diff --git a/examples/deploy.sh b/examples/deploy.sh
index be3959e..420e711 100755
--- a/examples/deploy.sh
+++ b/examples/deploy.sh
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 #!/bin/bash
-# >>> fetch-runner-guard:BEGIN user=deploy-user
-if [ "$(whoami)" != "deploy-user" ] || [ "$(id -u)" -eq 0 ]; then
-    printf 'fetch-runner-guard: refusing to run as %s (uid %s); required: deploy-user, non-root\n' "$(whoami)" "$(id -u)" >&2
+# >>> fetch-runner-guard:BEGIN
+DEPLOY_USER=deploy-user
+if [ "$(whoami)" != "$DEPLOY_USER" ] || [ "$(id -u)" -eq 0 ]; then
+    printf 'fetch-runner-guard: refusing to run as %s (uid %s); required: %s, non-root\n' "$(whoami)" "$(id -u)" "$DEPLOY_USER" >&2
     exit 1
 fi
 # <<< fetch-runner-guard:END
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 65a8c23..50bd4e0 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ build-backend = "uv_build"
 
 [project]
 name = "fetch-runner"
-version = "0.1.0"
+version = "0.1.1"
 description = "Poll git branches and run scripts when new commits arrive"
 readme = "README.md"
 requires-python = ">=3.11"
diff --git a/src/fetch_runner/guard.py b/src/fetch_runner/guard.py
index ece2406..dd173d3 100644
--- a/src/fetch_runner/guard.py
+++ b/src/fetch_runner/guard.py
@@ -22,8 +22,9 @@
 from dataclasses import dataclass
 from pathlib import Path
 
-GUARD_BEGIN_MARKER_PREFIX = "# >>> fetch-runner-guard:BEGIN"
+GUARD_BEGIN_MARKER = "# >>> fetch-runner-guard:BEGIN"
 GUARD_END_MARKER = "# <<< fetch-runner-guard:END"
+GUARD_USER_ASSIGNMENT_PREFIX = "DEPLOY_USER="
 
 # Env vars fetch-runner sets per script. Sudo's --preserve-env= and sudoers
 # env_keep both render from this tuple to prevent drift.
@@ -38,10 +39,11 @@
 # bytes against the rendered output exactly, so "helpful" rewrites do not
 # silently weaken the check.
 _GUARD_TEMPLATE = (
-    "# >>> fetch-runner-guard:BEGIN user={user}\n"
-    'if [ "$(whoami)" != "{user}" ] || [ "$(id -u)" -eq 0 ]; then\n'
+    f"{GUARD_BEGIN_MARKER}\n"
+    f"{GUARD_USER_ASSIGNMENT_PREFIX}{{user}}\n"
+    'if [ "$(whoami)" != "$DEPLOY_USER" ] || [ "$(id -u)" -eq 0 ]; then\n'
     "    printf 'fetch-runner-guard: refusing to run as %s (uid %s);"
-    ' required: {user}, non-root\\n\' "$(whoami)" "$(id -u)" >&2\n'
+    ' required: %s, non-root\\n\' "$(whoami)" "$(id -u)" "$DEPLOY_USER" >&2\n'
     "    exit 1\n"
     "fi\n"
     f"{GUARD_END_MARKER}\n"
@@ -131,17 +133,10 @@ def validate_canonical_script_guard(
     if script_lines and script_lines[0].startswith("#!"):
         current_line_index = 1
 
-    expected_guard_begin_marker = f"# >>> fetch-runner-guard:BEGIN user={expected_user_name}"
     while current_line_index < len(script_lines):
         stripped_line = script_lines[current_line_index].strip()
-        if stripped_line == expected_guard_begin_marker:
+        if stripped_line == GUARD_BEGIN_MARKER:
             break
-        if stripped_line.startswith(GUARD_BEGIN_MARKER_PREFIX):
-            return ScriptGuardValidation(
-                False,
-                f"{script_path}:{current_line_index + 1}: guard BEGIN marker targets a different "
-                f"user (expected {expected_user_name!r}); found {stripped_line!r}",
-            )
         # Allow only comments before the guard. Even benign shell code like
         # `set -e` can change behavior before the identity check runs.
         if stripped_line == "" or stripped_line.startswith("#"):
@@ -158,6 +153,20 @@ def validate_canonical_script_guard(
             f"{script_path}: canonical guard block for user {expected_user_name!r} not found",
         )
 
+    user_assignment_line_index = current_line_index + 1
+    if user_assignment_line_index < len(script_lines):
+        user_assignment_line = script_lines[user_assignment_line_index]
+        expected_user_assignment = f"{GUARD_USER_ASSIGNMENT_PREFIX}{expected_user_name}"
+        if (
+            user_assignment_line.startswith(GUARD_USER_ASSIGNMENT_PREFIX)
+            and user_assignment_line != expected_user_assignment
+        ):
+            return ScriptGuardValidation(
+                False,
+                f"{script_path}:{user_assignment_line_index + 1}: guard targets a different "
+                f"user (expected {expected_user_name!r}); found {user_assignment_line!r}",
+            )
+
     expected_guard_lines = render_canonical_script_guard(expected_user_name).splitlines()
     for guard_line_offset, expected_line in enumerate(expected_guard_lines):
         line_number = current_line_index + guard_line_offset + 1
diff --git a/tests/test_guard.py b/tests/test_guard.py
index c1b737d..1125c2d 100644
--- a/tests/test_guard.py
+++ b/tests/test_guard.py
@@ -17,8 +17,8 @@
 
 def test_render_guard_embeds_user_everywhere():
     rendered_guard = render_canonical_script_guard("deploy")
-    assert "user=deploy" in rendered_guard
-    assert '"$(whoami)" != "deploy"' in rendered_guard
+    assert "DEPLOY_USER=deploy\n" in rendered_guard
+    assert '"$(whoami)" != "$DEPLOY_USER"' in rendered_guard
     assert '"$(id -u)" -eq 0' in rendered_guard
     assert rendered_guard.endswith("# <<< fetch-runner-guard:END\n")
 
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ def test_validate_script_guard_rejects_code_before_guard(tmp_path: Path):
 def test_validate_script_guard_detects_flipped_comparator(tmp_path: Path):
     # The most dangerous form of tampering: a check that always passes.
     canonical_guard = render_canonical_script_guard("deploy")
-    tampered_guard = canonical_guard.replace('!= "deploy"', '== "deploy"')
+    tampered_guard = canonical_guard.replace('!= "$DEPLOY_USER"', '= "$DEPLOY_USER"')
     assert tampered_guard != canonical_guard
     script_path = _write_script_file(
         tmp_path / "s.sh",
diff --git a/uv.lock b/uv.lock
index 345bace..4b18ccf 100644
--- a/uv.lock
+++ b/uv.lock
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ wheels = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "fetch-runner"
-version = "0.1.0"
+version = "0.1.1"
 source = { editable = "." }
 
 [package.dev-dependencies]