diff --git a/dashboard.py b/dashboard.py
index 47bc4cb..37838b4 100644
--- a/dashboard.py
+++ b/dashboard.py
@@ -1,18 +1,26 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env python3
 """
 Lightweight test server and transparent proxy for the Records API.
-Serves index.html on http://127.0.0.1:8080 and adds CORS headers to Axum requests.
+Serves index.html on http://127.0.0.1:8080 and transparently proxies
+requests to cluster instances, bypassing self-signed TLS certificate checks.
 """
 from http.server import SimpleHTTPRequestHandler, HTTPServer
 import urllib.request
 import urllib.error
+import urllib.parse
+import ssl
+import json
+import os
 
-PORT = 8080
+PORT = int(os.environ.get("DASHBOARD_PORT", 8080))
+
+# Create an SSL context that ignores self-signed certificate errors
+SSL_CTX = ssl._create_unverified_context()
 
 class ProxyHandler(SimpleHTTPRequestHandler):
     def end_headers(self):
         self.send_header('Access-Control-Allow-Origin', '*')
-        self.send_header('Access-Control-Allow-Methods', 'GET, POST, OPTIONS')
+        self.send_header('Access-Control-Allow-Methods', 'GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, OPTIONS, HEAD')
         self.send_header('Access-Control-Allow-Headers', '*')
         super().end_headers()
 
@@ -20,11 +28,123 @@ class ProxyHandler(SimpleHTTPRequestHandler):
         self.send_response(204)
         self.end_headers()
 
+    def do_GET(self):
+        if self.path.startswith('/proxy'):
+            self.handle_proxy('GET')
+        else:
+            super().do_GET()
+
+    def do_HEAD(self):
+        if self.path.startswith('/proxy'):
+            self.handle_proxy('HEAD')
+        else:
+            super().do_HEAD()
+
+    def do_POST(self):
+        if self.path.startswith('/proxy'):
+            self.handle_proxy('POST')
+        else:
+            self.send_error(405, "Method Not Allowed")
+
+    def do_PUT(self):
+        if self.path.startswith('/proxy'):
+            self.handle_proxy('PUT')
+        else:
+            self.send_error(405, "Method Not Allowed")
+
+    def do_DELETE(self):
+        if self.path.startswith('/proxy'):
+            self.handle_proxy('DELETE')
+        else:
+            self.send_error(405, "Method Not Allowed")
+
+    def extract_target_url(self):
+        parsed = urllib.parse.urlparse(self.path)
+        if parsed.path.rstrip('/') == '/proxy':
+            if '?url=' in self.path:
+                return urllib.parse.unquote(self.path.split('?url=', 1)[1])
+            qs = urllib.parse.parse_qs(parsed.query)
+            return qs.get('url', [None])[0]
+        elif parsed.path.startswith('/proxy/'):
+            rest = self.path[len('/proxy/'):]
+            if rest.startswith('http://') or rest.startswith('https://'):
+                return rest
+            parts = rest.split('/', 1)
+            host_or_port = parts[0]
+            subpath = '/' + parts[1] if len(parts) > 1 else ''
+            if parsed.query:
+                subpath += '?' + parsed.query
+            if host_or_port.isdigit():
+                return f"https://127.0.0.1:{host_or_port}{subpath}"
+            return f"https://{host_or_port}{subpath}"
+        return None
+
+    def handle_proxy(self, method):
+        target_url = self.extract_target_url()
+        if not target_url:
+            self.send_response(400)
+            self.send_header('Content-Type', 'application/json')
+            self.end_headers()
+            self.wfile.write(json.dumps({'error': 'Missing or invalid target URL'}).encode())
+            return
+
+        content_length = int(self.headers.get('Content-Length', 0))
+        body = self.rfile.read(content_length) if content_length > 0 else None
+
+        # Filter hop-by-hop headers and compression to ensure clean raw data transfer
+        req_headers = {}
+        for k, v in self.headers.items():
+            if k.lower() in ('host', 'content-length', 'connection', 'transfer-encoding', 'accept-encoding'):
+                continue
+            req_headers[k] = v
+
+        req = urllib.request.Request(target_url, data=body, headers=req_headers, method=method)
+
+        try:
+            with urllib.request.urlopen(req, context=SSL_CTX, timeout=15) as resp:
+                status_code = resp.status
+                resp_headers = resp.getheaders()
+                resp_body = resp.read() if method != 'HEAD' else b''
+        except urllib.error.HTTPError as e:
+            status_code = e.code
+            resp_headers = e.headers.items()
+            resp_body = e.read() if method != 'HEAD' else b''
+        except urllib.error.URLError as e:
+            self.send_response(502)
+            self.send_header('Content-Type', 'application/json')
+            self.end_headers()
+            err_msg = json.dumps({'error': f'Failed to connect to backend: {e.reason}'}).encode()
+            self.wfile.write(err_msg)
+            return
+        except Exception as e:
+            self.send_response(500)
+            self.send_header('Content-Type', 'application/json')
+            self.end_headers()
+            err_msg = json.dumps({'error': f'Proxy exception: {str(e)}'}).encode()
+            self.wfile.write(err_msg)
+            return
+
+        self.send_response(status_code)
+        for k, v in resp_headers:
+            if k.lower() in ('transfer-encoding', 'connection', 'content-length',
+                             'access-control-allow-origin', 'access-control-allow-methods',
+                             'access-control-allow-headers'):
+                continue
+            self.send_header(k, v)
+
+        if method != 'HEAD':
+            self.send_header('Content-Length', str(len(resp_body)))
+        self.end_headers()
+        if method != 'HEAD' and resp_body:
+            self.wfile.write(resp_body)
+
+
 if __name__ == '__main__':
     print(f"🚀 Dashboard running at http://127.0.0.1:{PORT}")
+    print(f"🔒 TLS unverified proxy active at /proxy?url=<target>")
     print("Press Ctrl+C to stop.")
     server = HTTPServer(('127.0.0.1', PORT), ProxyHandler)
     try:
         server.serve_forever()
     except KeyboardInterrupt:
-        print("\nStopping...")
\ No newline at end of file
+        print("\nStopping...")
diff --git a/index.html b/index.html
index 7043552..95e4e03 100644
--- a/index.html
+++ b/index.html
@@ -176,16 +176,21 @@
     <div style="display:flex; gap: 20px; align-items:center; flex-wrap:wrap; font-size:0.85rem;">
       <div style="flex:1; min-width:240px;">
         <label>Primary Base URL:</label>
-        <input type="text" id="primaryUrl" value="http://127.0.0.1:3000" style="margin-bottom:0;" />
+        <input type="text" id="primaryUrl" value="https://127.0.0.1:3000" style="margin-bottom:0;" />
       </div>
       <div style="flex:1; min-width:240px;">
         <label>Replica Base URL:</label>
-        <input type="text" id="replicaUrl" value="http://127.0.0.1:3001" style="margin-bottom:0;" />
+        <input type="text" id="replicaUrl" value="https://127.0.0.1:3001" style="margin-bottom:0;" />
       </div>
       <div style="flex:1; min-width:180px;">
         <label>Replication Bearer Token:</label>
         <input type="password" id="replToken" value="change-me" style="margin-bottom:0;" />
       </div>
+      <div style="min-width:220px; display:flex; align-items:flex-end;">
+        <label style="font-size:0.8rem; display:flex; align-items:center; gap:6px; cursor:pointer; padding-bottom:6px; color:var(--success);">
+          <input type="checkbox" id="trustAllCerts" checked style="width:auto; margin:0;" /> 🛡️ Trust Self-Signed Certs (Proxy)
+        </label>
+      </div>
     </div>
   </div>
 
@@ -286,6 +291,30 @@
   </div>
 
   <script>
+    // Transparently proxy external/HTTPS instance calls via dashboard proxy when self-signed cert trust is active
+    const nativeFetch = window.fetch;
+    window.fetch = function(input, init) {
+      const trustAll = document.getElementById('trustAllCerts')?.checked ?? true;
+      if (trustAll) {
+        const urlStr = typeof input === 'string' ? input : (input && input.url ? input.url : null);
+        if (urlStr) {
+          try {
+            const parsed = new URL(urlStr, window.location.href);
+            if (parsed.origin !== window.location.origin) {
+              const proxyBase = (window.location.protocol === 'file:') ? 'http://127.0.0.1:8080' : '';
+              const proxiedUrl = `${proxyBase}/proxy?url=${encodeURIComponent(urlStr)}`;
+              if (typeof input === 'string') {
+                input = proxiedUrl;
+              } else {
+                input = new Request(proxiedUrl, input);
+              }
+            }
+          } catch (_) {}
+        }
+      }
+      return nativeFetch(input, init);
+    };
+
     let primaryHeadSeq = 0;
     let replicaHeadSeq = 0;
 
diff --git a/repl-test.sh b/repl-test.sh
old mode 100644
new mode 100755
index 3b25d4f..836cd73
--- a/repl-test.sh
+++ b/repl-test.sh
@@ -51,14 +51,12 @@ for port in "$PRIMARY_PORT" "$REPLICA_PORT"; do
   fi
 done
 
-if [[ ! -x "$BIN" ]]; then
-  if [[ -f "$ROOT_DIR/Cargo.toml" ]]; then
-    echo "Binary not found at $BIN. Building debug binary with cargo..."
-    ( cd "$ROOT_DIR" && cargo build )
-  else
-    echo "Error: Binary not found or not executable: $BIN" >&2
-    exit 1
-  fi
+if [[ -f "$ROOT_DIR/Cargo.toml" ]]; then
+  echo "Ensuring debug binary is up to date with cargo..."
+  ( cd "$ROOT_DIR" && cargo build )
+elif [[ ! -x "$BIN" ]]; then
+  echo "Error: Binary not found or not executable: $BIN" >&2
+  exit 1
 fi
 
 # --- Workspace & Schema Setup ---