, 15, 12, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC) // newest
+	return []provider.DebMetadata{
+		{
+			RepoName: "r", FilePath: "pool/aaa_1.0_amd64.deb", ContentHash: "sha256:aa",
+			Name: "aaa", Version: "1.0", Architecture: "amd64",
+			Control: "Package: aaa\nVersion: 1.0\nArchitecture: amd64",
+			Size:    100, MD5: "d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e", SHA256: "aa", CreatedAt: t1,
+		},
+		{
+			RepoName: "r", FilePath: "pool/bbb_2.0_arm64.deb", ContentHash: "sha256:bb",
+			Name: "bbb", Version: "2.0", Architecture: "arm64",
+			Control: "Package: bbb\nVersion: 2.0\nArchitecture: arm64",
+			Size:    200, MD5: "0cc175b9c0f1b6a831c399e269772661", SHA256: "bb", CreatedAt: t2,
+		},
+	}
+}
+
+// TestDebGeneratorsDeterministic asserts the served bytes are a pure function of
+// DB state: Packages, Packages.gz and Release are byte-identical across two
+// generations separated by wall-clock time. Fails against the old
+// time.Now()-stamped Release Date:.
+func TestDebGeneratorsDeterministic(t *testing.T) {
+	metas := debFixture()
+
+	pkgs1 := generatePackages(metas)
+	rel1 := generateRelease(metas)
+	gz1 := gzipBytes(pkgs1)
+
+	time.Sleep(10 * time.Millisecond)
+
+	pkgs2 := generatePackages(metas)
+	rel2 := generateRelease(metas)
+	gz2 := gzipBytes(pkgs2)
+
+	if !bytes.Equal(pkgs1, pkgs2) {
+		t.Error("Packages differs across generations")
+	}
+	if !bytes.Equal(gz1, gz2) {
+		t.Error("Packages.gz differs across generations")
+	}
+	if !bytes.Equal(rel1, rel2) {
+		t.Errorf("Release differs across generations:\n--- first ---\n%s\n--- second ---\n%s", rel1, rel2)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestDebReleaseDateUsesPersistedCreatedAt pins the Release Date: to the newest
+// persisted created_at (RFC1123Z, UTC), not wall clock. Fails against the old
+// time.Now() code.
+func TestDebReleaseDateUsesPersistedCreatedAt(t *testing.T) {
+	metas := debFixture()
+	want := time.Date(2026, 4, 15, 12, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC).Format(time.RFC1123Z)
+
+	rel := string(generateRelease(metas))
+	var got string
+	for _, line := range strings.Split(rel, "\n") {
+		if strings.HasPrefix(line, "Date:") {
+			got = strings.TrimSpace(strings.TrimPrefix(line, "Date:"))
+			break
+		}
+	}
+	if got != want {
+		t.Errorf("Release Date: = %q, want %q (newest created_at)", got, want)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestDebReleaseDateEmptyRepoIsEpoch guards the fallback: an empty repo yields a
+// deterministic epoch Date: rather than wall clock.
+func TestDebReleaseDateEmptyRepoIsEpoch(t *testing.T) {
+	want := time.Unix(0, 0).UTC().Format(time.RFC1123Z)
+	rel := string(generateRelease(nil))
+	if !strings.Contains(rel, "Date: "+want+"\n") {
+		t.Errorf("empty-repo Release missing epoch Date: %q\n%s", want, rel)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestDebReleaseChecksumsMatchServedBytes is the exact apt invariant: the
+// sha256/size (and md5/size) advertised for Packages and Packages.gz in Release
+// equal the sha256/size of the actual bytes ServeLocalIndex serves. apt rejects
+// any mismatch.
+func TestDebReleaseChecksumsMatchServedBytes(t *testing.T) {
+	metas := debFixture()
+
+	packages := generatePackages(metas)
+	packagesGz := gzipBytes(packages)
+	rel := string(generateRelease(metas))
+
+	wantSHA := map[string]struct {
+		hash string
+		size int
+	}{
+		"Packages":    {sha256Hex(packages), len(packages)},
+		"Packages.gz": {sha256Hex(packagesGz), len(packagesGz)},
+	}
+	wantMD5 := map[string]struct {
+		hash string
+		size int
+	}{
+		"Packages":    {md5Hex(packages), len(packages)},
+		"Packages.gz": {md5Hex(packagesGz), len(packagesGz)},
+	}
+
+	sha := parseReleaseSection(rel, "SHA256:")
+	md5s := parseReleaseSection(rel, "MD5Sum:")
+
+	for name, w := range wantSHA {
+		got, ok := sha[name]
+		if !ok {
+			t.Fatalf("Release SHA256 section missing %q", name)
+		}
+		if got.hash != w.hash || got.size != w.size {
+			t.Errorf("Release SHA256 %s = (%s, %d), served bytes are (%s, %d)", name, got.hash, got.size, w.hash, w.size)
+		}
+	}
+	for name, w := range wantMD5 {
+		got, ok := md5s[name]
+		if !ok {
+			t.Fatalf("Release MD5Sum section missing %q", name)
+		}
+		if got.hash != w.hash || got.size != w.size {
+			t.Errorf("Release MD5Sum %s = (%s, %d), served bytes are (%s, %d)", name, got.hash, got.size, w.hash, w.size)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+type releaseEntry struct {
+	hash string
+	size int
+}
+
+// parseReleaseSection reads the indented " <hash> <size> <name>" lines that
+// follow a "SHA256:" / "MD5Sum:" header until the next non-indented line.
+func parseReleaseSection(release, header string) map[string]releaseEntry {
+	out := map[string]releaseEntry{}
+	lines := strings.Split(release, "\n")
+	in := false
+	for _, line := range lines {
+		if line == header {
+			in = true
+			continue
+		}
+		if !in {
+			continue
+		}
+		if !strings.HasPrefix(line, " ") {
+			break
+		}
+		fields := strings.Fields(line)
+		if len(fields) != 3 {
+			continue
+		}
+		size, _ := strconv.Atoi(fields[1])
+		out[fields[2]] = releaseEntry{hash: fields[0], size: size}
+	}
+	return out
+}

internal/provider/provider.go

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"net/http"
+	"time"
 
 	"git.unkin.net/unkin/artifactapi/pkg/models"
 )
@@ -113,6 +114,54 @@ type DebMetadata struct {
 	Size         int64
 	MD5          string
 	SHA256       string
+	// CreatedAt is the persisted insert time; the Release Date: is derived from
+	// the newest value so the index is byte-identical across replicas and
+	// regenerations (issue #117) rather than stamped from wall clock.
+	CreatedAt time.Time
+}
+
+// AlpineMetadataStore / AlpineMetadataDeleter / AlpineMetadataReader are the
+// Alpine-specific persistence surfaces. They are kept separate from the shared
+// RPM/Deb metadata interfaces so the apk provider can type-assert the generic
+// MetadataStore/MetadataDeleter/FileStore it is handed without widening (and
+// thus perturbing the test doubles of) the rpm and deb providers. *database.DB
+// satisfies all three.
+type AlpineMetadataStore interface {
+	InsertAlpineMetadata(ctx context.Context, meta *AlpineMetadata) error
+}
+
+type AlpineMetadataDeleter interface {
+	DeleteAlpineMetadata(ctx context.Context, repoName, filePath string) error
+}
+
+type AlpineMetadataReader interface {
+	ListAlpineMetadataEntries(ctx context.Context, repoName string) ([]AlpineMetadata, error)
+}
+
+// AlpineMetadata is the derived per-package metadata for an Alpine .apk, holding
+// the fields an APKINDEX record carries plus the apk pull checksum (Q1…, the
+// sha1 of the control gzip stream) and the download/installed sizes.
+type AlpineMetadata struct {
+	RepoName         string
+	FilePath         string
+	ContentHash      string
+	Checksum         string   // C: "Q1" + base64(sha1(control gzip stream))
+	Name             string   // P:
+	Version          string   // V:
+	Arch             string   // A:
+	DownloadSize     int64    // S: on-disk .apk size
+	InstalledSize    int64    // I: unpacked size from .PKGINFO
+	Description      string   // T:
+	URL              string   // U:
+	License          string   // L:
+	Origin           string   // o:
+	Maintainer       string   // m:
+	BuildTime        int64    // t:
+	Commit           string   // c:
+	ProviderPriority string   // k:
+	Depends          []string // D:
+	Provides         []string // p:
+	InstallIf        []string // i:
 }
 
 type RPMMetadata struct {
@@ -141,6 +190,9 @@ type RPMMetadata struct {
 	Obsoletes     []RPMDep
 	Files         []RPMFile
 	Changelogs    []RPMChangelog
+	// CreatedAt is the persisted upload timestamp; used as a stable, replica-independent
+	// value for the repodata <time>/<revision> fields so generated indexes are deterministic.
+	CreatedAt time.Time
 }
 
 type RPMDep struct {

internal/provider/rpm/rpm.go

@@ -275,7 +275,7 @@ func (p *Provider) serveRepomd(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request, reader pr
 	filelistsHash := sha256Hex(filelists)
 	otherHash := sha256Hex(other)
 
-	repomd := generateRepomd(primaryHash, len(primary), filelistsHash, len(filelists), otherHash, len(other))
+	repomd := generateRepomd(repomdRevision(metas), primaryHash, len(primary), filelistsHash, len(filelists), otherHash, len(other))
 
 	w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/xml")
 	w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
@@ -315,8 +315,32 @@ func (p *Provider) serveOther(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request, reader pro
 	w.Write(generateOtherXMLGZ(metas))
 }
 
-func generateRepomd(primaryHash string, primarySize int, filelistsHash string, filelistsSize int, otherHash string, otherSize int) []byte {
+// stableUnix maps a persisted timestamp to a fixed integer for repodata's
-	ts := fmt.Sprintf("%d", time.Now().Unix())
+// informational <time>/<timestamp> fields. Zero times (unset) collapse to 0 so
+// output stays byte-identical across replicas and requests. dnf does not
+// validate these values.
+func stableUnix(t time.Time) int64 {
+	if t.IsZero() {
+		return 0
+	}
+	return t.Unix()
+}
+
+// repomdRevision derives repomd.xml's <revision>/<timestamp> from persisted
+// state: the newest package upload time in the repo. It changes only when the
+// repo's package set does, and is identical on every replica reading the same
+// rows, so repomd.xml is byte-stable.
+func repomdRevision(metas []provider.RPMMetadata) string {
+	var max int64
+	for _, m := range metas {
+		if u := stableUnix(m.CreatedAt); u > max {
+			max = u
+		}
+	}
+	return fmt.Sprintf("%d", max)
+}
+
+func generateRepomd(ts string, primaryHash string, primarySize int, filelistsHash string, filelistsSize int, otherHash string, otherSize int) []byte {
 	var b bytes.Buffer
 	b.WriteString(xml.Header)
 	b.WriteString(`<repomd xmlns="http://linux.duke.edu/metadata/repo" xmlns:rpm="http://linux.duke.edu/metadata/rpm">` + "\n")
@@ -359,7 +383,7 @@ func generatePrimaryXMLGZ(metas []provider.RPMMetadata) []byte {
 		if m.URL != "" {
 			fmt.Fprintf(&xmlBuf, "  <url>%s</url>\n", xmlEscape(m.URL))
 		}
-		fmt.Fprintf(&xmlBuf, "  <time file=\"%d\" build=\"0\"/>\n", time.Now().Unix())
+		fmt.Fprintf(&xmlBuf, "  <time file=\"%d\" build=\"0\"/>\n", stableUnix(m.CreatedAt))
 		fmt.Fprintf(&xmlBuf, "  <size package=\"%d\" installed=\"%d\" archive=\"0\"/>\n", m.RPMSize, m.InstalledSize)
 		fmt.Fprintf(&xmlBuf, "  <location href=\"%s\"/>\n", xmlEscape(m.FilePath))
 		fmt.Fprintf(&xmlBuf, "  <format>\n")
@@ -484,6 +508,9 @@ func xmlEscape(s string) string {
 func gzipBytes(data []byte) []byte {
 	var buf bytes.Buffer
 	gz := gzip.NewWriter(&buf)
+	// Pin every header field so the compressed bytes (and their sha256) depend
+	// only on the payload, never on wall-clock time or the Go version's gzip defaults.
+	gz.Header = gzip.Header{OS: 255}
 	gz.Write(data)
 	gz.Close()
 	return buf.Bytes()

internal/provider/rpm/rpm_deterministic_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,148 @@
+package rpm
+
+import (
+	"bytes"
+	"compress/gzip"
+	"encoding/xml"
+	"io"
+	"net/http"
+	"net/http/httptest"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"git.unkin.net/unkin/artifactapi/internal/provider"
+)
+
+func gunzip(t *testing.T, data []byte) string {
+	t.Helper()
+	zr, err := gzip.NewReader(bytes.NewReader(data))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("gzip reader: %v", err)
+	}
+	out, err := io.ReadAll(zr)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("gunzip: %v", err)
+	}
+	return string(out)
+}
+
+// sampleMetas returns a fixed two-package repo state whose upload timestamps are
+// pinned, so any nondeterminism must come from the generators themselves.
+func sampleMetas() []provider.RPMMetadata {
+	base := time.Date(2026, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 0, time.UTC)
+	return []provider.RPMMetadata{
+		{
+			Name: "alpha", Version: "1.0", Release: "1", Arch: "x86_64",
+			Summary: "a", Description: "d", ContentHash: "sha256:aaa",
+			FilePath: "Packages/alpha-1.0-1.x86_64.rpm", RPMSize: 10, InstalledSize: 20,
+			Provides:  []provider.RPMDep{{Name: "alpha"}},
+			Requires:  []provider.RPMDep{{Name: "libc", Flags: "GE", Version: "2.0"}},
+			CreatedAt: base,
+		},
+		{
+			Name: "beta", Version: "2.0", Release: "3", Arch: "noarch",
+			Summary: "b", Description: "d2", ContentHash: "sha256:bbb",
+			FilePath: "Packages/beta-2.0-3.noarch.rpm", RPMSize: 30, InstalledSize: 40,
+			CreatedAt: base.Add(time.Hour),
+		},
+	}
+}
+
+// TestRepodataGeneratorsDeterministic is the direct regression guard for #117:
+// generating each metadata document twice from identical state must yield
+// byte-identical output (hence an identical sha256). The old code embedded
+// time.Now() inside primary.xml.gz, so its bytes/hash drifted every second.
+func TestRepodataGeneratorsDeterministic(t *testing.T) {
+	metas := sampleMetas()
+	gens := map[string]func([]provider.RPMMetadata) []byte{
+		"primary":   generatePrimaryXMLGZ,
+		"filelists": generateFilelistsXMLGZ,
+		"other":     generateOtherXMLGZ,
+	}
+	for name, gen := range gens {
+		a := gen(metas)
+		b := gen(metas)
+		if sha256Hex(a) != sha256Hex(b) {
+			t.Errorf("%s: sha256 differs between two generations (nondeterministic): %s != %s",
+				name, sha256Hex(a), sha256Hex(b))
+		}
+	}
+
+	// repomd.xml itself must also be byte-stable across regenerations.
+	r1 := generateRepomd(repomdRevision(metas), sha256Hex(generatePrimaryXMLGZ(metas)), 1, "f", 2, "o", 3)
+	r2 := generateRepomd(repomdRevision(metas), sha256Hex(generatePrimaryXMLGZ(metas)), 1, "f", 2, "o", 3)
+	if string(r1) != string(r2) {
+		t.Error("repomd.xml differs between two generations")
+	}
+}
+
+// TestPrimaryTimeUsesPersistedCreatedAt proves the <time> element is a pure
+// function of the persisted upload timestamp, not the wall clock.
+func TestPrimaryTimeUsesPersistedCreatedAt(t *testing.T) {
+	metas := sampleMetas()
+	out := gunzip(t, generatePrimaryXMLGZ(metas))
+	if want := `<time file="1767323045" build="0"/>`; !strings.Contains(out, want) {
+		t.Errorf("primary.xml missing persisted <time> %q; got:\n%s", want, out)
+	}
+	// A zero (unset) CreatedAt collapses to a fixed 0, never a live clock value.
+	metas[0].CreatedAt = time.Time{}
+	out = gunzip(t, generatePrimaryXMLGZ(metas))
+	if !strings.Contains(out, `<time file="0" build="0"/>`) {
+		t.Errorf("zero CreatedAt should emit file=\"0\"; got:\n%s", out)
+	}
+}
+
+type repomdDoc struct {
+	Revision string `xml:"revision"`
+	Data     []struct {
+		Type     string `xml:"type,attr"`
+		Checksum struct {
+			Value string `xml:",chardata"`
+		} `xml:"checksum"`
+		Location struct {
+			Href string `xml:"href,attr"`
+		} `xml:"location"`
+	} `xml:"data"`
+}
+
+// TestRepomdHashMatchesServedBytes asserts the exact invariant #117 violated:
+// the sha256 advertised in repomd.xml equals the sha256 of the bytes the
+// content-addressed serve* handler returns for the same repo state.
+func TestRepomdHashMatchesServedBytes(t *testing.T) {
+	p := &Provider{}
+	reader := fakeRPMReader{metas: sampleMetas()}
+
+	serve := func(path string) *httptest.ResponseRecorder {
+		w := httptest.NewRecorder()
+		r := httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, "/"+path, nil)
+		if !p.ServeLocalIndex(w, r, reader, "repo", path) {
+			t.Fatalf("ServeLocalIndex false for %q", path)
+		}
+		if w.Code != http.StatusOK {
+			t.Fatalf("%s: code %d", path, w.Code)
+		}
+		return w
+	}
+
+	var doc repomdDoc
+	if err := xml.Unmarshal(serve("repodata/repomd.xml").Body.Bytes(), &doc); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("parse repomd: %v", err)
+	}
+	if len(doc.Data) != 3 {
+		t.Fatalf("expected 3 <data> entries, got %d", len(doc.Data))
+	}
+
+	for _, d := range doc.Data {
+		// The advertised location is content-addressed: repodata/<sha256>-<type>.xml.gz.
+		body := serve("repodata/" + d.Location.Href[len("repodata/"):]).Body.Bytes()
+		got := sha256Hex(body)
+		if got != d.Checksum.Value {
+			t.Errorf("%s: repomd advertises %s but served bytes hash to %s (dnf would reject)",
+				d.Type, d.Checksum.Value, got)
+		}
+		if d.Location.Href != "repodata/"+d.Checksum.Value+"-"+d.Type+".xml.gz" {
+			t.Errorf("%s: location %q not addressed by its checksum %s", d.Type, d.Location.Href, d.Checksum.Value)
+		}
+	}
+}

internal/proxy/BENCHMARKS.md

@@ -0,0 +1,162 @@
+# Mirror-selection benchmarks
+
+These benchmarks (`selection_bench_test.go`) isolate the **mirror load-balancing
+selection overhead** — no network, no DB, no Redis. They build a zero-value
+`Engine` and call `baseURLAttemptOrder` / `beginAttempt` / `endAttempt`
+directly, the same way `leastconn_test.go` and `multibaseurl_test.go` do.
+
+Goal: quantify how much latency the load-balancing strategy (`round_robin` vs
+`least_conn`) adds versus a plain single-URL remote, and give a permanent
+regression guard.
+
+## Key context: selection is cache-miss-only
+
+`baseURLAttemptOrder` is called from exactly three places — `headUpstream`,
+`fetchFromUpstream`, and `checkUpstream` — all on the **upstream / cache-miss
+path**. A cache hit returns `Source: "cache"` from `GetArtifact` / `store.Stat`
+*before* any selection code runs. So none of the numbers below apply to the hot
+cache-hit path: cache hits pay **zero** selection cost regardless of strategy.
+The overhead here is paid once per upstream fetch, alongside a network round-trip
+measured in milliseconds.
+
+## How to run
+
+```
+go test -run=^$ -bench='BaseURLAttemptOrder|BeginEndAttempt' -benchmem \
+  -benchtime=1s -count=6 -cpu=8 ./internal/proxy/
+```
+
+## Results
+
+Machine: AMD Ryzen 7 4700U (8 threads), linux/amd64, go1.26.5.
+`-benchtime=1s -count=6`; figures below are the **median of 6 runs**.
+
+### Sequential (single-goroutine)
+
+| Benchmark                        | ns/op  | B/op | allocs/op |
+|----------------------------------|-------:|-----:|----------:|
+| BaseURLAttemptOrder_SingleURL    |   ~133 |   16 |         1 |
+| BaseURLAttemptOrder_RoundRobin/3 |   ~462 |  120 |         4 |
+| BaseURLAttemptOrder_RoundRobin/8 |   ~682 |  280 |         4 |
+| BaseURLAttemptOrder_LeastConn/3  |  ~2690 |  474 |        22 |
+| BaseURLAttemptOrder_LeastConn/8  | ~15200 | 2688 |       132 |
+| BeginEndAttempt (gauge inc/dec)  |   ~514 |  104 |         4 |
+
+### Parallel (`RunParallel`, GOMAXPROCS=8) — ns/op is wall-time across 8 cores
+
+| Benchmark                                 | ns/op | B/op | allocs/op |
+|-------------------------------------------|------:|-----:|----------:|
+| BaseURLAttemptOrder_RoundRobin_Parallel/3 | ~67.5 |  120 |         4 |
+| BaseURLAttemptOrder_RoundRobin_Parallel/8 |  ~130 |  280 |         4 |
+| BaseURLAttemptOrder_LeastConn_Parallel/3  |  ~292 |  474 |        22 |
+| BaseURLAttemptOrder_LeastConn_Parallel/8  | ~1673 | 2688 |       132 |
+| BeginEndAttempt_Parallel                  | ~71.5 |  104 |         4 |
+
+## Reading the numbers
+
+- **Single-URL is a near-no-op** (~133 ns, 1 alloc): the `len(urls) <= 1`
+  early return just returns the pool slice. Every non-mirrored remote takes this
+  path.
+- **round_robin is cheap**: ~462 ns for a 3-mirror pool, ~682 ns for 8. Cost is
+  one atomic cursor increment plus building the rotated `[]string`. Allocs are
+  constant at 4 (the ordered slice + its backing string headers), size grows
+  with pool length.
+- **least_conn is more expensive and scales super-linearly**: ~2.7 µs / 22
+  allocs at 3 mirrors, ~15 µs / 132 allocs at 8. The cost is the per-call
+  `sort.SliceStable`, whose comparator calls `inflightCounter` (a
+  `sync.Map.LoadOrStore` with a `remoteName\x00url` string-concat key plus a
+  speculative `new(atomic.Int64)`) O(n·log n) times. That is where the alloc
+  count and the time come from — not the sort itself. A future optimization
+  could snapshot each mirror's load once before sorting; out of scope for this
+  measurement PR.
+- **beginAttempt/endAttempt** (~514 ns seq, ~72 ns parallel) is one
+  `LoadOrStore` + two atomic adds; it only runs for least_conn multi-mirror
+  remotes, once per upstream attempt.
+- **Under concurrency the atomics/sync.Map do not collapse**: every parallel
+  variant reports *lower* ns/op than its sequential twin because work spreads
+  across 8 cores (RunParallel reports aggregate wall-time-per-op). No contention
+  cliff on the shared rrCounters cursor, the inflight `sync.Map`, or the
+  per-mirror `atomic.Int64` gauges.
+
+## Verdict
+
+At the per-request scale that matters (a cache-miss that is *already* doing a
+multi-millisecond network fetch), even the worst case here — least_conn across 8
+mirrors at ~15 µs — is <1% of a single upstream round-trip, and round_robin
+(~0.5 µs) is negligible. The strategy adds no meaningful latency, and it adds
+**exactly zero** to the cache-hit hot path because selection never runs there.
+
+## Raw output (all 6 runs)
+
+```
+goos: linux
+goarch: amd64
+pkg: git.unkin.net/unkin/artifactapi/internal/proxy
+cpu: AMD Ryzen 7 4700U with Radeon Graphics
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_SingleURL-8             	 8635875	       138.4 ns/op	      16 B/op	       1 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_SingleURL-8             	 9673108	       126.7 ns/op	      16 B/op	       1 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_SingleURL-8             	 8001002	       147.3 ns/op	      16 B/op	       1 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_SingleURL-8             	11303490	       135.0 ns/op	      16 B/op	       1 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_SingleURL-8             	10125138	       132.0 ns/op	      16 B/op	       1 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_SingleURL-8             	 8025687	       130.1 ns/op	      16 B/op	       1 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_RoundRobin/pool3-8      	 2706013	       453.2 ns/op	     120 B/op	       4 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_RoundRobin/pool3-8      	 2498718	       444.4 ns/op	     120 B/op	       4 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_RoundRobin/pool3-8      	 2605516	       471.6 ns/op	     120 B/op	       4 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_RoundRobin/pool3-8      	 2799928	       487.6 ns/op	     120 B/op	       4 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_RoundRobin/pool3-8      	 2463375	       418.6 ns/op	     120 B/op	       4 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_RoundRobin/pool3-8      	 2472265	       474.3 ns/op	     120 B/op	       4 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_RoundRobin/pool8-8      	 1741789	       689.4 ns/op	     280 B/op	       4 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_RoundRobin/pool8-8      	 1775467	       602.1 ns/op	     280 B/op	       4 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_RoundRobin/pool8-8      	 1829398	       688.4 ns/op	     280 B/op	       4 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_RoundRobin/pool8-8      	 1781149	       679.3 ns/op	     280 B/op	       4 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_RoundRobin/pool8-8      	 1795680	       599.4 ns/op	     280 B/op	       4 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_RoundRobin/pool8-8      	 1739122	       684.5 ns/op	     280 B/op	       4 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_LeastConn/pool3-8       	  424184	      2675 ns/op	     474 B/op	      22 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_LeastConn/pool3-8       	  426796	      2498 ns/op	     474 B/op	      22 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_LeastConn/pool3-8       	  427116	      2716 ns/op	     474 B/op	      22 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_LeastConn/pool3-8       	  430540	      2681 ns/op	     474 B/op	      22 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_LeastConn/pool3-8       	  418156	      2700 ns/op	     474 B/op	      22 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_LeastConn/pool3-8       	  423009	      2711 ns/op	     474 B/op	      22 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_LeastConn/pool8-8       	  163642	     14007 ns/op	    2688 B/op	     132 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_LeastConn/pool8-8       	   78501	     15457 ns/op	    2688 B/op	     131 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_LeastConn/pool8-8       	   76380	     14928 ns/op	    2688 B/op	     132 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_LeastConn/pool8-8       	  183634	     16091 ns/op	    2688 B/op	     132 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_LeastConn/pool8-8       	   73809	     15561 ns/op	    2688 B/op	     132 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_LeastConn/pool8-8       	   74546	     13962 ns/op	    2688 B/op	     132 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBeginEndAttempt-8                           	 2350348	       519.7 ns/op	     104 B/op	       4 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBeginEndAttempt-8                           	 2321659	       514.0 ns/op	     104 B/op	       4 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBeginEndAttempt-8                           	 2284635	       438.0 ns/op	     104 B/op	       4 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBeginEndAttempt-8                           	 2287051	       513.9 ns/op	     104 B/op	       4 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBeginEndAttempt-8                           	 2286481	       520.3 ns/op	     104 B/op	       4 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBeginEndAttempt-8                           	 2837775	       512.9 ns/op	     104 B/op	       4 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_RoundRobin_Parallel/pool3-8         	16052568	        67.78 ns/op	     120 B/op	       4 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_RoundRobin_Parallel/pool3-8         	17452791	        66.07 ns/op	     120 B/op	       4 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_RoundRobin_Parallel/pool3-8         	17549858	        69.25 ns/op	     120 B/op	       4 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_RoundRobin_Parallel/pool3-8         	18845167	        64.55 ns/op	     120 B/op	       4 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_RoundRobin_Parallel/pool3-8         	16285608	        69.81 ns/op	     120 B/op	       4 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_RoundRobin_Parallel/pool3-8         	17382639	        67.12 ns/op	     120 B/op	       4 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_RoundRobin_Parallel/pool8-8         	 9734368	       120.6 ns/op	     280 B/op	       4 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_RoundRobin_Parallel/pool8-8         	10154736	       133.3 ns/op	     280 B/op	       4 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_RoundRobin_Parallel/pool8-8         	10061422	       131.8 ns/op	     280 B/op	       4 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_RoundRobin_Parallel/pool8-8         	10212364	       127.4 ns/op	     280 B/op	       4 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_RoundRobin_Parallel/pool8-8         	10259030	       132.5 ns/op	     280 B/op	       4 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_RoundRobin_Parallel/pool8-8         	10069576	       122.4 ns/op	     280 B/op	       4 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_LeastConn_Parallel/pool3-8          	 4288112	       292.7 ns/op	     474 B/op	      22 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_LeastConn_Parallel/pool3-8          	 4009249	       295.9 ns/op	     474 B/op	      22 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_LeastConn_Parallel/pool3-8          	 4176378	       291.3 ns/op	     474 B/op	      22 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_LeastConn_Parallel/pool3-8          	 4104871	       289.9 ns/op	     474 B/op	      22 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_LeastConn_Parallel/pool3-8          	 4245262	       296.4 ns/op	     474 B/op	      22 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_LeastConn_Parallel/pool3-8          	 4079778	       290.3 ns/op	     474 B/op	      22 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_LeastConn_Parallel/pool8-8          	  748200	      1636 ns/op	    2688 B/op	     132 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_LeastConn_Parallel/pool8-8          	  763029	      1653 ns/op	    2688 B/op	     132 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_LeastConn_Parallel/pool8-8          	  663717	      1772 ns/op	    2688 B/op	     132 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_LeastConn_Parallel/pool8-8          	  739677	      1676 ns/op	    2688 B/op	     132 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_LeastConn_Parallel/pool8-8          	  763148	      1669 ns/op	    2688 B/op	     132 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_LeastConn_Parallel/pool8-8          	  610597	      1684 ns/op	    2688 B/op	     132 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBeginEndAttempt_Parallel-8                              	17266058	        69.46 ns/op	     104 B/op	       4 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBeginEndAttempt_Parallel-8                              	17151303	        72.05 ns/op	     104 B/op	       4 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBeginEndAttempt_Parallel-8                              	16919542	        74.17 ns/op	     104 B/op	       4 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBeginEndAttempt_Parallel-8                              	16948015	        72.49 ns/op	     104 B/op	       4 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBeginEndAttempt_Parallel-8                              	16918693	        69.52 ns/op	     104 B/op	       4 allocs/op
+BenchmarkBeginEndAttempt_Parallel-8                              	17376012	        70.99 ns/op	     104 B/op	       4 allocs/op
+```

internal/proxy/engine.go

@@ -10,7 +10,10 @@ import (
 	"io"
 	"log/slog"
 	"net/http"
+	"sort"
 	"strings"
+	"sync"
+	"sync/atomic"
 	"time"
 
 	"git.unkin.net/unkin/artifactapi/internal/cache"
@@ -35,6 +38,15 @@ type Engine struct {
 	cas       *storage.CAS
 	circuit   *CircuitBreaker
 	accessLog chan database.AccessLogEntry
+	// rrCounters holds a per-remote round-robin cursor (remoteName ->
+	// *atomic.Uint64) used to rotate the starting mirror across upstream base
+	// URLs. Distribution is per-replica and approximate, which is fine.
+	rrCounters sync.Map
+	// inflight holds a per-remote, per-upstream-URL in-flight request gauge
+	// (key "remoteName\x00baseURL" -> *atomic.Int64) used by the least_conn
+	// mirror strategy to prefer the mirror currently handling the fewest
+	// requests. Per-replica and approximate, which is fine.
+	inflight sync.Map
 }
 
 func NewEngine(db *database.DB, c *cache.Redis, s *storage.S3) *Engine {
@@ -222,7 +234,32 @@ func (e *Engine) Head(ctx context.Context, remote models.Remote, path string, pr
 	return e.headUpstream(ctx, remote, path, prov)
 }
 
+// headUpstream issues an upstream HEAD, load-balancing across the remote's base
+// URLs and failing over to the next mirror on a network error or 5xx.
 func (e *Engine) headUpstream(ctx context.Context, remote models.Remote, path string, prov provider.Provider) (*HeadResult, error) {
+	order := e.baseURLAttemptOrder(remote)
+	if len(order) == 0 {
+		return nil, &ProxyError{Status: http.StatusBadGateway, Message: "no upstream base_url configured"}
+	}
+	var lastErr error
+	for i, url := range order {
+		ctr := e.beginAttempt(remote, url)
+		result, err := e.headUpstreamOnce(ctx, withBaseURL(remote, url), path, prov)
+		endAttempt(ctr)
+		if err == nil {
+			return result, nil
+		}
+		lastErr = err
+		if i < len(order)-1 && shouldFailover(err) {
+			slog.Warn("upstream HEAD failed, failing over", "remote", remote.Name, "base_url", url, "error", err)
+			continue
+		}
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	return nil, lastErr
+}
+
+func (e *Engine) headUpstreamOnce(ctx context.Context, remote models.Remote, path string, prov provider.Provider) (*HeadResult, error) {
 	url := prov.UpstreamURL(remote, path)
 
 	authHeaders, err := prov.AuthHeaders(ctx, remote)
@@ -277,7 +314,33 @@ func (e *Engine) headUpstream(ctx context.Context, remote models.Remote, path st
 	return &HeadResult{ContentType: contentType, Size: resp.ContentLength, Source: "remote"}, nil
 }
 
+// fetchFromUpstream fetches an artifact from upstream, load-balancing across the
+// remote's base URLs and failing over to the next mirror on a network error or
+// 5xx before returning an error.
 func (e *Engine) fetchFromUpstream(ctx context.Context, remote models.Remote, path string, prov provider.Provider, class Classification, ttl time.Duration, clientHeaders http.Header) (*FetchResult, error) {
+	order := e.baseURLAttemptOrder(remote)
+	if len(order) == 0 {
+		return nil, &ProxyError{Status: http.StatusBadGateway, Message: "no upstream base_url configured"}
+	}
+	var lastErr error
+	for i, url := range order {
+		ctr := e.beginAttempt(remote, url)
+		result, err := e.fetchFromUpstreamOnce(ctx, withBaseURL(remote, url), path, prov, class, ttl, clientHeaders)
+		endAttempt(ctr)
+		if err == nil {
+			return result, nil
+		}
+		lastErr = err
+		if i < len(order)-1 && shouldFailover(err) {
+			slog.Warn("upstream fetch failed, failing over", "remote", remote.Name, "base_url", url, "error", err)
+			continue
+		}
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	return nil, lastErr
+}
+
+func (e *Engine) fetchFromUpstreamOnce(ctx context.Context, remote models.Remote, path string, prov provider.Provider, class Classification, ttl time.Duration, clientHeaders http.Header) (*FetchResult, error) {
 	url := prov.UpstreamURL(remote, path)
 
 	authHeaders, err := prov.AuthHeaders(ctx, remote)
@@ -454,7 +517,33 @@ func (e *Engine) serveFromStore(ctx context.Context, remote models.Remote, path
 	}, nil
 }
 
+// checkUpstream issues a conditional upstream HEAD (If-None-Match), load
+// balancing across the remote's base URLs and failing over to the next mirror on
+// a network error or 5xx.
 func (e *Engine) checkUpstream(ctx context.Context, remote models.Remote, path, etag string, prov provider.Provider) (bool, error) {
+	order := e.baseURLAttemptOrder(remote)
+	if len(order) == 0 {
+		return false, &ProxyError{Status: http.StatusBadGateway, Message: "no upstream base_url configured"}
+	}
+	var lastErr error
+	for i, url := range order {
+		ctr := e.beginAttempt(remote, url)
+		notModified, err := e.checkUpstreamOnce(ctx, withBaseURL(remote, url), path, etag, prov)
+		endAttempt(ctr)
+		if err == nil {
+			return notModified, nil
+		}
+		lastErr = err
+		if i < len(order)-1 && shouldFailover(err) {
+			slog.Warn("upstream revalidation failed, failing over", "remote", remote.Name, "base_url", url, "error", err)
+			continue
+		}
+		return false, err
+	}
+	return false, lastErr
+}
+
+func (e *Engine) checkUpstreamOnce(ctx context.Context, remote models.Remote, path, etag string, prov provider.Provider) (bool, error) {
 	url := prov.UpstreamURL(remote, path)
 
 	req, err := http.NewRequestWithContext(ctx, http.MethodHead, url, nil)
@@ -649,3 +738,111 @@ func isNetworkError(err error) bool {
 	var ue *UpstreamError
 	return errors.As(err, &ue)
 }
+
+// baseURLAttemptOrder returns the ordered upstream base URLs to try for a single
+// request, drawn from the remote's pool ([base_url] + mirrorlist). A multi-mirror
+// remote starts at a strategy-chosen position and advances linearly for
+// failover; a remote with no mirrorlist yields exactly [base_url], preserving the
+// original single-attempt behavior. The default (round_robin) rotates the
+// starting mirror; least_conn starts with the mirror handling the fewest
+// in-flight requests. Failover order after the first pick is unchanged.
+func (e *Engine) baseURLAttemptOrder(remote models.Remote) []string {
+	urls := remote.UpstreamPool()
+	if len(urls) <= 1 {
+		return urls
+	}
+	// Rotate by the round-robin cursor first so equal-load mirrors still spread
+	// evenly; least_conn then stable-sorts this rotation by in-flight count.
+	v, _ := e.rrCounters.LoadOrStore(remote.Name, new(atomic.Uint64))
+	start := int(v.(*atomic.Uint64).Add(1) - 1)
+	ordered := make([]string, len(urls))
+	for i := range urls {
+		ordered[i] = urls[(start+i)%len(urls)]
+	}
+	if remote.MirrorStrategy == models.MirrorStrategyLeastConn {
+		// Snapshot each mirror's in-flight count once, then sort the snapshot.
+		// Reading the gauge inside the comparator would repeat an allocating
+		// sync.Map lookup on every comparison (O(n log n) lookups); this is O(n).
+		snap := make([]inflightSnapshot, len(ordered))
+		for i, url := range ordered {
+			snap[i] = inflightSnapshot{url: url, count: e.inflightCount(remote.Name, url)}
+		}
+		sort.SliceStable(snap, func(a, b int) bool {
+			return snap[a].count < snap[b].count
+		})
+		for i := range snap {
+			ordered[i] = snap[i].url
+		}
+	}
+	return ordered
+}
+
+// inflightSnapshot pairs a mirror URL with its sampled in-flight count so the
+// least_conn sort compares plain ints instead of re-reading the gauge.
+type inflightSnapshot struct {
+	url   string
+	count int64
+}
+
+// inflightCount reads the in-flight request gauge for a given (remote, upstream
+// URL) without creating it, returning 0 when the counter is absent. This keeps
+// the selection read path allocation-free (plain Load, no LoadOrStore).
+func (e *Engine) inflightCount(remoteName, url string) int64 {
+	v, ok := e.inflight.Load(remoteName + "\x00" + url)
+	if !ok {
+		return 0
+	}
+	return v.(*atomic.Int64).Load()
+}
+
+// inflightCounter returns the shared in-flight request gauge for a given
+// (remote, upstream URL), creating it on first use.
+func (e *Engine) inflightCounter(remoteName, url string) *atomic.Int64 {
+	v, _ := e.inflight.LoadOrStore(remoteName+"\x00"+url, new(atomic.Int64))
+	return v.(*atomic.Int64)
+}
+
+// beginAttempt increments the in-flight gauge for a least_conn multi-mirror
+// remote before an upstream call and returns the counter to release; it is a
+// no-op (returns nil) for round-robin remotes and single-URL pools.
+func (e *Engine) beginAttempt(remote models.Remote, url string) *atomic.Int64 {
+	if remote.MirrorStrategy != models.MirrorStrategyLeastConn {
+		return nil
+	}
+	if len(remote.UpstreamPool()) <= 1 {
+		return nil
+	}
+	ctr := e.inflightCounter(remote.Name, url)
+	ctr.Add(1)
+	return ctr
+}
+
+// endAttempt decrements a gauge returned by beginAttempt, tolerating nil.
+func endAttempt(ctr *atomic.Int64) {
+	if ctr != nil {
+		ctr.Add(-1)
+	}
+}
+
+// withBaseURL narrows a remote's active BaseURL to a single selected mirror so
+// providers (UpstreamURL/AuthHeaders/RewriteResponse) operate on exactly that
+// upstream for this attempt.
+func withBaseURL(remote models.Remote, url string) models.Remote {
+	remote.BaseURL = url
+	remote.Mirrorlist = nil
+	return remote
+}
+
+// shouldFailover reports whether an upstream attempt error is worth retrying
+// against the next mirror: network errors/timeouts and upstream 5xx responses.
+// Definitive statuses (404/403/401/...) are returned to the caller unchanged.
+func shouldFailover(err error) bool {
+	if isNetworkError(err) {
+		return true
+	}
+	var pe *ProxyError
+	if errors.As(err, &pe) {
+		return pe.Status >= 500
+	}
+	return false
+}

internal/proxy/leastconn_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,148 @@
+package proxy
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"git.unkin.net/unkin/artifactapi/pkg/models"
+)
+
+// baseURLAttemptOrder and the in-flight gauge only touch the engine's sync.Map
+// fields, so these tests run against a zero-value Engine without a DB/S3/redis
+// stack and can drive the gauge deterministically.
+
+// TestLeastConnPicksLeastLoaded pre-loads one mirror's in-flight gauge and
+// asserts a least_conn remote starts its attempt order with the idle mirror.
+func TestLeastConnPicksLeastLoaded(t *testing.T) {
+	e := &Engine{}
+	r := models.Remote{
+		Name:           "lc",
+		BaseURL:        "https://a.example",
+		Mirrorlist:     []string{"https://b.example"},
+		MirrorStrategy: models.MirrorStrategyLeastConn,
+	}
+
+	// Make A appear busy: least_conn must prefer B regardless of RR rotation.
+	e.inflightCounter(r.Name, "https://a.example").Add(3)
+	for i := 0; i < 5; i++ {
+		order := e.baseURLAttemptOrder(r)
+		if len(order) != 2 {
+			t.Fatalf("attempt %d: order len = %d, want 2", i, len(order))
+		}
+		if order[0] != "https://b.example" {
+			t.Fatalf("attempt %d: least_conn started with %q, want idle mirror https://b.example", i, order[0])
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Once B is the busier mirror, the starting pick flips to A.
+	e.inflightCounter(r.Name, "https://b.example").Add(10)
+	if order := e.baseURLAttemptOrder(r); order[0] != "https://a.example" {
+		t.Fatalf("after loading B, least_conn started with %q, want https://a.example", order[0])
+	}
+}
+
+// TestLeastConnStableTieBreak asserts that when every mirror carries equal
+// in-flight load, least_conn falls back to the round-robin rotation: the
+// snapshot sort is stable, so tied mirrors keep the RR-rotated order and the
+// starting pick advances across the whole pool on successive calls.
+func TestLeastConnStableTieBreak(t *testing.T) {
+	e := &Engine{}
+	r := models.Remote{
+		Name:           "lc-tie",
+		BaseURL:        "https://a.example",
+		Mirrorlist:     []string{"https://b.example", "https://c.example"},
+		MirrorStrategy: models.MirrorStrategyLeastConn,
+	}
+	pool := r.UpstreamPool()
+
+	// Equal (zero) load on every mirror: order must equal the RR rotation.
+	starts := map[string]int{}
+	for i := 0; i < len(pool); i++ {
+		order := e.baseURLAttemptOrder(r)
+		if len(order) != len(pool) {
+			t.Fatalf("attempt %d: order len = %d, want %d", i, len(order), len(pool))
+		}
+		// A stable sort of an all-tied slice is a pure RR rotation: for the
+		// call whose cursor selects start s, order must be pool rotated by s.
+		start := indexOf(pool, order[0])
+		for j := range order {
+			if want := pool[(start+j)%len(pool)]; order[j] != want {
+				t.Fatalf("attempt %d: order[%d] = %q, want RR-rotated %q", i, j, order[j], want)
+			}
+		}
+		starts[order[0]]++
+	}
+	if len(starts) != len(pool) {
+		t.Fatalf("tied least_conn did not rotate across the whole pool: %v", starts)
+	}
+}
+
+func indexOf(s []string, v string) int {
+	for i := range s {
+		if s[i] == v {
+			return i
+		}
+	}
+	return -1
+}
+
+// TestRoundRobinDefaultUnchanged asserts an unset strategy still rotates the
+// starting mirror across the pool and ignores the in-flight gauge.
+func TestRoundRobinDefaultUnchanged(t *testing.T) {
+	e := &Engine{}
+	r := models.Remote{
+		Name:       "rr",
+		BaseURL:    "https://a.example",
+		Mirrorlist: []string{"https://b.example"},
+	}
+
+	// Even with A heavily loaded, round-robin must still rotate (not avoid A).
+	e.inflightCounter(r.Name, "https://a.example").Add(100)
+	starts := map[string]int{}
+	for i := 0; i < 4; i++ {
+		starts[e.baseURLAttemptOrder(r)[0]]++
+	}
+	if starts["https://a.example"] == 0 || starts["https://b.example"] == 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("round-robin did not rotate starting mirror: %v", starts)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestLeastConnSingleURLNoOp asserts a single-URL pool yields exactly [base_url]
+// and beginAttempt is a no-op there and for round-robin remotes.
+func TestLeastConnSingleURLNoOp(t *testing.T) {
+	e := &Engine{}
+	solo := models.Remote{Name: "solo", BaseURL: "https://a.example", MirrorStrategy: models.MirrorStrategyLeastConn}
+	if order := e.baseURLAttemptOrder(solo); len(order) != 1 || order[0] != "https://a.example" {
+		t.Fatalf("single-url order = %v, want [base_url]", order)
+	}
+	if ctr := e.beginAttempt(solo, "https://a.example"); ctr != nil {
+		t.Fatal("beginAttempt on single-url pool should be a no-op (nil)")
+	}
+
+	rr := models.Remote{Name: "rr2", BaseURL: "https://a.example", Mirrorlist: []string{"https://b.example"}}
+	if ctr := e.beginAttempt(rr, "https://a.example"); ctr != nil {
+		t.Fatal("beginAttempt on round-robin remote should be a no-op (nil)")
+	}
+}
+
+// TestBeginEndAttemptGauge asserts the gauge increments on begin and returns to
+// zero after endAttempt, so it tracks live in-flight requests.
+func TestBeginEndAttemptGauge(t *testing.T) {
+	e := &Engine{}
+	r := models.Remote{
+		Name:           "g",
+		BaseURL:        "https://a.example",
+		Mirrorlist:     []string{"https://b.example"},
+		MirrorStrategy: models.MirrorStrategyLeastConn,
+	}
+	c1 := e.beginAttempt(r, "https://a.example")
+	c2 := e.beginAttempt(r, "https://a.example")
+	if got := e.inflightCounter(r.Name, "https://a.example").Load(); got != 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("gauge after two begins = %d, want 2", got)
+	}
+	endAttempt(c1)
+	endAttempt(c2)
+	if got := e.inflightCounter(r.Name, "https://a.example").Load(); got != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("gauge after matching ends = %d, want 0", got)
+	}
+	endAttempt(nil) // tolerated
+}

internal/proxy/multibaseurl_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,188 @@
+package proxy
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"fmt"
+	"net/http"
+	"net/http/httptest"
+	"sync/atomic"
+	"testing"
+
+	"git.unkin.net/unkin/artifactapi/pkg/models"
+)
+
+// TestFetchMultiBaseURLRoundRobin drives distinct artifact paths through a
+// remote configured with two upstreams and asserts both receive traffic.
+func TestFetchMultiBaseURLRoundRobin(t *testing.T) {
+	requireStack(t)
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	var hitsA, hitsB atomic.Int64
+	upA := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		hitsA.Add(1)
+		w.Write([]byte("A"))
+	}))
+	defer upA.Close()
+	upB := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		hitsB.Add(1)
+		w.Write([]byte("B"))
+	}))
+	defer upB.Close()
+
+	r := seed(t, models.Remote{
+		Name:         "eng-rr",
+		PackageType:  models.PackageGeneric,
+		RepoType:     models.RepoTypeRemote,
+		BaseURL:      upA.URL,
+		Mirrorlist:   []string{upB.URL},
+		StaleOnError: true,
+	})
+	p := prov(t, models.PackageGeneric)
+
+	const n = 10
+	for i := 0; i < n; i++ {
+		res, err := testEngine.Fetch(ctx, r, fmt.Sprintf("rr-%d.bin", i), p)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("fetch %d: %v", i, err)
+		}
+		res.Reader.Close()
+	}
+
+	if hitsA.Load() == 0 || hitsB.Load() == 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("round-robin did not spread across both upstreams: A=%d B=%d", hitsA.Load(), hitsB.Load())
+	}
+	if total := hitsA.Load() + hitsB.Load(); total != n {
+		t.Fatalf("expected %d upstream hits total, got %d (A=%d B=%d)", n, total, hitsA.Load(), hitsB.Load())
+	}
+}
+
+// TestFetchMultiBaseURLFailover asserts that a dead/erroring primary mirror
+// transparently fails over to a healthy secondary, for both a 5xx primary and a
+// network-unreachable primary.
+func TestFetchMultiBaseURLFailover(t *testing.T) {
+	requireStack(t)
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	var hitsB atomic.Int64
+	upB := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		hitsB.Add(1)
+		w.Write([]byte("served-by-B"))
+	}))
+	defer upB.Close()
+	up500 := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusInternalServerError)
+	}))
+	defer up500.Close()
+
+	p := prov(t, models.PackageGeneric)
+
+	// Primary returns 5xx: every request must still succeed via the secondary.
+	r5xx := seed(t, models.Remote{
+		Name:        "eng-failover-5xx",
+		PackageType: models.PackageGeneric,
+		RepoType:    models.RepoTypeRemote,
+		BaseURL:     up500.URL,
+		Mirrorlist:  []string{upB.URL},
+	})
+	for i := 0; i < 6; i++ {
+		res, err := testEngine.Fetch(ctx, r5xx, fmt.Sprintf("fo5-%d.bin", i), p)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("5xx failover fetch %d: %v", i, err)
+		}
+		if got := readAll(t, res); got != "served-by-B" {
+			t.Fatalf("5xx failover fetch %d body=%q, want served-by-B", i, got)
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Primary is network-unreachable: failover must still reach the secondary.
+	rNet := seed(t, models.Remote{
+		Name:        "eng-failover-net",
+		PackageType: models.PackageGeneric,
+		RepoType:    models.RepoTypeRemote,
+		BaseURL:     "http://127.0.0.1:1",
+		Mirrorlist:  []string{upB.URL},
+	})
+	res, err := testEngine.Fetch(ctx, rNet, "fonet.bin", p)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("network failover fetch: %v", err)
+	}
+	if got := readAll(t, res); got != "served-by-B" {
+		t.Fatalf("network failover body=%q, want served-by-B", got)
+	}
+	if hitsB.Load() == 0 {
+		t.Fatal("secondary upstream never served during failover")
+	}
+}
+
+// TestFetchDefinitiveStatusNoFailover asserts a definitive 404 from the first
+// mirror is returned as-is (not failed over): a missing artifact is not a mirror
+// outage. The remote is fresh so its round-robin cursor starts at index 0.
+func TestFetchDefinitiveStatusNoFailover(t *testing.T) {
+	requireStack(t)
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	var hitsB atomic.Int64
+	up404 := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		http.NotFound(w, r)
+	}))
+	defer up404.Close()
+	upB := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		hitsB.Add(1)
+		w.Write([]byte("B"))
+	}))
+	defer upB.Close()
+
+	r := seed(t, models.Remote{
+		Name:        "eng-no-failover-404",
+		PackageType: models.PackageGeneric,
+		RepoType:    models.RepoTypeRemote,
+		BaseURL:     up404.URL,
+		Mirrorlist:  []string{upB.URL},
+	})
+	_, err := testEngine.Fetch(ctx, r, "missing.bin", prov(t, models.PackageGeneric))
+	var pe *ProxyError
+	if err == nil || !asProxyError(err, &pe) || pe.Status != http.StatusNotFound {
+		t.Fatalf("expected 404 ProxyError without failover, got %v", err)
+	}
+	if hitsB.Load() != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("404 from primary must not fail over, but secondary was hit %d times", hitsB.Load())
+	}
+}
+
+// TestFetchSingleBaseURLUnchanged asserts a single-URL remote behaves exactly as
+// before: one healthy URL succeeds, and one dead URL errors with no failover.
+func TestFetchSingleBaseURLUnchanged(t *testing.T) {
+	requireStack(t)
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	upB := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		w.Write([]byte("solo"))
+	}))
+	defer upB.Close()
+
+	p := prov(t, models.PackageGeneric)
+
+	rOK := seed(t, models.Remote{
+		Name:        "eng-solo",
+		PackageType: models.PackageGeneric,
+		RepoType:    models.RepoTypeRemote,
+		BaseURL:     upB.URL,
+	})
+	res, err := testEngine.Fetch(ctx, rOK, "solo.bin", p)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("single-url fetch: %v", err)
+	}
+	if got := readAll(t, res); got != "solo" {
+		t.Fatalf("single-url body=%q, want solo", got)
+	}
+
+	rDead := seed(t, models.Remote{
+		Name:        "eng-solo-dead",
+		PackageType: models.PackageGeneric,
+		RepoType:    models.RepoTypeRemote,
+		BaseURL:     "http://127.0.0.1:1",
+	})
+	if _, err := testEngine.Fetch(ctx, rDead, "x.bin", p); err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("single dead upstream should error, not succeed")
+	}
+}

internal/proxy/selection_bench_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,156 @@
+package proxy
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"testing"
+
+	"git.unkin.net/unkin/artifactapi/pkg/models"
+)
+
+// These benchmarks isolate the mirror-selection overhead only: they construct a
+// zero-value Engine (no DB/S3/redis) and call baseURLAttemptOrder /
+// beginAttempt / endAttempt directly, mirroring leastconn_test.go and
+// multibaseurl_test.go. This quantifies how much latency the load-balancing
+// strategy (round_robin vs least_conn) adds versus a single-URL remote. Note
+// that in the live proxy this selection runs only on the cache-miss/upstream
+// path; a cache hit never calls it.
+
+// mirrorPool builds a remote with n upstreams (base_url + n-1 mirrorlist
+// entries) under the given strategy.
+func mirrorPool(name, strategy string, n int) models.Remote {
+	r := models.Remote{
+		Name:           name,
+		BaseURL:        "https://mirror0.example/repo",
+		MirrorStrategy: strategy,
+	}
+	for i := 1; i < n; i++ {
+		r.Mirrorlist = append(r.Mirrorlist, fmt.Sprintf("https://mirror%d.example/repo", i))
+	}
+	return r
+}
+
+// skewInflight sets an ascending in-flight load across the pool so least_conn's
+// stable sort has real work to do (mirror0 busiest, last mirror idle).
+func skewInflight(e *Engine, r models.Remote) {
+	pool := r.UpstreamPool()
+	for i, u := range pool {
+		e.inflightCounter(r.Name, u).Add(int64(len(pool) - i))
+	}
+}
+
+// BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_SingleURL measures the early-return no-op path
+// (pool of 1): the branch that preserves original single-attempt behavior and
+// must add effectively zero overhead. This is the same code the cache-miss path
+// takes for every non-mirrored remote.
+func BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_SingleURL(b *testing.B) {
+	e := &Engine{}
+	r := models.Remote{Name: "solo", BaseURL: "https://mirror0.example/repo"}
+	b.ReportAllocs()
+	b.ResetTimer()
+	for i := 0; i < b.N; i++ {
+		_ = e.baseURLAttemptOrder(r)
+	}
+}
+
+// BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_RoundRobin measures the default strategy: rotate
+// the starting mirror by an atomic cursor and materialize the ordered slice. No
+// in-flight sort.
+func BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_RoundRobin(b *testing.B) {
+	for _, n := range []int{3, 8} {
+		b.Run(fmt.Sprintf("pool%d", n), func(b *testing.B) {
+			e := &Engine{}
+			r := mirrorPool("rr", models.MirrorStrategyRoundRobin, n)
+			b.ReportAllocs()
+			b.ResetTimer()
+			for i := 0; i < b.N; i++ {
+				_ = e.baseURLAttemptOrder(r)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_LeastConn measures the least_conn strategy: RR
+// rotation plus a stable sort of the pool by the atomic in-flight gauges. Skew
+// is preloaded so the sort compares distinct loads.
+func BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_LeastConn(b *testing.B) {
+	for _, n := range []int{3, 8} {
+		b.Run(fmt.Sprintf("pool%d", n), func(b *testing.B) {
+			e := &Engine{}
+			r := mirrorPool("lc", models.MirrorStrategyLeastConn, n)
+			skewInflight(e, r)
+			b.ReportAllocs()
+			b.ResetTimer()
+			for i := 0; i < b.N; i++ {
+				_ = e.baseURLAttemptOrder(r)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// BenchmarkBeginEndAttempt measures the gauge inc/dec pair that brackets each
+// least_conn upstream attempt (LoadOrStore + atomic add, then atomic add back).
+func BenchmarkBeginEndAttempt(b *testing.B) {
+	e := &Engine{}
+	r := mirrorPool("g", models.MirrorStrategyLeastConn, 3)
+	url := r.UpstreamPool()[0]
+	b.ReportAllocs()
+	b.ResetTimer()
+	for i := 0; i < b.N; i++ {
+		ctr := e.beginAttempt(r, url)
+		endAttempt(ctr)
+	}
+}
+
+// BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_RoundRobin_Parallel surfaces atomic-cursor
+// contention on the shared rrCounters entry under concurrent selection.
+func BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_RoundRobin_Parallel(b *testing.B) {
+	for _, n := range []int{3, 8} {
+		b.Run(fmt.Sprintf("pool%d", n), func(b *testing.B) {
+			e := &Engine{}
+			r := mirrorPool("rrp", models.MirrorStrategyRoundRobin, n)
+			b.ReportAllocs()
+			b.ResetTimer()
+			b.RunParallel(func(pb *testing.PB) {
+				for pb.Next() {
+					_ = e.baseURLAttemptOrder(r)
+				}
+			})
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_LeastConn_Parallel surfaces sync.Map read
+// contention on the in-flight gauges plus the per-call sort under concurrency.
+func BenchmarkBaseURLAttemptOrder_LeastConn_Parallel(b *testing.B) {
+	for _, n := range []int{3, 8} {
+		b.Run(fmt.Sprintf("pool%d", n), func(b *testing.B) {
+			e := &Engine{}
+			r := mirrorPool("lcp", models.MirrorStrategyLeastConn, n)
+			skewInflight(e, r)
+			b.ReportAllocs()
+			b.ResetTimer()
+			b.RunParallel(func(pb *testing.PB) {
+				for pb.Next() {
+					_ = e.baseURLAttemptOrder(r)
+				}
+			})
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// BenchmarkBeginEndAttempt_Parallel exercises the gauge inc/dec pair under
+// concurrency: all goroutines hammer the same atomic.Int64, the realistic
+// hot-mirror case, to surface counter contention.
+func BenchmarkBeginEndAttempt_Parallel(b *testing.B) {
+	e := &Engine{}
+	r := mirrorPool("gp", models.MirrorStrategyLeastConn, 3)
+	url := r.UpstreamPool()[0]
+	b.ReportAllocs()
+	b.ResetTimer()
+	b.RunParallel(func(pb *testing.PB) {
+		for pb.Next() {
+			ctr := e.beginAttempt(r, url)
+			endAttempt(ctr)
+		}
+	})
+}

internal/server/server.go

@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ import (
 	"git.unkin.net/unkin/artifactapi/internal/database"
 	"git.unkin.net/unkin/artifactapi/internal/gc"
 	"git.unkin.net/unkin/artifactapi/internal/githubauth"
-	_ "git.unkin.net/unkin/artifactapi/internal/provider/alpine"
+	"git.unkin.net/unkin/artifactapi/internal/provider/alpine"
 	"git.unkin.net/unkin/artifactapi/internal/provider/deb"
 	_ "git.unkin.net/unkin/artifactapi/internal/provider/docker"
 	_ "git.unkin.net/unkin/artifactapi/internal/provider/generic"
@@ -52,6 +52,7 @@ type Server struct {
 	gc           *gc.Collector
 	syncer       *rpm.Syncer
 	debSyncer    *deb.Syncer
+	alpineSyncer *alpine.Syncer
 }
 
 func New(cfg *config.Config, version string) (*Server, error) {
@@ -105,6 +106,12 @@ func New(cfg *config.Config, version string) (*Server, error) {
 		Workers:      cfg.GitHubSyncWorkers,
 		PollInterval: time.Duration(cfg.GitHubSyncPollInterval) * time.Second,
 	})
+	alpineSyncer := alpine.NewSyncer(db, alpine.SyncConfig{
+		RatePerSec:   cfg.GitHubSyncRatePerSec,
+		Burst:        cfg.GitHubSyncBurst,
+		Workers:      cfg.GitHubSyncWorkers,
+		PollInterval: time.Duration(cfg.GitHubSyncPollInterval) * time.Second,
+	})
 
 	// The terraform registry signs with a GPG key. A configured file wins (BYO
 	// key); otherwise artifactapi generates one on first start and persists it in
@@ -138,6 +145,7 @@ func New(cfg *config.Config, version string) (*Server, error) {
 		gc:           collector,
 		syncer:       syncer,
 		debSyncer:    debSyncer,
+		alpineSyncer: alpineSyncer,
 	}
 
 	s.router = s.routes()
@@ -167,9 +175,10 @@ func (s *Server) routes() chi.Router {
 	r.Mount("/api/v1", proxyHandler.Routes())
 	r.Mount("/v2", proxyHandler.DockerV2Routes())
 
-	remotesHandler := v2.NewRemotesHandler(s.db, map[models.PackageType]v2.Primer{
+	remotesHandler := v2.NewRemotesHandler(s.db, s.cache, map[models.PackageType]v2.Primer{
 		models.PackageGitHubRPM:    s.syncer,
 		models.PackageGitHubDeb:    s.debSyncer,
+		models.PackageGitHubAlpine: s.alpineSyncer,
 	})
 	virtualsHandler := v2.NewVirtualsHandler(s.db)
 	healthHandler := v2.NewHealthHandler(s.db, s.cache, s.store)
@@ -239,6 +248,7 @@ func (s *Server) Run(ctx context.Context) error {
 	go s.gc.Run(ctx)
 	go s.syncer.Run(ctx)
 	go s.debSyncer.Run(ctx)
+	go s.alpineSyncer.Run(ctx)
 
 	httpServer := s.newHTTPServer()
 
@@ -261,6 +271,7 @@ func (s *Server) RunOnListener(ctx context.Context, ln net.Listener) error {
 	go s.gc.Run(ctx)
 	go s.syncer.Run(ctx)
 	go s.debSyncer.Run(ctx)
+	go s.alpineSyncer.Run(ctx)
 
 	httpServer := s.newHTTPServer()
 

internal/testsupport/apk.go

@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+package testsupport
+
+import (
+	"bytes"
+	"fmt"
+)
+
+// MinimalApk builds a valid-enough Alpine package in pure Go (no committed
+// binary fixture, no abuild): two concatenated, independently gzipped tar
+// streams -- a control stream carrying .PKGINFO and a data stream carrying a
+// single payload file. It mirrors MinimalDeb/MinimalRPM and is parseable by the
+// alpine provider (which derives arch/name/version and the Q1 pull checksum from
+// the control stream).
+func MinimalApk(name, version, arch string) []byte {
+	pkginfo := fmt.Sprintf(
+		"# generated by testsupport\n"+
+			"pkgname = %s\n"+
+			"pkgver = %s\n"+
+			"arch = %s\n"+
+			"pkgdesc = minimal test package\n"+
+			"url = https://example.com/%s\n"+
+			"license = MIT\n"+
+			"origin = %s\n"+
+			"maintainer = e2e <e2e@example.com>\n"+
+			"builddate = 1700000000\n"+
+			"size = 4\n"+
+			"depend = so:libc.musl-x86_64.so.1\n"+
+			"provides = cmd:%s=%s\n",
+		name, version, arch, name, name, name, version)
+
+	control := gzipBytes(tarSingle(".PKGINFO", []byte(pkginfo)))
+	data := gzipBytes(tarSingle("usr/bin/"+name, []byte("body")))
+
+	var buf bytes.Buffer
+	buf.Write(control)
+	buf.Write(data)
+	return buf.Bytes()
+}

pkg/models/package_type.go

@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ const (
 	PackageGoProxy      PackageType = "goproxy"
 	PackageGitHubRPM    PackageType = "github_rpm"
 	PackageGitHubDeb    PackageType = "github_deb"
+	PackageGitHubAlpine PackageType = "github_alpine"
 )
 
 var validPackageTypes = map[PackageType]bool{
@@ -34,6 +35,7 @@ var validPackageTypes = map[PackageType]bool{
 	PackageGoProxy:      true,
 	PackageGitHubRPM:    true,
 	PackageGitHubDeb:    true,
+	PackageGitHubAlpine: true,
 }
 
 func (p PackageType) Valid() bool {

pkg/models/package_type_test.go

@@ -19,6 +19,8 @@ func TestPackageTypeValid(t *testing.T) {
 		models.PackageTerraform,
 		models.PackageGoProxy,
 		models.PackageGitHubRPM,
+		models.PackageGitHubDeb,
+		models.PackageGitHubAlpine,
 	}
 	for _, pt := range valid {
 		if !pt.Valid() {

pkg/models/remote.go

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package models
 
 import (
 	"fmt"
+	"net/url"
 	"regexp"
 	"time"
 )
@@ -39,6 +40,14 @@ type Remote struct {
 	PackageType PackageType `json:"package_type"`
 	RepoType    RepoType    `json:"repo_type"`
 	BaseURL     string      `json:"base_url"`
+	// Mirrorlist holds additional upstream mirror base URLs. The effective
+	// upstream pool is [base_url] + mirrorlist, load-balanced round-robin with
+	// failover by the proxy engine. Only valid on remote rpm/deb/apk repos.
+	Mirrorlist []string `json:"mirrorlist,omitempty"`
+	// MirrorStrategy selects how the proxy engine picks the starting upstream
+	// from the pool: round_robin (default/empty) rotates, least_conn favors the
+	// mirror with the fewest in-flight requests. Failover order is unchanged.
+	MirrorStrategy string `json:"mirror_strategy,omitempty"`
 	Description    string `json:"description,omitempty"`
 	Username       string `json:"-"`
 	Password       string `json:"-"`
@@ -72,6 +81,74 @@ type Remote struct {
 	UpdatedAt time.Time `json:"updated_at"`
 }
 
+// Mirror balancing strategies for MirrorStrategy. An empty value is treated as
+// round_robin, so existing remotes keep their current behavior.
+const (
+	MirrorStrategyRoundRobin = "round_robin"
+	MirrorStrategyLeastConn  = "least_conn"
+)
+
+// mirrorlistPackageTypes are the package types for which a mirrorlist is
+// allowed: OS package repos (rpm, deb, apk/alpine) that fetch many small files
+// and benefit most from mirror load-balancing and failover.
+var mirrorlistPackageTypes = map[PackageType]bool{
+	PackageRPM:    true,
+	PackageDeb:    true,
+	PackageAlpine: true,
+}
+
+// UpstreamPool returns the ordered upstream base URLs for this remote: the
+// primary base_url first, followed by any mirrorlist entries. The proxy engine
+// load-balances round-robin across the pool and fails over between them.
+func (r Remote) UpstreamPool() []string {
+	pool := make([]string, 0, 1+len(r.Mirrorlist))
+	if r.BaseURL != "" {
+		pool = append(pool, r.BaseURL)
+	}
+	pool = append(pool, r.Mirrorlist...)
+	return pool
+}
+
+// ValidateMirrorlist enforces that a mirrorlist is only configured on remote
+// rpm/deb/apk repositories and that every entry is a parseable http/https URL.
+func (r *Remote) ValidateMirrorlist() error {
+	if len(r.Mirrorlist) == 0 {
+		return nil
+	}
+	if r.RepoType != RepoTypeRemote {
+		return fmt.Errorf("mirrorlist is only allowed on remote repositories")
+	}
+	if !mirrorlistPackageTypes[r.PackageType] {
+		return fmt.Errorf("mirrorlist is only allowed for rpm, deb and alpine package types, not %q", r.PackageType)
+	}
+	for _, u := range r.Mirrorlist {
+		parsed, err := url.ParseRequestURI(u)
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("invalid mirrorlist url %q: %w", u, err)
+		}
+		if parsed.Scheme != "http" && parsed.Scheme != "https" {
+			return fmt.Errorf("mirrorlist url %q must be http or https", u)
+		}
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+// ValidateMirrorStrategy enforces that mirror_strategy is one of the allowed
+// values and that a non-default strategy (least_conn) is only set alongside a
+// non-empty mirrorlist, where balancing is meaningful. An empty strategy is
+// accepted and behaves as round_robin.
+func (r *Remote) ValidateMirrorStrategy() error {
+	switch r.MirrorStrategy {
+	case "", MirrorStrategyRoundRobin, MirrorStrategyLeastConn:
+	default:
+		return fmt.Errorf("invalid mirror_strategy %q: must be %q or %q", r.MirrorStrategy, MirrorStrategyRoundRobin, MirrorStrategyLeastConn)
+	}
+	if r.MirrorStrategy == MirrorStrategyLeastConn && len(r.Mirrorlist) == 0 {
+		return fmt.Errorf("mirror_strategy %q requires a non-empty mirrorlist", r.MirrorStrategy)
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
 // ValidatePatterns ensures every configured regex compiles. Storing an
 // invalid pattern would otherwise be silently dropped at match time, which
 // for the blocklist is a fail-open: a mistyped deny rule becomes a no-op.

pkg/models/remote_test.go

@@ -1,6 +1,10 @@
 package models
 
-import "testing"
+import (
+	"encoding/json"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
 
 func TestRemote_ValidatePatterns(t *testing.T) {
 	valid := &Remote{
@@ -17,3 +21,105 @@ func TestRemote_ValidatePatterns(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatal("expected error for invalid blocklist regex, got nil")
 	}
 }
+
+func TestRemoteMirrorlistJSON(t *testing.T) {
+	// base_url stays a plain string; mirrorlist round-trips as an array.
+	var r Remote
+	body := `{"name":"x","package_type":"rpm","repo_type":"remote","base_url":"https://a.example","mirrorlist":["https://b.example","https://c.example"]}`
+	if err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(body), &r); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if r.BaseURL != "https://a.example" {
+		t.Errorf("BaseURL = %q, want https://a.example", r.BaseURL)
+	}
+	if len(r.Mirrorlist) != 2 || r.Mirrorlist[0] != "https://b.example" || r.Mirrorlist[1] != "https://c.example" {
+		t.Errorf("Mirrorlist = %v, want two entries", r.Mirrorlist)
+	}
+
+	out, err := json.Marshal(r)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(string(out), `"base_url":"https://a.example"`) {
+		t.Errorf("marshal lost base_url: %s", out)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(string(out), `"mirrorlist":["https://b.example","https://c.example"]`) {
+		t.Errorf("marshal lost mirrorlist: %s", out)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestRemoteMirrorlistOmitempty(t *testing.T) {
+	out, err := json.Marshal(Remote{Name: "x", PackageType: PackageRPM, RepoType: RepoTypeRemote, BaseURL: "https://a.example"})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if strings.Contains(string(out), "mirrorlist") {
+		t.Errorf("empty mirrorlist should be omitted: %s", out)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestUpstreamPool(t *testing.T) {
+	// base_url first, then mirrorlist.
+	r := Remote{BaseURL: "https://a.example", Mirrorlist: []string{"https://b.example", "https://c.example"}}
+	pool := r.UpstreamPool()
+	want := []string{"https://a.example", "https://b.example", "https://c.example"}
+	if strings.Join(pool, ",") != strings.Join(want, ",") {
+		t.Errorf("UpstreamPool = %v, want %v", pool, want)
+	}
+
+	// No mirrorlist ⇒ pool is just [base_url].
+	solo := Remote{BaseURL: "https://a.example"}
+	if got := solo.UpstreamPool(); len(got) != 1 || got[0] != "https://a.example" {
+		t.Errorf("solo UpstreamPool = %v, want [base_url]", got)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestValidateMirrorStrategy(t *testing.T) {
+	ml := []string{"https://m.example"}
+	cases := []struct {
+		name    string
+		remote  Remote
+		wantErr bool
+	}{
+		{"empty defaults ok", Remote{Mirrorlist: ml}, false},
+		{"explicit round_robin ok", Remote{MirrorStrategy: MirrorStrategyRoundRobin, Mirrorlist: ml}, false},
+		{"round_robin without mirrorlist ok", Remote{MirrorStrategy: MirrorStrategyRoundRobin}, false},
+		{"least_conn with mirrorlist ok", Remote{MirrorStrategy: MirrorStrategyLeastConn, Mirrorlist: ml}, false},
+		{"least_conn without mirrorlist rejected", Remote{MirrorStrategy: MirrorStrategyLeastConn}, true},
+		{"unknown strategy rejected", Remote{MirrorStrategy: "random", Mirrorlist: ml}, true},
+	}
+	for _, tc := range cases {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			err := tc.remote.ValidateMirrorStrategy()
+			if (err != nil) != tc.wantErr {
+				t.Errorf("ValidateMirrorStrategy() err = %v, wantErr = %v", err, tc.wantErr)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+func TestValidateMirrorlist(t *testing.T) {
+	cases := []struct {
+		name    string
+		remote  Remote
+		wantErr bool
+	}{
+		{"empty is ok on anything", Remote{RepoType: RepoTypeRemote, PackageType: PackageGeneric}, false},
+		{"rpm remote ok", Remote{RepoType: RepoTypeRemote, PackageType: PackageRPM, Mirrorlist: []string{"https://m.example"}}, false},
+		{"deb remote ok", Remote{RepoType: RepoTypeRemote, PackageType: PackageDeb, Mirrorlist: []string{"http://m.example"}}, false},
+		{"alpine remote ok", Remote{RepoType: RepoTypeRemote, PackageType: PackageAlpine, Mirrorlist: []string{"https://m.example"}}, false},
+		{"generic remote rejected", Remote{RepoType: RepoTypeRemote, PackageType: PackageGeneric, Mirrorlist: []string{"https://m.example"}}, true},
+		{"docker remote rejected", Remote{RepoType: RepoTypeRemote, PackageType: PackageDocker, Mirrorlist: []string{"https://m.example"}}, true},
+		{"local rpm rejected", Remote{RepoType: RepoTypeLocal, PackageType: PackageRPM, Mirrorlist: []string{"https://m.example"}}, true},
+		{"bad scheme rejected", Remote{RepoType: RepoTypeRemote, PackageType: PackageRPM, Mirrorlist: []string{"ftp://m.example"}}, true},
+		{"unparseable rejected", Remote{RepoType: RepoTypeRemote, PackageType: PackageRPM, Mirrorlist: []string{"://nope"}}, true},
+	}
+	for _, tc := range cases {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			err := tc.remote.ValidateMirrorlist()
+			if (err != nil) != tc.wantErr {
+				t.Errorf("ValidateMirrorlist() err = %v, wantErr = %v", err, tc.wantErr)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}

scripts/docker-e2e.sh

@@ -17,8 +17,8 @@ cleanup() {
 }
 trap cleanup EXIT
 
-echo "==> building and starting stack (postgres, redis, minio, mockupstream, artifactapi)"
+echo "==> building and starting stack (postgres, redis, minio, mockupstream(s), artifactapi)"
-"${COMPOSE[@]}" up -d --build postgres redis minio mockupstream artifactapi
+"${COMPOSE[@]}" up -d --build postgres redis minio mockupstream mockupstreama mockupstreamb artifactapi
 
 echo "==> waiting for artifactapi health at ${API_URL}"
 for i in $(seq 1 60); do
@@ -34,7 +34,17 @@ for i in $(seq 1 60); do
   sleep 1
 done
 
-echo "==> running dockerised e2e suite"
+# Resolve the compose network the artifactapi container is attached to, so the
+# real-package-manager test can launch a stock distro container on the same
+# network and reach artifactapi by service name.
+API_CID="$("${COMPOSE[@]}" ps -q artifactapi)"
+COMPOSE_NETWORK="$(docker inspect -f '{{range $k,$_ := .NetworkSettings.Networks}}{{$k}}{{end}}' "${API_CID}" 2>/dev/null || true)"
+
+echo "==> running dockerised e2e suite (compose network: ${COMPOSE_NETWORK:-unknown})"
 ARTIFACTAPI_URL="${API_URL}" \
 MOCK_UPSTREAM_INTERNAL="${MOCK_UPSTREAM_INTERNAL:-http://mockupstream}" \
+MOCK_UPSTREAM_A_INTERNAL="${MOCK_UPSTREAM_A_INTERNAL:-http://mockupstreama}" \
+MOCK_UPSTREAM_B_INTERNAL="${MOCK_UPSTREAM_B_INTERNAL:-http://mockupstreamb}" \
+ARTIFACTAPI_INTERNAL="${ARTIFACTAPI_INTERNAL:-http://artifactapi:8000}" \
+COMPOSE_NETWORK="${COMPOSE_NETWORK}" \
   go test -tags=dockere2e -count=1 -timeout=10m -v ./e2e-docker/...

ui/src/components/UsageInstructions.tsx

@@ -176,7 +176,25 @@ helm install <release> ${name}/<chart>`,
       ];
 
     case 'alpine':
-      return [
+      return isLocal
+        ? [
+            {
+              title: 'Add the apk repo (real apk repo, APKINDEX auto-generated)',
+              language: 'bash',
+              code: `echo '${url}/api/v1/local/${name}' | sudo tee -a /etc/apk/repositories
+sudo apk update --allow-untrusted
+sudo apk add --allow-untrusted <package>`,
+              note: `Served unsigned (parity with the rpm repo's gpgcheck=0) — use --allow-untrusted, or install a signing key. apk fetches <arch>/APKINDEX.tar.gz under this base.`,
+            },
+            {
+              title: 'Publish a .apk (index regenerates automatically)',
+              language: 'bash',
+              code: `curl -fsSL --upload-file ./mypkg-1.0-r0.apk \\
+  ${url}/api/v2/remotes/${name}/files/x86_64/mypkg-1.0-r0.apk`,
+              note: 'Upload each package at <arch>/<name>-<version>.apk — apk reconstructs that exact path from the index (APKINDEX carries no filename), so a mismatched path will 404 on install.',
+            },
+          ]
+        : [
             {
               title: 'Add the APK repository',
               language: 'bash',
@@ -187,6 +205,18 @@ sudo apk add <package>`,
             },
           ];
 
+    case 'github_alpine':
+      return [
+        {
+          title: 'Add the apk repo (metadata-only, from GitHub releases)',
+          language: 'bash',
+          code: `echo '${proxy}' | sudo tee -a /etc/apk/repositories
+sudo apk update --allow-untrusted
+sudo apk add --allow-untrusted <package>`,
+          note: "The per-arch APKINDEX is synthesized from the configured GitHub repo's release .apk assets; package downloads are redirected to the backing releases remote. Served unsigned, so --allow-untrusted.",
+        },
+      ];
+
     case 'goproxy':
       return [
         {
@@ -208,6 +238,47 @@ go mod download`,
         },
       ];
 
+    case 'deb':
+      return isLocal
+        ? [
+            {
+              title: 'Add the apt repo (real apt repo, flat — Packages/Release auto-generated)',
+              language: 'bash',
+              code: `echo 'deb [trusted=yes] ${url}/api/v1/local/${name}/ ./' | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/${name}.list
+sudo apt-get update
+sudo apt-get install <package>`,
+              note: '[trusted=yes]: artifactapi serves the flat repo unsigned (matches the rpm repo\'s gpgcheck=0). The `./` is the flat-repo suite — apt fetches Packages/Release from the repo root.',
+            },
+            {
+              title: 'Publish a .deb (index regenerates automatically)',
+              language: 'bash',
+              code: `curl -fsSL --upload-file ./my-package_1.0_amd64.deb \\
+  ${url}/api/v2/remotes/${name}/files/my-package_1.0_amd64.deb`,
+            },
+          ]
+        : [
+            {
+              title: 'Add the apt repo (caching proxy)',
+              language: 'bash',
+              code: `echo 'deb ${proxy} <suite> <component>' | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/${name}.list
+sudo apt-get update
+sudo apt-get install <package>`,
+              note: "Signatures are verified against the upstream mirror's real signed Release through the proxy (no [trusted=yes] needed). Example suite/component: bookworm main.",
+            },
+          ];
+
+    case 'github_deb':
+      return [
+        {
+          title: 'Add the apt repo (metadata-only, from GitHub releases)',
+          language: 'bash',
+          code: `echo 'deb [trusted=yes] ${proxy}/ ./' | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/${name}.list
+sudo apt-get update
+sudo apt-get install <package>`,
+          note: "The apt index is synthesized from the configured GitHub repo's release .deb assets; package downloads are redirected to the backing releases remote. Served unsigned, so [trusted=yes].",
+        },
+      ];
+
     case 'generic':
     default:
       return [