diff --git a/cmd/cli/cli.go b/cmd/cli/cli.go
index eaee8ef..abc2558 100644
--- a/cmd/cli/cli.go
+++ b/cmd/cli/cli.go
@@ -316,23 +316,57 @@ func run(appCallback *AppCallback, stopCh chan struct{}) {
 	}
 	if cdUID != "" {
 		validateCdUpstreamProtocol()
-		if rc, err := processCDFlags(&cfg); err != nil {
+		// Bound API preflight by the service lifetime. Without this, a stop request
+		// arriving while the API is unreachable leaves this retry/backoff loop running
+		// after "Service stopped" was logged, so the process keeps working on behalf of
+		// a service the OS considers stopped.
+		pf := runAPIPreflight(p.stopCh, &cfg)
+		switch {
+		case pf.stopRequested:
+			// Stop requested during preflight, whether or not the fetch itself
+			// succeeded. A successful fetch does not entitle startup to continue: the
+			// operator asked for a stop, and carrying on would set up listeners and
+			// interception for a service the OS already considers stopping.
+			//
+			// Exit the way a normal stop does: no Fatal, so the OS service manager does
+			// not see a failed start and apply its restart policy to a service the
+			// operator just asked to stop.
+			p.Notice().Msg("Stop requested while fetching resolver config — shutting down")
+			notifyExitToLogServer()
+			return
+		case pf.err != nil:
 			if isMobile() {
-				appCallback.Exit(err.Error())
+				appCallback.Exit(pf.err.Error())
 				return
 			}
 
 			cdLogger := p.logger.Load().With().Str("mode", "cd")
 			// Performs self-uninstallation if the ControlD device does not exist.
 			var uer *controld.ErrorResponse
-			if errors.As(err, &uer) && uer.ErrorField.Code == controld.InvalidConfigCode {
+			if errors.As(pf.err, &uer) && uer.ErrorField.Code == controld.InvalidConfigCode {
 				_ = uninstallInvalidCdUID(p, cdLogger, false)
 			}
+			if rejection, ok := permanentAPIRejection(pf.err); ok {
+				// The API answered and rejected this request permanently. Restarting
+				// cannot change that answer, so exit cleanly rather than through Fatal:
+				// an abnormal exit spends one of the service manager's restart actions,
+				// and on Windows those are what bring enforcement back after a real
+				// crash. Burning that budget on a config problem also buries the API's
+				// reason under repeated start failures.
+				cdLogger.Error().Err(pf.err).Int("status", rejection.StatusCode).Msg("Failed to fetch resolver config; the API rejected this configuration")
+				notifyExitToLogServer()
+				return
+			}
 			notifyExitToLogServer()
-			cdLogger.Fatal().Err(err).Msg("Failed to fetch resolver config")
-		} else {
+			// Everything else - a denied socket, an unreachable API, a proxy in the way,
+			// an API that is having a bad day - is a condition a later start may not hit,
+			// so keep the abnormal exit and let the service manager's recovery policy
+			// retry. That policy backs off (see ConfigureWindowsServiceFailureActions), so
+			// a short-lived block does not exhaust it.
+			cdLogger.Fatal().Err(pf.err).Msg("Failed to fetch resolver config")
+		default:
 			p.mu.Lock()
-			p.rc = rc
+			p.rc = pf.rc
 			p.mu.Unlock()
 		}
 	}
@@ -682,28 +716,152 @@ func deactivationPinSet() bool {
 	return cdDeactivationPin.Load() != defaultDeactivationPin
 }
 
-// processCDFlags processes Control D related flags
-func processCDFlags(cfg *ctrld.Config) (*controld.ResolverConfig, error) {
+// fetchResolverConfig is a test seam for the ControlD resolver-config API call.
+var fetchResolverConfig = controld.FetchResolverConfig
+
+// apiPreflight is the outcome of the API preflight fetch: the resolver config, the
+// error if any, and whether the service was asked to stop while it ran.
+type apiPreflight struct {
+	rc            *controld.ResolverConfig
+	err           error
+	stopRequested bool
+}
+
+// runAPIPreflight fetches the ControlD resolver config bounded by the service
+// lifetime, and reports whether a stop was requested while it ran.
+//
+// The distinction matters because the caller does very different things with it: a stop
+// exits quietly, while a failure self-uninstalls a deleted device, surfaces the error to
+// a mobile app, and reports a failed start to the service manager.
+//
+// stopRequested must not be derived from the context once it has been cancelled.
+// context.CancelFunc sets ctx.Err() unconditionally, so reading it after the cancel
+// classifies *every* failure - a deleted device, an exhausted retry, a mobile caller
+// with no stop channel - as an operator stop. Reading the stop channel directly is also
+// independent of whether the context's watcher goroutine has been scheduled yet.
+func runAPIPreflight(stopCh <-chan struct{}, cfg *ctrld.Config) apiPreflight {
+	rc, err := fetchCDConfigBoundedBy(stopCh, cfg)
+	return apiPreflight{rc: rc, err: err, stopRequested: stopRequested(stopCh)}
+}
+
+// permanentAPIRejection reports whether err is the API refusing this request in a way
+// that a restart cannot change, and returns the rejection when it is.
+//
+// The type alone does not answer this. controld builds an *ErrorResponse for *any*
+// non-200 whose body decodes, so a 502 from a load balancer and a 404 for a deleted
+// device arrive as the same Go type. Treating both as permanent would let a few minutes
+// of API trouble stop ctrld on every host with no service-manager retry behind it, which
+// is strictly worse than the abnormal exit it replaced.
+//
+// So the HTTP status decides, and only a client-error status counts:
+//
+//   - 4xx: the API examined this request and refused it - a deleted device, a revoked
+//     token, a malformed UID. The same request will be refused again.
+//   - 408 and 429 are the exceptions: they are the API asking for another attempt later.
+//   - 5xx, or no recorded status, says nothing about this configuration. Retry.
+func permanentAPIRejection(err error) (*controld.ErrorResponse, bool) {
+	var uer *controld.ErrorResponse
+	if !errors.As(err, &uer) {
+		return nil, false
+	}
+	switch uer.StatusCode {
+	case http.StatusRequestTimeout, http.StatusTooManyRequests:
+		return nil, false
+	}
+	if uer.StatusCode < 400 || uer.StatusCode >= 500 {
+		return nil, false
+	}
+	return uer, true
+}
+
+// processCDFlagsFn is the API fetch, indirected so the lifetime binding around it can be
+// tested without reaching the network.
+var processCDFlagsFn = processCDFlags
+
+// fetchCDConfigBoundedBy runs the API fetch bounded by stopCh, so a fetch that cannot
+// reach the API stops when the service is asked to stop instead of working on behalf of a
+// service the OS already considers stopped. The derived context is always cancelled, which
+// releases the goroutine watching stopCh.
+func fetchCDConfigBoundedBy(stopCh <-chan struct{}, cfg *ctrld.Config) (*controld.ResolverConfig, error) {
+	ctx, cancel := contextFromStopCh(stopCh)
+	defer cancel()
+	return processCDFlagsFn(ctx, cfg)
+}
+
+// fetchCDConfigBoundedByLifetime is the reload path's fetch. Reload binds the same stop
+// primitives as startup - it used to wire them up itself, where a dropped cancel or the
+// wrong channel would have failed nothing.
+func (p *prog) fetchCDConfigBoundedByLifetime(cfg *ctrld.Config) (*controld.ResolverConfig, error) {
+	return fetchCDConfigBoundedBy(p.stopCh, cfg)
+}
+
+// stopRequested reports whether stopCh has been closed. A nil channel - mobile passes
+// none - blocks forever, so the default case is taken and it reads as "no stop".
+func stopRequested(stopCh <-chan struct{}) bool {
+	select {
+	case <-stopCh:
+		return true
+	default:
+		return false
+	}
+}
+
+// contextFromStopCh returns a context that is cancelled when stopCh closes, so
+// long-running startup work stops as soon as the service is asked to stop. The
+// returned cancel func must be called to release the watcher goroutine.
+func contextFromStopCh(stopCh <-chan struct{}) (context.Context, context.CancelFunc) {
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
+	if stopCh == nil {
+		return ctx, cancel
+	}
+	go func() {
+		select {
+		case <-stopCh:
+			cancel()
+		case <-ctx.Done():
+		}
+	}()
+	return ctx, cancel
+}
+
+// processCDFlags fetches the ControlD configuration for cdUID and applies it to cfg.
+//
+// ctx bounds the whole operation, including the bootstrap-DNS retry loop below. That
+// loop retries indefinitely by design (a device with no network yet must eventually
+// come up), so it must be cancellable: otherwise a stop request during preflight is
+// ignored and the process keeps retrying after the service reports itself stopped.
+func processCDFlags(ctx context.Context, cfg *ctrld.Config) (*controld.ResolverConfig, error) {
 	logger := mainLog.Load().With().Str("mode", "cd")
 	logger.Info().Msgf("Fetching Controld D configuration from API: %s", cdUID)
 	bo := backoff.NewBackoff("processCDFlags", logf, 30*time.Second)
 	bo.LogLongerThan = 30 * time.Second
-	ctx := ctrld.LoggerCtx(context.Background(), logger)
+	if ctx == nil {
+		ctx = context.Background()
+	}
+	ctx = ctrld.LoggerCtx(ctx, logger)
 	req := &controld.ResolverConfigRequest{
 		RawUID:   cdUID,
 		Version:  appVersion,
 		Metadata: ctrld.SystemMetadata(ctx),
 	}
-	resolverConfig, err := controld.FetchResolverConfig(ctx, req, cdDev)
+	resolverConfig, err := fetchResolverConfig(ctx, req, cdDev)
 
 	// Retry logic for network errors using bootstrap DNS
 	// This is needed because the initial DNS resolution might fail due to network issues
 	// or DNS server unavailability, but bootstrap DNS can provide alternative resolution
 	for {
+		if ctxErr := ctx.Err(); ctxErr != nil {
+			logger.Debug().Msg("Resolver config fetch cancelled")
+			return nil, ctxErr
+		}
 		if errUrlNetworkError(err) {
 			bo.BackOff(ctx, err)
+			if ctxErr := ctx.Err(); ctxErr != nil {
+				logger.Debug().Msg("Resolver config fetch cancelled during backoff")
+				return nil, ctxErr
+			}
 			logger.Warn().Msg("Could not fetch resolver using bootstrap DNS, retrying...")
-			resolverConfig, err = controld.FetchResolverConfig(ctx, req, cdDev)
+			resolverConfig, err = fetchResolverConfig(ctx, req, cdDev)
 			continue
 		}
 		break
diff --git a/cmd/cli/cli_preflight_test.go b/cmd/cli/cli_preflight_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c89b154
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/cli/cli_preflight_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,403 @@
+package cli
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"errors"
+	"fmt"
+	"net"
+	"net/http"
+	"net/url"
+	"sync/atomic"
+	"syscall"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/Control-D-Inc/ctrld"
+	"github.com/Control-D-Inc/ctrld/internal/controld"
+)
+
+func TestContextFromStopCh(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Run("cancels when stopCh closes", func(t *testing.T) {
+		stopCh := make(chan struct{})
+		ctx, cancel := contextFromStopCh(stopCh)
+		defer cancel()
+
+		if ctx.Err() != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("context cancelled before the stop request: %v", ctx.Err())
+		}
+		close(stopCh)
+		select {
+		case <-ctx.Done():
+		case <-time.After(5 * time.Second):
+			t.Fatal("context was not cancelled after stopCh closed")
+		}
+		if !errors.Is(ctx.Err(), context.Canceled) {
+			t.Errorf("ctx.Err() = %v, want %v", ctx.Err(), context.Canceled)
+		}
+	})
+
+	t.Run("cancel releases the watcher", func(t *testing.T) {
+		// stopCh is never closed: cancel() must still end the goroutine watching it.
+		ctx, cancel := contextFromStopCh(make(chan struct{}))
+		cancel()
+		select {
+		case <-ctx.Done():
+		case <-time.After(5 * time.Second):
+			t.Fatal("context was not cancelled by cancel()")
+		}
+	})
+
+	t.Run("nil stopCh is usable", func(t *testing.T) {
+		// Mobile callers have no stop channel; preflight must still run.
+		ctx, cancel := contextFromStopCh(nil)
+		defer cancel()
+		if ctx.Err() != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("context cancelled immediately: %v", ctx.Err())
+		}
+	})
+}
+
+// retryableNetworkErr is the shape processCDFlags treats as "retry with bootstrap
+// DNS": a url.Error wrapping a network failure.
+func retryableNetworkErr() error {
+	return &url.Error{
+		Op:  "Post",
+		URL: "https://api.controld.com/utility",
+		Err: &net.OpError{Op: "dial", Net: "tcp", Err: syscall.ECONNREFUSED},
+	}
+}
+
+func TestProcessCDFlagsStopsWhenCancelled(t *testing.T) {
+	oldFetch := fetchResolverConfig
+	oldUID := cdUID
+	t.Cleanup(func() {
+		fetchResolverConfig = oldFetch
+		cdUID = oldUID
+	})
+	cdUID = "testuid"
+
+	var calls atomic.Int64
+	fetchResolverConfig = func(ctx context.Context, req *controld.ResolverConfigRequest, dev bool) (*controld.ResolverConfig, error) {
+		calls.Add(1)
+		return nil, retryableNetworkErr()
+	}
+
+	// A stop request arriving while the API is unreachable. Before this was
+	// cancellable, the retry loop kept running after the service reported itself
+	// stopped, which is what kept the incident's process alive and enforcing.
+	stopCh := make(chan struct{})
+	ctx, cancel := contextFromStopCh(stopCh)
+	defer cancel()
+
+	done := make(chan error, 1)
+	go func() {
+		cfg := ctrld.Config{}
+		_, err := processCDFlags(ctx, &cfg)
+		done <- err
+	}()
+
+	// Let it fail at least once and settle into backoff before stopping.
+	deadline := time.After(10 * time.Second)
+	for calls.Load() == 0 {
+		select {
+		case <-deadline:
+			t.Fatal("resolver config was never fetched")
+		case err := <-done:
+			t.Fatalf("processCDFlags returned before any fetch: %v", err)
+		default:
+			time.Sleep(5 * time.Millisecond)
+		}
+	}
+	close(stopCh)
+
+	select {
+	case err := <-done:
+		if !errors.Is(err, context.Canceled) {
+			t.Errorf("processCDFlags err = %v, want it to report %v", err, context.Canceled)
+		}
+	case <-time.After(30 * time.Second):
+		t.Fatal("processCDFlags did not return after the stop request")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestProcessCDFlagsReturnsImmediatelyWhenAlreadyCancelled(t *testing.T) {
+	oldFetch := fetchResolverConfig
+	oldUID := cdUID
+	t.Cleanup(func() {
+		fetchResolverConfig = oldFetch
+		cdUID = oldUID
+	})
+	cdUID = "testuid"
+
+	var calls atomic.Int64
+	fetchResolverConfig = func(ctx context.Context, req *controld.ResolverConfigRequest, dev bool) (*controld.ResolverConfig, error) {
+		calls.Add(1)
+		return nil, retryableNetworkErr()
+	}
+
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
+	cancel()
+
+	cfg := ctrld.Config{}
+	_, err := processCDFlags(ctx, &cfg)
+	if !errors.Is(err, context.Canceled) {
+		t.Errorf("processCDFlags err = %v, want %v", err, context.Canceled)
+	}
+	// One attempt is made before the loop notices; it must not retry past that.
+	if got := calls.Load(); got > 1 {
+		t.Errorf("fetched %d times with a cancelled context, want at most 1", got)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestRunAPIPreflightClassification is the regression guard for classifying a preflight
+// failure as an operator stop.
+//
+// runAPIPreflight cancels the context it derived from stopCh. Sampling the stop state
+// from that context afterwards reports "stopped" unconditionally, because
+// context.CancelFunc sets ctx.Err() whether or not anyone asked to stop. run() then
+// takes the stop branch for every failure, which skips self-uninstalling a deleted
+// device, skips the mobile exit callback, and tells the service manager a failed start
+// was a clean exit.
+func TestRunAPIPreflightClassification(t *testing.T) {
+	oldFetch := fetchResolverConfig
+	oldUID := cdUID
+	t.Cleanup(func() {
+		fetchResolverConfig = oldFetch
+		cdUID = oldUID
+	})
+	cdUID = "testuid"
+
+	// A deleted ControlD device: non-retryable, so preflight returns promptly.
+	deletedDevice := func() error {
+		e := &controld.ErrorResponse{}
+		e.ErrorField.Code = controld.InvalidConfigCode
+		e.ErrorField.Message = "device does not exist"
+		return e
+	}
+
+	openCh := make(chan struct{})
+	closedCh := make(chan struct{})
+	close(closedCh)
+
+	tests := []struct {
+		name     string
+		stopCh   <-chan struct{}
+		fetchErr func() error
+		wantStop bool
+	}{
+		{
+			// The P1: no stop was requested, so this must reach the failure branch.
+			name:     "api error with no stop request",
+			stopCh:   openCh,
+			fetchErr: deletedDevice,
+		},
+		{
+			// Mobile passes no stop channel at all, so it could never have stopped.
+			name:     "api error with a nil stop channel",
+			stopCh:   nil,
+			fetchErr: deletedDevice,
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "stop requested during preflight",
+			stopCh:   closedCh,
+			fetchErr: func() error { return retryableNetworkErr() },
+			wantStop: true,
+		},
+	}
+	for _, tc := range tests {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			fetchResolverConfig = func(context.Context, *controld.ResolverConfigRequest, bool) (*controld.ResolverConfig, error) {
+				return nil, tc.fetchErr()
+			}
+			cfg := ctrld.Config{}
+			pf := runAPIPreflight(tc.stopCh, &cfg)
+
+			if pf.err == nil {
+				t.Fatal("expected preflight to fail")
+			}
+			if pf.stopRequested != tc.wantStop {
+				t.Errorf("stopRequested = %v, want %v", pf.stopRequested, tc.wantStop)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// TestRunAPIPreflightPreservesAPIError verifies the error reaches the caller in a form
+// the failure branch can still act on: self-uninstall keys off an *ErrorResponse with
+// InvalidConfigCode, and it only runs if that error is both classified as a failure and
+// still unwrappable.
+func TestRunAPIPreflightPreservesAPIError(t *testing.T) {
+	oldFetch := fetchResolverConfig
+	oldUID := cdUID
+	t.Cleanup(func() {
+		fetchResolverConfig = oldFetch
+		cdUID = oldUID
+	})
+	cdUID = "testuid"
+
+	want := &controld.ErrorResponse{}
+	want.ErrorField.Code = controld.InvalidConfigCode
+	fetchResolverConfig = func(context.Context, *controld.ResolverConfigRequest, bool) (*controld.ResolverConfig, error) {
+		return nil, want
+	}
+
+	cfg := ctrld.Config{}
+	pf := runAPIPreflight(make(chan struct{}), &cfg)
+
+	if pf.stopRequested {
+		t.Error("a device-deleted failure must not be reported as an operator stop")
+	}
+	var got *controld.ErrorResponse
+	if !errors.As(pf.err, &got) {
+		t.Fatalf("error no longer unwraps to *controld.ErrorResponse: %v", pf.err)
+	}
+	if got.ErrorField.Code != controld.InvalidConfigCode {
+		t.Errorf("code = %d, want %d (self-uninstall would not trigger)", got.ErrorField.Code, controld.InvalidConfigCode)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestPermanentAPIRejectionNarrowsToClientErrors is the regression guard for the clean
+// exit added above.
+//
+// controld builds an *ErrorResponse for any non-200 whose body decodes, so the Go type
+// says nothing about whether the API's answer will change on a retry. Keying the clean
+// exit off the type alone meant a 502 from a load balancer, or an API having a bad ten
+// minutes, stopped ctrld on every affected host with no service-manager retry behind it -
+// worse than the abnormal exit it replaced, because a Fatal at least gets restarted.
+//
+// Only a client-error status may take that path.
+func TestPermanentAPIRejectionNarrowsToClientErrors(t *testing.T) {
+	rejection := func(status, code int) error {
+		e := &controld.ErrorResponse{StatusCode: status}
+		e.ErrorField.Code = code
+		e.ErrorField.Message = "api said no"
+		return e
+	}
+
+	tests := []struct {
+		name          string
+		err           error
+		wantPermanent bool
+	}{
+		{
+			// The case the clean exit exists for: the device is gone, and every restart
+			// will be told the same thing.
+			name:          "deleted device",
+			err:           rejection(http.StatusNotFound, controld.InvalidConfigCode),
+			wantPermanent: true,
+		},
+		{"revoked credentials", rejection(http.StatusUnauthorized, 0), true},
+		{"forbidden", rejection(http.StatusForbidden, 0), true},
+		{"malformed request", rejection(http.StatusBadRequest, 0), true},
+
+		// Server-side trouble. These must keep the abnormal exit so the service
+		// manager's recovery policy retries.
+		{"bad gateway", rejection(http.StatusBadGateway, 0), false},
+		{"internal error", rejection(http.StatusInternalServerError, 0), false},
+		{"service unavailable", rejection(http.StatusServiceUnavailable, 0), false},
+
+		// 4xx, but both are the API asking for a later attempt rather than refusing
+		// this configuration.
+		{"request timeout", rejection(http.StatusRequestTimeout, 0), false},
+		{"rate limited", rejection(http.StatusTooManyRequests, 0), false},
+
+		// An *ErrorResponse built without a recorded status carries no verdict. A
+		// hand-constructed one, or a decode path that forgets to record the status,
+		// must not silently gain the clean exit.
+		{"no recorded status", rejection(0, controld.InvalidConfigCode), false},
+
+		// Not an API answer at all: the incident's denied socket reaches Fatal.
+		{"network failure", retryableNetworkErr(), false},
+	}
+	for _, tc := range tests {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			got, ok := permanentAPIRejection(tc.err)
+			if ok != tc.wantPermanent {
+				t.Errorf("permanentAPIRejection() = %v, want %v", ok, tc.wantPermanent)
+			}
+			if ok && got == nil {
+				t.Error("a permanent rejection must return the rejection for reporting")
+			}
+		})
+	}
+
+	// The wrapped form matters too: preflight composes the fetch error, and errors.As has
+	// to reach through that for either branch to be chosen correctly.
+	wrapped := fmt.Errorf("processCDFlags: %w", rejection(http.StatusNotFound, controld.InvalidConfigCode))
+	if _, ok := permanentAPIRejection(wrapped); !ok {
+		t.Error("a wrapped API rejection must still be recognised")
+	}
+	wrappedTransient := fmt.Errorf("processCDFlags: %w", rejection(http.StatusBadGateway, 0))
+	if _, ok := permanentAPIRejection(wrappedTransient); ok {
+		t.Error("a wrapped 502 must not be treated as a permanent rejection")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestStopRequested(t *testing.T) {
+	closedCh := make(chan struct{})
+	close(closedCh)
+
+	if stopRequested(nil) {
+		t.Error("a nil stop channel must read as no stop (mobile passes none)")
+	}
+	if stopRequested(make(chan struct{})) {
+		t.Error("an open stop channel must read as no stop")
+	}
+	if !stopRequested(closedCh) {
+		t.Error("a closed stop channel must read as a stop")
+	}
+}
+
+// TestReloadFetchIsBoundedByServiceLifetime covers the reload path's stop wiring.
+//
+// Reload fetches the ControlD config too, and it used to build the bounded context
+// itself. Nothing tested that: the wrong channel, or a dropped cancel, would have left a
+// reload retrying against an unreachable API after "Service stopped" was logged, and no
+// test would have failed. Both paths now go through one bounded fetch, so this pins it.
+func TestReloadFetchIsBoundedByServiceLifetime(t *testing.T) {
+	original := processCDFlagsFn
+	t.Cleanup(func() { processCDFlagsFn = original })
+
+	t.Run("a stop request cancels the reload fetch", func(t *testing.T) {
+		stopCh := make(chan struct{})
+		close(stopCh)
+
+		var sawCancelled bool
+		processCDFlagsFn = func(ctx context.Context, _ *ctrld.Config) (*controld.ResolverConfig, error) {
+			select {
+			case <-ctx.Done():
+				sawCancelled = true
+			case <-time.After(2 * time.Second):
+			}
+			return nil, ctx.Err()
+		}
+
+		p := &prog{stopCh: stopCh}
+		if _, err := p.fetchCDConfigBoundedByLifetime(&ctrld.Config{}); !errors.Is(err, context.Canceled) {
+			t.Errorf("reload fetch err = %v, want %v", err, context.Canceled)
+		}
+		if !sawCancelled {
+			t.Error("the reload fetch did not observe the stop request: it is not bound to the service lifetime")
+		}
+	})
+
+	t.Run("the derived context is always released", func(t *testing.T) {
+		// stopCh stays open: the fetch's own cancel is what must end the watcher, or
+		// every reload leaks a goroutine.
+		var captured context.Context
+		processCDFlagsFn = func(ctx context.Context, _ *ctrld.Config) (*controld.ResolverConfig, error) {
+			captured = ctx
+			return nil, nil
+		}
+
+		p := &prog{stopCh: make(chan struct{})}
+		if _, err := p.fetchCDConfigBoundedByLifetime(&ctrld.Config{}); err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("unexpected error: %v", err)
+		}
+		select {
+		case <-captured.Done():
+		case <-time.After(time.Second):
+			t.Error("the reload fetch left its context uncancelled")
+		}
+	})
+}
diff --git a/cmd/cli/prog.go b/cmd/cli/prog.go
index 47ced10..e8ed760 100644
--- a/cmd/cli/prog.go
+++ b/cmd/cli/prog.go
@@ -322,7 +322,7 @@ func (p *prog) runWait() {
 				continue
 			}
 			if cdUID != "" {
-				rc, err := processCDFlags(newCfg)
+				rc, err := p.fetchCDConfigBoundedByLifetime(newCfg)
 				if err != nil {
 					p.Error().Err(err).Msg("Could not fetch controld config")
 					waitOldRunDone()
diff --git a/internal/controld/config.go b/internal/controld/config.go
index df88609..f1bb861 100644
--- a/internal/controld/config.go
+++ b/internal/controld/config.go
@@ -61,12 +61,35 @@ type ErrorResponse struct {
 		Message string `json:"message"`
 		Code    int    `json:"code"`
 	} `json:"error"`
+	// StatusCode is the HTTP status the API answered with. It is not part of the JSON
+	// body: this type is built for *any* non-200 whose body decodes, so the body alone
+	// cannot tell a permanent rejection of the request from a transient server-side
+	// failure, and callers that act differently on the two need the status to tell them
+	// apart. Zero means the status was not recorded.
+	StatusCode int `json:"-"`
 }
 
 func (u ErrorResponse) Error() string {
 	return u.ErrorField.Message
 }
 
+// apiErrorFromResponse builds the error for a non-200 API answer, recording the HTTP
+// status alongside the decoded body.
+//
+// The status is what tells a caller whether the answer will change on a retry: this type
+// is built for every non-200 whose body decodes, so a 502 from a load balancer and a 404
+// for a deleted device are otherwise indistinguishable. Both response paths go through
+// here so neither can decode a body and forget to record it.
+func apiErrorFromResponse(statusCode int, d *json.Decoder) (*ErrorResponse, error) {
+	errResp := &ErrorResponse{StatusCode: statusCode}
+	if err := d.Decode(errResp); err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	// Decode fills exported fields from the body; StatusCode is json:"-", so it survives.
+	errResp.StatusCode = statusCode
+	return errResp, nil
+}
+
 type utilityRequest struct {
 	UID      string            `json:"uid"`
 	ClientID string            `json:"client_id,omitempty"`
@@ -171,7 +194,10 @@ func postUtilityAPI(ctx context.Context, version string, cdDev, lastUpdatedFaile
 	}
 
 	ctrld.Log(ctx, logger.Debug(), "Creating HTTP request")
-	req, err := http.NewRequest("POST", apiUrl, body)
+	// Context-bound so an in-flight request is abandoned when the caller is
+	// cancelled - a service stop during API preflight must not wait out the
+	// request timeout, let alone keep retrying.
+	req, err := http.NewRequestWithContext(ctx, "POST", apiUrl, body)
 	if err != nil {
 		ctrld.Log(ctx, logger.Error(), "Failed to create HTTP request: %v", err)
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("http.NewRequest: %w", err)
@@ -206,8 +232,8 @@ func postUtilityAPI(ctx context.Context, version string, cdDev, lastUpdatedFaile
 	ctrld.Log(ctx, logger.Debug(), "Processing API response")
 	d := json.NewDecoder(resp.Body)
 	if resp.StatusCode != http.StatusOK {
-		errResp := &ErrorResponse{}
-		if err := d.Decode(errResp); err != nil {
+		errResp, err := apiErrorFromResponse(resp.StatusCode, d)
+		if err != nil {
 			ctrld.Log(ctx, logger.Error(), "Failed to decode error response: %v", err)
 			return nil, err
 		}
@@ -237,7 +263,7 @@ func SendLogs(ctx context.Context, lr *LogsRequest, cdDev bool) error {
 	}
 
 	ctrld.Log(ctx, logger.Debug(), "Creating HTTP request for log upload")
-	req, err := http.NewRequest("POST", apiUrl, lr.Data)
+	req, err := http.NewRequestWithContext(ctx, "POST", apiUrl, lr.Data)
 	if err != nil {
 		ctrld.Log(ctx, logger.Error(), "Failed to create HTTP request: %v", err)
 		return fmt.Errorf("http.NewRequest: %w", err)
@@ -265,8 +291,8 @@ func SendLogs(ctx context.Context, lr *LogsRequest, cdDev bool) error {
 	ctrld.Log(ctx, logger.Debug(), "Processing API response")
 	d := json.NewDecoder(resp.Body)
 	if resp.StatusCode != http.StatusOK {
-		errResp := &ErrorResponse{}
-		if err := d.Decode(errResp); err != nil {
+		errResp, err := apiErrorFromResponse(resp.StatusCode, d)
+		if err != nil {
 			ctrld.Log(ctx, logger.Error(), "Failed to decode error response: %v", err)
 			return err
 		}
diff --git a/internal/controld/config_test.go b/internal/controld/config_test.go
index b266142..5973de0 100644
--- a/internal/controld/config_test.go
+++ b/internal/controld/config_test.go
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 package controld
 
 import (
+	"encoding/json"
+	"net/http"
+	"strings"
 	"testing"
 
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
@@ -29,3 +32,67 @@ func Test_parseUID(t *testing.T) {
 		})
 	}
 }
+
+// TestAPIErrorRecordsHTTPStatus pins the plumbing the caller's exit decision rests on.
+//
+// cmd/cli treats a 4xx as "this configuration is refused, restarting cannot help" and
+// exits cleanly, while a 5xx keeps the abnormal exit so the service manager retries. Both
+// readings need the status, and it is not in the JSON body - so a decode path that
+// forgets to record it would quietly send every API error down the retry branch,
+// including a deleted device that should self-uninstall and stop.
+func TestAPIErrorRecordsHTTPStatus(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name       string
+		statusCode int
+		body       string
+		wantCode   int
+		wantMsg    string
+	}{
+		{
+			name:       "deleted device",
+			statusCode: http.StatusNotFound,
+			body:       `{"error":{"message":"device does not exist","code":40402}}`,
+			wantCode:   InvalidConfigCode,
+			wantMsg:    "device does not exist",
+		},
+		{
+			// A gateway error body carries no error object at all, which decodes
+			// cleanly into the zero value - so the status is the only thing that
+			// distinguishes it from a real rejection.
+			name:       "gateway error with an empty body",
+			statusCode: http.StatusBadGateway,
+			body:       `{}`,
+		},
+		{
+			name:       "service unavailable",
+			statusCode: http.StatusServiceUnavailable,
+			body:       `{"error":{"message":"try again later","code":0}}`,
+			wantMsg:    "try again later",
+		},
+	}
+	for _, tc := range tests {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			d := json.NewDecoder(strings.NewReader(tc.body))
+			errResp, err := apiErrorFromResponse(tc.statusCode, d)
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatalf("unexpected decode error: %v", err)
+			}
+			if errResp.StatusCode != tc.statusCode {
+				t.Errorf("StatusCode = %d, want %d: the caller cannot tell a permanent rejection from a transient failure without it", errResp.StatusCode, tc.statusCode)
+			}
+			if errResp.ErrorField.Code != tc.wantCode {
+				t.Errorf("code = %d, want %d", errResp.ErrorField.Code, tc.wantCode)
+			}
+			if errResp.Error() != tc.wantMsg {
+				t.Errorf("message = %q, want %q", errResp.Error(), tc.wantMsg)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+
+	t.Run("an undecodable body is reported as a decode failure", func(t *testing.T) {
+		d := json.NewDecoder(strings.NewReader("<html>502 Bad Gateway</html>"))
+		if _, err := apiErrorFromResponse(http.StatusBadGateway, d); err == nil {
+			t.Error("expected a decode error for a non-JSON body")
+		}
+	})
+}