feat(heph-tui): show sync age in seconds under a minute

The background sync loop runs every 30s, so the last-sync age never crossed
the 60s 'just now' threshold — the chip always read 'just now', which also
masked the first missed sync (age 30-60s looked identical to a fresh one).
Show seconds under a minute ('⟳ 26s') so the chip is a visible heartbeat and a
stalled sync surfaces ~30s sooner.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -12,6 +12,17 @@ The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/).
 
 <!-- towncrier release notes start -->
 
+## [v1.2.3] - 2026-06-06
+
+### Features
+
+- heph-tui's status line now shows a live sync indicator for spokes: how long since the last successful sync (`⟳ 5m`), a red `⚠ auth` when the hub is rejecting the token (re-login needed), `⚠ offline` when the hub is unreachable, and a `⚠ N conflicts` chip when merge conflicts are pending. The daemon tracks this health and exposes it via `sync.status` (also visible in `heph sync --status`), so a silently-broken spoke is obvious at a glance instead of buried in the log.
+
+### Documentation
+
+- [[set-up-sync-hub]] now documents recommended Authentik token-validity settings (access + refresh token lifetime) to avoid frequent re-logins, with an iOS PWA storage-eviction caveat; [[host-heph-pwa]] points the PWA's login note at it.
+
+
 ## [v1.2.2] - 2026-06-06
 
 ### Features

crates/heph-tui/src/app.rs

@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ use anyhow::Result;
 use chrono::NaiveDate;
 use heph_core::{Attention, ProjectOverview, RankedTask, SchedulePatch, TaskState, BUILTIN_VIEWS};
 
-use crate::backend::{Backend, Project, SearchHit};
+use crate::backend::{Backend, Project, SearchHit, SyncStatus};
 use crate::fmt::{days_overdue, today_local};
 
 /// How the task list is ordered (toggled in the UI, §8.1).
@@ -433,6 +433,8 @@ pub struct App<B: Backend> {
     undo_stack: Vec<UndoEntry>,
     redo_stack: Vec<UndoEntry>,
     pub status: String,
+    /// Latest sync health for the status-line indicator (refreshed on a tick).
+    pub sync: SyncStatus,
     pub should_quit: bool,
 }
 
@@ -472,12 +474,23 @@ impl<B: Backend> App<B> {
             undo_stack: Vec::new(),
             redo_stack: Vec::new(),
             status: String::new(),
+            sync: SyncStatus::default(),
             should_quit: false,
         };
         app.reload();
+        app.refresh_sync();
         Ok(app)
     }
 
+    /// Refresh the sync-health snapshot for the status line. Best-effort: a
+    /// failed read leaves the previous snapshot in place (a stale indicator
+    /// beats a flicker), so this never disrupts navigation.
+    pub fn refresh_sync(&mut self) {
+        if let Ok(status) = self.backend.sync_status() {
+            self.sync = status;
+        }
+    }
+
     /// The title shown above the task list (the selected source).
     pub fn task_pane_title(&self) -> String {
         match self.sidebar.get(self.sidebar_cursor) {

crates/heph-tui/src/backend.rs

@@ -22,6 +22,35 @@ pub struct SearchHit {
     pub kind: String,
 }
 
+/// Sync health for the status line (the `sync.status` RPC). On a standalone
+/// instance `hub_url` is `None` and `health` is absent; the conflict count is
+/// always present.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Default, PartialEq, Eq, serde::Deserialize)]
+pub struct SyncStatus {
+    /// The hub this device syncs with, or `None` if standalone (no indicator).
+    pub hub_url: Option<String>,
+    /// Pending merge conflicts awaiting resolution.
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub conflicts: usize,
+    /// Observed health of the background sync loop (spoke only).
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub health: Option<SyncHealth>,
+}
+
+/// The spoke's observed sync health (mirrors `hephd`'s `SyncHealth`).
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Default, PartialEq, Eq, serde::Deserialize)]
+pub struct SyncHealth {
+    /// Epoch ms of the last successful exchange ("last synced"), if any.
+    pub last_success_ms: Option<i64>,
+    /// Epoch ms of the last attempt (success or failure), if any.
+    pub last_attempt_ms: Option<i64>,
+    /// The last error message, cleared on the next success.
+    pub last_error: Option<String>,
+    /// Whether the most recent attempt failed authentication (needs re-login).
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub auth_failure: bool,
+}
+
 /// Everything the agenda surface asks of the daemon.
 pub trait Backend {
     /// All project nodes (for the sidebar), title-sorted.
@@ -56,6 +85,11 @@ pub trait Backend {
     /// A task's canonical-context doc id (where its description/checklist live),
     /// for opening a task search-hit at the useful node. `None` if it has none.
     fn context_of(&mut self, task_id: &str) -> Result<Option<String>>;
+    /// Sync health for the status line. The default is a standalone instance
+    /// (no hub, no conflicts); the real backend forwards `sync.status`.
+    fn sync_status(&mut self) -> Result<SyncStatus> {
+        Ok(SyncStatus::default())
+    }
 
     // --- triage mutations (T2) ---
 
@@ -170,6 +204,11 @@ impl Backend for ClientBackend {
             .map(|l| l.dst_id))
     }
 
+    fn sync_status(&mut self) -> Result<SyncStatus> {
+        let v = self.call("sync.status", json!({}))?;
+        Ok(serde_json::from_value(v)?)
+    }
+
     fn set_state(&mut self, task_id: &str, state: &str) -> Result<()> {
         self.call("task.set_state", json!({ "id": task_id, "state": state }))?;
         Ok(())

crates/heph-tui/src/fmt.rs

@@ -25,6 +25,29 @@ pub fn today_local() -> NaiveDate {
     Local::now().date_naive()
 }
 
+/// Now, in epoch milliseconds (the reference for [`fmt_age`]).
+pub fn now_ms() -> i64 {
+    Local::now().timestamp_millis()
+}
+
+/// A compact "how long ago" for the sync indicator: `Ns` under a minute, then
+/// `Nm` / `Nh` / `Nd`. Second-granularity under a minute makes the chip a visible
+/// heartbeat (the sync loop runs every 30s) and surfaces a missed beat as the age
+/// climbing, rather than hiding under a flat "just now". Clamped at zero so a
+/// little clock skew never shows a negative age.
+pub fn fmt_age(now_ms: i64, then_ms: i64) -> String {
+    let secs = (now_ms - then_ms).max(0) / 1000;
+    if secs < 60 {
+        format!("{secs}s")
+    } else if secs < 3_600 {
+        format!("{}m", secs / 60)
+    } else if secs < 86_400 {
+        format!("{}h", secs / 3_600)
+    } else {
+        format!("{}d", secs / 86_400)
+    }
+}
+
 /// How many days past its do-date a task is (0 if not overdue, no do-date, or
 /// future-dated). The "how overdue" signal the agenda sort ranks on (§8.1).
 pub fn days_overdue(do_date: Option<i64>, today: NaiveDate) -> i64 {
@@ -102,6 +125,19 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(fmt_date(ms(day(2027, 1, 1)), today), "2027-01-01");
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn age_is_compact_and_clamped() {
+        let now = 1_000_000_000_000;
+        assert_eq!(fmt_age(now, now), "0s");
+        assert_eq!(fmt_age(now, now - 30_000), "30s");
+        assert_eq!(fmt_age(now, now - 59_000), "59s");
+        assert_eq!(fmt_age(now, now - 5 * 60_000), "5m");
+        assert_eq!(fmt_age(now, now - 3 * 3_600_000), "3h");
+        assert_eq!(fmt_age(now, now - 2 * 86_400_000), "2d");
+        // Clock skew (then in the future) never shows a negative age.
+        assert_eq!(fmt_age(now, now + 10_000), "0s");
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn project_color_is_stable_distinct_and_neutral_when_absent() {
         assert_eq!(project_color(None), Color::DarkGray);

crates/heph-tui/src/main.rs

@@ -61,14 +61,22 @@ fn run<B: heph_tui::Backend>(
     mut app: App<B>,
     socket: &std::path::Path,
 ) -> Result<()> {
+    // Poll with a timeout so the sync indicator's age advances and a sync
+    // failure surfaces within a couple of seconds even while the user is idle.
+    let tick = std::time::Duration::from_secs(2);
     loop {
         terminal.draw(|f| ui::render(f, &app))?;
-        if let Event::Key(key) = event::read()? {
+        if event::poll(tick)? {
-            if key.kind == KeyEventKind::Press {
+            if let Event::Key(key) = event::read()? {
-                if let Some(action) = handle_key(&mut app, key) {
+                if key.kind == KeyEventKind::Press {
-                    perform(terminal, &mut app, socket, action)?;
+                    if let Some(action) = handle_key(&mut app, key) {
+                        perform(terminal, &mut app, socket, action)?;
+                    }
                 }
             }
+        } else {
+            // Idle tick: refresh the sync-health snapshot for the status line.
+            app.refresh_sync();
         }
         if app.should_quit {
             return Ok(());

crates/heph-tui/src/ui.rs

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 
 use heph_core::Attention;
 use ratatui::{
-    layout::{Constraint, Direction, Layout, Margin, Rect},
+    layout::{Alignment, Constraint, Direction, Layout, Margin, Rect},
     style::{Color, Modifier, Style},
     text::{Line, Span},
     widgets::{
@@ -14,8 +14,8 @@ use ratatui::{
 };
 
 use crate::app::{App, Focus, InputState, Mode, MoveOption, MoveState, SidebarEntry, SortMode};
-use crate::backend::Backend;
+use crate::backend::{Backend, SyncStatus};
-use crate::fmt::{fmt_date, project_color, today_local};
+use crate::fmt::{fmt_age, fmt_date, now_ms, project_color, today_local};
 
 // Task-pane gestures (the focused pane shows its own hints, §8.1).
 const HINTS: &str =
@@ -538,5 +538,130 @@ fn render_status<B: Backend>(frame: &mut Frame, app: &App<B>, area: Rect) {
     } else {
         Style::default().fg(Color::DarkGray)
     };
-    frame.render_widget(Paragraph::new(Line::from(Span::styled(text, style))), area);
+    let left = Paragraph::new(Line::from(Span::styled(text, style)));
+
+    // A right-aligned sync indicator (spoke only); the hints take the rest.
+    let indicator = sync_indicator(&app.sync, now_ms());
+    if indicator.is_empty() {
+        frame.render_widget(left, area);
+        return;
+    }
+    let ind_w: usize = indicator.iter().map(|s| s.content.chars().count()).sum();
+    let cols =
+        Layout::horizontal([Constraint::Min(1), Constraint::Length(ind_w as u16 + 1)]).split(area);
+    frame.render_widget(left, cols[0]);
+    frame.render_widget(
+        Paragraph::new(Line::from(indicator)).alignment(Alignment::Right),
+        cols[1],
+    );
+}
+
+/// The status-line sync indicator (empty on a standalone instance): a sync-state
+/// chip — `⚠ auth` when re-login is needed, `⟳ <age>` since the last successful
+/// sync, `⚠ offline` when erroring, `⟳ …` before the first sync — plus a
+/// conflict chip when any merge conflicts are pending.
+fn sync_indicator(sync: &SyncStatus, now: i64) -> Vec<Span<'static>> {
+    if sync.hub_url.is_none() {
+        return Vec::new();
+    }
+    let dim = Style::default().fg(Color::DarkGray);
+    let red = Style::default().fg(Color::Red).add_modifier(Modifier::BOLD);
+    let yellow = Style::default().fg(Color::Yellow);
+
+    let health = sync.health.clone().unwrap_or_default();
+    let mut spans = vec![if health.auth_failure {
+        Span::styled("⚠ auth", red)
+    } else if let Some(ts) = health.last_success_ms {
+        Span::styled(format!("⟳ {}", fmt_age(now, ts)), dim)
+    } else if health.last_error.is_some() {
+        Span::styled("⚠ offline", yellow)
+    } else {
+        Span::styled("⟳ …", dim)
+    }];
+
+    if sync.conflicts > 0 {
+        let label = if sync.conflicts == 1 {
+            "1 conflict".to_string()
+        } else {
+            format!("{} conflicts", sync.conflicts)
+        };
+        spans.push(Span::raw("  "));
+        spans.push(Span::styled(format!("⚠ {label}"), red));
+    }
+    spans
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+    use crate::backend::SyncHealth;
+
+    fn render(sync: &SyncStatus, now: i64) -> String {
+        sync_indicator(sync, now)
+            .iter()
+            .map(|s| s.content.to_string())
+            .collect()
+    }
+
+    const NOW: i64 = 1_000_000_000_000;
+
+    fn spoke(health: SyncHealth, conflicts: usize) -> SyncStatus {
+        SyncStatus {
+            hub_url: Some("http://hub:8787".into()),
+            conflicts,
+            health: Some(health),
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn standalone_shows_no_indicator() {
+        assert!(sync_indicator(&SyncStatus::default(), NOW).is_empty());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn indicator_reflects_each_sync_state() {
+        // Recently synced → a dim age chip.
+        let ok = spoke(
+            SyncHealth {
+                last_success_ms: Some(NOW - 5 * 60_000),
+                ..Default::default()
+            },
+            0,
+        );
+        assert_eq!(render(&ok, NOW), "⟳ 5m");
+
+        // Auth failure wins over age (it's the actionable state).
+        let auth = spoke(
+            SyncHealth {
+                last_success_ms: Some(NOW - 60_000),
+                auth_failure: true,
+                ..Default::default()
+            },
+            0,
+        );
+        assert_eq!(render(&auth, NOW), "⚠ auth");
+
+        // Errored with no prior success → offline.
+        let offline = spoke(
+            SyncHealth {
+                last_error: Some("error sending request".into()),
+                ..Default::default()
+            },
+            0,
+        );
+        assert_eq!(render(&offline, NOW), "⚠ offline");
+
+        // Before the first sync.
+        assert_eq!(render(&spoke(SyncHealth::default(), 0), NOW), "⟳ …");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn conflicts_chip_appends_and_pluralizes() {
+        let h = SyncHealth {
+            last_success_ms: Some(NOW),
+            ..Default::default()
+        };
+        assert_eq!(render(&spoke(h.clone(), 1), NOW), "⟳ 0s  ⚠ 1 conflict");
+        assert_eq!(render(&spoke(h, 3), NOW), "⟳ 0s  ⚠ 3 conflicts");
+    }
 }

crates/heph-tui/tests/agenda.rs

@@ -98,6 +98,12 @@ fn agenda_renders_views_projects_and_tasks() {
     // The red/orange tasks carry a flag glyph in the leading column (§8.1).
     assert!(s.contains('⚑'), "attention flag glyph missing:\n{s}");
     assert!(s.contains("Preview"), "preview pane missing:\n{s}");
+    // A standalone daemon (no hub) shows no sync indicator — the `sync.status`
+    // RPC round-trips and reports `hub_url: null`.
+    assert!(
+        !s.contains('⟳'),
+        "sync indicator should be hidden without a hub:\n{s}"
+    );
 }
 
 #[test]

crates/hephd/src/server.rs

@@ -10,9 +10,10 @@
 //! ops with the configured hub (tech-spec §6.1, §12).
 
 use std::sync::{Arc, Mutex};
-use std::time::Duration;
+use std::time::{Duration, SystemTime, UNIX_EPOCH};
 
 use anyhow::Result;
+use serde::Serialize;
 use serde_json::{json, Value};
 use tokio::io::{AsyncBufReadExt, AsyncWriteExt, BufReader};
 use tokio::net::{UnixListener, UnixStream};
@@ -32,6 +33,23 @@ struct SpokeAuth {
     client_id: String,
 }
 
+/// A spoke's observed sync health, updated after every exchange (background loop
+/// or manual `sync.now`). Surfaced by `sync.status` so clients can show whether
+/// sync is actually working instead of trusting silence (tech-spec §3.1 / the
+/// `Spoke sync health` task). All times are epoch ms; `None` means "not yet".
+#[derive(Clone, Default, Serialize)]
+struct SyncHealth {
+    /// When we last attempted an exchange.
+    last_attempt_ms: Option<i64>,
+    /// When we last completed one without error (the "last synced" time).
+    last_success_ms: Option<i64>,
+    /// The last error message, cleared on the next success.
+    last_error: Option<String>,
+    /// Whether the most recent attempt failed authentication (a 401) — the
+    /// "re-auth needed" signal, distinct from a transient network blip.
+    auth_failure: bool,
+}
+
 /// The shared, cheaply-cloneable context each connection serves from.
 #[derive(Clone)]
 struct Ctx {
@@ -43,6 +61,41 @@ struct Ctx {
     auth: Option<SpokeAuth>,
     /// Opt-in self-update config (`Some` ⇒ enabled, tech-spec self-update card).
     self_update: Option<SelfUpdateConfig>,
+    /// Live sync health, shared between the background loop and `sync.status`.
+    sync_health: Arc<Mutex<SyncHealth>>,
+}
+
+/// Epoch-ms wall clock (the daemon may read it; only `heph-core` is clock-pure).
+fn now_ms() -> i64 {
+    SystemTime::now()
+        .duration_since(UNIX_EPOCH)
+        .map(|d| d.as_millis() as i64)
+        .unwrap_or(0)
+}
+
+/// True if `e` carries an HTTP 401 — i.e. the hub rejected our bearer token.
+fn is_auth_error(e: &anyhow::Error) -> bool {
+    e.downcast_ref::<reqwest::Error>()
+        .and_then(|re| re.status())
+        .is_some_and(|s| s == reqwest::StatusCode::UNAUTHORIZED)
+}
+
+/// Fold one exchange outcome into the shared [`SyncHealth`].
+fn record_sync_outcome(health: &Arc<Mutex<SyncHealth>>, result: &Result<sync::SyncReport>) {
+    let now = now_ms();
+    let mut h = health.lock().expect("sync_health mutex poisoned");
+    h.last_attempt_ms = Some(now);
+    match result {
+        Ok(_) => {
+            h.last_success_ms = Some(now);
+            h.last_error = None;
+            h.auth_failure = false;
+        }
+        Err(e) => {
+            h.auth_failure = is_auth_error(e);
+            h.last_error = Some(e.to_string());
+        }
+    }
 }
 
 impl Ctx {
@@ -87,6 +140,7 @@ impl Daemon {
                     .expect("building the daemon HTTP client"),
                 auth: None,
                 self_update: None,
+                sync_health: Arc::new(Mutex::new(SyncHealth::default())),
             },
         }
     }
@@ -170,7 +224,10 @@ impl Daemon {
             loop {
                 tick.tick().await;
                 let bearer = ctx.bearer().await;
-                match sync::sync_once(ctx.store.clone(), &hub, &ctx.http, bearer.as_deref()).await {
+                let result =
+                    sync::sync_once(ctx.store.clone(), &hub, &ctx.http, bearer.as_deref()).await;
+                record_sync_outcome(&ctx.sync_health, &result);
+                match result {
                     Ok(report) => tracing::debug!(?report, "background sync"),
                     Err(e) => tracing::warn!("background sync failed: {e}"),
                 }
@@ -265,7 +322,9 @@ async fn sync_now(ctx: &Ctx) -> Result<Value, RpcError> {
         });
     };
     let bearer = ctx.bearer().await;
-    match sync::sync_once(ctx.store.clone(), &hub_url, &ctx.http, bearer.as_deref()).await {
+    let result = sync::sync_once(ctx.store.clone(), &hub_url, &ctx.http, bearer.as_deref()).await;
+    record_sync_outcome(&ctx.sync_health, &result);
+    match result {
         Ok(report) => Ok(json!(report)),
         Err(e) => Err(RpcError {
             code: INTERNAL_ERROR,
@@ -274,11 +333,28 @@ async fn sync_now(ctx: &Ctx) -> Result<Value, RpcError> {
     }
 }
 
-/// `sync.status` — the hub url and the current per-hub cursors.
+/// `sync.status` — the hub url, the current per-hub cursors, the observed sync
+/// health (last-success time / last error / auth-failure flag), and the pending
+/// merge-conflict count. A spoke that is silently failing is visible here (and,
+/// via it, in the TUI status line).
 async fn sync_status(ctx: &Ctx) -> Result<Value, RpcError> {
+    // Conflict count is meaningful even on a hub / standalone instance.
+    let store = ctx.store.clone();
+    let conflicts = tokio::task::spawn_blocking(move || {
+        let guard = store.lock().expect("store mutex poisoned");
+        guard.conflicts_list().map(|c| c.len())
+    })
+    .await
+    .map_err(|e| RpcError {
+        code: INTERNAL_ERROR,
+        message: format!("sync.status task failed: {e}"),
+    })?
+    .map_err(RpcError::from)?;
+
     let Some(hub_url) = ctx.hub_url.clone() else {
-        return Ok(json!({ "hub_url": Value::Null }));
+        return Ok(json!({ "hub_url": Value::Null, "conflicts": conflicts }));
     };
+
     let store = ctx.store.clone();
     let hub = hub_url.clone();
     let cursors = tokio::task::spawn_blocking(move || {
@@ -291,5 +367,17 @@ async fn sync_status(ctx: &Ctx) -> Result<Value, RpcError> {
         message: format!("sync.status task failed: {e}"),
     })?
     .map_err(RpcError::from)?;
-    Ok(json!({ "hub_url": hub_url, "cursors": cursors }))
+
+    let health = ctx
+        .sync_health
+        .lock()
+        .expect("sync_health mutex poisoned")
+        .clone();
+
+    Ok(json!({
+        "hub_url": hub_url,
+        "cursors": cursors,
+        "conflicts": conflicts,
+        "health": health,
+    }))
 }

docs/changelog.d/+sync-age-seconds.feature.md

@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+heph-tui's sync indicator now shows the last-sync age in seconds under a minute (`⟳ 26s`) instead of a flat `just now`, so the chip reads as a live heartbeat and a missed sync (the loop runs every 30s) shows up as the age climbing.

docs/how-to/host-heph-pwa.md

@@ -102,6 +102,11 @@ app defaults its hub URL to its own origin.
    (A manual **Bearer token** field remains as a fallback for hubs without
    OIDC, or for pasting a one-off token.)
 
+   > Re-prompted for login too often? The fix is the Authentik provider's
+   > **refresh token validity**, not the app — see the token-lifetime note in
+   > [[set-up-sync-hub]]. (On iOS, Safari may also purge an un-installed PWA's
+   > storage after ~7 idle days; Add to Home Screen mitigates it.)
+
 **Prerequisite — register the PWA redirect URI.** Browser PKCE needs the app's
 origin registered on the Authentik `heph` provider's **Redirect URIs** (Authentik
 also keys token-endpoint CORS off those origins). Add the PWA origin(s) with a

docs/how-to/set-up-sync-hub.md

@@ -51,6 +51,26 @@ need:
 - **Issuer** — e.g. `https://authentik.ops.eblu.me/application/o/heph/`
 - **Client id** — the device-code client id (this is also the token *audience*).
 
+### Token lifetime (avoid frequent re-logins)
+
+Token lifetimes are set on the Authentik **provider**, not in heph — heph honors
+whatever `expires_in` Authentik returns and silently refreshes using the
+`offline_access` refresh token (both the CLI/daemon and the PWA do this). To
+avoid re-authenticating often, set generous validities on the heph provider:
+
+- **Access token validity** — e.g. `hours=24`. The hub validates `exp` and keeps
+  no revocation list, so this is the window in which a leaked token stays usable;
+  on a Tailscale-only hub, 24–48h is a reasonable trade.
+- **Refresh token validity** — e.g. `days=30`+. This is the setting that stops
+  the re-logins: while the refresh token is valid, the spoke **and** the PWA
+  renew silently with no browser round-trip. A short refresh window is the usual
+  cause of "I have to log in constantly".
+
+> **iOS PWA caveat:** Safari can purge an *un-installed* PWA's `localStorage`
+> (where its tokens live) after ~7 idle days regardless of these settings.
+> Installing the app to the home screen mitigates it, but expect the occasional
+> re-login on iOS.
+
 ## 2. Bring up the hub on `indri`
 
 **Seed it from `gilbert` (Path A).** Quiesce `gilbert` (`heph daemon stop`),
@@ -98,10 +118,16 @@ and background-syncs on its interval.
 ## 4. Verify
 
 ```bash
-heph sync --status     # last push/pull cursors, hub url
+heph sync --status     # hub url, last push/pull cursors, sync health
 heph sync              # force a cycle now
 ```
 
+`heph sync --status` also reports **sync health** — the time of the last
+successful exchange, any last error, and whether the spoke is currently failing
+to authenticate. The same signal is surfaced live in `heph-tui`'s status line
+(last-sync age · pending conflicts · an auth-failure flag), so a silently-broken
+spoke is visible at a glance rather than buried in the daemon log.
+
 Make a change on `gilbert`, force a sync, and confirm it appears via the hub.
 
 ## Current gaps (finalized by the blumeops deployment)