the CA fetch logs which trust anchor it uses for bao

docs/networking/gateway.md

@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ The issuer is the **secret store's `pki` mount**, not a bare self-signed leaf. `
 
 **Why an issuer, not a bare leaf**: a bare self-signed leaf is its own trust anchor, so every regeneration is a new anchor every consumer must re-trust, and an agent's build sets its trust store once, before any leaf exists. Agents and federation peers trust the store's root once; leaf rotation never breaks them.
 
-**What consumers trust**: `trust-bundle.pem` in the same state dir. It carries the store's `pki` root ([`swarm/ca.md`](../swarm/ca.md#the-trust-bundle)). nginx serves the leaf alone, since its issuer is a self-signed root. Agents (via `security.pki.certificateFiles`), the CI and forge containers and federating peers all read the bundle.
+**What consumers trust**: `trust-bundle.pem` in the same state dir. It carries the store's `pki` root ([`swarm/ca.md`](../swarm/ca.md#the-trust-bundle)). nginx serves the leaf alone, since its issuer is a self-signed root. The CI and forge containers and federating peers read the bundle. Agents fetch the root from the store themselves ([`swarm/ca.md`](../swarm/ca.md#distributing-the-root)).
 
 **Why on by default**: matrix-dart-sdk (FluffyChat's SDK) fetches `https://<host>/.well-known/matrix/client` and never falls back to plain http, so without TLS the browser client can't bootstrap.
 

docs/swarm/ca.md

@@ -240,14 +240,10 @@ naming, because it's subtle and it bites at a distance:
 > the store's root.** The derivation reads `security.pki.certificateFiles`
 > inside itself; the root doesn't exist there.
 
-Two consumers, and only one of them is fine:
+Two consumers, both reading the root at runtime:
 
-- **`hive-tls.nix` covers agents.** It folds the root into this hive's
-  `trust-bundle.pem`, `glue-hive-tls-controllers.nix` hands hive-c0re that
-  path as `HIVE_TLS_CA_PATH`, and the meta-flake renderer embeds that one
-  file next to every agent's flake. The bundle is the runtime-to-build-time
-  bridge.
-- **The Matrix container crosses the same bridge**, via the shared
+- **Agents fetch it themselves.** `hive-agent-trust-bundle.service` (`nix/agent-modules/hive-ca.nix`) reads `<mount>/ca/pem` from the store with the agent's own store certificate, then writes `/run/hive-agent-trust-bundle/bundle.pem` (system CAs plus the root) and `root.pem` (the root alone). The agent's units point `SSL_CERT_FILE` at the first (Rust, Go and OpenSSL clients) and `NODE_EXTRA_CA_CERTS` at the second (Node and Claude Code), and order after the unit with `Requires=`. The meta flake names no CA file, and a timer re-reads the root hourly. A consumer reads it at start, so a rotated root reaches an agent unit at its next start.
+- **The Matrix container gets a bind mount**, via the shared
   `lib/hive-ca-trust.nix` helper that `hive-forge` and `swarm-ci-runner`
   use: the bundle is bind-mounted read-only into the container, and a
   oneshot concatenates it with the system CAs before tuwunel starts.

docs/swarm/secrets.md

@@ -590,8 +590,8 @@ The store's `swarm-services` role issues them instead, from the root inside its
 certificate is the only anchor the swarm has. Each hive fetches the certificate
 from the store at boot, so nothing build-time can name it — the system reads
 `security.pki.certificateFiles`' value at build time, which makes it the wrong
-tool here. Trust reaches containers through a bind-mounted bundle assembled at
-boot instead.
+tool here. Host containers get a bind-mounted bundle assembled at boot; an
+agent fetches the root itself with its own store certificate.
 
 ## Adding a secret
 

hive-c0re/src/meta.rs

@@ -100,15 +100,7 @@ pub async fn sync_agents(hive: &HiveEnv, agents: &[AgentSpec]) -> Result<()> {
     let on_disk = std::fs::read_to_string(&flake_path).unwrap_or_default();
     let initial = !dir.join(".git").exists();
 
-    // Embedded-CA list: keep the `./hive-ca.pem` file at the meta root in
-    // lockstep with its host source so the build-time `certificateFiles`
-    // list render_flake emits always resolves. Empty when the hive has no
-    // trust bundle.
-    let (ca_files, ca_changed) = ca_embed_state(&dir);
-
-    // Skip only when both the flake AND the embedded CA are unchanged — a
-    // CA rotation with an otherwise-identical flake must still re-commit.
-    if !initial && on_disk == new_flake && !ca_changed {
+    if !initial && on_disk == new_flake {
         return Ok(());
     }
 
@@ -130,10 +122,9 @@ pub async fn sync_agents(hive: &HiveEnv, agents: &[AgentSpec]) -> Result<()> {
     std::fs::write(&flake_path, &new_flake)
         .with_context(|| format!("write {}", flake_path.display()))?;
 
-    // Materialise the embedded CA list next to flake.nix + drop any stale
-    // CA file; `ca_touched` is every filename written or removed, staged
-    // for commit below. Public CA certs only; no private key is embedded.
-    let ca_touched = materialise_ca_files(&dir, &ca_files)?;
+    // Agents fetch the swarm root from the store at boot, so no CA file sits
+    // next to the flake; drop the ones earlier renders left behind.
+    let ca_touched = remove_stale_ca_files(&dir);
 
     // Reconcile topology.json against the live agent set — adds
     // newly-spawned agents and drops removed ones. Idempotent; when
@@ -175,8 +166,7 @@ pub async fn sync_agents(hive: &HiveEnv, agents: &[AgentSpec]) -> Result<()> {
     // contain '/flake.nix'". Lock then commit once with both
     // flake.nix and flake.lock — single commit per change.
     git(&dir, &["add", "flake.nix"]).await?;
-    // Stage every embedded CA file we wrote or removed (trust bundle +
-    // stale peer CAs). `git add <path>` stages a deletion when the path is
+    // Stage every stale CA file removed above. `git add <path>` stages a deletion when the path is
     // tracked and now gone; best-effort so the never-tracked-and-absent case
     // (pathspec mismatch) is a harmless no-op.
     for name in &ca_touched {
@@ -204,9 +194,8 @@ pub async fn sync_agents(hive: &HiveEnv, agents: &[AgentSpec]) -> Result<()> {
             .filter_map(|f| match f.as_str() {
                 "flake.nix" => Some("flake"),
                 "flake.lock" => Some("lock"),
-                "hive-ca.pem" => Some("hive-ca"),
-                // Only ever a REMOVAL now; see `is_embedded_ca_name`.
-                f if f.starts_with("peer-ca-") && has_pem_ext(f) => Some("peer-ca"),
+                // Only ever a removal; see `remove_stale_ca_files`.
+                f if is_stale_ca_name(f) => Some("stale-ca"),
                 "topology.json" => Some("topology"),
                 _ => None,
             })
@@ -394,6 +383,9 @@ const FORWARDED_VARS: &[&str] = &[
     // hive's store environment wholesale — the address is the only part of it
     // an agent may have, the certificate beside it being the hive's own.
     "HIVE_AGENT_BAO_ADDR",
+    // The mount path of the store's services `pki` engine, whose root an agent
+    // fetches to trust the swarm. Forwarded with the address, under the same gate.
+    "HIVE_AGENT_BAO_SERVICES_PKI_MOUNT",
     // Where an agent's `swarm-logs` queries, computed by the host for the
     // same reason as the two above: it is a gateway address, and a container
     // cannot derive it from anything it holds.
@@ -437,6 +429,12 @@ const FORWARDED_VAR_OPTIONS: &[(&str, &str)] = &[
     // environment, so an agent whose option says no store and whose env says
     // otherwise would have a check that is simply not there.
     ("HIVE_AGENT_BAO_ADDR", "services.hyperhive.agent.bao.addr"),
+    // Read at build time to bake the root-fetch URL into
+    // `nix/agent-modules/hive-ca.nix`'s unit.
+    (
+        "HIVE_AGENT_BAO_SERVICES_PKI_MOUNT",
+        "services.hyperhive.agent.bao.servicesPkiMount",
+    ),
     // Read at build time to decide whether `swarm-logs` is installed at all —
     // see `nix/agent-modules/logs.nix`. Both halves wired for this map's own
     // reason: an agent whose option says no log store and whose env says
@@ -537,30 +535,6 @@ fn forwarded_env_vars() -> Vec<(&'static str, String)> {
         .collect()
 }
 
-/// Filename the hive's own trust anchors are embedded under at the
-/// meta-flake root — the only entry of the embedded-CA list
-/// `render_flake` references in `security.pki.certificateFiles` (see
-/// `embedded_ca_files`).
-const HIVE_CA_FILE: &str = "hive-ca.pem";
-
-/// Host path of the hive's TLS trust anchors, when self-signed TLS is
-/// active. The hyperhive TLS module sets `HIVE_TLS_CA_PATH` in hive-c0re's env
-/// (to `<deploy.hive-controller.tls.stateDir>/trust-bundle.pem`) whenever the
-/// gateway serves a leaf issued by the secret store's `pki` mount. The
-/// file holds that mount's root, the one anchor every hive's gateway leaf
-/// chains to, and is copied verbatim, which `security.pki.certificateFiles`
-/// accepts; nothing here parses it. Returns `Some(path)` only when the var
-/// is set AND the cert exists on disk — so render + write stay consistent
-/// (we never emit a `certificateFiles` reference to a file we didn't
-/// embed). Only the public cert is ever read here.
-fn hive_ca_source() -> Option<String> {
-    let path = std::env::var("HIVE_TLS_CA_PATH").ok()?;
-    if path.is_empty() || !std::path::Path::new(&path).is_file() {
-        return None;
-    }
-    Some(path)
-}
-
 /// Extra `OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES` entries for every agent, read off
 /// hive-c0re's own unit env
 /// (`services.hyperhive.deploy.hive-controller.otel.extraResourceAttributes`).
@@ -574,105 +548,32 @@ fn otel_extra_resource_attributes() -> Option<String> {
         .filter(|v| !v.is_empty())
 }
 
-/// The ordered set of CA certs embedded next to the meta flake, as
-/// `(filename, host_source_path)` — now just the hive's own trust
-/// anchors as `hive-ca.pem`, when self-signed TLS is active.
-///
-/// That single file carries the store's `pki` root (the hyperhive TLS
-/// module writes it into the trust bundle), so every hive's gateway leaf
-/// validates from it and nothing is embedded per peer.
-///
-/// `render_flake` emits exactly these filenames into
-/// `security.pki.certificateFiles` and `sync_agents` materialises them,
-/// so the rendered reference and the embedded files always agree.
-fn embedded_ca_files() -> Vec<(String, String)> {
-    let mut out = Vec::new();
-    if let Some(p) = hive_ca_source() {
-        out.push((HIVE_CA_FILE.to_owned(), p));
-    }
-    out
-}
-
-/// Write each desired embedded CA file next to `flake.nix` and remove
-/// any stale one (self-signed TLS turned off, or a leftover peer CA),
-/// so the flake never references a file we didn't write. Returns every
-/// filename written or removed, for the caller to stage. The public CA
-/// certs only; no private key is ever embedded.
-fn materialise_ca_files(dir: &Path, ca_files: &[(String, String)]) -> Result<Vec<String>> {
-    let desired: std::collections::HashSet<&str> =
-        ca_files.iter().map(|(n, _)| n.as_str()).collect();
-    let mut touched: Vec<String> = Vec::new();
+/// Remove the CA files earlier renders embedded next to `flake.nix`
+/// (`hive-ca.pem`, and the per-peer `peer-ca-<N>.pem` before it), returning
+/// every filename removed so the caller stages the deletion. Nothing writes
+/// one now: agents fetch the swarm root from the store at boot, so a file left
+/// here is referenced by nothing.
+fn remove_stale_ca_files(dir: &Path) -> Vec<String> {
+    let mut removed = Vec::new();
     if let Ok(entries) = std::fs::read_dir(dir) {
         for e in entries.flatten() {
             let fname = e.file_name();
             let Some(name) = fname.to_str() else { continue };
-            if is_embedded_ca_name(name) && !desired.contains(name) {
-                let _ = std::fs::remove_file(dir.join(name));
-                touched.push(name.to_owned());
+            if is_stale_ca_name(name) && std::fs::remove_file(dir.join(name)).is_ok() {
+                removed.push(name.to_owned());
             }
         }
     }
-    for (name, content) in ca_files {
-        let path = dir.join(name);
-        std::fs::write(&path, content).with_context(|| format!("write {}", path.display()))?;
-        touched.push(name.clone());
-    }
-    Ok(touched)
+    removed
 }
 
-/// True for a filename the embedded-CA machinery owns. Lets
-/// `sync_agents` find stale CA files to clean up (a CA dropped from
-/// config) without touching unrelated meta files.
-///
-/// ⚠️ Still matches `peer-ca-<N>.pem`, which `embedded_ca_files` no
-/// longer produces — deliberately. Cleanup is driven by
-/// "recognised but not desired", so this arm is exactly what removes a
-/// per-peer CA file still sitting at a meta root. Drop it and those files
-/// are orphaned at every meta root forever, referenced by nothing and
-/// cleaned by nobody.
-fn is_embedded_ca_name(name: &str) -> bool {
-    name == HIVE_CA_FILE || (name.starts_with("peer-ca-") && has_pem_ext(name))
-}
-
-/// True when `name` ends in a `.pem` extension (case-insensitive). Split
-/// out so the embedded-CA filename checks share one spelling and dodge
-/// clippy's case-sensitive-extension lint.
-fn has_pem_ext(name: &str) -> bool {
-    Path::new(name)
+/// True for the filenames [`remove_stale_ca_files`] owns.
+fn is_stale_ca_name(name: &str) -> bool {
+    name == "hive-ca.pem"
+        || (name.starts_with("peer-ca-")
+            && Path::new(name)
                 .extension()
-        .is_some_and(|ext| ext.eq_ignore_ascii_case("pem"))
-}
-
-/// Embedded-CA state for the meta repo: `(desired_files, changed)`.
-/// `desired_files` is `(filename, contents)` for every CA that should sit
-/// next to flake.nix. `changed` is true when the on-disk set differs in
-/// any way — the file's contents changed, a CA appeared, or a
-/// previously-embedded CA (`hive-ca.pem` / a legacy `peer-ca-*.pem`) is
-/// no longer wanted (stale, to be removed). Drives both the re-commit
-/// decision and the materialise/cleanup in `sync_agents`, so a CA
-/// rotation re-commits even when the flake itself is byte-identical.
-fn ca_embed_state(dir: &std::path::Path) -> (Vec<(String, String)>, bool) {
-    let desired: Vec<(String, String)> = embedded_ca_files()
-        .into_iter()
-        .filter_map(|(name, path)| std::fs::read_to_string(&path).ok().map(|c| (name, c)))
-        .collect();
-    let desired_names: std::collections::HashSet<&str> =
-        desired.iter().map(|(n, _)| n.as_str()).collect();
-
-    let mut changed = desired.iter().any(|(name, content)| {
-        std::fs::read_to_string(dir.join(name)).unwrap_or_default() != *content
-    });
-
-    // A previously-embedded CA file no longer wanted → stale (removal is
-    // a change even when every desired file already matches on disk).
-    if !changed && let Ok(entries) = std::fs::read_dir(dir) {
-        changed = entries.flatten().any(|e| {
-            e.file_name()
-                .to_str()
-                .is_some_and(|name| is_embedded_ca_name(name) && !desired_names.contains(name))
-        });
-    }
-    (desired, changed)
+                .is_some_and(|ext| ext.eq_ignore_ascii_case("pem")))
 }
 
 /// Resolve every custom agent's [`AgentPin`] and return `agents` with it set.
@@ -862,26 +763,6 @@ fn render_flake(
             "              services.hyperhive.agent.claudeCodePath = \"{path}\";"
         );
     }
-    // CA trust: embed the hive's trust bundle so each agent validates
-    // the store's `pki` root at build time (one file; see
-    // `hive_ca_source`). `certificateFiles` is build-time, so the certs
-    // travel with the flake source: `sync_agents` writes `./hive-ca.pem`
-    // next to flake.nix and stages it. Only public CA certs are embedded;
-    // no private key ever leaves the host. The filename list matches
-    // `sync_agents` exactly (both derive it from `embedded_ca_files`), so
-    // we never reference a file we didn't embed; emitted only when the
-    // list is non-empty.
-    let ca_refs: Vec<String> = embedded_ca_files()
-        .into_iter()
-        .map(|(name, _)| format!("./{name}"))
-        .collect();
-    if !ca_refs.is_empty() {
-        let _ = writeln!(
-            out,
-            "              security.pki.certificateFiles = [ {} ];",
-            ca_refs.join(" ")
-        );
-    }
     // Extra OTEL resource labels (`deploy.hive-controller.otel.*`) are the one
     // OTEL value rendered here; enablement and the collector endpoint are
     // agent-module defaults.
@@ -2005,24 +1886,13 @@ mod tests {
     }
 
     #[test]
-    fn render_flake_embeds_hive_ca_when_signalled() {
-        // When the hyperhive TLS module signals a trust bundle via
-        // HIVE_TLS_CA_PATH (and the cert exists), the agent module must
-        // trust it at build time via security.pki.certificateFiles. Absent
-        // the signal, no reference is emitted (so the flake doesn't point at
-        // a file that was never embedded).
+    fn render_flake_embeds_no_ca() {
+        // Agents fetch the swarm root from the store at boot; the flake names
+        // no CA file whatever the host env says, including the variable
+        // hive-c0re used to embed from.
         //
-        // Serialised against every other env-mutating test in the crate. Taken
-        // before the fixture files so the guard covers the whole window in
-        // which HIVE_TLS_CA_PATH / HIVE_PEER_CA_PATHS are perturbed.
+        // Serialised against every other env-mutating test in the crate.
         let _env = crate::test_env::lock();
-        let ca_file = std::env::temp_dir().join(format!("hive-ca-test-{}.pem", std::process::id()));
-        std::fs::write(
-            &ca_file,
-            "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\ntest\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----\n",
-        )
-        .expect("write temp CA");
-
         let render = || {
             render(
                 "git+https://forge.example/hyperhive/hyperhive.git?rev=0123abcd",
@@ -2031,70 +1901,59 @@ mod tests {
                 &[sample_spec("alice", 9001)],
             )
         };
-
-        // A leftover peer-CA file + the env var that names it. Both must be
-        // inert: the store's root rides in the hive's own trust bundle, so
-        // nothing per-peer is embedded.
-        let stale_peer =
-            std::env::temp_dir().join(format!("peer-ca0-test-{}.pem", std::process::id()));
-        std::fs::write(
-            &stale_peer,
-            "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\np0\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----\n",
-        )
-        .expect("write stale peer CA");
-
         // SAFETY: serialised by the guard at the top of this test; restored
         // before returning.
         unsafe {
-            std::env::remove_var("HIVE_PEER_CA_PATHS");
-            std::env::set_var("HIVE_TLS_CA_PATH", &ca_file);
+            std::env::set_var("HIVE_TLS_CA_PATH", "/nonexistent/trust-bundle.pem");
         }
-        let with_ca = render();
-        unsafe {
-            std::env::set_var("HIVE_PEER_CA_PATHS", stale_peer.display().to_string());
-        }
-        let with_stale_peer_env = render();
-        // The stale var alone, with no trust bundle: must produce nothing.
+        let flake = render();
         unsafe {
             std::env::remove_var("HIVE_TLS_CA_PATH");
         }
-        let stale_peer_env_only = render();
-        unsafe {
-            std::env::remove_var("HIVE_PEER_CA_PATHS");
+        // Presence control: the render does carry per-agent module config, so
+        // the absences below are not an empty render.
+        assert!(
+            flake.contains("services.hyperhive.agent."),
+            "per-agent module block missing:\n{flake}"
+        );
+        for needle in ["hive-ca.pem", "certificateFiles", "peer-ca-"] {
+            assert!(
+                !flake.contains(needle),
+                "the flake must not name {needle}:\n{flake}"
+            );
+        }
     }
-        let without_ca = render();
-        let _ = std::fs::remove_file(&ca_file);
-        let _ = std::fs::remove_file(&stale_peer);
 
-        assert!(
-            with_ca.contains("security.pki.certificateFiles = [ ./hive-ca.pem ]"),
-            "CA cert must be wired into certificateFiles when signalled:\n{with_ca}"
+    #[test]
+    fn stale_ca_files_are_removed_and_nothing_else() {
+        let dir = tempfile::tempdir().expect("tempdir");
+        for name in ["hive-ca.pem", "peer-ca-0.pem", "peer-ca-1.PEM", "flake.nix"] {
+            std::fs::write(dir.path().join(name), "x").expect("write");
+        }
+        // Not CA files this machinery owns, though they look similar.
+        for name in ["peer-ca-0.txt", "other-ca.pem"] {
+            std::fs::write(dir.path().join(name), "x").expect("write");
+        }
+        let mut removed = remove_stale_ca_files(dir.path());
+        removed.sort();
+        assert_eq!(removed, ["hive-ca.pem", "peer-ca-0.pem", "peer-ca-1.PEM"]);
+        for kept in ["flake.nix", "peer-ca-0.txt", "other-ca.pem"] {
+            assert!(dir.path().join(kept).exists(), "{kept} must survive");
+        }
+        assert!(remove_stale_ca_files(dir.path()).is_empty());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn services_pki_mount_is_forwarded_as_both_env_and_option() {
+        assert!(FORWARDED_VARS.contains(&"HIVE_AGENT_BAO_SERVICES_PKI_MOUNT"));
+        let mut out = String::new();
+        push_forwarded_var_options(
+            &mut out,
+            &[("HIVE_AGENT_BAO_SERVICES_PKI_MOUNT", "pki".to_string())],
         );
-        // The regression guard, scoped to the CA list rather than the whole
-        // render. Comparing the two flakes wholesale looks stronger and is
-        // actually FLAKY: `cargo test` runs these in parallel threads and
-        // sibling tests mutate process env (OTEL, forge URLs) between the
-        // two `render()` calls, so a whole-output equality assertion fails
-        // on changes that have nothing to do with this test.
-        assert!(
-            with_stale_peer_env.contains("security.pki.certificateFiles = [ ./hive-ca.pem ]"),
-            "HIVE_PEER_CA_PATHS must not change the CA list — the store's \
-             root inside the hive's own trust bundle is the only anchor \
-             embedded:\n{with_stale_peer_env}"
-        );
-        assert!(
-            !with_stale_peer_env.contains("peer-ca-"),
-            "no peer-ca-<N>.pem may be embedded, however HIVE_PEER_CA_PATHS \
-             is set:\n{with_stale_peer_env}"
-        );
-        assert!(
-            !stale_peer_env_only.contains("security.pki.certificateFiles"),
-            "a stale HIVE_PEER_CA_PATHS must not resurrect a certificateFiles \
-             reference on its own:\n{stale_peer_env_only}"
-        );
-        assert!(
-            !without_ca.contains("security.pki.certificateFiles"),
-            "no certificateFiles reference without any CA signal:\n{without_ca}"
+        assert_eq!(
+            out,
+            "              services.hyperhive.agent.bao.servicesPkiMount = \"pki\";\n"
         );
     }
 

hive-forge/Cargo.toml

@@ -26,8 +26,8 @@ reqwest = { workspace = true, features = [
   # `rustls` carries the platform verifier, which reads the OS trust store
   # (and honours `SSL_CERT_FILE`), so hive-forge validates the hive
   # gateway's self-signed leaf once the store's root is in the agent's trust
-  # store — embedded into agent flakes via `security.pki.certificateFiles`
-  # — while public CAs still validate.
+  # store (an agent fetches it from the secret store at boot and points
+  # `SSL_CERT_FILE` at it) while public CAs still validate.
   #
   # The separate `rustls-native-certs` / `webpki-roots` features this entry
   # used to name were 0.13.1-era and no longer exist; naming a feature that

nix/agent-modules/default.nix

@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@ in
     ./frontend.nix
     ./github.nix
     ./github-token.nix
+    ./hive-ca.nix
     ./hive-facts.nix
     ./logs.nix
     ./matrix.nix

nix/agent-modules/hive-ca.nix

@@ -0,0 +1,196 @@
+# The swarm's root certificate in this agent's trust, fetched from the store
+# at boot by the agent itself.
+#
+# The root is the store's services `pki` mount's CA. It does not exist when the
+# agent is built, so the meta flake names no CA file: this unit reads it from
+# the store with the agent's own certificate (./bao.nix keeps it current) and
+# writes two files, both public:
+#
+# - `bundle`: the system CAs plus the swarm root. `SSL_CERT_FILE` replaces the
+#   trust store of Rust (rustls platform verifier), Go and OpenSSL clients, so
+#   it carries both halves.
+# - `root`: the swarm root alone, for `NODE_EXTRA_CA_CERTS`, which adds to
+#   Node's store (Claude Code).
+#
+# A process reads its trust when it starts, so a rotated root reaches the
+# consumers below at their next start. They `Requires=` this unit, which keeps
+# one from running with a store that lacks the root.
+{
+  pkgs,
+  lib,
+  config,
+  ...
+}:
+let
+  cfg = config.services.hyperhive.agent.bao;
+  agentCfg = config.services.hyperhive.agent;
+
+  agentName = agentCfg.user.name;
+
+  # The server CA id ./bao.nix loads.
+  serverCaCredential = "hive-agent-bao-server-ca";
+
+  unitName = "hive-agent-trust-bundle";
+  runtimeDir = unitName;
+  bundleFile = "/run/${runtimeDir}/bundle.pem";
+  rootFile = "/run/${runtimeDir}/root.pem";
+
+  systemBundle = "/etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt";
+
+  configured = cfg.addr != null;
+
+  storeRetry = import ../host-modules/lib/store-retry.nix { };
+
+  # Units that dial a swarm service over TLS. The first group is defined
+  # whenever the agent module is; the rest exist under the same condition as
+  # their definitions, because ordering on a unit that is not defined would
+  # generate an inert one.
+  consumers = [
+    "hive-agent"
+    "hive-bash-daemon"
+    "hive-subagent-daemon"
+    "hive-mcp-http"
+    "hive-forge-notify"
+  ]
+  ++ lib.optional (agentCfg.matrixAccounts != { }) "hive-matrix-daemon"
+  ++ lib.optional (agentCfg.github.enable) "hive-github-notify"
+  ++ lib.optional (agentCfg.icon != null && agentCfg.forge.url != null) "forge-avatar-sync";
+
+  trustEnv = {
+    SSL_CERT_FILE = bundleFile;
+    NODE_EXTRA_CA_CERTS = rootFile;
+  };
+in
+{
+  options.services.hyperhive.agent.bao.servicesPkiMount = lib.mkOption {
+    type = lib.types.str;
+    default = "pki";
+    example = "pki";
+    description = ''
+      Mount path of the store's services `pki` engine, whose root is the one
+      anchor every swarm service certificate chains to. Set by the generated
+      meta flake from the host's
+      `services.hyperhive.deploy.bao.servicesPkiMountPath`.
+      `${unitName}.service` reads `<mount>/ca/pem` from it.
+    '';
+  };
+
+  config = lib.mkIf configured {
+    # Every process, including a bash task's children, resolves trust through
+    # these, as it resolves `HIVE_FORGE_TOKEN_FILE`.
+    systemd.globalEnvironment = trustEnv;
+    environment.variables = trustEnv;
+
+    systemd.services = {
+      ${unitName} = {
+        description = "fetch the swarm root certificate from the secret store";
+        after = [
+          "network.target"
+          "hive-agent-bao-identity.service"
+        ];
+        wantedBy = [ "multi-user.target" ];
+        path = [
+          pkgs.coreutils
+          pkgs.curl
+          pkgs.openssl
+        ];
+        inherit (storeRetry) startLimitBurst startLimitIntervalSec;
+        serviceConfig = storeRetry.serviceConfig // {
+          Type = "oneshot";
+          RemainAfterExit = false;
+          TimeoutStartSec = 60;
+          User = agentName;
+          Group = agentName;
+          RuntimeDirectory = runtimeDir;
+          # Public certificates, read by every consumer's user.
+          RuntimeDirectoryMode = "0755";
+          RuntimeDirectoryPreserve = "yes";
+          UMask = "0022";
+          LoadCredential = [ serverCaCredential ];
+        };
+        # Overrides the global value: this unit runs before the bundle exists,
+        # and its own TLS is checked against the credential below or the
+        # system bundle.
+        environment = {
+          SSL_CERT_FILE = lib.mkForce systemBundle;
+          BAO_ADDR = cfg.addr;
+          BAO_CLIENT_CERT = cfg.clientCertFile;
+          BAO_CLIENT_KEY = cfg.clientKeyFile;
+        };
+        script = ''
+          set -euo pipefail
+
+          for f in "$BAO_CLIENT_CERT" "$BAO_CLIENT_KEY"; do
+            if [ ! -s "$f" ]; then
+              echo "this agent has no store identity at $f, so it cannot fetch the swarm root certificate." >&2
+              exit 1
+            fi
+          done
+
+          cacert=
+          if [ -s "$CREDENTIALS_DIRECTORY/${serverCaCredential}" ]; then
+            cacert="$CREDENTIALS_DIRECTORY/${serverCaCredential}"
+            echo "trusting bao via the delivered server CA credential" >&2
+          else
+            echo "no bao server CA credential delivered; trusting the system bundle" >&2
+          fi
+
+          dir=/run/${runtimeDir}
+          err=$(mktemp -p "$dir" err.XXXXXX)
+          raw=$(mktemp -p "$dir" raw.XXXXXX)
+          root=$(mktemp -p "$dir" root.XXXXXX)
+          bundle=$(mktemp -p "$dir" bundle.XXXXXX)
+          trap 'rm -f "$err" "$raw" "$root" "$bundle"' EXIT
+
+          # The listener demands a client certificate and the endpoint takes no
+          # token, so no login precedes this.
+          if ! curl --fail --silent --show-error \
+              --connect-timeout 10 --max-time 30 \
+              ''${cacert:+--cacert "$cacert"} \
+              --cert "$BAO_CLIENT_CERT" --key "$BAO_CLIENT_KEY" \
+              --output "$raw" \
+              ${lib.escapeShellArg "${cfg.addr}/v1/${cfg.servicesPkiMount}/ca/pem"} 2>"$err"; then
+            echo "could not read the store's ${cfg.servicesPkiMount} root at $BAO_ADDR." >&2
+            cat "$err" >&2
+            exit 1
+          fi
+
+          # Re-encoded rather than copied: it fails on a body that is not a
+          # certificate and ends the file in the newline the concatenation
+          # below relies on.
+          if ! openssl x509 -in "$raw" -out "$root" 2>"$err"; then
+            echo "the store's ${cfg.servicesPkiMount} root does not parse as a certificate." >&2
+            cat "$err" >&2
+            exit 1
+          fi
+
+          cat ${systemBundle} "$root" >"$bundle"
+
+          # Neither file moves unless it changed, so a reader never sees a half
+          # write and the timer's rerun is silent.
+          if cmp -s "$bundle" ${bundleFile} && cmp -s "$root" ${rootFile}; then
+            echo "the store's ${cfg.servicesPkiMount} root is unchanged"
+            exit 0
+          fi
+          chmod 0644 "$root" "$bundle"
+          mv -f "$root" ${rootFile}
+          mv -f "$bundle" ${bundleFile}
+          echo "wrote the swarm root certificate from the store's ${cfg.servicesPkiMount} mount"
+        '';
+      };
+    }
+    // lib.genAttrs consumers (_: {
+      after = [ "${unitName}.service" ];
+      requires = [ "${unitName}.service" ];
+    });
+
+    systemd.timers.${unitName} = {
+      description = "re-read the swarm root certificate from the secret store";
+      wantedBy = [ "timers.target" ];
+      timerConfig = {
+        OnUnitInactiveSec = "1h";
+        RandomizedDelaySec = "1min";
+      };
+    };
+  };
+}

nix/host-modules/glue-hive-tls-controllers.nix

@@ -2,13 +2,10 @@
 #
 # ONE PAIRING PER FILE — hive-c0re and the swarm controller ← the trust bundle
 # ./hive-tls.nix assembles. Deleting this leaves daemons that trust only the
-# platform roots: hive-c0re's lifecycle cannot hand agents the bundle, and the
-# swarm-queue clients die at `invalid peer certificate: UnknownIssuer` against
-# an authelia signed by the swarm CA.
+# platform roots: the swarm-queue clients die at
+# `invalid peer certificate: UnknownIssuer` against an authelia signed by the
+# swarm CA.
 #
-# `HIVE_TLS_CA_PATH` signals the hive-c0re lifecycle that a trust bundle exists:
-# it bind-mounts the file (read-only, public certs ONLY — never a key) into each
-# agent container, and the meta flake wires the per-agent trust bundle.
 # `*_OIDC_CA_FILE` names the same anchor for the swarm-queue clients that mint a
 # token from authelia over TLS. `swarm-queue-client` builds a bare
 # `reqwest::Client`, so it trusts only the platform roots without it. Where the
@@ -43,7 +40,6 @@ in
     lib.mkMerge [
       (lib.mkIf deployCfg.hive-controller.enable {
         systemd.services.hive-c0re.environment = {
-          HIVE_TLS_CA_PATH = trustBundle;
           HIVE_C0RE_OIDC_CA_FILE = trustBundle;
         };
       })

nix/host-modules/hive-c0re/environment.nix

@@ -278,6 +278,9 @@ in
     # environment wholesale would inherit the hive's certificate paths with it,
     # and those name a credential no agent may present.
     HIVE_AGENT_BAO_ADDR = "https://${baoCfg.domain}:${toString baoCfg.port}";
+    # The mount whose root an agent fetches to trust the swarm's services; the
+    # same value ../hive-tls.nix reads the root from.
+    HIVE_AGENT_BAO_SERVICES_PKI_MOUNT = baoDeploy.servicesPkiMountPath;
     # `%d`, not the paths themselves: the key is `0600` root-owned and this
     # daemon runs as hive-core, so it never gets read access to the original.
     # See the LoadCredential in ./default.nix.

nix/module-eval/agent-forge-bao.nix

@@ -47,6 +47,38 @@ let
 in
 let
   cases = [
+    {
+      # ../agent-modules/hive-ca.nix. Presence arm first (the unit, the
+      # timer, the trust variables, and every consumer ordered after the
+      # unit and requiring it), then the absence arm for an agent with no
+      # store, which has no root to fetch.
+      name = "an agent with a store address fetches the swarm root and its consumers wait for it";
+      ok =
+        let
+          svc = agentForgeBao.systemd.services;
+          unit = "hive-agent-trust-bundle.service";
+          bundle = "/run/hive-agent-trust-bundle/bundle.pem";
+          consumers = [
+            "hive-agent"
+            "hive-bash-daemon"
+            "hive-subagent-daemon"
+            "hive-mcp-http"
+            "hive-forge-notify"
+            "forge-avatar-sync"
+          ];
+        in
+        svc ? hive-agent-trust-bundle
+        && agentForgeBao.systemd.timers ? hive-agent-trust-bundle
+        && lib.hasInfix "/v1/pki/ca/pem" svc.hive-agent-trust-bundle.script
+        && agentForgeBao.systemd.globalEnvironment.SSL_CERT_FILE == bundle
+        &&
+          agentForgeBao.systemd.globalEnvironment.NODE_EXTRA_CA_CERTS
+          == "/run/hive-agent-trust-bundle/root.pem"
+        && lib.all (c: lib.elem unit svc.${c}.after && lib.elem unit svc.${c}.requires) consumers
+        && !(agentForgeNoBao.systemd.services ? hive-agent-trust-bundle)
+        && !(agentForgeNoBao.systemd.globalEnvironment ? SSL_CERT_FILE)
+        && !(lib.elem unit (agentForgeNoBao.systemd.services.hive-agent.after or [ ]));
+    }
     {
       # The whole switch is the store address, as for the queue credential.
       name = "an agent with a store address fetches its forge token";

nix/module-eval/core-toggle.nix

@@ -317,6 +317,12 @@ let
         in
         e.HIVE_AGENT_BAO_ADDR == e.BAO_ADDR;
     }
+    {
+      name = "an agent is told the mount its swarm root is read from, only where it is told the store";
+      ok =
+        allLocal.systemd.services.hive-c0re.environment.HIVE_AGENT_BAO_SERVICES_PKI_MOUNT == "pki"
+        && !(bare.systemd.services.hive-c0re.environment ? HIVE_AGENT_BAO_SERVICES_PKI_MOUNT);
+    }
     {
       # A hive with no certificate of its own can collect no agent's identity,
       # so forwarding an address would name a store nothing in the container

nix/module-eval/hive-tls.nix

@@ -693,10 +693,7 @@ let
         let
           bundle = "/var/lib/hive-tls/trust-bundle.pem";
           envOf = m: unit: m.systemd.services.${unit}.environment or { };
-          hiveVars = [
-            "HIVE_TLS_CA_PATH"
-            "HIVE_C0RE_OIDC_CA_FILE"
-          ];
+          hiveVars = [ "HIVE_C0RE_OIDC_CA_FILE" ];
           anyOf =
             m: unit: vars:
             lib.any (v: (envOf m unit) ? ${v}) vars;