diff --git a/nix/host-modules/hive-forge/default.nix b/nix/host-modules/hive-forge/default.nix
index f207c627..abe84206 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/hive-forge/default.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/hive-forge/default.nix
@@ -327,6 +327,13 @@ in
             '';
           };
 
+          # ⚠️ Forgejo strips trailing slashes before routing, so `/metrics/`
+          # reaches the same unauthenticated handler — and the exact match
+          # above does not take it, leaving it to the `/` catch-all. nginx
+          # merges slashes and decodes `%2F` before matching, so this one
+          # location also takes `/metrics//` and `/metrics%2F`.
+          "= /metrics/".return = "404";
+
           # The subrequest. Same implementation and header set as
           # `swarm-ui.nix` uses, for the same reason: `X-Original-URL`
           # and `X-Original-Method` are what authelia's `auth-request`
diff --git a/nix/host-modules/swarm-authelia.nix b/nix/host-modules/swarm-authelia.nix
index c514460a..a5c5d760 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/swarm-authelia.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/swarm-authelia.nix
@@ -84,7 +84,11 @@ let
         parts = builtins.match "https://([^/]+)(/.*)" url;
         target = {
           domain = builtins.elemAt parts 0;
-          resources = [ "^${lib.escapeRegex (builtins.elemAt parts 1)}$" ];
+          # ⚠️ Authelia matches `resources` against the cleaned path PLUS the
+          # query string, while nginx's `= <path>` location ignores the query.
+          # A bare `^<path>$` therefore misses `<path>?x`, which the location
+          # still serves, and that request falls through to `default_policy`.
+          resources = [ "^${lib.escapeRegex (builtins.elemAt parts 1)}([?].*)?$" ];
         };
       in
       if parts == null then
diff --git a/nix/module-eval/swarm-otel-identity.nix b/nix/module-eval/swarm-otel-identity.nix
index 6d22d213..bf666f9f 100644
--- a/nix/module-eval/swarm-otel-identity.nix
+++ b/nix/module-eval/swarm-otel-identity.nix
@@ -107,8 +107,10 @@ let
   forgeMetricsUrl = "https://forge.t.local/metrics";
   autheliaMetricsUrl = "https://auth.t.local/metrics";
 
-  # The policy authelia applies to `subject` requesting `https://<domain><path>`:
-  # the first rule whose domain, resources and subject all match, else
+  # The policy authelia applies to `subject` requesting `https://<domain><path>`,
+  # where `path` is what authelia matches `resources` against: the cleaned path
+  # plus `?<query>` when there is one.
+  # It is the first rule whose domain, resources and subject all match, else
   # `default_policy`. ⚠️ A rule with a `subject` list does NOT match a subject
   # outside it — authelia moves on to the next rule — which is the semantics a
   # check of the rule's own fields cannot see.
@@ -214,7 +216,7 @@ let
         && builtins.elem forgeMetricsUrl client.audience
         && builtins.elem {
           domain = "forge.t.local";
-          resources = [ "^/metrics$" ];
+          resources = [ "^/metrics([?].*)?$" ];
           policy = "one_factor";
           subject = [ "oauth2:client:${h.swarm.otel.clientId}" ];
         } rules;
@@ -251,17 +253,30 @@ let
     }
     {
       # Every published target admits the collector's client and refuses any
-      # other authenticated subject. Read through authelia's first-match
-      # semantics: a client-scoped rule alone lets an operator's session fall
-      # through to `default_policy = one_factor`.
+      # other authenticated subject, with or without a query string. Read
+      # through authelia's first-match semantics: a client-scoped rule alone
+      # lets an operator's session fall through to `default_policy = one_factor`,
+      # and so does a request the rule's regex does not match.
       name = "every published metrics URL admits the collector and refuses a plain session";
       ok =
         let
           h = autheliaOnly.services.hyperhive;
           collector = "oauth2:client:${h.swarm.otel.clientId}";
-          targets = lib.mapAttrsToList (
-            _: url: builtins.match "https://([^/]+)(/.*)" url
-          ) h.swarm.otel.publishedScrapeTargets;
+          targets = lib.concatMap (
+            url:
+            let
+              t = builtins.match "https://([^/]+)(/.*)" url;
+            in
+            map
+              (q: [
+                (builtins.elemAt t 0)
+                "${builtins.elemAt t 1}${q}"
+              ])
+              [
+                ""
+                "?x=1"
+              ]
+          ) (lib.attrValues h.swarm.otel.publishedScrapeTargets);
           policy =
             subject: t: autheliaPolicy autheliaOnly subject (builtins.elemAt t 0) (builtins.elemAt t 1);
         in
@@ -269,10 +284,70 @@ let
           autheliaMetricsUrl
           forgeMetricsUrl
         ]
+        && lib.length targets == 4
         && lib.all (t: policy collector t == "one_factor") targets
         && lib.all (t: policy "user:someone" t == "deny") targets
         && lib.all (t: policy "group:admins" t == "deny") targets;
     }
+    {
+      # Which request forms reach `= /metrics`, and whether the rule's regex
+      # matches the path authelia derives from each. `nginx` records the
+      # location each form lands in (measured against a stand-alone nginx);
+      # `path` is authelia's cleaned path plus query for that form. The
+      # invariant: every form the gated location serves is matched by the rule,
+      # so none of them reaches `default_policy`.
+      name = "the metrics rule matches every request form the gated location serves";
+      ok =
+        let
+          rules =
+            autheliaOnly.containers.swarm-authelia.config.services.authelia.instances.swarm.settings.access_control.rules;
+          metricsRules = lib.filter (r: r ? resources) rules;
+          re = lib.head (lib.head metricsRules).resources;
+          table = [
+            {
+              request = "/metrics";
+              nginx = "= /metrics";
+              path = "/metrics";
+            }
+            {
+              request = "/metrics?x=1";
+              nginx = "= /metrics";
+              path = "/metrics?x=1";
+            }
+            {
+              request = "//metrics";
+              nginx = "= /metrics";
+              path = "/metrics";
+            }
+            {
+              request = "/metrics/";
+              nginx = "= /metrics/ (forge: 404) or /";
+              path = "/metrics/";
+            }
+            {
+              request = "/metricsx";
+              nginx = "/";
+              path = "/metricsx";
+            }
+          ];
+          matched = row: builtins.match re row.path != null;
+        in
+        lib.length metricsRules == 4
+        && lib.all (r: r.resources == [ re ]) metricsRules
+        && re == "^/metrics([?].*)?$"
+        && lib.all (row: matched row == (row.nginx == "= /metrics")) table;
+    }
+    {
+      # Forgejo strips trailing slashes before routing, so `/metrics/` reaches
+      # its metrics handler unless nginx refuses it first.
+      name = "the forge refuses /metrics/ rather than proxying it to forgejo's metrics";
+      ok =
+        let
+          locs =
+            allLocal.services.nginx.virtualHosts.${allLocal.services.hyperhive.swarm.forge.domain}.locations;
+        in
+        (locs."= /metrics/".return or null) == "404";
+    }
     {
       # Single host: authelia is scraped once, by its published name. A
       # loopback job beside it would scrape the same listener twice — and share