diff --git a/infra/ansible/inventory/lab.yml b/infra/ansible/inventory/lab.yml
index 4ac357d47..fc70bf53a 100644
--- a/infra/ansible/inventory/lab.yml
+++ b/infra/ansible/inventory/lab.yml
@@ -72,6 +72,16 @@ all:
       # references this group to point each sentinel at it.
       hosts:
         redis-1:
+    # v1.0.9 — phase-1 self-hosted edge cache fronting the MinIO cluster.
+    # Single container colocated on the lab host. Phase-2 (W3+) adds a
+    # second node + GeoDNS ; phase-3 only wires Bunny.net via the
+    # existing CDN_* env vars.
+    nginx_cache:
+      hosts:
+        nginx-cache:
+      vars:
+        ansible_connection: community.general.incus
+        ansible_python_interpreter: /usr/bin/python3
     # v1.0.9 W3 Day 12: distributed MinIO with EC:2. 4 Incus containers,
     # each providing one drive ; single erasure set tolerates 2 simultaneous
     # node failures.
diff --git a/infra/ansible/playbooks/nginx_proxy_cache.yml b/infra/ansible/playbooks/nginx_proxy_cache.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..004869ac0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/infra/ansible/playbooks/nginx_proxy_cache.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+# Phase-1 edge cache playbook — provisions a single Incus container
+# `nginx-cache` and lays down nginx + the proxy_cache config in front
+# of the MinIO cluster.
+#
+# v1.0.9 — phase-1 alternative to a third-party CDN. Pairs with the
+# existing `cdn_service.go` which stays inert (CDN_ENABLED=false) until
+# traffic justifies a third-party edge.
+#
+# Run with:
+#   ansible-galaxy collection install community.general
+#   ansible-playbook -i inventory/lab.yml playbooks/nginx_proxy_cache.yml
+---
+- name: Provision Incus container for the edge cache
+  hosts: incus_hosts
+  become: true
+  gather_facts: true
+  tasks:
+    - name: Launch nginx-cache
+      ansible.builtin.shell:
+        cmd: |
+          set -e
+          if ! incus info nginx-cache >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+            incus launch images:ubuntu/22.04 nginx-cache
+            for _ in $(seq 1 30); do
+              if incus exec nginx-cache -- cloud-init status 2>/dev/null | grep -q "status: done"; then
+                break
+              fi
+              sleep 1
+            done
+            incus exec nginx-cache -- apt-get update
+            incus exec nginx-cache -- apt-get install -y python3 python3-apt
+          fi
+      args:
+        executable: /bin/bash
+      register: provision_result
+      changed_when: "'incus launch' in provision_result.stdout"
+      tags: [nginx_cache, provision]
+
+    - name: Refresh inventory so the new container is reachable
+      ansible.builtin.meta: refresh_inventory
+
+- name: Apply common baseline
+  hosts: nginx_cache
+  become: true
+  gather_facts: true
+  roles:
+    - common
+
+- name: Install + configure the edge cache
+  hosts: nginx_cache
+  become: true
+  gather_facts: true
+  roles:
+    - nginx_proxy_cache
diff --git a/infra/ansible/roles/nginx_proxy_cache/README.md b/infra/ansible/roles/nginx_proxy_cache/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b79fcb0e6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/infra/ansible/roles/nginx_proxy_cache/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,114 @@
+# `nginx_proxy_cache` role — phase-1 self-hosted edge cache
+
+Sits on its own Incus container `nginx-cache` between clients and the distributed MinIO cluster. Caches HLS segments aggressively (1 MiB slice, 7 d TTL) and HLS playlists conservatively (60 s TTL). Disk-backed, capped at 20 GB, stale-on-error covered.
+
+This is the **phase-1 alternative to a third-party CDN**. It costs nothing in egress, leaks no logs to a third party, and handles thousands of concurrent listeners on a single R720. Phase-2 (W3+) adds a second geographically-distinct cache node + GeoDNS ; phase-3 only if traffic justifies a third-party CDN (Bunny.net is wired in `cdn_service.go` and stays inert until `CDN_ENABLED=true`).
+
+## Topology
+
+```
+                      :80
+                       │
+                ┌──────▼─────────┐
+                │  nginx-cache   │  proxy_cache_path /var/cache/nginx/veza
+                │  (this role)   │  20 GB disk, 1 MiB slices, 7 d TTL
+                └──────┬─────────┘
+                       │ keepalive ×32 backend pool
+              ┌────────┴────────────────┐
+              ▼          ▼          ▼   ▼
+         minio-1.lxd  minio-2.lxd  minio-3.lxd  minio-4.lxd
+         (EC:2 distributed cluster)
+```
+
+When `CDN_ENABLED=false` (the default), `TrackService.GetStorageURL` returns `http://minio-1.lxd:9000/...` presigned URLs directly. To route through this cache layer, point the backend at the cache instead :
+
+```env
+AWS_S3_ENDPOINT=http://nginx-cache.lxd:80
+```
+
+The cache forwards to MinIO ; signed URLs still work because the signature lives in the query string (we cache `$args` in the key but signatures are short-lived so cache effectiveness only matters per signed-URL window).
+
+## Defaults
+
+| variable                          | default                  | meaning                                                |
+| --------------------------------- | ------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------ |
+| `nginx_cache_root`                | `/var/cache/nginx/veza`  | disk-backed cache root                                 |
+| `nginx_cache_max_size`            | `20g`                    | hard cap on the cache directory                        |
+| `nginx_cache_inactive`            | `7d`                     | purge entries unused for > 7 d                         |
+| `nginx_cache_ttl_segment`         | `7d`                     | TTL for `.ts` / `.m4s` / `.mp4` / `.aac` / `.m4a`      |
+| `nginx_cache_ttl_playlist`        | `60s`                    | TTL for `.m3u8`                                        |
+| `nginx_cache_ttl_other`           | `1h`                     | TTL for everything else (cover art, originals)         |
+| `nginx_cache_stale_error_window`  | `1h`                     | serve stale on origin 5xx / timeout for this window    |
+| `nginx_cache_listen_port`         | `80`                     | listener (HTTP). TLS lives at the public LB.           |
+| `nginx_cache_minio_port`          | `9000`                   | MinIO upstream port                                    |
+
+## Cache-key policy
+
+```
+"$scheme$request_method$host$uri$is_args$args" + $slice_range (segments only)
+```
+
+- **Authorization / Cookie not in the key.** All access in v1.0 goes through presigned URLs (signature in `$args`) so per-user state is naturally segmented by query string. Adding cookies/auth would either explode cardinality or, worse, leak per-user objects across users.
+- **`$slice_range`** : 1 MiB slices. A range request for `bytes=0-512000` is served from the same cached chunks as `bytes=300000-700000` ; cache effectiveness stays high even when clients pick odd byte windows.
+
+## Verifying it works
+
+```bash
+# Curl the same URL twice through the cache. First should be MISS,
+# second should be HIT. The X-Cache-Status header surfaces the verdict.
+curl -sI http://nginx-cache.lxd/veza-prod-tracks/<track-id>/master.m3u8 | grep -i x-cache
+# x-cache-status: MISS
+curl -sI http://nginx-cache.lxd/veza-prod-tracks/<track-id>/master.m3u8 | grep -i x-cache
+# x-cache-status: HIT
+```
+
+The smoke test `infra/ansible/tests/test_nginx_cache.sh` automates this check.
+
+## Operations
+
+```bash
+# Disk usage of the cache directory :
+sudo du -sh /var/cache/nginx/veza
+
+# Tail access logs (shows HIT/MISS/STALE per request) :
+sudo tail -f /var/log/nginx/veza-cache.access.log
+
+# Reload after changing TTLs without dropping in-flight requests :
+sudo systemctl reload nginx
+
+# Bust the entire cache :
+sudo systemctl stop nginx
+sudo rm -rf /var/cache/nginx/veza/*
+sudo systemctl start nginx
+
+# Per-key purge requires ngx_cache_purge or nginx-plus — not in v1.0.
+# Workaround : delete the file from disk by computing the md5 of the
+# cache key and touching the corresponding directory under
+# /var/cache/nginx/veza/<a>/<bc>/<...>.
+
+# Stub-status (Prometheus exporter target) — bound to loopback only :
+curl -s http://127.0.0.1:81/__nginx_status
+# Active connections: 4
+# server accepts handled requests
+# 12345 12345 67890
+# Reading: 0 Writing: 1 Waiting: 3
+```
+
+## Hit-rate dashboard
+
+The access log carries `cache=$upstream_cache_status`. Point a Promtail (or vector) instance at `/var/log/nginx/veza-cache.access.log` and group by `cache` for a hit-ratio panel. Until that's wired, a quick command :
+
+```bash
+sudo awk '{print $NF}' /var/log/nginx/veza-cache.access.log \
+  | grep -oP 'cache=\K\w+' | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn
+# 18432 cache=HIT
+#  1284 cache=MISS
+#    16 cache=EXPIRED
+```
+
+## What this role does NOT cover
+
+- **TLS termination.** The Incus bridge is the trust boundary in v1.0. Public exposure goes through the existing HAProxy/Caddy LB which does TLS upstream of this cache. When phase-2 puts the cache directly on the public internet, switch `nginx_cache_listen_port` to 443 and add `tls_cert_path` / `tls_key_path` defaults.
+- **Per-key purge.** OSS Nginx has no native purge ; v1.1 adds either ngx_cache_purge (compiled-in module) or migrates to Varnish.
+- **Multi-node coordination.** Single cache node in phase-1. Phase-2 introduces a second node + GeoDNS — independent caches are fine because HLS segments are immutable.
+- **Brotli.** Audio is already compressed ; gzip is enabled for `.m3u8` only. Brotli would add CPU for marginal gains.
diff --git a/infra/ansible/roles/nginx_proxy_cache/defaults/main.yml b/infra/ansible/roles/nginx_proxy_cache/defaults/main.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..20c47a29a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/infra/ansible/roles/nginx_proxy_cache/defaults/main.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+# nginx_proxy_cache defaults — phase-1 edge cache (self-hosted) in
+# front of the distributed MinIO cluster.
+#
+# Why Nginx and not Varnish : VCL is overkill for HLS in front of S3.
+# Segments are content-addressed (immutable), playlists rotate every
+# 60s ; a plain HTTP cache with proper Cache-Control fences is
+# sufficient. Nginx integrates trivially with TLS, structured logs,
+# and the existing Prometheus stack via stub_status.
+#
+# Phase-1 scope : single cache node colocated on the R720 host
+# (Incus container `nginx-cache`). Phase-2 (W3+) adds a second
+# geographically-distinct cache node + GeoDNS ; phase-3 only if the
+# auto-hosted edges aren't enough.
+---
+nginx_cache_root: /var/cache/nginx/veza
+nginx_cache_max_size: "20g"          # disk cap. R720 has plenty of space.
+nginx_cache_inactive: "7d"           # purge entries unused for > 7d
+nginx_cache_levels: "1:2"            # 16 × 256 dir fan-out, plenty for 100k objects
+
+# Origin pool — points at the MinIO cluster. The role reads
+# groups['minio_nodes'] inventory to populate the upstream block
+# automatically ; override here if testing against an external bucket.
+nginx_cache_minio_port: 9000
+
+# Cache TTLs by file extension. Segments are content-addressed
+# (immutable) so 7 days is safe + matches the backend's
+# Cache-Control: max-age=86400, immutable header (we add the upper
+# bound here on top, the backend can't reach above the origin's TTL).
+nginx_cache_ttl_segment: "7d"        # .ts, .m4s, .mp4, .aac
+nginx_cache_ttl_playlist: "60s"      # .m3u8 (live streams may regen)
+nginx_cache_ttl_other: "1h"          # cover art, generic objects
+
+# Stale-on-error : if the origin times out / 5xx, serve the stale
+# cached version. Bounded so we don't lock viewers into a permanently
+# stale view if MinIO is genuinely gone.
+nginx_cache_stale_error_window: "1h"
+
+# Listener config. v1.0 = HTTP only on the Incus bridge ; TLS
+# termination lives at the public LB (HAProxy/Caddy in prod). When
+# we add direct internet exposure (phase-2), tls_cert_path /
+# tls_key_path go here.
+nginx_cache_listen_port: 80
+nginx_cache_server_name: "cache.veza.lxd"
+
+# Worker tuning. nginx defaults are ~1 worker per core ; stub_status
+# exporter parses these so set them explicitly for graphability.
+nginx_cache_worker_processes: "auto"
+nginx_cache_worker_connections: 4096
+
+# Stub-status endpoint for the prometheus nginx exporter. Bound to
+# loopback only — the exporter sidecar reads it via 127.0.0.1.
+nginx_cache_stub_status_path: "/__nginx_status"
diff --git a/infra/ansible/roles/nginx_proxy_cache/handlers/main.yml b/infra/ansible/roles/nginx_proxy_cache/handlers/main.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..7419154d4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/infra/ansible/roles/nginx_proxy_cache/handlers/main.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+- name: Reload nginx
+  ansible.builtin.systemd:
+    name: nginx
+    state: reloaded
diff --git a/infra/ansible/roles/nginx_proxy_cache/tasks/main.yml b/infra/ansible/roles/nginx_proxy_cache/tasks/main.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b50342fae
--- /dev/null
+++ b/infra/ansible/roles/nginx_proxy_cache/tasks/main.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+# nginx_proxy_cache role — installs nginx, renders the cache config
+# pointed at the MinIO cluster, ensures the systemd unit running.
+# Idempotent.
+---
+- name: Install nginx + curl (curl needed for the smoke test)
+  ansible.builtin.apt:
+    name:
+      - nginx
+      - curl
+    state: present
+    update_cache: true
+    cache_valid_time: 3600
+  tags: [nginx_cache, packages]
+
+- name: Ensure cache root directory
+  ansible.builtin.file:
+    path: "{{ nginx_cache_root }}"
+    state: directory
+    owner: www-data
+    group: www-data
+    mode: "0755"
+  tags: [nginx_cache, config]
+
+- name: Render nginx.conf (top-level)
+  ansible.builtin.template:
+    src: nginx.conf.j2
+    dest: /etc/nginx/nginx.conf
+    owner: root
+    group: root
+    mode: "0644"
+  notify: Reload nginx
+  tags: [nginx_cache, config]
+
+- name: Disable the default site
+  ansible.builtin.file:
+    path: /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default
+    state: absent
+  notify: Reload nginx
+  tags: [nginx_cache, config]
+
+- name: Render the veza-cache site config
+  ansible.builtin.template:
+    src: sites/veza-cache.conf.j2
+    dest: /etc/nginx/sites-available/veza-cache.conf
+    owner: root
+    group: root
+    mode: "0644"
+  notify: Reload nginx
+  tags: [nginx_cache, config]
+
+- name: Enable veza-cache site
+  ansible.builtin.file:
+    src: /etc/nginx/sites-available/veza-cache.conf
+    dest: /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/veza-cache.conf
+    state: link
+    force: true
+  notify: Reload nginx
+  tags: [nginx_cache, config]
+
+- name: Validate nginx config
+  ansible.builtin.command:
+    cmd: nginx -t
+  changed_when: false
+  tags: [nginx_cache, config]
+
+- name: Enable + start nginx
+  ansible.builtin.systemd:
+    name: nginx
+    state: started
+    enabled: true
+  tags: [nginx_cache, service]
diff --git a/infra/ansible/roles/nginx_proxy_cache/templates/nginx.conf.j2 b/infra/ansible/roles/nginx_proxy_cache/templates/nginx.conf.j2
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..96e6e2bc4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/infra/ansible/roles/nginx_proxy_cache/templates/nginx.conf.j2
@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+# Managed by Ansible — do not edit by hand.
+# Top-level nginx config tuned for proxy_cache duty in front of MinIO.
+# Site-specific config lives in sites-enabled/veza-cache.conf.
+
+user www-data;
+worker_processes {{ nginx_cache_worker_processes }};
+worker_rlimit_nofile 65535;
+pid /run/nginx.pid;
+
+events {
+    worker_connections {{ nginx_cache_worker_connections }};
+    multi_accept on;
+}
+
+http {
+    sendfile on;
+    tcp_nopush on;
+    tcp_nodelay on;
+    keepalive_timeout 65;
+    server_tokens off;
+    client_max_body_size 0;     # streaming proxy — no enforced upload cap
+    proxy_buffering on;
+    proxy_request_buffering off;
+    types_hash_max_size 2048;
+    include /etc/nginx/mime.types;
+    default_type application/octet-stream;
+
+    # ----------------------------------------------------------------
+    # Cache zones. Single shared zone for all object types ; segments
+    # and playlists are differentiated by Cache-Control / proxy_cache_valid
+    # rules in the site config, not by separate zones (saves keys_zone
+    # memory + simplifies invalidation).
+    # ----------------------------------------------------------------
+    proxy_cache_path {{ nginx_cache_root }}
+                     levels={{ nginx_cache_levels }}
+                     keys_zone=veza_cache:128m
+                     max_size={{ nginx_cache_max_size }}
+                     inactive={{ nginx_cache_inactive }}
+                     use_temp_path=off;
+
+    # The cache key. We deliberately exclude Authorization/Cookie
+    # because these requests are presigned URLs (signature in query
+    # string, no auth headers). If we ever cache authenticated traffic
+    # we'd need to add `$http_authorization` here — but never combine
+    # with `$cookie_session` or we leak per-user objects across users.
+    proxy_cache_key "$scheme$request_method$host$uri$is_args$args";
+
+    # Honor stale entries while the origin is unhealthy / updating.
+    proxy_cache_use_stale error timeout updating
+                          http_500 http_502 http_503 http_504;
+    proxy_cache_background_update on;
+    proxy_cache_lock on;
+    proxy_cache_lock_timeout 5s;
+    proxy_cache_revalidate on;
+
+    # Pass Range through to MinIO so byte-range requests are honored.
+    # Range responses are cached as 206 Partial Content, which Nginx
+    # handles correctly when slice module is enabled (we turn it on
+    # in the site block when needed).
+    proxy_set_header Host              $host;
+    proxy_set_header X-Real-IP         $remote_addr;
+    proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For   $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
+    proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
+    proxy_set_header Range             $http_range;
+    proxy_set_header If-Range          $http_if_range;
+
+    # Logs — compact format with HIT/MISS/STALE so dashboards can
+    # compute hit ratio without a separate exporter.
+    log_format veza_cache '$remote_addr - $remote_user [$time_iso8601] '
+                          '"$request" $status $body_bytes_sent '
+                          '"$http_referer" "$http_user_agent" '
+                          'cache=$upstream_cache_status rt=$request_time '
+                          'urt=$upstream_response_time';
+    access_log /var/log/nginx/veza-cache.access.log veza_cache;
+    error_log  /var/log/nginx/veza-cache.error.log warn;
+
+    gzip on;
+    gzip_vary on;
+    gzip_proxied any;
+    gzip_types application/vnd.apple.mpegurl text/css application/javascript
+               application/json text/plain text/xml;
+    # Audio segments are already compressed (mpeg-ts, fmp4) — don't
+    # waste CPU re-gzipping them.
+
+    include /etc/nginx/conf.d/*.conf;
+    include /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/*;
+}
diff --git a/infra/ansible/roles/nginx_proxy_cache/templates/sites/veza-cache.conf.j2 b/infra/ansible/roles/nginx_proxy_cache/templates/sites/veza-cache.conf.j2
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..546b47a8b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/infra/ansible/roles/nginx_proxy_cache/templates/sites/veza-cache.conf.j2
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+# Managed by Ansible — do not edit by hand.
+# Veza edge cache — proxy_pass to MinIO, cache HLS aggressively.
+
+# MinIO upstream — round-robin across the EC:2 pool. health_check
+# directive (ngx_http_upstream_module) is nginx-plus only ; on
+# OSS we rely on the built-in passive health check (max_fails +
+# fail_timeout) below.
+upstream veza_minio {
+{% for host in groups['minio_nodes'] | default(['minio-1', 'minio-2', 'minio-3', 'minio-4']) %}
+    server {{ host }}.lxd:{{ nginx_cache_minio_port }} max_fails=3 fail_timeout=10s;
+{% endfor %}
+    keepalive 32;
+}
+
+# Internal stub_status endpoint for the prometheus exporter.
+server {
+    listen 127.0.0.1:81;
+    server_name localhost;
+
+    location {{ nginx_cache_stub_status_path }} {
+        stub_status;
+        access_log off;
+        allow 127.0.0.1;
+        deny all;
+    }
+}
+
+server {
+    listen {{ nginx_cache_listen_port }} default_server;
+    server_name {{ nginx_cache_server_name }};
+
+    # Surface the cache verdict on every response so smoke tests +
+    # operators can verify HIT/MISS without parsing access logs.
+    add_header X-Cache-Status $upstream_cache_status always;
+
+    # Health probe — bypasses the cache entirely so monitors see the
+    # nginx instance liveness, not a stale cache.
+    location = /health {
+        access_log off;
+        return 200 "ok\n";
+        add_header Content-Type text/plain;
+    }
+
+    # ----------------------------------------------------------------
+    # HLS segments — content-addressed (filename includes a hash) so
+    # we cache aggressively. 7 days is the upper bound ; backend
+    # already sends max-age=86400 immutable, the cache TTL above
+    # extends it because origin Cache-Control is overridden by
+    # proxy_cache_valid when present.
+    # ----------------------------------------------------------------
+    location ~* \.(ts|m4s|mp4|aac|m4a)$ {
+        proxy_pass http://veza_minio;
+        proxy_cache veza_cache;
+        proxy_cache_valid 200 206 {{ nginx_cache_ttl_segment }};
+        proxy_cache_valid 404 1m;          # negative cache for typo'd URLs
+        proxy_ignore_headers Cache-Control Expires Set-Cookie;
+        proxy_http_version 1.1;
+        proxy_set_header Connection "";
+
+        # 1 MiB slice — Nginx fetches in 1MiB chunks even on small
+        # range requests, dramatically improving hit ratio for byte
+        # ranges. Standard for HLS proxy_cache deployments.
+        slice 1m;
+        proxy_set_header Range $slice_range;
+        proxy_cache_key "$scheme$request_method$host$uri$is_args$args$slice_range";
+    }
+
+    # ----------------------------------------------------------------
+    # HLS playlists — short TTL because live streams may regenerate.
+    # 60s matches the backend's Cache-Control on .m3u8 responses.
+    # ----------------------------------------------------------------
+    location ~* \.m3u8$ {
+        proxy_pass http://veza_minio;
+        proxy_cache veza_cache;
+        proxy_cache_valid 200 {{ nginx_cache_ttl_playlist }};
+        proxy_cache_valid 404 10s;
+        proxy_http_version 1.1;
+        proxy_set_header Connection "";
+    }
+
+    # ----------------------------------------------------------------
+    # Catch-all : cover art, original audio file downloads, etc.
+    # Shorter TTL than segments because these can be replaced
+    # in-place (track edits) ; the user is expected to bust them
+    # via PUT to the same key.
+    # ----------------------------------------------------------------
+    location / {
+        proxy_pass http://veza_minio;
+        proxy_cache veza_cache;
+        proxy_cache_valid 200 206 {{ nginx_cache_ttl_other }};
+        proxy_cache_valid 404 1m;
+        proxy_http_version 1.1;
+        proxy_set_header Connection "";
+    }
+}
diff --git a/infra/ansible/tests/test_nginx_cache.sh b/infra/ansible/tests/test_nginx_cache.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..f7783d8c8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/infra/ansible/tests/test_nginx_cache.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,107 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# test_nginx_cache.sh — verify the phase-1 edge cache actually caches.
+#
+# Sequence :
+#   1. Pre-flight : nginx-cache reachable + /health returns 200.
+#   2. Curl a fixed URL twice. First request must be MISS, second
+#      must be HIT. Surfaces via the X-Cache-Status response header.
+#   3. Verify the cache directory has at least one entry on disk.
+#
+# Run on the Incus host that owns the nginx-cache container, OR
+# from a workstation that can reach nginx-cache.lxd:80. The test
+# uses a public bucket path so it doesn't need MinIO credentials.
+#
+# v1.0.9 — phase-1 edge cache acceptance.
+#
+# Usage:
+#   TEST_URL=http://nginx-cache.lxd/some-public-object.m4s \
+#     bash infra/ansible/tests/test_nginx_cache.sh
+#
+# Exit codes :
+#   0  — cache is working (MISS then HIT)
+#   1  — cache not reachable
+#   2  — second request did not return HIT
+#   3  — required tool missing
+set -euo pipefail
+
+CACHE_HOST=${CACHE_HOST:-nginx-cache.lxd}
+CACHE_PORT=${CACHE_PORT:-80}
+TEST_URL=${TEST_URL:-http://${CACHE_HOST}:${CACHE_PORT}/health}
+RUN_VIA_INCUS=${RUN_VIA_INCUS:-0}
+
+log()  { printf '[%s] %s\n' "$(date +%H:%M:%S)" "$*" >&2; }
+fail() { log "FAIL: $*"; exit "${2:-2}"; }
+
+require() {
+  command -v "$1" >/dev/null 2>&1 || fail "required tool missing on host: $1" 3
+}
+
+require curl
+require date
+
+# helper : run curl in the right context. If RUN_VIA_INCUS=1 the
+# command runs inside the host (which can resolve .lxd hostnames).
+do_curl() {
+  if [ "$RUN_VIA_INCUS" = "1" ]; then
+    incus exec nginx-cache -- curl -sS "$@"
+  else
+    curl -sS "$@"
+  fi
+}
+
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# 1. Pre-flight — /health is alive.
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+log "step 0: pre-flight — GET ${CACHE_HOST}:${CACHE_PORT}/health"
+health_url="http://${CACHE_HOST}:${CACHE_PORT}/health"
+if ! body=$(do_curl --max-time 5 -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" "$health_url" 2>&1); then
+  fail "cache not reachable at $health_url" 1
+fi
+if [ "$body" != "200" ]; then
+  fail "cache /health returned HTTP $body, want 200" 1
+fi
+
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# 2. The ${TEST_URL} dance — first MISS, second HIT.
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+log "step 1: first request to $TEST_URL — expect MISS"
+status1=$(do_curl --max-time 10 -o /dev/null -D - "$TEST_URL" 2>&1 \
+  | tr -d '\r' | awk -F': ' 'tolower($1) == "x-cache-status" {print $2}' | tr -d ' ')
+log "  X-Cache-Status: $status1"
+if [ -z "$status1" ]; then
+  fail "first response missing X-Cache-Status header — site config not applying ?" 2
+fi
+
+# A cacheable URL with no prior entry is MISS or EXPIRED. STALE means
+# the upstream is unhealthy, which is a different bug — fail loud.
+case "$status1" in
+  MISS|EXPIRED|REVALIDATED|BYPASS) ;;
+  HIT) log "  WARN: first request already HIT (a previous run cached it)" ;;
+  STALE|UPDATING) fail "origin upstream unhealthy — got STALE on cold cache" 2 ;;
+  *) fail "unexpected cache status on first request: $status1" 2 ;;
+esac
+
+log "step 2: second request to $TEST_URL — expect HIT"
+sleep 1  # give nginx a moment to flush the entry to disk
+status2=$(do_curl --max-time 10 -o /dev/null -D - "$TEST_URL" 2>&1 \
+  | tr -d '\r' | awk -F': ' 'tolower($1) == "x-cache-status" {print $2}' | tr -d ' ')
+log "  X-Cache-Status: $status2"
+
+if [ "$status2" != "HIT" ]; then
+  fail "second request returned X-Cache-Status=$status2, want HIT — cache config not effective" 2
+fi
+
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# 3. On-disk verification — at least one entry under the cache root.
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+log "step 3: verifying cache directory has on-disk entries"
+if [ "$RUN_VIA_INCUS" = "1" ]; then
+  count=$(incus exec nginx-cache -- bash -c "find /var/cache/nginx/veza -type f 2>/dev/null | wc -l" || echo 0)
+  log "  on-disk entries: $count"
+  if [ "$count" = "0" ]; then
+    fail "cache directory is empty after a HIT — unexpected" 2
+  fi
+fi
+
+log "PASS: edge cache MISS→HIT roundtrip OK (status1=$status1, status2=$status2)"
+exit 0