diff --git a/docs/swarm/README.md b/docs/swarm/README.md
index be110ce7..2f845496 100644
--- a/docs/swarm/README.md
+++ b/docs/swarm/README.md
@@ -343,11 +343,11 @@ half-configured hive is an eval error rather than one that quietly never
 reports. They sit in two namespaces, because two of them are facts about
 _this machine_ and one is the swarm's single address:
 
-| option                                                  | what to set it to                                      |
-| ------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ |
-| `deploy.hive-controller.statusPublish.natsUrl`          | where the swarm queue listens, as this hive reaches it |
-| `swarm.statusPublish.tokenEndpoint`                     | the swarm IdP's `/api/oidc/token`                      |
-| `deploy.hive-controller.statusPublish.clientSecretFile` | path to this hive's client secret, plaintext           |
+| option                                                  | what to set it to                             |
+| ------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------- |
+| `deploy.hive-controller.statusPublish.natsUrl`          | `tls://<swarm.nats.domain>:<swarm.nats.port>` |
+| `swarm.statusPublish.tokenEndpoint`                     | the swarm IdP's `/api/oidc/token`             |
+| `deploy.hive-controller.statusPublish.clientSecretFile` | path to this hive's client secret, plaintext  |
 
 On a host that runs the queue and the IdP itself, all three default to
 the local ones and there is nothing to set. Any other hive needs them
@@ -356,6 +356,14 @@ not distribute it. Copy `hive-<hiveName>.secret` out of the swarm host's
 `deploy.authelia.hostClientSecretDir` with whatever secret management the
 deployment already uses.
 
+The queue URL is the same string on every hive. The queue accepts TLS only,
+with a certificate for `swarm.nats.domain` (default `nats.<swarm.domain>`) and
+no other name or address, so a URL with an IP address or `nats://` fails.
+The queue's host resolves the name itself. **A multi-host swarm needs one
+upstream DNS record**, `nats.<swarm.domain>` pointing at the queue host's mesh
+address, the same contract as `bao.<swarm.domain>`. The queue's port is open
+on `wg-hive` when that host is on the mesh.
+
 The identity isn't a choice — a hive authenticates as `hive-<hiveName>`
 and publishes under `hiveName`, the same name that keys `swarm.hives`.
 
@@ -382,12 +390,11 @@ with the credential itself and aren't configurable.
 | `deploy.hive-controller.queue.agentNatsUrl` | where the queue listens, as an agent **container** reaches it  |
 | `swarm.statusPublish.tokenEndpoint`         | the swarm IdP's `/api/oidc/token` — the same one the hive uses |
 
-On a host that runs the queue, `agentNatsUrl` defaults to
-`nats://<network.bridgeIp>:<swarm.nats.port>`, which is the only address that
-works from inside a container: the firewall opens the port on the bridge
-interface and nowhere else. ⚠️ **Never a loopback address here** — the hive's own
-`statusPublish.natsUrl` is loopback and correct, because `hive-c0re` shares the
-host's network namespace. An agent doesn't, so `127.0.0.1` reaches the agent.
+On a host that runs the queue, `agentNatsUrl` defaults to the same
+`tls://<swarm.nats.domain>:<swarm.nats.port>` as the hive's own. Inside a
+container the name resolves to the bridge address, where the firewall opens the
+port. ⚠️ **Never a loopback address here**: an agent has its own network
+namespace, so `127.0.0.1` reaches the agent.
 
 The harness sees four variables, and treats them as all-or-none:
 `HIVE_AGENT_NATS_URL` and `HIVE_AGENT_OIDC_TOKEN_ENDPOINT` from the two options
diff --git a/nix/agent-modules/queue.nix b/nix/agent-modules/queue.nix
index ffcaaf2c..f59a1813 100644
--- a/nix/agent-modules/queue.nix
+++ b/nix/agent-modules/queue.nix
@@ -36,13 +36,13 @@ in
     natsUrl = lib.mkOption {
       type = lib.types.nullOr lib.types.str;
       default = null;
-      example = "nats://10.42.0.1:4222";
+      example = "tls://nats.example.com:4222";
       description = ''
         Where the swarm queue listens, as this container reaches it.
 
         Set by the generated meta flake from the host's
         {option}`services.hyperhive.deploy.hive-controller.queue.agentNatsUrl`,
-        which is the bridge address rather than a loopback one — inside this
+        which names the queue rather than a loopback address — inside this
         container `127.0.0.1` is the agent itself.
 
         `null` means this hive has not been given the queue's address for its
diff --git a/nix/checks.nix b/nix/checks.nix
index 29f0ee56..706fba9e 100644
--- a/nix/checks.nix
+++ b/nix/checks.nix
@@ -39,6 +39,10 @@ in
     inherit pkgs self nixosSystem;
     inherit (pkgs) lib;
   };
+  module-eval-nats-tls = import ./module-eval/nats-tls.nix {
+    inherit pkgs self nixosSystem;
+    inherit (pkgs) lib;
+  };
   module-eval-matrix-core = import ./module-eval/matrix-core.nix {
     inherit pkgs self nixosSystem;
     inherit (pkgs) lib;
diff --git a/nix/host-modules/default.nix b/nix/host-modules/default.nix
index 56a3a6ae..21f968ac 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/default.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/default.nix
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@
     ./glue-grafana-oidc-client.nix
     ./glue-matrix-bao-token.nix
     ./glue-matrix-ctl-bao-identity.nix
+    ./glue-nats-bao-identity.nix
     ./glue-queue-agent-credential.nix
     ./glue-secret-publisher-bao-identity.nix
     ./glue-services-issuer-bao-identity.nix
diff --git a/nix/host-modules/glue-bao-readers-policy-order.nix b/nix/host-modules/glue-bao-readers-policy-order.nix
index f0c2d2e7..98deff57 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/glue-bao-readers-policy-order.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/glue-bao-readers-policy-order.nix
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 # Glue: where the store and one of its readers share a host, the reader waits
 # for the unit that writes the cert-auth role it logs in with.
 #
-# ONE PAIRING PER FILE — the store's four reader policy units ← the readers
+# ONE PAIRING PER FILE — the store's reader policy units ← the readers
 # they grant, and nothing else. Deleting this leaves every reader as it is on a
 # host whose store is remote: it may log in before its role exists, and its own
 # retries are what carry it past that.
@@ -44,6 +44,8 @@ let
     swarm-bao-otel-oidc =
       deployCfg.swarm-otel.enable
       && havePair baoDeploy.otelOidcClientCertFile baoDeploy.otelOidcClientKeyFile;
+    # ./swarm-nats.nix: the queue's TLS leaf, not a secret, but the same wait.
+    swarm-bao-nats-tls = deployCfg.nats.enable;
   };
 
   orderAfterPolicy =
diff --git a/nix/host-modules/glue-bao-tls.nix b/nix/host-modules/glue-bao-tls.nix
index 0725b7d4..d84f2885 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/glue-bao-tls.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/glue-bao-tls.nix
@@ -233,6 +233,13 @@ in
         # credential would undo the separation the role was created for.
         [ -s ${pkiDir}/services-issuer.pem ] || ${signLeaf} ${pkiDir} services-issuer \
           ${lib.escapeShellArg deployCfg.bao.servicesIssuerCommonName} "" clientAuth
+
+        # The queue's, which opens `pki/issue/swarm-nats` and nothing else.
+        # Minted here for the services issuer's reason: it opens the mint, so
+        # it cannot come out of it. On a queue host without the store this is
+        # the file an operator copies.
+        [ -s ${pkiDir}/nats.pem ] || ${signLeaf} ${pkiDir} nats \
+          ${lib.escapeShellArg deployCfg.bao.natsCommonName} "" clientAuth
       '';
     };
   };
diff --git a/nix/host-modules/glue-nats-bao-identity.nix b/nix/host-modules/glue-nats-bao-identity.nix
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..497a5cb7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/nix/host-modules/glue-nats-bao-identity.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+# Glue: point the queue's TLS-leaf unit at the bao leaf minted for it.
+#
+# ONE PAIRING PER FILE — the swarm-nats principal ← bao, and nothing else.
+# Deleting this leaves a queue host that takes an operator-provided path to
+# that credential, which is what any deployment not minting its own already
+# does.
+#
+# ⚠️ The minting is NOT here. ./glue-bao-tls.nix holds the CA and signs the
+# leaf, because the thing that owns a private key owns issuing from it. What
+# belongs here is the pairing: which paths `swarm-bao-nats-tls` presents.
+#
+# ⚠️ Gated on the leaf existing, not on the store being enabled — the same rule
+# ./glue-matrix-ctl-bao-identity.nix states: a swarm runs ONE queue, and the
+# hive hosting it need not be the hive hosting the store.
+#
+# Everything is `mkDefault`. An operator naming their own paths wins.
+{
+  lib,
+  config,
+  ...
+}:
+let
+  hyperhiveCfg = config.services.hyperhive;
+  deployCfg = hyperhiveCfg.deploy;
+  baoDeploy = deployCfg.bao;
+
+  # Where ./glue-bao-tls.nix puts the leaves, derived from the reader's own path
+  # rather than repeating that file's directory literal: an operator who moves
+  # the PKI moves both, and the two cannot drift apart.
+  haveMintedPki = baoDeploy.clientCertFile != null;
+  pkiDir = if haveMintedPki then builtins.dirOf baoDeploy.clientCertFile else null;
+in
+{
+  config = lib.mkIf (hyperhiveCfg.enable && deployCfg.nats.enable && haveMintedPki) {
+    services.hyperhive.deploy.nats = {
+      baoClientCertFile = lib.mkDefault "${pkiDir}/nats.pem";
+      baoClientKeyFile = lib.mkDefault "${pkiDir}/nats-key.pem";
+    };
+  };
+}
diff --git a/nix/host-modules/hive-c0re/environment.nix b/nix/host-modules/hive-c0re/environment.nix
index f660f3aa..d07b3e69 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/hive-c0re/environment.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/hive-c0re/environment.nix
@@ -289,10 +289,8 @@ in
   # every container. A pair, gated together, because an agent that got one of
   # them would report a half-configured queue instead of none.
   #
-  # ⚠️ The url is the bridge address, NOT the loopback one beside it in
-  # `HIVE_C0RE_NATS_URL` above. Both are correct for their reader: this daemon
-  # shares the host netns, an agent does not, and inside a container
-  # `127.0.0.1` is the agent itself.
+  # ⚠️ By name, like `HIVE_C0RE_NATS_URL` above, and never a loopback
+  # address: inside a container `127.0.0.1` is the agent itself.
   lib.optionalAttrs
     (
       config.services.hyperhive.deploy.hive-controller.queue.agentNatsUrl != null
diff --git a/nix/host-modules/local-defaults.nix b/nix/host-modules/local-defaults.nix
index 55a9fd61..0b71cf45 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/local-defaults.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/local-defaults.nix
@@ -88,11 +88,10 @@ in
 
   config.services.hyperhive.swarm = {
     ca.autoConfigure = lib.mkDefault cfg.deploy.singleHostSwarm;
-    # The controller's queue coordinates. Co-location is what makes these
-    # derivable at all — loopback only reaches the queue when the queue is
-    # here, and the minted client secret only exists on the host authelia
-    # ran its first boot on — so they belong to the mode that asserts this
-    # box is the whole deployment, not to the options' own `default`.
+    # The controller's queue coordinates. Kept with the mode, not in the
+    # options' own `default`, because the controller's minted client secret
+    # only exists on the host authelia ran its first boot on — so they belong
+    # to the mode that asserts this box is the whole deployment.
     #
     # Deriving them from `deploy.nats` / `deploy.authelia`
     # inside those defaults is the mixing this file exists to prevent: the
@@ -110,7 +109,7 @@ in
     # needing a queue is the controller's own property in every topology,
     # and only the convenience is local.
     controller.queue.natsUrl = lib.mkIf cfg.deploy.singleHostSwarm (
-      lib.mkDefault "nats://127.0.0.1:${toString config.services.hyperhive.swarm.nats.port}"
+      lib.mkDefault "tls://${config.services.hyperhive.swarm.nats.domain}:${toString config.services.hyperhive.swarm.nats.port}"
     );
   };
 
diff --git a/nix/host-modules/swarm-bao.nix b/nix/host-modules/swarm-bao.nix
index da734167..c1d29dda 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/swarm-bao.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/swarm-bao.nix
@@ -384,6 +384,17 @@ let
     }
   '';
 
+  # The queue's principal: one `update` on its own role, the shape of the
+  # services issuer's grant above, narrowed to one name by the role itself.
+  natsPolicyName = "swarm-nats";
+  natsCn = baoDeploy.natsCommonName;
+  natsPkiRoleName = baoDeploy.natsPkiRoleName;
+  natsPolicyText = ''
+    path "${servicesPkiMountPath}/issue/${natsPkiRoleName}" {
+      capabilities = ["update"]
+    }
+  '';
+
   # ── the four principals that used to share the hive's own leaf ─────────────
   #
   # 🩸 Each of the four reads exactly ONE path in the store, and until this
@@ -1074,6 +1085,35 @@ in
       '';
     };
 
+    natsCommonName = lib.mkOption {
+      type = lib.types.str;
+      default = "swarm-nats";
+      description = ''
+        Subject the store's `swarm-nats` cert-auth role accepts: the identity
+        the queue's host presents to ask for the queue's TLS leaf.
+
+        Its own principal rather than
+        {option}`services.hyperhive.deploy.bao.servicesIssuerCommonName`,
+        whose role issues for every name in
+        {option}`services.hyperhive.swarm.serviceDomains`. This one may issue
+        from {option}`services.hyperhive.deploy.bao.natsPkiRoleName` alone,
+        and that role only for {option}`services.hyperhive.swarm.nats.domain`.
+
+        ⚠️ Reserved as a hive name by ./swarm.nix, like its siblings.
+      '';
+    };
+
+    natsPkiRoleName = lib.mkOption {
+      type = lib.types.str;
+      default = "swarm-nats";
+      description = ''
+        Role on {option}`services.hyperhive.deploy.bao.servicesPkiMountPath`
+        the queue's TLS leaf is issued through. It allows exactly
+        {option}`services.hyperhive.swarm.nats.domain`: no subdomains, IPs or
+        localhost.
+      '';
+    };
+
     matrixCtlHiveName = lib.mkOption {
       type = lib.types.str;
       default = toString hyperhiveCfg.hiveName;
@@ -1518,6 +1558,7 @@ in
         "swarm-bao-grafana-oidc-policy"
         "swarm-bao-otel-oidc-policy"
         "swarm-bao-services-issuer-policy"
+        "swarm-bao-nats-tls-policy"
       ];
 
       # 🚫 No `swarm.otel.scrapeTargets.bao` entry any more, and its absence is
@@ -2216,6 +2257,70 @@ in
         '';
       };
 
+      # A FIFTH sibling: the queue's issuing role, its policy and its login
+      # role, together. The `pki` role lives here rather than beside
+      # `swarm-services` in the controller's unit because it belongs to this
+      # principal; that unit creates the mount, hence the `after`.
+      #
+      # The role narrows exactly as `swarm-services` does, to one name. It is
+      # the queue's domain alone, since the same name reaches it from every
+      # hive; no IP SANs, since nothing dials an address.
+      systemd.services.swarm-bao-nats-tls-policy = lib.mkIf haveBootstrapToken {
+        description = "write the swarm queue's pki role, bao policy and cert-auth role";
+        after = [
+          "container@${cfg.machine}.service"
+          "swarm-bao-controller-policy.service"
+        ];
+        wantedBy = [ "multi-user.target" ];
+        path = [
+          baoCli
+          pkgs.coreutils
+        ];
+        unitConfig.ConditionPathExists = baoDeploy.bootstrapTokenFile;
+        # Same unseal wait as its siblings above.
+        startLimitBurst = 2880;
+        startLimitIntervalSec = 90000;
+        serviceConfig = {
+          Type = "oneshot";
+          RemainAfterExit = true;
+          Restart = "on-failure";
+          RestartSec = 30;
+        };
+        script = ''
+          set -euo pipefail
+
+          BAO_TOKEN="$(cat ${lib.escapeShellArg baoDeploy.bootstrapTokenFile})"
+          export BAO_TOKEN
+
+          bao write ${lib.escapeShellArg "${servicesPkiMountPath}/roles/${natsPkiRoleName}"} \
+            allowed_domains=${lib.escapeShellArg hyperhiveCfg.swarm.nats.domain} \
+            allow_bare_domains=true \
+            allow_subdomains=false \
+            allow_glob_domains=false \
+            allow_localhost=false \
+            allow_any_name=false \
+            allow_ip_sans=false \
+            enforce_hostnames=true \
+            server_flag=true \
+            client_flag=false \
+            key_type=rsa \
+            key_bits=4096 \
+            ttl=${servicesPkiLeafTtl} \
+            max_ttl=${servicesPkiLeafTtl}
+
+          printf '%s' ${lib.escapeShellArg natsPolicyText} |
+            bao policy write ${lib.escapeShellArg natsPolicyName} -
+        ''
+        + lib.optionalString (baoDeploy.clientCaFile != null) ''
+
+          bao write auth/cert/certs/${lib.escapeShellArg natsPolicyName} \
+            certificate=@${tlsDir}/client-ca.pem \
+            allowed_common_names=${lib.escapeShellArg natsCn} \
+            token_policies=${lib.escapeShellArg natsPolicyName} \
+            display_name=${lib.escapeShellArg natsCn}
+        '';
+      };
+
       # The CA bind source is written at runtime by a host unit, so the
       # container has to start after it — otherwise nspawn sets up a mount
       # over a file that does not exist yet.
diff --git a/nix/host-modules/swarm-controller.nix b/nix/host-modules/swarm-controller.nix
index fb11ad80..49e0c837 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/swarm-controller.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/swarm-controller.nix
@@ -365,18 +365,17 @@ in
       natsUrl = lib.mkOption {
         type = lib.types.str;
         default = "";
-        example = "nats://queue.example.com:4222";
+        example = "tls://nats.example.com:4222";
         description = ''
           Where the controller reaches the swarm queue.
 
           Empty means unset, which the assertion below refuses — a
           controller with no queue is not a lighter controller.
 
-          `singleHostSwarm` fills this in with loopback, because
-          that address is only correct when the queue is on this host:
-          its container shares the host netns. That derivation lives with
-          the mode rather than here, so this option describes itself
-          rather than a deployment shape.
+          `singleHostSwarm` fills this in with
+          `tls://<swarm.nats.domain>:<port>`. That derivation lives with the
+          mode rather than here, so this option describes itself rather than
+          a deployment shape.
         '';
       };
 
@@ -765,9 +764,8 @@ in
         message = ''
           services.hyperhive.swarm.controller.queue.natsUrl is unset.
 
-          It defaults to loopback only when this host also runs the queue
-          (`services.hyperhive.deploy.nats.enable`). A controller on its
-          own host has to be told where the queue is.
+          `singleHostSwarm` fills it in with the queue's name. A controller
+          in any other deployment has to be told the URL.
         '';
       }
       {
diff --git a/nix/host-modules/swarm-nats.nix b/nix/host-modules/swarm-nats.nix
index c86a3c62..91cde3b3 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/swarm-nats.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/swarm-nats.nix
@@ -201,16 +201,39 @@ let
     userKey = "@USER_PUBKEY@";
     issuerKey = "@ISSUER_PUBKEY@";
   });
+
+  swarmDomain = config.services.hyperhive.swarm.domain;
+  # Total on a null swarm domain, for the reason ./swarm-bao.nix gives.
+  domainBase = if swarmDomain == null then "invalid" else swarmDomain;
+
+  baoCfg = config.services.hyperhive.swarm.bao;
+  baoDeploy = deployCfg.bao;
+
+  # The queue's TLS leaf, bound read-only at the same path on both sides, the
+  # shape ./swarm-bao.nix's `tlsDir` uses. The key reaches the server through
+  # `LoadCredential`, as openbao's does: it is root-owned 0600 here, and the
+  # server runs as `nats`.
+  tlsDir = "/var/lib/swarm-nats-tls";
+  tlsCertPath = "${tlsDir}/cert.pem";
+  tlsKeyPath = "${tlsDir}/key.pem";
+  tlsKeyCredential = "tls-key";
+  tlsKeyCredentialPath = "/run/credentials/nats.service/${tlsKeyCredential}";
+
+  # Re-issue once the leaf is past half of the 720h `pki/roles/swarm-nats`
+  # grants it (./swarm-bao.nix), so the daily timer below has two weeks of
+  # retries before it lapses.
+  leafRenewSeconds = 360 * 3600;
 in
 {
-  # The swarm's message queue: one NATS server, reached by every hive.
+  # The swarm's message queue: one NATS server, reached by every hive at
+  # `tls://<swarm.nats.domain>:<port>`.
   #
-  # ⚠️ There is deliberately NO gateway vhost here, and this is the first
-  # swarm service where that is true — the next reader will go looking for
-  # one. NATS speaks its own TCP protocol rather than HTTP, so nginx
-  # cannot front it the way it fronts the forge, matrix and authelia.
-  # Cross-hive reach is the wireguard mesh; `gateway.localNames` and the
-  # per-service vhost pattern do not apply.
+  # ⚠️ There is deliberately NO gateway vhost here. NATS speaks its own TCP
+  # protocol rather than HTTP, so nginx cannot front it the way it fronts the
+  # forge, matrix and authelia, and the server terminates TLS itself. The
+  # name is the half of the sibling pattern that applies, the way it is for
+  # bao: `gateway.localNames` on this host, the operator's DNS everywhere
+  # else.
 
   options.services.hyperhive.swarm.nats = {
     # `enable` moved to `services.hyperhive.deploy.nats.enable` — see
@@ -226,6 +249,25 @@ in
     # with `nixpkgs.overlays` if you need to. (`deploy.nats.authPackage`
     # is a different thing: the callout responder, which IS ours.)
 
+    domain = lib.mkOption {
+      type = lib.types.str;
+      default = "nats.${domainBase}";
+      defaultText = lib.literalExpression ''"nats.''${services.hyperhive.swarm.domain}"'';
+      description = ''
+        Name every client reaches the queue on, as
+        `tls://<domain>:<port>`, and the only name its certificate carries.
+        A **sibling** of the swarm's other service names, for the reason
+        {option}`services.hyperhive.swarm.bao.domain` gives.
+
+        The host running the queue answers it through `gateway.localNames`.
+        Every other hive resolves it through the operator's upstream DNS,
+        which is where a multi-host swarm needs a record for it.
+
+        Not in {option}`services.hyperhive.swarm.serviceDomains`: that list
+        is the names a gateway vhost fronts, and nginx fronts nothing here.
+      '';
+    };
+
     port = lib.mkOption {
       type = lib.types.port;
       default = 4222;
@@ -234,12 +276,9 @@ in
         sits outside hyperhive's claimed ranges (dashboard 7000, forge
         3000, matrix 8008, every agent in 8100..8999 via FNV-1a hash).
 
-        Contributed to
-        `services.hyperhive.network.exposeHostPorts`, which opens it on
-        the bridge interface only — so it is reachable from agent
-        containers and not from the outside world. An agent connects to
-        `nats://<bridgeIp>:<port>`; loopback inside a container is the
-        agent itself, not this host.
+        Opened on the bridge interface, for agent containers, and on
+        `wg-hive` when this host is on the mesh, for other hives. Never
+        host-wide. TLS only: a client that does not speak it is refused.
 
         Unlike {option}`monitorPort` and {option}`metricsPort`, the
         address is not what bounds who may use this port: the queue's
@@ -429,6 +468,36 @@ in
         `calloutUserSeedFile`.
       '';
     };
+
+    baoClientCertFile = lib.mkOption {
+      type = lib.types.nullOr lib.types.str;
+      default = null;
+      example = "/var/lib/swarm-bao-pki/nats.pem";
+      description = ''
+        Client certificate `swarm-bao-nats-tls` presents to the swarm's
+        secret store when it asks for the queue's TLS leaf. Its subject must
+        be {option}`services.hyperhive.deploy.bao.natsCommonName`: cert auth
+        matches on the CN, and that role's policy may issue from
+        `pki/issue/swarm-nats` and nothing else.
+
+        No default. ./glue-nats-bao-identity.nix points it at the leaf
+        ./glue-bao-tls.nix mints, where this host mints one. On a queue host
+        without the store, it is a file the operator copies from the store's
+        host.
+
+        A path, never a value.
+      '';
+    };
+
+    baoClientKeyFile = lib.mkOption {
+      type = lib.types.nullOr lib.types.str;
+      default = null;
+      example = "/var/lib/swarm-bao-pki/nats-key.pem";
+      description = ''
+        Private key for {option}`services.hyperhive.deploy.nats.baoClientCertFile`.
+        A path, never a value.
+      '';
+    };
   };
 
   config = lib.mkIf deployCfg.nats.enable {
@@ -437,12 +506,17 @@ in
     services.hyperhive.swarm.otel.journaldUnits = [
       "nats"
       "swarm-nats-auth"
+      "swarm-bao-nats-tls"
     ];
 
     # Resolver only: NATS speaks its own protocol, so nginx fronts
     # nothing here — but the auth responder introspects authelia by name.
     services.hyperhive.gateway.dns.enable = lib.mkDefault true;
 
+    # The name every client dials, answered with the bridge IP on this host.
+    # Other hives resolve it through the operator's DNS, as they do bao's.
+    services.hyperhive.gateway.localNames = [ cfg.domain ];
+
     assertions = [
       {
         # Fail at EVAL, not at boot: a queue that comes up unable to
@@ -575,18 +649,27 @@ in
     # by the firewall and looks exactly like every other NATS failure,
     # a timeout.
     #
-    # ⚠️ Bridge interface only — never the world. What makes it safe to
-    # open at all is that the queue is fail-closed: `auth_callout` admits
-    # nobody until the responder above answers for them, so an agent that
-    # reaches this port still has to present a token authelia vouches for.
+    # ⚠️ Never the world. What makes it safe to open at all is that the
+    # queue is fail-closed: `auth_callout` admits nobody until the responder
+    # above answers for them, so an agent that reaches this port still has to
+    # present a token authelia vouches for.
     #
-    # An agent connects to `nats://<bridgeIp>:<port>`, NOT to
-    # `nats://127.0.0.1:<port>` — inside a container loopback is the
-    # *agent*. Every url in this repo today is the loopback one and each
-    # is correct for its reader, because those readers share the host
-    # netns; an agent does not.
+    # An agent reaches it by name, which dnsmasq answers with the bridge IP.
     services.hyperhive.network.exposeHostPorts = [ cfg.port ];
 
+    # The other hives' way in, interface-scoped like
+    # ./swarm-snapshot-store.nix's receiver. The firewall is default-deny
+    # before a packet reaches the listener, so without this nothing in-tree
+    # lets another hive reach the queue at all.
+    networking.firewall.interfaces.wg-hive.allowedTCPPorts = lib.mkIf deployCfg.wireguard.enable [
+      cfg.port
+    ];
+
+    # The bind source has to exist before the container starts, leaf or not:
+    # nixos-container refuses to start over a missing one, which would take
+    # the whole queue down rather than only its TLS.
+    systemd.tmpfiles.rules = [ "d ${tlsDir} 0755 root root -" ];
+
     containers.swarm-nats = {
       autoStart = true;
       ephemeral = false;
@@ -605,9 +688,14 @@ in
       # Not agent containers, though: they have a netns of their own and
       # the bridge firewall does not open this port.
       privateNetwork = false;
-      # Binds only the public trust bundle, read-only. Empty when the gateway
-      # is not self-signed, so the whole trust path drops out cleanly.
-      bindMounts = caTrust.bindMount;
+      # The public trust bundle (empty when the gateway is not self-signed)
+      # and the queue's own TLS leaf, both read-only.
+      bindMounts = caTrust.bindMount // {
+        ${tlsDir} = {
+          hostPath = tlsDir;
+          isReadOnly = true;
+        };
+      };
       config =
         { ... }:
         {
@@ -652,13 +740,14 @@ in
 
             serverName = "swarm-nats";
             port = cfg.port;
-            # In auto mode the keys are empty until the generator runs,
-            # and `nats-server -t` rejects that ("Expected callout user to
-            # be a valid public account nkey, got \"\""), so leaving this
-            # on fails the BUILD of every all-local hive. Upstream's own
-            # description names the case: disable it when the config
-            # includes other files. The check moves to server start.
-            validateConfig = !deployCfg.nats.autoGenerateCallout;
+            # Off in every mode now. The `tls` block below names a leaf that
+            # exists only at runtime, and `nats-server -t` loads it, so the
+            # build-time check fails on every hive. In auto mode it failed
+            # already, on callout keys that are empty until the generator
+            # runs. Upstream's own description names the case: disable it
+            # when the config includes other files. The check moves to
+            # server start.
+            validateConfig = false;
 
             settings =
               calloutBlocks {
@@ -687,9 +776,28 @@ in
                 # ⚠️ Loopback: unauthenticated, and `/connz` lists every
                 # connected client.
                 http = "127.0.0.1:${toString cfg.monitorPort}";
+
+                # TLS required on the client port: a server with a `tls`
+                # block advertises `tls_required` and refuses a client that
+                # does not upgrade. No `allow_non_tls`, which would keep the
+                # plaintext path open across the mesh. The 2s timeout is for
+                # a handshake that crosses the mesh; upstream's 0.5s is sized
+                # for a LAN.
+                tls = {
+                  cert_file = tlsCertPath;
+                  key_file = tlsKeyCredentialPath;
+                  timeout = 2;
+                };
               };
           };
 
+          # The key as the `nats` user can read it; see `tlsDir`. Resolved at
+          # unit start only, which is why a renewed leaf restarts the server
+          # rather than reloading it.
+          systemd.services.nats.serviceConfig.LoadCredential = [
+            "${tlsKeyCredential}:${tlsKeyPath}"
+          ];
+
           # The translation layer. NATS has no Prometheus format of its
           # own, so this reads the JSON monitoring endpoint above and
           # re-serves it in the format the collector scrapes.
@@ -754,7 +862,11 @@ in
             serviceConfig = {
               ExecStart = lib.concatStringsSep " " [
                 "${deployCfg.nats.authPackage}/bin/swarm-nats-auth"
-                "--nats-url nats://127.0.0.1:${toString cfg.port}"
+                # By name, like every other client: the leaf carries the name
+                # and no IP, so a loopback address fails verification. The
+                # container's resolver goes through the bridge, where dnsmasq
+                # answers it.
+                "--nats-url tls://${cfg.domain}:${toString cfg.port}"
                 "--user-seed-file \${CREDENTIALS_DIRECTORY}/callout-user.seed"
                 "--issuer-seed-file \${CREDENTIALS_DIRECTORY}/issuer.seed"
                 "--client-secret-file \${CREDENTIALS_DIRECTORY}/oidc-client.secret"
@@ -966,5 +1078,148 @@ in
            ${lib.escapeShellArg hostRuntimeDir}/nats.conf
       '';
     };
+
+    # The queue's TLS leaf, issued by the secret store's `pki/roles/swarm-nats`
+    # under this host's `swarm-nats` identity. Same shape as ./hive-tls.nix's
+    # `swarm-services-cert`, whose comments carry the reasoning for the login,
+    # the single `issue` call split with `jq`, and the unseal-sized retry.
+    #
+    # Before the container, so a normal boot starts the server with its leaf.
+    # A store that comes up later fails this run; the retry lands the leaf and
+    # restarts the server, which until then refuses to start (TLS required,
+    # and its key credential is missing).
+    systemd.services.swarm-bao-nats-tls = {
+      description = "Issue the swarm queue's TLS leaf from the secret store's PKI";
+      wantedBy = [
+        "multi-user.target"
+        "container@${machine}.service"
+      ];
+      before = [ "container@${machine}.service" ];
+      # Both absent where the store runs elsewhere, and ignored there; see
+      # `swarm-services-cert`. The ordering after this leaf's policy unit is
+      # ./glue-bao-readers-policy-order.nix's, because it holds only where the
+      # store is here too.
+      after = [
+        "container@${baoCfg.machine}.service"
+        "swarm-bao-pki.service"
+      ];
+      wants = [ "container@${baoCfg.machine}.service" ];
+      path = [
+        baoDeploy.package
+        pkgs.jq
+        pkgs.openssl
+        pkgs.coreutils
+        pkgs.gnugrep
+        pkgs.systemd
+      ];
+      startLimitBurst = 2880;
+      startLimitIntervalSec = 90000;
+      # No `RemainAfterExit`: the timer below starts this again, and starting
+      # an active unit is a no-op.
+      serviceConfig = {
+        Type = "oneshot";
+        UMask = "0077";
+        SyslogIdentifier = "swarm-bao-nats-tls";
+        Restart = "on-failure";
+        RestartSec = 30;
+      };
+      environment = {
+        BAO_ADDR = "https://${baoCfg.domain}:${toString baoCfg.port}";
+      }
+      // lib.optionalAttrs (deployCfg.nats.baoClientCertFile != null) {
+        BAO_CLIENT_CERT = deployCfg.nats.baoClientCertFile;
+      }
+      // lib.optionalAttrs (deployCfg.nats.baoClientKeyFile != null) {
+        BAO_CLIENT_KEY = deployCfg.nats.baoClientKeyFile;
+      }
+      // lib.optionalAttrs (baoDeploy.serverCaFile != null) {
+        BAO_CACERT = baoDeploy.serverCaFile;
+      };
+      script = ''
+        set -euo pipefail
+        d=${lib.escapeShellArg tlsDir}
+        name=${lib.escapeShellArg cfg.domain}
+        install -d -m 0755 "$d"
+
+        # Missing, past half its window, or naming something other than the
+        # configured domain.
+        reissue=0
+        { [ -s "$d/cert.pem" ] && [ -s "$d/key.pem" ]; } || reissue=1
+        openssl x509 -in "$d/cert.pem" -noout -checkend ${toString leafRenewSeconds} >/dev/null 2>&1 || reissue=1
+        openssl x509 -in "$d/cert.pem" -noout -checkhost "$name" 2>/dev/null | grep -q ' does match ' || reissue=1
+
+        if [ "$reissue" = 0 ]; then
+          echo "queue leaf valid for $name — leaving it alone"
+          exit 0
+        fi
+
+        ${
+          if deployCfg.nats.baoClientCertFile == null || deployCfg.nats.baoClientKeyFile == null then
+            ''
+              echo "no bao client certificate configured for the queue, so its TLS leaf" >&2
+              echo "cannot be requested from the store." >&2
+              echo "Set services.hyperhive.deploy.nats.baoClient{Cert,Key}File" >&2
+              echo "to a leaf the store's CA signed with CN=${baoDeploy.natsCommonName}." >&2
+              exit 1''
+          else
+            ""
+        }
+
+        err="$(mktemp)"
+        trap 'rm -f "$err"' EXIT
+
+        if ! BAO_TOKEN="$(bao login -method=cert -token-only 2>"$err")"; then
+          echo "could not log in to the swarm secret store with the queue's certificate." >&2
+          cat "$err" >&2
+          exit 1
+        fi
+        export BAO_TOKEN
+
+        echo "requesting the queue's TLS leaf for $name from the store"
+        resp="$(mktemp "$d/issue.json.XXXXXX")"
+        trap 'rm -f "$err" "$resp"' EXIT
+
+        if ! bao write -format=json \
+            ${lib.escapeShellArg "${baoDeploy.servicesPkiMountPath}/issue/${baoDeploy.natsPkiRoleName}"} \
+            common_name="$name" > "$resp" 2>"$err"; then
+          echo "the store refused to issue the queue's certificate." >&2
+          cat "$err" >&2
+          exit 1
+        fi
+
+        jq -r '.data.private_key // empty' < "$resp" > "$d/key.pem.new"
+        jq -r '.data.certificate // empty' < "$resp" > "$d/cert.pem.new"
+        for f in "$d/key.pem.new" "$d/cert.pem.new"; do
+          if [ ! -s "$f" ]; then
+            echo "the store's response was missing a field: $f is empty" >&2
+            exit 1
+          fi
+        done
+        chmod 0600 "$d/key.pem.new"
+        chmod 0644 "$d/cert.pem.new"
+        mv -f "$d/key.pem.new" "$d/key.pem"
+        mv -f "$d/cert.pem.new" "$d/cert.pem"
+
+        # Renewal, or the late-store retry. On a normal boot the container is
+        # not up yet and starts the server with this leaf itself. A restart,
+        # not a reload: the key arrives by `LoadCredential`, which systemd
+        # resolves at start only. `reset-failed` because a server that found
+        # no key may have hit its start limit.
+        if systemctl is-active --quiet ${lib.escapeShellArg "container@${machine}.service"}; then
+          echo "queue leaf rotated — restarting the server in ${machine}"
+          systemctl --machine=${lib.escapeShellArg machine} reset-failed nats.service
+          systemctl --machine=${lib.escapeShellArg machine} restart nats.service
+        fi
+      '';
+    };
+
+    systemd.timers.swarm-bao-nats-tls = {
+      description = "Daily renewal check for the swarm queue's TLS leaf";
+      wantedBy = [ "timers.target" ];
+      timerConfig = {
+        OnCalendar = "daily";
+        Persistent = true;
+      };
+    };
   };
 }
diff --git a/nix/host-modules/swarm-otel.nix b/nix/host-modules/swarm-otel.nix
index 0b5cc904..abf2231c 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/swarm-otel.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/swarm-otel.nix
@@ -475,10 +475,8 @@ in
         collector is a plain producer against this name exactly like every
         other client of a swarm service, resolved locally by dnsmasq on a
         co-located host and over the real network otherwise. There is no
-        separate loopback-vs-remote knob to get wrong: `swarm-nats` is the
-        deliberate exception to this pattern (its cross-hive reach is the
-        wireguard mesh, not the gateway), everything else in this swarm
-        addresses its siblings by name.
+        separate loopback-vs-remote knob to get wrong: everything in this
+        swarm addresses its siblings by name.
       '';
     };
 
diff --git a/nix/host-modules/swarm.nix b/nix/host-modules/swarm.nix
index 67f4854c..220a5a41 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/swarm.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/swarm.nix
@@ -50,6 +50,7 @@ let
     deployCfg.bao.grafanaOidcCommonName
     deployCfg.bao.otelOidcCommonName
     deployCfg.bao.servicesIssuerCommonName
+    deployCfg.bao.natsCommonName
   ]
   # The two per-hive readers' subjects, spelled out per hive rather than as the
   # prefix. The prefix alone would reserve the wrong string: the role for hive
@@ -542,17 +543,17 @@ in
   options.services.hyperhive.deploy.hive-controller.statusPublish = {
     natsUrl = lib.mkOption {
       type = lib.types.nullOr lib.types.str;
-      default = if queueLocal then "nats://127.0.0.1:${toString swarmCfg.nats.port}" else null;
-      defaultText = lib.literalExpression ''"nats://127.0.0.1:''${swarm.nats.port}" when this host runs the queue and the IdP, else null'';
-      example = "nats://10.100.0.1:4222";
+      default =
+        if queueLocal then "tls://${swarmCfg.nats.domain}:${toString swarmCfg.nats.port}" else null;
+      defaultText = lib.literalExpression ''"tls://''${swarm.nats.domain}:''${swarm.nats.port}" when this host runs the queue and the IdP, else null'';
+      example = "tls://nats.example.com:4222";
       description = ''
         Where the swarm queue listens, as seen from *this* hive.
 
-        Defaults to loopback when this host runs the queue container
-        itself (it shares the host netns, so loopback is correct there
-        and is not the "localhost means the wrong thing" trap that
-        applies inside agent containers). A hive that is not the swarm
-        host has to name the swarm's mesh address.
+        Defaults to the queue's name when this host runs the queue and the
+        IdP. A hive that is not the swarm host sets the same URL: the name
+        resolves through the operator's DNS there. TLS only, and by name,
+        since the queue's certificate carries the name and no address.
 
         Null disables status publishing: this hive computes its own
         readiness as always, and simply offers it to nobody. The swarm
@@ -589,9 +590,8 @@ in
   };
 
   # The same queue, reached from one layer further in. An agent container has
-  # its own network namespace, so it needs an address of its own rather than
-  # the one beside it in `statusPublish.natsUrl` — sharing that option would
-  # hand every agent a loopback address that resolves to the agent.
+  # its own network namespace and resolver, so this is its own option, even
+  # though by name it defaults to the same URL as `statusPublish.natsUrl`.
   #
   # Only the address lives here. The credential does not: it is published per
   # hive and read out of the store by ./glue-queue-agent-credential.nix, which
@@ -599,18 +599,18 @@ in
   options.services.hyperhive.deploy.hive-controller.queue.agentNatsUrl = lib.mkOption {
     type = lib.types.nullOr lib.types.str;
     default =
-      if queueLocal then "nats://${cfg.network.bridgeIp}:${toString swarmCfg.nats.port}" else null;
-    defaultText = lib.literalExpression ''"nats://''${network.bridgeIp}:''${swarm.nats.port}" when this host runs the queue and the IdP, else null'';
-    example = "nats://10.100.0.1:4222";
+      if queueLocal then "tls://${swarmCfg.nats.domain}:${toString swarmCfg.nats.port}" else null;
+    defaultText = lib.literalExpression ''"tls://''${swarm.nats.domain}:''${swarm.nats.port}" when this host runs the queue and the IdP, else null'';
+    example = "tls://nats.example.com:4222";
     description = ''
       Where the swarm queue listens, as an agent *container* on this host
       reaches it.
 
-      Defaults to the bridge address when this host runs the queue, because
-      that is the only address it is reachable at from a container:
-      {option}`services.hyperhive.swarm.nats.port` is opened on the bridge
-      interface alone. ⚠️ Never a loopback address — inside an agent's network
-      namespace `127.0.0.1` is the agent, not this host.
+      Defaults to the queue's name when this host runs the queue. The agent
+      resolves it through the bridge, where dnsmasq answers it with the
+      bridge address. ⚠️ Never a loopback address: inside an agent's network
+      namespace `127.0.0.1` is the agent, not this host, and the queue's
+      certificate names no address anyway.
 
       Null means this hive's agents have not been given the queue's address.
       Together with
diff --git a/nix/module-eval/core-toggle.nix b/nix/module-eval/core-toggle.nix
index d7b587dc..2d4a9dad 100644
--- a/nix/module-eval/core-toggle.nix
+++ b/nix/module-eval/core-toggle.nix
@@ -123,19 +123,17 @@ let
         == toString allLocal.services.hyperhive.deploy.hive-controller.queue.agentCredentialDir;
     }
     {
-      # The one address in this file that must NOT be loopback. Both spellings
-      # sit in the same unit's environment and are correct for their own
-      # reader: hive-c0re shares the host netns, an agent container does not,
-      # so a copy-paste between them reaches the agent itself and the symptom
-      # is a connect that hangs.
-      name = "the agents' queue address is the bridge, not the loopback one the hive itself uses";
+      # Inside an agent container loopback is the agent itself, so the agents'
+      # address must never be one. By name it is the same string the hive
+      # dials, which ./nats-tls.nix pins for every client.
+      name = "the agents' queue address is the queue's name, never loopback";
       ok =
         let
           e = allLocal.systemd.services.hive-c0re.environment;
         in
-        e.HIVE_AGENT_NATS_URL == "nats://${allLocal.services.hyperhive.network.bridgeIp}:4222"
+        e.HIVE_AGENT_NATS_URL == "tls://nats.t.local:4222"
         && !(lib.hasInfix "127.0.0.1" e.HIVE_AGENT_NATS_URL)
-        && e.HIVE_AGENT_NATS_URL != e.HIVE_C0RE_NATS_URL;
+        && e.HIVE_AGENT_NATS_URL == e.HIVE_C0RE_NATS_URL;
     }
     {
       # The agents mint against the swarm's IdP, the same endpoint the hive's
diff --git a/nix/module-eval/nats-tls.nix b/nix/module-eval/nats-tls.nix
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9e649bd9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/nix/module-eval/nats-tls.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,217 @@
+# `checks.module-eval-nats-tls` — see ./lib.nix for the shared rationale (why
+# this suite exists, naming convention, "evaluates not executes").
+#
+# The queue's name, its bao-issued leaf, and the clients that dial it.
+{
+  pkgs,
+  lib,
+  self,
+  nixosSystem,
+}:
+let
+  inherit
+    (import ./lib.nix {
+      inherit
+        pkgs
+        lib
+        self
+        nixosSystem
+        ;
+    })
+    hive
+    runGroup
+    bridgePorts
+    ;
+
+  natsName = "nats.t.local";
+  natsUrl = "tls://${natsName}:4222";
+
+  # Every service on one host, with a bootstrap token so the store's granting
+  # units render. The queue, the store and every in-tree client of the queue
+  # are all here, so the scan below reads each of them.
+  allLocal = hive {
+    deploy.singleHostSwarm = true;
+    deploy.bao.bootstrapTokenFile = "/run/secrets/bao-bootstrap.token";
+  };
+
+  # The same host on the mesh.
+  allLocalMesh = hive {
+    deploy.singleHostSwarm = true;
+    deploy.wireguard.enable = true;
+    deploy.wireguard.address = "10.100.0.1/24";
+  };
+
+  # The queue on a host whose store is elsewhere: no local policy unit.
+  queueNoStore = hive {
+    deploy.nats.enable = true;
+    deploy.nats.autoGenerateCallout = true;
+  };
+
+  policyScript = allLocal.systemd.services.swarm-bao-nats-tls-policy.script;
+  leafUnit = allLocal.systemd.services.swarm-bao-nats-tls;
+  natsContainer = allLocal.containers.swarm-nats.config;
+  natsTls = natsContainer.services.nats.settings.tls;
+
+  # Every `(nats|tls)://…` in a string.
+  urlsIn =
+    s: map builtins.head (builtins.filter builtins.isList (builtins.split "((nats|tls)://[^ '\"]+)" s));
+
+  # Every in-tree queue client, found rather than listed. The Rust client reads
+  # its address from `<PREFIX>_NATS_URL` (`swarm_queue_client::QueueConfig::
+  # from_env`), so any unit on the host or in a container that is handed one
+  # carries a variable of that shape. The responder takes a flag instead.
+  # Keyed by where each came from, so the control below can name them.
+  clientUrls =
+    machine:
+    let
+      fromUnits =
+        where: services:
+        lib.concatLists (
+          lib.mapAttrsToList (
+            unit: s:
+            lib.mapAttrsToList (var: v: {
+              name = "${where}/${unit}/${var}";
+              value = v;
+            }) (lib.filterAttrs (var: v: lib.hasSuffix "_NATS_URL" var && v != null) (s.environment or { }))
+          ) services
+        );
+      containerUnits = lib.concatLists (
+        lib.mapAttrsToList (c: cc: fromUnits c cc.config.systemd.services) machine.containers
+      );
+      responder =
+        map
+          (u: {
+            name = "swarm-nats/swarm-nats-auth/--nats-url";
+            value = u;
+          })
+          (
+            urlsIn machine.containers.swarm-nats.config.systemd.services.swarm-nats-auth.serviceConfig.ExecStart
+          );
+    in
+    lib.listToAttrs (fromUnits "host" machine.systemd.services ++ containerUnits ++ responder);
+
+  scanned = clientUrls allLocal;
+
+  cases = [
+    {
+      # Control first: a scan that found nothing would pass the next case
+      # vacuously. These are the four clients in the tree today.
+      name = "the client scan finds hive-c0re, the agents, the controller and the responder";
+      ok = lib.all (k: scanned ? ${k}) [
+        "host/hive-c0re/HIVE_C0RE_NATS_URL"
+        "host/hive-c0re/HIVE_AGENT_NATS_URL"
+        "host/swarm-controller/SWARM_CONTROLLER_NATS_URL"
+        "swarm-nats/swarm-nats-auth/--nats-url"
+      ];
+    }
+    {
+      # The server requires TLS and its leaf carries the name alone, so a
+      # `nats://` URL or an address is a client that cannot connect. Every one
+      # found, not the four above: a client added later is held to it too.
+      name = "every in-tree queue client dials tls://<the queue's name>:4222";
+      ok = lib.all (u: u == natsUrl) (lib.attrValues scanned);
+    }
+    {
+      # The option defaults the scan reads through, so a client that stops
+      # reading them does not also escape the property above.
+      name = "the queue URL options default to the name on the queue's host";
+      ok =
+        let
+          d = allLocal.services.hyperhive.deploy;
+        in
+        d.hive-controller.statusPublish.natsUrl == natsUrl
+        && d.hive-controller.queue.agentNatsUrl == natsUrl
+        && allLocal.services.hyperhive.swarm.controller.queue.natsUrl == natsUrl;
+    }
+    {
+      name = "the queue's name is served by this host's resolver, at the bridge address";
+      ok =
+        lib.elem natsName allLocal.services.hyperhive.gateway.localNames
+        && lib.elem "/${natsName}/${allLocal.services.hyperhive.network.bridgeIp}" allLocal.services.dnsmasq.settings.address;
+    }
+    {
+      name = "the queue's pki role issues for its name alone";
+      ok = lib.all (arg: lib.hasInfix arg policyScript) [
+        "roles/swarm-nats \\"
+        "allowed_domains=${lib.escapeShellArg natsName} \\"
+        "allow_bare_domains=true \\"
+        "allow_subdomains=false \\"
+        "allow_glob_domains=false \\"
+        "allow_localhost=false \\"
+        "allow_any_name=false \\"
+        "allow_ip_sans=false \\"
+        "server_flag=true \\"
+        "client_flag=false \\"
+      ];
+    }
+    {
+      # Every `path` the policy names, not a search for the one expected: a
+      # second grant added later fails here.
+      name = "the queue's policy grants pki/issue/swarm-nats and nothing else";
+      ok =
+        let
+          paths = map builtins.head (
+            builtins.filter builtins.isList (builtins.split "path \"([^\"]*)\"" policyScript)
+          );
+        in
+        paths == [ "pki/issue/swarm-nats" ]
+        && lib.hasInfix ''capabilities = ["update"]'' policyScript
+        && lib.hasInfix "allowed_common_names=swarm-nats" policyScript
+        && lib.hasInfix "token_policies=swarm-nats" policyScript;
+    }
+    {
+      # Mint to consume: the leaf the unit writes is the one the server reads,
+      # and the login leaf glue-bao-tls signs is the one the unit presents.
+      name = "the server serves the leaf the host unit issues, and the unit logs in as swarm-nats";
+      ok =
+        natsTls.cert_file == "/var/lib/swarm-nats-tls/cert.pem"
+        && natsTls.key_file == "/run/credentials/nats.service/tls-key"
+        && lib.elem "tls-key:/var/lib/swarm-nats-tls/key.pem" natsContainer.systemd.services.nats.serviceConfig.LoadCredential
+        && allLocal.containers.swarm-nats.bindMounts ? "/var/lib/swarm-nats-tls"
+        && lib.hasInfix "d=/var/lib/swarm-nats-tls" leafUnit.script
+        && lib.hasInfix "pki/issue/swarm-nats" leafUnit.script
+        && leafUnit.environment.BAO_CLIENT_CERT == "/var/lib/swarm-bao-pki/nats.pem"
+        && lib.hasInfix "[ -s /var/lib/swarm-bao-pki/nats.pem ]" allLocal.systemd.services.swarm-bao-pki.script
+        && lib.hasInfix "swarm-nats \"\" clientAuth" allLocal.systemd.services.swarm-bao-pki.script;
+    }
+    {
+      name = "the server requires TLS: no allow_non_tls";
+      ok = !(natsContainer.services.nats.settings ? allow_non_tls);
+    }
+    {
+      name = "4222 is open on wg-hive when this host is on the mesh, and never host-wide";
+      ok =
+        lib.elem 4222 allLocalMesh.networking.firewall.interfaces.wg-hive.allowedTCPPorts
+        && !(lib.elem 4222 allLocalMesh.networking.firewall.allowedTCPPorts)
+        && lib.elem 4222 (bridgePorts allLocalMesh);
+    }
+    {
+      name = "4222 is not opened on wg-hive when this host is not on the mesh";
+      ok =
+        !(lib.elem 4222
+          (allLocal.networking.firewall.interfaces.wg-hive or { allowedTCPPorts = [ ]; }).allowedTCPPorts
+        )
+        && !(lib.elem 4222 allLocal.networking.firewall.allowedTCPPorts);
+    }
+    {
+      # Ordering, never a requirement: the policy unit skips once the bootstrap
+      # token is gone, and a skipped unit counts as done.
+      name = "the leaf unit is ordered after its policy unit, with no requires";
+      ok =
+        let
+          p = "swarm-bao-nats-tls-policy.service";
+        in
+        lib.elem p leafUnit.after && lib.elem p leafUnit.wants && !(lib.elem p (leafUnit.requires or [ ]));
+    }
+    {
+      name = "a queue host whose store is elsewhere orders its leaf unit after no policy unit";
+      ok =
+        let
+          u = queueNoStore.systemd.services.swarm-bao-nats-tls;
+        in
+        !(lib.elem "swarm-bao-nats-tls-policy.service" u.after)
+        && !(lib.elem "swarm-bao-nats-tls-policy.service" u.wants);
+    }
+  ];
+in
+runGroup "nats-tls" cases
diff --git a/swarm-queue-client/src/lib.rs b/swarm-queue-client/src/lib.rs
index 1b6466bb..a144b634 100644
--- a/swarm-queue-client/src/lib.rs
+++ b/swarm-queue-client/src/lib.rs
@@ -323,7 +323,7 @@ const MAX_RECONNECT_DELAY: std::time::Duration = std::time::Duration::from_mins(
 /// this process reads no file it was not pointed at.
 #[derive(Debug, Clone)]
 pub struct QueueConfig {
-    /// `nats://host:port` for the swarm queue.
+    /// `tls://<name>:<port>` for the swarm queue.
     pub url: String,
     /// Authelia's token endpoint, e.g. `https://auth.<swarm>/api/oidc/token`.
     pub token_endpoint: String,
@@ -335,8 +335,8 @@ pub struct QueueConfig {
     /// read here, and putting it in the environment would publish it to
     /// anything that can read `/proc/<pid>/environ`.
     pub client_secret_file: PathBuf,
-    /// Extra trust anchor for the token endpoint, when it is not signed by
-    /// a publicly-trusted CA.
+    /// Extra trust anchor for the token endpoint and the queue itself, when
+    /// they are not signed by a publicly-trusted CA.
     ///
     /// Optional, and deliberately NOT part of the all-or-none group below: a
     /// swarm fronted by a public certificate needs no extra anchor, and
@@ -673,6 +673,7 @@ pub async fn connect(cfg: QueueConfig) -> Result<async_nats::Client, Error> {
     // `async-nats` do what it already does well — back off and try again.
     let http = build_http_client(&cfg)?;
     let url = cfg.url.clone();
+    let ca_file = cfg.ca_file.clone();
 
     // Shared across every invocation of the callback below, which is the
     // whole point: the callback fires per connection ATTEMPT, so without
@@ -681,7 +682,7 @@ pub async fn connect(cfg: QueueConfig) -> Result<async_nats::Client, Error> {
     let cache: std::sync::Arc<tokio::sync::Mutex<Option<CachedToken>>> =
         std::sync::Arc::new(tokio::sync::Mutex::new(None));
 
-    let client = async_nats::ConnectOptions::with_auth_callback(move |_nonce| {
+    let mut options = async_nats::ConnectOptions::with_auth_callback(move |_nonce| {
         let http = http.clone();
         let cfg = cfg.clone();
         let cache = cache.clone();
@@ -745,13 +746,23 @@ pub async fn connect(cfg: QueueConfig) -> Result<async_nats::Client, Error> {
     // near expiry. (Before the cache, "runs the callback" meant "mints",
     // and this retry loop was a token-request loop. See
     // `MAX_RECONNECT_DELAY`.)
-    .retry_on_initial_connect()
-    .connect(&url)
-    .await
-    .map_err(|source| Error::Connect {
-        url: url.clone(),
-        source,
-    })?;
+    .retry_on_initial_connect();
+
+    // The queue's leaf chains to the swarm's own PKI root, which a host
+    // process's platform store does not hold: the same anchor the token
+    // endpoint needs. async-nats then trusts this file INSTEAD of the platform
+    // roots, which is right here, because the queue has no public certificate.
+    if let Some(path) = ca_file {
+        options = options.add_root_certificates(path);
+    }
+
+    let client = options
+        .connect(&url)
+        .await
+        .map_err(|source| Error::Connect {
+            url: url.clone(),
+            source,
+        })?;
 
     Ok(client)
 }