diff --git a/deploy/systemd/ci-backup-template.service b/deploy/systemd/ci-backup-template.service
index dcf5311..460758a 100644
--- a/deploy/systemd/ci-backup-template.service
+++ b/deploy/systemd/ci-backup-template.service
@@ -9,6 +9,11 @@ User=root
 EnvironmentFile=/etc/ci/environment
 WorkingDirectory=/opt/ci/local-ci-cd-system
 ExecStart=/opt/ci/venv/bin/python -m ci_orchestrator template backup --all-templates
+# Safety net: bring act-runner.service back up on any exit path (success,
+# failure, signal). The Python `finally` block can be skipped if the
+# service is killed mid-run, and a runner left stopped by a killed
+# backup would cause the next backup to skip the restart too.
+ExecStopPost=-/bin/systemctl start act-runner.service
 TimeoutStartSec=4h
 IOSchedulingClass=best-effort
 IOSchedulingPriority=7