diff --git a/docs/swarm/ca.md b/docs/swarm/ca.md
index 5f6ce360..537087f9 100644
--- a/docs/swarm/ca.md
+++ b/docs/swarm/ca.md
@@ -37,6 +37,27 @@ Moving the swarm CA onto its own host is then a matter of moving
 `services.hyperhive.swarm.ca.stateDir` and leaving `autoConfigure` off —
 there is no second code path to switch to.
 
+### The warning about uncovered service names
+
+The swarm's service names (`swarm.forge.domain`,
+`swarm.matrix.gatewayHost`, `swarm.authelia.domain`) default to
+siblings of the hive domain — `forge.<swarm.domain>`, not
+`forge.<hive domain>`. The hive CA's leaf is a **single-label** wildcard
+over the hive's own domain, so it cannot cover them; only the
+swarm-services leaf can, and this host signs that one only under
+`autoConfigure`. A hive with neither serves the hive leaf on those names
+and every client sees a name mismatch.
+
+So `hive-tls` emits an eval-time **warning** naming the uncovered names.
+It is deliberately not an assertion: this module can see what *it* is
+able to issue, but not an operator-installed sub-CA in
+`swarm.ca.stateDir`, an external ACME setup, or a certificate delivered
+by any other means. If you have arranged one, the warning is expected
+and can be ignored. Otherwise either install the sub-CA, or pin the
+names back under the hive domain — a supported migration, since the
+sub-CA is constrained to the *configured* names and the swarm root
+carries no name constraints at all.
+
 ## Constraints on the material
 
 The root's private key never reaches the nix store: the store is
diff --git a/nix/host-modules/hive-tls.nix b/nix/host-modules/hive-tls.nix
index 6da7b095..1df51f5f 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/hive-tls.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/hive-tls.nix
@@ -15,6 +15,21 @@ let
   # constrained to cannot disagree.
   swarmServiceDomains = hyperhiveCfg.swarm.serviceDomains;
 
+  # True for the names `signHiveLeaf` below actually covers: the hive
+  # domain itself, or ONE label under it. `*.<domain>` is a single-label
+  # wildcard — `a.b.<domain>` does not match it — so the depth check is
+  # the whole point rather than a nicety.
+  coveredByHiveLeaf =
+    n:
+    n == domain
+    || (lib.hasSuffix ".${domain}" n && !lib.hasInfix "." (lib.removeSuffix ".${domain}" n));
+
+  # Service names this host can serve a *matching* certificate for, and
+  # the ones it can't. A name is issuable here when the hive leaf covers
+  # it, or when this host issues the swarm-services leaf — which needs
+  # the swarm root's private key, i.e. `swarm.ca.autoConfigure`.
+  uncoveredServiceDomains = lib.filter (n: !coveredByHiveLeaf n) swarmServiceDomains;
+
   # The host-managed hive CA is the trust anchor for self-signed mode.
   # It is only stood up when the gateway actually serves a self-signed
   # cert: the gateway must be in self-signed mode. `domain` is required
@@ -244,6 +259,41 @@ in
   };
 
   config = lib.mkIf active {
+    # A swarm service name that is a sibling of the hive domain rather
+    # than a child needs the swarm-services leaf, and this host only
+    # signs that one when it holds the swarm root key. Without it nginx
+    # falls back to the hive leaf on those names and every client sees a
+    # name mismatch — on a config that evaluates and deploys cleanly.
+    #
+    # ⚠️ A WARNING, NOT AN ASSERTION, and the distinction is the point:
+    # this module can see what *it* can issue; it cannot see an
+    # operator-installed services sub-CA, an external ACME setup, or a
+    # cert delivered by any other means. A rebuild must not be blocked
+    # by a conclusion this host is not in a position to reach. Report
+    # the observation and let the operator judge it.
+    #
+    # (`certDir` / ACME modes don't reach here at all: `active` is
+    # self-signed-only, and there the operator's cert decides.)
+    warnings = lib.optional (uncoveredServiceDomains != [ ] && !swarmCaCfg.autoConfigure) ''
+      services.hyperhive: these swarm service names are outside this
+      hive's domain (${domain}), so the hive CA's leaf does not cover
+      them:
+
+      ${lib.concatMapStringsSep "\n" (n: "  ${n}") uncoveredServiceDomains}
+
+      services.hyperhive.swarm.ca.autoConfigure is false, so this host
+      does not sign the swarm-services leaf either, and the gateway will
+      serve the hive leaf on those names — a certificate-name mismatch
+      for browsers and for agents' git-over-https.
+
+      If you have already arranged certificates for them — an
+      operator-installed services sub-CA in ${swarmCaCfg.stateDir}, or
+      services.hyperhive.gateway.tls.{certDir,acme} — this is expected
+      and you can ignore it. Otherwise pin the names back under
+      ${domain} (services.hyperhive.swarm.{forge.domain,
+      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.