diff --git a/docs/integrations/forge.md b/docs/integrations/forge.md
index faafa863..9acc6779 100644
--- a/docs/integrations/forge.md
+++ b/docs/integrations/forge.md
@@ -117,11 +117,13 @@ Two things live in the `agent-configs` Forgejo organization:
   hive-c0re pushes nothing to this org; it only reads from it.
   Repos stay private, so an agent can't read another
   agent's config. (Agents remain read-only collaborators on `core/meta`.)
-  hive-c0re also references this repo as the agent's **persistent meta
-  flake input** (`agent-<n>.url = git+http://<forge>/agent-configs/<n>.git`;
-  see [config-changes.md § Meta flake](../agent-lifecycle/config-changes.md#meta-flake)), fetching it as the `core`
-  user via a git credential helper that reads the live forge-core token —
-  so the config lives on the forge, not a hand-synced local checkout.
+  The agent's **persistent meta flake input** is the hive's local `applied`
+  mirror of this repo (`agent-<n>.url = git+file://<applied>`; see
+  [config-changes.md § Meta flake](../agent-lifecycle/config-changes.md#meta-flake)),
+  so building never depends on the forge being reachable. hive-c0re's own git
+  reads of this repo, which fill the mirror, authenticate with the hive's read
+  token through `forge::reader_token()` (see
+  [How a hive reads the forge](#how-a-hive-reads-the-forge)).
 - The dashboard links each container's deployed config commit to this
   config repo on the swarm's forge (`swarm.forge.publicUrl`; `null` means no
   link), so operators can go straight from the SW4RM tab into
diff --git a/nix/host-modules/hive-c0re/default.nix b/nix/host-modules/hive-c0re/default.nix
index 9d030f95..67d0128a 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/hive-c0re/default.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/hive-c0re/default.nix
@@ -43,12 +43,11 @@ let
   # (mid-path globs aren't supported, so per-agent repos can't be listed);
   # in practice these processes only ever touch hyperhive's own repos.
   #
-  # The agent config inputs now live on the forge
-  # (`git+http://${forge.domain}/agent-configs/<n>.git`, see meta.rs render),
-  # so hive-core's `nix flake update` of those inputs is an authenticated
-  # `git+http` fetch. The `[credential]` stanza points git at the `hive-forge`
-  # helper below (scoped to the forge host) so the fetch authenticates as the
-  # forge `core` user with no token in any URL or lock.
+  # The agent config inputs are local `git+file` mirrors of the applied repos
+  # (meta.rs render), so the meta flake fetches nothing from the forge. The
+  # `[credential]` stanza points git at the `hive-forge` helper below, scoped
+  # to the forge host, for any `git+http` fetch from it as the forge `core`
+  # user. hive-c0re's own forge reads use `forge::reader_token()` instead.
   safeDirGitconfig = pkgs.writeText "hyperhive-safe-gitconfig" ''
     [safe]
     directory = *
@@ -66,12 +65,13 @@ let
     lowSpeedTime = 30
   '';
 
-  # git credential helper for hive-core's authenticated fetches of the
-  # agent-config repos on the forge. Reads the live forge-core admin token
+  # git credential helper answering for the forge host as `core`. Reads the
+  # live forge-core admin token
   # (`/var/lib/hyperhive/forge-core-token` — paths.rs `FORGE_CORE_TOKEN`) on
   # every invocation, so it never holds a stale copy and survives token
-  # rotation. Scoped to the forge host by the `[credential]` stanza above;
-  # implements the git credential-helper protocol (only `get` answers).
+  # rotation; prints nothing where that file is absent. Scoped to the forge
+  # host by the `[credential]` stanza above; implements the git
+  # credential-helper protocol (only `get` answers).
   forgeCredHelper = pkgs.writeShellScriptBin "git-credential-hive-forge" ''
     [ "''${1:-}" = "get" ] || exit 0
     if [ -r /var/lib/hyperhive/forge-core-token ]; then