diff --git a/p2p/kademlia/dht.go b/p2p/kademlia/dht.go
index 04b95f8c..41cba389 100644
--- a/p2p/kademlia/dht.go
+++ b/p2p/kademlia/dht.go
@@ -2312,15 +2312,21 @@ func (s *DHT) IterateBatchStore(ctx context.Context, values [][]byte, typ int, i
 	logtrace.Debug(ctx, "Iterate batch store: dispatching to nodes", logtrace.Fields{"task_id": id, "nodes": len(knownNodes)})
 
 	// If there are no candidate nodes, there's nothing to fan out to. The caller
-	// already persisted the batch locally (see StoreBatch), so treat this as a
-	// no-op success rather than an error.
+	// already persisted the batch locally (see StoreBatch), but local-only
+	// persistence is not sufficient for network durability. Treat this as an
+	// error so callers do not finalize actions or delete source data under the
+	// assumption that replication occurred.
 	if len(knownNodes) == 0 {
-		logtrace.Info(ctx, "dht: batch store skipped (no candidate nodes)", logtrace.Fields{
-			logtrace.FieldModule: "dht",
-			"task_id":            id,
-			"keys":               len(values),
+		logtrace.Error(ctx, "dht: batch store skipped (no candidate nodes)", logtrace.Fields{
+			logtrace.FieldModule:  "dht",
+			"task_id":             id,
+			"keys":                len(values),
+			"len_nodes":           len(s.ht.nodes()),
+			"banned_nodes":        len(ignoreList),
+			"routing_allow_ready": s.routingAllowReady.Load(),
+			"routing_allow_count": s.routingAllowCount.Load(),
 		})
-		return nil
+		return fmt.Errorf("no candidate nodes for batch store")
 	}
 	storeResponses := s.batchStoreNetwork(ctx, values, knownNodes, storageMap, typ)
 	for response := range storeResponses {
diff --git a/p2p/kademlia/dht_batch_store_test.go b/p2p/kademlia/dht_batch_store_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..25965b3c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/p2p/kademlia/dht_batch_store_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+package kademlia
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+func TestIterateBatchStore_NoCandidateNodes_ReturnsError(t *testing.T) {
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
+	defer cancel()
+
+	ht, err := NewHashTable(&Options{
+		ID:   []byte("self"),
+		IP:   "0.0.0.0",
+		Port: 4445,
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("NewHashTable: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	dht := &DHT{
+		ht:         ht,
+		ignorelist: NewBanList(ctx),
+	}
+
+	err = dht.IterateBatchStore(ctx, [][]byte{[]byte("value")}, 0, "task")
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatalf("expected error, got nil")
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "no candidate nodes") {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected error: %v", err)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/p2p/p2p.go b/p2p/p2p.go
index 584fd787..f7387bce 100644
--- a/p2p/p2p.go
+++ b/p2p/p2p.go
@@ -139,6 +139,16 @@ func (s *p2p) Retrieve(ctx context.Context, key string, localOnly ...bool) ([]by
 	return s.dht.Retrieve(ctx, key, localOnly...)
 }
 
+// PeersCount returns the current number of peers in the routing table.
+// This is intentionally not part of the public Client interface; it is used by
+// internal guardrails (e.g., registration) to avoid local-only stores.
+func (s *p2p) PeersCount() int {
+	if s == nil || s.dht == nil {
+		return 0
+	}
+	return s.dht.PeersCount()
+}
+
 // BatchRetrieve retrive the data from the kademlia network
 func (s *p2p) BatchRetrieve(ctx context.Context, keys []string, reqCount int, txID string, localOnly ...bool) (map[string][]byte, error) {
 
diff --git a/p2p/p2p_peerscount_test.go b/p2p/p2p_peerscount_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..de3e0dfd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/p2p/p2p_peerscount_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+package p2p
+
+import "testing"
+
+type peersCounter interface {
+	PeersCount() int
+}
+
+var _ peersCounter = (*p2p)(nil)
+
+func TestPeersCount_NilReceiver_ReturnsZero(t *testing.T) {
+	var s *p2p
+	if got := s.PeersCount(); got != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("expected 0, got %d", got)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestPeersCount_NilDHT_ReturnsZero(t *testing.T) {
+	s := &p2p{}
+	if got := s.PeersCount(); got != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("expected 0, got %d", got)
+	}
+}
+
diff --git a/supernode/adaptors/p2p.go b/supernode/adaptors/p2p.go
index 2900652d..036ec24a 100644
--- a/supernode/adaptors/p2p.go
+++ b/supernode/adaptors/p2p.go
@@ -45,6 +45,18 @@ type StoreArtefactsRequest struct {
 }
 
 func (p *p2pImpl) StoreArtefacts(ctx context.Context, req StoreArtefactsRequest, f logtrace.Fields) error {
+	// Registration must never proceed when the node is not connected to any peers.
+	// Otherwise, StoreBatch can devolve into local-only persistence and actions may
+	// be finalized without durable replication.
+	type peersCounter interface {
+		PeersCount() int
+	}
+	if pc, ok := p.p2p.(peersCounter); ok {
+		if peers := pc.PeersCount(); peers <= 0 {
+			return fmt.Errorf("p2p has zero peers; refusing to store artefacts (would be non-durable)")
+		}
+	}
+
 	idFilesBytes := totalBytes(req.IDFiles)
 	logtrace.Info(ctx, "store: p2p start", logtrace.Fields{
 		"taskID":          req.TaskID,
diff --git a/supernode/adaptors/p2p_test.go b/supernode/adaptors/p2p_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..66a94d81
--- /dev/null
+++ b/supernode/adaptors/p2p_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+package adaptors
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"errors"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/LumeraProtocol/supernode/v2/p2p"
+	"github.com/LumeraProtocol/supernode/v2/pkg/storage/rqstore"
+	"go.uber.org/mock/gomock"
+)
+
+type clientWithPeersCount struct {
+	p2p.Client
+	peers int
+}
+
+func (c clientWithPeersCount) PeersCount() int { return c.peers }
+
+func TestStoreArtefacts_ZeroPeers_ReturnsError(t *testing.T) {
+	svc := NewP2PService(clientWithPeersCount{peers: 0}, nil)
+
+	err := svc.StoreArtefacts(context.Background(), StoreArtefactsRequest{TaskID: "task"}, nil)
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatalf("expected error, got nil")
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "zero peers") {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected error: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestStoreArtefacts_PeersPresent_DoesNotTripGuard(t *testing.T) {
+	ctrl := gomock.NewController(t)
+	t.Cleanup(ctrl.Finish)
+
+	store := rqstore.NewMockStore(ctrl)
+	storeErr := errors.New("store down")
+	store.EXPECT().StoreSymbolDirectory("task", "").Return(storeErr)
+
+	svc := NewP2PService(clientWithPeersCount{peers: 1}, store)
+
+	err := svc.StoreArtefacts(context.Background(), StoreArtefactsRequest{TaskID: "task"}, nil)
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatalf("expected error, got nil")
+	}
+	if strings.Contains(err.Error(), "zero peers") {
+		t.Fatalf("guard should not have fired, got: %v", err)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), storeErr.Error()) {
+		t.Fatalf("expected wrapped store error, got: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+