diff --git a/nix/host-modules/hive-c0re/environment.nix b/nix/host-modules/hive-c0re/environment.nix
index 453e7cca..3046f46c 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/hive-c0re/environment.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/hive-c0re/environment.nix
@@ -33,9 +33,8 @@ in
   # gateway_nginx.rs uses this to generate split location
   # blocks in agents.conf — static HTML/CSS/JS served from the
   # nix store directly; dynamic API paths still proxied to the
-  # agent daemon. The nix store is shared across nspawn
-  # containers, so this path is reachable from inside the
-  # gateway container's nginx.
+  # agent daemon. nginx runs on the host, which is where this
+  # store path already is, so it is reachable as written.
   HIVE_AGENT_FRONTEND_DIR = "${cfg.servedFrontend}/agent";
   # Path to the static runtime asset tree (branding + claude
   # prompts). `hive_sh4re::assets::*` reads paths underneath.
diff --git a/nix/host-modules/hive-gateway/default.nix b/nix/host-modules/hive-gateway/default.nix
index 0b76cef0..f8122f13 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/hive-gateway/default.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/hive-gateway/default.nix
@@ -26,9 +26,7 @@ let
   forgeCfg = config.services.hyperhive.swarm.forge;
   networkCfg = config.services.hyperhive.network;
 
-  # Dashboard SPA dist, static-served by nginx. Read in OUTER scope so
-  # `config` is the host's (inside the container block it'd be the
-  # container's).
+  # Dashboard SPA dist, static-served by nginx.
   dashboardDist = "${config.services.hyperhive.c0re.servedFrontend}/dashboard";
 
   # Full hyperhive-themed Swagger UI dist — nginx serves this whole
@@ -157,32 +155,6 @@ in
       "f /var/lib/hive-gateway/conf/gateway.htpasswd 0644 hive-core hive-core - -"
     ];
 
-    # ⚠️ REMOVED WITH THE CONTAINER, and each one was a workaround for the
-    # boundary rather than a thing nginx or dnsmasq needed:
-    #
-    # - `privateNetwork = false` — the container already shared the host
-    #   netns, which is why nginx bound host ports and `localhost`
-    #   upstreams reached hive-c0re. On the host that is simply true.
-    # - `additionalCapabilities = [ "CAP_NET_ADMIN" ]` — dnsmasq refuses
-    #   to start with a `dhcp-range` unless it holds NET_ADMIN, and
-    #   nspawn's bounding set dropped it for a host-netns container.
-    #   Host root has it.
-    # - `networking.firewall.enable = false` — a container sharing the
-    #   host netns would run *its* firewall.service against the HOST
-    #   ruleset, flushing nixos-fw and deleting the nixos-nat-* chains on
-    #   every boot. With one machine there is one firewall (below).
-    # - `networking.resolvconf.enable = false` + the `hive-gateway-resolv`
-    #   path/service pair — the container's /etc/resolv.conf was a
-    #   one-shot copy frozen at start, so a host network change left
-    #   dnsmasq forwarding to a resolver that was gone. The whole
-    #   watch-copy-reload machine existed to bridge two files. There is
-    #   now one.
-    # - three bind mounts — /run/hive-agent, /run/hive-state, and either
-    #   /run/hive-tls (operator cert) or /run/hive-ca (self-signed);
-    #   those last two are mutually exclusive mkIfs, so it was never
-    #   four. All plain host paths now.
-    #
-    # See `docs/network.md::Resolver behaviour` for the resolver history.
     # ACME (Let's Encrypt) integration. nginx vhosts set
     # `enableACME = true` via the vhost builder; this provides the
     # shared ACME config (acceptTerms + email).
@@ -193,15 +165,14 @@ in
 
     # Import the hive-CA leaf into nginx's state dir before nginx starts.
     #
-    # 🚨 THIS LOOKS LIKE A LEFTOVER OF THE CONTAINER AND IS NOT — do not
-    # "simplify" it into pointing nginx at the CA dir. It does TWO jobs:
+    # 🚨 DO NOT "simplify" this into pointing nginx at the CA dir. It
+    # does TWO jobs:
     #
     # (1) It re-modes the leaf. `hive-tls-ca` writes the key 0600
     #     root:root; nginx's pre-start `nginx -t` runs as the nginx
     #     *user*, so a 0600 key fails the config test with
     #     `BIO_new_file() … Permission denied` and blocks the unit —
-    #     hence the 0640 root:nginx copy below. That is a file-mode fact,
-    #     not a namespace one, and it did not go away with the container.
+    #     hence the 0640 root:nginx copy below.
     # (2) It guarantees that **every cert path the nginx config names
     #     exists** — which is what the swarm-services fallback at the
     #     bottom of the script is for. nginx refuses to load a config
@@ -243,10 +214,10 @@ in
         # mode behind.
         chmod 0755 ${builtins.dirOf tlsDir}
         chmod 0755 ${tlsDir}
-        # Copy the host leaf in. `install` writes atomically with the
-        # target mode; run as root (container root == host root,
-        # privateUsers=false) so the 0600 root:root host key is
-        # readable. Key ends up root:nginx 0640 so nginx-pre-start
+        # Copy the leaf in. `install` writes atomically with the
+        # target mode; runs as root so the 0600 root:root key written
+        # by hive-tls-ca is readable. Key ends up root:nginx 0640 so
+        # nginx-pre-start
         # (which runs `nginx -t` as the nginx user, not root) can
         # read it — a 0600 root:root key passes the master load but
         # fails the pre-start config test with `BIO_new_file() …
diff --git a/nix/host-modules/hive-gateway/dnsmasq.nix b/nix/host-modules/hive-gateway/dnsmasq.nix
index 42912679..d5096188 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/hive-gateway/dnsmasq.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/hive-gateway/dnsmasq.nix
@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
-# Hive-internal DNS resolver + DHCP, co-located in the gateway
-# container — single front-door for both DNS and HTTP, saves a
-# sibling container. Listens on the bridge interface from
+# Hive-internal DNS resolver + DHCP, running on the host alongside the
+# gateway's nginx — single front-door for both DNS and HTTP, and no
+# container of its own. Listens on the bridge interface from
 # `services.hyperhive.network`; authoritative for the hive domain +
 # sub-domains, forwards everything else upstream. Returns the
-# `services.dnsmasq` value for the container config (see
-# ./default.nix); the DHCP pool bounds are computed by hive-network.
+# `services.dnsmasq` value (see ./default.nix); the DHCP pool bounds
+# are computed by hive-network.
 {
   lib,
   networkCfg,
@@ -68,14 +68,10 @@
     dhcp-range = "${networkCfg.dhcpRangeStart},${networkCfg.dhcpRangeEnd},1h";
     dhcp-leasefile = "/var/lib/dnsmasq/dnsmasq.leases";
     # No explicit upstream: non-hive queries follow dnsmasq's
-    # resolv.conf default — the gateway container's `/etc/resolv.conf`,
-    # which nixos-container copies from the host at every start, so the
-    # hive always uses the host's resolvers. resolvconf is disabled in
-    # the container (see ./default.nix) so nothing regenerates that
-    # copy; the host-side `hive-gateway-resolv` path unit (also in
-    # ./default.nix) pushes in a fresh copy and reloads dnsmasq whenever
-    # the host's resolvers change, so the copy can't go stale under a
-    # network switch. Deliberately no fallback `server=`: dnsmasq queries
+    # resolv.conf default — the host's own `/etc/resolv.conf`, so the
+    # hive always uses the host's resolvers and follows them live with
+    # no copy to go stale. Deliberately no fallback
+    # `server=`: dnsmasq queries
     # all known upstreams in parallel, so a hardcoded public resolver
     # would take a share of *normal* traffic, not just fill in when the
     # host file is empty.
diff --git a/nix/host-modules/hive-gateway/options.nix b/nix/host-modules/hive-gateway/options.nix
index 30c38227..ecdcc5c3 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/hive-gateway/options.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/hive-gateway/options.nix
@@ -28,10 +28,10 @@ in
       example = 8080;
       description = ''
         TCP port the gateway listens on. Default 80 (canonical web
-        port). nginx inside the container binds <1024 because the
-        container's init runs as root; if 80 is already taken on the
-        host (existing nginx, traefik, etc.) override to an unused
-        port like 8080 or move the conflicting service.
+        port). nginx runs on the host as root, so it can bind <1024;
+        if 80 is already taken on the host (existing nginx, traefik,
+        etc.) override to an unused port like 8080 or move the
+        conflicting service.
       '';
     };
 
@@ -40,8 +40,8 @@ in
       default = "127.0.0.1";
       description = ''
         Host the gateway proxies non-static requests to. Defaults to
-        `127.0.0.1` because the gateway container shares the host
-        netns, so loopback resolves directly to hive-c0re.
+        `127.0.0.1` because nginx runs on the host itself, so loopback
+        resolves directly to hive-c0re.
       '';
     };
 
@@ -180,11 +180,11 @@ in
           default = false;
           example = true;
           description = ''
-            Let nginx inside the gateway container obtain and renew TLS
-            certificates automatically via ACME (Let's Encrypt). When
-            enabled, each vhost calls out to Let's Encrypt using the
-            HTTP-01 challenge on `port` (default 80) and stores certs
-            inside the gateway container's persistent state dir.
+            Let the gateway's nginx obtain and renew TLS certificates
+            automatically via ACME (Let's Encrypt). When enabled, each
+            vhost calls out to Let's Encrypt using the HTTP-01
+            challenge on `port` (default 80) and stores certs in the
+            gateway's persistent state dir on the host.
 
             Requirements:
             - `services.hyperhive.domain` must be set and publicly
diff --git a/nix/host-modules/hive-gateway/vhosts.nix b/nix/host-modules/hive-gateway/vhosts.nix
index 969d8c3a..28acb246 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/hive-gateway/vhosts.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/hive-gateway/vhosts.nix
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
-# nginx virtual-host tree for the gateway container: the `_` default
-# server (dashboard, per-agent routing, matrix discovery), the forge
-# and matrix sub-domain vhosts, and the Accept-header SPA map for the
-# matrix GUI. Pure function — called from ./default.nix inside the
-# container config with the outer-scope config values as arguments;
-# returns `{ virtualHosts, appendHttpConfig }`.
+# nginx virtual-host tree for the gateway: the `_` default server
+# (dashboard, per-agent routing, matrix discovery), the forge, matrix
+# and authelia sub-domain vhosts, and the Accept-header SPA map for the
+# matrix GUI. Pure function — called from ./default.nix with the
+# outer-scope config values as arguments; returns
+# `{ virtualHosts, appendHttpConfig }`.
 {
   lib,
   cfg, # services.hyperhive.gateway
diff --git a/nix/host-modules/hive-matrix.nix b/nix/host-modules/hive-matrix.nix
index add0ba73..89780930 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/hive-matrix.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/hive-matrix.nix
@@ -581,25 +581,22 @@ in
       ];
     };
 
-    # The matrix container's resolver is the dnsmasq that runs in the
-    # gateway container (bound at `bridgeIp`). Order the matrix
-    # container start after the gateway container so the resolver is up
-    # before tuwunel's first federation lookups. tuwunel boots fine
-    # without this — it configures the resolver from `/etc/resolv.conf`
-    # at startup and only queries on-demand (the boot failure this
-    # module guards against is an *empty* resolv.conf, a parse error,
-    # not a connectivity one) — so this is robustness, not a boot
-    # requirement. Soft `after` ordering (not `requires`) keeps the
-    # matrix container's lifecycle decoupled from the gateway's. The
-    # gateway always runs alongside hyperhive, so the gateway container
-    # unit always exists here. (Declarative `containers.<n>` →
-    # `container@<n>.service` — the nspawn template NixOS generates.)
+    # The matrix container's resolver is the hive's dnsmasq (bound at
+    # `bridgeIp`). Order the matrix container start after it so the
+    # resolver is up before tuwunel's first federation lookups. tuwunel
+    # boots fine without this — it configures the resolver from
+    # `/etc/resolv.conf` at startup and only queries on-demand (the boot
+    # failure this module guards against is an *empty* resolv.conf, a
+    # parse error, not a connectivity one) — so this is robustness, not a
+    # boot requirement. Soft `after` ordering (not `requires`) keeps the
+    # matrix container's lifecycle decoupled from the resolver's.
+    #
     # `mkMerge`, not a bare assignment: `caTrust.containerOrdering` also
     # sets `after`/`requires` (so the bound trust bundle exists before
     # nspawn wires the mount up), and two plain assignments to the same
     # unit would conflict rather than combine.
     systemd.services."container@hive-matrix" = lib.mkMerge [
-      { after = [ "container@hive-gateway.service" ]; }
+      { after = [ "dnsmasq.service" ]; }
       caTrust.containerOrdering
     ];
   };
diff --git a/nix/host-modules/hive-network.nix b/nix/host-modules/hive-network.nix
index 4a1702e8..6d4bc871 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/hive-network.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/hive-network.nix
@@ -46,9 +46,8 @@ in
     '')
     (lib.mkRemovedOptionModule [ "services" "hyperhive" "network" "upstreamDns" ] ''
       The hive resolver always follows the host's resolvers now
-      (dnsmasq reads the gateway container's /etc/resolv.conf, the
-      host copy made at container start). Configure upstream DNS on
-      the host itself instead.
+      (dnsmasq runs on the host and reads its /etc/resolv.conf
+      directly). Configure upstream DNS on the host itself instead.
     '')
   ];
 
@@ -71,8 +70,8 @@ in
       example = "172.30.0.1";
       description = ''
         IPv4 address assigned to the bridge interface on the host
-        side. Agents use this address as their DNS server (dnsmasq
-        in the gateway container binds here). Default `10.42.0.1`
+        side. Agents use this address as their DNS server (the hive's
+        dnsmasq binds here). Default `10.42.0.1`
         is in RFC 1918 space and unlikely to clash with operator's
         existing setup; override if a different range is already in
         use.
@@ -123,7 +122,7 @@ in
     # before broadcast). All containers — agents and service
     # containers alike — receive their IPs dynamically from this pool;
     # there are no hash-derived static assignments. Consumed by the
-    # dnsmasq that runs in the gateway container (hive-gateway module).
+    # hive's dnsmasq (hive-gateway module, host-side).
     dhcpRangeStart = lib.mkOption {
       type = lib.types.str;
       internal = true;
@@ -212,7 +211,7 @@ in
       # is unconditional now).
       networking.bridges.${cfg.bridgeName}.interfaces = [ ];
 
-      # Bridge IP — dnsmasq (in the gateway container) binds here.
+      # Bridge IP — the hive's dnsmasq binds here.
       networking.interfaces.${cfg.bridgeName}.ipv4.addresses = [
         {
           address = cfg.bridgeIp;
diff --git a/nix/host-modules/hive-tls.nix b/nix/host-modules/hive-tls.nix
index 5d6a6db5..2199b169 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/hive-tls.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/hive-tls.nix
@@ -307,17 +307,19 @@ in
       matrix.gatewayHost, authelia.domain}) or install the sub-CA.
     '';
 
-    # Generate (and rotate) the hive CA + gateway leaf before the gateway
-    # container starts. Idempotent: the CA is created once and reused; the
-    # leaf is re-signed on expiry under the same CA so the anchor is stable.
+    # Generate (and rotate) the hive CA + gateway leaf before anything
+    # serves it. Idempotent: the CA is created once and reused; the leaf
+    # is re-signed on expiry under the same CA so the anchor is stable.
     systemd.services.hive-tls-ca = {
       description = "Generate hive CA + gateway leaf TLS cert (self-signed mode)";
       wantedBy = [ "multi-user.target" ];
-      # Gateway nginx reads the leaf from the bind-mount, so the cert must
-      # exist before the container starts. Declarative nixos-containers are
-      # instances of the `container@.service` template.
-      before = [ "container@hive-gateway.service" ];
-      requiredBy = [ "container@hive-gateway.service" ];
+      # The consumer is `hive-gateway-self-signed-cert`, which copies the
+      # leaf into the gateway's state dir at the mode nginx can read, and
+      # which nginx in turn `Requires=`. So this must run first or that
+      # copy fails under `set -eu` and takes nginx down with it — order
+      # against the unit that reads the file.
+      before = [ "hive-gateway-self-signed-cert.service" ];
+      requiredBy = [ "hive-gateway-self-signed-cert.service" ];
       # The issuance below needs the swarm root key on disk, and (for the
       # services leaf) the services sub-CA it signs under. When this host
       # generates them (single-host swarm) both units must have run first;
@@ -466,21 +468,19 @@ in
     # `hive-tls-ca` only re-signs at service activation (boot/rebuild); a
     # long-uptime host would otherwise let a 30-day leaf lapse silently.
     # This service re-signs the leaf directly (not by bouncing hive-tls-ca)
-    # and propagates the new leaf into the running gateway container when
-    # the file actually changed.
+    # and propagates the new leaf to nginx when the file actually changed.
     #
-    # Propagation mechanism: nginx in the gateway container serves a *copy*
-    # of the leaf written by `hive-gateway-self-signed-cert` (which runs at
-    # container start). A host-side `systemctl -M hive-gateway` call
-    # triggers the re-import + reload, mirroring how hive-c0re reloads the
-    # gateway after each agents.conf write. A path unit *inside* the
-    # container cannot do this: IN_MOVED_TO from an atomic rename on the
-    # host does not propagate across the nspawn mount-namespace boundary.
+    # Propagation mechanism: nginx serves a *copy* of the leaf, written by
+    # `hive-gateway-self-signed-cert` at the mode nginx can read. Re-signing
+    # the source therefore changes nothing on its own — the copy has to be
+    # remade and nginx reloaded, which is what the two calls below do.
     #
-    # `|| true` on propagation so a stopped gateway never fails the unit —
-    # its next boot will import the already-rotated leaf anyway.
+    # ⚠️ Neither call is `|| true`: a swallowed propagation failure means
+    # the leaf rotates on disk while nginx keeps serving the old copy
+    # until it expires, with this unit reporting success the whole time.
+    # A failure here must fail the timer.
     systemd.services.hive-tls-resign = {
-      description = "Re-sign the gateway TLS leaf and propagate it into the gateway container";
+      description = "Re-sign the gateway TLS leaf and reload nginx";
       # hive-tls-ca must have run first so the CA key exists before we try
       # to re-sign under it. On first boot `Persistent=true` on the weekly
       # timer fires immediately; without this ordering the resign could race
@@ -534,9 +534,9 @@ in
 
         after="$(sha256sum "$leaf" "$svcleaf" 2>/dev/null || true)"
         if [ "$before" != "$after" ]; then
-          echo "gateway leaf rotated — propagating into hive-gateway"
-          systemctl -M hive-gateway restart hive-gateway-self-signed-cert.service || true
-          systemctl -M hive-gateway reload nginx.service || true
+          echo "gateway leaf rotated — re-importing and reloading nginx"
+          systemctl restart hive-gateway-self-signed-cert.service
+          systemctl reload nginx.service
         else
           echo "gateway leaf unchanged (already up to date)"
         fi
diff --git a/nix/host-modules/swarm-controller.nix b/nix/host-modules/swarm-controller.nix
index a848c448..8cf0280d 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/swarm-controller.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/swarm-controller.nix
@@ -4,9 +4,9 @@
 # the agents on one host, this owns what is true across hives.
 #
 # Serves HTTP over a unix socket rather than a TCP port: the gateway's
-# nginx is the only intended client, it reaches the socket through a
-# bind-mount, and a socket that is never bound to an address cannot be
-# reached from off-host by mistake.
+# nginx is the only intended client, it runs on this same host and so
+# reaches the socket by path, and a socket that is never bound to an
+# address cannot be reached from off-host by mistake.
 {
   pkgs,
   lib,
@@ -103,13 +103,13 @@ in
         the socket itself is `0666` (nginx runs as another user, and
         `connect(2)` needs write), exactly as hive-c0re publishes the
         per-agent sockets. What keeps that safe is that the directory holds
-        one socket and is bind-mounted into one container. Moving this path
-        under a directory that carries anything else — `/run/hyperhive`,
-        which holds the host admin socket, above all — hands whatever else
-        lives there to every consumer that mounts it.
+        exactly one socket and is traverse-only (`0751`) for everyone else.
+        Moving this path under a directory that carries anything else —
+        `/run/hyperhive`, which holds the host admin socket, above all —
+        exposes whatever else lives there to the same reachability.
 
-        Changing this therefore means re-checking the gateway bind-mount,
-        not just the daemon.
+        Changing this therefore means re-checking what else lives in the
+        new directory, not just the daemon.
       '';
     };
   };
@@ -147,9 +147,9 @@ in
         # the socket path without being able to list the directory. Same
         # shape (and same reason) as hive-c0re's runtime dir.
         RuntimeDirectoryMode = "0751";
-        # Preserved across restarts so the bind-mount source never vanishes
-        # from under a running gateway container. The daemon unlinks a stale
-        # socket on start, which is what makes preservation safe.
+        # Preserved across restarts so the path never vanishes from under a
+        # running nginx. The daemon unlinks a stale socket on start, which
+        # is what makes preservation safe.
         RuntimeDirectoryPreserve = "yes";
 
         StateDirectory = "swarm-controller";