diff --git a/.github/workflows/ingest.yml b/.github/workflows/ingest.yml
index ca38e6e..d95f772 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ingest.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ingest.yml
@@ -208,6 +208,20 @@ jobs:
           umask 077
           printf '%s\n' "$PFB_PKG_SIGNING_KEY" > "${RUNNER_TEMP}/pfb-pkg-signing.key"
 
+      - name: Configure pfblockerng-bot signing
+        if: inputs.operation != 'nightly-cleanup'
+        env:
+          PFB_BOT_SIGNING_KEY: ${{ secrets.PFB_BOT_SIGNING_KEY }}
+        run: |
+          set -eu
+          [ -n "${PFB_BOT_SIGNING_KEY:-}" ] || {
+            echo "::error::PFB_BOT_SIGNING_KEY secret is not set"
+            exit 1
+          }
+          install -m 600 /dev/null "$RUNNER_TEMP/pfb-bot-signing-key"
+          printf '%s\n' "$PFB_BOT_SIGNING_KEY" > "$RUNNER_TEMP/pfb-bot-signing-key"
+          echo "PFB_BOT_SIGNING_KEY_FILE=$RUNNER_TEMP/pfb-bot-signing-key" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+
       - name: Publish with guarded local commit
         if: inputs.operation != 'nightly-cleanup'
         id: publish
diff --git a/.github/workflows/render-site.yml b/.github/workflows/render-site.yml
index 04eb6aa..ae22f92 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/render-site.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/render-site.yml
@@ -30,6 +30,19 @@ jobs:
           fetch-depth: 1
           persist-credentials: true
 
+      - name: Configure pfblockerng-bot signing
+        env:
+          PFB_BOT_SIGNING_KEY: ${{ secrets.PFB_BOT_SIGNING_KEY }}
+        run: |
+          set -eu
+          [ -n "${PFB_BOT_SIGNING_KEY:-}" ] || {
+            echo "::error::PFB_BOT_SIGNING_KEY secret is not set"
+            exit 1
+          }
+          install -m 600 /dev/null "$RUNNER_TEMP/pfb-bot-signing-key"
+          printf '%s\n' "$PFB_BOT_SIGNING_KEY" > "$RUNNER_TEMP/pfb-bot-signing-key"
+          echo "PFB_BOT_SIGNING_KEY_FILE=$RUNNER_TEMP/pfb-bot-signing-key" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+
       - name: Render and commit the pkg website
         env:
           BASE_URL: https://pkg.pfblockerng.com
diff --git a/.github/workflows/test.yml b/.github/workflows/test.yml
index d298bb5..e3b3674 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/test.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/test.yml
@@ -16,18 +16,20 @@ jobs:
       - uses: astral-sh/setup-uv@v10.0.1
         with:
           python-version: "3.11"
+          enable-cache: false
       - name: Run publisher and renderer tests
-        run: uv run --with pytest==9.1.1 --with zstandard==0.25.0 pytest -q tests
+        run: uv run --with pytest==9.1.1 --with zstandard==0.25.0 --with pyyaml==6.0.3 pytest -q tests
 
   shell:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v7
-      - name: Require dash and jq
+      - name: Require dash, jq and ssh-keygen
         run: |
           DASH=$(command -v dash)
           JQ=$(command -v jq)
-          [ -x "$DASH" ] && [ -x "$JQ" ]
+          KEYGEN=$(command -v ssh-keygen)
+          [ -x "$DASH" ] && [ -x "$JQ" ] && [ -x "$KEYGEN" ]
       - name: Install pinned ShellSpec
         env:
           SHELLSPEC_VERSION: 0.28.1
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..75c6182
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+__pycache__/
+*.pyc
+.pytest_cache/
diff --git a/scripts/publish-pkg-repo.sh b/scripts/publish-pkg-repo.sh
index e7dbb41..8ac29cb 100755
--- a/scripts/publish-pkg-repo.sh
+++ b/scripts/publish-pkg-repo.sh
@@ -679,13 +679,22 @@ while [ "$attempt" -le "$MAX_PUSH_ATTEMPTS" ]; do
 
     assert_catalogue_only_staged
 
-    # Fixed bot identity via per-invocation -c flags, not repo config: a bare CI
-    # checkout carries no git identity, and this script must not depend on one
-    # being configured elsewhere (matches release.yml/module-durations.yml's
-    # direct-to-repo commits).
+    # The identity comes from per-invocation -c flags, not repo config: a bare CI
+    # checkout carries no git identity and this script must not depend on one.
+    # A workflow provisions the signing key file; an empty commit.gpgsign is git's
+    # false, so the local path needs no second invocation. Refuse to write an
+    # unsigned catalogue commit from Actions, whatever provisioned the checkout.
+    if [ -z "${PFB_BOT_SIGNING_KEY_FILE:-}" ] && [ -n "${GITHUB_ACTIONS:-}" ]; then
+        echo "::error::PFB_BOT_SIGNING_KEY_FILE is not set — refusing an unsigned catalogue commit" >&2
+        exit 1
+    fi
+
     git -C "$PKG_REPO" \
-        -c user.name="github-actions[bot]" \
-        -c user.email="github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com" \
+        -c user.name="pfblockerng-bot" \
+        -c user.email="293667935+pfblockerng-bot@users.noreply.github.com" \
+        -c gpg.format=ssh \
+        -c user.signingkey="${PFB_BOT_SIGNING_KEY_FILE:-}" \
+        -c commit.gpgsign="${PFB_BOT_SIGNING_KEY_FILE:+true}" \
         commit --quiet -m "$commit_message"
 
     if push_out=$(git -C "$PKG_REPO" push origin HEAD:main 2>&1); then
diff --git a/scripts/render-pkg-site.sh b/scripts/render-pkg-site.sh
index 4aecc33..658a752 100755
--- a/scripts/render-pkg-site.sh
+++ b/scripts/render-pkg-site.sh
@@ -121,12 +121,22 @@ while [ "$attempt" -le "$MAX_PUSH_ATTEMPTS" ]; do
     short_sha=$(git -C "$PFB_SRC" rev-parse --short HEAD 2>/dev/null || echo unknown)
     commit_message=$(printf 'render: pkg website (%s)\n\npfBlockerNG-Source-Run-Id: %s\n' "$short_sha" "$SOURCE_RUN_ID")
 
-    # Fixed bot identity via per-invocation -c flags, not repo config — same
-    # rationale as publish-pkg-repo.sh: a bare CI checkout carries no git
-    # identity, and this script must not depend on one being configured elsewhere.
+    # The identity comes from per-invocation -c flags, not repo config: a bare CI
+    # checkout carries no git identity and this script must not depend on one.
+    # A workflow provisions the signing key file; an empty commit.gpgsign is git's
+    # false, so the local path needs no second invocation. Refuse to write an
+    # unsigned site commit from Actions, whatever provisioned the checkout.
+    if [ -z "${PFB_BOT_SIGNING_KEY_FILE:-}" ] && [ -n "${GITHUB_ACTIONS:-}" ]; then
+        echo "::error::PFB_BOT_SIGNING_KEY_FILE is not set — refusing an unsigned site commit" >&2
+        exit 1
+    fi
+
     git -C "$PKG_REPO" \
-        -c user.name="github-actions[bot]" \
-        -c user.email="github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com" \
+        -c user.name="pfblockerng-bot" \
+        -c user.email="293667935+pfblockerng-bot@users.noreply.github.com" \
+        -c gpg.format=ssh \
+        -c user.signingkey="${PFB_BOT_SIGNING_KEY_FILE:-}" \
+        -c commit.gpgsign="${PFB_BOT_SIGNING_KEY_FILE:+true}" \
         commit --quiet -m "$commit_message"
 
     if push_out=$(git -C "$PKG_REPO" push origin HEAD:main 2>&1); then
diff --git a/tests/shell/publish_pkg_repo_spec.sh b/tests/shell/publish_pkg_repo_spec.sh
index 3602b3c..c3e01e6 100644
--- a/tests/shell/publish_pkg_repo_spec.sh
+++ b/tests/shell/publish_pkg_repo_spec.sh
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ Describe 'publish-pkg-repo.sh'
 
   setup() {
     scrub_git_env
+    scrub_writer_env
     base="$(mktemp -d "${SHELLSPEC_TMPBASE:-/tmp}/pubpkgrepo.XXXXXX")"
 
     # --- bare origin + a working PKG_REPO clone with one committed catalogue ---
@@ -513,8 +514,48 @@ JSON
     The stderr should include 'main'
     author="$(git_fixture -C "${base}/pkg-repo" log -1 --format='%an <%ae>')"
     committer="$(git_fixture -C "${base}/pkg-repo" log -1 --format='%cn <%ce>')"
-    The variable author should equal 'github-actions[bot] <github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>'
-    The variable committer should equal 'github-actions[bot] <github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>'
+    The variable author should equal 'pfblockerng-bot <293667935+pfblockerng-bot@users.noreply.github.com>'
+    The variable committer should equal 'pfblockerng-bot <293667935+pfblockerng-bot@users.noreply.github.com>'
+  End
+
+  It 'SSH-signs the catalogue commit when a workflow provisioned the signing key'
+    ssh-keygen -q -t ed25519 -N '' -C pfblockerng-bot -f "${base}/bot-key"
+    # The real CI quadrant: Actions set AND a provisioned key.
+    export GITHUB_ACTIONS=true
+    export PFB_BOT_SIGNING_KEY_FILE="${base}/bot-key"
+    export FAKE_MODE=success
+    export FAKE_TOUCHED=edge/ce-2.8
+    When run script "$script"
+    The status should equal 0
+    The output should include 'ADVANCE'
+    The stderr should include 'main'
+    # The commit object itself carries the signature, so a dropped gpg.format,
+    # signingkey or commit.gpgsign reddens this even though the fixture repo
+    # config says commit.gpgsign false.
+    landed="$(git_fixture -C "${base}/pkg-repo" cat-file commit HEAD)"
+    The variable landed should include 'gpgsig -----BEGIN SSH SIGNATURE-----'
+    # And the signature is by THAT key: verified against an allowed-signers file
+    # naming the bot's e-mail with the public half of the provisioned key.
+    printf '293667935+pfblockerng-bot@users.noreply.github.com %s\n' \
+        "$(cut -d' ' -f1,2 "${base}/bot-key.pub")" > "${base}/allowed-signers"
+    verified="$(git_fixture -C "${base}/pkg-repo" -c gpg.ssh.allowedSignersFile="${base}/allowed-signers" log -1 --format=%G?)"
+    The variable verified should equal 'G'
+    author="$(git_fixture -C "${base}/pkg-repo" log -1 --format='%an <%ae>')"
+    The variable author should equal 'pfblockerng-bot <293667935+pfblockerng-bot@users.noreply.github.com>'
+  End
+
+  It 'refuses to commit at all when Actions provisioned no signing key'
+    export GITHUB_ACTIONS=true
+    export FAKE_MODE=success
+    export FAKE_TOUCHED=edge/ce-2.8
+    When run script "$script"
+    The status should not equal 0
+    The output should not include 'ADVANCE'
+    The stderr should include 'refusing an unsigned catalogue commit'
+    local_head="$(git_fixture -C "${base}/pkg-repo" rev-parse main)"
+    The variable local_head should equal "$original_head"
+    remote_head="$(git_fixture -C "${base}/remote.git" rev-parse refs/heads/main)"
+    The variable remote_head should equal "$original_remote_head"
   End
 
   It 'the commit message carries the release tag and source_run_id as trailers'
diff --git a/tests/shell/render_pkg_site_spec.sh b/tests/shell/render_pkg_site_spec.sh
index e80e0ec..0c9c5a9 100644
--- a/tests/shell/render_pkg_site_spec.sh
+++ b/tests/shell/render_pkg_site_spec.sh
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ Describe 'render-pkg-site.sh'
 
   setup() {
     scrub_git_env
+    scrub_writer_env
     base="$(mktemp -d "${SHELLSPEC_TMPBASE:-/tmp}/renderpkgsite.XXXXXX")"
 
     # --- bare origin + a working PKG_REPO clone with one committed catalogue ---
@@ -341,8 +342,43 @@ PY
     The stderr should include 'main'
     author="$(git_fixture -C "${base}/pkg-repo" log -1 --format='%an <%ae>')"
     committer="$(git_fixture -C "${base}/pkg-repo" log -1 --format='%cn <%ce>')"
-    The variable author should equal 'github-actions[bot] <github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>'
-    The variable committer should equal 'github-actions[bot] <github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>'
+    The variable author should equal 'pfblockerng-bot <293667935+pfblockerng-bot@users.noreply.github.com>'
+    The variable committer should equal 'pfblockerng-bot <293667935+pfblockerng-bot@users.noreply.github.com>'
+  End
+
+  # --- r9b/r9c: the signature the workflows exist to produce -------------------
+
+  It 'r9b: SSH-signs the site commit when a workflow provisioned the signing key'
+    ssh-keygen -q -t ed25519 -N '' -C pfblockerng-bot -f "${base}/bot-key"
+    # The real CI quadrant: Actions set AND a provisioned key.
+    export GITHUB_ACTIONS=true
+    export PFB_BOT_SIGNING_KEY_FILE="${base}/bot-key"
+    When run script "$script"
+    The status should equal 0
+    The output should include 'ADVANCE'
+    The stderr should include 'main'
+    # The commit object itself carries the signature, so a dropped gpg.format,
+    # signingkey or commit.gpgsign reddens this even though the fixture repo
+    # config says commit.gpgsign false.
+    landed="$(git_fixture -C "${base}/pkg-repo" cat-file commit HEAD)"
+    The variable landed should include 'gpgsig -----BEGIN SSH SIGNATURE-----'
+    # And the signature is by THAT key: verified against an allowed-signers file
+    # naming the bot's e-mail with the public half of the provisioned key.
+    printf '293667935+pfblockerng-bot@users.noreply.github.com %s\n' \
+        "$(cut -d' ' -f1,2 "${base}/bot-key.pub")" > "${base}/allowed-signers"
+    verified="$(git_fixture -C "${base}/pkg-repo" -c gpg.ssh.allowedSignersFile="${base}/allowed-signers" log -1 --format=%G?)"
+    The variable verified should equal 'G'
+    author="$(git_fixture -C "${base}/pkg-repo" log -1 --format='%an <%ae>')"
+    The variable author should equal 'pfblockerng-bot <293667935+pfblockerng-bot@users.noreply.github.com>'
+  End
+
+  It 'r9c: refuses to commit at all when Actions provisioned no signing key'
+    export GITHUB_ACTIONS=true
+    When run script "$script"
+    The status should not equal 0
+    The stderr should include 'refusing an unsigned site commit'
+    The result of function local_head_now should equal "$original_head"
+    The result of function remote_head_now should equal "$original_remote_head"
   End
 
   # --- r10: a hard push failure is not remote contention ----------------------
diff --git a/tests/shell/spec_helper.sh b/tests/shell/spec_helper.sh
index 567775d..c0ab23c 100755
--- a/tests/shell/spec_helper.sh
+++ b/tests/shell/spec_helper.sh
@@ -9,6 +9,14 @@ scrub_git_env() {
 	done
 }
 
+# The specs stand in for a LOCAL run of the writer scripts. shellspec's own CI
+# job exports GITHUB_ACTIONS=true, which those scripts read as "a workflow must
+# have provisioned a signing key", so both variables are cleared per example and
+# set explicitly by the examples that exercise signing.
+scrub_writer_env() {
+	unset GITHUB_ACTIONS PFB_BOT_SIGNING_KEY_FILE
+}
+
 git_fixture() {
 	GIT_CONFIG_GLOBAL=/dev/null GIT_CONFIG_SYSTEM=/dev/null git "$@"
 }
diff --git a/tests/test_ingest_workflow.py b/tests/test_ingest_workflow.py
index ecacb8f..bc32d5a 100644
--- a/tests/test_ingest_workflow.py
+++ b/tests/test_ingest_workflow.py
@@ -3,14 +3,48 @@
 import hashlib
 import json
 import os
+import re
 import subprocess
 import textwrap
 import unittest
 from pathlib import Path
 
+import yaml
+
 ROOT = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[1]
-INGEST = ROOT / ".github" / "workflows" / "ingest.yml"
-RENDER = ROOT / ".github" / "workflows" / "render-site.yml"
+WORKFLOWS = ROOT / ".github" / "workflows"
+INGEST = WORKFLOWS / "ingest.yml"
+RENDER = WORKFLOWS / "render-site.yml"
+SIGNING_STEP = "Configure pfblockerng-bot signing"
+# A step is a writer when it runs any repo shell script (the two writers today,
+# and whatever joins them) or reaches a git verb that writes history itself,
+# whichever line its arguments continue onto.
+_RUNS_REPO_SCRIPT = re.compile(r"\bscripts/[\w.-]+\.sh\b")
+_GIT_WRITE = re.compile(r"\bgit\b[^\n]*\b(?:commit|tag|merge|cherry-pick|revert|am)\b")
+
+
+def _workflows() -> list[Path]:
+    # GitHub honours both spellings, so a writer saved as .yaml is still a writer.
+    return sorted(WORKFLOWS.glob("*.yml")) + sorted(WORKFLOWS.glob("*.yaml"))
+
+
+def _steps(workflow: Path, job: str) -> list[dict[str, object]]:
+    spec = yaml.safe_load(workflow.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+    return list(((spec.get("jobs") or {}).get(job) or {}).get("steps") or [])
+
+
+def _writer_steps() -> list[tuple[Path, str, int, str]]:
+    """Every (workflow, job, step index, step name) that can write a commit."""
+    found: list[tuple[Path, str, int, str]] = []
+    for workflow in _workflows():
+        spec = yaml.safe_load(workflow.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+        for job in (spec.get("jobs") or {}):
+            for index, step in enumerate(_steps(workflow, job)):
+                run = str(step.get("run") or "").replace("\\\n", " ")
+                writes = _RUNS_REPO_SCRIPT.search(run) or _GIT_WRITE.search(run)
+                if writes:
+                    found.append((workflow, job, index, str(step.get("name") or f"step {index}")))
+    return found
 
 
 class IngestionWorkflowContractTests(unittest.TestCase):
@@ -172,6 +206,62 @@ def test_site_source_push_renders_only_with_pkg_code(self) -> None:
         self.assertNotIn("pfBlockerNG/pfBlockerNG", text)
         self.assertRegex(text, r"(?s)permissions:\n\s+contents: write")
 
+    def test_every_writer_job_configures_signing_before_it_writes(self) -> None:
+        """Discovered, not listed: a future writer job inherits the requirement.
+
+        A writer is any step that runs a repo shell script or calls a git verb
+        that writes history. Its job must configure the bot signing key in an
+        earlier step, because $GITHUB_ENV and $RUNNER_TEMP do not cross jobs.
+        """
+        writers = _writer_steps()
+        self.assertTrue(writers, "no writer step discovered; the finder is broken")
+        for workflow, job, index, name in writers:
+            steps = _steps(workflow, job)
+            signing = [i for i, step in enumerate(steps) if step.get("name") == SIGNING_STEP]
+            self.assertTrue(
+                signing,
+                f"{workflow.name}:{job} writes in {name!r} without a {SIGNING_STEP!r} step",
+            )
+            self.assertLess(
+                signing[0],
+                index,
+                f"{workflow.name}:{job} configures signing after it writes in {name!r}",
+            )
+
+    def test_the_signing_step_provisions_the_key_it_promises(self) -> None:
+        writers = _writer_steps()
+        self.assertTrue(writers, "no writer step discovered; the finder is broken")
+        for workflow, job, index, name in writers:
+            earlier = [s for s in _steps(workflow, job)[:index] if s.get("name") == SIGNING_STEP]
+            self.assertTrue(
+                earlier,
+                f"{workflow.name}:{job} writes in {name!r} with no {SIGNING_STEP!r} step before it",
+            )
+            step = earlier[0]
+            self.assertEqual(
+                (step.get("env") or {}).get("PFB_BOT_SIGNING_KEY"),
+                "${{ secrets.PFB_BOT_SIGNING_KEY }}",
+                f"{workflow.name}:{job} does not consume the org signing-key secret",
+            )
+            script = step.get("run") or ""
+            self.assertIn('[ -n "${PFB_BOT_SIGNING_KEY:-}" ]', script)
+            # The three lines in order and adjacent: an empty mode-600 file, then
+            # the key into it, then the path (never the key) into the step env.
+            self.assertIn(
+                'install -m 600 /dev/null "$RUNNER_TEMP/pfb-bot-signing-key"\n'
+                'printf \'%s\\n\' "$PFB_BOT_SIGNING_KEY" > "$RUNNER_TEMP/pfb-bot-signing-key"\n'
+                'echo "PFB_BOT_SIGNING_KEY_FILE=$RUNNER_TEMP/pfb-bot-signing-key" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"\n',
+                script,
+                f"{workflow.name}:{job} does not provision the key file exactly as the writers expect",
+            )
+
+    def test_nothing_commits_as_the_generic_actions_identity(self) -> None:
+        # The identity lives in the scripts, which is where the retired one lived
+        # too, so the ban covers every script and every workflow, not a listed few.
+        for path in _workflows() + sorted((ROOT / "scripts").glob("*.sh")):
+            text = path.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+            self.assertNotIn("github-actions[bot]", text, f"generic Actions identity in {path.name}")
+
 
 def _tagged_intake_script() -> str:
     text = INGEST.read_text(encoding="utf-8")