diff --git a/playbooks/install-traefik-postboot.yaml b/playbooks/install-traefik-postboot.yaml
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+# install-traefik-postboot — install a Type=oneshot systemd unit that
+# restarts traefik N seconds after every boot.
+#
+# Why this exists:
+# When dockerd starts (boot, daemon swap, daemon crash-recover), 30+
+# containers come up in a burst. Two races bite traefik:
+#
+#   1. Events-stream debounce. Traefik's docker provider does an initial
+#      scan + watches `/events` for live changes. When dozens of "container
+#      start" events arrive in a 2-3s burst on daemon startup, the provider
+#      can drop / coalesce some of them. Backends end up missing from the
+#      routing table.
+#
+#   2. Network-attach race. A backend's container can be in `Created`
+#      state on the docker socket (so traefik scans it) but not yet
+#      attached to traefik-net. Traefik builds a router pointing at a
+#      gateway IP it can't reach.
+#
+# Either way, the workaround is the same: `docker restart traefik` once
+# the topology has settled. This unit automates that — sleep N seconds
+# after docker.service is up, then restart traefik. Runs once per boot.
+#
+# Usage:
+#   scripts/elway esh-docker-vm --playbook playbooks/install-traefik-postboot.yaml
+#   scripts/elway ana-docker --playbook playbooks/install-traefik-postboot.yaml
+#
+# Tunables (override via `--var`):
+#   --var delay_seconds=90   (default 60 — empirically enough for ~30 stacks)
+#   --var container=traefik  (default 'traefik')
+#
+# Hosts in scope (have a traefik container, verified 2026-04-24):
+#   esh-docker-vm, ana-docker
+# Skip on hosts without traefik (the verify phase will catch a typo).
+#
+# Removal: `sudo systemctl disable --now traefik-postboot && sudo rm
+# /etc/systemd/system/traefik-postboot.service && sudo systemctl
+# daemon-reload`
+
+vars:
+  delay_seconds: "60"
+  container: traefik
+  unit_path: /etc/systemd/system/traefik-postboot.service
+
+steps:
+  - name: Install /etc/systemd/system/traefik-postboot.service
+    # Unconditional rewrite — the unit is 12 lines and the cost of a
+    # rewrite + daemon-reload is sub-second. cmp-then-skip would be
+    # over-engineering. The systemctl enable below is gated separately.
+    shell: |
+      sudo tee {{ unit_path }} >/dev/null <<'UNIT'
+      [Unit]
+      Description=Restart {{ container }} {{ delay_seconds }}s after boot for clean topology scan
+      After=docker.service
+      Wants=docker.service
+
+      [Service]
+      Type=oneshot
+      ExecStartPre=/bin/sleep {{ delay_seconds }}
+      ExecStart=/usr/bin/docker restart {{ container }}
+
+      [Install]
+      WantedBy=multi-user.target
+      UNIT
+      sudo chmod 0644 {{ unit_path }}
+    sudo: true
+
+  - name: systemctl daemon-reload
+    shell: systemctl daemon-reload
+    sudo: true
+
+  - name: Enable traefik-postboot.service (idempotent — skip if already enabled)
+    shell: systemctl enable traefik-postboot.service
+    sudo: true
+    when: "! systemctl is-enabled --quiet traefik-postboot.service"
+
+verify:
+  - name: Unit file exists with mode 0644
+    shell: test -f {{ unit_path }} && [ "$(stat -c %a {{ unit_path }})" = "644" ]
+    changed_when: "false"
+
+  - name: Unit is enabled
+    shell: systemctl is-enabled --quiet traefik-postboot.service
+    changed_when: "false"
+
+  - name: Unit references the right container in ExecStart
+    shell: grep -q 'docker restart {{ container }}' {{ unit_path }}
+    changed_when: "false"
+
+  - name: Container '{{ container }}' actually exists on this host (catches typos)
+    shell: docker inspect {{ container }} >/dev/null 2>&1
+    changed_when: "false"
+
+  - name: systemd-analyze parses the unit cleanly
+    # Lints the unit for syntax / dependency / Type errors without
+    # actually executing it (executing would needlessly bounce traefik
+    # right after install on already-healthy hosts).
+    shell: systemd-analyze verify {{ unit_path }} 2>&1
+    changed_when: "false"