diff --git a/docs/integrations/forge.md b/docs/integrations/forge.md
index 38586440..4d1ff43e 100644
--- a/docs/integrations/forge.md
+++ b/docs/integrations/forge.md
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ each agent on relevant activity.
 
 ## Token scopes
 
-Two scope sets:
+Three scope sets:
 
 **`AGENT_TOKEN_SCOPES`** (swarm-controller's `forge::agent_token`, pinned
 by a test). swarm-controller mints every agent token with it:
@@ -40,6 +40,53 @@ hive-c0re only mints the token when the file at
 a token minted with admin scopes keeps them until an operator deletes that
 file and restarts hive-c0re.
 
+**`HIVE_TOKEN_SCOPES`** (swarm-controller's `forge::hive_token`, pinned by a
+test): `read:repository` alone, for each hive's read-only account (next
+section).
+
+---
+
+## How a hive reads the forge
+
+Each hive in swarm-controller's hive directory has its own forge account,
+`hive-<hive>`. swarm-controller creates it, makes it a member of the `hives`
+team in `agent-configs`, and mints one token named `swarm-hive` into the
+swarm secret store at `swarm/hives/<hive>/forge/token`. The team has read
+permission on `repo.code` and `repo.pulls` of every repo in the org,
+including repos created later. A pass at start and every five minutes
+creates what's missing and re-mints a token that's missing or no longer
+matches the forge. A pass whose store or forge reads fail queues nothing, so
+an outage never rotates every hive's token.
+
+The account name isn't reserved, so an agent may carry the name `hive-<x>` too.
+swarm-controller creates the hive's account with the email
+`hive-<hive>@hives.hyperhive.local` and refuses an account by that name with
+any other email: it never adds an agent's account to the team or mints a
+token for it. An agent's own creation refuses the hive's account the same
+way.
+
+hive-c0re reads the token with `forge::reader_token()`, under the hive's own
+store certificate, every time it reads the forge. Where the store holds none,
+it falls back to the `core` token file, which only the host running the forge
+container has. These reads go through it, and none of them needs a local
+forge container:
+
+- fetching a merged config commit for a swarm deploy, and
+  `hivectl forge reconcile-config`
+- reseeding a purged `applied` repo, and the meta-update cascade's
+  fast-forward of `applied/main`
+- seeding `proposed` from `agent-configs/<agent>` on first deploy
+- finding the PR that merged a config commit the hive refused to deploy
+- cloning and pulling `/knowledge`
+
+Posting the refusal as a comment on that PR still needs the `core` token, so
+only the forge host posts it.
+
+Roll a change to any of this out store host first (its granter writes the
+controller's grant on `swarm/hives/+/forge/token`), then the controller host,
+then the hives. A hive that starts before its token exists reads with the
+core file, or not at all, until the controller's next pass.
+
 ---
 
 ## Per-agent forge accounts
diff --git a/docs/integrations/knowledge.md b/docs/integrations/knowledge.md
index 36b41176..7ef42196 100644
--- a/docs/integrations/knowledge.md
+++ b/docs/integrations/knowledge.md
@@ -87,10 +87,12 @@ message only, no forced wake, and it carries the standard "this was a
 broadcast" hint. hive-c0re logs a diff or per-agent send failure
 without blocking the pull itself.
 
-`knowledge::ensure_local_clone` creates (or refreshes) the local
-clone once at startup. If the repo is brand new and
-empty, `ensure_local_clone` seeds it with the default README
-before returning.
+On a hive with no local clone yet, `knowledge::pull()` takes the clone
+instead of pulling, so every hive gets `/knowledge` from its first pull,
+whether or not it runs the forge. It authenticates with the hive's forge
+read token when it has one (see
+[forge.md](forge.md#how-a-hive-reads-the-forge)) and clones the public
+repo anonymously otherwise.
 
 ## State
 
diff --git a/docs/swarm/credentials.md b/docs/swarm/credentials.md
index 26b46724..18b004ae 100644
--- a/docs/swarm/credentials.md
+++ b/docs/swarm/credentials.md
@@ -67,6 +67,7 @@ of the cell says how.
 | `swarm/agents/<agent>/forge/<label>`                        | `swarm-controller`, when an operator links an external forge account in the swarm UI                                                     | `hive-agent-forge-accounts` in the agent container, under the agent's own certificate, into `<state>/forge-<label>-token` and `forge-<label>.json`                                                | ❌ an operator's token; replaced only by deleting it and linking the label again                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     | ✅ the agent re-fetches on a 2-minute timer                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
 | `swarm/agents/<agent>/github-token`                         | `swarm-controller`, when an operator links a GitHub account in the swarm UI                                                              | `hive-agent-github-token` in the agent container, under the agent's own certificate, into `<state>/github-token`                                                                                  | ❌ an operator's token; replaced only by deleting it and linking it again                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            | ✅ the agent re-fetches on a 2-minute timer                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
 | `swarm/hives/<hive>/matrix/sender-token`                    | `swarm-controller`, with the swarm's appservice token, for every hive in its directory in a five-minute pass                             | `swarm-controller` under its own certificate, before it decides whether to mint, and hive-c0re's `stored_sender_token()`, under the hive's own certificate                                        | ✅ the controller's pass re-mints when the stored token is missing, unknown to the homeserver, or someone else's                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     | ✅ hive-c0re's matrix sweep reads the store every run and overwrites its token file when the store's token differs                                                                                                                                                                        |
+| `swarm/hives/<hive>/forge/token`                            | `swarm-controller`, with the forge's admin API, for every hive in its directory in a five-minute pass                                    | `swarm-controller` under its own certificate, before it decides whether to mint, and hive-c0re's `forge::reader_token()`, under the hive's own certificate                                        | ✅ the controller's pass re-mints when the stored token is missing or no longer matches the forge (last eight characters and scopes)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 | ✅ hive-c0re reads the store on every forge read                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
 | `swarm/hives/<hive>/queue/agent`                            | authelia                                                                                                                                 | `swarm-bao-queue-agent` on the hive's host, under its own per-hive certificate; no agent's policy reaches it                                                                                      | must be stated                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       | must be stated                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
 | `swarm/services/<clientId>/oidc/client`                     | authelia                                                                                                                                 | that service's own reader, under its own certificate — the queue responder's under `swarm-nats-auth`'s, the homeserver's under `swarm-matrix-ctl`'s; the bao UI's by the store's granter          | must be stated                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       | must be stated                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
 | `swarm/services/ci-runner/registration-token`               | `swarm-controller`, from the forge's admin API, at start and in a five-minute pass; its grant on the path is write-only                  | `swarm-bao-ci-runner` on the runner's host, under the runner's own certificate, into a file only `swarm-ci-runner-register` in the runner's container loads; no other principal's policy reads it | ❌ the forge hands out one token until an admin resets it; the controller writes a reset token within five minutes                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   | ❌ `swarm-bao-ci-runner` reads it when it starts, at boot or deploy, and restarts the runner when the value changed                                                                                                                                                                       |
diff --git a/hive-c0re/src/forge/mod.rs b/hive-c0re/src/forge/mod.rs
index a59d7b5e..ab2c5666 100644
--- a/hive-c0re/src/forge/mod.rs
+++ b/hive-c0re/src/forge/mod.rs
@@ -1,15 +1,18 @@
 //! Optional Forgejo wiring — the `core/meta` repo, meta read-access
 //! grants, and each agent's read-only grant on `internal/docs` (the
 //! swarm-controller creates that repo, with the other swarm-wide orgs,
-//! teams and repos).
-//! No-op when `hive-forge` isn't running. Full design: `docs/integrations/forge.md`.
+//! teams and repos). Those writes, as `core`, run only beside a local
+//! `hive-forge` container; reads of the forge go through [`reader_token`] on
+//! every hive. Full design: `docs/integrations/forge.md`.
 
 mod pr_comment;
+mod reader;
 mod reconcile;
 mod repos;
 mod users;
 
 pub use pr_comment::{config_repo, merged_pr_for_commit, post_pr_comment};
+pub use reader::reader_token;
 pub use reconcile::{fetch_forge_main, reconcile_config_apply, reconcile_config_status};
 pub use repos::{
     clone_config_into_proposed, ensure_meta_remote, ensure_repo, fast_forward_applied_main,
@@ -71,14 +74,20 @@ fn git_url_with_base(base: &str, repo: &str) -> String {
 }
 
 /// The `http.extraHeader` value authenticating as the forge core user.
+pub(crate) fn core_auth_header(token: &str) -> String {
+    basic_auth_header("core", token)
+}
+
+/// The `http.extraHeader` value carrying `token`. Forgejo takes the account
+/// from the token, so `login` only labels the request.
 ///
 /// Basic auth over a header rather than userinfo in the URL, so the secret
 /// reaches git through the environment (see [`forge_git_url`]). Pair with
 /// [`crate::lifecycle::git_command_authed`], which is the only thing that
 /// should ever hold the result.
-pub(crate) fn core_auth_header(token: &str) -> String {
+fn basic_auth_header(login: &str, token: &str) -> String {
     use base64::Engine as _;
-    let basic = base64::engine::general_purpose::STANDARD.encode(format!("core:{token}"));
+    let basic = base64::engine::general_purpose::STANDARD.encode(format!("{login}:{token}"));
     format!("Authorization: Basic {basic}")
 }
 
@@ -223,8 +232,7 @@ pub async fn sync_agent(name: &str, core_token: Option<&str>) -> bool {
 }
 
 /// The `core_token.is_some()` half of [`ensure_all`]: the meta repo, the
-/// local knowledge clone, the core avatar, and removing this hive's own
-/// config-PR hook —
+/// core avatar, and removing this hive's own config-PR hook —
 /// every step that needs an authenticated forge client. The swarm-wide
 /// objects (orgs, the `operators` team, mirrors, `internal/docs`,
 /// `internal/knowledge`, the `agent-configs` avatar) are the
@@ -243,16 +251,6 @@ async fn ensure_all_orgs_and_repos(token: &str) {
             format!("forge: core/meta repo provisioning failed: {e}"),
         );
     }
-    // Clone knowledge repo locally so it can be bind-mounted into agents.
-    // The swarm-controller creates and seeds the repo itself.
-    if let Err(e) = crate::knowledge::ensure_local_clone(token).await {
-        tracing::warn!(error = ?e, "knowledge: ensure_local_clone failed");
-        crate::warnings::set_boot_warning(
-            "forge_knowledge_local_clone",
-            "crit",
-            format!("knowledge: local clone failed: {e}"),
-        );
-    }
     if let Err(e) = ensure_core_avatar(token).await {
         tracing::warn!(error = ?e, "forge: ensure_core_avatar failed");
         crate::warnings::set_boot_warning(
diff --git a/hive-c0re/src/forge/pr_comment.rs b/hive-c0re/src/forge/pr_comment.rs
index ec36d3b6..a9244afa 100644
--- a/hive-c0re/src/forge/pr_comment.rs
+++ b/hive-c0re/src/forge/pr_comment.rs
@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 //! Commenting on an agent's config PRs as the core forge user — how a hive
 //! reports a merged config commit it refused to deploy back onto the PR that
-//! merged it.
+//! merged it. Finding that PR only reads, so it uses [`reader_token`].
 
 use anyhow::{Context, Result};
 
-use super::{CONFIG_ORG, api, core_token};
+use super::{CONFIG_ORG, api, core_token, reader_token};
 
 /// Full `owner/name` path of an agent's config repo on the forge.
 pub fn config_repo(agent: &str) -> String {
@@ -14,13 +14,13 @@ pub fn config_repo(agent: &str) -> String {
 /// The number of the merged PR that put commit `sha` on `repo`'s base branch.
 ///
 /// # Errors
-/// Absent core token, malformed repo, no such PR, or transport/API failure.
+/// No read token, malformed repo, no such PR, or transport/API failure.
 pub async fn merged_pr_for_commit(repo: &str, sha: &str) -> Result<u64> {
-    let token = core_token().context("forge core token absent")?;
+    let reader = reader_token().await.context("no forge read token")?;
     let (owner, name) = repo
         .split_once('/')
         .with_context(|| format!("forge repo `{repo}` is not owner/name"))?;
-    let pull = api(&token)?
+    let pull = api(reader.value())?
         .repo_get_commit_pull_request(owner, name, sha)
         .await
         .context("GET pull request of commit")?;
diff --git a/hive-c0re/src/forge/reader.rs b/hive-c0re/src/forge/reader.rs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..72ddff36
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hive-c0re/src/forge/reader.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,159 @@
+//! The credential this hive reads the forge with: its own read-only account,
+//! whose token `swarm-controller` mints into the store at
+//! `swarm/hives/<hive>/forge/token`, and the core token file where the store
+//! holds none.
+//!
+//! The file is the fallback so a hive deployed before the controller mints its
+//! token keeps the reads it had: the forge host holds the file, no other hive
+//! does.
+
+use super::{basic_auth_header, core_token};
+
+/// The basic-auth user [`ReaderToken::auth_header`] names for the core token.
+const CORE_LOGIN: &str = "core";
+
+/// A forge token and the account it belongs to.
+///
+/// No `Debug` derive: `value` is a live forge credential.
+pub struct ReaderToken {
+    login: String,
+    value: String,
+}
+
+impl std::fmt::Debug for ReaderToken {
+    fn fmt(&self, f: &mut std::fmt::Formatter<'_>) -> std::fmt::Result {
+        f.debug_struct("ReaderToken")
+            .field("login", &self.login)
+            .field("value", &"<redacted>")
+            .finish()
+    }
+}
+
+impl ReaderToken {
+    /// The token itself, for an API client.
+    pub fn value(&self) -> &str {
+        &self.value
+    }
+
+    /// The `http.extraHeader` value for git; see [`basic_auth_header`].
+    pub fn auth_header(&self) -> String {
+        basic_auth_header(&self.login, &self.value)
+    }
+}
+
+/// The token to read the forge with, or `None` when this hive has neither.
+///
+/// 🩸 Logs the store path and which source won, never a value.
+pub async fn reader_token() -> Option<ReaderToken> {
+    pick(stored_reader_token().await, core_token())
+}
+
+/// The store's token wins over the core file's.
+fn pick(stored: Option<ReaderToken>, core: Option<String>) -> Option<ReaderToken> {
+    let picked = stored.or_else(|| {
+        core.map(|value| ReaderToken {
+            login: CORE_LOGIN.to_owned(),
+            value,
+        })
+    });
+    if let Some(t) = &picked {
+        tracing::debug!(login = %t.login, "forge: reading as this account");
+    } else {
+        tracing::debug!("forge: no read token in the store or the core token file");
+    }
+    picked
+}
+
+/// This hive's token from the store, under the hive's own identity.
+///
+/// `None`, never an error, for every way it can come up empty — no hive name,
+/// no `BAO_*` identity, an unreachable store, nothing at the path — the same
+/// as `matrix::stored_sender_token`, and for the same reason: each sends the
+/// caller to the fallback.
+async fn stored_reader_token() -> Option<ReaderToken> {
+    let hive = std::env::var("HYPERHIVE_HIVE_NAME")
+        .ok()
+        .filter(|h| !h.is_empty())?;
+    let path = match swarm_secret_client::forge::hive_token_path(&hive) {
+        Ok(path) => path,
+        Err(e) => {
+            tracing::warn!(error = %e, "forge: this hive's name does not form a store path");
+            return None;
+        }
+    };
+    let store = match swarm_secret_client::SecretStore::from_env(&hive).await {
+        Ok(store) => store,
+        Err(e) => {
+            tracing::debug!(error = %e, "forge: no swarm secret store to read the hive token from");
+            return None;
+        }
+    };
+    match store
+        .read::<swarm_secret_client::forge::Credential>(&path)
+        .await
+    {
+        Ok(credential) if !credential.value.trim().is_empty() => Some(ReaderToken {
+            login: swarm_secret_client::forge::hive_login(&hive),
+            value: credential.value.trim().to_owned(),
+        }),
+        Ok(_) => {
+            tracing::warn!(%path, "forge: the stored hive token is empty");
+            None
+        }
+        Err(e) => {
+            tracing::debug!(%path, error = %e, "forge: no hive token in the store");
+            None
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    fn stored() -> ReaderToken {
+        ReaderToken {
+            login: "hive-alpha".to_owned(),
+            value: "from-the-store".to_owned(),
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn the_store_wins_over_the_core_file() {
+        let t = pick(Some(stored()), Some("from-the-file".to_owned())).expect("a token");
+        assert_eq!(t.value(), "from-the-store");
+        assert_eq!(t.login, "hive-alpha");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn the_core_file_is_the_fallback() {
+        let t = pick(None, Some("from-the-file".to_owned())).expect("a token");
+        assert_eq!(t.value(), "from-the-file");
+        assert_eq!(t.login, CORE_LOGIN);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn neither_is_none() {
+        assert!(pick(None, None).is_none());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn the_header_names_the_tokens_own_account() {
+        use base64::Engine as _;
+        let header = stored().auth_header();
+        let encoded = header
+            .strip_prefix("Authorization: Basic ")
+            .expect("a basic auth header");
+        let decoded = base64::engine::general_purpose::STANDARD
+            .decode(encoded)
+            .expect("base64");
+        assert_eq!(decoded, b"hive-alpha:from-the-store");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn debug_never_prints_the_value() {
+        let shown = format!("{:?}", stored());
+        assert!(!shown.contains("from-the-store"), "{shown}");
+        assert!(shown.contains("hive-alpha"), "{shown}");
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hive-c0re/src/forge/reconcile.rs b/hive-c0re/src/forge/reconcile.rs
index a0242d2c..3df3aba1 100644
--- a/hive-c0re/src/forge/reconcile.rs
+++ b/hive-c0re/src/forge/reconcile.rs
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ use anyhow::{Context, Result};
 
 use hive_host_sock::{HostResponse, ReconcileDirection};
 
-use super::{CONFIG_ORG, core_auth_header, core_token, forge_git_url, is_present};
+use super::{CONFIG_ORG, forge_git_url, reader_token};
 
 /// Scratch ref the forge `main` is fetched into — outside the normal
 /// branch/tag namespace so it never collides with real refs.
@@ -27,11 +27,11 @@ const FORGE_MAIN_REF: &str = "refs/hyperhive/forge-config-main";
 /// ref (read-only, no working-tree change) and return the applied dir.
 /// Also how a swarm deploy of a merged commit gets that commit's objects.
 pub async fn fetch_forge_main(agent: &str) -> Result<PathBuf> {
-    if !is_present().await {
-        anyhow::bail!("forge is not running");
-    }
-    let Some(token) = core_token() else {
-        anyhow::bail!("forge core token not available");
+    let Some(reader) = reader_token().await else {
+        anyhow::bail!(
+            "no forge read token: the swarm store holds none for this hive and there is no core \
+             token file"
+        );
     };
     let dir = crate::paths::applied_dir(agent);
     if !dir.join(".git").exists() {
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ pub async fn fetch_forge_main(agent: &str) -> Result<PathBuf> {
     crate::lifecycle::git_authed(
         &dir,
         &["fetch", "--force", &url, &format!("main:{FORGE_MAIN_REF}")],
-        &core_auth_header(&token),
+        &reader.auth_header(),
     )
     .await
     .context("fetch forge config main (does forge main exist yet?)")?;
diff --git a/hive-c0re/src/forge/repos.rs b/hive-c0re/src/forge/repos.rs
index 1b172f1e..726bbc0f 100644
--- a/hive-c0re/src/forge/repos.rs
+++ b/hive-c0re/src/forge/repos.rs
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ use crate::coordinator::Coordinator;
 
 use super::{
     CONFIG_ORG, SHARED_DOCS_REPO, SHARED_ORG, api, core_auth_header, core_token, forge_git_url,
-    forge_http_base, is_present,
+    forge_http_base, is_present, reader_token,
 };
 
 /// Creation options for an empty repo defaulting to `main`.
@@ -223,17 +223,14 @@ pub async fn ensure_meta_remote(name: &str) -> Result<()> {
 /// snapshot. A config deployed through hive-c0re without a forge merge never
 /// reaches it.
 ///
-/// Best-effort: returns `false` (not an error) rather than bailing when the
-/// forge is absent, the core token isn't minted yet, `applied` already has a
-/// `.git` (nothing to do), or any git step fails — callers fall back to a
-/// less-current source or the original hard error. Only `true` once `applied` is
+/// Best-effort: returns `false` (not an error) rather than bailing when there
+/// is no [`reader_token`], `applied` already has a `.git` (nothing to do), or
+/// any git step fails — callers fall back to a less-current source or the
+/// original hard error. Only `true` once `applied` is
 /// actually seeded and tagged `deployed/0`, mirroring first-spawn's own
 /// `setup_applied` seed shape exactly.
 pub async fn fetch_config_main_into_applied(name: &str) -> bool {
-    if !is_present().await {
-        return false;
-    }
-    let Some(token) = core_token() else {
+    let Some(reader) = reader_token().await else {
         return false;
     };
     let applied = crate::paths::applied_dir(name);
@@ -249,7 +246,7 @@ pub async fn fetch_config_main_into_applied(name: &str) -> bool {
         return false;
     }
     let url = forge_git_url(&format!("{CONFIG_ORG}/{name}"));
-    let auth = core_auth_header(&token);
+    let auth = reader.auth_header();
     let out = crate::lifecycle::git_command_authed(&auth)
         .current_dir(&applied)
         .args([
@@ -298,14 +295,11 @@ pub async fn fetch_config_main_into_applied(name: &str) -> bool {
 /// ancestry-gated advance for a reviewed PR merge, which this is not.
 ///
 /// Best-effort, same shape as [`fetch_config_main_into_applied`]: returns
-/// `false` (not an error) when the forge is absent, the core token isn't
-/// minted, `applied` has no `.git` yet (nothing to fast-forward — reseed
-/// instead), or any git step fails.
+/// `false` (not an error) when there is no [`reader_token`], `applied` has
+/// no `.git` yet (nothing to fast-forward — reseed instead), or any git step
+/// fails.
 pub async fn fast_forward_applied_main(name: &str) -> bool {
-    if !is_present().await {
-        return false;
-    }
-    let Some(token) = core_token() else {
+    let Some(reader) = reader_token().await else {
         return false;
     };
     let applied = crate::paths::applied_dir(name);
@@ -313,7 +307,7 @@ pub async fn fast_forward_applied_main(name: &str) -> bool {
         return false;
     }
     let url = forge_git_url(&format!("{CONFIG_ORG}/{name}"));
-    let auth = core_auth_header(&token);
+    let auth = reader.auth_header();
     let out = crate::lifecycle::git_command_authed(&auth)
         .current_dir(&applied)
         .args(["fetch", "--no-tags", &url, "refs/heads/main"])
@@ -356,8 +350,8 @@ pub async fn fast_forward_applied_main(name: &str) -> bool {
 /// is the fallback, not the default.
 ///
 /// Best-effort like [`fetch_config_main_into_applied`], and `false` is an
-/// ordinary answer rather than an error: the forge is absent, the core token
-/// is not minted yet, or `agent-configs/<name>` has no `main` — the last of
+/// ordinary answer rather than an error: there is no [`reader_token`], the
+/// forge is unreachable, or `agent-configs/<name>` has no `main` — the last of
 /// which is the *normal* case right after `swarm-controller` creates the
 /// agent, before it has pushed anything into the repo it just made.
 ///
@@ -366,17 +360,14 @@ pub async fn fast_forward_applied_main(name: &str) -> bool {
 /// `.git` behind either — so the caller's "does this repo already exist"
 /// check reads exactly the same before and after a failed attempt.
 pub async fn clone_config_into_proposed(dir: &Path, name: &str) -> bool {
-    if !is_present().await {
-        return false;
-    }
-    let Some(token) = core_token() else {
+    let Some(reader) = reader_token().await else {
         return false;
     };
     let url = forge_git_url(&format!("{CONFIG_ORG}/{name}"));
     // `--branch main` fails outright against a repo with no commits, so an
     // empty repo reads as "nothing to take" instead of cloning to an unborn
     // HEAD that would then look like a seeded checkout.
-    let out = crate::lifecycle::git_command_authed(&core_auth_header(&token))
+    let out = crate::lifecycle::git_command_authed(&reader.auth_header())
         .args([
             "clone",
             "--branch",
diff --git a/hive-c0re/src/lifecycle/setup.rs b/hive-c0re/src/lifecycle/setup.rs
index 9ce76ac1..303766bf 100644
--- a/hive-c0re/src/lifecycle/setup.rs
+++ b/hive-c0re/src/lifecycle/setup.rs
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ use super::git::{
 /// there's genuinely nothing to clone yet — `swarm-controller` creates
 /// `agent-configs/<name>` before telling a hive to deploy, but hasn't
 /// necessarily pushed `main` to it yet, or the forge is unreachable, or
-/// the core token isn't minted.
+/// this hive has no forge read token.
 ///
 /// **Seeding is the whole of hive-c0re's write.** Changes to the repo
 /// arrive as PRs from a clone, via the forge, like any other code
diff --git a/hive-c0re/src/workers/knowledge.rs b/hive-c0re/src/workers/knowledge.rs
index fa35d21c..0edf056a 100644
--- a/hive-c0re/src/workers/knowledge.rs
+++ b/hive-c0re/src/workers/knowledge.rs
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@
 use anyhow::{Context, Result};
 
 use crate::coordinator::Coordinator;
-use crate::forge::{core_auth_header, forge_git_url};
+use crate::forge::forge_git_url;
 
 pub const ORG: &str = "internal";
 pub const REPO: &str = "knowledge";
@@ -38,14 +38,12 @@ pub use crate::paths::KNOWLEDGE_DIR as LOCAL_DIR;
 pub const CONTAINER_MOUNT: &str = "/knowledge";
 
 /// Clone `internal/knowledge` to [`LOCAL_DIR`] if it is not already a git
-/// repository. `core_token` authenticates the HTTPS clone so private repos
-/// work. Idempotent — skips if `LOCAL_DIR/.git` exists.
+/// repository, authenticated with `auth` (an `http.extraHeader` value) when
+/// given. Idempotent — skips if `LOCAL_DIR/.git` exists.
 ///
 /// The swarm controller seeds a README into a freshly created repo. A clone
 /// taken before that lands is empty; the next [`pull`] fills it.
-///
-/// Called once at hive-c0re startup after `forge::ensure_all`.
-pub async fn ensure_local_clone(core_token: &str) -> Result<()> {
+async fn ensure_local_clone(auth: Option<&str>) -> Result<()> {
     let git_dir = std::path::Path::new(LOCAL_DIR).join(".git");
     if git_dir.exists() {
         tracing::debug!("knowledge: local clone already present at {LOCAL_DIR}");
@@ -53,7 +51,11 @@ pub async fn ensure_local_clone(core_token: &str) -> Result<()> {
     }
     std::fs::create_dir_all(LOCAL_DIR).context("create knowledge local dir")?;
     let url = forge_git_url(&format!("{ORG}/{REPO}"));
-    let out = crate::lifecycle::git_command_authed(&core_auth_header(core_token))
+    let mut cmd = match auth {
+        Some(header) => crate::lifecycle::git_command_authed(header),
+        None => crate::lifecycle::git_command(),
+    };
+    let out = cmd
         .args(["clone", &url, LOCAL_DIR])
         .output()
         .await
@@ -86,15 +88,21 @@ async fn head_sha() -> Option<String> {
 /// `--ff-only` so a force-push to the knowledge repo never wedges the local
 /// copy silently.
 ///
+/// When there is no clone yet, takes one instead ([`ensure_local_clone`]),
+/// so every hive gets `/knowledge` from its first pull.
+///
 /// When the pull actually moves `HEAD` (a real change, not a no-op),
 /// broadcasts a short `git diff --stat` summary to every live agent's
 /// inbox via `coord` — inbox-only, no forced wake.
 pub async fn pull(coord: &Coordinator) -> Result<()> {
-    // Sanity: if the clone is missing (e.g. storage was wiped), refuse
-    // to pull and let the caller decide whether to re-clone.
+    // The repo is public (the swarm controller makes it so), so an
+    // unauthenticated clone or pull is enough — but authenticate when a token
+    // is around, which keeps this working if the repo is ever made private
+    // again.
+    let auth = crate::forge::reader_token().await.map(|t| t.auth_header());
     let git_dir = std::path::Path::new(LOCAL_DIR).join(".git");
     if !git_dir.exists() {
-        anyhow::bail!("knowledge: {LOCAL_DIR}/.git not found — clone first");
+        return ensure_local_clone(auth.as_deref()).await;
     }
     // Rewrite any credentialed `origin` left by an older clone, which spliced
     // `core:<token>@` into the URL and persisted it in `.git/config` — the one
@@ -129,10 +137,6 @@ pub async fn pull(coord: &Coordinator) -> Result<()> {
         .await;
 
     let before = head_sha().await;
-    // The repo is public (the swarm controller makes it so), so an
-    // unauthenticated pull is enough — but authenticate when a token is around,
-    // which keeps this working if the repo is ever made private again.
-    let auth = crate::forge::core_token().map(|t| core_auth_header(&t));
     let mut cmd = match &auth {
         Some(header) => crate::lifecycle::git_command_authed(header),
         None => crate::lifecycle::git_command(),
diff --git a/nix/host-modules/swarm-bao.nix b/nix/host-modules/swarm-bao.nix
index 3d6543bc..ed748925 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/swarm-bao.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/swarm-bao.nix
@@ -429,6 +429,10 @@ let
       capabilities = ["create", "read", "update"]
     }
 
+    path "${credentialMountPath}/data/swarm/hives/+/forge/token" {
+      capabilities = ["create", "read", "update"]
+    }
+
     path "${credentialMountPath}/data/${ciRunnerTokenLeaf}" {
       capabilities = ["create", "update"]
     }
diff --git a/nix/module-eval/bao-grants.nix b/nix/module-eval/bao-grants.nix
index 90e5dbe7..0aca6fb0 100644
--- a/nix/module-eval/bao-grants.nix
+++ b/nix/module-eval/bao-grants.nix
@@ -1299,17 +1299,19 @@ let
         lib.hasInfix "path \"secret/data/swarm/agents/*\" {\n  capabilities = [\"create\", \"read\", \"update\"]" s;
     }
     {
-      # `matrix_account::hive_sender` writes every hive's sender token, and
-      # nothing else under `hives/`, where each hive's queue credential also
-      # lives. `+` is one segment, which keeps this to the one leaf; a `*` is a
-      # glob only at the end of a path. Pinned as the whole stanza, so an
-      # added capability fails.
-      name = "the controller writes each hive's sender token and nothing else under hives";
+      # `matrix_account::hive_sender` writes every hive's sender token and
+      # `forge::hive_token` every hive's forge token, and nothing else under
+      # `hives/`, where each hive's queue credential also lives. `+` is one
+      # segment, which keeps each stanza to its one leaf; a `*` is a glob only
+      # at the end of a path. Pinned as whole stanzas, so an added capability
+      # fails.
+      name = "the controller writes each hive's sender and forge tokens and nothing else under hives";
       ok =
         let
           s = baoGrantHere.systemd.services.swarm-bao-controller-policy.script;
         in
         lib.hasInfix "path \"secret/data/swarm/hives/+/matrix/sender-token\" {\n  capabilities = [\"create\", \"read\", \"update\"]\n}" s
+        && lib.hasInfix "path \"secret/data/swarm/hives/+/forge/token\" {\n  capabilities = [\"create\", \"read\", \"update\"]\n}" s
         && !(lib.hasInfix "secret/data/swarm/hives/*" s)
         && !(lib.hasInfix "secret/metadata/swarm/hives" s);
     }
diff --git a/swarm-controller/src/forge.rs b/swarm-controller/src/forge.rs
index 738b29b6..a4f3a10b 100644
--- a/swarm-controller/src/forge.rs
+++ b/swarm-controller/src/forge.rs
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ use utoipa::ToSchema;
 use crate::webhook::DeliveryKind;
 
 pub mod agent_token;
+pub mod hive_token;
 pub mod legacy_tokens;
 pub mod objects;
 pub mod runner_token;
@@ -455,13 +456,20 @@ impl Client {
     /// Create `agent`'s account. Idempotent: an existing user (409/422) is
     /// folded into success, same as [`Self::ensure_org_repo`].
     async fn create_agent_user(&self, agent: &str) -> Result<()> {
+        self.create_user(agent, &agent_email(agent)).await
+    }
+
+    /// Create the account `login` with `email` and a throwaway password.
+    /// Idempotent like [`Self::create_agent_user`], and like it proves only
+    /// that *some* account named `login` exists: the caller checks the email.
+    async fn create_user(&self, login: &str, email: &str) -> Result<()> {
         let password = crate::webhook::generate_hex_secret()
-            .context("generating a throwaway password for the agent's forge account")?;
+            .context("generating a throwaway password for a forge account")?;
         let res = self
             .api
             .admin_create_user(CreateUserOption {
                 created_at: None,
-                email: agent_email(agent),
+                email: email.to_owned(),
                 full_name: None,
                 login_name: None,
                 must_change_password: Some(false),
@@ -469,24 +477,24 @@ impl Client {
                 restricted: None,
                 send_notify: None,
                 source_id: None,
-                username: agent.to_owned(),
+                username: login.to_owned(),
                 visibility: None,
             })
             .await;
         match res {
             Ok(_) => {
-                tracing::info!(%agent, "swarm forge: created agent forge user");
+                tracing::info!(%login, "swarm forge: created forge user");
                 Ok(())
             }
             Err(e) => {
                 let existing =
-                    is_ambiguous_validation_failure(&e) && self.api.user_get(agent).await.is_ok();
+                    is_ambiguous_validation_failure(&e) && self.api.user_get(login).await.is_ok();
                 if folds_into_success(&e, existing) {
-                    tracing::debug!(%agent, "swarm forge: agent forge user already exists");
+                    tracing::debug!(%login, "swarm forge: forge user already exists");
                     Ok(())
                 } else {
-                    tracing::error!(%agent, error = %e, "swarm forge: forge refused to create agent user");
-                    Err(e).with_context(|| format!("create forge user {agent}"))
+                    tracing::error!(%login, error = %e, "swarm forge: forge refused to create user");
+                    Err(e).with_context(|| format!("create forge user {login}"))
                 }
             }
         }
@@ -1426,13 +1434,14 @@ mod tests {
     }
 
     /// What [`stub_forge`] saw: method, path and JSON body of each request.
-    type Seen = std::sync::Arc<std::sync::Mutex<Vec<(String, String, serde_json::Value)>>>;
+    pub(super) type Seen =
+        std::sync::Arc<std::sync::Mutex<Vec<(String, String, serde_json::Value)>>>;
 
     /// A stand-in forge on a loopback port — never the real one — answering
     /// the admin user create (`POST`) with `create`, the pre-lockdown
     /// `user_get` (`GET`) with `get`, and the admin user edit (`PATCH`) with
     /// `edit` (status, JSON body each), and recording every request.
-    async fn stub_forge(
+    pub(super) async fn stub_forge(
         create: (u16, &'static str),
         get: (u16, &'static str),
         edit: (u16, &'static str),
@@ -1470,7 +1479,7 @@ mod tests {
     }
 
     /// The `PATCH` [`Client::ensure_agent_user`] sent, if any.
-    fn lockdown_patch(seen: &Seen, agent: &str) -> Option<serde_json::Value> {
+    pub(super) fn lockdown_patch(seen: &Seen, agent: &str) -> Option<serde_json::Value> {
         let path = format!("/api/v1/admin/users/{agent}");
         seen.lock()
             .unwrap()
diff --git a/swarm-controller/src/forge/agent_token.rs b/swarm-controller/src/forge/agent_token.rs
index 1efc0ae7..b18d7451 100644
--- a/swarm-controller/src/forge/agent_token.rs
+++ b/swarm-controller/src/forge/agent_token.rs
@@ -98,9 +98,20 @@ fn last_eight(token: &str) -> Option<&str> {
 /// Every token not named [`AGENT_TOKEN_NAME`] is ignored, so the
 /// `hyperhive-*` tokens `hive-c0re` left behind never affect the decision.
 pub fn classify(stored: Option<&forge::Credential>, listed: &[AccessToken]) -> Decision {
+    classify_named(AGENT_TOKEN_NAME, AGENT_TOKEN_SCOPES, stored, listed)
+}
+
+/// [`classify`] for the token named `name` that should carry `scopes`, so a
+/// second kind of token this controller mints decides the same way.
+pub(super) fn classify_named(
+    name: &str,
+    scopes: &str,
+    stored: Option<&forge::Credential>,
+    listed: &[AccessToken],
+) -> Decision {
     let ours: Vec<&AccessToken> = listed
         .iter()
-        .filter(|t| t.name.as_deref() == Some(AGENT_TOKEN_NAME))
+        .filter(|t| t.name.as_deref() == Some(name))
         .collect();
     let token = match ours[..] {
         [] => return Decision::Mint(MintReason::NotOnForge),
@@ -114,7 +125,7 @@ pub fn classify(stored: Option<&forge::Credential>, listed: &[AccessToken]) -> D
         return Decision::Mint(MintReason::LastEightMismatch);
     }
     let listed_scopes = normalized_scopes(token.scopes.iter().flatten().map(String::as_str));
-    if listed_scopes != normalized_scopes(AGENT_TOKEN_SCOPES.split(',')) {
+    if listed_scopes != normalized_scopes(scopes.split(',')) {
         return Decision::Mint(MintReason::ScopeMismatch);
     }
     Decision::Keep
@@ -216,46 +227,16 @@ impl Client {
             Decision::Mint(reason) => reason,
         };
 
-        if listed
-            .iter()
-            .any(|t| t.name.as_deref() == Some(AGENT_TOKEN_NAME))
-        {
-            match self
-                .api
-                .admin_delete_user_access_token(agent, AGENT_TOKEN_NAME)
-                .await
-            {
-                Ok(()) => {}
-                Err(e) if is_not_found(&e) => {}
-                Err(e) => {
-                    return Err(e)
-                        .with_context(|| format!("deleting {agent}'s {AGENT_TOKEN_NAME} token"));
-                }
-            }
-        }
-        let created = self
-            .api
-            .admin_create_user_access_token(
+        let credential = self
+            .replace_token(
+                &store,
                 agent,
-                CreateAccessTokenOption {
-                    name: AGENT_TOKEN_NAME.to_owned(),
-                    repositories: None,
-                    scopes: Some(AGENT_TOKEN_SCOPES.split(',').map(str::to_owned).collect()),
-                },
+                AGENT_TOKEN_NAME,
+                AGENT_TOKEN_SCOPES,
+                &listed,
+                &path,
             )
-            .await
-            .with_context(|| format!("creating {agent}'s {AGENT_TOKEN_NAME} token"))?;
-        let Some(value) = created.sha1.filter(|v| !v.is_empty()) else {
-            bail!("the forge created {agent}'s token but returned no value for it");
-        };
-        let credential = forge::Credential {
-            value,
-            name: AGENT_TOKEN_NAME.to_owned(),
-        };
-        store
-            .write(&path, &credential)
-            .await
-            .with_context(|| format!("storing {agent}'s forge token at {path}"))?;
+            .await?;
 
         let as_agent = Forgejo::new(Auth::Token(&credential.value), self.url.clone())
             .context("building a forge client with the new token")?;
@@ -270,6 +251,57 @@ impl Client {
         Ok(())
     }
 
+    /// Delete `user`'s token named `name` if `listed` has one, create a new
+    /// one carrying `scopes`, and store it at `path`. A crash between any two
+    /// steps leaves a state [`classify_named`] reads as a mint again.
+    ///
+    /// # Errors
+    /// When the forge refuses the delete or the create, answers the create
+    /// with no value, or the store refuses the write.
+    pub(super) async fn replace_token(
+        &self,
+        store: &swarm_secret_client::SecretStore,
+        user: &str,
+        name: &str,
+        scopes: &str,
+        listed: &[AccessToken],
+        path: &str,
+    ) -> Result<forge::Credential> {
+        if listed.iter().any(|t| t.name.as_deref() == Some(name)) {
+            match self.api.admin_delete_user_access_token(user, name).await {
+                Ok(()) => {}
+                Err(e) if is_not_found(&e) => {}
+                Err(e) => {
+                    return Err(e).with_context(|| format!("deleting {user}'s {name} token"));
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        let created = self
+            .api
+            .admin_create_user_access_token(
+                user,
+                CreateAccessTokenOption {
+                    name: name.to_owned(),
+                    repositories: None,
+                    scopes: Some(scopes.split(',').map(str::to_owned).collect()),
+                },
+            )
+            .await
+            .with_context(|| format!("creating {user}'s {name} token"))?;
+        let Some(value) = created.sha1.filter(|v| !v.is_empty()) else {
+            bail!("the forge created {user}'s token but returned no value for it");
+        };
+        let credential = forge::Credential {
+            value,
+            name: name.to_owned(),
+        };
+        store
+            .write(path, &credential)
+            .await
+            .with_context(|| format!("storing {user}'s forge token at {path}"))?;
+        Ok(credential)
+    }
+
     /// What the forge and the store say about `agent`'s token.
     pub(super) async fn observe_agent(
         &self,
diff --git a/swarm-controller/src/forge/hive_token.rs b/swarm-controller/src/forge/hive_token.rs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..971885b9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/swarm-controller/src/forge/hive_token.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,671 @@
+//! Each hive's read-only account on the swarm's forge, `hive-<hive>`: created
+//! here with the admin API, put in the [`HIVES_TEAM`] of `agent-configs` (read
+//! on every config repo, including ones created later), and given one token,
+//! stored at `swarm/hives/<hive>/forge/token`, where hive-c0re reads it under
+//! the hive's own store identity.
+//!
+//! The roster is the controller's hive directory, as for
+//! `matrix_account::hive_sender`. The token decision is
+//! [`super::agent_token`]'s, under this module's name and scopes, so a stored
+//! token the forge still lists with the same last eight characters and scopes
+//! is kept, and a pass whose reads fail queues nothing.
+//!
+//! ⚠️ The account name is not reserved: an agent may be called `hive-<x>`.
+//! Each side refuses an account carrying the other's email, so neither ever
+//! locks down, joins the team with, or mints a token for the other's account.
+
+use std::sync::Arc;
+
+use anyhow::{Context, Result, bail};
+use forgejo_api::structs::{
+    AccessToken, CreateTeamOption, CreateTeamOptionPermission, EditTeamOption,
+    EditTeamOptionPermission, RepoSearchQuery, Team, TeamPermission,
+};
+use forgejo_api::{Auth, Forgejo};
+use swarm_secret_client::forge;
+
+use super::agent_token::{Decision, Observed, classify_named, is_not_found};
+use super::{CONFIG_ORG, Client, folds_into_success};
+
+/// The forge's name for every hive token this module mints.
+pub const HIVE_TOKEN_NAME: &str = "swarm-hive";
+
+/// What a hive token may do: read repositories. Which repositories is the
+/// account's business, and the account is only in [`HIVES_TEAM`].
+pub const HIVE_TOKEN_SCOPES: &str = "read:repository";
+
+/// The team in `agent-configs` every hive account is a member of.
+const HIVES_TEAM: &str = "hives";
+
+const HIVES_TEAM_DESCRIPTION: &str = "hyperhive hives — read on every agent config repo";
+
+/// What a hive reads in a config repo: the git tree, and which PR merged a
+/// commit.
+const HIVES_TEAM_UNITS: [&str; 2] = ["repo.code", "repo.pulls"];
+
+/// How often [`spawn`] re-checks every hive.
+const RECONCILE_INTERVAL: std::time::Duration = std::time::Duration::from_mins(5);
+
+/// The email this module creates `hive`'s account with, and the one it
+/// requires before acting on an account by that name.
+///
+/// Under its own domain, so it can equal neither email an agent account
+/// carries (`super::agent_email`, `super::legacy_agent_email`) whatever the
+/// agent is called.
+fn hive_email(hive: &str) -> String {
+    format!("{}@hives.hyperhive.local", forge::hive_login(hive))
+}
+
+/// Whether the account named [`forge::hive_login`]`(hive)`, carrying `email`,
+/// is the one this module creates.
+fn is_hive_account(hive: &str, email: Option<&str>) -> bool {
+    email == Some(hive_email(hive).as_str())
+}
+
+/// Whether `t` has every setting [`Client::ensure_hives_team`] gives it.
+fn hives_team_matches(t: &Team) -> bool {
+    let units_match = t.units.as_ref().is_some_and(|units| {
+        let mut have: Vec<&str> = units.iter().map(String::as_str).collect();
+        let mut want = HIVES_TEAM_UNITS.to_vec();
+        have.sort_unstable();
+        want.sort_unstable();
+        have == want
+    });
+    units_match
+        && t.permission == Some(TeamPermission::Read)
+        && t.includes_all_repositories == Some(true)
+        && t.can_create_org_repo == Some(false)
+        && t.description.as_deref() == Some(HIVES_TEAM_DESCRIPTION)
+}
+
+/// [`HIVES_TEAM`] as one pass found it.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq)]
+pub enum TeamSeen {
+    /// Present with every setting [`hives_team_matches`] checks.
+    Matches(i64),
+    /// Present with some other setting, which may be a wider grant.
+    Drifted(i64),
+    Absent,
+    /// The read failed.
+    Unknown,
+}
+
+/// What one pass found for one hive.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq)]
+pub struct HiveSeen {
+    pub token: Observed,
+    /// Whether the account is in [`HIVES_TEAM`]; `None` when that read failed
+    /// or the team id is not known.
+    pub member: Option<bool>,
+}
+
+/// The hives a pass queues a `MintHiveForgeToken` job for.
+///
+/// A token that has to be minted, or an account that does not exist, always
+/// queues. A kept token queues only when the account or the team is not as
+/// the job leaves them; that job finds the token current again and does not
+/// rotate it.
+///
+/// [`Observed::Unknown`] never queues: a forge or store outage must not turn
+/// into a rotation of every hive's token. Neither does a
+/// [`Decision::Conflict`], which the job would refuse anyway.
+pub fn plan(team: TeamSeen, hives: &[(String, HiveSeen)]) -> Vec<String> {
+    let team_needs_work = matches!(team, TeamSeen::Absent | TeamSeen::Drifted(_));
+    hives
+        .iter()
+        .filter(|(_, seen)| match seen.token {
+            Observed::Unknown | Observed::Decided(Decision::Conflict) => false,
+            Observed::NoForgeUser | Observed::Decided(Decision::Mint(_)) => true,
+            Observed::Decided(Decision::Keep) => team_needs_work || seen.member == Some(false),
+        })
+        .map(|(hive, _)| hive.clone())
+        .collect()
+}
+
+impl Client {
+    /// Make sure `hive`'s account exists, is in [`HIVES_TEAM`], and holds a
+    /// live [`HIVE_TOKEN_NAME`] token in the store, minting one when it does
+    /// not. The whole job of the `MintHiveForgeToken` node.
+    ///
+    /// A rotation is [`Client::replace_token`]'s delete then create. The new
+    /// token is used once, and the forge's and the store's state is read back
+    /// and classified again, so the node does not report success on a write
+    /// nobody has read.
+    ///
+    /// # Errors
+    /// When the store or the forge refuses a step, when an account by the
+    /// hive's name exists and is not the hive's, or when the read-back does
+    /// not show the new token.
+    pub async fn ensure_hive_forge_token(&self, hive: &str) -> Result<()> {
+        let login = forge::hive_login(hive);
+        let path = forge::hive_token_path(hive)?;
+        self.ensure_hive_user(hive, &login).await?;
+        let team = self.ensure_hives_team().await?;
+        self.api
+            .org_add_team_member(team, &login)
+            .await
+            .with_context(|| format!("adding {login} to {CONFIG_ORG}/{HIVES_TEAM}"))?;
+
+        let store = crate::store::connect()
+            .await
+            .context("logging in to the swarm secret store")?;
+        let (stored, listed) = self.read_hive_token(&store, &login, &path).await?;
+        let reason =
+            match classify_named(HIVE_TOKEN_NAME, HIVE_TOKEN_SCOPES, stored.as_ref(), &listed) {
+                Decision::Keep => {
+                    tracing::debug!(hive, "hive forge token is current; left as it is");
+                    return Ok(());
+                }
+                Decision::Conflict => bail!(
+                    "the forge lists more than one {HIVE_TOKEN_NAME:?} token for {login:?}; \
+                 delete them by id and re-run"
+                ),
+                Decision::Mint(reason) => reason,
+            };
+        let credential = self
+            .replace_token(
+                &store,
+                &login,
+                HIVE_TOKEN_NAME,
+                HIVE_TOKEN_SCOPES,
+                &listed,
+                &path,
+            )
+            .await?;
+
+        Forgejo::new(Auth::Token(&credential.value), self.url.clone())
+            .context("building a forge client with the new token")?
+            .repo_search(RepoSearchQuery::default())
+            .await
+            .with_context(|| format!("using {login}'s new forge token"))?;
+        let (stored, listed) = self.read_hive_token(&store, &login, &path).await?;
+        let now = classify_named(HIVE_TOKEN_NAME, HIVE_TOKEN_SCOPES, stored.as_ref(), &listed);
+        if now != Decision::Keep {
+            bail!("{login}'s new forge token does not read back as current: {now:?}");
+        }
+        tracing::info!(hive, ?reason, %path, "hive forge token minted and stored");
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    /// The stored token at `path` and every token the forge lists for
+    /// `login`, which must exist.
+    async fn read_hive_token(
+        &self,
+        store: &swarm_secret_client::SecretStore,
+        login: &str,
+        path: &str,
+    ) -> Result<(Option<forge::Credential>, Vec<AccessToken>)> {
+        let stored = store
+            .read_optional(path)
+            .await
+            .with_context(|| format!("reading {path}"))?;
+        let Some(listed) = self.list_agent_tokens(login).await? else {
+            bail!("the forge has no user {login:?} after this job created it");
+        };
+        Ok((stored, listed))
+    }
+
+    /// Create `hive`'s account if there is none, refuse one that is not the
+    /// hive's, and lock it out of creating repos.
+    async fn ensure_hive_user(&self, hive: &str, login: &str) -> Result<()> {
+        self.create_user(login, &hive_email(hive)).await?;
+        let user = self
+            .api
+            .user_get(login)
+            .await
+            .with_context(|| format!("read forge user {login}"))?;
+        if !is_hive_account(hive, user.email.as_deref()) {
+            bail!(
+                "forge account `{login}` exists but is not hive `{hive}`'s (email {:?}, expected \
+                 `{}`); refusing to give it the hive's access",
+                user.email,
+                hive_email(hive)
+            );
+        }
+        self.api
+            .admin_edit_user(login, super::repo_creation_lockdown(login))
+            .await
+            .with_context(|| format!("disable repo creation for forge user {login}"))?;
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    /// The id of [`HIVES_TEAM`] in `agent-configs`, creating it or
+    /// correcting its settings first when needed. Its members are not
+    /// touched here.
+    async fn ensure_hives_team(&self) -> Result<i64> {
+        match self.observe_hives_team().await {
+            TeamSeen::Matches(id) => Ok(id),
+            TeamSeen::Drifted(id) => {
+                self.api
+                    .org_edit_team(
+                        id,
+                        EditTeamOption {
+                            can_create_org_repo: Some(false),
+                            description: Some(HIVES_TEAM_DESCRIPTION.to_owned()),
+                            includes_all_repositories: Some(true),
+                            name: HIVES_TEAM.to_owned(),
+                            permission: Some(EditTeamOptionPermission::Read),
+                            units: Some(HIVES_TEAM_UNITS.map(str::to_owned).to_vec()),
+                            units_map: None,
+                        },
+                    )
+                    .await
+                    .with_context(|| {
+                        format!("reconcile {CONFIG_ORG}/{HIVES_TEAM} team settings")
+                    })?;
+                tracing::info!("swarm forge: reconciled {CONFIG_ORG}/{HIVES_TEAM} team settings");
+                Ok(id)
+            }
+            TeamSeen::Absent => self.create_hives_team().await,
+            TeamSeen::Unknown => bail!("could not read the teams of {CONFIG_ORG}"),
+        }
+    }
+
+    async fn create_hives_team(&self) -> Result<i64> {
+        let team = CreateTeamOption {
+            can_create_org_repo: Some(false),
+            description: Some(HIVES_TEAM_DESCRIPTION.to_owned()),
+            includes_all_repositories: Some(true),
+            name: HIVES_TEAM.to_owned(),
+            permission: Some(CreateTeamOptionPermission::Read),
+            units: Some(HIVES_TEAM_UNITS.map(str::to_owned).to_vec()),
+            units_map: None,
+        };
+        match self.api.org_create_team(CONFIG_ORG, team).await {
+            Ok(created) => {
+                tracing::info!("swarm forge: created {CONFIG_ORG}/{HIVES_TEAM} team");
+                created
+                    .id
+                    .context("the forge created the hives team but returned no id")
+            }
+            // A duplicate is a 409 or a 422; either counts once a re-read
+            // finds the team, which also supplies its id.
+            Err(e) => match self.observe_hives_team().await {
+                TeamSeen::Matches(id) | TeamSeen::Drifted(id) if folds_into_success(&e, true) => {
+                    Ok(id)
+                }
+                _ => Err(e).with_context(|| format!("create team {CONFIG_ORG}/{HIVES_TEAM}")),
+            },
+        }
+    }
+
+    async fn observe_hives_team(&self) -> TeamSeen {
+        match self.api.org_list_teams(CONFIG_ORG).await {
+            Ok((_, teams)) => teams
+                .into_iter()
+                .find(|t| t.name.as_deref() == Some(HIVES_TEAM))
+                .map_or(TeamSeen::Absent, |t| match t.id {
+                    Some(id) if hives_team_matches(&t) => TeamSeen::Matches(id),
+                    Some(id) => TeamSeen::Drifted(id),
+                    None => TeamSeen::Unknown,
+                }),
+            Err(e) => {
+                tracing::warn!(error = %e, "hive forge tokens: reading the teams of {CONFIG_ORG} failed");
+                TeamSeen::Unknown
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// What the store, the forge and the team say about `hive`.
+    async fn observe_hive(
+        &self,
+        store: &swarm_secret_client::SecretStore,
+        team: TeamSeen,
+        hive: &str,
+    ) -> HiveSeen {
+        let login = forge::hive_login(hive);
+        let stored = match forge::hive_token_path(hive) {
+            Ok(path) => store.read_optional::<forge::Credential>(&path).await,
+            Err(e) => Err(e),
+        };
+        let token = match stored {
+            Err(e) => {
+                tracing::warn!(hive, error = %e, "hive forge token: store read failed");
+                Observed::Unknown
+            }
+            Ok(stored) => match self.list_agent_tokens(&login).await {
+                Ok(Some(listed)) => Observed::Decided(classify_named(
+                    HIVE_TOKEN_NAME,
+                    HIVE_TOKEN_SCOPES,
+                    stored.as_ref(),
+                    &listed,
+                )),
+                Ok(None) => Observed::NoForgeUser,
+                Err(e) => {
+                    tracing::warn!(hive, error = %format!("{e:#}"), "hive forge token: forge read failed");
+                    Observed::Unknown
+                }
+            },
+        };
+        let member = match team {
+            TeamSeen::Matches(id) | TeamSeen::Drifted(id) => {
+                match self.api.org_list_team_member(id, &login).await {
+                    Ok(_) => Some(true),
+                    Err(e) if is_not_found(&e) => Some(false),
+                    Err(e) => {
+                        tracing::warn!(hive, error = %e, "hive forge token: team membership read failed");
+                        None
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+            TeamSeen::Absent => Some(false),
+            TeamSeen::Unknown => None,
+        };
+        HiveSeen { token, member }
+    }
+
+    /// One pass: the team, then every hive in `hives`.
+    async fn observe_hives(&self, hives: &[String]) -> Result<(TeamSeen, Vec<(String, HiveSeen)>)> {
+        let store = crate::store::connect()
+            .await
+            .context("logging in to the swarm secret store")?;
+        let team = self.observe_hives_team().await;
+        let mut observed = Vec::with_capacity(hives.len());
+        for hive in hives {
+            observed.push((hive.clone(), self.observe_hive(&store, team, hive).await));
+        }
+        Ok((team, observed))
+    }
+}
+
+/// Check every hive now and every [`RECONCILE_INTERVAL`] after, and hand the
+/// hives that need a job to `enqueue`, which inserts a `MintHiveForgeToken`
+/// node for each.
+///
+/// The roster is the controller's hive directory. A pass that fails is
+/// logged and retried on the next tick; it never stops the daemon.
+pub fn spawn(
+    client: Arc<Client>,
+    hives: Vec<String>,
+    enqueue: impl Fn(Vec<String>) + Send + 'static,
+) {
+    tokio::spawn(async move {
+        let mut ticker = tokio::time::interval(RECONCILE_INTERVAL);
+        loop {
+            ticker.tick().await;
+            match client.observe_hives(&hives).await {
+                Ok((team, observed)) => {
+                    let queued = plan(team, &observed);
+                    if queued.is_empty() {
+                        tracing::debug!(checked = observed.len(), "hive forge tokens: all current");
+                    } else {
+                        tracing::info!(
+                            checked = observed.len(),
+                            queued = queued.len(),
+                            "hive forge tokens: queueing jobs"
+                        );
+                        enqueue(queued);
+                    }
+                }
+                Err(e) => tracing::warn!(
+                    error = %format!("{e:#}"),
+                    retry_in_s = RECONCILE_INTERVAL.as_secs(),
+                    "hive forge tokens: pass failed; retrying next tick"
+                ),
+            }
+        }
+    });
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::super::agent_token::MintReason;
+    use super::*;
+
+    const VALUE: &str = "0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef01234567";
+
+    fn stored() -> forge::Credential {
+        forge::Credential {
+            value: VALUE.to_owned(),
+            name: HIVE_TOKEN_NAME.to_owned(),
+        }
+    }
+
+    fn token(name: &str, last_eight: &str, scopes: &[&str]) -> AccessToken {
+        AccessToken {
+            created_at: None,
+            id: Some(1),
+            name: Some(name.to_owned()),
+            repositories: None,
+            scopes: Some(scopes.iter().map(|s| (*s).to_owned()).collect()),
+            sha1: None,
+            token_last_eight: Some(last_eight.to_owned()),
+        }
+    }
+
+    fn decide(stored: Option<&forge::Credential>, listed: &[AccessToken]) -> Decision {
+        classify_named(HIVE_TOKEN_NAME, HIVE_TOKEN_SCOPES, stored, listed)
+    }
+
+    fn seen(token: Observed, member: Option<bool>) -> HiveSeen {
+        HiveSeen { token, member }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn the_token_reads_repositories_and_nothing_else() {
+        assert_eq!(HIVE_TOKEN_SCOPES, "read:repository");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn nothing_on_the_forge_or_in_the_store_creates() {
+        assert_eq!(decide(None, &[]), Decision::Mint(MintReason::NotOnForge));
+        let ours = token(HIVE_TOKEN_NAME, "01234567", &["read:repository"]);
+        assert_eq!(decide(None, &[ours]), Decision::Mint(MintReason::NotStored));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn a_current_token_is_kept() {
+        let ours = token(HIVE_TOKEN_NAME, "01234567", &["read:repository"]);
+        assert_eq!(decide(Some(&stored()), &[ours]), Decision::Keep);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn another_value_or_wider_scopes_rotate() {
+        let other = token(HIVE_TOKEN_NAME, "ffffffff", &["read:repository"]);
+        assert_eq!(
+            decide(Some(&stored()), &[other]),
+            Decision::Mint(MintReason::LastEightMismatch)
+        );
+        let wider = token(HIVE_TOKEN_NAME, "01234567", &["write:repository"]);
+        assert_eq!(
+            decide(Some(&stored()), &[wider]),
+            Decision::Mint(MintReason::ScopeMismatch)
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn an_agent_token_on_the_account_is_not_the_hive_token() {
+        // The two names must differ, or a hive account would be judged by the
+        // agent token's scopes and the other way round.
+        assert_ne!(HIVE_TOKEN_NAME, super::super::agent_token::AGENT_TOKEN_NAME);
+        let agents = token(
+            super::super::agent_token::AGENT_TOKEN_NAME,
+            "01234567",
+            &["read:repository"],
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            decide(Some(&stored()), &[agents]),
+            Decision::Mint(MintReason::NotOnForge)
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn create_and_rotate_are_queued_and_keep_is_not() {
+        let hives = [
+            (
+                "keep".to_owned(),
+                seen(Observed::Decided(Decision::Keep), Some(true)),
+            ),
+            (
+                "rotate".to_owned(),
+                seen(
+                    Observed::Decided(Decision::Mint(MintReason::LastEightMismatch)),
+                    Some(true),
+                ),
+            ),
+            (
+                "create".to_owned(),
+                seen(Observed::NoForgeUser, Some(false)),
+            ),
+            (
+                "conflict".to_owned(),
+                seen(Observed::Decided(Decision::Conflict), Some(true)),
+            ),
+        ];
+        assert_eq!(plan(TeamSeen::Matches(7), &hives), ["rotate", "create"]);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn an_unknown_hive_is_never_queued() {
+        // Not even when the team is missing, which queues every hive whose
+        // token is known.
+        let hives = [
+            ("a".to_owned(), seen(Observed::Unknown, Some(false))),
+            ("b".to_owned(), seen(Observed::Unknown, None)),
+        ];
+        for team in [
+            TeamSeen::Matches(7),
+            TeamSeen::Drifted(7),
+            TeamSeen::Absent,
+            TeamSeen::Unknown,
+        ] {
+            assert!(plan(team, &hives).is_empty(), "{team:?}");
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn a_kept_token_outside_the_team_is_queued() {
+        let keep = |member| seen(Observed::Decided(Decision::Keep), member);
+        let hives = [
+            ("in".to_owned(), keep(Some(true))),
+            ("out".to_owned(), keep(Some(false))),
+            ("unread".to_owned(), keep(None)),
+        ];
+        assert_eq!(plan(TeamSeen::Matches(7), &hives), ["out"]);
+        assert_eq!(plan(TeamSeen::Unknown, &hives), ["out"]);
+        // A missing or drifted team queues every known hive: the job fixes the
+        // team, and finds each token current.
+        assert_eq!(plan(TeamSeen::Absent, &hives), ["in", "out", "unread"]);
+        assert_eq!(plan(TeamSeen::Drifted(7), &hives), ["in", "out", "unread"]);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn only_the_hives_own_email_is_its_account() {
+        assert!(is_hive_account(
+            "alpha",
+            Some("hive-alpha@hives.hyperhive.local")
+        ));
+        assert!(!is_hive_account("alpha", None));
+        assert!(!is_hive_account(
+            "beta",
+            Some("hive-alpha@hives.hyperhive.local")
+        ));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn an_agent_called_hive_x_is_not_hive_xs_account() {
+        // Both ways round: the hive job refuses the agent's account, and the
+        // agent's own guard (`disable_repo_creation`) refuses the hive's,
+        // because neither accepts the other's email.
+        let login = forge::hive_login("alpha");
+        for agents in [
+            super::super::agent_email(&login),
+            super::super::legacy_agent_email(&login),
+        ] {
+            assert!(!is_hive_account("alpha", Some(&agents)), "{agents}");
+            assert_ne!(hive_email("alpha"), agents);
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// The job-side guard, against a stand-in forge: an existing account
+    /// named `hive-alpha` that carries an agent's email is refused before the
+    /// lockdown, so nothing after it (team, token) runs either.
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn the_job_refuses_an_agent_account_named_like_the_hive() {
+        use super::super::tests::{lockdown_patch, stub_forge};
+
+        let (client, seen) = stub_forge(
+            (409, r#"{"message":"user already exists"}"#),
+            (200, r#"{"email":"hive-alpha@hyperhive.local"}"#),
+            (200, "{}"),
+        )
+        .await;
+        let err = client
+            .ensure_hive_user("alpha", "hive-alpha")
+            .await
+            .expect_err("an agent's account is not the hive's");
+        let msg = format!("{err:#}");
+        assert!(msg.contains("not hive `alpha`'s"), "{msg}");
+        assert!(lockdown_patch(&seen, "hive-alpha").is_none());
+    }
+
+    /// The other way round: creating an agent called `hive-alpha` refuses
+    /// hive `alpha`'s account rather than lock it down as the agent's.
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn an_agent_create_refuses_the_hives_account() {
+        use super::super::tests::{lockdown_patch, stub_forge};
+
+        let (client, seen) = stub_forge(
+            (409, r#"{"message":"user already exists"}"#),
+            (200, r#"{"email":"hive-alpha@hives.hyperhive.local"}"#),
+            (200, "{}"),
+        )
+        .await;
+        client
+            .ensure_agent_user("hive-alpha")
+            .await
+            .expect_err("the hive's account is not the agent's");
+        assert!(lockdown_patch(&seen, "hive-alpha").is_none());
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn the_job_locks_down_the_hives_own_account() {
+        use super::super::tests::{lockdown_patch, stub_forge};
+
+        let (client, seen) = stub_forge(
+            (409, r#"{"message":"user already exists"}"#),
+            (200, r#"{"email":"hive-alpha@hives.hyperhive.local"}"#),
+            (200, "{}"),
+        )
+        .await;
+        client
+            .ensure_hive_user("alpha", "hive-alpha")
+            .await
+            .expect("the hive's own account");
+        let body = lockdown_patch(&seen, "hive-alpha").expect("no lockdown PATCH sent");
+        assert_eq!(body["max_repo_creation"], 0);
+    }
+
+    fn team(permission: TeamPermission, units: &[&str]) -> Team {
+        Team {
+            can_create_org_repo: Some(false),
+            description: Some(HIVES_TEAM_DESCRIPTION.to_owned()),
+            id: Some(7),
+            includes_all_repositories: Some(true),
+            name: Some(HIVES_TEAM.to_owned()),
+            organization: None,
+            permission: Some(permission),
+            units: Some(units.iter().map(|u| (*u).to_owned()).collect()),
+            units_map: None,
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn the_team_matches_only_as_a_read_team_on_every_repo() {
+        assert!(hives_team_matches(&team(
+            TeamPermission::Read,
+            &["repo.pulls", "repo.code"]
+        )));
+        assert!(!hives_team_matches(&team(
+            TeamPermission::Write,
+            &HIVES_TEAM_UNITS
+        )));
+        assert!(!hives_team_matches(&team(
+            TeamPermission::Read,
+            &["repo.code"]
+        )));
+        let mut some_repos = team(TeamPermission::Read, &HIVES_TEAM_UNITS);
+        some_repos.includes_all_repositories = Some(false);
+        assert!(!hives_team_matches(&some_repos));
+    }
+}
diff --git a/swarm-controller/src/main.rs b/swarm-controller/src/main.rs
index daf55ded..0485e43f 100644
--- a/swarm-controller/src/main.rs
+++ b/swarm-controller/src/main.rs
@@ -134,6 +134,10 @@ enum SwarmNodeKind {
     /// in the swarm store, where that hive's matrix sweep reads it. See
     /// `matrix_account::hive_sender`.
     MintHiveSenderToken { hive: String },
+    /// Make sure `hive`'s read-only forge account (`hive-<hive>`) exists, is in
+    /// the `hives` team, and holds a live token in the swarm store, where
+    /// that hive's hive-c0re reads it. See `forge::hive_token`.
+    MintHiveForgeToken { hive: String },
     /// Re-mint `agent`'s queue secret if it is still stored and old enough.
     /// See `agent_renewal`.
     ///
@@ -172,6 +176,7 @@ impl hive_jobq_wire::WireNode for SwarmNodeKind {
             SwarmNodeKind::MintAgentForgeToken { .. } => "mint_agent_forge_token".to_owned(),
             SwarmNodeKind::MintAgentMatrixAccount { .. } => "mint_agent_matrix_account".to_owned(),
             SwarmNodeKind::MintHiveSenderToken { .. } => "mint_hive_sender_token".to_owned(),
+            SwarmNodeKind::MintHiveForgeToken { .. } => "mint_hive_forge_token".to_owned(),
             SwarmNodeKind::RenewAgentQueueCredential { .. } => {
                 "renew_agent_queue_credential".to_owned()
             }
@@ -199,7 +204,8 @@ impl hive_jobq_wire::WireNode for SwarmNodeKind {
             | SwarmNodeKind::RenewAgentQueueCredential { agent } => {
                 serde_json::json!({ "agent": agent })
             }
-            SwarmNodeKind::MintHiveSenderToken { hive } => serde_json::json!({ "hive": hive }),
+            SwarmNodeKind::MintHiveSenderToken { hive }
+            | SwarmNodeKind::MintHiveForgeToken { hive } => serde_json::json!({ "hive": hive }),
             SwarmNodeKind::TriggerDeploy { hive, agent, rev } => {
                 serde_json::json!({ "agent": agent, "hive": hive, "rev": rev })
             }
@@ -353,12 +359,10 @@ async fn run_swarm_node(
         SwarmNodeKind::MintHiveSenderToken { hive } => {
             mint_hive_sender(deps.matrix_homeserver.as_deref(), &hive).await
         }
-        SwarmNodeKind::RenewAgentQueueCredential { agent } => {
-            match agent_renewal::renew(&agent).await {
-                Ok(()) => Outcome::Done,
-                Err(e) => Outcome::Failed(format!("{e:#}")),
-            }
+        SwarmNodeKind::MintHiveForgeToken { hive } => {
+            mint_hive_forge_token(deps.forge, &hive).await
         }
+        SwarmNodeKind::RenewAgentQueueCredential { agent } => renew_queue_credential(&agent).await,
         SwarmNodeKind::SetAgentWanted { hive, agent } => match deps.wanted {
             None => Outcome::Failed(
                 "no swarm queue is configured on this host, so no wanted-state \
@@ -410,6 +414,36 @@ async fn mint_forge_token(
     }
 }
 
+/// The `RenewAgentQueueCredential` arm, lifted out for the same reason.
+async fn renew_queue_credential(agent: &str) -> hive_jobq::scheduler::Outcome {
+    use hive_jobq::scheduler::Outcome;
+
+    match agent_renewal::renew(agent).await {
+        Ok(()) => Outcome::Done,
+        Err(e) => Outcome::Failed(format!("{e:#}")),
+    }
+}
+
+/// The `MintHiveForgeToken` arm, lifted out for the same reason.
+async fn mint_hive_forge_token(
+    forge: Option<Arc<forge::Client>>,
+    hive: &str,
+) -> hive_jobq::scheduler::Outcome {
+    use hive_jobq::scheduler::Outcome;
+
+    let Some(client) = forge else {
+        return Outcome::Failed(
+            "no forge configured on this host (SWARM_CONTROLLER_FORGE_URL / \
+             SWARM_CONTROLLER_FORGE_TOKEN_FILE unset), so no hive forge token can be minted"
+                .to_owned(),
+        );
+    };
+    match client.ensure_hive_forge_token(hive).await {
+        Ok(()) => Outcome::Done,
+        Err(e) => Outcome::Failed(format!("{e:#}")),
+    }
+}
+
 /// The `MintAgentMatrixAccount` arm, lifted out for the same reason.
 async fn mint_matrix_account(
     homeserver: Option<&str>,
@@ -2275,6 +2309,27 @@ fn queue_hive_sender_mints(
     Ok(ids)
 }
 
+/// Insert one `MintHiveForgeToken` job per hive and return the nodes' ids.
+/// `forge::hive_token::spawn`'s periodic pass is the one caller.
+fn queue_hive_forge_token_mints(
+    sched: &Mutex<hive_jobq::scheduler::Scheduler<SwarmNodeKind, SwarmResourceKind>>,
+    hives: Vec<String>,
+) -> Result<Vec<hive_jobq::NodeId>> {
+    let mut sched = sched
+        .lock()
+        .unwrap_or_else(std::sync::PoisonError::into_inner);
+    let mut ids = Vec::with_capacity(hives.len());
+    for hive in hives {
+        let queued = sched
+            .insert_job(None, |b| {
+                vec![b.node(SwarmNodeKind::MintHiveForgeToken { hive }).guid()]
+            })
+            .map_err(|e| anyhow::anyhow!("{e}"))?;
+        ids.extend(queued);
+    }
+    Ok(ids)
+}
+
 /// The homeserver agents' own matrix accounts are minted on. Unset is this
 /// controller creating agents with no matrix account, which the mint node
 /// reports by name rather than `main` refusing to start.
@@ -2315,13 +2370,14 @@ fn spawn_matrix_account_backfill(
 }
 
 /// Start the forge's periodic passes — the swarm-wide objects, the runner
-/// registration token, and agents' tokens (which also sweeps legacy tokens;
-/// see `forge::legacy_tokens`) —
+/// registration token, hives' read tokens, and agents' tokens (which also
+/// sweeps legacy tokens; see `forge::legacy_tokens`) —
 /// when a forge is configured. Lifted out of `main` for
 /// `clippy::too_many_lines`.
 fn spawn_forge_workers(
     jobq: &Arc<Mutex<hive_jobq::scheduler::Scheduler<SwarmNodeKind, SwarmResourceKind>>>,
     forge_client: Option<Arc<forge::Client>>,
+    hives: &[HiveEntry],
 ) {
     let Some(client) = forge_client else {
         return;
@@ -2329,6 +2385,13 @@ fn spawn_forge_workers(
     forge::objects::spawn(Arc::clone(&client));
     forge::runner_token::spawn(Arc::clone(&client));
     let sched = Arc::clone(jobq);
+    let hive_names = hives.iter().map(|h| h.name.clone()).collect();
+    forge::hive_token::spawn(Arc::clone(&client), hive_names, move |hives| {
+        if let Err(e) = queue_hive_forge_token_mints(&sched, hives) {
+            tracing::warn!(error = %format!("{e:#}"), "hive forge tokens: queueing failed");
+        }
+    });
+    let sched = Arc::clone(jobq);
     forge::agent_token::spawn(client, move |agents| {
         if let Err(e) = queue_forge_token_mints(&sched, agents) {
             tracing::warn!(error = %format!("{e:#}"), "agent forge tokens: queueing failed");
@@ -2953,7 +3016,7 @@ async fn main() -> Result<()> {
         );
     }
 
-    spawn_forge_workers(&jobq, forge_client.clone());
+    spawn_forge_workers(&jobq, forge_client.clone(), &hives);
     let config_prs = forge_client.clone().map(config_pr::spawn);
     let state_forge = keep_forge_for_state(forge_client, webhook_secret.clone());
 
@@ -4647,6 +4710,39 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(hives, ["alpha", "beta"]);
     }
 
+    /// The hive forge-token pass's queueing: one node per hive, naming the
+    /// hive rather than an agent.
+    #[test]
+    fn a_queued_hive_forge_token_mint_is_one_node_per_hive() {
+        use hive_jobq_wire::WireNode as _;
+
+        let sched = std::sync::Mutex::new(hive_jobq::scheduler::Scheduler::new(
+            hive_jobq::Graph::new(),
+            hive_jobq::resources::ResourceTable::new(),
+        ));
+        let ids = super::queue_hive_forge_token_mints(
+            &sched,
+            vec!["alpha".to_owned(), "beta".to_owned()],
+        )
+        .expect("two jobs insert");
+        assert_eq!(ids.len(), 2);
+        let guard = sched
+            .lock()
+            .unwrap_or_else(std::sync::PoisonError::into_inner);
+        let mut hives: Vec<String> = guard
+            .graph()
+            .nodes()
+            .map(|n| {
+                assert_eq!(n.payload.label(), "mint_hive_forge_token");
+                let data = n.payload.data(n.id.get());
+                assert!(data.get("agent").is_none(), "{data}");
+                data["hive"].as_str().expect("hive is a string").to_owned()
+            })
+            .collect();
+        hives.sort();
+        assert_eq!(hives, ["alpha", "beta"]);
+    }
+
     /// The manual route and the periodic pass both go through
     /// `queue_forge_token_mints`, so this is the assertion that a backfilled
     /// mint is the same pair of nodes agent creation inserts: the forge user,
diff --git a/swarm-secret-client/src/forge.rs b/swarm-secret-client/src/forge.rs
index d3cf9ba3..d6de4a07 100644
--- a/swarm-secret-client/src/forge.rs
+++ b/swarm-secret-client/src/forge.rs
@@ -1,14 +1,17 @@
-//! The forge agreement: where an agent's forge tokens live in the store, and
-//! what the objects at those paths hold.
+//! The forge agreement: where agents' and hives' forge tokens live in the store,
+//! and what the objects at those paths hold.
 //!
-//! Two kinds. The agent's own token on the swarm's forge
+//! Three kinds. The agent's own token on the swarm's forge
 //! ([`agent_token_path`]): `swarm-controller` mints it with the forge's admin
 //! API, and `nix/agent-modules/forge-token.nix` reads it back under the agent's
 //! own certificate. And the agent's accounts on external forges
 //! ([`account_path`]): an operator hands the controller a URL and a token, the
 //! controller stores them there, and `nix/agent-modules/forge-accounts.nix`
-//! lists [`accounts_dir`] and reads each account. Neither end is senior, so
-//! both halves are stated once, here, beside [`crate::matrix`].
+//! lists [`accounts_dir`] and reads each account. A hive's read-only token
+//! ([`hive_token_path`]) is the third: `swarm-controller` mints it for the
+//! hive's own forge account, and hive-c0re reads it under the hive's
+//! certificate. Neither end is senior, so both halves are stated once, here,
+//! beside [`crate::matrix`].
 
 use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
 
@@ -32,7 +35,34 @@ pub fn agent_token_path(agent: &str) -> Result<String, Error> {
     Ok(format!("{prefix}/forge-token"))
 }
 
-/// What an agent's forge-token path holds.
+/// The forge account `hive` reads the forge as: `swarm-controller` creates it
+/// and mints [`hive_token_path`]'s token for it, and hive-c0re names it in the
+/// basic-auth header that token travels in.
+///
+/// The `hive-` prefix keeps the account reading as a hive's rather than an
+/// agent's, as [`crate::matrix::hive_localpart`] does on the homeserver. It
+/// does not make the name unique: an agent may be called `hive-<x>` too, and
+/// `swarm-controller` tells the two apart by the account's email.
+#[must_use]
+pub fn hive_login(hive: &str) -> String {
+    format!("hive-{hive}")
+}
+
+/// The path holding `hive`'s read-only token for the swarm's forge.
+///
+/// Under [`Kind::Hive`], so the grant that reaches it is the hive's own
+/// `swarm/hives/<this hive>/*` stanza: hive `alpha` reads its own token and
+/// gets a 403 on `beta`'s.
+///
+/// # Errors
+/// [`Error::PathSegment`] when `hive` contains anything but `[A-Za-z0-9_-]`,
+/// which is what keeps one hive's name from addressing another hive's secret.
+pub fn hive_token_path(hive: &str) -> Result<String, Error> {
+    let prefix = principal_prefix(Kind::Hive, hive)?;
+    Ok(format!("{prefix}/forge/token"))
+}
+
+/// What an agent's forge-token path, and a hive's [`hive_token_path`], holds.
 ///
 /// No `Debug` derive: `value` is a live forge credential, and a derived
 /// `Debug` is one `{:?}` away from a log line.
@@ -242,6 +272,44 @@ mod tests {
         assert!(!covered, "argus's policy must not reach atlas's token");
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn the_hive_token_lands_under_the_hive_prefix() {
+        // Spelled out: the controller's bao stanza names the same leaf.
+        assert_eq!(
+            hive_token_path("pr1ma").expect("a plain name is legal"),
+            "swarm/hives/pr1ma/forge/token"
+        );
+        assert_eq!(hive_login("pr1ma"), "hive-pr1ma");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn a_traversal_in_the_hive_name_is_refused() {
+        for bad in ["../beta", "a/b", "a.b", ""] {
+            let e = hive_token_path(bad).expect_err("a traversal is not legal");
+            assert!(matches!(e, Error::PathSegment { kind: "hive", .. }), "{e}");
+        }
+        // The control: the legal charset stays reachable.
+        assert!(hive_token_path("a-b_C9").is_ok());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn a_hive_reaches_its_own_forge_token_and_no_other_hives() {
+        let covered_by = |hive: &str, path: &str| {
+            crate::policy::render(hive)
+                .expect("legal")
+                .lines()
+                .any(|line| {
+                    line.strip_prefix("path \"")
+                        .and_then(|rest| rest.split_once("\" {"))
+                        .and_then(|(p, _)| p.strip_suffix('*'))
+                        .is_some_and(|prefix| format!("secret/data/{path}").starts_with(prefix))
+                })
+        };
+        let alpha = hive_token_path("alpha").expect("legal");
+        assert!(covered_by("alpha", &alpha), "alpha cannot read {alpha}");
+        assert!(!covered_by("beta", &alpha), "beta reaches {alpha}");
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn the_value_field_matches_what_the_nix_reader_asks_for() {
         let json = serde_json::to_string(&Credential {