logtail: a refusal the panel did not get to write is written from mail.log (stage 2b)

The sender check answers 550 5.7.1 and writes the refused row through a
buffer a moment later; a panel stopped in between (a rollout, a kill) left
an application refused and a log that did not know it. A refusal at MAIL
FROM needs nothing: the journal milter writes its row before it answers.

- logtail.refusalLines remembers each queue id's login from smtpd's
  "<id>: client=..., sasl_username=<login>" (4096 ids at most) and, on
  cleanup's "<id>: milter-reject: END-OF-MESSAGE ...: 5.7.1 From: <line> -
  <why>; from=<...> to=<...>", waits 30 s and hands it to
  store.RecoverRefusal - an INSERT ... WHERE NOT EXISTS a refused row of that
  queue id within two minutes: the row the panel wrote, or one recovered
  before, means nothing is written. It is read from the saved offset on, so
  a kill is covered as well as a clean stop - which a flush of the buffer at
  shutdown would not.
- Migration 0009 (not deployed yet) gains send_log.recovered; the row is
  written with the line's time, the login's domain id, reason "from", the
  From: line as the check printed it (to the last " - " before ";").
- The message page: a fact "Written: from mail.log after a restart: the
  panel stopped before it wrote the refusal".

Tests: store (not written when the panel wrote it; written once however
often); logtail (the login from client=, the From: line with a " - " in it,
nothing before the wait is over); view (the fact). e2e
refusal_recovered_from_the_log: a From: refusal, the panel stopped, its row
deleted and the tailer's saved place moved before the message's first line
(python3 in the container, as the panel's user - a kill cannot be timed to
that moment from outside); started again, the row is back, recovered, once.

Also fixed: handlers TestMessagePageOfARefusedMessage still expected the
old sentence; it failed on the server after e166a2e, whose run showed only
the schema failures - now it wants the new one.

schema-migrations row 9, CHANGELOG [Unreleased], audit plan line ticked,
roadmap 26/62.
Evidence on the test server for this tree but the handler-test fix: make e2e
exit 0 (the new case 37 s); go test 22/23 ok, the 23rd that test - fixed,
passes locally; the full run follows before the push.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -33,6 +33,14 @@ Format follows [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/); version
   the page shows it. A row refused before this says the line was not kept.
   A refusal's line is red for a permanent reply, amber for a temporary one
   (audit 2026-10-12, stage 2b).
+- **A refusal the panel did not get to write is written from the log.** The
+  sender check answers 550 and writes the row a moment later; a panel that
+  stopped in between - a rollout, a crash - left an application refused and
+  a log that did not know it. When the log tailer reads cleanup's refusal
+  line and, after giving the panel half a minute, finds no row for that
+  queue id, it writes the row from the line, marked on its page as written
+  from `mail.log` after a restart. A refusal at `MAIL FROM` needs no such
+  thing: its row is written before Postfix is answered.
 
 ## [2.5.0] - 2026-10-14
 

docs/audit-2026-10-12.md

@@ -793,7 +793,7 @@ order - each stands on the one before.
    `mail.log` never said what became of it, so the panel closed it as a
    failure. Wording in the mockup `out-message` first (`design:` commit),
    with the box of the step above. - **Sonnet**
-- [ ] **A refusal the panel did not get to write is written from
+- [x] **A refusal the panel did not get to write is written from
    `mail.log`** (owner, 2026-10-13, from the Not done list of
    from-header-binding; built on the step above). The check answers 550 and
    writes the row a moment later, through a buffer; a panel that stops in

docs/roadmap.md

@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ in `git log` and [CHANGELOG.md](../CHANGELOG.md).
 | from-header-binding | Hold a message's `From:` header against the application that sends it | shipped `2.4.0` | 9/9 | [plans/from-header-binding.md](plans/from-header-binding.md) |
 | panel-redesign | Panel redesign (accepted mockups, design contract) | shipped `2.0.0` | 27/27 | [plans/panel-redesign.md](plans/panel-redesign.md) |
 | schema-squash | Squash SQLite migrations into a 2.x baseline | built in panel-redesign (stage 1) | — | [plans/panel-redesign.md](plans/panel-redesign.md) |
-| audit-2026-10-12 | Follow-ups of the 2026-10-12 full-tree code audit, seven stages | in progress (stage 0 shipped `2.4.2`, stages 1+2 `2.5.0`; next stage 2b → `2.5.1`) | 25/62 | [audit-2026-10-12.md](audit-2026-10-12.md) |
+| audit-2026-10-12 | Follow-ups of the 2026-10-12 full-tree code audit, seven stages | in progress (stage 0 shipped `2.4.2`, stages 1+2 `2.5.0`; next stage 2b → `2.5.1`) | 26/62 | [audit-2026-10-12.md](audit-2026-10-12.md) |
 
 **Recommended order** (not binding; owner, 2026-10-09: feature order follows
 development convenience): **panel-redesign** shipped as `2.0.0` (2026-10-11) and

docs/schema-migrations.md

@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ audit (`2.5.0`).
 | 6 | `0006_sender_check.sql` | 2.4.0 | DDL | `send_log.reason` and `send_log.header_from` (both default `''`: a row refused earlier keeps no reason), and `sender_check_days` |
 | 7 | `0007_delivery_log_days.sql` | 2.5.0 | DDL | `delivery_log_days`: what the reconcile sweep and the log tailer did, a row per UTC day, kept a year, shown nowhere - the measurement that decides the sweep's fate (audit 2026-10-12, stage 1). `send_log.reason` gains the values `reconcile` and `reconcile-contradicted` without a schema change |
 | 8 | `0008_tenant_boundary.sql` | 2.5.0 | DDL + data | `idx_applications_login_nocase`: an application login is unique without regard to case (audit 2026-10-12, H4). `send_log.domain_id` and `inbound_spam_log.inbound_domain_id` (`ON DELETE SET NULL`), each with an index, filled once by name from the registry as it was then: a row belongs to a domain by id, and a domain deleted and added again starts with an empty log (L12) |
-| 9 | `0009_refusal_line.sql` | 2.5.1 | DDL | `send_log.refusal_line`: Postfix's line about a refusal at MAIL FROM (a level-2 limit, a client address off the list), which has no queue id; the log tailer puts it on the row (audit 2026-10-12, stage 2b) |
+| 9 | `0009_refusal_line.sql` | 2.5.1 | DDL | `send_log.refusal_line`: Postfix's line about a refusal at MAIL FROM (a level-2 limit, a client address off the list), which has no queue id; the log tailer puts it on the row; and `send_log.recovered`, a refusal row the tailer wrote from `mail.log` because the panel stopped before writing it (audit 2026-10-12, stage 2b) |
 
 **Kind:** *DDL* — schema only; *data* — `INSERT`/`UPDATE` that must stay correct
 for operators upgrading from older 2.x images.

internal/logtail/logtail_test.go

@@ -286,6 +286,7 @@ func (c *captureStore) AddTailerBlind(time.Time, time.Duration) error { return n
 func (c *captureStore) AttachRefusalLine(string, string, time.Time, string) (bool, error) {
 	return true, nil
 }
+func (c *captureStore) RecoverRefusal(store.SendLogEntry, time.Time) (bool, error) { return false, nil }
 func (c *captureStore) CountQueuedOlderThan(time.Time) (int64, error) {
 	c.mu.Lock()
 	defer c.mu.Unlock()

internal/logtail/refusals.go

@@ -3,7 +3,10 @@ package logtail
 import (
 	"log"
 	"regexp"
+	"strings"
 	"time"
+
+	"github.com/mixeme/selfpost/internal/store"
 )
 
 // Postfix's line about a message the journal milter refused at MAIL FROM - a
@@ -24,23 +27,65 @@ const refusalLineWait = 30 * time.Second
 // RefusalStore is where the lines go. *store.Store satisfies it.
 type RefusalStore interface {
 	AttachRefusalLine(login, from string, at time.Time, line string) (bool, error)
+	RecoverRefusal(e store.SendLogEntry, at time.Time) (bool, error)
 }
 
+// fromRefusalRe is cleanup's line about a message the sender check refused
+// for its From: line, as the stand writes it:
+//
+//	postfix/cleanup[1339]: E543D3C75DA0: milter-reject: END-OF-MESSAGE from unknown[10.77.0.1]: 5.7.1 From: director@other.e2e.test - not an address this application sends as; from=<alerts@sender.e2e.test> to=<rcpt@sink.e2e.test> proto=ESMTP helo=<e2e-client.e2e.test>
+//
+// The From: line as the check printed it runs to the last " - " before the
+// semicolon; the reason after it holds neither.
+var fromRefusalRe = regexp.MustCompile(`^\S+ postfix/(?:[a-z0-9-]+/)?cleanup\[\d+\]: ([0-9A-Za-z]+): milter-reject: END-OF-MESSAGE from \S+: 5\.7\.1 From: (.*) - ([^;]*); from=<([^>]*)> to=<([^>]*)>`)
+
+// clientLoginRe is smtpd's line naming the login a queue id was submitted
+// under: "<id>: client=host[addr], sasl_method=PLAIN, sasl_username=<login>".
+var clientLoginRe = regexp.MustCompile(`^\S+ postfix/(?:([a-z0-9-]+)/)?smtpd\[\d+\]: ([0-9A-Za-z]+): client=.*?, sasl_username=(\S+)`)
+
+// refusalLogins bounds the queue ids whose login is remembered.
+const refusalLogins = 4096
+
 type pendingRefusal struct {
 	login, from, line string
 	at, until         time.Time
 }
 
+// pendingRecovery is a From: refusal whose row is looked for once the panel
+// has had the time to write it.
+type pendingRecovery struct {
+	e         store.SendLogEntry
+	at, until time.Time
+}
+
 // refusalLines puts each refusal line on its row, and keeps for a while the
-// lines whose row is not there yet.
+// lines whose row is not there yet. It also writes, from cleanup's line, the
+// row of a From: refusal the panel did not get to write.
 type refusalLines struct {
-	st      RefusalStore
-	pending []pendingRefusal
+	st        RefusalStore
+	pending   []pendingRefusal
+	recover   []pendingRecovery
+	logins    map[string]string // queue id -> login, from smtpd's client= line
+	loginKeys []string
 }
 
 // handle looks at one mail.log line.
 func (r *refusalLines) handle(line string, now time.Time) {
 	at, rest := lineTime(line, now)
+	if m := clientLoginRe.FindStringSubmatch(rest); m != nil && m[1] != "inbound" {
+		r.remember(m[2], m[3])
+		return
+	}
+	if m := fromRefusalRe.FindStringSubmatch(rest); m != nil {
+		r.recover = append(r.recover, pendingRecovery{
+			e: store.SendLogEntry{
+				QueueID: m[1], AppLogin: r.logins[m[1]], From: m[4], To: m[5], Domain: domainOf(m[4]),
+				Reason: store.ReasonFrom, HeaderFrom: m[2],
+			},
+			at: at, until: now.Add(refusalLineWait),
+		})
+		return
+	}
 	m := refusalLineRe.FindStringSubmatch(rest)
 	if m == nil || m[1] == "inbound" {
 		return
@@ -52,7 +97,8 @@ func (r *refusalLines) handle(line string, now time.Time) {
 }
 
 // retry tries the waiting lines again and lets go of those that waited long
-// enough.
+// enough; and writes, once their wait is over, the rows of From: refusals the
+// panel did not write.
 func (r *refusalLines) retry(now time.Time) {
 	kept := r.pending[:0]
 	for _, p := range r.pending {
@@ -62,6 +108,45 @@ func (r *refusalLines) retry(now time.Time) {
 		kept = append(kept, p)
 	}
 	r.pending = kept
+
+	waiting := r.recover[:0]
+	for _, p := range r.recover {
+		if !now.After(p.until) {
+			waiting = append(waiting, p)
+			continue
+		}
+		wrote, err := r.st.RecoverRefusal(p.e, p.at)
+		if err != nil {
+			log.Printf("log-tailer: recover refusal: %v", err)
+		} else if wrote {
+			log.Printf("log-tailer: wrote the refusal of %s (%s) from mail.log: the panel had not written it", p.e.QueueID, p.e.From)
+		}
+	}
+	r.recover = waiting
+}
+
+// remember keeps the login a queue id was submitted under, the oldest going
+// first beyond refusalLogins.
+func (r *refusalLines) remember(queueID, login string) {
+	if r.logins == nil {
+		r.logins = make(map[string]string)
+	}
+	if _, ok := r.logins[queueID]; !ok {
+		r.loginKeys = append(r.loginKeys, queueID)
+		if len(r.loginKeys) > refusalLogins {
+			delete(r.logins, r.loginKeys[0])
+			r.loginKeys = r.loginKeys[1:]
+		}
+	}
+	r.logins[queueID] = login
+}
+
+// domainOf is the domain of an address, lower-cased; "" without one.
+func domainOf(addr string) string {
+	if i := strings.LastIndexByte(addr, '@'); i >= 0 {
+		return strings.ToLower(addr[i+1:])
+	}
+	return ""
 }
 
 func (r *refusalLines) attach(p pendingRefusal) bool {

internal/logtail/refusals_test.go

@@ -3,12 +3,20 @@ package logtail
 import (
 	"testing"
 	"time"
+
+	"github.com/mixeme/selfpost/internal/store"
 )
 
 type refusalProbe struct {
-	rows  int // rows waiting for a line
-	lines []string
-	who   []string
+	rows      int // rows waiting for a line
+	lines     []string
+	who       []string
+	recovered []store.SendLogEntry
+}
+
+func (r *refusalProbe) RecoverRefusal(e store.SendLogEntry, _ time.Time) (bool, error) {
+	r.recovered = append(r.recovered, e)
+	return true, nil
 }
 
 func (r *refusalProbe) AttachRefusalLine(login, from string, _ time.Time, line string) (bool, error) {
@@ -56,3 +64,29 @@ func TestRefusalLines(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatal("a line kept waiting past its time")
 	}
 }
+
+// cleanup's line about a From: refusal is the row's, written by the panel; once
+// the panel has had the time to, the line is handed to RecoverRefusal, which
+// writes the row only if it is missing - with the login smtpd named for the
+// queue id, the sender, the recipient and the From: line as printed.
+func TestFromRefusalIsRecoveredAfterTheWait(t *testing.T) {
+	now := time.Date(2026, 10, 14, 12, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC)
+	st := &refusalProbe{}
+	r := &refusalLines{st: st}
+	r.handle(`2026-10-14T12:00:00+00:00 mail postfix/smtpd[11]: E543D3C75DA0: client=unknown[10.77.0.1], sasl_method=PLAIN, sasl_username=app1`, now)
+	r.handle(`2026-10-14T12:00:01+00:00 mail postfix/cleanup[13]: E543D3C75DA0: milter-reject: END-OF-MESSAGE from unknown[10.77.0.1]: 5.7.1 From: "The - Shop" <director@other.e2e.test> - it names another sender of this server; from=<alerts@sender.e2e.test> to=<rcpt@sink.e2e.test> proto=ESMTP helo=<x>`, now)
+	r.retry(now.Add(time.Second))
+	if len(st.recovered) != 0 {
+		t.Fatal("recovered before the panel had the time to write the row")
+	}
+	r.retry(now.Add(refusalLineWait + time.Second))
+	if len(st.recovered) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("recovered %d, want 1", len(st.recovered))
+	}
+	e := st.recovered[0]
+	want := store.SendLogEntry{QueueID: "E543D3C75DA0", AppLogin: "app1", From: "alerts@sender.e2e.test", To: "rcpt@sink.e2e.test",
+		Domain: "sender.e2e.test", Reason: store.ReasonFrom, HeaderFrom: `"The - Shop" <director@other.e2e.test>`}
+	if e != want {
+		t.Fatalf("recovered %+v, want %+v", e, want)
+	}
+}

internal/logtail/retention_test.go

@@ -102,3 +102,7 @@ func TestRetentionLoopUsesUpdatedValue(t *testing.T) {
 func (s *retentionProbeStore) AttachRefusalLine(string, string, time.Time, string) (bool, error) {
 	return true, nil
 }
+
+func (s *retentionProbeStore) RecoverRefusal(store.SendLogEntry, time.Time) (bool, error) {
+	return false, nil
+}

internal/store/migrations/0009_refusal_line.sql

@@ -7,3 +7,9 @@
 -- headers are judged), and its lines are found by it like any other's.
 -- DDL only; a row written earlier has '' and says so on its page.
 ALTER TABLE send_log ADD COLUMN refusal_line TEXT NOT NULL DEFAULT '';
+
+-- A refusal row the panel did not get to write - the sender check answers 550
+-- and writes the row a moment later, and a panel stopped in between wrote
+-- none - is written by the log tailer from Postfix's line about it, and marked
+-- so: recovered = 1.
+ALTER TABLE send_log ADD COLUMN recovered INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0;

internal/store/refusal_test.go

@@ -77,3 +77,39 @@ func TestSendLogLinesOfARefusalAreItsOwn(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("lines = %+v, want its own alone", lines)
 	}
 }
+
+// A From: refusal's row is written from the log only when the panel wrote
+// none for that queue id about then; once, however often the line is read.
+func TestRecoverRefusal(t *testing.T) {
+	st := openTestStore(t)
+	d := addTestDomain(t, st, "sender.example")
+	if _, err := st.AddApplication(d.ID, "app1", AddressModeWildcard, nil); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	now := time.Now().UTC()
+	// The panel wrote this one itself.
+	if err := st.InsertRejected(SendLogEntry{QueueID: "WRITTEN", AppLogin: "app1", From: "a@sender.example", Reason: ReasonFrom}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	e := SendLogEntry{QueueID: "WRITTEN", AppLogin: "app1", From: "a@sender.example", To: "r@x", Domain: "sender.example", Reason: ReasonFrom, HeaderFrom: "x@y"}
+	if wrote, err := st.RecoverRefusal(e, now); err != nil || wrote {
+		t.Fatalf("a refusal the panel wrote was written again: %v, %v", wrote, err)
+	}
+	e.QueueID = "LOST"
+	for i := 0; i < 2; i++ {
+		wrote, err := st.RecoverRefusal(e, now)
+		if err != nil || wrote != (i == 0) {
+			t.Fatalf("recovery %d: wrote %v, %v", i, wrote, err)
+		}
+	}
+	rows, _ := st.QuerySendLog(SendLogFilter{DomainIDs: []int64{d.ID}}, 10, 0)
+	var found SendLogRow
+	for _, r := range rows {
+		if r.QueueID == "LOST" {
+			found, _ = st.GetSendLog(r.ID)
+		}
+	}
+	if !found.Recovered || found.Status != StatusRejected || found.Reason != ReasonFrom || found.HeaderFrom != "x@y" || found.DomainID != d.ID {
+		t.Fatalf("the recovered row: %+v", found)
+	}
+}

internal/store/schema_test.go

@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ func TestBaselineSchema(t *testing.T) {
 		"applications":          "id domain_id login address_mode auth_ip_restrict auth_allowed_ips created_at",
 		"application_addresses": "id application_id address",
 		"rate_limits":           "id scope ref_id max_messages window_seconds mode auto_multiplier auto_updated_at",
-		"send_log":              "id queue_id domain app_login from_addr to_addr subject status created_at updated_at reason header_from domain_id refusal_line",
+		"send_log":              "id queue_id domain app_login from_addr to_addr subject status created_at updated_at reason header_from domain_id refusal_line recovered",
 		"logtail_state":         "path fingerprint read_offset updated_at",
 		"inbound_domains":       "id name recipient_mode created_at",
 		"inbound_transports":    "inbound_domain_id host port tls_mode",

internal/store/sendlog.go

@@ -224,7 +224,10 @@ type SendLogRow struct {
 	// RefusalLine is Postfix's line about a refusal that has no queue id
 	// (migration 0009); "" for every other row, and for one refused before.
 	RefusalLine string
-	CreatedAt   time.Time
+	// Recovered is a refusal row the log tailer wrote from mail.log because
+	// the panel stopped before it wrote the row itself.
+	Recovered bool
+	CreatedAt time.Time
 	// UpdatedAt is when the status last changed — the log-tailer's report of
 	// the delivery attempt. It equals CreatedAt while a row is still queued.
 	UpdatedAt time.Time
@@ -256,6 +259,31 @@ func (s *Store) AttachRefusalLine(login, from string, at time.Time, line string)
 	return n > 0, nil
 }
 
+// RecoverRefusal writes the row of a message the sender check refused for its
+// From: line, from Postfix's line about it, when the panel stopped before it
+// wrote the row itself (audit 2026-10-12, stage 2b): the check answers 550
+// and writes the row through a buffer a moment later. The message had a queue
+// id; a refused row with that id from around at means the row was written,
+// and nothing is. It reports whether it wrote one.
+func (s *Store) RecoverRefusal(e SendLogEntry, at time.Time) (bool, error) {
+	stamp := at.UTC().Format(time.RFC3339)
+	res, err := s.db.Exec(
+		`INSERT INTO send_log
+			(queue_id, domain, app_login, from_addr, to_addr, subject, status, reason, header_from, recovered, created_at, updated_at, domain_id)
+		 SELECT ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, '', ?, ?, ?, 1, ?, ?, `+loginDomainID+`
+		 WHERE NOT EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM send_log
+			WHERE queue_id = ? AND status = ? AND created_at BETWEEN ? AND ?)`,
+		e.QueueID, e.Domain, e.AppLogin, e.From, e.To, StatusRejected, e.Reason, e.HeaderFrom, stamp, stamp, e.AppLogin,
+		e.QueueID, StatusRejected,
+		at.Add(-refusalLineWindow).UTC().Format(time.RFC3339), at.Add(refusalLineWindow).UTC().Format(time.RFC3339),
+	)
+	if err != nil {
+		return false, fmt.Errorf("recover refusal %s: %w", e.QueueID, err)
+	}
+	n, _ := res.RowsAffected()
+	return n > 0, nil
+}
+
 // refusalLineWindow is how far apart a refusal's row and its log line may be
 // dated: the milter writes the row at MAIL FROM, Postfix the line a moment
 // later, and the log's stamps are whole seconds.
@@ -274,10 +302,10 @@ func (s *Store) GetSendLog(id int64) (SendLogRow, error) {
 		createdAt, updatedAt string
 	)
 	err := s.db.QueryRow(
-		`SELECT id, queue_id, domain, COALESCE(domain_id, 0), app_login, from_addr, to_addr, subject, status, reason, header_from, refusal_line, created_at, updated_at
+		`SELECT id, queue_id, domain, COALESCE(domain_id, 0), app_login, from_addr, to_addr, subject, status, reason, header_from, refusal_line, recovered, created_at, updated_at
 		 FROM send_log WHERE id = ?`, id,
 	).Scan(&row.ID, &row.QueueID, &row.Domain, &row.DomainID, &row.AppLogin, &row.From, &row.To,
-		&row.Subject, &row.Status, &row.Reason, &row.HeaderFrom, &row.RefusalLine, &createdAt, &updatedAt)
+		&row.Subject, &row.Status, &row.Reason, &row.HeaderFrom, &row.RefusalLine, &row.Recovered, &createdAt, &updatedAt)
 	if errors.Is(err, sql.ErrNoRows) {
 		return SendLogRow{}, ErrSendLogNotFound
 	}

internal/web/handlers/handlers_monitor.go

@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@ func (h *Handlers) HandleDelivery(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 	in := view.MessageInput{
 		ID: row.ID, QueueID: row.QueueID, Domain: row.Domain, App: row.AppLogin,
 		From: row.From, To: row.To, Subject: row.Subject, Status: row.Status,
-		Reason: row.Reason, HeaderFrom: row.HeaderFrom,
+		Reason: row.Reason, HeaderFrom: row.HeaderFrom, Recovered: row.Recovered,
 		Accepted: row.CreatedAt, Reported: row.UpdatedAt,
 		// Where the row came from, so the way back returns to the page and filters
 		// the operator was looking at rather than the top of an unfiltered log.

internal/web/handlers/handlers_outbound_log_test.go

@@ -176,8 +176,9 @@ func TestMessagePageDrawsTheOutcomeAtItsLevel(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
-// A message the milter refused never reached the queue: it has no queue id and
-// no lines to show, and says why instead of showing an empty log.
+// A message the milter refused never reached the queue: it has no queue id,
+// and a row from before Postfix's line about it was kept says so instead of
+// showing an empty log.
 func TestMessagePageOfARefusedMessage(t *testing.T) {
 	h, _ := serverWithDelivery(t)
 	if err := h.store.InsertRejected(store.SendLogEntry{
@@ -190,7 +191,7 @@ func TestMessagePageOfARefusedMessage(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("query: %v (%d rows)", err, len(rows))
 	}
 	body := getBody(t, h.HandleDelivery, "/outbound/log/"+itoa(rows[0].ID))
-	has(t, "refused message", body, `Refused before queueing`, `class="sp-fail"`, `never reached the queue`, `<span class="tag is-light">rejected</span>`)
+	has(t, "refused message", body, `Refused before queueing`, `class="sp-fail"`, `the line was never read`, `<span class="tag is-light">rejected</span>`)
 	lacks(t, "refused message", body, `<pre`)
 }
 

internal/web/view/outbound_log.go

@@ -173,8 +173,11 @@ type MessageInput struct {
 	// (store.Reason*) and, for its From: line, what that line said.
 	Reason     string
 	HeaderFrom string
-	Accepted   time.Time
-	Reported   time.Time
+	// Recovered is a refused row the log tailer wrote from mail.log: the
+	// panel stopped before it wrote the row itself.
+	Recovered bool
+	Accepted  time.Time
+	Reported  time.Time
 	// BackHref is the log the message was opened from, filters and page kept.
 	BackHref string
 }
@@ -258,6 +261,9 @@ func NewOutMessage(m Meta, in MessageInput) *OutMessage {
 			facts = append(facts, Fact{Label: "From: line", Value: Plain(orDash(in.HeaderFrom)), Mono: true, Small: true})
 			history.Help = topicLink(HelpSenderCheck, "What an application may write in From:")
 		}
+		if in.Recovered {
+			facts = append(facts, Fact{Label: "Written", Value: Rich("from ", Code("mail.log"), " after a restart: the panel stopped before it wrote the refusal")})
+		}
 		if in.QueueID != "" {
 			facts = append(facts, Fact{Label: "Queue id", Value: Rich(Mono(in.QueueID), " — given, the message was not queued")})
 		} else {

internal/web/view/outbound_log_test.go

@@ -148,6 +148,16 @@ func TestOutMessageRefusedForItsFromLine(t *testing.T) {
 		`Lines from <code>mail.log</code> with this queue id`, `<span class="sp-e">postfix/cleanup[2120]: 7BCAF3C75DA0: milter-reject`)
 }
 
+// A refused row the log tailer wrote from mail.log says so.
+func TestOutMessageRecoveredFromTheLog(t *testing.T) {
+	at := time.Date(2026, 9, 21, 13, 40, 55, 0, time.UTC)
+	p := NewOutMessage(admin(), MessageInput{ID: 184232, QueueID: "E543D3C75DA0", Domain: "shop.example.org", App: "shop",
+		From: "shop@shop.example.org", To: "k.berg@web.de", Status: "rejected", Reason: "from", HeaderFrom: "director@example.org",
+		Recovered: true, Accepted: at, Reported: at}).WithDeliveryLog(nil, "")
+	out := renderSignedIn(t, "out-message", p)
+	pageHas(t, "Message", out, `<dt>Written</dt>`, `after a restart: the panel stopped before it wrote the refusal`)
+}
+
 func TestSendLogTag(t *testing.T) {
 	for _, c := range []struct {
 		status, reason string

test/e2e/main_test.go

@@ -316,6 +316,9 @@ func TestE2E(t *testing.T) {
 	run("refusals_show_postfixs_line", func(t *testing.T) {
 		testRefusalsShowPostfixsLine(t, sc)
 	})
+	run("refusal_recovered_from_the_log", func(t *testing.T) {
+		testRefusalRecoveredFromTheLog(t, sc)
+	})
 	run("lines_naming_another_sender_never_signed_for_it", func(t *testing.T) {
 		testNeverSignedForAnother(t, sc)
 	})

test/e2e/sender_check_test.go

@@ -378,3 +378,83 @@ func testRefusalsShowPostfixsLine(t *testing.T, sc *scenario) {
 		}
 	}
 }
+
+// asPanel runs python3 code inside the container as the panel's user, so the
+// database's WAL files stay the panel's.
+func asPanel(code string, args ...string) (string, error) {
+	full := append([]string{"exec", "-T", "-u", "panel", "selfpost", "python3", "-c", code}, args...)
+	out, err := h.compose(full...)
+	return strings.TrimSpace(string(out)), err
+}
+
+// testRefusalRecoveredFromTheLog: the sender check answers 550 and writes the
+// row a moment later; a panel stopped in between leaves a refusal the log
+// knows and the panel does not (audit 2026-10-12, stage 2b). The stop cannot
+// be timed to that moment from outside, so what it leaves is made by hand: a
+// From: refusal, then - the panel stopped - its row deleted and the tailer's
+// saved place moved back before the message's first line. Started again, the
+// panel writes the row from mail.log, marked, and once.
+func testRefusalRecoveredFromTheLog(t *testing.T, sc *scenario) {
+	token := uniqueToken("recover")
+	res := attemptSend(sendAttempt{authLogin: sc.appLogin, authPassword: sc.appPassword,
+		from: "alerts@" + senderDomain, headerFrom: "director@" + otherDomain, to: recipient,
+		subject: "e2e " + token, body: "refused, and its row lost"})
+	if err := res.refusedAt("DATA", 550, "5.7.1 From:"); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	var queueID string
+	if err := waitFor("the refused row", 15*time.Second, 300*time.Millisecond, func() (bool, error) {
+		out, err := asPanel(`import sqlite3,sys
+r=sqlite3.connect("/data/selfpost.db").execute("select queue_id from send_log where subject like ?",("%"+sys.argv[1]+"%",)).fetchone()
+print(r[0] if r else "")`, token)
+		queueID = out
+		return err == nil && out != "", err
+	}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	supervisorctl := func(verb string) {
+		if _, err := h.execIn("selfpost", "supervisorctl", "-c", "/etc/supervisor/supervisord.conf", verb, "panel"); err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("%s panel: %v", verb, err)
+		}
+	}
+	supervisorctl("stop")
+	t.Cleanup(func() {
+		_, _ = h.execIn("selfpost", "supervisorctl", "-c", "/etc/supervisor/supervisord.conf", "start", "panel")
+	})
+	if out, err := asPanel(`import sqlite3,sys
+q=sys.argv[1]
+data=open("/data/log/mail.log","rb").read()
+pos=data.find((q+": client=").encode())
+if pos < 0: sys.exit("no client= line for "+q)
+start=data.rfind(b"\n",0,pos)+1
+c=sqlite3.connect("/data/selfpost.db")
+c.execute("delete from send_log where queue_id=?",(q,))
+c.execute("update logtail_state set read_offset=?",(start,))
+c.commit()
+print(start)`, queueID); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("lose the row: %v %s", err, out)
+	}
+	supervisorctl("start")
+	if err := waitFor("panel HTTP to answer again", 30*time.Second, 300*time.Millisecond, func() (bool, error) {
+		_, err := sc.panel.status()
+		return err == nil, err
+	}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	count := func() (string, error) {
+		return asPanel(`import sqlite3,sys
+print(sqlite3.connect("/data/selfpost.db").execute("select count(*), coalesce(sum(recovered),0) from send_log where queue_id=? and status='rejected'",(sys.argv[1],)).fetchone())`, queueID)
+	}
+	if err := waitFor("the refusal written from mail.log", 90*time.Second, time.Second, func() (bool, error) {
+		out, err := count()
+		return err == nil && out == "(1, 1)", fmt.Errorf("rows (count, recovered) = %s, %v", out, err)
+	}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	// Once: the next passes over the log write it no more.
+	time.Sleep(3 * time.Second)
+	if out, _ := count(); out != "(1, 1)" {
+		t.Fatalf("after more passes the rows are %s, want (1, 1)", out)
+	}
+}