diff --git a/hive-priv/src/main.rs b/hive-priv/src/main.rs
index 8728c93d..9610d605 100644
--- a/hive-priv/src/main.rs
+++ b/hive-priv/src/main.rs
@@ -1419,8 +1419,15 @@ async fn container_run(args: &[&str]) -> Result<(String, String)> {
         .context("invoke nixos-container")?;
     let stdout = String::from_utf8_lossy(&out.stdout).into_owned();
     let stderr = String::from_utf8_lossy(&out.stderr).into_owned();
-    for line in stdout.lines() {
-        tracing::info!(target: "nixos-container", "{line}");
+    // `list` is a read-only enumeration called on the hot path (dashboard
+    // rescan, forge + boot sweeps) — its stdout is the return value, not
+    // progress, so logging every container name on every call floods the
+    // journal. Log stdout only for the mutating ops, where each line is
+    // genuine progress. stderr is always logged (errors matter regardless).
+    if args.first() != Some(&"list") {
+        for line in stdout.lines() {
+            tracing::info!(target: "nixos-container", "{line}");
+        }
     }
     for line in stderr.lines() {
         tracing::warn!(target: "nixos-container", "{line}");