feat(admin): delete a whitelist entry, and stop hiding a broken mail setup

Three operator gaps, all found the same way — a person could not sign up and the
app showed nobody anything.

- DELETE /api/admin/invites/{id} with a delete control on both the pending
  requests and the previously-decided list. Deny keeps the row so the person
  cannot immediately re-ask; delete forgets the address. Refused with 409 while
  a User row exists for it, because is_allowed reads that row and removing it
  would revoke a live user's access with no other sign — the list ships
  has_account so the UI withholds the button instead of offering one that fails.
- Email is fail-soft by design, which had come to mean invisible. _send() now
  records an email_undelivered notification for every admin when a message is
  skipped or rejected, naming the message that was lost, throttled to one an
  hour. /api/me carries email_configured, driving a standing warning on
  Configuration → Email / SMTP and above the access-request list.
- The sign-in card's Create account / Forgot password / Didn't get the email
  views are history entries (useHistorySubview), so Back returns to the previous
  view instead of only moving the address bar.

Also: the per-test rate-limiter reset sweeps every loaded app.* module rather
than a hand-kept list of three — this change added a limiter outside it.

backend/app/audit.py

@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ class AuditAction:
     INVITE_APPROVE = "invite_approve"
     INVITE_DENY = "invite_deny"
     INVITE_ADD = "invite_add"
+    INVITE_DELETE = "invite_delete"
     DEMO_ADD = "demo_add"
     DEMO_REMOVE = "demo_remove"
     DEMO_RESET = "demo_reset"

backend/app/email.py

@@ -3,6 +3,11 @@
 Gmail SMTP + App Password by default. Deliberately fail-soft: if SMTP isn't configured
 or a send errors, we log and return False so the caller can fall back to in-app
 notifications — email is never load-bearing for the app's core flow.
+
+Fail-soft must not mean invisible, though: every drop also leaves an in-app notice in the admins'
+inbox (see `_alert_admins`). An instance whose SMTP was never filled in silently swallows
+verification links, password resets and access-request notices, and the operator's first clue used
+to be a person telling them nothing arrived.
 """
 
 import logging
@@ -11,12 +16,60 @@ import ssl
 from email.message import EmailMessage
 from email.utils import formatdate
 
+from sqlalchemy import select
+
 from app import sysconfig
 from app.config import settings
 from app.db import SessionLocal
+from app.notifications import create_notification
+from app.ratelimit import RateLimiter
 
 log = logging.getLogger("siftlode.email")
 
+# One admin notice an hour per reason. A relay that is down fails every send, and the inbox must
+# stay readable; the log keeps the full record either way.
+_alert_throttle = RateLimiter(max_events=1, window_seconds=3600)
+
+
+def _alert_admins(reason: str, subject: str, recipients: list[str]) -> None:
+    """Record an in-app notice that a message did NOT go out. Best effort in every direction: it
+    opens its own session (callers are often background tasks), swallows its own errors, and never
+    reports failure to the caller — this is the fallback path, it must not become a new way to
+    break a send."""
+    if not _alert_throttle.allow(reason):
+        return
+    try:
+        from app.models import User  # local: app.models imports settle before this ever runs
+
+        with SessionLocal() as db:
+            admins = (
+                db.execute(
+                    select(User.id).where(
+                        User.role == "admin",
+                        User.is_active.is_(True),
+                        User.is_suspended.is_(False),
+                    )
+                )
+                .scalars()
+                .all()
+            )
+            if not admins:
+                return
+            for uid in admins:
+                create_notification(
+                    db,
+                    user_id=uid,
+                    type="email_undelivered",
+                    # English fallback; the inbox renders a translated version from `data`.
+                    title="Email could not be sent",
+                    body=subject,
+                    data={"reason": reason, "subject": subject, "recipients": recipients},
+                    commit=False,
+                )
+            db.commit()
+    except Exception:
+        log.exception("Could not record the undelivered-email notice (%r)", subject)
+
 
 def _smtp() -> dict:
     """Effective SMTP config (admin DB override over env defaults). Opens its own short
@@ -47,6 +100,7 @@ def _send(to: list[str], subject: str, body: str, reply_to: str | None = None) -
     c = _smtp()
     if not (c["host"] and c["user"] and c["password"]):
         log.info("SMTP not configured; skipping email %r to %s", subject, recipients)
+        _alert_admins("not_configured", subject, recipients)
         return False
     msg = EmailMessage()
     msg["Subject"] = subject
@@ -67,6 +121,7 @@ def _send(to: list[str], subject: str, body: str, reply_to: str | None = None) -
         return True
     except Exception:
         log.exception("SMTP send failed (%r to %s)", subject, recipients)
+        _alert_admins("send_failed", subject, recipients)
         return False
 
 

backend/app/routes/admin.py

@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 """Admin-only onboarding: review access requests (Invites), approve/deny, manual add.
 Also the demo-account admin surface: the demo email whitelist + a manual state reset."""
 
+from collections.abc import Iterable
 from datetime import datetime, timezone
 
 from fastapi import APIRouter, BackgroundTasks, Depends, HTTPException
@@ -31,7 +32,18 @@ from app.utils import iso, valid_email
 router = APIRouter(prefix="/api/admin", tags=["admin"])
 
 
-def _serialize(inv: Invite) -> dict:
+def _accounts_for(db: Session, emails: Iterable[str]) -> set[str]:
+    """Which of these addresses already have an account. Batched, so listing the invites costs one
+    extra query. An invite whose address has an account must not be deletable: `is_allowed` reads
+    this row, so removing it would silently revoke a live user's access."""
+    wanted = {e.lower() for e in emails if e}
+    if not wanted:
+        return set()
+    rows = db.execute(select(User.email).where(User.email.in_(wanted))).scalars()
+    return {e.lower() for e in rows if e}
+
+
+def _serialize(inv: Invite, *, has_account: bool = False) -> dict:
     return {
         "id": inv.id,
         "email": inv.email,
@@ -40,6 +52,8 @@ def _serialize(inv: Invite) -> dict:
         "requested_at": iso(inv.requested_at),
         "decided_at": iso(inv.decided_at),
         "decided_by": inv.decided_by,
+        # Drives the delete affordance: an entry backed by an account is not removable here.
+        "has_account": has_account,
     }
 
 
@@ -56,7 +70,8 @@ def list_invites(
     rows = db.execute(stmt.order_by(Invite.requested_at.desc())).scalars().all()
     order = {"pending": 0, "approved": 1, "denied": 2}
     rows.sort(key=lambda i: order.get(i.status, 9))
-    return [_serialize(i) for i in rows]
+    accounts = _accounts_for(db, (i.email for i in rows))
+    return [_serialize(i, has_account=(i.email or "").lower() in accounts) for i in rows]
 
 
 def _activate_user_by_email(db: Session, email: str) -> None:
@@ -107,7 +122,7 @@ def approve_invite(
     inv = _decide(db, invite_id, admin, approved=True)
     _activate_user_by_email(db, inv.email)
     background.add_task(email_mod.send_access_approved, inv.email)
-    return _serialize(inv)
+    return _serialize(inv, has_account=bool(_accounts_for(db, [inv.email])))
 
 
 @router.post("/invites/{invite_id}/deny")
@@ -121,7 +136,7 @@ def deny_invite(
     # account is activated, so this is an email only (the requester has no in-app inbox yet).
     inv = _decide(db, invite_id, admin, approved=False)
     background.add_task(email_mod.send_access_denied, inv.email)
-    return _serialize(inv)
+    return _serialize(inv, has_account=bool(_accounts_for(db, [inv.email])))
 
 
 class AddInviteIn(BaseModel):
@@ -150,7 +165,41 @@ def add_invite(
     )
     db.commit()
     _activate_user_by_email(db, email)
-    return _serialize(inv)
+    return _serialize(inv, has_account=bool(_accounts_for(db, [email])))
+
+
+@router.delete("/invites/{invite_id}")
+def delete_invite(
+    invite_id: int,
+    admin: User = Depends(admin_user),
+    db: Session = Depends(get_db),
+) -> dict:
+    """Remove a whitelist/request entry outright — the counterpart to add_invite, for an address that
+    never became an account (an approval added by mistake, or one that is no longer wanted). Denying
+    a request keeps the row so the person cannot immediately re-ask; deleting it forgets them, and a
+    fresh request from that address starts over as pending.
+
+    Refused once an account exists: `is_allowed` reads this row, so removing it would silently revoke
+    a live user's access. Delete the USER instead — purge_user removes the invite along with it."""
+    inv = db.get(Invite, invite_id)
+    if inv is None:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="No such invite")
+    if _accounts_for(db, [inv.email]):
+        raise HTTPException(
+            status_code=409,
+            detail="That address already has an account — delete the account instead.",
+        )
+    audit.record(
+        db,
+        admin.id,
+        AuditAction.INVITE_DELETE,
+        target_type="invite",
+        target_id=inv.id,
+        summary=inv.email,
+    )
+    db.delete(inv)
+    db.commit()
+    return {"deleted": invite_id}
 
 
 # --- Users & roles --------------------------------------------------------------------

backend/app/routes/me.py

@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ from app.auth import (
     optional_current_user,
     purge_user,
 )
+from app import email as email_mod
 from app import sysconfig
 from app.db import get_db
 from app.models import Invite, User
@@ -98,11 +99,16 @@ def get_me(
     if user is None:
         return {"authenticated": False}
     pending_invites = 0
+    # Admin-only, because it drives an operator warning: email is fail-soft, so a half-filled SMTP
+    # config costs verification links, password resets and access-request notices with nothing
+    # visible anywhere. Surfacing it here puts the warning on the screens where onboarding happens.
+    email_configured = True
     if user.role == "admin":
         pending_invites = (
             db.scalar(select(func.count()).select_from(Invite).where(Invite.status == "pending"))
             or 0
         )
+        email_configured = email_mod.email_enabled()
     return {
         "authenticated": True,
         "id": user.id,
@@ -121,6 +127,7 @@ def get_me(
         "can_read": has_read_scope(user),
         "can_write": has_write_scope(user),
         "pending_invites": pending_invites,
+        "email_configured": email_configured,
         "preferences": user.preferences or {},
     }
 

backend/tests/conftest.py

@@ -196,13 +196,17 @@ def _reset_rate_limiters():
     """Every RateLimiter is a module-level singleton keyed by client IP, and TestClient always
     presents the same host — so without this the whole suite's login/register attempts pool into one
     300s window and, past the cap, some unrelated test starts failing with a 429 depending on order.
-    Cleared before each test; a test that wants to exercise throttling can still exhaust one itself."""
-    import app.routes.auth as _auth
-    import app.routes.messages as _messages
-    import app.routes.public as _public
+    Cleared before each test; a test that wants to exercise throttling can still exhaust one itself.
+
+    Sweeps every loaded `app.*` module rather than a hand-kept list, so a limiter added in a new
+    module is covered the day it lands instead of silently pooling until something fails."""
+    import sys
+
     from app.ratelimit import RateLimiter
 
-    for mod in (_auth, _messages, _public):
+    for name, mod in list(sys.modules.items()):
+        if name != "app" and not name.startswith("app."):
+            continue
         for obj in vars(mod).values():
             if isinstance(obj, RateLimiter):
                 obj.reset()

backend/tests/test_admin_invites.py

@@ -0,0 +1,106 @@
+"""Deleting a whitelist / access-request entry (admin).
+
+Deny keeps the row so a refused person cannot immediately re-ask; delete forgets the address
+outright, for an approval added by mistake or one that is no longer wanted. The one hard rule is
+that an entry backed by an account is NOT deletable here: `is_allowed` reads this row, so removing
+it would silently revoke a live user's access.
+"""
+
+from sqlalchemy import select
+
+from app.models import Invite, User
+
+
+def _invites(client):
+    r = client.get("/api/admin/invites")
+    assert r.status_code == 200
+    return {i["email"]: i for i in r.json()}
+
+
+def test_admin_deletes_a_whitelist_entry_that_never_became_an_account(db, make_user, as_user):
+    admin = make_user(email="admin@example.com", role="admin")
+    db.add(Invite(email="mistake@example.com", status="approved", decided_by=admin.email))
+    db.commit()
+    client = as_user(admin)
+    listed = _invites(client)["mistake@example.com"]
+    assert listed["has_account"] is False  # drives the delete affordance in the UI
+
+    r = client.delete(f"/api/admin/invites/{listed['id']}")
+
+    assert r.status_code == 200 and r.json() == {"deleted": listed["id"]}
+    db.expire_all()
+    assert (
+        db.execute(select(Invite).where(Invite.email == "mistake@example.com")).scalar_one_or_none()
+        is None
+    )
+
+
+def test_deleting_an_entry_that_has_an_account_is_refused(db, make_user, as_user):
+    # The guard that matters: this row is what is_allowed() reads, so deleting it would revoke the
+    # user's access without touching the account or saying so.
+    admin = make_user(email="admin@example.com", role="admin")
+    member = make_user(email="member@example.com")
+    db.add(Invite(email=member.email, status="approved", decided_by=admin.email))
+    db.commit()
+    client = as_user(admin)
+    listed = _invites(client)[member.email]
+    assert listed["has_account"] is True
+
+    r = client.delete(f"/api/admin/invites/{listed['id']}")
+
+    assert r.status_code == 409
+    db.expire_all()
+    assert (
+        db.execute(select(Invite).where(Invite.email == member.email)).scalar_one_or_none()
+        is not None
+    )
+
+
+def test_deleting_a_pending_request_forgets_it(db, make_user, as_user):
+    # A pending row is deletable too — "not now, and don't keep the record" is a different decision
+    # from Deny, which keeps the row precisely so the person cannot immediately re-ask.
+    admin = make_user(email="admin@example.com", role="admin")
+    db.add(Invite(email="asker@example.com", status="pending"))
+    db.commit()
+    client = as_user(admin)
+
+    r = client.delete(f"/api/admin/invites/{_invites(client)['asker@example.com']['id']}")
+
+    assert r.status_code == 200
+    assert "asker@example.com" not in _invites(client)
+
+
+def test_deleting_a_missing_invite_is_404(db, make_user, as_user):
+    admin = make_user(email="admin@example.com", role="admin")
+    assert as_user(admin).delete("/api/admin/invites/9999").status_code == 404
+
+
+def test_a_regular_user_cannot_delete_an_invite(db, make_user, as_user):
+    make_user(email="admin@example.com", role="admin")
+    plain = make_user(email="plain@example.com")
+    db.add(Invite(email="mistake@example.com", status="approved"))
+    db.commit()
+    inv_id = db.execute(select(Invite.id).where(Invite.email == "mistake@example.com")).scalar_one()
+
+    assert as_user(plain).delete(f"/api/admin/invites/{inv_id}").status_code == 403
+
+    db.expire_all()
+    assert db.get(Invite, inv_id) is not None
+
+
+def test_deleting_the_user_also_clears_the_way_to_re_invite(db, make_user, as_user):
+    # The refusal above tells the admin to delete the account instead; purge_user takes the invite
+    # with it, so the address really is forgotten and a fresh request starts over as pending.
+    admin = make_user(email="admin@example.com", role="admin")
+    member = make_user(email="member@example.com")
+    db.add(Invite(email=member.email, status="approved", decided_by=admin.email))
+    db.commit()
+    client = as_user(admin)
+
+    assert client.delete(f"/api/admin/users/{member.id}").status_code == 200
+
+    db.expire_all()
+    assert db.execute(select(User).where(User.email == member.email)).scalar_one_or_none() is None
+    assert (
+        db.execute(select(Invite).where(Invite.email == member.email)).scalar_one_or_none() is None
+    )

backend/tests/test_email_alerts.py

@@ -0,0 +1,115 @@
+"""An undelivered email leaves a trace in the admins' inbox.
+
+Sending is deliberately fail-soft — a missing SMTP setting or a rejecting relay logs and returns
+False so nothing user-facing breaks. The cost of that used to be total silence: an instance whose
+SMTP was never filled in swallowed verification links, password resets and access-request notices,
+and the operator's first clue was somebody saying nothing arrived.
+"""
+
+import smtplib
+
+import pytest
+from sqlalchemy import select
+
+from app import email as email_mod
+from app.models import Notification
+
+
+@pytest.fixture(autouse=True)
+def _no_smtp_config(monkeypatch):
+    """Every test here drives the real `_send`, so make sure it never reaches a socket."""
+    monkeypatch.setattr(
+        email_mod,
+        "_smtp",
+        lambda: {"host": "", "port": 587, "user": "", "password": "", "from": ""},
+    )
+
+
+def _notifications(db, user_id: int) -> list[Notification]:
+    return list(
+        db.execute(
+            select(Notification)
+            .where(Notification.user_id == user_id, Notification.type == "email_undelivered")
+            .order_by(Notification.id)
+        )
+        .scalars()
+        .all()
+    )
+
+
+def test_a_skipped_email_notifies_every_admin(db, make_user):
+    admin_a = make_user(email="admin-a@example.com", role="admin")
+    admin_b = make_user(email="admin-b@example.com", role="admin")
+    plain = make_user(email="plain@example.com")
+
+    assert email_mod.send_test("someone@example.com") is False  # fail-soft, as before
+
+    db.expire_all()
+    for admin in (admin_a, admin_b):
+        (n,) = _notifications(db, admin.id)
+        assert n.data["reason"] == "not_configured"
+        assert n.data["subject"] == "Siftlode SMTP test"
+        assert n.data["recipients"] == ["someone@example.com"]
+    assert _notifications(db, plain.id) == []  # not an operator's problem to see
+
+
+def test_the_notice_is_throttled_so_a_dead_relay_cannot_flood_the_inbox(db, make_user):
+    admin = make_user(email="admin@example.com", role="admin")
+
+    for _ in range(5):
+        email_mod.send_test("someone@example.com")
+
+    db.expire_all()
+    assert len(_notifications(db, admin.id)) == 1
+
+
+def test_a_send_failure_is_reported_separately_from_a_missing_config(db, make_user, monkeypatch):
+    # A configured-but-rejecting relay is a different operator problem from an empty config, and the
+    # inbox copy differs — so the reason has to survive to the notification.
+    admin = make_user(email="admin@example.com", role="admin")
+    monkeypatch.setattr(
+        email_mod,
+        "_smtp",
+        lambda: {
+            "host": "smtp.example.com",
+            "port": 587,
+            "user": "u",
+            "password": "p",
+            "from": "Siftlode <u@example.com>",
+        },
+    )
+
+    def _boom(*a, **kw):
+        raise smtplib.SMTPException("nope")
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(email_mod.smtplib, "SMTP", _boom)
+
+    assert email_mod.send_test("someone@example.com") is False
+
+    db.expire_all()
+    (n,) = _notifications(db, admin.id)
+    assert n.data["reason"] == "send_failed"
+
+
+def test_no_admins_means_no_notification_and_no_error(db, make_user):
+    # A fresh instance can have no admin yet (the wizard has not run). The alert must stay silent
+    # rather than blowing up inside the fail-soft path it is supposed to make visible.
+    plain = make_user(email="plain@example.com")
+
+    assert email_mod.send_test("someone@example.com") is False
+
+    db.expire_all()
+    assert _notifications(db, plain.id) == []
+
+
+def test_a_broken_alert_never_breaks_the_send(db, make_user, monkeypatch):
+    # The alert is the fallback path; if IT fails, the caller must still get the ordinary fail-soft
+    # False rather than an exception surfacing from a background task.
+    make_user(email="admin@example.com", role="admin")
+
+    def _boom(*a, **kw):
+        raise RuntimeError("notification store is down")
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(email_mod, "create_notification", _boom)
+
+    assert email_mod.send_test("someone@example.com") is False