diff --git a/CloudronManifest.json b/CloudronManifest.json
index 5c7ba63..9aacd29 100644
--- a/CloudronManifest.json
+++ b/CloudronManifest.json
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@
         "scheduler": {
             "librechat_key_sync": {
                 "schedule": "*/10 * * * *",
-                "command": "cd /app/code/librechat/api && node /app/data/sync-keys.js"
+                "command": "cd /app/code/librechat/api && node /app/code/sync-keys.js"
             }
         }
     },
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 33c9479..7d315a4 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -15,7 +15,9 @@
 #      built from this repo on every deploy (the base FROM stays the appstore
 #      image we validated). A stale dockerImage pin silently redeploys an old
 #      build — that is what broke the sandbox on 2026-10-18/19.
-#   3. This image changes ONLY static brand assets. All behavior lives on the
+#   3. This image changes ONLY static brand assets plus operational scripts that
+#      must not depend on the persistent volume (currently sync-keys.js, run by
+#      the manifest's scheduler task). All other behavior lives on the
 #      persistent volume (/app/data/librechat.yaml, /app/data/env,
 #      /app/data/mcp/) and survives image updates unchanged.
 FROM cloudron/ai.librechat.cloudronapp:202610150224320000
@@ -41,6 +43,12 @@ COPY assets/custom.css /app/code/librechat/client/dist/assets/custom.css
 # rebuild trigger
 COPY assets/custom2.js /app/code/librechat/client/dist/assets/custom2.js
 
+# Per-member key seed (manifest scheduler task `librechat_key_sync`). Shipping it
+# in the image rather than on the volume means it cannot vanish with a volume
+# restore and cannot drift from this repo; the script prints its own md5 prefix
+# on every run so the running revision is auditable.
+COPY sync-keys.js /app/code/sync-keys.js
+
 # Co-op UI strings: rename the "MCP Servers" button to "Tools" and replace
 # the LibreChat footer tagline with the co-op footer. Non-fatal at build.
 COPY patch_ui_strings.py /app/code/patch_ui_strings.py
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 68405ba..67b3e13 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ md5sum librechat.yaml mcp/server.py mcp/image_server.py
 | Env vars (env-file wins!) | `/app/data/env` (volume, sourced LAST by start.sh) | yes | documented below |
 | Env vars (Cloudron-managed) | `cloudron env` (process env) | yes | documented below |
 | MCP servers | `/app/data/mcp/server.py` + `mcp/image_server.py` (volume) | yes | `mcp/` |
-| Per-member key seed | `/app/data/sync-keys.js` (volume; run by the manifest's `scheduler` task) | yes | `sync-keys.js` |
+| Per-member key seed | `sync-keys.js` baked into the image at `/app/code/sync-keys.js` (run by the manifest's `scheduler` task) | no — rebuilt per image | `sync-keys.js` |
 | Brand assets + branding CSS/JS | baked into image overlay | no — rebuilt per image | `assets/` |
 | `CloudronManifest.json` | repo only (controls what `cloudron update` deploys) | n/a | official appstore manifest **except `dockerImage`** |
 
@@ -335,11 +335,21 @@ member's own portal-provisioned key automatically:
 "scheduler": {
   "librechat_key_sync": {
     "schedule": "*/10 * * * *",
-    "command": "cd /app/code/librechat/api && node /app/data/sync-keys.js"
+    "command": "cd /app/code/librechat/api && node /app/code/sync-keys.js"
   }
 }
 ```
 
+The script is **baked into the image** (`COPY sync-keys.js /app/code/…`), so it
+cannot be lost with a volume restore and cannot drift from this repo.
+
+**Ordering matters on the first deploy of this change:** build the image → deploy
+(pin the new tag in the manifest first — the manifest's repointed command ships
+in the same `cloudron update`) → verify (`./release.sh verify` checks that the
+command path exists in the running image) → only then delete the volume copy
+`/app/data/sync-keys.js`, because rolling back to the previous image tag needs it
+back. After that, a change to this script requires a rebuild, not a volume push.
+
 Seeding therefore depends on nothing outside this app — it previously ran from a
 steward cron on another machine, which made a member-facing function depend on
 that machine's uptime and paths.