Inspector 0.9.3: all times follow the stack's TZ; docs explain why it matters

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -7,6 +7,134 @@ Version numbers follow [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html
 
 ---
 
+## [0.9.3] — 2026-10-28
+
+### Changed
+
+- **Every time follows the `TZ` of the Inspector stack.** Before, the dashboard,
+  Events page and alerts were always in US Pacific time while the maintenance window
+  and logs used `TZ`, so anyone outside Pacific saw times hours off (e.g. a 02:00
+  Berlin window shown as 5:00 PM). Now the dashboard, the Events page (including
+  where each day starts), alert times, cooldown times and logs all use `TZ`.
+- Alert times include the zone abbreviation (`10-28 09:27 AM CET`), and "Cooldown
+  until" in alerts, event messages and logs is a local time instead of a UTC
+  timestamp.
+- The active time zone is shown at the bottom of every Settings page, on the Events
+  page and on the Maintenance page.
+- **If you never set `TZ`**, times are now shown in UTC instead of Pacific. Set `TZ`
+  in the stack (e.g. `America/New_York`). An unrecognized name logs a warning and
+  falls back to UTC.
+
+### Docs
+
+- INSTALL: `TZ` is now marked as needed, with a "Why the time zone matters" section
+  (maintenance window, alerts, dashboard, logs), how to find your zone name, and a
+  troubleshooting row. Guide: a Time zone section and a first-login check. Compose
+  and README updated.
+
+---
+
+## [0.9.2] — 2026-10-28
+
+Fixes from a code and security review. None of them change how containers are
+monitored or recovered.
+
+### Fixed
+
+- **A bad value saved from Settings can no longer stop Inspector from starting.**
+  The forms now reject invalid times (maintenance start/end), unknown log levels and
+  out-of-range numbers (for example `interval_seconds: 0`, which made the loop spin).
+  If `config.yml` already has such a value, Inspector starts with the default and
+  logs a warning instead of crashing in a restart loop.
+- **The dashboard password can no longer be cleared.** Saving an empty password (or
+  username) is refused, and an empty password never signs anyone in. Before, clearing
+  it left the running dashboard open to anyone.
+- **Passwords with non-ASCII characters (é, ü, £ …) now work.** Before, every login
+  attempt with one crashed.
+- The Events page no longer errors for a moment after a container is removed.
+- The HTTP check hint no longer suggests `302` as an expected status; redirects are
+  followed, so the final page's code is what counts.
+
+### Security
+
+- **Sign-in throttling:** after 5 failed sign-ins (form or Basic Auth) from one address
+  within 5 minutes, that address is refused for the rest of the window.
+- **Changing the dashboard username or password signs out existing sessions.**
+  Expired sessions are cleaned up.
+- Request bodies are limited to 1 MB; an invalid `Content-Length` gets a 400.
+- The Gotify token is sent in the `X-Gotify-Key` header instead of the URL, so it no
+  longer appears in Gotify or reverse-proxy access logs.
+- Portainer token environment variables must be named `PORTAINER_…` (a name already in
+  your `config.yml` keeps working), so Test connection can't be used to send other
+  container secrets to an arbitrary URL.
+- Single quotes are escaped in HTML, and the delete confirmations build their text safely.
+- Two settings saves at the same moment can no longer overwrite each other.
+- `requests` updated to 2.32.5 (CVE-2024-47081).
+
+---
+
+## [0.9.1] — 2026-10-28
+
+### Fixed
+
+- **A dependency on a disabled container no longer blocks recovery forever.** If
+  `depends_on` named a container that is disabled in Inspector, the dependent app was
+  never restarted. Inspector now only waits for dependencies it is watching, and the
+  container page warns when the selected dependency is disabled.
+- **`PORTAINER_API_TOKEN` now reaches the container.** The public `compose.yml` didn't
+  pass it in, so setting it as a Portainer stack variable had no effect. Existing
+  stacks need the line `- PORTAINER_API_TOKEN=${PORTAINER_API_TOKEN:-}` added under
+  `environment:` (Stacks → inspector → Editor).
+- The "depends_on … is disabled or not found" warning was logged on every check
+  (since 0.8.0). It is now logged once, and again only when the container settings
+  change.
+
+### Changed
+
+- Guide: new sections **6. Apps behind a VPN container** (why depends_on matters, how to
+  spot a VPN-routed app, setup, what Inspector does) and **7. Portainer stack redeploy**
+  (why it's needed, what a redeploy does to the whole stack, requirements, where to find
+  every value, adding the token, the other settings, Test connection errors).
+- Clearer form hints: `vpn_routed` only affects logging; `depends_on` works for any
+  dependency; where to find the endpoint ID.
+
+---
+
+## [0.9.0] — 2026-10-28
+
+### Added
+
+- **Every container option is now in the dashboard.** The container page has three
+  new groups:
+  - **Reachability**: HTTP check (URL, timeout, expected status) and Uptime Kuma
+    monitor.
+  - **Dependencies**: `depends_on` (pick from your containers) and `vpn_routed`.
+  - **Recovery**: `recovery_action` with plain-language descriptions, plus the
+    Portainer environment and stack name for stack redeploys.
+- **Integrations settings.** New **Uptime Kuma** and **Portainer** pages under
+  Settings. Portainer environments can be added, edited, renamed (containers
+  that use them are updated) and deleted (refused while a container uses one).
+  The API token can be an environment variable name (recommended) or a masked
+  value saved in `config.yml`.
+- **Test connection** buttons for Uptime Kuma (lists monitors) and each Portainer
+  environment (lists stacks on the endpoint), using the values in the form even
+  before saving.
+- The All containers grid shows each container's extras (HTTP check, Uptime Kuma,
+  dependency, recovery action).
+- Guide: new sections on reachability checks and apps behind a VPN container.
+
+### Changed
+
+- Uptime Kuma and Portainer changes take effect on the next check; Inspector
+  rebuilds those clients when their settings change instead of needing a restart.
+- Saving a container form unchanged now leaves `config.yml` byte-identical. Blank
+  optional fields are removed instead of written as empty values (`color: ''`,
+  `maintenance_window: false`), and an unchanged `restart_on` list keeps its
+  order and the comments after it. An explicit `recovery_action: restart_container`
+  is kept.
+
+---
+
 ## [0.8.0] — 2026-10-27
 
 ### Added

INSTALL.md

@@ -52,10 +52,38 @@ TZ=America/Los_Angeles
 |---|---|---|
 | `INSPECTOR_DATA` | Folder on your server where Inspector keeps its settings, logs, and history. **Unraid:** `/mnt/user/appdata/inspector`. **Other Linux:** `/opt/inspector`. Created automatically. | Yes |
 | `INSPECTOR_PASSWORD` | Password for the dashboard (username `admin`). Used only on first start; change it later in the dashboard. Leave it out and Inspector generates one and prints it in the container logs. | Recommended |
-| `TZ` | Your [timezone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tz_database_time_zones), so times on the dashboard are local. | Recommended |
+| `TZ` | **Your time zone**, e.g. `America/New_York` or `Europe/Berlin`. Without it Inspector uses UTC, so the maintenance window, alerts and dashboard times are off by your UTC offset. See [Why the time zone matters](#why-the-time-zone-matters). | **Yes** (default `UTC`) |
 | `INSPECTOR_PORT` | Port on your server for the dashboard. Change it if `8080` is taken. | No (default `8080`) |
 | `INSPECTOR_TAG` | Version to run, e.g. `0.8.0`. See [Updating](#4-updating). | No (default `latest`) |
 | `PUID` / `PGID` | User and group that own Inspector's files. Unraid users often use `99` / `100` so the files match other appdata. | No (default `1000` / `1000`) |
+| `PORTAINER_API_TOKEN` | A Portainer access token. Only needed if you use **Portainer stack redeploy** for VPN-routed apps; see the in-app guide (Help → Portainer). | No |
+
+### Why the time zone matters
+
+Inspector uses `TZ` for every time it shows or acts on. If it's wrong, things
+still work, but at the wrong hour or with confusing times:
+
+- **The maintenance window runs in this time zone.** A window of `02:00–05:00`
+  with `TZ` left at UTC runs at 02:00 UTC, which is the middle of the evening in
+  the Americas or mid-morning in Asia. Inspector would then restart containers
+  during your nightly backups, and ignore real problems during the day.
+- **Alerts** (Gotify / Pushover) show the time of the problem in this zone, with
+  its abbreviation, e.g. `10-28 03:15 AM CET`.
+- **The dashboard and Events page** show times in this zone, and the Events
+  page's days run midnight to midnight in this zone.
+- **Logs** are stamped in this zone.
+
+**How to set it:** use your zone's name from the
+[list of time zones](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tz_database_time_zones)
+("TZ identifier" column), e.g. `America/New_York`, `America/Chicago`,
+`Europe/London`, `Europe/Berlin`, `Australia/Sydney`. Abbreviations like `EST` or
+`CET` don't work. On Unraid, **Settings → Date and Time** shows the zone your
+server uses.
+
+**How to check it:** the bottom of every Settings page shows
+`time zone: <name>`. If it says `UTC` and you're not on UTC, set `TZ` in the
+stack and click **Update the stack**. If the name you set isn't recognized,
+Inspector logs a warning and uses UTC.
 
 ## 3. Deploy and sign in
 
@@ -115,6 +143,7 @@ starts and restarts the ones you add to it.
 | Logs say *Permission denied on /var/run/docker.sock* | Make sure the stack has no `user:` line, then update the stack. Inspector needs to start normally to set up socket access. |
 | Red **READ-ONLY** badge at the bottom of Settings | The config folder mount ends in `:ro` or the folder isn't writable. Remove `:ro` and update the stack. |
 | Can't sign in | Look for the generated password in the container logs. If you've lost it, open `INSPECTOR_DATA/config/config.yml` (e.g. via your Unraid share), set a new `password:` under `dashboard:`, and restart Inspector. |
+| Times are a few hours off, or the maintenance window runs at the wrong time | `TZ` is missing or wrong. Check `time zone:` at the bottom of Settings, set `TZ` to your zone name (e.g. `Europe/London`), and update the stack. |
 | A container shows **CONTAINER NOT FOUND** | The name in Inspector doesn't match Docker. Copy the exact name from Portainer → Containers. |
 
 ## Security notes

README.md

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 <p align="center">
-  <img src="docs/logo.png" alt="Inspector logo" width="140">
+  <img src="docs/logo_outline.png" alt="Inspector logo" width="140">
 </p>
 
 <h1 align="center">Inspector</h1>
@@ -35,6 +35,8 @@ restarts them when they break, and tells your phone about it.</p>
 - **Stays out of the way when you're working.** Put a container in maintenance or
   mute its alerts with one click, or set a nightly maintenance window for backups
   and updates.
+- **Works in your time zone.** Set `TZ` in the stack and the maintenance window,
+  alerts, dashboard and logs all follow it.
 
 ## Install
 
@@ -52,11 +54,11 @@ guide (the same guide is in this repo at
 download it and open it in a browser to read it here).
 
 | Add a container                                                     | Restart rules                                                        |
-|---|---|
+| ------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------- |
 | ![New container form](src/inspector/assets/guide/container-new.png) | ![Container settings](src/inspector/assets/guide/container-edit.png) |
 
 | Notifications                                                                   | Events history                                            |
-|---|---|
+| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------- |
 | ![Notification settings](src/inspector/assets/guide/settings-notifications.png) | ![Events timeline](src/inspector/assets/guide/events.png) |
 
 ## What it isn't
@@ -69,18 +71,20 @@ download it and open it in a browser to read it here).
 
 ## Advanced options
 
-Most people never need these. They live in `config.yml` (in your
+Most people never need these. They are all on each container's page in the
-`INSPECTOR_DATA/config` folder) rather than the dashboard; see
+dashboard (and in `config.yml`, see
-[`config.example.yml`](./config.example.yml) for every option with comments.
+[`config.example.yml`](./config.example.yml) for every option with comments).
 
 - **HTTP checks**: mark a container `UNREACHABLE` when a URL stops answering,
   even if Docker says it's healthy (useful for apps behind a VPN container).
 - **Uptime Kuma**: use a Kuma status page as an extra reachability signal.
+  **Test connection** lists the monitors Inspector can see.
 - **Dependencies** (`depends_on`): don't restart an app while the container it
   relies on (e.g. a VPN) is down.
 - **Portainer stack redeploy**: for containers that share a VPN container's
   network, recover by redeploying the whole stack instead of restarting one
-  container.
+  container. Set up the Portainer connection under **Settings → Portainer**;
+  **Test connection** lists your stacks.
 
 ## Security
 
@@ -89,7 +93,8 @@ and that socket is effectively root on your server. So:
 
 - Keep the dashboard on your home network, or put it behind a VPN or a reverse
   proxy with authentication. Don't expose port 8080 to the internet.
-- Use a real dashboard password.
+- Use a real dashboard password. Repeated failed sign-ins from one address are
+  blocked for a few minutes.
 - Inspector itself runs as an unprivileged user; it starts as root only to detect
   the socket's permissions and fix ownership of its own folders.
 

compose.yml

@@ -7,13 +7,17 @@
 #                       Unraid: /mnt/user/appdata/inspector   Other: /opt/inspector
 #   INSPECTOR_PASSWORD  Dashboard password (username is "admin").
 #                       Only used on first start; change it later in Settings.
-#   TZ                  Your timezone, e.g. America/Los_Angeles
+#   TZ                  Your time zone name, e.g. America/New_York, Europe/Berlin.
+#                       Important: the maintenance window, alerts, dashboard and
+#                       logs all use it. Left unset, everything is in UTC.
 #
 # Optional:
 #   INSPECTOR_PORT      Port for the dashboard on your server (default 8080).
 #   INSPECTOR_TAG       Image version to run (default "latest"; e.g. 0.8.0 to pin).
 #   PUID / PGID         User/group Inspector runs as (default 1000/1000).
 #                       Unraid users often prefer 99 / 100.
+#   PORTAINER_API_TOKEN Portainer access token, only if you use stack redeploy
+#                       (Settings -> Portainer in the dashboard).
 #
 # No config file to create, no docker group ID to look up: Inspector creates
 # its config on first start and detects Docker socket permissions by itself.
@@ -36,3 +40,4 @@ services:
       - INSPECTOR_PASSWORD=${INSPECTOR_PASSWORD:-}
       - PUID=${PUID:-1000}
       - PGID=${PGID:-1000}
+      - PORTAINER_API_TOKEN=${PORTAINER_API_TOKEN:-}

requirements.txt

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 docker==7.1.0
 PyYAML==6.0.2
-requests==2.32.3
+requests==2.32.5
 colorlog==6.9.0
 ruamel.yaml==0.18.6

src/inspector/__init__.py

@@ -1 +1 @@
-__version__ = "0.8.0"
+__version__ = "0.9.3"

src/inspector/assets/guide/guide.html

@@ -78,10 +78,12 @@
   <a href="#status">3. The Status page</a>
   <a href="#notifications">4. Notifications</a>
   <a href="#containers">5. Managing containers</a>
-  <a href="#events">6. Events history</a>
+  <a href="#vpn">6. Apps behind a VPN</a>
-  <a href="#settings">7. Other settings</a>
+  <a href="#portainer">7. Portainer stack redeploy</a>
-  <a href="#restart">8. "Requires restart" fields</a>
+  <a href="#events">8. Events history</a>
-  <a href="#trouble">9. Troubleshooting</a>
+  <a href="#settings">9. Other settings</a>
+  <a href="#restart">10. "Requires restart" fields</a>
+  <a href="#trouble">11. Troubleshooting</a>
 </nav>
 
 <main>
@@ -101,6 +103,8 @@ dashboard; you never need to touch a config file.</p>
       <i>Inspector dashboard login</i> with the username and password.</li>
   <li>Open <code>http://&lt;your-server&gt;:8080</code> and sign in.</li>
   <li>Change the password under <b>Settings → Dashboard</b> if you like.</li>
+  <li>Check the <b>time zone</b>: at the bottom of any Settings page it says
+    <code>time zone: …</code>. If that's not your zone, see <a href="#settings">Time zone</a>.</li>
 </ol>
 </section>
 
@@ -175,7 +179,7 @@ Each card shows:</p>
       under Apps). <b>Pushover</b>: enter your application API token and your user key.</li>
   <li>Click <b>Send test</b>. You should get a message on your phone within seconds. If it fails,
       the reason appears next to the button.</li>
-  <li>Click <b>Save</b>, then restart Inspector once (see <a href="#restart">section 8</a>),
+  <li>Click <b>Save</b>, then restart Inspector once (see <a href="#restart">section 10</a>),
       because turning a channel on or off is a "requires restart" field.</li>
 </ol>
 <p>You'll get one alert when a container first fails, when Inspector restarts it, and when it
@@ -197,15 +201,182 @@ does <i>not</i> touch the container itself.</p>
   <tr><th>Status</th><th>When it happens</th></tr>
   <tr><td>UNHEALTHY</td><td>The container's own health check is failing.</td></tr>
   <tr><td>NOT RUNNING</td><td>Stopped, exited, or crashed.</td></tr>
-  <tr><td>UNREACHABLE</td><td>Running, but an HTTP check failed (advanced, set in config.yml).</td></tr>
+  <tr><td>UNREACHABLE</td><td>Running, but its HTTP check or Uptime Kuma monitor says it's down (see below).</td></tr>
   <tr><td>ERROR</td><td>Inspector couldn't check it (Docker API error).</td></tr>
   <tr><td>STARTING</td><td>Still in its health-check start period. Usually leave this off.</td></tr>
   <tr><td>HEALTHY / NO HEALTH CHECK</td><td>Normal states; almost never a reason to restart.</td></tr>
 </table>
+
+<h3>Reachability: catching apps that look fine but aren't</h3>
+<p>Docker only knows whether a container is running and whether its own health check passes. An
+app can pass both and still be unusable, for example when it routes through a VPN container
+whose tunnel dropped. Under <b>Reachability</b> on the container page you can add:</p>
+<ul>
+  <li><b>HTTP check</b>: a URL Inspector requests every check (for example
+    <code>http://192.168.1.10:9696/ping</code>). Set <b>expected_status</b> to the code the app
+    returns when it's healthy; most return 200, some return 401 or 302.</li>
+  <li><b>Uptime Kuma monitor</b>: if you already run Uptime Kuma, name one of its monitors. Set up
+    the connection first in <b>Settings → Uptime Kuma</b>; <b>Test connection</b> lists the
+    monitor names it can see.</li>
+</ul>
+<p>A failed check reports <b>UNREACHABLE</b>. Tick UNREACHABLE in the restart triggers if you want
+Inspector to act on it.</p>
+<figure><img src="container-advanced.png" alt="Reachability, Dependencies and Recovery groups">
+<figcaption>Bottom of a container's page: an app behind a VPN container with an HTTP check and stack-redeploy recovery.</figcaption></figure>
+
+</section>
+
+<section id="vpn">
+<h2>6. Apps behind a VPN container</h2>
+<h3>Why these apps need special handling</h3>
+<p>A common setup routes download and indexer apps through a VPN container. Those apps don't get a
+network of their own: their compose file says <code>network_mode: container:&lt;vpn&gt;</code> (or
+<code>service:&lt;vpn&gt;</code>) and all their traffic goes through the VPN container. That causes
+two problems for a watchdog:</p>
+<ul>
+  <li><b>When the VPN breaks, every app behind it breaks at the same time.</b> Restarting the apps
+    does nothing while the tunnel is down. Without help, Inspector would restart each app over and
+    over, use up their hourly restart limits, and flood you with alerts, all for a problem in a
+    different container.</li>
+  <li><b>When the VPN container is recreated</b> (an image update, or someone redeploys its stack),
+    it gets a new container ID. The apps still point at the old one, so a normal restart fails with
+    errors like <i>"No such container"</i> or <i>"joining network namespace"</i>. The only fix is
+    to recreate the apps too, which is what a Portainer stack redeploy does
+    (<a href="#portainer">section 7</a>).</li>
+</ul>
+<h3>How to tell if an app is behind a VPN</h3>
+<ul>
+  <li>In Portainer open <b>Stacks → your stack → Editor</b> and look for
+    <code>network_mode: container:…</code> or <code>network_mode: service:…</code> on the app.</li>
+  <li>Or open <b>Containers → the app</b>: under <b>Network</b> it shows the VPN container instead
+    of a normal network, and it has no ports of its own (they're published on the VPN container).</li>
+</ul>
+<h3>Setting it up</h3>
+<ol class="steps">
+  <li><b>Add the VPN container to Inspector and keep it enabled</b> (restart on UNHEALTHY and NOT
+    RUNNING is a good start). Inspector can only wait for containers it is watching: if the VPN
+    container is disabled, its apps are recovered normally, as if there were no dependency, and the
+    container page shows a warning.</li>
+  <li>On each app behind it, set <b>Dependencies → depends_on</b> to the VPN container.</li>
+  <li>Turn on <b>vpn_routed</b>. This only changes the log: Inspector writes down when it holds off
+    on the app because the VPN is down. The waiting itself comes from depends_on.</li>
+  <li>Add an <b>HTTP check</b> (<a href="#containers">section 5</a>) using your server's IP and the
+    port published on the VPN container, and tick <b>UNREACHABLE</b>. Docker often still reports
+    these apps as healthy when the tunnel is down; the HTTP check notices.</li>
+  <li>Under <b>Recovery</b>, choose <b>Restart, then redeploy stack if that fails</b> and enter the
+    stack name. This needs the Portainer connection from <a href="#portainer">section 7</a>.</li>
+</ol>
+<h3>What Inspector then does</h3>
+<p>Every check, it looks at the VPN container first. While the VPN is anything other than healthy
+(or starting, or running without a health check), the apps that depend on it are not restarted;
+Inspector fixes the VPN first. Once the VPN is healthy again, the apps are handled normally: a
+restart first, and a stack redeploy if the restart fails or doesn't help.</p>
+<p class="note"><b>depends_on isn't only for VPNs.</b> Use it for any "B needs A" pair, such as an
+app and its database: Inspector won't restart the app while its database is down.</p>
+</section>
+
+<section id="portainer">
+<h2>7. Portainer stack redeploy</h2>
+<h3>Why Inspector needs Portainer</h3>
+<p>Inspector talks to Docker directly, so it can restart or start a container. It can't
+<i>recreate</i> one: that needs the container's compose definition, which lives in Portainer. A
+stack redeploy asks Portainer to do exactly what its <b>Update the stack</b> button does. That's
+how VPN-routed apps get reattached to a recreated VPN container. You only need this if you use one
+of the two "redeploy" recovery actions.</p>
+<p class="note warn"><b>A redeploy affects the whole stack.</b> Portainer pulls the latest images
+and recreates <i>every</i> container in that stack, not just the failing app, so all of them blink
+off for a moment. That's why <b>Restart, then redeploy stack if that fails</b> is the recommended
+choice: most problems are fixed by the plain restart, and the redeploy is only used when that
+doesn't work.</p>
+<h3>Requirements</h3>
+<ul>
+  <li>The app must belong to a stack that was <b>created in Portainer</b>. In <b>Stacks</b>, stacks
+    created elsewhere (for example with <code>docker compose</code> on the command line) are marked
+    <b>Limited</b>, and Portainer can't redeploy them.</li>
+  <li>An access token for a Portainer user who can manage that stack. An administrator's token is
+    the simplest.</li>
+</ul>
+
+<h3>Step 1: find the values</h3>
+<table>
+  <tr><th>Setting</th><th>Where to find it</th></tr>
+  <tr><td>base_url</td><td>The address you open Portainer at, without anything after the port:
+    usually <code>http://&lt;server-ip&gt;:9000</code> or <code>https://&lt;server-ip&gt;:9443</code>.
+    Use the server's IP, not <code>localhost</code>: Inspector runs in its own container.</td></tr>
+  <tr><td>endpoint_id</td><td>On Portainer's <b>Home</b> page, click your environment (often
+    <b>local</b>). The browser address then ends like <code>#!/2/docker/dashboard</code>: the
+    number after <code>#!/</code> is the endpoint ID (here <code>2</code>).</td></tr>
+  <tr><td>stack name</td><td><b>Stacks</b> list, <b>Name</b> column, spelled exactly the same.
+    This goes on each app's container page, not on the Portainer page.</td></tr>
+  <tr><td>verify_ssl</td><td>Leave off for <code>http://</code> and for Portainer's built-in
+    self-signed certificate on 9443. Turn on only if Portainer has a real certificate.</td></tr>
+  <tr><td>API token</td><td>Click your username (top right) → <b>My account</b> →
+    <b>Access tokens</b> → <b>Add access token</b>. Name it <code>inspector</code> and copy the
+    token straight away: Portainer shows it only once.</td></tr>
+</table>
+
+<h3>Step 2: give Inspector the token</h3>
+<p><b>Recommended: an environment variable.</b> The token then never lands in
+<code>config.yml</code> or its backups.</p>
+<ol class="steps">
+  <li>In Portainer open <b>Stacks → inspector → Editor</b>.</li>
+  <li>Check that the compose file has this line under <code>environment:</code> (it's in the
+    compose file from version 0.9.1 on; add it if your stack is older):
+    <code>- PORTAINER_API_TOKEN=${PORTAINER_API_TOKEN:-}</code></li>
+  <li>Under <b>Environment variables</b> click <b>Add an environment variable</b>: name
+    <code>PORTAINER_API_TOKEN</code>, value the token.</li>
+  <li>Click <b>Update the stack</b>. Inspector restarts with the token available.</li>
+</ol>
+<p><b>Alternative: save it in Inspector.</b> In the next step choose <b>Saved in config.yml</b>
+and paste the token. It is masked in the dashboard, but anyone who can read Inspector's config
+folder (or a backup of it) can read the token.</p>
+
+<h3>Step 3: connect Inspector</h3>
+<ol class="steps">
+  <li>Open <b>Settings → Portainer</b>. Under <b>Add environment</b>, give it a name (your own
+    label, e.g. <code>home</code>) and fill in base_url, endpoint_id and verify_ssl.</li>
+  <li><b>API token stored as</b>: <i>Environment variable</i> with the name
+    <code>PORTAINER_API_TOKEN</code>, or <i>Saved in config.yml</i> with the token.</li>
+  <li>Click <b>Test connection</b>. It should list the stacks on that endpoint; check that your
+    app's stack is there. Then <b>Save new environment</b>.</li>
+  <li>At the top of the page turn <b>enabled</b> on, pick the <b>default_environment</b>, and
+    <b>Save Portainer</b>.</li>
+  <li>On each app's container page, set the recovery action and stack name
+    (<a href="#vpn">section 6</a>). Leave <b>portainer_environment</b> on <i>Default</i> unless
+    you connected more than one Portainer.</li>
+</ol>
+<figure><img src="settings-portainer.png" alt="Portainer settings">
+<figcaption>Settings → Portainer with one environment; the token comes from an environment variable.</figcaption></figure>
+
+<h3>The other settings on the page</h3>
+<table>
+  <tr><th>Setting</th><th>What it does</th></tr>
+  <tr><td>default_environment</td><td>Which connection apps use when they don't pick one. With a
+    single environment you can leave it on Automatic.</td></tr>
+  <tr><td>stack_redeploy_cooldown_seconds</td><td>Minimum time between two redeploys of the same
+    stack (default 300). Several apps often share a stack; this stops them triggering a redeploy
+    each.</td></tr>
+  <tr><td>post_redeploy_wait_seconds</td><td>How long Inspector waits after a redeploy for the
+    stack to come up before judging it again (default 90).</td></tr>
+</table>
+
+<h3>If Test connection fails</h3>
+<table>
+  <tr><th>Message</th><th>Fix</th></tr>
+  <tr><td>environment variable … is not set</td><td>The compose line from step 2 is missing, or
+    the stack wasn't updated after adding the variable.</td></tr>
+  <tr><td>the API token was rejected</td><td>Token copied wrong, deleted, or from a user without
+    access. Create a new one.</td></tr>
+  <tr><td>no stacks found on endpoint N</td><td>Wrong endpoint ID; check the number in the
+    Portainer address again.</td></tr>
+  <tr><td>request failed …</td><td>Wrong address or port, <code>http</code> vs <code>https</code>
+    mixed up, or <code>localhost</code> used instead of the server IP. With https and a
+    self-signed certificate, turn verify_ssl off.</td></tr>
+</table>
 </section>
 
 <section id="events">
-<h2>6. Events history</h2>
+<h2>8. Events history</h2>
 <p>The <b>Events</b> tab is a day-by-day timeline of failures, restarts, recoveries, mutes, and
 maintenance. Use <b>Prev day</b> / <b>Next day</b> to look back.</p>
 <figure><img src="events.png" alt="Events timeline">
@@ -213,7 +384,7 @@ maintenance. Use <b>Prev day</b> / <b>Next day</b> to look back.</p>
 </section>
 
 <section id="settings">
-<h2>7. Other settings</h2>
+<h2>9. Other settings</h2>
 <figure><img src="settings-inspector.png" alt="Inspector loop settings">
 <figcaption>Settings → Inspector loop.</figcaption></figure>
 <table>
@@ -223,15 +394,33 @@ maintenance. Use <b>Prev day</b> / <b>Next day</b> to look back.</p>
   <tr><td>Dashboard</td><td>Login username and password for this web UI.</td></tr>
   <tr><td>Event history</td><td>How many days of events to keep.</td></tr>
   <tr><td>Health summary</td><td>A periodic digest (e.g. daily) of what happened, sent through your notification channels.</td></tr>
-  <tr><td>Maintenance</td><td>A daily quiet window (e.g. 02:00–05:00) so nightly backups or updates don't trigger restarts. Turn on <b>maintenance_window</b> on each container that should follow it.</td></tr>
+  <tr><td>Maintenance</td><td>A daily quiet window (e.g. 02:00–05:00, in your <a href="#settings">time zone</a>) so nightly backups or updates don't trigger restarts. Turn on <b>maintenance_window</b> on each container that should follow it.</td></tr>
   <tr><td>Notification mute</td><td>Turns the per-container <b>Mute notifications</b> buttons on or off, and sets how long a mute lasts.</td></tr>
+  <tr><td>Uptime Kuma</td><td>Connection to your Uptime Kuma status page, used by container reachability checks.</td></tr>
+  <tr><td>Portainer</td><td>Connection to Portainer, used to redeploy stacks. See <a href="#portainer">section 7</a>.</td></tr>
 </table>
-<p>At the bottom of every settings page is a strip showing where the config file lives and
+<p>At the bottom of every settings page is a strip showing where the config file lives,
-whether Inspector can write to it.</p>
+whether Inspector can write to it, and which time zone it is using.</p>
+
+<h3>Time zone</h3>
+<p>Inspector uses the <code>TZ</code> setting of its Portainer stack for every time it shows or acts on:</p>
+<ul>
+  <li><b>The maintenance window runs in this zone.</b> A 02:00–05:00 window with the wrong zone
+    runs hours off, so Inspector could restart containers during your backups and ignore
+    problems at other times.</li>
+  <li>Alert times (with the zone, e.g. <code>03:15 AM CET</code>), dashboard times, the Events
+    page's days (midnight to midnight), and logs.</li>
+</ul>
+<p>To change it: in Portainer open <b>Stacks → inspector → Editor</b>, set the <code>TZ</code>
+environment variable to your zone's name, e.g. <code>America/New_York</code>,
+<code>Europe/London</code> or <code>Australia/Sydney</code> (names from the
+<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tz_database_time_zones">list of time zones</a>;
+abbreviations like <code>EST</code> don't work), then click <b>Update the stack</b>. Without
+<code>TZ</code>, Inspector uses UTC.</p>
 </section>
 
 <section id="restart">
-<h2>8. "Requires restart" fields</h2>
+<h2>10. "Requires restart" fields</h2>
 <p>Most changes apply on the next check. Fields marked
 <span class="tag t-violet">REQUIRES RESTART</span> (like turning a notification channel or the
 dashboard on or off) only take effect after Inspector restarts:</p>
@@ -243,7 +432,7 @@ dashboard on or off) only take effect after Inspector restarts:</p>
 </section>
 
 <section id="trouble">
-<h2>9. Troubleshooting</h2>
+<h2>11. Troubleshooting</h2>
 <table>
   <tr><th>Problem</th><th>Fix</th></tr>
   <tr><td>Red <b>READ-ONLY</b> badge at the bottom of Settings</td>

src/inspector/config.py

@@ -1,10 +1,12 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
 
 import io
+import logging
 import os
 import shutil
 import threading
 from dataclasses import dataclass, field
+from datetime import time
 from pathlib import Path
 
 import yaml
@@ -23,6 +25,30 @@ VALID_STATUSES = {
     "UNREACHABLE",
 }
 
+log = logging.getLogger("inspector.config")
+
+# Names logging.setLevel() accepts; anything else would crash at startup.
+VALID_LOG_LEVELS = {"CRITICAL", "FATAL", "ERROR", "WARN", "WARNING", "INFO", "DEBUG", "NOTSET"}
+
+
+def valid_hhmm(value: str) -> bool:
+    """True if `value` parses the way the maintenance tracker parses it ("HH:MM")."""
+    try:
+        hour, minute = str(value).split(":")
+        time(int(hour), int(minute))
+        return True
+    except (TypeError, ValueError):
+        return False
+
+
+def _startup_safe(value, default, ok: bool, key: str):
+    """Return `value`, or `default` with a warning when it would crash Inspector."""
+    if ok:
+        return value
+    log.warning("config: invalid %s %r; using %r instead", key, value, default)
+    return default
+
+
 VALID_RECOVERY_ACTIONS = {
     "restart_container",
     "start_container",
@@ -190,9 +216,11 @@ def build_config_from_raw(raw: dict) -> AppConfig:
     to validate an edited raw dict before writing it back to disk.
     """
     insp_raw = raw.get("inspector", {}) or {}
+    interval = int(insp_raw.get("interval_seconds", 60))
+    log_level = str(insp_raw.get("log_level", "INFO")).upper()
     inspector = InspectorConfig(
-        interval_seconds=int(insp_raw.get("interval_seconds", 60)),
+        interval_seconds=_startup_safe(interval, 1, interval >= 1, "inspector.interval_seconds"),
-        log_level=str(insp_raw.get("log_level", "INFO")).upper(),
+        log_level=_startup_safe(log_level, "INFO", log_level in VALID_LOG_LEVELS, "inspector.log_level"),
         dry_run=bool(insp_raw.get("dry_run", False)),
         log_dir=str(insp_raw.get("log_dir", "/app/logs")),
         log_filename=str(insp_raw.get("log_filename", "inspector.log")),
@@ -237,10 +265,12 @@ def build_config_from_raw(raw: dict) -> AppConfig:
     )
 
     maint_raw = raw.get("maintenance") or {}
+    maint_start = str(maint_raw.get("start", "00:00"))
+    maint_end = str(maint_raw.get("end", "06:00"))
     maintenance = MaintenanceConfig(
         enabled=bool(maint_raw.get("enabled", False)),
-        start=str(maint_raw.get("start", "00:00")),
+        start=_startup_safe(maint_start, "00:00", valid_hhmm(maint_start), "maintenance.start"),
-        end=str(maint_raw.get("end", "06:00")),
+        end=_startup_safe(maint_end, "06:00", valid_hhmm(maint_end), "maintenance.end"),
         dir=str(maint_raw.get("dir", "/app/data/maintenance")),
         max_hours=int(maint_raw.get("max_hours", 8)),
     )

src/inspector/formatting.py

@@ -1,14 +1,49 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
 
-from datetime import datetime, timezone
+import logging
-from zoneinfo import ZoneInfo
+import os
+from datetime import datetime, timezone, tzinfo
+from zoneinfo import ZoneInfo, ZoneInfoNotFoundError
 
 
-PACIFIC = ZoneInfo("America/Los_Angeles")
+log = logging.getLogger("inspector.formatting")
 
 
-def format_timestamp(value: datetime | str | None) -> str:
+def _resolve_local_tz(env: dict | None = None) -> tuple[tzinfo, str]:
-    """Render a timestamp in US Pacific time, e.g. '06-14 03:45 PM'.
+    """The zone every displayed time uses, plus its name.
+
+    Follows the same rules as the C library (which drives log timestamps and
+    the maintenance window), so all times Inspector shows agree:
+    TZ set to a zone name -> that zone; TZ unset -> the container's
+    /etc/localtime; anything else -> UTC.
+    """
+    env = os.environ if env is None else env
+    name = (env.get("TZ") or "").strip().lstrip(":")
+    if name:
+        try:
+            return ZoneInfo(name), name
+        except (ZoneInfoNotFoundError, ValueError):
+            log.warning(
+                "TZ=%r is not a known time zone name (e.g. Europe/Berlin); showing times in UTC",
+                name,
+            )
+            return timezone.utc, "UTC"
+    try:
+        with open("/etc/localtime", "rb") as fh:
+            zone = ZoneInfo.from_file(fh, key="localtime")
+        label = datetime.now(zone).tzname() or "localtime"
+        return zone, label
+    except (OSError, ValueError):
+        return timezone.utc, "UTC"
+
+
+# Resolved once at import; the container's TZ doesn't change while it runs.
+LOCAL_TZ, LOCAL_TZ_NAME = _resolve_local_tz()
+
+
+def format_timestamp(value: datetime | str | None, *, with_zone: bool = False) -> str:
+    """Render a timestamp in the configured local zone, e.g. '06-14 03:45 PM'
+    (with_zone adds the abbreviation: '06-14 03:45 PM CET').
 
     Accepts a datetime, an ISO 8601 string (as stored by EventStore /
     ContainerState), or None/"" (returns ""). Naive datetimes/strings are
@@ -24,4 +59,8 @@ def format_timestamp(value: datetime | str | None) -> str:
             return value
     if value.tzinfo is None:
         value = value.replace(tzinfo=timezone.utc)
-    return value.astimezone(PACIFIC).strftime("%m-%d %I:%M %p")
+    local = value.astimezone(LOCAL_TZ)
+    text = local.strftime("%m-%d %I:%M %p")
+    if with_zone:
+        text += f" {local.tzname()}"
+    return text

src/inspector/main.py

@@ -170,7 +170,7 @@ def _check_one(
             message=(
                 f"**{name}** is back to **HEALTHY** (was *{state.previous_status}*).\n\n"
                 f"- Errors before recovery: **{state.error_count}**\n"
-                f"- Time: {format_timestamp(now)}"
+                f"- Time: {format_timestamp(now, with_zone=True)}"
             ),
             priority=3,
         )
@@ -196,7 +196,7 @@ def _check_one(
                     f"**{name}** is missing from Docker.\n\n"
                     + (f"- Detail: {result.message}\n" if result.message else "")
                     + f"- Last known status: *{state.previous_status or 'unknown'}*\n"
-                    f"- Time: {format_timestamp(now)}"
+                    f"- Time: {format_timestamp(now, with_zone=True)}"
                 ),
                 priority=7,
             )
@@ -240,7 +240,7 @@ def _check_one(
                     + ".\n\n"
                     f"- Error count: **{state.error_count}/{container_config.max_error_count}**\n"
                     f"- Previous status: *{state.previous_status or 'unknown'}*\n"
-                    f"- Time: {format_timestamp(now)}"
+                    f"- Time: {format_timestamp(now, with_zone=True)}"
                 ),
                 priority=5,
             )
@@ -276,7 +276,7 @@ def _check_one(
                         f"**{container_config.max_restarts_per_hour}** restart(s)/hour.\n\n"
                         f"- Current status: **{result.status}**\n"
                         f"- Restarts paused until the hourly window clears\n"
-                        f"- Time: {format_timestamp(now)}"
+                        f"- Time: {format_timestamp(now, with_zone=True)}"
                     ),
                     priority=9,
                 )
@@ -293,8 +293,10 @@ def _check_one(
 
         if ok:
             dep = container_config.depends_on
-            if dep:
+            # Only wait on a dependency Inspector is watching. A disabled one has
-                dep_status = states[dep].current_status if dep in states else None
+            # no state, and waiting on it would block recovery forever.
+            if dep and dep in states:
+                dep_status = states[dep].current_status
                 if dep_status not in (HEALTHY, STARTING, NO_HEALTH_CHECK):
                     if container_config.vpn_routed:
                         log.info(
@@ -417,6 +419,7 @@ def run_loop(config_ref: ConfigRef) -> int:
 
     check_order = _topological_order(enabled_configs)
     portainer_client = PortainerClient(app.integrations.portainer)
+    integrations_cfg = app.integrations
     stack_cooldowns: dict[str, datetime] = {}
 
     dashboard = DashboardServer(
@@ -453,8 +456,18 @@ def run_loop(config_ref: ConfigRef) -> int:
         for gone in states.keys() - current_enabled.keys():
             states.pop(gone, None)
             log.info("Stopped watching container (removed or disabled): %s", gone)
+        if current_enabled != enabled_configs:
+            # Only re-order (and re-log ordering warnings) when the config changed.
+            check_order = _topological_order(current_enabled)
         enabled_configs = current_enabled
-        check_order = _topological_order(enabled_configs)
+
+        # Integration clients hold their config; rebuild them when the
+        # settings page changes Uptime Kuma / Portainer.
+        if app.integrations != integrations_cfg:
+            integrations_cfg = app.integrations
+            uptime_kuma_client = UptimeKumaClient(integrations_cfg.uptime_kuma)
+            portainer_client = PortainerClient(integrations_cfg.portainer)
+            log.info("Integration settings changed; reloaded Uptime Kuma / Portainer clients")
 
         uptime_kuma_snapshot = uptime_kuma_client.fetch()
         for name in check_order:

src/inspector/notifier.py

@@ -33,9 +33,10 @@ class GotifyNotifier:
             },
         }
         try:
+            # Header, not ?token=, so the token stays out of access logs.
             resp = requests.post(
                 url,
-                params={"token": self._config.token},
+                headers={"X-Gotify-Key": self._config.token},
                 json=payload,
                 timeout=self._timeout,
             )

src/inspector/recovery.py

@@ -228,7 +228,7 @@ def _perform_restart_then_redeploy(
             f"**{result.status}** check(s).\n\n"
             f"- If it doesn't recover, Inspector escalates to a Portainer stack redeploy\n"
             f"- Cooldown: **{container_config.cooldown_seconds}s** after restart\n"
-            f"- Time: {format_timestamp(now)}"
+            f"- Time: {format_timestamp(now, with_zone=True)}"
         ),
         priority=6,
     )
@@ -242,7 +242,7 @@ def _perform_restart_then_redeploy(
         state.restart_limit_notified = False
         log.info(
             "%-*s restart succeeded; cooldown until %s (will redeploy if still failing)",
-            width, name, state.cooldown_until.isoformat(),
+            width, name, format_timestamp(state.cooldown_until, with_zone=True),
         )
         eventstore.record(
             container=name,
@@ -250,15 +250,15 @@ def _perform_restart_then_redeploy(
             old_status=state.previous_status,
             new_status=result.status,
             error_count=state.error_count,
-            message=f"restart succeeded; cooldown until {state.cooldown_until.isoformat()}",
+            message=f"restart succeeded; cooldown until {format_timestamp(state.cooldown_until, with_zone=True)}",
         )
         notifier.notify(
             title=f"✅ Inspector: {name} restart completed",
             message=(
                 f"**{name}** was successfully restarted by Docker.\n\n"
                 f"- Previous status: *{result.status}*\n"
-                f"- Cooldown until: {state.cooldown_until.isoformat()}\n"
+                f"- Cooldown until: {format_timestamp(state.cooldown_until, with_zone=True)}\n"
-                f"- Time: {format_timestamp(now)}"
+                f"- Time: {format_timestamp(now, with_zone=True)}"
             ),
             priority=3,
         )
@@ -321,7 +321,7 @@ def _perform_docker_action(
             f"{verb.capitalize()}ing **{name}** after **{state.error_count}** consecutive "
             f"**{result.status}** check(s).\n\n"
             f"- Cooldown: **{container_config.cooldown_seconds}s** after {verb}\n"
-            f"- Time: {format_timestamp(now)}"
+            f"- Time: {format_timestamp(now, with_zone=True)}"
         ),
         priority=6,
     )
@@ -335,22 +335,22 @@ def _perform_docker_action(
         state.record_restart(now, container_config.cooldown_seconds)
         state.last_notification_state = "RESTARTED"
         state.restart_limit_notified = False
-        log.info("%-*s %s succeeded; cooldown until %s", width, name, verb, state.cooldown_until.isoformat())
+        log.info("%-*s %s succeeded; cooldown until %s", width, name, verb, format_timestamp(state.cooldown_until, with_zone=True))
         eventstore.record(
             container=name,
             event_type=EVENT_RESTART,
             old_status=state.previous_status,
             new_status=result.status,
             error_count=state.error_count,
-            message=f"{verb} succeeded; cooldown until {state.cooldown_until.isoformat()}",
+            message=f"{verb} succeeded; cooldown until {format_timestamp(state.cooldown_until, with_zone=True)}",
         )
         notifier.notify(
             title=f"✅ Inspector: {name} {verb} completed",
             message=(
                 f"**{name}** was successfully {verb}ed by Docker.\n\n"
                 f"- Previous status: *{result.status}*\n"
-                f"- Cooldown until: {state.cooldown_until.isoformat()}\n"
+                f"- Cooldown until: {format_timestamp(state.cooldown_until, with_zone=True)}\n"
-                f"- Time: {format_timestamp(now)}"
+                f"- Time: {format_timestamp(now, with_zone=True)}"
             ),
             priority=3,
         )
@@ -362,7 +362,7 @@ def _perform_docker_action(
                 f"{verb.capitalize()} of **{name}** failed.\n\n"
                 f"- Status: **{result.status}**\n"
                 f"- Error count: **{state.error_count}**\n"
-                f"- Time: {format_timestamp(now)}\n\n"
+                f"- Time: {format_timestamp(now, with_zone=True)}\n\n"
                 f"```\n{err}\n```"
             ),
             priority=9,
@@ -469,7 +469,7 @@ def _perform_portainer_redeploy(
             f"Redeploying Portainer stack **{stack_name}** (environment **{environment}**) "
             f"to recover **{name}**.\n\n"
             f"- Status: **{result.status}**\n"
-            f"- Time: {format_timestamp(now)}"
+            f"- Time: {format_timestamp(now, with_zone=True)}"
         ),
         priority=6,
     )
@@ -483,7 +483,7 @@ def _perform_portainer_redeploy(
             message=(
                 f"Portainer redeploy of **{stack_name}** (environment **{environment}**) failed.\n\n"
                 f"- Triggered by: **{name}** ({result.status})\n"
-                f"- Time: {format_timestamp(now)}\n\n"
+                f"- Time: {format_timestamp(now, with_zone=True)}\n\n"
                 f"```\n{redeploy_result.message}\n```"
             ),
             priority=9,
@@ -516,7 +516,7 @@ def _perform_portainer_redeploy(
             f"successfully redeployed to recover **{name}**.\n\n"
             f"- Triggered by: *{result.status}*\n"
             f"- Post-redeploy wait: {wait_seconds}s\n"
-            f"- Time: {format_timestamp(now)}"
+            f"- Time: {format_timestamp(now, with_zone=True)}"
         ),
         priority=4,
     )
@@ -536,7 +536,7 @@ def _perform_portainer_redeploy(
                     f"Portainer stack **{stack_name}** was redeployed, but the HTTP recheck "
                     f"for **{name}** still reports a failure.\n\n"
                     f"- Recheck result: *{recheck.message}*\n"
-                    f"- Time: {format_timestamp(now)}"
+                    f"- Time: {format_timestamp(now, with_zone=True)}"
                 ),
                 priority=6,
             )

src/inspector/uptime_kuma.py

@@ -41,20 +41,26 @@ class UptimeKumaClient:
             and bool(self._config.status_page_slug)
         )
 
+    def _heartbeat_url(self) -> str:
+        return f"{self._config.url}/api/status-page/heartbeat/{self._config.status_page_slug}"
+
     def fetch(self) -> HeartbeatSnapshot:
         if not self.enabled:
             return _EMPTY
 
-        url = f"{self._config.url}/api/status-page/heartbeat/{self._config.status_page_slug}"
         try:
-            resp = requests.get(url, timeout=self._timeout)
+            return self.fetch_or_raise()
-            resp.raise_for_status()
-            data = resp.json()
-            return self._parse(data)
         except Exception as exc:
-            log.warning("Uptime Kuma heartbeat fetch failed (%s): %s", url, exc)
+            log.warning("Uptime Kuma heartbeat fetch failed (%s): %s", self._heartbeat_url(), exc)
             return _EMPTY
 
+    def fetch_or_raise(self) -> HeartbeatSnapshot:
+        """Like fetch(), but lets request/parse errors propagate (used by the
+        settings page's "Test connection" button)."""
+        resp = requests.get(self._heartbeat_url(), timeout=self._timeout)
+        resp.raise_for_status()
+        return self._parse(resp.json())
+
     def _parse(self, data: dict) -> HeartbeatSnapshot:
         # Expected shape:
         # {"publicGroupList": [{"monitorList": [{"id": 1, "name": "..."}]}],