diff --git a/docs/2-handbook/external-accounts/github.md b/docs/2-handbook/external-accounts/github.md
index 4a9d39475..63c8d1dbd 100644
--- a/docs/2-handbook/external-accounts/github.md
+++ b/docs/2-handbook/external-accounts/github.md
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ or the token fetch.
 swarm-wide switch is the intended control.)
 
 github.com only. The token **value** never touches nix — the agent writes it
-to `<state>/github-token` at runtime (see [Provisioning](#provisioning)).
+to a file under `/run` at runtime (see [Provisioning](#provisioning)).
 
 ## Provisioning
 
@@ -44,13 +44,19 @@ no hive writes it. One token per agent: swarm-controller refuses to link
 another until you delete the stored one, and no route hands it back.
 
 The agent's `hive-agent-github-token` unit reads that path under the
-agent's own store certificate and writes `<state>/github-token` (`0600`,
-owned by the agent), on boot and every two minutes, replacing the file only
-when the token changed. It needs a store identity
+agent's own store certificate and writes `/run/hive-agent-github-token/token`
+(`0400`, owned by the agent), on every start and every two minutes, replacing
+the file only when the token changed. It needs a store identity
 (`services.hyperhive.agent.bao.addr`); an agent without one gets no token.
-The unit never deletes the file: a `github-token` already in place stays
-when the store holds none or doesn't answer. Where the token lives and who
-reads it: [credentials-reference.md](../../4-implementation/swarm/credentials-reference.md).
+
+`/run` starts empty on every start, so the unit fetches the token anew each
+time: an agent whose token you removed from the store has none after its next
+start. When the
+store doesn't answer at start, the agent boots and runs without a GitHub
+token (`gh` and `git push` run unauthenticated, the unit logs one warning),
+and the unit asks again until the store answers. Nothing reads the
+`<state>/github-token` file an earlier version kept, and nothing deletes it;
+it stays on disk, unused. Where the token lives and who reads it: [credentials-reference.md](../../4-implementation/swarm/credentials-reference.md).
 
 ## Security
 
diff --git a/docs/4-implementation/agent-tools/github.md b/docs/4-implementation/agent-tools/github.md
index 022e8cfb7..0a70c1c7f 100644
--- a/docs/4-implementation/agent-tools/github.md
+++ b/docs/4-implementation/agent-tools/github.md
@@ -17,9 +17,10 @@ When enabled, the container gets:
   Host-scoped, so it never touches the forge (`localhost:3000`) or any
   other remote.
 
-Both scripts read the token from `<state>/github-token` **at invocation
-time**, so a PAT written (or rotated) mid-session takes effect immediately
-— no container rebuild or restart. Until the file exists, `gh` / `git push`
+Both scripts read the token from `/run/hive-agent-github-token/token`
+(`services.hyperhive.agent.github.tokenFile`) **at invocation
+time**, so a PAT fetched (or rotated) mid-session takes effect immediately
+— no container rebuild or restart. They never read the state dir. Until the file exists, `gh` / `git push`
 fail unauthenticated. The build bakes the token path into the scripts
 (rather than reading it from an env var), because claude's Bash tool runs in a
 minimal environment that wouldn't carry one.
@@ -42,12 +43,13 @@ rather than merely switched off. it's also why this isn't a cargo
 feature — a feature would unify across the workspace and cost every
 crate its build cache.
 
-At runtime the poller needs the PAT above. No PAT, no polling: the unit
+At runtime the poller needs the PAT above, at the path in
+`HIVE_GITHUB_TOKEN_FILE` (the same `/run` file). No PAT, no polling: the unit
 logs why and exits 0, which is why it's `Restart = on-failure` and
 never `always` — a clean exit on a PAT-less agent must not become a
 restart loop. The poller waits about ten minutes for the PAT to appear
 before it gives up. A path unit (`hive-github-notify.path`) starts the poller
-again when `<state>/github-token` changes, so a PAT that lands later still
+again when the token file changes, so a PAT that lands later still
 enables polling. Once polling, it re-reads the file on every
 tick, so it picks up a rotated PAT on the next tick without a restart.
 
diff --git a/docs/4-implementation/swarm/credentials-reference.md b/docs/4-implementation/swarm/credentials-reference.md
index f061878a7..5e90cdcf0 100644
--- a/docs/4-implementation/swarm/credentials-reference.md
+++ b/docs/4-implementation/swarm/credentials-reference.md
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ the rest of the cell says how.
 | `swarm/agents/<agent>/forge-token`                                                                                     | `swarm-controller`, at agent creation and every 5 minutes                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         | the agent                                                                                                                          | ✅ when missing or no longer matching the forge                                                                                                               | ✅ every 10 minutes                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
 | `swarm/agents/<agent>/forge/<label>`                                                                                   | `swarm-controller`, when you link an external forge account in the swarm UI                                                                                                                                                                                                                       | the agent                                                                                                                          | ❌ your token; delete it and link the label again                                                                                                             | ✅ every 2 minutes                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |
 | `swarm/agents/<agent>/gitlab/<label>`                                                                                  | `swarm-controller`, when you link a GitLab account through the API                                                                                                                                                                                                                                | the agent                                                                                                                          | ❌ your token; delete it and link the label again                                                                                                             | ✅ every 2 minutes; a deleted account leaves the agent's `glab` configuration on the next run                                                                                                                                                                |
-| `swarm/agents/<agent>/github-token`                                                                                    | `swarm-controller`, when you link a GitHub account in the swarm UI                                                                                                                                                                                                                                | the agent                                                                                                                          | ❌ your token; delete it and link again                                                                                                                       | ✅ every 2 minutes                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |
+| `swarm/agents/<agent>/github-token`                                                                                    | `swarm-controller`, when you link a GitHub account in the swarm UI                                                                                                                                                                                                                                | the agent, which keeps it in `/run` only; the `<state>/github-token` copy of an earlier version is no longer read                  | ❌ your token; delete it and link again                                                                                                                       | ✅ every 2 minutes                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |
 | `swarm/agents/<agent>/backend-env`                                                                                     | `hive-agent-backend-env`, in the agent's container, from the agent's `backendEnvironmentFile` when the leaf holds nothing (field `env`, the file's exact text); or `swarm-controller`, when you set the API-key environment in the swarm UI                                                       | the agent                                                                                                                          | ❌ nothing replaces it without you; a save in the swarm UI overwrites it, including text an agent wrote into an empty leaf; the agent's file stays as it was  | ❌ the file in `/run` refreshes every 2 minutes, and the harness and the subagent daemon load it at their next start                                                                                                                                         |
 | `swarm/agents/<agent>/claude-credentials`                                                                              | `swarm-claude-login`, when you log the agent in from its card; one version per login                                                                                                                                                                                                              | the agent, while it waits for a login                                                                                              | ❌ log in again                                                                                                                                               | ✅ every 30 seconds while waiting                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
 | `swarm/hives/<hive>/forge/token`                                                                                       | `swarm-controller`, every 5 minutes                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               | `swarm-controller` and the hive                                                                                                    | ✅ when missing or no longer matching the forge                                                                                                               | ✅ read on every forge call                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
diff --git a/docs/4-implementation/web-ui/swarm-ui.md b/docs/4-implementation/web-ui/swarm-ui.md
index cb4bc2d64..fc9a2d979 100644
--- a/docs/4-implementation/web-ui/swarm-ui.md
+++ b/docs/4-implementation/web-ui/swarm-ui.md
@@ -952,10 +952,10 @@ a link dialog closes.
 - **link a github account** — `PUT /api/hives/{hive}/agents/{agent}/github-account`
   with a personal access token, stored at `swarm/agents/<agent>/github-token`.
   One token per agent. The agent's
-  `hive-agent-github-token` unit fetches it into `<state>/github-token`,
-  the file its `gh` wrapper, git credential helper and GitHub notification
-  poller read. A `github-token` already in place stays when the store holds
-  none. What the token needs and how the agent uses it:
+  `hive-agent-github-token` unit fetches it into
+  `/run/hive-agent-github-token/token` at every start, the file its `gh`
+  wrapper, git credential helper and GitHub notification poller read. A token
+  removed from the store stops working at the agent's next start. What the token needs and how the agent uses it:
   [GitHub accounts](../../2-handbook/external-accounts/github.md).
 - **set the API-key environment** — `PUT /api/hives/{hive}/agents/{agent}/backend-env`
   with the text of a systemd `EnvironmentFile` (`NAME=VALUE` lines, at most
diff --git a/hive-forge-notify/src/bin/hive-github-notify/main.rs b/hive-forge-notify/src/bin/hive-github-notify/main.rs
index cbac0e5b6..7fa3060c7 100644
--- a/hive-forge-notify/src/bin/hive-github-notify/main.rs
+++ b/hive-forge-notify/src/bin/hive-github-notify/main.rs
@@ -3,14 +3,14 @@
 //! list, per-thread summary, todo upsert on the harness's in-agent socket,
 //! mark read on the source.
 //!
-//! Takes no arguments. `HYPERHIVE_STATE_DIR` holds the PAT
-//! (`github-token`, fetched from the swarm secret store by
+//! Takes no arguments. `HIVE_GITHUB_TOKEN_FILE` names the file holding the PAT
+//! (fetched from the swarm secret store into `/run` by
 //! `nix/agent-modules/github-token.nix` — see `docs/2-handbook/external-accounts/github.md`)
 //! and `HIVE_AGENT_SOCKET` is the harness's todo socket.
 //! Having a PAT *is* the opt-in: with no token the poller logs why and
 //! exits 0, so deploying this unit to an agent that never gets one costs a
 //! settled process rather than a restart loop. Once polling, it re-reads
-//! `github-token` on every tick, so a rotated PAT takes effect on the next
+//! the token file on every tick, so a rotated PAT takes effect on the next
 //! poll without a restart.
 //!
 //! ⚠️ Reading the notification stream needs the **`notifications` scope**
@@ -37,7 +37,18 @@ async fn main() {
     info!(socket = %socket.display(), "hive-github-notify starting");
 
     // Returns only when no PAT ever arrives; otherwise loops forever.
-    github_loop(hive_forge_notify::state_dir(), socket).await;
+    github_loop(
+        token_path(std::env::var_os("HIVE_GITHUB_TOKEN_FILE")),
+        socket,
+    )
+    .await;
+}
+
+/// The token file the poller reads: `HIVE_GITHUB_TOKEN_FILE`, and nothing
+/// else. An unset or empty value means no file is configured, so the poller
+/// settles instead of looking for a token anywhere else.
+fn token_path(var: Option<std::ffi::OsString>) -> Option<std::path::PathBuf> {
+    var.filter(|v| !v.is_empty()).map(std::path::PathBuf::from)
 }
 
 /// Waits for the PAT to appear: the agent's store fetch writes the token
@@ -46,15 +57,21 @@ async fn main() {
 /// than after a restart. Gives up — returning, so the process exits 0
 /// rather than restart-looping — when no PAT ever arrives, which is the
 /// common case for an agent that has the unit but no account.
-async fn github_loop(state_dir: String, socket: std::path::PathBuf) {
-    let token_path = format!("{state_dir}/github-token");
+async fn github_loop(token_path: Option<std::path::PathBuf>, socket: std::path::PathBuf) {
+    let Some(token_path) = token_path else {
+        info!("forge_notify: HIVE_GITHUB_TOKEN_FILE is not set — github disabled");
+        return;
+    };
     let Some(token) = wait_for_token("github token", || async {
         let text = tokio::fs::read_to_string(&token_path).await.ok()?;
         Some(text.trim().to_owned()).filter(|t| !t.is_empty())
     })
     .await
     else {
-        debug!("forge_notify: no github token at {token_path} — github disabled");
+        debug!(
+            "forge_notify: no github token at {} — github disabled",
+            token_path.display()
+        );
         return;
     };
 
@@ -122,7 +139,7 @@ async fn poll_tick(
 }
 
 /// The PAT in use and the source built from it. The agent's store fetch
-/// replaces `github-token` by atomic rename when the PAT rotates and never
+/// replaces the token file by atomic rename when the PAT rotates and never
 /// deletes it, so a missing or empty file means "not readable right now"
 /// and keeps the current token.
 struct Pat {
@@ -164,7 +181,7 @@ mod tests {
     use tokio::io::{AsyncReadExt as _, AsyncWriteExt as _};
     use tokio::sync::mpsc;
 
-    use super::{Pat, poll_tick};
+    use super::{Pat, poll_tick, token_path};
 
     fn scratch(tag: &str) -> std::path::PathBuf {
         let ts = std::time::SystemTime::now()
@@ -236,6 +253,17 @@ mod tests {
         path.starts_with("/notifications")
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn the_token_file_is_the_env_value_and_nothing_else() {
+        use std::ffi::OsString;
+        assert_eq!(
+            token_path(Some(OsString::from("/run/x/token"))),
+            Some(std::path::PathBuf::from("/run/x/token"))
+        );
+        assert_eq!(token_path(Some(OsString::new())), None);
+        assert_eq!(token_path(None), None);
+    }
+
     #[tokio::test]
     async fn a_rotated_token_is_sent_on_the_next_poll() {
         let (base, mut rx) = stub().await;
diff --git a/hive-forge-notify/src/bin/hive-github-notify/source.rs b/hive-forge-notify/src/bin/hive-github-notify/source.rs
index df3776ef9..5f91bf141 100644
--- a/hive-forge-notify/src/bin/hive-github-notify/source.rs
+++ b/hive-forge-notify/src/bin/hive-github-notify/source.rs
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ impl Source for GithubSource {
             {
                 warn!(
                     "forge_notify: github refused the PAT (401) — no notifications \
-                     until github-token holds a working one"
+                     until the token file holds a working one"
                 );
             } else {
                 debug!("forge_notify: github poll status {status}");
diff --git a/hive-forge-notify/src/lib.rs b/hive-forge-notify/src/lib.rs
index 702ba9224..168bdc17c 100644
--- a/hive-forge-notify/src/lib.rs
+++ b/hive-forge-notify/src/lib.rs
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ pub fn init_tracing() {
 }
 
 /// Read `HYPERHIVE_STATE_DIR`, the directory holding the agent's
-/// credentials (`forge-token`, `github-token`). Empty when unset, which
+/// credentials (`forge-token`). Empty when unset, which
 /// makes the token paths relative and the read fail — the callers treat
 /// that as "not configured" and settle.
 #[must_use]
diff --git a/nix/agent-modules/github-token.nix b/nix/agent-modules/github-token.nix
index 746c2314d..6fb2efef0 100644
--- a/nix/agent-modules/github-token.nix
+++ b/nix/agent-modules/github-token.nix
@@ -4,12 +4,18 @@
 # An operator links the token in the swarm UI; `swarm-controller` stores it at
 # `swarm/agents/<agent>/github-token` (`swarm_secret_client::github`). The
 # agent's own read grant covers that path, so this unit reads it and writes
-# `<state>/github-token`, which the `gh` wrapper, the git credential helper and
-# `hive-github-notify` read.
+# `services.hyperhive.agent.github.tokenFile`, under `/run`, which the `gh`
+# wrapper, the git credential helper and `hive-github-notify` read.
 #
-# It never deletes. A `github-token` already in place stays when the store has
-# none or cannot be read. The file is replaced by rename, and only when its
-# bytes changed.
+# `/run` is empty at every start, so the token is fetched anew each time and a
+# token removed from the store is gone at the next start. A store that does not
+# answer leaves the agent without a token until it does; the timer below asks
+# again. Nothing reads the `github-token` file an earlier version kept in the
+# state dir, and nothing deletes it.
+#
+# Within one run, a token already fetched stays when the store has none or
+# cannot be read. The file is replaced by rename, and only when its bytes
+# changed.
 {
   pkgs,
   lib,
@@ -20,7 +26,6 @@ let
   cfg = config.services.hyperhive.agent.bao;
 
   agentName = config.services.hyperhive.agent.user.name;
-  stateDir = "/agents/${agentName}/state";
 
   # The server CA id ./bao.nix loads.
   serverCaCredential = "hive-agent-bao-server-ca";
@@ -32,19 +37,36 @@ let
   tokenPath = "secret/swarm/agents/${agentName}/github-token";
 
   runtimeDir = unitName;
+  tokenFile = "/run/${runtimeDir}/token";
+  # Beside the token, so the rename that replaces it stays in one directory.
+  stagedFile = "/run/${runtimeDir}/token.new";
   # The store's whole answer, token included: kept in the unit's own `0700`
-  # directory, never in the state dir.
+  # directory.
   rawFile = "/run/${runtimeDir}/account.json";
   errFile = "/run/${runtimeDir}/bao.err";
 
-  tokenFile = "${stateDir}/github-token";
-  stagedFile = "${stateDir}/.github-token.new";
-
   configured = cfg.addr != null && config.services.hyperhive.agent.github.enable;
 
   storeRetry = import ../host-modules/lib/store-retry.nix { };
 in
 {
+  options.services.hyperhive.agent.github.tokenFile = lib.mkOption {
+    type = lib.types.str;
+    readOnly = true;
+    default = tokenFile;
+    description = ''
+      Path this agent's GitHub token is fetched to. Read-only: it is a fact
+      about where `${unitName}.service` writes, not a knob.
+
+      🩸 A PATH and never a value. The file is `0400` to the agent user and
+      lives on `/run`, so it is gone whenever the agent's container restarts.
+
+      The file exists only once an operator has linked a token and the agent
+      has a store identity to fetch it with. Until then `gh` and `git push`
+      run unauthenticated.
+    '';
+  };
+
   config = lib.mkIf configured {
     systemd.services.${unitName} = {
       description = "fetch this agent's GitHub token from the secret store";
@@ -67,14 +89,19 @@ in
       serviceConfig = storeRetry.serviceConfig // {
         Type = "oneshot";
         # Not `RemainAfterExit`, so the timer below can start it again.
+        # `RuntimeDirectoryPreserve` is what keeps the directory, and the
+        # token in it, alive between runs instead.
         RemainAfterExit = false;
         TimeoutStartSec = 30;
         User = agentName;
         Group = agentName;
         RuntimeDirectory = runtimeDir;
         RuntimeDirectoryMode = "0700";
-        # `0600`, the mode `github-token` has.
-        UMask = "0077";
+        RuntimeDirectoryPreserve = "yes";
+        # Every file this script creates is `0400`, so only the redirect that
+        # creates a file can write to it: each is removed before it is
+        # written.
+        UMask = "0377";
         LoadCredential = [ serverCaCredential ];
       };
       environment = {
@@ -88,7 +115,7 @@ in
         # No identity delivered: ./bao.nix's check reports that.
         for f in "$BAO_CLIENT_CERT" "$BAO_CLIENT_KEY"; do
           if [ ! -s "$f" ]; then
-            echo "this agent has no store identity, so it cannot fetch its GitHub token." >&2
+            echo "this agent has no store identity, so it runs without a GitHub token." >&2
             exit 0
           fi
         done
@@ -103,17 +130,19 @@ in
         token=${lib.escapeShellArg tokenFile}
         trap 'rm -f "$err" "$raw" "$staged"' EXIT
 
+        rm -f "$err"
         if ! BAO_TOKEN="$(bao login -method=cert -token-only 2>"$err")"; then
-          echo "the swarm secret store at $BAO_ADDR did not accept this agent's certificate login:" >&2
+          echo "the swarm secret store at $BAO_ADDR did not accept this agent's certificate login; this agent runs without a GitHub token until it does:" >&2
           if [ -s "$err" ]; then cat "$err" >&2; fi
           exit 1
         fi
         export BAO_TOKEN
 
         # No token linked and a store that cannot answer look alike here, and
-        # either way the file in place, if any, is kept.
+        # either way a token fetched earlier in this run, if any, is kept.
+        rm -f "$err" "$raw"
         if ! bao kv get -format=json ${lib.escapeShellArg tokenPath} >"$raw" 2>"$err"; then
-          echo "no GitHub token read from ${tokenPath}; github-token left as it is:" >&2
+          echo "no GitHub token read from ${tokenPath}; this agent runs without one until the store has one:" >&2
           if [ -s "$err" ]; then cat "$err" >&2; fi
           exit 0
         fi
@@ -123,7 +152,7 @@ in
         # failing the unit would only restart it into the same answer.
         rm -f "$staged"
         if ! jq -er '.data.data.value | strings' "$raw" >"$staged"; then
-          echo "${tokenPath} holds no string value; github-token left as it is." >&2
+          echo "${tokenPath} holds no string value; this agent runs without a GitHub token." >&2
           exit 0
         fi
 
diff --git a/nix/agent-modules/github.nix b/nix/agent-modules/github.nix
index 147b7601c..5e12cfc2e 100644
--- a/nix/agent-modules/github.nix
+++ b/nix/agent-modules/github.nix
@@ -1,13 +1,12 @@
 # GitHub integration (services.hyperhive.agent.github.enable): a `gh` wrapper + a git
-# credential helper, both reading the PAT from the agent's
-# `github-token` state file at invocation, so a token ./github-token.nix
-# fetches takes effect with no rebuild. The token PATH is baked in at build
-# time (nix knows `userName`) — NOT read from `$HIVE_GITHUB_TOKEN_FILE`,
-# because claude's Bash tool runs `bash -c` in a minimal env that
-# doesn't source `/etc/set-environment`, so the env var isn't present
-# where `gh`/`git` actually run. The token value never enters the nix
-# store (only its path). github.com only; git auths as `x-access-token`
-# + PAT.
+# credential helper, both reading the PAT from `github.tokenFile` (the file
+# ./github-token.nix fetches into under `/run`) at invocation, so a fetched
+# token takes effect with no rebuild. The token PATH is baked in at build
+# time — NOT read from an env var, because claude's Bash tool runs `bash -c`
+# in a minimal env that doesn't source `/etc/set-environment`, so the env var
+# isn't present where `gh`/`git` actually run. The token value never enters
+# the nix store (only its path). github.com only; git auths as
+# `x-access-token` + PAT.
 {
   pkgs,
   lib,
@@ -16,9 +15,10 @@
 }:
 let
   userName = config.services.hyperhive.agent.user.name;
+  tokenFile = config.services.hyperhive.agent.github.tokenFile;
   ghWrapper = pkgs.writeShellScriptBin "gh" ''
-    if [ -r "/agents/${userName}/state/github-token" ]; then
-      GH_TOKEN="$(cat "/agents/${userName}/state/github-token")"
+    if [ -r "${tokenFile}" ]; then
+      GH_TOKEN="$(cat "${tokenFile}")"
       export GH_TOKEN
     fi
     exec ${pkgs.gh}/bin/gh "$@"
@@ -26,11 +26,11 @@ let
   gitCredHelper = pkgs.writeShellScriptBin "git-credential-hive-github" ''
     # git credential-helper protocol: only the `get` action needs an answer.
     [ "''${1:-}" = "get" ] || exit 0
-    if [ -r "/agents/${userName}/state/github-token" ]; then
+    if [ -r "${tokenFile}" ]; then
       # GitHub ignores the username for PAT auth — `x-access-token` is the
       # conventional placeholder; the PAT is the password.
       printf 'username=x-access-token\n'
-      printf 'password=%s\n' "$(cat "/agents/${userName}/state/github-token")"
+      printf 'password=%s\n' "$(cat "${tokenFile}")"
     fi
   '';
 in
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ in
       git credential helper for `https://github.com`, both authenticated from
       an operator-supplied personal access token (PAT). The operator links the
       PAT in the swarm UI, and the agent fetches it from the swarm secret store
-      into `<state>/github-token` (needs `services.hyperhive.agent.bao.addr`),
+      into `/run` (needs `services.hyperhive.agent.bao.addr`),
       so giving an agent GitHub is a runtime action, no per-agent config or
       rebuild. The wrappers read the token file at invocation, so a fetched
       PAT takes effect immediately; until one exists, `gh` / `git push` just
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ in
     # Wire the GitHub credential helper for `git push` over HTTPS. Host-scoped
     # to `https://github.com`, so it never touches the forge (localhost:3000)
     # or any other remote. The helper reads the PAT from the agent's
-    # `github-token` state file at invocation and auths as `x-access-token` +
+    # `github.tokenFile` at invocation and auths as `x-access-token` +
     # the PAT. System /etc/gitconfig merges under the agent's ~/.gitconfig
     # (safe.directory), so this is additive.
     # Nested-path binding + mkIf (matching the other `environment.etc."…"`
@@ -110,8 +110,8 @@ in
         # (agent-service.nix) — one todo stream, two producers.
         HIVE_AGENT_SOCKET = "/run/hive-agent/${userName}/agent.sock";
         RUST_LOG = "info";
-        # HYPERHIVE_STATE_DIR comes from systemd.globalEnvironment; the
-        # poller reads the agent's `github-token` from under it.
+        # The file ./github-token.nix fetches the PAT into; a path, never the value.
+        HIVE_GITHUB_TOKEN_FILE = tokenFile;
       };
       serviceConfig = {
         ExecStart = "${config.services.hyperhive.agent.packages.hive-github-notify}/bin/hive-github-notify";
@@ -138,7 +138,7 @@ in
     systemd.paths.hive-github-notify = lib.mkIf config.services.hyperhive.agent.github.enable {
       description = "start hive-github-notify when the GitHub token appears";
       wantedBy = [ "multi-user.target" ];
-      pathConfig.PathChanged = "/agents/${userName}/state/github-token";
+      pathConfig.PathChanged = tokenFile;
     };
   };
 }
diff --git a/nix/module-eval/agent-github-bao.nix b/nix/module-eval/agent-github-bao.nix
index 0891e4b94..59308f40c 100644
--- a/nix/module-eval/agent-github-bao.nix
+++ b/nix/module-eval/agent-github-bao.nix
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 # not executes").
 #
 # The agent side of the swarm-stored GitHub token: ../agent-modules/github-token.nix
-# fetches it into the file ../agent-modules/github.nix's readers use.
+# fetches it into the `/run` file ../agent-modules/github.nix's readers use.
 {
   pkgs,
   lib,
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ let
   hasTimer = machine: machine.systemd.timers ? hive-agent-github-token;
 in
 let
+  tokenFile = "/run/hive-agent-github-token/token";
   cases = [
     {
       name = "an agent with a store address and the integration on fetches its github token";
@@ -60,19 +61,49 @@ let
     {
       # The nix half of `swarm_secret_client::github::account_path`, and the
       # file ./github.nix's `gh` wrapper, credential helper and poller read.
-      name = "the fetch reads the agent's own github-token path into its state-dir file";
+      name = "the fetch reads the agent's own github-token path into a file under /run";
       ok =
         let
           name = agentGithubBao.services.hyperhive.agent.user.name;
           s = (fetchUnit agentGithubBao).script;
         in
         lib.hasInfix "bao kv get -format=json secret/swarm/agents/${name}/github-token >" s
-        && lib.hasInfix "token=/agents/${name}/state/github-token" s
-        && lib.hasInfix ".data.data.value | strings" s;
+        && lib.hasInfix "token=${tokenFile}" s
+        && lib.hasInfix ".data.data.value | strings" s
+        && agentGithubBao.services.hyperhive.agent.github.tokenFile == tokenFile;
     }
     {
-      # The agent user owns its state dir (./user.nix), and the file keeps
-      # its `0600` mode.
+      # The presence arms are the `${tokenFile}` matches above and below: the
+      # unit and the path unit do name the `/run` file, so a state-dir path
+      # missing here is a fact and not a misspelled lookup.
+      name = "neither the fetch nor the poller's units name the state-dir github-token";
+      ok =
+        let
+          name = agentGithubBao.services.hyperhive.agent.user.name;
+          stateToken = "/agents/${name}/state/github-token";
+          notify = agentGithubBao.systemd.services.hive-github-notify;
+          path = agentGithubBao.systemd.paths.hive-github-notify;
+        in
+        !(lib.hasInfix "/state" (fetchUnit agentGithubBao).script)
+        && notify.environment.HIVE_GITHUB_TOKEN_FILE == tokenFile
+        && path.pathConfig.PathChanged == tokenFile
+        && path.pathConfig.PathChanged != stateToken;
+    }
+    {
+      # `/run` is empty at every start, so a token the store no longer has is
+      # gone then; the preserved directory keeps it between this unit's runs.
+      name = "the token file lives in a preserved 0700 runtime directory and is 0400";
+      ok =
+        let
+          u = fetchUnit agentGithubBao;
+        in
+        u.serviceConfig.RuntimeDirectory == "hive-agent-github-token"
+        && u.serviceConfig.RuntimeDirectoryMode == "0700"
+        && u.serviceConfig.RuntimeDirectoryPreserve == "yes"
+        && u.serviceConfig.UMask == "0377";
+    }
+    {
+      # The runtime directory is the agent user's.
       name = "the fetch runs as the agent, with its own store identity";
       ok =
         let
@@ -80,15 +111,14 @@ let
           name = agentGithubBao.services.hyperhive.agent.user.name;
         in
         u.serviceConfig.User == name
-        && u.serviceConfig.UMask == "0077"
         && u.environment.BAO_ADDR == baoAddr
         && u.environment.BAO_CLIENT_CERT == "/run/hive-agent-bao-identity/current/cert"
         && u.environment.BAO_CLIENT_KEY == "/run/hive-agent-bao-identity/current/key";
     }
     {
-      # A file a hive wrote keeps working until the operator links a token in
-      # the swarm UI.
-      name = "the fetch never deletes the state-dir token, and swaps it in only on a change";
+      # The fetch itself is run, against a stub store, by
+      # `checks.script-test-agent-bao-fetch`.
+      name = "the fetch never deletes the token, and swaps it in only on a change";
       ok =
         let
           s = (fetchUnit agentGithubBao).script;
@@ -108,10 +138,9 @@ let
       name = "a token that lands after the github poller gave up starts it again";
       ok =
         let
-          name = agentGithubBao.services.hyperhive.agent.user.name;
           path = agentGithubBao.systemd.paths.hive-github-notify;
         in
-        path.pathConfig.PathChanged == "/agents/${name}/state/github-token"
+        path.pathConfig.PathChanged == tokenFile
         && path.wantedBy == [ "multi-user.target" ]
         && agentGithubBao.systemd.services ? hive-github-notify
         && !(agentGithubOff.systemd.paths ? hive-github-notify)
diff --git a/nix/script-tests/agent-bao-fetch.nix b/nix/script-tests/agent-bao-fetch.nix
index 65d7901ef..89e6e6e29 100644
--- a/nix/script-tests/agent-bao-fetch.nix
+++ b/nix/script-tests/agent-bao-fetch.nix
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 # `checks.script-test-agent-bao-fetch` — runs the agent units that log in to
 # the swarm secret store and fetch a secret, ../agent-modules/forge-token.nix,
-# ../agent-modules/bao.nix and ../agent-modules/egress-proxy.nix, against a stub
-# `bao`. The cases are in ./agent-bao-fetch.sh.
+# ../agent-modules/github-token.nix, ../agent-modules/bao.nix and
+# ../agent-modules/egress-proxy.nix, against a stub `bao`. The cases are in
+# ./agent-bao-fetch.sh.
 #
 # What runs is the unit's rendered `ExecStart`, on the unit's own `PATH` with
 # the stub in front. The one edit is the unit's `/run/<unit>/` prefix, moved
@@ -41,6 +42,9 @@ let
       "${prefix}_BAO_ADDR" = u.environment.BAO_ADDR;
     };
 
+  # The `gh` wrapper and the git credential helper ./github.nix installs.
+  systemPackage = n: lib.findFirst (p: (p.name or "") == n) null machine.environment.systemPackages;
+
   # Answers `login` and `kv get` from `FAKE_BAO_*` variables and logs every
   # call. A `kv` call without the token `login` printed fails, so a script that
   # drops `BAO_TOKEN` between the two cannot pass. A login presenting the
@@ -76,10 +80,13 @@ in
 pkgs.runCommand "hyperhive-script-test-agent-bao-fetch"
   (
     unitEnv "FORGE" "hive-agent-forge-token"
+    // unitEnv "GITHUB" "hive-agent-github-token"
     // unitEnv "IDENT" "hive-agent-bao-identity"
     // unitEnv "PROXY" "hive-agent-proxy-credential"
     // {
       FAKE_BAO_BIN = "${fakeBao}/bin";
+      GH_WRAPPER = "${systemPackage "gh"}/bin/gh";
+      GIT_CRED_HELPER = "${systemPackage "git-credential-hive-github"}/bin/git-credential-hive-github";
     }
   )
   ''
diff --git a/nix/script-tests/agent-bao-fetch.sh b/nix/script-tests/agent-bao-fetch.sh
index ab569a34c..a2ac97bb7 100644
--- a/nix/script-tests/agent-bao-fetch.sh
+++ b/nix/script-tests/agent-bao-fetch.sh
@@ -593,6 +593,137 @@ go
 expect_rc 0
 expect_file "$rt/proxy.env" "$(proxy_url=http://a1:the-secret@10.9.8.7:3129 proxy_env localhost,127.0.0.1,::1,10.9.8.7,x.t.hive,y.t.hive)"
 
+# The GitHub token fetch. The token goes to `$rt/token`, the unit's own
+# directory under `/run`, and the unit has no other place to write it.
+gh_path=secret/swarm/agents/a1/github-token
+gh_kv_call="kv get -format=json $gh_path"
+gh_answer() { printf '{"data":{"data":{"value":"%s"}}}' "$1"; }
+
+setup GITHUB "a first fetch writes the token 0400 under the unit's runtime directory"
+kv_out=$(gh_answer ghp_fake)
+go
+expect_rc 0
+expect_out "fetched this agent's GitHub token"
+expect_calls "$login_call" "$gh_kv_call"
+expect_file "$rt/token" ghp_fake
+if [ "$(stat -c %a "$rt/token")" != 400 ]; then fail "token is mode $(stat -c %a "$rt/token"), expected 400"; fi
+expect_no_file "$rt/token.new"
+expect_no_file "$rt/account.json"
+expect_no_file "$rt/bao.err"
+# The control for the next case: this script names the runtime directory.
+if ! grep -qF "$rt/token" "$dir/script"; then fail "the script does not name $rt/token"; fi
+
+setup GITHUB "the script names no state directory"
+if ! grep -qF "$rt/token" "$dir/script"; then fail "the script does not name $rt/token"; fi
+if grep -qF "/state" "$dir/script"; then fail "the script names a state directory"; fi
+
+setup GITHUB "a store that does not answer at start leaves no token and exits 1 for the retry"
+login_rc=2
+login_err="Error authenticating: Put \"$bao_addr/v1/auth/cert/login\": dial tcp: lookup bao.t.local: no such host"
+go
+expect_rc 1
+expect_err "this agent runs without a GitHub token until it does"
+expect_err "no such host"
+expect_calls "$login_call"
+expect_no_file "$rt/token"
+expect_no_file "$rt/token.new"
+expect_no_file "$rt/account.json"
+
+setup GITHUB "a read that fails at start leaves no token and does not fail the unit"
+kv_rc=2
+kv_err="Error reading secret/data/swarm/agents/a1: Get \"$bao_addr/v1/secret/data/swarm/agents/a1\": dial tcp: connect: connection refused"
+go
+expect_rc 0
+expect_err "this agent runs without one until the store has one"
+expect_err "connection refused"
+expect_calls "$login_call" "$gh_kv_call"
+expect_no_file "$rt/token"
+expect_no_file "$rt/account.json"
+
+setup GITHUB "no identity delivered leaves no token and does not fail the unit"
+: >"$creds/hive-agent-bao-cert"
+go
+expect_rc 0
+expect_err "runs without a GitHub token"
+expect_calls
+expect_no_file "$rt/token"
+
+setup GITHUB "an answer without a string value leaves no token"
+kv_out='{"data":{"data":{"value":7}}}'
+go
+expect_rc 0
+expect_err "holds no string value"
+expect_no_file "$rt/token"
+expect_no_file "$rt/token.new"
+
+setup GITHUB "a token fetched earlier in the run stays when the store stops answering"
+printf old >"$rt/token"
+chmod 0400 "$rt/token"
+kv_rc=2
+kv_err="dial tcp: connect: connection refused"
+go
+expect_rc 0
+expect_file "$rt/token" old
+
+# `UMask=0377` makes every file the script creates 0400, and a redirect into
+# a 0400 file fails.
+setup GITHUB "0400 files left by a killed run do not block the fetch"
+for f in bao.err account.json token.new; do
+  printf stale >"$rt/$f"
+  chmod 0400 "$rt/$f"
+done
+kv_out=$(gh_answer ghp_fake)
+go
+expect_rc 0
+expect_out "fetched this agent's GitHub token"
+expect_no_err "Permission denied"
+expect_file "$rt/token" ghp_fake
+expect_no_file "$rt/account.json"
+
+setup GITHUB "an unchanged token is left in place"
+printf 'ghp_fake\n' >"$rt/token"
+chmod 0400 "$rt/token"
+before=$(stat -c %i "$rt/token")
+kv_out=$(gh_answer ghp_fake)
+go
+expect_rc 0
+expect_out "is unchanged"
+if [ "$(stat -c %i "$rt/token")" != "$before" ]; then fail "the unchanged token was replaced"; fi
+
+setup GITHUB "a rotated token replaces the old one"
+printf old >"$rt/token"
+chmod 0400 "$rt/token"
+kv_out=$(gh_answer ghp_new)
+go
+expect_rc 0
+expect_out "fetched this agent's GitHub token"
+expect_file "$rt/token" ghp_new
+expect_no_file "$rt/token.new"
+
+# The readers, with the token path and the state directory moved under the
+# build directory the way the units' `/run` is. The state directory holds a
+# token no reader may use.
+setup GITHUB "the gh wrapper and the credential helper read the runtime file and not the state directory"
+mkdir -p "$dir/state"
+printf legacy >"$dir/state/github-token"
+reader() {
+  sed -e "s|/run/$unit/|$rt/|g" -e "s|/agents/a1/state/|$dir/state/|g" -e 's|^exec .*|printenv GH_TOKEN|' "$1" >"$dir/reader"
+  chmod +x "$dir/reader"
+}
+reader "$GH_WRAPPER"
+if ! grep -qF "$rt/token" "$dir/reader"; then fail "the gh wrapper does not name $rt/token"; fi
+git_cred() { env -i PATH="$unit_path" "$dir/reader" get; }
+printf ghp_fake >"$rt/token"
+chmod 0400 "$rt/token"
+if [ "$(env -u GH_TOKEN "$dir/reader")" != ghp_fake ]; then fail "the gh wrapper did not use the runtime token"; fi
+reader "$GIT_CRED_HELPER"
+if ! grep -qF "$rt/token" "$dir/reader"; then fail "the credential helper does not name $rt/token"; fi
+if [ "$(git_cred)" != $'username=x-access-token\npassword=ghp_fake' ]; then fail "the credential helper did not answer with the runtime token: $(git_cred)"; fi
+rm "$rt/token"
+if [ -n "$(git_cred)" ]; then fail "the credential helper answered with no token fetched: $(git_cred)"; fi
+reader "$GH_WRAPPER"
+if [ -n "$(env -u GH_TOKEN "$dir/reader" 2>&1)" ]; then fail "the gh wrapper exported a token with none fetched"; fi
+
 if [ "$failures" -ne 0 ]; then
   echo "script-test-agent-bao-fetch: $failures failed assertions over $count runs" >&2
   exit 1
diff --git a/swarm-controller/src/github_account.rs b/swarm-controller/src/github_account.rs
index ef3e6fd01..a3e9efe6a 100644
--- a/swarm-controller/src/github_account.rs
+++ b/swarm-controller/src/github_account.rs
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 //! put it in the swarm's secret store.
 //!
 //! The agent end is `nix/agent-modules/github-token.nix`, which reads it under
-//! the agent's own certificate into the `github-token` file its `gh` wrapper,
+//! the agent's own certificate into the file under `/run` its `gh` wrapper,
 //! git credential helper and `hive-github-notify` read. No hive is in the path.
 
 use axum::Json;