diff --git a/docs/agent-lifecycle/config-changes.md b/docs/agent-lifecycle/config-changes.md
index cd5862d4..ac36494a 100644
--- a/docs/agent-lifecycle/config-changes.md
+++ b/docs/agent-lifecycle/config-changes.md
@@ -118,7 +118,10 @@ declares one flake input per agent (`agent-<n>.url =
 "git+<forge>/agent-configs/<n>.git?rev=<sha>"`) and one
 `nixosConfigurations.<n>` output per agent. Each output wraps
 `inputs.agent-<n>.nixosModules.default` with the identity +
-`HIVE_PORT` / `HIVE_LABEL` / `HIVE_DASHBOARD_PORT` injection module.
+`HIVE_PORT` / `HIVE_LABEL` injection module. Values that differ per host
+(the dashboard port, the pinned claude-code, extra OTEL labels) aren't in it:
+`hive-priv` writes them to the container's `/etc/hyperhive-hive-facts` at
+start (see `docs/process/conventions.md`).
 Containers run against `--flake /var/lib/hyperhive/meta#<n>`.
 
 The declared input url is the head of `main` on the agent's forge config repo
@@ -195,8 +198,7 @@ The container's `--flake` ref is `/var/lib/hyperhive/meta#<name>`
 (see "Meta flake" above). The agent's own `applied/<n>/flake.nix`
 is a fixed boilerplate that exports `nixosModules.default =
 import ./agent.nix`; the meta flake imports that module and
-wraps it with identity + `HIVE_PORT` / `HIVE_LABEL` /
-`HIVE_DASHBOARD_PORT`.
+wraps it with identity + `HIVE_PORT` / `HIVE_LABEL`.
 
 ### Tag state machine
 
diff --git a/docs/process/conventions.md b/docs/process/conventions.md
index adc9ec66..2ab12c09 100644
--- a/docs/process/conventions.md
+++ b/docs/process/conventions.md
@@ -39,11 +39,15 @@ Four env vars cover the identity surface, read by
   name.
 
 Inside an agent container, the hive's name and domain don't come from the
-agent's build. `hive-priv` writes them to `/etc/hyperhive-hive-facts` before
-every container start. The agent's environment generator
-(`nix/agent-modules/hive-facts.nix`) passes them to every unit, including
-`hivectl choom` sessions, and `/etc/set-environment` exports them in login
-shells that no unit starts (`nixos-container root-login`). Neither is part of
+agent's build, and neither do the hive's other per-host values: the dashboard
+port (`HIVE_DASHBOARD_PORT`), the pinned claude-code
+(`HYPERHIVE_CLAUDE_CODE_PATH`) and extra OTEL labels
+(`HYPERHIVE_OTEL_EXTRA_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES`). `hive-priv` writes them to
+`/etc/hyperhive-hive-facts` before every container start, leaving out any the
+hive doesn't set; the agent then uses its own default. The agent's environment
+generator (`nix/agent-modules/hive-facts.nix`) passes them to every unit,
+including `hivectl choom` sessions, and `/etc/set-environment` exports them in login
+shells that no unit starts (`nixos-container root-login`). None is part of
 an agent's closure, and an agent started on another hive reports that hive.
 
 `hive_name` + `swarm_name` are **distinct** from
diff --git a/docs/process/gotchas.md b/docs/process/gotchas.md
index 343b7a61..4f16ca6a 100644
--- a/docs/process/gotchas.md
+++ b/docs/process/gotchas.md
@@ -145,9 +145,9 @@ and every agent runs that build.
 
 What crosses is the **store path**, not the derivation. Containers
 share the host's `/nix/store`, so the binary is already reachable
-inside them with its whole closure; hive-c0re writes the path into each
-agent's flake as a string literal and the agent module symlinks
-`bin/claude` onto PATH. Two things rule out the natural-seeming alternatives: a
+inside them with its whole closure. `hive-priv` writes the path into each
+container's `/etc/hyperhive-hive-facts` at start, and the agent's `claude`
+wrapper on PATH runs its `bin/claude`. Two things rule out the natural-seeming alternatives: a
 `path:/nix/store/<pkg>` flake input is re-copied into the store as a
 reference-less `-source` (so the runtime closure never arrives), and
 `lib.types.package` fed a bare path runs `builtins.storePath`, which
@@ -171,7 +171,7 @@ expected.
 
 <!-- vale write-good.Passive = NO -->
 
-The catch is that a path written into a generated flake is text, not a
+The catch is that a path handed to the container at start is text, not a
 reference — the container's closure doesn't keep the binary alive.
 The **host** does: it interpolates the package into
 `/etc/hyperhive/serve.json`, so it lands in the host's system closure
@@ -180,7 +180,7 @@ string context, which is the load-bearing detail; discard the context
 anywhere on that path and `nix-collect-garbage` will eventually take
 the hive's `claude` out from under it. The price of the root is that
 `nix-collect-garbage` can't reclaim an old `claude-code` until every
-agent has rebuilt past it and the old generations are gone.
+agent has restarted past it and the old generations are gone.
 
 <!-- vale write-good.Passive = YES -->
 
diff --git a/docs/scheduler/observability.md b/docs/scheduler/observability.md
index 9151eb51..01678185 100644
--- a/docs/scheduler/observability.md
+++ b/docs/scheduler/observability.md
@@ -190,7 +190,7 @@ two-tier architecture, the security model, and how the options interact.
 
 The harness sets the OTLP variables (`OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT`, `_PROTOCOL`,
 `OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES`, the temporality preference) **container
-wide** — in systemd's `DefaultEnvironment` and in `/etc/profile` — so every
+wide**, for every unit and in `/etc/profile`, so every
 process in an agent container exports to the hive's collector without any
 per-tool wiring. That covers Claude Code, `hive-metric`, and anything you run
 yourself from a tool call or a shell you open in the container.
@@ -209,8 +209,9 @@ the push (see [Authenticated ingest](#authenticated-ingest)). The container
 doesn't set it.
 
 Append additional labels for one hive via `extraResourceAttributes` (see
-option reference above); pass custom per-data-point labels with
-`hive-metric --labels` (see below).
+option reference above). Agents get them at container start, so a change
+reaches an agent at its next start, not through a rebuild. Pass custom
+per-data-point labels with `hive-metric --labels` (see below).
 
 ## Log severity
 
diff --git a/docs/turn-loop/claude-invocation.md b/docs/turn-loop/claude-invocation.md
index 21539961..00cb3a15 100644
--- a/docs/turn-loop/claude-invocation.md
+++ b/docs/turn-loop/claude-invocation.md
@@ -33,11 +33,13 @@ harness unit's PATH. By default that's the `claude-code` in the agent's
 own nixpkgs (the meta flake's `nixpkgs` input) via
 `environment.systemPackages`. Since that's typically a release channel and
 this package moves fast, the operator can pin one per hive with
-`services.hyperhive.deploy.hive-controller.claudeCodePackage`: hive-c0re writes its
-store path into each agent's flake, and `claude` on PATH becomes a symlink to it
-instead of the container's own `claude-code` — so there's only ever one
-`claude` in the container. Agents pick up a new build on their
-next rebuild, not live. See docs/process/gotchas.md::`claude-code` is unfree.
+`services.hyperhive.deploy.hive-controller.claudeCodePackage`. `hive-priv`
+writes its store path into the container's `/etc/hyperhive-hive-facts` as
+`HYPERHIVE_CLAUDE_CODE_PATH` before every start. `claude` on PATH is a wrapper
+that runs that build when the path exists, and the container's own
+`claude-code` when the variable is unset or the path no longer exists, saying
+so on stderr in the second case. A bump reaches an agent at its next container
+start, not at a rebuild. See docs/process/gotchas.md::`claude-code` is unfree.
 
 Hive-enforced settings ship at `/etc/claude-code/managed-settings.json`
 (claude-code's canonical managed-settings path — precedence #1,
diff --git a/hive-c0re/src/coordinator.rs b/hive-c0re/src/coordinator.rs
index d752f947..bcb72ed4 100644
--- a/hive-c0re/src/coordinator.rs
+++ b/hive-c0re/src/coordinator.rs
@@ -43,8 +43,8 @@ pub struct Coordinator {
     /// Git rev of the hyperhive checkout this host runs. Pins the meta
     /// flake's `hyperhive` input; `None` makes the meta render fail.
     pub hyperhive_rev: Option<String>,
-    /// Store path of the `claude-code` build every agent runs, written
-    /// into each per-agent flake as `services.hyperhive.agent.claudeCodePath`. Set by
+    /// Store path of the `claude-code` build every agent runs, handed to
+    /// each container at start as `HYPERHIVE_CLAUDE_CODE_PATH`. Set by
     /// the NixOS module option
     /// `services.hyperhive.deploy.hive-controller.claudeCodePackage`
     /// (which resolves the package and hands us its path). `None` = every
@@ -55,9 +55,9 @@ pub struct Coordinator {
     /// closure and all. The host module is what keeps it from being
     /// garbage-collected — see that option.
     pub claude_code_path: Option<String>,
-    /// TCP port the host's hive-c0re dashboard listens on. Inlined into
-    /// each per-agent flake so the agent's web UI can build the right
-    /// rebuild-button URL pointing back at the dashboard.
+    /// TCP port the host's hive-c0re dashboard listens on. Handed to each
+    /// container at start as `HIVE_DASHBOARD_PORT`, so the agent's web UI
+    /// can build the rebuild-button URL pointing back at the dashboard.
     pub dashboard_port: u16,
     /// Per-agent systemd `CPUQuota=` value (e.g. `"200%"`). Written into
     /// the `container@h-<name>.service.d/` drop-in on every spawn/rebuild.
@@ -193,7 +193,7 @@ pub struct HiveEnv {
     pub hyperhive_rev: Option<String>,
     /// Store path of the `claude-code` agents run, or `None` for "each
     /// agent keeps the one out of its own nixpkgs". Travels into the
-    /// container as `services.hyperhive.agent.claudeCodePath` — a plain string, kept
+    /// container as `HYPERHIVE_CLAUDE_CODE_PATH` — a plain string, kept
     /// alive host-side by the module that resolved it.
     pub claude_code_path: Option<String>,
     pub dashboard_port: u16,
diff --git a/hive-c0re/src/lifecycle/host_config.rs b/hive-c0re/src/lifecycle/host_config.rs
index 4204ede5..bb20df7e 100644
--- a/hive-c0re/src/lifecycle/host_config.rs
+++ b/hive-c0re/src/lifecycle/host_config.rs
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ use super::{
 pub async fn write_dropins(name: &str, hive: &HiveEnv, paths: &AgentPaths) -> Result<()> {
     validate(name)?;
     let container = container_name(name);
-    set_nspawn_flags(&container, &paths.agent, &paths.claude, &paths.notes).await?;
+    set_nspawn_flags(&container, hive, &paths.agent, &paths.claude, &paths.notes).await?;
     hand_permissions(name, &paths.agent);
     if let Some((cpu_quota, memory_max)) = stage_limits(
         name,
@@ -496,6 +496,7 @@ fn queue_agent_credentials(agent_name: &str, dir: Option<&Path>) -> Vec<Credenti
 )]
 async fn set_nspawn_flags(
     container: &str,
+    hive: &HiveEnv,
     runtime_dir: &Path,
     claude_dir: &Path,
     notes_dir: &Path,
@@ -669,7 +670,7 @@ async fn set_nspawn_flags(
         &binds,
         isolation,
         &load_creds,
-        super::hive_facts_from_env(),
+        super::hive_facts(hive),
     )
     .await
 }
diff --git a/hive-c0re/src/lifecycle/mod.rs b/hive-c0re/src/lifecycle/mod.rs
index 36ccac32..b70b440b 100644
--- a/hive-c0re/src/lifecycle/mod.rs
+++ b/hive-c0re/src/lifecycle/mod.rs
@@ -169,14 +169,27 @@ pub fn network_isolation_from_env() -> Result<hive_priv_sock::NetworkIsolation>
     network_isolation_from_vars(bridge.as_deref(), subnet.as_deref())
 }
 
-/// The hive's facts every container is handed at runtime, from hive-c0re's
-/// own unit environment (`nix/host-modules/hive-c0re/environment.nix`). An
-/// unset or empty variable is `None`.
-fn hive_facts_from_env() -> hive_priv_sock::HiveFacts {
-    let read = |name: &str| std::env::var(name).ok().filter(|v| !v.is_empty());
+/// The hive's facts every container is handed at runtime, so that no agent
+/// build carries a value that differs between hosts. The name, domain and
+/// OTEL resource labels come from hive-c0re's own unit environment
+/// (`nix/host-modules/hive-c0re/environment.nix`), where an unset or empty
+/// variable is `None`; the dashboard port and pinned claude from `hive`.
+fn hive_facts(hive: &HiveEnv) -> hive_priv_sock::HiveFacts {
+    hive_facts_from(hive, |name| std::env::var(name).ok())
+}
+
+/// [`hive_facts`] over a given environment lookup, for tests.
+fn hive_facts_from(
+    hive: &HiveEnv,
+    var: impl Fn(&str) -> Option<String>,
+) -> hive_priv_sock::HiveFacts {
+    let read = |name: &str| var(name).filter(|v| !v.is_empty());
     hive_priv_sock::HiveFacts {
         name: read("HYPERHIVE_HIVE_NAME"),
         domain: read("HYPERHIVE_HIVE_DOMAIN"),
+        dashboard_port: Some(hive.dashboard_port),
+        claude_code_path: hive.claude_code_path.clone(),
+        otel_extra_resource_attributes: read("HYPERHIVE_OTEL_EXTRA_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES"),
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/hive-c0re/src/lifecycle/tests.rs b/hive-c0re/src/lifecycle/tests.rs
index 0ea0d190..b68ef27e 100644
--- a/hive-c0re/src/lifecycle/tests.rs
+++ b/hive-c0re/src/lifecycle/tests.rs
@@ -527,3 +527,39 @@ async fn run_with_deadline_returns_output_of_a_fast_child() {
         .expect("echo finishes");
     assert_eq!(String::from_utf8_lossy(&out.stdout).trim(), "hi");
 }
+
+/// The three per-host values reach the container as facts: the dashboard
+/// port and pinned claude from the hive's config, the OTEL labels from the
+/// daemon's environment.
+#[test]
+fn hive_facts_carry_the_per_host_values() {
+    let hive = HiveEnv {
+        dashboard_port: 7123,
+        claude_code_path: Some("/nix/store/0abc-claude-code".to_owned()),
+        ..HiveEnv::default()
+    };
+    let facts = hive_facts_from(&hive, |name| {
+        (name == "HYPERHIVE_OTEL_EXTRA_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES").then(|| "team=a".to_owned())
+    });
+    assert_eq!(facts.dashboard_port, Some(7123));
+    assert_eq!(
+        facts.claude_code_path.as_deref(),
+        Some("/nix/store/0abc-claude-code")
+    );
+    assert_eq!(
+        facts.otel_extra_resource_attributes.as_deref(),
+        Some("team=a")
+    );
+}
+
+/// Unset and empty both leave a fact out, so the agent falls back to its
+/// own default rather than reading an empty value.
+#[test]
+fn hive_facts_leave_unset_values_out() {
+    let facts = hive_facts_from(&HiveEnv::default(), |name| {
+        (name == "HYPERHIVE_OTEL_EXTRA_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES").then(String::new)
+    });
+    assert_eq!(facts.claude_code_path, None);
+    assert_eq!(facts.otel_extra_resource_attributes, None);
+    assert_eq!(facts.name, None);
+}
diff --git a/hive-c0re/src/meta.rs b/hive-c0re/src/meta.rs
index 715886b6..430c65ae 100644
--- a/hive-c0re/src/meta.rs
+++ b/hive-c0re/src/meta.rs
@@ -431,23 +431,12 @@ fn pinned_git_url(forge_git_url: &str, rev: Option<&str>) -> Result<String> {
     Ok(format!("git+{forge_git_url}?rev={rev}"))
 }
 
-/// [`render_flake`] with its inputs taken from `hive`, as [`sync_agents`]
-/// renders it.
+/// [`render_flake`] with the hyperhive pin taken from `hive`, as
+/// [`sync_agents`] renders it. Nothing else in `hive` reaches the flake: the
+/// values that differ per host go to the container at start
+/// (`lifecycle::hive_facts`).
 fn render_hive_flake(hive: &HiveEnv, agents: &[AgentSpec]) -> Result<String> {
-    render_hive_flake_at(hive, &hyperhive_input_url(hive)?, agents)
-}
-
-fn render_hive_flake_at(
-    hive: &HiveEnv,
-    hyperhive_url: &str,
-    agents: &[AgentSpec],
-) -> Result<String> {
-    render_flake(
-        hyperhive_url,
-        hive.claude_code_path.as_deref(),
-        hive.dashboard_port,
-        agents,
-    )
+    render_flake(&hyperhive_input_url(hive)?, agents)
 }
 
 /// Canonical inputs meta knows how to dedup. An agent that declares one
@@ -629,19 +618,6 @@ fn forwarded_env_vars() -> Vec<(&'static str, String)> {
         .collect()
 }
 
-/// Extra `OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES` entries for every agent, read off
-/// hive-c0re's own unit env
-/// (`services.hyperhive.deploy.hive-controller.otel.extraResourceAttributes`).
-/// `None` when unset or empty. This is the only OTEL value the renderer
-/// writes into the flake: agents export to the hive collector by default and
-/// find it by name, so there is no enable flag, endpoint or protocol to
-/// carry.
-fn otel_extra_resource_attributes() -> Option<String> {
-    std::env::var("HYPERHIVE_OTEL_EXTRA_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES")
-        .ok()
-        .filter(|v| !v.is_empty())
-}
-
 /// 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
@@ -764,12 +740,7 @@ fn canonical_inputs_in_lock(raw: &str) -> Vec<&'static str> {
     reason = "templated string-builder for the meta flake — the length is one \
               contiguous fmt block, splitting it would just hide the shape"
 )]
-fn render_flake(
-    hyperhive_url: &str,
-    claude_code_path: Option<&str>,
-    dashboard_port: u16,
-    agents: &[AgentSpec],
-) -> Result<String> {
+fn render_flake(hyperhive_url: &str, agents: &[AgentSpec]) -> Result<String> {
     use std::fmt::Write as _;
     let mut out = String::new();
     out.push_str("{\n  description = \"hyperhive deployed agents\";\n  inputs = {\n");
@@ -816,10 +787,8 @@ fn render_flake(
             );
         }
     }
-    out.push_str("  };\n  outputs =\n    { self, hyperhive, ... }@inputs:\n    let\n");
-    let _ = writeln!(
-        out,
-        "      dashboardPort = {dashboard_port};\n      mkAgent = {{ name, port, archetype ? null }}:"
+    out.push_str(
+        "  };\n  outputs =\n    { self, hyperhive, ... }@inputs:\n    let\n      mkAgent = { name, port, archetype ? null }:\n",
     );
     out.push_str(
         r#"        let
@@ -842,32 +811,6 @@ fn render_flake(
             {
 "#,
     );
-    // The `claude-code` agents run, as a bare store path rather than a
-    // flake input: containers share the host's `/nix/store`, so the
-    // binary is already there with its closure and has nothing to
-    // travel. A string literal is also the only shape that evaluates —
-    // `lib.types.package` on a bare path runs `builtins.storePath`,
-    // which pure eval rejects. The agent module puts its `bin/` on the
-    // harness PATH; the host module holds the gc root, since a path
-    // spelled out here is text and references nothing.
-    // `None` = no override; agents keep their own nixpkgs' `claude-code`.
-    if let Some(path) = claude_code_path {
-        let _ = writeln!(
-            out,
-            "              services.hyperhive.agent.claudeCodePath = \"{path}\";"
-        );
-    }
-    // Extra OTEL resource labels (`deploy.hive-controller.otel.*`) are the one
-    // OTEL value rendered here; enablement and the collector endpoint are
-    // agent-module defaults.
-    if let Some(attrs) = otel_extra_resource_attributes() {
-        let esc = |s: &str| s.replace('\\', "\\\\").replace('"', "\\\"");
-        let _ = writeln!(
-            out,
-            "              services.hyperhive.agent.otel.extraResourceAttributes = \"{}\";",
-            esc(&attrs)
-        );
-    }
     // Agent-facing service URLs (`services.hyperhive.agent.forge.url`, `services.hyperhive.agent.matrix.url`):
     // emit the host's real values as build-time agent config, the same
     // host-state -> agent-module shape as the CA block above.
@@ -959,7 +902,6 @@ fn render_flake(
               systemd.services.${service}.environment = {
                 HIVE_PORT = toString port;
                 HIVE_LABEL = name;
-                HIVE_DASHBOARD_PORT = toString dashboardPort;
 ",
     );
     // Forwarded env vars — picked up from hive-c0re's own systemd unit
@@ -1282,13 +1224,8 @@ mod tests {
         }
     }
 
-    fn render(
-        hyperhive_url: &str,
-        claude_code_path: Option<&str>,
-        dashboard_port: u16,
-        agents: &[AgentSpec],
-    ) -> String {
-        render_flake(hyperhive_url, claude_code_path, dashboard_port, agents).expect("render")
+    fn render(hyperhive_url: &str, agents: &[AgentSpec]) -> String {
+        render_flake(hyperhive_url, agents).expect("render")
     }
 
     #[test]
@@ -1309,8 +1246,6 @@ mod tests {
     fn the_input_a_rebuild_relocks_is_a_pinned_forge_url() {
         let out = render(
             "git+https://forge.example/hyperhive/hyperhive.git?rev=0123abcd",
-            None,
-            8000,
             &[sample_spec("iris", 9001)],
         );
         let url = out
@@ -1344,8 +1279,6 @@ mod tests {
     fn render_flake_pins_hyperhive_by_url_and_follows_its_nixpkgs() {
         let out = render(
             "git+https://forge.example/hyperhive/hyperhive.git?rev=0123abcd",
-            None,
-            8000,
             &[sample_spec("alice", 9001)],
         );
         assert!(
@@ -1374,8 +1307,6 @@ mod tests {
     fn render_flake_names_each_agent_container_after_the_agent() {
         let out = render(
             "git+https://forge.example/hyperhive/hyperhive.git?rev=0123abcd",
-            None,
-            8000,
             &[sample_spec("alice", 9001)],
         );
         assert!(
@@ -1401,49 +1332,6 @@ mod tests {
         );
     }
 
-    #[test]
-    fn render_flake_pins_claude_path_without_adding_an_input() {
-        // The host-pinned claude travels as a bare store path assigned to
-        // an option — deliberately NOT as a flake input. Containers share
-        // the host store, so the build is already reachable; making it an
-        // input would re-copy it as a reference-less `-source` and strip
-        // the closure the binary actually needs.
-        let out = render(
-            "git+https://forge.example/hyperhive/hyperhive.git?rev=0123abcd",
-            Some("/nix/store/cccc-claude-code-2.1.220"),
-            8000,
-            &[sample_spec("alice", 9001)],
-        );
-        assert!(
-            out.contains(
-                "services.hyperhive.agent.claudeCodePath = \"/nix/store/cccc-claude-code-2.1.220\";"
-            ),
-            "claude path assigned as a plain string literal:\n{out}"
-        );
-        assert!(
-            !out.contains("claude-code-2.1.220\".url"),
-            "the pinned claude must not become a flake input:\n{out}"
-        );
-    }
-
-    #[test]
-    fn render_flake_omits_claude_path_when_unset() {
-        // `None` = no host-level pin: the option is left undefined so the
-        // agent module keeps its own nixpkgs' `claude-code` (and keeps it
-        // in `environment.systemPackages`, which is what makes the
-        // unpinned case self-contained).
-        let out = render(
-            "git+https://forge.example/hyperhive/hyperhive.git?rev=0123abcd",
-            None,
-            8000,
-            &[sample_spec("alice", 9001)],
-        );
-        assert!(
-            !out.contains("claudeCodePath"),
-            "no claude assignment when unpinned:\n{out}"
-        );
-    }
-
     #[test]
     fn render_flake_emits_follows_for_agents_declaring_nixpkgs() {
         // `bitburner` + `dmatrix` declare `nixpkgs` at their root, while
@@ -1454,8 +1342,6 @@ mod tests {
         };
         let out = render(
             "git+https://forge.example/hyperhive/hyperhive.git?rev=0123abcd",
-            None,
-            8000,
             &[
                 sample_spec("argus", 9001),
                 with_nixpkgs("bitburner", 9002),
@@ -1482,8 +1368,6 @@ mod tests {
     fn render_flake_builds_every_agent_from_agent_base() {
         let out = render(
             "git+https://forge.example/hyperhive/hyperhive.git?rev=0123abcd",
-            None,
-            8000,
             &[sample_spec("alice", 9001), sample_spec("ruth", 9002)],
         );
         assert_eq!(
@@ -1507,8 +1391,6 @@ mod tests {
     fn render_flake_skips_canonical_follows_when_the_lock_declares_none() {
         let out = render(
             "git+https://forge.example/hyperhive/hyperhive.git?rev=0123abcd",
-            None,
-            8000,
             &[sample_spec("alice", 9001)],
         );
         // No agent-side follows when the lock declares nothing
@@ -1538,8 +1420,6 @@ mod tests {
         };
         let out = render(
             "git+https://forge.example/hyperhive/hyperhive.git?rev=0123abcd",
-            None,
-            8000,
             &[alice, android],
         );
         assert!(
@@ -1588,8 +1468,6 @@ mod tests {
         }
         let out = render(
             "git+https://forge.example/hyperhive/hyperhive.git?rev=0123abcd",
-            None,
-            8000,
             &[sample_spec("alice", 9001)],
         );
         unsafe {
@@ -1629,8 +1507,6 @@ mod tests {
             }
             render(
                 "git+https://forge.example/hyperhive/hyperhive.git?rev=0123abcd",
-                None,
-                8000,
                 &[sample_spec("alice", 9001)],
             )
         };
@@ -1824,8 +1700,6 @@ mod tests {
         }
         let out = render(
             "git+https://forge.example/hyperhive/hyperhive.git?rev=0123abcd",
-            None,
-            8000,
             &[sample_spec("alice", 9001)],
         );
         unsafe {
@@ -1855,8 +1729,6 @@ mod tests {
         };
         let out = render(
             "git+https://forge.example/hyperhive/hyperhive.git?rev=0123abcd",
-            None,
-            8000,
             &[at("alice", 9001, "aaaa"), at("bob", 9002, "bbbb")],
         );
         assert!(
@@ -1882,8 +1754,6 @@ mod tests {
         let args = |agents: &[AgentSpec]| {
             render_flake(
                 "git+https://forge.example/hyperhive/hyperhive.git?rev=0123abcd",
-                None,
-                8000,
                 agents,
             )
         };
@@ -2038,8 +1908,6 @@ mod tests {
         let render = || {
             render(
                 "git+https://forge.example/hyperhive/hyperhive.git?rev=0123abcd",
-                None,
-                8000,
                 &[sample_spec("alice", 9001)],
             )
         };
@@ -2100,11 +1968,12 @@ mod tests {
     }
 
     #[test]
-    fn render_flake_carries_no_otel_enablement() {
+    fn render_flake_carries_no_otel_config_and_no_per_host_value() {
         // The agent module defaults otel on and finds the collector by name, so
         // the flake carries no enable, endpoint or protocol line however the
-        // host's OTEL env is set. Only the per-hive resource labels are
-        // rendered, and only when set.
+        // host's OTEL env is set. The resource labels, dashboard port and
+        // pinned claude differ per host and reach the agent at container start
+        // (`lifecycle::hive_facts`), so none of them is rendered either.
         //
         // Serialised against every other env-mutating test in the crate.
         // `stats::otel_metrics::tests` perturbs OTEL env too, and lands in this
@@ -2115,8 +1984,6 @@ mod tests {
         let render = || {
             render(
                 "git+https://forge.example/hyperhive/hyperhive.git?rev=0123abcd",
-                None,
-                8000,
                 &[sample_spec("alice", 9001)],
             )
         };
@@ -2139,10 +2006,11 @@ mod tests {
             std::env::remove_var("HYPERHIVE_OTEL_EXTRA_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES");
         }
 
-        // Presence control: the render is the real flake, carrying the pin.
+        // Presence controls: the render is the real flake, carrying the pin and
+        // the harness env block the dashboard port used to sit in.
         assert!(
-            plain.contains("rev=0123abcd"),
-            "the hyperhive pin line must be rendered:\n{plain}"
+            plain.contains("rev=0123abcd") && plain.contains("HIVE_PORT = toString port;"),
+            "the hyperhive pin and the harness env must be rendered:\n{plain}"
         );
         for (name, flake) in [("plain", &plain), ("labelled", &labelled)] {
             for needle in [
@@ -2150,6 +2018,11 @@ mod tests {
                 "agent.otel.endpoint",
                 "agent.otel.protocol",
                 "c.example",
+                "extraResourceAttributes",
+                "deployment.environment",
+                "claudeCodePath",
+                "dashboardPort",
+                "HIVE_DASHBOARD_PORT",
             ] {
                 assert!(
                     !flake.contains(needle),
@@ -2157,16 +2030,6 @@ mod tests {
                 );
             }
         }
-        assert!(
-            !plain.contains("agent.otel.extraResourceAttributes"),
-            "extraResourceAttributes must not appear when unset:\n{plain}"
-        );
-        assert!(
-            labelled.contains(
-                "services.hyperhive.agent.otel.extraResourceAttributes = \"deployment.environment=prod\";"
-            ),
-            "extraResourceAttributes must be rendered when set:\n{labelled}"
-        );
     }
     #[test]
     fn render_flake_injects_github_disable_only_when_signalled() {
@@ -2181,8 +2044,6 @@ mod tests {
         let render = || {
             render(
                 "git+https://forge.example/hyperhive/hyperhive.git?rev=0123abcd",
-                None,
-                8000,
                 &[sample_spec("alice", 9001)],
             )
         };
@@ -2206,33 +2067,6 @@ mod tests {
             "github.enable = false must be injected when the host disables it:\n{disabled}"
         );
     }
-
-    /// The agent reads its memory cap at boot from the copy
-    /// `lifecycle::write_dropins` hands it, so the cap is no build input.
-    #[test]
-    fn render_hive_flake_is_identical_across_memory_caps() {
-        let hive = |cap: &str| HiveEnv {
-            agent_memory_max: cap.to_owned(),
-            ..HiveEnv::default()
-        };
-        let agents = [sample_spec("alice", 9001)];
-        let small = render_hive_flake_at(
-            &hive("4G"),
-            "git+https://forge.example/h.git?rev=abc",
-            &agents,
-        )
-        .expect("render");
-        let large = render_hive_flake_at(
-            &hive("16G"),
-            "git+https://forge.example/h.git?rev=abc",
-            &agents,
-        )
-        .expect("render");
-        assert_eq!(
-            small, large,
-            "the rendered flake must not depend on the memory cap"
-        );
-    }
 }
 
 #[cfg(test)]
diff --git a/hive-c0re/src/test_env.rs b/hive-c0re/src/test_env.rs
index f280eae9..1be54a5a 100644
--- a/hive-c0re/src/test_env.rs
+++ b/hive-c0re/src/test_env.rs
@@ -11,8 +11,8 @@
 //! ⚠️ **The lock has to be crate-wide, not per-module.** `hive-bash-mcp`'s
 //! sibling helper records why: two separate per-module mutexes serialise
 //! nothing against each other, and that produced a CI-only flake. The pair that
-//! motivated this one is `meta::tests` (which renders a flake from
-//! `HYPERHIVE_OTEL_EXTRA_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES`) and `stats::otel_metrics::tests` (which asserts which
+//! motivated this one is `meta::tests` (which renders a flake with
+//! `HYPERHIVE_OTEL_EXTRA_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES` set) and `stats::otel_metrics::tests` (which asserts which
 //! variable enables the exporter) — different modules, same process env, same
 //! binary.
 //!
diff --git a/hive-priv-sock/src/lib.rs b/hive-priv-sock/src/lib.rs
index 86e3679f..331c50d2 100644
--- a/hive-priv-sock/src/lib.rs
+++ b/hive-priv-sock/src/lib.rs
@@ -187,6 +187,15 @@ pub struct HiveFacts {
     pub name: Option<String>,
     /// `HYPERHIVE_HIVE_DOMAIN`: the hive's DNS domain.
     pub domain: Option<String>,
+    /// `HIVE_DASHBOARD_PORT`: the port this hive's dashboard listens on.
+    pub dashboard_port: Option<u16>,
+    /// `HYPERHIVE_CLAUDE_CODE_PATH`: store path of the `claude-code` the
+    /// hive pins for its agents. The host's system closure keeps it alive;
+    /// the container only gets the path.
+    pub claude_code_path: Option<String>,
+    /// `HYPERHIVE_OTEL_EXTRA_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES`: comma-separated `k=v`
+    /// entries the agent appends to its `OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES`.
+    pub otel_extra_resource_attributes: Option<String>,
 }
 
 /// Wall-clock bound hive-priv puts on one [`PrivRequest::MeasureAgentDisk`]
diff --git a/hive-priv/src/container_config.rs b/hive-priv/src/container_config.rs
index 64352042..0fc3e297 100644
--- a/hive-priv/src/container_config.rs
+++ b/hive-priv/src/container_config.rs
@@ -367,24 +367,54 @@ fn container_rootfs(container: &str) -> PathBuf {
 /// Render [`HiveFacts`] as the systemd environment file the agent loads,
 /// one `KEY=value` line per present fact.
 ///
-/// A value is refused unless it is DNS-name characters only, so it can carry
-/// neither a newline (a second assignment) nor anything an environment file
-/// or a shell would interpret.
+/// Each value is refused, never escaped, unless it is made only of the
+/// characters its fact can hold. None of those sets admits a newline (a
+/// second assignment), whitespace, a quote, `\` or `$`: the agent hands each
+/// line to systemd and its shells, which would read those as syntax.
 fn render_hive_facts(facts: &HiveFacts) -> Result<String> {
     use std::fmt::Write as _;
+    let dns = |b: u8| b.is_ascii_alphanumeric() || matches!(b, b'.' | b'-' | b'_');
+    let port = facts.dashboard_port.map(|p| p.to_string());
     let mut out = String::new();
-    for (key, value) in [
-        ("HYPERHIVE_HIVE_NAME", &facts.name),
-        ("HYPERHIVE_HIVE_DOMAIN", &facts.domain),
+    for (key, value, max_len, allowed) in [
+        (
+            "HYPERHIVE_HIVE_NAME",
+            facts.name.as_ref(),
+            253,
+            &dns as &dyn Fn(u8) -> bool,
+        ),
+        ("HYPERHIVE_HIVE_DOMAIN", facts.domain.as_ref(), 253, &dns),
+        ("HIVE_DASHBOARD_PORT", port.as_ref(), 5, &|b: u8| {
+            b.is_ascii_digit()
+        }),
+        // A store path's name characters, plus the `/` of its prefix; the
+        // prefix itself is checked below.
+        (
+            "HYPERHIVE_CLAUDE_CODE_PATH",
+            facts.claude_code_path.as_ref(),
+            256,
+            &|b: u8| dns(b) || matches!(b, b'+' | b'?' | b'=' | b'/'),
+        ),
+        // `k=v,k=v`, values percent-encoded as the OTEL spec has them.
+        (
+            "HYPERHIVE_OTEL_EXTRA_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES",
+            facts.otel_extra_resource_attributes.as_ref(),
+            1024,
+            &|b: u8| dns(b) || matches!(b, b'=' | b',' | b'/' | b':' | b'%' | b'+' | b'@'),
+        ),
     ] {
         let Some(value) = value else { continue };
-        if value.is_empty()
-            || value.len() > 253
-            || !value
-                .bytes()
-                .all(|b| b.is_ascii_alphanumeric() || matches!(b, b'.' | b'-' | b'_'))
+        if value.is_empty() || value.len() > max_len || !value.bytes().all(allowed) {
+            bail!(
+                "invalid {key} value {value:?}: must be 1-{max_len} chars of its fact's character set"
+            );
+        }
+        if key == "HYPERHIVE_CLAUDE_CODE_PATH"
+            && !value
+                .strip_prefix("/nix/store/")
+                .is_some_and(|name| !name.is_empty() && !name.contains('/'))
         {
-            bail!("invalid {key} value {value:?}: must be 1-253 chars of [A-Za-z0-9._-]");
+            bail!("invalid {key} value {value:?}: must be a top-level /nix/store path");
         }
         let _ = writeln!(out, "{key}={value}");
     }
@@ -711,14 +741,15 @@ mod tests {
         let both = HiveFacts {
             name: Some("pr1ma".to_owned()),
             domain: Some("pr1ma.darkest.space".to_owned()),
+            ..HiveFacts::default()
         };
         assert_eq!(
             render_hive_facts(&both).unwrap(),
             "HYPERHIVE_HIVE_NAME=pr1ma\nHYPERHIVE_HIVE_DOMAIN=pr1ma.darkest.space\n"
         );
         let domain_only = HiveFacts {
-            name: None,
             domain: Some("h1.example.test".to_owned()),
+            ..HiveFacts::default()
         };
         assert_eq!(
             render_hive_facts(&domain_only).unwrap(),
@@ -734,7 +765,66 @@ mod tests {
         for bad in ["", "pr1ma\nLD_PRELOAD=/x", "a b", "a\"b", "$(x)"] {
             let facts = HiveFacts {
                 name: Some(bad.to_owned()),
-                domain: None,
+                ..HiveFacts::default()
+            };
+            assert!(
+                render_hive_facts(&facts).is_err(),
+                "{bad:?} must be refused"
+            );
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// The three per-host values agents used to get at build time arrive
+    /// here, one line each.
+    #[test]
+    fn hive_facts_render_the_per_host_values() {
+        let facts = HiveFacts {
+            dashboard_port: Some(7123),
+            claude_code_path: Some("/nix/store/0abc-claude-code-2.1.220".to_owned()),
+            otel_extra_resource_attributes: Some(
+                "deployment.environment=prod,team=a%2Fb".to_owned(),
+            ),
+            ..HiveFacts::default()
+        };
+        assert_eq!(
+            render_hive_facts(&facts).unwrap(),
+            "HIVE_DASHBOARD_PORT=7123\n\
+             HYPERHIVE_CLAUDE_CODE_PATH=/nix/store/0abc-claude-code-2.1.220\n\
+             HYPERHIVE_OTEL_EXTRA_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES=deployment.environment=prod,team=a%2Fb\n"
+        );
+    }
+
+    /// The claude path is a top-level store path or nothing, and neither
+    /// value may carry generator syntax.
+    #[test]
+    fn hive_facts_refuse_bad_claude_paths_and_resource_attributes() {
+        for bad in [
+            "/nix/store/",
+            "/nix/store/abc-claude/bin/claude",
+            "/tmp/claude",
+            "nix/store/abc-claude",
+            "/nix/store/abc-claude\nLD_PRELOAD=/x",
+        ] {
+            let facts = HiveFacts {
+                claude_code_path: Some(bad.to_owned()),
+                ..HiveFacts::default()
+            };
+            assert!(
+                render_hive_facts(&facts).is_err(),
+                "{bad:?} must be refused"
+            );
+        }
+        for bad in [
+            "a=b\nPATH=/x",
+            "a=${HOME}",
+            "a=b c",
+            "a=\"b\"",
+            "a=b\\c",
+            "",
+        ] {
+            let facts = HiveFacts {
+                otel_extra_resource_attributes: Some(bad.to_owned()),
+                ..HiveFacts::default()
             };
             assert!(
                 render_hive_facts(&facts).is_err(),
@@ -752,10 +842,7 @@ mod tests {
             bridge: "hive0".to_owned(),
             gateway_ip: "10.42.0.1".to_owned(),
         };
-        let facts = HiveFacts {
-            name: None,
-            domain: None,
-        };
+        let facts = HiveFacts::default();
         for name in ["hive-forge", "hive-matrix"] {
             let errs = [
                 handle_write_nspawn_flags(name, &[], &isolation, &[], &facts).unwrap_err(),
diff --git a/nix/agent-modules/default.nix b/nix/agent-modules/default.nix
index 6047ad5c..6f4f5705 100644
--- a/nix/agent-modules/default.nix
+++ b/nix/agent-modules/default.nix
@@ -28,6 +28,33 @@ let
     which the hive writes before every start, so no agent build sets it.
     Remove the setting.
   '';
+  claudeCodePathRemoved = ''
+    An agent reads the claude-code its hive pins at runtime, from
+    HYPERHIVE_CLAUDE_CODE_PATH in /etc/hyperhive-hive-facts, so no agent build
+    sets it. Pin it host-side with
+    services.hyperhive.deploy.hive-controller.claudeCodePackage.
+  '';
+
+  # `claude` on PATH. A hive that pins a claude-code
+  # (`services.hyperhive.deploy.hive-controller.claudeCodePackage`) hands its
+  # store path over at container start as `HYPERHIVE_CLAUDE_CODE_PATH`, and
+  # the host's system closure keeps it alive: nothing in this container
+  # references it. With no pin, or a path that is not there, this container's
+  # own claude-code runs; a pin that is set but gone (collected after a bump
+  # while this container still holds the old facts) says so on stderr, since
+  # the two builds can differ. `exec -a claude` keeps the bare name in argv[0],
+  # which is how the harness finds its claude child (`find_claude_child`).
+  ownClaude = import ../claude-code-no-alsa.nix lib pkgs.claude-code;
+  claude = pkgs.writeShellScriptBin "claude" ''
+    pinned=''${HYPERHIVE_CLAUDE_CODE_PATH:-}
+    if [ -n "$pinned" ] && [ -x "$pinned/bin/claude" ]; then
+      exec -a claude "$pinned/bin/claude" "$@"
+    fi
+    if [ -n "$pinned" ]; then
+      echo "claude: $pinned/bin/claude, the hive's pinned claude-code, is missing; running this container's own" >&2
+    fi
+    exec -a claude ${ownClaude}/bin/claude "$@"
+  '';
 in
 {
   imports = [
@@ -68,6 +95,12 @@ in
       "agent"
       "claudeMemoryMaxBytes"
     ] memoryMaxBytesRemoved)
+    (lib.mkRemovedOptionModule [
+      "services"
+      "hyperhive"
+      "agent"
+      "claudeCodePath"
+    ] claudeCodePathRemoved)
   ];
 
   options.services.hyperhive.agent.icon = lib.mkOption {
@@ -87,33 +120,6 @@ in
     '';
   };
 
-  options.services.hyperhive.agent.claudeCodePath = lib.mkOption {
-    type = lib.types.nullOr lib.types.str;
-    default = null;
-    example = "/nix/store/…-claude-code-2.1.220";
-    description = ''
-      Store path of the `claude-code` this agent runs, or `null` (the
-      default) to use the `claude-code` from the container's own
-      nixpkgs.
-
-      Set by the generated meta flake when the operator sets
-      `services.hyperhive.deploy.hive-controller.claudeCodePackage` host-side, so a hive
-      can run a claude built from a *different* nixpkgs than the one
-      its agents evaluate against — a release channel can trail
-      unstable by weeks on this one package. It arrives as a path and
-      not a package because agents share the host's `/nix/store`, so
-      the build is already reachable here with its whole closure and
-      has nothing to travel.
-
-      When set, `claude` on PATH is a symlink to this path's
-      `bin/claude` and the container's own `claude-code` is dropped, so
-      there is only ever one claude in the container. Note that neither
-      the symlink nor anything else in the container's closure *refers*
-      to the target — keeping it alive is the host's job, see
-      `services.hyperhive.deploy.hive-controller.claudeCodePackage`.
-    '';
-  };
-
   config = {
     assertions = [
       # Guard the inputs-routed-as-output pattern: the agent flake.nix is
@@ -240,28 +246,7 @@ in
       config.services.hyperhive.agent.packages.hive-metric
     ]
     ++ [
-      (
-        if config.services.hyperhive.agent.claudeCodePath == null then
-          import ../claude-code-no-alsa.nix lib pkgs.claude-code
-        else
-          # Host-pinned claude: a symlink farm around a path the
-          # container was handed as text. It has to be a derivation —
-          # `environment.systemPackages` coerces a store-path *string*
-          # with `toDerivation`, i.e. `builtins.storePath`, which pure
-          # evaluation rejects (`systemd.services.*.path` does the same,
-          # which is why the harness gets this via PATH like everything
-          # else rather than a unit-level entry). Interpolating the path
-          # into the builder is just text, so it evaluates anywhere.
-          #
-          # The symlink registers no store reference — the target isn't
-          # among this derivation's inputs, so nothing here keeps the
-          # binary alive. That is deliberate and it is the host's job:
-          # see `services.hyperhive.deploy.hive-controller.claudeCodePackage`.
-          pkgs.runCommandLocal "claude-code-pinned" { } ''
-            mkdir -p "$out/bin"
-            ln -s ${config.services.hyperhive.agent.claudeCodePath}/bin/claude "$out/bin/claude"
-          ''
-      )
+      claude
     ]
     ++ (with pkgs; [
       bashInteractive
diff --git a/nix/agent-modules/hive-facts.nix b/nix/agent-modules/hive-facts.nix
index c5e33e06..864965bb 100644
--- a/nix/agent-modules/hive-facts.nix
+++ b/nix/agent-modules/hive-facts.nix
@@ -2,8 +2,17 @@
 # agent's closure does not carry it.
 #
 # hive-priv writes `/etc/hyperhive-hive-facts` into the container before every
-# start (`HYPERHIVE_HIVE_NAME`, `HYPERHIVE_HIVE_DOMAIN`, one `KEY=value` line
-# each). Two readers hand those lines on:
+# start, one `KEY=value` line each:
+#
+# - `HYPERHIVE_HIVE_NAME`, `HYPERHIVE_HIVE_DOMAIN`;
+# - `HIVE_DASHBOARD_PORT`, read by the harness's web UI (7000 when absent);
+# - `HYPERHIVE_CLAUDE_CODE_PATH`, the claude-code the hive pins (`claude` in
+#   ./default.nix runs this container's own when absent);
+# - `HYPERHIVE_OTEL_EXTRA_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES`, appended to
+#   `OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES` by ./otel.nix (no extra labels when absent).
+#
+# Any of them may be absent: a hive-c0re older than the agent's build writes
+# fewer. Two readers hand the lines on:
 #
 # - an environment generator, for the container's systemd: it passes them to
 #   every unit it starts, `machinectl shell` sessions (`hivectl choom`)
@@ -23,8 +32,8 @@
 let
   userName = config.services.hyperhive.agent.user.name;
 
-  # Shell builtins only: nothing is assumed on PATH this early. Only the two
-  # known keys are passed on. `|| [ -n "$key" ]` keeps a last line that has
+  # Shell builtins only: nothing is assumed on PATH this early. Only the known
+  # keys are passed on. `|| [ -n "$key" ]` keeps a last line that has
   # no trailing newline.
   generator = pkgs.writeShellScript "hyperhive-hive-facts" ''
     hive=unknown
@@ -32,7 +41,8 @@ let
       while IFS='=' read -r key value || [ -n "$key" ]; do
         case "$key" in
           HYPERHIVE_HIVE_NAME) hive=$value ;;
-          HYPERHIVE_HIVE_DOMAIN) ;;
+          HYPERHIVE_HIVE_DOMAIN | HIVE_DASHBOARD_PORT) ;;
+          HYPERHIVE_CLAUDE_CODE_PATH | HYPERHIVE_OTEL_EXTRA_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES) ;;
           *) continue ;;
         esac
         printf '%s=%s\n' "$key" "$value"
diff --git a/nix/agent-modules/otel.nix b/nix/agent-modules/otel.nix
index d0f9046b..9ddbdbf8 100644
--- a/nix/agent-modules/otel.nix
+++ b/nix/agent-modules/otel.nix
@@ -42,9 +42,17 @@ let
   # agent, and their metric names already tell them apart. No `hive`: the
   # swarm collector stamps it from the receiver that accepted the hive's
   # push (nix/host-modules/swarm-otel.nix), so the build names no hive.
-  resourceAttributes =
-    "service.name=hyperhive-agent,agent=${userName},swarm=${swarmDisplayName}"
-    + lib.optionalString (cfg.extraResourceAttributes != "") ",${cfg.extraResourceAttributes}";
+  resourceAttributes = "service.name=hyperhive-agent,agent=${userName},swarm=${swarmDisplayName}";
+
+  # Prints `OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES`: the labels above, then the hive's own
+  # (`HYPERHIVE_OTEL_EXTRA_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES`), which differ per host and so
+  # arrive at container start. That variable comes from ./hive-facts.nix's
+  # generator, which runs before this one and is absent when the hive sets no
+  # labels.
+  resourceGenerator = pkgs.writeShellScript "hyperhive-otel-resource" ''
+    printf 'OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES=%s%s\n' ${lib.escapeShellArg resourceAttributes} \
+      "''${HYPERHIVE_OTEL_EXTRA_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES:+,$HYPERHIVE_OTEL_EXTRA_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES}"
+  '';
 
   # The variables an OTEL SDK reads on its own, in any language, in any
   # process here.
@@ -62,7 +70,6 @@ let
     # which Prometheus/Mimir-family backends (incl. grafana-lgtm)
     # silently drop without a deltatocumulative processor.
     OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_TEMPORALITY_PREFERENCE = "cumulative";
-    OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES = resourceAttributes;
   };
 
   # The exporter's NAME picks the wire protocol, so `protocol` has to be
@@ -118,19 +125,6 @@ in
       '';
     };
 
-    extraResourceAttributes = lib.mkOption {
-      type = lib.types.str;
-      default = "";
-      internal = true;
-      description = ''
-        Extra comma-separated entries appended to
-        `OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES` after the built-in
-        `service.name` / `agent` / `swarm` labels.
-        Host-driven via
-        `services.hyperhive.deploy.hive-controller.otel.extraResourceAttributes`.
-      '';
-    };
-
     debug = lib.mkOption {
       type = lib.types.bool;
       default = false;
@@ -167,6 +161,14 @@ in
     systemd.globalEnvironment = producerEnv;
     environment.variables = producerEnv;
 
+    # `OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES` is in neither: a unit's own `Environment=`
+    # would override what the generator computes at boot. Units get it from
+    # the manager's environment; login shells run the same generator after
+    # ./hive-facts.nix's snippet has exported the hive's labels.
+    environment.etc."systemd/system-environment-generators/60-hyperhive-otel-resource".source =
+      resourceGenerator;
+    environment.extraInit = lib.mkAfter ''export "$(${resourceGenerator})"'';
+
     # The journal this container writes is reachable from inside it and
     # from nowhere else, which is why the forwarder runs here rather than
     # the hive reading the container's journal from outside: the host-side
diff --git a/nix/host-modules/hive-c0re/default.nix b/nix/host-modules/hive-c0re/default.nix
index 9b38328f..0f2d39a0 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/hive-c0re/default.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/hive-c0re/default.nix
@@ -110,9 +110,9 @@ let
     # in whole rather than interpolated — that is also the ONLY thing
     # gc-rooting it: the resulting string carries store context, so this
     # /etc entry genuinely references the package and the host's system
-    # closure holds it alive. Nothing container-side can — meta.rs writes
-    # the path into each agent's generated flake as a plain string
-    # literal, and text is not a reference. Hence the assertion below: do
+    # closure holds it alive. Nothing container-side can: hive-c0re hands
+    # the path to each container as text (`HYPERHIVE_CLAUDE_CODE_PATH`),
+    # and text is not a reference. Hence the assertion below: do
     # NOT discard this context, and do not route the path through
     # anything that drops it. The failure mode is a garbage-collected
     # `claude` and a hive that can't take a turn, weeks after the commit
diff --git a/nix/host-modules/hive-c0re/options.nix b/nix/host-modules/hive-c0re/options.nix
index ebabd39e..17267da8 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/hive-c0re/options.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/hive-c0re/options.nix
@@ -326,8 +326,9 @@
     };
   };
 
-  # What this hive hands its own agents through the meta-flake render. Per
-  # host, so two hives may set them differently.
+  # What this hive hands its own agents at container start, through
+  # `/etc/hyperhive-hive-facts`. Per host, so two hives may set them
+  # differently.
   options.services.hyperhive.deploy.hive-controller = {
     claudeCodePackage = lib.mkOption {
       type = lib.types.nullOr lib.types.package;
@@ -350,22 +351,23 @@
         What travels into the container is the **store path**, not the
         derivation: agents share the host's `/nix/store`, so the binary
         and its full closure are already reachable there — nothing
-        needs rebuilding or copying. hive-c0re writes the path into
-        each agent's generated flake as a plain string literal (a bare
-        path fed to `lib.types.package` would run `builtins.storePath`,
-        which is illegal under pure evaluation) and the agent module
-        puts its `bin/` on the harness's PATH.
+        needs rebuilding or copying. hive-c0re hands the path to each
+        container at start as `HYPERHIVE_CLAUDE_CODE_PATH`, and the agent's
+        `claude` on PATH runs it, or the container's own `claude-code` when
+        the variable is absent or names nothing. A change reaches an agent
+        at its next container start, not through a rebuild.
 
         The flip side of a plain string is that nothing in the agent's
         own closure refers to it, so the container cannot keep it
         alive. The **host** does that instead: this package is
         interpolated into `/etc/hyperhive/serve.json`, which puts it in
-        the host's system closure — so it is gc-rooted by the running
-        generation for exactly as long as that generation is the one
-        the agents were rendered from. The cost is that
-        `nix-collect-garbage` cannot reclaim an old `claude-code` until
-        every agent has been rebuilt past it and the old generations
-        are gone.
+        the host's system closure, so it is gc-rooted by the running
+        generation. ⚠️ An agent started under an older generation keeps
+        that generation's path until its next start, and only the old
+        generation roots it: collect old generations after restarting
+        the agents, or an agent still running the old path falls back to
+        its own `claude-code` at its next `claude` spawn, saying so on
+        stderr.
 
         The swarm's `swarm-claude-login` and `swarm-review-classifier`
         containers, where this host runs them, follow the same pin and
@@ -377,7 +379,11 @@
     dashboardPort = lib.mkOption {
       type = lib.types.port;
       default = 7000;
-      description = "TCP port this hive's hive-c0re dashboard listens on.";
+      description = ''
+        TCP port this hive's hive-c0re dashboard listens on. Agents get it
+        at container start as `HIVE_DASHBOARD_PORT`, for their web UI's
+        links back to the dashboard.
+      '';
     };
   };
 }
diff --git a/nix/host-modules/otel.nix b/nix/host-modules/otel.nix
index b162f8b8..e2379eb9 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/otel.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/otel.nix
@@ -236,7 +236,7 @@ in
   };
 
   # Read by this hive's hive-c0re, which stamps it on its own export and
-  # renders it into its agents', so it is a per-host choice.
+  # hands it to its agents at container start, so it is a per-host choice.
   options.services.hyperhive.deploy.hive-controller.otel.extraResourceAttributes = lib.mkOption {
     type = lib.types.str;
     default = "";
diff --git a/nix/module-eval/agent-otel.nix b/nix/module-eval/agent-otel.nix
index a9df766f..d92614a1 100644
--- a/nix/module-eval/agent-otel.nix
+++ b/nix/module-eval/agent-otel.nix
@@ -123,6 +123,25 @@ let
         && lib.all (e: s.exporters.${e}.endpoint == endpoint) s.service.pipelines.logs.exporters
         && !(agentNoOtel.systemd.globalEnvironment ? OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT);
     }
+    {
+      # The hive's extra labels arrive at container start, so the build
+      # cannot hold the whole `OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES`: a boot-time
+      # generator computes it, and a unit-level `Environment=` copy would
+      # override that. The endpoint beside it is the presence control for the
+      # two absence lookups; `agentNoOtel` is the control for the generator.
+      name = "an agent's OTEL resource labels come from a boot-time generator, not the build";
+      ok =
+        let
+          generator =
+            m: m.environment.etc ? "systemd/system-environment-generators/60-hyperhive-otel-resource";
+        in
+        agentDefault.systemd.globalEnvironment ? OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT
+        && !(agentDefault.systemd.globalEnvironment ? OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES)
+        && agentDefault.environment.variables ? OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT
+        && !(agentDefault.environment.variables ? OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES)
+        && generator agentDefault
+        && !(generator agentNoOtel);
+    }
     {
       # Presence control for the two cases above: with the switch off there
       # is no collector in the container at all, so their passing is about
diff --git a/nix/module-eval/swarm-services-switch.nix b/nix/module-eval/swarm-services-switch.nix
index 5b319322..40d38dcb 100644
--- a/nix/module-eval/swarm-services-switch.nix
+++ b/nix/module-eval/swarm-services-switch.nix
@@ -282,7 +282,7 @@ let
     {
       # The CLI is the one the agents run, not the container's own nixpkgs'.
       # Unpinned is the control: it falls back to the container's own `claude-code`.
-      # serve.json is what hive-c0re renders every agent's `claudeCodePath` from.
+      # serve.json is what hive-c0re hands every agent's `HYPERHIVE_CLAUDE_CODE_PATH` from.
       name = "the agents, the claude login minter and the review classifier run the claude-code this host pins";
       ok =
         let
diff --git a/nix/script-tests/agent-hive-facts.nix b/nix/script-tests/agent-hive-facts.nix
index 82c1a2c1..560c705e 100644
--- a/nix/script-tests/agent-hive-facts.nix
+++ b/nix/script-tests/agent-hive-facts.nix
@@ -1,7 +1,9 @@
 # `checks.script-test-agent-hive-facts` — runs the two readers of
 # `/etc/hyperhive-hive-facts` in ../agent-modules/hive-facts.nix: the systemd
 # environment generator and the login-shell snippet `/etc/set-environment`
-# sources. The cases are in ./agent-hive-facts.sh.
+# sources. Also the two consumers of what they pass on: ../agent-modules/otel.nix's
+# `OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES` generator and ../agent-modules/default.nix's `claude`.
+# The cases are in ./agent-hive-facts.sh.
 #
 # What runs is the rendered generator and snippet. The one edit is the facts
 # file's path, moved under the build directory, and the snippet's reference to
@@ -26,6 +28,11 @@ let
     ;
 
   machine = agentWith { services.hyperhive.agent.user.name = "a1"; };
+
+  # As text: building it would build the claude-code it falls back to.
+  claude = lib.findFirst (
+    p: (p.name or "") == "claude"
+  ) (throw "no `claude` in systemPackages") machine.environment.systemPackages;
 in
 pkgs.runCommand "hyperhive-script-test-agent-hive-facts"
   {
@@ -33,6 +40,9 @@ pkgs.runCommand "hyperhive-script-test-agent-hive-facts"
       machine.environment.etc."systemd/system-environment-generators/50-hyperhive-hive-facts".source;
     PROFILE = machine.environment.etc."hyperhive/hive-facts.sh".source;
     EXTRA_INIT = machine.environment.extraInit;
+    OTEL_GENERATOR =
+      machine.environment.etc."systemd/system-environment-generators/60-hyperhive-otel-resource".source;
+    CLAUDE_WRAPPER = builtins.unsafeDiscardStringContext claude.text;
     SHELLS = "${pkgs.dash}/bin/dash ${pkgs.bash}/bin/sh";
   }
   ''
diff --git a/nix/script-tests/agent-hive-facts.sh b/nix/script-tests/agent-hive-facts.sh
index cddb1bf7..58f57ac7 100644
--- a/nix/script-tests/agent-hive-facts.sh
+++ b/nix/script-tests/agent-hive-facts.sh
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ check() {
   for sh in $SHELLS; do
     # Only what the snippet exported reaches the child's environment. No PATH:
     # the snippet must not need one.
-    got=$(env -i "$sh" -c ". '$dir/profile'; exec '$envbin'" | grep -E '^(HYPERHIVE_|CLAUDE_|LD_PRELOAD=|__hyperhive)' | sort)
+    got=$(env -i "$sh" -c ". '$dir/profile'; exec '$envbin'" | grep -E '^(HYPERHIVE_|HIVE_DASHBOARD_PORT=|CLAUDE_|LD_PRELOAD=|__hyperhive)' | sort)
     if [ "$got" != "$(printf '%s\n' "$want" | sort)" ]; then
       fail "$sh: a child of the sourcing shell saw:"$'\n'"$got"
     fi
@@ -61,11 +61,73 @@ check "a last line without a newline is kept" "HYPERHIVE_HIVE_DOMAIN=pr1ma.examp
 HYPERHIVE_HIVE_NAME=pr1ma
 CLAUDE_REMOTE_CONTROL_SESSION_NAME_PREFIX=pr1ma-a1"
 
+printf 'HIVE_DASHBOARD_PORT=7123\nHYPERHIVE_CLAUDE_CODE_PATH=/nix/store/0abc-claude-code\nHYPERHIVE_OTEL_EXTRA_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES=team=a,env=prod\n' >"$facts"
+check "the per-host values, a value holding = kept whole" "HIVE_DASHBOARD_PORT=7123
+HYPERHIVE_CLAUDE_CODE_PATH=/nix/store/0abc-claude-code
+HYPERHIVE_OTEL_EXTRA_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES=team=a,env=prod
+CLAUDE_REMOTE_CONTROL_SESSION_NAME_PREFIX=unknown-a1"
+
 : >"$facts"
 check "an empty file (no facts)" "CLAUDE_REMOTE_CONTROL_SESSION_NAME_PREFIX=unknown-a1"
 
 rm -f "$facts"
 check "no file" "CLAUDE_REMOTE_CONTROL_SESSION_NAME_PREFIX=unknown-a1"
 
+# OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES, for units (the generator, run with what the
+# hive-facts generator printed) and for login shells (the extraInit line, after
+# the snippet). The base labels come from the build; the hive's are appended.
+base="service.name=hyperhive-agent,agent=a1,swarm=unknown"
+otel_check() {
+  case=$1
+  count=$((count + 1))
+  local want="OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES=$2" got sh passed
+  mapfile -t passed < <(env -i "$dir/generator")
+  got=$(env -i "${passed[@]}" "$OTEL_GENERATOR")
+  if [ "$got" != "$want" ]; then fail "generator printed: $got, wanted: $want"; fi
+  for sh in $SHELLS; do
+    got=$(env -i "$sh" -c ". '$dir/profile'; $otel_init; exec '$envbin'" | grep '^OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES=')
+    if [ "$got" != "$want" ]; then fail "$sh: a login shell saw: $got"; fi
+  done
+}
+
+case="otel setup"
+otel_init=$(printf '%s\n' "$EXTRA_INIT" | grep -F "$OTEL_GENERATOR")
+if [ -z "$otel_init" ]; then fail "/etc/set-environment does not run the OTEL resource generator"; fi
+if [ "$(printf '%s\n' "$EXTRA_INIT" | grep -n . | grep -F "$OTEL_GENERATOR" | cut -d: -f1)" -lt \
+  "$(printf '%s\n' "$EXTRA_INIT" | grep -nxF '. /etc/hyperhive/hive-facts.sh' | cut -d: -f1)" ]; then
+  fail "/etc/set-environment runs the OTEL resource generator before the hive-facts snippet"
+fi
+
+printf 'HYPERHIVE_OTEL_EXTRA_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES=team=a,env=prod\n' >"$facts"
+otel_check "the hive's labels are appended" "$base,team=a,env=prod"
+rm -f "$facts"
+otel_check "no hive labels: the base alone, no trailing comma" "$base"
+
+# `claude`: the hive's pinned build when it is there, this container's own
+# otherwise. Both builds are stand-ins that print which one ran.
+mkdir -p "$dir/own/bin" "$dir/pinned/bin"
+printf '#!%s\necho own "$@"\n' "$BASH" >"$dir/own/bin/claude"
+printf '#!%s\necho pinned "$@"\n' "$BASH" >"$dir/pinned/bin/claude"
+chmod +x "$dir/own/bin/claude" "$dir/pinned/bin/claude"
+printf '%s' "$CLAUDE_WRAPPER" | sed -E "s|/nix/store/[^ ]+/bin/claude|$dir/own/bin/claude|" >"$dir/claude"
+case="claude setup"
+if ! grep -qF "$dir/own/bin/claude" "$dir/claude"; then fail "the rewrite did not reach the fallback claude"; fi
+# claude_check <description> <pin or ""> <which ran> <expected stderr>
+claude_check() {
+  case=$1
+  count=$((count + 1))
+  local got said pin=()
+  if [ -n "$2" ]; then pin=("HYPERHIVE_CLAUDE_CODE_PATH=$2"); fi
+  # Under this shell: the shebang names the build's bash, not in this sandbox.
+  got=$(env -i "${pin[@]}" "$BASH" "$dir/claude" -p hi 2>"$dir/stderr")
+  said=$(cat "$dir/stderr")
+  if [ "$got" != "$3 -p hi" ]; then fail "ran: $got, wanted: $3 -p hi"; fi
+  if [ "$said" != "$4" ]; then fail "said on stderr: '$said', wanted: '$4'"; fi
+}
+claude_check "the pinned claude when the hive hands one over, silently" "$dir/pinned" pinned ""
+claude_check "the container's own claude with no pin, silently" "" own ""
+claude_check "the container's own claude when the pinned path is gone, saying so" "$dir/gone" own \
+  "claude: $dir/gone/bin/claude, the hive's pinned claude-code, is missing; running this container's own"
+
 echo "$count cases, $failures failed"
 [ "$failures" -eq 0 ]