diff --git a/deploy/config.example.yaml b/deploy/config.example.yaml
index 34cfb33..a4dc26f 100644
--- a/deploy/config.example.yaml
+++ b/deploy/config.example.yaml
@@ -271,9 +271,9 @@ ingest:
       key_file: /etc/monitor/tls/ingest.key
     trusted_proxies: []
     max_body: 64KiB
-    rate_limit:                # per ingest token (box.agent beats once a second)
-      per_second: 2
-      burst: 20
+    rate_limit:                # per ingest token
+      per_second: 1
+      burst: 10
 
   mqtt:
     # Embedded broker. External-broker mode is configured per tenant through
diff --git a/docs/features/F08-push-ingestion.md b/docs/features/F08-push-ingestion.md
index 96c3b75..cade69e 100644
--- a/docs/features/F08-push-ingestion.md
+++ b/docs/features/F08-push-ingestion.md
@@ -91,12 +91,12 @@ Pushed timestamps are accepted from up to 24 h in the past (devices that buffer
 - **Billing.** Weight 2 per monitored VM (`vm.agent`, confirmed by PlusClouds on 2026-10-07, from `v0.12.1`); objects (disks, interfaces) are not billed.
 - **Not yet:** service states (the agent sends none in telemetry; a watch list in the agent is planned), heartbeats on `agent.vm.<uuid>.evt`.
 
-## As built: box.agent (`v0.13.0`)
+## As built: box.agent (`v0.13.0`, 5 s from `v0.13.1`)
 
-- **Source.** `box.agent` (Go, on servers that run vLLM) POSTs a JSON heartbeat about once a second to `POST /ingest/v1/{check_id}` with `Authorization: Bearer mpush_…`. No NATS: it is an independent service. The token is minted for monitoring alone (not the token box.agent uses with llmocean.api).
-- **Check.** `box.agent`, config `{"box_id": "<id>", "missed_count": 5}`, unique on the server (409). The provisioner (llmocean.api) creates the device (external `{source: "greenference", type: "llmbox", id: <box ID>}`) and the check with `interval_seconds: 1`, receives `push_token` once, and gives the box `-monitor-url`/`-monitor-token`. `POST /v1/checks/{id}/rotate-token` rotates it; disabling or deleting the check on deprovision stops the silence alert. The tenant's `min_check_interval_seconds` must be 1 or less.
+- **Source.** `box.agent` (Go, on servers that run vLLM) POSTs a JSON heartbeat every 5 seconds to `POST /ingest/v1/{check_id}` with `Authorization: Bearer mpush_…`. No NATS: it is an independent service. The token is minted for monitoring alone (not the token box.agent uses with llmocean.api).
+- **Check.** `box.agent`, config `{"box_id": "<id>", "missed_count": 3}`, unique on the server (409). The provisioner (llmocean.api) creates the device (external `{source: "greenference", type: "llmbox", id: <box ID>}`) and the check with `interval_seconds: 5`, receives `push_token` once, and gives the box `-monitor-url`/`-monitor-token`. `POST /v1/checks/{id}/rotate-token` rotates it; disabling or deleting the check on deprovision stops the silence alert. The plugin's own 5 s floor holds in every tenant (`Manifest.TenantFloorExempt`): the tenant's `min_check_interval_seconds` does not apply to `box.agent`, so no tenant setting is needed.
 - **Objects.** `host` (load, memory, disk, OOM kills, router connection, the box's own count of this server's answers by class), `vllm` (up, health, restarts, queue) and `gpu:<idx>` (temperature, utilisation, memory, ECC, last XID, throttle). A missing GPU array is unknown, not failed.
-- **State.** XID 79, 48 or 64, or uncorrectable ECC, is CRITICAL at once. `booting`, `downloading`, `restarting` and `stopped` are never incidents. Otherwise the agent's `severity` (ok, degraded, failed) maps to OK, WARNING, CRITICAL; the server decides what happens next. Silence for `missed_count` intervals (5) is CRITICAL through the last-seen rule (swept every 5 s).
+- **State.** XID 79, 48 or 64, or uncorrectable ECC, is CRITICAL at once. `booting`, `downloading`, `restarting` and `stopped` are never incidents. Otherwise the agent's `severity` (ok, degraded, failed) maps to OK, WARNING, CRITICAL; the server decides what happens next. Silence for `missed_count` intervals (3 x 5 s = 15 s) is CRITICAL through the last-seen rule (swept every 5 s).
 - **Counters.** `ingest_http_responses_total{code}` counts every answer of the push endpoint by status code.
 - **Billing.** Weight 2 per box is a placeholder until PlusClouds confirms it.
 - **Not yet:** the alert route to the llmocean.api webhook and the provisioning calls are llmocean.api's side.
diff --git a/docs/progress.md b/docs/progress.md
index 06fa7f8..b56a328 100644
--- a/docs/progress.md
+++ b/docs/progress.md
@@ -167,9 +167,13 @@ Suppression: a pool host that goes down suppresses its VMs' incidents and the ch
 
 Verified by `TestPool`, `TestPoolFollowsMaster`, `TestPoolFailures` (fake pool), `TestDiscoveredDevices` (engine, devices, incidents, metrics, limits, retention) and `TestDiscoveredHostSuppression`.
 
+### v0.13.1 — box.agent every 5 s in every tenant
+
+`box.agent` beats every 5 s (was planned at 1 s): `DefaultInterval` and `MinInterval` are 5 s, `missed_count` defaults to 3 (silence after 15 s), and `Manifest.TenantFloorExempt` makes the 5 s floor hold in every tenant, so the tenant's 30 s or 60 s `min_check_interval_seconds` no longer blocks box provisioning. The ingest rate limit stays at 1/s. Verified by `TestBoxAgent`.
+
 ### v0.13.0 — box.agent heartbeats
 
-`box.agent` checks receive an LLM box's 1 s heartbeat over HTTPS with their own push token (separate from the token box.agent uses with llmocean.api): host, vllm and GPU objects, hard GPU faults as immediate CRITICAL, boot states exempt, silence as CRITICAL after 5 beats. Push answers are counted by status code (`ingest_http_responses_total`). Verified by `TestBoxAgent` (not yet run in CI at the time of writing) and `FuzzDecode`.
+`box.agent` checks receive an LLM box's heartbeat (1 s planned, 5 s from v0.13.1) over HTTPS with their own push token (separate from the token box.agent uses with llmocean.api): host, vllm and GPU objects, hard GPU faults as immediate CRITICAL, boot states exempt, silence as CRITICAL after missed beats. Push answers are counted by status code (`ingest_http_responses_total`). Verified by `TestBoxAgent` (not yet run in CI at the time of writing) and `FuzzDecode`.
 
 ### v0.12.0 — PlusClouds VM agent telemetry
 
diff --git a/internal/api/boxagent_integration_test.go b/internal/api/boxagent_integration_test.go
index c28b95b..49f6c28 100644
--- a/internal/api/boxagent_integration_test.go
+++ b/internal/api/boxagent_integration_test.go
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ func boxBeat(box, state, severity string, xid float64, extra map[string]any) str
 
 // box.agent (LLM box heartbeats over HTTPS with their own push token): the
 // provisioner creates a device and a check per box and gets the token once;
-// heartbeats become host, vllm and GPU objects; boot states are not
+// heartbeats (every 5 s) become host, vllm and GPU objects; boot states are not
 // incidents, a hard GPU fault and silence are; a rotated token stops the
 // old one; every answer is counted by status code.
 func TestBoxAgent(t *testing.T) {
@@ -48,15 +48,17 @@ func TestBoxAgent(t *testing.T) {
 	const box = "box-7f3a"
 	dev := x.id(x.must(x.do("POST", "/v1/devices", x.key, map[string]any{"name": box, "type": "server",
 		"external": map[string]any{"source": "greenference", "type": "llmbox", "id": box}}), 201))
-	body := map[string]any{"name": "box", "plugin": "box.agent", "is_host_check": true, "interval_seconds": 1,
+	body := map[string]any{"name": "box", "plugin": "box.agent", "is_host_check": true, "interval_seconds": 5,
 		"config":     map[string]any{"box_id": box},
 		"thresholds": []any{map[string]any{"metric": "gpu_temp_c", "object": "*", "warning": map[string]any{"op": ">", "value": 85}}}}
 
-	// The tenant's minimum interval applies: a 1 s check needs it lowered.
-	x.must(x.do("POST", "/v1/devices/"+dev+"/checks", x.key, body), 422)
-	if _, err := db.System.Exec(ctx, `UPDATE tenants SET min_check_interval_seconds = 1 WHERE id = $1`, x.tenant); err != nil {
+	// The plugin's own 5 s floor holds in every tenant; the tenant's minimum
+	// (30 s here) does not apply to box.agent.
+	if _, err := db.System.Exec(ctx, `UPDATE tenants SET min_check_interval_seconds = 30 WHERE id = $1`, x.tenant); err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
+	faster := map[string]any{"name": "box", "plugin": "box.agent", "interval_seconds": 1, "config": map[string]any{"box_id": box}}
+	x.must(x.do("POST", "/v1/devices/"+dev+"/checks", x.key, faster), 422)
 	created := x.must(x.do("POST", "/v1/devices/"+dev+"/checks", x.key, body), 201)
 	chk := x.id(created)
 	token, _ := created.body["push_token"].(string)
@@ -69,9 +71,9 @@ func TestBoxAgent(t *testing.T) {
 	// One check per box on the whole server; a bad box_id is refused.
 	other := x.device("box-copy")
 	x.must(x.do("POST", "/v1/devices/"+other+"/checks", x.key, map[string]any{"name": "box", "plugin": "box.agent",
-		"interval_seconds": 1, "config": map[string]any{"box_id": strings.ToUpper(box)}}), 409)
+		"interval_seconds": 5, "config": map[string]any{"box_id": strings.ToUpper(box)}}), 409)
 	x.must(x.do("POST", "/v1/devices/"+other+"/checks", x.key, map[string]any{"name": "box", "plugin": "box.agent",
-		"interval_seconds": 1, "config": map[string]any{"box_id": "bad id"}}), 422)
+		"interval_seconds": 5, "config": map[string]any{"box_id": "bad id"}}), 422)
 
 	results := make(chan runner.Result, 100)
 	reg := prometheus.NewRegistry()
@@ -196,7 +198,7 @@ func TestBoxAgent(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Errorf("after recovery: %v", st)
 	}
 
-	// Silence: 5 intervals without a beat is CRITICAL, once per interval.
+	// Silence: 3 intervals without a beat is CRITICAL, once per interval.
 	if _, err := db.System.Exec(ctx, `UPDATE push_sources SET last_push_at = now() - interval '1 minute',
 		created_at = now() - interval '1 hour' WHERE check_id = $1`, chk); err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
@@ -205,7 +207,7 @@ func TestBoxAgent(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("sweep: %d %v", n, err)
 	}
 	apply()
-	if st := state(); st["phase"] != "PROBLEM" || !strings.Contains(st["last_output"].(string), "5 intervals") {
+	if st := state(); st["phase"] != "PROBLEM" || !strings.Contains(st["last_output"].(string), "3 intervals") {
 		t.Errorf("silent: %v", st)
 	}
 	if code := post(chk, token, boxBeat(box, "ready", "ok", 0, nil)); code != 202 {
diff --git a/internal/config/defaults.go b/internal/config/defaults.go
index 77c3200..72184d3 100644
--- a/internal/config/defaults.go
+++ b/internal/config/defaults.go
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ func Default() Config {
 				Enabled:   true,
 				Listen:    ":9443",
 				MaxBody:   64 << 10,
-				RateLimit: Rate{PerSecond: 2, Burst: 20}, // box.agent beats once a second
+				RateLimit: Rate{PerSecond: 1, Burst: 10},
 			},
 			MQTT: IngestMQTT{
 				Enabled:             true,
diff --git a/internal/ingest/ingest.go b/internal/ingest/ingest.go
index c8b2600..de50e3f 100644
--- a/internal/ingest/ingest.go
+++ b/internal/ingest/ingest.go
@@ -353,14 +353,11 @@ func (s *Server) counted(h http.HandlerFunc) http.HandlerFunc {
 
 // missedCount is a push check's missed_count (push.http and push.mqtt
 // share the field), as the sweep query reads it.
-func missedCount(kind string, cfg json.RawMessage) int {
+func missedCount(cfg json.RawMessage) int {
 	var c struct {
 		MissedCount int `json:"missed_count"`
 	}
 	if json.Unmarshal(cfg, &c) != nil || c.MissedCount < 1 {
-		if kind == "box.agent" {
-			return 5
-		}
 		return 3
 	}
 	return c.MissedCount
@@ -376,7 +373,7 @@ func (s *Server) Sweep(ctx context.Context) (int, error) {
 		  FROM checks c, tenants t
 		 WHERE c.id = ps.check_id AND t.id = c.tenant_id AND c.enabled AND t.status = 'active'
 		   AND greatest(ps.last_push_at, ps.created_at) <
-		       now() - make_interval(secs => c.interval_seconds * coalesce((c.config->>'missed_count')::int, CASE c.plugin WHEN 'box.agent' THEN 5 ELSE 3 END))
+		       now() - make_interval(secs => c.interval_seconds * coalesce((c.config->>'missed_count')::int, 3))
 		   AND (ps.stale_reported_at IS NULL OR ps.stale_reported_at < now() - make_interval(secs => c.interval_seconds))
 		RETURNING ps.check_id, c.tenant_id, c.device_id, c.plugin, c.config, c.interval_seconds, ps.last_push_at`)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -403,7 +400,7 @@ func (s *Server) Sweep(ctx context.Context) (int, error) {
 		if p, ok := plugin.Lookup(x.plugin); ok {
 			layout = plugin.MetricsOf(p, x.config)
 		}
-		missed := missedCount(x.plugin, x.config)
+		missed := missedCount(x.config)
 		out := "no data received yet"
 		if x.last != nil {
 			out = "no data since " + x.last.UTC().Format(time.RFC3339) + " (" + strconv.Itoa(missed) + " intervals of " +
diff --git a/internal/inventory/checks.go b/internal/inventory/checks.go
index 159bd35..2b73ecb 100644
--- a/internal/inventory/checks.go
+++ b/internal/inventory/checks.go
@@ -93,9 +93,9 @@ func prepare(ctx context.Context, tx pgx.Tx, in CheckInput, lim Limits) (CheckIn
 		return in, errs.Invalidf("config", "%s", err.Error())
 	}
 	if in.IntervalSeconds == 0 {
-		in.IntervalSeconds = max(int(m.DefaultInterval/time.Second), lim.MinCheckIntervalSeconds)
+		in.IntervalSeconds = max(int(m.DefaultInterval/time.Second), tenantFloor(m, lim))
 	}
-	minInterval := max(int(m.MinInterval/time.Second), lim.MinCheckIntervalSeconds)
+	minInterval := max(int(m.MinInterval/time.Second), tenantFloor(m, lim))
 	if in.IntervalSeconds < minInterval {
 		return in, errs.Invalidf("interval_seconds", "must be at least %d for %s in this tenant", minInterval, m.Type)
 	}
@@ -166,6 +166,15 @@ const checkCols = `c.id, c.tenant_id, c.device_id, c.name, c.plugin, c.config, c
 	(SELECT jsonb_build_object('token_prefix', ps.token_prefix, 'token_created_at', ps.token_created_at,
 	        'last_push_at', ps.last_push_at) FROM push_sources ps WHERE ps.check_id = c.id)`
 
+// tenantFloor is the tenant's minimum check interval that applies to a plugin:
+// none for a plugin that is exempt (its own MinInterval is the floor).
+func tenantFloor(m plugin.Manifest, lim Limits) int {
+	if m.TenantFloorExempt {
+		return 0
+	}
+	return lim.MinCheckIntervalSeconds
+}
+
 var checkConstraints = map[string]string{
 	"checks_device_id_name_key": "the device already has a check with this name",
 	"checks_one_host_check":     "the device already has a host check",
diff --git a/pkg/plugin/plugin.go b/pkg/plugin/plugin.go
index fc1829e..2bf6fa8 100644
--- a/pkg/plugin/plugin.go
+++ b/pkg/plugin/plugin.go
@@ -87,11 +87,16 @@ type Manifest struct {
 	Metrics         []MetricDef   `json:"metrics"` // fixed layout; Result.Metrics aligns with it
 	DefaultInterval time.Duration `json:"-"`
 	MinInterval     time.Duration `json:"-"`
-	NeedsRawSocket  bool          `json:"needs_raw_socket"`
-	MaxConcurrency  int           `json:"-"` // per runner; 0 = runner default
-	PerTargetLimit  int           `json:"-"` // concurrent runs against one address; 0 = runner default
-	Slow            bool          `json:"-"` // runs in the slow pool (F04)
-	BillingClass    string        `json:"billing_class"`
+	// TenantFloorExempt: the plugin's own MinInterval is the floor in every
+	// tenant, not the tenant's min_check_interval_seconds. For ingesters whose
+	// agents beat at a fixed short rate (box.agent) and whose interval only
+	// sets the silence window.
+	TenantFloorExempt bool   `json:"-"`
+	NeedsRawSocket    bool   `json:"needs_raw_socket"`
+	MaxConcurrency    int    `json:"-"` // per runner; 0 = runner default
+	PerTargetLimit    int    `json:"-"` // concurrent runs against one address; 0 = runner default
+	Slow              bool   `json:"-"` // runs in the slow pool (F04)
+	BillingClass      string `json:"billing_class"`
 	// WhoopsyMetric is the metric Whoopsy! (band alerting) watches unless
 	// the check names another: response time for http, round-trip time
 	// for icmp. Empty: the check must name one.
diff --git a/plugins/boxagent/boxagent.go b/plugins/boxagent/boxagent.go
index 1b2a0fe..e926ca6 100644
--- a/plugins/boxagent/boxagent.go
+++ b/plugins/boxagent/boxagent.go
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 // Package boxagent implements box.agent: the heartbeat the box.agent service
 // (a WebSocket proxy in front of vLLM on an LLM host) POSTs to the ingest
-// listener about once a second, with a token minted for monitoring alone
+// listener every 5 seconds, with a token minted for monitoring alone
 // (push token, F08). A box is one check whose objects are the host, the
 // vLLM backend and each GPU, so each has its own thresholds, state and graphs.
 //
@@ -80,18 +80,18 @@ var defs = []plugin.MetricDef{
 }
 
 func g(name, unit, desc string) plugin.MetricDef {
-	// The 1 s stream is for liveness and fast thresholds; the standard
-	// class keeps its storage and downsampling in line with other plugins.
+	// A 5 s stream for liveness and thresholds; the standard class keeps its
+	// storage and downsampling in line with other plugins.
 	return plugin.MetricDef{Name: name, Unit: unit, Description: desc, Kind: "gauge", RetentionClass: plugin.RetentionStandard}
 }
 
 // Config of a box.agent check: which box's heartbeats it receives.
 type Config struct {
 	BoxID       string `json:"box_id" jsonschema:"required,maxLength=128,description=The box's ID (the agent instance ID llmocean.api uses). Unique on the server; every heartbeat must carry it"`
-	MissedCount int    `json:"missed_count,omitempty" jsonschema:"minimum=1,maximum=100,default=5,description=CRITICAL after this many intervals without a heartbeat"`
+	MissedCount int    `json:"missed_count,omitempty" jsonschema:"minimum=1,maximum=100,default=3,description=CRITICAL after this many intervals without a heartbeat"`
 }
 
-var defaults = Config{MissedCount: 5}
+var defaults = Config{MissedCount: 3}
 
 var boxID = regexp.MustCompile(`^[A-Za-z0-9][A-Za-z0-9._-]{0,127}$`)
 
@@ -102,14 +102,15 @@ func (*Agent) Manifest() plugin.Manifest {
 	return plugin.Manifest{
 		Type: "box.agent",
 		Kind: plugin.KindIngester,
-		Description: "An LLM box's own heartbeat from box.agent (POST to the ingest URL with the check's token, about every second): " +
+		Description: "An LLM box's own heartbeat from box.agent (POST to the ingest URL with the check's token, every 5 seconds): " +
 			"host, vLLM backend and each GPU as their own objects. CRITICAL when no heartbeat arrives for missed_count intervals, " +
 			"or on a hard GPU fault (XID 79, uncorrectable ECC). Boot, model download and vLLM restarts are not incidents.",
-		ConfigSchema:    plugin.SchemaFor[Config](),
-		DefaultInterval: time.Second,
-		MinInterval:     time.Second,
-		BillingClass:    plugin.BillingStandard,
-		Objects:         true,
+		ConfigSchema:      plugin.SchemaFor[Config](),
+		DefaultInterval:   5 * time.Second,
+		MinInterval:       5 * time.Second,
+		TenantFloorExempt: true, // 5 s in every tenant: the agent beats at this rate
+		BillingClass:      plugin.BillingStandard,
+		Objects:           true,
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/plugins/boxagent/boxagent_test.go b/plugins/boxagent/boxagent_test.go
index cde6c7d..d6ae88d 100644
--- a/plugins/boxagent/boxagent_test.go
+++ b/plugins/boxagent/boxagent_test.go
@@ -140,7 +140,7 @@ func TestValidate(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestMissedCount(t *testing.T) {
-	if MissedCount(cfg()) != 5 || MissedCount(json.RawMessage(`{"box_id":"x","missed_count":8}`)) != 8 {
+	if MissedCount(cfg()) != 3 || MissedCount(json.RawMessage(`{"box_id":"x","missed_count":8}`)) != 8 {
 		t.Error("missed_count")
 	}
 }
diff --git a/scripts/box-monitor-token.sh b/scripts/box-monitor-token.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..d7f4f45
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/box-monitor-token.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,157 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Creates, rotates or removes the monitoring token of one box.agent box, through
+# the PlusClouds API (api.plusclouds.com/monitoring), so the caller needs a
+# PlusClouds API token and no monitoring.server key.
+#
+# create   Makes the host (external type "llmbox", external id = the box ID) and
+#          its box.agent check, then prints the two settings the box needs:
+#              MONITOR_URL=https://monitoring.plusclouds.com/ingest/v1/<check id>
+#              MONITOR_TOKEN=mpush_...
+#          The token is shown once; only these two lines go to stdout, so
+#          `eval "$(... create BOX_ID)"` or `>> box.env` works. Everything else goes to stderr.
+#          Re-running for a box that already has a check refuses; use rotate.
+# rotate   Replaces the token (the old one stops working at once), prints the same two lines.
+# delete   Removes the check and the host (use when the box is deprovisioned;
+#          otherwise its silence raises a CRITICAL incident).
+#
+# Usage:
+#   PLUSCLOUDS_TOKEN=... scripts/box-monitor-token.sh create  BOX_ID
+#   PLUSCLOUDS_TOKEN=... scripts/box-monitor-token.sh rotate  BOX_ID
+#   PLUSCLOUDS_TOKEN=... scripts/box-monitor-token.sh delete  BOX_ID
+#
+# Environment:
+#   PLUSCLOUDS_TOKEN  PlusClouds API token (required). Never printed.
+#   API_URL           default https://api.plusclouds.com
+#   INTERVAL          check interval in seconds, default 5 (the box.agent floor). If a server
+#                     older than v0.13.1 enforces a higher tenant minimum, the script uses
+#                     that minimum and says so (silence is detected after MISSED_COUNT x interval).
+#   MISSED_COUNT      silent intervals before CRITICAL, default 3
+#
+# Needs: bash, curl, jq.
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+API_URL="${API_URL:-https://api.plusclouds.com}"
+INTERVAL="${INTERVAL:-5}"
+MISSED_COUNT="${MISSED_COUNT:-3}"
+BASE="${API_URL%/}/monitoring"
+
+die() { echo "error: $*" >&2; exit 1; }
+log() { echo "$*" >&2; }
+
+usage() { sed -n '2,29p' "$0" | sed 's/^# \{0,1\}//' >&2; exit "${1:-1}"; }
+
+[ $# -eq 2 ] || [ "${1:-}" = "-h" ] || [ "${1:-}" = "--help" ] || usage 1
+case "${1:-}" in -h|--help) usage 0 ;; esac
+CMD="$1"
+BOX_ID="$2"
+
+[ -n "${PLUSCLOUDS_TOKEN:-}" ] || die "set PLUSCLOUDS_TOKEN to a PlusClouds API token"
+command -v curl >/dev/null || die "curl is required"
+command -v jq >/dev/null || die "jq is required"
+[[ "$BOX_ID" =~ ^[A-Za-z0-9][A-Za-z0-9._-]{0,127}$ ]] || die "BOX_ID: letters, digits, . _ -, at most 128 characters"
+[[ "$INTERVAL" =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]] && [ "$INTERVAL" -ge 1 ] || die "INTERVAL must be a whole number of seconds, at least 1"
+
+# api METHOD PATH [JSON] sets STATUS and BODY. The token goes through a curl
+# config on stdin, so it never appears in the process list.
+api() {
+  local method="$1" path="$2" data="${3:-}" out
+  local args=(-sS -m 30 -w $'\n%{http_code}' -X "$method" -K - -H "Accept: application/json")
+  if [ -n "$data" ]; then args+=(-H "Content-Type: application/json" --data "$data"); fi
+  out="$(printf 'header = "Authorization: Bearer %s"\n' "$PLUSCLOUDS_TOKEN" | curl "${args[@]}" "$BASE$path")" \
+    || die "cannot reach $BASE$path"
+  STATUS="${out##*$'\n'}"
+  BODY="${out%$'\n'*}"
+}
+
+fail() { # fail WHAT
+  local msg
+  msg="$(printf '%s' "$BODY" | jq -r '.error.message // .message // empty' 2>/dev/null || true)"
+  die "$1: HTTP $STATUS${msg:+ - $msg}"
+}
+
+find_host() { # prints the host id for BOX_ID, or nothing
+  api GET "/hosts?type=server"
+  [ "$STATUS" = 200 ] || fail "list hosts"
+  printf '%s' "$BODY" | jq -r --arg id "$BOX_ID" \
+    '(.data | if type == "array" then . else (.items // []) end)[] | select(.external_id == $id) | .id' | head -n1
+}
+
+find_check() { # find_check HOST_ID prints the box.agent check id, or nothing
+  api GET "/hosts/$1/checks"
+  [ "$STATUS" = 200 ] || fail "list checks"
+  printf '%s' "$BODY" | jq -r \
+    '(.data | if type == "array" then . else (.items // []) end)[] | select(.plugin == "box.agent") | .id' | head -n1
+}
+
+print_settings() { # print_settings URL TOKEN
+  printf 'MONITOR_URL=%s\nMONITOR_TOKEN=%s\n' "$1" "$2"
+}
+
+create_check() { # create_check HOST_ID [INTERVAL] sets STATUS and BODY
+  local payload
+  payload="$(jq -nc --arg box "$BOX_ID" --argjson interval "$2" --argjson missed "$MISSED_COUNT" '{
+    name: "box", plugin: "box.agent", is_host_check: true, interval_seconds: $interval,
+    config: {box_id: $box, missed_count: $missed},
+    thresholds: [{metric: "gpu_temp_c", object: "*", warning: {op: ">", value: 85}}]}')"
+  api POST "/hosts/$1/checks" "$payload"
+}
+
+case "$CMD" in
+create)
+  host="$(find_host)"
+  if [ -z "$host" ]; then
+    payload="$(jq -nc --arg id "$BOX_ID" '{name: $id, type: "server", external_id: $id, external_type: "llmbox"}')"
+    api POST "/hosts" "$payload"
+    [ "$STATUS" = 201 ] || fail "create host"
+    host="$(printf '%s' "$BODY" | jq -r '.data.id')"
+    log "created host $host"
+  else
+    log "host $host already exists"
+    [ -z "$(find_check "$host")" ] || die "box $BOX_ID already has a box.agent check; use rotate to get a new token"
+  fi
+
+  interval="$INTERVAL"
+  create_check "$host" "$interval"
+  if [ "$STATUS" = 422 ]; then # the tenant's minimum interval is higher
+    min="$(printf '%s' "$BODY" | jq -r '.error.message // ""' | sed -n 's/.*must be at least \([0-9][0-9]*\).*/\1/p')"
+    if [ -n "$min" ] && [ "$min" -gt "$interval" ]; then
+      log "warning: this tenant allows checks no faster than ${min}s; using ${min}s (silence is detected after $((MISSED_COUNT * min))s)."
+      interval="$min"
+      create_check "$host" "$interval"
+    fi
+  fi
+  [ "$STATUS" = 201 ] || fail "create check"
+  url="$(printf '%s' "$BODY" | jq -r '.data.push.ingest_url // empty')"
+  token="$(printf '%s' "$BODY" | jq -r '.data.push_token // empty')"
+  [ -n "$url" ] && [ -n "$token" ] || die "the API returned no ingest URL or token"
+  log "created box.agent check $(printf '%s' "$BODY" | jq -r '.data.id') (interval ${interval}s)"
+  print_settings "$url" "$token"
+  ;;
+rotate)
+  host="$(find_host)"
+  [ -n "$host" ] || die "no host for box $BOX_ID"
+  check="$(find_check "$host")"
+  [ -n "$check" ] || die "box $BOX_ID has no box.agent check; use create"
+  api POST "/checks/$check/rotate-token"
+  [ "$STATUS" = 200 ] || fail "rotate token"
+  token="$(printf '%s' "$BODY" | jq -r '.data.push_token // empty')"
+  url="$(printf '%s' "$BODY" | jq -r '.data.push.ingest_url // empty')"
+  [ -n "$token" ] || die "the API returned no token"
+  log "rotated: the old token stopped working; deploy the new one to the box"
+  print_settings "$url" "$token"
+  ;;
+delete)
+  host="$(find_host)"
+  [ -n "$host" ] || die "no host for box $BOX_ID"
+  check="$(find_check "$host")"
+  if [ -n "$check" ]; then
+    api DELETE "/checks/$check"
+    [ "$STATUS" = 204 ] || [ "$STATUS" = 200 ] || fail "delete check"
+  fi
+  api DELETE "/hosts/$host"
+  [ "$STATUS" = 204 ] || [ "$STATUS" = 200 ] || fail "delete host"
+  log "deleted the check and host of box $BOX_ID"
+  ;;
+*) usage 1 ;;
+esac