diff --git a/.github/workflows/docker.yml b/.github/workflows/docker.yml
index 5e5c19bdf3b..86dfaf20025 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/docker.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/docker.yml
@@ -53,6 +53,9 @@ jobs:
       - name: Checkout code
         uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # v6.0.2
 
+      - name: Write install stamp
+        run: python3 scripts/write_install_stamp.py --output install-stamp.json
+
       - name: Set up Docker Buildx
         uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@8d2750c68a42422c14e847fe6c8ac0403b4cbd6f # v3
 
@@ -141,6 +144,9 @@ jobs:
       - name: Checkout trusted source
         uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # v6.0.2
 
+      - name: Write install stamp
+        run: python3 scripts/write_install_stamp.py --output install-stamp.json
+
       - name: Set up Docker Buildx
         uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@8d2750c68a42422c14e847fe6c8ac0403b4cbd6f # v3
 
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index d21a58a29c1..fd2dbb8e6e7 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -40,6 +40,22 @@ RUN apt-get -o Acquire::Retries=3 update && \
     make -j"$(nproc)" && \
     make install
 
+# ---------- Install stamp stages ----------
+# CI pre-builds install-stamp.json (scripts/write_install_stamp.py) with full
+# git provenance before `docker build`. The stamp is COPY'd into the image
+# so version_info.py can read it at runtime — .dockerignore excludes .git,
+# so the stamp can't be resolved inside the image.
+#
+# The stamp arrives via the bulk `COPY . .` below as /opt/hermes/install-stamp.json.
+# A late RUN moves it to the canonical
+# .hermes_build_info.json path so it doesn't bust the docker cache for
+# the expensive build layers above — only the final metadata layer
+# changes when the stamp changes.
+#
+# If the file is absent (local `docker build` without CI), the mv is
+# a no-op and runtime falls through to "unknown" source with no crash.
+
+# ---------- Base image ----------
 FROM ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv:0.11.6-python3.13-trixie@sha256:b3c543b6c4f23a5f2df22866bd7857e5d304b67a564f4feab6ac22044dde719b AS uv_source
 # Node 22 LTS source stage. Debian trixie's bundled nodejs is pinned to 20.x
 # which reached EOL in April 2026 — we copy node + npm + corepack from the
@@ -277,6 +293,14 @@ RUN mkdir -p /opt/hermes/bin && \
     cp /opt/hermes/docker/hermes-exec-shim.sh /opt/hermes/bin/hermes && \
     chmod 0755 /opt/hermes/bin/hermes && \
     printf 'docker\n' > /opt/hermes/.install_method
+
+# Move the pre-built install stamp (if CI provided one) to the canonical
+# path. Placed late so a stamp change doesn't bust the docker cache for
+# the expensive build layers above — only this final layer re-runs.
+# If install-stamp.json is absent (local build without CI), this is a no-op.
+RUN if [ -f /opt/hermes/install-stamp.json ] && grep -q '"commit"' /opt/hermes/install-stamp.json; then \
+        mv /opt/hermes/install-stamp.json /opt/hermes/.hermes_build_info.json; \
+    fi
 # The ``.install_method`` stamp is baked next to the running code (the install
 # tree), NOT into $HERMES_HOME. $HERMES_HOME (/opt/data) is a shared data
 # volume that is commonly bind-mounted from the host and even shared with a
@@ -288,18 +312,6 @@ RUN mkdir -p /opt/hermes/bin && \
 # `s6-setuidgid hermes` in its run script. If HERMES_UID is unset, services
 # run as the default hermes user (UID 10000).
 
-# ---------- Bake build-time install stamp ----------
-# .dockerignore excludes .git, so runtime git lookups always fail. The shared
-# stamp script writes a canonical install-stamp.json that version_info.py
-# reads at runtime — no env vars or separate build_info module needed.
-ARG HERMES_GIT_SHA=
-RUN if [ -n "${HERMES_GIT_SHA}" ]; then \
-        python3 scripts/write_install_stamp.py \
-            --output /opt/hermes/.hermes_build_info.json \
-            --commit "${HERMES_GIT_SHA}" \
-            --source docker; \
-    fi
-
 # ---------- s6-overlay service wiring ----------
 # Static services declared at build time: main-hermes + dashboard.
 # Per-profile gateway services are registered dynamically at runtime by