diff --git a/services/arr/recyclarr.nix b/services/arr/recyclarr.nix
index 62b3359..ebddbce 100644
--- a/services/arr/recyclarr.nix
+++ b/services/arr/recyclarr.nix
@@ -190,9 +190,19 @@ in
     };
   };
 
-  # Re-sync immediately on deploy when the recyclarr config changes
+  # Trigger immediate sync on deploy when recyclarr config changes.
+  # restartTriggers on the oneshot service are unreliable (systemd may
+  # no-op a restart of an inactive oneshot). Instead, embed a config
+  # hash in the timer unit -- NixOS restarts changed timers reliably,
+  # and OnActiveSec fires the sync within seconds.
+  systemd.timers.recyclarr = {
+    timerConfig.OnActiveSec = "5s";
+    unitConfig.X-ConfigHash = builtins.hashString "sha256" (
+      builtins.toJSON config.services.recyclarr.configuration
+    );
+  };
+
   systemd.services.recyclarr = {
-    restartTriggers = [ (builtins.toJSON config.services.recyclarr.configuration) ];
     after = [
       "network-online.target"
       "radarr.service"