diff --git a/bin/box b/bin/box
index b8fd45a..2618795 100755
--- a/bin/box
+++ b/bin/box
@@ -233,11 +233,20 @@ one of its snapshots — login state, git creds and clones carry over,
 isolation is preserved, and the clone knows its template's user without
 being told.
 
+A tenant template (claude, codex, grok, staging) is a THIN seed — the user,
+tmux, rig (#81) — and after cloud-init box auto-runs the creds-free tenant
+role inside it ('rig bootstrap <role>', rig#31): that role installs the
+agent CLI / server posture and the agent-context file. rig is preinstalled
+from RIG_REPO/RIG_REF in the mint environment (default heavy-duty/rig@main,
+unpinned — an honest edge until rig has releases). Anything that joins a
+tailnet or holds a key stays operator-run, never auto-run.
+
   --name <box>           Required. The box's name.
   --template <t>         Template to mint from; 'box templates' lists them.
-                         A template sets image, user, resources and boot
+                         A template sets image, user, resources, boot
                          demands (independently: BOX_REQUIRE_VM insists on
-                         VM mode, BOX_AUTOSTART survives host reboots) —
+                         VM mode, BOX_AUTOSTART survives host reboots) and
+                         a creds-free tenant role (BOX_BOOTSTRAP_ROLE) —
                          never the network: every template gets the same
                          isolation.
   --from <src>[/<snap>]  Clone src's live state, or its snapshot <snap>.
@@ -267,10 +276,15 @@ EOF
     templates) cat <<'EOF'
 List the templates this install can mint, with their descriptions. A template
 is a directory under templates/: a box.env (image, user, resources, boot
-demands — parsed against an allowlist, never sourced) and a user-data.yaml
-(cloud-init, passed to Incus verbatim). Templates cannot touch the network
-or security flags — the shared box-net profile is the placement contract, so
-every template gets the same isolation.
+demands, tenant role — parsed against an allowlist, never sourced) and a
+user-data.yaml (cloud-init, passed to Incus verbatim except the rig pin
+tokens @RIG_REPO@/@RIG_REF@, resolved at mint from the environment).
+Templates cannot touch the network or security flags — the shared box-net
+profile is the placement contract, so every template gets the same isolation.
+
+Templates are thin, creds-free seeds (#81): the user, tmux and rig — what a
+box BECOMES lives in rig's bootstrap roles (rig#31), auto-run at mint via
+BOX_BOOTSTRAP_ROLE. box mints; rig converges.
 
   box templates
   box new --name scratch --template blank
@@ -842,23 +856,26 @@ reset_identity() {
   wait_agent "$i"
 }
 
-# Templates set image, user, resources, boot demands and cloud-init — NOTHING
-# else. The box.env file is parsed against this allowlist, never sourced:
-# sourcing would hand every template arbitrary bash execution on the HOST at
-# mint time. And there is deliberately no key for a network or a security flag
-# — the shared box-net profile is the placement contract, so no template can
-# weaken isolation. 'blank' is a box with nobody home, not a box with the
-# safety off. The two boot demands are for server-class templates (#68):
-# BOX_REQUIRE_VM=1 refuses the container fallback (the VM is the trust
+# Templates set image, user, resources, boot demands, a tenant role and
+# cloud-init — NOTHING else. The box.env file is parsed against this allowlist,
+# never sourced: sourcing would hand every template arbitrary bash execution on
+# the HOST at mint time. And there is deliberately no key for a network or a
+# security flag — the shared box-net profile is the placement contract, so no
+# template can weaken isolation. 'blank' is a box with nobody home, not a box
+# with the safety off. The two boot demands are for server-class templates
+# (#68): BOX_REQUIRE_VM=1 refuses the container fallback (the VM is the trust
 # boundary, and a server-class guest runs docker), and BOX_AUTOSTART=1 stamps
 # boot.autostart so the box survives a host reboot without an operator.
+# BOX_BOOTSTRAP_ROLE (#81) names the rig role box auto-runs after mint — the
+# thin-template split: the seed is user + tmux + rig, and what the box BECOMES
+# is 'rig bootstrap <role>'. Only creds-free roles belong here, by contract.
 load_template() {
   local t="$1" dir line key val
   dir="$root/templates/$t"
   [ -d "$dir" ] || die "no such template: $t (see 'box templates')"
   [ -f "$dir/box.env" ] || die "template '$t' has no box.env"
   T_DESC=""; T_IMAGE=""; T_USER=""; T_CPU=""; T_MEMORY=""; T_DISK=""
-  T_REQUIRE_VM=""; T_AUTOSTART=""
+  T_REQUIRE_VM=""; T_AUTOSTART=""; T_BOOTSTRAP_ROLE=""
   while IFS= read -r line || [ -n "$line" ]; do
     case "$line" in ''|\#*) continue ;; esac
     case "$line" in
@@ -882,7 +899,8 @@ load_template() {
       BOX_DISK)        T_DISK="$val" ;;
       BOX_REQUIRE_VM)  T_REQUIRE_VM="$val" ;;
       BOX_AUTOSTART)   T_AUTOSTART="$val" ;;
-      *) die "template '$t': unknown key '$key' — a template sets image, user, resources and boot demands, nothing else (there is no key for a network, on purpose)" ;;
+      BOX_BOOTSTRAP_ROLE) T_BOOTSTRAP_ROLE="$val" ;;
+      *) die "template '$t': unknown key '$key' — a template sets image, user, resources, boot demands and a tenant role, nothing else (there is no key for a network, on purpose)" ;;
     esac
   done <"$dir/box.env"
   # Not 'A && B || die': if T_IMAGE is set but T_USER is not, that idiom still
@@ -891,6 +909,12 @@ load_template() {
   if [ -z "$T_IMAGE" ] || [ -z "$T_USER" ]; then
     die "template '$t': BOX_IMAGE and BOX_USER are required"
   fi
+  # A bootstrap role is a rig role NAME and nothing more — it is handed to
+  # 'incus exec … rig bootstrap <role>' at mint, so anything shell-shaped in
+  # the value must die here, on the host, before a guest ever sees it.
+  if [ -n "$T_BOOTSTRAP_ROLE" ] && ! [[ "$T_BOOTSTRAP_ROLE" =~ ^[a-z][a-z0-9-]*$ ]]; then
+    die "template '$t': BOX_BOOTSTRAP_ROLE is not a sane role name: $T_BOOTSTRAP_ROLE"
+  fi
   # Resolution, most specific wins: inline flag (--cpu/--memory/--disk, #57)
   # > BOX_* environment (how a small host or the drill shrinks every box it
   # mints) > the template's file > defaults. Values pass to Incus verbatim —
@@ -901,6 +925,31 @@ load_template() {
   T_DISK="${disk:-${BOX_DISK:-${T_DISK:-60GiB}}}"
 }
 
+# The ONE substitution a template gets — user-data.yaml is otherwise passed to
+# Incus verbatim. The tenant seeds preinstall rig, which inverts the rig→box
+# install edge (rig#28: rig installs box on hosts; now box guests install rig),
+# and that edge needs a pin point (#81): the seed carries @RIG_REPO@ /
+# @RIG_REF@ tokens, resolved here from the mint environment — RIG_REPO
+# (default heavy-duty/rig) and RIG_REF (default main). Both directions track
+# main unpinned today, said honestly (the same treatment rig#29 gave box's own
+# unpinned install) until a release flow exists (rig#32 / #83). The values are
+# allowlist-validated BEFORE touching the YAML: they land inside a runcmd
+# shell line, so a quote, a space or a newline smuggled through the
+# environment must die on the host, never execute in the guest. bash's =~
+# anchors to the whole string — a multi-line value cannot sneak one clean
+# line past it the way a line-oriented grep would.
+render_userdata() {
+  local f="$1" repo="${RIG_REPO:-heavy-duty/rig}" ref="${RIG_REF:-main}" data
+  [[ "$repo" =~ ^[A-Za-z0-9._-]+/[A-Za-z0-9._-]+$ ]] \
+    || die "RIG_REPO must look like owner/repo: $repo"
+  [[ "$ref" =~ ^[A-Za-z0-9._/-]+$ ]] \
+    || die "RIG_REF must be a plain ref name (letters, digits, . _ / -): $ref"
+  data="$(cat "$f")"
+  data="${data//@RIG_REPO@/$repo}"
+  data="${data//@RIG_REF@/$ref}"
+  printf '%s\n' "$data"
+}
+
 cmd_templates() {
   local d t desc
   echo "TEMPLATES"
@@ -969,7 +1018,7 @@ cmd_new() {
       --config user.box.user="$T_USER" \
       --config limits.cpu="$T_CPU" \
       --config limits.memory="$T_MEMORY" \
-      --config cloud-init.user-data="$(cat "$root/templates/$t/user-data.yaml")" \
+      --config cloud-init.user-data="$(render_userdata "$root/templates/$t/user-data.yaml")" \
       "${extra[@]}"
     wait_agent "$instance"
     echo "box: waiting for phase-1 (cloud-init)..."
@@ -1003,6 +1052,24 @@ cmd_new() {
       echo "  not serving, a VPN resolver the box inherits). Diagnose it:  box doctor" >&2
       die "cloud-init failed — the box is incomplete, so refusing to hand it over"
     fi
+    # The tenant convergence (#81): the seed above is thin — the user, tmux,
+    # rig — and what the box BECOMES is rig's job. A template that names a
+    # bootstrap role gets it auto-run here, as root inside the guest, because
+    # the tenant roles are creds-free and non-interactive BY CONTRACT
+    # (rig#31): no prompts, no tailnet, no keys — nothing that joins or
+    # admits may ever ride this hook. The creds-holding steps (staging's
+    # workload join) stay operator-run through 'box shell', and the role is
+    # idempotent, so a failed or interrupted run is re-runnable as-is.
+    if [ -n "$T_BOOTSTRAP_ROLE" ]; then
+      echo "box: converging the tenant — rig bootstrap $T_BOOTSTRAP_ROLE (rig's own narration follows)..."
+      if ! incus exec "$instance" -- rig bootstrap "$T_BOOTSTRAP_ROLE" </dev/null; then
+        echo >&2
+        echo "box: rig bootstrap $T_BOOTSTRAP_ROLE FAILED in $name." >&2
+        echo "box: the box is up and the seed is intact — the role converges, so re-run it:" >&2
+        echo "  box shell $name    # then: sudo rig bootstrap $T_BOOTSTRAP_ROLE" >&2
+        die "the tenant role did not converge — the box is incomplete, so refusing to call it ready"
+      fi
+    fi
   fi
   # The login hint belongs to the claude template — read the EFFECTIVE
   # template off the instance, so a clone of a claude box gets it too and a
@@ -1011,6 +1078,9 @@ cmd_new() {
   [ -z "$eff" ] && [ "$(incus config get "$instance" user.claudebox 2>/dev/null || true)" = 1 ] && eff=claude
   if [ "$eff" = claude ]; then
     echo "box: ready — 'box shell $name'. Log into Claude inside: run 'claude' then /login."
+  elif [ "$eff" = staging ]; then
+    echo "box: ready — 'box shell $name'. The tailnet join stays operator-run (it holds a key box must never see):"
+    echo "  box shell $name    # then: sudo rig bootstrap workload --hostname $name"
   else
     echo "box: ready — 'box shell $name'."
   fi
diff --git a/templates/claude/box.env b/templates/claude/box.env
index 3cbfdd4..6ae89fc 100644
--- a/templates/claude/box.env
+++ b/templates/claude/box.env
@@ -1,12 +1,17 @@
-# The claude template — Debian 13 + Claude Code, creds-free.
+# The claude template — a thin, creds-free seed (#81): Debian 13, the
+# 'claude' user, tmux and rig. What the box BECOMES — the Claude Code CLI,
+# docker, node, the agent-context file with its #80 guard — is rig's job:
+# box auto-runs 'rig bootstrap claude' after mint (heavy-duty/rig#31).
 # KEY="value" only. Parsed against an allowlist, never sourced; there is no
 # key for a network or a security flag, on purpose — the shared box-net
 # profile is the placement contract and no template can weaken it.
-# BOX_USER must match the user user-data.yaml creates (the cloud-init file is
-# passed to Incus verbatim, so the duplication is deliberate and by hand).
-BOX_DESCRIPTION="Claude Code on Debian 13, creds-free — where this project started"
+# BOX_USER must match the user user-data.yaml creates (the duplication is
+# deliberate and by hand) — and it is the tenant user the rig role converges
+# (rig dies loudly if the seed did not create it).
+BOX_DESCRIPTION="Claude Code on Debian 13, creds-free — box mints, rig converges"
 BOX_IMAGE="images:debian/13/cloud"
 BOX_USER="claude"
 BOX_CPU="4"
 BOX_MEMORY="8GiB"
 BOX_DISK="60GiB"
+BOX_BOOTSTRAP_ROLE="claude"
diff --git a/templates/claude/user-data.yaml b/templates/claude/user-data.yaml
index 970d898..fbee359 100644
--- a/templates/claude/user-data.yaml
+++ b/templates/claude/user-data.yaml
@@ -1,61 +1,30 @@
 #cloud-config
+# A thin, creds-free seed (#81): the tenant user, tmux (#65), and rig —
+# nothing that joins a tailnet or admits credentials, no agent CLI, no
+# docker, no context-file heredoc. Everything this box becomes comes from
+# 'rig bootstrap claude' (heavy-duty/rig#31), which box auto-runs after
+# mint; the agent-context file — including the #80 guard (never run
+# 'box setup-host' or the drill inside a box) — is rendered by that role,
+# once, instead of being copy-pasted per template.
 users:
   - name: claude
     shell: /bin/bash
     sudo: "ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL"
     lock_passwd: true
-write_files:
-  - path: /home/claude/.claude/CLAUDE.md
-    owner: "claude:claude"
-    permissions: '0644'
-    defer: true
-    content: |
-      # You are running inside a box (template: claude)
-
-      A box is a trust-less, network-isolated, ephemeral VM created by the
-      `box` CLI. Keep this context in mind:
-
-      - **Creds-free by default.** The box starts with no Claude and no git
-        credentials. If you need to authenticate Claude, the operator runs `/login`
-        interactively. For git, the operator adds their own credentials (a PAT or
-        `gh auth login`). Never assume credentials are present; never ask for or
-        store secrets on disk beyond what the operator sets up.
-      - **Isolated.** The box reaches the public internet but nothing on the host or
-        local network. There is no inbound path.
-      - **Disposable.** Nothing here is backed up. State is discarded when the box is
-        removed; the operator persists work via git push and via `box snapshot`.
-      - **Bootstrap runbook.** If the repository you are working in contains a
-        `.box/` folder (older repos may use `.claudebox/`), read it as your setup runbook — how to install
-        dependencies, start services, template environment files, seed data, and
-        smoke-test — and follow it. It is documentation for you, not a script the
-        host runs.
 package_update: true
+# tmux: 'box tmux' runs 'tmux new-session' INSIDE the box (#65).
+# curl + ca-certificates: the rig installer below rides them, and a bare
+# cloud image is not guaranteed to ship either.
 packages:
-  - git
-  - gh
+  - tmux
   - curl
   - ca-certificates
-  - gnupg
-  - ripgrep
-  - jq
-  - tmux
-  - age
-  - unzip
-  - build-essential
-  - zsh
 runcmd:
-  - curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh
-  - usermod -aG docker claude
-  - curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_22.x | bash -
-  - apt-get install -y nodejs
-  - sudo -u claude bash -lc 'curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash'
-  # 'box exec <box> -- claude …' runs through a NON-interactive shell, which
-  # reads no .bashrc/.zshrc — a PATH export there is invisible to it. The
-  # symlink makes claude reachable from every shell, interactive or not.
-  - ln -sf /home/claude/.local/bin/claude /usr/local/bin/claude
-  - echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> /home/claude/.bashrc
-  - chsh -s /usr/bin/zsh claude
-  - sudo -u claude bash -lc 'RUNZSH=no CHSH=no sh -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ohmyzsh/ohmyzsh/master/tools/install.sh)"'
-  - echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> /home/claude/.zshrc
-  - echo 'set -g mouse on' > /home/claude/.tmux.conf
-  - chown claude:claude /home/claude/.tmux.conf
+  # Preinstall rig so the box can converge — and re-converge — via
+  # 'rig bootstrap claude'. @RIG_REPO@/@RIG_REF@ are the pin point (#81):
+  # box substitutes them at mint from the RIG_REPO/RIG_REF environment
+  # (default heavy-duty/rig @ main — unpinned, tracking main, the same
+  # honest edge as rig's own unpinned box install, until rig#32 ships a
+  # release flow). The pin covers both the installer fetched AND the tree
+  # it installs, so a branch under review is testable end to end.
+  - curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/@RIG_REPO@/@RIG_REF@/install.sh | RIG_REPO="@RIG_REPO@" RIG_REF="@RIG_REF@" bash
diff --git a/templates/codex/box.env b/templates/codex/box.env
index 08d5e58..21b30d4 100644
--- a/templates/codex/box.env
+++ b/templates/codex/box.env
@@ -1,11 +1,17 @@
-# The codex template — Debian 13 + OpenAI Codex CLI, creds-free.
+# The codex template — a thin, creds-free seed (#81): Debian 13, the
+# 'codex' user, tmux and rig. What the box BECOMES — the OpenAI Codex CLI,
+# docker, node, the agent-context file with its #80 guard — is rig's job:
+# box auto-runs 'rig bootstrap codex' after mint (heavy-duty/rig#31).
 # KEY="value" only. Parsed against an allowlist, never sourced; there is no
 # key for a network or a security flag, on purpose — the shared box-net
 # profile is the placement contract and no template can weaken it.
-# BOX_USER must match the user user-data.yaml creates.
-BOX_DESCRIPTION="OpenAI Codex CLI on Debian 13, creds-free"
+# BOX_USER must match the user user-data.yaml creates (the duplication is
+# deliberate and by hand) — and it is the tenant user the rig role converges
+# (rig dies loudly if the seed did not create it).
+BOX_DESCRIPTION="OpenAI Codex CLI on Debian 13, creds-free — box mints, rig converges"
 BOX_IMAGE="images:debian/13/cloud"
 BOX_USER="codex"
 BOX_CPU="4"
 BOX_MEMORY="8GiB"
 BOX_DISK="60GiB"
+BOX_BOOTSTRAP_ROLE="codex"
diff --git a/templates/codex/user-data.yaml b/templates/codex/user-data.yaml
index 550e28a..7a443c1 100644
--- a/templates/codex/user-data.yaml
+++ b/templates/codex/user-data.yaml
@@ -1,60 +1,30 @@
 #cloud-config
+# A thin, creds-free seed (#81): the tenant user, tmux (#65), and rig —
+# nothing that joins a tailnet or admits credentials, no agent CLI, no
+# docker, no context-file heredoc. Everything this box becomes comes from
+# 'rig bootstrap codex' (heavy-duty/rig#31), which box auto-runs after
+# mint; the agent-context file — including the #80 guard (never run
+# 'box setup-host' or the drill inside a box) — is rendered by that role,
+# once, instead of being copy-pasted per template.
 users:
   - name: codex
     shell: /bin/bash
     sudo: "ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL"
     lock_passwd: true
-write_files:
-  - path: /home/codex/.codex/AGENTS.md
-    owner: "codex:codex"
-    permissions: '0644'
-    defer: true
-    content: |
-      # You are running inside a box (template: codex)
-
-      A box is a trust-less, network-isolated, ephemeral VM created by the
-      `box` CLI. Keep this context in mind:
-
-      - **Creds-free by default.** The box starts with no OpenAI and no git
-        credentials. If you need to authenticate Codex, the operator runs the
-        login flow (`codex`) interactively. For git, the operator adds their own
-        credentials (a PAT or `gh auth login`). Never assume credentials are
-        present; never ask for or store secrets on disk beyond what the operator
-        sets up.
-      - **Isolated.** The box reaches the public internet but nothing on the host
-        or local network. There is no inbound path.
-      - **Disposable.** Nothing here is backed up. State is discarded when the box
-        is removed; the operator persists work via git push and via `box snapshot`.
-      - **Bootstrap runbook.** If the repository you are working in contains a
-        `.box/` folder (older repos may use `.claudebox/`), read it as your setup runbook — how to install
-        dependencies, start services, template environment files, seed data, and
-        smoke-test — and follow it. It is documentation for you, not a script the
-        host runs.
 package_update: true
+# tmux: 'box tmux' runs 'tmux new-session' INSIDE the box (#65).
+# curl + ca-certificates: the rig installer below rides them, and a bare
+# cloud image is not guaranteed to ship either.
 packages:
-  - git
-  - gh
+  - tmux
   - curl
   - ca-certificates
-  - gnupg
-  - ripgrep
-  - jq
-  - tmux
-  - age
-  - unzip
-  - build-essential
 runcmd:
-  - curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh
-  - usermod -aG docker codex
-  # Codex CLI is an npm global and needs Node 22+ (verified upstream:
-  # npmjs.com/package/@openai/codex — the SCOPED @openai/codex, not the
-  # unrelated 2012 'codex' package).
-  - curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_22.x | bash -
-  - apt-get install -y nodejs
-  - npm install -g @openai/codex
-  # 'box exec <b> -- codex …' runs a NON-interactive shell that reads no
-  # rc files — npm's global bin must be reachable from every shell. Symlink
-  # the installed binary into /usr/local/bin (the same fix the claude
-  # template needed for its own CLI).
-  - ln -sf "$(npm prefix -g)/bin/codex" /usr/local/bin/codex
-  - echo 'export PATH="$(npm prefix -g)/bin:$PATH"' >> /home/codex/.bashrc
+  # Preinstall rig so the box can converge — and re-converge — via
+  # 'rig bootstrap codex'. @RIG_REPO@/@RIG_REF@ are the pin point (#81):
+  # box substitutes them at mint from the RIG_REPO/RIG_REF environment
+  # (default heavy-duty/rig @ main — unpinned, tracking main, the same
+  # honest edge as rig's own unpinned box install, until rig#32 ships a
+  # release flow). The pin covers both the installer fetched AND the tree
+  # it installs, so a branch under review is testable end to end.
+  - curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/@RIG_REPO@/@RIG_REF@/install.sh | RIG_REPO="@RIG_REPO@" RIG_REF="@RIG_REF@" bash
diff --git a/templates/grok/box.env b/templates/grok/box.env
index 52912d3..d0a7dd9 100644
--- a/templates/grok/box.env
+++ b/templates/grok/box.env
@@ -1,11 +1,17 @@
-# The grok template — Debian 13 + xAI's Grok Build CLI, creds-free.
+# The grok template — a thin, creds-free seed (#81): Debian 13, the
+# 'grok' user, tmux and rig. What the box BECOMES — the xAI Grok CLI,
+# docker, the agent-context file with its #80 guard — is rig's job:
+# box auto-runs 'rig bootstrap grok' after mint (heavy-duty/rig#31).
 # KEY="value" only. Parsed against an allowlist, never sourced; there is no
 # key for a network or a security flag, on purpose — the shared box-net
 # profile is the placement contract and no template can weaken it.
-# BOX_USER must match the user user-data.yaml creates.
-BOX_DESCRIPTION="xAI Grok CLI on Debian 13, creds-free"
+# BOX_USER must match the user user-data.yaml creates (the duplication is
+# deliberate and by hand) — and it is the tenant user the rig role converges
+# (rig dies loudly if the seed did not create it).
+BOX_DESCRIPTION="xAI Grok CLI on Debian 13, creds-free — box mints, rig converges"
 BOX_IMAGE="images:debian/13/cloud"
 BOX_USER="grok"
 BOX_CPU="4"
 BOX_MEMORY="8GiB"
 BOX_DISK="60GiB"
+BOX_BOOTSTRAP_ROLE="grok"
diff --git a/templates/grok/user-data.yaml b/templates/grok/user-data.yaml
index 26dad6f..4f67b07 100644
--- a/templates/grok/user-data.yaml
+++ b/templates/grok/user-data.yaml
@@ -1,75 +1,30 @@
 #cloud-config
+# A thin, creds-free seed (#81): the tenant user, tmux (#65), and rig —
+# nothing that joins a tailnet or admits credentials, no agent CLI, no
+# docker, no context-file heredoc. Everything this box becomes comes from
+# 'rig bootstrap grok' (heavy-duty/rig#31), which box auto-runs after
+# mint; the agent-context file — including the #80 guard (never run
+# 'box setup-host' or the drill inside a box) — is rendered by that role,
+# once, instead of being copy-pasted per template.
 users:
   - name: grok
     shell: /bin/bash
     sudo: "ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL"
     lock_passwd: true
-write_files:
-  - path: /home/grok/.grok/AGENTS.md
-    owner: "grok:grok"
-    permissions: '0644'
-    defer: true
-    content: |
-      # You are running inside a box (template: grok)
-
-      A box is a trust-less, network-isolated, ephemeral VM created by the
-      `box` CLI. Keep this context in mind:
-
-      - **Creds-free by default.** The box starts with no xAI and no git
-        credentials. If you need to authenticate, the operator runs
-        `grok login` interactively (SuperGrok / X Premium+). For git, the
-        operator adds their own credentials (a PAT or `gh auth login`). Never
-        assume credentials are present; never ask for or store secrets on disk
-        beyond what the operator sets up.
-      - **Isolated.** The box reaches the public internet but nothing on the host
-        or local network. There is no inbound path.
-      - **Disposable.** Nothing here is backed up. State is discarded when the box
-        is removed; the operator persists work via git push and via `box snapshot`.
-      - **Bootstrap runbook.** If the repository you are working in contains a
-        `.box/` folder (older repos may use `.claudebox/`), read it as your setup runbook — how to install
-        dependencies, start services, template environment files, seed data, and
-        smoke-test — and follow it. It is documentation for you, not a script the
-        host runs.
 package_update: true
+# tmux: 'box tmux' runs 'tmux new-session' INSIDE the box (#65).
+# curl + ca-certificates: the rig installer below rides them, and a bare
+# cloud image is not guaranteed to ship either.
 packages:
-  - git
-  - gh
+  - tmux
   - curl
   - ca-certificates
-  - gnupg
-  - ripgrep
-  - jq
-  - tmux
-  - age
-  - unzip
-  - build-essential
 runcmd:
-  - curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh
-  - usermod -aG docker grok
-  # The OFFICIAL installer, read at https://x.ai/cli/install.sh rather than
-  # guessed at. What it actually does:
-  #   · installs the CLI as `grok` (with an `agent` alias) — NOT `grok-build`
-  #   · BIN_DIR defaults to $HOME/.grok/bin, and what it puts there is a
-  #     SYMLINK into its versioned download dir (so `find -type f` misses it)
-  #   · GROK_BIN_DIR overrides that directory
-  #
-  # Run it AS grok, not root: the binary symlink points into the invoking
-  # user's download dir, and root's home is 0700 — a symlink into it would be
-  # unreadable to the grok user, giving a CLI that exists and cannot run.
-  - sudo -u grok bash -lc 'curl -fsSL https://x.ai/cli/install.sh | bash'
-  # 'box exec <b> -- grok …' is a NON-interactive shell: it reads no rc files,
-  # so ~/.grok/bin is never on its PATH. Symlink onto the system PATH — the
-  # same fix the claude template needed (#15). Assert the result: a CLI that
-  # silently is not on PATH is what cost the last drill run.
-  - |
-    if [ -e /home/grok/.grok/bin/grok ]; then
-      ln -sf /home/grok/.grok/bin/grok /usr/local/bin/grok
-      echo "grok: linked /usr/local/bin/grok -> /home/grok/.grok/bin/grok"
-      /usr/local/bin/grok --version >/dev/null 2>&1 \
-        && echo "grok: 'grok --version' answers from the system PATH" \
-        || echo "grok: WARNING - linked, but 'grok --version' does not answer" >&2
-    else
-      echo "grok: installer produced no ~/.grok/bin/grok - upstream layout changed?" >&2
-      find /home/grok -maxdepth 4 \( -type f -o -type l \) -perm -u+x 2>/dev/null | head -20 >&2
-    fi
-  - echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.grok/bin:$PATH"' >> /home/grok/.bashrc
+  # Preinstall rig so the box can converge — and re-converge — via
+  # 'rig bootstrap grok'. @RIG_REPO@/@RIG_REF@ are the pin point (#81):
+  # box substitutes them at mint from the RIG_REPO/RIG_REF environment
+  # (default heavy-duty/rig @ main — unpinned, tracking main, the same
+  # honest edge as rig's own unpinned box install, until rig#32 ships a
+  # release flow). The pin covers both the installer fetched AND the tree
+  # it installs, so a branch under review is testable end to end.
+  - curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/@RIG_REPO@/@RIG_REF@/install.sh | RIG_REPO="@RIG_REPO@" RIG_REF="@RIG_REF@" bash
diff --git a/templates/staging/box.env b/templates/staging/box.env
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2996662
--- /dev/null
+++ b/templates/staging/box.env
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+# The staging template — a thin, creds-free, server-class seed (#81, the
+# re-cut of #69's layering): Debian 13, the 'ops' user, tmux and rig. The
+# server posture — docker, sshd hardening — is rig's job: box auto-runs
+# 'rig bootstrap staging' after mint (heavy-duty/rig#31). The tailnet
+# workload join holds a key and therefore STAYS operator-run:
+#   box shell <name>   # then: sudo rig bootstrap workload --hostname <name>
+# KEY="value" only. Parsed against an allowlist, never sourced; there is no
+# key for a network or a security flag, on purpose — the shared box-net
+# profile is the placement contract and no template can weaken it.
+# The two boot demands (#68): the VM is this box's trust boundary and its
+# guest runs docker, so no container fallback (BOX_REQUIRE_VM); and a server
+# must return from a host reboot without an operator (BOX_AUTOSTART).
+# BOX_USER must match the user user-data.yaml creates (the duplication is
+# deliberate and by hand) — and it is the tenant user the rig role converges
+# (rig dies loudly if the seed did not create it).
+BOX_DESCRIPTION="Server-class Debian 13, creds-free — box mints, rig converges, the join stays yours"
+BOX_IMAGE="images:debian/13/cloud"
+BOX_USER="ops"
+BOX_CPU="4"
+BOX_MEMORY="8GiB"
+BOX_DISK="60GiB"
+BOX_REQUIRE_VM="1"
+BOX_AUTOSTART="1"
+BOX_BOOTSTRAP_ROLE="staging"
diff --git a/templates/staging/user-data.yaml b/templates/staging/user-data.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4cec701
--- /dev/null
+++ b/templates/staging/user-data.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+#cloud-config
+# A thin, creds-free, server-class seed (#81): the 'ops' user, tmux (#65),
+# and rig — nothing that joins a tailnet or admits credentials, no docker,
+# no sshd config, no keys. The server posture comes from
+# 'rig bootstrap staging' (heavy-duty/rig#31), which box auto-runs after
+# mint; the tailnet workload join holds a pre-auth key and stays
+# operator-run ('box shell' → 'sudo rig bootstrap workload'), exactly as
+# #69 designed it — box never sees the key.
+users:
+  - name: ops
+    shell: /bin/bash
+    sudo: "ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL"
+    lock_passwd: true
+package_update: true
+# tmux: 'box tmux' runs 'tmux new-session' INSIDE the box (#65) — and the
+# operator babysits the workload join through it.
+# curl + ca-certificates: the rig installer below rides them, and a bare
+# cloud image is not guaranteed to ship either.
+packages:
+  - tmux
+  - curl
+  - ca-certificates
+runcmd:
+  # Preinstall rig so the box can converge — and re-converge — via
+  # 'rig bootstrap staging'. @RIG_REPO@/@RIG_REF@ are the pin point (#81):
+  # box substitutes them at mint from the RIG_REPO/RIG_REF environment
+  # (default heavy-duty/rig @ main — unpinned, tracking main, the same
+  # honest edge as rig's own unpinned box install, until rig#32 ships a
+  # release flow). The pin covers both the installer fetched AND the tree
+  # it installs, so a branch under review is testable end to end.
+  - curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/@RIG_REPO@/@RIG_REF@/install.sh | RIG_REPO="@RIG_REPO@" RIG_REF="@RIG_REF@" bash