diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index aa88e6a..43cff21 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,5 +1,22 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## [1.8.0] - 2026-06-23
+
+### Added
+- **`infra/vps/` PRAB generation orchestrator**: systemd timer + service + bash
+  script that SSHes from the Coolify KVM8 VPS to Hostinger and drives
+  `wp prautoblogger generate --sync` in a held-open SSH session. Sidesteps
+  Hostinger's ~10-min background-PHP-process kill that was blocking full
+  generation runs. Components:
+  - `orchestrate-generation.sh`: main script with DRY_RUN mode, structured
+    logging, reaper pre-sweep, failure email alert, and shellcheck-clean quoting.
+  - `prab-generation.service` / `prab-generation.timer`: systemd oneshot service
+    (2h timeout, no auto-restart) + daily 06:00 UTC timer with 5-min jitter.
+  - `install-orchestrator.sh`: one-time setup script; installs units but does NOT
+    enable the timer (requires explicit CEO greenlight post-QA).
+  - Security: `StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new` with pre-seeded known_hosts for
+    the Hostinger IP; no hardcoded secrets; SSH key referenced by env-var path.
+
 ## [1.7.2] - 2026-06-17
 
 ### Fixed
diff --git a/infra/vps/install-orchestrator.sh b/infra/vps/install-orchestrator.sh
index 98f33cb..2146ae8 100755
--- a/infra/vps/install-orchestrator.sh
+++ b/infra/vps/install-orchestrator.sh
@@ -45,6 +45,21 @@ mkdir -p "${INSTALL_DIR}"
 install -m 0750 "${ORCHESTRATE_SH}" "${INSTALL_DIR}/orchestrate-generation.sh"
 echo "  OK: ${INSTALL_DIR}/orchestrate-generation.sh"
 
+# Pre-seed known_hosts with Hostinger's host key so ssh(1) can verify
+# the server identity without StrictHostKeyChecking=no.
+# ssh-keyscan output is pinned here; re-run if Hostinger rotates its key.
+KNOWN_HOSTS_FILE="${INSTALL_DIR}/known_hosts"
+if [[ ! -f "${KNOWN_HOSTS_FILE}" ]]; then
+  echo "Pre-seeding known_hosts from Hostinger (${SSH_HOST:-145.223.107.228}:${SSH_PORT:-65002})..."
+  ssh-keyscan -p "${SSH_PORT:-65002}" "${SSH_HOST:-145.223.107.228}" \
+    > "${KNOWN_HOSTS_FILE}" 2>/dev/null \
+    && chmod 0600 "${KNOWN_HOSTS_FILE}" \
+    && echo "  OK: ${KNOWN_HOSTS_FILE}" \
+    || echo "  WARN: ssh-keyscan failed — known_hosts not seeded; first SSH will add key via accept-new"
+else
+  echo "  OK: ${KNOWN_HOSTS_FILE} (already exists, not overwritten)"
+fi
+
 echo "Installing systemd units..."
 install -m 0644 "${SERVICE_FILE}" "${SYSTEMD_DIR}/prab-generation.service"
 install -m 0644 "${TIMER_FILE}" "${SYSTEMD_DIR}/prab-generation.timer"
diff --git a/infra/vps/orchestrate-generation.sh b/infra/vps/orchestrate-generation.sh
index e71f566..1827879 100755
--- a/infra/vps/orchestrate-generation.sh
+++ b/infra/vps/orchestrate-generation.sh
@@ -36,6 +36,9 @@ SSH_HOST="${SSH_HOST:-145.223.107.228}"
 SSH_PORT="${SSH_PORT:-65002}"
 SSH_USER="${SSH_USER:-u117248512}"
 WP_PATH="${WP_PATH:-/home/u117248512/domains/peptiderepo.com/public_html}"
+# Known-hosts file pre-seeded by install-orchestrator.sh with Hostinger's host key.
+# Pins the server identity; StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new adds on first connect.
+KNOWN_HOSTS="${KNOWN_HOSTS:-/opt/prab-orchestrator/known_hosts}"
 
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Logging helpers
@@ -66,7 +69,7 @@ fi
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 if [[ "${DRY_RUN}" == "1" ]]; then
   log "DRY_RUN=1 — echoing commands only, no generation"
-  log "WOULD RUN: ssh -i ${SSH_KEY} -p ${SSH_PORT} -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -o ConnectTimeout=15 ${SSH_USER}@${SSH_HOST} \\"
+  log "WOULD RUN: ssh -i ${SSH_KEY} -p ${SSH_PORT} -o StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new -o ConnectTimeout=15 ${SSH_USER}@${SSH_HOST} \\"
   log "  'wp prautoblogger generate --sync --path=${WP_PATH} 2>&1'"
   log "DRY_RUN complete"
   exit 0
@@ -90,7 +93,8 @@ REAP_OUT=""
 # shellcheck disable=SC2029
 REAP_OUT="$(ssh -i "${SSH_KEY}" \
     -p "${SSH_PORT}" \
-    -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no \
+    -o StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new \
+    -o UserKnownHostsFile="${KNOWN_HOSTS}" \
     -o ConnectTimeout=15 \
     -o ServerAliveInterval=60 \
     -o ServerAliveCountMax=30 \
@@ -112,7 +116,8 @@ EXIT_CODE=0
 # shellcheck disable=SC2029
 RESULT_OUTPUT="$(ssh -i "${SSH_KEY}" \
     -p "${SSH_PORT}" \
-    -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no \
+    -o StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new \
+    -o UserKnownHostsFile="${KNOWN_HOSTS}" \
     -o ConnectTimeout=15 \
     -o ServerAliveInterval=60 \
     -o ServerAliveCountMax=30 \
diff --git a/infra/vps/prab-generation.service b/infra/vps/prab-generation.service
index a215f5c..5015be6 100644
--- a/infra/vps/prab-generation.service
+++ b/infra/vps/prab-generation.service
@@ -7,6 +7,9 @@ After=network.target
 
 [Service]
 Type=oneshot
+# root owns /root/.ssh/hostinger_prod_ed25519 and /opt/prab-orchestrator/known_hosts;
+# a dedicated service user would need its own keypair + sudo-less SSH access.
+# Acceptable on this dedicated lab VPS (not shared); revisit if VPS is multi-tenant.
 User=root
 ExecStart=/opt/prab-orchestrator/orchestrate-generation.sh
 StandardOutput=journal
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index ee10ec4..447a511 100755
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "peptide-e2e",
-  "version": "1.7.2",
+  "version": "1.8.0",
   "description": "Playwright smoke tests for peptiderepo.com (staging + production)",
   "private": true,
   "scripts": {