diff --git a/deploy/systemd/rein-aharness-claim-loop.service b/deploy/systemd/rein-aharness-claim-loop.service
index 8a175be..4575354 100644
--- a/deploy/systemd/rein-aharness-claim-loop.service
+++ b/deploy/systemd/rein-aharness-claim-loop.service
@@ -6,15 +6,16 @@ Wants=network-online.target
 
 [Service]
 Type=simple
-# Adjust paths for the railiance user checkout
 WorkingDirectory=%h/rein-aharness
-EnvironmentFile=-%h/.config/rein-aharness/claim-loop.env
 Environment=PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1
-# Prefer venv entrypoint when installed with uv/pip
-ExecStart=%h/rein-aharness/.venv/bin/rein-aharness claim-loop
+Environment=KUBECONFIG=/etc/rancher/k3s/k3s.yaml
+# Ensure kubectl is available for k8s:// URL resolution in rein-aharness-claim
+Environment=PATH=/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:%h/bin
+# Wrapper loads claim-loop.env (JSON-safe) and resolves k8s:// ClusterIPs
+# Do not use EnvironmentFile= for claim-loop.env — REPO_MAP JSON breaks systemd parser
+ExecStart=%h/bin/rein-aharness-claim claim-loop
 Restart=on-failure
 RestartSec=15
-# Soft stop: claim-loop handles SIGTERM between cycles
 KillSignal=SIGTERM
 TimeoutStopSec=120