diff --git a/argocd/manifests/grafana/alerting.yaml b/argocd/manifests/grafana/alerting.yaml
index b220044..4ae70d3 100644
--- a/argocd/manifests/grafana/alerting.yaml
+++ b/argocd/manifests/grafana/alerting.yaml
@@ -373,6 +373,66 @@ groups:
                     type: and
               refId: C
 
+  - orgId: 1
+    name: flyio-proxy-health
+    folder: Infrastructure Alerts
+    interval: 30s
+    rules:
+      - uid: flyio-upstream-unreachable
+        title: FlyioUpstreamUnreachable
+        condition: C
+        for: 3m
+        noDataState: OK
+        execErrState: Alerting
+        annotations:
+          summary: >-
+            Fly.io proxy returning elevated 502s — upstream DNS may be stale. Run: mise run fly-reload
+          runbook_url: https://docs.eblu.me/how-to/operations/manage-flyio-proxy
+        labels:
+          severity: warning
+          service: flyio-proxy
+        data:
+          - refId: A
+            datasourceUid: prometheus
+            relativeTimeRange:
+              from: 300
+              to: 0
+            model:
+              expr: >-
+                sum(rate(flyio_nginx_http_requests_total{instance="flyio-proxy",status="502"}[5m]))
+                / sum(rate(flyio_nginx_http_requests_total{instance="flyio-proxy"}[5m]))
+                > 0.5
+              interval: ""
+              refId: A
+          - refId: B
+            datasourceUid: "__expr__"
+            relativeTimeRange:
+              from: 0
+              to: 0
+            model:
+              type: reduce
+              expression: A
+              reducer: last
+              settings:
+                mode: dropNN
+              refId: B
+          - refId: C
+            datasourceUid: "__expr__"
+            relativeTimeRange:
+              from: 0
+              to: 0
+            model:
+              type: threshold
+              expression: B
+              conditions:
+                - evaluator:
+                    type: gt
+                    params:
+                      - 0
+                  operator:
+                    type: and
+              refId: C
+
 templates:
   - orgId: 1
     name: ntfy-infra
diff --git a/argocd/manifests/tailscale-operator-base/proxyclass.yaml b/argocd/manifests/tailscale-operator-base/proxyclass.yaml
index a5c4675..9fb46d6 100644
--- a/argocd/manifests/tailscale-operator-base/proxyclass.yaml
+++ b/argocd/manifests/tailscale-operator-base/proxyclass.yaml
@@ -21,5 +21,9 @@ spec:
     pod:
       tailscaleContainer:
         image: docker.io/tailscale/tailscale:v1.94.2
+        resources:
+          requests:
+            cpu: 100m
+            memory: 128Mi
       tailscaleInitContainer:
         image: docker.io/tailscale/tailscale:v1.94.2
diff --git a/docs/changelog.d/fly-proxy-keepalive.infra.md b/docs/changelog.d/fly-proxy-keepalive.infra.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8853150
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/changelog.d/fly-proxy-keepalive.infra.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Switched Fly proxy to upstream keepalive pools, reducing forge.eblu.me latency from 35s+ p50 to sub-second. Added `mise run fly-reload` for DNS re-resolution without redeploy.
diff --git a/docs/how-to/operations/manage-flyio-proxy.md b/docs/how-to/operations/manage-flyio-proxy.md
index 519481f..73e61d1 100644
--- a/docs/how-to/operations/manage-flyio-proxy.md
+++ b/docs/how-to/operations/manage-flyio-proxy.md
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 ---
 title: Manage Fly.io Proxy
-modified: 2026-02-08
-last-reviewed: 2026-03-07
+modified: 2026-04-17
+last-reviewed: 2026-04-17
 tags:
   - how-to
   - fly-io
@@ -23,6 +23,16 @@ mise run fly-deploy
 
 Pushes to `fly/` on main also trigger automatic deployment via the Forgejo CI workflow.
 
+## Reload Nginx (Re-resolve Upstream DNS)
+
+Nginx uses `upstream` blocks with keepalive connection pools. DNS is resolved at config load. If Tailscale Ingress pods get new IPs (restart, reschedule, minikube restart), reload nginx to re-resolve without a full redeploy:
+
+```bash
+mise run fly-reload
+```
+
+A Grafana alert fires when upstreams are unreachable, prompting this action. A full `fly-deploy` also re-resolves DNS (it replaces the container).
+
 ## Add a New Public Service
 
 See [[expose-service-publicly#Per-service setup]] for the full walkthrough. In short:
@@ -78,12 +88,16 @@ The auth key expires every 90 days. To rotate:
 
 ## Troubleshooting
 
-**502 Bad Gateway**: Check `fly logs` for nginx upstream errors. Verify the backend Tailscale service is running (`tailscale status` from inside the container via `fly ssh console`).
+**502 Bad Gateway after Tailscale Ingress restart**: Upstream DNS is stale. Run `mise run fly-reload` to re-resolve. This is the most common cause of 502s.
+
+**502 Bad Gateway on fresh deploy**: MagicDNS may not be ready when nginx starts. The `start.sh` script polls `nslookup` before launching nginx, but if it still fails, check that `tailscale status` is healthy inside the container.
 
 **Health check failing**: `fly ssh console -a blumeops-proxy` then `curl localhost:8080/healthz` to test locally.
 
 **TLS errors on custom domain**: Check cert status with `fly certs show <domain> -a blumeops-proxy`. Certs auto-provision via Let's Encrypt and may take a few minutes.
 
+**High latency (>1s p50)**: Likely lost keepalive — redeploy with `mise run fly-deploy`. Before the keepalive change (April 2026), per-request TLS handshakes through the WireGuard tunnel caused 35s+ p50 at >1 req/s.
+
 ## Related
 
 - [[flyio-proxy]] - Service reference card
diff --git a/docs/reference/infrastructure/routing.md b/docs/reference/infrastructure/routing.md
index a8049d6..229e724 100644
--- a/docs/reference/infrastructure/routing.md
+++ b/docs/reference/infrastructure/routing.md
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ---
 title: Routing
-modified: 2026-03-03
+modified: 2026-04-17
 tags:
   - infrastructure
   - networking
@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@ DNS CNAMEs point to `blumeops-proxy.fly.dev`. TLS via Fly.io-managed Let's Encry
 | Service | URL | Description |
 |---------|-----|-------------|
 | [[docs]] | https://docs.eblu.me | Documentation site |
+| [[cv]] | https://cv.eblu.me | CV / resume |
 | [[forgejo]] | https://forge.eblu.me | Git hosting (public) |
 
 ## Tailscale-Only Services
diff --git a/docs/reference/services/flyio-proxy.md b/docs/reference/services/flyio-proxy.md
index 3c66d4e..ad32b8a 100644
--- a/docs/reference/services/flyio-proxy.md
+++ b/docs/reference/services/flyio-proxy.md
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ---
 title: Fly.io Proxy
-modified: 2026-02-08
+modified: 2026-04-17
 tags:
   - service
   - networking
@@ -26,11 +26,21 @@ Public reverse proxy on [Fly.io](https://fly.io) that exposes selected BlumeOps
 | Public domain | Backend | Service |
 |---------------|---------|---------|
 | `docs.eblu.me` | `docs.tail8d86e.ts.net` | [[docs]] |
+| `cv.eblu.me` | `cv.tail8d86e.ts.net` | [[cv]] |
+| `forge.eblu.me` | `forge.tail8d86e.ts.net` | [[forgejo]] |
 
 ## Architecture
 
 Internet traffic hits Fly.io's Anycast edge, terminates TLS with a Let's Encrypt certificate, and is proxied by nginx to the backend service over a Tailscale WireGuard tunnel. See [[expose-service-publicly]] for the full architecture diagram.
 
+### Upstream Keepalive
+
+Nginx uses `upstream` blocks with `keepalive` connection pools to reuse TLS connections through the WireGuard tunnel. This avoids a per-request TLS handshake, which was previously the dominant source of latency (35s+ p50 before keepalive, sub-second after).
+
+**Trade-off:** DNS for upstream hostnames is resolved once at config load, not per-request. If Tailscale Ingress pods get new IPs (restart, reschedule, minikube restart), run `mise run fly-reload` to re-resolve without a full redeploy. A Grafana alert fires when upstreams are unreachable.
+
+Each upstream requires `proxy_ssl_name` set to the actual Tailscale hostname — nginx sends the upstream block name as SNI by default, which the Tailscale Ingress proxy won't recognize.
+
 ## Key Files
 
 | File | Purpose |
@@ -39,7 +49,7 @@ Internet traffic hits Fly.io's Anycast edge, terminates TLS with a Let's Encrypt
 | `fly/Dockerfile` | nginx + Tailscale + Alloy container |
 | `fly/nginx.conf` | Reverse proxy, caching, rate limiting, JSON logging |
 | `fly/alloy.river` | Alloy config: log tailing, metric extraction, remote_write |
-| `fly/start.sh` | Entrypoint: start Tailscale, Alloy, then nginx |
+| `fly/start.sh` | Entrypoint: start Tailscale, wait for MagicDNS, then nginx + Alloy |
 | `pulumi/tailscale/__main__.py` | Auth key (`tag:flyio-proxy`) |
 | `pulumi/tailscale/policy.hujson` | ACL grants for proxy |
 | `pulumi/gandi/__main__.py` | DNS CNAMEs |
@@ -57,7 +67,8 @@ The Tailscale auth key is `preauthorized=True` to avoid device approval hangs on
 - **Logs**: nginx JSON access logs tailed and pushed to [[loki|Loki]] (`{instance="flyio-proxy", job="flyio-nginx"}`)
 - **Metrics**: Derived from access logs, pushed to [[prometheus|Prometheus]] via `remote_write`
   - `flyio_nginx_http_requests_total` — request rate by status/method/host
-  - `flyio_nginx_http_request_duration_seconds` — latency histogram
+  - `flyio_nginx_http_request_duration_seconds` — total request latency histogram (includes proxy overhead)
+  - `flyio_nginx_upstream_response_time_seconds` — backend response time histogram (Forgejo processing only)
   - `flyio_nginx_http_response_bytes_total` — response bandwidth
   - `flyio_nginx_cache_requests_total` — cache HIT/MISS/EXPIRED counts
 
@@ -74,7 +85,21 @@ Alloy listens on `127.0.0.1:12345` for self-scraping its `/metrics` endpoint. Al
 
 The `tag:flyio-proxy` ACL grants access only to `tag:flyio-target:443`. Services must explicitly opt in by adding a `tailscale.com/tags: "tag:k8s,tag:flyio-target"` annotation to their Tailscale Ingress. This means the proxy can only reach endpoints that have been individually tagged — a compromised nginx config cannot route to arbitrary services on the tailnet.
 
-Currently tagged as `tag:flyio-target`: [[docs]], [[loki]], [[prometheus]]. Loki and Prometheus are tagged so that [[alloy|Alloy]] (running inside the container) can push logs and metrics directly via their Tailscale Ingress endpoints — the restricted ACL means Caddy on indri (`tag:homelab`) is not reachable from the proxy.
+Currently tagged as `tag:flyio-target`: [[docs]], [[cv]], [[forgejo]], [[loki]], [[prometheus]]. Loki and Prometheus are tagged so that [[alloy|Alloy]] (running inside the container) can push logs and metrics directly via their Tailscale Ingress endpoints — the restricted ACL means Caddy on indri (`tag:homelab`) is not reachable from the proxy.
+
+### Crawler Mitigation
+
+The proxy serves a `robots.txt` blocking crawlers from expensive endpoints:
+
+- `/mirrors/` — large mirrored repos
+- `/user/` — auth endpoints (crawlers follow redirect loops)
+- `/users/` — user profile pages
+- `/*/archive/` — git bundle generation (DoS vector, see below)
+- `/*/releases/download/` — release artifacts
+
+Archive requests (`/<owner>/<repo>/archive/*`) are 302-redirected to `forge.ops.eblu.me` (tailnet-only), preventing unauthenticated archive generation. This mitigates a known Forgejo DoS vector where crawlers requesting unique commit SHAs trigger unbounded git bundle generation.
+
+Release downloads are cached at the proxy layer (7-day TTL, keyed by URI) to absorb repeated downloads of the same artifact.
 
 To expose an additional service through the proxy, add the `tag:flyio-target` annotation to its Tailscale Ingress. See [[expose-service-publicly]] for the full workflow.
 
diff --git a/docs/reference/services/forgejo.md b/docs/reference/services/forgejo.md
index ad64cf4..11bb9a5 100644
--- a/docs/reference/services/forgejo.md
+++ b/docs/reference/services/forgejo.md
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ---
 title: Forgejo
-modified: 2026-03-28
+modified: 2026-04-17
 tags:
   - service
   - git
@@ -148,12 +148,24 @@ The UI shows `forge.eblu.me` for HTTPS clone URLs and `forge.ops.eblu.me` for SS
 - **Rate limiting:** nginx rate limits login/signup/forgot-password endpoints (3r/s per client IP via `Fly-Client-IP` header)
 - **fail2ban:** Runs in the Fly.io container; bans IPs after 5 failed logins in 10 minutes via nginx deny list (ephemeral across deploys)
 - **Swagger:** Blocked at the proxy (`/swagger` returns 403); use forge.ops.eblu.me for API access
+- **Archive redirect:** Archive endpoints (`/*/archive/*`) are 302-redirected to `forge.ops.eblu.me` — prevents unauthenticated crawlers from triggering unbounded git bundle generation (known DoS vector, see [[flyio-proxy#Crawler Mitigation]])
+- **robots.txt:** Blocks crawlers from `/mirrors/`, `/user/`, `/users/`, `/*/archive/`, `/*/releases/download/`
 - **OAuth dead-end:** "Sign in with Authentik" redirects to the (tailnet-only) Authentik URL — SSO only works from the tailnet
 
 ### Break-glass
 
 `mise run fly-shutoff` stops all public traffic immediately. forge.ops.eblu.me continues to work from the tailnet. See [[expose-service-publicly#Break-glass shutoff]].
 
+## Monitoring
+
+Forgejo exposes a Prometheus `/metrics` endpoint (enabled via `[metrics]` in `app.ini`). Alloy on indri scrapes it at `localhost:3001/metrics`. Metrics are mostly Go runtime stats and repo counters (no per-request latency histogram).
+
+Request latency is measured at the Fly.io proxy layer via the `flyio_nginx_upstream_response_time_seconds` histogram, visible on the Forgejo Grafana dashboard under "Forgejo: Upstream Response Time".
+
+### Archive Cleanup
+
+The `[cron.archive_cleanup]` section is enabled with `OLDER_THAN = 2h` and `RUN_AT_START = true`. This prevents the `repo-archive/` directory from growing unboundedly when crawlers or users trigger archive downloads. Without this, the directory grew to 54GB in 2 days during a crawler incident in April 2026.
+
 ## Mirrors
 
 Forgejo hosts pull mirrors of external repositories (GitHub, etc.) for supply chain control. Mirrors live in the `mirrors/` org and sync on a configurable interval. See [[manage-forgejo-mirrors]] for operations.
diff --git a/docs/reference/tools/mise-tasks.md b/docs/reference/tools/mise-tasks.md
index 02b8859..fefb30f 100644
--- a/docs/reference/tools/mise-tasks.md
+++ b/docs/reference/tools/mise-tasks.md
@@ -33,7 +33,8 @@ Run `mise tasks --sort name` for the live list with descriptions.
 | `provision-indri` | Run Ansible playbook for [[indri]] |
 | `provision-ringtail` | Run Ansible playbook for [[ringtail]] (NixOS) |
 | `provision-sifaka` | Run Ansible playbook for [[sifaka]] |
-| `fly-deploy` | Deploy Fly.io public proxy |
+| `fly-deploy` | Deploy Fly.io public proxy (uses op for auth) |
+| `fly-reload` | Reload nginx config, re-resolve upstream DNS (no redeploy) |
 | `fly-setup` | One-time Fly.io secrets and certs setup |
 | `fly-shutoff` | Emergency shutoff: stop all Fly.io proxy machines |
 | `dns-preview` | Preview DNS changes with [[pulumi]] |
diff --git a/docs/tutorials/expose-service-publicly.md b/docs/tutorials/expose-service-publicly.md
index b3fdda6..9a44c15 100644
--- a/docs/tutorials/expose-service-publicly.md
+++ b/docs/tutorials/expose-service-publicly.md
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 ---
 title: Expose a Service Publicly
-modified: 2026-03-15
-last-reviewed: 2026-03-03
+modified: 2026-04-17
+last-reviewed: 2026-04-17
 tags:
   - tutorials
   - fly-io
@@ -116,8 +116,8 @@ See the actual files in `fly/` for current configuration. Key design points:
 
 - **`fly.toml`** — uses bluegreen deploys so the old machine serves traffic until the new one passes health checks. `auto_stop_machines = "off"` keeps the proxy always-on.
 - **`Dockerfile`** — multi-stage build pulling nginx, Tailscale, and [[alloy]] binaries. Alloy runs as a sidecar inside the container for observability (see below).
-- **`start.sh`** — starts `tailscaled` first (MagicDNS must be available before nginx resolves upstreams), then nginx in the background, then Alloy, and blocks on the nginx process.
-- **`nginx.conf`** — uses a `resolver 100.100.100.100` directive so upstream DNS resolution is deferred to request time (not config load time). Each service gets a `server` block with a `set $upstream` variable pattern. Includes a JSON access log format that Alloy tails for log collection and metric extraction. A catch-all server block serves `/healthz` and rejects unknown hosts.
+- **`start.sh`** — starts `tailscaled` first, waits for MagicDNS readiness (polls `nslookup` against `100.100.100.100`), then starts nginx, fail2ban, and Alloy, and blocks on the nginx process. The MagicDNS check is required because `upstream` blocks resolve DNS at config load.
+- **`nginx.conf`** — uses `upstream` blocks with `keepalive` connection pools for each backend service. DNS is resolved at config load via MagicDNS (`resolver 100.100.100.100`). Each upstream requires `proxy_ssl_name` set explicitly to the Tailscale hostname (nginx sends the block name as SNI by default). A `map` directive conditionally sets the `Connection` header — empty string for keepalive on normal requests, `upgrade` only for WebSocket requests. Includes a JSON access log format that Alloy tails for log collection and metric extraction. A catch-all server block serves `/healthz` and rejects unknown hosts.
 - **`error.html`** — shown via `proxy_intercept_errors` when upstreams are unreachable (indri offline, tunnel down, etc.). Cached responses still take priority via `proxy_cache_use_stale`.
 
 #### Observability sidecar
@@ -216,11 +216,18 @@ To expose an additional service (example: `wiki.eblu.me`):
 
 ### 1. Add nginx server block
 
-Edit `fly/nginx.conf` — add a new `server` block. The configuration
-differs significantly between static and dynamic services. See the
-existing `docs.eblu.me` and `cv.eblu.me` blocks in `fly/nginx.conf`
-for the current pattern (uses `set $upstream` variable for deferred
-DNS resolution, `proxy_intercept_errors` for error pages, etc.).
+Edit `fly/nginx.conf` — two changes needed:
+
+1. **Add an `upstream` block** (in the `http` context, alongside the existing ones):
+
+```nginx
+upstream wiki_backend {
+    server wiki.tail8d86e.ts.net:443;
+    keepalive 4;
+}
+```
+
+2. **Add a `server` block.** The configuration differs significantly between static and dynamic services. See the existing blocks in `fly/nginx.conf` for the current pattern.
 
 **Static site template** (simplified — adapt from existing blocks):
 
@@ -239,12 +246,16 @@ server {
     }
 
     location / {
-        set $upstream_wiki https://wiki.tail8d86e.ts.net;
-        proxy_pass $upstream_wiki$request_uri;
+        proxy_pass https://wiki_backend$request_uri;
         proxy_ssl_verify off;
         proxy_ssl_server_name on;
+        proxy_ssl_name wiki.tail8d86e.ts.net;
+        proxy_set_header Host wiki.tail8d86e.ts.net;
         proxy_intercept_errors on;
 
+        proxy_http_version 1.1;
+        proxy_set_header Connection $connection_upgrade;
+
         proxy_cache services;
         proxy_cache_valid 200 1d;
         proxy_cache_valid 404 1m;
@@ -259,66 +270,12 @@ server {
 }
 ```
 
-**Dynamic service template** (e.g., Forgejo — see `fly/nginx.conf` for the live configuration):
+**Key points for all upstream blocks:**
+- `proxy_ssl_name` must be set explicitly — nginx sends the upstream block name as SNI by default, which the Tailscale Ingress won't recognize
+- `proxy_http_version 1.1` + `Connection $connection_upgrade` enables keepalive (empty string for normal requests, "upgrade" for WebSocket)
+- `keepalive` pool size: 4 for low-traffic static sites, 8 for higher-traffic dynamic services
 
-```nginx
-# --- forge.eblu.me (dynamic, authenticated) ---
-server {
-    listen 8080;
-    server_name forge.eblu.me;
-
-    # Higher rate limit — git operations, CI webhooks, and API calls
-    # can legitimately burst. Forgejo also has its own rate limiting,
-    # so this is a safety net, not the primary control.
-    limit_req zone=general burst=50 nodelay;
-
-    # Git LFS and repo uploads can be large
-    client_max_body_size 512m;
-
-    error_page 502 503 504 /error.html;
-    location = /error.html {
-        root /usr/share/nginx/html;
-        internal;
-    }
-
-    location / {
-        set $upstream_forge https://forge.tail8d86e.ts.net;
-        proxy_pass $upstream_forge$request_uri;
-        proxy_ssl_verify off;
-        proxy_ssl_server_name on;
-        proxy_intercept_errors on;
-
-        # NO proxy_cache — dynamic content with sessions.
-        # Caching would serve stale pages and break authentication.
-
-        # Pass through headers needed for proper proxying
-        proxy_set_header Host $host;
-        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
-        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
-        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
-
-        # WebSocket support (Forgejo uses it for live updates)
-        proxy_http_version 1.1;
-        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
-        proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
-    }
-
-    # Selectively cache static assets only
-    location ~* \.(css|js|png|jpg|svg|woff2?)$ {
-        set $upstream_forge_static https://forge.tail8d86e.ts.net;
-        proxy_pass $upstream_forge_static$request_uri;
-        proxy_ssl_verify off;
-        proxy_ssl_server_name on;
-
-        proxy_cache services;
-        proxy_cache_valid 200 7d;
-        proxy_cache_key $host$uri;
-
-        add_header X-Cache-Status $upstream_cache_status;
-        add_header X-Clacks-Overhead "GNU Terry Pratchett" always;
-    }
-}
-```
+**Dynamic service template** — see `fly/nginx.conf` for the live Forgejo configuration, which includes rate-limited auth endpoints, cached static assets and release downloads, archive endpoint redirects, robots.txt, and WebSocket support.
 
 Key differences for dynamic services:
 - **No blanket caching** — only static assets (CSS, JS, images) are cached
diff --git a/fly/nginx.conf b/fly/nginx.conf
index db02a21..5723722 100644
--- a/fly/nginx.conf
+++ b/fly/nginx.conf
@@ -46,18 +46,32 @@ http {
     proxy_cache_path /tmp/cache levels=1:2 keys_zone=services:10m
                      max_size=200m inactive=24h;
 
-    # MagicDNS resolver — using a variable in proxy_pass defers upstream DNS
-    # resolution to request time (not config time). Results are cached for
-    # 30s per worker to avoid per-request DNS lookups.
+    # WebSocket-aware Connection header. Only send "upgrade" when the client
+    # actually requests a protocol switch; otherwise empty string to preserve
+    # upstream keepalive connections.
+    map $http_upgrade $connection_upgrade {
+        default "";
+        websocket upgrade;
+    }
+
+    # --- Upstream pools with keepalive ---
+    # DNS is resolved once at config load via MagicDNS. If Tailscale Ingress
+    # pods get new IPs (restart, reschedule), run `mise run fly-reload` to
+    # re-resolve. A Grafana alert fires when upstreams are unreachable.
     resolver 100.100.100.100 valid=30s;
     resolver_timeout 5s;
 
-    # WebSocket-aware Connection header. Only send "upgrade" when the client
-    # actually requests a protocol switch; otherwise "close" (the HTTP/1.1
-    # default when keepalive pooling is not available).
-    map $http_upgrade $connection_upgrade {
-        default close;
-        websocket upgrade;
+    upstream forge_backend {
+        server forge.tail8d86e.ts.net:443;
+        keepalive 8;
+    }
+    upstream docs_backend {
+        server docs.tail8d86e.ts.net:443;
+        keepalive 4;
+    }
+    upstream cv_backend {
+        server cv.tail8d86e.ts.net:443;
+        keepalive 4;
     }
 
     # --- docs.eblu.me (static site) ---
@@ -76,12 +90,16 @@ http {
             internal;
         }
         location / {
-            set $upstream_docs https://docs.tail8d86e.ts.net;
-            proxy_pass $upstream_docs$request_uri;
+            proxy_pass https://docs_backend$request_uri;
             proxy_ssl_verify off;
             proxy_ssl_server_name on;
+            proxy_ssl_name docs.tail8d86e.ts.net;
+            proxy_set_header Host docs.tail8d86e.ts.net;
             proxy_intercept_errors on;
 
+            proxy_http_version 1.1;
+            proxy_set_header Connection $connection_upgrade;
+
             # Cache aggressively — static site only.
             # Do NOT use these settings for dynamic services.
             proxy_cache services;
@@ -116,12 +134,16 @@ http {
         }
 
         location / {
-            set $upstream_cv https://cv.tail8d86e.ts.net;
-            proxy_pass $upstream_cv$request_uri;
+            proxy_pass https://cv_backend$request_uri;
             proxy_ssl_verify off;
             proxy_ssl_server_name on;
+            proxy_ssl_name cv.tail8d86e.ts.net;
+            proxy_set_header Host cv.tail8d86e.ts.net;
             proxy_intercept_errors on;
 
+            proxy_http_version 1.1;
+            proxy_set_header Connection $connection_upgrade;
+
             proxy_cache services;
             proxy_cache_valid 200 1d;
             proxy_cache_valid 404 1m;
@@ -187,10 +209,10 @@ http {
         location ~ ^/user/(login|sign_up|forgot_password) {
             limit_req zone=forge_auth burst=5 nodelay;
 
-            set $upstream_forge https://forge.tail8d86e.ts.net;
-            proxy_pass $upstream_forge$request_uri;
+            proxy_pass https://forge_backend$request_uri;
             proxy_ssl_verify off;
             proxy_ssl_server_name on;
+            proxy_ssl_name forge.tail8d86e.ts.net;
             proxy_intercept_errors on;
 
             proxy_set_header Host $host;
@@ -206,10 +228,13 @@ http {
         # Cache release artifact downloads — immutable files keyed by tag+filename.
         # Avoids hammering Forgejo when crawlers or users re-download the same asset.
         location ~ ^/[^/]+/[^/]+/releases/download/ {
-            set $upstream_forge_releases https://forge.tail8d86e.ts.net;
-            proxy_pass $upstream_forge_releases$request_uri;
+            proxy_pass https://forge_backend$request_uri;
             proxy_ssl_verify off;
             proxy_ssl_server_name on;
+            proxy_ssl_name forge.tail8d86e.ts.net;
+
+            proxy_http_version 1.1;
+            proxy_set_header Connection $connection_upgrade;
 
             proxy_cache services;
             proxy_cache_valid 200 7d;
@@ -226,10 +251,13 @@ http {
 
         # Selectively cache static assets only
         location ~* \.(css|js|png|jpg|svg|woff2?)$ {
-            set $upstream_forge_static https://forge.tail8d86e.ts.net;
-            proxy_pass $upstream_forge_static$request_uri;
+            proxy_pass https://forge_backend$request_uri;
             proxy_ssl_verify off;
             proxy_ssl_server_name on;
+            proxy_ssl_name forge.tail8d86e.ts.net;
+
+            proxy_http_version 1.1;
+            proxy_set_header Connection $connection_upgrade;
 
             proxy_cache services;
             proxy_cache_valid 200 7d;
@@ -240,10 +268,10 @@ http {
         }
 
         location / {
-            set $upstream_forge https://forge.tail8d86e.ts.net;
-            proxy_pass $upstream_forge$request_uri;
+            proxy_pass https://forge_backend$request_uri;
             proxy_ssl_verify off;
             proxy_ssl_server_name on;
+            proxy_ssl_name forge.tail8d86e.ts.net;
             proxy_intercept_errors on;
 
             # NO proxy_cache — dynamic content with sessions
diff --git a/fly/start.sh b/fly/start.sh
index 5b08490..8fd1fd4 100644
--- a/fly/start.sh
+++ b/fly/start.sh
@@ -11,10 +11,18 @@ tailscale up --authkey="${TS_AUTHKEY}" --hostname=flyio-proxy
 until tailscale status > /dev/null 2>&1; do sleep 1; done
 echo "Tailscale connected"
 
+# Wait for MagicDNS to be ready — upstream blocks resolve DNS at config
+# load, so nginx will fail to start if MagicDNS can't resolve yet.
+echo "Waiting for MagicDNS..."
+until nslookup forge.tail8d86e.ts.net 100.100.100.100 > /dev/null 2>&1; do
+    sleep 1
+done
+echo "MagicDNS ready"
+
 # Ensure fail2ban deny file exists before nginx starts
 touch /etc/nginx/forge-deny.conf
 
-# Start nginx — MagicDNS is available, health check passes immediately.
+# Start nginx — MagicDNS is available, upstreams resolved.
 nginx -g "daemon off;" &
 NGINX_PID=$!
 echo "Nginx started"
diff --git a/mise-tasks/fly-reload b/mise-tasks/fly-reload
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..34806c5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/mise-tasks/fly-reload
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+#MISE description="Reload Fly.io proxy nginx config (re-resolves upstream DNS)"
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+export FLY_API_TOKEN
+FLY_API_TOKEN="$(op read 'op://blumeops/fly.io admin/add more/deploy-token')"
+
+# SSH into the Fly machine and send nginx a reload signal.
+# This re-resolves upstream DNS without a full redeploy.
+APP="blumeops-proxy"
+MACHINE_ID=$(fly machines list -a "$APP" --json | python3 -c "import sys,json; print(json.load(sys.stdin)[0]['id'])")
+
+echo "Reloading nginx on machine $MACHINE_ID..."
+fly ssh console -a "$APP" -C "nginx -s reload"
+echo "Done. Upstream DNS re-resolved."