diff --git a/nix/host-modules/hive-ci.nix b/nix/host-modules/hive-ci.nix
index 9cd41ed5..003d175f 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/hive-ci.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/hive-ci.nix
@@ -389,7 +389,10 @@ in
             # no start-limit rate cap so it keeps retrying however long forge /
             # the core token take to settle.
             serviceConfig.Restart = lib.mkForce "on-failure";
-            serviceConfig.RestartSec = 15;
+            # `mkForce`: the upstream gitea-actions-runner module also sets
+            # RestartSec (2), so ours needs the higher priority or the two
+            # collide into an eval error — same as the sibling `Restart`.
+            serviceConfig.RestartSec = lib.mkForce 15;
             startLimitIntervalSec = 0;
           };
         };