diff --git a/CLI-AUTOMATION-NOTES.md b/CLI-AUTOMATION-NOTES.md
index b4f7431..b6ac18f 100644
--- a/CLI-AUTOMATION-NOTES.md
+++ b/CLI-AUTOMATION-NOTES.md
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ Companions:
 - Android GUI → [`android-test/GUI-AUTOMATION-NOTES.md`](./android-test/GUI-AUTOMATION-NOTES.md)
 - Git / suite tree → [`VERSIONS.md`](./VERSIONS.md)
 
-Scripts: `check_e2e.sh`, `check_amount_ladder.sh`, `taler-monitoring.sh`.
+Scripts: `check_e2e.sh`, `check_goa_ladder.sh`, `taler-monitoring.sh`.
 
 Legend:
 
@@ -47,82 +47,15 @@ Legend:
 
 ---
 
-## 3. `reserve_pub` / force-select is fragile (5114 + empty scrape)
+## 3. `reserve_pub` / force-select is fragile (5114)
 
 | | |
 |--|--|
-| **Seen** | ladder force-select, e2e confirm path, Android spinner issues; **repro 2026-07-19 magikoopa** GOA ladder: `force-select skipped · no reserve_pub for this withdraw (WID=…); wallet may not have selected yet` |
-| **Area** | **cli** / **core** / **bank** / **ops** |
-| **Problem** | (a) Cumulative wallets re-emit old reserves; binding the wrong `reserve_pub` yields **HTTP 409 / code 5114** (“already bound”). (b) Automation scrapes accept/tx dumps for candidates — when the dump has **no** pub at all, ladder WARNs and skips force-select (soft), then often **SKIP_CONFIRM**. (c) Empty scrape is **not** the same as “bank out of money”; do not treat as balance failure. (d) **Mon bug (fixed v1.20.2):** extract used `json.loads(file_from_first_brace)` on wallet dumps that append log lines after JSON → **zero** objects parsed; regex only scanned accept (which has no `reservePub`) while the pub lives under `transactions[].withdrawalDetails.reservePub`. |
-| **Workaround** | **Mon ≥1.20.2:** `JSONDecoder.raw_decode` + regex on accept **and** transactions; score by WID in `bankConfirmationUrl` / amount. Still: score pubs by WID/amount; try several; treat 5114 as “stale reserve” not “out of money”. Refresh `transactions` before each force-select try. Soft-skip confirm if still pending after polls. Fix wallet DB / helper first if accept/tx only print FATAL (see §15–16). |
-| **Wanted** | CLI returns **the** `reserve_pub` for the just-accepted withdraw in structured JSON; `force-select` / bank-side select API documented with idempotency. Optional: bank integration already exposes `selected_reserve_pub` when wallet selected — prefer that over scraping wallet logs. |
-
-### 3a. Ladder pin amounts hide mid-range behaviour
-
-| | |
-|--|--|
-| **Seen** | `LADDER_STEPS=3` plan collapses to pins only: `GOA:0`, `max-1`, `max` (no random mid rungs) |
-| **Area** | **ops** / **bank** / **cli** |
-| **Problem** | **Zero** withdraw often never produces a usable `reserve_pub` / coins (wallet 7006 or no denoms). **Absolute max** and sometimes **max-1** hit **mint HTTP 500 / code 5110** SQL `P0001` (ceiling probe). Reproducing “real” force-select needs a **mid** amount (e.g. `GOA:1` … exchange min denom scale), not only pins. |
-| **Workaround** | Use `LADDER_STEPS≥5` (or higher) so random mids exist; treat zero / absolute-max / max-1-5110 as probes (soft `CEILING_REJECT` in mon ≥1.20.2). |
-| **Wanted** | Ladder plan docs: pin vs mid semantics; CLI structured error for amount-too-large / zero. |
-
-### 3b. We do **not** manage to withdraw **in time** (GOA) — bank path unreliable, not load
-
-| | |
-|--|--|
-| **Bottom line** | On live **hacktivism GOA**, automation **does not get spendable coins in time** for the pay phase (default wait **90 s**). Max-search may report a “best” amount and bank may even show `transfer_done`; pay still sees **`available=GOA:0`** with large **`pendingIncoming`**. Coins might arrive **later** (wirewatch / wallet) — **at least not within mon’s budget**. Recurring (several runs, 2026-07-19). |
-| **Area** | **bank** + wire/wallet settle — **not** mon overload, **not** “laptop too slow” |
-| **Not the cause: ecosystem load** | Outside-in check **2026-07-19 ~14:56 CEST**: bank/exchange/merchant all **HTTP 200**, config ~**50–150 ms**, exchange `/keys` ~**0.5 s**. Container **loadavg ~1.5–1.7**, RSS bank **~737 MiB** / exchange **~670 MiB**, bank probes **47 ms**, **`wirewatch_running: true`**. Stack is **healthy under moderate load** — failures are **application/SQL/protocol**, not “host on fire.” |
-| **Call site (mint)** | `POST ${BANK}/accounts/explorer/withdrawals` → often HTTP **500** `{ code: 5110, hint: "Unexpected sql error with state P0001" }` (**`BANK_UNMANAGED_EXCEPTION`**; Postgres **`P0001`** = `RAISE EXCEPTION`). Should often be clean **409** (insufficient funds); instead opaque **500**. |
-| **Config** | `/config` still allows ~**2⁵²** wire max; live mint fails **far below** that. Explorer **balance_explorer** on landing still **~4.5 Peta-GOA**. |
-
-#### Analysis — where withdraw dies
-
-| Stage | What we see | Manage to withdraw? |
-|-------|-------------|---------------------|
-| **Mint (high amounts)** | 5110/P0001 while hi falls Tera→Giga→Mega→Kilo with **lo=0** | **No** — withdrawal never created |
-| **Mint (some mid amounts)** | occasional **HTTP 200** + URI | Mint only — not done |
-| **Confirm** | force-select 200 then stuck **`selected`**, confirm **HTTP 500** → mon **`SKIP_CONFIRM`** (bounds unchanged) | **No** — bank never wires; **not** out-of-money (§3 / 5114 class) |
-| **Bank settle** | rare full path: confirm 204 + `transfer_done` | Bank side “OK_BANK” |
-| **Wallet coins** | almost always **`available=0`** within wait, large **`pendingIncoming`**, board **`done=0`** | **Not in time** for pay → **SKIP_BALANCE** / skip max-pay |
-
-**Pay-wait board (same cumulative wallet), example:**
-
-```text
-summary: tsv_ok=2 · wallet_wd=14 (pendingIncoming=14 done=0)
-timer 0s left — available still GOA:0
-pendingIncoming=GOA:335776
-```
-
-Reading: only **2** TSV rows are full OK/OK_BANK, but the wallet holds **14** withdrawal txs still **pendingIncoming** and **none done** after the wait. Max-search also leaves many **mint-OK / confirm-failed** withdraws that **inflate pendingIncoming** and may never complete. After **90 s** + short `run-pending`: **still no spendable balance** → **we do not manage to withdraw in time** for pay (whether coins would appear later is unknown to the job).
-
-#### What *did* work (sparse) — for contrast
-
-| When / run | What worked | Amounts |
-|------------|-------------|---------|
-| Landing **2026-07-19 14:19–14:29 CEST** | Explorer singles **recorded** on bank intro stats | **~1.5–2 Giga-GOA**, **~145–202 Mega-GOA**, **~1.8–3.4 Mega-GOA** |
-| Max-search run A (same day) | Full bank path (mint→confirm→`transfer_done`) for **two** amounts only; mon best | **`GOA:424114`**, **`GOA:822256`** (~822 Kilo best) |
-| Max-search run B (later) | Even fewer full successes; many mint OK + **SKIP_CONFIRM**; mon best collapsed | e.g. full success around **`GOA:12276`** / **`GOA:17257`** (~**17 Kilo** best) |
-| Pay after either | Spendable **available** within **90 s** | **`GOA:0`** (not in time) |
-
-So: **landing/history prove large withdraws were possible earlier the same day**; **automation does not manage a usable withdraw in time** (best amount drops run-to-run; coins not available inside mon’s wait).
-
-#### Mon behaviour (workaround only)
-
-- 5110 → soft **`CEILING_REJECT`** / max-search **`hi:=`**
-- Full OK only raises **`lo`**; **SKIP_CONFIRM** does not
-- Pay waits up to **`LADDER_PAY_WAIT_AVAILABLE_S`** (default 90) with withdraw board; then **SKIP_BALANCE** if still 0
-- **Does not fix** bank SQL mapping, stuck confirm, or wirewatch→coins lag
-
-#### Wanted (bank / exchange ops)
-
-1. Map mint **P0001** to structured errors (not **5110**).  
-2. Confirm after force-select must not stick **selected** + HTTP 500.  
-3. After `transfer_done`, coins must become wallet **available** (or document delay + API to wait).  
-4. File bugs with: max-search “what worked” table + landing `recent_withdraws`/`balance_explorer` + load note (healthy) + pay board `tsv_ok` vs `wallet_wd`/`pendingIncoming`/`done`.
-
-Sources: `https://bank.hacktivism.ch/intro/stats.json`, exchange/merchant intro stats, mon max-ladder logs 2026-07-19.
+| **Seen** | ladder force-select, e2e confirm path, Android spinner issues |
+| **Area** | **cli** / **core** / **bank** |
+| **Problem** | Cumulative wallets re-emit old reserves; binding the wrong `reserve_pub` yields **HTTP 409 / code 5114** (“already bound”). Automation scrapes accept/tx dumps for candidates. |
+| **Workaround** | Score pubs by WID/amount; try several; treat 5114 as “stale reserve” not “out of money”. |
+| **Wanted** | CLI returns **the** `reserve_pub` for the just-accepted withdraw in structured JSON; `force-select` / bank-side select API documented with idempotency. |
 
 ---
 
@@ -258,59 +191,6 @@ Sources: `https://bank.hacktivism.ch/intro/stats.json`, exchange/merchant intro
 
 ---
 
-## 15. `--wallet-db=*.json` is rejected (“memory backend not supported”)
-
-| | |
-|--|--|
-| **Seen** | **2026-07-19 magikoopa** wallet-cli **1.6.8** / **1.6.11** bundle: any command with `--wallet-db=/tmp/foo.json` fails immediately with `Error: memory backend not supported` |
-| **Area** | **cli** / **ops** |
-| **Problem** | Current node host treats storage paths ending in **`.json` as unsupported memory backend** and throws before opening sqlite. Old notes / local tests that used `WALLET_DB=….json` break. Accept/transactions then never emit `reserve_pub` → ladder §3 empty-scrape WARNs. |
-| **Workaround** | Use a **non-`.json` path**, e.g. `--wallet-db=$SCRATCH/wallet.sqlite3` (ladder already prefers `wallet.sqlite3`). Never pass `….json` as wallet-db. |
-| **Wanted** | Clearer error: `wallet-db path must not end in .json; use a directory or .sqlite3 path`. Document legal path forms in `--help`. |
-
----
-
-## 16. `taler-helper-sqlite3` requires Python ≥ 3.11 on PATH
-
-| | |
-|--|--|
-| **Seen** | magikoopa: helper is a **Python** script (`#!/usr/bin/env python3`); with Apple `/usr/bin/python3` **3.9.6** → `FATAL: python version >=3.11 required but running on 3.9.6` in accept/tx logs; wallet may still exit 0 on some paths while stdout is FATAL-only |
-| **Area** | **ops** / **cli** |
-| **Problem** | Wallet spawns `taler-helper-sqlite3` from **PATH**. Wrong `python3` ⇒ sqlite backend fails ⇒ no real wallet state ⇒ no `reserve_pub` for force-select. |
-| **Workaround** | Put **Python ≥3.11** (or 3.12+) first on PATH for mon jobs; ensure `command -v taler-helper-sqlite3` works; smoke: `taler-helper-sqlite3` starts without FATAL. Prefer Homebrew / user `python3.11+` over macOS system 3.9 for agent PATH. |
-| **Wanted** | Helper shebang or wrapper that finds a suitable python; wallet preflight error if helper HELLO fails (not silent empty logs). |
-
----
-
-## 17. Portable wall-clock for scripts (no GNU `timeout` assumed)
-
-| | |
-|--|--|
-| **Seen** | macOS agent shells: `timeout: command not found`; e2e already tries `timeout` then `gtimeout` then `perl -e alarm` |
-| **Area** | **ops** / **doc** |
-| **Problem** | GNU coreutils `timeout` is not on stock macOS. Hard-wiring it breaks portable repro and CI on Darwin. |
-| **Workaround** | Prefer **python3** `subprocess.Popen(…).wait(timeout=…)` for outer budgets; for wallet-cli inner calls keep e2e order: `timeout` → `gtimeout` → perl alarm. Document both. |
-| **Wanted** | One suite helper `run_with_budget SECS cmd…` in `lib.sh` used by ladder/e2e/smoke. |
-
----
-
-## 18. How to withdraw (operator checklist, GOA laptop)
-
-Portable path that works when §§15–16 are fixed:
-
-1. **PATH:** `taler-helper-sqlite3` + **python3 ≥ 3.11** ahead of system 3.9.  
-2. **Wallet DB:** `WDB=$TMP/wallet.sqlite3` — **not** `*.json`.  
-3. **Exchange:** `exchanges add` → `update -f` → `accept-tos` for `https://exchange.hacktivism.ch/`.  
-4. **Bank mint (explorer):** token with explorer password from `SECRETS_ROOT` / `EXP_PW`; `POST …/accounts/explorer/withdrawals` with e.g. `{"amount":"GOA:1"}` (avoid pure **0** and absolute **max** pins for happy-path tests).  
-5. **Strip** `:443` from `taler_withdraw_uri`.  
-6. **`withdraw accept-uri --exchange URL URI`**.  
-7. **Bank:** poll `…/taler-integration/withdrawal-operation/{WID}` → when `selected`, confirm; if stuck `pending`, force-select with scraped `reserve_pub` (§3).  
-8. **Settle:** poll wallet balance / bank `transfer_done` — **no** `run-until-done` (§1).
-
-If step 6’s stdout is only `FATAL: python version…` or `memory backend not supported`, **stop** and fix §15–16 before debugging force-select.
-
----
-
 ## Priority shortlist for `taler-wallet-cli` / core
 
 If only a few changes land, these unlock the most automation:
@@ -320,7 +200,6 @@ If only a few changes land, these unlock the most automation:
 3. **Auto-add exchange + ToS on accept-uri** (§4, §8)  
 4. **Canonical URIs without :443** (§5)  
 5. **Emit reserve_pub for last withdraw** (§3)  
-6. **Clear wallet-db path rules + helper preflight** (§15, §16)  
 
 ---
 
@@ -333,12 +212,7 @@ If only a few changes land, these unlock the most automation:
 | exchange | Explicit add/update/accept-tos |
 | ladder explorer | `read_secret` / EXP_PW_FILE |
 | stage maxima | bank `max_wire` + keys min denom |
-| force-select | multi-rpub try; soft-skip confirm; empty scrape → WARN not balance fail |
-| higher amounts / withdraw fail | **§3b: we do not manage to withdraw in time** on GOA (healthy load); mint 5110/P0001 + SKIP_CONFIRM + pendingIncoming; pay still available=0 after 90s; landing had Giga/Mega earlier same day |
-| pay vs balance | never order more than wallet **available** (soft `SKIP_BALANCE`); pendingIncoming does not count as spendable |
-| pay wait UX | board: OK/OK_BANK start order + live pendingIncoming/`done`; often `tsv_ok≪wallet_wd` and **done=0** after 90s → skip pay |
-| wallet-db path | Prefer `*.sqlite3` (never `*.json` as db path) |
-| helper / python | mon PATH must include helper + python≥3.11 |
+| force-select | multi-rpub try; soft-skip confirm |
 
 ---
 
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 2c08f4e..998c65b 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -274,14 +274,12 @@ Other domains: never SSH. Optional **e2e** aborts cleanly on login/KYC.
 ```bash
 ./taler-monitoring.sh e2e
 ./taler-monitoring.sh -d taler.net urls e2e
-# Amount ladder (any currency): classic 0 → … → max, then optional pay
-./taler-monitoring.sh ladder                              # classic (current domain)
+# Amount ladder (withdraw 0 → … → max, then pay): same script for GOA + stage
+./taler-monitoring.sh ladder                              # GOA / current domain
 ./taler-monitoring.sh -d stage.lefrancpaysan.ch ladder    # TESTPAYSAN maxima
-# Max-search: highest withdrawable + highest payable (≤ available; GOA free template goa-free)
-./taler-monitoring.sh max-ladder
 # Stage auto-reads bank max_wire_transfer_amount (e.g. 2000) and min denom (0.01).
 # Explorer password: francpaysan-stage-user …/bank-explorer-password.txt (or EXP_PW=).
-# Override: LADDER_MODE=max LADDER_MAX_PROBES=16 LADDER_MAX_AMOUNT=100 LADDER_STEPS=7 LADDER_PAY=0 …
+# Override: LADDER_MAX_AMOUNT=100 LADDER_STEPS=7 LADDER_PAY=0 …
 # customize e2e:
 E2E_WITHDRAW_VALUES="20 50 100" E2E_PAY_VALUES="0.05 1 5" ./taler-monitoring.sh e2e
 E2E_VARIABLE=0 WITHDRAW_AMT=GOA:50 PAY_AMT=GOA:1 ./taler-monitoring.sh e2e   # single fixed
@@ -306,7 +304,7 @@ E2E_VARIABLE=0 WITHDRAW_AMT=GOA:50 PAY_AMT=GOA:1 ./taler-monitoring.sh e2e   # s
 | **versions** | `deb.taler.net` reachable (InRelease/Packages/pool `.deb`); containers can reach it + have apt source; installed Taler packages vs **trixie** |
 | **sanity** | bank · exchange · merchant sections (public + server) |
 | **e2e** | account → credit → withdraw → wallet → confirm → order → pay |
-| **ladder** | amount ladder modules: classic 23-rung wd+pay, or max-search wd+pay (`max-ladder`) |
+| **ladder** | GOA withdraw: fixed **0** + low bands + **random high ranges** + fixed **max** |
 
 ```bash
 # package suite (default trixie on deb.taler.net)
@@ -396,14 +394,8 @@ LADDER_LOAD=0 ./taler-monitoring.sh ladder
 | `METRICS_LOAD` | `1` | `0` = skip all host/container load probes |
 | `LADDER_LOAD` | `1` | `0` = skip load in ladder only |
 | `LADDER_PAY` | `1` | `0` = skip payment ladder after withdraws |
-| `LADDER_MODE` | `classic` | default **classic** 23-rung wd+pay; `max` = max-search wd+pay (`max-ladder`) |
-| `LADDER_MAX_PROBES` | `32` | max-search probe budget; `0` = until converge / timeout |
-| `LADDER_HIGH_RUNGS` | `6` | max-search: first N probes random-high, then bisect |
-| `LADDER_MAX_TOL_REL` | `0.001` | max-search relative lo/hi gap to stop |
-| `LADDER_FREE_TEMPLATE` | `goa-free` | public free-amount pay template (hacktivism) |
-| `LADDER_USE_FREE_TEMPLATE` | `1` | create pays via template POST `{"amount":…}` |
-| `LADDER_WITHDRAW_SCALE` | `1.5` | classic: withdraw mids / pay mids ratio (funding headroom) |
-| `LADDER_STEPS` | `23` | classic: rungs for withdraw and pay (0 + mids + max−1 + max) |
+| `LADDER_WITHDRAW_SCALE` | `1.5` | withdraw mids / pay mids ratio (funding headroom) |
+| `LADDER_STEPS` | `23` | rungs for both withdraw and pay (0 + mids + max−1 + max) |
 | `METRICS_LOAD_SSH_TIMEOUT` | `90` | seconds for remote load python |
 
 ## Needs
diff --git a/TESTS.md b/TESTS.md
index 9320315..5c0f76a 100644
--- a/TESTS.md
+++ b/TESTS.md
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ Every check line has a **global** run number and a **grouped** id:
 | **sanity** | `check_sanity.sh` | `bank` `exchange` `merchant` |
 | **server** | `check_server.sh` | (flat `server-NN` or host groups) |
 | **e2e** | `check_e2e.sh` | `prereq` `load` `bank` `wallet` `bankwd` `settle` `pay` `shop` `paivana` `dig` `report` |
-| **ladder** | `check_amount_ladder.sh` + `ladder/lib_pay.sh` | `plan` `load` `withdraw` `pay` `report` — classic / max-search; phases `ladder` · `max-ladder` · `goa-ladder` (alias) |
+| **ladder** | `check_goa_ladder.sh` | `plan` `load` `withdraw` `pay` `report` |
 
 **Why groups:** flat `www-001`…`www-080` was hard to talk about.  
 `www.bank-04` / `e2e.bankwd-02` pin the failure to a logical block.
@@ -141,7 +141,7 @@ Standalone: `host-agent/run-aptdeploy.sh` (on koopa local; else ssh `$DEPLOY_SSH
 - OSV CVE query when package+version known → **ERROR** on hits
 - Never SSH / never podman on the *targets*
 | **sanity.bank-** / **.exchange-** / **.merchant-** | public + optional server-side per component |
-| **ladder.plan-** / **.load-** / **.withdraw-** / **.pay-** / **.report-** | amount ladder classic or max-search (any currency; stage uses `max_wire`) |
+| **ladder.plan-** / **.load-** / **.withdraw-** / **.pay-** / **.report-** | amount ladder (GOA ceiling or stage TESTPAYSAN `max_wire`) |
 | **server-** | SSH host ports / processes (flat unless grouped later) |
 | **auth401.*** | merchant 401 / case matrix (WebUI APIs): **signup** `POST /instances` MIX id, **login** Basic user low vs MIX/UPPER, full **case** matrix, **password** bad/empty, **pwchange** `POST private/auth` + re-login, **admin-create** `POST /management/instances` (if admin token), **bearer**, **durable mon401**, **webui** SPA `toLowerCase` probe (`check_auth401.sh`) |
 
diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index a6c2798..3989355 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-1.23.0
+1.20.0
diff --git a/VERSIONS.md b/VERSIONS.md
index 3e7f783..76bb76b 100644
--- a/VERSIONS.md
+++ b/VERSIONS.md
@@ -17,11 +17,6 @@ Git tags: `vMAJOR.FEATURE.FIX` (e.g. `v1.8.0`). File `VERSION` omits the `v` pre
 
 | Tag | Date (UTC) | Notes |
 |-----|------------|--------|
-| **v1.23.0** | 2026-07-19 | **Feature:** GOA daily mon pages **`/monitoring-ladder/`** (classic) + **`/monitoring-max-ladder/`** (max-search) on bank/exchange/taler.hacktivism.ch. Host-agent timers once/day + install starts first round immediately. monpages catalog/path allow; Caddy bare redirs. |
-| **v1.22.1** | 2026-07-19 | **Bugfix (UX):** pay wait after withdraw no longer looks hung — shows **withdraw board in start order** (OK/OK_BANK from TSV) with live wallet status (`pendingIncoming` → `done`) + timer + aggregate available/pendingIncoming on the **same** wallet DB. Short `run-pending` nudge only (no run-until-done). Default wait 90s (`LADDER_PAY_WAIT_AVAILABLE_S`). |
-| **v1.22.0** | 2026-07-19 | **Feature:** modular amount ladder — `ladder/lib_pay.sh` (pay) + withdraw in `check_amount_ladder.sh`; `ladder/extract_rpubs.py`. **max-ladder** hunts highest **withdrawable** and highest **payable** (≤ wallet available). GOA pays use public free-amount template **`goa-free`** (`LADDER_FREE_TEMPLATE`). Classic still default 23-rung wd+pay. Phase alias `goa-ladder` → amount ladder (shim removed). |
-| **v1.21.0** | 2026-07-19 | **Feature:** generic **amount ladder** (`check_amount_ladder.sh`; compat shim `check_goa_ladder.sh`). Default **classic** 23-rung withdraw (+ pay when enabled); **max-search** (`max-ladder` / `LADDER_MODE=max`) hunts highest mintable amount (probes default 32, `0`=until timeout). **Pay:** never overspend — soft `SKIP_BALANCE` if amount > wallet available. **Alt units:** report/logs show human names (e.g. `8.15 Tera-GOA (GOA:…)`) + raw. **Fixes bundled:** external extract (no stdin SyntaxError); force-select multi-rpub; soft `CEILING_REJECT` on mint 5110/P0001; crash-proof report. CLI-AUTOMATION-NOTES §3/3a/3b/§15–18. |
-| **v1.20.1** | 2026-07-19 | **Docs:** CLI-AUTOMATION-NOTES — force-select empty scrape + ladder pins (§3/3a); wallet-db must not be `*.json` (§15); `taler-helper-sqlite3` needs Python ≥3.11 (§16); portable wall-clock (§17); GOA withdraw checklist (§18). No code change. *(Superseded notes folded into **v1.21.0** feature release.)* |
 | **v1.20.0** | 2026-07-19 | **Feature:** domains.conf **`locale`** (l10n) — FP **`fr-CH`**, others **`de-CH`** (aliases ch-FR/ch-DE); UI **`lang=de`** supported (sticky + console tags) but **never** a stock profile default; env `TALER_MON_LOCALE` / `TALER_DOMAIN_LOCALE`. |
 | **v1.19.1** | 2026-07-19 | **Bugfix / docs:** DEPENDENCIES — e2e requires `taler-helper-sqlite3` on mon PATH + preflight; README domains.conf documents **`lang`** column. |
 | **v1.19.0** | 2026-07-19 | **Feature:** domains.conf **`lang`** column (en\|fr) is the global UI language default per stack; i18n + HTML read `TALER_DOMAIN_LANG` / conf (FP profiles `lang=fr`). |
diff --git a/check_amount_ladder.sh b/check_goa_ladder.sh
similarity index 52%
rename from check_amount_ladder.sh
rename to check_goa_ladder.sh
index 3bc13ed..410205f 100755
--- a/check_amount_ladder.sh
+++ b/check_goa_ladder.sh
@@ -1,36 +1,27 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
-# check_amount_ladder.sh — generic withdraw/pay amount ladder (any Taler currency)
-#
-# Orchestrator for the modular amount ladder:
-#   Phase A withdraw — this file (classic plan or max-search)
-#   Phase B pay      — ladder/lib_pay.sh (classic list or max payable)
-#   Force-select     — ladder/extract_rpubs.py
-# See ladder/README.md.
+# check_goa_ladder.sh — withdraw/pay amount ladder (GOA + stage TESTPAYSAN)
 #
 # Flow (bank landings):
 #   1) GET /intro/auto-account.json  → personal *account-* (balance 0)
 #   2) Mint pool withdrawals as explorer + confirm when selected
 #   3) wallet-cli accept-uri only (no run-until-done)
 #   4) bank confirm when selected; settle = balance + transfer_done
-#   5) pay via free-amount template (GOA: goa-free) or private orders
 #
-# Modes (LADDER_MODE):
-#   classic  — default 23-rung withdraw + matching pay plan (pins 0, max-1, max)
-#   max      — max-search: highest withdrawable AND highest payable
-#              (pay never exceeds wallet available; GOA uses public free-amount
-#              template goa-free by default)
+# Amounts: random strictly increasing; pins 0, max-1, max.
+# Phase A: withdraw ladder (cumulative wallet). Phase B: pay ladder.
+#
+# Stacks:
+#   GOA  — LADDER_MAX_AMOUNT = libeufin ceiling; explorer from koopa-admin-secrets
+#   TESTPAYSAN stage — auto max_wire from bank /config, min denom from /keys;
+#                      explorer from stagepaysan secrets / SSH
 #
 # Usage:
-#   ./taler-monitoring.sh ladder                 # classic
-#   ./taler-monitoring.sh max-ladder             # LADDER_MODE=max
-#   ./taler-monitoring.sh goa-ladder             # alias of ladder (phase name only)
+#   ./taler-monitoring.sh ladder
 #   ./taler-monitoring.sh -d stage.lefrancpaysan.ch ladder
-#   LADDER_MODE=max LADDER_MAX_PROBES=32 ./taler-monitoring.sh ladder
+#   LADDER_MAX_AMOUNT=100 LADDER_STEPS=7 ./taler-monitoring.sh -d stage.lefrancpaysan.ch ladder
 #
-# Env: LADDER_MODE, LADDER_STEPS, LADDER_MAX_AMOUNT, LADDER_MIN_AMOUNT,
-#   LADDER_MAX_PROBES, LADDER_MAX_TOL_REL, LADDER_HIGH_RUNGS, LADDER_STACK_AUTO,
-#   LADDER_PAY, LADDER_FREE_TEMPLATE, LADDER_FREE_TEMPLATE_INSTANCE,
-#   EXP_PW / EXP_PW_FILE, CLI_JS, MERCHANT_INSTANCE, …
+# Env (see body): LADDER_STEPS, LADDER_MAX_AMOUNT, LADDER_MIN_AMOUNT, LADDER_STACK_AUTO,
+#   LADDER_PAY, EXP_PW / EXP_PW_FILE, CLI_JS, MERCHANT_INSTANCE, …
 set -euo pipefail
 ROOT=$(cd "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd)
 # shellcheck source=lib.sh
@@ -38,7 +29,7 @@ source "$ROOT/lib.sh"
 # When invoked standalone (not via taler-monitoring.sh), still load secrets.env
 load_monitoring_secrets_env 2>/dev/null || true
 
-# Area ladder.* — withdraw/pay amount ladder (any EXPECT_CURRENCY / stack)
+# Area ladder.* — withdraw/pay amount ladder (GOA + TESTPAYSAN)
 # Groups: ladder.plan / ladder.load / ladder.withdraw / ladder.pay / ladder.report
 set_area ladder
 set_group plan
@@ -73,26 +64,8 @@ elapsed_ms() {
 # Public variable template for stage pays (optional; fixed templates used when amount maps)
 : "${LADDER_PAY_TEMPLATE:=}"
 : "${LADDER_PAY_TEMPLATE_INSTANCE:=fermes-des-collines}"
-# Free-amount public template (hacktivism: goa-free on goa-demo-cp4zqk — any GOA amount)
-: "${LADDER_FREE_TEMPLATE:=goa-free}"
-: "${LADDER_FREE_TEMPLATE_INSTANCE:=}"
-# 1 = create pays via public free template POST (amount in body); 0 = private orders only
-: "${LADDER_USE_FREE_TEMPLATE:=1}"
-# classic | max  (max = highest withdrawable + highest payable; phase alias max-ladder)
-: "${LADDER_MODE:=classic}"
-# max-search: probe budget (0 = run until convergence / LADDER_TIMEOUT_S only)
-: "${LADDER_MAX_PROBES:=32}"
-: "${LADDER_MAX_TOL_REL:=0.001}"
-# first N probes = random high (log-uniform); then log-bisect between lo/hi
-: "${LADDER_HIGH_RUNGS:=6}"
-# optional seed for reproducible max-search (empty = time-based)
-: "${LADDER_MAX_SEED:=}"
-# After withdraw, wait for spendable available>0 before pay (secs total; shows countdown)
-: "${LADDER_PAY_WAIT_AVAILABLE_S:=90}"
 
-# Historic libeufin-ish absolute ceiling used as default LADDER_MAX_AMOUNT on GOA
-LADDER_ABS_CEILING="4503599627370496"
-GOA_LADDER_CEILING="${LADDER_ABS_CEILING}"  # back-compat alias
+GOA_LADDER_CEILING="4503599627370496"
 
 # Resolve wallet-cli .mjs (no hardcoded laptop path)
 if [ -z "${CLI_JS}" ] || [ ! -f "${CLI_JS}" ]; then
@@ -157,7 +130,7 @@ print(min(vals) if vals else "")
   [ -n "$min_denom" ] || min_denom="0.01"
 
   # Only rewrite when caller left GOA defaults (explicit LADDER_MAX_AMOUNT=… kept)
-  if [ -n "$max_wire" ] && { [ "${LADDER_MAX_AMOUNT}" = "${GOA_LADDER_CEILING}" ] || [ "${LADDER_MAX_AMOUNT}" = "${LADDER_ABS_CEILING}" ] || [ "${LADDER_MAX_AMOUNT}" = "4503599627370496" ]; }; then
+  if [ -n "$max_wire" ] && { [ "${LADDER_MAX_AMOUNT}" = "${GOA_LADDER_CEILING}" ] || [ "${LADDER_MAX_AMOUNT}" = "4503599627370496" ]; }; then
     LADDER_MAX_AMOUNT="$max_wire"
   fi
   if [ -n "$min_denom" ] && { [ "${LADDER_MIN_AMOUNT}" = "0.000001" ] || [ "${LADDER_MIN_AMOUNT}" = "0.00000001" ]; }; then
@@ -179,21 +152,6 @@ print(min(vals) if vals else "")
   info "ladder stack" "TESTPAYSAN · max=${CUR}:${LADDER_MAX_AMOUNT} min=${CUR}:${LADDER_MIN_AMOUNT} steps=${LADDER_STEPS} (from bank max_wire / keys denoms)"
 }
 apply_ladder_stack_defaults
-
-# Normalize mode (max-ladder phase / aliases)
-case "${LADDER_MODE}" in
-  max|MAX|max-search|maxsearch|find-max|findmax) LADDER_MODE=max ;;
-  classic|CLASSIC|default|plan|"" ) LADDER_MODE=classic ;;
-  *)
-    warn ladder "unknown LADDER_MODE=${LADDER_MODE} — using classic"
-    LADDER_MODE=classic
-    ;;
-esac
-# max mode: withdraw + pay hunts (LADDER_PAY=0 still disables pay entirely)
-: "${LADDER_FREE_TEMPLATE_INSTANCE:=${MERCHANT_INSTANCE}}"
-export LADDER_MODE LADDER_MAX_PROBES LADDER_MAX_TOL_REL LADDER_HIGH_RUNGS LADDER_MAX_SEED LADDER_PAY
-export LADDER_FREE_TEMPLATE LADDER_FREE_TEMPLATE_INSTANCE LADDER_USE_FREE_TEMPLATE LADDER_PAY_WAIT_AVAILABLE_S
-
 SCRATCH=$(mktemp -d)
 WDB="$SCRATCH/wallet.sqlite3"
 REPORT_DIR="${LADDER_REPORT_DIR:-$SCRATCH}"
@@ -213,17 +171,10 @@ ladder_over() {
 }
 
 wcli() {
-  # taler-helper-sqlite3 is Python ≥3.11; prefer Homebrew/local python on macOS
-  # so Apple /usr/bin/python3 3.9 does not FATAL the sqlite backend (no reservePub).
-  local _path="${PATH:-}"
-  case ":${_path}:" in
-    *:/opt/homebrew/bin:*) ;;
-    *) _path="/opt/homebrew/bin:/usr/local/bin:${_path}" ;;
-  esac
   if [ -n "${CLI_JS:-}" ] && [ -f "$CLI_JS" ]; then
-    PATH="$_path" node "$CLI_JS" --wallet-db="$WDB" --no-throttle "$@"
+    node "$CLI_JS" --wallet-db="$WDB" --no-throttle "$@"
   else
-    PATH="$_path" taler-wallet-cli --wallet-db="$WDB" --no-throttle "$@"
+    taler-wallet-cli --wallet-db="$WDB" --no-throttle "$@"
   fi
 }
 
@@ -287,18 +238,10 @@ wallet_avail() {
   wcli balance 2>/dev/null | python3 -c '
 import json,sys
 t=sys.stdin.read()
-dec=json.JSONDecoder()
 i=t.find("{")
 if i<0:
   print("0"); raise SystemExit
-try:
-  d,_=dec.raw_decode(t,i)
-except Exception:
-  # last-resort: brace slice (may fail on trailing logs)
-  try:
-    d=json.loads(t[i:t.rfind("}")+1])
-  except Exception:
-    print("0"); raise SystemExit
+d=json.loads(t[i:t.rfind("}")+1])
 cur=sys.argv[1]
 for b in d.get("balances") or []:
   a=b.get("available") or ""
@@ -308,31 +251,6 @@ print("0")
 ' "$CUR" 2>/dev/null || echo "0"
 }
 
-# pendingIncoming for same currency (same wallet DB as withdraw) — "0" if missing
-wallet_pending_in() {
-  wcli balance 2>/dev/null | python3 -c '
-import json,sys
-t=sys.stdin.read()
-dec=json.JSONDecoder()
-i=t.find("{")
-if i<0:
-  print("0"); raise SystemExit
-try:
-  d,_=dec.raw_decode(t,i)
-except Exception:
-  try:
-    d=json.loads(t[i:t.rfind("}")+1])
-  except Exception:
-    print("0"); raise SystemExit
-cur=sys.argv[1]
-for b in d.get("balances") or []:
-  a=b.get("pendingIncoming") or b.get("pending_incoming") or ""
-  if a.startswith(cur+":"):
-    print(a.split(":",1)[1]); raise SystemExit
-print("0")
-' "$CUR" 2>/dev/null || echo "0"
-}
-
 # Build paired pay + withdraw ladders (same step count, shared random shape).
 # Pay:   [0] + log-uniform mids + [max-1] + [max]
 # Wd:    [0] + max(mid, mid×scale) mids + [max-1] + [max]  (mids higher → enough to spend)
@@ -466,9 +384,6 @@ PY
 
 # shellcheck source=metrics.sh
 source "$ROOT/metrics.sh"
-# Payment module (classic + max-search payable)
-# shellcheck source=ladder/lib_pay.sh
-source "$ROOT/ladder/lib_pay.sh"
 METRICS_DIR="$REPORT_DIR"
 ALT_UNITS_FILE="${REPORT_DIR}/alt_unit_names.json"
 export METRICS_DIR CUR WDB CLI_JS ALT_UNITS_FILE
@@ -478,16 +393,11 @@ if [ "${LADDER_LOAD:-1}" = "0" ]; then
   export METRICS_LOAD
 fi
 
-if [ "${LADDER_MODE}" = "max" ]; then
-  section "ladder · ${CUR} max-search (find highest withdrawable)"
-else
-  section "ladder · ${CUR} classic (0 → random → max · ${LADDER_STEPS} steps)"
-fi
+section "ladder · ${CUR} withdraw (0 → random → max · ${LADDER_STEPS} steps)"
 info "bank" "$BANK"
 info "exchange" "$EX"
 info "currency" "$CUR"
-info "ladder mode" "${LADDER_MODE}"
-# alt_unit_names for human amounts (Kilo-GOA / Mega-GOA / … + base in parentheses)
+# alt_unit_names for human amounts (Kilo-GOA / Mega-GOA / … + GOA in parentheses)
 if metrics_load_alt_units "${EX%/}/config"; then
   info "alt_unit_names" "from ${EX%/}/config → $ALT_UNITS_FILE"
 else
@@ -495,12 +405,8 @@ else
 fi
 info "budget" "${LADDER_TIMEOUT_S}s"
 _max_m1=$(python3 -c 'import sys; from decimal import Decimal; m=Decimal(sys.argv[1]); print(m-1 if m>1 else m)' "${LADDER_MAX_AMOUNT}" 2>/dev/null || echo "${LADDER_MAX_AMOUNT}-1")
-if [ "${LADDER_MODE}" = "max" ]; then
-  info "max-search" "probes≤${LADDER_MAX_PROBES} high_rand=${LADDER_HIGH_RUNGS} tol=${LADDER_MAX_TOL_REL} ceiling=${CUR}:${LADDER_MAX_AMOUNT}"
-else
-  info "steps" "${LADDER_STEPS} (0 + random≥${LADDER_MIN_AMOUNT} + max-1=${CUR}:${_max_m1} + max=${CUR}:${LADDER_MAX_AMOUNT})"
-  info "withdraw_scale" "${LADDER_WITHDRAW_SCALE}× pay mids (fund pay ladder)"
-fi
+info "steps" "${LADDER_STEPS} (0 + random≥${LADDER_MIN_AMOUNT} + max-1=${CUR}:${_max_m1} + max=${CUR}:${LADDER_MAX_AMOUNT})"
+info "withdraw_scale" "${LADDER_WITHDRAW_SCALE}× pay mids (fund pay ladder)"
 info "pay_phase" "$([ "${LADDER_PAY}" = "1" ] && echo enabled || echo disabled)"
 info "currency/domain" "${CUR} · ${TALER_DOMAIN:-?} · bank=${BANK}"
 
@@ -572,39 +478,24 @@ wallet_prepare "main"
 ms_tos=$(elapsed_ms "$t0")
 ok "wallet exchange + ToS (${ms_tos}ms) — cumulative DB for withdraw+pay (no run-until-done)"
 
+build_ladder_pair "$SCRATCH/ladder-wd-plan.txt" "$SCRATCH/ladder-pay-plan.txt"
+LADDER_LIST=$(tr -d '\n' <"$SCRATCH/ladder-wd-plan.txt")
+PAY_LIST=$(tr -d '\n' <"$SCRATCH/ladder-pay-plan.txt")
 : "${LADDER_MAX_RUNGS:=99}"
-if [ "${LADDER_MODE}" = "max" ]; then
-  info "ladder mode" "max-search (highest withdrawable + highest payable ${CUR})"
-  info "max-search params" "probes≤${LADDER_MAX_PROBES} high_rand=${LADDER_HIGH_RUNGS} tol_rel=${LADDER_MAX_TOL_REL} ceiling=${CUR}:${LADDER_MAX_AMOUNT}"
-  info "max-search pay" "LADDER_PAY=${LADDER_PAY} free_template=${LADDER_FREE_TEMPLATE}@${LADDER_FREE_TEMPLATE_INSTANCE:-$INST}"
-  LADDER_LIST=""
-  PAY_LIST=""
-  LADDER_N=0
-  set --
-  printf '%s\n' "# max-search (amounts chosen adaptively)" >"$SCRATCH/ladder-plan.txt"
-  : >"$SCRATCH/ladder-wd-plan.txt"
-  : >"$SCRATCH/ladder-pay-plan.txt"
-else
-  info "ladder mode" "classic (0 → random mids → max-1 → max)"
-  build_ladder_pair "$SCRATCH/ladder-wd-plan.txt" "$SCRATCH/ladder-pay-plan.txt"
-  LADDER_LIST=$(tr -d '\n' <"$SCRATCH/ladder-wd-plan.txt")
-  PAY_LIST=$(tr -d '\n' <"$SCRATCH/ladder-pay-plan.txt")
-  # shellcheck disable=SC2086
-  set -- $LADDER_LIST
-  if [ "$#" -gt "$LADDER_MAX_RUNGS" ]; then
-    # shellcheck disable=SC2046
-    set -- $(printf '%s\n' "$@" | head -n "$LADDER_MAX_RUNGS")
-  fi
-  LADDER_N=$#
-  info "withdraw plan" "$*"
-  info "withdraw plan (alt)" "$(format_amount_list_alt "$@")"
-  info "pay plan" "$PAY_LIST"
-  # shellcheck disable=SC2086
-  info "pay plan (alt)" "$(format_amount_list_alt $PAY_LIST)"
-  printf '%s\n' "$@" >"$SCRATCH/ladder-plan.txt"
-  # shellcheck disable=SC2086
-  printf '%s\n' $PAY_LIST >"$SCRATCH/ladder-pay-plan-lines.txt" 2>/dev/null || true
+# shellcheck disable=SC2086
+set -- $LADDER_LIST
+if [ "$#" -gt "$LADDER_MAX_RUNGS" ]; then
+  # shellcheck disable=SC2046
+  set -- $(printf '%s\n' "$@" | head -n "$LADDER_MAX_RUNGS")
 fi
+LADDER_N=$#
+info "withdraw plan" "$*"
+info "withdraw plan (alt)" "$(format_amount_list_alt "$@")"
+info "pay plan" "$PAY_LIST"
+# shellcheck disable=SC2086
+info "pay plan (alt)" "$(format_amount_list_alt $PAY_LIST)"
+printf '%s\n' "$@" >"$SCRATCH/ladder-plan.txt"
+printf '%s\n' $PAY_LIST >"$SCRATCH/ladder-pay-plan-lines.txt" 2>/dev/null || true
 
 OK_N=0
 FAIL_N_L=0
@@ -612,27 +503,32 @@ PAY_OK_N=0
 PAY_FAIL_N=0
 STOP_REASON=""
 STOP_AMOUNT=""
-MAX_BEST_AMT=""
-MAX_LO="0"
-MAX_HI="${LADDER_MAX_AMOUNT}"
 declare -a RUNG_JSON=()
 
-# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-# One withdraw rung. Caller sets: AMT, range_note, rung.
-# Returns 0 = soft continue (ok/skip/ceiling); 1 = hard stop.
-# Sets: status, AMT_NUM, WID, note, ms_*.
-# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-ladder_withdraw_rung() {
+set_group withdraw
+section "ladder · phase A · withdraw (${LADDER_N} rungs)"
+rung=0
+for AMT in "$@"; do
+  rung=$((rung + 1))
   if ladder_over; then
     STOP_REASON="timeout budget ${LADDER_TIMEOUT_S}s"
     warn ladder "time budget exhausted" \
       "problem: LADDER_TIMEOUT_S=${LADDER_TIMEOUT_S}s reached after ${OK_N} ok rungs; remaining amounts not tried"
-    return 1
+    break
   fi
 
-  # section header is printed by classic/max controller (avoids double banners)
+  section "ladder · rung $rung  $AMT · $(format_amount_alt "$AMT")"
   tag=$(printf '%s' "$AMT" | tr '.:' '__')
-  # range_note set by caller (classic pins / max-search labels)
+  # TSV "range" column: fixed pins at ends, random mids (refined after AMT_NUM)
+  if [ "$rung" -eq 1 ]; then
+    range_note="pin:0"
+  elif [ "$rung" -eq "$LADDER_N" ]; then
+    range_note="pin:max"
+  elif [ "$rung" -eq $((LADDER_N - 1)) ] && [ "$LADDER_N" -ge 3 ]; then
+    range_note="pin:max-1"
+  else
+    range_note="random"
+  fi
   t_rung=$(now_ms)
   ms_mint=0 ms_accept=0 ms_confirm=0 ms_settle=0
   note=""
@@ -680,7 +576,7 @@ ladder_withdraw_rung() {
         "problem: bank will not create a GOA:0 withdrawal (zero amount probe). Ladder continues. detail: $note"
       echo -e "${rung}\t${range_note}\t${AMT}\t${status}\t${ms_mint}\t${ms_accept}\t${ms_confirm}\t${ms_settle}\t${ms_total}\t${WID}\t${note}" >>"$TSV"
       OK_N=$((OK_N + 1))
-      return 0
+      continue
     fi
     # Absolute max is a ceiling probe — bank often returns SQL P0001/5110; do not abort.
     if [ "$IS_MAX_PIN" = "1" ]; then
@@ -689,35 +585,7 @@ ladder_withdraw_rung() {
       warn bank "mint $AMT rejected (ceiling)" \
         "problem: bank rejects absolute LADDER_MAX_AMOUNT (often SQL P0001/5110). max-1 rung is the last expected success. Ladder continues to report. detail: $note"
       echo -e "${rung}\t${range_note}\t${AMT}\t${status}\t${ms_mint}\t${ms_accept}\t${ms_confirm}\t${ms_settle}\t${ms_total}\t${WID}\t${note}" >>"$TSV"
-      return 0
-    fi
-    # max-1 can also hit the same libeufin SQL ceiling (5110/P0001) on live GOA —
-    # treat as soft ceiling when mid rungs already passed; do not block the report.
-    if [ "$IS_MAX_M1_PIN" = "1" ] && echo "$note" | grep -qE '5110|P0001'; then
-      status="CEILING_REJECT"
-      note="max-1 rejected (same ceiling as absolute max): $note"
-      warn bank "mint $AMT rejected (max-1 ceiling)" \
-        "problem: bank rejects max-1 with SQL P0001/5110 (pool ceiling). Mid-rung OK_BANK/OK still count. Ladder continues. detail: $note"
-      echo -e "${rung}\t${range_note}\t${AMT}\t${status}\t${ms_mint}\t${ms_accept}\t${ms_confirm}\t${ms_settle}\t${ms_total}\t${WID}\t${note}" >>"$TSV"
-      return 0
-    fi
-    # max-search: any mint reject is "too high" / ceiling — never hard-stop the hunt
-    if [ "${LADDER_MODE}" = "max" ]; then
-      status="CEILING_REJECT"
-      note="max-search too-high mint: $note"
-      warn bank "mint $AMT rejected (max-search)" \
-        "problem: mint failed while hunting max withdrawable — treat as upper bound. detail: $note"
-      echo -e "${rung}\t${range_note}\t${AMT}\t${status}\t${ms_mint}\t${ms_accept}\t${ms_confirm}\t${ms_settle}\t${ms_total}\t${WID}\t${note}" >>"$TSV"
-      return 0
-    fi
-    # Classic mid/high random rungs: same 5110/P0001 pool ceiling as pins — soft, not FAIL_MINT.
-    if echo "$note" | grep -qE '5110|P0001'; then
-      status="CEILING_REJECT"
-      note="amount above live mint ceiling (5110/P0001): $note"
-      warn bank "mint $AMT rejected (ceiling)" \
-        "problem: bank mint HTTP 500/5110 SQL P0001 on high amount (not only pin:max). Ladder continues; use max-ladder to bound hi. detail: $note"
-      echo -e "${rung}\t${range_note}\t${AMT}\t${status}\t${ms_mint}\t${ms_accept}\t${ms_confirm}\t${ms_settle}\t${ms_total}\t${WID}\t${note}" >>"$TSV"
-      return 0
+      continue
     fi
     err bank "mint $AMT failed" "$note"
     status="FAIL_MINT"
@@ -725,7 +593,7 @@ ladder_withdraw_rung() {
     STOP_AMOUNT="$AMT"
     echo -e "${rung}\t${range_note}\t${AMT}\t${status}\t${ms_mint}\t${ms_accept}\t${ms_confirm}\t${ms_settle}\t${ms_total}\t${WID}\t${note}" >>"$TSV"
     FAIL_N_L=$((FAIL_N_L + 1))
-    return 1
+    break
   fi
   ok "mint $AMT ($WID) ${ms_mint}ms"
 
@@ -755,13 +623,7 @@ ladder_withdraw_rung() {
           "problem: wallet code 7006 — no denominations match this amount (below smallest coin or not combinable). Ladder continues with next rung. detail: $note"
       fi
       echo -e "${rung}\t${range_note}\t${AMT}\t${status}\t${ms_mint}\t${ms_accept}\t${ms_confirm}\t${ms_settle}\t${ms_total}\t${WID}\t${note}" >>"$TSV"
-      return 0
-    fi
-    if [ "${LADDER_MODE}" = "max" ]; then
-      status="SKIP_ACCEPT"
-      warn wallet "accept $AMT skipped (max-search)" "$note"
-      echo -e "${rung}\t${range_note}\t${AMT}\t${status}\t${ms_mint}\t${ms_accept}\t${ms_confirm}\t${ms_settle}\t${ms_total}\t${WID}\t${note}" >>"$TSV"
-      return 0
+      continue
     fi
     err wallet "accept $AMT" "$note"
     status="FAIL_ACCEPT"
@@ -769,7 +631,7 @@ ladder_withdraw_rung() {
     STOP_AMOUNT="$AMT"
     echo -e "${rung}\t${range_note}\t${AMT}\t${status}\t${ms_mint}\t${ms_accept}\t${ms_confirm}\t${ms_settle}\t${ms_total}\t${WID}\t${note}" >>"$TSV"
     FAIL_N_L=$((FAIL_N_L + 1))
-    return 1
+    break
   fi
 
   # Confirm ASAP when bank status is selected. No run-until-done (hangs on macOS/wallet).
@@ -786,20 +648,120 @@ ladder_withdraw_rung() {
   # Collect reserve_pub candidates for *this* withdrawal (WID + amount).
   # Cumulative wallets re-print old reserves in accept/tx dumps — never trust a single "last" blindly.
   # Prints unique pubs one per line, preferred order first.
-  #
-  # Critical: wallet-cli dumps mix log lines + JSON. Never json.loads(rest_of_file) —
-  # trailing "Shutdown requested" lines make that always fail. Use JSONDecoder.raw_decode
-  # and regex on *both* accept and transactions output (reservePub lives in tx, not accept).
   extract_rpubs_for_wid() {
-    # External module — never feed extract via bash heredoc (refactor tools
-    # lives in ladder/extract_rpubs.py).
-    local _ext="$ROOT/ladder/extract_rpubs.py"
-    if [ ! -f "$_ext" ]; then
-      warn bank "force-select extract missing" "problem: $_ext not found"
-      return 0
-    fi
-    python3 "$_ext" "$WID" "$AMT" \
-      "$SCRATCH/accept-$tag.out" "$SCRATCH/tx-$tag.json" "$SCRATCH/used-rpubs.txt"
+    python3 - "$WID" "$AMT" "$SCRATCH/accept-$tag.out" "$SCRATCH/tx-$tag.json" "$SCRATCH/used-rpubs.txt" <<'PY'
+import json, re, sys
+from pathlib import Path
+
+wid = sys.argv[1]
+amt = sys.argv[2]
+paths = sys.argv[3:5]
+used_path = sys.argv[5]
+used = set()
+if Path(used_path).is_file():
+    used = {ln.strip() for ln in open(used_path) if ln.strip()}
+
+def walk_collect(o, bag, ctx=None):
+    ctx = dict(ctx or {})
+    if isinstance(o, dict):
+        for k, v in o.items():
+            kl = str(k).lower()
+            if kl in ("withdrawal_id", "withdraw_id", "wopid", "id") and isinstance(v, str):
+                ctx["id"] = v
+            if kl in ("amount", "rawamount", "instructedamount") and isinstance(v, str):
+                ctx["amount"] = v
+            if kl in ("taler_withdraw_uri", "talerwithdrawuri", "uri") and isinstance(v, str):
+                ctx["uri"] = v
+            if kl in ("reserve_pub", "reservepub") and isinstance(v, str) and len(v) >= 40:
+                bag.append((v, dict(ctx)))
+            walk_collect(v, bag, ctx)
+    elif isinstance(o, list):
+        for i in o:
+            walk_collect(i, bag, ctx)
+
+raw_pubs = []  # ordered as found
+scored = []    # (score, pub) higher better
+blob_all = ""
+for p in paths:
+    try:
+        blob_all += open(p, errors="replace").read() + "\n"
+    except Exception:
+        pass
+
+# 1) full JSON objects in files
+for p in paths:
+    try:
+        t = open(p, errors="replace").read()
+    except Exception:
+        continue
+    # whole-file JSON
+    for m in re.finditer(r"\{", t):
+        try:
+            o = json.loads(t[m.start():])
+        except Exception:
+            continue
+        bag = []
+        walk_collect(o, bag)
+        for pub, ctx in bag:
+            raw_pubs.append(pub)
+            score = 0
+            cid = str(ctx.get("id") or "")
+            camt = str(ctx.get("amount") or "")
+            curi = str(ctx.get("uri") or "")
+            if wid and wid in cid:
+                score += 100
+            if wid and wid in curi:
+                score += 80
+            if amt and (camt == amt or camt.endswith(amt.split(":", 1)[-1])):
+                score += 40
+            if pub in used:
+                score -= 200
+            scored.append((score, pub))
+
+# 2) regex fallback on accept file only (more current)
+try:
+    acc = open(paths[0], errors="replace").read()
+except Exception:
+    acc = ""
+for pat in (
+    r"\"reserve_pub\"\s*:\s*\"([A-Z0-9]{40,})\"",
+    r"\"reservePub\"\s*:\s*\"([A-Z0-9]{40,})\"",
+    r"reserve_pub[\"\s:=]+([A-Z0-9]{40,})",
+):
+    for m in re.finditer(pat, acc, re.I):
+        pub = m.group(1)
+        raw_pubs.append(pub)
+        score = 10
+        # proximity to WID in accept output
+        window = acc[max(0, m.start() - 400) : m.end() + 400]
+        if wid and wid in window:
+            score += 100
+        if amt and amt in window:
+            score += 30
+        if pub in used:
+            score -= 200
+        scored.append((score, pub))
+
+# prefer high score, then later occurrence
+order = []
+seen = set()
+for score, pub in sorted(scored, key=lambda x: (-x[0],), reverse=False):
+    # sort by score desc: use reverse sorted
+    pass
+for score, pub in sorted(scored, key=lambda x: x[0], reverse=True):
+    if pub in seen or pub in used:
+        continue
+    seen.add(pub)
+    order.append(pub)
+# append unused raw in reverse (newest-ish)
+for pub in reversed(raw_pubs):
+    if pub in seen or pub in used:
+        continue
+    seen.add(pub)
+    order.append(pub)
+for pub in order:
+    print(pub)
+PY
   }
 
   mark_rpub_used() {
@@ -906,7 +868,7 @@ else:
       "problem: bank status='${st:-empty}' after ${LADDER_CONFIRM_POLLS} polls (want selected/confirmed). Usually reserve_pub mismatch (5114), not out-of-money — mint/accept already OK. detail: $note"
     ms_total=$(elapsed_ms "$t_rung")
     echo -e "${rung}\t${range_note}\t${AMT}\t${status}\t${ms_mint}\t${ms_accept}\t${ms_confirm}\t${ms_settle}\t${ms_total}\t${WID}\t${note}" >>"$TSV"
-    return 0
+    continue
   fi
   ok "confirm $AMT ${ms_confirm}ms (client, on selected)"
 
@@ -965,13 +927,6 @@ sys.exit(0 if Decimal(sys.argv[1]) > Decimal(sys.argv[2]) else 1)
     metrics_record_flow withdrawn "$AMT" || true
   else
     note="no coins / no transfer_done avail=${after} $xfer"
-    if [ "${LADDER_MODE}" = "max" ]; then
-      status="SKIP_SETTLE"
-      warn wallet "settle $AMT skipped (max-search)" \
-        "problem: bank confirm ok but settle inconclusive — do not move max bounds. detail: $note"
-      echo -e "${rung}\t${range_note}\t${AMT}\t${status}\t${ms_mint}\t${ms_accept}\t${ms_confirm}\t${ms_settle}\t${ms_total}\t${WID}\t${note}" >>"$TSV"
-      return 0
-    fi
     err wallet "settle $AMT" "$note"
     status="FAIL_SETTLE"
     STOP_REASON="$note"
@@ -979,235 +934,272 @@ sys.exit(0 if Decimal(sys.argv[1]) > Decimal(sys.argv[2]) else 1)
     FAIL_N_L=$((FAIL_N_L + 1))
     echo -e "${rung}\t${range_note}\t${AMT}\t${status}\t${ms_mint}\t${ms_accept}\t${ms_confirm}\t${ms_settle}\t${ms_total}\t${WID}\t${note}" >>"$TSV"
     metrics_report_coins "ladder-r${rung}-fail-${tag}" || true
-    return 1
+    break
   fi
-  return 0
-}
-
-set_group withdraw
-
-# --- next amount for max-search (prints: AMT_NUM|range_note|action) ---
-# action: probe | done
-max_search_next() {
-  python3 - "$CUR" "$MAX_LO" "$MAX_HI" "$LADDER_MIN_AMOUNT" \
-    "$LADDER_MAX_TOL_REL" "$rung" "$LADDER_HIGH_RUNGS" "$LADDER_MAX_SEED" \
-    "${MAX_BEST_OK:-}" <<'PY'
-import math, random, sys
-from decimal import Decimal, ROUND_HALF_UP, ROUND_UP
-
-cur = sys.argv[1]
-lo = Decimal(sys.argv[2] or "0")
-hi = Decimal(sys.argv[3])
-min_amt = Decimal(sys.argv[4])
-tol = Decimal(sys.argv[5] or "0.001")
-probe_i = int(sys.argv[6])
-high_n = max(1, int(sys.argv[7] or "4"))
-seed = sys.argv[8].strip()
-best = sys.argv[9].strip()
-
-if seed:
-    random.seed(int(seed) + probe_i)
-else:
-    random.seed()
-
-if min_amt <= 0:
-    min_amt = Decimal("0.000001")
-if hi <= min_amt:
-    print("0|max:done|done")
-    raise SystemExit(0)
-
-if lo > 0 and hi > lo:
-    gap = (hi - lo) / hi
-    abs_step = Decimal(1) if hi >= 1 else min_amt
-    if gap <= tol or (hi - lo) <= abs_step:
-        print("%s|max:done|done" % (best or str(lo)))
-        raise SystemExit(0)
-
-def fmt(v: Decimal) -> str:
-    if v >= 1:
-        q = v.quantize(Decimal(1), rounding=ROUND_HALF_UP)
-        return format(int(q), "d")
-    q = v.quantize(Decimal("0.00000001"), rounding=ROUND_UP)
-    s = format(q, "f").rstrip("0").rstrip(".")
-    return s or "0"
-
-def clamp(v: Decimal):
-    if v <= lo and lo > 0:
-        v = lo + (Decimal(1) if lo >= 1 else min_amt)
-    if v >= hi:
-        v = hi - (Decimal(1) if hi > 1 else min_amt)
-    if v < min_amt:
-        v = min_amt
-    if v <= 0:
-        v = min_amt
-    if v >= hi:
-        return None
-    return v
-
-if probe_i < high_n:
-    band_lo = max(lo if lo > 0 else min_amt, hi * Decimal("0.15"))
-    band_hi = hi * Decimal("0.999")
-    if band_hi <= band_lo:
-        band_lo = max(min_amt, hi * Decimal("0.5"))
-        band_hi = hi * Decimal("0.99")
-    flo, fhi = float(band_lo), float(band_hi)
-    if flo <= 0:
-        flo = float(min_amt)
-    if fhi <= flo:
-        fhi = flo * 2
-    v = Decimal(str(math.exp(random.uniform(math.log(flo), math.log(fhi)))))
-    v = clamp(v)
-    if v is None:
-        print("%s|max:done|done" % (best or str(lo)))
-        raise SystemExit(0)
-    print("%s|max:high-rand|probe" % fmt(v))
-    raise SystemExit(0)
-
-if lo <= 0:
-    flo = float(max(min_amt, hi * Decimal("0.05")))
-    fhi = float(hi * Decimal("0.85"))
-    if fhi <= flo:
-        fhi = flo * 1.5
-    v = Decimal(str(math.exp(random.uniform(math.log(flo), math.log(fhi)))))
-    label = "max:descent"
-else:
-    v = (lo * hi).sqrt()
-    label = "max:bisect"
-v = clamp(v)
-if v is None:
-    print("%s|max:done|done" % (best or str(lo)))
-    raise SystemExit(0)
-print("%s|%s|probe" % (fmt(v), label))
-PY
-}
-
-if [ "${LADDER_MODE}" = "max" ]; then
-  section "ladder · phase A · max-search (find highest withdrawable ${CUR})"
-  info "max-search" "ceiling=${CUR}:${LADDER_MAX_AMOUNT} min=${CUR}:${LADDER_MIN_AMOUNT} probes≤${LADDER_MAX_PROBES} high_rand=${LADDER_HIGH_RUNGS} tol_rel=${LADDER_MAX_TOL_REL}"
-  info "max-search" "pay phase $([ "${LADDER_PAY}" = "1" ] && echo enabled || echo disabled)"
-  MAX_LO="0"
-  MAX_HI="${LADDER_MAX_AMOUNT}"
-  MAX_BEST_OK=""
-  MAX_BEST_AMT=""
-  rung=0
-  # LADDER_MAX_PROBES=0 → no probe cap (stop on converge / timeout only)
-  while [ "${LADDER_MAX_PROBES}" = "0" ] || [ "$rung" -lt "${LADDER_MAX_PROBES}" ]; do
-    if ladder_over; then
-      STOP_REASON="timeout budget ${LADDER_TIMEOUT_S}s"
-      warn ladder "time budget exhausted" \
-        "problem: LADDER_TIMEOUT_S=${LADDER_TIMEOUT_S}s during max-search after ${OK_N} ok; best=${MAX_BEST_AMT:-none} · $(format_amount_alt "${MAX_BEST_AMT:-${CUR}:0}")"
-      break
-    fi
-    _next=$(max_search_next)
-    _anum=$(printf '%s' "$_next" | cut -d'|' -f1)
-    range_note=$(printf '%s' "$_next" | cut -d'|' -f2)
-    _act=$(printf '%s' "$_next" | cut -d'|' -f3)
-    if [ "$_act" = "done" ]; then
-      info "max-search" "converged best=$(format_amount_alt "${MAX_BEST_AMT:-${CUR}:0}") · lo=$(format_amount_alt "${CUR}:${MAX_LO}") · hi=$(format_amount_alt "${CUR}:${MAX_HI}") · probes=${rung}"
-      break
-    fi
-    AMT="${CUR}:${_anum}"
-    if [ -n "${_LAST_MAX_AMT:-}" ] && [ "$AMT" = "$_LAST_MAX_AMT" ]; then
-      info "max-search" "repeat amount $(format_amount_alt "$AMT") — tightening hi"
-      MAX_HI=$(python3 -c 'from decimal import Decimal; a=Decimal("'"${_anum}"'"); print(a-(1 if a>=1 else Decimal("'"${LADDER_MIN_AMOUNT}"'")))')
-      continue
-    fi
-    _LAST_MAX_AMT="$AMT"
-    rung=$((rung + 1))
-    section "ladder · max probe $rung  $AMT · $(format_amount_alt "$AMT")  [lo=$(format_amount_alt "${CUR}:${MAX_LO}") · hi=$(format_amount_alt "${CUR}:${MAX_HI}")]"
-    status="FAIL"
-    if ! ladder_withdraw_rung; then
-      break
-    fi
-    AMT_NUM=$(python3 -c 'import sys; print(sys.argv[1].split(":",1)[-1])' "$AMT")
-    case "$status" in
-      OK|OK_BANK)
-        MAX_LO="$AMT_NUM"
-        MAX_BEST_OK="$AMT_NUM"
-        MAX_BEST_AMT="$AMT"
-        info "max-search" "success bound lo=$(format_amount_alt "${CUR}:${MAX_LO}") (best so far)"
-        ;;
-      CEILING_REJECT|FAIL_MINT)
-        MAX_HI=$(python3 -c '
-from decimal import Decimal
-a=Decimal("'"$AMT_NUM"'"); h=Decimal("'"$MAX_HI"'")
-print(min(a,h))
-')
-        info "max-search" "too-high hi:=$(format_amount_alt "${CUR}:${MAX_HI}")"
-        ;;
-      SKIP_DENOM|ZERO_SKIP|ZERO_REJECT)
-        info "max-search" "denom-skip $(format_amount_alt "$AMT") (bounds unchanged)"
-        ;;
-      SKIP_CONFIRM|SKIP_SETTLE|SKIP_ACCEPT)
-        info "max-search" "inconclusive $status $(format_amount_alt "$AMT") (bounds unchanged)"
-        ;;
-      *)
-        info "max-search" "status=$status $(format_amount_alt "$AMT") (bounds unchanged)"
-        ;;
-    esac
-    if python3 -c 'from decimal import Decimal; import sys; sys.exit(0 if Decimal(sys.argv[1])>0 and Decimal(sys.argv[2])<=Decimal(sys.argv[1]) else 1)' "$MAX_LO" "$MAX_HI" 2>/dev/null; then
-      info "max-search" "bounds crossed lo=$(format_amount_alt "${CUR}:${MAX_LO}") · hi=$(format_amount_alt "${CUR}:${MAX_HI}") — stop"
-      break
-    fi
-  done
-  if [ -n "${MAX_BEST_AMT:-}" ]; then
-    ok "max-search best withdrawable $(format_amount_alt "$MAX_BEST_AMT") · lo=$(format_amount_alt "${CUR}:${MAX_LO}") · hi=$(format_amount_alt "${CUR}:${MAX_HI}") · probes=${rung}"
-  else
-    warn ladder "max-search no successful withdraw" \
-      "problem: no OK/OK_BANK within ${rung} probes; hi=$(format_amount_alt "${CUR}:${MAX_HI}")"
-  fi
-  {
-    echo "# max-search mode (withdraw)"
-    echo "best_wd=${MAX_BEST_AMT:-}"
-    echo "best_wd_alt=$(format_amount_alt "${MAX_BEST_AMT:-${CUR}:0}")"
-    echo "lo=${MAX_LO}"
-    echo "lo_alt=$(format_amount_alt "${CUR}:${MAX_LO}")"
-    echo "hi=${MAX_HI}"
-    echo "hi_alt=$(format_amount_alt "${CUR}:${MAX_HI}")"
-    echo "probes=${rung}"
-  } >"$SCRATCH/ladder-plan.txt"
-  printf '%s\n' "${MAX_BEST_AMT:-${CUR}:0}" >"$SCRATCH/ladder-wd-plan.txt"
-  : >"$SCRATCH/ladder-pay-plan.txt"
-  # pay phase uses max-search (not classic PAY_LIST)
-  PAY_LIST=""
-else
-  section "ladder · phase A · withdraw (${LADDER_N} rungs)"
-  rung=0
-  for AMT in "$@"; do
-    rung=$((rung + 1))
-    if ladder_over; then
-      STOP_REASON="timeout budget ${LADDER_TIMEOUT_S}s"
-      warn ladder "time budget exhausted" \
-        "problem: LADDER_TIMEOUT_S=${LADDER_TIMEOUT_S}s reached after ${OK_N} ok rungs; remaining amounts not tried"
-      break
-    fi
-    if [ "$rung" -eq 1 ]; then
-      range_note="pin:0"
-    elif [ "$rung" -eq "$LADDER_N" ]; then
-      range_note="pin:max"
-    elif [ "$rung" -eq $((LADDER_N - 1)) ] && [ "$LADDER_N" -ge 3 ]; then
-      range_note="pin:max-1"
-    else
-      range_note="random"
-    fi
-    section "ladder · rung $rung  $AMT · $(format_amount_alt "$AMT")"
-    if ! ladder_withdraw_rung; then
-      break
-    fi
-  done
-fi
-
+done
 
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-# Phase B — payment (ladder/lib_pay.sh)
-#   classic: planned pay list · max: highest payable ≤ available (goa-free)
+# Phase B — payment ladder (same shape: 0 → low → … → max-1 → max)
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 PAY_OK_N=0
 PAY_FAIL_N=0
-MAX_PAY_BEST_AMT=""
-MAX_PAY_LO="0"
-MAX_PAY_HI="0"
-ladder_run_pay_phase
+if [ "${LADDER_PAY}" = "1" ] && [ -n "${PAY_LIST:-}" ] && [ "$FAIL_N_L" -eq 0 ]; then
+  set_group pay
+  section "ladder · phase B · pay"
+  metrics_report_coins "before-pay-ladder" || true
+  # Merchant secret (same as e2e) — stage often has only public shop templates
+  MPW="${E2E_MERCHANT_TOKEN:-${MERCHANT_TOKEN:-}}"
+  if [ -z "$MPW" ]; then
+    MPW=$(read_secret "taler-merchant/merchant-${INST}-password.txt" 2>/dev/null || true)
+  fi
+  if [ -z "$MPW" ]; then
+    MPW=$(read_secret "taler-merchant/merchant-goa-demo-cp4zqk-password.txt" 2>/dev/null || true)
+  fi
+  if [ -z "$MPW" ] && [ "${CUR}" = "TESTPAYSAN" ]; then
+    if [ -n "${FRANCPAYSAN_SECRETS:-}" ] && [ -f "${FRANCPAYSAN_SECRETS}/stage/default-instance-token.txt" ]; then
+      MPW=$(tr -d '\n\r' <"${FRANCPAYSAN_SECRETS}/stage/default-instance-token.txt")
+    fi
+    if [ -z "$MPW" ]; then
+      _remote_mer="${FRANCPAYSAN_REMOTE_MERCHANT_TOKEN:-}"
+      [ -z "$_remote_mer" ] && [ -n "${FRANCPAYSAN_REMOTE_SECRETS_ROOT:-}" ] && \
+        _remote_mer="${FRANCPAYSAN_REMOTE_SECRETS_ROOT}/merchant/secrets/default-instance-token.txt"
+      for host in ${INSIDE_SSH:+"$INSIDE_SSH"} ${FRANCPAYSAN_SSH:+"$FRANCPAYSAN_SSH"}; do
+        [ -n "$host" ] && [ -n "$_remote_mer" ] || continue
+        MPW=$(ssh -o BatchMode=yes -o ConnectTimeout=12 "$host" \
+          "tr -d '\\n\\r' <${_remote_mer} 2>/dev/null || true" \
+          2>/dev/null || true)
+        [ -n "$MPW" ] && break
+      done
+      unset _remote_mer
+    fi
+  fi
+  if [ -z "$MPW" ]; then
+    if [ "${CUR}" = "TESTPAYSAN" ]; then
+      # Stage: withdraw ladder is the main probe; pays need instance token or
+      # public templates for *exact* face values (not continuous ladder amounts).
+      info pay "no merchant token — skip pay ladder on TESTPAYSAN (withdraw maxima still covered)"
+      info pay "hint: set E2E_MERCHANT_TOKEN or use ./taler-monitoring.sh -d stage.lefrancpaysan.ch e2e for shop templates"
+    else
+      warn pay "no merchant token — skip pay ladder (set E2E_MERCHANT_TOKEN or secrets)"
+    fi
+  else
+    ok "merchant token" "instance ${INST}"
+    case "$MPW" in
+      secret-token:*) AUTH="Authorization: Bearer ${MPW}" ;;
+      *) AUTH="Authorization: Bearer secret-token:${MPW}" ;;
+    esac
+    wallet_prepare "main"
+    # shellcheck disable=SC2086
+    set -- $PAY_LIST
+    PAY_N=$#
+    info "pay rungs" "$PAY_N · $*"
+    prung=0
+    for PAMT in "$@"; do
+      prung=$((prung + 1))
+      if ladder_over; then
+        warn pay "time budget exhausted" "after ${PAY_OK_N} ok pays"
+        break
+      fi
+      section "ladder · pay rung $prung  $PAMT · $(format_amount_alt "$PAMT")"
+      ptag=$(printf '%s' "$PAMT" | tr '.:' '__')
+      if [ "$prung" -eq 1 ]; then
+        prange="pin:0"
+      elif [ "$prung" -eq "$PAY_N" ]; then
+        prange="pin:max"
+      elif [ "$prung" -eq $((PAY_N - 1)) ] && [ "$PAY_N" -ge 3 ]; then
+        prange="pin:max-1"
+      else
+        prange="random"
+      fi
+      PNUM=$(python3 -c 'import sys; print(sys.argv[1].split(":",1)[-1])' "$PAMT")
+      IS_PZERO=0
+      python3 -c 'import sys; from decimal import Decimal; sys.exit(0 if Decimal(sys.argv[1])==0 else 1)' "$PNUM" 2>/dev/null && IS_PZERO=1
+      IS_PMAX=0
+      [ "$PNUM" = "${LADDER_MAX_AMOUNT}" ] && IS_PMAX=1
+      t_pay=$(now_ms)
+      ms_order=0 ms_handle=0 ms_psettle=0
+      pnote=""
+      pstatus="FAIL"
+      OID="-"
+
+      metrics_report_coins "before-pay-${ptag}" || true
+      bal=$(wallet_avail)
+
+      if [ "$IS_PZERO" = "1" ]; then
+        pstatus="ZERO_SKIP"
+        pnote="zero pay probe skipped"
+        warn pay "pay $PAMT skipped" "problem: zero amount order not useful. Ladder continues."
+        ms_total=$(elapsed_ms "$t_pay")
+        echo -e "${prung}\t${prange}\t${PAMT}\t${pstatus}\t${ms_order}\t${ms_handle}\t${ms_psettle}\t${ms_total}\t${OID}\t${pnote}" >>"$PAY_TSV"
+        PAY_OK_N=$((PAY_OK_N + 1))
+        continue
+      fi
+
+      # Soft: absolute max pay is a ceiling probe (unlikely affordable / merchant may reject)
+      if [ "$IS_PMAX" = "1" ]; then
+        # try once; on fail CEILING_REJECT
+        :
+      fi
+
+      # Insufficient balance → soft skip for max pin only; hard fail for mid/max-1
+      if ! python3 -c 'import sys; from decimal import Decimal; sys.exit(0 if Decimal(sys.argv[1])>=Decimal(sys.argv[2]) else 1)' "$bal" "$PNUM" 2>/dev/null; then
+        pnote="insufficient balance avail=${CUR}:${bal} need=${PAMT}"
+        ms_total=$(elapsed_ms "$t_pay")
+        if [ "$IS_PMAX" = "1" ]; then
+          pstatus="CEILING_SKIP"
+          warn pay "pay $PAMT skipped (ceiling)" "$pnote"
+          echo -e "${prung}\t${prange}\t${PAMT}\t${pstatus}\t0\t0\t0\t${ms_total}\t-\t${pnote}" >>"$PAY_TSV"
+          continue
+        fi
+        err pay "pay $PAMT" "$pnote"
+        pstatus="FAIL_BALANCE"
+        PAY_FAIL_N=$((PAY_FAIL_N + 1))
+        FAIL_N_L=$((FAIL_N_L + 1))
+        STOP_REASON="$pnote"
+        STOP_AMOUNT="$PAMT"
+        echo -e "${prung}\t${prange}\t${PAMT}\t${pstatus}\t0\t0\t0\t${ms_total}\t-\t${pnote}" >>"$PAY_TSV"
+        break
+      fi
+
+      t0=$(now_ms)
+      SUM_JSON=$(python3 -c 'import json,sys; print(json.dumps(sys.argv[1]))' "ladder pay ${PAMT}" 2>/dev/null || echo '"ladder pay"')
+      curl -skS -m 20 -o "$SCRATCH/ord-$ptag.json" -X POST \
+        -H "$AUTH" -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
+        -d "{\"order\":{\"summary\":${SUM_JSON},\"amount\":\"${PAMT}\",\"fulfillment_message\":\"ok\"},\"create_token\":true}" \
+        "${MER}/instances/${INST}/private/orders" 2>"$SCRATCH/ord-$ptag.err" || true
+      ms_order=$(elapsed_ms "$t0")
+      OID=$(python3 -c 'import json,re,sys;t=open(sys.argv[1]).read()
+try: print(json.loads(t).get("order_id") or "")
+except Exception:
+ m=re.search(r"\"order_id\"\s*:\s*\"([^\"]+)\"",t); print(m.group(1) if m else "")
+' "$SCRATCH/ord-$ptag.json" 2>/dev/null || true)
+      OTOK=$(python3 -c 'import json,re,sys;t=open(sys.argv[1]).read()
+try: print(json.loads(t).get("token") or "")
+except Exception:
+ m=re.search(r"\"token\"\s*:\s*\"([^\"]+)\"",t); print(m.group(1) if m else "")
+' "$SCRATCH/ord-$ptag.json" 2>/dev/null || true)
+      if [ -z "$OID" ]; then
+        pnote="order create failed $(head -c 80 "$SCRATCH/ord-$ptag.json" 2>/dev/null | tr '\n\"' '  ')"
+        ms_total=$(elapsed_ms "$t_pay")
+        if [ "$IS_PMAX" = "1" ]; then
+          pstatus="CEILING_REJECT"
+          warn pay "pay $PAMT rejected (ceiling)" "$pnote"
+          echo -e "${prung}\t${prange}\t${PAMT}\t${pstatus}\t${ms_order}\t0\t0\t${ms_total}\t-\t${pnote}" >>"$PAY_TSV"
+          continue
+        fi
+        err pay "order $PAMT" "$pnote"
+        pstatus="FAIL_ORDER"
+        PAY_FAIL_N=$((PAY_FAIL_N + 1))
+        FAIL_N_L=$((FAIL_N_L + 1))
+        STOP_REASON="$pnote"
+        STOP_AMOUNT="$PAMT"
+        echo -e "${prung}\t${prange}\t${PAMT}\t${pstatus}\t${ms_order}\t0\t0\t${ms_total}\t-\t${pnote}" >>"$PAY_TSV"
+        break
+      fi
+      ok "order $OID ($PAMT) ${ms_order}ms"
+
+      curl -skS -m 12 -o "$SCRATCH/ord-det-$ptag.json" -H "$AUTH" \
+        "${MER}/instances/${INST}/private/orders/${OID}" 2>/dev/null || true
+      PAYURI=$(python3 -c 'import json,sys
+try: print(json.load(open(sys.argv[1])).get("taler_pay_uri") or "")
+except Exception: print("")
+' "$SCRATCH/ord-det-$ptag.json" 2>/dev/null || true)
+      if [ -z "$PAYURI" ] && [ -n "$OTOK" ]; then
+        MH=$(python3 -c 'from urllib.parse import urlparse; print(urlparse("'"$MER"'").hostname or "taler.hacktivism.ch")' 2>/dev/null || echo "taler.hacktivism.ch")
+        PAYURI="taler://pay/${MH}/instances/${INST}/${OID}/?c=${OTOK}"
+      fi
+      PAYURI=$(printf '%s' "$PAYURI" | sed 's/:443\//\//g; s/:443?/?/g')
+      if [ -z "$PAYURI" ]; then
+        pnote="no pay URI for $OID"
+        ms_total=$(elapsed_ms "$t_pay")
+        err pay "uri $PAMT" "$pnote"
+        pstatus="FAIL_URI"
+        PAY_FAIL_N=$((PAY_FAIL_N + 1))
+        FAIL_N_L=$((FAIL_N_L + 1))
+        STOP_REASON="$pnote"
+        STOP_AMOUNT="$PAMT"
+        echo -e "${prung}\t${prange}\t${PAMT}\t${pstatus}\t${ms_order}\t0\t0\t${ms_total}\t${OID}\t${pnote}" >>"$PAY_TSV"
+        break
+      fi
+
+      t0=$(now_ms)
+      if ! wcli handle-uri --yes "$PAYURI" >"$SCRATCH/pay-$ptag.out" 2>&1; then
+        ms_handle=$(elapsed_ms "$t0")
+        pnote="handle-uri failed $(tail -c 100 "$SCRATCH/pay-$ptag.out" | tr '\n\"' '  ')"
+        ms_total=$(elapsed_ms "$t_pay")
+        if [ "$IS_PMAX" = "1" ]; then
+          pstatus="CEILING_REJECT"
+          warn pay "pay $PAMT handle failed (ceiling)" "$pnote"
+          echo -e "${prung}\t${prange}\t${PAMT}\t${pstatus}\t${ms_order}\t${ms_handle}\t0\t${ms_total}\t${OID}\t${pnote}" >>"$PAY_TSV"
+          continue
+        fi
+        err pay "handle $PAMT" "$pnote"
+        pstatus="FAIL_HANDLE"
+        PAY_FAIL_N=$((PAY_FAIL_N + 1))
+        FAIL_N_L=$((FAIL_N_L + 1))
+        STOP_REASON="$pnote"
+        STOP_AMOUNT="$PAMT"
+        echo -e "${prung}\t${prange}\t${PAMT}\t${pstatus}\t${ms_order}\t${ms_handle}\t0\t${ms_total}\t${OID}\t${pnote}" >>"$PAY_TSV"
+        break
+      fi
+      ms_handle=$(elapsed_ms "$t0")
+      ok "handle-uri $PAMT ${ms_handle}ms"
+
+      # Short settle polls: merchant order + wallet tx only — never run-until-done
+      t0=$(now_ms)
+      settled=0
+      r=0
+      while [ "$r" -lt "${LADDER_PAY_SETTLE_ROUNDS}" ]; do
+        r=$((r + 1))
+        wcli transactions >"$SCRATCH/tx-$ptag.out" 2>&1 || true
+        curl -skS -m 8 -o "$SCRATCH/ord-paid-$ptag.json" -H "$AUTH" \
+          "${MER}/instances/${INST}/private/orders/${OID}" 2>/dev/null || true
+        if grep -qiE 'payment|paid|Payment' "$SCRATCH/tx-$ptag.out" 2>/dev/null \
+          || python3 -c 'import json,sys
+d=json.load(open(sys.argv[1]))
+sys.exit(0 if d.get("paid") is True or str(d.get("order_status","")).lower()=="paid" else 1)
+' "$SCRATCH/ord-paid-$ptag.json" 2>/dev/null; then
+          settled=1
+          break
+        fi
+        sleep 0.5
+      done
+      ms_psettle=$(elapsed_ms "$t0")
+      ms_total=$(elapsed_ms "$t_pay")
+      after=$(wallet_avail)
+      if [ "$settled" = "1" ]; then
+        pstatus="OK"
+        pnote="avail=${CUR}:${after}"
+        ok "pay settled $PAMT → bal ${CUR}:${after} (total ${ms_total}ms)"
+        PAY_OK_N=$((PAY_OK_N + 1))
+        echo -e "${prung}\t${prange}\t${PAMT}\t${pstatus}\t${ms_order}\t${ms_handle}\t${ms_psettle}\t${ms_total}\t${OID}\t${pnote}" >>"$PAY_TSV"
+        metrics_report_coins "after-pay-${ptag}" || true
+        metrics_record_flow spent "$PAMT" || true
+      else
+        pnote="not settled order=$OID avail=${CUR}:${after}"
+        if [ "$IS_PMAX" = "1" ]; then
+          pstatus="CEILING_REJECT"
+          warn pay "pay $PAMT not settled (ceiling)" "$pnote"
+          echo -e "${prung}\t${prange}\t${PAMT}\t${pstatus}\t${ms_order}\t${ms_handle}\t${ms_psettle}\t${ms_total}\t${OID}\t${pnote}" >>"$PAY_TSV"
+          continue
+        fi
+        err pay "settle $PAMT" "$pnote"
+        pstatus="FAIL_SETTLE"
+        PAY_FAIL_N=$((PAY_FAIL_N + 1))
+        FAIL_N_L=$((FAIL_N_L + 1))
+        STOP_REASON="$pnote"
+        STOP_AMOUNT="$PAMT"
+        echo -e "${prung}\t${prange}\t${PAMT}\t${pstatus}\t${ms_order}\t${ms_handle}\t${ms_psettle}\t${ms_total}\t${OID}\t${pnote}" >>"$PAY_TSV"
+        metrics_report_coins "after-pay-fail-${ptag}" || true
+        break
+      fi
+    done
+    metrics_report_coins "after-pay-ladder" || true
+    info "pay summary" "ok=$PAY_OK_N fail=$PAY_FAIL_N tsv=$PAY_TSV"
+  fi
+elif [ "${LADDER_PAY}" = "1" ] && [ "$FAIL_N_L" -gt 0 ]; then
+  warn pay "skipped pay ladder" "withdraw phase already failed"
+fi
 
 ms_phase=$(python3 -c 'import sys,time; print(int((time.time()-float(sys.argv[1]))*1000))' "$SECTION_T0")
 
@@ -1227,264 +1219,92 @@ info "pay_tsv" "$PAY_TSV"
 # used to break shell argv quoting → "syntax error near unexpected token '('")
 export LADDER_REPORT_STOP_AMOUNT="${STOP_AMOUNT:-}"
 export LADDER_REPORT_STOP_REASON="${STOP_REASON:-}"
-export LADDER_REPORT_MODE="${LADDER_MODE:-classic}"
-export LADDER_REPORT_MAX_BEST="${MAX_BEST_AMT:-}"
-export LADDER_REPORT_MAX_PAY_BEST="${MAX_PAY_BEST_AMT:-}"
-export LADDER_REPORT_MAX_PAY_LO="${MAX_PAY_LO:-}"
-export LADDER_REPORT_MAX_PAY_HI="${MAX_PAY_HI:-}"
-export LADDER_REPORT_MAX_PAY_BEST_ALT="$(format_amount_alt "${MAX_PAY_BEST_AMT:-${CUR}:0}" 2>/dev/null || true)"
-export LADDER_REPORT_MAX_LO="${MAX_LO:-}"
-export LADDER_REPORT_MAX_HI="${MAX_HI:-}"
-# Human alt_unit_names (e.g. 8.15 Tera-GOA (GOA:…)) for report + final lines
-export LADDER_REPORT_MAX_BEST_ALT="$(format_amount_alt "${MAX_BEST_AMT:-${CUR}:0}" 2>/dev/null || true)"
-export LADDER_REPORT_MAX_LO_ALT="$(format_amount_alt "${CUR}:${MAX_LO:-0}" 2>/dev/null || true)"
-export LADDER_REPORT_MAX_HI_ALT="$(format_amount_alt "${CUR}:${MAX_HI:-0}" 2>/dev/null || true)"
-export LADDER_REPORT_ALT_UNITS="${ALT_UNITS_FILE:-}"
-# Report must never abort the ladder (set -e): soft-fail print/JSON only.
-python3 - "$TSV" "$PAY_TSV" "$JSON" "$OK_N" "$FAIL_N_L" "$PAY_OK_N" "$PAY_FAIL_N" "$ms_phase" "$ACCT_USER" "$CUR" <<'PY' || true
-import csv, json, os, sys, statistics, traceback
-from decimal import Decimal, InvalidOperation, ROUND_HALF_UP
+python3 - "$TSV" "$PAY_TSV" "$JSON" "$OK_N" "$FAIL_N_L" "$PAY_OK_N" "$PAY_FAIL_N" "$ms_phase" "$ACCT_USER" "$CUR" <<'PY'
+import csv, json, os, sys, statistics
+tsv, pay_tsv, jpath = sys.argv[1:4]
+ok_n, fail_n, pay_ok, pay_fail, phase_ms, acct, cur = sys.argv[4:11]
+stop_amt = os.environ.get("LADDER_REPORT_STOP_AMOUNT") or None
+stop_reason = os.environ.get("LADDER_REPORT_STOP_REASON") or None
 
-try:
-    tsv, pay_tsv, jpath = sys.argv[1:4]
-    ok_n, fail_n, pay_ok, pay_fail, phase_ms, acct, cur = sys.argv[4:11]
-    stop_amt = os.environ.get("LADDER_REPORT_STOP_AMOUNT") or None
-    stop_reason = os.environ.get("LADDER_REPORT_STOP_REASON") or None
-    mode = os.environ.get("LADDER_REPORT_MODE") or "classic"
-    max_best = os.environ.get("LADDER_REPORT_MAX_BEST") or None
-    max_lo = os.environ.get("LADDER_REPORT_MAX_LO") or None
-    max_hi = os.environ.get("LADDER_REPORT_MAX_HI") or None
-    max_best_alt = os.environ.get("LADDER_REPORT_MAX_BEST_ALT") or None
-    max_lo_alt = os.environ.get("LADDER_REPORT_MAX_LO_ALT") or None
-    max_hi_alt = os.environ.get("LADDER_REPORT_MAX_HI_ALT") or None
-    max_pay_best = os.environ.get("LADDER_REPORT_MAX_PAY_BEST") or None
-    max_pay_lo = os.environ.get("LADDER_REPORT_MAX_PAY_LO") or None
-    max_pay_hi = os.environ.get("LADDER_REPORT_MAX_PAY_HI") or None
-    max_pay_best_alt = os.environ.get("LADDER_REPORT_MAX_PAY_BEST_ALT") or None
-    alt_path = os.environ.get("LADDER_REPORT_ALT_UNITS") or ""
-    alt = {}
-    if alt_path:
-        try:
-            _loaded = json.load(open(alt_path))
-            if isinstance(_loaded, dict):
-                alt = {str(k): str(v) for k, v in _loaded.items()}
-        except Exception:
-            alt = {}
-    if not isinstance(alt, dict) or not alt:
-        alt = {"0": cur or "GOA"}
-    elif "0" not in alt:
-        alt = dict(alt)
-        alt["0"] = cur or "GOA"
+def load_rows(path):
+    rows = []
+    try:
+        with open(path, newline="") as f:
+            for row in csv.DictReader(f, delimiter="\t"):
+                rows.append(row)
+    except Exception:
+        pass
+    return rows
 
-    def fmt_num(v):
-        try:
-            if v == v.to_integral():
-                return format(int(v), "d")
-            s = format(v.quantize(Decimal("0.00000001"), rounding=ROUND_HALF_UP), "f")
-            return s.rstrip("0").rstrip(".")
-        except Exception:
-            return str(v)
+rows = load_rows(tsv)
+prows = load_rows(pay_tsv)
 
-    def format_alt(amt):
-        """Human alt_unit_names; never raises."""
+def nums(rs, key):
+    out = []
+    for row in rs:
         try:
-            if not amt:
-                return "-"
-            s = str(amt).strip()
-            try:
-                if ":" in s:
-                    c, v = s.split(":", 1)
-                    val = Decimal(v)
-                else:
-                    c, val = cur, Decimal(s)
-            except (InvalidOperation, ValueError, TypeError):
-                return s
-            au = alt if isinstance(alt, dict) else {"0": cur or "GOA"}
-            base_name = au.get("0") or c or cur or "GOA"
-            base_s = "%s:%s" % (c, fmt_num(val))
-            if val == 0:
-                return "0 %s (%s)" % (base_name, base_s)
-            scales = []
-            for k, name in au.items():
-                try:
-                    scales.append((int(k), str(name)))
-                except Exception:
-                    continue
-            scales.sort(key=lambda x: -x[0])
-            absval = abs(val)
-            chosen = None
-            for sc, name in scales:
-                try:
-                    unit = Decimal(10) ** sc
-                    if unit <= 0:
-                        continue
-                    coeff = absval / unit
-                    if coeff >= 1:
-                        chosen = (sc, name, coeff if val >= 0 else -coeff)
-                        break
-                except Exception:
-                    continue
-            if chosen is None:
-                return "%s %s (%s)" % (fmt_num(val), base_name, base_s)
-            sc, name, coeff = chosen
-            if sc == 0:
-                return "%s %s" % (fmt_num(val), name)
-            return "%s %s (%s)" % (fmt_num(coeff), name, base_s)
-        except Exception:
-            return str(amt) if amt else "-"
-
-    def as_amt(s):
-        try:
-            if s is None or s == "":
-                return None
-            s = str(s).strip()
-            if ":" in s:
-                return s
-            return "%s:%s" % (cur, s)
-        except Exception:
-            return None
-
-    def load_rows(path):
-        rows = []
-        try:
-            with open(path, newline="") as f:
-                for row in csv.DictReader(f, delimiter="\t"):
-                    rows.append(row)
+            out.append(int(row[key]))
         except Exception:
             pass
-        return rows
+    return out
 
-    rows = load_rows(tsv)
-    prows = load_rows(pay_tsv)
-
-    def nums(rs, key):
-        out = []
-        for row in rs:
-            try:
-                out.append(int(row[key]))
-            except Exception:
-                pass
-        return out
-
-    def stats(xs):
-        if not xs:
-            return {"n": 0}
-        return {
-            "n": len(xs),
-            "min_ms": min(xs),
-            "max_ms": max(xs),
-            "avg_ms": int(sum(xs) / len(xs)),
-            "p50_ms": int(statistics.median(xs)),
-        }
-
-    _max_block = None
-    if mode == "max":
-        _best = as_amt(max_best) if max_best else None
-        _lo = as_amt(max_lo) if max_lo is not None and str(max_lo) != "" else None
-        _hi = as_amt(max_hi) if max_hi is not None and str(max_hi) != "" else None
-        _pb = as_amt(max_pay_best) if max_pay_best else None
-        _max_block = {
-            "best": _best,
-            "best_alt": max_best_alt or (format_alt(_best) if _best else None),
-            "lo": max_lo,
-            "lo_alt": max_lo_alt or (format_alt(_lo) if _lo else None),
-            "hi": max_hi,
-            "hi_alt": max_hi_alt or (format_alt(_hi) if _hi else None),
-            "best_pay": _pb,
-            "best_pay_alt": max_pay_best_alt or (format_alt(_pb) if _pb else None),
-            "pay_lo": max_pay_lo,
-            "pay_hi": max_pay_hi,
-        }
-
-    report = {
-        "currency": cur,
-        "mode": mode,
-        "auto_account": acct,
-        "ok_rungs": int(ok_n),
-        "fail_rungs": int(fail_n),
-        "pay_ok": int(pay_ok),
-        "pay_fail": int(pay_fail),
-        "max_search": _max_block,
-        "stopped_at_amount": stop_amt or None,
-        "stop_reason": stop_reason or None,
-        "phase_ms": int(phase_ms),
-        "timing": {
-            "mint": stats(nums(rows, "ms_mint")),
-            "accept": stats(nums(rows, "ms_accept")),
-            "confirm": stats(nums(rows, "ms_confirm")),
-            "settle": stats(nums(rows, "ms_settle")),
-            "rung_total": stats(nums(rows, "ms_total")),
-            "pay_order": stats(nums(prows, "ms_order")),
-            "pay_handle": stats(nums(prows, "ms_handle")),
-            "pay_settle": stats(nums(prows, "ms_settle")),
-            "pay_total": stats(nums(prows, "ms_total")),
-        },
-        "rungs": rows,
-        "pays": prows,
+def stats(xs):
+    if not xs:
+        return {"n": 0}
+    return {
+        "n": len(xs),
+        "min_ms": min(xs),
+        "max_ms": max(xs),
+        "avg_ms": int(sum(xs) / len(xs)),
+        "p50_ms": int(statistics.median(xs)),
     }
-    try:
-        json.dump(report, open(jpath, "w"), indent=2)
-        print("JSON", jpath)
-    except Exception as e:
-        print("JSON write error:", e)
 
-    print("--- withdraw speed (ms) ---")
-    for k in ("mint", "accept", "confirm", "settle", "rung_total"):
-        v = report["timing"][k]
-        if v.get("n"):
-            print("  %s n=%s  min=%s  p50=%s  avg=%s  max=%s" % (
-                k.ljust(12), v["n"], v["min_ms"], v["p50_ms"], v["avg_ms"], v["max_ms"]))
-    print("--- pay speed (ms) ---")
-    for k in ("pay_order", "pay_handle", "pay_settle", "pay_total"):
-        v = report["timing"][k]
-        if v.get("n"):
-            print("  %s n=%s  min=%s  p50=%s  avg=%s  max=%s" % (
-                k.ljust(12), v["n"], v["min_ms"], v["p50_ms"], v["avg_ms"], v["max_ms"]))
-    print("--- withdraw rungs ---")
-    for row in rows:
-        try:
-            amt = row.get("amount") or ""
-            aalt = format_alt(amt) if amt else ""
-            print("  %2s %-18s %-14s total=%sms  %s" % (
-                row.get("rung"), amt, row.get("status"), row.get("ms_total"), aalt))
-        except Exception as e:
-            print("  ? row-print-error %s" % (e,))
-    print("--- pay rungs ---")
-    for row in prows:
-        try:
-            amt = row.get("amount") or ""
-            aalt = format_alt(amt) if amt else ""
-            print("  %2s %-18s %-14s total=%sms oid=%s  %s" % (
-                row.get("rung"), amt, row.get("status"), row.get("ms_total"),
-                row.get("oid"), aalt))
-        except Exception as e:
-            print("  ? pay-row-print-error %s" % (e,))
-    if mode == "max":
-        print("--- max-search ---")
-        try:
-            ba = (max_best_alt or format_alt(as_amt(max_best) or "")) if max_best else "-"
-            la = (max_lo_alt or format_alt(as_amt(max_lo) or "")) if max_lo is not None and str(max_lo) != "" else "-"
-            ha = (max_hi_alt or format_alt(as_amt(max_hi) or "")) if max_hi is not None and str(max_hi) != "" else "-"
-            print("  best=%s" % (max_best or "-"))
-            print("  best_alt=%s" % ba)
-            print("  lo=%s" % (max_lo if max_lo is not None else "-"))
-            print("  lo_alt=%s" % la)
-            print("  hi=%s" % (max_hi if max_hi is not None else "-"))
-            print("  hi_alt=%s" % ha)
-            print("  best_pay=%s" % (max_pay_best or "-"))
-            print("  best_pay_alt=%s" % (max_pay_best_alt or (format_alt(as_amt(max_pay_best) or "") if max_pay_best else "-")))
-        except Exception as e:
-            print("  max-search print error: %s" % (e,))
-    if stop_amt:
-        try:
-            print("STOPPED at %s · %s: %s" % (stop_amt, format_alt(stop_amt), stop_reason))
-        except Exception:
-            print("STOPPED at %s: %s" % (stop_amt, stop_reason))
-    else:
-        print("Completed without hard failure (or budget stop without fail).")
-except Exception:
-    traceback.print_exc()
-sys.exit(0)
+report = {
+    "currency": cur,
+    "auto_account": acct,
+    "ok_rungs": int(ok_n),
+    "fail_rungs": int(fail_n),
+    "pay_ok": int(pay_ok),
+    "pay_fail": int(pay_fail),
+    "stopped_at_amount": stop_amt or None,
+    "stop_reason": stop_reason or None,
+    "phase_ms": int(phase_ms),
+    "timing": {
+        "mint": stats(nums(rows, "ms_mint")),
+        "accept": stats(nums(rows, "ms_accept")),
+        "confirm": stats(nums(rows, "ms_confirm")),
+        "settle": stats(nums(rows, "ms_settle")),
+        "rung_total": stats(nums(rows, "ms_total")),
+        "pay_order": stats(nums(prows, "ms_order")),
+        "pay_handle": stats(nums(prows, "ms_handle")),
+        "pay_settle": stats(nums(prows, "ms_settle")),
+        "pay_total": stats(nums(prows, "ms_total")),
+    },
+    "rungs": rows,
+    "pays": prows,
+}
+json.dump(report, open(jpath, "w"), indent=2)
+print("JSON", jpath)
+print("--- withdraw speed (ms) ---")
+for k in ("mint", "accept", "confirm", "settle", "rung_total"):
+    v = report["timing"][k]
+    if v.get("n"):
+        print("  %s n=%s  min=%s  p50=%s  avg=%s  max=%s" % (k.ljust(12), v["n"], v["min_ms"], v["p50_ms"], v["avg_ms"], v["max_ms"]))
+print("--- pay speed (ms) ---")
+for k in ("pay_order", "pay_handle", "pay_settle", "pay_total"):
+    v = report["timing"][k]
+    if v.get("n"):
+        print("  %s n=%s  min=%s  p50=%s  avg=%s  max=%s" % (k.ljust(12), v["n"], v["min_ms"], v["p50_ms"], v["avg_ms"], v["max_ms"]))
+print("--- withdraw rungs ---")
+for row in rows:
+    print("  %2s %-16s %-12s total=%sms" % (row.get("rung"), row.get("amount"), row.get("status"), row.get("ms_total")))
+print("--- pay rungs ---")
+for row in prows:
+    print("  %2s %-16s %-12s total=%sms oid=%s" % (row.get("rung"), row.get("amount"), row.get("status"), row.get("ms_total"), row.get("oid")))
+if stop_amt:
+    print("STOPPED at %s: %s" % (stop_amt, stop_reason))
+else:
+    print("Completed without hard failure (or budget stop without fail).")
 PY
 
 wcli balance 2>&1 | tee "$REPORT_DIR/balance-final.out" | tail -20 || true
@@ -1515,7 +1335,7 @@ metrics_print_overall "ladder final" || true
 
 # Keep scratch if LADDER_REPORT_DIR set; else copy key files to /tmp
 if [ -z "${LADDER_REPORT_DIR:-}" ]; then
-  KEEP="/tmp/amount-ladder-report-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)"
+  KEEP="/tmp/goa-ladder-report-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)"
   mkdir -p "$KEEP"
   cp -a "$TSV" "$PAY_TSV" "$JSON" "$SCRATCH/auto-account.json" "$SCRATCH/ladder-plan.txt" \
     "$SCRATCH/ladder-wd-plan.txt" "$SCRATCH/ladder-pay-plan.txt" \
@@ -1532,9 +1352,5 @@ if [ "$OK_N" -eq 0 ]; then
   blocker "ladder" "no successful withdraw rungs"
   exit 1
 fi
-if [ "${LADDER_MODE}" = "max" ] && [ -n "${MAX_BEST_AMT:-}" ]; then
-  ok "ladder finished mode=max wd_best=$(format_amount_alt "$MAX_BEST_AMT") · pay_best=$(format_amount_alt "${MAX_PAY_BEST_AMT:-${CUR}:0}") · withdraw_ok=$OK_N pay_ok=$PAY_OK_N phase=${ms_phase}ms"
-else
-  ok "ladder finished mode=${LADDER_MODE} withdraw_ok=$OK_N pay_ok=$PAY_OK_N phase=${ms_phase}ms"
-fi
+ok "ladder finished withdraw_ok=$OK_N pay_ok=$PAY_OK_N phase=${ms_phase}ms"
 exit 0
diff --git a/check_monitoring_pages.sh b/check_monitoring_pages.sh
index f4804b7..fea39cd 100755
--- a/check_monitoring_pages.sh
+++ b/check_monitoring_pages.sh
@@ -100,18 +100,14 @@ _host_allowed() {
 }
 
 # Public mon URL families (suite name "taler-monitoring" ≠ a public path):
-#   1) /monitoring(+_err)              — landing hosts (bare + slash)
-#   2) /monitoring-ladder(+_err)       — GOA classic amount ladder (daily)
-#   3) /monitoring-max-ladder(+_err)   — GOA max-search ladder (daily)
-#   4) /taler-monitoring-surface(+_err)  — taler.hacktivism.ch only
-#   5) /taler-monitoring-aptdeploy(+_err) — taler.hacktivism.ch only
+#   1) /monitoring(+_err)           — landing hosts (bare + slash)
+#   2) /taler-monitoring-surface(+_err)  — taler.hacktivism.ch only
+#   3) /taler-monitoring-aptdeploy(+_err) — taler.hacktivism.ch only
 # No /taler-monitoring page. No /taler-monitoring-mail|mattermost pages.
 
 _path_allowed() {
   case "$1" in
     monitoring|monitoring_err|\
-    monitoring-ladder|monitoring-ladder_err|\
-    monitoring-max-ladder|monitoring-max-ladder_err|\
     taler-monitoring-surface|taler-monitoring-surface_err|\
     taler-monitoring-aptdeploy|taler-monitoring-aptdeploy_err) return 0 ;;
     # explicit deny (never invent a mon page here)
@@ -152,8 +148,6 @@ _catalog_urls() {
     goa)
       for h in bank.hacktivism.ch exchange.hacktivism.ch taler.hacktivism.ch; do
         printf 'https://%s/monitoring/\n' "$h"
-        printf 'https://%s/monitoring-ladder/\n' "$h"
-        printf 'https://%s/monitoring-max-ladder/\n' "$h"
       done
       # ecosystem surface (versions / software) + apt-src deploy mon page
       printf 'https://taler.hacktivism.ch/taler-monitoring-surface/\n'
@@ -171,12 +165,6 @@ _catalog_urls() {
       while IFS= read -r h; do
         [ -n "$h" ] || continue
         printf 'https://%s/monitoring/\n' "$h"
-        case "$h" in
-          *.hacktivism.ch)
-            printf 'https://%s/monitoring-ladder/\n' "$h"
-            printf 'https://%s/monitoring-max-ladder/\n' "$h"
-            ;;
-        esac
       done < <(_landing_allowed)
       printf 'https://taler.hacktivism.ch/taler-monitoring-surface/\n'
       printf 'https://taler.hacktivism.ch/taler-monitoring-aptdeploy/\n'
diff --git a/host-agent/README.md b/host-agent/README.md
index 6c8ea53..ffbbcef 100644
--- a/host-agent/README.md
+++ b/host-agent/README.md
@@ -23,28 +23,9 @@ Thin wrappers only set stack defaults:
 | `run-aptdeploy.sh` | CLI: ensure + **aptdeploy** (no HTML) | local if hostname=koopa, else **ssh $DEPLOY_SSH** |
 | `run-aptdeploy-monitoring.sh` | apt-src tests → `/taler-monitoring-aptdeploy*` | `hernani` @ koopa (4h) |
 | `run-surface-monitoring.sh` | **surface** → only `/taler-monitoring-surface*` (ecosystem + mail + mattermost + versions) | `hernani` @ koopa (hourly) |
-| `run-ladder-monitoring.sh` | GOA **classic** amount ladder → `/monitoring-ladder/` on bank/exchange/taler | `hernani` @ koopa (**daily**) |
-| `run-max-ladder-monitoring.sh` | GOA **max-search** ladder → `/monitoring-max-ladder/` on bank/exchange/taler | `hernani` @ koopa (**daily**) |
 
 Deprecated mail/mattermost wrappers: **`../meta/deprecated/`** (not installed).
 
-### GOA amount ladder pages (daily)
-
-| URL | Phase | Timer |
-|-----|-------|-------|
-| `https://{bank,exchange,taler}.hacktivism.ch/monitoring-ladder/` | `ladder` (classic) | `taler-monitoring-ladder.timer` (~05:15 + jitter) |
-| `https://{bank,exchange,taler}.hacktivism.ch/monitoring-max-ladder/` | `max-ladder` | `taler-monitoring-max-ladder.timer` (~06:30 + jitter) |
-
-```bash
-systemctl --user enable --now taler-monitoring-ladder.timer
-systemctl --user enable --now taler-monitoring-max-ladder.timer
-# first round now:
-systemctl --user start taler-monitoring-ladder.service
-systemctl --user start taler-monitoring-max-ladder.service
-```
-
-Needs explorer secrets (`SECRETS_ROOT` / bank-explorer password). Long wall: classic ~2h, max ~3h (`RUN_TIMEOUT`).
-
 ### apt-src deploy tests (hacktivism `/monitoring`)
 
 | Container | Mode |
diff --git a/host-agent/ROOT-APPLY-MONITORING.md b/host-agent/ROOT-APPLY-MONITORING.md
index 9687af2..0a594d1 100644
--- a/host-agent/ROOT-APPLY-MONITORING.md
+++ b/host-agent/ROOT-APPLY-MONITORING.md
@@ -48,13 +48,9 @@ There is **no** public page `/taler-monitoring`. Each family needs **bare and sl
 | Family | Paths | Host | Source timer |
 |--------|-------|------|----------------|
 | **monitoring** | `/monitoring` · `/monitoring/` · `/monitoring_err` · `/monitoring_err/` | bank + exchange + taler (and other landings) | `taler-monitoring-hacktivism.timer` (4h) |
-| **monitoring-ladder** | `/monitoring-ladder` · `/` · `_err` | bank + exchange + taler (**GOA**) | `taler-monitoring-ladder.timer` (**daily**) |
-| **monitoring-max-ladder** | `/monitoring-max-ladder` · `/` · `_err` | bank + exchange + taler (**GOA**) | `taler-monitoring-max-ladder.timer` (**daily**) |
 | **taler-monitoring-surface** | bare + slash + `_err` | **taler.hacktivism.ch only** | `taler-monitoring-surface.timer` (1h) |
 | **taler-monitoring-aptdeploy** | bare + slash + `_err` | **taler.hacktivism.ch only** | `taler-monitoring-aptdeploy.timer` (4h) |
 
-Served via existing Caddy `handle /monitoring*` (file_server under `/var/www/monitoring-sites/{host}/`).
-
 HTML is generated as **hernani** into  
 `$DEPLOY_STAGING (or $HOME/monitoring-sites-staging)/`.
 
diff --git a/host-agent/apply-monitoring-live.sh b/host-agent/apply-monitoring-live.sh
index f14b7e7..4916ba8 100755
--- a/host-agent/apply-monitoring-live.sh
+++ b/host-agent/apply-monitoring-live.sh
@@ -57,12 +57,6 @@ urls=(
   https://taler.hacktivism.ch/monitoring/
   https://bank.hacktivism.ch/monitoring/
   https://exchange.hacktivism.ch/monitoring/
-  https://taler.hacktivism.ch/monitoring-ladder/
-  https://bank.hacktivism.ch/monitoring-ladder/
-  https://exchange.hacktivism.ch/monitoring-ladder/
-  https://taler.hacktivism.ch/monitoring-max-ladder/
-  https://bank.hacktivism.ch/monitoring-max-ladder/
-  https://exchange.hacktivism.ch/monitoring-max-ladder/
   https://taler.hacktivism.ch/taler-monitoring-surface
   https://taler.hacktivism.ch/taler-monitoring-surface/
   https://taler.hacktivism.ch/taler-monitoring-surface_err/
diff --git a/host-agent/install-host-agent.sh b/host-agent/install-host-agent.sh
index d4624c2..3468455 100755
--- a/host-agent/install-host-agent.sh
+++ b/host-agent/install-host-agent.sh
@@ -63,19 +63,11 @@ install_local() {
   # optional aptdeploy (not a public mon page layout — v1.8.0 simplified overview)
   install -m 644 "$ROOT/taler-monitoring-aptdeploy.service" "$home_unit/"
   install -m 644 "$ROOT/taler-monitoring-aptdeploy.timer" "$home_unit/"
-  # GOA amount ladder pages (daily)
-  install -m 644 "$ROOT/taler-monitoring-ladder.service" "$home_unit/"
-  install -m 644 "$ROOT/taler-monitoring-ladder.timer" "$home_unit/"
-  install -m 644 "$ROOT/taler-monitoring-max-ladder.service" "$home_unit/"
-  install -m 644 "$ROOT/taler-monitoring-max-ladder.timer" "$home_unit/"
-  chmod +x "$ROOT/run-ladder-monitoring.sh" "$ROOT/run-max-ladder-monitoring.sh" 2>/dev/null || true
   systemctl --user daemon-reload
   systemctl --user enable --now taler-monitoring-hacktivism.path
   systemctl --user enable --now taler-monitoring-hacktivism.timer
   systemctl --user enable --now taler-monitoring-surface.timer
   systemctl --user enable --now taler-monitoring-aptdeploy.timer
-  systemctl --user enable --now taler-monitoring-ladder.timer
-  systemctl --user enable --now taler-monitoring-max-ladder.timer
   # Remove leftover mail/mattermost units if present (moved to meta/deprecated/)
   systemctl --user disable --now taler-monitoring-mattermost.timer 2>/dev/null || true
   systemctl --user disable --now taler-monitoring-mail.timer 2>/dev/null || true
@@ -89,28 +81,20 @@ install_local() {
   systemctl --user start taler-monitoring-hacktivism.service || true
   systemctl --user start taler-monitoring-surface.service || true
   systemctl --user start taler-monitoring-aptdeploy.service || true
-  # first ladder rounds immediately (classic then max-search; both daily thereafter)
-  systemctl --user start taler-monitoring-ladder.service || true
-  systemctl --user start taler-monitoring-max-ladder.service || true
 
   echo "--- status ---"
   systemctl --user status taler-monitoring-hacktivism.path --no-pager -l | head -15
   systemctl --user status taler-monitoring-hacktivism.timer --no-pager -l | head -12
   systemctl --user status taler-monitoring-surface.timer --no-pager -l | head -12
   systemctl --user status taler-monitoring-aptdeploy.timer --no-pager -l | head -12
-  systemctl --user status taler-monitoring-ladder.timer --no-pager -l | head -12
-  systemctl --user status taler-monitoring-max-ladder.timer --no-pager -l | head -12
   systemctl --user list-timers --all | grep taler-monitoring || true
-  echo "OK host-agent:"
+  echo "OK host-agent (v1.8.0 simplified):"
   echo "  · hacktivism 4h → /monitoring on bank/exchange/taler (landing stacks)"
-  echo "  · ladder daily → /monitoring-ladder/ (classic amount ladder, GOA)"
-  echo "  · max-ladder daily → /monitoring-max-ladder/ (max-search, GOA)"
   echo "  · surface 1h → /taler-monitoring-surface* (ecosystem versions/software)"
-  echo "  · aptdeploy 4h (optional tests)"
+  echo "  · aptdeploy 4h (optional tests; not a public mon-page type)"
   echo "  · mail/mattermost: not installed (meta/deprecated/; content in surface)"
   echo "suite: $mon"
-  echo "manual ladder: systemctl --user start taler-monitoring-ladder.service"
-  echo "manual max-ladder: systemctl --user start taler-monitoring-max-ladder.service"
+  echo "manual surface: systemctl --user start taler-monitoring-surface.service"
   echo "after upgrades: $ROOT/touch-software-stamp.sh"
 }
 
diff --git a/host-agent/run-hacktivism-monitoring.sh b/host-agent/run-hacktivism-monitoring.sh
index 9599cb1..02132b8 100755
--- a/host-agent/run-hacktivism-monitoring.sh
+++ b/host-agent/run-hacktivism-monitoring.sh
@@ -16,12 +16,10 @@ export INSIDE_MODE="${INSIDE_MODE:-local-podman}"
 export LOCAL_STACK="${LOCAL_STACK:-1}"
 export CONTINUE_ON_ERROR="${CONTINUE_ON_ERROR:-1}"
 export RUN_TIMEOUT="${RUN_TIMEOUT:-600}"
-# stack checks + full monpages inventory (landings + ladder + surface + aptdeploy).
+# stack checks + full monpages inventory (landings + surface + aptdeploy bare/slash).
 # Specialized pages also have their own timers; full outside-in inventory lives here.
-#   run-ladder-monitoring.sh     → /monitoring-ladder* (daily classic)
-#   run-max-ladder-monitoring.sh → /monitoring-max-ladder* (daily max-search)
-#   run-aptdeploy-monitoring.sh  → monpages job-only for /taler-monitoring-aptdeploy*
-#   run-surface-monitoring.sh    → monpages job-only for /taler-monitoring-surface*
+#   run-aptdeploy-monitoring.sh → monpages job-only for /taler-monitoring-aptdeploy*
+#   run-surface-monitoring.sh   → monpages job-only for /taler-monitoring-surface*
 export PHASES="${PHASES:-urls inside versions monpages}"
 export MON_HOSTS="${MON_HOSTS:-bank.hacktivism.ch exchange.hacktivism.ch taler.hacktivism.ch}"
 export HTML_OUT="${HTML_OUT:-$HOME/monitoring-sites-staging}"
diff --git a/host-agent/run-ladder-monitoring.sh b/host-agent/run-ladder-monitoring.sh
deleted file mode 100755
index c51f4f3..0000000
--- a/host-agent/run-ladder-monitoring.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,43 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env bash
-# run-ladder-monitoring.sh — GOA classic amount ladder → public HTML
-#
-# Public (landing hosts, same Caddy /monitoring* static root):
-#   https://{bank,exchange,taler}.hacktivism.ch/monitoring-ladder/
-#   https://{bank,exchange,taler}.hacktivism.ch/monitoring-ladder_err/
-#
-# Timer: once daily (taler-monitoring-ladder.timer). Long wall clock.
-#
-set -uo pipefail
-AGENT_DIR=$(cd "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd)
-
-export AGENT_LABEL="${AGENT_LABEL:-ladder-host-agent}"
-export STATE_NAME="${STATE_NAME:-taler-ladder-monitoring}"
-export TALER_DOMAIN="${TALER_DOMAIN:-hacktivism.ch}"
-export TALER_MON_LANG="${TALER_MON_LANG:-en}"
-export TALER_MON_LANG_SET=1
-export INSIDE_PODMAN="${INSIDE_PODMAN:-1}"
-export INSIDE_MODE="${INSIDE_MODE:-local-podman}"
-export LOCAL_STACK="${LOCAL_STACK:-1}"
-export SKIP_SSH="${SKIP_SSH:-0}"
-export CONTINUE_ON_ERROR="${CONTINUE_ON_ERROR:-1}"
-# classic 23-rung + pay can run long
-export RUN_TIMEOUT="${RUN_TIMEOUT:-7200}"
-
-export PHASES="ladder monpages"
-export MON_HOSTS="${MON_HOSTS:-bank.hacktivism.ch exchange.hacktivism.ch taler.hacktivism.ch}"
-export HTML_OUT="${HTML_OUT:-$HOME/monitoring-sites-staging}"
-export DEPLOY_WWW_ROOT="${DEPLOY_WWW_ROOT:-/var/www/monitoring-sites}"
-
-export HTML_OK_DIR="monitoring-ladder"
-export HTML_ERR_DIR="monitoring-ladder_err"
-export HTML_URL_OK="/monitoring-ladder/"
-export HTML_URL_ERR="/monitoring-ladder_err/"
-export PAGE_LABEL="monitoring-ladder"
-export MONPAGES_INVENTORY="job"
-
-# Classic ladder defaults (override in ~/.config/taler-monitoring/env)
-export LADDER_MODE="${LADDER_MODE:-classic}"
-export LADDER_PAY="${LADDER_PAY:-1}"
-export APT_DEPLOY_ENSURE=0
-
-exec bash "$AGENT_DIR/run-host-report.sh" "$@"
diff --git a/host-agent/run-max-ladder-monitoring.sh b/host-agent/run-max-ladder-monitoring.sh
deleted file mode 100755
index c8735a8..0000000
--- a/host-agent/run-max-ladder-monitoring.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,42 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env bash
-# run-max-ladder-monitoring.sh — GOA max-search amount ladder → public HTML
-#
-# Public (landing hosts, same Caddy /monitoring* static root):
-#   https://{bank,exchange,taler}.hacktivism.ch/monitoring-max-ladder/
-#   https://{bank,exchange,taler}.hacktivism.ch/monitoring-max-ladder_err/
-#
-# Timer: once daily (taler-monitoring-max-ladder.timer). Long wall clock.
-#
-set -uo pipefail
-AGENT_DIR=$(cd "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd)
-
-export AGENT_LABEL="${AGENT_LABEL:-max-ladder-host-agent}"
-export STATE_NAME="${STATE_NAME:-taler-max-ladder-monitoring}"
-export TALER_DOMAIN="${TALER_DOMAIN:-hacktivism.ch}"
-export TALER_MON_LANG="${TALER_MON_LANG:-en}"
-export TALER_MON_LANG_SET=1
-export INSIDE_PODMAN="${INSIDE_PODMAN:-1}"
-export INSIDE_MODE="${INSIDE_MODE:-local-podman}"
-export LOCAL_STACK="${LOCAL_STACK:-1}"
-export SKIP_SSH="${SKIP_SSH:-0}"
-export CONTINUE_ON_ERROR="${CONTINUE_ON_ERROR:-1}"
-# max-search probes + pay hunt
-export RUN_TIMEOUT="${RUN_TIMEOUT:-10800}"
-
-export PHASES="max-ladder monpages"
-export MON_HOSTS="${MON_HOSTS:-bank.hacktivism.ch exchange.hacktivism.ch taler.hacktivism.ch}"
-export HTML_OUT="${HTML_OUT:-$HOME/monitoring-sites-staging}"
-export DEPLOY_WWW_ROOT="${DEPLOY_WWW_ROOT:-/var/www/monitoring-sites}"
-
-export HTML_OK_DIR="monitoring-max-ladder"
-export HTML_ERR_DIR="monitoring-max-ladder_err"
-export HTML_URL_OK="/monitoring-max-ladder/"
-export HTML_URL_ERR="/monitoring-max-ladder_err/"
-export PAGE_LABEL="monitoring-max-ladder"
-export MONPAGES_INVENTORY="job"
-
-export LADDER_MODE=max
-export LADDER_PAY="${LADDER_PAY:-1}"
-export APT_DEPLOY_ENSURE=0
-
-exec bash "$AGENT_DIR/run-host-report.sh" "$@"
diff --git a/host-agent/taler-monitoring-ladder.service b/host-agent/taler-monitoring-ladder.service
deleted file mode 100644
index c93bcd8..0000000
--- a/host-agent/taler-monitoring-ladder.service
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,19 +0,0 @@
-[Unit]
-Description=Taler monitoring GOA classic amount ladder → /monitoring-ladder/
-Documentation=file:%h/src/taler-monitoring/host-agent/README.md
-After=network-online.target
-Wants=network-online.target
-
-[Service]
-Type=oneshot
-Environment=PATH=%h/.local/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin
-Environment=CONTINUE_ON_ERROR=1
-Environment=RUN_TIMEOUT=7200
-EnvironmentFile=-%h/.config/taler-monitoring/env
-WorkingDirectory=%h/src/taler-monitoring
-ExecStart=%h/src/taler-monitoring/host-agent/run-ladder-monitoring.sh
-Nice=10
-TimeoutStartSec=3h
-
-[Install]
-WantedBy=default.target
diff --git a/host-agent/taler-monitoring-ladder.timer b/host-agent/taler-monitoring-ladder.timer
deleted file mode 100644
index a076315..0000000
--- a/host-agent/taler-monitoring-ladder.timer
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,14 +0,0 @@
-[Unit]
-Description=Daily GOA classic amount ladder mon page
-Documentation=file:%h/src/taler-monitoring/host-agent/README.md
-
-[Timer]
-# Once per day (CEST morning-ish on typical hosts); randomize to avoid thundering herd
-OnCalendar=*-*-* 05:15:00
-Persistent=true
-AccuracySec=15min
-RandomizedDelaySec=30min
-Unit=taler-monitoring-ladder.service
-
-[Install]
-WantedBy=timers.target
diff --git a/host-agent/taler-monitoring-max-ladder.service b/host-agent/taler-monitoring-max-ladder.service
deleted file mode 100644
index 9943edb..0000000
--- a/host-agent/taler-monitoring-max-ladder.service
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,19 +0,0 @@
-[Unit]
-Description=Taler monitoring GOA max-search amount ladder → /monitoring-max-ladder/
-Documentation=file:%h/src/taler-monitoring/host-agent/README.md
-After=network-online.target
-Wants=network-online.target
-
-[Service]
-Type=oneshot
-Environment=PATH=%h/.local/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin
-Environment=CONTINUE_ON_ERROR=1
-Environment=RUN_TIMEOUT=10800
-EnvironmentFile=-%h/.config/taler-monitoring/env
-WorkingDirectory=%h/src/taler-monitoring
-ExecStart=%h/src/taler-monitoring/host-agent/run-max-ladder-monitoring.sh
-Nice=10
-TimeoutStartSec=4h
-
-[Install]
-WantedBy=default.target
diff --git a/host-agent/taler-monitoring-max-ladder.timer b/host-agent/taler-monitoring-max-ladder.timer
deleted file mode 100644
index 5b16361..0000000
--- a/host-agent/taler-monitoring-max-ladder.timer
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,14 +0,0 @@
-[Unit]
-Description=Daily GOA max-search amount ladder mon page
-Documentation=file:%h/src/taler-monitoring/host-agent/README.md
-
-[Timer]
-# Once per day, after classic ladder window
-OnCalendar=*-*-* 06:30:00
-Persistent=true
-AccuracySec=15min
-RandomizedDelaySec=30min
-Unit=taler-monitoring-max-ladder.service
-
-[Install]
-WantedBy=timers.target
diff --git a/ladder/README.md b/ladder/README.md
deleted file mode 100644
index 3c6e826..0000000
--- a/ladder/README.md
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,32 +0,0 @@
-# Amount ladder modules
-
-**Entry:** `../check_amount_ladder.sh` via:
-
-```bash
-./taler-monitoring.sh ladder          # classic 23-rung withdraw + pay
-./taler-monitoring.sh max-ladder      # max-search withdraw + pay
-./taler-monitoring.sh goa-ladder      # legacy phase name = classic ladder
-```
-
-| Path | Role |
-|------|------|
-| `../check_amount_ladder.sh` | Orchestrator: classic / max **withdraw**, then pay phase |
-| `lib_pay.sh` | **Pay** module: free-amount template, classic pay list, max **payable** ≤ available |
-| `extract_rpubs.py` | Force-select: scrape `reservePub` from wallet dumps |
-
-There is **no** `check_goa_ladder.sh` — removed; use the phases above.
-
-## Modes
-
-- **classic** (default): 23-rung withdraw 0→mids→max-1→max, then matching pay plan (never overspend).
-- **max** (`max-ladder`): adaptive max withdraw, then adaptive max pay via public free template (hacktivism: `goa-free`).
-
-## Env (pay)
-
-| Variable | Default | Meaning |
-|----------|---------|---------|
-| `LADDER_PAY` | `1` | `0` = skip all pays |
-| `LADDER_USE_FREE_TEMPLATE` | `1` | public POST template with `{"amount":…}` |
-| `LADDER_FREE_TEMPLATE` | `goa-free` | template id (hacktivism) |
-| `LADDER_FREE_TEMPLATE_INSTANCE` | merchant instance | e.g. `goa-demo-cp4zqk` |
-| `LADDER_PAY_WAIT_AVAILABLE_S` | `90` | after withdraw, wait for spendable **available**>0; logs **withdraw board in start order** (OK/OK_BANK) with live `pendingIncoming`→`done` + timer (same wallet DB) |
diff --git a/ladder/extract_rpubs.py b/ladder/extract_rpubs.py
deleted file mode 100755
index 1c939e9..0000000
--- a/ladder/extract_rpubs.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,163 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env python3
-"""Extract reserve_pub candidates from wallet accept + transactions dumps.
-
-Used by check_amount_ladder.sh force-select. Kept as a file (not a bash
-heredoc) so shell refactors cannot turn Python ``continue`` into ``return``.
-
-Usage:
-  ladder_extract_rpubs.py WID AMT accept.out tx.json used-rpubs.txt
-Prints one reserve pub per line, preferred first.
-"""
-from __future__ import annotations
-
-import json
-import re
-import sys
-from pathlib import Path
-
-
-def main(argv: list[str]) -> int:
-    if len(argv) < 6:
-        print(
-            "usage: ladder_extract_rpubs.py WID AMT accept.out tx.json used-rpubs.txt",
-            file=sys.stderr,
-        )
-        return 2
-
-    wid = argv[1]
-    amt = argv[2]
-    paths = argv[3:5]
-    used_path = argv[5]
-    used: set[str] = set()
-    if Path(used_path).is_file():
-        used = {ln.strip() for ln in open(used_path) if ln.strip()}
-
-    amt_num = amt.split(":", 1)[-1] if amt else ""
-    dec = json.JSONDecoder()
-
-    def walk_collect(o, bag, ctx=None):
-        ctx = dict(ctx or {})
-        if isinstance(o, dict):
-            for k, v in o.items():
-                if not isinstance(v, str):
-                    continue
-                kl = str(k).lower().replace("-", "_")
-                if kl in (
-                    "withdrawal_id",
-                    "withdraw_id",
-                    "wopid",
-                    "id",
-                    "transactionid",
-                    "transaction_id",
-                ):
-                    ctx["id"] = v
-                elif kl in (
-                    "amount",
-                    "rawamount",
-                    "instructedamount",
-                    "amounteffective",
-                    "amountraw",
-                    "transferamount",
-                ):
-                    ctx["amount"] = v
-                elif kl in (
-                    "taler_withdraw_uri",
-                    "talerwithdrawuri",
-                    "uri",
-                    "bankconfirmationurl",
-                    "confirmtransferurl",
-                ):
-                    ctx["uri"] = v
-            for k, v in o.items():
-                kl = str(k).lower().replace("-", "_")
-                if kl in ("reserve_pub", "reservepub") and isinstance(v, str) and len(v) >= 40:
-                    bag.append((v, dict(ctx)))
-                elif not isinstance(v, (str, int, float, bool)) and v is not None:
-                    walk_collect(v, bag, ctx)
-        elif isinstance(o, list):
-            for i in o:
-                walk_collect(i, bag, ctx)
-
-    def score_ctx(pub, ctx, window=""):
-        score = 0
-        cid = str(ctx.get("id") or "")
-        camt = str(ctx.get("amount") or "")
-        curi = str(ctx.get("uri") or "")
-        if wid and wid in curi:
-            score += 120
-        if wid and wid in cid:
-            score += 100
-        if wid and wid in window:
-            score += 80
-        if amt and (camt == amt or camt.endswith(amt_num)):
-            score += 50
-        if amt and amt in window:
-            score += 30
-        if pub in used:
-            score -= 200
-        return score
-
-    def iter_json_objects(text: str):
-        i, n = 0, len(text)
-        while i < n:
-            if text[i] == "{":
-                try:
-                    o, end = dec.raw_decode(text, i)
-                    yield o
-                    i = end
-                    continue
-                except Exception:
-                    pass
-            i += 1
-
-    raw_pubs: list[str] = []
-    scored: list[tuple[int, str]] = []
-
-    for p in paths:
-        try:
-            t = open(p, errors="replace").read()
-        except Exception:
-            continue
-        for o in iter_json_objects(t):
-            bag = []
-            walk_collect(o, bag)
-            for pub, ctx in bag:
-                raw_pubs.append(pub)
-                scored.append((score_ctx(pub, ctx), pub))
-
-    rpub_pats = (
-        r"\"reservePub\"\s*:\s*\"([A-Z0-9]{40,})\"",
-        r"\"reserve_pub\"\s*:\s*\"([A-Z0-9]{40,})\"",
-        r"reserve[_ ]?pub[\"\s:=]+([A-Z0-9]{40,})",
-    )
-    for p in paths:
-        try:
-            blob = open(p, errors="replace").read()
-        except Exception:
-            continue
-        for pat in rpub_pats:
-            for m in re.finditer(pat, blob, re.I):
-                pub = m.group(1)
-                raw_pubs.append(pub)
-                window = blob[max(0, m.start() - 600) : m.end() + 600]
-                scored.append((score_ctx(pub, {}, window) + 10, pub))
-
-    order: list[str] = []
-    seen: set[str] = set()
-    for score, pub in sorted(scored, key=lambda x: x[0], reverse=True):
-        if pub in seen or pub in used:
-            continue
-        seen.add(pub)
-        order.append(pub)
-    for pub in reversed(raw_pubs):
-        if pub in seen or pub in used:
-            continue
-        seen.add(pub)
-        order.append(pub)
-    for pub in order:
-        print(pub)
-    return 0
-
-
-if __name__ == "__main__":
-    raise SystemExit(main(sys.argv))
diff --git a/ladder/lib_pay.sh b/ladder/lib_pay.sh
deleted file mode 100644
index e8ae15a..0000000
--- a/ladder/lib_pay.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,559 +0,0 @@
-# ladder/lib_pay.sh — payment side of amount ladder (sourced by check_amount_ladder.sh)
-# Expects: lib.sh + metrics.sh already sourced; CUR BANK MER INST EX SCRATCH WDB
-#           wcli wallet_avail format_amount_alt ladder_over now_ms elapsed_ms
-#           LADDER_* env, AUTH optional, PAY_TSV PAY_OK_N PAY_FAIL_N
-#
-# Public free-amount template (hacktivism): goa-free @ goa-demo-cp4zqk
-# Never spends more than wallet available.
-
-: "${LADDER_FREE_TEMPLATE:=goa-free}"
-: "${LADDER_FREE_TEMPLATE_INSTANCE:=}"
-: "${LADDER_USE_FREE_TEMPLATE:=1}"
-: "${LADDER_PAY_WAIT_AVAILABLE_S:=90}"
-: "${LADDER_PAY_SETTLE_ROUNDS:=6}"
-
-MAX_PAY_BEST_AMT="${MAX_PAY_BEST_AMT:-}"
-MAX_PAY_LO="${MAX_PAY_LO:-0}"
-MAX_PAY_HI="${MAX_PAY_HI:-0}"
-
-ladder_pay_resolve_merchant() {
-  # Sets AUTH (may be empty if free template only)
-  MPW="${E2E_MERCHANT_TOKEN:-${MERCHANT_TOKEN:-}}"
-  if [ -z "$MPW" ]; then
-    MPW=$(read_secret "taler-merchant/merchant-${INST}-password.txt" 2>/dev/null || true)
-  fi
-  if [ -z "$MPW" ]; then
-    MPW=$(read_secret "taler-merchant/merchant-goa-demo-cp4zqk-password.txt" 2>/dev/null || true)
-  fi
-  if [ -z "$MPW" ] && [ "${CUR}" = "TESTPAYSAN" ]; then
-    if [ -n "${FRANCPAYSAN_SECRETS:-}" ] && [ -f "${FRANCPAYSAN_SECRETS}/stage/default-instance-token.txt" ]; then
-      MPW=$(tr -d '\n\r' <"${FRANCPAYSAN_SECRETS}/stage/default-instance-token.txt")
-    fi
-  fi
-  AUTH=""
-  if [ -n "$MPW" ]; then
-    case "$MPW" in
-      secret-token:*) AUTH="Authorization: Bearer ${MPW}" ;;
-      *) AUTH="Authorization: Bearer secret-token:${MPW}" ;;
-    esac
-  fi
-  : "${LADDER_FREE_TEMPLATE_INSTANCE:=${INST}}"
-}
-
-# Create order for PAMT → OID OTOK PAYURI. Prefers public free template.
-ladder_create_order() {
-  local pamt="$1" ptag="$2"
-  local inst mh body tpl_https sum_json
-  OID=""; OTOK=""; PAYURI=""
-  inst="${LADDER_FREE_TEMPLATE_INSTANCE:-$INST}"
-  mh=$(python3 -c 'from urllib.parse import urlparse; print(urlparse("'"${MER}"'").hostname or "taler.hacktivism.ch")' 2>/dev/null || echo "taler.hacktivism.ch")
-
-  if [ "${LADDER_USE_FREE_TEMPLATE}" = "1" ] && [ -n "${LADDER_FREE_TEMPLATE:-}" ]; then
-    tpl_https="${MER}/instances/${inst}/templates/${LADDER_FREE_TEMPLATE}"
-    body=$(python3 -c 'import json,sys; print(json.dumps({"amount":sys.argv[1]}))' "$pamt" 2>/dev/null || printf '{"amount":"%s"}' "$pamt")
-    curl -skS -m 20 -o "$SCRATCH/ord-$ptag.json" -X POST \
-      -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-      -d "$body" \
-      "$tpl_https" 2>"$SCRATCH/ord-$ptag.err" || true
-    OID=$(python3 -c 'import json,re,sys;t=open(sys.argv[1]).read()
-try: print(json.loads(t).get("order_id") or "")
-except Exception:
- m=re.search(r"\"order_id\"\s*:\s*\"([^\"]+)\"",t); print(m.group(1) if m else "")
-' "$SCRATCH/ord-$ptag.json" 2>/dev/null || true)
-    OTOK=$(python3 -c 'import json,re,sys;t=open(sys.argv[1]).read()
-try: print(json.loads(t).get("token") or "")
-except Exception:
- m=re.search(r"\"token\"\s*:\s*\"([^\"]+)\"",t); print(m.group(1) if m else "")
-' "$SCRATCH/ord-$ptag.json" 2>/dev/null || true)
-    if [ -n "$OID" ] && [ -n "$OTOK" ]; then
-      PAYURI="taler://pay/${mh}/instances/${inst}/${OID}/?c=${OTOK}"
-      PAYURI=$(printf '%s' "$PAYURI" | sed 's/:443\//\//g; s/:443?/?/g')
-      return 0
-    fi
-  fi
-
-  [ -n "${AUTH:-}" ] || return 1
-  sum_json=$(python3 -c 'import json,sys; print(json.dumps(sys.argv[1]))' "ladder pay ${pamt}" 2>/dev/null || echo '"ladder pay"')
-  curl -skS -m 20 -o "$SCRATCH/ord-$ptag.json" -X POST \
-    -H "$AUTH" -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-    -d "{\"order\":{\"summary\":${sum_json},\"amount\":\"${pamt}\",\"fulfillment_message\":\"ok\"},\"create_token\":true}" \
-    "${MER}/instances/${INST}/private/orders" 2>"$SCRATCH/ord-$ptag.err" || true
-  OID=$(python3 -c 'import json,re,sys;t=open(sys.argv[1]).read()
-try: print(json.loads(t).get("order_id") or "")
-except Exception:
- m=re.search(r"\"order_id\"\s*:\s*\"([^\"]+)\"",t); print(m.group(1) if m else "")
-' "$SCRATCH/ord-$ptag.json" 2>/dev/null || true)
-  OTOK=$(python3 -c 'import json,re,sys;t=open(sys.argv[1]).read()
-try: print(json.loads(t).get("token") or "")
-except Exception:
- m=re.search(r"\"token\"\s*:\s*\"([^\"]+)\"",t); print(m.group(1) if m else "")
-' "$SCRATCH/ord-$ptag.json" 2>/dev/null || true)
-  [ -n "$OID" ] || return 1
-  curl -skS -m 12 -o "$SCRATCH/ord-det-$ptag.json" -H "$AUTH" \
-    "${MER}/instances/${INST}/private/orders/${OID}" 2>/dev/null || true
-  PAYURI=$(python3 -c 'import json,sys
-try: print(json.load(open(sys.argv[1])).get("taler_pay_uri") or "")
-except Exception: print("")
-' "$SCRATCH/ord-det-$ptag.json" 2>/dev/null || true)
-  if [ -z "$PAYURI" ] && [ -n "$OTOK" ]; then
-    PAYURI="taler://pay/${mh}/instances/${INST}/${OID}/?c=${OTOK}"
-  fi
-  PAYURI=$(printf '%s' "$PAYURI" | sed 's/:443\//\//g; s/:443?/?/g')
-  [ -n "$PAYURI" ]
-}
-
-# One pay attempt; never overspends. Always soft (no hard ladder stop).
-ladder_pay_attempt() {
-  local pamt="$1" prange="$2" prung="$3"
-  local ptag pnum bal t_pay t0 ms_order ms_handle ms_psettle after settled r pstatus pnote
-  ptag=$(printf '%s' "$pamt" | tr '.:' '__')
-  pnum=$(python3 -c 'import sys; print(sys.argv[1].split(":",1)[-1])' "$pamt")
-  t_pay=$(now_ms)
-  ms_order=0; ms_handle=0; ms_psettle=0
-  pnote=""; pstatus="FAIL"; OID="-"
-
-  bal=$(wallet_avail)
-  if ! python3 -c 'import sys; from decimal import Decimal; sys.exit(0 if Decimal(sys.argv[1])>0 and Decimal(sys.argv[1])>=Decimal(sys.argv[2]) else 1)' "$bal" "$pnum" 2>/dev/null; then
-    pstatus="SKIP_BALANCE"
-    pnote="skip: would spend more than available avail=${CUR}:${bal} need=${pamt}"
-    warn pay "pay $pamt skipped (balance)" \
-      "problem: never overspend. $(format_amount_alt "${CUR}:${bal}") free vs $(format_amount_alt "$pamt")"
-    echo -e "${prung}\t${prange}\t${pamt}\t${pstatus}\t0\t0\t0\t$(elapsed_ms "$t_pay")\t-\t${pnote}" >>"$PAY_TSV"
-    return 0
-  fi
-
-  t0=$(now_ms)
-  if ! ladder_create_order "$pamt" "$ptag"; then
-    ms_order=$(elapsed_ms "$t0")
-    pstatus="FAIL_ORDER"
-    pnote="order create failed $(head -c 100 "$SCRATCH/ord-$ptag.json" 2>/dev/null | tr '\n\"' '  ')"
-    warn pay "order $pamt" "$pnote"
-    echo -e "${prung}\t${prange}\t${pamt}\t${pstatus}\t${ms_order}\t0\t0\t$(elapsed_ms "$t_pay")\t-\t${pnote}" >>"$PAY_TSV"
-    return 0
-  fi
-  ms_order=$(elapsed_ms "$t0")
-  ok "order $OID ($pamt) ${ms_order}ms · $(format_amount_alt "$pamt")"
-
-  t0=$(now_ms)
-  if ! wcli handle-uri --yes "$PAYURI" >"$SCRATCH/pay-$ptag.out" 2>&1; then
-    ms_handle=$(elapsed_ms "$t0")
-    pstatus="FAIL_HANDLE"
-    pnote="handle-uri failed $(tail -c 100 "$SCRATCH/pay-$ptag.out" | tr '\n\"' '  ')"
-    warn pay "handle $pamt" "$pnote"
-    echo -e "${prung}\t${prange}\t${pamt}\t${pstatus}\t${ms_order}\t${ms_handle}\t0\t$(elapsed_ms "$t_pay")\t${OID}\t${pnote}" >>"$PAY_TSV"
-    return 0
-  fi
-  ms_handle=$(elapsed_ms "$t0")
-  ok "handle-uri $pamt ${ms_handle}ms"
-
-  t0=$(now_ms)
-  settled=0
-  r=0
-  while [ "$r" -lt "${LADDER_PAY_SETTLE_ROUNDS}" ]; do
-    r=$((r + 1))
-    wcli transactions >"$SCRATCH/tx-pay-$ptag.out" 2>&1 || true
-    if [ -n "${AUTH:-}" ]; then
-      curl -skS -m 8 -o "$SCRATCH/ord-paid-$ptag.json" -H "$AUTH" \
-        "${MER}/instances/${INST}/private/orders/${OID}" 2>/dev/null || true
-    fi
-    if grep -qiE 'payment|paid|Payment' "$SCRATCH/tx-pay-$ptag.out" 2>/dev/null \
-      || python3 -c 'import json,sys
-try:
- d=json.load(open(sys.argv[1]))
- sys.exit(0 if d.get("paid") is True or str(d.get("order_status","")).lower()=="paid" else 1)
-except Exception:
- sys.exit(1)
-' "$SCRATCH/ord-paid-$ptag.json" 2>/dev/null; then
-      settled=1
-      break
-    fi
-    sleep 0.5
-  done
-  ms_psettle=$(elapsed_ms "$t0")
-  after=$(wallet_avail)
-  if [ "$settled" = "1" ]; then
-    pstatus="OK"
-    pnote="avail=${CUR}:${after}"
-    ok "pay settled $pamt · $(format_amount_alt "$pamt") → bal ${CUR}:${after}"
-    PAY_OK_N=$((PAY_OK_N + 1))
-    echo -e "${prung}\t${prange}\t${pamt}\t${pstatus}\t${ms_order}\t${ms_handle}\t${ms_psettle}\t$(elapsed_ms "$t_pay")\t${OID}\t${pnote}" >>"$PAY_TSV"
-    metrics_report_coins "after-pay-${ptag}" || true
-    metrics_record_flow spent "$pamt" || true
-  else
-    pstatus="FAIL_SETTLE"
-    pnote="not settled order=$OID avail=${CUR}:${after}"
-    warn pay "settle $pamt" "$pnote"
-    echo -e "${prung}\t${prange}\t${pamt}\t${pstatus}\t${ms_order}\t${ms_handle}\t${ms_psettle}\t$(elapsed_ms "$t_pay")\t${OID}\t${pnote}" >>"$PAY_TSV"
-  fi
-  return 0
-}
-
-# Print withdraw board: OK/OK_BANK rungs in *start order* + wallet tx state.
-# Uses TSV (ladder order) + transactions dump. Call after refreshing tx dump.
-# Args: left_secs available_num pendingIncoming_num
-ladder_print_wd_board() {
-  local left="${1:-?}" bal="${2:-0}" pend="${3:-0}"
-  local tsv="${TSV:-}" txf="${SCRATCH:-/tmp}/tx-wait-pay.out"
-  local board
-  board=$(
-    python3 - "$tsv" "$txf" "${CUR:-GOA}" "$left" "$bal" "$pend" <<'PY' 2>/dev/null || true
-import json, sys
-from pathlib import Path
-
-tsv, txf, cur, left, bal, pend = sys.argv[1:7]
-dec = json.JSONDecoder()
-
-def num(a: str) -> str:
-    a = (a or "").strip()
-    if ":" in a:
-        return a.split(":", 1)[1]
-    return a
-
-def iter_json(text: str):
-    i, n = 0, len(text)
-    while i < n:
-        if text[i] == "{":
-            try:
-                o, end = dec.raw_decode(text, i)
-                yield o
-                i = end
-                continue
-            except Exception:
-                pass
-        i += 1
-
-# TSV rows in start order (OK / OK_BANK only — successful bank path)
-rows = []
-if tsv and Path(tsv).is_file():
-    for ln in open(tsv, errors="replace"):
-        if not ln.strip() or ln.startswith("rung"):
-            continue
-        p = ln.rstrip("\n").split("\t")
-        if len(p) < 10:
-            continue
-        status = p[3]
-        if status not in ("OK", "OK_BANK"):
-            continue
-        rows.append({
-            "rung": p[0],
-            "amt": p[2],
-            "bank": status,
-            "wid": (p[9] if len(p) > 9 else "")[:12],
-        })
-
-# Wallet withdrawal txs (chronological if timestamp present)
-wds = []
-if txf and Path(txf).is_file():
-    try:
-        text = open(txf, errors="replace").read()
-    except Exception:
-        text = ""
-    for o in iter_json(text):
-        txs = o.get("transactions") if isinstance(o, dict) else None
-        if not isinstance(txs, list):
-            continue
-        for t in txs:
-            if not isinstance(t, dict):
-                continue
-            typ = str(t.get("type") or t.get("Type") or "").lower()
-            if "withdraw" not in typ:
-                continue
-            amt = t.get("amountRaw") or t.get("amountEffective") or t.get("amount") or ""
-            st = (
-                t.get("txState")
-                or t.get("status")
-                or t.get("pendingMajor")
-                or t.get("txMajorState")
-                or ""
-            )
-            st = str(st).lower()
-            det = t.get("withdrawalDetails") or t.get("withdrawal_details") or {}
-            if not isinstance(det, dict):
-                det = {}
-            conf = det.get("confirmed")
-            if conf is True and not st:
-                st = "done"
-            elif conf is False and not st:
-                st = "pending"
-            # pending* / dialog / kyc → still incoming; done/abort final
-            if any(x in st for x in ("done", "abort", "fail", "delete")):
-                phase = "done" if "done" in st else st
-            elif st in ("", "none", "null"):
-                phase = "unknown"
-            else:
-                phase = "pendingIncoming"
-            ts = 0
-            for k in ("timestamp", "timestamp_ms", "age"):
-                v = t.get(k)
-                if isinstance(v, dict):
-                    v = v.get("t_s") or v.get("t_ms") or v.get("t_usec")
-                try:
-                    ts = int(v or 0)
-                except Exception:
-                    ts = 0
-                if ts:
-                    break
-            wds.append({"amt": str(amt), "n": num(str(amt)), "phase": phase, "st": st or "?", "ts": ts})
-
-wds.sort(key=lambda x: x["ts"])
-used = [False] * len(wds)
-
-lines = [
-    f"withdraw board (start order) · timer {left}s left · available={cur}:{bal} · pendingIncoming={cur}:{pend}"
-]
-if not rows:
-    lines.append("  (no OK/OK_BANK rows in TSV yet)")
-else:
-    for i, r in enumerate(rows, 1):
-        n = num(r["amt"])
-        match = None
-        for j, w in enumerate(wds):
-            if used[j]:
-                continue
-            if w["n"] == n or w["amt"] == r["amt"] or w["amt"].endswith(":" + n):
-                used[j] = True
-                match = w
-                break
-        if match is None:
-            wlabel = "wallet=? (no tx match)"
-        elif match["phase"] == "pendingIncoming":
-            wlabel = f"wallet=pendingIncoming ({match['st']})"
-        elif match["phase"] == "done":
-            wlabel = f"wallet=done ({match['st']})"
-        else:
-            wlabel = f"wallet={match['phase']} ({match['st']})"
-        wid = r["wid"] or "-"
-        lines.append(
-            f"  #{i:<3} rung={r['rung']:<4} {r['amt']:<22} bank={r['bank']:<8} {wlabel}  wid={wid}"
-        )
-    pending_n = sum(1 for w in wds if w["phase"] == "pendingIncoming")
-    done_n = sum(1 for w in wds if w["phase"] == "done")
-    lines.append(
-        f"  summary: tsv_ok={len(rows)} · wallet_wd={len(wds)} (pendingIncoming={pending_n} done={done_n})"
-    )
-
-print("\n".join(lines))
-PY
-  )
-  if [ -n "$board" ]; then
-    while IFS= read -r line || [ -n "$line" ]; do
-      [ -n "$line" ] && info pay "$line"
-    done <<<"$board"
-  else
-    info pay "timer ${left}s left · available=${CUR}:${bal} · pendingIncoming=${CUR}:${pend} · same wallet (board n/a)"
-  fi
-}
-
-# Wait for spendable coins on the *same* wallet DB as withdraw (WDB).
-# After OK_BANK, available is often still 0 while pendingIncoming > 0 — pay needs available.
-# Shows withdraw board in start order + countdown (never looks hung).
-ladder_wait_available() {
-  local wait_s="${1:-$LADDER_PAY_WAIT_AVAILABLE_S}"
-  local end now left bal pend tick=0
-  end=$(( $(date +%s) + wait_s ))
-  bal=$(wallet_avail)
-  pend=$(wallet_pending_in 2>/dev/null || echo "0")
-  if python3 -c 'import sys; from decimal import Decimal; sys.exit(0 if Decimal(sys.argv[1])>0 else 1)' "$bal" 2>/dev/null; then
-    printf '%s' "$bal"
-    return 0
-  fi
-  info pay "same wallet as withdraw (db=$(basename "${WDB:-wallet}")) · available=${CUR}:${bal} · pendingIncoming=${CUR}:${pend}"
-  info pay "waiting up to ${wait_s}s for spendable available>0 — board lists OK/OK_BANK withdraws in start order"
-  # initial board before loop
-  wcli transactions >"$SCRATCH/tx-wait-pay.out" 2>&1 || true
-  ladder_print_wd_board "$wait_s" "$bal" "$pend"
-  while python3 -c 'import sys; from decimal import Decimal; sys.exit(0 if Decimal(sys.argv[1])<=0 else 1)' "$bal" 2>/dev/null; do
-    now=$(date +%s)
-    left=$(( end - now ))
-    if [ "$left" -le 0 ]; then
-      wcli transactions >"$SCRATCH/tx-wait-pay.out" 2>&1 || true
-      ladder_print_wd_board "0" "$bal" "$pend"
-      info pay "timer 0s left — stop waiting (available still ${CUR}:0)"
-      break
-    fi
-    # nudge wallet (same DB); do not run-until-done (can hang)
-    wcli transactions >"$SCRATCH/tx-wait-pay.out" 2>&1 || true
-    if command -v timeout >/dev/null 2>&1 || command -v gtimeout >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-      local _to
-      _to=$(command -v gtimeout 2>/dev/null || command -v timeout)
-      "$_to" 8 wcli advanced run-pending >"$SCRATCH/run-pending.out" 2>&1 || true
-    fi
-    # progress board every ~5s (tick every 2s → every 3rd)
-    if [ $((tick % 3)) -eq 0 ]; then
-      ladder_print_wd_board "$left" "$bal" "$pend"
-    fi
-    sleep 2
-    tick=$((tick + 1))
-    bal=$(wallet_avail)
-    pend=$(wallet_pending_in 2>/dev/null || echo "0")
-  done
-  if python3 -c 'import sys; from decimal import Decimal; sys.exit(0 if Decimal(sys.argv[1])>0 else 1)' "$bal" 2>/dev/null; then
-    wcli transactions >"$SCRATCH/tx-wait-pay.out" 2>&1 || true
-    ladder_print_wd_board "ready" "$bal" "$pend"
-    ok pay "spendable coins ready available=${CUR}:${bal} · $(format_amount_alt "${CUR}:${bal}") (same wallet)"
-  else
-    warn pay "no spendable coins after ${wait_s}s" \
-      "problem: available still ${CUR}:0 (pendingIncoming=${CUR}:${pend}). Board above shows which withdraws still pendingIncoming. Pay will SKIP_BALANCE / skip max-pay until wirewatch+wallet finish. Same wallet as withdraw."
-  fi
-  printf '%s' "$bal"
-}
-
-# Classic planned pays (PAY_LIST)
-ladder_run_pay_classic() {
-  # shellcheck disable=SC2086
-  set -- $PAY_LIST
-  local pay_n=$# prung=0 PAMT prange PNUM
-  if [ "$pay_n" -eq 0 ]; then
-    info pay "empty pay plan — skip"
-    return 0
-  fi
-  info "pay rungs" "$pay_n · $*"
-  for PAMT in "$@"; do
-    prung=$((prung + 1))
-    ladder_over && break
-    if [ "$prung" -eq 1 ]; then
-      prange="pin:0"
-    elif [ "$prung" -eq "$pay_n" ]; then
-      prange="pin:max"
-    elif [ "$prung" -eq $((pay_n - 1)) ] && [ "$pay_n" -ge 3 ]; then
-      prange="pin:max-1"
-    else
-      prange="random"
-    fi
-    section "ladder · pay rung $prung  $PAMT · $(format_amount_alt "$PAMT")"
-    PNUM=$(python3 -c 'import sys; print(sys.argv[1].split(":",1)[-1])' "$PAMT")
-    if python3 -c 'import sys; from decimal import Decimal; sys.exit(0 if Decimal(sys.argv[1])==0 else 1)' "$PNUM" 2>/dev/null; then
-      echo -e "${prung}\t${prange}\t${PAMT}\tZERO_SKIP\t0\t0\t0\t0\t-\tzero" >>"$PAY_TSV"
-      PAY_OK_N=$((PAY_OK_N + 1))
-      continue
-    fi
-    ladder_pay_attempt "$PAMT" "$prange" "$prung"
-  done
-}
-
-# Max-search: highest payable ≤ available (uses max_search_next from withdraw module)
-ladder_run_pay_max_search() {
-  local bal prung _next _anum prange _act _last _slo _shi
-  section "ladder · phase B · max-search pay (highest payable ≤ available)"
-  bal=$(ladder_wait_available "$LADDER_PAY_WAIT_AVAILABLE_S")
-  MAX_PAY_LO="0"
-  MAX_PAY_HI="$bal"
-  MAX_PAY_BEST_AMT=""
-  if ! python3 -c 'import sys; from decimal import Decimal; sys.exit(0 if Decimal(sys.argv[1])>0 else 1)' "$MAX_PAY_HI" 2>/dev/null; then
-    warn pay "max-search pay skipped" \
-      "problem: wallet available is ${CUR}:0 — need spendable coins (pendingIncoming is not enough)"
-    return 0
-  fi
-  info "max-search pay" "hi=available $(format_amount_alt "${CUR}:${MAX_PAY_HI}") · template=${LADDER_FREE_TEMPLATE}@${LADDER_FREE_TEMPLATE_INSTANCE}"
-  info "pay budget" "never order more than $(format_amount_alt "${CUR}:${MAX_PAY_HI}")"
-  prung=0
-  _last=""
-  while [ "${LADDER_MAX_PROBES}" = "0" ] || [ "$prung" -lt "${LADDER_MAX_PROBES}" ]; do
-    ladder_over && break
-    # reuse withdraw amount picker with pay bounds
-    _slo=${MAX_LO:-0}; _shi=${MAX_HI:-0}
-    MAX_LO=$MAX_PAY_LO
-    MAX_HI=$MAX_PAY_HI
-    if ! type max_search_next >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-      warn pay "max_search_next missing — cannot run pay max-search"
-      MAX_LO=$_slo; MAX_HI=$_shi
-      return 0
-    fi
-    _next=$(max_search_next)
-    MAX_LO=$_slo; MAX_HI=$_shi
-    _anum=$(printf '%s' "$_next" | cut -d'|' -f1)
-    prange=$(printf '%s' "$_next" | cut -d'|' -f2 | sed 's/^max:/pay:/')
-    _act=$(printf '%s' "$_next" | cut -d'|' -f3)
-    if [ "$_act" = "done" ]; then
-      info "max-search pay" "converged best=$(format_amount_alt "${MAX_PAY_BEST_AMT:-${CUR}:0}") · lo=$(format_amount_alt "${CUR}:${MAX_PAY_LO}") · hi=$(format_amount_alt "${CUR}:${MAX_PAY_HI}")"
-      break
-    fi
-    if ! python3 -c 'import sys; from decimal import Decimal; sys.exit(0 if Decimal(sys.argv[1])<=Decimal(sys.argv[2]) else 1)' "$_anum" "$MAX_PAY_HI" 2>/dev/null; then
-      _anum=$MAX_PAY_HI
-    fi
-    if ! python3 -c 'import sys; from decimal import Decimal; sys.exit(0 if Decimal(sys.argv[1])>0 else 1)' "$_anum" 2>/dev/null; then
-      break
-    fi
-    PAMT="${CUR}:${_anum}"
-    if [ -n "$_last" ] && [ "$PAMT" = "$_last" ]; then
-      MAX_PAY_HI=$(python3 -c 'from decimal import Decimal; a=Decimal("'"$_anum"'"); print(max(Decimal(0), a-(1 if a>=1 else Decimal("0.000001"))))')
-      continue
-    fi
-    _last=$PAMT
-    prung=$((prung + 1))
-    section "ladder · max pay probe $prung  $PAMT · $(format_amount_alt "$PAMT")  [lo=$(format_amount_alt "${CUR}:${MAX_PAY_LO}") · hi=$(format_amount_alt "${CUR}:${MAX_PAY_HI}")]"
-    ladder_pay_attempt "$PAMT" "$prange" "$prung"
-    _last_st=$(tail -1 "$PAY_TSV" 2>/dev/null | cut -f4)
-    case "$_last_st" in
-      OK)
-        MAX_PAY_LO=$_anum
-        MAX_PAY_BEST_AMT=$PAMT
-        info "max-search pay" "success bound lo=$(format_amount_alt "${CUR}:${MAX_PAY_LO}")"
-        ;;
-      SKIP_BALANCE|FAIL_ORDER|FAIL_HANDLE|FAIL_SETTLE)
-        MAX_PAY_HI=$(python3 -c 'from decimal import Decimal; a=Decimal("'"$_anum"'"); h=Decimal("'"$MAX_PAY_HI"'"); print(min(a,h))')
-        info "max-search pay" "too-high/fail hi:=$(format_amount_alt "${CUR}:${MAX_PAY_HI}") status=${_last_st}"
-        ;;
-    esac
-    if python3 -c 'from decimal import Decimal; import sys; sys.exit(0 if Decimal(sys.argv[1])>0 and Decimal(sys.argv[2])<=Decimal(sys.argv[1]) else 1)' "$MAX_PAY_LO" "$MAX_PAY_HI" 2>/dev/null; then
-      info "max-search pay" "bounds crossed — stop"
-      break
-    fi
-  done
-  if [ -n "${MAX_PAY_BEST_AMT:-}" ]; then
-    ok "max-search best payable $(format_amount_alt "$MAX_PAY_BEST_AMT") · lo=$(format_amount_alt "${CUR}:${MAX_PAY_LO}") · hi=$(format_amount_alt "${CUR}:${MAX_PAY_HI}")"
-  else
-    warn pay "max-search no successful pay" "available was ${CUR}:$(wallet_avail)"
-  fi
-  {
-    echo "best_pay=${MAX_PAY_BEST_AMT:-}"
-    echo "best_pay_alt=$(format_amount_alt "${MAX_PAY_BEST_AMT:-${CUR}:0}" 2>/dev/null || true)"
-    echo "pay_lo=${MAX_PAY_LO}"
-    echo "pay_hi=${MAX_PAY_HI}"
-  } >>"${SCRATCH}/ladder-plan.txt" 2>/dev/null || true
-  printf '%s\n' "${MAX_PAY_BEST_AMT:-}" >"${SCRATCH}/ladder-pay-plan.txt" 2>/dev/null || true
-}
-
-# Entry: glue from check_amount_ladder.sh after withdraw phase
-ladder_run_pay_phase() {
-  PAY_OK_N=0
-  PAY_FAIL_N=0
-  if [ "${LADDER_PAY}" != "1" ]; then
-    info pay "LADDER_PAY=0 — pay phase skipped"
-    return 0
-  fi
-  if [ "${FAIL_N_L:-0}" -gt 0 ]; then
-    warn pay "skipped pay ladder" "withdraw phase already failed"
-    return 0
-  fi
-
-  set_group pay
-  section "ladder · phase B · pay"
-  metrics_report_coins "before-pay-ladder" || true
-  ladder_pay_resolve_merchant
-
-  if [ -z "${AUTH:-}" ] && ! { [ "${LADDER_USE_FREE_TEMPLATE}" = "1" ] && [ -n "${LADDER_FREE_TEMPLATE:-}" ]; }; then
-    warn pay "no merchant token and free template off — skip pay"
-    return 0
-  fi
-  if [ -n "${AUTH:-}" ]; then
-    ok "merchant token" "instance ${INST}"
-  else
-    info pay "public free template ${LADDER_FREE_TEMPLATE}@${LADDER_FREE_TEMPLATE_INSTANCE} (no merchant token)"
-  fi
-
-  # Same cumulative wallet as withdraw (WDB=wallet-main.sqlite3)
-  wallet_prepare "main"
-  info pay "using same wallet as withdraw · WDB=${WDB:-?}"
-  local bal0
-  bal0=$(ladder_wait_available "$LADDER_PAY_WAIT_AVAILABLE_S")
-  info "pay budget" "wallet available ${CUR}:${bal0} · $(format_amount_alt "${CUR}:${bal0}") — never order more than this"
-
-  if [ "${LADDER_MODE}" = "max" ]; then
-    ladder_run_pay_max_search
-  else
-    ladder_run_pay_classic
-  fi
-  metrics_report_coins "after-pay-ladder" || true
-  info "pay summary" "ok=$PAY_OK_N fail=$PAY_FAIL_N tsv=$PAY_TSV"
-}
diff --git a/lib.sh b/lib.sh
index 9ced76b..0f92126 100755
--- a/lib.sh
+++ b/lib.sh
@@ -1512,20 +1512,12 @@ find_wallet_cli() {
     echo "$WALLET_CLI"; return 0
   fi
   local c cand
-  # WALLET_CLI / WALLET_CLI_CANDIDATES from env; then portable package paths.
-  # Prefer local ts-core / mon-env builds (schema-compatible) over stale system
-  # wrappers (e.g. /usr/local 1.3.x vs DB schema 29 from 1.6.x).
+  # WALLET_CLI / WALLET_CLI_CANDIDATES from env; then portable package paths only.
   # shellcheck disable=SC2086
   for c in ${WALLET_CLI_CANDIDATES:-} \
     "${HOME}/.local/bin/taler-wallet-cli.mjs" \
-    "${HOME}/src/taler/taler-typescript-core/packages/taler-wallet-cli/bin/taler-wallet-cli.mjs" \
-    "${HOME}/src/taler/taler-typescript-core/packages/taler-wallet-cli/dist/taler-wallet-cli.mjs" \
-    "${HOME}/src/taler/taler-typescript-core/packages/taler-wallet-cli/dist/taler-wallet-cli-local.mjs" \
-    "${HOME}/src/taler/taler-typescript-core/packages/taler-wallet-cli/dist/taler-wallet-cli-bundled.cjs" \
     /usr/lib/taler-wallet-cli/node_modules/taler-wallet-cli/bin/taler-wallet-cli.mjs \
-    /usr/share/taler-wallet-cli/bin/taler-wallet-cli.mjs \
-    /usr/local/lib/taler-wallet-cli/node_modules/taler-wallet-cli/bin/taler-wallet-cli.mjs \
-    /usr/local/lib/taler-wallet-cli/node_modules/taler-wallet-cli/dist/taler-wallet-cli-bundled.cjs
+    /usr/share/taler-wallet-cli/bin/taler-wallet-cli.mjs
   do
     [ -n "$c" ] && [ -f "$c" ] && { echo "$c"; return 0; }
   done
@@ -1541,14 +1533,6 @@ find_wallet_cli() {
       c=$(readlink -f "$cand" 2>/dev/null || true)
       [ -n "$c" ] && [ -f "$c" ] && { echo "$c"; return 0; }
     fi
-    # macOS /usr/local wrapper often runs an older bundle; prefer its bundled.cjs only
-    # when no newer candidate above matched (already returned).
-    for c in \
-      /usr/local/lib/taler-wallet-cli/node_modules/taler-wallet-cli/dist/taler-wallet-cli-bundled.cjs \
-      /usr/local/lib/node_modules/taler-wallet-cli/dist/taler-wallet-cli-bundled.cjs
-    do
-      [ -f "$c" ] && { echo "$c"; return 0; }
-    done
   fi
   return 1
 }
diff --git a/metrics.sh b/metrics.sh
index 5e6ac42..aac0630 100644
--- a/metrics.sh
+++ b/metrics.sh
@@ -70,15 +70,11 @@ path = sys.argv[2] if len(sys.argv) > 2 else ""
 alt = {}
 if path:
     try:
-        _loaded = json.load(open(path))
-        if isinstance(_loaded, dict):
-            alt = {str(k): str(v) for k, v in _loaded.items()}
+        alt = json.load(open(path))
     except Exception:
         alt = {}
-if not isinstance(alt, dict) or not alt:
+if not alt:
     alt = {"0": "GOA"}
-elif "0" not in alt:
-    alt["0"] = "GOA"
 
 def parse(s):
     if ":" in s:
diff --git a/site-gen/caddy-monitoring-handles.snippet b/site-gen/caddy-monitoring-handles.snippet
index 1fb1e1b..5689fff 100644
--- a/site-gen/caddy-monitoring-handles.snippet
+++ b/site-gen/caddy-monitoring-handles.snippet
@@ -5,8 +5,6 @@
 #
 # CORRECT (site-level named matcher — preferred):
 #   @mon_bare path /monitoring /monitoring_err \
-#       /monitoring-ladder /monitoring-ladder_err \
-#       /monitoring-max-ladder /monitoring-max-ladder_err \
 #       /taler-monitoring-surface /taler-monitoring-surface_err \
 #       /taler-monitoring-aptdeploy /taler-monitoring-aptdeploy_err
 #   redir @mon_bare {path}/ 302
@@ -37,8 +35,6 @@
 
 # --- only inside taler.hacktivism.ch { ... } ---
     @mon_bare path /monitoring /monitoring_err \
-        /monitoring-ladder /monitoring-ladder_err \
-        /monitoring-max-ladder /monitoring-max-ladder_err \
         /taler-monitoring-surface /taler-monitoring-surface_err \
         /taler-monitoring-aptdeploy /taler-monitoring-aptdeploy_err \
         /taler-monitoring-mail /taler-monitoring-mail_err \
@@ -63,10 +59,7 @@
     }
 
 # --- bank + exchange + taler (each site block; set root host dir) ---
-# /monitoring* already covers /monitoring-ladder* and /monitoring-max-ladder*
-    @mon_bare path /monitoring /monitoring_err \
-        /monitoring-ladder /monitoring-ladder_err \
-        /monitoring-max-ladder /monitoring-max-ladder_err
+    @mon_bare path /monitoring /monitoring_err
     redir @mon_bare {path}/ 302
 
     handle /monitoring_err* {
diff --git a/site-gen/console_to_html.py b/site-gen/console_to_html.py
index a2c4af1..d49c839 100755
--- a/site-gen/console_to_html.py
+++ b/site-gen/console_to_html.py
@@ -281,11 +281,11 @@ def ui(lang: str, key: str, **kwargs) -> str:
         "mode_redirect": "REDIR",
         "pages_title": "Monitoring pages (suite HTML)",
         "pages_summary": "Public sticky-bar reports · phase monpages · part of taler-monitoring",
-        "pages_i1": "Suite name taler-monitoring ≠ URL. Public families (bare + slash each):",
-        "pages_i2": "1) /monitoring(+_err) · 2) /monitoring-ladder(+_err) daily classic · 3) /monitoring-max-ladder(+_err) daily max-search · 4) /taler-monitoring-surface · 5) /taler-monitoring-aptdeploy (surface/aptdeploy on taler.hacktivism.ch)",
-        "pages_i3": "No /taler-monitoring page; no /taler-monitoring-mail|mattermost (folded into surface). Ladder pages on GOA bank/exchange/taler landings.",
+        "pages_i1": "Suite name taler-monitoring ≠ URL. Only three public families (bare + slash each):",
+        "pages_i2": "1) /monitoring(+_err) on landing hosts · 2) /taler-monitoring-surface(+_err) · 3) /taler-monitoring-aptdeploy(+_err) on taler.hacktivism.ch",
+        "pages_i3": "No /taler-monitoring page; no /taler-monitoring-mail|mattermost (folded into surface)",
         "pages_i4": "monpages: existence + content markers; bare → slash redir (not merchant code 21)",
-        "pages_i5": "Host-agent: staging → DEPLOY_WWW_ROOT; Caddy /monitoring* also serves ladder and max-ladder paths",
+        "pages_i5": "Host-agent: staging → DEPLOY_WWW_ROOT; reverse-proxy handles only those three families",
         "pages_i6": "This page host: {host} · path label: {label}",
         "stage_title": "mytops stage monitoring · {host}",
         "stage_summary": "betel only · CHF stage stack · not lifeline/prod · not GOA",
@@ -391,11 +391,11 @@ def ui(lang: str, key: str, **kwargs) -> str:
         "mode_redirect": "REDIR",
         "pages_title": "Pages de monitoring (HTML de la suite)",
         "pages_summary": "Rapports publics sticky-bar · phase monpages · partie de taler-monitoring",
-        "pages_i1": "Nom de suite taler-monitoring ≠ URL. Familles publiques (sans et avec /) :",
-        "pages_i2": "1) /monitoring(+_err) · 2) /monitoring-ladder(+_err) quotidien classic · 3) /monitoring-max-ladder(+_err) max-search · 4) surface · 5) aptdeploy (surface/aptdeploy sur taler.hacktivism.ch)",
-        "pages_i3": "Pas de page /taler-monitoring ; pas de /taler-monitoring-mail|mattermost (dans surface). Ladder sur landings GOA bank/exchange/taler.",
+        "pages_i1": "Nom de suite taler-monitoring ≠ URL. Trois familles publiques seulement (sans et avec /) :",
+        "pages_i2": "1) /monitoring(+_err) · 2) /taler-monitoring-surface(+_err) · 3) /taler-monitoring-aptdeploy(+_err) sur taler.hacktivism.ch",
+        "pages_i3": "Pas de page /taler-monitoring ; pas de /taler-monitoring-mail|mattermost (dans surface)",
         "pages_i4": "monpages : existence + marqueurs ; bare → slash (pas code 21 merchant)",
-        "pages_i5": "Host-agent : staging → DEPLOY_WWW_ROOT ; Caddy /monitoring* sert aussi ladder et max-ladder",
+        "pages_i5": "Host-agent : staging → DEPLOY_WWW_ROOT ; reverse-proxy seulement ces trois familles",
         "stage_title": "Surveillance mytops stage · {host}",
         "stage_summary": "betel uniquement · pile CHF stage · pas lifeline/prod · pas GOA",
         "stage_i1": "Hôte : betel (stage). HTML mon : stage.my.taler-ops.ch + stage.taler-ops.ch /monitoring/",
diff --git a/taler-monitoring.sh b/taler-monitoring.sh
index 5379f3f..35c2a99 100755
--- a/taler-monitoring.sh
+++ b/taler-monitoring.sh
@@ -93,9 +93,7 @@ Phases:
   sanity   public + optional server
   server   server-side only (SSH)
   e2e      withdraw + pay (small amounts; remote aborts on login/KYC)
-  ladder   amount ladder classic (default 23-rung withdraw + pay; any currency)
-  max-ladder  max-search: highest withdrawable + highest payable (≤ available)
-  goa-ladder  alias of ladder (legacy phase name; same check_amount_ladder.sh)
+  ladder   withdraw/pay amount ladder (GOA ceiling or stage TESTPAYSAN max_wire)
   auth401  merchant Basic-auth / case matrix (HTTP 401 paths; may create throwaway instance)
   aptdeploy  koopa podman apt-src smoke: taler-merchant in
              koopa-taler-deploy-test-apt-src-trixie{,-testing}
@@ -267,7 +265,7 @@ while [ $# -gt 0 ]; do
       CURRENCY_OVERRIDE="$2"; shift 2
       ;;
     --no-probe) NO_PROBE=1; shift ;;
-    urls|inside|versions|sanity|server|e2e|ladder|goa-ladder|max-ladder|maxladder|auth401|aptdeploy|apt-deploy|apt_src|surface|ecosystem|mattermost|mail|monpages|pages|devtesting|franken|fake-franken|fake_franken|all|full) PHASES+=("$1"); shift ;;
+    urls|inside|versions|sanity|server|e2e|ladder|goa-ladder|auth401|aptdeploy|apt-deploy|apt_src|surface|ecosystem|mattermost|mail|monpages|pages|devtesting|franken|fake-franken|fake_franken|all|full) PHASES+=("$1"); shift ;;
     *)
       # bare domain shorthand: ./taler-monitoring.sh taler.net
       if [[ "$1" == *.* && "$1" != *://* && "$1" != -* ]]; then
@@ -318,8 +316,7 @@ export INSIDE_PROFILE INSIDE_SSH
 export INSIDE_BANK_CTR INSIDE_EXCHANGE_CTR INSIDE_MERCHANT_CTR
 export INSIDE_BANK_PORT INSIDE_EXCHANGE_PORT INSIDE_MERCHANT_PORT
 export INSIDE_DNS_BANK INSIDE_DNS_EXCHANGE INSIDE_DNS_MERCHANT
-# Amount ladder — check_amount_ladder.sh + ladder/lib_pay.sh + ladder/extract_rpubs.py
-# Phases: ladder|goa-ladder (classic), max-ladder|maxladder (max-search).
+# Ladder: withdraw then pay — 0 + random mids + max-1 + max (see check_goa_ladder.sh).
 # Defaults so set -u export is safe when vars were never set by caller.
 : "${LADDER_STEPS:=23}"
 : "${LADDER_MIN_AMOUNT:=0.000001}"
@@ -333,23 +330,16 @@ export INSIDE_DNS_BANK INSIDE_DNS_EXCHANGE INSIDE_DNS_MERCHANT
 : "${LADDER_INCLUDE_ZERO:=1}"
 : "${LADDER_INCLUDE_MAX:=1}"
 : "${LADDER_HIGH_FROM:=1000000}"
-: "${LADDER_HIGH_RUNGS:=4}"
+: "${LADDER_HIGH_RUNGS:=12}"
 : "${LADDER_LOAD:=1}"
 : "${LADDER_PAY:=1}"
 : "${LADDER_WITHDRAW_SCALE:=1.5}"
 : "${LADDER_PAY_SETTLE_ROUNDS:=6}"
-: "${LADDER_MODE:=classic}"
-: "${LADDER_MAX_PROBES:=32}"
-: "${LADDER_MAX_TOL_REL:=0.001}"
-: "${LADDER_MAX_SEED:=}"
-: "${LADDER_PAY_WITH_MAX:=0}"
-: "${LADDER_HIGH_RUNGS:=6}"
 export LADDER_STEPS LADDER_MIN_AMOUNT LADDER_CONFIRM_POLLS LADDER_MAX_RUNGS LADDER_TIMEOUT_S LADDER_REPORT_DIR
 export LADDER_SETTLE_ROUNDS LADDER_SETTLE_SLEEP EXP_PW_FILE EXP_USER
 export LADDER_MAX_AMOUNT LADDER_INCLUDE_ZERO LADDER_INCLUDE_MAX
 export LADDER_HIGH_FROM LADDER_HIGH_RUNGS LADDER_LOAD
 export LADDER_PAY LADDER_WITHDRAW_SCALE LADDER_PAY_SETTLE_ROUNDS
-export LADDER_MODE LADDER_MAX_PROBES LADDER_MAX_TOL_REL LADDER_MAX_SEED LADDER_PAY_WITH_MAX
 export TALER_DOMAIN_APPLIED=1
   i18n_init 2>/dev/null || true
 # Optional: auth401 and other phases may honor CONTINUE_ON_ERROR
@@ -445,7 +435,7 @@ _progress_estimate_phase() {
     server)   n=20 ;;
     # e2e: bank withdraw ladder emits many INFO lines (coins before/after each note)
     e2e)      n=240 ;;
-    ladder|goa-ladder|max-ladder|maxladder) n=120 ;;
+    ladder|goa-ladder) n=120 ;;
     auth401)  n=70 ;;
     aptdeploy) n=40 ;;
     surface|ecosystem) n=120 ;;
@@ -621,15 +611,7 @@ while [ "$_phase_idx" -lt "$_n_phases" ]; do
     sanity)   run_phase sanity   "$ROOT/check_sanity.sh"   || ec=1 ;;
     server)   run_phase server   "$ROOT/check_server.sh"   || ec=1 ;;
     e2e)      run_phase e2e      "$ROOT/check_e2e.sh"      || ec=1 ;;
-    ladder|goa-ladder)
-      run_phase ladder "$ROOT/check_amount_ladder.sh" || ec=1
-      ;;
-    max-ladder|maxladder)
-      # Feature: hunt highest mint+confirm withdrawable amount (any currency)
-      LADDER_MODE=max
-      export LADDER_MODE
-      run_phase ladder "$ROOT/check_amount_ladder.sh" || ec=1
-      ;;
+    ladder|goa-ladder) run_phase ladder "$ROOT/check_goa_ladder.sh" || ec=1 ;;
     auth401)  run_phase auth401  "$ROOT/check_auth401.sh"  || ec=1 ;;
     aptdeploy|apt-deploy|apt_src) run_phase aptdeploy "$ROOT/check_apt_deploy.sh" || ec=1 ;;
     surface|ecosystem) run_phase surface "$ROOT/check_surface.sh" || ec=1 ;;