diff --git a/containers/quartz/default.conf b/containers/quartz/default.conf
index 4009101..2705f1e 100644
--- a/containers/quartz/default.conf
+++ b/containers/quartz/default.conf
@@ -14,6 +14,28 @@ server {
         add_header Cache-Control "public, immutable";
     }
 
+    # --- Spider-trap guards ------------------------------------------------
+    # Quartz emits relative links (../path). When a crawler resolves these
+    # from a phantom URL that was already served by the SPA fallback, the
+    # relative prefix compounds (e.g. /tags/ref/infra → /tags/ref/infra/ref/infra)
+    # creating an infinite tree of unique URIs — all served as 200 via the
+    # fallback to index.html. Two rules cut this off:
+    #
+    #   1. /tags/ is always flat (/tags/<name>), so block anything deeper.
+    #   2. Real content never exceeds depth 4 (/how-to/<cat>/<page>).
+    #      A depth-5 cutoff gives headroom while stopping recursive paths.
+    #
+    # Together these caught ~95% of trap requests in the March 2026 incident.
+    # The proper fix is root-absolute links in Quartz (planned for fork).
+
+    location ~ "^/tags/[^/]+/" {
+        return 404;
+    }
+
+    location ~ "^(/[^/]+){5,}" {
+        return 404;
+    }
+
     # SPA fallback - serve index.html for client-side routing
     location / {
         try_files $uri $uri/ $uri.html /index.html;
diff --git a/docs/changelog.d/+spider-trap-guard.infra.md b/docs/changelog.d/+spider-trap-guard.infra.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d152e75
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/changelog.d/+spider-trap-guard.infra.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Add nginx spider-trap guards to docs.eblu.me Quartz container — blocks recursive crawler paths at /tags/ depth >1 and global depth ≥5.
diff --git a/docs/reference/services/flyio-proxy.md b/docs/reference/services/flyio-proxy.md
index b026f46..3c66d4e 100644
--- a/docs/reference/services/flyio-proxy.md
+++ b/docs/reference/services/flyio-proxy.md
@@ -78,6 +78,17 @@ Currently tagged as `tag:flyio-target`: [[docs]], [[loki]], [[prometheus]]. Loki
 
 To expose an additional service through the proxy, add the `tag:flyio-target` annotation to its Tailscale Ingress. See [[expose-service-publicly]] for the full workflow.
 
+## Spider Trap Mitigation
+
+The SPA fallback (`try_files ... /index.html`) serves `index.html` with a 200 for *any* URI, including non-existent paths. Quartz's relative links (`../path`) compound when resolved from phantom URLs, creating an infinite tree of unique URIs that crawlers follow indefinitely. In March 2026, Meta's crawler (`meta-externalagent/1.1`) hit ~49,000 unique URIs over 7 hours this way.
+
+Two nginx `location` guards in `containers/quartz/default.conf` mitigate the trap:
+
+1. **`/tags/` depth limit** — `/tags/<name>` is always flat; anything deeper returns 404.
+2. **Global depth-5 cutoff** — real content never exceeds depth 4; paths with 5+ segments return 404.
+
+These are applied in the Quartz container's nginx config, not the Fly.io proxy. The proper fix is switching Quartz to root-absolute links (planned for the fork).
+
 ## Secrets
 
 | Secret | Source | Description |