diff --git a/docs/getting-started/setup.md b/docs/getting-started/setup.md
index b13fd5f2..9ccdf24d 100644
--- a/docs/getting-started/setup.md
+++ b/docs/getting-started/setup.md
@@ -37,13 +37,13 @@ systemctl restart swarm-bao-granter-role
 
 Check `systemctl status swarm-bao-granter-role` logs
 `Uploaded policy: bao-granter`, then restart the granting units that
-failed while they waited, and remove the token:
+failed while they waited. The granter unit deletes the token itself after a
+successful run:
 
 ```bash
 systemctl reset-failed 'swarm-bao-*-policy.service' swarm-bao-agent-pki.service
 systemctl restart 'swarm-bao-*-policy.service' swarm-bao-agent-pki.service
 systemctl status swarm-bao-controller-policy   # Uploaded policy, Data written to: auth/cert/certs/swarm-controller
-rm /var/lib/swarm-bao-bootstrap/grant.token
 ```
 
 ⏱️ A first attempt right after a rebuild may fail with `local node not
diff --git a/docs/swarm/bao.md b/docs/swarm/bao.md
index 4bc27926..37fda90b 100644
--- a/docs/swarm/bao.md
+++ b/docs/swarm/bao.md
@@ -43,7 +43,10 @@ TTL means a forgotten file expires rather than lingering.
 A sealed or unreachable store makes the unit retry every 30 s. A store that
 refuses the token (expired, revoked, or missing the `bao-bootstrap` policy)
 makes it exit 4 and stay `failed` with the one-time step in its log; mint a
-fresh token or remove the file, then restart it.
+fresh token or remove the file, then restart it. If the granter's own
+certificate login already works, the unit logs that the bootstrap token isn't
+needed and exits 0, so a stale file is harmless. A successful run deletes the
+token file.
 
 After that, a new or changed `swarm-*` grant needs no operator step: the unit
 that writes it changes, and the deploy restarts it. A root step comes back only
diff --git a/nix/host-modules/swarm-bao.nix b/nix/host-modules/swarm-bao.nix
index f3a8240b..59516aee 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/swarm-bao.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/swarm-bao.nix
@@ -3182,6 +3182,17 @@ in
           # revoked, or minted without that policy.
           if ! mounted="$(bao auth list -format=json 2>"$err")"; then
             if ${baoStoreUp}; then
+              # A dead token beside a working granter is the steady state of
+              # a host that finished bootstrap and kept the file. The
+              # granter's own login is the proof. A fresh token still takes
+              # the full path below, since the granter cannot read back its
+              # own policy to compare it.
+              if BAO_CLIENT_CERT=${lib.escapeShellArg baoDeploy.granterClientCertFile} \
+                BAO_CLIENT_KEY=${lib.escapeShellArg baoDeploy.granterClientKeyFile} \
+                bao login -method=cert -token-only >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+                echo "granter role already in place; bootstrap token not needed"
+                exit 0
+              fi
               echo ${lib.escapeShellArg "the store is unsealed but refused the bootstrap token in ${baoDeploy.bootstrapTokenFile}: it has expired, been revoked, or does not carry the bao-bootstrap policy."} >&2
               echo "one-time step, as root on this host (docs/getting-started/setup.md):" >&2
               ${lib.concatMapStringsSep "\n" (l: "echo ${lib.escapeShellArg "  ${l}"} >&2") granterSetupSteps}
@@ -3224,6 +3235,9 @@ in
             display_name=${lib.escapeShellArg granterCn} \
             token_ttl=15m \
             token_max_ttl=15m
+
+          # Single-use by design; the setup procedure's last step.
+          rm -f ${lib.escapeShellArg baoDeploy.bootstrapTokenFile}
         '';
       };
 
diff --git a/nix/module-eval/bao-grants.nix b/nix/module-eval/bao-grants.nix
index b92c2487..4535ff27 100644
--- a/nix/module-eval/bao-grants.nix
+++ b/nix/module-eval/bao-grants.nix
@@ -1112,6 +1112,28 @@ let
           [ "swarm-bao-granter-role" ] ++ grantingUnitNames
         );
     }
+    {
+      # A dead token beside a working granter exits 0; one with no working
+      # granter still reaches exit 4; a successful run removes the token file.
+      # Presence controls: the controller's unit has neither the no-op line
+      # nor the delete.
+      name = "the granter's unit no-ops on a working granter login, still exits 4 without one, and deletes the token";
+      ok =
+        let
+          g = baoGrantHere.systemd.services.swarm-bao-granter-role.script;
+          other = baoGrantHere.systemd.services.swarm-bao-controller-policy.script;
+          noop = "granter role already in place; bootstrap token not needed";
+          del = "rm -f /run/secrets/bao-bootstrap.token";
+          before = lib.head (lib.splitString "refused the bootstrap token" g);
+        in
+        lib.hasInfix noop before
+        && lib.hasInfix "bao login -method=cert -token-only" before
+        && lib.hasInfix "BAO_CLIENT_CERT=" before
+        && lib.hasInfix del g
+        && lib.hasInfix "exit 4" g
+        && !(lib.hasInfix noop other)
+        && !(lib.hasInfix del other);
+    }
     {
       # Every granting unit retries a sealed or late store for a day, in the
       # `[Unit]` section systemd reads it from, and waits for the unit that