diff --git a/generic.md b/generic.md
index fb99c35..9e4216d 100644
--- a/generic.md
+++ b/generic.md
@@ -462,11 +462,46 @@ This is the environment these apps deploy into. Claude Code should assume it.
 - Internal DNS split-horizon via `.internal` domains (`hanzalova.internal`, `kosherinata.internal`, etc.).
 
 ### TLS / PKI
-- Internal PKI via Smallstep `step-ca` at `ca.internal`.
-- Host certs renewed via systemd timers.
-- mTLS everywhere internal services talk to each other.
+- Internal PKI via Smallstep `step-ca` at `https://ca.internal`.
+- Every host runs `step.service` (the Smallstep renewer) which keeps the host's cert fresh. **Certs are issued with a 24-hour expiry** and renewed continuously — services must tolerate cert rotation, not assume certs are stable for the life of the process.
+- **mTLS everywhere** internal services talk to each other.
 - **Quantum-safe** SSH (sntrup761x25519 KEX) and TLS (X25519MLKEM768 where peers support it) are the default. External peers that don't support PQ fall back to classical curves — document the fallback explicitly in nginx config.
 
+**Standard cert paths on every host:**
+
+| Path | Contents | Mode |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| `/etc/pki/ca-trust/source/anchors/root-internal.pem` | Internal root CA bundle | world-readable |
+| `/etc/pki/tls/misc/$(hostname -f).pem` | Host cert (public) | world-readable |
+| `/etc/pki/tls/private/$(hostname -f).pem` | Host private key | ACL grants read to service-account users |
+
+Application code and systemd units should reference these paths directly — they're the same on every host, so config templates don't need to bake in a hostname. The key file is not world-readable; each app's service account is granted read access via `setfacl` (e.g., `setfacl -m u:<app>:r /etc/pki/tls/private/$(hostname -f).pem`) as part of deploy. This happens in `deploy.sh` alongside the `systemd-sysusers` step (§8).
+
+**Reacting to cert rotation:**
+
+Services that hold cert state in memory (most Rust daemons using `rustls` or `openssl`) must reload when the host cert changes. Ship a pair of systemd units alongside the service unit:
+
+```ini
+# /etc/systemd/system/<app>-api-cert.path
+[Path]
+PathChanged=/etc/pki/tls/misc/<hostname>.pem
+Unit=<app>-api-cert-reload.service
+
+[Install]
+WantedBy=multi-user.target
+```
+
+```ini
+# /etc/systemd/system/<app>-api-cert-reload.service
+[Service]
+Type=oneshot
+ExecStart=/bin/systemctl reload <app>-api.service
+```
+
+The service unit itself needs an `ExecReload=` that causes the daemon to re-read its certs without dropping in-flight requests (typically `SIGHUP` handling in the Rust binary). If the daemon can't reload gracefully, `ExecStart=/bin/systemctl restart <app>-api.service` is the fallback — but prefer graceful reload.
+
+Ship these `.path` and cert-reload `.service` units from `asset/systemd/` the same way as the main unit.
+
 ### Ingress
 - Per-site nginx reverse proxy terminates all WAN inbound 443.
 - Public DNS via Cloudflare, **unproxied by default** (CF's mTLS origin-pull has been unreliable). Revisit if/when that changes.