v5.0.1: Windows QtQuick crash fix + node/Tor lifecycle overhaul

Windows crash chain (exposed by the embedded-node default):
- main.cpp: force the QtQuick software renderer. The Mining tab's QQuickWidget
  drove the default RHI/GL path and faulted (0xc0000005) on broken-GL hosts
  (VirtualBox VMSVGA), crashing the app and orphaning the embedded node.
  Real hardware was unaffected.
- ChildProcessGuard + DaemonManager/TorManager: kernel-level die-with-parent
  (Windows Job Object KILL_ON_JOB_CLOSE / Linux PR_SET_PDEATHSIG) so the
  embedded wownerod and bundled tor never survive a wowlet exit or crash.
- DaemonManager: verify-before-adopt via get_info (nettype/height) instead of
  trusting a bare open RPC port, so a stale/orphan node is never adopted.

Node/Tor lifecycle + remote-node connectivity:
- config: torPrivacyLevel default -> allTorExceptNode. NEVER sync blocks over
  Tor; the wallet's node connection is always clearnet. Tor is only for tx
  broadcast, so remote nodes work with or without Tor.
- nodes: add Nodes::reconnect() (clear failure blocklist + force reconnect);
  node/Tor toggle handlers use it so a transient outage no longer strands the
  wallet at "Disconnected".
- MainWindow/SettingsDialog: reconnect on node/Tor toggle and on the async
  daemonStateChanged (closes the start() race; a freshly-toggled local node
  connects immediately).
- TorManager: reset retry/unpack state in init() so a system<->bundled Tor
  re-toggle can start again; quiesce on stop(). Linux unpackBins() rework
  (mkpath + presence-based unpack + graceful return-false), getVersion() arg
  fix, and a missing-binary start guard.
- build.yml: derive TOR_VERSION from the embedded tor binary (a hardcoded
  bundle number made unpackBins rewrite Tor every launch).
- depends/funcs.mk: confine cross-cmake find_package to the depends sysroot so
  host -dev libraries don't leak into the build.

.github/workflows/build.yml

@@ -54,7 +54,12 @@ jobs:
           cd build
           # ARCH=x86-64: portable generic baseline. NEVER 'native' for a release — the CI runner's
           # CPU (often newer than users') would bake in unsupported instructions → SIGILL on launch.
-          cmake -DWITH_SCANNER=OFF -DARCH=x86-64 -DWOWNEROD_DIR=/tmp/wownerod-embed -DTOR_DIR=/tmp/tor-embed -DTOR_VERSION=15.0 ..
+          # wowlet: TOR_VERSION must EXACTLY match `tor --version` of the embedded binary, else
+          # TorManager::unpackBins() sees embedded > the unpacked copy and rewrites Tor every launch.
+          # The tor-expert-bundle's RELEASE number (15.0) is NOT its tor version (0.4.8.x) — derive it.
+          TORVER=$(/tmp/tor-embed/tor --version | grep -oE '[0-9]+(\.[0-9]+){3}' | head -1)
+          echo "embedded tor version: $TORVER"
+          cmake -DWITH_SCANNER=OFF -DARCH=x86-64 -DWOWNEROD_DIR=/tmp/wownerod-embed -DTOR_DIR=/tmp/tor-embed -DTOR_VERSION="$TORVER" ..
           cmake --build . -j $(nproc)
       - name: package AppImage
         run: |

CMakeLists.txt

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.18)
 
 project(feather
-  VERSION "5.0.0"
+  VERSION "5.0.1"
   DESCRIPTION "A free Monero desktop wallet"
   LANGUAGES CXX C ASM
 )

contrib/depends/funcs.mk

@@ -198,6 +198,14 @@ ifneq ($(host),$(build))
 $(1)_cmake += -DCMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME=$($(host_os)_cmake_system)
 $(1)_cmake += -DCMAKE_C_COMPILER_TARGET=$(host)
 $(1)_cmake += -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_TARGET=$(host)
+# wowlet: confine find_package to the depends sysroot so cross cmake builds don't grab host
+# /usr -dev packages (libzip's find_package(ZLIB) was picking up host zlib1g-dev). Mirrors
+# toolchain.cmake.in; no-op on clean CI, needed on dev boxes with -dev libs. Upstreamable.
+$(1)_cmake += -DCMAKE_FIND_ROOT_PATH=$(host_prefix)
+$(1)_cmake += -DCMAKE_FIND_ROOT_PATH_MODE_PROGRAM=NEVER
+$(1)_cmake += -DCMAKE_FIND_ROOT_PATH_MODE_LIBRARY=ONLY
+$(1)_cmake += -DCMAKE_FIND_ROOT_PATH_MODE_INCLUDE=ONLY
+$(1)_cmake += -DCMAKE_FIND_ROOT_PATH_MODE_PACKAGE=ONLY
 endif
 endif
 endef

src/MainWindow.cpp

@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@
 #include "utils/AppData.h"
 #include "utils/AsyncTask.h"
 #include "utils/ColorScheme.h"
+#include "utils/DaemonManager.h"   // wowlet: for daemonStateChanged reconnect (node-toggle race)
 #include "utils/Icons.h"
 #include "utils/TorManager.h"
 #include "utils/WebsocketNotifier.h"
@@ -512,6 +513,13 @@ void MainWindow::initWalletContext() {
         this->onConnectionStatusChanged(status);
         m_nodes->autoConnect();
     });
+    // wowlet: the embedded node's RPC port comes up asynchronously after daemonManager()->start(), so a
+    // freshly-toggled local node would otherwise sit Disconnected until the next status tick. Reconnect the
+    // instant its RPC is up. (autoConnect's runLocalNode branch routes to 127.0.0.1; start() is idempotent.)
+    connect(daemonManager(), &DaemonManager::daemonStateChanged, this, [this](bool up){
+        if (up && conf()->get(Config::runLocalNode).toBool())
+            m_nodes->autoConnect(true);
+    });
     connect(m_wallet, &Wallet::currentSubaddressAccountChanged, this, &MainWindow::updateTitle);
     connect(m_wallet, &Wallet::walletPassphraseNeeded, this, &MainWindow::onWalletPassphraseNeeded);
 
@@ -703,7 +711,7 @@ void MainWindow::onWebsocketStatusChanged(bool enabled) {
 }
 
 void MainWindow::onProxySettingsChangedConnect() {
-    m_nodes->connectToNode();
+    m_nodes->reconnect();   // wowlet: clear blocklist + force-reconnect after a live Tor/proxy switch (test 2)
     this->onProxySettingsChanged();
 }
 

src/SettingsDialog.cpp

@@ -177,7 +177,7 @@ void Settings::setupNetworkTab() {
                 daemonManager()->start();
             else
                 daemonManager()->stop(false);   // non-blocking: don't freeze Settings while wownerod flushes
-            m_nodes->autoConnect(true);
+            m_nodes->reconnect();   // wowlet: clear blocklist + force-reconnect (handles a previously-failed remote)
         });
     } else {
         m_nodes = new Nodes(this, nullptr);

src/main.cpp

@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 // SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
 // SPDX-FileCopyrightText: The Monero Project
 
+#include <QQuickWindow>
 #include <QSslSocket>
 
 #include "Application.h"
@@ -88,6 +89,14 @@ if (AttachConsole(ATTACH_PARENT_PROCESS)) {
     QApplication::setHighDpiScaleFactorRoundingPolicy(Qt::HighDpiScaleFactorRoundingPolicy::Round);
 #endif
 
+    // wowlet: force the QtQuick scene graph to the software renderer. The app's only QtQuick surface
+    // (the Mining tab's QQuickWidget) otherwise drives the default RHI/GL path, which faults (0xc0000005)
+    // on broken-GL environments — notably VirtualBox's VMSVGA — crashing the whole app and orphaning the
+    // embedded node. The mining widget is small + static, so software rendering costs nothing meaningful
+    // and guarantees no GL-init crash on any user's hardware. (Confirmed in a VMSVGA Win11 VM: the software
+    // backend launches cleanly where the default GL backend crashed.)
+    QQuickWindow::setGraphicsApi(QSGRendererInterface::Software);
+
     Application app(argc, argv);
 
     QApplication::setApplicationName("wowlet");

src/utils/ChildProcessGuard.cpp

@@ -0,0 +1,115 @@
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
+// SPDX-FileCopyrightText: The Monero Project
+
+#include "utils/ChildProcessGuard.h"
+
+#include <QDebug>
+
+#if defined(Q_OS_WIN)
+#include <windows.h>
+#elif defined(Q_OS_UNIX)
+#include <csignal>
+#if defined(Q_OS_LINUX)
+#include <sys/prctl.h>
+#include <unistd.h>
+#endif
+#endif
+
+namespace ChildProcessGuard
+{
+
+#if defined(Q_OS_WIN)
+
+// One process-wide job for all wowlet children. Created lazily on first use; the HANDLE is
+// intentionally never closed — it must stay open for wowlet's entire lifetime so the job persists.
+// On process death (clean OR crash) the kernel closes it, fires KILL_ON_JOB_CLOSE, and reaps the kids.
+static HANDLE g_job = nullptr;
+
+static HANDLE jobHandle()
+{
+    if (g_job)
+        return g_job;
+
+    HANDLE job = CreateJobObjectW(nullptr, nullptr);
+    if (!job) {
+        qWarning() << "ChildProcessGuard: CreateJobObject failed:" << GetLastError();
+        return nullptr;
+    }
+
+    JOBOBJECT_EXTENDED_LIMIT_INFORMATION info{};
+    info.BasicLimitInformation.LimitFlags = JOB_OBJECT_LIMIT_KILL_ON_JOB_CLOSE;
+    if (!SetInformationJobObject(job, JobObjectExtendedLimitInformation, &info, sizeof(info))) {
+        qWarning() << "ChildProcessGuard: SetInformationJobObject failed:" << GetLastError();
+        CloseHandle(job);
+        return nullptr;
+    }
+
+    g_job = job;
+    return g_job;
+}
+
+void installPreStart(QProcess *) { /* no-op on Windows: assignment happens post-start */ }
+
+void adoptAfterStart(QProcess *process)
+{
+    HANDLE job = jobHandle();
+    if (!job)
+        return;
+
+    // QProcess::start() is asynchronous: right after it returns the child often has no PID yet. Wait
+    // (bounded) for it to actually start, else the assign is silently skipped and the child survives a
+    // parent crash (orphaned) — this is exactly what stranded wownerod in testing. Returns the instant
+    // the process is created, so the UI-thread cost is tiny.
+    if (process->state() == QProcess::Starting)
+        process->waitForStarted(5000);
+
+    const qint64 pid = process->processId();   // 0 if it still isn't running
+    if (pid == 0) {
+        qWarning() << "ChildProcessGuard: child has no PID; not assigned to job";
+        return;
+    }
+
+    // AssignProcessToJobObject needs PROCESS_SET_QUOTA | PROCESS_TERMINATE. QProcess does not expose
+    // the child HANDLE, so re-open it by PID.
+    HANDLE proc = OpenProcess(PROCESS_SET_QUOTA | PROCESS_TERMINATE, FALSE,
+                              static_cast<DWORD>(pid));
+    if (!proc) {
+        qWarning() << "ChildProcessGuard: OpenProcess failed for pid" << pid << ":" << GetLastError();
+        return;
+    }
+
+    if (!AssignProcessToJobObject(job, proc))
+        qWarning() << "ChildProcessGuard: AssignProcessToJobObject failed:" << GetLastError();
+    else
+        qInfo() << "ChildProcessGuard: bound child pid" << pid << "to kill-on-close job";
+
+    CloseHandle(proc);   // closing this per-child handle does NOT remove the process from the job
+}
+
+#elif defined(Q_OS_UNIX)
+
+void installPreStart(QProcess *process)
+{
+#if defined(Q_OS_LINUX)
+    // Runs in the forked child between fork() and exec(). Keep it async-signal-safe.
+    process->setChildProcessModifier([] {
+        ::prctl(PR_SET_PDEATHSIG, SIGKILL);
+        // Fork-race guard: if the parent already died before prctl ran, self-terminate.
+        if (::getppid() == 1)
+            ::raise(SIGKILL);
+    });
+#else
+    Q_UNUSED(process)   // macOS/BSD: no PR_SET_PDEATHSIG; rely on aboutToQuit + destructor stop()
+#endif
+}
+
+void adoptAfterStart(QProcess *) { /* no-op on Unix: handled pre-start */ }
+
+#else
+
+void installPreStart(QProcess *) {}
+void adoptAfterStart(QProcess *) {}
+
+#endif
+
+} // namespace ChildProcessGuard

src/utils/ChildProcessGuard.h

@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
+// SPDX-FileCopyrightText: The Monero Project
+
+#ifndef WOWLET_CHILDPROCESSGUARD_H
+#define WOWLET_CHILDPROCESSGUARD_H
+
+#include <QProcess>
+
+// wowlet: OS-level "die with parent" for spawned child processes (embedded wownerod, bundled tor).
+//
+// QProcess does NOT kill its child when the parent exits or crashes; it only detaches. Feather's
+// TorManager/DaemonManager relied solely on an explicit stop() in the normal-quit path, so an
+// unhandled crash (e.g. a 0xc0000005 access violation) orphaned the children. This binds the
+// child's lifetime to wowlet's at the kernel level, which survives a hard crash where no C++
+// destructor and no Qt teardown runs.
+//
+//   Windows: a single process-wide Job Object with JOB_OBJECT_LIMIT_KILL_ON_JOB_CLOSE. Assign each
+//            child after start(); when wowlet's process dies the job's last handle closes and the
+//            kernel terminates every process still in the job.
+//   Unix:    prctl(PR_SET_PDEATHSIG, SIGKILL) installed in the child (via setChildProcessModifier),
+//            so the kernel SIGKILLs the child when the parent dies.
+namespace ChildProcessGuard
+{
+    // Unix: arrange for `process` to receive SIGKILL when wowlet dies. Call BEFORE process->start().
+    // No-op on Windows (the Job Object handles it post-start).
+    void installPreStart(QProcess *process);
+
+    // Windows: assign the (now-running) child to wowlet's kill-on-close job. Call right AFTER start()
+    // returns and the child has a PID. No-op on Unix.
+    void adoptAfterStart(QProcess *process);
+}
+
+#endif //WOWLET_CHILDPROCESSGUARD_H

src/utils/DaemonManager.cpp

@@ -6,10 +6,21 @@
 #include <QCoreApplication>
 #include <QDir>
 #include <QDirIterator>
+#include <QEventLoop>
 #include <QFileInfo>
+#include <QJsonDocument>
+#include <QJsonObject>
+#include <QNetworkAccessManager>
+#include <QNetworkReply>
+#include <QNetworkRequest>
 #include <QRegularExpression>
+#include <QUrl>
 
+#include "constants.h"
+#include "utils/AppData.h"
+#include "utils/ChildProcessGuard.h"   // wowlet: OS-level die-with-parent for the embedded node
 #include "utils/config.h"
+#include "utils/networktype.h"
 #include "utils/TorManager.h"
 #include "utils/Utils.h"
 
@@ -25,6 +36,11 @@ DaemonManager::DaemonManager(QObject *parent)
     connect(m_process, &QProcess::readyReadStandardOutput, this, &DaemonManager::handleProcessOutput);
     connect(m_process, &QProcess::errorOccurred, this, &DaemonManager::handleProcessError);
     connect(m_process, &QProcess::stateChanged, this, &DaemonManager::onStateChanged);
+
+    // wowlet: SIGKILL wownerod if wowlet dies (Unix); Windows binds it to a kill-on-close job post-start.
+    ChildProcessGuard::installPreStart(m_process);
+    // wowlet: graceful stop on any clean quit, not just the last-window-closed path (flushes LMDB).
+    connect(QCoreApplication::instance(), &QCoreApplication::aboutToQuit, this, [this]{ this->stop(); });
 }
 
 QPointer<DaemonManager> DaemonManager::m_instance(nullptr);
@@ -51,11 +67,22 @@ void DaemonManager::start() {
         return;
     }
 
+    // wowlet: don't trust a bare open port. Before adopting whatever is listening on our RPC port,
+    // verify via get_info that it's a healthy wownero-mainnet wownerod (right nettype, sane height,
+    // making progress) — not a stale/stuck orphan from a prior crash or an unrelated squatter.
     if (Utils::portOpen(this->rpcHost, this->rpcPort)) {
-        // Something is already listening on our RPC port; assume it is a usable local node.
-        m_alreadyRunning = true;
-        emit daemonStateChanged(true);
-        return;
+        if (this->verifyAdoptableNode()) {
+            qDebug() << "Adopting existing wownerod on" << this->rpcAddress();
+            m_alreadyRunning = true;
+            emit daemonStateChanged(true);
+            return;
+        }
+        qWarning() << "Refusing to adopt unverified listener on" << this->rpcAddress()
+                   << "- will spawn a managed wownerod instead";
+        this->setErrorMessage(
+            QString("Found an unrecognized process on %1; starting a fresh node.").arg(this->rpcAddress()));
+        // fall through to spawn; if the port/data-dir is genuinely held, the spawn fails to bind
+        // and surfaces a clear error via handleProcessError().
     }
 
     m_restarts += 1;
@@ -106,6 +133,7 @@ void DaemonManager::start() {
     qDebug() << QString("Starting wownerod: %1 %2").arg(this->daemonPath, arguments.join(" "));
 
     m_process->start(this->daemonPath, arguments);
+    ChildProcessGuard::adoptAfterStart(m_process);   // wowlet: bind to kill-on-crash job (Windows)
     m_started = true;
 }
 
@@ -238,6 +266,95 @@ bool DaemonManager::shouldStartDaemon() {
     return true;
 }
 
+// wowlet: synchronous, bounded get_info probe used by start() to decide whether an already-open RPC
+// port is a node we can safely adopt. Returns true ONLY for a healthy wownero-mainnet wownerod.
+// Self-contained (own QNetworkAccessManager + local QEventLoop with a hard timeout) so it can run
+// inside the synchronous start() at boot, before any wallet/DaemonRpc exists. Mirrors TorManager's
+// blocking getVersion() probe idiom.
+bool DaemonManager::verifyAdoptableNode() {
+    if (conf()->get(Config::offlineMode).toBool())
+        return false;
+
+    QNetworkAccessManager nam;
+    QNetworkRequest req(QUrl(QString("http://%1/get_info").arg(this->rpcAddress())));
+    req.setHeader(QNetworkRequest::ContentTypeHeader, "application/json");
+
+    QEventLoop loop;
+    QTimer timeout;
+    timeout.setSingleShot(true);
+    QObject::connect(&timeout, &QTimer::timeout, &loop, &QEventLoop::quit);
+
+    QNetworkReply *reply = nam.post(req, QByteArray("{}"));
+    QObject::connect(reply, &QNetworkReply::finished, &loop, &QEventLoop::quit);
+
+    timeout.start(1500);          // hard cap on UI-thread block
+    loop.exec();
+
+    if (!reply->isFinished()) {   // timed out
+        reply->abort();
+        reply->deleteLater();
+        qWarning() << "get_info verify: no response from" << this->rpcAddress() << "within 1.5s";
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    bool netOk = reply->error() == QNetworkReply::NoError;
+    QByteArray data = reply->readAll();
+    reply->deleteLater();
+
+    if (!netOk || data.isEmpty() || !Utils::validateJSON(data)) {
+        qWarning() << "get_info verify: not a JSON-RPC daemon on" << this->rpcAddress();
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    QJsonObject obj = QJsonDocument::fromJson(data).object();
+
+    if (obj.value("status").toString() != "OK") {           // 1. real wownerod RPC
+        qWarning() << "get_info verify: bad status" << obj.value("status").toString();
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    const QString wantNet = constants::networkType == NetworkType::MAINNET   ? "mainnet"   // 2. nettype
+                          : constants::networkType == NetworkType::TESTNET   ? "testnet"
+                                                                             : "stagenet";
+    if (obj.value("nettype").toString() != wantNet) {
+        qWarning() << "get_info verify: wrong nettype" << obj.value("nettype").toString()
+                   << "(want" << wantNet << ")";
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    const quint64 height = obj.value("height").toVariant().toULongLong();   // 3. height sanity
+    if (height == 0) {
+        qWarning() << "get_info verify: node reports height 0";
+        return false;
+    }
+    quint64 knownHeight = 0;
+    if (appData()->heights.contains(constants::networkType))
+        knownHeight = static_cast<quint64>(appData()->heights[constants::networkType]);
+
+    const quint64 peers = obj.value("outgoing_connections_count").toVariant().toULongLong()
+                        + obj.value("incoming_connections_count").toVariant().toULongLong();
+    const bool progressing = obj.value("busy_syncing").toBool() || obj.value("synchronized").toBool();
+
+    if (knownHeight > 0) {
+        const quint64 slack = 720;   // ~1 day of wownero blocks; live-but-lagging is still adoptable
+        if (height + slack < knownHeight) {
+            if (peers == 0 && !progressing) {   // 4. stuck-orphan signature: behind AND peerless AND idle
+                qWarning() << "get_info verify: stale/stuck node — height" << height
+                           << "<< known" << knownHeight << "with 0 peers, not syncing";
+                return false;
+            }
+            qWarning() << "get_info verify: node behind (" << height << "/" << knownHeight
+                       << ") but live; adopting and letting it catch up";
+        }
+    }
+
+    if (peers == 0)   // soft: a freshly-spawned-but-orphaned node sits at 0 peers for minutes
+        qWarning() << "get_info verify: adopting node with 0 peers (likely still bootstrapping)";
+
+    qDebug() << "get_info verify: OK — nettype" << wantNet << "height" << height << "peers" << peers;
+    return true;
+}
+
 void DaemonManager::setErrorMessage(const QString &msg) {
     this->errorMsg = msg;
     if (!msg.isEmpty())

src/utils/DaemonManager.h

@@ -59,6 +59,11 @@ private slots:
 
 private:
     bool shouldStartDaemon();
+    // wowlet: verify an already-open RPC port really is a healthy wownero-mainnet wownerod before
+    // adopting it, instead of trusting a bare TCP port-open probe. Prevents the wallet from silently
+    // syncing against a stale/stuck orphan (e.g. left by a prior crash) or a process squatting
+    // 127.0.0.1:34568. Synchronous, bounded (~1.5s), UI-thread-safe.
+    bool verifyAdoptableNode();
     void setErrorMessage(const QString &msg);
 
     QProcess *m_process;

src/utils/TorManager.cpp

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 #include <QCoreApplication>
 #include <QDirIterator>
 
+#include "utils/ChildProcessGuard.h"   // wowlet: OS-level die-with-parent for bundled tor
 #include "utils/config.h"
 #include "utils/Utils.h"
 #include "utils/os/tails.h"
@@ -37,15 +38,26 @@ TorManager::TorManager(QObject *parent)
     connect(m_process, &QProcess::readyReadStandardOutput, this, &TorManager::handleProcessOutput);
     connect(m_process, &QProcess::errorOccurred, this, &TorManager::handleProcessError);
     connect(m_process, &QProcess::stateChanged, this, &TorManager::stateChanged);
+
+    ChildProcessGuard::installPreStart(m_process);   // wowlet: SIGKILL tor if wowlet dies (Unix)
+    connect(QCoreApplication::instance(), &QCoreApplication::aboutToQuit, this, [this]{ this->stop(); });   // wowlet
 }
 
 QPointer<TorManager> TorManager::m_instance(nullptr);
 
 void TorManager::init() {
+    // wowlet: a live proxy/useLocalTor toggle re-runs init(). Reset failure/retry state so switching
+    // system->bundled Tor after a prior failure (Linux unpack, or a FailedToStart that latched
+    // m_stopRetries in handleProcessError) can actually start again instead of staying silently dead.
+    m_restarts = 0;
+    m_stopRetries = false;
+    m_unpacked = false;   // re-evaluate the unpack on the next start()
+
     m_localTor = !shouldStartTorDaemon();
 
     auto state = m_process->state();
     if (m_localTor && (state == QProcess::ProcessState::Running || state == QProcess::ProcessState::Starting)) {
+        m_stopRetries = true;   // wowlet: intentional kill (switching to system Tor); don't auto-restart it
         m_process->kill();
         m_started = false;
     }
@@ -54,6 +66,8 @@ void TorManager::init() {
 }
 
 void TorManager::stop() {
+    m_stopRetries = true;            // wowlet: intentional stop — suppress the stateChanged() auto-restart
+    m_checkConnectionTimer->stop();  // wowlet: stop probing the connection after an intentional stop
     m_process->kill();
     m_started = false;
 }
@@ -82,6 +96,17 @@ void TorManager::start() {
         this->torPath = alternativeTorFile;
     }
 
+    // wowlet: never hand QProcess a non-existent path (the Linux "empty folder" symptom). If the bundled
+    // binary isn't on disk, degrade to local/external-Tor mode + surface an error instead of burning the
+    // 4-retry budget on FailedToStart. With clearnet sync, node sync is unaffected; only broadcast-over-Tor
+    // is lost, which DaemonManager tolerates via clearnet relay.
+    if (!QFileInfo(this->torPath).isFile()) {
+        this->setErrorMessage("Bundled Tor binary not found; using external/local Tor if available: " + this->torPath);
+        m_localTor = true;
+        this->checkConnection();
+        return;
+    }
+
     qDebug() << QString("Start process: %1").arg(this->torPath);
 
     m_restarts += 1;
@@ -102,6 +127,7 @@ void TorManager::start() {
     qDebug() << QString("%1 %2").arg(this->torPath, arguments.join(" "));
 
     m_process->start(this->torPath, arguments);
+    ChildProcessGuard::adoptAfterStart(m_process);   // wowlet: bind to kill-on-crash job (Windows)
     m_started = true;
 }
 
@@ -201,37 +227,54 @@ bool TorManager::unpackBins() {
         return true;
     }
 
-    SemanticVersion embeddedVersion = SemanticVersion::fromString(QString(TOR_VERSION));
-    SemanticVersion filesystemVersion = this->getVersion(torPath);
-    qDebug() << QString("Tor versions: embedded %1, filesystem %2").arg(embeddedVersion.toString(), filesystemVersion.toString());
-    if (SemanticVersion::isValid(filesystemVersion) && (embeddedVersion > filesystemVersion)) {
-        qInfo() << "Embedded version is newer, overwriting.";
-        QFile::setPermissions(torPath, QFile::ReadOther | QFile::WriteOther);
-        if (!QFile::remove(torPath)) {
-            qWarning() << "Unable to remove old Tor binary";
-            return false;
-        }
-    }
+    // wowlet: QFile::copy never creates parent dirs; without this the copy loop can silently no-op on
+    // a fresh profile, leaving an empty tor/ dir and "tor failed to start" (Lucas/Fedora). main.cpp
+    // also mkpaths this, but make unpackBins() self-sufficient. Mirrors DaemonManager::unpackBins().
+    QDir().mkpath(this->torDir);
 
-    if (embeddedVersion > filesystemVersion) {
+    // wowlet: unpack when the binary is MISSING, not only when a version compare says "newer". Overwrite
+    // only when the embedded build is a VALID newer version (getVersion() of a non-existent file returns
+    // an invalid SemanticVersion, so it must not gate the first unpack).
+    bool present = QFileInfo(this->torPath).isFile();
+    SemanticVersion embeddedVersion = SemanticVersion::fromString(QString(TOR_VERSION));
+    SemanticVersion filesystemVersion = present ? this->getVersion(this->torPath) : SemanticVersion();
+    qDebug() << QString("Tor versions: embedded %1, filesystem %2").arg(embeddedVersion.toString(), filesystemVersion.toString());
+    bool needsOverwrite = present && SemanticVersion::isValid(filesystemVersion)
+                          && (embeddedVersion > filesystemVersion);
+
+    if (!present || needsOverwrite) {
+        if (needsOverwrite) {
+            qInfo() << "Embedded Tor is newer, overwriting.";
+            QFile::setPermissions(this->torPath, QFile::ReadOther | QFile::WriteOther);
+            QFile::remove(this->torPath);
+        }
         QDirIterator it(":/assets/tor", QDirIterator::Subdirectories);
         while (it.hasNext()) {
             QString assetFile = it.next();
-            QFileInfo assetFileInfo = QFileInfo(assetFile);
+            QString filePath = QDir(this->torDir).filePath(QFileInfo(assetFile).fileName());
             QFile f(assetFile);
-            QString filePath = QDir(this->torDir).filePath(assetFileInfo.fileName());
             f.copy(filePath);
             f.close();
         }
-        qInfo() << "Wrote Tor binaries to: " << this->torDir;
+        qInfo() << "Wrote Tor binaries to:" << this->torDir;
     }
 
 #if defined(Q_OS_UNIX)
-    QFile tor(this->torPath);
-    tor.setPermissions(QFile::ExeUser | QFile::ExeGroup | QFile::ExeOther
-    | QFile::ReadOwner | QFile::ReadGroup | QFile::ReadOther);
+    // wowlet: only chmod if the binary actually landed.
+    if (QFileInfo(this->torPath).isFile()) {
+        QFile tor(this->torPath);
+        tor.setPermissions(QFile::ExeUser | QFile::ExeGroup | QFile::ExeOther
+                           | QFile::ReadOwner | QFile::ReadGroup | QFile::ReadOther);
+    }
 #endif
 
+    // wowlet: do NOT report success if nothing landed — return false so shouldStartTorDaemon() falls
+    // back to --use-local-tor cleanly (see :297-303) instead of start()ing a missing binary.
+    if (!QFileInfo(this->torPath).isFile()) {
+        qWarning() << "Tor was not unpacked (no embedded Tor, or copy failed):" << this->torPath;
+        return false;
+    }
+
     m_unpacked = true;
     return true;
 }
@@ -310,7 +353,7 @@ bool TorManager::shouldStartTorDaemon() {
 SemanticVersion TorManager::getVersion(const QString &fileName) {
     QProcess process;
     process.setProcessChannelMode(QProcess::MergedChannels);
-    process.start(this->torPath, QStringList() << "--version");
+    process.start(fileName, QStringList() << "--version");   // wowlet: use the passed path, not this->torPath
     process.waitForFinished(-1);
     QString output = process.readAllStandardOutput();
 

src/utils/config.cpp

@@ -115,7 +115,10 @@ static const QHash<Config::ConfigKey, ConfigDirective> configStrings = {
 
         // Tor
         {Config::proxy, {QS("proxy"), Config::Proxy::Tor}},
-        {Config::torPrivacyLevel, {QS("torPrivacyLevel"), 1}},
+        // wowlet: allTorExceptNode(0) — NEVER sync blocks over Tor. Block sync is ALWAYS clearnet (speed,
+        // the standard monero model). Tor is ONLY for tx broadcast (via DaemonManager's --tx-proxy), which
+        // is independent of this. This is what makes remote nodes work with OR without Tor.
+        {Config::torPrivacyLevel, {QS("torPrivacyLevel"), 0}},
         {Config::torOnlyAllowOnion, {QS("torOnlyAllowOnion"), false}},
         {Config::socks5Host, {QS("socks5Host"), "127.0.0.1"}},
         {Config::socks5Port, {QS("socks5Port"), "9050"}},

src/utils/nodes.cpp

@@ -330,6 +330,15 @@ void Nodes::autoConnect(bool forceReconnect) {
     this->updateModels();
 }
 
+// wowlet: clear the recent-failure blocklist then force a reconnect. autoConnect(true) alone is not
+// enough — pickEligibleNode() still filters the failed node out of m_recentFailures, so a node that
+// dropped during a transient Tor/proxy outage would stay blocklisted ("permanent Disconnected"). The
+// node/Tor live-toggle handlers call this to recover.
+void Nodes::reconnect() {
+    m_recentFailures.clear();
+    this->autoConnect(true);
+}
+
 FeatherNode Nodes::pickEligibleNode() {
     // Pick a node at random to connect to
     auto rtn = FeatherNode();

src/utils/nodes.h

@@ -173,6 +173,9 @@ public slots:
     void onNodeSourceChanged(NodeSource nodeSource);
     void setCustomNodes(const QList<FeatherNode>& nodes);
     void autoConnect(bool forceReconnect = false);
+    // wowlet: clear the recent-failure blocklist and force-reconnect. Used by the node/Tor live-toggle
+    // handlers so a node blocklisted during a transient outage (e.g. a Tor toggle) is actually retried.
+    void reconnect();
 
 private slots:
     void onWalletRefreshed();