diff --git a/config/golden-image-container-integration.yaml b/config/golden-image-container-integration.yaml
index 15b42deb..653ad3fd 100644
--- a/config/golden-image-container-integration.yaml
+++ b/config/golden-image-container-integration.yaml
@@ -83,11 +83,6 @@ toolchains:
     archive: pnpm-11.22.0.tgz
     download_url: https://registry.npmjs.org/pnpm/-/pnpm-11.22.0.tgz
     archive_sha256: 57a97e6f23a3faffc03153a4ef8c770a0552612b8640aebe39bfdd5754d0ebdc
-  - name: rust
-    version: 1.97.1
-    archive: rust-1.97.1-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.xz
-    download_url: https://static.rust-lang.org/dist/rust-1.97.1-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.xz
-    archive_sha256: 88f28fa9af20594179f85d6df67078dfd6fa93e2f6da5e1e9b0ac4997988ca4f
   - name: rustup
     version: 1.29.0
     archive: rustup-init
diff --git a/config/golden-image-container.yaml b/config/golden-image-container.yaml
index 8730eb70..f3757efb 100644
--- a/config/golden-image-container.yaml
+++ b/config/golden-image-container.yaml
@@ -88,11 +88,6 @@ toolchains:
     archive: pnpm-11.22.0.tgz
     download_url: https://registry.npmjs.org/pnpm/-/pnpm-11.22.0.tgz
     archive_sha256: 57a97e6f23a3faffc03153a4ef8c770a0552612b8640aebe39bfdd5754d0ebdc
-  - name: rust
-    version: 1.97.1
-    archive: rust-1.97.1-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.xz
-    download_url: https://static.rust-lang.org/dist/rust-1.97.1-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.xz
-    archive_sha256: 88f28fa9af20594179f85d6df67078dfd6fa93e2f6da5e1e9b0ac4997988ca4f
   - name: rustup
     version: 1.29.0
     archive: rustup-init
diff --git a/config/golden-image-integration.yaml b/config/golden-image-integration.yaml
index b4f603bf..bbd78eba 100644
--- a/config/golden-image-integration.yaml
+++ b/config/golden-image-integration.yaml
@@ -82,11 +82,6 @@ toolchains:
     archive: pnpm-11.22.0.tgz
     download_url: https://registry.npmjs.org/pnpm/-/pnpm-11.22.0.tgz
     archive_sha256: 57a97e6f23a3faffc03153a4ef8c770a0552612b8640aebe39bfdd5754d0ebdc
-  - name: rust
-    version: 1.97.1
-    archive: rust-1.97.1-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.xz
-    download_url: https://static.rust-lang.org/dist/rust-1.97.1-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.xz
-    archive_sha256: 88f28fa9af20594179f85d6df67078dfd6fa93e2f6da5e1e9b0ac4997988ca4f
   - name: rustup
     version: 1.29.0
     archive: rustup-init
diff --git a/config/golden-image.yaml b/config/golden-image.yaml
index fe989fe9..7c7a7e78 100644
--- a/config/golden-image.yaml
+++ b/config/golden-image.yaml
@@ -82,11 +82,6 @@ toolchains:
     archive: pnpm-11.22.0.tgz
     download_url: https://registry.npmjs.org/pnpm/-/pnpm-11.22.0.tgz
     archive_sha256: 57a97e6f23a3faffc03153a4ef8c770a0552612b8640aebe39bfdd5754d0ebdc
-  - name: rust
-    version: 1.97.1
-    archive: rust-1.97.1-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.xz
-    download_url: https://static.rust-lang.org/dist/rust-1.97.1-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.xz
-    archive_sha256: 88f28fa9af20594179f85d6df67078dfd6fa93e2f6da5e1e9b0ac4997988ca4f
   - name: rustup
     version: 1.29.0
     archive: rustup-init
diff --git a/internal/imagebuild/assets/provision.sh b/internal/imagebuild/assets/provision.sh
index f2b1e8ee..b87fc3d1 100644
--- a/internal/imagebuild/assets/provision.sh
+++ b/internal/imagebuild/assets/provision.sh
@@ -219,9 +219,9 @@ toolchain_manifest="$(printf '%s' "${GHA_TOOLCHAINS_B64}" | base64 --decode)"
 jq -e 'type == "array"' <<<"${toolchain_manifest}" >/dev/null
 mapfile -t toolchain_names < <(jq -r '.[].name' <<<"${toolchain_manifest}")
 toolchain_set="$(printf '%s\n' "${toolchain_names[@]}" | LC_ALL=C sort | paste -sd, -)"
-if [[ "${toolchain_set}" != bun,gh,go,rust,rustup,uv \
-  && "${toolchain_set}" != bun,gh,go,node22,node24,node25,pnpm,rust,rustup,uv,yarn \
-  && "${toolchain_set}" != bun,flutter,gh,go,node22,node24,node25,pnpm,rust,rustup,uv,yarn ]]; then
+if [[ "${toolchain_set}" != bun,gh,go,rustup,uv \
+  && "${toolchain_set}" != bun,gh,go,node22,node24,node25,pnpm,rustup,uv,yarn \
+  && "${toolchain_set}" != bun,flutter,gh,go,node22,node24,node25,pnpm,rustup,uv,yarn ]]; then
   echo "toolchain manifest does not pin the exact baked set" >&2
   exit 1
 fi
@@ -332,28 +332,6 @@ for toolchain_name in "${toolchain_names[@]}"; do
 		ln -sfn "${package_root}/bin/pnpx.cjs" /usr/local/bin/pnpx
 		[[ "$(pnpm --version)" == "${toolchain_version}" ]]
 		;;
-    rust)
-      # The standalone archive alone is not what the estate asks for. Every
-      # setup-system pins rust-toolchain.toml to a channel with rustfmt and
-      # clippy, and actions-rust-lang/setup-rust-toolchain resolves that through
-      # rustup -- so a system-wide rustc with no rustup, no clippy and no
-      # rustfmt is invisible to it and every job downloads a toolchain instead.
-      # Measured across the seven public anchors: 28 workflow requests for
-      # 1.98.0 and 7 for the 1.89 MSRV, against a baked 1.97.1.
-      #
-      # rustup owns the layout, so the archive installs into it rather than into
-      # /usr/local, and the extra channels are installed beside it. RUSTUP_HOME
-      # and CARGO_HOME are system paths so the toolchains are shared rather than
-      # re-fetched per job, and the shims land on PATH for jobs that never call
-      # the action at all.
-      tar --extract --xz --file "${toolchain_archive}" \
-        --directory "${toolchain_scratch}" --no-same-owner --no-same-permissions
-      "${toolchain_scratch}/rust-${toolchain_version}-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu/install.sh" \
-        --prefix=/usr/local \
-        --components=rustc,cargo,rust-std-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu >/dev/null
-      [[ "$(rustc --version)" == "rustc ${toolchain_version} "* ]]
-      [[ "$(cargo --version)" == "cargo ${toolchain_version} "* ]]
-      ;;
     rustup)
       install -o root -g root -m 0755 "${toolchain_archive}" "${toolchain_scratch}/rustup-init"
       export RUSTUP_HOME=/usr/local/rustup CARGO_HOME=/usr/local/cargo
@@ -365,7 +343,10 @@ for toolchain_name in "${toolchain_names[@]}"; do
       # rust-toolchain.toml files name, so the action finds them already present.
       mapfile -t rust_channels < <(jq -r '.channels[]?' <<<"${entry}")
       rust_default="$(jq -r '.default_channel // ""' <<<"${entry}")"
-      [[ ${#rust_channels[@]} -gt 0 && -n "${rust_default}" ]]
+      if [[ ${#rust_channels[@]} -eq 0 || -z "${rust_default}" ]]; then
+        echo "rustup entry carries no channels or no default channel: the manifest names them, so the provisioning contract dropped them" >&2
+        exit 1
+      fi
       for channel in "${rust_channels[@]}"; do
         "${CARGO_HOME}/bin/rustup" toolchain install "${channel}" \
           --profile minimal --component clippy --component rustfmt >/dev/null
diff --git a/internal/imagebuild/assets/smoke-integration.sh b/internal/imagebuild/assets/smoke-integration.sh
index 5612ee59..0b58b5d0 100644
--- a/internal/imagebuild/assets/smoke-integration.sh
+++ b/internal/imagebuild/assets/smoke-integration.sh
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ runner_tool_cache="$(jq -er .runner_tool_cache /etc/nddev/image-build.json)"
 [[ "${runner_tool_cache}" == /home/runner/actions-runner/_work/_tool ]]
 smoke_toolchains="$(printf '%s' "${GHA_TOOLCHAINS_B64}" | base64 --decode)"
 mapfile -t smoke_toolchain_names < <(jq -r '.[].name' <<<"${smoke_toolchains}")
-[[ "$(printf '%s\n' "${smoke_toolchain_names[@]}" | LC_ALL=C sort | paste -sd, -)" == bun,gh,go,node22,node24,node25,pnpm,rust,uv,yarn ]]
+[[ "$(printf '%s\n' "${smoke_toolchain_names[@]}" | LC_ALL=C sort | paste -sd, -)" == bun,gh,go,node22,node24,node25,pnpm,rustup,uv,yarn ]]
 for smoke_toolchain in "${smoke_toolchain_names[@]}"; do
   entry="$(jq -ce --arg name "${smoke_toolchain}" '.[] | select(.name == $name)' <<<"${smoke_toolchains}")"
   expected_version="$(jq -er .version <<<"${entry}")"
@@ -128,9 +128,26 @@ for smoke_toolchain in "${smoke_toolchain_names[@]}"; do
       fi
       ;;
 	pnpm) [[ "$(pnpm --version)" == "${expected_version}" ]] ;;
-    rust)
-      [[ "$(rustc --version)" == "rustc ${expected_version} "* ]]
-      [[ "$(cargo --version)" == "cargo ${expected_version} "* ]]
+    rustup)
+      # rustup owns the whole Rust surface: the estate pins channels in
+      # rust-toolchain.toml, actions-rust-lang/setup-rust-toolchain resolves
+      # them through rustup, and the shims on PATH serve jobs that never call
+      # the action. Every pinned channel must already hold clippy and rustfmt,
+      # or the per-job download this image exists to remove comes back.
+      [[ "$(rustup --version 2>/dev/null)" == "rustup ${expected_version} "* ]]
+      [[ "$(stat --format='%U' -- /usr/local/rustup)" == root ]]
+      [[ "$(stat --format='%U' -- /usr/local/cargo)" == root ]]
+      grep -q '^RUSTUP_HOME=/usr/local/rustup$' /etc/environment
+      mapfile -t smoke_rust_channels < <(jq -r '.channels[]?' <<<"${entry}")
+      smoke_rust_default="$(jq -er '.default_channel' <<<"${entry}")"
+      [[ ${#smoke_rust_channels[@]} -gt 0 ]]
+      for smoke_rust_channel in "${smoke_rust_channels[@]}"; do
+        [[ "$(rustup run "${smoke_rust_channel}" rustc --version)" == "rustc ${smoke_rust_channel}"* ]]
+        [[ "$(rustup run "${smoke_rust_channel}" cargo clippy --version)" == clippy* ]]
+        [[ "$(rustup run "${smoke_rust_channel}" rustfmt --version)" == rustfmt* ]]
+      done
+      [[ "$(rustc --version)" == "rustc ${smoke_rust_default}"* ]]
+      [[ "$(cargo --version)" == "cargo "* ]]
       ;;
     uv)
       [[ "$(uv --version)" == "uv ${expected_version}"* ]]
diff --git a/internal/imagebuild/assets/smoke.sh b/internal/imagebuild/assets/smoke.sh
index 166c4bb7..dc76ab17 100644
--- a/internal/imagebuild/assets/smoke.sh
+++ b/internal/imagebuild/assets/smoke.sh
@@ -64,9 +64,9 @@ runner_tool_cache="$(jq -er .runner_tool_cache /etc/nddev/image-build.json)"
 smoke_toolchains="$(printf '%s' "${GHA_TOOLCHAINS_B64}" | base64 --decode)"
 mapfile -t smoke_toolchain_names < <(jq -r '.[].name' <<<"${smoke_toolchains}")
 smoke_toolchain_set="$(printf '%s\n' "${smoke_toolchain_names[@]}" | LC_ALL=C sort | paste -sd, -)"
-[[ "${smoke_toolchain_set}" == bun,gh,go,rust,uv \
-  || "${smoke_toolchain_set}" == bun,gh,go,node22,node24,node25,pnpm,rust,uv,yarn \
-  || "${smoke_toolchain_set}" == bun,flutter,gh,go,node22,node24,node25,pnpm,rust,uv,yarn ]]
+[[ "${smoke_toolchain_set}" == bun,gh,go,rustup,uv \
+  || "${smoke_toolchain_set}" == bun,gh,go,node22,node24,node25,pnpm,rustup,uv,yarn \
+  || "${smoke_toolchain_set}" == bun,flutter,gh,go,node22,node24,node25,pnpm,rustup,uv,yarn ]]
 for smoke_toolchain in "${smoke_toolchain_names[@]}"; do
   entry="$(jq -ce --arg name "${smoke_toolchain}" '.[] | select(.name == $name)' <<<"${smoke_toolchains}")"
   expected_version="$(jq -er .version <<<"${entry}")"
@@ -115,9 +115,26 @@ for smoke_toolchain in "${smoke_toolchain_names[@]}"; do
       fi
       ;;
 	pnpm) [[ "$(pnpm --version)" == "${expected_version}" ]] ;;
-    rust)
-      [[ "$(rustc --version)" == "rustc ${expected_version} "* ]]
-      [[ "$(cargo --version)" == "cargo ${expected_version} "* ]]
+    rustup)
+      # rustup owns the whole Rust surface: the estate pins channels in
+      # rust-toolchain.toml, actions-rust-lang/setup-rust-toolchain resolves
+      # them through rustup, and the shims on PATH serve jobs that never call
+      # the action. Every pinned channel must already hold clippy and rustfmt,
+      # or the per-job download this image exists to remove comes back.
+      [[ "$(rustup --version 2>/dev/null)" == "rustup ${expected_version} "* ]]
+      [[ "$(stat --format='%U' -- /usr/local/rustup)" == root ]]
+      [[ "$(stat --format='%U' -- /usr/local/cargo)" == root ]]
+      grep -q '^RUSTUP_HOME=/usr/local/rustup$' /etc/environment
+      mapfile -t smoke_rust_channels < <(jq -r '.channels[]?' <<<"${entry}")
+      smoke_rust_default="$(jq -er '.default_channel' <<<"${entry}")"
+      [[ ${#smoke_rust_channels[@]} -gt 0 ]]
+      for smoke_rust_channel in "${smoke_rust_channels[@]}"; do
+        [[ "$(rustup run "${smoke_rust_channel}" rustc --version)" == "rustc ${smoke_rust_channel}"* ]]
+        [[ "$(rustup run "${smoke_rust_channel}" cargo clippy --version)" == clippy* ]]
+        [[ "$(rustup run "${smoke_rust_channel}" rustfmt --version)" == rustfmt* ]]
+      done
+      [[ "$(rustc --version)" == "rustc ${smoke_rust_default}"* ]]
+      [[ "$(cargo --version)" == "cargo "* ]]
       ;;
     uv)
       [[ "$(uv --version)" == "uv ${expected_version}"* ]]
diff --git a/internal/imagebuild/orchestrator.go b/internal/imagebuild/orchestrator.go
index 4c63cb53..bd49ab71 100644
--- a/internal/imagebuild/orchestrator.go
+++ b/internal/imagebuild/orchestrator.go
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ import (
 	"strings"
 	"time"
 
+	"github.com/NDDev-OpenNetwork/github-actions/internal/imagemanifest"
 	"github.com/NDDev-OpenNetwork/github-actions/internal/imageplan"
 )
 
@@ -296,6 +297,26 @@ type guestToolchain struct {
 	Version       string `json:"version"`
 	Archive       string `json:"archive"`
 	ArchiveSHA256 string `json:"archive_sha256"`
+	// Channels and DefaultChannel ride along for version managers. Dropping
+	// them here once produced a rustup with no toolchains: the manifest named
+	// the channels, every manifest gate passed, and the builder still died
+	// because this projection was the one place they were not carried.
+	Channels       []string `json:"channels,omitempty"`
+	DefaultChannel string   `json:"default_channel,omitempty"`
+}
+
+// guestToolchainFromPlan is the single projection from a manifest toolchain to
+// the guest contract. Provision receives the pushed archive path; smoke
+// receives none, because it verifies installed state rather than archives.
+func guestToolchainFromPlan(toolchain imagemanifest.Toolchain, archivePath string) guestToolchain {
+	return guestToolchain{
+		Name:           toolchain.Name,
+		Version:        toolchain.Version,
+		Archive:        archivePath,
+		ArchiveSHA256:  toolchain.ArchiveSHA256,
+		Channels:       toolchain.Channels,
+		DefaultChannel: toolchain.DefaultChannel,
+	}
 }
 
 func encodeToolchains(toolchains []guestToolchain) (string, error) {
@@ -573,12 +594,8 @@ exit 1`); err != nil {
 		if _, err = o.Runner.Run(ctx, o.incus(plan.Project, "file", "push", artifacts.Toolchains[toolchain.Name], destination, "--mode", "0600")...); err != nil {
 			return "", "", fmt.Errorf("push verified %s toolchain archive: %w", toolchain.Name, err)
 		}
-		toolchainRequests = append(toolchainRequests, guestToolchain{
-			Name:          toolchain.Name,
-			Version:       toolchain.Version,
-			Archive:       "/var/tmp/" + toolchain.Archive,
-			ArchiveSHA256: toolchain.ArchiveSHA256,
-		})
+		toolchainRequests = append(toolchainRequests,
+			guestToolchainFromPlan(toolchain, "/var/tmp/"+toolchain.Archive))
 	}
 	encodedToolchains, err := encodeToolchains(toolchainRequests)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -800,11 +817,7 @@ func (o Orchestrator) smoke(ctx context.Context, plan imageplan.Plan, fingerprin
 	smoke, _ := scripts.ReadFile(smokeName)
 	smokeToolchains := make([]guestToolchain, 0, len(plan.Toolchains))
 	for _, toolchain := range plan.Toolchains {
-		smokeToolchains = append(smokeToolchains, guestToolchain{
-			Name:          toolchain.Name,
-			Version:       toolchain.Version,
-			ArchiveSHA256: toolchain.ArchiveSHA256,
-		})
+		smokeToolchains = append(smokeToolchains, guestToolchainFromPlan(toolchain, ""))
 	}
 	encodedToolchains, err := encodeToolchains(smokeToolchains)
 	if err != nil {
diff --git a/internal/imagebuild/orchestrator_test.go b/internal/imagebuild/orchestrator_test.go
index 397aebed..70ae123c 100644
--- a/internal/imagebuild/orchestrator_test.go
+++ b/internal/imagebuild/orchestrator_test.go
@@ -164,7 +164,7 @@ func TestRecipeFingerprintIsDeterministic(t *testing.T) {
 	// alias is part of the recipe, so a manifest whose contents changed under an
 	// unchanged alias would otherwise ask the builder to produce different bytes
 	// for a name that is already promoted.
-	if first != "sha256:3d89d31c7c5a423238a6888b2b4c4d894f22fcb91e0d6ea76fd689d0c5a09b9b" {
+	if first != "sha256:6b92afb396a9d31a6772e489343006f2ce05c93a59a641701e2bf49ff8fe23fc" {
 		t.Fatalf("deployed standard recipe fingerprint drifted: %q", first)
 	}
 	smoke, err := SmokeFingerprint(plan)
@@ -689,3 +689,42 @@ func TestFailedBuildPreservesTheBuilderOnlyWhenAsked(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 	}
 }
+
+// TestGuestToolchainContractCarriesChannels guards the projection between the
+// manifest and the guest scripts. The channels were once present in the
+// manifest, validated by imagemanifest tests, and still absent inside the
+// builder, because this projection dropped them; provision then failed with no
+// toolchain installed. Both the provisioning and the smoke contract must carry
+// them.
+func TestGuestToolchainContractCarriesChannels(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	pinned := imagemanifest.Toolchain{
+		Name:           "rustup",
+		Version:        "1.29.0",
+		Archive:        "rustup-init",
+		ArchiveSHA256:  strings.Repeat("a", 64),
+		Channels:       []string{"1.98.0", "1.89"},
+		DefaultChannel: "1.98.0",
+	}
+
+	for name, projected := range map[string]guestToolchain{
+		"provision": guestToolchainFromPlan(pinned, "/var/tmp/"+pinned.Archive),
+		"smoke":     guestToolchainFromPlan(pinned, ""),
+	} {
+		encoded, err := encodeToolchains([]guestToolchain{projected})
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("%s: encode: %v", name, err)
+		}
+		decoded, err := base64.StdEncoding.DecodeString(encoded)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("%s: decode: %v", name, err)
+		}
+		contract := string(decoded)
+		for _, needle := range []string{`"channels":["1.98.0","1.89"]`, `"default_channel":"1.98.0"`} {
+			if !strings.Contains(contract, needle) {
+				t.Fatalf("%s contract %s lost %s", name, contract, needle)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/imagemanifest/manifest_test.go b/internal/imagemanifest/manifest_test.go
index 52bea667..c05f1c03 100644
--- a/internal/imagemanifest/manifest_test.go
+++ b/internal/imagemanifest/manifest_test.go
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ func TestRepositoryManifestIsValidAndPinned(t *testing.T) {
 	if !strings.HasPrefix(fingerprint, "sha256:") || len(fingerprint) != len("sha256:")+64 {
 		t.Fatalf("unexpected fingerprint %q", fingerprint)
 	}
-	if fingerprint != "sha256:02591ff082938633b0435312ef80f7a397021f80fe155fa62ece7cc6026e8e70" {
+	if fingerprint != "sha256:d7fdc01a61f2afc9991ef658511ea3cf73f73c251d0043c04c392f06b6397d1a" {
 		t.Fatalf("standard manifest fingerprint drifted: %q", fingerprint)
 	}
 }
@@ -77,7 +77,6 @@ func assertBakedToolchains(t *testing.T, manifest Manifest) {
 		"node24": {"24.19.0", "14b342e71204f811bde6153be8e04b62aef63c236fef92b55f9c83154b409647"},
 		"node25": {"25.9.0", "1d8db7d6e291d167e8c467ae4094be175e1a0b3969c7ae1f8955b9f7824f7b2e"},
 		"pnpm":   {"11.22.0", "57a97e6f23a3faffc03153a4ef8c770a0552612b8640aebe39bfdd5754d0ebdc"},
-		"rust":   {"1.97.1", "88f28fa9af20594179f85d6df67078dfd6fa93e2f6da5e1e9b0ac4997988ca4f"},
 		"rustup": {"1.29.0", "4acc9acc76d5079515b46346a485974457b5a79893cfb01112423c89aeb5aa10"},
 		"uv":     {"0.11.30", "04bc7d180d6138bf6dc08387acf507a823f397a98fea55da36b0ccc7fbce3b68"},
 		"yarn":   {"4.18.0", "606e7e2dfc8bcc24e1b3a70a1043288a271ad2cc71cf42248fadc25f5938a497"},
diff --git a/internal/imagemanifest/types.go b/internal/imagemanifest/types.go
index 45dea67c..c1ae04af 100644
--- a/internal/imagemanifest/types.go
+++ b/internal/imagemanifest/types.go
@@ -116,12 +116,13 @@ type BrowserSmoke struct {
 // already on PATH, and actions/setup-go resolves a pre-seeded runner tool cache,
 // so a complete set turns per-job toolchain installation into a no-op.
 func BakedToolchains() []string {
-	// rustup is baked beside rust, not instead of it. A system-wide rustc
-	// satisfies a job that calls cargo directly; it is invisible to
-	// actions-rust-lang/setup-rust-toolchain, which resolves the channel in
-	// rust-toolchain.toml through rustup. Both are needed because the estate
-	// does both.
-	return []string{"bun", "gh", "go", "node22", "node24", "node25", "pnpm", "rust", "rustup", "uv", "yarn"}
+	// rustup owns the whole Rust surface. A standalone rust tarball was baked
+	// beside it once, and the rustup shims overwrote its /usr/local/bin
+	// binaries during provisioning, so the "system" rust the recipe promised
+	// was unreachable in the shipped image. The default channel serves jobs
+	// that call cargo directly, and actions-rust-lang/setup-rust-toolchain
+	// resolves rust-toolchain.toml channels through rustup either way.
+	return []string{"bun", "gh", "go", "node22", "node24", "node25", "pnpm", "rustup", "uv", "yarn"}
 }
 
 // OptionalToolchains may be pinned by an image that needs them and omitted by
diff --git a/internal/imageplan/plan_test.go b/internal/imageplan/plan_test.go
index 0976bb57..7bfa0007 100644
--- a/internal/imageplan/plan_test.go
+++ b/internal/imageplan/plan_test.go
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ func TestBuildProducesDeterministicBoundedPlan(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 	// The baked set plus the optional Flutter SDK this manifest pins, still
 	// sorted: the plan's ordering is what makes the recipe fingerprint stable.
-	if !slices.Equal(names, []string{"bun", "flutter", "gh", "go", "node22", "node24", "node25", "pnpm", "rust", "rustup", "uv", "yarn"}) {
+	if !slices.Equal(names, []string{"bun", "flutter", "gh", "go", "node22", "node24", "node25", "pnpm", "rustup", "uv", "yarn"}) {
 		t.Fatalf("plan toolchains are not the canonical sorted set: %v", names)
 	}
 	if first.CompilerCache.Name != "sccache" || first.CompilerCache.Version != "v0.17.0" ||
diff --git a/internal/repositorycontract/external_downloads_test.go b/internal/repositorycontract/external_downloads_test.go
index da72aee2..852e3b46 100644
--- a/internal/repositorycontract/external_downloads_test.go
+++ b/internal/repositorycontract/external_downloads_test.go
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ func TestExternalDownloadFallbackMarkersRemainBounded(t *testing.T) {
 			"--retry 2", "verify_candidate", "nddev_tool_cache_event=",
 		},
 		"scripts/install-benchmark-toolchain.sh": {
-			"--retry 2", "toolchain SHA-256 mismatch", "rustc 1.97.1",
+			"--retry 2", "toolchain SHA-256 mismatch", "rustc 1.98.0",
 		},
 		"internal/garmproviderincus/provider/incus.go": {
 			"--retry 2", "validateRunnerTool",
diff --git a/scripts/install-benchmark-toolchain.sh b/scripts/install-benchmark-toolchain.sh
index 43e15359..b3e6aac5 100755
--- a/scripts/install-benchmark-toolchain.sh
+++ b/scripts/install-benchmark-toolchain.sh
@@ -68,8 +68,8 @@ install -d -m 0700 "${install_root}" "${binary_root}"
 
 case "${toolchain}" in
   rust)
-    if [[ "$(rustc --version 2>/dev/null || true)" == "rustc 1.97.1 "* &&
-      "$(cargo --version 2>/dev/null || true)" == "cargo 1.97.1 "* ]]; then
+    if [[ "$(rustc --version 2>/dev/null || true)" == "rustc 1.98.0 "* &&
+      "$(cargo --version 2>/dev/null || true)" == "cargo 1.98.0 "* ]]; then
       exit 0
     fi
     : "${CARGO_HOME:?CARGO_HOME is required for Rust installation}"
@@ -85,12 +85,12 @@ case "${toolchain}" in
       "${rustup_init}"
     chmod 0700 "${rustup_init}"
     export RUSTUP_HOME="${rustup_home}"
-    "${rustup_init}" --default-toolchain 1.97.1 --profile minimal --no-modify-path -y
+    "${rustup_init}" --default-toolchain 1.98.0 --profile minimal --no-modify-path -y
     printf 'RUSTUP_HOME=%s\n' "${rustup_home}" >>"${GITHUB_ENV}"
     printf '%s/bin\n' "${CARGO_HOME}" >>"${GITHUB_PATH}"
     export PATH="${CARGO_HOME}/bin:${PATH}"
-    [[ "$(rustc --version)" == "rustc 1.97.1 "* ]]
-    [[ "$(cargo --version)" == "cargo 1.97.1 "* ]]
+    [[ "$(rustc --version)" == "rustc 1.98.0 "* ]]
+    [[ "$(cargo --version)" == "cargo 1.98.0 "* ]]
     ;;
   uv)
     if [[ "$(uv --version 2>/dev/null || true)" == "uv 0.11.30"* ]]; then