diff --git a/backend/app/services/credential_crypto.py b/backend/app/services/credential_crypto.py
index 86a45ce..273e574 100644
--- a/backend/app/services/credential_crypto.py
+++ b/backend/app/services/credential_crypto.py
@@ -1,40 +1,82 @@
 """Fernet-based encryption for credential blobs.
 
 The key is a single 32-byte value (urlsafe-base64-encoded; what
-Fernet.generate_key produces) stored at a fixed path inside the
-images/data root. Created on first boot if absent; mode 0600. No KDF
-needed — the file contents are already maximum-entropy random bytes.
+Fernet.generate_key produces) stored at /images/secrets/credential_key.b64
+(mode 0600, parent dir 0700). The 2026-06-02 audit caught a silent
+key-regeneration path: on a partial disaster restore where the DB was
+restored but the secrets dir was lost, the old `_load_or_create_key`
+would mint a fresh key with no log, producing a working-looking system
+where every authenticated download failed AUTH_ERROR until the operator
+re-uploaded every credential by hand. Now the constructor refuses to
+auto-generate unless either:
 
-Operator backup procedure must include this file alongside the rest
-of /images/ — losing it makes existing encrypted_blob rows
-undecryptable (recovery = delete the rows and re-upload).
+  * the caller explicitly passes `bootstrap_ok=True` (tests, scripts), or
+  * the env var `CURATOR_BOOTSTRAP_NEW_KEY=1` is set (operator opt-in
+    during first-time setup).
+
+Otherwise it raises `MissingCredentialKey` so the app fails fast at
+startup and the operator can restore the key file from backup.
+
+Operator backup procedure must include /images/secrets/ alongside the
+rest of /images/ — losing the key file makes existing encrypted_blob
+rows undecryptable (recovery = delete the rows and re-upload).
 """
 
+import logging
 import os
 from pathlib import Path
 
 from cryptography.fernet import Fernet, InvalidToken
 
+log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+_BOOTSTRAP_ENV_VAR = "CURATOR_BOOTSTRAP_NEW_KEY"
+
 
 class InvalidCredentialBlob(Exception):
     """Raised when decryption fails (wrong key, tampered blob, …)."""
 
 
+class MissingCredentialKey(Exception):
+    """The Fernet key file is missing AND the caller hasn't opted in to
+    generating a new one. Audit 2026-06-02: prevents silent key
+    regeneration on partial DB-restored / secrets-lost deployments.
+    Set CURATOR_BOOTSTRAP_NEW_KEY=1 for first-time setup, or restore the
+    key file from backup."""
+
+
 class CredentialCrypto:
     """Fernet encrypt/decrypt with an on-disk key file.
 
-    Instantiate with a path; the file is created on first access and
-    reused thereafter. Tests pass a tmp_path; production calls with
+    Instantiate with a path; the file is loaded if present, or created
+    if absent AND the caller has opted in (bootstrap_ok=True or
+    CURATOR_BOOTSTRAP_NEW_KEY=1 env var). Production sites:
     `IMAGES_ROOT / "secrets" / "credential_key.b64"`.
     """
 
-    def __init__(self, key_path: Path):
+    def __init__(self, key_path: Path, *, bootstrap_ok: bool | None = None):
         self._key_path = Path(key_path)
-        self._fernet = Fernet(self._load_or_create_key())
+        if bootstrap_ok is None:
+            bootstrap_ok = os.environ.get(_BOOTSTRAP_ENV_VAR) == "1"
+        self._fernet = Fernet(self._load_or_create_key(bootstrap_ok))
 
-    def _load_or_create_key(self) -> bytes:
+    def _load_or_create_key(self, bootstrap_ok: bool) -> bytes:
         if self._key_path.exists():
             return self._key_path.read_bytes()
+        if not bootstrap_ok:
+            raise MissingCredentialKey(
+                f"Fernet key file not found at {self._key_path}. "
+                f"For first-time setup, set {_BOOTSTRAP_ENV_VAR}=1. "
+                f"If this is a restored instance, restore the key file "
+                f"from backup — generating a new one would make every "
+                f"existing Credential row undecryptable."
+            )
+        log.warning(
+            "Generating NEW Fernet credential key at %s. Any existing "
+            "encrypted_blob rows in the DB will be undecryptable — "
+            "re-upload each credential after this completes.",
+            self._key_path,
+        )
         parent = self._key_path.parent
         parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
         os.chmod(parent, 0o700)
diff --git a/tests/test_credential_crypto.py b/tests/test_credential_crypto.py
index 199b838..6274bb5 100644
--- a/tests/test_credential_crypto.py
+++ b/tests/test_credential_crypto.py
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ pytestmark = pytest.mark.integration
 
 def test_load_or_create_writes_key_with_mode_0600(tmp_path):
     key_path = tmp_path / "secrets" / "credential_key.b64"
-    CredentialCrypto(key_path)
+    CredentialCrypto(key_path, bootstrap_ok=True)
     assert key_path.exists()
     mode = stat.S_IMODE(os.stat(key_path).st_mode)
     assert mode == 0o600
@@ -25,9 +25,9 @@ def test_load_or_create_writes_key_with_mode_0600(tmp_path):
 
 def test_load_existing_key_is_idempotent(tmp_path):
     key_path = tmp_path / "credential_key.b64"
-    crypto1 = CredentialCrypto(key_path)
+    crypto1 = CredentialCrypto(key_path, bootstrap_ok=True)
     contents_after_first = key_path.read_bytes()
-    crypto2 = CredentialCrypto(key_path)
+    crypto2 = CredentialCrypto(key_path, bootstrap_ok=True)
     contents_after_second = key_path.read_bytes()
     assert contents_after_first == contents_after_second
     # And both crypto instances decrypt each other's ciphertext
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ def test_load_existing_key_is_idempotent(tmp_path):
 
 
 def test_encrypt_decrypt_round_trip(tmp_path):
-    crypto = CredentialCrypto(tmp_path / "k")
+    crypto = CredentialCrypto(tmp_path / "k", bootstrap_ok=True)
     plaintext = "domain.com\tTRUE\t/\tTRUE\t1700000000\tname\tvalue"
     ct = crypto.encrypt(plaintext)
     assert isinstance(ct, bytes)
@@ -45,8 +45,27 @@ def test_encrypt_decrypt_round_trip(tmp_path):
 
 
 def test_decrypt_with_wrong_key_raises(tmp_path):
-    crypto_a = CredentialCrypto(tmp_path / "a")
-    crypto_b = CredentialCrypto(tmp_path / "b")
+    crypto_a = CredentialCrypto(tmp_path / "a", bootstrap_ok=True)
+    crypto_b = CredentialCrypto(tmp_path / "b", bootstrap_ok=True)
     ct = crypto_a.encrypt("secret")
     with pytest.raises(InvalidCredentialBlob):
         crypto_b.decrypt(ct)
+
+
+def test_missing_key_without_bootstrap_raises(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    """Audit 2026-06-02: without explicit opt-in, a missing key file
+    is a fatal startup error — silent regeneration on partial restore
+    would make every existing Credential row undecryptable."""
+    from backend.app.services.credential_crypto import MissingCredentialKey
+    monkeypatch.delenv("CURATOR_BOOTSTRAP_NEW_KEY", raising=False)
+    with pytest.raises(MissingCredentialKey):
+        CredentialCrypto(tmp_path / "absent.b64")
+
+
+def test_missing_key_with_env_var_bootstraps(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    """The env var CURATOR_BOOTSTRAP_NEW_KEY=1 is the operator's
+    first-time-setup opt-in for auto-creating the key file."""
+    monkeypatch.setenv("CURATOR_BOOTSTRAP_NEW_KEY", "1")
+    key_path = tmp_path / "bootstrap.b64"
+    CredentialCrypto(key_path)  # no bootstrap_ok kwarg — relies on env
+    assert key_path.exists()
diff --git a/tests/test_credential_service.py b/tests/test_credential_service.py
index b856761..b9857ec 100644
--- a/tests/test_credential_service.py
+++ b/tests/test_credential_service.py
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ _NETSCAPE = (
 
 @pytest.fixture
 def crypto(tmp_path):
-    return CredentialCrypto(tmp_path / "k")
+    return CredentialCrypto(tmp_path / "k", bootstrap_ok=True)
 
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
diff --git a/tests/test_download_service.py b/tests/test_download_service.py
index 65ea850..cc07f05 100644
--- a/tests/test_download_service.py
+++ b/tests/test_download_service.py
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ async def test_download_source_attaches_written_files(
         thumbnailer=Thumbnailer(images_root=images_root),
         settings=sync_settings,
     )
-    crypto = CredentialCrypto(tmp_path / "key.b64")
+    crypto = CredentialCrypto(tmp_path / "key.b64", bootstrap_ok=True)
     cred_service = CredentialService(db, crypto)
 
     svc = DownloadService(
@@ -405,7 +405,7 @@ async def test_backfill_decrements_after_run(
         session=db_sync, images_root=images_root, import_root=images_root,
         thumbnailer=Thumbnailer(images_root=images_root), settings=sync_settings,
     )
-    cred_service = CredentialService(db, CredentialCrypto(tmp_path / "key.b64"))
+    cred_service = CredentialService(db, CredentialCrypto(tmp_path / "key.b64", bootstrap_ok=True))
     svc = DownloadService(
         async_session=db, sync_session=db_sync,
         gdl=fake_gdl, importer=importer, cred_service=cred_service,
@@ -446,7 +446,7 @@ async def test_backfill_auto_resets_on_clean_zero_files(
         thumbnailer=Thumbnailer(images_root=tmp_path / "images"),
         settings=sync_settings,
     )
-    cred_service = CredentialService(db, CredentialCrypto(tmp_path / "key.b64"))
+    cred_service = CredentialService(db, CredentialCrypto(tmp_path / "key.b64", bootstrap_ok=True))
     svc = DownloadService(
         async_session=db, sync_session=db_sync,
         gdl=fake_gdl, importer=importer, cred_service=cred_service,
@@ -484,7 +484,7 @@ async def test_tick_mode_does_not_touch_backfill_counter(
         thumbnailer=Thumbnailer(images_root=tmp_path / "images"),
         settings=sync_settings,
     )
-    cred_service = CredentialService(db, CredentialCrypto(tmp_path / "key.b64"))
+    cred_service = CredentialService(db, CredentialCrypto(tmp_path / "key.b64", bootstrap_ok=True))
     svc = DownloadService(
         async_session=db, sync_session=db_sync,
         gdl=fake_gdl, importer=importer, cred_service=cred_service,
@@ -529,7 +529,7 @@ async def test_partial_error_type_maps_to_ok_status(
         session=db_sync, images_root=images_root, import_root=images_root,
         thumbnailer=Thumbnailer(images_root=images_root), settings=sync_settings,
     )
-    cred_service = CredentialService(db, CredentialCrypto(tmp_path / "key.b64"))
+    cred_service = CredentialService(db, CredentialCrypto(tmp_path / "key.b64", bootstrap_ok=True))
     svc = DownloadService(
         async_session=db, sync_session=db_sync,
         gdl=fake_gdl, importer=importer, cred_service=cred_service,
@@ -582,7 +582,7 @@ async def test_download_enqueues_thumbnail_and_ml_per_attached_image(
         session=db_sync, images_root=images_root, import_root=images_root,
         thumbnailer=Thumbnailer(images_root=images_root), settings=sync_settings,
     )
-    cred_service = CredentialService(db, CredentialCrypto(tmp_path / "key.b64"))
+    cred_service = CredentialService(db, CredentialCrypto(tmp_path / "key.b64", bootstrap_ok=True))
 
     # Capture the IDs that the orchestrator hands off to each Celery task.
     # The .delay() shim runs inside DownloadService._phase3_persist (lazy