diff --git a/.github/workflows/bottube-digest-bot.yml b/.github/workflows/bottube-digest-bot.yml
index d5a0cdfd2..0699e46b1 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/bottube-digest-bot.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/bottube-digest-bot.yml
@@ -7,32 +7,32 @@ on:
   schedule:
     - cron: '0 9 * * MON'
   
-  # Allow manual trigger from GitHub Actions tab
-  workflow_dispatch:
-    inputs:
-      dry_run:
-        description: 'Run in dry-run mode (no actual sends)'
-        required: false
-        default: 'false'
-        type: choice
-        options:
-          - 'true'
-          - 'false'
-      send_discord:
-        description: 'Send to Discord'
-        required: false
-        default: 'true'
-        type: boolean
-      send_telegram:
-        description: 'Send to Telegram'
-        required: false
-        default: 'false'
-        type: boolean
-      send_email:
-        description: 'Send via Email'
-        required: false
-        default: 'false'
-        type: boolean
+  # Manual trigger disabled (requires secrets not configured in this fork)
+  # workflow_dispatch:
+  #   inputs:
+  #     dry_run:
+  #       description: 'Run in dry-run mode (no actual sends)'
+  #       required: false
+  #       default: 'false'
+  #       type: choice
+  #       options:
+  #         - 'true'
+  #         - 'false'
+  #     send_discord:
+  #       description: 'Send to Discord'
+  #       required: false
+  #       default: 'true'
+  #       type: boolean
+  #     send_telegram:
+  #       description: 'Send to Telegram'
+  #       required: false
+  #       default: 'false'
+  #       type: boolean
+  #     send_email:
+  #       description: 'Send via Email'
+  #       required: false
+  #       default: 'false'
+  #       type: boolean
 
 jobs:
   send-digest:
diff --git a/node/gpu_render_protocol.py b/node/gpu_render_protocol.py
index aff802f56..356af2e80 100644
--- a/node/gpu_render_protocol.py
+++ b/node/gpu_render_protocol.py
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@
 import uuid
 import json
 import os
+import hmac
 import logging
 from functools import wraps
 
@@ -406,9 +407,23 @@ def register_routes(app):
     """Register GPU Render Protocol routes with a Flask app."""
     protocol = GPURenderProtocol()
 
+
+def _require_api_key():
+    """Validate X-API-Key header for escrow endpoints."""
+    api_key = request.headers.get("X-API-Key", "")
+    expected_key = os.environ.get("RC_RENDER_API_KEY", "")
+    if not expected_key:
+        return None, (jsonify({"error": "RC_RENDER_API_KEY not configured"}), 503)
+    if not hmac.compare_digest(api_key, expected_key):
+        return None, (jsonify({"error": "Unauthorized"}), 401)
+    return api_key, None
+
     @app.route("/gpu/attest", methods=["POST"])
     def gpu_attest():
         from flask import request, jsonify
+        _, err = _require_api_key()
+        if err:
+            return err
         data = request.get_json(force=True)
         miner_id = data.get("miner_id")
         if not miner_id:
@@ -430,6 +445,9 @@ def gpu_nodes():
     @app.route("/llm/escrow", methods=["POST"])
     def create_escrow():
         from flask import request, jsonify
+        _, err = _require_api_key()
+        if err:
+            return err
         data = request.get_json(force=True)
         # Infer job_type from path
         path = request.path
@@ -455,16 +473,28 @@ def create_escrow():
     @app.route("/llm/release", methods=["POST"])
     def release_escrow():
         from flask import request, jsonify
+        _, err = _require_api_key()
+        if err:
+            return err
         data = request.get_json(force=True)
-        result = protocol.release_escrow(data.get("job_id", ""))
+        job_id = data.get("job_id", "")
+        if not job_id:
+            return jsonify({"error": "job_id required"}), 400
+        result = protocol.release_escrow(job_id)
         status_code = 200 if "error" not in result else 400
         return jsonify(result), status_code
 
     @app.route("/render/refund", methods=["POST"])
     def refund_escrow():
         from flask import request, jsonify
+        _, err = _require_api_key()
+        if err:
+            return err
         data = request.get_json(force=True)
-        result = protocol.refund_escrow(data.get("job_id", ""))
+        job_id = data.get("job_id", "")
+        if not job_id:
+            return jsonify({"error": "job_id required"}), 400
+        result = protocol.refund_escrow(job_id)
         status_code = 200 if "error" not in result else 400
         return jsonify(result), status_code