diff --git a/bot_bottle/backend/macos_container/nested-containers-init.sh b/bot_bottle/backend/macos_container/nested-containers-init.sh
index 0a18a01..41f29d2 100755
--- a/bot_bottle/backend/macos_container/nested-containers-init.sh
+++ b/bot_bottle/backend/macos_container/nested-containers-init.sh
@@ -178,6 +178,21 @@ if docker info >/dev/null 2>&1; then
     exit 0
 fi
 
+# The service's own environment is the last word on what a nested container
+# gets. podman's Docker-compatible API injects proxy settings from the daemon
+# environment *after* containers.conf is applied, so neither the `env` list
+# below nor `http_proxy=false` can override it — the same blind spot the
+# compat path has for `hosts_file`. Substituting here, before the service
+# starts, is therefore the only place the address actually sticks.
+#
+# Assigned via command substitution, never echoed: these carry the bottle's
+# identity token.
+for var in HTTP_PROXY HTTPS_PROXY http_proxy https_proxy; do
+    eval "value=\${$var:-}"
+    [ -n "$value" ] || continue
+    eval "export $var=\"\${value%%$GATEWAY_NAME*}$gateway_ip\${value#*$GATEWAY_NAME}\""
+done
+
 log=/tmp/bot-bottle-nested-containers.log
 nohup podman system service --time=0 \
     "unix://$XDG_RUNTIME_DIR/podman.sock" \
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_macos_nested_containers.py b/tests/unit/test_macos_nested_containers.py
index 1391eb2..e81fdad 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_macos_nested_containers.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_macos_nested_containers.py
@@ -174,6 +174,18 @@ class TestInitScript(unittest.TestCase):
         self.assertIn('$2 == name { print $1; exit }', self.script)
         self.assertIn('value.replace(name, ip)', self.script)
 
+    def test_substitutes_the_address_into_the_service_environment(self) -> None:
+        """The compat API injects proxy settings from the daemon environment
+        after containers.conf is applied, so neither the env list nor
+        http_proxy=false can override it — the same blind spot it has for
+        hosts_file. Substituting before the service starts is the only place
+        the address sticks."""
+        launch = self.script[self.script.index("podman system service"):]
+        self.assertNotIn("$GATEWAY_NAME", launch)  # substitution precedes it
+        setup = self.script[:self.script.index("podman system service")]
+        self.assertIn("for var in HTTP_PROXY HTTPS_PROXY http_proxy https_proxy",
+                      setup)
+
     def test_disables_podmans_own_proxy_passthrough(self) -> None:
         """podman copies the host's proxy vars into every container by
         default, and that copy overrides the env we set — putting the