diff --git a/tests/ipc/test_tipc.py b/tests/ipc/test_tipc.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e2973aea
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/ipc/test_tipc.py
@@ -0,0 +1,358 @@
+'''
+Unit tests for the `AF_TIPC` transport backend, `tractor.ipc._tipc`.
+
+The kernel-touching cases are gated on `is_tipc_available()` since
+the `tipc` module is NOT loaded by default (`sudo modprobe tipc`);
+the pure address-algebra cases run everywhere.
+
+'''
+from __future__ import annotations
+import errno
+from socket import (
+    SOCK_STREAM,
+    SOL_SOCKET,
+    SO_ACCEPTCONN,
+)
+
+import pytest
+import trio
+
+from tractor.ipc import _tipc
+from tractor.ipc._tipc import (
+    AF_TIPC,
+    TIPC_ADDR_ID,
+    TIPC_ADDR_NAME,
+    TIPC_CLUSTER_SCOPE,
+    TIPC_NODE_SCOPE,
+    TIPC_ZONE_SCOPE,
+    TRACTOR_STYPE,
+    TIPCAddress,
+    instance_from_seed,
+    is_tipc_available,
+    start_listener,
+)
+
+
+pytestmark = pytest.mark.tipc
+
+requires_tipc = pytest.mark.skipif(
+    not is_tipc_available(),
+    reason=(
+        '`tipc` kernel module not loaded (`sudo modprobe tipc`)'
+    ),
+)
+
+
+# ------------------------------------------------------------------
+# address algebra (no kernel needed)
+# ------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    'addr',
+    [
+        TIPCAddress.get_root(),
+        TIPCAddress(
+            _stype=TRACTOR_STYPE,
+            _instance=42,
+            _scope=TIPC_NODE_SCOPE,
+        ),
+    ],
+    ids=['root', 'node-scoped'],
+)
+def test_addr_unwrap_roundtrip(addr: TIPCAddress):
+    '''
+    `.unwrap()` is proto-keyed and `.from_addr()` inverts it — for
+    both the `tuple` form and the `list` form msgpack decodes to.
+
+    '''
+    unwrapped: tuple = addr.unwrap()
+    assert unwrapped[0] == 'tipc' == TIPCAddress.proto_key
+    assert len(unwrapped) == 4
+
+    assert TIPCAddress.from_addr(unwrapped) == addr
+    assert TIPCAddress.from_addr(list(unwrapped)) == addr
+
+
+def test_addr_scope_defaults_when_omitted():
+    '''
+    A 3-elem `('tipc', stype, inst)` form defaults to the
+    cluster-scope bindspace.
+
+    '''
+    addr: TIPCAddress = TIPCAddress.from_addr(
+        ('tipc', TRACTOR_STYPE, 99),
+    )
+    assert addr._scope == TIPC_CLUSTER_SCOPE
+    assert addr.bindspace == TIPCAddress.def_bindspace
+
+
+def test_zone_scope_normalized_to_cluster():
+    '''
+    `TIPC_ZONE_SCOPE` is deprecated/aliased in modern kernels;
+    accept it on input, fold it to cluster.
+
+    '''
+    addr: TIPCAddress = TIPCAddress.from_addr(
+        ('tipc', TRACTOR_STYPE, 7, TIPC_ZONE_SCOPE),
+    )
+    assert addr._scope == TIPC_CLUSTER_SCOPE
+    assert addr.is_valid
+
+
+def test_addr_from_bare_port_id_raises():
+    '''
+    A `TIPC_ADDR_ID` 5-tuple carries no service-name so it can
+    NEVER be wrapped; it must fail loudly rather than silently
+    fabricate an un-dialable addr.
+
+    This is the invariant that lets
+    `TIPCAddress.rebind_from_sockname` be `False`.
+
+    '''
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError) as excinfo:
+        TIPCAddress.from_addr((TIPC_ADDR_ID, 0, 12345, 0, 0))
+
+    assert 'port-id' in str(excinfo.value)
+
+
+def test_addr_is_valid_predicate():
+    assert TIPCAddress.get_root().is_valid
+
+    # instance 0 is not a bindable name
+    assert not TIPCAddress(
+        _stype=TRACTOR_STYPE,
+        _instance=0,
+    ).is_valid
+
+    # service-types 0..63 are TIPC-internal (`TIPC_CFG_SRV`,
+    # `TIPC_TOP_SRV`, ..)
+    assert not TIPCAddress(
+        _stype=1,
+        _instance=1616,
+    ).is_valid
+
+
+def test_port_id_is_annotation_only():
+    '''
+    `.maybe_node`/`.maybe_ref` are *observed* metadata, excluded
+    from `.unwrap()` exactly like `UDSAddress.maybe_pid`.
+
+    '''
+    addr: TIPCAddress = TIPCAddress.get_root()
+    annotated: TIPCAddress = addr.with_port_id(
+        node=0xdead,
+        ref=1234,
+    )
+    assert annotated.unwrap() == addr.unwrap()
+    assert annotated.maybe_ref == 1234
+    assert '1234' in repr(annotated)
+
+
+def test_instance_from_seed_is_pure():
+    '''
+    Same seed -> same instance (what the follow-up registrar-less
+    discovery fast-path will lean on), and always clear of the
+    reserved low range.
+
+    '''
+    for seed in ('doggy@123', 'kitty@456', ''):
+        inst: int = instance_from_seed(seed)
+        assert inst == instance_from_seed(seed)
+        assert 64 <= inst < 2**32
+
+
+def test_get_random_collision_resistance():
+    '''
+    A `.get_random()` clash does NOT raise `EADDRINUSE` — TIPC
+    accepts multiple publishers of one name and round-robins
+    connects between them, so a collision is *silent crosstalk*.
+
+    Assert the 4-byte digest spreads well enough for that to stay
+    improbable.
+
+    NOTE the bound is birthday-statistical, not absolute:
+    P(collision) ~= 1 - exp(-n**2 / 2**33) ~= 1.2e-2 for n=10k, so
+    a strict `== n` assert would be ~1-in-86 flaky. P(>2
+    collisions) is ~1e-7, hence the slack. See plan 01 §9 for the
+    escalation path if this ever trips.
+
+    '''
+    n: int = 10_000
+    addrs: list[TIPCAddress] = [
+        TIPCAddress.get_random()
+        for _ in range(n)
+    ]
+    instances: set[int] = {
+        addr._instance
+        for addr in addrs
+    }
+    assert len(instances) >= n - 2
+
+    # every one is a legal, bindable name
+    assert all(addr.is_valid for addr in addrs)
+
+
+def test_get_random_honors_bindspace():
+    addr: TIPCAddress = TIPCAddress.get_random(
+        bindspace=TIPC_NODE_SCOPE,
+    )
+    assert addr.bindspace == TIPC_NODE_SCOPE == addr._scope
+
+
+def test_eafnosupport_is_actionable_connerr(
+    monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch,
+):
+    '''
+    With no `tipc` module the kernel answers `EAFNOSUPPORT`; that
+    MUST surface as a `ConnectionError` naming the fix rather than
+    a bare `OSError`.
+
+    '''
+    class _NoTIPCKernel:
+        @staticmethod
+        def socket(*args, **kwargs):
+            raise OSError(
+                errno.EAFNOSUPPORT,
+                'Address family not supported by protocol',
+            )
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(_tipc, 'trio_socket', _NoTIPCKernel)
+
+    async def main():
+        await start_listener(addr=TIPCAddress.get_root())
+
+    with pytest.raises(ConnectionError) as excinfo:
+        trio.run(main)
+
+    report: str = str(excinfo.value)
+    assert 'modprobe tipc' in report
+    assert type(excinfo.value.__cause__) is OSError
+
+
+# ------------------------------------------------------------------
+# kernel-touching
+# ------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+@requires_tipc
+def test_listener_tolerates_so_acceptconn():
+    '''
+    `trio.SocketListener.__init__` asserts
+    `getsockopt(SOL_SOCKET, SO_ACCEPTCONN)` is truthy, suppressing
+    `OSError` for exotic families.
+
+    Pin which of the two branches `AF_TIPC` actually takes (plan 01
+    §3.1 left it as an assumption) so a kernel-side regression is
+    caught here rather than as a mystery bind failure.
+
+    '''
+    async def main():
+        addr: TIPCAddress = TIPCAddress.get_random()
+        lstnr = await start_listener(addr=addr)
+        try:
+            assert lstnr.socket.getsockopt(
+                SOL_SOCKET,
+                SO_ACCEPTCONN,
+            )
+        finally:
+            lstnr.socket.close()
+
+    trio.run(main)
+
+
+@requires_tipc
+def test_bind_publishes_a_dialable_service_name():
+    '''
+    "Publishing a bind IS registration": `.bind()` a singleton
+    name-seq and a second task resolves it by *name* — with NO
+    `tractor` registrar in the loop.
+
+    This is the core #378 property.
+
+    '''
+    async def main():
+        addr: TIPCAddress = TIPCAddress.get_random()
+        lstnr = await start_listener(addr=addr)
+
+        accepted: list = []
+
+        async def _accept():
+            stream = await lstnr.accept()
+            accepted.append(stream)
+            await stream.send_all(b'woof')
+            await stream.aclose()
+
+        async with trio.open_nursery() as tn:
+            tn.start_soon(_accept)
+            await trio.sleep(0.05)
+
+            sock = _tipc.trio_socket.socket(
+                AF_TIPC,
+                SOCK_STREAM,
+            )
+            # NOTE, connect by *name* -> the kernel does the
+            # lookup, i.e. this call IS the discovery query.
+            await sock.connect((
+                TIPC_ADDR_NAME,
+                addr._stype,
+                addr._instance,
+                0,  # domain: 0 == "anywhere in scope"
+                addr._scope,
+            ))
+            stream = trio.SocketStream(sock)
+            assert await stream.receive_some(16) == b'woof'
+            await stream.aclose()
+
+        assert len(accepted) == 1
+        lstnr.socket.close()
+
+    trio.run(main)
+
+
+@requires_tipc
+def test_getsockname_is_a_port_id_not_the_bound_name():
+    '''
+    The reason `TIPCAddress.rebind_from_sockname` is `False`.
+
+    A NAMESEQ-bound listener's `getsockname()` answers a
+    `TIPC_ADDR_ID` port-id, which never equals `.unwrap()` and
+    cannot be wrapped back into a service name.
+
+    '''
+    async def main():
+        addr: TIPCAddress = TIPCAddress.get_random()
+        lstnr = await start_listener(addr=addr)
+        try:
+            sockname: tuple = lstnr.socket.getsockname()
+            assert sockname[0] == TIPC_ADDR_ID
+            assert sockname != addr.unwrap()
+            with pytest.raises(ValueError):
+                TIPCAddress.from_addr(sockname)
+        finally:
+            lstnr.socket.close()
+
+    trio.run(main)
+
+
+@requires_tipc
+def test_duplicate_name_bind_does_not_raise():
+    '''
+    Unlike every other backend, TIPC permits *two* publishers of
+    one service name and round-robins connects between them.
+
+    Pin that observed behaviour — it's the whole reason
+    `.get_random()` bothers with a well-spread digest, and a
+    future kernel that starts raising `EADDRINUSE` here would be
+    very good news worth noticing.
+
+    '''
+    async def main():
+        addr: TIPCAddress = TIPCAddress.get_random()
+        first = await start_listener(addr=addr)
+        second = await start_listener(addr=addr)
+        try:
+            assert first.socket.getsockname() != second.socket.getsockname()
+        finally:
+            first.socket.close()
+            second.socket.close()
+
+    trio.run(main)
diff --git a/tractor/_testing/pytest.py b/tractor/_testing/pytest.py
index 90b0ae67..b8938fb1 100644
--- a/tractor/_testing/pytest.py
+++ b/tractor/_testing/pytest.py
@@ -496,6 +496,12 @@ def pytest_configure(
         'has_nested_actors: test spawns nested (>1-level) subactor '
         'trees.'
     )
+    config.addinivalue_line(
+        'markers',
+        'tipc: test targets the `AF_TIPC` tpt backend; the kernel- '
+        'touching cases self-skip unless the `tipc` module is loaded '
+        '(`sudo modprobe tipc`).'
+    )
     config.addinivalue_line(
         'markers',
         'trio: legacy mark for tests meant to run under the `trio` '
diff --git a/tractor/ipc/_tipc.py b/tractor/ipc/_tipc.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c428cd95
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tractor/ipc/_tipc.py
@@ -0,0 +1,550 @@
+# tractor: distributed structured concurrency.
+# Copyright 2018-eternity Tyler Goodlet.
+
+# This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+# it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as published by
+# the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+# (at your option) any later version.
+
+# This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+# but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+# GNU Affero General Public License for more details.
+
+# You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
+# along with this program.  If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+'''
+`AF_TIPC` (Transparent Inter-Process Communication) implementation of
+the `tractor.ipc._transport.MsgTransport` protocol.
+
+TIPC is a linux-kernel cluster IPC protocol whose *service names* are
+published in a cluster-wide name-table by the kernel itself. That
+makes a `.bind()` literally a service **registration** and
+a `.connect()` literally a service **lookup**, i.e. the discovery
+machinery `tractor.discovery` normally implements with a registrar
+actor comes for free, in-kernel.
+
+An actor's TIPC address is therefore a *service name* pair,
+`(stype, instance)`,
+
+- a listener `.bind()`s the singleton published range
+  `(stype, instance, instance)` as a `TIPC_ADDR_NAMESEQ`,
+- a peer `.connect()`s that name as a `TIPC_ADDR_NAME` and the kernel
+  resolves it,
+- `TIPC_ADDR_ID` (a `(node, ref)` port-id) is only ever an *observed*
+  address, never a user-facing one.
+
+NOTE, the `tipc` kernel module is NOT loaded by default; see
+`is_tipc_available()` and the `sudo modprobe tipc` hint carried in
+this module's `ConnectionError` messages.
+
+Normative refs are the kernel sources (the tipc.io docs are stale),
+- `include/uapi/linux/tipc.h`
+- `net/tipc/socket.c`
+
+'''
+from __future__ import annotations
+from contextlib import (
+    contextmanager as cm,
+)
+import errno
+from hashlib import blake2b
+import os
+import socket
+from socket import SOCK_STREAM
+from typing import (
+    ClassVar,
+    Type,
+    TYPE_CHECKING,
+)
+from uuid import uuid4
+
+import msgspec
+from trio import (
+    socket as trio_socket,
+    SocketListener,
+)
+
+from tractor.log import get_logger
+from tractor.runtime._state import (
+    current_actor,
+    is_root_process,
+)
+
+if TYPE_CHECKING:
+    from tractor.runtime._runtime import Actor
+
+
+log = get_logger()
+
+
+# XXX, `AF_TIPC` and every `TIPC_*` constant are linux-ONLY in
+# CPython's `socketmodule.c`. Mirror the `_uds.py` `SO_PASSCRED`
+# precedent and fall back to the uapi values so this module stays
+# **importable everywhere** — `.discovery._addr` builds its
+# registration tables at import time (contract §2.3) — while
+# `is_tipc_available()` remains the single *runtime* gate.
+#
+# values verified against `include/uapi/linux/tipc.h`
+try:
+    from socket import (
+        AF_TIPC,
+        SOL_TIPC,
+        TIPC_ADDR_ID,
+        TIPC_ADDR_NAME,
+        TIPC_ADDR_NAMESEQ,
+        TIPC_CLUSTER_SCOPE,
+        TIPC_NODE_SCOPE,
+        TIPC_ZONE_SCOPE,
+    )
+except ImportError:
+    AF_TIPC: int = 30
+    SOL_TIPC: int = 271
+    TIPC_ADDR_NAMESEQ: int = 1
+    TIPC_ADDR_NAME: int = 2
+    TIPC_ADDR_ID: int = 3
+    TIPC_ZONE_SCOPE: int = 1
+    TIPC_CLUSTER_SCOPE: int = 2
+    TIPC_NODE_SCOPE: int = 3
+
+
+# `tractor`'s reserved TIPC service-class ("type"), spelling out
+# ascii 'tr' in the high half and leaving the low 16b free for
+# app-side partitioning via an explicit `TIPCAddress._stype`.
+#
+# NOTE, two `tractor` trees sharing BOTH a cluster and an `_stype`
+# share a service-name space; see `.get_random()` on why that's
+# only a *probabilistic* hazard.
+TRACTOR_STYPE: int = 0x74_72_00_00
+
+# TIPC reserves service-*types* 0..63 for its own internal services
+# (`TIPC_CFG_SRV == 0`, `TIPC_TOP_SRV == 1`); see
+# `include/uapi/linux/tipc.h`.
+_tipc_reserved_stypes: range = range(0, 64)
+
+# sentinel for "this addr was *observed* off a `TIPC_ADDR_ID`, so
+# the peer's service-name is unknowable from the socket alone".
+# See plan 01 §3.4.
+TIPC_NAME_UNKNOWN: int = -1
+
+_scope_names: dict[int, str] = {
+    TIPC_ZONE_SCOPE: 'zone',
+    TIPC_CLUSTER_SCOPE: 'cluster',
+    TIPC_NODE_SCOPE: 'node',
+}
+
+# see `is_tipc_available()`
+_tipc_avail: bool|None = None
+
+
+def is_tipc_available() -> bool:
+    '''
+    `True` iff this kernel can create an `AF_TIPC` socket, i.e. the
+    `tipc` module is loaded (`sudo modprobe tipc`).
+
+    Pure predicate; no side effects, no logging. The answer can't
+    change without a `modprobe` so it's memoized after the first
+    (one syscall) probe.
+
+    '''
+    global _tipc_avail
+    if _tipc_avail is None:
+        try:
+            socket.socket(
+                AF_TIPC,
+                SOCK_STREAM,
+            ).close()
+            _tipc_avail = True
+        except OSError:
+            _tipc_avail = False
+
+    return _tipc_avail
+
+
+class TIPCAddress(
+    msgspec.Struct,
+    frozen=True,
+):
+    '''
+    A TIPC *service name* as an address, i.e. the
+    `(type, instance)` pair a listener publishes and a peer
+    resolves, plus the optionally-*observed* `TIPC_ADDR_ID`
+    port-id of a live connection.
+
+    '''
+    _stype: int
+    _instance: int
+    _scope: int = TIPC_CLUSTER_SCOPE
+
+    # observed-only, from a `TIPC_ADDR_ID` `getsockname()`/
+    # `getpeername()`; excluded from `.unwrap()` exactly like
+    # `UDSAddress.maybe_pid`.
+    maybe_node: int|None = None
+    maybe_ref: int|None = None
+
+    proto_key: ClassVar[str] = 'tipc'
+    unwrapped_type: ClassVar[type] = tuple[str, int, int, int]
+    def_bindspace: ClassVar[int] = TIPC_CLUSTER_SCOPE
+
+    # XXX, TIPC's `getsockname()` answers a `TIPC_ADDR_ID` port-id
+    # and NEVER the name-seq we bound, so the `Endpoint`-level
+    # reconciliation would clobber a dialable service-name with an
+    # un-dialable port-id. There's also nothing to learn: unlike
+    # tcp's `port=0` there is no kernel-assigned-name analogue.
+    rebind_from_sockname: ClassVar[bool] = False
+
+    @property
+    def bindspace(self) -> int:
+        '''
+        The TIPC *scope*, i.e. literally "the set of hosts from
+        which this published name is reachable": `TIPC_NODE_SCOPE`
+        for same-host-only (the UDS analogue),
+        `TIPC_CLUSTER_SCOPE` for cluster-visible.
+
+        '''
+        return self._scope
+
+    @property
+    def is_valid(self) -> bool:
+        '''
+        Is this a *publishable/dialable* service name?
+
+        NOTE the `> 0` (rather than `!= 0`) guards double-duty as
+        the `TIPC_NAME_UNKNOWN` reject, i.e. an addr merely
+        *observed* off a peer's port-id is never dialable.
+
+        '''
+        return (
+            self._instance > 0
+            and
+            self._stype > 0
+            and
+            self._stype not in _tipc_reserved_stypes
+            and
+            self._scope in (
+                TIPC_NODE_SCOPE,
+                TIPC_CLUSTER_SCOPE,
+            )
+        )
+
+    @classmethod
+    def from_addr(
+        cls,
+        addr: tuple[str, int, int, int],
+    ) -> TIPCAddress:
+        match addr:
+            # our proto-keyed unwrapped form, w/ scope optional
+            case (
+                ('tipc', int() as stype, int() as inst, int() as scope)
+                |
+                ['tipc', int() as stype, int() as inst, int() as scope]
+            ):
+                return TIPCAddress(
+                    _stype=stype,
+                    _instance=inst,
+                    _scope=_norm_scope(scope),
+                )
+
+            case (
+                ('tipc', int() as stype, int() as inst)
+                |
+                ['tipc', int() as stype, int() as inst]
+            ):
+                return TIPCAddress(
+                    _stype=stype,
+                    _instance=inst,
+                )
+
+            # a kernel-observed `TIPC_ADDR_ID` 5-tuple.
+            #
+            # XXX, a port-id carries NO service-name info, so we
+            # cannot reconstruct `(stype, instance)` from it. This
+            # is exactly why `.rebind_from_sockname` is `False`;
+            # if you land here something re-enabled that path.
+            case (int() as atype, *_) if atype == TIPC_ADDR_ID:
+                raise ValueError(
+                    f'Can not wrap a bare TIPC_ADDR_ID port-id !\n'
+                    f'addr: {addr!r}\n'
+                    f'\n'
+                    f'A port-id carries no service-name, so the\n'
+                    f'`(stype, instance)` identity is unrecoverable.\n'
+                    f'Use `.with_port_id()` to *annotate* a known\n'
+                    f'{cls.__name__} instead.\n'
+                )
+
+            case _:
+                raise TypeError(
+                    f'Bad unwrapped-address for {cls} !\n'
+                    f'{addr!r}\n'
+                )
+
+    def unwrap(self) -> tuple[str, int, int, int]:
+        # NOTE, proto-keyed (w/ the `multiaddr` proto spelling) so
+        # `wrap_address()` can dispatch unambiguously against the
+        # other backends' 2-tuple forms; see contract §1.1.
+        return (
+            'tipc',
+            self._stype,
+            self._instance,
+            self._scope,
+        )
+
+    def with_port_id(
+        self,
+        node: int,
+        ref: int,
+    ) -> TIPCAddress:
+        '''
+        A copy annotated with an *observed* `TIPC_ADDR_ID`
+        port-id, purely for logging/`__repr__`.
+
+        '''
+        return msgspec.structs.replace(
+            self,
+            maybe_node=node,
+            maybe_ref=ref,
+        )
+
+    @classmethod
+    def get_random(
+        cls,
+        bindspace: int|None = None,
+    ) -> TIPCAddress:
+        '''
+        A per-subactor ephemeral service-name.
+
+        XXX, TIPC has NO kernel-assigned-instance analogue of tcp's
+        `port=0`, so we must choose the instance ourselves — and a
+        clash does **not** raise `EADDRINUSE`: TIPC happily accepts
+        multiple publishers of one name and round-robins connects
+        between them (verified). I.e. a collision manifests as
+        *silent crosstalk*, not an error.
+
+        So the instance is a `blake2b` digest of a per-call-unique
+        seed, giving a well-spread 32b value. Being a pure fn of the
+        seed it is also *reproducible*, which the (follow-up)
+        registrar-less discovery fast-path wants.
+
+        NOTE the residual risk is birthday-bounded: ~1.2e-2 for 10k
+        names sharing one `_stype`. See plan 01 §9 for the
+        escalation (post-bind verification) if that ever bites.
+
+        '''
+        pid: int = os.getpid()
+        actor: Actor|None = current_actor(
+            err_on_no_runtime=False,
+        )
+        if actor:
+            seed: str = f'{actor.aid.name}@{pid}'
+        else:
+            if is_root_process():
+                prefix: str = 'no_runtime_root'
+            else:
+                prefix: str = 'no_runtime_actor'
+
+            # XXX, no live actor -> no `Aid` to key off, so mix
+            # a per-CALL token in; w/o it the seed degenerates to
+            # a pure fn of `(prefix, pid)` and two calls in one
+            # proc alias to the SAME service name — the `_uds.py`
+            # `.get_random()` hazard, but silent here.
+            seed: str = f'{prefix}.{uuid4().hex[:8]}@{pid}'
+
+        return TIPCAddress(
+            _stype=TRACTOR_STYPE,
+            _instance=instance_from_seed(seed),
+            _scope=(
+                bindspace
+                if bindspace is not None
+                else cls.def_bindspace
+            ),
+        )
+
+    @classmethod
+    def is_available(cls) -> tuple[bool, str]:
+        '''
+        Generic tpt-capability hook: `(ok, why_not)`.
+
+        Consumed by the `tpt_protos` test fixture so a
+        `--tpt-proto tipc` run on a box with no `tipc` module
+        fails loudly and early rather than as a few hundred
+        confusing connect timeouts. Apps can use it too.
+
+        NOTE, deliberately spelled generically (NOT `is_tipc_*`)
+        so the sibling env-dependent backends — `quic`/`iroh`
+        (gh #353) and the `wg` netns bindspace (gh #482) — get
+        the same gate for free.
+
+        '''
+        if is_tipc_available():
+            return (True, '')
+
+        return (
+            False,
+            'the `tipc` kernel module is not loaded'
+            ' |_try: `sudo modprobe tipc`',
+        )
+
+    @classmethod
+    def get_root(cls) -> TIPCAddress:
+        # NOTE, `1616` mirrors `TCPAddress.get_root()`s port and
+        # the UDS `registry@1616.sock` filename so the "1616 is
+        # tractor's registrar" idiom holds across all backends.
+        return TIPCAddress(
+            _stype=TRACTOR_STYPE,
+            _instance=1616,
+            _scope=TIPC_CLUSTER_SCOPE,
+        )
+
+    def __repr__(self) -> str:
+        if self._instance == TIPC_NAME_UNKNOWN:
+            name: str = '<unknown-service>'
+        else:
+            name: str = f'0x{self._stype:08x}:{self._instance}'
+
+        body: str = (
+            f'{name}, {_scope_names.get(self._scope, self._scope)}'
+        )
+        if (node := self.maybe_node) is not None:
+            body += f', @0x{node:08x}:{self.maybe_ref}'
+
+        return (
+            f'{type(self).__name__}'
+            f'['
+            f'{body}'
+            f']'
+        )
+
+
+def instance_from_seed(seed: str) -> int:
+    '''
+    Derive a TIPC service *instance* from an actor-identity `seed`.
+
+    A `blake2b` digest folded into `[64, 2**32)`; the low values are
+    skipped to stay clear of TIPC's own reserved numbering
+    conventions.
+
+    '''
+    inst: int = int.from_bytes(
+        blake2b(
+            seed.encode(),
+            digest_size=4,
+        ).digest(),
+        'big',
+    )
+    return 64 + (inst % (2**32 - 64))
+
+
+def _norm_scope(scope: int) -> int:
+    '''
+    Normalize a `TIPC_*_SCOPE` value.
+
+    `TIPC_ZONE_SCOPE` is deprecated and aliased to cluster-scope by
+    modern kernels; accept it on input and fold it.
+
+    '''
+    if scope == TIPC_ZONE_SCOPE:
+        log.transport(
+            f'Normalizing deprecated TIPC_ZONE_SCOPE -> cluster\n'
+            f'scope: {scope!r}\n'
+        )
+        return TIPC_CLUSTER_SCOPE
+
+    return scope
+
+
+@cm
+def _reraise_as_connerr(
+    src_excs: tuple[Type[Exception]],
+    addr: TIPCAddress,
+):
+    '''
+    Normalize TIPC's `OSError`s into `ConnectionError`s.
+
+    XXX REQUIRED, not polish: TIPC answers a lookup for an
+    unpublished name with `EHOSTUNREACH` which python maps to a
+    **bare** `OSError`, NOT a `ConnectionError` subtype (unlike
+    `ECONNREFUSED` -> `ConnectionRefusedError`). Contract §4's
+    discovery-ping path requires the `ConnectionError` shape.
+
+    '''
+    try:
+        yield
+    except src_excs as src_exc:
+        match src_exc.errno:
+            case errno.EAFNOSUPPORT:
+                why: str = (
+                    'TIPC unavailable — is the kernel module loaded?\n'
+                    ' |_try: `sudo modprobe tipc`\n'
+                )
+            case errno.EHOSTUNREACH:
+                why: str = (
+                    'No TIPC publisher for this service name\n'
+                    ' |_nothing has `.bind()`ed it in-scope\n'
+                )
+            case _:
+                why: str = 'Bad TIPC service-name-as-address ??\n'
+
+        raise ConnectionError(
+            f'{why}'
+            f'{addr}\n'
+            f'\n'
+            f'from src: {src_exc!r}\n'
+        ) from src_exc
+
+
+async def start_listener(
+    addr: TIPCAddress,
+    backlog: int = 128,
+    **kwargs,
+) -> SocketListener:
+    '''
+    Publish `addr` as a TIPC service name and listen on it.
+
+    The `.bind()` of a singleton `TIPC_ADDR_NAMESEQ` range
+    `(stype, instance, instance)` **is** the service registration —
+    it's what shows up in `tipc nametable show` and what a peer's
+    `.connect()`-by-name resolves against.
+
+    NOTE, unlike every other backend a duplicate bind does NOT
+    raise: TIPC permits multiple publishers of one name and
+    round-robins connects between them. See
+    `TIPCAddress.get_random()`.
+
+    '''
+    log.info(
+        f'Attempting to publish TIPC service name\n'
+        f'>[\n'
+        f'|_{addr}\n'
+    )
+    with _reraise_as_connerr(
+        src_excs=(OSError,),
+        addr=addr,
+    ):
+        sock = trio_socket.socket(
+            AF_TIPC,
+            SOCK_STREAM,
+        )
+        await sock.bind((
+            TIPC_ADDR_NAMESEQ,
+            addr._stype,
+            addr._instance,  # lower
+            addr._instance,  # upper
+            addr._scope,
+        ))
+
+    # NOTE, backlog matches `_uds.start_listener()`'s hard-won
+    # value; a backlog of 1 overflows during concurrent
+    # deregistration storms at actor-tree teardown.
+    sock.listen(backlog)
+    log.info(
+        f'Published TIPC service name\n'
+        f'[>\n'
+        f' |_{addr}\n'
+    )
+    return SocketListener(sock)
+
+
+# NOTE, deliberately NO `close_listener()`: there's no filesys
+# entry to unlink and the kernel withdraws the published name on
+# socket close. Per contract §1.2 absence means "closing is
+# implicit".