diff --git a/docs/integrations/github.md b/docs/integrations/github.md
index a63ef0cd..f973afb1 100644
--- a/docs/integrations/github.md
+++ b/docs/integrations/github.md
@@ -19,17 +19,17 @@ needed — an agent gains GitHub by having a PAT stored for it.
 
 <!-- vale write-good.Passive = YES -->
 
-To turn it off for the whole hive, set the host option:
+To turn it off for the whole swarm, set the swarm option:
 
 ```nix
-services.hyperhive.github.enable = false;
+services.hyperhive.swarm.github.enable = false;
 ```
 
 hive-c0re's meta-flake renderer then injects `services.hyperhive.agent.github.enable = false`
 into every agent, so no agent ships the `gh` wrapper, the credential helper
 or the token fetch.
 (`services.hyperhive.agent.github.enable` also exists per-agent for completeness, but the
-hive-wide host switch is the intended control.)
+swarm-wide switch is the intended control.)
 
 github.com only. The token **value** never touches nix — the agent writes it
 to `<state>/github-token` at runtime (see [Provisioning](#provisioning)).
diff --git a/docs/networking/gateway.md b/docs/networking/gateway.md
index 81250056..ee186dc5 100644
--- a/docs/networking/gateway.md
+++ b/docs/networking/gateway.md
@@ -129,7 +129,7 @@ The name sits under the swarm domain so authelia's session cookie reaches it, wh
 
 nginx is the one external entry point. The per-agent web-port range (`8100`–`8999`) stays closed: agents serve their UI on a unix socket ([Per-agent unix-socket upstream](#per-agent-unix-socket-upstream)), and the hashed TCP port (`lifecycle::agent_web_port`) is only a fallback bind for an agent missing `HIVE_WEB_SOCKET` — the gateway never proxies through it.
 
-The dashboard port (`services.hyperhive.c0re.dashboardPort`, default 7000) binds `127.0.0.1` only, so remote dashboard access goes through the gateway. The dashboard can stop, rebuild and destroy agents; don't expose it without a reverse proxy in front.
+The dashboard port (`services.hyperhive.deploy.hive-controller.dashboardPort`, default 7000) binds `127.0.0.1` only, so remote dashboard access goes through the gateway. The dashboard can stop, rebuild and destroy agents; don't expose it without a reverse proxy in front.
 
 nginx serves its `stub_status` counters on `127.0.0.1:<statusPort>` (`services.hyperhive.gateway.statusPort`, default 8085) at `/stub_status`, from a server of its own outside the vhost tree. The hive's collector reads them with its `nginx` receiver, and the `gateway` Grafana dashboard plots them. The receiver only dials `http://`, which is why this is loopback TCP rather than a unix socket.
 
diff --git a/docs/process/conventions.md b/docs/process/conventions.md
index 2f083c0a..347131ba 100644
--- a/docs/process/conventions.md
+++ b/docs/process/conventions.md
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ exist because something already went wrong without them.
 - `MAX_AGENT_NAME` in `hive-c0re/src/lifecycle/mod.rs` enforces the cap.
 - Per-agent web UI port = `WEB_PORT_BASE + FNV1a(name) % WEB_PORT_RANGE`
   (8100..8999) for every agent; dashboard
-  `services.hyperhive.c0re.dashboardPort` (default 7000).
+  `services.hyperhive.deploy.hive-controller.dashboardPort` (default 7000).
 
 ## Hive identity (label + domain + display names)
 
diff --git a/docs/process/gotchas.md b/docs/process/gotchas.md
index 3021ef10..6f55d2d1 100644
--- a/docs/process/gotchas.md
+++ b/docs/process/gotchas.md
@@ -140,7 +140,7 @@ _different_ nixpkgs by itself: a container only ever sees the one
 nixpkgs the meta flake injects, so an `agent.nix` naming the host's
 `nixpkgs-unstable` has nothing to name. A release channel can trail
 unstable by weeks on this package, which is what
-`services.hyperhive.c0re.claudeCodePackage` is for — set it host-side
+`services.hyperhive.deploy.hive-controller.claudeCodePackage` is for — set it host-side
 and every agent runs that build.
 
 What crosses is the **store path**, not the derivation. Containers
@@ -228,7 +228,7 @@ agent (different hash → different port) and rebuilding. No state
 file, no probing, no port-allocation drift — the value is
 reproducible from just the name. Every agent hashes into
 8100..8999 via the same FNV-1a; dashboard
-at `services.hyperhive.c0re.dashboardPort` (default 7000).
+at `services.hyperhive.deploy.hive-controller.dashboardPort` (default 7000).
 
 ### Restart races on TCP bind
 
diff --git a/docs/scheduler/observability.md b/docs/scheduler/observability.md
index 3a84cb93..f50eb853 100644
--- a/docs/scheduler/observability.md
+++ b/docs/scheduler/observability.md
@@ -179,9 +179,12 @@ To let agents reach some other host-local service of your own →
 The nix module (`nix/host-modules/otel.nix`) generates every
 `services.hyperhive.otel.*` option's full type, default, description and
 example into the [options reference](https://hyperhive.darkest.space/options/)
-(host options — `nix build .#docs-host` for a local render). That's the
-reference; this page covers what a per-option listing can't: the two-tier
-architecture, the security model, and how the options interact.
+(host options — `nix build .#docs-host` for a local render). The same module
+declares the collector port every hive and its agents share,
+`services.hyperhive.swarm.hiveOtel.collectorPort`, and each hive's own
+`services.hyperhive.deploy.hive-controller.otel.extraResourceAttributes`.
+That's the reference; this page covers what a per-option listing can't: the
+two-tier architecture, the security model, and how the options interact.
 
 ## Built-in resource labels
 
@@ -205,8 +208,8 @@ The swarm's collector adds `hive`, the name of the hive whose receiver accepted
 the push (see [Authenticated ingest](#authenticated-ingest)). The container
 doesn't set it.
 
-Append additional labels via `extraResourceAttributes` (see option
-reference above); pass custom per-data-point labels with
+Append additional labels for one hive via `extraResourceAttributes` (see
+option reference above); pass custom per-data-point labels with
 `hive-metric --labels` (see below).
 
 ## Log severity
@@ -319,8 +322,9 @@ exists, so off-the-shelf OTEL/Grafana container dashboards work. Resource
 
 The `hyperhive.`-prefixed metrics have no semconv equivalent (memory
 limit + peak, on-disk footprint, and an instantaneous cpu percent kept
-alongside the spec `container.cpu.time` counter for convenience). Hive
-labels (`hive`, `swarm`, …) ride on the resource via
+alongside the spec `container.cpu.time` counter for convenience). The `swarm`
+label rides on the resource, and the swarm collector adds `hive` from the
+receiver that accepted the sample. Any other label goes in the hive's
 `extraResourceAttributes`.
 
 <!-- vale write-good.Passive = NO -->
diff --git a/docs/swarm/claude-login.md b/docs/swarm/claude-login.md
index dd3bb921..f06d0115 100644
--- a/docs/swarm/claude-login.md
+++ b/docs/swarm/claude-login.md
@@ -7,8 +7,9 @@ agent's harness installs them from there.
 
 Where it runs and how it's enabled: [`services.md`](services.md#claude-login-minter).
 
-The service runs the `claude-code` that `services.hyperhive.c0re.claudeCodePackage`
-pins for agents, and its container's own nixpkgs' where the hive pins none.
+The service runs the `claude-code` that its host's
+`services.hyperhive.deploy.hive-controller.claudeCodePackage`
+pins for agents, and its container's own nixpkgs' where the host pins none.
 
 ## What happens on a login
 
diff --git a/docs/swarm/review-classifier.md b/docs/swarm/review-classifier.md
index f562d969..f2d1e1ca 100644
--- a/docs/swarm/review-classifier.md
+++ b/docs/swarm/review-classifier.md
@@ -145,8 +145,9 @@ config) and an empty directory of its own. The prompt reaches it on stdin as
 one user message in `--input-format stream-json`, so that it can carry content
 blocks (see [Shared context](#shared-context)).
 
-The `claude` is the one `services.hyperhive.c0re.claudeCodePackage` pins for
-agents, or its container's own nixpkgs' where the hive pins none.
+The `claude` is the one its host's
+`services.hyperhive.deploy.hive-controller.claudeCodePackage` pins for
+agents, or its container's own nixpkgs' where the host pins none.
 
 On the ACP runtime, each classification is one prompt on a new `opencode acp`
 session. Its config and opencode's state live in a directory of its own,
diff --git a/docs/turn-loop/claude-invocation.md b/docs/turn-loop/claude-invocation.md
index 28dc5548..c1441c99 100644
--- a/docs/turn-loop/claude-invocation.md
+++ b/docs/turn-loop/claude-invocation.md
@@ -32,8 +32,8 @@ to the bus.
 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 hive-wide with
-`services.hyperhive.c0re.claudeCodePackage`: hive-c0re writes its
+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
diff --git a/hive-c0re/src/coordinator.rs b/hive-c0re/src/coordinator.rs
index c14b5d53..5351c473 100644
--- a/hive-c0re/src/coordinator.rs
+++ b/hive-c0re/src/coordinator.rs
@@ -54,7 +54,8 @@ pub struct Coordinator {
     pub nixpkgs_flake: String,
     /// Store path of the `claude-code` build every agent runs, written
     /// into each per-agent flake as `services.hyperhive.agent.claudeCodePath`. Set by
-    /// the NixOS module option `services.hyperhive.c0re.claudeCodePackage`
+    /// the NixOS module option
+    /// `services.hyperhive.deploy.hive-controller.claudeCodePackage`
     /// (which resolves the package and hands us its path). `None` = every
     /// agent keeps the `claude-code` from its own nixpkgs.
     ///
diff --git a/hive-c0re/src/meta.rs b/hive-c0re/src/meta.rs
index 6c46f7bf..edb33c24 100644
--- a/hive-c0re/src/meta.rs
+++ b/hive-c0re/src/meta.rs
@@ -551,8 +551,9 @@ fn hive_ca_source() -> Option<String> {
 }
 
 /// Hive-wide OTEL config injected into every agent's build, read off
-/// hive-c0re's own unit env (set from `services.hyperhive.otel.*`). A
-/// present, non-empty
+/// hive-c0re's own unit env (set from `services.hyperhive.otel.*`,
+/// `services.hyperhive.swarm.hiveOtel.*` and
+/// `services.hyperhive.deploy.hive-controller.otel.*`). A present, non-empty
 /// `HYPERHIVE_OTEL_ENDPOINT` is the enable signal — the host module
 /// asserts the endpoint is set whenever `otel.enable` is true, so
 /// "endpoint present" == "OTEL on". The optional fields map to the
@@ -922,8 +923,8 @@ where
     // operation the tests exercise directly.
     push_forwarded_var_options(&mut out, &forwarded_env_vars());
     // GitHub integration is on by default in every agent
-    // (`services.hyperhive.agent.github.enable`); the host turns it off hive-wide via
-    // `services.hyperhive.github.enable = false`, surfaced here as the
+    // (`services.hyperhive.agent.github.enable`); the host turns it off swarm-wide via
+    // `services.hyperhive.swarm.github.enable = false`, surfaced here as the
     // `HYPERHIVE_GITHUB_DISABLED` env on hive-c0re's unit. Only the OFF
     // override is propagated — the enabled default needs no per-agent line.
     if std::env::var_os("HYPERHIVE_GITHUB_DISABLED").is_some() {
@@ -1986,7 +1987,7 @@ mod tests {
 
     #[test]
     fn render_flake_injects_github_disable_only_when_signalled() {
-        // services.hyperhive.github.enable = false -> HYPERHIVE_GITHUB_DISABLED
+        // services.hyperhive.swarm.github.enable = false -> HYPERHIVE_GITHUB_DISABLED
         // on hive-c0re's unit -> `services.hyperhive.agent.github.enable = false` injected into
         // every agent. On by default, so nothing is emitted unless disabled.
         //
diff --git a/hive-c0re/src/stats/otel_metrics.rs b/hive-c0re/src/stats/otel_metrics.rs
index 36ae37bb..fa01c52e 100644
--- a/hive-c0re/src/stats/otel_metrics.rs
+++ b/hive-c0re/src/stats/otel_metrics.rs
@@ -347,8 +347,9 @@ fn attrs(c: &ContainerResource) -> Vec<KeyValue> {
 
 /// Resource: `service.name = hyperhive-c0re`, the host architecture, the
 /// running hyperhive revision, plus whatever the operator set in
-/// `extraResourceAttributes` (where the hive `hive` / `swarm` labels live, same
-/// channel the agent-side export uses).
+/// `deploy.hive-controller.otel.extraResourceAttributes` (same channel the
+/// agent-side export uses; the `hive` label is stamped by the swarm
+/// collector, not set here).
 ///
 /// These belong on the resource rather than on each data point for the same
 /// reason `hive` / `swarm` do: they are constant across one `hive-c0re`. Only
diff --git a/nix/agent-modules/default.nix b/nix/agent-modules/default.nix
index 47f37fa3..b8949cc5 100644
--- a/nix/agent-modules/default.nix
+++ b/nix/agent-modules/default.nix
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ in
       nixpkgs.
 
       Set by the generated meta flake when the operator sets
-      `services.hyperhive.c0re.claudeCodePackage` host-side, so a hive
+      `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
@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ in
       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.c0re.claudeCodePackage`.
+      `services.hyperhive.deploy.hive-controller.claudeCodePackage`.
     '';
   };
 
@@ -255,7 +255,7 @@ in
           # 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.c0re.claudeCodePackage`.
+          # 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"
diff --git a/nix/agent-modules/github.nix b/nix/agent-modules/github.nix
index bab686ec..94085849 100644
--- a/nix/agent-modules/github.nix
+++ b/nix/agent-modules/github.nix
@@ -55,8 +55,8 @@ in
       a compromised agent can act within the token's scopes --- scope is the
       real blast-radius limiter.
 
-      On by default. Host-driven: set `services.hyperhive.github.enable = false`
-      to turn the integration off hive-wide (meta.rs propagates the override
+      On by default. Host-driven: set `services.hyperhive.swarm.github.enable = false`
+      to turn the integration off swarm-wide (meta.rs propagates the override
       into every agent).
     '';
   };
diff --git a/nix/agent-modules/otel.nix b/nix/agent-modules/otel.nix
index f080c8ea..90af2d6a 100644
--- a/nix/agent-modules/otel.nix
+++ b/nix/agent-modules/otel.nix
@@ -125,7 +125,8 @@ in
         Extra comma-separated entries appended to
         `OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES` after the built-in
         `service.name` / `agent` / `swarm` labels.
-        Host-driven via `services.hyperhive.otel.extraResourceAttributes`.
+        Host-driven via
+        `services.hyperhive.deploy.hive-controller.otel.extraResourceAttributes`.
       '';
     };
 
diff --git a/nix/host-modules/deploy.nix b/nix/host-modules/deploy.nix
index 72213240..f3370360 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/deploy.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/deploy.nix
@@ -112,6 +112,21 @@ in
       [ "services" "hyperhive" "deploy" "bao" "servicesIssuerClientKeyFile" ]
     )
 
+    # What hive-c0re hands this hive's agents: a per-host choice, so it
+    # sits with the controller's other deployment options.
+    (lib.mkRenamedOptionModule
+      [ "services" "hyperhive" "c0re" "claudeCodePackage" ]
+      [ "services" "hyperhive" "deploy" "hive-controller" "claudeCodePackage" ]
+    )
+    (lib.mkRenamedOptionModule
+      [ "services" "hyperhive" "c0re" "dashboardPort" ]
+      [ "services" "hyperhive" "deploy" "hive-controller" "dashboardPort" ]
+    )
+    (lib.mkRenamedOptionModule
+      [ "services" "hyperhive" "otel" "extraResourceAttributes" ]
+      [ "services" "hyperhive" "deploy" "hive-controller" "otel" "extraResourceAttributes" ]
+    )
+
     # The homeserver's port and its firewall switch, removed rather than
     # renamed: tuwunel listens on a unix socket only the gateway reaches, so
     # there is no host port to choose or open.
diff --git a/nix/host-modules/hive-c0re/default.nix b/nix/host-modules/hive-c0re/default.nix
index 82799991..e919af48 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/hive-c0re/default.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/hive-c0re/default.nix
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
 }:
 let
   cfg = config.services.hyperhive.c0re;
+  controllerCfg = config.services.hyperhive.deploy.hive-controller;
 
   # `/run/hyperhive`'s mode. Held in one place because whichever of the two
   # units below activates first creates the directory, so they cannot be
@@ -110,8 +111,8 @@ let
     # 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
     # that caused it.
-    claude_code_path = cfg.claudeCodePackage;
-    dashboard_port = cfg.dashboardPort;
+    claude_code_path = controllerCfg.claudeCodePackage;
+    dashboard_port = controllerCfg.dashboardPort;
     agent_cpu_quota = cfg.agentCpuQuota;
     agent_memory_max = cfg.agentMemoryMax;
     agent_cpu_weight = cfg.agentCpuWeight;
@@ -163,9 +164,10 @@ in
         # `claude`, at whatever unrelated moment the gc runs. Cheap
         # enough to just check.
         assertion =
-          cfg.claudeCodePackage == null || builtins.hasContext (builtins.toJSON cfg.claudeCodePackage);
+          controllerCfg.claudeCodePackage == null
+          || builtins.hasContext (builtins.toJSON controllerCfg.claudeCodePackage);
         message = ''
-          services.hyperhive.c0re.claudeCodePackage lost its store
+          services.hyperhive.deploy.hive-controller.claudeCodePackage lost its store
           context on the way into /etc/hyperhive/serve.json, so the
           package is no longer gc-rooted by the system closure and
           `nix-collect-garbage` may delete the claude every agent runs.
diff --git a/nix/host-modules/hive-c0re/environment.nix b/nix/host-modules/hive-c0re/environment.nix
index d70b54b0..e01c404e 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/hive-c0re/environment.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/hive-c0re/environment.nix
@@ -65,27 +65,30 @@ in
 // lib.optionalAttrs (config.services.hyperhive.swarm.name != null) {
   HYPERHIVE_SWARM_NAME = config.services.hyperhive.swarm.name;
 }
-// lib.optionalAttrs (!config.services.hyperhive.github.enable) {
+// lib.optionalAttrs (!config.services.hyperhive.swarm.github.enable) {
   # GitHub integration is on by default; only signal the OFF override to
   # meta.rs, which then injects `services.hyperhive.agent.github.enable = false` into
-  # every agent. See services.hyperhive.github.enable.
+  # every agent. See services.hyperhive.swarm.github.enable.
   HYPERHIVE_GITHUB_DISABLED = "1";
 }
 // lib.optionalAttrs config.services.hyperhive.otel.enable (
-  # Hive-wide OTEL config -> read by meta.rs::otel_config and
-  # injected as build-time `services.hyperhive.agent.otel.*` into every agent.
+  # OTEL config (`swarm.hiveOtel`, `deploy.hive-controller.otel`, gated on
+  # this hive's `otel.enable`) -> read by meta.rs::otel_config and injected
+  # as build-time `services.hyperhive.agent.otel.*` into every agent.
   # Endpoint presence is the enable signal on the meta side; the
   # optional fields are only emitted when set so absent values
   # don't render no-op env lines.
   let
     otel = config.services.hyperhive.otel;
+    hiveOtel = config.services.hyperhive.swarm.hiveOtel;
+    controllerOtel = config.services.hyperhive.deploy.hive-controller.otel;
     # The first hop, this hive's own collector, under the two spellings its
     # two kinds of caller need. Agents get the swarm-wide name, so their
     # builds carry nothing hive-specific; this daemon gets the bridge
     # address, because on the host the name may resolve to loopback
     # (`gateway.localHostsEntry`), where the receiver does not listen.
-    agentFirstHop = "http://${otel.collector.host}:${toString otel.collector.port}";
-    hostFirstHop = "http://${config.services.hyperhive.network.bridgeIp}:${toString otel.collector.port}";
+    agentFirstHop = "http://${otel.collector.host}:${toString hiveOtel.collectorPort}";
+    hostFirstHop = "http://${config.services.hyperhive.network.bridgeIp}:${toString hiveOtel.collectorPort}";
   in
   {
     # `otel.endpoint` means "where telemetry ultimately goes" and keeps
@@ -113,8 +116,8 @@ in
     # what has to honour it (see nix/host-modules/otel.nix).
     HYPERHIVE_OTEL_PROTOCOL = "http/protobuf";
   }
-  // lib.optionalAttrs (otel.extraResourceAttributes != "") {
-    HYPERHIVE_OTEL_EXTRA_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES = otel.extraResourceAttributes;
+  // lib.optionalAttrs (controllerOtel.extraResourceAttributes != "") {
+    HYPERHIVE_OTEL_EXTRA_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES = controllerOtel.extraResourceAttributes;
   }
   # HYPERHIVE_OTEL_HEADERS_CREDENTIAL is deliberately NOT emitted, and
   # its absence is the security half of this design: that variable would
diff --git a/nix/host-modules/hive-c0re/options.nix b/nix/host-modules/hive-c0re/options.nix
index f53cc448..6abf7a29 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/hive-c0re/options.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/hive-c0re/options.nix
@@ -3,7 +3,9 @@
 # `nixosModules.default` wires to its own outputs (they carry no
 # in-module defaults; see ../../../flake.nix). The read-only
 # `servedFrontend` option lives in ./theme.nix with the stylix wiring
-# that computes it.
+# that computes it. The hive's own values the meta-flake render hands
+# its agents are declared here too, under
+# `services.hyperhive.deploy.hive-controller`.
 {
   pkgs,
   lib,
@@ -119,56 +121,6 @@
         of the host's channel.
       '';
     };
-    claudeCodePackage = lib.mkOption {
-      type = lib.types.nullOr lib.types.package;
-      default = null;
-      example = lib.literalExpression "inputs.nixpkgs-unstable.legacyPackages.x86_64-linux.claude-code";
-      description = ''
-        The `claude-code` build every agent runs, or `null` (the
-        default) to leave each agent on the `claude-code` from its own
-        nixpkgs — i.e. whatever `nixpkgsFlake` resolves to.
-
-        This is the one binary the whole hive is built around, and it
-        moves fast enough that a release channel routinely trails
-        unstable by weeks on it. An agent cannot fix that for itself:
-        agents evaluate against the single nixpkgs hive-c0re injects,
-        so an `agent.nix` has no other tree to reach for. Set this from
-        a second nixpkgs in the host flake and every agent follows,
-        without moving the nixpkgs the rest of the container is built
-        from.
-
-        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.
-
-        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 swarm's `swarm-claude-login` and `swarm-review-classifier`
-        containers, where this host runs them, follow the same pin and
-        keep their own nixpkgs' `claude-code` when it is `null`. They are
-        not agents, so pinning an older build for an agent-side
-        regression pins them too.
-      '';
-    };
-    dashboardPort = lib.mkOption {
-      type = lib.types.port;
-      default = 7000;
-      description = "TCP port the hive-c0re dashboard listens on.";
-    };
     preBuildAgentTemplates = lib.mkOption {
       type = lib.types.bool;
       default = false;
@@ -377,4 +329,59 @@
       '';
     };
   };
+
+  # What this hive hands its own agents through the meta-flake render. 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;
+      default = null;
+      example = lib.literalExpression "inputs.nixpkgs-unstable.legacyPackages.x86_64-linux.claude-code";
+      description = ''
+        The `claude-code` build every agent on this hive runs, or `null` (the
+        default) to leave each agent on the `claude-code` from its own
+        nixpkgs — i.e. whatever `c0re.nixpkgsFlake` resolves to.
+
+        This is the one binary the whole hive is built around, and it
+        moves fast enough that a release channel routinely trails
+        unstable by weeks on it. An agent cannot fix that for itself:
+        agents evaluate against the single nixpkgs hive-c0re injects,
+        so an `agent.nix` has no other tree to reach for. Set this from
+        a second nixpkgs in the host flake and every agent follows,
+        without moving the nixpkgs the rest of the container is built
+        from.
+
+        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.
+
+        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 swarm's `swarm-claude-login` and `swarm-review-classifier`
+        containers, where this host runs them, follow the same pin and
+        keep their own nixpkgs' `claude-code` when it is `null`. They are
+        not agents, so pinning an older build for an agent-side
+        regression pins them too.
+      '';
+    };
+    dashboardPort = lib.mkOption {
+      type = lib.types.port;
+      default = 7000;
+      description = "TCP port this hive's hive-c0re dashboard listens on.";
+    };
+  };
 }
diff --git a/nix/host-modules/hive-gateway/options.nix b/nix/host-modules/hive-gateway/options.nix
index beb3a5e9..2d4c0c70 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/hive-gateway/options.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/hive-gateway/options.nix
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ in
       description = ''
         TCP port the gateway proxies non-static requests to. Defaults
         to `7000` (hive-c0re's out-of-the-box dashboard port). Operators
-        who change `services.hyperhive.c0re.dashboardPort` should set
+        who change `services.hyperhive.deploy.hive-controller.dashboardPort` should set
         `upstreamPort` to match — kept as a hardcoded default rather
         than a cross-reference to keep this module's options eval
         independent of c0re's option tree shape.
diff --git a/nix/host-modules/hive-network.nix b/nix/host-modules/hive-network.nix
index 52c5659e..21264644 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/hive-network.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/hive-network.nix
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ let
   networkBase = builtins.bitAnd (ipToInt cfg.bridgeIp) (4294967295 - hostCount + 1);
 
   # Every switch that runs a hyperhive service on this host. Left out:
-  # `github.enable` (on by default, runs nothing by itself), the gateway's
+  # `swarm.github.enable` (on by default, runs nothing by itself), the gateway's
   # and matrix's sub-features, and `allSwarmServices`/`singleHostSwarm`,
   # which only take effect through the switches listed here.
   anyServiceEnabled =
diff --git a/nix/host-modules/hyperhive.nix b/nix/host-modules/hyperhive.nix
index 23083851..44d682c6 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/hyperhive.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/hyperhive.nix
@@ -17,6 +17,10 @@ in
       ruth from the swarm dashboard like any other agent; a ruth container that
       already exists keeps starting with the hive.
     '')
+    (lib.mkRenamedOptionModule
+      [ "services" "hyperhive" "github" "enable" ]
+      [ "services" "hyperhive" "swarm" "github" "enable" ]
+    )
   ];
 
   # Canonical hive DNS domain shared by every subsystem that needs a
@@ -192,15 +196,15 @@ in
   # the values it asserts. It is a deployment mode rather than a setting
   # this module's options read, so it lives with its consequences.
 
-  options.services.hyperhive.github.enable = lib.mkOption {
+  options.services.hyperhive.swarm.github.enable = lib.mkOption {
     type = lib.types.bool;
     default = true;
     example = false;
     description = ''
-      Hive-wide switch for the per-agent GitHub integration (the `gh` CLI
+      Swarm-wide switch for the per-agent GitHub integration (the `gh` CLI
       wrapper + git credential helper, per `services.hyperhive.agent.github.enable`). On by
       default: every agent gets the integration, inert until an operator links
-      a PAT for it in the swarm UI. Set `false` to turn it off for the whole hive --- the
+      a PAT for it in the swarm UI. Set `false` to turn it off for the whole swarm --- the
       meta-flake renderer (`hive-c0re/src/meta.rs`) then injects
       `services.hyperhive.agent.github.enable = false` into every agent. Exposed to hive-c0re
       as `HYPERHIVE_GITHUB_DISABLED` (set only when the integration is off).
diff --git a/nix/host-modules/otel.nix b/nix/host-modules/otel.nix
index 5ab1e6de..c527498f 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/otel.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/otel.nix
@@ -57,6 +57,10 @@ in
       hostUnit = true;
       enable = config.services.hyperhive.otel.enable;
     })
+    (lib.mkRenamedOptionModule
+      [ "services" "hyperhive" "otel" "collector" "port" ]
+      [ "services" "hyperhive" "swarm" "hiveOtel" "collectorPort" ]
+    )
   ];
 
   options.services.hyperhive.otel = {
@@ -147,17 +151,6 @@ in
       '';
     };
 
-    extraResourceAttributes = lib.mkOption {
-      type = lib.types.str;
-      default = "";
-      example = "deployment.environment=prod";
-      description = ''
-        Extra comma-separated entries appended to
-        `OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES` after the built-in
-        `service.name` / `agent` / `hive` / `swarm` labels.
-      '';
-    };
-
     collector.upstreamHeaderName = lib.mkOption {
       type = lib.types.str;
       default = "Authorization";
@@ -178,21 +171,6 @@ in
       '';
     };
 
-    collector.port = lib.mkOption {
-      type = lib.types.port;
-      default = 4318;
-      description = ''
-        Port the collector's OTLP/HTTP receiver listens on, at
-        `services.hyperhive.network.bridgeIp`. 4318 is the OTLP/HTTP
-        default.
-
-        The port is contributed to
-        `services.hyperhive.network.exposeHostPorts`, which opens it on
-        the bridge interface only — so it is reachable from agent
-        containers and not from the outside world.
-      '';
-    };
-
     collector.host = lib.mkOption {
       type = lib.types.str;
       readOnly = true;
@@ -296,14 +274,48 @@ in
     };
   };
 
+  # Shared by every hive's otel tier and its agents, so an agent's build
+  # carries the same port whichever hive renders it.
+  options.services.hyperhive.swarm.hiveOtel = {
+    collectorPort = lib.mkOption {
+      type = lib.types.port;
+      default = 4318;
+      description = ''
+        Port of every hive collector's OTLP/HTTP receiver, at that hive's
+        `services.hyperhive.network.bridgeIp`: the port agents dial at
+        `services.hyperhive.otel.collector.host`. 4318 is the OTLP/HTTP
+        default.
+
+        The port is contributed to
+        `services.hyperhive.network.exposeHostPorts`, which opens it on
+        the bridge interface only — so it is reachable from agent
+        containers and not from the outside world.
+      '';
+    };
+  };
+
+  # 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.
+  options.services.hyperhive.deploy.hive-controller.otel.extraResourceAttributes = lib.mkOption {
+    type = lib.types.str;
+    default = "";
+    example = "deployment.environment=prod";
+    description = ''
+      Extra comma-separated entries appended to
+      `OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES` of this hive's hive-c0re and its agents,
+      after the built-in `service.name` / `agent` / `hive` / `swarm` labels.
+    '';
+  };
+
   config = lib.mkIf config.services.hyperhive.otel.enable (
     let
       otel = config.services.hyperhive.otel;
       autheliaCfg = config.services.hyperhive.swarm.authelia;
       deployCfg = config.services.hyperhive.deploy;
       swarmOtelCfg = config.services.hyperhive.swarm.otel;
+      hiveOtelCfg = config.services.hyperhive.swarm.hiveOtel;
       hiveName = config.services.hyperhive.hiveName;
-      listen = "${config.services.hyperhive.network.bridgeIp}:${toString otel.collector.port}";
+      listen = "${config.services.hyperhive.network.bridgeIp}:${toString hiveOtelCfg.collectorPort}";
       swarmName = "otlphttp/swarm";
       gatewayCfg = config.services.hyperhive.gateway;
       authName = "oauth2client/swarm";
@@ -351,7 +363,7 @@ in
     {
       # Reachable from agent containers and nowhere else: this opens
       # the port on the bridge interface only.
-      services.hyperhive.network.exposeHostPorts = [ otel.collector.port ];
+      services.hyperhive.network.exposeHostPorts = [ hiveOtelCfg.collectorPort ];
 
       # The name agents dial, answered with the bridge IP the receiver binds.
       services.hyperhive.gateway.localNames = [ otel.collector.host ];
diff --git a/nix/host-modules/swarm-claude-login.nix b/nix/host-modules/swarm-claude-login.nix
index 4b04d864..7d9f8bf7 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/swarm-claude-login.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/swarm-claude-login.nix
@@ -23,12 +23,12 @@ let
   hyperhiveCfg = config.services.hyperhive;
 
   # The `claude-code` the agents run, so this container does not trail them on
-  # the CLI; `fallback`, the container's own nixpkgs', only where the hive pins
+  # the CLI; `fallback`, the container's own nixpkgs', only where this host pins
   # none.
   claudeCode =
     fallback:
-    if hyperhiveCfg.c0re.claudeCodePackage != null then
-      hyperhiveCfg.c0re.claudeCodePackage
+    if hyperhiveCfg.deploy.hive-controller.claudeCodePackage != null then
+      hyperhiveCfg.deploy.hive-controller.claudeCodePackage
     else
       fallback;
   cfg = hyperhiveCfg.deploy.claude-login;
diff --git a/nix/host-modules/swarm-otel-service.nix b/nix/host-modules/swarm-otel-service.nix
index 79b8bcf3..a6fc945a 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/swarm-otel-service.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/swarm-otel-service.nix
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ in
         with it.
 
         ⚠️ **Deliberately not 4318**, the OTLP/HTTP default, because the
-        hive tier already uses it (`services.hyperhive.otel.collector.port`)
+        hive tier already uses it (`services.hyperhive.swarm.hiveOtel.collectorPort`)
         and every swarm container shares the host's network namespace. Two
         listeners claiming one port on one host is not a build failure —
         it is a runtime coin toss over which one gets it, with nothing in
diff --git a/nix/host-modules/swarm-otel.nix b/nix/host-modules/swarm-otel.nix
index 5a1a73a0..95d1b0ca 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/swarm-otel.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/swarm-otel.nix
@@ -779,7 +779,7 @@ in
             others = [
               cfg.telemetryPort
               cfg.producerPort
-              otelCfg.collector.port
+              config.services.hyperhive.swarm.hiveOtel.collectorPort
             ]
             ++ map (p: p.port) (lib.attrValues serviceProducers);
             all = derived ++ others;
diff --git a/nix/host-modules/swarm-review-classifier.nix b/nix/host-modules/swarm-review-classifier.nix
index 54ba25e6..e4d8496e 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/swarm-review-classifier.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/swarm-review-classifier.nix
@@ -24,12 +24,12 @@ let
   hyperhiveCfg = config.services.hyperhive;
 
   # The `claude-code` the agents run, so this container does not trail them on
-  # the CLI; `fallback`, the container's own nixpkgs', only where the hive pins
+  # the CLI; `fallback`, the container's own nixpkgs', only where this host pins
   # none.
   claudeCode =
     fallback:
-    if hyperhiveCfg.c0re.claudeCodePackage != null then
-      hyperhiveCfg.c0re.claudeCodePackage
+    if hyperhiveCfg.deploy.hive-controller.claudeCodePackage != null then
+      hyperhiveCfg.deploy.hive-controller.claudeCodePackage
     else
       fallback;
   cfg = hyperhiveCfg.deploy.review-classifier;
@@ -100,7 +100,7 @@ let
   otelEnv = lib.optionalAttrs otelCfg.enable {
     CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_TELEMETRY = "1";
     OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER = "otlp";
-    OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT = "http://${networkCfg.bridgeIp}:${toString otelCfg.collector.port}";
+    OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT = "http://${networkCfg.bridgeIp}:${toString hyperhiveCfg.swarm.hiveOtel.collectorPort}";
     OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOL = "http/protobuf";
     # Claude Code defaults to delta, which the metrics store drops.
     OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_TEMPORALITY_PREFERENCE = "cumulative";
diff --git a/nix/module-eval/swarm-services-switch.nix b/nix/module-eval/swarm-services-switch.nix
index a4a86a10..0bf2343a 100644
--- a/nix/module-eval/swarm-services-switch.nix
+++ b/nix/module-eval/swarm-services-switch.nix
@@ -99,11 +99,11 @@ let
     deploy.builder.enable = false;
   };
 
-  # Same, with the claude-code build the agents run pinned on the hive. Any
+  # Same, with the claude-code build the agents run pinned on this host. Any
   # package serves: only the path the containers are pointed at is read.
   swarmServicesPinnedClaude = hiveWithController {
     deploy.allSwarmServices = true;
-    c0re.claudeCodePackage = pkgs.hello;
+    deploy.hive-controller.claudeCodePackage = pkgs.hello;
   };
 
   # Same, with one of those services placed on another host. Every derivation
@@ -283,16 +283,25 @@ 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`.
-      name = "the claude login minter and the review classifier run the claude-code the hive pins";
+      # serve.json is what hive-c0re renders every agent's `claudeCodePath` from.
+      name = "the agents, the claude login minter and the review classifier run the claude-code this host pins";
       ok =
         let
           claudeOf =
             host: container: unit: var:
             host.containers.${container}.config.systemd.services.${unit}.environment.${var};
           pinned = "${pkgs.hello}/bin/claude";
+          servedClaude =
+            host:
+            (builtins.fromJSON (
+              builtins.unsafeDiscardStringContext host.environment.etc."hyperhive/serve.json".text
+            )).claude_code_path;
         in
-        claudeOf swarmServicesPinnedClaude "swarm-claude-login" "swarm-claude-login"
-          "SWARM_CLAUDE_LOGIN_CLAUDE" == pinned
+        servedClaude swarmServicesPinnedClaude == "${pkgs.hello}"
+        && servedClaude swarmServicesHere == null
+        &&
+          claudeOf swarmServicesPinnedClaude "swarm-claude-login" "swarm-claude-login"
+            "SWARM_CLAUDE_LOGIN_CLAUDE" == pinned
         &&
           claudeOf swarmServicesPinnedClaude "swarm-review-classifier" "swarm-review-classifier"
             "SWARM_REVIEW_CLASSIFIER_CLAUDE" == pinned