diff --git a/hive-c0re/src/lifecycle.rs b/hive-c0re/src/lifecycle.rs
index e3051517..1f59dcc9 100644
--- a/hive-c0re/src/lifecycle.rs
+++ b/hive-c0re/src/lifecycle.rs
@@ -430,6 +430,20 @@ pub async fn rebuild_no_meta(
         set_resource_limits(&container)?;
         systemd_daemon_reload().await?;
         if was_running {
+            // Pre-build the system toplevel **before** stopping the
+            // running container so the agent keeps serving its
+            // previous generation while the eval + fetch + build
+            // happens out-of-band (#706). `nixos-container update`
+            // then finds the toplevel cached and skips straight to
+            // the profile-swap + restart — downtime collapses to that
+            // window only. Build failures surface here, before we
+            // touch the container.
+            //
+            // When the container is already stopped there's no
+            // downtime to shave (mara on #721#9007) — let `update`
+            // do the build inline rather than evaluating the flake
+            // twice for nothing.
+            prebuild_toplevel(name, &flake_ref).await?;
             run(&["stop", &container]).await?;
         }
         run(&["update", &container, "--flake", &flake_ref]).await?;
@@ -439,8 +453,11 @@ pub async fn rebuild_no_meta(
             Ok(())
         }
     } else {
-        // First spawn: create the container first (which writes the nspawn
-        // conf file), then overwrite with our flags and start.
+        // First spawn: no running container, no downtime to shave.
+        // `nixos-container create` builds + creates atomically — if
+        // the build fails, no container record is left around to
+        // clean up — so a pre-build adds nothing but a duplicate
+        // eval (mara on #721#9007).
         run(&["create", &container, "--flake", &flake_ref]).await?;
         set_nspawn_flags(&container, agent_dir, claude_dir, notes_dir)?;
         set_resource_limits(&container)?;
@@ -449,6 +466,89 @@ pub async fn rebuild_no_meta(
     }
 }
 
+/// Pre-build the agent's `system.build.toplevel` derivation against
+/// `meta#<name>` so the subsequent `nixos-container update` /
+/// `create` finds the result already in the store. The container
+/// itself is untouched — this is purely a store-warming pass.
+///
+/// Streams nix's stdout to INFO and stderr to WARN like the
+/// `nixos-container` shellouts so progress shows up in journald as
+/// it happens. `--no-link` keeps us from littering the working
+/// directory with `result` symlinks. Per-derivation cost: pure
+/// cache hit when nothing changed (handful of seconds for the
+/// eval), expensive only on the rebuild that actually has work.
+///
+/// Returns the same error shape as the other nixos-container
+/// helpers so callers can use `?` without translation.
+async fn prebuild_toplevel(name: &str, flake_ref: &str) -> Result<()> {
+    use tokio::io::{AsyncBufReadExt, BufReader};
+    let attr = format!("{flake_ref}.config.system.build.toplevel");
+    let args = vec![
+        "--extra-experimental-features",
+        "nix-command flakes",
+        "build",
+        "--no-link",
+        "--print-out-paths",
+        &attr,
+    ];
+    let cmdline = format!("nix {}", args.join(" "));
+    tracing::info!(%name, %cmdline, "prebuild: warming system toplevel");
+    let mut child = Command::new("nix")
+        .args(&args)
+        .stdout(std::process::Stdio::piped())
+        .stderr(std::process::Stdio::piped())
+        .spawn()
+        .with_context(|| format!("spawn {cmdline}"))?;
+
+    let stdout = child.stdout.take().expect("piped stdout");
+    let stderr = child.stderr.take().expect("piped stderr");
+
+    let stdout_cmdline = cmdline.clone();
+    let pump_stdout = tokio::spawn(async move {
+        let mut lines = BufReader::new(stdout).lines();
+        while let Ok(Some(line)) = lines.next_line().await {
+            tracing::info!(target: "nix-prebuild", cmdline = %stdout_cmdline, "{line}");
+        }
+    });
+
+    let stderr_cmdline = cmdline.clone();
+    let stderr_tail: std::sync::Arc<std::sync::Mutex<std::collections::VecDeque<String>>> =
+        std::sync::Arc::new(std::sync::Mutex::new(
+            std::collections::VecDeque::with_capacity(32),
+        ));
+    let stderr_tail_pump = stderr_tail.clone();
+    let pump_stderr = tokio::spawn(async move {
+        let mut lines = BufReader::new(stderr).lines();
+        while let Ok(Some(line)) = lines.next_line().await {
+            tracing::warn!(target: "nix-prebuild", cmdline = %stderr_cmdline, "{line}");
+            let mut tail = stderr_tail_pump.lock().unwrap();
+            if tail.len() == 32 {
+                tail.pop_front();
+            }
+            tail.push_back(line);
+        }
+    });
+
+    let status = child
+        .wait()
+        .await
+        .with_context(|| format!("wait {cmdline}"))?;
+    let _ = pump_stdout.await;
+    let _ = pump_stderr.await;
+
+    if !status.success() {
+        let tail = stderr_tail
+            .lock()
+            .unwrap()
+            .iter()
+            .cloned()
+            .collect::<Vec<_>>()
+            .join("\n");
+        bail!("prebuild {cmdline} failed ({status}): {tail}");
+    }
+    Ok(())
+}
+
 pub async fn list() -> Result<Vec<String>> {
     let out = Command::new("nixos-container")
         .arg("list")