diff --git a/kubernetes/MIGRATION-sops-openbao.md b/kubernetes/MIGRATION-sops-openbao.md
index 503e92f9..82cdecda 100644
--- a/kubernetes/MIGRATION-sops-openbao.md
+++ b/kubernetes/MIGRATION-sops-openbao.md
@@ -51,7 +51,11 @@ kubectl -n openbao exec -it openbao-0 -- bao operator unseal   # paste key
 ```
 
 **Manual unseal is required after every pod restart** (node drain, upgrade,
-crash): `kubectl -n openbao exec -it openbao-0 -- bao operator unseal`.
+crash), **per replica** — the server runs three raft peers (see
+`infrastructure/openbao/helmrelease.yaml`), and a sealed one is neither a
+voter nor a standby, so it stays out of the cluster until unsealed:
+`kubectl -n openbao exec -it openbao-<N> -- bao operator unseal`, same key for
+all three. Three peers mean one sealed replica is survivable; two are not.
 Accepted for now; auto-unseal needs a second trust root (transit/KMS) and is
 explicitly out of scope. Symptom of sealed: ESO stores go NotReady, synced
 Secrets keep their last value (they are real k8s Secrets — pods keep running).
diff --git a/kubernetes/RUNBOOK-cold-rebuild.md b/kubernetes/RUNBOOK-cold-rebuild.md
index d49f58a6..ac0acdf7 100644
--- a/kubernetes/RUNBOOK-cold-rebuild.md
+++ b/kubernetes/RUNBOOK-cold-rebuild.md
@@ -149,8 +149,8 @@ Secrets, and every secret-consuming app stays Pending. This step is **manual**
 (the unseal key lives in `pass`, off-cluster by design).
 
 ```sh
-# 1. Wait for the OpenBao pod to exist (sealed, 0/1 Ready is expected).
-kubectl -n openbao get pod openbao-0
+# 1. Wait for the OpenBao pods to exist (all three sealed, 0/1 Ready is expected).
+kubectl -n openbao get pods
 
 # 2. Restore the most recent raft snapshot. Source it from the snapshot PVC
 #    (infrastructure/openbao/snapshot-cronjob.yaml) or, in a total-loss rebuild,
@@ -158,8 +158,12 @@ kubectl -n openbao get pod openbao-0
 kubectl -n openbao cp <snapshot>.snap openbao-0:/tmp/restore.snap
 kubectl -n openbao exec -it openbao-0 -- bao operator raft snapshot restore /tmp/restore.snap
 
-# 3. Unseal with the key from pass (threshold 1).
+# 3. Unseal with the key from pass (threshold 1) — EVERY replica, same key.
+#    A sealed server is neither a raft voter nor a standby, so unsealing only
+#    openbao-0 leaves the three-peer cluster one node short of quorum.
 kubectl -n openbao exec -it openbao-0 -- bao operator unseal   # paste homelab/openbao/unseal-key
+kubectl -n openbao exec -it openbao-1 -- bao operator unseal   # same key
+kubectl -n openbao exec -it openbao-2 -- bao operator unseal   # same key
 ```
 
 Verify the store recovers before moving on:
@@ -170,7 +174,9 @@ kubectl -n <ns> get externalsecret            # want: SecretSynced
 ```
 
 > **Manual unseal is required after every OpenBao pod restart**, not just
-> during rebuilds. Details + rationale: `MIGRATION-sops-openbao.md`.
+> during rebuilds, and for *each* replica that restarts — a rolling node
+> drain seals all three in turn. Details + rationale:
+> `MIGRATION-sops-openbao.md`.
 
 ## Step 5 — apps: let the rest reconcile