diff --git a/.cargo/config.toml b/.cargo/config.toml
index cc767a7f68..5e452974ad 100644
--- a/.cargo/config.toml
+++ b/.cargo/config.toml
@@ -1,17 +1,3 @@
-# The binaries are really slow, if you compile them in 'dev' mode with the defaults.
-# Enable some optimizations even in 'dev' mode, to make tests faster. The basic
-# optimizations enabled by "opt-level=1" don't affect debuggability too much.
-#
-# See https://www.reddit.com/r/rust/comments/gvrgca/this_is_a_neat_trick_for_getting_good_runtime/
-#
-[profile.dev.package."*"]
-# Set the default for dependencies in Development mode.
-opt-level = 3
-
-[profile.dev]
-# Turn on a small amount of optimization in Development mode.
-opt-level = 1
-
 [build]
 # This is only present for local builds, as it will be overridden
 # by the RUSTDOCFLAGS env var in CI.
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index 3d6fc75e08..ba37c5827a 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ name: Create Release Branch
 
 on:
   schedule:
-    - cron: '0 7 * * 5'
+    - cron: '0 6 * * 1'
   workflow_dispatch:
 
 jobs:
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 5de7842f1a..2692684006 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -9,6 +9,24 @@ refactoring, additional comments, and so forth. Let's try to raise the
 bar, and clean things up as we go. Try to leave code in a better shape
 than it was before.
 
+## Pre-commit hook
+
+We have a sample pre-commit hook in `pre-commit.py`.
+To set it up, run:
+
+```bash
+ln -s ../../pre-commit.py .git/hooks/pre-commit
+```
+
+This will run following checks on staged files before each commit:
+- `rustfmt`
+- checks for python files, see [obligatory checks](/docs/sourcetree.md#obligatory-checks).
+
+There is also a separate script `./run_clippy.sh` that runs `cargo clippy` on the whole project
+and `./scripts/reformat` that runs all formatting tools to ensure the project is up to date.
+
+If you want to skip the hook, run `git commit` with `--no-verify` option.
+
 ## Submitting changes
 
 1. Get at least one +1 on your PR before you push.
diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index f08ed2d744..a75209b8db 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -193,6 +193,8 @@ dependencies = [
  "memchr",
  "pin-project-lite",
  "tokio",
+ "zstd",
+ "zstd-safe",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -2905,6 +2907,8 @@ dependencies = [
  "git-version",
  "pageserver",
  "postgres_ffi",
+ "serde",
+ "serde_json",
  "svg_fmt",
  "tokio",
  "utils",
@@ -3221,7 +3225,7 @@ dependencies = [
 [[package]]
 name = "postgres"
 version = "0.19.4"
-source = "git+https://github.com/neondatabase/rust-postgres.git?rev=6ce32f791526e27533cab0232a6bb243b2c32584#6ce32f791526e27533cab0232a6bb243b2c32584"
+source = "git+https://github.com/neondatabase/rust-postgres.git?branch=neon#988d0ddb4184c408fa7fc1bd0ecca7993c02978f"
 dependencies = [
  "bytes",
  "fallible-iterator",
@@ -3234,7 +3238,7 @@ dependencies = [
 [[package]]
 name = "postgres-native-tls"
 version = "0.5.0"
-source = "git+https://github.com/neondatabase/rust-postgres.git?rev=6ce32f791526e27533cab0232a6bb243b2c32584#6ce32f791526e27533cab0232a6bb243b2c32584"
+source = "git+https://github.com/neondatabase/rust-postgres.git?branch=neon#988d0ddb4184c408fa7fc1bd0ecca7993c02978f"
 dependencies = [
  "native-tls",
  "tokio",
@@ -3245,7 +3249,7 @@ dependencies = [
 [[package]]
 name = "postgres-protocol"
 version = "0.6.4"
-source = "git+https://github.com/neondatabase/rust-postgres.git?rev=6ce32f791526e27533cab0232a6bb243b2c32584#6ce32f791526e27533cab0232a6bb243b2c32584"
+source = "git+https://github.com/neondatabase/rust-postgres.git?branch=neon#988d0ddb4184c408fa7fc1bd0ecca7993c02978f"
 dependencies = [
  "base64 0.20.0",
  "byteorder",
@@ -3263,7 +3267,7 @@ dependencies = [
 [[package]]
 name = "postgres-types"
 version = "0.2.4"
-source = "git+https://github.com/neondatabase/rust-postgres.git?rev=6ce32f791526e27533cab0232a6bb243b2c32584#6ce32f791526e27533cab0232a6bb243b2c32584"
+source = "git+https://github.com/neondatabase/rust-postgres.git?branch=neon#988d0ddb4184c408fa7fc1bd0ecca7993c02978f"
 dependencies = [
  "bytes",
  "fallible-iterator",
@@ -4933,7 +4937,7 @@ dependencies = [
 [[package]]
 name = "tokio-postgres"
 version = "0.7.7"
-source = "git+https://github.com/neondatabase/rust-postgres.git?rev=6ce32f791526e27533cab0232a6bb243b2c32584#6ce32f791526e27533cab0232a6bb243b2c32584"
+source = "git+https://github.com/neondatabase/rust-postgres.git?branch=neon#988d0ddb4184c408fa7fc1bd0ecca7993c02978f"
 dependencies = [
  "async-trait",
  "byteorder",
@@ -6031,6 +6035,9 @@ dependencies = [
  "tungstenite",
  "url",
  "uuid",
+ "zstd",
+ "zstd-safe",
+ "zstd-sys",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 7d7d74993e..c50fb7be42 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ license = "Apache-2.0"
 [workspace.dependencies]
 anyhow = { version = "1.0", features = ["backtrace"] }
 arc-swap = "1.6"
-async-compression = { version = "0.4.0", features = ["tokio", "gzip"] }
+async-compression = { version = "0.4.0", features = ["tokio", "gzip", "zstd"] }
 azure_core = "0.16"
 azure_identity = "0.16"
 azure_storage = "0.16"
@@ -165,11 +165,11 @@ env_logger = "0.10"
 log = "0.4"
 
 ## Libraries from neondatabase/ git forks, ideally with changes to be upstreamed
-postgres = { git = "https://github.com/neondatabase/rust-postgres.git", rev="6ce32f791526e27533cab0232a6bb243b2c32584" }
-postgres-native-tls = { git = "https://github.com/neondatabase/rust-postgres.git", rev="6ce32f791526e27533cab0232a6bb243b2c32584" }
-postgres-protocol = { git = "https://github.com/neondatabase/rust-postgres.git", rev="6ce32f791526e27533cab0232a6bb243b2c32584" }
-postgres-types = { git = "https://github.com/neondatabase/rust-postgres.git", rev="6ce32f791526e27533cab0232a6bb243b2c32584" }
-tokio-postgres = { git = "https://github.com/neondatabase/rust-postgres.git", rev="6ce32f791526e27533cab0232a6bb243b2c32584" }
+postgres = { git = "https://github.com/neondatabase/rust-postgres.git", branch="neon" }
+postgres-native-tls = { git = "https://github.com/neondatabase/rust-postgres.git", branch="neon" }
+postgres-protocol = { git = "https://github.com/neondatabase/rust-postgres.git", branch="neon" }
+postgres-types = { git = "https://github.com/neondatabase/rust-postgres.git", branch="neon" }
+tokio-postgres = { git = "https://github.com/neondatabase/rust-postgres.git", branch="neon" }
 
 ## Other git libraries
 heapless = { default-features=false, features=[], git = "https://github.com/japaric/heapless.git", rev = "644653bf3b831c6bb4963be2de24804acf5e5001" } # upstream release pending
@@ -206,7 +206,7 @@ tonic-build = "0.9"
 
 # This is only needed for proxy's tests.
 # TODO: we should probably fork `tokio-postgres-rustls` instead.
-tokio-postgres = { git = "https://github.com/neondatabase/rust-postgres.git", rev="6ce32f791526e27533cab0232a6bb243b2c32584" }
+tokio-postgres = { git = "https://github.com/neondatabase/rust-postgres.git", branch="neon" }
 
 ################# Binary contents sections
 
diff --git a/compute_tools/src/compute.rs b/compute_tools/src/compute.rs
index 373f05ab2f..5ace8ca1d2 100644
--- a/compute_tools/src/compute.rs
+++ b/compute_tools/src/compute.rs
@@ -698,6 +698,7 @@ impl ComputeNode {
         handle_role_deletions(spec, self.connstr.as_str(), &mut client)?;
         handle_grants(spec, &mut client, self.connstr.as_str())?;
         handle_extensions(spec, &mut client)?;
+        handle_extension_neon(&mut client)?;
         create_availability_check_data(&mut client)?;
 
         // 'Close' connection
@@ -742,6 +743,7 @@ impl ComputeNode {
             handle_role_deletions(&spec, self.connstr.as_str(), &mut client)?;
             handle_grants(&spec, &mut client, self.connstr.as_str())?;
             handle_extensions(&spec, &mut client)?;
+            handle_extension_neon(&mut client)?;
         }
 
         // 'Close' connection
diff --git a/compute_tools/src/spec.rs b/compute_tools/src/spec.rs
index a85d6287b1..97aa144c79 100644
--- a/compute_tools/src/spec.rs
+++ b/compute_tools/src/spec.rs
@@ -674,3 +674,30 @@ pub fn handle_extensions(spec: &ComputeSpec, client: &mut Client) -> Result<()>
 
     Ok(())
 }
+
+/// Run CREATE and ALTER EXTENSION neon UPDATE for postgres database
+#[instrument(skip_all)]
+pub fn handle_extension_neon(client: &mut Client) -> Result<()> {
+    info!("handle extension neon");
+
+    let mut query = "CREATE SCHEMA IF NOT EXISTS neon";
+    client.simple_query(query)?;
+
+    query = "CREATE EXTENSION IF NOT EXISTS neon WITH SCHEMA neon";
+    info!("create neon extension with query: {}", query);
+    client.simple_query(query)?;
+
+    query = "ALTER EXTENSION neon SET SCHEMA neon";
+    info!("alter neon extension schema with query: {}", query);
+    client.simple_query(query)?;
+
+    // this will be a no-op if extension is already up to date,
+    // which may happen in two cases:
+    // - extension was just installed
+    // - extension was already installed and is up to date
+    let query = "ALTER EXTENSION neon UPDATE";
+    info!("update neon extension schema with query: {}", query);
+    client.simple_query(query)?;
+
+    Ok(())
+}
diff --git a/control_plane/src/bin/attachment_service.rs b/control_plane/src/bin/attachment_service.rs
index ddd50ff51d..16577e27d6 100644
--- a/control_plane/src/bin/attachment_service.rs
+++ b/control_plane/src/bin/attachment_service.rs
@@ -286,6 +286,7 @@ async fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
     logging::init(
         LogFormat::Plain,
         logging::TracingErrorLayerEnablement::Disabled,
+        logging::Output::Stdout,
     )?;
 
     let args = Cli::parse();
diff --git a/control_plane/src/bin/neon_local.rs b/control_plane/src/bin/neon_local.rs
index 87ea519a9e..384c4ee56d 100644
--- a/control_plane/src/bin/neon_local.rs
+++ b/control_plane/src/bin/neon_local.rs
@@ -487,8 +487,15 @@ fn handle_timeline(timeline_match: &ArgMatches, env: &mut local_env::LocalEnv) -
                 .copied()
                 .context("Failed to parse postgres version from the argument string")?;
 
-            let timeline_info =
-                pageserver.timeline_create(tenant_id, None, None, None, Some(pg_version))?;
+            let new_timeline_id_opt = parse_timeline_id(create_match)?;
+
+            let timeline_info = pageserver.timeline_create(
+                tenant_id,
+                new_timeline_id_opt,
+                None,
+                None,
+                Some(pg_version),
+            )?;
             let new_timeline_id = timeline_info.timeline_id;
 
             let last_record_lsn = timeline_info.last_record_lsn;
@@ -1308,6 +1315,7 @@ fn cli() -> Command {
             .subcommand(Command::new("create")
                 .about("Create a new blank timeline")
                 .arg(tenant_id_arg.clone())
+                .arg(timeline_id_arg.clone())
                 .arg(branch_name_arg.clone())
                 .arg(pg_version_arg.clone())
             )
diff --git a/libs/remote_storage/tests/test_real_azure.rs b/libs/remote_storage/tests/test_real_azure.rs
index 59b92b48fb..b631079bc5 100644
--- a/libs/remote_storage/tests/test_real_azure.rs
+++ b/libs/remote_storage/tests/test_real_azure.rs
@@ -281,6 +281,7 @@ fn ensure_logging_ready() {
         utils::logging::init(
             utils::logging::LogFormat::Test,
             utils::logging::TracingErrorLayerEnablement::Disabled,
+            utils::logging::Output::Stdout,
         )
         .expect("logging init failed");
     });
diff --git a/libs/remote_storage/tests/test_real_s3.rs b/libs/remote_storage/tests/test_real_s3.rs
index e2360b7533..48f00e0106 100644
--- a/libs/remote_storage/tests/test_real_s3.rs
+++ b/libs/remote_storage/tests/test_real_s3.rs
@@ -210,6 +210,7 @@ fn ensure_logging_ready() {
         utils::logging::init(
             utils::logging::LogFormat::Test,
             utils::logging::TracingErrorLayerEnablement::Disabled,
+            utils::logging::Output::Stdout,
         )
         .expect("logging init failed");
     });
diff --git a/libs/utils/scripts/restore_from_wal_initdb.sh b/libs/utils/scripts/restore_from_wal_initdb.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..c6277ebc60
--- /dev/null
+++ b/libs/utils/scripts/restore_from_wal_initdb.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+# like restore_from_wal.sh, but takes existing initdb.tar.zst
+
+set -euxo pipefail
+
+PG_BIN=$1
+WAL_PATH=$2
+DATA_DIR=$3
+PORT=$4
+echo "port=$PORT" >> "$DATA_DIR"/postgresql.conf
+echo "shared_preload_libraries='\$libdir/neon_rmgr.so'" >> "$DATA_DIR"/postgresql.conf
+REDO_POS=0x$("$PG_BIN"/pg_controldata -D "$DATA_DIR" | grep -F "REDO location"| cut -c 42-)
+declare -i WAL_SIZE=$REDO_POS+114
+"$PG_BIN"/pg_ctl -D "$DATA_DIR" -l "$DATA_DIR/logfile.log" start
+"$PG_BIN"/pg_ctl -D "$DATA_DIR" -l "$DATA_DIR/logfile.log" stop -m immediate
+cp "$DATA_DIR"/pg_wal/000000010000000000000001 .
+cp "$WAL_PATH"/* "$DATA_DIR"/pg_wal/
+for partial in "$DATA_DIR"/pg_wal/*.partial ; do mv "$partial" "${partial%.partial}" ; done
+dd if=000000010000000000000001 of="$DATA_DIR"/pg_wal/000000010000000000000001 bs=$WAL_SIZE count=1 conv=notrunc
+rm -f 000000010000000000000001
diff --git a/libs/utils/src/logging.rs b/libs/utils/src/logging.rs
index 502e02dc71..2f09c2f3ea 100644
--- a/libs/utils/src/logging.rs
+++ b/libs/utils/src/logging.rs
@@ -66,9 +66,17 @@ pub enum TracingErrorLayerEnablement {
     EnableWithRustLogFilter,
 }
 
+/// Where the logging should output to.
+#[derive(Clone, Copy)]
+pub enum Output {
+    Stdout,
+    Stderr,
+}
+
 pub fn init(
     log_format: LogFormat,
     tracing_error_layer_enablement: TracingErrorLayerEnablement,
+    output: Output,
 ) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
     // We fall back to printing all spans at info-level or above if
     // the RUST_LOG environment variable is not set.
@@ -85,7 +93,12 @@ pub fn init(
         let log_layer = tracing_subscriber::fmt::layer()
             .with_target(false)
             .with_ansi(false)
-            .with_writer(std::io::stdout);
+            .with_writer(move || -> Box<dyn std::io::Write> {
+                match output {
+                    Output::Stdout => Box::new(std::io::stdout()),
+                    Output::Stderr => Box::new(std::io::stderr()),
+                }
+            });
         let log_layer = match log_format {
             LogFormat::Json => log_layer.json().boxed(),
             LogFormat::Plain => log_layer.boxed(),
diff --git a/pageserver/ctl/Cargo.toml b/pageserver/ctl/Cargo.toml
index ff0c530125..c5cd451e8d 100644
--- a/pageserver/ctl/Cargo.toml
+++ b/pageserver/ctl/Cargo.toml
@@ -18,3 +18,5 @@ tokio.workspace = true
 utils.workspace = true
 svg_fmt.workspace = true
 workspace_hack.workspace = true
+serde.workspace = true
+serde_json.workspace = true
diff --git a/pageserver/ctl/src/index_part.rs b/pageserver/ctl/src/index_part.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..20e5572914
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pageserver/ctl/src/index_part.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+use std::collections::HashMap;
+
+use anyhow::Context;
+use camino::Utf8PathBuf;
+use pageserver::tenant::remote_timeline_client::index::IndexLayerMetadata;
+use pageserver::tenant::storage_layer::LayerFileName;
+use pageserver::tenant::{metadata::TimelineMetadata, IndexPart};
+use utils::lsn::Lsn;
+
+#[derive(clap::Subcommand)]
+pub(crate) enum IndexPartCmd {
+    Dump { path: Utf8PathBuf },
+}
+
+pub(crate) async fn main(cmd: &IndexPartCmd) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+    match cmd {
+        IndexPartCmd::Dump { path } => {
+            let bytes = tokio::fs::read(path).await.context("read file")?;
+            let des: IndexPart = IndexPart::from_s3_bytes(&bytes).context("deserialize")?;
+            #[derive(serde::Serialize)]
+            struct Output<'a> {
+                layer_metadata: &'a HashMap<LayerFileName, IndexLayerMetadata>,
+                disk_consistent_lsn: Lsn,
+                timeline_metadata: &'a TimelineMetadata,
+            }
+
+            let output = Output {
+                layer_metadata: &des.layer_metadata,
+                disk_consistent_lsn: des.get_disk_consistent_lsn(),
+                timeline_metadata: &des.metadata,
+            };
+
+            let output = serde_json::to_string_pretty(&output).context("serialize output")?;
+            println!("{output}");
+            Ok(())
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/pageserver/ctl/src/main.rs b/pageserver/ctl/src/main.rs
index c4d6e8d883..fb42d6d2f1 100644
--- a/pageserver/ctl/src/main.rs
+++ b/pageserver/ctl/src/main.rs
@@ -5,11 +5,13 @@
 //! Separate, `metadata` subcommand allows to print and update pageserver's metadata file.
 
 mod draw_timeline_dir;
+mod index_part;
 mod layer_map_analyzer;
 mod layers;
 
 use camino::{Utf8Path, Utf8PathBuf};
 use clap::{Parser, Subcommand};
+use index_part::IndexPartCmd;
 use layers::LayerCmd;
 use pageserver::{
     context::{DownloadBehavior, RequestContext},
@@ -38,6 +40,8 @@ struct CliOpts {
 #[derive(Subcommand)]
 enum Commands {
     Metadata(MetadataCmd),
+    #[command(subcommand)]
+    IndexPart(IndexPartCmd),
     PrintLayerFile(PrintLayerFileCmd),
     DrawTimeline {},
     AnalyzeLayerMap(AnalyzeLayerMapCmd),
@@ -83,6 +87,9 @@ async fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
         Commands::Metadata(cmd) => {
             handle_metadata(&cmd)?;
         }
+        Commands::IndexPart(cmd) => {
+            index_part::main(&cmd).await?;
+        }
         Commands::DrawTimeline {} => {
             draw_timeline_dir::main()?;
         }
diff --git a/pageserver/src/bin/pageserver.rs b/pageserver/src/bin/pageserver.rs
index 5b0c140d00..542c1b7b30 100644
--- a/pageserver/src/bin/pageserver.rs
+++ b/pageserver/src/bin/pageserver.rs
@@ -103,7 +103,11 @@ fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
     } else {
         TracingErrorLayerEnablement::Disabled
     };
-    logging::init(conf.log_format, tracing_error_layer_enablement)?;
+    logging::init(
+        conf.log_format,
+        tracing_error_layer_enablement,
+        logging::Output::Stdout,
+    )?;
 
     // mind the order required here: 1. logging, 2. panic_hook, 3. sentry.
     // disarming this hook on pageserver, because we never tear down tracing.
@@ -621,6 +625,7 @@ fn start_pageserver(
                     conf.synthetic_size_calculation_interval,
                     conf.id,
                     local_disk_storage,
+                    cancel,
                     metrics_ctx,
                 )
                 .instrument(info_span!("metrics_collection"))
diff --git a/pageserver/src/consumption_metrics.rs b/pageserver/src/consumption_metrics.rs
index 9e8377c1f1..7ad6a0f890 100644
--- a/pageserver/src/consumption_metrics.rs
+++ b/pageserver/src/consumption_metrics.rs
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 use crate::context::{DownloadBehavior, RequestContext};
 use crate::task_mgr::{self, TaskKind, BACKGROUND_RUNTIME};
 use crate::tenant::tasks::BackgroundLoopKind;
-use crate::tenant::{mgr, LogicalSizeCalculationCause};
+use crate::tenant::{mgr, LogicalSizeCalculationCause, PageReconstructError};
 use camino::Utf8PathBuf;
 use consumption_metrics::EventType;
 use pageserver_api::models::TenantState;
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ use std::collections::HashMap;
 use std::sync::Arc;
 use std::time::{Duration, SystemTime};
 use tokio::time::Instant;
+use tokio_util::sync::CancellationToken;
 use tracing::*;
 use utils::id::NodeId;
 
@@ -37,6 +38,7 @@ type RawMetric = (MetricsKey, (EventType, u64));
 type Cache = HashMap<MetricsKey, (EventType, u64)>;
 
 /// Main thread that serves metrics collection
+#[allow(clippy::too_many_arguments)]
 pub async fn collect_metrics(
     metric_collection_endpoint: &Url,
     metric_collection_interval: Duration,
@@ -44,6 +46,7 @@ pub async fn collect_metrics(
     synthetic_size_calculation_interval: Duration,
     node_id: NodeId,
     local_disk_storage: Utf8PathBuf,
+    cancel: CancellationToken,
     ctx: RequestContext,
 ) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
     if _cached_metric_collection_interval != Duration::ZERO {
@@ -63,9 +66,13 @@ pub async fn collect_metrics(
         "synthetic size calculation",
         false,
         async move {
-            calculate_synthetic_size_worker(synthetic_size_calculation_interval, &worker_ctx)
-                .instrument(info_span!("synthetic_size_worker"))
-                .await?;
+            calculate_synthetic_size_worker(
+                synthetic_size_calculation_interval,
+                &cancel,
+                &worker_ctx,
+            )
+            .instrument(info_span!("synthetic_size_worker"))
+            .await?;
             Ok(())
         },
     );
@@ -241,6 +248,7 @@ async fn reschedule(
 /// Caclculate synthetic size for each active tenant
 async fn calculate_synthetic_size_worker(
     synthetic_size_calculation_interval: Duration,
+    cancel: &CancellationToken,
     ctx: &RequestContext,
 ) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
     info!("starting calculate_synthetic_size_worker");
@@ -272,7 +280,12 @@ async fn calculate_synthetic_size_worker(
                 // Same for the loop that fetches computed metrics.
                 // By using the same limiter, we centralize metrics collection for "start" and "finished" counters,
                 // which turns out is really handy to understand the system.
-                if let Err(e) = tenant.calculate_synthetic_size(cause, ctx).await {
+                if let Err(e) = tenant.calculate_synthetic_size(cause, cancel, ctx).await {
+                    if let Some(PageReconstructError::Cancelled) =
+                        e.downcast_ref::<PageReconstructError>()
+                    {
+                        return Ok(());
+                    }
                     error!("failed to calculate synthetic size for tenant {tenant_id}: {e:#}");
                 }
             }
diff --git a/pageserver/src/deletion_queue.rs b/pageserver/src/deletion_queue.rs
index 6a732d1029..86be1b7094 100644
--- a/pageserver/src/deletion_queue.rs
+++ b/pageserver/src/deletion_queue.rs
@@ -513,6 +513,7 @@ impl DeletionQueueClient {
     ) -> Result<(), DeletionQueueError> {
         if current_generation.is_none() {
             debug!("Enqueuing deletions in legacy mode, skipping queue");
+
             let mut layer_paths = Vec::new();
             for (layer, generation) in layers {
                 layer_paths.push(remote_layer_path(
diff --git a/pageserver/src/http/routes.rs b/pageserver/src/http/routes.rs
index aa2b017471..5ce09500ee 100644
--- a/pageserver/src/http/routes.rs
+++ b/pageserver/src/http/routes.rs
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ use std::str::FromStr;
 use std::sync::Arc;
 
 use anyhow::{anyhow, Context, Result};
+use enumset::EnumSet;
 use futures::TryFutureExt;
 use humantime::format_rfc3339;
 use hyper::header;
@@ -42,6 +43,7 @@ use crate::tenant::mgr::{
 };
 use crate::tenant::size::ModelInputs;
 use crate::tenant::storage_layer::LayerAccessStatsReset;
+use crate::tenant::timeline::CompactFlags;
 use crate::tenant::timeline::Timeline;
 use crate::tenant::{LogicalSizeCalculationCause, PageReconstructError, TenantSharedResources};
 use crate::{config::PageServerConf, tenant::mgr};
@@ -548,7 +550,7 @@ async fn timeline_detail_handler(
 
 async fn get_lsn_by_timestamp_handler(
     request: Request<Body>,
-    _cancel: CancellationToken,
+    cancel: CancellationToken,
 ) -> Result<Response<Body>, ApiError> {
     let tenant_id: TenantId = parse_request_param(&request, "tenant_id")?;
     check_permission(&request, Some(tenant_id))?;
@@ -564,7 +566,9 @@ async fn get_lsn_by_timestamp_handler(
 
     let ctx = RequestContext::new(TaskKind::MgmtRequest, DownloadBehavior::Download);
     let timeline = active_timeline_of_active_tenant(tenant_id, timeline_id).await?;
-    let result = timeline.find_lsn_for_timestamp(timestamp_pg, &ctx).await?;
+    let result = timeline
+        .find_lsn_for_timestamp(timestamp_pg, &cancel, &ctx)
+        .await?;
 
     if version.unwrap_or(0) > 1 {
         #[derive(serde::Serialize)]
@@ -840,7 +844,7 @@ async fn tenant_delete_handler(
 /// without modifying anything anyway.
 async fn tenant_size_handler(
     request: Request<Body>,
-    _cancel: CancellationToken,
+    cancel: CancellationToken,
 ) -> Result<Response<Body>, ApiError> {
     let tenant_id: TenantId = parse_request_param(&request, "tenant_id")?;
     check_permission(&request, Some(tenant_id))?;
@@ -856,6 +860,7 @@ async fn tenant_size_handler(
         .gather_size_inputs(
             retention_period,
             LogicalSizeCalculationCause::TenantSizeHandler,
+            &cancel,
             &ctx,
         )
         .await
@@ -1240,7 +1245,7 @@ async fn failpoints_handler(
 // Run GC immediately on given timeline.
 async fn timeline_gc_handler(
     mut request: Request<Body>,
-    _cancel: CancellationToken,
+    cancel: CancellationToken,
 ) -> Result<Response<Body>, ApiError> {
     let tenant_id: TenantId = parse_request_param(&request, "tenant_id")?;
     let timeline_id: TimelineId = parse_request_param(&request, "timeline_id")?;
@@ -1249,7 +1254,7 @@ async fn timeline_gc_handler(
     let gc_req: TimelineGcRequest = json_request(&mut request).await?;
 
     let ctx = RequestContext::new(TaskKind::MgmtRequest, DownloadBehavior::Download);
-    let wait_task_done = mgr::immediate_gc(tenant_id, timeline_id, gc_req, &ctx).await?;
+    let wait_task_done = mgr::immediate_gc(tenant_id, timeline_id, gc_req, cancel, &ctx).await?;
     let gc_result = wait_task_done
         .await
         .context("wait for gc task")
@@ -1268,11 +1273,15 @@ async fn timeline_compact_handler(
     let timeline_id: TimelineId = parse_request_param(&request, "timeline_id")?;
     check_permission(&request, Some(tenant_id))?;
 
+    let mut flags = EnumSet::empty();
+    if Some(true) == parse_query_param::<_, bool>(&request, "force_repartition")? {
+        flags |= CompactFlags::ForceRepartition;
+    }
     async {
         let ctx = RequestContext::new(TaskKind::MgmtRequest, DownloadBehavior::Download);
         let timeline = active_timeline_of_active_tenant(tenant_id, timeline_id).await?;
         timeline
-            .compact(&cancel, &ctx)
+            .compact(&cancel, flags, &ctx)
             .await
             .map_err(|e| ApiError::InternalServerError(e.into()))?;
         json_response(StatusCode::OK, ())
@@ -1289,6 +1298,11 @@ async fn timeline_checkpoint_handler(
     let tenant_id: TenantId = parse_request_param(&request, "tenant_id")?;
     let timeline_id: TimelineId = parse_request_param(&request, "timeline_id")?;
     check_permission(&request, Some(tenant_id))?;
+
+    let mut flags = EnumSet::empty();
+    if Some(true) == parse_query_param::<_, bool>(&request, "force_repartition")? {
+        flags |= CompactFlags::ForceRepartition;
+    }
     async {
         let ctx = RequestContext::new(TaskKind::MgmtRequest, DownloadBehavior::Download);
         let timeline = active_timeline_of_active_tenant(tenant_id, timeline_id).await?;
@@ -1297,7 +1311,7 @@ async fn timeline_checkpoint_handler(
             .await
             .map_err(ApiError::InternalServerError)?;
         timeline
-            .compact(&cancel, &ctx)
+            .compact(&cancel, flags, &ctx)
             .await
             .map_err(|e| ApiError::InternalServerError(e.into()))?;
 
@@ -1675,8 +1689,24 @@ where
                 let token_cloned = token.clone();
                 let result = handler(r, token).await;
                 if token_cloned.is_cancelled() {
-                    info!("Cancelled request finished");
+                    // dropguard has executed: we will never turn this result into response.
+                    //
+                    // at least temporarily do {:?} logging; these failures are rare enough but
+                    // could hide difficult errors.
+                    match &result {
+                        Ok(response) => {
+                            let status = response.status();
+                            info!(%status, "Cancelled request finished successfully")
+                        }
+                        Err(e) => error!("Cancelled request finished with an error: {e:?}"),
+                    }
                 }
+                // only logging for cancelled panicked request handlers is the tracing_panic_hook,
+                // which should suffice.
+                //
+                // there is still a chance to lose the result due to race between
+                // returning from here and the actual connection closing happening
+                // before outer task gets to execute. leaving that up for #5815.
                 result
             }
             .in_current_span(),
diff --git a/pageserver/src/import_datadir.rs b/pageserver/src/import_datadir.rs
index 30975c1fc9..770458e02e 100644
--- a/pageserver/src/import_datadir.rs
+++ b/pageserver/src/import_datadir.rs
@@ -3,18 +3,25 @@
 //! a neon Timeline.
 //!
 use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
+use std::pin::Pin;
+use std::task::{self, Poll};
 
 use anyhow::{bail, ensure, Context, Result};
+use async_compression::{tokio::write::ZstdEncoder, zstd::CParameter, Level};
 use bytes::Bytes;
 use camino::Utf8Path;
 use futures::StreamExt;
-use tokio::io::{AsyncRead, AsyncReadExt};
+use nix::NixPath;
+use tokio::io::{AsyncRead, AsyncReadExt, AsyncWrite, AsyncWriteExt};
 use tokio_tar::Archive;
+use tokio_tar::Builder;
+use tokio_tar::HeaderMode;
 use tracing::*;
 use walkdir::WalkDir;
 
 use crate::context::RequestContext;
 use crate::pgdatadir_mapping::*;
+use crate::tenant::remote_timeline_client::INITDB_PATH;
 use crate::tenant::Timeline;
 use crate::walingest::WalIngest;
 use crate::walrecord::DecodedWALRecord;
@@ -33,7 +40,9 @@ use utils::lsn::Lsn;
 pub fn get_lsn_from_controlfile(path: &Utf8Path) -> Result<Lsn> {
     // Read control file to extract the LSN
     let controlfile_path = path.join("global").join("pg_control");
-    let controlfile = ControlFileData::decode(&std::fs::read(controlfile_path)?)?;
+    let controlfile_buf = std::fs::read(&controlfile_path)
+        .with_context(|| format!("reading controlfile: {controlfile_path}"))?;
+    let controlfile = ControlFileData::decode(&controlfile_buf)?;
     let lsn = controlfile.checkPoint;
 
     Ok(Lsn(lsn))
@@ -618,3 +627,108 @@ async fn read_all_bytes(reader: &mut (impl AsyncRead + Unpin)) -> Result<Bytes>
     reader.read_to_end(&mut buf).await?;
     Ok(Bytes::from(buf))
 }
+
+/// An in-memory buffer implementing `AsyncWrite`, inserting yields every now and then
+///
+/// The number of yields is bounded by above by the number of times poll_write is called,
+/// so calling it with 8 KB chunks and 8 MB chunks gives the same number of yields in total.
+/// This is an explicit choice as the `YieldingVec` is meant to give the async executor
+/// breathing room between units of CPU intensive preparation of buffers to be written.
+/// Once a write call is issued, the whole buffer has been prepared already, so there is no
+/// gain in splitting up the memcopy further.
+struct YieldingVec {
+    yield_budget: usize,
+    // the buffer written into
+    buf: Vec<u8>,
+}
+
+impl YieldingVec {
+    fn new() -> Self {
+        Self {
+            yield_budget: 0,
+            buf: Vec::new(),
+        }
+    }
+    // Whether we should yield for a read operation of given size
+    fn should_yield(&mut self, add_buf_len: usize) -> bool {
+        // Set this limit to a small value so that we are a
+        // good async citizen and yield repeatedly (but not
+        // too often for many small writes to cause many yields)
+        const YIELD_DIST: usize = 1024;
+
+        let target_buf_len = self.buf.len() + add_buf_len;
+        let ret = self.yield_budget / YIELD_DIST < target_buf_len / YIELD_DIST;
+        if self.yield_budget < target_buf_len {
+            self.yield_budget += add_buf_len;
+        }
+        ret
+    }
+}
+
+impl AsyncWrite for YieldingVec {
+    fn poll_write(
+        mut self: Pin<&mut Self>,
+        cx: &mut task::Context<'_>,
+        buf: &[u8],
+    ) -> Poll<std::io::Result<usize>> {
+        if self.should_yield(buf.len()) {
+            cx.waker().wake_by_ref();
+            return Poll::Pending;
+        }
+        self.get_mut().buf.extend_from_slice(buf);
+        Poll::Ready(Ok(buf.len()))
+    }
+
+    fn poll_flush(self: Pin<&mut Self>, _cx: &mut task::Context<'_>) -> Poll<std::io::Result<()>> {
+        Poll::Ready(Ok(()))
+    }
+
+    fn poll_shutdown(
+        self: Pin<&mut Self>,
+        _cx: &mut task::Context<'_>,
+    ) -> Poll<std::io::Result<()>> {
+        Poll::Ready(Ok(()))
+    }
+}
+
+pub async fn create_tar_zst(pgdata_path: &Utf8Path) -> Result<Vec<u8>> {
+    let mut paths = Vec::new();
+    for entry in WalkDir::new(pgdata_path) {
+        let entry = entry?;
+        let metadata = entry.metadata().expect("error getting dir entry metadata");
+        // Also allow directories so that we also get empty directories
+        if !(metadata.is_file() || metadata.is_dir()) {
+            continue;
+        }
+        let path = entry.into_path();
+        paths.push(path);
+    }
+    // Do a sort to get a more consistent listing
+    paths.sort_unstable();
+    let zstd = ZstdEncoder::with_quality_and_params(
+        YieldingVec::new(),
+        Level::Default,
+        &[CParameter::enable_long_distance_matching(true)],
+    );
+    let mut builder = Builder::new(zstd);
+    // Use reproducible header mode
+    builder.mode(HeaderMode::Deterministic);
+    for path in paths {
+        let rel_path = path.strip_prefix(pgdata_path)?;
+        if rel_path.is_empty() {
+            // The top directory should not be compressed,
+            // the tar crate doesn't like that
+            continue;
+        }
+        builder.append_path_with_name(&path, rel_path).await?;
+    }
+    let mut zstd = builder.into_inner().await?;
+    zstd.shutdown().await?;
+    let compressed = zstd.into_inner();
+    let compressed_len = compressed.buf.len();
+    const INITDB_TAR_ZST_WARN_LIMIT: usize = 2_000_000;
+    if compressed_len > INITDB_TAR_ZST_WARN_LIMIT {
+        warn!("compressed {INITDB_PATH} size of {compressed_len} is above limit {INITDB_TAR_ZST_WARN_LIMIT}.");
+    }
+    Ok(compressed.buf)
+}
diff --git a/pageserver/src/pgdatadir_mapping.rs b/pageserver/src/pgdatadir_mapping.rs
index 827278af72..15d5609ceb 100644
--- a/pageserver/src/pgdatadir_mapping.rs
+++ b/pageserver/src/pgdatadir_mapping.rs
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
 use std::collections::{hash_map, HashMap, HashSet};
 use std::ops::ControlFlow;
 use std::ops::Range;
+use tokio_util::sync::CancellationToken;
 use tracing::{debug, trace, warn};
 use utils::bin_ser::DeserializeError;
 use utils::{bin_ser::BeSer, lsn::Lsn};
@@ -365,6 +366,7 @@ impl Timeline {
     pub async fn find_lsn_for_timestamp(
         &self,
         search_timestamp: TimestampTz,
+        cancel: &CancellationToken,
         ctx: &RequestContext,
     ) -> Result<LsnForTimestamp, PageReconstructError> {
         let gc_cutoff_lsn_guard = self.get_latest_gc_cutoff_lsn();
@@ -383,6 +385,9 @@ impl Timeline {
         let mut found_smaller = false;
         let mut found_larger = false;
         while low < high {
+            if cancel.is_cancelled() {
+                return Err(PageReconstructError::Cancelled);
+            }
             // cannot overflow, high and low are both smaller than u64::MAX / 2
             let mid = (high + low) / 2;
 
diff --git a/pageserver/src/tenant.rs b/pageserver/src/tenant.rs
index 04fe9db76a..249a9a80c5 100644
--- a/pageserver/src/tenant.rs
+++ b/pageserver/src/tenant.rs
@@ -12,7 +12,9 @@
 //!
 
 use anyhow::{bail, Context};
+use bytes::Bytes;
 use camino::{Utf8Path, Utf8PathBuf};
+use enumset::EnumSet;
 use futures::FutureExt;
 use pageserver_api::models::TimelineState;
 use remote_storage::DownloadError;
@@ -23,6 +25,7 @@ use tokio::sync::watch;
 use tokio::task::JoinSet;
 use tokio_util::sync::CancellationToken;
 use tracing::*;
+use utils::backoff;
 use utils::completion;
 use utils::crashsafe::path_with_suffix_extension;
 use utils::fs_ext;
@@ -1629,6 +1632,7 @@ impl Tenant {
         target_timeline_id: Option<TimelineId>,
         horizon: u64,
         pitr: Duration,
+        cancel: &CancellationToken,
         ctx: &RequestContext,
     ) -> anyhow::Result<GcResult> {
         // Don't start doing work during shutdown
@@ -1651,7 +1655,7 @@ impl Tenant {
             }
         }
 
-        self.gc_iteration_internal(target_timeline_id, horizon, pitr, ctx)
+        self.gc_iteration_internal(target_timeline_id, horizon, pitr, cancel, ctx)
             .await
     }
 
@@ -1699,7 +1703,7 @@ impl Tenant {
 
         for (timeline_id, timeline) in &timelines_to_compact {
             timeline
-                .compact(cancel, ctx)
+                .compact(cancel, EnumSet::empty(), ctx)
                 .instrument(info_span!("compact_timeline", %timeline_id))
                 .await?;
         }
@@ -1854,6 +1858,7 @@ impl Tenant {
                 });
             })
         };
+        // test_long_timeline_create_then_tenant_delete is leaning on this message
         tracing::info!("Waiting for timelines...");
         while let Some(res) = js.join_next().await {
             match res {
@@ -2568,14 +2573,30 @@ impl Tenant {
         target_timeline_id: Option<TimelineId>,
         horizon: u64,
         pitr: Duration,
+        cancel: &CancellationToken,
         ctx: &RequestContext,
     ) -> anyhow::Result<GcResult> {
         let mut totals: GcResult = Default::default();
         let now = Instant::now();
 
-        let gc_timelines = self
-            .refresh_gc_info_internal(target_timeline_id, horizon, pitr, ctx)
-            .await?;
+        let gc_timelines = match self
+            .refresh_gc_info_internal(target_timeline_id, horizon, pitr, cancel, ctx)
+            .await
+        {
+            Ok(result) => result,
+            Err(e) => {
+                if let Some(PageReconstructError::Cancelled) =
+                    e.downcast_ref::<PageReconstructError>()
+                {
+                    // Handle cancellation
+                    totals.elapsed = now.elapsed();
+                    return Ok(totals);
+                } else {
+                    // Propagate other errors
+                    return Err(e);
+                }
+            }
+        };
 
         crate::failpoint_support::sleep_millis_async!(
             "gc_iteration_internal_after_getting_gc_timelines"
@@ -2599,7 +2620,7 @@ impl Tenant {
         // See comments in [`Tenant::branch_timeline`] for more information
         // about why branch creation task can run concurrently with timeline's GC iteration.
         for timeline in gc_timelines {
-            if task_mgr::is_shutdown_requested() {
+            if task_mgr::is_shutdown_requested() || cancel.is_cancelled() {
                 // We were requested to shut down. Stop and return with the progress we
                 // made.
                 break;
@@ -2619,6 +2640,7 @@ impl Tenant {
     /// This is usually executed as part of periodic gc, but can now be triggered more often.
     pub async fn refresh_gc_info(
         &self,
+        cancel: &CancellationToken,
         ctx: &RequestContext,
     ) -> anyhow::Result<Vec<Arc<Timeline>>> {
         // since this method can now be called at different rates than the configured gc loop, it
@@ -2630,7 +2652,7 @@ impl Tenant {
         // refresh all timelines
         let target_timeline_id = None;
 
-        self.refresh_gc_info_internal(target_timeline_id, horizon, pitr, ctx)
+        self.refresh_gc_info_internal(target_timeline_id, horizon, pitr, cancel, ctx)
             .await
     }
 
@@ -2639,6 +2661,7 @@ impl Tenant {
         target_timeline_id: Option<TimelineId>,
         horizon: u64,
         pitr: Duration,
+        cancel: &CancellationToken,
         ctx: &RequestContext,
     ) -> anyhow::Result<Vec<Arc<Timeline>>> {
         // grab mutex to prevent new timelines from being created here.
@@ -2712,7 +2735,7 @@ impl Tenant {
                     .map(|&x| x.1)
                     .collect();
                 timeline
-                    .update_gc_info(branchpoints, cutoff, pitr, ctx)
+                    .update_gc_info(branchpoints, cutoff, pitr, cancel, ctx)
                     .await?;
 
                 gc_timelines.push(timeline);
@@ -2875,7 +2898,7 @@ impl Tenant {
     }
 
     /// - run initdb to init temporary instance and get bootstrap data
-    /// - after initialization complete, remove the temp dir.
+    /// - after initialization completes, tar up the temp dir and upload it to S3.
     ///
     /// The caller is responsible for activating the returned timeline.
     async fn bootstrap_timeline(
@@ -2916,6 +2939,30 @@ impl Tenant {
         let pgdata_path = &initdb_path;
         let pgdata_lsn = import_datadir::get_lsn_from_controlfile(pgdata_path)?.align();
 
+        // Upload the created data dir to S3
+        if let Some(storage) = &self.remote_storage {
+            let pgdata_zstd = import_datadir::create_tar_zst(pgdata_path).await?;
+            let pgdata_zstd = Bytes::from(pgdata_zstd);
+            backoff::retry(
+                || async {
+                    self::remote_timeline_client::upload_initdb_dir(
+                        storage,
+                        &self.tenant_id,
+                        &timeline_id,
+                        pgdata_zstd.clone(),
+                    )
+                    .await
+                },
+                |_| false,
+                3,
+                u32::MAX,
+                "persist_initdb_tar_zst",
+                // TODO: use a cancellation token (https://github.com/neondatabase/neon/issues/5066)
+                backoff::Cancel::new(CancellationToken::new(), || unreachable!()),
+            )
+            .await?;
+        }
+
         // Import the contents of the data directory at the initial checkpoint
         // LSN, and any WAL after that.
         // Initdb lsn will be equal to last_record_lsn which will be set after import.
@@ -3125,6 +3172,7 @@ impl Tenant {
         // (only if it is shorter than the real cutoff).
         max_retention_period: Option<u64>,
         cause: LogicalSizeCalculationCause,
+        cancel: &CancellationToken,
         ctx: &RequestContext,
     ) -> anyhow::Result<size::ModelInputs> {
         let logical_sizes_at_once = self
@@ -3147,6 +3195,7 @@ impl Tenant {
             max_retention_period,
             &mut shared_cache,
             cause,
+            cancel,
             ctx,
         )
         .await
@@ -3159,9 +3208,10 @@ impl Tenant {
     pub async fn calculate_synthetic_size(
         &self,
         cause: LogicalSizeCalculationCause,
+        cancel: &CancellationToken,
         ctx: &RequestContext,
     ) -> anyhow::Result<u64> {
-        let inputs = self.gather_size_inputs(None, cause, ctx).await?;
+        let inputs = self.gather_size_inputs(None, cause, cancel, ctx).await?;
 
         let size = inputs.calculate()?;
 
@@ -3504,6 +3554,7 @@ pub(crate) mod harness {
                 // enable it in case the tests exercise code paths that use
                 // debug_assert_current_span_has_tenant_and_timeline_id
                 logging::TracingErrorLayerEnablement::EnableWithRustLogFilter,
+                logging::Output::Stdout,
             )
             .expect("Failed to init test logging")
         });
@@ -3932,7 +3983,13 @@ mod tests {
         // and compaction works. But it does set the 'cutoff' point so that the cross check
         // below should fail.
         tenant
-            .gc_iteration(Some(TIMELINE_ID), 0x10, Duration::ZERO, &ctx)
+            .gc_iteration(
+                Some(TIMELINE_ID),
+                0x10,
+                Duration::ZERO,
+                &CancellationToken::new(),
+                &ctx,
+            )
             .await?;
 
         // try to branch at lsn 25, should fail because we already garbage collected the data
@@ -4035,7 +4092,13 @@ mod tests {
         tline.set_broken("test".to_owned());
 
         tenant
-            .gc_iteration(Some(TIMELINE_ID), 0x10, Duration::ZERO, &ctx)
+            .gc_iteration(
+                Some(TIMELINE_ID),
+                0x10,
+                Duration::ZERO,
+                &CancellationToken::new(),
+                &ctx,
+            )
             .await?;
 
         // The branchpoints should contain all timelines, even ones marked
@@ -4081,7 +4144,13 @@ mod tests {
             .expect("Should have a local timeline");
         // this removes layers before lsn 40 (50 minus 10), so there are two remaining layers, image and delta for 31-50
         tenant
-            .gc_iteration(Some(TIMELINE_ID), 0x10, Duration::ZERO, &ctx)
+            .gc_iteration(
+                Some(TIMELINE_ID),
+                0x10,
+                Duration::ZERO,
+                &CancellationToken::new(),
+                &ctx,
+            )
             .await?;
         assert!(newtline.get(*TEST_KEY, Lsn(0x25), &ctx).await.is_ok());
 
@@ -4109,7 +4178,13 @@ mod tests {
 
         // run gc on parent
         tenant
-            .gc_iteration(Some(TIMELINE_ID), 0x10, Duration::ZERO, &ctx)
+            .gc_iteration(
+                Some(TIMELINE_ID),
+                0x10,
+                Duration::ZERO,
+                &CancellationToken::new(),
+                &ctx,
+            )
             .await?;
 
         // Check that the data is still accessible on the branch.
@@ -4298,7 +4373,9 @@ mod tests {
         drop(writer);
 
         tline.freeze_and_flush().await?;
-        tline.compact(&CancellationToken::new(), &ctx).await?;
+        tline
+            .compact(&CancellationToken::new(), EnumSet::empty(), &ctx)
+            .await?;
 
         let writer = tline.writer().await;
         writer
@@ -4313,7 +4390,9 @@ mod tests {
         drop(writer);
 
         tline.freeze_and_flush().await?;
-        tline.compact(&CancellationToken::new(), &ctx).await?;
+        tline
+            .compact(&CancellationToken::new(), EnumSet::empty(), &ctx)
+            .await?;
 
         let writer = tline.writer().await;
         writer
@@ -4328,7 +4407,9 @@ mod tests {
         drop(writer);
 
         tline.freeze_and_flush().await?;
-        tline.compact(&CancellationToken::new(), &ctx).await?;
+        tline
+            .compact(&CancellationToken::new(), EnumSet::empty(), &ctx)
+            .await?;
 
         let writer = tline.writer().await;
         writer
@@ -4343,7 +4424,9 @@ mod tests {
         drop(writer);
 
         tline.freeze_and_flush().await?;
-        tline.compact(&CancellationToken::new(), &ctx).await?;
+        tline
+            .compact(&CancellationToken::new(), EnumSet::empty(), &ctx)
+            .await?;
 
         assert_eq!(
             tline.get(*TEST_KEY, Lsn(0x10), &ctx).await?,
@@ -4411,10 +4494,18 @@ mod tests {
             let cutoff = tline.get_last_record_lsn();
 
             tline
-                .update_gc_info(Vec::new(), cutoff, Duration::ZERO, &ctx)
+                .update_gc_info(
+                    Vec::new(),
+                    cutoff,
+                    Duration::ZERO,
+                    &CancellationToken::new(),
+                    &ctx,
+                )
                 .await?;
             tline.freeze_and_flush().await?;
-            tline.compact(&CancellationToken::new(), &ctx).await?;
+            tline
+                .compact(&CancellationToken::new(), EnumSet::empty(), &ctx)
+                .await?;
             tline.gc().await?;
         }
 
@@ -4491,10 +4582,18 @@ mod tests {
             // Perform a cycle of flush, compact, and GC
             let cutoff = tline.get_last_record_lsn();
             tline
-                .update_gc_info(Vec::new(), cutoff, Duration::ZERO, &ctx)
+                .update_gc_info(
+                    Vec::new(),
+                    cutoff,
+                    Duration::ZERO,
+                    &CancellationToken::new(),
+                    &ctx,
+                )
                 .await?;
             tline.freeze_and_flush().await?;
-            tline.compact(&CancellationToken::new(), &ctx).await?;
+            tline
+                .compact(&CancellationToken::new(), EnumSet::empty(), &ctx)
+                .await?;
             tline.gc().await?;
         }
 
@@ -4581,10 +4680,18 @@ mod tests {
             // Perform a cycle of flush, compact, and GC
             let cutoff = tline.get_last_record_lsn();
             tline
-                .update_gc_info(Vec::new(), cutoff, Duration::ZERO, &ctx)
+                .update_gc_info(
+                    Vec::new(),
+                    cutoff,
+                    Duration::ZERO,
+                    &CancellationToken::new(),
+                    &ctx,
+                )
                 .await?;
             tline.freeze_and_flush().await?;
-            tline.compact(&CancellationToken::new(), &ctx).await?;
+            tline
+                .compact(&CancellationToken::new(), EnumSet::empty(), &ctx)
+                .await?;
             tline.gc().await?;
         }
 
diff --git a/pageserver/src/tenant/mgr.rs b/pageserver/src/tenant/mgr.rs
index a766cca0c5..3ff7425bc2 100644
--- a/pageserver/src/tenant/mgr.rs
+++ b/pageserver/src/tenant/mgr.rs
@@ -1944,6 +1944,7 @@ pub(crate) async fn immediate_gc(
     tenant_id: TenantId,
     timeline_id: TimelineId,
     gc_req: TimelineGcRequest,
+    cancel: CancellationToken,
     ctx: &RequestContext,
 ) -> Result<tokio::sync::oneshot::Receiver<Result<GcResult, anyhow::Error>>, ApiError> {
     let guard = TENANTS.read().unwrap();
@@ -1970,7 +1971,7 @@ pub(crate) async fn immediate_gc(
         async move {
             fail::fail_point!("immediate_gc_task_pre");
             let result = tenant
-                .gc_iteration(Some(timeline_id), gc_horizon, pitr, &ctx)
+                .gc_iteration(Some(timeline_id), gc_horizon, pitr, &cancel, &ctx)
                 .instrument(info_span!("manual_gc", %tenant_id, %timeline_id))
                 .await;
                 // FIXME: `gc_iteration` can return an error for multiple reasons; we should handle it
diff --git a/pageserver/src/tenant/remote_timeline_client.rs b/pageserver/src/tenant/remote_timeline_client.rs
index bbf6a0c5c5..99d9783f73 100644
--- a/pageserver/src/tenant/remote_timeline_client.rs
+++ b/pageserver/src/tenant/remote_timeline_client.rs
@@ -190,6 +190,7 @@ use chrono::{NaiveDateTime, Utc};
 
 use scopeguard::ScopeGuard;
 use tokio_util::sync::CancellationToken;
+pub(crate) use upload::upload_initdb_dir;
 use utils::backoff::{
     self, exponential_backoff, DEFAULT_BASE_BACKOFF_SECONDS, DEFAULT_MAX_BACKOFF_SECONDS,
 };
@@ -249,6 +250,8 @@ pub(crate) const FAILED_REMOTE_OP_RETRIES: u32 = 10;
 // retries. Uploads and deletions are retried forever, though.
 pub(crate) const FAILED_UPLOAD_WARN_THRESHOLD: u32 = 3;
 
+pub(crate) const INITDB_PATH: &str = "initdb.tar.zst";
+
 pub enum MaybeDeletedIndexPart {
     IndexPart(IndexPart),
     Deleted(IndexPart),
@@ -816,7 +819,7 @@ impl RemoteTimelineClient {
         let mut receiver = {
             let mut guard = self.upload_queue.lock().unwrap();
             let upload_queue = guard.initialized_mut()?;
-            self.schedule_barrier(upload_queue)
+            self.schedule_barrier0(upload_queue)
         };
 
         if receiver.changed().await.is_err() {
@@ -825,7 +828,14 @@ impl RemoteTimelineClient {
         Ok(())
     }
 
-    fn schedule_barrier(
+    pub(crate) fn schedule_barrier(self: &Arc<Self>) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+        let mut guard = self.upload_queue.lock().unwrap();
+        let upload_queue = guard.initialized_mut()?;
+        self.schedule_barrier0(upload_queue);
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    fn schedule_barrier0(
         self: &Arc<Self>,
         upload_queue: &mut UploadQueueInitialized,
     ) -> tokio::sync::watch::Receiver<()> {
@@ -1229,16 +1239,18 @@ impl RemoteTimelineClient {
                     }
                     res
                 }
-                UploadOp::Delete(delete) => self
-                    .deletion_queue_client
-                    .push_layers(
-                        self.tenant_id,
-                        self.timeline_id,
-                        self.generation,
-                        delete.layers.clone(),
-                    )
-                    .await
-                    .map_err(|e| anyhow::anyhow!(e)),
+                UploadOp::Delete(delete) => {
+                    pausable_failpoint!("before-delete-layer-pausable");
+                    self.deletion_queue_client
+                        .push_layers(
+                            self.tenant_id,
+                            self.timeline_id,
+                            self.generation,
+                            delete.layers.clone(),
+                        )
+                        .await
+                        .map_err(|e| anyhow::anyhow!(e))
+                }
                 UploadOp::Barrier(_) => {
                     // unreachable. Barrier operations are handled synchronously in
                     // launch_queued_tasks
@@ -1528,6 +1540,13 @@ pub fn remote_layer_path(
     RemotePath::from_string(&path).expect("Failed to construct path")
 }
 
+pub fn remote_initdb_archive_path(tenant_id: &TenantId, timeline_id: &TimelineId) -> RemotePath {
+    RemotePath::from_string(&format!(
+        "tenants/{tenant_id}/{TIMELINES_SEGMENT_NAME}/{timeline_id}/{INITDB_PATH}"
+    ))
+    .expect("Failed to construct path")
+}
+
 pub fn remote_index_path(
     tenant_id: &TenantId,
     timeline_id: &TimelineId,
diff --git a/pageserver/src/tenant/remote_timeline_client/index.rs b/pageserver/src/tenant/remote_timeline_client/index.rs
index fa0679c7a2..0d0b34365c 100644
--- a/pageserver/src/tenant/remote_timeline_client/index.rs
+++ b/pageserver/src/tenant/remote_timeline_client/index.rs
@@ -128,6 +128,14 @@ impl IndexPart {
     pub fn get_disk_consistent_lsn(&self) -> Lsn {
         self.disk_consistent_lsn
     }
+
+    pub fn from_s3_bytes(bytes: &[u8]) -> Result<Self, serde_json::Error> {
+        serde_json::from_slice::<IndexPart>(bytes)
+    }
+
+    pub fn to_s3_bytes(&self) -> serde_json::Result<Vec<u8>> {
+        serde_json::to_vec(self)
+    }
 }
 
 impl TryFrom<&UploadQueueInitialized> for IndexPart {
@@ -201,7 +209,7 @@ mod tests {
             deleted_at: None,
         };
 
-        let part = serde_json::from_str::<IndexPart>(example).unwrap();
+        let part = IndexPart::from_s3_bytes(example.as_bytes()).unwrap();
         assert_eq!(part, expected);
     }
 
@@ -239,7 +247,7 @@ mod tests {
             deleted_at: None,
         };
 
-        let part = serde_json::from_str::<IndexPart>(example).unwrap();
+        let part = IndexPart::from_s3_bytes(example.as_bytes()).unwrap();
         assert_eq!(part, expected);
     }
 
@@ -279,7 +287,7 @@ mod tests {
                 "2023-07-31T09:00:00.123000000", "%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S.%f").unwrap())
         };
 
-        let part = serde_json::from_str::<IndexPart>(example).unwrap();
+        let part = IndexPart::from_s3_bytes(example.as_bytes()).unwrap();
         assert_eq!(part, expected);
     }
 
@@ -323,7 +331,7 @@ mod tests {
             deleted_at: None,
         };
 
-        let empty_layers_parsed = serde_json::from_str::<IndexPart>(empty_layers_json).unwrap();
+        let empty_layers_parsed = IndexPart::from_s3_bytes(empty_layers_json.as_bytes()).unwrap();
 
         assert_eq!(empty_layers_parsed, expected);
     }
@@ -361,7 +369,7 @@ mod tests {
                 "2023-07-31T09:00:00.123000000", "%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S.%f").unwrap())
         };
 
-        let part = serde_json::from_str::<IndexPart>(example).unwrap();
+        let part = IndexPart::from_s3_bytes(example.as_bytes()).unwrap();
         assert_eq!(part, expected);
     }
 }
diff --git a/pageserver/src/tenant/remote_timeline_client/upload.rs b/pageserver/src/tenant/remote_timeline_client/upload.rs
index 0a37a8f283..4d3e1731dc 100644
--- a/pageserver/src/tenant/remote_timeline_client/upload.rs
+++ b/pageserver/src/tenant/remote_timeline_client/upload.rs
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 //! Helper functions to upload files to remote storage with a RemoteStorage
 
 use anyhow::{bail, Context};
+use bytes::Bytes;
 use camino::Utf8Path;
 use fail::fail_point;
 use std::io::ErrorKind;
@@ -9,7 +10,9 @@ use tokio::fs;
 use super::Generation;
 use crate::{
     config::PageServerConf,
-    tenant::remote_timeline_client::{index::IndexPart, remote_index_path, remote_path},
+    tenant::remote_timeline_client::{
+        index::IndexPart, remote_index_path, remote_initdb_archive_path, remote_path,
+    },
 };
 use remote_storage::GenericRemoteStorage;
 use utils::id::{TenantId, TimelineId};
@@ -33,8 +36,9 @@ pub(super) async fn upload_index_part<'a>(
     });
     pausable_failpoint!("before-upload-index-pausable");
 
-    let index_part_bytes =
-        serde_json::to_vec(&index_part).context("serialize index part file into bytes")?;
+    let index_part_bytes = index_part
+        .to_s3_bytes()
+        .context("serialize index part file into bytes")?;
     let index_part_size = index_part_bytes.len();
     let index_part_bytes = tokio::io::BufReader::new(std::io::Cursor::new(index_part_bytes));
 
@@ -103,3 +107,22 @@ pub(super) async fn upload_timeline_layer<'a>(
 
     Ok(())
 }
+
+/// Uploads the given `initdb` data to the remote storage.
+pub(crate) async fn upload_initdb_dir(
+    storage: &GenericRemoteStorage,
+    tenant_id: &TenantId,
+    timeline_id: &TimelineId,
+    initdb_dir: Bytes,
+) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+    tracing::trace!("uploading initdb dir");
+
+    let size = initdb_dir.len();
+    let bytes = tokio::io::BufReader::new(std::io::Cursor::new(initdb_dir));
+
+    let remote_path = remote_initdb_archive_path(tenant_id, timeline_id);
+    storage
+        .upload_storage_object(bytes, size, &remote_path)
+        .await
+        .with_context(|| format!("upload initdb dir for '{tenant_id} / {timeline_id}'"))
+}
diff --git a/pageserver/src/tenant/size.rs b/pageserver/src/tenant/size.rs
index a85dc9231c..e0b1652d98 100644
--- a/pageserver/src/tenant/size.rs
+++ b/pageserver/src/tenant/size.rs
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ use std::sync::Arc;
 use anyhow::{bail, Context};
 use tokio::sync::oneshot::error::RecvError;
 use tokio::sync::Semaphore;
+use tokio_util::sync::CancellationToken;
 
 use crate::context::RequestContext;
 use crate::pgdatadir_mapping::CalculateLogicalSizeError;
@@ -113,11 +114,12 @@ pub(super) async fn gather_inputs(
     max_retention_period: Option<u64>,
     logical_size_cache: &mut HashMap<(TimelineId, Lsn), u64>,
     cause: LogicalSizeCalculationCause,
+    cancel: &CancellationToken,
     ctx: &RequestContext,
 ) -> anyhow::Result<ModelInputs> {
     // refresh is needed to update gc related pitr_cutoff and horizon_cutoff
     tenant
-        .refresh_gc_info(ctx)
+        .refresh_gc_info(cancel, ctx)
         .await
         .context("Failed to refresh gc_info before gathering inputs")?;
 
diff --git a/pageserver/src/tenant/tasks.rs b/pageserver/src/tenant/tasks.rs
index e59001297c..860bb255ca 100644
--- a/pageserver/src/tenant/tasks.rs
+++ b/pageserver/src/tenant/tasks.rs
@@ -185,11 +185,11 @@ async fn compaction_loop(tenant: Arc<Tenant>, cancel: CancellationToken) {
                         MAX_BACKOFF_SECS,
                     );
                     error_run_count += 1;
+                    let wait_duration = Duration::from_secs_f64(wait_duration);
                     error!(
-                        "Compaction failed {error_run_count} times, retrying in {:?}: {e:?}",
-                        wait_duration
+                        "Compaction failed {error_run_count} times, retrying in {wait_duration:?}: {e:?}",
                     );
-                    Duration::from_secs_f64(wait_duration)
+                    wait_duration
                 } else {
                     error_run_count = 0;
                     period
@@ -261,7 +261,7 @@ async fn gc_loop(tenant: Arc<Tenant>, cancel: CancellationToken) {
             } else {
                 // Run gc
                 let res = tenant
-                    .gc_iteration(None, gc_horizon, tenant.get_pitr_interval(), &ctx)
+                    .gc_iteration(None, gc_horizon, tenant.get_pitr_interval(), &cancel, &ctx)
                     .await;
                 if let Err(e) = res {
                     let wait_duration = backoff::exponential_backoff_duration_seconds(
@@ -270,11 +270,11 @@ async fn gc_loop(tenant: Arc<Tenant>, cancel: CancellationToken) {
                         MAX_BACKOFF_SECS,
                     );
                     error_run_count += 1;
+                    let wait_duration = Duration::from_secs_f64(wait_duration);
                     error!(
-                        "Gc failed {error_run_count} times, retrying in {:?}: {e:?}",
-                        wait_duration
+                        "Gc failed {error_run_count} times, retrying in {wait_duration:?}: {e:?}",
                     );
-                    Duration::from_secs_f64(wait_duration)
+                    wait_duration
                 } else {
                     error_run_count = 0;
                     period
diff --git a/pageserver/src/tenant/timeline.rs b/pageserver/src/tenant/timeline.rs
index bbb96cb172..9493ed1c9a 100644
--- a/pageserver/src/tenant/timeline.rs
+++ b/pageserver/src/tenant/timeline.rs
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ mod walreceiver;
 use anyhow::{anyhow, bail, ensure, Context, Result};
 use bytes::Bytes;
 use camino::{Utf8Path, Utf8PathBuf};
+use enumset::EnumSet;
 use fail::fail_point;
 use itertools::Itertools;
 use pageserver_api::models::{
@@ -437,6 +438,11 @@ pub enum LogicalSizeCalculationCause {
     TenantSizeHandler,
 }
 
+#[derive(enumset::EnumSetType)]
+pub(crate) enum CompactFlags {
+    ForceRepartition,
+}
+
 /// Public interface functions
 impl Timeline {
     /// Get the LSN where this branch was created
@@ -694,6 +700,7 @@ impl Timeline {
     pub(crate) async fn compact(
         self: &Arc<Self>,
         cancel: &CancellationToken,
+        flags: EnumSet<CompactFlags>,
         ctx: &RequestContext,
     ) -> Result<(), CompactionError> {
         // this wait probably never needs any "long time spent" logging, because we already nag if
@@ -766,6 +773,7 @@ impl Timeline {
             .repartition(
                 self.get_last_record_lsn(),
                 self.get_compaction_target_size(),
+                flags,
                 ctx,
             )
             .await
@@ -1711,6 +1719,30 @@ impl Timeline {
         if let Some(rtc) = self.remote_client.as_ref() {
             rtc.schedule_layer_file_deletion(&needs_cleanup)?;
             rtc.schedule_index_upload_for_file_changes()?;
+            // This barrier orders above DELETEs before any later operations.
+            // This is critical because code executing after the barrier might
+            // create again objects with the same key that we just scheduled for deletion.
+            // For example, if we just scheduled deletion of an image layer "from the future",
+            // later compaction might run again and re-create the same image layer.
+            // "from the future" here means an image layer whose LSN is > IndexPart::disk_consistent_lsn.
+            // "same" here means same key range and LSN.
+            //
+            // Without a barrier between above DELETEs and the re-creation's PUTs,
+            // the upload queue may execute the PUT first, then the DELETE.
+            // In our example, we will end up with an IndexPart referencing a non-existent object.
+            //
+            // 1. a future image layer is created and uploaded
+            // 2. ps restart
+            // 3. the future layer from (1) is deleted during load layer map
+            // 4. image layer is re-created and uploaded
+            // 5. deletion queue would like to delete (1) but actually deletes (4)
+            // 6. delete by name works as expected, but it now deletes the wrong (later) version
+            //
+            // See https://github.com/neondatabase/neon/issues/5878
+            //
+            // NB: generation numbers naturally protect against this because they disambiguate
+            //     (1) and (4)
+            rtc.schedule_barrier()?;
             // Tenant::create_timeline will wait for these uploads to happen before returning, or
             // on retry.
         }
@@ -2525,7 +2557,12 @@ impl Timeline {
                 // Note: The 'ctx' in use here has DownloadBehavior::Error. We should not
                 // require downloading anything during initial import.
                 let (partitioning, _lsn) = self
-                    .repartition(self.initdb_lsn, self.get_compaction_target_size(), ctx)
+                    .repartition(
+                        self.initdb_lsn,
+                        self.get_compaction_target_size(),
+                        EnumSet::empty(),
+                        ctx,
+                    )
                     .await?;
 
                 if self.cancel.is_cancelled() {
@@ -2563,6 +2600,8 @@ impl Timeline {
                 )
             };
 
+        pausable_failpoint!("flush-layer-cancel-after-writing-layer-out-pausable");
+
         if self.cancel.is_cancelled() {
             return Err(FlushLayerError::Cancelled);
         }
@@ -2744,12 +2783,16 @@ impl Timeline {
         &self,
         lsn: Lsn,
         partition_size: u64,
+        flags: EnumSet<CompactFlags>,
         ctx: &RequestContext,
     ) -> anyhow::Result<(KeyPartitioning, Lsn)> {
         {
             let partitioning_guard = self.partitioning.lock().unwrap();
             let distance = lsn.0 - partitioning_guard.1 .0;
-            if partitioning_guard.1 != Lsn(0) && distance <= self.repartition_threshold {
+            if partitioning_guard.1 != Lsn(0)
+                && distance <= self.repartition_threshold
+                && !flags.contains(CompactFlags::ForceRepartition)
+            {
                 debug!(
                     distance,
                     threshold = self.repartition_threshold,
@@ -3497,21 +3540,22 @@ impl Timeline {
             }
 
             // FIXME: the writer already fsyncs all data, only rename needs to be fsynced here
-            let mut layer_paths: Vec<Utf8PathBuf> = new_layers
+            let layer_paths: Vec<Utf8PathBuf> = new_layers
                 .iter()
                 .map(|l| l.local_path().to_owned())
                 .collect();
 
             // Fsync all the layer files and directory using multiple threads to
             // minimize latency.
-            //
-            // FIXME: spawn_blocking above for this
-            par_fsync::par_fsync(&layer_paths).context("fsync all new layers")?;
+            par_fsync::par_fsync_async(&layer_paths)
+                .await
+                .context("fsync all new layers")?;
 
-            par_fsync::par_fsync(&[self.conf.timeline_path(&self.tenant_id, &self.timeline_id)])
+            let timeline_dir = self.conf.timeline_path(&self.tenant_id, &self.timeline_id);
+
+            par_fsync::par_fsync_async(&[timeline_dir])
+                .await
                 .context("fsync of timeline dir")?;
-
-            layer_paths.pop().unwrap();
         }
 
         stats.write_layer_files_micros = stats.read_lock_drop_micros.till_now();
@@ -3684,6 +3728,7 @@ impl Timeline {
         retain_lsns: Vec<Lsn>,
         cutoff_horizon: Lsn,
         pitr: Duration,
+        cancel: &CancellationToken,
         ctx: &RequestContext,
     ) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
         // First, calculate pitr_cutoff_timestamp and then convert it to LSN.
@@ -3697,7 +3742,10 @@ impl Timeline {
             if let Some(pitr_cutoff_timestamp) = now.checked_sub(pitr) {
                 let pitr_timestamp = to_pg_timestamp(pitr_cutoff_timestamp);
 
-                match self.find_lsn_for_timestamp(pitr_timestamp, ctx).await? {
+                match self
+                    .find_lsn_for_timestamp(pitr_timestamp, cancel, ctx)
+                    .await?
+                {
                     LsnForTimestamp::Present(lsn) => lsn,
                     LsnForTimestamp::Future(lsn) => {
                         // The timestamp is in the future. That sounds impossible,
diff --git a/pageserver/src/tenant/timeline/eviction_task.rs b/pageserver/src/tenant/timeline/eviction_task.rs
index 79bc434a2a..f4a4c26c06 100644
--- a/pageserver/src/tenant/timeline/eviction_task.rs
+++ b/pageserver/src/tenant/timeline/eviction_task.rs
@@ -351,7 +351,7 @@ impl Timeline {
         match state.last_layer_access_imitation {
             Some(ts) if ts.elapsed() < inter_imitate_period => { /* no need to run */ }
             _ => {
-                self.imitate_synthetic_size_calculation_worker(&tenant, ctx, cancel)
+                self.imitate_synthetic_size_calculation_worker(&tenant, cancel, ctx)
                     .await;
                 state.last_layer_access_imitation = Some(tokio::time::Instant::now());
             }
@@ -417,8 +417,8 @@ impl Timeline {
     async fn imitate_synthetic_size_calculation_worker(
         &self,
         tenant: &Arc<Tenant>,
-        ctx: &RequestContext,
         cancel: &CancellationToken,
+        ctx: &RequestContext,
     ) {
         if self.conf.metric_collection_endpoint.is_none() {
             // We don't start the consumption metrics task if this is not set in the config.
@@ -457,6 +457,7 @@ impl Timeline {
             None,
             &mut throwaway_cache,
             LogicalSizeCalculationCause::EvictionTaskImitation,
+            cancel,
             ctx,
         )
         .instrument(info_span!("gather_inputs"));
diff --git a/pageserver/src/tenant/timeline/uninit.rs b/pageserver/src/tenant/timeline/uninit.rs
index 6b68fdeb84..f9bb6ca419 100644
--- a/pageserver/src/tenant/timeline/uninit.rs
+++ b/pageserver/src/tenant/timeline/uninit.rs
@@ -45,12 +45,20 @@ impl<'t> UninitializedTimeline<'t> {
         let timeline_id = self.timeline_id;
         let tenant_id = self.owning_tenant.tenant_id;
 
-        let (new_timeline, uninit_mark) = self.raw_timeline.take().with_context(|| {
-            format!("No timeline for initalization found for {tenant_id}/{timeline_id}")
-        })?;
+        if self.raw_timeline.is_none() {
+            return Err(anyhow::anyhow!(
+                "No timeline for initialization found for {tenant_id}/{timeline_id}"
+            ));
+        }
 
         // Check that the caller initialized disk_consistent_lsn
-        let new_disk_consistent_lsn = new_timeline.get_disk_consistent_lsn();
+        let new_disk_consistent_lsn = self
+            .raw_timeline
+            .as_ref()
+            .expect("checked above")
+            .0
+            .get_disk_consistent_lsn();
+
         anyhow::ensure!(
             new_disk_consistent_lsn.is_valid(),
             "new timeline {tenant_id}/{timeline_id} has invalid disk_consistent_lsn"
@@ -62,6 +70,13 @@ impl<'t> UninitializedTimeline<'t> {
                 "Found freshly initialized timeline {tenant_id}/{timeline_id} in the tenant map"
             ),
             Entry::Vacant(v) => {
+                // after taking here should be no fallible operations, because the drop guard will not
+                // cleanup after and would block for example the tenant deletion
+                let (new_timeline, uninit_mark) =
+                    self.raw_timeline.take().expect("already checked");
+
+                // this is the mutual exclusion between different retries to create the timeline;
+                // this should be an assertion.
                 uninit_mark.remove_uninit_mark().with_context(|| {
                     format!(
                         "Failed to remove uninit mark file for timeline {tenant_id}/{timeline_id}"
@@ -70,10 +85,10 @@ impl<'t> UninitializedTimeline<'t> {
                 v.insert(Arc::clone(&new_timeline));
 
                 new_timeline.maybe_spawn_flush_loop();
+
+                Ok(new_timeline)
             }
         }
-
-        Ok(new_timeline)
     }
 
     /// Prepares timeline data by loading it from the basebackup archive.
diff --git a/pgxn/neon/Makefile b/pgxn/neon/Makefile
index 84835843bc..7fc99523db 100644
--- a/pgxn/neon/Makefile
+++ b/pgxn/neon/Makefile
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ SHLIB_LINK_INTERNAL = $(libpq)
 SHLIB_LINK = -lcurl
 
 EXTENSION = neon
-DATA = neon--1.0.sql
+DATA = neon--1.0.sql neon--1.0--1.1.sql
 PGFILEDESC = "neon - cloud storage for PostgreSQL"
 
 EXTRA_CLEAN = \
diff --git a/pgxn/neon/README.md b/pgxn/neon/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..39311aba82
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pgxn/neon/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+neon extension consists of several parts:
+
+### shared preload library `neon.so`
+
+- implements storage manager API and network communications with remote page server.
+
+- walproposer: implements broadcast protocol between postgres and WAL safekeepers.
+
+- control plane connector:  Captures updates to roles/databases using ProcessUtility_hook and sends them to the control ProcessUtility_hook.
+
+- remote extension server: Request compute_ctl to download extension files.
+
+- file_cache: Local file cache is used to temporary store relations pages in local file system for better performance.
+
+- relsize_cache: Relation size cache for better neon performance.
+
+### SQL functions in `neon--*.sql`
+
+Utility functions to expose neon specific information to user and metrics collection.
+This extension is created in all databases in the cluster by default.
diff --git a/pgxn/neon/control_plane_connector.c b/pgxn/neon/control_plane_connector.c
index debbbce117..2546e6de5e 100644
--- a/pgxn/neon/control_plane_connector.c
+++ b/pgxn/neon/control_plane_connector.c
@@ -475,6 +475,12 @@ NeonXactCallback(XactEvent event, void *arg)
 	Assert(CurrentDdlTable == &RootTable);
 }
 
+static bool
+RoleIsNeonSuperuser(const char *role_name)
+{
+    return strcmp(role_name, "neon_superuser") == 0;
+}
+
 static void
 HandleCreateDb(CreatedbStmt *stmt)
 {
@@ -501,9 +507,16 @@ HandleCreateDb(CreatedbStmt *stmt)
 
 	entry->type = Op_Set;
 	if (downer && downer->arg)
-		entry->owner = get_role_oid(defGetString(downer), false);
+	{
+		const char *owner_name = defGetString(downer);
+		if (RoleIsNeonSuperuser(owner_name))
+			elog(ERROR, "can't create a database with owner neon_superuser");
+		entry->owner = get_role_oid(owner_name, false);
+	}
 	else
+	{
 		entry->owner = GetUserId();
+	}
 }
 
 static void
@@ -522,8 +535,10 @@ HandleAlterOwner(AlterOwnerStmt *stmt)
 
 	if (!found)
 		memset(entry->old_name, 0, sizeof(entry->old_name));
-
-	entry->owner = get_role_oid(get_rolespec_name(stmt->newowner), false);
+	const char *new_owner = get_rolespec_name(stmt->newowner);
+	if (RoleIsNeonSuperuser(new_owner))
+		elog(ERROR, "can't alter owner to neon_superuser");
+	entry->owner = get_role_oid(new_owner, false);
 	entry->type = Op_Set;
 }
 
@@ -617,6 +632,9 @@ HandleAlterRole(AlterRoleStmt *stmt)
 	InitRoleTableIfNeeded();
 	DefElem    *dpass = NULL;
 	ListCell   *option;
+	const char *role_name = stmt->role->rolename;
+	if (RoleIsNeonSuperuser(role_name))
+		elog(ERROR, "can't ALTER neon_superuser");
 
 	foreach(option, stmt->options)
 	{
@@ -631,7 +649,7 @@ HandleAlterRole(AlterRoleStmt *stmt)
 	bool		found = false;
 	RoleEntry  *entry = hash_search(
 									CurrentDdlTable->role_table,
-									stmt->role->rolename,
+									role_name,
 									HASH_ENTER,
 									&found);
 
diff --git a/pgxn/neon/file_cache.c b/pgxn/neon/file_cache.c
index 22f20a4c0b..e70f0163c0 100644
--- a/pgxn/neon/file_cache.c
+++ b/pgxn/neon/file_cache.c
@@ -32,11 +32,13 @@
 #include "storage/latch.h"
 #include "storage/ipc.h"
 #include "storage/lwlock.h"
+#include "utils/builtins.h"
 #include "utils/dynahash.h"
 #include "utils/guc.h"
 #include "storage/fd.h"
 #include "storage/pg_shmem.h"
 #include "storage/buf_internals.h"
+#include "pgstat.h"
 
 /*
  * Local file cache is used to temporary store relations pages in local file system.
@@ -65,6 +67,7 @@
 typedef struct FileCacheEntry
 {
 	BufferTag	key;
+	uint32      hash;
 	uint32		offset;
 	uint32		access_count;
 	uint32		bitmap[BLOCKS_PER_CHUNK/32];
@@ -76,6 +79,10 @@ typedef struct FileCacheControl
 	uint64 generation; /* generation is needed to handle correct hash reenabling */
 	uint32 size; /* size of cache file in chunks */
 	uint32 used; /* number of used chunks */
+	uint32 limit; /* shared copy of lfc_size_limit */
+	uint64 hits;
+	uint64 misses;
+	uint64 writes;
 	dlist_head lru; /* double linked list for LRU replacement algorithm */
 } FileCacheControl;
 
@@ -91,10 +98,12 @@ static shmem_startup_hook_type prev_shmem_startup_hook;
 static shmem_request_hook_type prev_shmem_request_hook;
 #endif
 
-void FileCacheMonitorMain(Datum main_arg);
+#define LFC_ENABLED() (lfc_ctl->limit != 0)
+
+void PGDLLEXPORT FileCacheMonitorMain(Datum main_arg);
 
 /*
- * Local file cache is mandatory and Neon can work without it.
+ * Local file cache is optional and Neon can work without it.
  * In case of any any errors with this cache, we should disable it but to not throw error.
  * Also we should allow  re-enable it if source of failure (lack of disk space, permissions,...) is fixed.
  * All cache content should be invalidated to avoid reading of stale or corrupted data
@@ -102,49 +111,77 @@ void FileCacheMonitorMain(Datum main_arg);
 static void
 lfc_disable(char const* op)
 {
-	HASH_SEQ_STATUS status;
-	FileCacheEntry* entry;
-
+	int fd;
 	elog(WARNING, "Failed to %s local file cache at %s: %m, disabling local file cache", op, lfc_path);
 
+	/* Invalidate hash */
+	LWLockAcquire(lfc_lock, LW_EXCLUSIVE);
+
+	if (LFC_ENABLED())
+	{
+		HASH_SEQ_STATUS status;
+		FileCacheEntry* entry;
+
+		hash_seq_init(&status, lfc_hash);
+		while ((entry = hash_seq_search(&status)) != NULL)
+		{
+			hash_search_with_hash_value(lfc_hash, &entry->key, entry->hash, HASH_REMOVE, NULL);
+		}
+		lfc_ctl->generation += 1;
+		lfc_ctl->size = 0;
+		lfc_ctl->used = 0;
+		lfc_ctl->limit = 0;
+		dlist_init(&lfc_ctl->lru);
+
+		if (lfc_desc > 0)
+		{
+			/* If the reason of error is ENOSPC, then truncation of file may help to reclaim some space */
+			int rc = ftruncate(lfc_desc, 0);
+			if (rc < 0)
+				elog(WARNING, "Failed to truncate local file cache %s: %m", lfc_path);
+		}
+	}
+	/* We need to use unlink to to avoid races in LFC write, because it is not protectedby */
+	unlink(lfc_path);
+
+	fd = BasicOpenFile(lfc_path, O_RDWR|O_CREAT|O_TRUNC);
+	if (fd < 0)
+		elog(WARNING, "Failed to recreate local file cache %s: %m", lfc_path);
+	else
+		close(fd);
+
+	LWLockRelease(lfc_lock);
+
 	if (lfc_desc > 0)
 		close(lfc_desc);
 
 	lfc_desc = -1;
-	lfc_size_limit = 0;
+}
 
-	/* Invalidate hash */
-	LWLockAcquire(lfc_lock, LW_EXCLUSIVE);
-
-	hash_seq_init(&status, lfc_hash);
-	while ((entry = hash_seq_search(&status)) != NULL)
-	{
-		hash_search(lfc_hash, &entry->key, HASH_REMOVE, NULL);
-		memset(entry->bitmap, 0, sizeof entry->bitmap);
-	}
-	hash_seq_term(&status);
-	lfc_ctl->generation += 1;
-	lfc_ctl->size = 0;
-	lfc_ctl->used = 0;
-	dlist_init(&lfc_ctl->lru);
-
-	LWLockRelease(lfc_lock);
+/*
+ * This check is done without obtaining lfc_lock, so it is unreliable
+ */
+static bool
+lfc_maybe_disabled(void)
+{
+	return !lfc_ctl || !LFC_ENABLED();
 }
 
 static bool
 lfc_ensure_opened(void)
 {
+	bool enabled = !lfc_maybe_disabled();
 	/* Open cache file if not done yet */
-	if (lfc_desc <= 0)
+	if (lfc_desc <= 0 && enabled)
 	{
-		lfc_desc = BasicOpenFile(lfc_path, O_RDWR|O_CREAT);
+		lfc_desc = BasicOpenFile(lfc_path, O_RDWR);
 
 		if (lfc_desc < 0) {
 			lfc_disable("open");
 			return false;
 		}
 	}
-	return true;
+	return enabled;
 }
 
 static void
@@ -163,6 +200,7 @@ lfc_shmem_startup(void)
 	lfc_ctl = (FileCacheControl*)ShmemInitStruct("lfc", sizeof(FileCacheControl), &found);
 	if (!found)
 	{
+		int fd;
 		uint32 lfc_size = SIZE_MB_TO_CHUNKS(lfc_max_size);
 		lfc_lock = (LWLockId)GetNamedLWLockTranche("lfc_lock");
 		info.keysize = sizeof(BufferTag);
@@ -175,10 +213,23 @@ lfc_shmem_startup(void)
 		lfc_ctl->generation = 0;
 		lfc_ctl->size = 0;
 		lfc_ctl->used = 0;
+		lfc_ctl->hits = 0;
+		lfc_ctl->misses = 0;
+		lfc_ctl->writes = 0;
 		dlist_init(&lfc_ctl->lru);
 
-		/* Remove file cache on restart */
-		(void)unlink(lfc_path);
+		/* Recreate file cache on restart */
+		fd = BasicOpenFile(lfc_path, O_RDWR|O_CREAT|O_TRUNC);
+		if (fd < 0)
+		{
+			elog(WARNING, "Failed to create local file cache %s: %m", lfc_path);
+			lfc_ctl->limit = 0;
+		}
+		else
+		{
+			close(fd);
+			lfc_ctl->limit = SIZE_MB_TO_CHUNKS(lfc_size_limit);
+		}
 	}
 	LWLockRelease(AddinShmemInitLock);
 }
@@ -195,6 +246,17 @@ lfc_shmem_request(void)
 	RequestNamedLWLockTranche("lfc_lock", 1);
 }
 
+static bool
+is_normal_backend(void)
+{
+	/*
+	 * Stats collector detach shared memory, so we should not try to access shared memory here.
+	 * Parallel workers first assign default value (0), so not perform truncation in parallel workers.
+	 * The Postmaster can handle SIGHUP and it has access to shared memory (UsedShmemSegAddr != NULL), but has no PGPROC.
+	 */
+	return lfc_ctl && MyProc && UsedShmemSegAddr && !IsParallelWorker();
+}
+
 static bool
 lfc_check_limit_hook(int *newval, void **extra, GucSource source)
 {
@@ -210,25 +272,15 @@ static void
 lfc_change_limit_hook(int newval, void *extra)
 {
 	uint32 new_size = SIZE_MB_TO_CHUNKS(newval);
-	/*
-	 * Stats collector detach shared memory, so we should not try to access shared memory here.
-	 * Parallel workers first assign default value (0), so not perform truncation in parallel workers.
-	 * The Postmaster can handle SIGHUP and it has access to shared memory (UsedShmemSegAddr != NULL), but has no PGPROC.
-	 */
-	if (!lfc_ctl || !MyProc || !UsedShmemSegAddr || IsParallelWorker())
+
+	if (!is_normal_backend())
+		return;
+
+	if (!lfc_ensure_opened())
 		return;
 
-	/* Open cache file if not done yet */
-	if (lfc_desc <= 0)
-	{
-		lfc_desc = BasicOpenFile(lfc_path, O_RDWR|O_CREAT);
-		if (lfc_desc < 0) {
-			elog(WARNING, "Failed to open file cache %s: %m, disabling file cache", lfc_path);
-			lfc_size_limit = 0; /* disable file cache */
-			return;
-		}
-	}
 	LWLockAcquire(lfc_lock, LW_EXCLUSIVE);
+
 	while (new_size < lfc_ctl->used && !dlist_is_empty(&lfc_ctl->lru))
 	{
 		/* Shrink cache by throwing away least recently accessed chunks and returning their space to file system */
@@ -238,10 +290,12 @@ lfc_change_limit_hook(int newval, void *extra)
 		if (fallocate(lfc_desc, FALLOC_FL_PUNCH_HOLE|FALLOC_FL_KEEP_SIZE, (off_t)victim->offset*BLOCKS_PER_CHUNK*BLCKSZ, BLOCKS_PER_CHUNK*BLCKSZ) < 0)
 			elog(LOG, "Failed to punch hole in file: %m");
 #endif
-		hash_search(lfc_hash, &victim->key, HASH_REMOVE, NULL);
+		hash_search_with_hash_value(lfc_hash, &victim->key, victim->hash, HASH_REMOVE, NULL);
 		lfc_ctl->used -= 1;
 	}
+	lfc_ctl->limit = new_size;
 	elog(DEBUG1, "set local file cache limit to %d", new_size);
+
 	LWLockRelease(lfc_lock);
 }
 
@@ -255,6 +309,7 @@ lfc_init(void)
 	if (!process_shared_preload_libraries_in_progress)
 		elog(ERROR, "Neon module should be loaded via shared_preload_libraries");
 
+
 	DefineCustomIntVariable("neon.max_file_cache_size",
 							"Maximal size of Neon local file cache",
 							NULL,
@@ -315,10 +370,10 @@ lfc_cache_contains(NRelFileInfo rinfo, ForkNumber forkNum, BlockNumber blkno)
 	BufferTag tag;
 	FileCacheEntry* entry;
 	int chunk_offs = blkno & (BLOCKS_PER_CHUNK-1);
-	bool found;
+	bool found = false;
 	uint32 hash;
 
-	if (lfc_size_limit == 0) /* fast exit if file cache is disabled */
+	if (lfc_maybe_disabled()) /* fast exit if file cache is disabled */
 		return false;
 
 	CopyNRelFileInfoToBufTag(tag, rinfo);
@@ -327,8 +382,11 @@ lfc_cache_contains(NRelFileInfo rinfo, ForkNumber forkNum, BlockNumber blkno)
 	hash = get_hash_value(lfc_hash, &tag);
 
 	LWLockAcquire(lfc_lock, LW_SHARED);
-	entry = hash_search_with_hash_value(lfc_hash, &tag, hash, HASH_FIND, NULL);
-	found = entry != NULL && (entry->bitmap[chunk_offs >> 5] & (1 << (chunk_offs & 31))) != 0;
+	if (LFC_ENABLED())
+	{
+		entry = hash_search_with_hash_value(lfc_hash, &tag, hash, HASH_FIND, NULL);
+		found = entry != NULL && (entry->bitmap[chunk_offs >> 5] & (1 << (chunk_offs & 31))) != 0;
+	}
 	LWLockRelease(lfc_lock);
 	return found;
 }
@@ -345,7 +403,7 @@ lfc_evict(NRelFileInfo rinfo, ForkNumber forkNum, BlockNumber blkno)
 	int chunk_offs = blkno & (BLOCKS_PER_CHUNK-1);
 	uint32 hash;
 
-	if (lfc_size_limit == 0) /* fast exit if file cache is disabled */
+	if (lfc_maybe_disabled()) /* fast exit if file cache is disabled */
 		return;
 
 	CopyNRelFileInfoToBufTag(tag, rinfo);
@@ -355,6 +413,13 @@ lfc_evict(NRelFileInfo rinfo, ForkNumber forkNum, BlockNumber blkno)
 	hash = get_hash_value(lfc_hash, &tag);
 
 	LWLockAcquire(lfc_lock, LW_EXCLUSIVE);
+
+	if (!LFC_ENABLED())
+	{
+		LWLockRelease(lfc_lock);
+		return;
+	}
+
 	entry = hash_search_with_hash_value(lfc_hash, &tag, hash, HASH_FIND, &found);
 
 	if (!found)
@@ -405,7 +470,7 @@ lfc_evict(NRelFileInfo rinfo, ForkNumber forkNum, BlockNumber blkno)
 /*
  * Try to read page from local cache.
  * Returns true if page is found in local cache.
- * In case of error lfc_size_limit is set to zero to disable any further opera-tins with cache.
+ * In case of error local file cache is disabled (lfc->limit is set to zero).
  */
 bool
 lfc_read(NRelFileInfo rinfo, ForkNumber forkNum, BlockNumber blkno,
@@ -420,7 +485,7 @@ lfc_read(NRelFileInfo rinfo, ForkNumber forkNum, BlockNumber blkno,
 	uint64 generation;
 	uint32 entry_offset;
 
-	if (lfc_size_limit == 0) /* fast exit if file cache is disabled */
+	if (lfc_maybe_disabled()) /* fast exit if file cache is disabled */
 		return false;
 
 	if (!lfc_ensure_opened())
@@ -432,10 +497,18 @@ lfc_read(NRelFileInfo rinfo, ForkNumber forkNum, BlockNumber blkno,
 	hash = get_hash_value(lfc_hash, &tag);
 
 	LWLockAcquire(lfc_lock, LW_EXCLUSIVE);
+
+	if (!LFC_ENABLED())
+	{
+		LWLockRelease(lfc_lock);
+		return false;
+	}
+
 	entry = hash_search_with_hash_value(lfc_hash, &tag, hash, HASH_FIND, NULL);
 	if (entry == NULL || (entry->bitmap[chunk_offs >> 5] & (1 << (chunk_offs & 31))) == 0)
 	{
 		/* Page is not cached */
+		lfc_ctl->misses += 1;
 		LWLockRelease(lfc_lock);
 		return false;
 	}
@@ -456,8 +529,11 @@ lfc_read(NRelFileInfo rinfo, ForkNumber forkNum, BlockNumber blkno,
 
 	/* Place entry to the head of LRU list */
 	LWLockAcquire(lfc_lock, LW_EXCLUSIVE);
+
 	if (lfc_ctl->generation == generation)
 	{
+		Assert(LFC_ENABLED());
+		lfc_ctl->hits += 1;
 		Assert(entry->access_count > 0);
 		if (--entry->access_count == 0)
 			dlist_push_tail(&lfc_ctl->lru, &entry->lru_node);
@@ -488,8 +564,10 @@ lfc_write(NRelFileInfo rinfo, ForkNumber forkNum, BlockNumber blkno,
 	bool found;
 	int chunk_offs = blkno & (BLOCKS_PER_CHUNK-1);
 	uint32 hash;
+	uint64 generation;
+	uint32 entry_offset;
 
-	if (lfc_size_limit == 0) /* fast exit if file cache is disabled */
+	if (lfc_maybe_disabled()) /* fast exit if file cache is disabled */
 		return;
 
 	if (!lfc_ensure_opened())
@@ -497,12 +575,17 @@ lfc_write(NRelFileInfo rinfo, ForkNumber forkNum, BlockNumber blkno,
 
 	tag.forkNum = forkNum;
 	tag.blockNum = blkno & ~(BLOCKS_PER_CHUNK-1);
-	
 	CopyNRelFileInfoToBufTag(tag, rinfo);
-	
 	hash = get_hash_value(lfc_hash, &tag);
 
 	LWLockAcquire(lfc_lock, LW_EXCLUSIVE);
+
+	if (!LFC_ENABLED())
+	{
+		LWLockRelease(lfc_lock);
+		return;
+	}
+
 	entry = hash_search_with_hash_value(lfc_hash, &tag, hash, HASH_ENTER, &found);
 
 	if (found)
@@ -521,13 +604,13 @@ lfc_write(NRelFileInfo rinfo, ForkNumber forkNum, BlockNumber blkno,
 		 * there are should be very large number of concurrent IO operations and them are limited by max_connections,
 		 * we prefer not to complicate code and use second approach.
 		 */
-		if (lfc_ctl->used >= SIZE_MB_TO_CHUNKS(lfc_size_limit) && !dlist_is_empty(&lfc_ctl->lru))
+		if (lfc_ctl->used >= lfc_ctl->limit && !dlist_is_empty(&lfc_ctl->lru))
 		{
 			/* Cache overflow: evict least recently used chunk */
 			FileCacheEntry* victim = dlist_container(FileCacheEntry, lru_node, dlist_pop_head_node(&lfc_ctl->lru));
 			Assert(victim->access_count == 0);
 			entry->offset = victim->offset; /* grab victim's chunk */
-			hash_search(lfc_hash, &victim->key, HASH_REMOVE, NULL);
+			hash_search_with_hash_value(lfc_hash, &victim->key, victim->hash, HASH_REMOVE, NULL);
 			elog(DEBUG2, "Swap file cache page");
 		}
 		else
@@ -536,27 +619,140 @@ lfc_write(NRelFileInfo rinfo, ForkNumber forkNum, BlockNumber blkno,
 			entry->offset = lfc_ctl->size++; /* allocate new chunk at end of file */
 		}
 		entry->access_count = 1;
+		entry->hash = hash;
 		memset(entry->bitmap, 0, sizeof entry->bitmap);
 	}
 
-	rc = pwrite(lfc_desc, buffer, BLCKSZ, ((off_t)entry->offset*BLOCKS_PER_CHUNK + chunk_offs)*BLCKSZ);
+	generation = lfc_ctl->generation;
+	entry_offset = entry->offset;
+	lfc_ctl->writes += 1;
+	LWLockRelease(lfc_lock);
+
+	rc = pwrite(lfc_desc, buffer, BLCKSZ, ((off_t)entry_offset*BLOCKS_PER_CHUNK + chunk_offs)*BLCKSZ);
 	if (rc != BLCKSZ)
 	{
-		LWLockRelease(lfc_lock);
 		lfc_disable("write");
 	}
 	else
 	{
-		/* Place entry to the head of LRU list */
-		Assert(entry->access_count > 0);
-		if (--entry->access_count == 0)
-			dlist_push_tail(&lfc_ctl->lru, &entry->lru_node);
+		LWLockAcquire(lfc_lock, LW_EXCLUSIVE);
+
+		if (lfc_ctl->generation == generation)
+		{
+			Assert(LFC_ENABLED());
+			/* Place entry to the head of LRU list */
+			Assert(entry->access_count > 0);
+			if (--entry->access_count == 0)
+				dlist_push_tail(&lfc_ctl->lru, &entry->lru_node);
+
+			entry->bitmap[chunk_offs >> 5] |= (1 << (chunk_offs & 31));
+		}
 
-		entry->bitmap[chunk_offs >> 5] |= (1 << (chunk_offs & 31));
 		LWLockRelease(lfc_lock);
 	}
 }
 
+typedef struct
+{
+	TupleDesc	tupdesc;
+} NeonGetStatsCtx;
+
+#define NUM_NEON_GET_STATS_COLS	2
+#define NUM_NEON_GET_STATS_ROWS	3
+
+PG_FUNCTION_INFO_V1(neon_get_lfc_stats);
+Datum
+neon_get_lfc_stats(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
+{
+	FuncCallContext *funcctx;
+	NeonGetStatsCtx* fctx;
+	MemoryContext oldcontext;
+	TupleDesc	tupledesc;
+	Datum		result;
+	HeapTuple	tuple;
+	char const* key;
+	uint64      value;
+	Datum		values[NUM_NEON_GET_STATS_COLS];
+	bool		nulls[NUM_NEON_GET_STATS_COLS];
+
+	if (SRF_IS_FIRSTCALL())
+	{
+		funcctx = SRF_FIRSTCALL_INIT();
+
+		/* Switch context when allocating stuff to be used in later calls */
+		oldcontext = MemoryContextSwitchTo(funcctx->multi_call_memory_ctx);
+
+		/* Create a user function context for cross-call persistence */
+		fctx = (NeonGetStatsCtx*) palloc(sizeof(NeonGetStatsCtx));
+
+		/* Construct a tuple descriptor for the result rows. */
+		tupledesc = CreateTemplateTupleDesc(NUM_NEON_GET_STATS_COLS);
+
+		TupleDescInitEntry(tupledesc, (AttrNumber) 1, "lfc_key",
+						   TEXTOID, -1, 0);
+		TupleDescInitEntry(tupledesc, (AttrNumber) 2, "lfc_value",
+						   INT8OID, -1, 0);
+
+		fctx->tupdesc = BlessTupleDesc(tupledesc);
+		funcctx->max_calls = NUM_NEON_GET_STATS_ROWS;
+		funcctx->user_fctx = fctx;
+
+		/* Return to original context when allocating transient memory */
+		MemoryContextSwitchTo(oldcontext);
+	}
+
+	funcctx = SRF_PERCALL_SETUP();
+
+	/* Get the saved state */
+	fctx = (NeonGetStatsCtx*) funcctx->user_fctx;
+
+	switch (funcctx->call_cntr)
+	{
+		case 0:
+			key = "file_cache_misses";
+			if (lfc_ctl)
+				value = lfc_ctl->misses;
+			break;
+		case 1:
+			key = "file_cache_hits";
+			if (lfc_ctl)
+				value = lfc_ctl->hits;
+			break;
+		case 2:
+			key = "file_cache_used";
+			if (lfc_ctl)
+				value = lfc_ctl->used;
+			break;
+		case 3:
+			key = "file_cache_writes";
+			if (lfc_ctl)
+				value = lfc_ctl->writes;
+			break;
+		default:
+			SRF_RETURN_DONE(funcctx);
+	}
+	values[0] = PointerGetDatum(cstring_to_text(key));
+	nulls[0] = false;
+	if (lfc_ctl)
+	{
+		nulls[1] = false;
+		values[1] = Int64GetDatum(value);
+	}
+	else
+		nulls[1] = true;
+
+	tuple = heap_form_tuple(fctx->tupdesc, values, nulls);
+	result = HeapTupleGetDatum(tuple);
+	SRF_RETURN_NEXT(funcctx, result);
+}
+
+
+/*
+ * Function returning data from the local file cache
+ * relation node/tablespace/database/blocknum and access_counter
+ */
+PG_FUNCTION_INFO_V1(local_cache_pages);
+
 /*
  * Record structure holding the to be exposed cache data.
  */
@@ -580,11 +776,6 @@ typedef struct
 	LocalCachePagesRec *record;
 } LocalCachePagesContext;
 
-/*
- * Function returning data from the local file cache
- * relation node/tablespace/database/blocknum and access_counter
- */
-PG_FUNCTION_INFO_V1(local_cache_pages);
 
 #define NUM_LOCALCACHE_PAGES_ELEM	7
 
@@ -651,15 +842,20 @@ local_cache_pages(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 
 		fctx->tupdesc = BlessTupleDesc(tupledesc);
 
-		LWLockAcquire(lfc_lock, LW_SHARED);
-
-        hash_seq_init(&status, lfc_hash);
-        while ((entry = hash_seq_search(&status)) != NULL)
+		if (lfc_ctl)
 		{
-			for (int i = 0; i < BLOCKS_PER_CHUNK; i++)
-				n_pages += (entry->bitmap[i >> 5] & (1 << (i & 31))) != 0;
+			LWLockAcquire(lfc_lock, LW_SHARED);
+
+			if (LFC_ENABLED())
+			{
+				hash_seq_init(&status, lfc_hash);
+				while ((entry = hash_seq_search(&status)) != NULL)
+				{
+					for (int i = 0; i < BLOCKS_PER_CHUNK/32; i++)
+						n_pages += pg_popcount32(entry->bitmap[i]);
+				}
+			}
 		}
-		hash_seq_term(&status);
 		fctx->record = (LocalCachePagesRec *)
 			MemoryContextAllocHuge(CurrentMemoryContext,
 								   sizeof(LocalCachePagesRec) * n_pages);
@@ -671,36 +867,35 @@ local_cache_pages(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 		/* Return to original context when allocating transient memory */
 		MemoryContextSwitchTo(oldcontext);
 
-		/*
-		 * Scan through all the buffers, saving the relevant fields in the
-		 * fctx->record structure.
-		 *
-		 * We don't hold the partition locks, so we don't get a consistent
-		 * snapshot across all buffers, but we do grab the buffer header
-		 * locks, so the information of each buffer is self-consistent.
-		 */
-		n_pages = 0;
-        hash_seq_init(&status, lfc_hash);
-        while ((entry = hash_seq_search(&status)) != NULL)
+		if (n_pages != 0)
 		{
-			for (int i = 0; i < BLOCKS_PER_CHUNK; i++)
+			/*
+			 * Scan through all the cache entries, saving the relevant fields in the
+			 * fctx->record structure.
+			 */
+			uint32 n = 0;
+			hash_seq_init(&status, lfc_hash);
+			while ((entry = hash_seq_search(&status)) != NULL)
 			{
-				if (entry->bitmap[i >> 5] & (1 << (i & 31)))
+				for (int i = 0; i < BLOCKS_PER_CHUNK; i++)
 				{
-					fctx->record[n_pages].pageoffs = entry->offset*BLOCKS_PER_CHUNK + i;
-					fctx->record[n_pages].relfilenode = NInfoGetRelNumber(BufTagGetNRelFileInfo(entry->key));
-					fctx->record[n_pages].reltablespace = NInfoGetSpcOid(BufTagGetNRelFileInfo(entry->key));
-					fctx->record[n_pages].reldatabase = NInfoGetDbOid(BufTagGetNRelFileInfo(entry->key));
-					fctx->record[n_pages].forknum = entry->key.forkNum;
-					fctx->record[n_pages].blocknum = entry->key.blockNum + i;
-					fctx->record[n_pages].accesscount = entry->access_count;
-					n_pages += 1;
+					if (entry->bitmap[i >> 5] & (1 << (i & 31)))
+					{
+						fctx->record[n].pageoffs = entry->offset*BLOCKS_PER_CHUNK + i;
+						fctx->record[n].relfilenode = NInfoGetRelNumber(BufTagGetNRelFileInfo(entry->key));
+						fctx->record[n].reltablespace = NInfoGetSpcOid(BufTagGetNRelFileInfo(entry->key));
+						fctx->record[n].reldatabase = NInfoGetDbOid(BufTagGetNRelFileInfo(entry->key));
+						fctx->record[n].forknum = entry->key.forkNum;
+						fctx->record[n].blocknum = entry->key.blockNum + i;
+						fctx->record[n].accesscount = entry->access_count;
+						n += 1;
+					}
 				}
 			}
+			Assert(n_pages == n);
 		}
-		hash_seq_term(&status);
-		Assert(n_pages == funcctx->max_calls);
-		LWLockRelease(lfc_lock);
+		if (lfc_ctl)
+			LWLockRelease(lfc_lock);
 	}
 
 	funcctx = SRF_PERCALL_SETUP();
diff --git a/pgxn/neon/neon--1.0--1.1.sql b/pgxn/neon/neon--1.0--1.1.sql
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..d1760f7299
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pgxn/neon/neon--1.0--1.1.sql
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+\echo Use "ALTER EXTENSION neon UPDATE TO '1.1'" to load this file. \quit
+
+CREATE FUNCTION neon_get_lfc_stats()
+RETURNS SETOF RECORD
+AS 'MODULE_PATHNAME', 'neon_get_lfc_stats'
+LANGUAGE C PARALLEL SAFE;
+
+-- Create a view for convenient access.
+CREATE VIEW neon_lfc_stats AS
+	SELECT P.* FROM neon_get_lfc_stats() AS P (lfc_key text, lfc_value bigint);
diff --git a/pgxn/neon/neon.control b/pgxn/neon/neon.control
index 84f79881c1..c110437c3e 100644
--- a/pgxn/neon/neon.control
+++ b/pgxn/neon/neon.control
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
 # neon extension
 comment = 'cloud storage for PostgreSQL'
-default_version = '1.0'
+default_version = '1.1'
 module_pathname = '$libdir/neon'
diff --git a/proxy/src/bin/pg_sni_router.rs b/proxy/src/bin/pg_sni_router.rs
index 6574500c97..42aecdb6fe 100644
--- a/proxy/src/bin/pg_sni_router.rs
+++ b/proxy/src/bin/pg_sni_router.rs
@@ -168,9 +168,18 @@ async fn task_main(
                     .instrument(tracing::info_span!("handle_client", ?session_id))
                 );
             }
-            Some(Err(e)) = connections.join_next(), if !connections.is_empty() => {
-                if !e.is_panic() && !e.is_cancelled() {
-                    warn!("unexpected error from joined connection task: {e:?}");
+            // Don't modify this unless you read https://docs.rs/tokio/latest/tokio/macro.select.html carefully.
+            // If this future completes and the pattern doesn't match, this branch is disabled for this call to `select!`.
+            // This only counts for this loop and it will be enabled again on next `select!`.
+            //
+            // Prior code had this as `Some(Err(e))` which _looks_ equivalent to the current setup, but it's not.
+            // When `connections.join_next()` returned `Some(Ok(()))` (which we expect), it would disable the join_next and it would
+            // not get called again, even if there are more connections to remove.
+            Some(res) = connections.join_next() => {
+                if let Err(e) = res {
+                    if !e.is_panic() && !e.is_cancelled() {
+                        warn!("unexpected error from joined connection task: {e:?}");
+                    }
                 }
             }
             _ = cancellation_token.cancelled() => {
diff --git a/proxy/src/proxy.rs b/proxy/src/proxy.rs
index b05b902303..adcb1bffaf 100644
--- a/proxy/src/proxy.rs
+++ b/proxy/src/proxy.rs
@@ -294,9 +294,18 @@ pub async fn task_main(
                     }),
                 );
             }
-            Some(Err(e)) = connections.join_next(), if !connections.is_empty() => {
-                if !e.is_panic() && !e.is_cancelled() {
-                    warn!("unexpected error from joined connection task: {e:?}");
+            // Don't modify this unless you read https://docs.rs/tokio/latest/tokio/macro.select.html carefully.
+            // If this future completes and the pattern doesn't match, this branch is disabled for this call to `select!`.
+            // This only counts for this loop and it will be enabled again on next `select!`.
+            //
+            // Prior code had this as `Some(Err(e))` which _looks_ equivalent to the current setup, but it's not.
+            // When `connections.join_next()` returned `Some(Ok(()))` (which we expect), it would disable the join_next and it would
+            // not get called again, even if there are more connections to remove.
+            Some(res) = connections.join_next() => {
+                if let Err(e) = res {
+                    if !e.is_panic() && !e.is_cancelled() {
+                        warn!("unexpected error from joined connection task: {e:?}");
+                    }
                 }
             }
             _ = cancellation_token.cancelled() => {
diff --git a/rust-toolchain.toml b/rust-toolchain.toml
index ca12f0dee5..b2cd21d85c 100644
--- a/rust-toolchain.toml
+++ b/rust-toolchain.toml
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 [toolchain]
-channel = "1.73.0"
+channel = "1.74.0"
 profile = "default"
 # The default profile includes rustc, rust-std, cargo, rust-docs, rustfmt and clippy.
 # https://rust-lang.github.io/rustup/concepts/profiles.html
diff --git a/safekeeper/src/bin/safekeeper.rs b/safekeeper/src/bin/safekeeper.rs
index 2e54380471..0b5bb22c8b 100644
--- a/safekeeper/src/bin/safekeeper.rs
+++ b/safekeeper/src/bin/safekeeper.rs
@@ -202,6 +202,7 @@ async fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
     logging::init(
         LogFormat::from_config(&args.log_format)?,
         logging::TracingErrorLayerEnablement::Disabled,
+        logging::Output::Stdout,
     )?;
     logging::replace_panic_hook_with_tracing_panic_hook().forget();
     info!("version: {GIT_VERSION}");
diff --git a/storage_broker/src/bin/storage_broker.rs b/storage_broker/src/bin/storage_broker.rs
index 5ce24a6a42..9f81ac6cac 100644
--- a/storage_broker/src/bin/storage_broker.rs
+++ b/storage_broker/src/bin/storage_broker.rs
@@ -434,6 +434,7 @@ async fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
     logging::init(
         LogFormat::from_config(&args.log_format)?,
         logging::TracingErrorLayerEnablement::Disabled,
+        logging::Output::Stdout,
     )?;
     logging::replace_panic_hook_with_tracing_panic_hook().forget();
     // initialize sentry if SENTRY_DSN is provided
diff --git a/test_runner/fixtures/neon_fixtures.py b/test_runner/fixtures/neon_fixtures.py
index 6737ca5fe3..fc7e834bd2 100644
--- a/test_runner/fixtures/neon_fixtures.py
+++ b/test_runner/fixtures/neon_fixtures.py
@@ -41,7 +41,12 @@ from urllib3.util.retry import Retry
 
 from fixtures.broker import NeonBroker
 from fixtures.log_helper import log
+from fixtures.pageserver.allowed_errors import (
+    DEFAULT_PAGESERVER_ALLOWED_ERRORS,
+    scan_pageserver_log_for_errors,
+)
 from fixtures.pageserver.http import PageserverHttpClient
+from fixtures.pageserver.types import IndexPartDump
 from fixtures.pageserver.utils import wait_for_last_record_lsn, wait_for_upload
 from fixtures.pg_version import PgVersion
 from fixtures.port_distributor import PortDistributor
@@ -702,6 +707,7 @@ class NeonEnv:
         self.port_distributor = config.port_distributor
         self.s3_mock_server = config.mock_s3_server
         self.neon_cli = NeonCli(env=self)
+        self.pagectl = Pagectl(env=self)
         self.endpoints = EndpointFactory(self)
         self.safekeepers: List[Safekeeper] = []
         self.pageservers: List[NeonPageserver] = []
@@ -1222,6 +1228,7 @@ class NeonCli(AbstractNeonCli):
         self,
         new_branch_name: str,
         tenant_id: Optional[TenantId] = None,
+        timeline_id: Optional[TimelineId] = None,
     ) -> TimelineId:
         cmd = [
             "timeline",
@@ -1234,6 +1241,9 @@ class NeonCli(AbstractNeonCli):
             self.env.pg_version,
         ]
 
+        if timeline_id is not None:
+            cmd.extend(["--timeline-id", str(timeline_id)])
+
         res = self.raw_cli(cmd)
         res.check_returncode()
 
@@ -1558,6 +1568,20 @@ class ComputeCtl(AbstractNeonCli):
     COMMAND = "compute_ctl"
 
 
+class Pagectl(AbstractNeonCli):
+    """
+    A typed wrapper around the `pagectl` utility CLI tool.
+    """
+
+    COMMAND = "pagectl"
+
+    def dump_index_part(self, path: Path) -> IndexPartDump:
+        res = self.raw_cli(["index-part", "dump", str(path)])
+        res.check_returncode()
+        parsed = json.loads(res.stdout)
+        return IndexPartDump.from_json(parsed)
+
+
 class NeonAttachmentService:
     def __init__(self, env: NeonEnv):
         self.env = env
@@ -1622,57 +1646,7 @@ class NeonPageserver(PgProtocol):
         # env.pageserver.allowed_errors.append(".*could not open garage door.*")
         #
         # The entries in the list are regular experessions.
-        self.allowed_errors = [
-            # All tests print these, when starting up or shutting down
-            ".*wal receiver task finished with an error: walreceiver connection handling failure.*",
-            ".*Shutdown task error: walreceiver connection handling failure.*",
-            ".*wal_connection_manager.*tcp connect error: Connection refused.*",
-            ".*query handler for .* failed: Socket IO error: Connection reset by peer.*",
-            ".*serving compute connection task.*exited with error: Postgres connection error.*",
-            ".*serving compute connection task.*exited with error: Connection reset by peer.*",
-            ".*serving compute connection task.*exited with error: Postgres query error.*",
-            ".*Connection aborted: error communicating with the server: Transport endpoint is not connected.*",
-            # FIXME: replication patch for tokio_postgres regards  any but CopyDone/CopyData message in CopyBoth stream as unexpected
-            ".*Connection aborted: unexpected message from server*",
-            ".*kill_and_wait_impl.*: wait successful.*",
-            ".*query handler for 'pagestream.*failed: Broken pipe.*",  # pageserver notices compute shut down
-            ".*query handler for 'pagestream.*failed: Connection reset by peer.*",  # pageserver notices compute shut down
-            # safekeeper connection can fail with this, in the window between timeline creation
-            # and streaming start
-            ".*Failed to process query for timeline .*: state uninitialized, no data to read.*",
-            # Tests related to authentication and authorization print these
-            ".*Error processing HTTP request: Forbidden",
-            # intentional failpoints
-            ".*failpoint ",
-            # FIXME: These need investigation
-            ".*manual_gc.*is_shutdown_requested\\(\\) called in an unexpected task or thread.*",
-            ".*tenant_list: timeline is not found in remote index while it is present in the tenants registry.*",
-            ".*Removing intermediate uninit mark file.*",
-            # Tenant::delete_timeline() can cause any of the four following errors.
-            # FIXME: we shouldn't be considering it an error: https://github.com/neondatabase/neon/issues/2946
-            ".*could not flush frozen layer.*queue is in state Stopped",  # when schedule layer upload fails because queued got closed before compaction got killed
-            ".*wait for layer upload ops to complete.*",  # .*Caused by:.*wait_completion aborted because upload queue was stopped
-            ".*gc_loop.*Gc failed, retrying in.*timeline is Stopping",  # When gc checks timeline state after acquiring layer_removal_cs
-            ".*gc_loop.*Gc failed, retrying in.*: Cannot run GC iteration on inactive tenant",  # Tenant::gc precondition
-            ".*compaction_loop.*Compaction failed.*, retrying in.*timeline or pageserver is shutting down",  # When compaction checks timeline state after acquiring layer_removal_cs
-            ".*query handler for 'pagestream.*failed: Timeline .* was not found",  # postgres reconnects while timeline_delete doesn't hold the tenant's timelines.lock()
-            ".*query handler for 'pagestream.*failed: Timeline .* is not active",  # timeline delete in progress
-            ".*task iteration took longer than the configured period.*",
-            # this is until #3501
-            ".*Compaction failed.*, retrying in [^:]+: Cannot run compaction iteration on inactive tenant",
-            # these can happen anytime we do compactions from background task and shutdown pageserver
-            r".*ERROR.*ancestor timeline \S+ is being stopped",
-            # this is expected given our collaborative shutdown approach for the UploadQueue
-            ".*Compaction failed.*, retrying in .*: queue is in state Stopped.*",
-            # Pageserver timeline deletion should be polled until it gets 404, so ignore it globally
-            ".*Error processing HTTP request: NotFound: Timeline .* was not found",
-            ".*took more than expected to complete.*",
-            # these can happen during shutdown, but it should not be a reason to fail a test
-            ".*completed, took longer than expected.*",
-            # AWS S3 may emit 500 errors for keys in a DeleteObjects response: we retry these
-            # and it is not a failure of our code when it happens.
-            ".*DeleteObjects.*We encountered an internal error. Please try again.*",
-        ]
+        self.allowed_errors: List[str] = list(DEFAULT_PAGESERVER_ALLOWED_ERRORS)
 
     def timeline_dir(self, tenant_id: TenantId, timeline_id: Optional[TimelineId] = None) -> Path:
         """Get a timeline directory's path based on the repo directory of the test environment"""
@@ -1782,27 +1756,9 @@ class NeonPageserver(PgProtocol):
 
     def assert_no_errors(self):
         logfile = open(os.path.join(self.workdir, "pageserver.log"), "r")
-        error_or_warn = re.compile(r"\s(ERROR|WARN)")
-        errors = []
-        while True:
-            line = logfile.readline()
-            if not line:
-                break
+        errors = scan_pageserver_log_for_errors(logfile, self.allowed_errors)
 
-            if error_or_warn.search(line):
-                # Is this a torn log line?  This happens when force-killing a process and restarting
-                # Example: "2023-10-25T09:38:31.752314Z  WARN deletion executo2023-10-25T09:38:31.875947Z  INFO version: git-env:0f9452f76e8ccdfc88291bccb3f53e3016f40192"
-                if re.match("\\d{4}-\\d{2}-\\d{2}T.+\\d{4}-\\d{2}-\\d{2}T.+INFO version.+", line):
-                    continue
-
-                # It's an ERROR or WARN. Is it in the allow-list?
-                for a in self.allowed_errors:
-                    if re.match(a, line):
-                        break
-                else:
-                    errors.append(line)
-
-        for error in errors:
+        for _lineno, error in errors:
             log.info(f"not allowed error: {error.strip()}")
 
         assert not errors
diff --git a/test_runner/fixtures/pageserver/allowed_errors.py b/test_runner/fixtures/pageserver/allowed_errors.py
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..5c3ae3ce4b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test_runner/fixtures/pageserver/allowed_errors.py
@@ -0,0 +1,116 @@
+#! /usr/bin/env python3
+
+import argparse
+import re
+import sys
+from typing import Iterable, List, Tuple
+
+
+def scan_pageserver_log_for_errors(
+    input: Iterable[str], allowed_errors: List[str]
+) -> List[Tuple[int, str]]:
+    error_or_warn = re.compile(r"\s(ERROR|WARN)")
+    errors = []
+    for lineno, line in enumerate(input, start=1):
+        if len(line) == 0:
+            continue
+
+        if error_or_warn.search(line):
+            # Is this a torn log line?  This happens when force-killing a process and restarting
+            # Example: "2023-10-25T09:38:31.752314Z  WARN deletion executo2023-10-25T09:38:31.875947Z  INFO version: git-env:0f9452f76e8ccdfc88291bccb3f53e3016f40192"
+            if re.match("\\d{4}-\\d{2}-\\d{2}T.+\\d{4}-\\d{2}-\\d{2}T.+INFO version.+", line):
+                continue
+
+            # It's an ERROR or WARN. Is it in the allow-list?
+            for a in allowed_errors:
+                if re.match(a, line):
+                    break
+            else:
+                errors.append((lineno, line))
+    return errors
+
+
+DEFAULT_PAGESERVER_ALLOWED_ERRORS = (
+    # All tests print these, when starting up or shutting down
+    ".*wal receiver task finished with an error: walreceiver connection handling failure.*",
+    ".*Shutdown task error: walreceiver connection handling failure.*",
+    ".*wal_connection_manager.*tcp connect error: Connection refused.*",
+    ".*query handler for .* failed: Socket IO error: Connection reset by peer.*",
+    ".*serving compute connection task.*exited with error: Postgres connection error.*",
+    ".*serving compute connection task.*exited with error: Connection reset by peer.*",
+    ".*serving compute connection task.*exited with error: Postgres query error.*",
+    ".*Connection aborted: error communicating with the server: Transport endpoint is not connected.*",
+    # FIXME: replication patch for tokio_postgres regards  any but CopyDone/CopyData message in CopyBoth stream as unexpected
+    ".*Connection aborted: unexpected message from server*",
+    ".*kill_and_wait_impl.*: wait successful.*",
+    ".*query handler for 'pagestream.*failed: Broken pipe.*",  # pageserver notices compute shut down
+    ".*query handler for 'pagestream.*failed: Connection reset by peer.*",  # pageserver notices compute shut down
+    # safekeeper connection can fail with this, in the window between timeline creation
+    # and streaming start
+    ".*Failed to process query for timeline .*: state uninitialized, no data to read.*",
+    # Tests related to authentication and authorization print these
+    ".*Error processing HTTP request: Forbidden",
+    # intentional failpoints
+    ".*failpoint ",
+    # FIXME: These need investigation
+    ".*manual_gc.*is_shutdown_requested\\(\\) called in an unexpected task or thread.*",
+    ".*tenant_list: timeline is not found in remote index while it is present in the tenants registry.*",
+    ".*Removing intermediate uninit mark file.*",
+    # Tenant::delete_timeline() can cause any of the four following errors.
+    # FIXME: we shouldn't be considering it an error: https://github.com/neondatabase/neon/issues/2946
+    ".*could not flush frozen layer.*queue is in state Stopped",  # when schedule layer upload fails because queued got closed before compaction got killed
+    ".*wait for layer upload ops to complete.*",  # .*Caused by:.*wait_completion aborted because upload queue was stopped
+    ".*gc_loop.*Gc failed, retrying in.*timeline is Stopping",  # When gc checks timeline state after acquiring layer_removal_cs
+    ".*gc_loop.*Gc failed, retrying in.*: Cannot run GC iteration on inactive tenant",  # Tenant::gc precondition
+    ".*compaction_loop.*Compaction failed.*, retrying in.*timeline or pageserver is shutting down",  # When compaction checks timeline state after acquiring layer_removal_cs
+    ".*query handler for 'pagestream.*failed: Timeline .* was not found",  # postgres reconnects while timeline_delete doesn't hold the tenant's timelines.lock()
+    ".*query handler for 'pagestream.*failed: Timeline .* is not active",  # timeline delete in progress
+    ".*task iteration took longer than the configured period.*",
+    # these can happen anytime we do compactions from background task and shutdown pageserver
+    r".*ERROR.*ancestor timeline \S+ is being stopped",
+    # this is expected given our collaborative shutdown approach for the UploadQueue
+    ".*Compaction failed.*, retrying in .*: Other\\(queue is in state Stopped.*",
+    ".*Compaction failed.*, retrying in .*: ShuttingDown",
+    # Pageserver timeline deletion should be polled until it gets 404, so ignore it globally
+    ".*Error processing HTTP request: NotFound: Timeline .* was not found",
+    ".*took more than expected to complete.*",
+    # these can happen during shutdown, but it should not be a reason to fail a test
+    ".*completed, took longer than expected.*",
+    # AWS S3 may emit 500 errors for keys in a DeleteObjects response: we retry these
+    # and it is not a failure of our code when it happens.
+    ".*DeleteObjects.*We encountered an internal error. Please try again.*",
+)
+
+
+def _check_allowed_errors(input):
+    allowed_errors: List[str] = list(DEFAULT_PAGESERVER_ALLOWED_ERRORS)
+
+    # add any test specifics here; cli parsing is not provided for the
+    # difficulty of copypasting regexes as arguments without any quoting
+    # errors.
+
+    errors = scan_pageserver_log_for_errors(input, allowed_errors)
+
+    for lineno, error in errors:
+        print(f"-:{lineno}: {error.strip()}", file=sys.stderr)
+
+    print(f"\n{len(errors)} not allowed errors", file=sys.stderr)
+
+    return errors
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
+        description="check input against pageserver global allowed_errors"
+    )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "-i",
+        "--input",
+        type=argparse.FileType("r"),
+        default=sys.stdin,
+        help="Pageserver logs file. Reads from stdin if no file is provided.",
+    )
+    args = parser.parse_args()
+    errors = _check_allowed_errors(args.input)
+
+    sys.exit(len(errors) > 0)
diff --git a/test_runner/fixtures/pageserver/http.py b/test_runner/fixtures/pageserver/http.py
index aff7959aa7..2f1d68b92c 100644
--- a/test_runner/fixtures/pageserver/http.py
+++ b/test_runner/fixtures/pageserver/http.py
@@ -432,12 +432,18 @@ class PageserverHttpClient(requests.Session):
         assert isinstance(res_json, dict)
         return res_json
 
-    def timeline_compact(self, tenant_id: TenantId, timeline_id: TimelineId):
+    def timeline_compact(
+        self, tenant_id: TenantId, timeline_id: TimelineId, force_repartition=False
+    ):
         self.is_testing_enabled_or_skip()
+        query = {}
+        if force_repartition:
+            query["force_repartition"] = "true"
 
         log.info(f"Requesting compact: tenant {tenant_id}, timeline {timeline_id}")
         res = self.put(
-            f"http://localhost:{self.port}/v1/tenant/{tenant_id}/timeline/{timeline_id}/compact"
+            f"http://localhost:{self.port}/v1/tenant/{tenant_id}/timeline/{timeline_id}/compact",
+            params=query,
         )
         log.info(f"Got compact request response code: {res.status_code}")
         self.verbose_error(res)
@@ -466,12 +472,18 @@ class PageserverHttpClient(requests.Session):
         res_json = res.json()
         return res_json
 
-    def timeline_checkpoint(self, tenant_id: TenantId, timeline_id: TimelineId):
+    def timeline_checkpoint(
+        self, tenant_id: TenantId, timeline_id: TimelineId, force_repartition=False
+    ):
         self.is_testing_enabled_or_skip()
+        query = {}
+        if force_repartition:
+            query["force_repartition"] = "true"
 
         log.info(f"Requesting checkpoint: tenant {tenant_id}, timeline {timeline_id}")
         res = self.put(
-            f"http://localhost:{self.port}/v1/tenant/{tenant_id}/timeline/{timeline_id}/checkpoint"
+            f"http://localhost:{self.port}/v1/tenant/{tenant_id}/timeline/{timeline_id}/checkpoint",
+            params=query,
         )
         log.info(f"Got checkpoint request response code: {res.status_code}")
         self.verbose_error(res)
diff --git a/test_runner/fixtures/pageserver/types.py b/test_runner/fixtures/pageserver/types.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..30e3f527bf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test_runner/fixtures/pageserver/types.py
@@ -0,0 +1,146 @@
+from dataclasses import dataclass
+from typing import Any, Dict, Tuple, Union
+
+from fixtures.types import KEY_MAX, KEY_MIN, Key, Lsn
+
+
+@dataclass
+class IndexLayerMetadata:
+    @classmethod
+    def from_json(cls, d: Dict[str, Any]):
+        return {}
+
+
+@dataclass(frozen=True)
+class ImageLayerFileName:
+    lsn: Lsn
+    key_start: Key
+    key_end: Key
+
+    def to_str(self):
+        ret = (
+            f"{self.key_start.as_int():036X}-{self.key_end.as_int():036X}__{self.lsn.as_int():016X}"
+        )
+        assert self == parse_layer_file_name(ret)
+        return ret
+
+
+@dataclass(frozen=True)
+class DeltaLayerFileName:
+    lsn_start: Lsn
+    lsn_end: Lsn
+    key_start: Key
+    key_end: Key
+
+    def is_l0(self):
+        return self.key_start == KEY_MIN and self.key_end == KEY_MAX
+
+    def to_str(self):
+        ret = f"{self.key_start.as_int():036X}-{self.key_end.as_int():036X}__{self.lsn_start.as_int():016X}-{self.lsn_end.as_int():016X}"
+        assert self == parse_layer_file_name(ret)
+        return ret
+
+
+LayerFileName = Union[ImageLayerFileName, DeltaLayerFileName]
+
+
+class InvalidFileName(Exception):
+    pass
+
+
+def parse_image_layer(f_name: str) -> Tuple[int, int, int]:
+    """Parse an image layer file name. Return key start, key end, and snapshot lsn"""
+    parts = f_name.split("__")
+    if len(parts) != 2:
+        raise InvalidFileName(f"expecting two parts separated by '__', got: {parts}")
+    key_parts = parts[0].split("-")
+    if len(key_parts) != 2:
+        raise InvalidFileName(
+            f"expecting two key parts separated by '--' in parts[0], got: {key_parts}"
+        )
+    try:
+        return int(key_parts[0], 16), int(key_parts[1], 16), int(parts[1], 16)
+    except ValueError as e:
+        raise InvalidFileName(f"conversion error: {f_name}") from e
+
+
+def parse_delta_layer(f_name: str) -> Tuple[int, int, int, int]:
+    """Parse a delta layer file name. Return key start, key end, lsn start, and lsn end"""
+    parts = f_name.split("__")
+    if len(parts) != 2:
+        raise InvalidFileName(f"expecting two parts separated by '__', got: {parts}")
+    key_parts = parts[0].split("-")
+    if len(key_parts) != 2:
+        raise InvalidFileName(
+            f"expecting two key parts separated by '--' in parts[0], got: {key_parts}"
+        )
+    lsn_parts = parts[1].split("-")
+    if len(lsn_parts) != 2:
+        raise InvalidFileName(
+            f"expecting two lsn parts separated by '--' in parts[1], got: {lsn_parts}"
+        )
+    try:
+        return (
+            int(key_parts[0], 16),
+            int(key_parts[1], 16),
+            int(lsn_parts[0], 16),
+            int(lsn_parts[1], 16),
+        )
+    except ValueError as e:
+        raise InvalidFileName(f"conversion error: {f_name}") from e
+
+
+def parse_layer_file_name(file_name: str) -> LayerFileName:
+    try:
+        key_start, key_end, lsn = parse_image_layer(file_name)
+        return ImageLayerFileName(lsn=Lsn(lsn), key_start=Key(key_start), key_end=Key(key_end))
+    except InvalidFileName:
+        pass
+
+    try:
+        key_start, key_end, lsn_start, lsn_end = parse_delta_layer(file_name)
+        return DeltaLayerFileName(
+            lsn_start=Lsn(lsn_start),
+            lsn_end=Lsn(lsn_end),
+            key_start=Key(key_start),
+            key_end=Key(key_end),
+        )
+    except InvalidFileName:
+        pass
+
+    raise ValueError()
+
+
+def is_future_layer(layer_file_name: LayerFileName, disk_consistent_lsn: Lsn):
+    """
+    Determines if this layer file is considered to be in future meaning we will discard these
+    layers during timeline initialization from the given disk_consistent_lsn.
+    """
+    if (
+        isinstance(layer_file_name, ImageLayerFileName)
+        and layer_file_name.lsn > disk_consistent_lsn
+    ):
+        return True
+    elif (
+        isinstance(layer_file_name, DeltaLayerFileName)
+        and layer_file_name.lsn_end > disk_consistent_lsn + 1
+    ):
+        return True
+    else:
+        return False
+
+
+@dataclass
+class IndexPartDump:
+    layer_metadata: Dict[LayerFileName, IndexLayerMetadata]
+    disk_consistent_lsn: Lsn
+
+    @classmethod
+    def from_json(cls, d: Dict[str, Any]) -> "IndexPartDump":
+        return IndexPartDump(
+            layer_metadata={
+                parse_layer_file_name(n): IndexLayerMetadata.from_json(v)
+                for n, v in d["layer_metadata"].items()
+            },
+            disk_consistent_lsn=Lsn(d["disk_consistent_lsn"]),
+        )
diff --git a/test_runner/fixtures/remote_storage.py b/test_runner/fixtures/remote_storage.py
index 535f8c2fe7..954c3142a3 100644
--- a/test_runner/fixtures/remote_storage.py
+++ b/test_runner/fixtures/remote_storage.py
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import boto3
 from mypy_boto3_s3 import S3Client
 
 from fixtures.log_helper import log
+from fixtures.pageserver.types import LayerFileName
 from fixtures.types import TenantId, TimelineId
 
 TIMELINE_INDEX_PART_FILE_NAME = "index_part.json"
@@ -87,6 +88,11 @@ class LocalFsStorage:
     def timeline_path(self, tenant_id: TenantId, timeline_id: TimelineId) -> Path:
         return self.tenant_path(tenant_id) / "timelines" / str(timeline_id)
 
+    def layer_path(
+        self, tenant_id: TenantId, timeline_id: TimelineId, layer_file_name: LayerFileName
+    ):
+        return self.timeline_path(tenant_id, timeline_id) / layer_file_name.to_str()
+
     def index_path(self, tenant_id: TenantId, timeline_id: TimelineId) -> Path:
         return self.timeline_path(tenant_id, timeline_id) / TIMELINE_INDEX_PART_FILE_NAME
 
diff --git a/test_runner/fixtures/types.py b/test_runner/fixtures/types.py
index ef88e09de4..d95368f990 100644
--- a/test_runner/fixtures/types.py
+++ b/test_runner/fixtures/types.py
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import random
+from dataclasses import dataclass
 from functools import total_ordering
 from typing import Any, Type, TypeVar, Union
 
@@ -36,6 +37,11 @@ class Lsn:
             return NotImplemented
         return self.lsn_int < other.lsn_int
 
+    def __gt__(self, other: Any) -> bool:
+        if not isinstance(other, Lsn):
+            raise NotImplementedError
+        return self.lsn_int > other.lsn_int
+
     def __eq__(self, other: Any) -> bool:
         if not isinstance(other, Lsn):
             return NotImplemented
@@ -47,9 +53,32 @@ class Lsn:
             return NotImplemented
         return self.lsn_int - other.lsn_int
 
+    def __add__(self, other: Union[int, "Lsn"]) -> "Lsn":
+        if isinstance(other, int):
+            return Lsn(self.lsn_int + other)
+        elif isinstance(other, Lsn):
+            return Lsn(self.lsn_int + other.lsn_int)
+        else:
+            raise NotImplementedError
+
     def __hash__(self) -> int:
         return hash(self.lsn_int)
 
+    def as_int(self) -> int:
+        return self.lsn_int
+
+
+@dataclass(frozen=True)
+class Key:
+    key_int: int
+
+    def as_int(self) -> int:
+        return self.key_int
+
+
+KEY_MAX = Key(0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF)
+KEY_MIN = Key(0)
+
 
 @total_ordering
 class Id:
diff --git a/test_runner/fixtures/utils.py b/test_runner/fixtures/utils.py
index ba8d70d5a9..6e857766e5 100644
--- a/test_runner/fixtures/utils.py
+++ b/test_runner/fixtures/utils.py
@@ -6,7 +6,16 @@ import subprocess
 import threading
 import time
 from pathlib import Path
-from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any, Callable, Dict, List, Optional, Tuple, TypeVar
+from typing import (
+    TYPE_CHECKING,
+    Any,
+    Callable,
+    Dict,
+    List,
+    Optional,
+    Tuple,
+    TypeVar,
+)
 from urllib.parse import urlencode
 
 import allure
@@ -14,6 +23,10 @@ import zstandard
 from psycopg2.extensions import cursor
 
 from fixtures.log_helper import log
+from fixtures.pageserver.types import (
+    parse_delta_layer,
+    parse_image_layer,
+)
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
     from fixtures.neon_fixtures import PgBin
@@ -193,26 +206,6 @@ def get_timeline_dir_size(path: Path) -> int:
     return sz
 
 
-def parse_image_layer(f_name: str) -> Tuple[int, int, int]:
-    """Parse an image layer file name. Return key start, key end, and snapshot lsn"""
-    parts = f_name.split("__")
-    key_parts = parts[0].split("-")
-    return int(key_parts[0], 16), int(key_parts[1], 16), int(parts[1], 16)
-
-
-def parse_delta_layer(f_name: str) -> Tuple[int, int, int, int]:
-    """Parse a delta layer file name. Return key start, key end, lsn start, and lsn end"""
-    parts = f_name.split("__")
-    key_parts = parts[0].split("-")
-    lsn_parts = parts[1].split("-")
-    return (
-        int(key_parts[0], 16),
-        int(key_parts[1], 16),
-        int(lsn_parts[0], 16),
-        int(lsn_parts[1], 16),
-    )
-
-
 def get_scale_for_db(size_mb: int) -> int:
     """Returns pgbench scale factor for given target db size in MB.
 
diff --git a/test_runner/regress/test_backpressure.py b/test_runner/regress/test_backpressure.py
index b14974279e..bc3faf9271 100644
--- a/test_runner/regress/test_backpressure.py
+++ b/test_runner/regress/test_backpressure.py
@@ -24,8 +24,6 @@ def check_backpressure(endpoint: Endpoint, stop_event: threading.Event, polling_
     log.info("checks started")
 
     with pg_cur(endpoint) as cur:
-        cur.execute("CREATE EXTENSION neon")  # TODO move it to neon_fixtures?
-
         cur.execute("select pg_size_bytes(current_setting('max_replication_write_lag'))")
         res = cur.fetchone()
         max_replication_write_lag_bytes = res[0]
@@ -102,9 +100,13 @@ def test_backpressure_received_lsn_lag(neon_env_builder: NeonEnvBuilder):
     # Create a branch for us
     env.neon_cli.create_branch("test_backpressure")
 
-    endpoint = env.endpoints.create_start(
+    endpoint = env.endpoints.create(
         "test_backpressure", config_lines=["max_replication_write_lag=30MB"]
     )
+    # don't skip pg_catalog updates - it runs CREATE EXTENSION neon
+    # which is needed for backpressure_lsns() to work
+    endpoint.respec(skip_pg_catalog_updates=False)
+    endpoint.start()
     log.info("postgres is running on 'test_backpressure' branch")
 
     # setup check thread
diff --git a/test_runner/regress/test_branch_and_gc.py b/test_runner/regress/test_branch_and_gc.py
index 53e67b1592..bdc944f352 100644
--- a/test_runner/regress/test_branch_and_gc.py
+++ b/test_runner/regress/test_branch_and_gc.py
@@ -46,7 +46,10 @@ from fixtures.utils import query_scalar
 # Because the delta layer D covering lsn1 is corrupted, creating a branch
 # starting from lsn1 should return an error as follows:
 #     could not find data for key ... at LSN ..., for request at LSN ...
-def test_branch_and_gc(neon_simple_env: NeonEnv):
+def test_branch_and_gc(neon_simple_env: NeonEnv, build_type: str):
+    if build_type == "debug":
+        pytest.skip("times out in debug builds")
+
     env = neon_simple_env
     pageserver_http_client = env.pageserver.http_client()
 
diff --git a/test_runner/regress/test_broken_timeline.py b/test_runner/regress/test_broken_timeline.py
index 23839a4dd1..4911fc09d6 100644
--- a/test_runner/regress/test_broken_timeline.py
+++ b/test_runner/regress/test_broken_timeline.py
@@ -114,6 +114,7 @@ def test_timeline_init_break_before_checkpoint(neon_env_builder: NeonEnvBuilder)
         [
             ".*Failed to process timeline dir contents.*Timeline has no ancestor and no layer files.*",
             ".*Timeline got dropped without initializing, cleaning its files.*",
+            ".*Failed to load index_part from remote storage, failed creation?.*",
         ]
     )
 
@@ -143,6 +144,58 @@ def test_timeline_init_break_before_checkpoint(neon_env_builder: NeonEnvBuilder)
     ), "pageserver should clean its temp timeline files on timeline creation failure"
 
 
+def test_timeline_init_break_before_checkpoint_recreate(neon_env_builder: NeonEnvBuilder):
+    env = neon_env_builder.init_start()
+    pageserver_http = env.pageserver.http_client()
+
+    env.pageserver.allowed_errors.extend(
+        [
+            ".*Failed to process timeline dir contents.*Timeline has no ancestor and no layer files.*",
+            ".*Timeline got dropped without initializing, cleaning its files.*",
+            ".*Failed to load index_part from remote storage, failed creation?.*",
+        ]
+    )
+
+    tenant_id = env.initial_tenant
+
+    timelines_dir = env.pageserver.timeline_dir(tenant_id)
+    old_tenant_timelines = env.neon_cli.list_timelines(tenant_id)
+    initial_timeline_dirs = [d for d in timelines_dir.iterdir()]
+
+    # Some fixed timeline ID (like control plane does)
+    timeline_id = TimelineId("1080243c1f76fe3c5147266663c9860b")
+
+    # Introduce failpoint during timeline init (some intermediate files are on disk), before it's checkpointed.
+    pageserver_http.configure_failpoints(("before-checkpoint-new-timeline", "return"))
+    with pytest.raises(Exception, match="before-checkpoint-new-timeline"):
+        _ = env.neon_cli.create_timeline(
+            "test_timeline_init_break_before_checkpoint", tenant_id, timeline_id
+        )
+
+    # Restart the page server
+    env.pageserver.restart(immediate=True)
+
+    # Creating the timeline didn't finish. The other timelines on tenant should still be present and work normally.
+    new_tenant_timelines = env.neon_cli.list_timelines(tenant_id)
+    assert (
+        new_tenant_timelines == old_tenant_timelines
+    ), f"Pageserver after restart should ignore non-initialized timelines for tenant {tenant_id}"
+
+    timeline_dirs = [d for d in timelines_dir.iterdir()]
+    assert (
+        timeline_dirs == initial_timeline_dirs
+    ), "pageserver should clean its temp timeline files on timeline creation failure"
+
+    # Disable the failpoint again
+    pageserver_http.configure_failpoints(("before-checkpoint-new-timeline", "off"))
+    # creating the branch should have worked now
+    new_timeline_id = env.neon_cli.create_timeline(
+        "test_timeline_init_break_before_checkpoint", tenant_id, timeline_id
+    )
+
+    assert timeline_id == new_timeline_id
+
+
 def test_timeline_create_break_after_uninit_mark(neon_env_builder: NeonEnvBuilder):
     env = neon_env_builder.init_start()
     pageserver_http = env.pageserver.http_client()
diff --git a/test_runner/regress/test_ddl_forwarding.py b/test_runner/regress/test_ddl_forwarding.py
index 07ee8b405e..01aeb88bca 100644
--- a/test_runner/regress/test_ddl_forwarding.py
+++ b/test_runner/regress/test_ddl_forwarding.py
@@ -245,6 +245,19 @@ def test_ddl_forwarding(ddl: DdlForwardingContext):
         raise AssertionError("Could not count databases")
     assert result[0] == 0, "Database 'failure' still exists after drop"
 
+    # We don't have compute_ctl, so here, so create neon_superuser here manually
+    cur.execute("CREATE ROLE neon_superuser NOLOGIN CREATEDB CREATEROLE")
+
+    with pytest.raises(psycopg2.InternalError):
+        cur.execute("ALTER ROLE neon_superuser LOGIN")
+
+    with pytest.raises(psycopg2.InternalError):
+        cur.execute("CREATE DATABASE trololobus WITH OWNER neon_superuser")
+
+    cur.execute("CREATE DATABASE trololobus")
+    with pytest.raises(psycopg2.InternalError):
+        cur.execute("ALTER DATABASE trololobus OWNER TO neon_superuser")
+
     conn.close()
 
 
diff --git a/test_runner/regress/test_layer_eviction.py b/test_runner/regress/test_layer_eviction.py
index 6a6273760c..2cd2406065 100644
--- a/test_runner/regress/test_layer_eviction.py
+++ b/test_runner/regress/test_layer_eviction.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import time
 
+import pytest
 from fixtures.log_helper import log
 from fixtures.neon_fixtures import (
     NeonEnvBuilder,
@@ -15,7 +16,11 @@ from fixtures.utils import query_scalar
 # and then download them back.
 def test_basic_eviction(
     neon_env_builder: NeonEnvBuilder,
+    build_type: str,
 ):
+    if build_type == "debug":
+        pytest.skip("times out in debug builds")
+
     neon_env_builder.enable_pageserver_remote_storage(RemoteStorageKind.LOCAL_FS)
 
     env = neon_env_builder.init_start(
diff --git a/test_runner/regress/test_layers_from_future.py b/test_runner/regress/test_layers_from_future.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..b36c927628
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test_runner/regress/test_layers_from_future.py
@@ -0,0 +1,222 @@
+import time
+
+from fixtures.log_helper import log
+from fixtures.neon_fixtures import NeonEnvBuilder
+from fixtures.pageserver.types import (
+    DeltaLayerFileName,
+    ImageLayerFileName,
+    is_future_layer,
+)
+from fixtures.pageserver.utils import (
+    wait_for_last_record_lsn,
+    wait_for_upload_queue_empty,
+    wait_until_tenant_active,
+)
+from fixtures.remote_storage import LocalFsStorage, RemoteStorageKind
+from fixtures.types import Lsn
+from fixtures.utils import query_scalar, wait_until
+
+
+def test_issue_5878(neon_env_builder: NeonEnvBuilder):
+    """
+    Regression test for issue https://github.com/neondatabase/neon/issues/5878 .
+
+    Create a situation where IndexPart contains an image layer from a future
+    (i.e., image layer > IndexPart::disk_consistent_lsn).
+    Detach.
+    Attach.
+    Wait for tenant to finish load_layer_map (by waiting for it to become active).
+    Wait for any remote timeline client ops to finish that the attach started.
+    Integrity-check the index part.
+
+    Before fixing the issue, load_layer_map would schedule removal of the future
+    image layer. A compaction run could later re-create the image layer with
+    the same file name, scheduling a PUT.
+    Due to lack of an upload queue barrier, the PUT and DELETE could be re-ordered.
+    The result was IndexPart referencing a non-existent object.
+    """
+    neon_env_builder.enable_pageserver_remote_storage(RemoteStorageKind.LOCAL_FS)
+
+    env = neon_env_builder.init_start()
+
+    ps_http = env.pageserver.http_client()
+
+    l0_l1_threshold = 3
+    image_creation_threshold = 1
+
+    tenant_config = {
+        "gc_period": "0s",  # disable GC (shouldn't matter for this test but still)
+        "compaction_period": "0s",  # we want to control when compaction runs
+        "checkpoint_timeout": "24h",  # something we won't reach
+        "checkpoint_distance": f"{50 * (1024**2)}",  # something we won't reach, we checkpoint manually
+        "image_creation_threshold": f"{image_creation_threshold}",
+        "compaction_threshold": f"{l0_l1_threshold}",
+        "compaction_target_size": f"{128 * (1024**3)}",  # make it so that we only have 1 partition => image coverage for delta layers => enables gc of delta layers
+    }
+
+    tenant_id, timeline_id = env.neon_cli.create_tenant(conf=tenant_config)
+
+    endpoint = env.endpoints.create_start("main", tenant_id=tenant_id)
+
+    def get_index_part():
+        assert isinstance(env.pageserver_remote_storage, LocalFsStorage)
+        ip_path = env.pageserver_remote_storage.index_path(tenant_id, timeline_id)
+        return env.pagectl.dump_index_part(ip_path)
+
+    def get_future_layers():
+        ip = get_index_part()
+        future_layers = [
+            layer_file_name
+            for layer_file_name in ip.layer_metadata.keys()
+            if is_future_layer(layer_file_name, ip.disk_consistent_lsn)
+        ]
+        return future_layers
+
+    assert len(get_future_layers()) == 0
+
+    current = get_index_part()
+    assert len(set(current.layer_metadata.keys())) == 1
+    layer_file_name = list(current.layer_metadata.keys())[0]
+    assert isinstance(layer_file_name, DeltaLayerFileName)
+    assert layer_file_name.is_l0(), f"{layer_file_name}"
+
+    log.info("force image layer creation in the future by writing some data into in-memory layer")
+
+    # Create a number of layers in the tenant
+    with endpoint.cursor() as cur:
+        cur.execute("CREATE TABLE foo (t text)")
+        iters = l0_l1_threshold * image_creation_threshold
+        for i in range(0, iters):
+            cur.execute(
+                f"""
+                INSERT INTO foo
+                SELECT '{i}' || g
+                FROM generate_series(1, 10000) g
+                """
+            )
+            last_record_lsn = Lsn(query_scalar(cur, "SELECT pg_current_wal_flush_lsn()"))
+            wait_for_last_record_lsn(ps_http, tenant_id, timeline_id, last_record_lsn)
+            # 0..iters-1: create a stack of delta layers
+            # iters: leave a non-empty in-memory layer which we'll use for image layer generation
+            if i < iters - 1:
+                ps_http.timeline_checkpoint(tenant_id, timeline_id, force_repartition=True)
+                assert (
+                    len(
+                        [
+                            layer
+                            for layer in ps_http.layer_map_info(
+                                tenant_id, timeline_id
+                            ).historic_layers
+                            if layer.kind == "Image"
+                        ]
+                    )
+                    == 0
+                )
+
+    endpoint.stop()
+
+    wait_for_upload_queue_empty(ps_http, tenant_id, timeline_id)
+
+    ip = get_index_part()
+    assert len(ip.layer_metadata.keys())
+    assert (
+        ip.disk_consistent_lsn < last_record_lsn
+    ), "sanity check for what above loop is supposed to do"
+
+    # create the image layer from the future
+    ps_http.timeline_compact(tenant_id, timeline_id, force_repartition=True)
+    assert (
+        len(
+            [
+                layer
+                for layer in ps_http.layer_map_info(tenant_id, timeline_id).historic_layers
+                if layer.kind == "Image"
+            ]
+        )
+        == 1
+    )
+    wait_for_upload_queue_empty(ps_http, tenant_id, timeline_id)
+    future_layers = get_future_layers()
+    assert len(future_layers) == 1
+    future_layer = future_layers[0]
+    assert isinstance(future_layer, ImageLayerFileName)
+    assert future_layer.lsn == last_record_lsn
+    log.info(
+        f"got layer from the future: lsn={future_layer.lsn} disk_consistent_lsn={ip.disk_consistent_lsn} last_record_lsn={last_record_lsn}"
+    )
+    assert isinstance(env.pageserver_remote_storage, LocalFsStorage)
+    future_layer_path = env.pageserver_remote_storage.layer_path(
+        tenant_id, timeline_id, future_layer
+    )
+    log.info(f"future layer path: {future_layer_path}")
+    pre_stat = future_layer_path.stat()
+    time.sleep(1.1)  # so that we can use change in pre_stat.st_mtime to detect overwrites
+
+    # force removal of layers from the future
+    tenant_conf = ps_http.tenant_config(tenant_id)
+    ps_http.tenant_detach(tenant_id)
+    failpoint_name = "before-delete-layer-pausable"
+    ps_http.configure_failpoints((failpoint_name, "pause"))
+    ps_http.tenant_attach(tenant_id, tenant_conf.tenant_specific_overrides)
+    wait_until_tenant_active(ps_http, tenant_id)
+
+    # Ensure the IndexPart upload that unlinks the layer file finishes, i.e., doesn't clog the queue.
+    def future_layer_is_gone_from_index_part():
+        future_layers = set(get_future_layers())
+        assert future_layer not in future_layers
+
+    wait_until(10, 0.5, future_layer_is_gone_from_index_part)
+
+    # NB: the layer file is unlinked index part now, but, because we made the delete
+    # operation stuck, the layer file itself is still in the remote_storage
+    def delete_at_pause_point():
+        assert env.pageserver.log_contains(f".*{tenant_id}.*at failpoint.*{failpoint_name}")
+
+    wait_until(10, 0.5, delete_at_pause_point)
+    assert future_layer_path.exists()
+
+    # wait for re-ingestion of the WAL from safekeepers into the in-memory layer
+    # (this happens in parallel to the above)
+    wait_for_last_record_lsn(ps_http, tenant_id, timeline_id, last_record_lsn)
+
+    # re-do image layer generation
+    # This will produce the same image layer and queue an upload.
+    # However, we still have the deletion for the layer queued, stuck on the failpoint.
+    # An incorrect implementation would let the PUT execute before the DELETE.
+    # The later code in this test asserts that this doesn't happen.
+    ps_http.timeline_compact(tenant_id, timeline_id, force_repartition=True)
+
+    # Let things sit for some time; a good implementation makes no progress because
+    # we can't execute the PUT before the DELETE. A bad implementation would do that.
+    max_race_opportunity_window = 4
+    start = time.monotonic()
+    while True:
+        post_stat = future_layer_path.stat()
+        assert (
+            pre_stat.st_mtime == post_stat.st_mtime
+        ), "observed PUT overtake the stucked DELETE => bug isn't fixed yet"
+        if time.monotonic() - start > max_race_opportunity_window:
+            log.info(
+                "a correct implementation would never let the later PUT overtake the earlier DELETE"
+            )
+            break
+        time.sleep(1)
+
+    # Window has passed, unstuck the delete, let upload queue drain.
+    log.info("unstuck the DELETE")
+    ps_http.configure_failpoints(("before-delete-layer-pausable", "off"))
+
+    wait_for_upload_queue_empty(ps_http, tenant_id, timeline_id)
+
+    # Examine the resulting S3 state.
+    log.info("integrity-check the remote storage")
+    ip = get_index_part()
+    for layer_file_name in ip.layer_metadata.keys():
+        layer_path = env.pageserver_remote_storage.layer_path(
+            tenant_id, timeline_id, layer_file_name
+        )
+        assert layer_path.exists(), f"{layer_file_name.to_str()}"
+
+    log.info("assert that the overwritten layer won")
+    final_stat = future_layer_path.stat()
+    assert final_stat.st_mtime != pre_stat.st_mtime
diff --git a/test_runner/regress/test_local_file_cache.py b/test_runner/regress/test_local_file_cache.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..38f2034c18
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test_runner/regress/test_local_file_cache.py
@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+import os
+import random
+import threading
+import time
+from typing import List
+
+from fixtures.neon_fixtures import NeonEnv
+from fixtures.utils import query_scalar
+
+
+def test_local_file_cache_unlink(neon_simple_env: NeonEnv):
+    env = neon_simple_env
+
+    cache_dir = os.path.join(env.repo_dir, "file_cache")
+    os.mkdir(cache_dir)
+
+    env.neon_cli.create_branch("test_local_file_cache_unlink", "empty")
+
+    endpoint = env.endpoints.create_start(
+        "test_local_file_cache_unlink",
+        config_lines=[
+            "shared_buffers='1MB'",
+            f"neon.file_cache_path='{cache_dir}/file.cache'",
+            "neon.max_file_cache_size='64MB'",
+            "neon.file_cache_size_limit='10MB'",
+        ],
+    )
+
+    cur = endpoint.connect().cursor()
+
+    n_rows = 100000
+    n_threads = 20
+    n_updates_per_thread = 10000
+    n_updates_per_connection = 1000
+    n_total_updates = n_threads * n_updates_per_thread
+
+    cur.execute("CREATE TABLE lfctest (id int4 PRIMARY KEY, n int) WITH (fillfactor=10)")
+    cur.execute(f"INSERT INTO lfctest SELECT g, 1 FROM generate_series(1, {n_rows}) g")
+
+    # Start threads that will perform random UPDATEs. Each UPDATE
+    # increments the counter on the row, so that we can check at the
+    # end that the sum of all the counters match the number of updates
+    # performed (plus the initial 1 on each row).
+    #
+    # Furthermore, each thread will reconnect between every 1000 updates.
+    def run_updates():
+        n_updates_performed = 0
+        conn = endpoint.connect()
+        cur = conn.cursor()
+        for _ in range(n_updates_per_thread):
+            id = random.randint(1, n_rows)
+            cur.execute(f"UPDATE lfctest SET n = n + 1 WHERE id = {id}")
+            n_updates_performed += 1
+            if n_updates_performed % n_updates_per_connection == 0:
+                cur.close()
+                conn.close()
+                conn = endpoint.connect()
+                cur = conn.cursor()
+
+    threads: List[threading.Thread] = []
+    for _i in range(n_threads):
+        thread = threading.Thread(target=run_updates, args=(), daemon=True)
+        thread.start()
+        threads.append(thread)
+
+    time.sleep(5)
+
+    new_cache_dir = os.path.join(env.repo_dir, "file_cache_new")
+    os.rename(cache_dir, new_cache_dir)
+
+    for thread in threads:
+        thread.join()
+
+    assert query_scalar(cur, "SELECT SUM(n) FROM lfctest") == n_total_updates + n_rows
diff --git a/test_runner/regress/test_neon_extension.py b/test_runner/regress/test_neon_extension.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..998f84f968
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test_runner/regress/test_neon_extension.py
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+from contextlib import closing
+
+from fixtures.log_helper import log
+from fixtures.neon_fixtures import NeonEnvBuilder
+
+
+# Verify that the neon extension is installed and has the correct version.
+def test_neon_extension(neon_env_builder: NeonEnvBuilder):
+    env = neon_env_builder.init_start()
+    env.neon_cli.create_branch("test_create_extension_neon")
+
+    endpoint_main = env.endpoints.create("test_create_extension_neon")
+    # don't skip pg_catalog updates - it runs CREATE EXTENSION neon
+    endpoint_main.respec(skip_pg_catalog_updates=False)
+    endpoint_main.start()
+
+    log.info("postgres is running on 'test_create_extension_neon' branch")
+
+    with closing(endpoint_main.connect()) as conn:
+        with conn.cursor() as cur:
+            cur.execute("SELECT extversion from pg_extension where extname='neon'")
+            # If this fails, it means the extension is either not installed
+            # or was updated and the version is different.
+            #
+            # IMPORTANT:
+            # If the version has changed, the test should be updated.
+            # Ensure that the default version is also updated in the neon.control file
+            assert cur.fetchone() == ("1.1",)
diff --git a/test_runner/regress/test_pageserver_restart.py b/test_runner/regress/test_pageserver_restart.py
index fa1b131537..443b0812fd 100644
--- a/test_runner/regress/test_pageserver_restart.py
+++ b/test_runner/regress/test_pageserver_restart.py
@@ -144,7 +144,10 @@ def test_pageserver_restart(neon_env_builder: NeonEnvBuilder, generations: bool)
 # Test that repeatedly kills and restarts the page server, while the
 # safekeeper and compute node keep running.
 @pytest.mark.timeout(540)
-def test_pageserver_chaos(neon_env_builder: NeonEnvBuilder):
+def test_pageserver_chaos(neon_env_builder: NeonEnvBuilder, build_type: str):
+    if build_type == "debug":
+        pytest.skip("times out in debug builds")
+
     neon_env_builder.enable_pageserver_remote_storage(s3_storage())
     neon_env_builder.enable_scrub_on_exit()
 
diff --git a/test_runner/regress/test_tenant_delete.py b/test_runner/regress/test_tenant_delete.py
index 6e35890922..0dd1f9a295 100644
--- a/test_runner/regress/test_tenant_delete.py
+++ b/test_runner/regress/test_tenant_delete.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import enum
 import os
 import shutil
+from threading import Thread
 
 import pytest
 from fixtures.log_helper import log
@@ -27,7 +28,7 @@ from fixtures.remote_storage import (
     available_s3_storages,
 )
 from fixtures.types import TenantId
-from fixtures.utils import run_pg_bench_small
+from fixtures.utils import run_pg_bench_small, wait_until
 
 
 @pytest.mark.parametrize("remote_storage_kind", available_remote_storages())
@@ -399,4 +400,78 @@ def test_tenant_delete_is_resumed_on_attach(
         )
 
 
+def test_long_timeline_create_cancelled_by_tenant_delete(neon_env_builder: NeonEnvBuilder):
+    """Reproduction of 2023-11-23 stuck tenants investigation"""
+
+    # do not use default tenant/timeline creation because it would output the failpoint log message too early
+    env = neon_env_builder.init_configs()
+    env.start()
+    pageserver_http = env.pageserver.http_client()
+
+    # happens with the cancellation bailing flushing loop earlier, leaving disk_consistent_lsn at zero
+    env.pageserver.allowed_errors.append(
+        ".*Timeline got dropped without initializing, cleaning its files"
+    )
+    # the response hit_pausable_failpoint_and_later_fail
+    env.pageserver.allowed_errors.append(
+        f".*Error processing HTTP request: InternalServerError\\(new timeline {env.initial_tenant}/{env.initial_timeline} has invalid disk_consistent_lsn"
+    )
+
+    pageserver_http.tenant_create(env.initial_tenant)
+
+    failpoint = "flush-layer-cancel-after-writing-layer-out-pausable"
+    pageserver_http.configure_failpoints((failpoint, "pause"))
+
+    def hit_pausable_failpoint_and_later_fail():
+        with pytest.raises(
+            PageserverApiException, match="new timeline \\S+ has invalid disk_consistent_lsn"
+        ):
+            pageserver_http.timeline_create(
+                env.pg_version, env.initial_tenant, env.initial_timeline
+            )
+
+    def start_deletion():
+        pageserver_http.tenant_delete(env.initial_tenant)
+
+    def has_hit_failpoint():
+        assert env.pageserver.log_contains(f"at failpoint {failpoint}") is not None
+
+    def deletion_has_started_waiting_for_timelines():
+        assert env.pageserver.log_contains("Waiting for timelines...") is not None
+
+    def tenant_is_deleted():
+        try:
+            pageserver_http.tenant_status(env.initial_tenant)
+        except PageserverApiException as e:
+            assert e.status_code == 404
+        else:
+            raise RuntimeError("tenant was still accessible")
+
+    creation = Thread(target=hit_pausable_failpoint_and_later_fail)
+    creation.start()
+
+    deletion = None
+
+    try:
+        wait_until(10, 1, has_hit_failpoint)
+
+        # it should start ok, sync up with the stuck creation, then fail because disk_consistent_lsn was not updated
+        # then deletion should fail and set the tenant broken
+        deletion = Thread(target=start_deletion)
+        deletion.start()
+
+        wait_until(10, 1, deletion_has_started_waiting_for_timelines)
+
+        pageserver_http.configure_failpoints((failpoint, "off"))
+
+        creation.join()
+        deletion.join()
+
+        wait_until(10, 1, tenant_is_deleted)
+    finally:
+        creation.join()
+        if deletion is not None:
+            deletion.join()
+
+
 # TODO test concurrent deletions with "hang" failpoint
diff --git a/test_runner/regress/test_tenant_detach.py b/test_runner/regress/test_tenant_detach.py
index 03e78dda2b..0bd3800480 100644
--- a/test_runner/regress/test_tenant_detach.py
+++ b/test_runner/regress/test_tenant_detach.py
@@ -307,7 +307,7 @@ def test_tenant_detach_smoke(neon_env_builder: NeonEnvBuilder):
     )
     gc_thread = Thread(target=lambda: do_gc_target(pageserver_http, tenant_id, timeline_id))
     gc_thread.start()
-    time.sleep(1)
+    time.sleep(5)
     # By now the gc task is spawned but in sleep for another second due to the failpoint.
 
     log.info("detaching tenant")
diff --git a/test_runner/regress/test_timeline_size.py b/test_runner/regress/test_timeline_size.py
index c2e93c48c7..eb98348823 100644
--- a/test_runner/regress/test_timeline_size.py
+++ b/test_runner/regress/test_timeline_size.py
@@ -134,10 +134,11 @@ def wait_for_pageserver_catchup(endpoint_main: Endpoint, polling_interval=1, tim
         res = endpoint_main.safe_psql(
             """
             SELECT
-                pg_size_pretty(pg_cluster_size()),
+                pg_size_pretty(neon.pg_cluster_size()),
                 pg_wal_lsn_diff(pg_current_wal_flush_lsn(), received_lsn) as received_lsn_lag
-            FROM backpressure_lsns();
-            """
+            FROM neon.backpressure_lsns();
+            """,
+            dbname="postgres",
         )[0]
         log.info(f"pg_cluster_size = {res[0]}, received_lsn_lag = {res[1]}")
         received_lsn_lag = res[1]
@@ -152,17 +153,20 @@ def test_timeline_size_quota(neon_env_builder: NeonEnvBuilder):
 
     wait_for_timeline_size_init(client, tenant=env.initial_tenant, timeline=new_timeline_id)
 
-    endpoint_main = env.endpoints.create_start(
+    endpoint_main = env.endpoints.create(
         "test_timeline_size_quota",
         # Set small limit for the test
         config_lines=["neon.max_cluster_size=30MB"],
     )
+    # don't skip pg_catalog updates - it runs CREATE EXTENSION neon
+    # which is needed for pg_cluster_size() to work
+    endpoint_main.respec(skip_pg_catalog_updates=False)
+    endpoint_main.start()
+
     log.info("postgres is running on 'test_timeline_size_quota' branch")
 
     with closing(endpoint_main.connect()) as conn:
         with conn.cursor() as cur:
-            cur.execute("CREATE EXTENSION neon")  # TODO move it to neon_fixtures?
-
             cur.execute("CREATE TABLE foo (t text)")
 
             wait_for_pageserver_catchup(endpoint_main)
@@ -211,7 +215,7 @@ def test_timeline_size_quota(neon_env_builder: NeonEnvBuilder):
 
             wait_for_pageserver_catchup(endpoint_main)
 
-            cur.execute("SELECT * from pg_size_pretty(pg_cluster_size())")
+            cur.execute("SELECT * from pg_size_pretty(neon.pg_cluster_size())")
             pg_cluster_size = cur.fetchone()
             log.info(f"pg_cluster_size = {pg_cluster_size}")
 
diff --git a/test_runner/regress/test_wal_acceptor_async.py b/test_runner/regress/test_wal_acceptor_async.py
index 81a2411271..feab7e605b 100644
--- a/test_runner/regress/test_wal_acceptor_async.py
+++ b/test_runner/regress/test_wal_acceptor_async.py
@@ -602,7 +602,10 @@ async def run_wal_lagging(env: NeonEnv, endpoint: Endpoint, test_output_dir: Pat
 # The test takes more than default 5 minutes on Postgres 16,
 # see https://github.com/neondatabase/neon/issues/5305
 @pytest.mark.timeout(600)
-def test_wal_lagging(neon_env_builder: NeonEnvBuilder, test_output_dir: Path):
+def test_wal_lagging(neon_env_builder: NeonEnvBuilder, test_output_dir: Path, build_type: str):
+    if build_type == "debug":
+        pytest.skip("times out in debug builds")
+
     neon_env_builder.num_safekeepers = 3
     env = neon_env_builder.init_start()
 
diff --git a/test_runner/regress/test_wal_restore.py b/test_runner/regress/test_wal_restore.py
index a4f03be7a0..b039b36255 100644
--- a/test_runner/regress/test_wal_restore.py
+++ b/test_runner/regress/test_wal_restore.py
@@ -1,14 +1,19 @@
 import sys
+import tarfile
+import tempfile
 from pathlib import Path
 
 import pytest
+import zstandard
+from fixtures.log_helper import log
 from fixtures.neon_fixtures import (
     NeonEnvBuilder,
     PgBin,
     VanillaPostgres,
 )
 from fixtures.port_distributor import PortDistributor
-from fixtures.types import TenantId, TimelineId
+from fixtures.remote_storage import LocalFsStorage
+from fixtures.types import Lsn, TenantId, TimelineId
 
 
 @pytest.mark.skipif(
@@ -53,3 +58,70 @@ def test_wal_restore(
         )
         restored.start()
         assert restored.safe_psql("select count(*) from t", user="cloud_admin") == [(300000,)]
+
+
+def decompress_zstd(
+    input_file_name: Path,
+    output_dir: Path,
+):
+    log.info(f"decompressing zstd to: {output_dir}")
+    output_dir.mkdir(mode=0o750, parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    with tempfile.TemporaryFile(suffix=".tar") as temp:
+        decompressor = zstandard.ZstdDecompressor()
+        with open(input_file_name, "rb") as input_file:
+            decompressor.copy_stream(input_file, temp)
+        temp.seek(0)
+        with tarfile.open(fileobj=temp) as tfile:
+            tfile.extractall(path=output_dir)
+
+
+def test_wal_restore_initdb(
+    neon_env_builder: NeonEnvBuilder,
+    pg_bin: PgBin,
+    test_output_dir: Path,
+    port_distributor: PortDistributor,
+    base_dir: Path,
+    pg_distrib_dir: Path,
+):
+    env = neon_env_builder.init_start()
+    endpoint = env.endpoints.create_start("main")
+    endpoint.safe_psql("create table t as select generate_series(1,300000)")
+    tenant_id = env.initial_tenant
+    timeline_id = env.initial_timeline
+    original_lsn = Lsn(endpoint.safe_psql("SELECT pg_current_wal_flush_lsn()")[0][0])
+    env.pageserver.stop()
+    port = port_distributor.get_port()
+    data_dir = test_output_dir / "pgsql.restored"
+
+    assert isinstance(env.pageserver_remote_storage, LocalFsStorage)
+
+    initdb_zst_path = (
+        env.pageserver_remote_storage.timeline_path(tenant_id, timeline_id) / "initdb.tar.zst"
+    )
+
+    decompress_zstd(initdb_zst_path, data_dir)
+    with VanillaPostgres(
+        data_dir, PgBin(test_output_dir, env.pg_distrib_dir, env.pg_version), port, init=False
+    ) as restored:
+        pg_bin.run_capture(
+            [
+                str(base_dir / "libs" / "utils" / "scripts" / "restore_from_wal_initdb.sh"),
+                str(pg_distrib_dir / f"v{env.pg_version}/bin"),
+                str(
+                    test_output_dir
+                    / "repo"
+                    / "safekeepers"
+                    / "sk1"
+                    / str(tenant_id)
+                    / str(timeline_id)
+                ),
+                str(data_dir),
+                str(port),
+            ]
+        )
+        restored.start()
+        restored_lsn = Lsn(
+            restored.safe_psql("SELECT pg_current_wal_flush_lsn()", user="cloud_admin")[0][0]
+        )
+        log.info(f"original lsn: {original_lsn}, restored lsn: {restored_lsn}")
+        assert restored.safe_psql("select count(*) from t", user="cloud_admin") == [(300000,)]
diff --git a/workspace_hack/Cargo.toml b/workspace_hack/Cargo.toml
index 3535c2cf94..66828fb53d 100644
--- a/workspace_hack/Cargo.toml
+++ b/workspace_hack/Cargo.toml
@@ -68,6 +68,9 @@ tracing-core = { version = "0.1" }
 tungstenite = { version = "0.20" }
 url = { version = "2", features = ["serde"] }
 uuid = { version = "1", features = ["serde", "v4"] }
+zstd = { version = "0.12" }
+zstd-safe = { version = "6", default-features = false, features = ["arrays", "legacy", "std", "zdict_builder"] }
+zstd-sys = { version = "2", default-features = false, features = ["legacy", "std", "zdict_builder"] }
 
 [build-dependencies]
 anyhow = { version = "1", features = ["backtrace"] }