diff --git a/hive-jobq/src/guard.rs b/hive-jobq/src/guard.rs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ddd29bf3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hive-jobq/src/guard.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,189 @@
+//! RAII guard objects over [`ResourceTable`] — the recursive-lock layer.
+//!
+//! A running node acquires its resources through [`SharedResources::acquire`],
+//! which hands back a [`ResourceGuard`]. Dropping the guard releases exactly
+//! what it acquired, so a node's resources are freed when its grant goes out of
+//! scope — there is no explicit release call to forget.
+//!
+//! Re-entrancy within a node group is expressed with
+//! [`ResourceGuard::borrowed`]: a sub-node that reuses a resource its ancestor
+//! group already holds gets a guard that owns no units and releases nothing on
+//! drop, so the shared unit is released exactly once — when the owning group's
+//! guard drops — never double-counted or freed early.
+//!
+//! Single-owner by design: the scheduler drives one settle loop, so the shared
+//! table is `Rc<RefCell<…>>` (single-threaded interior mutability), not
+//! `Arc<Mutex<…>>` — there is no cross-thread contention to guard against.
+
+use std::cell::RefCell;
+use std::rc::Rc;
+
+use crate::ResourceName;
+use crate::resources::ResourceTable;
+
+/// A [`ResourceTable`] shared between the scheduler and the live guards that
+/// release back into it on drop. Cheap to clone — an `Rc` refcount bump.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Default)]
+pub struct SharedResources(Rc<RefCell<ResourceTable>>);
+
+impl SharedResources {
+    /// Wrap an existing table so guards can release into it.
+    #[must_use]
+    pub fn new(table: ResourceTable) -> Self {
+        Self(Rc::new(RefCell::new(table)))
+    }
+
+    /// Atomically acquire every requested `(name, count)` or none of them.
+    ///
+    /// Returns an owning [`ResourceGuard`] (releases on drop) when the whole
+    /// request fits in what is available right now; returns `None` and leaves
+    /// the table completely untouched otherwise. Duplicate names are summed and
+    /// an over-capacity request can never succeed — same all-or-nothing
+    /// semantics as [`ResourceTable::try_acquire_all`].
+    #[must_use]
+    pub fn acquire(&self, reqs: Vec<(ResourceName, u32)>) -> Option<ResourceGuard> {
+        if self.0.borrow_mut().try_acquire_all(&reqs) {
+            Some(ResourceGuard(Acq::Owned {
+                table: self.clone(),
+                reqs,
+            }))
+        } else {
+            None
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Compute something from the underlying table (e.g. query `available`).
+    ///
+    /// Keep the closure short: it holds a shared borrow, so calling
+    /// [`SharedResources::acquire`] (a mutable borrow) from inside it would
+    /// panic on the overlapping `RefCell` borrow.
+    pub fn with<R>(&self, f: impl FnOnce(&ResourceTable) -> R) -> R {
+        f(&self.0.borrow())
+    }
+}
+
+/// How a [`ResourceGuard`] relates to the units it represents.
+#[derive(Debug)]
+enum Acq {
+    /// Owns real units; drop releases them back into the shared table.
+    Owned {
+        table: SharedResources,
+        reqs: Vec<(ResourceName, u32)>,
+    },
+    /// Re-entrant reuse of a resource an ancestor group already holds; drop
+    /// releases nothing.
+    Borrowed,
+}
+
+/// An RAII grant of resources. Dropping it releases exactly what was acquired
+/// (nothing, for a borrowed re-entrant guard).
+#[derive(Debug)]
+pub struct ResourceGuard(Acq);
+
+impl ResourceGuard {
+    /// A borrowed (re-entrant) guard that owns no units and releases nothing on
+    /// drop. The scheduler hands one to a sub-node that depends on a resource
+    /// its ancestor group already holds, so the shared unit is released once —
+    /// when the owning group's guard drops — never twice or early.
+    #[must_use]
+    pub fn borrowed() -> Self {
+        Self(Acq::Borrowed)
+    }
+
+    /// The `(name, count)` units this guard releases on drop — empty when it is
+    /// a borrowed re-entrant guard.
+    #[must_use]
+    pub fn held(&self) -> &[(ResourceName, u32)] {
+        match &self.0 {
+            Acq::Owned { reqs, .. } => reqs,
+            Acq::Borrowed => &[],
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Whether this guard owns real units (`true`) or is a borrowed re-entrant
+    /// guard (`false`).
+    #[must_use]
+    pub fn is_owning(&self) -> bool {
+        matches!(self.0, Acq::Owned { .. })
+    }
+}
+
+impl Drop for ResourceGuard {
+    fn drop(&mut self) {
+        if let Acq::Owned { table, reqs } = &self.0 {
+            table.0.borrow_mut().release_all(reqs);
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    fn res(name: &str) -> ResourceName {
+        ResourceName(name.to_owned())
+    }
+
+    fn shared_with(slots: u32) -> SharedResources {
+        let mut t = ResourceTable::new();
+        t.set_capacity(res("build-slot"), slots);
+        SharedResources::new(t)
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn owning_guard_releases_on_drop() {
+        let sr = shared_with(2);
+        let slot = res("build-slot");
+        {
+            let g = sr.acquire(vec![(slot.clone(), 2)]).expect("fits");
+            assert!(g.is_owning());
+            assert_eq!(g.held(), &[(slot.clone(), 2)]);
+            sr.with(|t| assert_eq!(t.available(&slot), 0));
+        } // guard dropped here
+        sr.with(|t| assert_eq!(t.available(&slot), 2));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn acquire_returns_none_and_leaves_table_untouched_when_it_does_not_fit() {
+        let sr = shared_with(1);
+        let slot = res("build-slot");
+        let _held = sr.acquire(vec![(slot.clone(), 1)]).expect("first fits");
+        assert!(sr.acquire(vec![(slot.clone(), 1)]).is_none());
+        // The failed acquire took nothing extra.
+        sr.with(|t| assert_eq!(t.held(&slot), 1));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn borrowed_guard_releases_nothing_on_drop() {
+        let sr = shared_with(1);
+        let agent = res("agent/foo");
+        // An owning guard holds the single agent-lock unit.
+        let _owner = sr.acquire(vec![(agent.clone(), 1)]).expect("fits");
+        sr.with(|t| assert_eq!(t.available(&agent), 0));
+        {
+            let b = ResourceGuard::borrowed();
+            assert!(!b.is_owning());
+            assert!(b.held().is_empty());
+        } // borrowed drop is a no-op
+        // Still held by the owner — the borrow did not release it.
+        sr.with(|t| assert_eq!(t.available(&agent), 0));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn nested_group_lock_released_once_when_owner_drops() {
+        let sr = shared_with(1);
+        let agent = res("agent/foo");
+        {
+            let _group = sr
+                .acquire(vec![(agent.clone(), 1)])
+                .expect("group takes the lock");
+            {
+                // A sub-node reuses the group's lock: borrowed, no re-acquire.
+                let _sub = ResourceGuard::borrowed();
+                sr.with(|t| assert_eq!(t.available(&agent), 0));
+            } // sub-node done — must NOT free the shared lock
+            sr.with(|t| assert_eq!(t.available(&agent), 0));
+        } // group done — frees it exactly once
+        sr.with(|t| assert_eq!(t.available(&agent), 1));
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hive-jobq/src/lib.rs b/hive-jobq/src/lib.rs
index ee669f1e..c3c9111a 100644
--- a/hive-jobq/src/lib.rs
+++ b/hive-jobq/src/lib.rs
@@ -26,9 +26,10 @@
 //! node kind. Resources are held by the acquiring node and released on
 //! completion via guard objects, recursive within a group.
 //!
-//! The guards and the scheduler loop are follow-ups; the named-counter resource
-//! machinery lives in [`resources`], the base this data model builds on.
+//! The scheduler loop is a follow-up; the resource machinery lives in
+//! [`resources`] and the RAII lock guards over it in [`guard`].
 
+pub mod guard;
 pub mod resources;
 
 /// Opaque, stable, monotonic node identifier.