diff --git a/plugins/host_agent/routes.py b/plugins/host_agent/routes.py
index 0eeec1f..e25c1da 100644
--- a/plugins/host_agent/routes.py
+++ b/plugins/host_agent/routes.py
@@ -548,13 +548,16 @@ async def host_panel(host_id: str):
 
     hostlvl = latest.get(host.name, {})
     ls = reg.last_seen_at if reg else None
-    stale = bool(reg) and (
-        ls is None or (datetime.now(timezone.utc) - ls).total_seconds() > _stale_after_seconds())
+    # "Deployed" is gated on the agent actually checking in (last_seen_at), NOT on
+    # the registration row — that row is minted before the playbook runs, so a
+    # failed provision would otherwise look deployed.
+    reporting = bool(reg) and ls is not None
+    stale = reporting and (datetime.now(timezone.utc) - ls).total_seconds() > _stale_after_seconds()
 
     ansible_cfg = current_app.config.get("ANSIBLE", {})
     return await render_template(
         "panel.html",
-        host=host, reg=reg, hostlvl=hostlvl, stale=stale, target=target,
+        host=host, reg=reg, hostlvl=hostlvl, reporting=reporting, stale=stale, target=target,
         ansible_available=has_capability("ansible.run_playbook"),
         managed_key_set=bool((ansible_cfg.get("ssh_public_key") or "").strip()),
     )
diff --git a/plugins/host_agent/templates/panel.html b/plugins/host_agent/templates/panel.html
index 4e8cc5c..5279945 100644
--- a/plugins/host_agent/templates/panel.html
+++ b/plugins/host_agent/templates/panel.html
@@ -3,16 +3,18 @@
 <div class="card">
   <div style="display:flex;align-items:baseline;justify-content:space-between;margin-bottom:0.75rem;gap:1rem;flex-wrap:wrap;">
     <h3 class="section-title" style="margin-bottom:0;">Agent</h3>
-    {% if reg %}
+    {% if reporting %}
     <span style="font-size:0.78rem;color:{{ 'var(--yellow)' if stale else 'var(--green)' }};">
       {{ 'stale' if stale else 'reporting' }}{% if reg.agent_version %} · v{{ reg.agent_version }}{% endif %}
-      {% if reg.last_seen_at %} · last seen {{ reg.last_seen_at.strftime('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M') }}{% endif %}
+      · last seen {{ reg.last_seen_at.strftime('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M') }}
     </span>
+    {% elif reg %}
+    <span style="font-size:0.78rem;color:var(--text-muted);">pending — no check-in yet</span>
     {% endif %}
   </div>
 
-  {% if reg %}
-  {# ── Installed: at-a-glance metrics + lifecycle ── #}
+  {% if reporting %}
+  {# ── Reporting: at-a-glance metrics + lifecycle ── #}
   <div style="display:flex;gap:2rem;flex-wrap:wrap;margin-bottom:0.9rem;">
     {% set cpu = hostlvl.get('cpu_pct') %}
     {% set mem = hostlvl.get('mem_used_pct') %}
@@ -54,10 +56,21 @@
   {% endif %}
 
   {% else %}
-  {# ── Not installed: provisioning path ── #}
+  {# ── Not reporting: pending (token minted, no check-in) or never installed ── #}
+  {% if reg %}
+  <div style="background:color-mix(in srgb,var(--yellow) 10%,var(--bg-elevated));
+              border:1px solid color-mix(in srgb,var(--yellow) 30%,var(--border));
+              border-radius:6px;padding:0.7rem 0.9rem;margin-bottom:0.75rem;font-size:0.84rem;">
+    A token was minted for this host but <strong>no metrics have arrived yet</strong> — the
+    deploy may still be running, or it failed. Open the latest
+    <a href="/ansible/">Ansible run</a> to check, then retry below. Live metrics appear here
+    once the agent checks in.
+  </div>
+  {% else %}
   <p style="color:var(--text-muted);font-size:0.88rem;margin-bottom:0.75rem;">
     No agent installed. The agent reports CPU, memory, disk, network and more back to Steward.
   </p>
+  {% endif %}
 
   {% if session.user_role != 'admin' %}
   <p style="color:var(--text-dim);font-size:0.85rem;">An admin can install the agent here.</p>
@@ -113,5 +126,12 @@
     <button type="submit" class="btn btn-sm btn-ghost">Install agent (managed key)</button>
   </form>
   {% endif %}
+
+  {% if reg and session.user_role == 'admin' %}
+  <form method="post" action="/plugins/host_agent/fleet/{{ host.id }}/delete" style="margin:0.75rem 0 0;"
+        onsubmit="return confirm('Clear this pending registration? Its token is discarded.');">
+    <button type="submit" class="btn btn-sm btn-ghost">Clear pending registration</button>
+  </form>
+  {% endif %}
   {% endif %}
 </div>
diff --git a/steward/ansible/executor.py b/steward/ansible/executor.py
index dcc2038..3f51975 100644
--- a/steward/ansible/executor.py
+++ b/steward/ansible/executor.py
@@ -442,10 +442,21 @@ async def start_run(
                     await _flush()
 
             await proc.wait()
+            recap = parse_recap(_run_lines.get(run_id, []))
             if run_id in _cancelled:
                 final_status = "cancelled"
+            elif proc.returncode != 0:
+                final_status = "failed"
+            elif not recap:
+                # ansible-playbook exits 0 on "no hosts matched" / empty inventory
+                # — nothing actually ran, so don't report it as a success.
+                final_status = "failed"
+                if len(failures) < _FAILURE_CAP:
+                    failures.append(
+                        "No hosts matched — nothing executed "
+                        "(check the host's Ansible target and inventory).")
             else:
-                final_status = "success" if proc.returncode == 0 else "failed"
+                final_status = "success"
         finally:
             shutil.rmtree(tmpdir, ignore_errors=True)