diff --git a/deploy/env.example b/deploy/env.example
index c982d9aa..1561f49f 100644
--- a/deploy/env.example
+++ b/deploy/env.example
@@ -1,5 +1,10 @@
 # WARNING: Replace all CHANGE_ME values before deploying.
 # Do not use placeholder passwords in production.
+
+# Pin the Docker image version for deterministic deployments.
+# Update this value when deploying a new release.
+# IRONCLAW_VERSION=v1.0.0
+
 DATABASE_URL=postgres://ironclaw:CHANGE_ME@localhost:5432/ironclaw
 
 # NEAR AI Cloud (API key auth, Chat Completions API)
diff --git a/deploy/ironclaw.service b/deploy/ironclaw.service
index b5aa0a4e..c9f9f0b0 100644
--- a/deploy/ironclaw.service
+++ b/deploy/ironclaw.service
@@ -5,13 +5,17 @@ Requires=cloud-sql-proxy.service
 
 [Service]
 Type=simple
-ExecStartPre=/usr/bin/docker pull us-central1-docker.pkg.dev/ironclaw-prod/ironclaw/agent:latest
-ExecStart=/usr/bin/docker run --rm \
+EnvironmentFile=/opt/ironclaw/.env
+# Pin to a specific version tag or digest instead of :latest to prevent
+# uncontrolled deployments. Update IRONCLAW_VERSION in /opt/ironclaw/.env
+# or replace the tag below when deploying a new release.
+ExecStartPre=/bin/bash -c 'docker pull us-central1-docker.pkg.dev/ironclaw-prod/ironclaw/agent:${IRONCLAW_VERSION:-latest}'
+ExecStart=/bin/bash -c 'docker run --rm \
   --name ironclaw \
   --env-file /opt/ironclaw/.env \
-  --network=host \
-  us-central1-docker.pkg.dev/ironclaw-prod/ironclaw/agent:latest \
-  --no-onboard
+  -p 3000:3000 \
+  us-central1-docker.pkg.dev/ironclaw-prod/ironclaw/agent:${IRONCLAW_VERSION:-latest} \
+  --no-onboard'
 ExecStop=/usr/bin/docker stop ironclaw
 Restart=always
 RestartSec=10
diff --git a/deploy/setup.sh b/deploy/setup.sh
index 0bec03a0..10aa2b22 100755
--- a/deploy/setup.sh
+++ b/deploy/setup.sh
@@ -24,8 +24,15 @@ systemctl enable docker
 systemctl start docker
 
 echo "==> Installing Cloud SQL Auth Proxy"
+CLOUD_SQL_PROXY_VERSION="v2.14.3"
+CLOUD_SQL_PROXY_SHA256="75e7cc1f158ab6f97b7810e9d8419c55735cff40bc56d4f19673adfdf2406a59"
 curl -fsSL -o /usr/local/bin/cloud-sql-proxy \
-  https://storage.googleapis.com/cloud-sql-connectors/cloud-sql-proxy/v2.14.3/cloud-sql-proxy.linux.amd64
+  "https://storage.googleapis.com/cloud-sql-connectors/cloud-sql-proxy/${CLOUD_SQL_PROXY_VERSION}/cloud-sql-proxy.linux.amd64"
+echo "${CLOUD_SQL_PROXY_SHA256}  /usr/local/bin/cloud-sql-proxy" | sha256sum -c - || {
+  echo "ERROR: Cloud SQL Auth Proxy checksum verification failed -- aborting"
+  rm -f /usr/local/bin/cloud-sql-proxy
+  exit 1
+}
 chmod +x /usr/local/bin/cloud-sql-proxy
 
 echo "==> Installing systemd services"