From 7babf886361dc32e70a5d49c383cdc24549228c2 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: MelekTaus <melektaus@outlook.at>
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 2026 06:18:20 +0200
Subject: [PATCH] A state change is something the graph can react to, so the
 machine announces it (#53, #54, #55, #57)
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Four issues that all reach for the same line: how the current state is
read and written. Splitting them into four commits would mean four
states of the tree that do not compile, so they arrive together.

#55 start state — the machine asset carries an optional `start` holding
a State node's id. Right-click a state to set or remove it, a ring in
the node's title says which one it is. A dead id (the state was deleted)
reads as "no start", so nothing has to clean up after a deletion.

#53 entered/exited — `On state entered` and `On state exited`, one exec
output per state. Every change now goes through a single `setState`
that reports it; BehaviorSystem delivers it after the exec flow that
caused it, `exited` of the old before `entered` of the new, round after
round until the queue is empty, with a cap that stops a ping-pong graph
with an endless-loop error. A local machine tells the instance that
switched, a global one tells every instance holding a matching event
node. The start state fires `entered` too: per instance for a local
machine, once per run for a global one.

#57 reading — `Current state` with `name` for showing and `id` for
comparing, `Is in state` with one boolean per state. Neither has a
`run`, so `read` learned `def` and `lookup`, and the catalog test knows
this third kind of node.

#54 seeing it — during a run the state machine tab marks every state
some instance is holding faintly, and the one held by the selected
scene object's instance strongly.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
---
 src/core/commands/assetCommands.ts            |  35 ++-
 src/core/graph/GraphInterpreter.ts            |  41 ++-
 src/core/graph/NodeContext.ts                 |   6 +
 src/core/graph/NodeRegistry.ts                |  10 +-
 src/core/graph/lookup.ts                      |   2 +
 src/core/graph/nodes/data/CurrentState.ts     |  26 ++
 src/core/graph/nodes/data/IsInState.ts        |  26 ++
 src/core/graph/nodes/events/OnStateEntered.ts |  20 ++
 src/core/graph/nodes/events/OnStateExited.ts  |  16 ++
 src/core/graph/nodes/flow/SetState.ts         |   4 +-
 src/core/graph/nodes/flow/StateBranch.ts      |   9 +-
 src/core/graph/nodes/flow/StateTransition.ts  |   7 +-
 src/core/graph/nodes/index.ts                 |   8 +
 src/core/graph/sharedState.ts                 |  37 ++-
 src/core/graph/stateMachine.ts                |  37 ++-
 src/core/model/Asset.ts                       |   6 +
 src/core/model/graphLookup.ts                 |   3 +-
 src/core/store/serialize.ts                   |   2 +
 src/editor/Editor.ts                          |   8 +
 src/editor/EditorRun.ts                       |   6 +
 src/editor/PlaySession.ts                     |  10 +
 src/editor/debugHook.ts                       |   3 +
 src/editor/graph/GraphCanvas.ts               |  66 ++++-
 src/editor/graph/NodeView.ts                  |  17 ++
 src/runtime/systems/BehaviorSystem.ts         | 103 +++++++-
 tests/core/graph.test.ts                      |   8 +-
 tests/core/node-catalog.test.ts               |  63 ++++-
 tests/core/state-machine.test.ts              | 244 +++++++++++++++++-
 tests/helpers.ts                              |   9 +-
 tools/e2e/26-state-machine.mjs                | 118 +++++++++
 30 files changed, 906 insertions(+), 44 deletions(-)
 create mode 100644 src/core/graph/nodes/data/CurrentState.ts
 create mode 100644 src/core/graph/nodes/data/IsInState.ts
 create mode 100644 src/core/graph/nodes/events/OnStateEntered.ts
 create mode 100644 src/core/graph/nodes/events/OnStateExited.ts

diff --git a/src/core/commands/assetCommands.ts b/src/core/commands/assetCommands.ts
index d06aca46..a648b87e 100644
--- a/src/core/commands/assetCommands.ts
+++ b/src/core/commands/assetCommands.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import { createEmptyGraph } from '../graph/Graph';
 import { newId } from '../ids';
-import type { Asset, FontAsset, TextureAsset } from '../model/Asset';
+import type { Asset, FontAsset, StateMachineAsset, TextureAsset } from '../model/Asset';
 import type { AssetType } from '../model/AssetTypes';
 import { isFontFile } from '../model/font';
 import { removeSubtrees } from '../model/hierarchy';
@@ -241,6 +241,39 @@ export class SetMachineScopeCommand implements Command {
   }
 }
 
+/**
+ * Which state a machine starts in, as a state node's id – `''` takes the mark off again, and the
+ * machine is back to starting in no state. Only one state can be the start because there is only
+ * one field to hold it.
+ */
+export class SetMachineStartCommand implements Command {
+  readonly label: string;
+  private previous = '';
+
+  constructor(
+    private readonly assetId: string,
+    private readonly start: string,
+  ) {
+    this.label = start ? 'Set start state' : 'Remove start state';
+  }
+
+  execute(project: Project): void {
+    const asset = requireStateMachine(project, this.assetId);
+    this.previous = asset.start ?? '';
+    this.write(asset, this.start);
+  }
+
+  undo(project: Project): void {
+    this.write(requireStateMachine(project, this.assetId), this.previous);
+  }
+
+  /** Kept out of the document when there is none, the way a `local` scope is. */
+  private write(asset: StateMachineAsset, start: string): void {
+    if (start) asset.start = start;
+    else delete asset.start;
+  }
+}
+
 abstract class AssetPropertyCommand extends SetBagValueCommand<Asset> {
   protected constructor(
     private readonly assetId: string,
diff --git a/src/core/graph/GraphInterpreter.ts b/src/core/graph/GraphInterpreter.ts
index 8fa0a5e6..80cda921 100644
--- a/src/core/graph/GraphInterpreter.ts
+++ b/src/core/graph/GraphInterpreter.ts
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import {
   type PortDef,
   type RepeatResult,
 } from './NodeRegistry';
+import { machineIdOf } from './stateMachine';
 import type { Value } from './values';
 
 /** How much work one pulse may do. A Repeat over a 10×20 board is 200 rounds, so this is generous. */
@@ -72,6 +73,8 @@ export class GraphInterpreter {
     ctx: NodeContext,
     outputs: Record<string, Value> = {},
     filter?: (node: GraphNode) => boolean,
+    /** Which of the event node's exec outputs the pulse leaves through – a state event names one. */
+    port = 'exec',
   ): number {
     let fired = 0;
     for (const node of this.eventNodes(type)) {
@@ -82,12 +85,28 @@ export class GraphInterpreter {
       this.frame.outputCache.set(node.id, { ...outputs });
       this.trace?.onNode(node.id);
       this.record(node.id, outputs);
-      this.follow(node, 'exec', ctx, 0);
+      this.follow(node, port, ctx, 0);
       fired++;
     }
     return fired;
   }
 
+  /**
+   * `On state entered` / `On state exited` for one move: only the nodes watching that machine, and
+   * out of the one output the state stands for. A node whose machine input carries a running value
+   * rather than a pick has no state outputs at all, so it is never among them.
+   */
+  fireStateEvent(type: string, ctx: NodeContext, machineId: string, stateId: string): number {
+    if (!machineId || !stateId) return 0;
+    return this.fire(
+      type,
+      ctx,
+      {},
+      (node) => machineIdOf({ node, graph: this.graph, lookup: this.lookup }) === machineId,
+      stateId,
+    );
+  }
+
   private follow(node: GraphNode, port: string, ctx: NodeContext, depth: number): void {
     for (const edge of edgesOutOf(this.frame.graph, node.id, port)) {
       const target = this.node(edge.to.node);
@@ -135,8 +154,22 @@ export class GraphInterpreter {
     this.calledBehaviors.add(call.behaviorId);
     try {
       this.trace?.onNode(start.id);
-      // Fresh variables and fresh states alike: a call keeps nothing, and sees nothing of the caller's.
-      this.follow(start, 'exec', { ...ctx, variables: { ...program.defaults }, states: {} }, depth + 1);
+      // Fresh variables and fresh states alike: a call keeps nothing, and sees nothing of the
+      // caller's. What it does to a local machine therefore dies with the call and is not reported;
+      // a `global` machine is the run's, so moving that one is a move like any other.
+      this.follow(
+        start,
+        'exec',
+        {
+          ...ctx,
+          variables: { ...program.defaults },
+          states: {},
+          stateChanged: (machineId, from, to) => {
+            if (machineId in ctx.shared.states) ctx.stateChanged(machineId, from, to);
+          },
+        },
+        depth + 1,
+      );
       const end = terminalNode(program.graph, BEHAVIOR_END);
       return (end && this.frame.outputCache.get(end.id)) ?? {};
     } finally {
@@ -211,7 +244,7 @@ export class GraphInterpreter {
       return found ? this.inputValue(node, found, ctx) : null;
     };
     // `read` may hand back a whole bag (the Variables node returns the object's variables, live).
-    const all = def.read?.(ctx, node.params, input) ?? {};
+    const all = def.read?.(ctx, node.params, input, def, this.lookup) ?? {};
     const own: Record<string, Value> = {};
     for (const port of def.outputs) if (port.key in all) own[port.key] = all[port.key] ?? null;
     return own;
diff --git a/src/core/graph/NodeContext.ts b/src/core/graph/NodeContext.ts
index ebd6d454..40768a7f 100644
--- a/src/core/graph/NodeContext.ts
+++ b/src/core/graph/NodeContext.ts
@@ -94,6 +94,12 @@ export interface NodeContext {
    */
   states: Record<string, string>;
   shared: SharedState;
+  /**
+   * A machine moved from one state to another – what `On state exited` / `On state entered` are
+   * fired from. Reported rather than fired on the spot: the events belong after the exec flow that
+   * caused them, never in the middle of it (see `BehaviorSystem`).
+   */
+  stateChanged(machineId: string, from: string, to: string): void;
   /** Seconds since the world started and since the last tick. */
   time: number;
   dt: number;
diff --git a/src/core/graph/NodeRegistry.ts b/src/core/graph/NodeRegistry.ts
index 65ddb185..1a7fca53 100644
--- a/src/core/graph/NodeRegistry.ts
+++ b/src/core/graph/NodeRegistry.ts
@@ -106,8 +106,16 @@ export interface NodeDef {
    * Outputs readable at any moment, even while the node's exec input has not fired in this pulse.
    * Never cached, so a read after a write sees the new value. `input` pulls one input on demand:
    * pulling all of them would loop through an edge that feeds the node's own output back in.
+   * `def` and `lookup` are as in `run`: the definition resolved for this very node, and the project
+   * around it – what a reader with one output per state needs to answer for all of them.
    */
-  read?(ctx: NodeContext, params: PropertyBag, input: (key: string) => Value): Record<string, Value>;
+  read?(
+    ctx: NodeContext,
+    params: PropertyBag,
+    input: (key: string) => Value,
+    def: NodeDef,
+    lookup: GraphLookup,
+  ): Record<string, Value>;
   /**
    * Event nodes have no `run` – the interpreter seeds their outputs. `def` is resolved for the node at
    * hand, the only way a node with derived ports knows how many it has. `entry` is the exec input
diff --git a/src/core/graph/lookup.ts b/src/core/graph/lookup.ts
index ce244dd9..4fe5f0f7 100644
--- a/src/core/graph/lookup.ts
+++ b/src/core/graph/lookup.ts
@@ -28,6 +28,8 @@ export interface StateMachine {
   name: string;
   states: MachineState[];
   transitions: MachineTransition[];
+  /** Id of the state every instance begins in, empty when the machine has no start (see #55). */
+  start: string;
 }
 
 /**
diff --git a/src/core/graph/nodes/data/CurrentState.ts b/src/core/graph/nodes/data/CurrentState.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..78340810
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/core/graph/nodes/data/CurrentState.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+import type { NodeDef } from '../../NodeRegistry';
+import { currentState } from '../../sharedState';
+import { machinePort } from '../../stateMachine';
+import { asString } from '../../values';
+import { str } from '../shared';
+
+/**
+ * The data side of `State branch`: two outputs, because the two uses pull apart. `name` is what
+ * `Join` and a `Text` want to show, `id` is what a comparison should hold – a rename moves the
+ * name, never the id. Both are empty while the machine is in no state.
+ */
+export const CurrentState: NodeDef = {
+  type: 'CurrentState',
+  label: 'Current state',
+  category: 'data',
+  description: 'The state the machine is in: its name to show, its id to compare. Empty for no state.',
+  inputs: [machinePort()],
+  outputs: [str('name'), str('id')],
+  params: [],
+  read: (ctx, _params, input, _def, lookup) => {
+    const machine = asString(input('machine'));
+    const id = currentState(ctx, machine);
+    const name = (id && lookup.machine(machine)?.states.find((s) => s.id === id)?.name) || '';
+    return { name, id };
+  },
+};
diff --git a/src/core/graph/nodes/data/IsInState.ts b/src/core/graph/nodes/data/IsInState.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a76ab761
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/core/graph/nodes/data/IsInState.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+import type { NodeDef } from '../../NodeRegistry';
+import { currentState } from '../../sharedState';
+import { machineOf, machinePort, statePorts } from '../../stateMachine';
+import { asString, type Value } from '../../values';
+
+/**
+ * One boolean per state, all false while the machine is in none – the data twin of `State branch`,
+ * for the places a flow cannot go: `Branch`, `And`, a property. Every output is answered, so a
+ * state nobody is in reads `false` rather than nothing at all.
+ */
+export const IsInState: NodeDef = {
+  type: 'IsInState',
+  label: 'Is in state',
+  category: 'data',
+  description: 'True on the output of the state the machine is in, false on every other.',
+  inputs: [machinePort()],
+  outputs: [],
+  params: [],
+  derivePorts: (source) => ({ outputs: statePorts(machineOf(source), 'boolean') }),
+  read: (ctx, _params, input, def) => {
+    const current = currentState(ctx, asString(input('machine')));
+    const values: Record<string, Value> = {};
+    for (const port of def.outputs) values[port.key] = port.key === current;
+    return values;
+  },
+};
diff --git a/src/core/graph/nodes/events/OnStateEntered.ts b/src/core/graph/nodes/events/OnStateEntered.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..61745a6c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/core/graph/nodes/events/OnStateEntered.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+import type { NodeDef } from '../../NodeRegistry';
+import { machineOf, machinePort, statePorts } from '../../stateMachine';
+
+/**
+ * One exec output per state, like `State branch` – the pulse leaves through the state that was
+ * entered. Fired after the flow that caused the move, never inside it. A `global` machine is
+ * entered once for the whole run, and every instance watching it hears that one move.
+ */
+export const OnStateEntered: NodeDef = {
+  type: 'OnStateEntered',
+  label: 'On state entered',
+  category: 'event',
+  description:
+    "Runs when the machine enters a state, along that state's output. The start state counts as " +
+    'entered when the instance begins; entering the state the machine is already in does not.',
+  inputs: [machinePort()],
+  outputs: [],
+  params: [],
+  derivePorts: (source) => ({ outputs: statePorts(machineOf(source)) }),
+};
diff --git a/src/core/graph/nodes/events/OnStateExited.ts b/src/core/graph/nodes/events/OnStateExited.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..d153e544
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/core/graph/nodes/events/OnStateExited.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+import type { NodeDef } from '../../NodeRegistry';
+import { machineOf, machinePort, statePorts } from '../../stateMachine';
+
+/** The other half of the move: the pulse leaves through the state that was left, before `entered`. */
+export const OnStateExited: NodeDef = {
+  type: 'OnStateExited',
+  label: 'On state exited',
+  category: 'event',
+  description:
+    "Runs when the machine leaves a state, along that state's output. A machine coming out of no " +
+    'state at all has nothing to leave, so nothing runs.',
+  inputs: [machinePort()],
+  outputs: [],
+  params: [],
+  derivePorts: (source) => ({ outputs: statePorts(machineOf(source)) }),
+};
diff --git a/src/core/graph/nodes/flow/SetState.ts b/src/core/graph/nodes/flow/SetState.ts
index 62ba7de1..dbe61ba0 100644
--- a/src/core/graph/nodes/flow/SetState.ts
+++ b/src/core/graph/nodes/flow/SetState.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import type { NodeDef } from '../../NodeRegistry';
-import { stateBag } from '../../sharedState';
+import { setState } from '../../sharedState';
 import { machineOf, machinePort, statePorts } from '../../stateMachine';
 import { asString } from '../../values';
 import { exec } from '../shared';
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ export const SetState: NodeDef = {
   run: (ctx, inputs, _params, def, entry) => {
     const machine = asString(inputs.machine);
     if (machine && def.inputs.some((p) => p.type === 'exec' && p.key === entry))
-      stateBag(ctx, machine)[machine] = entry;
+      setState(ctx, machine, entry);
     return { next: 'exec' };
   },
 };
diff --git a/src/core/graph/nodes/flow/StateBranch.ts b/src/core/graph/nodes/flow/StateBranch.ts
index 449576b0..ec7407c9 100644
--- a/src/core/graph/nodes/flow/StateBranch.ts
+++ b/src/core/graph/nodes/flow/StateBranch.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import type { NodeDef } from '../../NodeRegistry';
-import { stateBag } from '../../sharedState';
+import { currentState } from '../../sharedState';
 import { machineOf, machinePort, statePorts } from '../../stateMachine';
 import { asString } from '../../values';
 import { exec } from '../shared';
@@ -10,15 +10,14 @@ export const StateBranch: NodeDef = {
   label: 'State branch',
   category: 'flow',
   description:
-    'Continues along the output of the state the machine is in. Before "Set state" has run, the ' +
-    'machine is in no state and nothing continues.',
+    'Continues along the output of the state the machine is in. A machine with no start state is ' +
+    'in no state until "Set state" has run, and nothing continues.',
   inputs: [exec(), machinePort()],
   outputs: [],
   params: [],
   derivePorts: (source) => ({ outputs: statePorts(machineOf(source)) }),
   run: (ctx, inputs, _params, def) => {
-    const machine = asString(inputs.machine);
-    const current = stateBag(ctx, machine)[machine];
+    const current = currentState(ctx, asString(inputs.machine));
     return def.outputs.some((p) => p.key === current) ? { next: current } : {};
   },
 };
diff --git a/src/core/graph/nodes/flow/StateTransition.ts b/src/core/graph/nodes/flow/StateTransition.ts
index 7e819962..e005f800 100644
--- a/src/core/graph/nodes/flow/StateTransition.ts
+++ b/src/core/graph/nodes/flow/StateTransition.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import { textOf } from '../../../model/Properties';
 import { flatDef } from '../../../properties/PropertySchema';
 import type { NodeDef } from '../../NodeRegistry';
-import { stateBag } from '../../sharedState';
+import { currentState, setState } from '../../sharedState';
 import { machinePort, STATE_TRANSITION, TRANSITION_PARAM, transitionTo } from '../../stateMachine';
 import { asString } from '../../values';
 import { exec } from '../shared';
@@ -19,12 +19,11 @@ export const StateTransition: NodeDef = {
   params: [flatDef(TRANSITION_PARAM, 'text', { label: 'Transition', value: '' })],
   run: (ctx, inputs, params, _def, _entry, lookup) => {
     const id = asString(inputs.machine);
-    const states = stateBag(ctx, id);
-    const current = states[id] ?? '';
+    const current = currentState(ctx, id);
     const machine = current ? lookup.machine(id) : null;
     const name = textOf(params[TRANSITION_PARAM] ?? '');
     const target = machine ? transitionTo(machine, current, name) : '';
-    if (target) states[id] = target;
+    if (target) setState(ctx, id, target);
     return { next: 'exec' };
   },
 };
diff --git a/src/core/graph/nodes/index.ts b/src/core/graph/nodes/index.ts
index 7ec17741..b85aa5a5 100644
--- a/src/core/graph/nodes/index.ts
+++ b/src/core/graph/nodes/index.ts
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import { GetPosition } from './data/GetPosition';
 import { IsAsset } from './data/IsAsset';
 import { IsEnabled } from './data/IsEnabled';
 import { IsHovered } from './data/IsHovered';
+import { IsInState } from './data/IsInState';
 import { IsTouching } from './data/IsTouching';
 import { Join } from './data/Join';
 import { KeyIsDown } from './data/KeyIsDown';
@@ -61,6 +62,7 @@ import { ToNumber } from './data/ToNumber';
 import { ToText } from './data/ToText';
 import { Concat } from './data/Concat';
 import { Count } from './data/Count';
+import { CurrentState } from './data/CurrentState';
 import { ExpandStruct } from './data/ExpandStruct';
 import { Fill } from './data/Fill';
 import { IndexOf } from './data/IndexOf';
@@ -79,6 +81,8 @@ import { OnKeyDown } from './events/OnKeyDown';
 import { OnKeyHeld } from './events/OnKeyHeld';
 import { OnKeyUp } from './events/OnKeyUp';
 import { OnStart } from './events/OnStart';
+import { OnStateEntered } from './events/OnStateEntered';
+import { OnStateExited } from './events/OnStateExited';
 import { OnTimer } from './events/OnTimer';
 import { OnUpdate } from './events/OnUpdate';
 import { BehaviorEnd } from './flow/BehaviorEnd';
@@ -114,6 +118,8 @@ export const BUILT_IN_NODES: readonly NodeDef[] = [
   OnCollisionExit,
   OnClick,
   OnAnimationFinished,
+  OnStateEntered,
+  OnStateExited,
   BehaviorStart,
   Branch,
   Sequence,
@@ -122,6 +128,8 @@ export const BUILT_IN_NODES: readonly NodeDef[] = [
   StateBranch,
   SetState,
   StateTransition,
+  CurrentState,
+  IsInState,
   BehaviorEnd,
   Variables,
   Self,
diff --git a/src/core/graph/sharedState.ts b/src/core/graph/sharedState.ts
index 040db17c..0e1a81f6 100644
--- a/src/core/graph/sharedState.ts
+++ b/src/core/graph/sharedState.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import type { PropertyBag } from '../model/Properties';
 import type { Project } from '../model/Project';
 import { isGlobal } from '../model/Scope';
 import type { NodeContext, SharedState } from './NodeContext';
+import { startStateOf } from './stateMachine';
 
 export function emptySharedState(): SharedState {
   return { variables: {}, states: {} };
@@ -26,10 +27,25 @@ export function declaredVariables(project: Project): Record<string, PropertyBag>
 export function buildSharedState(project: Project): SharedState {
   const shared: SharedState = { variables: declaredVariables(project), states: {} };
   for (const asset of project.assets)
-    if (asset.type === 'statemachine' && isGlobal(asset)) shared.states[asset.id] = '';
+    if (asset.type === 'statemachine' && isGlobal(asset))
+      shared.states[asset.id] = startStateOf(asset.graph, asset.start);
   return shared;
 }
 
+/**
+ * The start state of every machine that has a usable one, keyed by asset id. A machine without one
+ * is absent, which is what keeps "no start" and "starts in a deleted state" the same thing.
+ */
+export function startStates(project: Project): Record<string, string> {
+  const starts: Record<string, string> = {};
+  for (const asset of project.assets) {
+    if (asset.type !== 'statemachine') continue;
+    const start = startStateOf(asset.graph, asset.start);
+    if (start) starts[asset.id] = start;
+  }
+  return starts;
+}
+
 /**
  * Moves edits made to the declarations during a run into the values it shares. A key is taken over
  * only where the document changed it since `seen`, which is what leaves a value a graph has moved
@@ -68,3 +84,22 @@ export function variableBag(ctx: NodeContext, source: string): PropertyBag {
 export function stateBag(ctx: NodeContext, machineId: string): Record<string, string> {
   return machineId in ctx.shared.states ? ctx.shared.states : ctx.states;
 }
+
+/** The current state of a machine, `''` when it is in none. */
+export function currentState(ctx: NodeContext, machineId: string): string {
+  return (machineId && stateBag(ctx, machineId)[machineId]) || '';
+}
+
+/**
+ * The one way a machine moves: writes the new state and reports the move. Into the state it is
+ * already in is no move – nothing is written, and nothing fires, which is what keeps a `Set state`
+ * run every frame from firing `entered` every frame.
+ */
+export function setState(ctx: NodeContext, machineId: string, next: string): void {
+  if (!machineId) return;
+  const bag = stateBag(ctx, machineId);
+  const previous = bag[machineId] ?? '';
+  if (previous === next) return;
+  bag[machineId] = next;
+  ctx.stateChanged(machineId, previous, next);
+}
diff --git a/src/core/graph/stateMachine.ts b/src/core/graph/stateMachine.ts
index 85a1c541..f2830f7f 100644
--- a/src/core/graph/stateMachine.ts
+++ b/src/core/graph/stateMachine.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import { textOf } from '../model/Properties';
 import { flatDef } from '../properties/PropertySchema';
-import { edgesInto, type Graph, type GraphNode } from './Graph';
+import { edgesInto, type Graph, type GraphNode, type PortType } from './Graph';
 import type { MachineState, MachineTransition, StateMachine } from './lookup';
 import type { NodeDef, PortDef, PortSource } from './NodeRegistry';
 
@@ -47,6 +47,15 @@ export function statesOf(graph: Graph): MachineState[] {
   return graph.nodes.filter(isStateNode).map((node) => ({ id: node.id, name: stateName(node) }));
 }
 
+/**
+ * The state a machine starts in, as far as its graph agrees: the marked id when a state of that id
+ * is still there, else none. A start pointing at a deleted state is not an error to repair – it
+ * reads as "no start", which is exactly what the machine had before anyone marked one.
+ */
+export function startStateOf(graph: Graph, start: string | undefined): string {
+  return start && graph.nodes.some((n) => n.id === start && isStateNode(n)) ? start : '';
+}
+
 /** The transitions of a machine's graph: every edge between two states, in edge order. */
 export function transitionsOf(graph: Graph): MachineTransition[] {
   const states = new Set(graph.nodes.filter(isStateNode).map((n) => n.id));
@@ -86,22 +95,24 @@ export const machinePort = (): PortDef => ({
 });
 
 /**
- * The machine a node's `machine` input names while the graph is drawn: the inline pick, or the
+ * The machine asset a node's `machine` input names while the graph is drawn: the inline pick, or the
  * `State machine` literal an edge brings in. A port is derived from the graph, not from a running
- * value, so a variable or a list item feeding the input yields no state ports.
+ * value, so a variable or a list item feeding the input yields nothing.
  */
-export function machineOf({ node, graph, lookup }: PortSource): StateMachine | null {
+export function machineIdOf({ node, graph }: PortSource): string {
   const edge = edgesInto(graph, node.id, MACHINE_PORT)[0];
   const source = edge && graph.nodes.find((n) => n.id === edge.from.node);
-  const id = edge
-    ? source?.type === STATE_MACHINE
-      ? textOf(source.params.value ?? '')
-      : ''
-    : textOf(node.params[MACHINE_PORT] ?? '');
-  return id ? lookup.machine(id) : null;
+  if (!edge) return textOf(node.params[MACHINE_PORT] ?? '');
+  return source?.type === STATE_MACHINE ? textOf(source.params.value ?? '') : '';
 }
 
-/** One exec port per state, keyed by the state's id – a rename keeps every edge. */
-export function statePorts(machine: StateMachine | null): PortDef[] {
-  return (machine?.states ?? []).map((state) => ({ key: state.id, label: state.name, type: 'exec' }));
+/** What that machine is, looked up – null where the input names none, or none that exists. */
+export function machineOf(source: PortSource): StateMachine | null {
+  const id = machineIdOf(source);
+  return id ? source.lookup.machine(id) : null;
+}
+
+/** One port per state, keyed by the state's id – a rename keeps every edge. */
+export function statePorts(machine: StateMachine | null, type: PortType = 'exec'): PortDef[] {
+  return (machine?.states ?? []).map((state) => ({ key: state.id, label: state.name, type }));
 }
diff --git a/src/core/model/Asset.ts b/src/core/model/Asset.ts
index 6bae82fb..4f51f03c 100644
--- a/src/core/model/Asset.ts
+++ b/src/core/model/Asset.ts
@@ -97,11 +97,17 @@ export interface AnimationAsset extends AssetBase {
  * The graph holds one `State` node per state and an edge per transition; a behavior reads the
  * machine's current state through `State branch` and moves it through `Set state` or `State transition`.
  * A `global` machine has one current state for the whole run instead of one per behavior instance.
+ *
+ * `start` is the id of the state every instance begins in, empty when the machine has no start –
+ * then it is in no state until `Set state` runs. It lives on the asset rather than on the node
+ * because only one state may be the start, and that is structural here instead of a rule someone
+ * has to keep. A deleted state leaves a dead id behind, which reads as no start.
  */
 export interface StateMachineAsset extends AssetBase {
   type: 'statemachine';
   graph: Graph;
   scope?: Scope;
+  start?: string;
 }
 
 /**
diff --git a/src/core/model/graphLookup.ts b/src/core/model/graphLookup.ts
index 6ba0592c..eb5054e8 100644
--- a/src/core/model/graphLookup.ts
+++ b/src/core/model/graphLookup.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import type { GraphLookup } from '../graph/lookup';
-import { statesOf, transitionsOf } from '../graph/stateMachine';
+import { startStateOf, statesOf, transitionsOf } from '../graph/stateMachine';
 import { resolveAssetProps } from '../properties/resolve';
 import { findAssetOf, type Project } from './Project';
 
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ export function graphLookup(project: Project): GraphLookup {
         name: asset.name,
         states: statesOf(asset.graph),
         transitions: transitionsOf(asset.graph),
+        start: startStateOf(asset.graph, asset.start),
       };
     },
   };
diff --git a/src/core/store/serialize.ts b/src/core/store/serialize.ts
index f6a0922f..33f419af 100644
--- a/src/core/store/serialize.ts
+++ b/src/core/store/serialize.ts
@@ -141,6 +141,8 @@ export function deserializeProject(raw: unknown, fallbackId = ''): Project {
         graph: normalizeGraph(a.graph, (def) => def.type === STATE),
       };
       if (readScope(a.scope) === 'global') machine.scope = 'global';
+      // Kept as written even where it names no state any more: the same as a deleted start.
+      if (typeof a.start === 'string' && a.start !== '') machine.start = a.start;
       assets.push(machine);
     } else if (type === 'shader') {
       assets.push({ id, type, name, props, graph: shaderGraphs.get(id) ?? createEmptyGraph() });
diff --git a/src/editor/Editor.ts b/src/editor/Editor.ts
index a849bdaa..2874c924 100644
--- a/src/editor/Editor.ts
+++ b/src/editor/Editor.ts
@@ -177,6 +177,11 @@ export class Editor implements PlayHost {
 
     this.graphEditor.canvas.traceProvider = (assetId) => this.play.traceFor(assetId);
     this.graphEditor.canvas.timeProvider = () => this.play.time;
+    // Only one of the two ever runs a given machine, for the reason the live variables are one call.
+    this.stateMachineEditor.canvas.stateProvider = (assetId) => {
+      const playing = this.play.machineStates(assetId);
+      return playing.length > 0 ? playing : this.editorRun.machineStates(assetId);
+    };
     // Only one of the two ever runs a given asset: playing stops the editor run (see `EditorRun.tick`).
     this.inspector.liveVariables = (assetId) =>
       this.play.liveVariables(assetId) ?? this.editorRun.liveVariables(assetId);
@@ -343,6 +348,9 @@ export class Editor implements PlayHost {
     this.gameView.animate();
     this.console.refresh();
     if (this.tab === 'animation') this.animationEditor.tick(step);
+    // Play repaints the machine tab itself (see `PlaySession.tick`); an editor run has no session
+    // to do it, and its states move just the same.
+    if (this.tab === 'statemachine' && this.editorRun.isRunning) this.stateMachineEditor.canvas.redraw();
     if (this.tab === 'particles') this.particlesEditor.tick();
     if (this.movesByItself()) requestRender();
   }
diff --git a/src/editor/EditorRun.ts b/src/editor/EditorRun.ts
index 24d30c0f..962983e0 100644
--- a/src/editor/EditorRun.ts
+++ b/src/editor/EditorRun.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import { hasEditorRun, runsInEditor } from '../core/properties/editorRun';
 import { addGameSystems, type BehaviorSystem, behaviorError } from '../runtime/systems/BehaviorSystem';
 import { Input } from '../runtime/systems/Input';
 import { type ModelWrite, World } from '../runtime/World';
+import type { LiveMachineState } from './graph/GraphCanvas';
 import type { EditorState } from './state';
 
 export interface EditorRunHooks {
@@ -69,6 +70,11 @@ export class EditorRun {
     if (!write.values && !write.structure && this.showsVariables()) this.state.runtimeTick();
   }
 
+  /** Which state each instance of a machine holds in this run; empty when no editor run is on. */
+  machineStates(machineId: string): LiveMachineState[] {
+    return this.behaviors?.machineStates(machineId) ?? [];
+  }
+
   /** The values a Variables asset shares in this run; null when no editor run is on. */
   liveVariables(assetId: string): PropertyBag | null {
     return this.behaviors?.liveVariables(assetId) ?? null;
diff --git a/src/editor/PlaySession.ts b/src/editor/PlaySession.ts
index 520edc24..f42eef20 100644
--- a/src/editor/PlaySession.ts
+++ b/src/editor/PlaySession.ts
@@ -18,6 +18,8 @@ import { World } from '../runtime/World';
 import { ui } from '../ui';
 import type { GameViewport } from './viewport/GameViewport';
 import type { GraphEditor } from './graph/GraphEditor';
+import type { LiveMachineState } from './graph/GraphCanvas';
+import type { StateMachineEditor } from './statemachine/StateMachineEditor';
 import type { EditorState } from './state';
 
 /** Facts about the running world for the check scripts. */
@@ -42,6 +44,7 @@ export interface WorldSnapshot {
 export interface PlayHost {
   gameView: GameViewport;
   graphEditor: GraphEditor;
+  stateMachineEditor: StateMachineEditor;
   showGame(): void;
   /** Leave the game view if it is the one on screen. */
   leaveGame(): void;
@@ -77,6 +80,11 @@ export class PlaySession {
     return this.behaviors?.traceFor(assetId) ?? null;
   }
 
+  /** Which state each running instance of a machine holds; empty when nothing is playing. */
+  machineStates(machineId: string): LiveMachineState[] {
+    return this.behaviors?.machineStates(machineId) ?? [];
+  }
+
   get time(): number {
     return this.world?.time ?? 0;
   }
@@ -157,6 +165,8 @@ export class PlaySession {
     if (world.syncToModel().structure) this.state.preview();
     this.state.runtimeTick();
     if (this.host.graphEditor.visible) this.host.graphEditor.canvas.redraw();
+    // The machine tab shows the state a run is in, so it repaints for the same reason the graph does.
+    if (this.host.stateMachineEditor.visible) this.host.stateMachineEditor.canvas.redraw();
   }
 
   snapshot(): WorldSnapshot | null {
diff --git a/src/editor/debugHook.ts b/src/editor/debugHook.ts
index 77a40169..41f45425 100644
--- a/src/editor/debugHook.ts
+++ b/src/editor/debugHook.ts
@@ -303,6 +303,9 @@ export function installDebugHook(app: Application, state: EditorState, editor: E
       danglingEdge: () => editor.stateMachineEditor.canvas.danglingEdgeVisible(),
       emptySpot: () => editor.stateMachineEditor.canvas.emptySpotGlobal(),
       selected: () => state.selectedNodeIds,
+      /** The start ring and the live marks as drawn – what no colour check could tell apart. */
+      startRing: (nodeId: string) => editor.stateMachineEditor.canvas.startRingDrawn(nodeId),
+      stateMarks: () => editor.stateMachineEditor.canvas.stateMarksDrawn(),
     },
     particles: {
       current: () => editor.particlesEditor.currentAssetId,
diff --git a/src/editor/graph/GraphCanvas.ts b/src/editor/graph/GraphCanvas.ts
index ab7a77c5..d5abc0c5 100644
--- a/src/editor/graph/GraphCanvas.ts
+++ b/src/editor/graph/GraphCanvas.ts
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import {
   ConnectCommand,
   MoveNodeCommand,
 } from '../../core/commands/graphCommands';
+import { SetMachineStartCommand } from '../../core/commands/assetCommands';
 import {
   BEHAVIOR_PARAM,
   callProblem,
@@ -29,6 +30,7 @@ import {
   RUN_BEHAVIOR,
   STATE_IN,
   STATE_OUT,
+  startStateOf,
 } from '../../core/graph';
 import type { GraphAsset } from '../../core/model/Asset';
 import { graphLookup } from '../../core/model/graphLookup';
@@ -64,6 +66,14 @@ import { NodePalette } from './NodePalette';
 import { type PaletteEntry, paletteEntries } from './paletteEntries';
 import { NODE_WIDTH, NodeView, TITLE_HEIGHT } from './NodeView';
 
+/** One running instance's answer for a machine: which state it holds, and whose instance it is. */
+export interface LiveMachineState {
+  state: string;
+  /** Object id of the behavior itself, and of the object it hangs under (empty when it has none). */
+  objectId: string;
+  ownerId: string;
+}
+
 /** Spacing of the background grid – and, with snapping on, of the positions a drag can leave. */
 const GRID_STEP = 24;
 /** Below this on-screen spacing the grid is noise rather than orientation, so it is dropped. */
@@ -134,6 +144,8 @@ export class GraphCanvas extends Widget {
   private beadAsset = '';
   /** Supplies live execution data while playing (null otherwise). */
   traceProvider: (assetId: string) => Trace | null = () => null;
+  /** Which state each running instance of this machine holds; empty when nothing runs. */
+  stateProvider: (assetId: string) => readonly LiveMachineState[] = () => [];
   timeProvider: () => number = () => 0;
   /** A double-clicked call node; the tab opens the behavior and records the step. */
   onOpenBehavior: (assetId: string) => void = (assetId) => this.state.select({ kind: 'asset', assetId });
@@ -269,6 +281,51 @@ export class GraphCanvas extends Widget {
     this.redraw();
   }
 
+  /**
+   * The one entry that marks a state as the machine's start, or takes the mark off it again – the
+   * same place, so it reads as the switch it is. Only a state machine has one to give.
+   */
+  private startItems(nodeId: string): MenuItem[] {
+    const asset = this.asset();
+    if (asset?.type !== 'statemachine') return [];
+    const isStart = startStateOf(asset.graph, asset.start) === nodeId;
+    return [
+      {
+        label: isStart ? 'Remove start state' : 'Set as start state',
+        onSelect: () => this.state.execute(new SetMachineStartCommand(asset.id, isStart ? '' : nodeId)),
+      },
+    ];
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Which states to light up while something runs: every state an instance holds, and strongly the
+   * one held by the selected object's instance. Without a selection nothing is strong – that keeps
+   * "many instances, many states" readable instead of picking one of them at random.
+   */
+  private stateMarks(asset: GraphAsset): Map<string, 'held' | 'current'> {
+    const marks = new Map<string, 'held' | 'current'>();
+    if (asset.type !== 'statemachine') return marks;
+    const selection = this.state.selection;
+    const picked = selection?.kind === 'object' ? selection.objectId : '';
+    for (const live of this.stateProvider(asset.id)) {
+      const mine = picked !== '' && (live.objectId === picked || live.ownerId === picked);
+      if (mine || marks.get(live.state) !== 'current') marks.set(live.state, mine ? 'current' : 'held');
+    }
+    return marks;
+  }
+
+  /** What the last redraw marked, for the checks: the drawn state, not a recomputation of it. */
+  stateMarksDrawn(): Record<string, string> {
+    const marks: Record<string, string> = {};
+    for (const [id, view] of this.views) if (view.stateMark !== 'none') marks[id] = view.stateMark;
+    return marks;
+  }
+
+  /** Whether the start ring is drawn on this node – the same rule. */
+  startRingDrawn(nodeId: string): boolean {
+    return this.views.get(nodeId)?.isStart ?? false;
+  }
+
   /** Frames the graph's nodes (or the origin) in the view. Waits for a real size. */
   private fitView(): void {
     if (this.w === 0 || this.h === 0) return;
@@ -383,7 +440,10 @@ export class GraphCanvas extends Widget {
         const graphPoint = this.screenToGraph(at.x, at.y);
         const extras: MenuItem[] =
           view.def.transitionEdges === true
-            ? [{ label: 'Make transition', onSelect: () => this.armTransition(id, graphPoint) }]
+            ? [
+                { label: 'Make transition', onSelect: () => this.armTransition(id, graphPoint) },
+                ...this.startItems(id),
+              ]
             : [];
         openNodeMenu(this.state, this.assetId, this.selectedNodes(), e.global.x, e.global.y, extras);
       }
@@ -808,9 +868,13 @@ export class GraphCanvas extends Widget {
     const wall = performance.now();
     const values = trace && wall - this.valuesShownAt >= LIVE_VALUE_INTERVAL_MS ? trace.values : null;
     if (values) this.valuesShownAt = wall;
+    const marks = this.stateMarks(asset);
+    const start = asset.type === 'statemachine' ? startStateOf(asset.graph, asset.start) : '';
     for (const view of this.views.values()) {
       view.selected = selectedNodes.has(view.node.id);
       view.hot = isHot(trace?.nodes, view.node.id);
+      view.isStart = view.node.id === start;
+      view.stateMark = marks.get(view.node.id) ?? 'none';
       if (values) view.setLiveValues(values.get(view.node.id) ?? null, this.state.project);
       view.targetPort =
         target && target.nodeId === view.node.id ? { port: target.port, isOutput: target.isOutput } : null;
diff --git a/src/editor/graph/NodeView.ts b/src/editor/graph/NodeView.ts
index 9d22a198..f2bb28a9 100644
--- a/src/editor/graph/NodeView.ts
+++ b/src/editor/graph/NodeView.ts
@@ -102,6 +102,13 @@ export class NodeView extends Widget {
   private problem: string | null = null;
   selected = false;
   hot = false;
+  /** The state a machine begins in wears a ring, so the entry point is visible at a glance. */
+  isStart = false;
+  /**
+   * While something is running: `held` for a state some instance of the machine is in, `current`
+   * for the one the selected object's instance holds. Nothing outside a run.
+   */
+  stateMark: 'none' | 'held' | 'current' = 'none';
   /** Port a running edge drag would connect to, drawn with a ring so the drop is predictable. */
   targetPort: { port: string; isOutput: boolean } | null = null;
   /** Data inputs that currently have a connection (their inline value is hidden). */
@@ -390,10 +397,20 @@ export class NodeView extends Widget {
         .rect(0, TITLE_HEIGHT - Theme.radius, this.w, Theme.radius)
         .fill(categoryColor(this.def.category));
     this.drawChevron(PAD + 4, TITLE_HEIGHT / 2);
+    // The ring sits where a state's ports never are: a state draws none (see `portCentres`).
+    if (this.isStart)
+      this.box
+        .circle(this.w - PAD - PORT_RADIUS, TITLE_HEIGHT / 2, PORT_RADIUS)
+        .stroke({ width: 2, color: c.text });
     const border = this.hot ? c.hot : this.selected ? c.nodeSelected : this.problem ? c.danger : c.nodeBorder;
     this.box
       .roundRect(0.5, 0.5, this.w - 1, this.h - 1, Theme.radius)
       .stroke({ width: this.selected || this.hot || this.problem ? 2 : 1, color: border });
+    // Inside the border, so a selected state still shows both: what is picked, and what is live.
+    if (this.stateMark !== 'none')
+      this.box
+        .roundRect(2.5, 2.5, this.w - 5, this.h - 5, Theme.radius)
+        .stroke({ width: 2, color: c.hot, alpha: this.stateMark === 'current' ? 1 : 0.35 });
 
     this.ports.clear();
     const r = PORT_RADIUS;
diff --git a/src/runtime/systems/BehaviorSystem.ts b/src/runtime/systems/BehaviorSystem.ts
index 7bc0764a..28cfa4a2 100644
--- a/src/runtime/systems/BehaviorSystem.ts
+++ b/src/runtime/systems/BehaviorSystem.ts
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import {
   isHandleEnabled,
   type NodeContext,
   type SharedState,
+  startStates,
   type TraceListener,
   type Value,
 } from '../../core/graph';
@@ -41,6 +42,21 @@ interface Produced {
   values: Record<string, Value>;
 }
 
+/**
+ * A move one graph made, waiting for its events. `source` is the instance that caused it, and who
+ * hears it when the machine is local; a `global` machine is heard by every instance, so the move it
+ * reports has no owner (`null` for the start state entered before any instance existed).
+ */
+interface StateChange {
+  machineId: string;
+  from: string;
+  to: string;
+  source: Instance | null;
+}
+
+/** How often state events may cause the next move before the run is called endless. */
+const MAX_STATE_ROUNDS = 100;
+
 interface Instance {
   entity: Entity;
   interpreter: GraphInterpreter;
@@ -89,6 +105,8 @@ export class BehaviorSystem implements System {
   private instances: Instance[] = [];
   private world: World | null = null;
   private sharedState: SharedState = emptySharedState();
+  /** Moves whose events are still owed; drained by `flushStateChanges` between exec flows. */
+  private pending: StateChange[] = [];
   /** The declarations as last read; an edit is what differs from these (see `syncDeclarations`). */
   private declared: Record<string, PropertyBag> = {};
   private readonly collisions: CollisionSystem | null;
@@ -128,9 +146,14 @@ export class BehaviorSystem implements System {
   start(world: World): void {
     this.world = world;
     this.instances = [];
+    this.pending = [];
     // Built fresh for every run: a shared variable starts at its declared value each time Play does.
     this.sharedState = buildSharedState(this.project);
     this.declared = declaredVariables(this.project);
+    // A `global` machine is entered once for the whole run, before the first instance exists – so
+    // the move is queued here and every instance the first sync creates hears that one entry.
+    for (const [machineId, start] of Object.entries(this.sharedState.states))
+      if (start) this.pending.push({ machineId, from: '', to: start, source: null });
     this.syncInstances(world);
   }
 
@@ -138,6 +161,7 @@ export class BehaviorSystem implements System {
   stop(): void {
     for (const instance of this.instances) this.finish(instance);
     this.instances = [];
+    this.pending = [];
     this.world = null;
   }
 
@@ -147,6 +171,8 @@ export class BehaviorSystem implements System {
    */
   private syncInstances(world: World): void {
     this.reap(world);
+    // Read once, and only where an instance is actually born: most frames create none at all.
+    let starts: Record<string, string> | null = null;
     for (const entity of world.entities) {
       if (
         entity.type !== 'behavior' ||
@@ -171,6 +197,7 @@ export class BehaviorSystem implements System {
       } satisfies TraceListener;
       const instance: Instance = { entity, interpreter, trace, values, states: {}, active: true };
       this.instances.push(instance);
+      this.enterStartStates(instance, (starts ??= startStates(this.project)));
       this.run(
         instance,
         (i, ctx) => {
@@ -180,6 +207,74 @@ export class BehaviorSystem implements System {
         0,
       );
     }
+    this.flushStateChanges();
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * A fresh instance begins in each local machine's start state, and hears `On state entered` for
+   * it – after its `On start`, like every other move. A `global` machine is not entered here: it
+   * was entered once when the run began, and a later instance joins it where it already is.
+   */
+  private enterStartStates(instance: Instance, starts: Record<string, string>): void {
+    for (const [machineId, start] of Object.entries(starts)) {
+      if (machineId in this.sharedState.states) continue;
+      instance.states[machineId] = start;
+      this.pending.push({ machineId, from: '', to: start, source: instance });
+    }
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * The events every queued move owes, and those the events themselves cause, until none are left.
+   * Each move is delivered whole – `exited` to everyone who hears it, then `entered` – so the two
+   * never interleave across instances.
+   */
+  private flushStateChanges(): void {
+    const world = this.world;
+    if (!world) {
+      this.pending = [];
+      return;
+    }
+    for (let round = 0; this.pending.length > 0; round++) {
+      if (round >= MAX_STATE_ROUNDS) {
+        this.pending = [];
+        world.log.push(`${ERROR_PREFIX} graphs: state changes keep causing each other (endless loop?)`);
+        world.stopRequested = true;
+        return;
+      }
+      const batch = this.pending;
+      this.pending = [];
+      for (const change of batch) this.deliver(change);
+    }
+  }
+
+  private deliver(change: StateChange): void {
+    const global = change.machineId in this.sharedState.states;
+    const targets = (global ? this.instances : [change.source]).filter(
+      (i): i is Instance => i !== null && this.instances.includes(i),
+    );
+    const fire = (type: string, state: string) => {
+      for (const instance of targets)
+        this.run(instance, (i, ctx) => i.fireStateEvent(type, ctx, change.machineId, state), 0);
+    };
+    fire('OnStateExited', change.from);
+    fire('OnStateEntered', change.to);
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Which state each instance holds of one machine, for the State machine tab's live highlight.
+   * A `global` machine answers even with no instance running: its state belongs to the run.
+   */
+  machineStates(machineId: string): { state: string; objectId: string; ownerId: string }[] {
+    const shared = this.sharedState.states[machineId];
+    const held = this.instances
+      .map((i) => ({
+        state: shared ?? i.states[machineId] ?? '',
+        objectId: i.entity.objectId,
+        ownerId: i.entity.parent?.objectId ?? '',
+      }))
+      .filter((entry) => entry.state !== '');
+    if (held.length === 0 && shared) return [{ state: shared, objectId: '', ownerId: '' }];
+    return held;
   }
 
   /** Instances whose entity left the world get their last events and are dropped. */
@@ -250,8 +345,12 @@ export class BehaviorSystem implements System {
         },
         dt,
       );
+      // After this instance's frame, not inside it: a state entered halfway through `On update`
+      // must not push its events between the nodes that are still to run.
+      this.flushStateChanges();
     }
     this.reap(world);
+    this.flushStateChanges();
   }
 
   /**
@@ -360,7 +459,8 @@ export class BehaviorSystem implements System {
     }
   }
 
-  private context({ entity, states }: Instance, world: World, dt: number): NodeContext {
+  private context(instance: Instance, world: World, dt: number): NodeContext {
+    const { entity, states } = instance;
     // Handles arriving from the graph are the entities themselves, or test doubles with the same id.
     const resolve = (handle: EntityHandle | null): Entity | undefined =>
       handle ? world.entities.find((e) => e === handle || e.id === handle.id) : undefined;
@@ -370,6 +470,7 @@ export class BehaviorSystem implements System {
       variables: entity.props,
       states,
       shared: this.sharedState,
+      stateChanged: (machineId, from, to) => this.pending.push({ machineId, from, to, source: instance }),
       time: world.time,
       dt,
       findByName: (name) => world.findByName(name) ?? null,
diff --git a/tests/core/graph.test.ts b/tests/core/graph.test.ts
index 96cf72be..457fcf91 100644
--- a/tests/core/graph.test.ts
+++ b/tests/core/graph.test.ts
@@ -72,13 +72,15 @@ describe('node registry', () => {
       const keys = [...def.inputs, ...def.outputs].map((p) => p.key);
       expect(new Set(def.inputs.map((p) => p.key)).size).toBe(def.inputs.length);
       expect(new Set(def.outputs.map((p) => p.key)).size).toBe(def.outputs.length);
-      // An event is seeded by the runtime, so nothing flows into it.
-      if (def.category === 'event') expect(def.inputs).toHaveLength(0);
+      // An event is seeded by the runtime, so no flow arrives at one. What it may take is a data
+      // input that says which event it means – the machine `On state entered` watches.
+      if (def.category === 'event') expect(def.inputs.filter((p) => p.type === 'exec')).toHaveLength(0);
       // A state is a name in a machine; its ports only anchor transitions, so it never runs.
       else if (def.category === 'state') expect(def.run).toBeUndefined();
       // A shader node is compiled to GLSL and a particle node to a function: neither is ever run.
       else if (def.category === 'shader' || def.category === 'particles') expect('emit' in def).toBe(true);
-      else expect(def.run).toBeTypeOf('function');
+      // Everything else does one of the two: a step (`run`), or an answer whenever asked (`read`).
+      else expect(typeof (def.run ?? def.read)).toBe('function');
       expect(keys.every((k) => k.length > 0)).toBe(true);
     }
   });
diff --git a/tests/core/node-catalog.test.ts b/tests/core/node-catalog.test.ts
index 6e849e3f..cc7cb9d9 100644
--- a/tests/core/node-catalog.test.ts
+++ b/tests/core/node-catalog.test.ts
@@ -45,11 +45,19 @@ interface Case {
   after?(ctx: FakeContext): void;
 }
 
+/** A lookup holding one machine "m" with the given states – what the two state readers name. */
+const machineWithStates = (states: { id: string; name: string }[]): GraphLookup => ({
+  ...NO_LOOKUP,
+  machine: (id) => (id === 'm' ? { name: 'M', states, start: '', transitions: [] } : null),
+});
+
 /** A lookup holding one machine "m" with the given transitions – what `State transition` reads. */
 const machineLookup = (transitions: { from: string; to: string; name?: string }[]): GraphLookup => ({
   ...NO_LOOKUP,
   machine: (id) =>
-    id === 'm' ? { name: 'M', states: [], transitions: transitions.map((t) => ({ name: '', ...t })) } : null,
+    id === 'm'
+      ? { name: 'M', states: [], start: '', transitions: transitions.map((t) => ({ name: '', ...t })) }
+      : null,
 });
 
 const run = (type: string, c: Case): { result: RunResult; ctx: FakeContext } => {
@@ -63,7 +71,12 @@ const run = (type: string, c: Case): { result: RunResult; ctx: FakeContext } =>
     outputs: [...registered.outputs, ...execPorts(c.derivedOutputs)],
   };
   const lookup = c.lookup ?? NO_LOOKUP;
-  return { result: def.run!(ctx, c.inputs ?? {}, c.params ?? {}, def, c.entry ?? 'exec', lookup), ctx };
+  // A pure reader has no `run`: its outputs are what it answers at the moment they are asked for,
+  // which is exactly what the interpreter pulls (see `GraphInterpreter.readAll`).
+  const result = def.run
+    ? def.run(ctx, c.inputs ?? {}, c.params ?? {}, def, c.entry ?? 'exec', lookup)
+    : { outputs: def.read!(ctx, c.params ?? {}, (key) => c.inputs?.[key] ?? null, def, lookup) };
+  return { result, ctx };
 };
 
 const at = (name: string, x: number, y: number) => ({ ...fakeEntity(name), x, y });
@@ -151,6 +164,44 @@ const CASES: Record<string, Case[]> = {
       after: (ctx) => expect(ctx.states).toEqual({}),
     },
   ],
+  CurrentState: [
+    {
+      name: 'names the state the machine is in, and hands out its id as well',
+      inputs: { machine: 'm' },
+      context: { states: { m: 's1' } },
+      lookup: machineWithStates([{ id: 's1', name: 'Open' }]),
+      outputs: { name: 'Open', id: 's1' },
+    },
+    {
+      name: 'in no state, both outputs are empty',
+      inputs: { machine: 'm' },
+      lookup: machineWithStates([{ id: 's1', name: 'Open' }]),
+      outputs: { name: '', id: '' },
+    },
+    {
+      // A state of another machine, or one that was deleted: the id stands, the name is gone.
+      name: 'a state the machine does not know keeps its id but has no name',
+      inputs: { machine: 'm' },
+      context: { states: { m: 'gone' } },
+      lookup: machineWithStates([{ id: 's1', name: 'Open' }]),
+      outputs: { name: '', id: 'gone' },
+    },
+  ],
+  IsInState: [
+    {
+      name: 'is true on the current state and false on every other',
+      inputs: { machine: 'm' },
+      context: { states: { m: 's2' } },
+      derivedOutputs: ['s1', 's2'],
+      outputs: { s1: false, s2: true },
+    },
+    {
+      name: 'in no state, every output is false rather than unanswered',
+      inputs: { machine: 'm' },
+      derivedOutputs: ['s1', 's2'],
+      outputs: { s1: false, s2: false },
+    },
+  ],
   StateTransition: [
     {
       name: 'follows the transition of the asked-for name out of the current state',
@@ -786,18 +837,20 @@ const EVENT_NODES: Record<string, string> = {
   OnCollisionExit: 'collider.test.ts',
   OnClick: 'nodes.test.ts',
   OnAnimationFinished: 'animation.test.ts',
+  OnStateEntered: 'state-machine.test.ts',
+  OnStateExited: 'state-machine.test.ts',
 };
 
 describe('node catalog', () => {
   it('covers every built-in node', () => {
     const uncovered = BUILT_IN_NODES.filter((def) =>
-      def.run ? !CASES[def.type] : !EVENT_NODES[def.type],
+      (def.run ?? def.read) ? !CASES[def.type] : !EVENT_NODES[def.type],
     ).map((def) => def.type);
     expect(uncovered).toEqual([]);
   });
 
-  it('lists exactly the run-less nodes as events', () => {
-    const runless = BUILT_IN_NODES.filter((def) => !def.run).map((def) => def.type);
+  it('lists exactly the nodes that neither run nor read as events', () => {
+    const runless = BUILT_IN_NODES.filter((def) => !def.run && !def.read).map((def) => def.type);
     expect(Object.keys(EVENT_NODES).sort()).toEqual(runless.sort());
   });
 
diff --git a/tests/core/state-machine.test.ts b/tests/core/state-machine.test.ts
index e2719bd1..fd168f84 100644
--- a/tests/core/state-machine.test.ts
+++ b/tests/core/state-machine.test.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,11 @@
  * input per state); the current state lives with the behavior instance, like its variables.
  */
 import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
-import { CreateAssetCommand } from '../../src/core/commands/assetCommands';
+import {
+  CreateAssetCommand,
+  SetMachineScopeCommand,
+  SetMachineStartCommand,
+} from '../../src/core/commands/assetCommands';
 import {
   AddNodeCommand,
   ConnectCommand,
@@ -24,6 +28,7 @@ import {
   STATE_IN,
   STATE_NAME_PARAM,
   STATE_OUT,
+  startStateOf,
   statesOf,
   transitionNames,
   transitionsOf,
@@ -301,6 +306,242 @@ describe('a running state machine', () => {
   });
 });
 
+describe('the state a machine starts in', () => {
+  it('is kept on the asset, can be taken off again, and survives a save', () => {
+    const f = makeProject();
+    const machine = makeMachine(f);
+    const [open] = machine.ids as [string, string];
+    f.stack.execute(new SetMachineStartCommand(machine.id, open));
+    expect(machine.asset().start).toBe(open);
+    expect(findAssetOf(roundTrip(f.project), machine.id, 'statemachine')?.start).toBe(open);
+
+    // The same entry takes the mark off: only one state can be the start, so there is one field.
+    f.stack.execute(new SetMachineStartCommand(machine.id, ''));
+    expect(machine.asset().start).toBeUndefined();
+    f.stack.undo();
+    expect(machine.asset().start).toBe(open);
+  });
+
+  it('reads as no start once that state is gone', () => {
+    const f = makeProject();
+    const machine = makeMachine(f);
+    const [open] = machine.ids as [string, string];
+    f.stack.execute(new SetMachineStartCommand(machine.id, open));
+    f.stack.execute(new RemoveNodeCommand(machine.id, open));
+    // The dead id stays in the document; what the graph agrees to is what counts.
+    expect(machine.asset().start).toBe(open);
+    expect(startStateOf(machine.asset().graph, machine.asset().start)).toBe('');
+    expect(graphLookup(f.project).machine(machine.id)?.start).toBe('');
+    f.stack.undo();
+    expect(startStateOf(machine.asset().graph, machine.asset().start)).toBe(open);
+  });
+
+  it('puts every instance in it before anything reads the machine', () => {
+    const f = makeSpriteScene();
+    const machine = makeMachine(f);
+    const [open, closed] = machine.ids as [string, string];
+    f.stack.execute(new SetMachineStartCommand(machine.id, open));
+    const behavior = makeBehavior(f, 'Door');
+    const edit = graphEditor(f, behavior);
+    const update = edit.addNode('OnUpdate');
+    const branch = edit.addNode('StateBranch', { [MACHINE_PORT]: machine.id });
+    const logOpen = edit.addNode('Log', { message: 'open' });
+    const logClosed = edit.addNode('Log', { message: 'closed' });
+    edit.wire([
+      [update, 'exec', branch, 'exec'],
+      [branch, open, logOpen, 'exec'],
+      [branch, closed, logClosed, 'exec'],
+    ]);
+    place(f, behavior.id, { x: 0, y: 0 });
+    const started = startWorld(f, { behaviors: true });
+    started.frame();
+    // Without a start state this branch would follow nothing at all (that is the old behaviour).
+    expect(started.world.log).toEqual(['open']);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('On state entered and On state exited', () => {
+  /** A behavior that logs every entry and exit of the machine, one Log per state and direction. */
+  function watcher(f: ProjectFixture, machineId: string, ids: readonly string[], name = 'Watcher') {
+    const behavior = makeBehavior(f, name);
+    const edit = graphEditor(f, behavior);
+    const entered = edit.addNode('OnStateEntered', { [MACHINE_PORT]: machineId });
+    const exited = edit.addNode('OnStateExited', { [MACHINE_PORT]: machineId });
+    for (const [index, state] of ids.entries()) {
+      const label = index === 0 ? 'open' : 'closed';
+      const inLog = edit.addNode('Log', { message: `${name}: entered ${label}` });
+      const outLog = edit.addNode('Log', { message: `${name}: exited ${label}` });
+      edit.wire([
+        [entered, state, inLog, 'exec'],
+        [exited, state, outLog, 'exec'],
+      ]);
+    }
+    return { behavior, edit };
+  }
+
+  it('fires for the start state too, with nothing to exit before it', () => {
+    const f = makeSpriteScene();
+    const machine = makeMachine(f);
+    f.stack.execute(new SetMachineStartCommand(machine.id, machine.ids[0]!));
+    const { behavior } = watcher(f, machine.id, machine.ids);
+    place(f, behavior.id, { x: 0, y: 0 });
+    const started = startWorld(f, { behaviors: true });
+    started.frame();
+    expect(started.world.log).toEqual(['Watcher: entered open']);
+    // Once, not once per frame: the instance is already in that state the second time round.
+    started.frame();
+    expect(started.world.log).toEqual(['Watcher: entered open']);
+  });
+
+  it('fires exited before entered, after the flow that moved the machine', () => {
+    const f = makeSpriteScene();
+    const machine = makeMachine(f);
+    const [open, closed] = machine.ids as [string, string];
+    f.stack.execute(new SetMachineStartCommand(machine.id, open));
+    const { behavior, edit } = watcher(f, machine.id, machine.ids);
+    // The pulse that moves the machine logs after the move: its own line comes first, the events after.
+    const key = edit.addNode('OnUpdate');
+    const set = edit.addNode('SetState', { [MACHINE_PORT]: machine.id });
+    const done = edit.addNode('Log', { message: 'flow finished' });
+    edit.wire([
+      [key, 'exec', set, closed],
+      [set, 'exec', done, 'exec'],
+    ]);
+    place(f, behavior.id, { x: 0, y: 0 });
+    const started = startWorld(f, { behaviors: true });
+    started.frame();
+    expect(started.world.log).toEqual([
+      'Watcher: entered open',
+      'flow finished',
+      'Watcher: exited open',
+      'Watcher: entered closed',
+    ]);
+  });
+
+  it('says nothing when a set puts the machine into the state it is already in', () => {
+    const f = makeSpriteScene();
+    const machine = makeMachine(f);
+    const [open] = machine.ids as [string, string];
+    f.stack.execute(new SetMachineStartCommand(machine.id, open));
+    const { behavior, edit } = watcher(f, machine.id, machine.ids);
+    const update = edit.addNode('OnUpdate');
+    const set = edit.addNode('SetState', { [MACHINE_PORT]: machine.id });
+    edit.wire([[update, 'exec', set, open]]);
+    place(f, behavior.id, { x: 0, y: 0 });
+    const started = startWorld(f, { behaviors: true });
+    started.frame();
+    started.frame();
+    expect(started.world.log).toEqual(['Watcher: entered open']);
+  });
+
+  it('reaches only the instance that moved while the machine is local', () => {
+    const f = makeSpriteScene();
+    const machine = makeMachine(f);
+    const [open, closed] = machine.ids as [string, string];
+    const { behavior, edit } = watcher(f, machine.id, machine.ids);
+    // Both instances move themselves; what is asserted is that neither hears the other's move.
+    const start = edit.addNode('OnStart');
+    const set = edit.addNode('SetState', { [MACHINE_PORT]: machine.id });
+    edit.wire([[start, 'exec', set, closed]]);
+    place(f, behavior.id, { x: 0, y: 0 });
+    place(f, behavior.id, { x: 10, y: 0 });
+    const started = startWorld(f, { behaviors: true });
+    started.frame();
+    // Each instance hears its own move and nobody else's: two entries, no exits (no state before).
+    expect(started.world.log).toEqual(['Watcher: entered closed', 'Watcher: entered closed']);
+    expect(started.world.log.filter((line) => line.includes('exited'))).toEqual([]);
+    expect(started.behaviors?.machineStates(machine.id).map((s) => s.state)).toEqual([closed, closed]);
+    expect(open).not.toBe('');
+  });
+
+  it('reaches every instance when the machine is global, and enters its start once', () => {
+    const f = makeSpriteScene();
+    const machine = makeMachine(f);
+    const [open, closed] = machine.ids as [string, string];
+    f.stack.execute(new SetMachineScopeCommand(machine.id, 'global'));
+    f.stack.execute(new SetMachineStartCommand(machine.id, open));
+    const { behavior } = watcher(f, machine.id, machine.ids);
+    const mover = watcher(f, machine.id, machine.ids, 'Mover');
+    const start = mover.edit.addNode('OnStart');
+    const set = mover.edit.addNode('SetState', { [MACHINE_PORT]: machine.id });
+    mover.edit.wire([[start, 'exec', set, closed]]);
+    place(f, behavior.id, { x: 0, y: 0 });
+    place(f, mover.behavior.id, { x: 10, y: 0 });
+    const started = startWorld(f, { behaviors: true });
+    started.frame();
+    // The start is entered once for the whole run and heard by both; so is the move one of them made.
+    expect(started.world.log).toEqual([
+      'Watcher: entered open',
+      'Mover: entered open',
+      'Watcher: exited open',
+      'Mover: exited open',
+      'Watcher: entered closed',
+      'Mover: entered closed',
+    ]);
+  });
+
+  it('stops a run whose state events keep moving the machine', () => {
+    const f = makeSpriteScene();
+    const machine = makeMachine(f);
+    const [open, closed] = machine.ids as [string, string];
+    f.stack.execute(new SetMachineStartCommand(machine.id, open));
+    const behavior = makeBehavior(f, 'Flapper');
+    const edit = graphEditor(f, behavior);
+    const entered = edit.addNode('OnStateEntered', { [MACHINE_PORT]: machine.id });
+    const toClosed = edit.addNode('SetState', { [MACHINE_PORT]: machine.id });
+    const toOpen = edit.addNode('SetState', { [MACHINE_PORT]: machine.id });
+    edit.wire([
+      [entered, open, toClosed, closed],
+      [entered, closed, toOpen, open],
+    ]);
+    place(f, behavior.id, { x: 0, y: 0 });
+    const started = startWorld(f, { behaviors: true });
+    started.frame();
+    expect(started.world.stopRequested).toBe(true);
+    expect(started.world.log.some((line) => line.includes('endless loop'))).toBe(true);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('reading the current state', () => {
+  it('hands out the name to show and the id to compare', () => {
+    const f = makeProject();
+    const machine = makeMachine(f);
+    const [open] = machine.ids as [string, string];
+    f.stack.execute(new SetMachineStartCommand(machine.id, open));
+    const behavior = makeBehavior(f, 'B');
+    const edit = graphEditor(f, behavior);
+    const start = edit.addNode('OnStart');
+    const set = edit.addNode('SetState', { [MACHINE_PORT]: machine.id });
+    const current = edit.addNode('CurrentState', { [MACHINE_PORT]: machine.id });
+    const log = edit.addNode('Log');
+    edit.wire([
+      [start, 'exec', set, open],
+      [set, 'exec', log, 'exec'],
+      [current, 'name', log, 'message'],
+    ]);
+    const ctx = fakeContext();
+    new GraphInterpreter(behavior.graph, graphLookup(f.project)).fire('OnStart', ctx);
+    expect(ctx.logs).toEqual(['Open']);
+  });
+
+  it('is one boolean per state, false everywhere while the machine is in none', () => {
+    const f = makeProject();
+    const machine = makeMachine(f);
+    const [open, closed] = machine.ids as [string, string];
+    const behavior = makeBehavior(f, 'B');
+    const edit = graphEditor(f, behavior);
+    const isIn = edit.addNode('IsInState', { [MACHINE_PORT]: machine.id });
+    const node = behavior.graph.nodes.find((n) => n.id === isIn.id)!;
+    const def = resolveDef(node, behavior.graph, graphLookup(f.project))!;
+    expect(def.outputs.map((p) => `${p.key}:${p.type}`)).toEqual([`${open}:boolean`, `${closed}:boolean`]);
+    const ctx = fakeContext({ states: { [machine.id]: closed } });
+    expect(def.read!(ctx, {}, () => machine.id, def, graphLookup(f.project))).toEqual({
+      [open]: false,
+      [closed]: true,
+    });
+  });
+});
+
 describe('transitions between states', () => {
   /** Draws a transition the way the canvas does: out of one state's `out`, into the other's `in`. */
   const connect = (f: ProjectFixture, machineId: string, from: string, to: string) =>
@@ -407,6 +648,7 @@ describe('transitions between states', () => {
     const machine = {
       name: 'Guard',
       states: [],
+      start: '',
       transitions: [
         { from: 'patrolling', to: 'chasing', name: 'alarm' },
         { from: 'searching', to: 'chasing', name: 'alarm' },
diff --git a/tests/helpers.ts b/tests/helpers.ts
index 4a7ba9b0..11c3711f 100644
--- a/tests/helpers.ts
+++ b/tests/helpers.ts
@@ -188,7 +188,12 @@ export function fakeHandle(props: PropertyBag, parent: EntityHandle | null = nul
   return { [ENTITY_HANDLE]: true, id: 'h', assetId: 'a', name: 'h', x: 0, y: 0, z: 0, props, parent };
 }
 
-export type FakeContext = NodeContext & { logs: string[]; stopped: boolean };
+/** `changes` records the state moves the context was told about, in the order they were reported. */
+export type FakeContext = NodeContext & {
+  logs: string[];
+  stopped: boolean;
+  changes: { machineId: string; from: string; to: string }[];
+};
 
 /** A NodeContext double: self/owner handles, `speed = 100`, dt 0.5, moves applied directly, `log` and `stop` recorded. */
 export function fakeContext(overrides: Partial<NodeContext> = {}): FakeContext {
@@ -199,6 +204,8 @@ export function fakeContext(overrides: Partial<NodeContext> = {}): FakeContext {
     variables: { speed: 100 },
     states: {},
     shared: emptySharedState(),
+    changes: [],
+    stateChanged: (machineId, from, to) => ctx.changes.push({ machineId, from, to }),
     time: 0,
     dt: 0.5,
     logs,
diff --git a/tools/e2e/26-state-machine.mjs b/tools/e2e/26-state-machine.mjs
index 681a0e45..2f6e5e0d 100644
--- a/tools/e2e/26-state-machine.mjs
+++ b/tools/e2e/26-state-machine.mjs
@@ -422,6 +422,124 @@ export async function stateMachine(t) {
   await sleep(200);
   await sleep(200);
 
+  // 26f3. A start state: marked from the state's own menu, worn as a ring, entered by every
+  // instance before anything reads the machine – and heard as `On state entered`.
+  await evaluate("__gm.showTab('statemachine')");
+  await sleep(300);
+  const startOf = () =>
+    json(`__gm.state.project.assets.find((a) => a.id === ${JSON.stringify(made.id)}).start ?? ''`);
+  const ringOn = (id) => json(`__gm.stateMachine.startRing(${JSON.stringify(id)})`);
+  const marks = () => json('__gm.stateMachine.stateMarks()');
+  const startCentre = await centreOfState(first);
+  await click(startCentre.x, startCentre.y, 'right');
+  await sleep(300);
+  const stateMenu = await json('__gm.overlayTexts()');
+  check(
+    'a state offers to become the start state',
+    stateMenu.includes('Set as start state'),
+    JSON.stringify(stateMenu),
+  );
+  await clickLast('Set as start state');
+  await sleep(400);
+  check(
+    'the mark is kept on the asset and drawn as a ring on that state alone',
+    (await startOf()) === first && (await ringOn(first)) === true && (await ringOn(second)) === false,
+    JSON.stringify({ start: await startOf(), first: await ringOn(first), second: await ringOn(second) }),
+  );
+  await shot('05-start-state');
+
+  // Nothing sets the machine any more: what the branch follows can only be the start state.
+  await mutate(`
+    const b = __gm.state.project.assets.find((a) => a.id === 'sm-logic');
+    b.graph.edges = b.graph.edges.filter((e) => e.id !== 'sm-e1');
+    b.graph.nodes.push(
+      ${JSON.stringify(node('sm-entered', 'OnStateEntered', 900, 520, { machine: made.id }))},
+      ${JSON.stringify(node('sm-entered-log', 'Log', 1200, 520, { message: 'entered the start' }))},
+    );
+    b.graph.edges.push(${JSON.stringify(edge('sm-e6', 'sm-entered', first, 'sm-entered-log', 'exec'))});
+  `);
+  await sleep(300);
+  await play();
+  await sleep(600);
+  const started = (await world())?.log ?? [];
+  check(
+    'every instance begins in the start state, with no Set state anywhere',
+    started.includes('first state') && !started.includes('second state'),
+    JSON.stringify([...new Set(started)]),
+  );
+  check(
+    'and hears On state entered for it',
+    started.filter((line) => line === 'entered the start').length === 1,
+    JSON.stringify(started.filter((line) => line === 'entered the start')),
+  );
+
+  // 26f4. The tab shows where the run is: weakly for any instance, strongly for the selected one.
+  await evaluate("__gm.showTab('statemachine')");
+  await evaluate('__gm.state.select(null)');
+  await sleep(400);
+  const loose = await marks();
+  check(
+    'while playing, the state the machine is in is marked',
+    loose[first] === 'held' && loose[second] === undefined,
+    JSON.stringify(loose),
+  );
+  await evaluate(
+    "__gm.state.select({ kind: 'object', holderId: __gm.state.activeScene.id, objectId: 'sm-box', objectIds: ['sm-box'] })",
+  );
+  await sleep(400);
+  const picked2 = await marks();
+  check(
+    "selecting the object makes its instance's state the strong one",
+    picked2[first] === 'current',
+    JSON.stringify(picked2),
+  );
+  await shot('06-live-state');
+  await stop();
+  await evaluate("__gm.showTab('statemachine')");
+  await sleep(400);
+  check(
+    'nothing is marked once the run is over',
+    Object.keys(await marks()).length === 0,
+    JSON.stringify(await marks()),
+  );
+
+  // 26f5. The same entry takes the mark off again, and the machine is back to starting nowhere.
+  await evaluate('__gm.state.select(null)');
+  await sleep(200);
+  const againCentre = await centreOfState(first);
+  await click(againCentre.x, againCentre.y, 'right');
+  await sleep(300);
+  const onMenu = await json('__gm.overlayTexts()');
+  check(
+    'the same place offers to take the mark off again',
+    onMenu.includes('Remove start state') && !onMenu.includes('Set as start state'),
+    JSON.stringify(onMenu),
+  );
+  await clickLast('Remove start state');
+  await sleep(400);
+  check(
+    'the mark and its ring are gone',
+    (await startOf()) === '' && (await ringOn(first)) === false,
+    JSON.stringify({ start: await startOf(), ring: await ringOn(first) }),
+  );
+  await play();
+  await sleep(600);
+  const nowhere = (await world())?.log ?? [];
+  check(
+    'without a start state the branch follows nothing again',
+    !nowhere.includes('first state') && !nowhere.includes('entered the start'),
+    JSON.stringify([...new Set(nowhere)]),
+  );
+  await stop();
+  // Back to the graph the later sections expect: the set on start, and no state watcher.
+  await mutate(`
+    const b = __gm.state.project.assets.find((a) => a.id === 'sm-logic');
+    b.graph.nodes = b.graph.nodes.filter((n) => n.id !== 'sm-entered' && n.id !== 'sm-entered-log');
+    b.graph.edges = b.graph.edges.filter((e) => e.id !== 'sm-e6');
+    b.graph.edges.push(${JSON.stringify(edge('sm-e1', 'sm-start', 'exec', 'sm-set', first))});
+  `);
+  await sleep(300);
+
   // 26g. An unconnected machine input shows a picker; picking a machine grows the state ports.
   await mutate(`
     const a = __gm.state.project.assets.find((x) => x.id === 'sm-logic');