diff --git a/nix/host-modules/swarm-bao.nix b/nix/host-modules/swarm-bao.nix
index 3535284f..78c5a6f9 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/swarm-bao.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/swarm-bao.nix
@@ -2652,6 +2652,22 @@ in
           RemainAfterExit = true;
           Restart = "on-failure";
           RestartSec = 30;
+          # Runs only once the script above exits 0, which is when the
+          # granter may first configure `auth/oidc`; the viewer unit exits 0
+          # without doing so before then, and nothing else re-runs it. A
+          # restart because it is `RemainAfterExit`, where a start is a
+          # no-op.
+          #
+          # `--no-block`: the viewer unit is ordered after this one, so a
+          # blocking restart waits on a job that cannot run until this unit
+          # is active, which it is not until this command returns.
+          #
+          # `postStart` can't carry the leading `-`, which is why this is
+          # `ExecStartPost` directly: without it, a viewer unit that is
+          # already running (or a `systemctl` that itself fails to enqueue
+          # the job) would mark the granter failed and trigger its own
+          # `Restart=on-failure` for a problem that isn't the granter's.
+          ExecStartPost = "-${pkgs.systemd}/bin/systemctl restart --no-block swarm-bao-operator-viewer-policy.service";
         };
         script = ''
           set -euo pipefail
@@ -2717,17 +2733,6 @@ in
             token_ttl=15m \
             token_max_ttl=15m
         '';
-        # Runs only once the script above exits 0, which is when the granter
-        # may first configure `auth/oidc`; the viewer unit exits 0 without
-        # doing so before then, and nothing else re-runs it. A restart because
-        # it is `RemainAfterExit`, where a start is a no-op.
-        #
-        # `--no-block`: the viewer unit is ordered after this one, so a
-        # blocking restart waits on a job that cannot run until this unit is
-        # active, which it is not until this command returns.
-        postStart = ''
-          systemctl restart --no-block swarm-bao-operator-viewer-policy.service
-        '';
       };
 
       # The swarm's first grant, written from the HOST. Every API listener but
diff --git a/nix/module-eval/bao-grants.nix b/nix/module-eval/bao-grants.nix
index 9156f0c0..aa61b8a0 100644
--- a/nix/module-eval/bao-grants.nix
+++ b/nix/module-eval/bao-grants.nix
@@ -1492,14 +1492,18 @@ let
       # success restarts that unit: a restart since the unit is
       # `RemainAfterExit`, `--no-block` since it is ordered after the granter.
       # The ordering is one-way, so the viewer's retries never reach back.
-      name = "a successful granter step restarts the viewer unit without blocking";
+      # `ExecStartPost` directly, not `postStart` (which can't carry a
+      # leading `-`), and the `-` is load-bearing: a failed enqueue must not
+      # mark the granter itself failed.
+      name = "a successful granter step restarts the viewer unit without blocking, and the enqueue can't fail the granter";
       ok =
         let
           s = baoGrantHere.systemd.services;
           g = s.swarm-bao-granter-role;
           v = s.swarm-bao-operator-viewer-policy;
         in
-        lib.hasInfix "systemctl restart --no-block swarm-bao-operator-viewer-policy.service" g.postStart
+        lib.hasPrefix "-" g.serviceConfig.ExecStartPost
+        && lib.hasInfix "systemctl restart --no-block swarm-bao-operator-viewer-policy.service" g.serviceConfig.ExecStartPost
         && lib.elem "swarm-bao-granter-role.service" v.after
         && !(lib.elem "swarm-bao-operator-viewer-policy.service" g.after)
         && !(v ? postStart && lib.hasInfix "swarm-bao-granter-role" v.postStart);