diff --git a/internal/backup/backup_test.go b/internal/backup/backup_test.go
index cd1afc0..86f25fc 100644
--- a/internal/backup/backup_test.go
+++ b/internal/backup/backup_test.go
@@ -150,13 +150,14 @@ func TestBackup_VzdumpFailureReturnsFailedRecord(t *testing.T) {
 func TestPickRestoreCandidate_NewestOrEmpty(t *testing.T) {
 	const big = 4 << 30 // a plausible whole-guest archive
 	api := &fakeBackupAPI{content: []proxmox.StorageContent{
-		{VolID: "a", Content: "backup", CTime: 10, Size: big},
-		{VolID: "b", Content: "backup", CTime: 99, Size: big},
+		// R-689: real vzdump names with their vmid — only a backup OF A GUEST is a candidate.
+		{VolID: "local:backup/vzdump-lxc-9001-a.tar.zst", VMID: 9001, Content: "backup", CTime: 10, Size: big},
+		{VolID: "local:backup/vzdump-lxc-9001-b.tar.zst", VMID: 9001, Content: "backup", CTime: 99, Size: big},
 		{VolID: "iso", Content: "iso", CTime: 999, Size: big}, // not a backup → ignored
 	}}
 	r := NewBackupRunner(api, "local", "", "", "", quiet())
 	vol, err := r.PickRestoreCandidate(context.Background())
-	if err != nil || vol != "b" {
+	if err != nil || vol != "local:backup/vzdump-lxc-9001-b.tar.zst" {
 		t.Fatalf("pick = %q,%v want newest 'b'", vol, err)
 	}
 	// no backups → "".
@@ -176,12 +177,12 @@ func TestPickRestoreCandidate_NewestOrEmpty(t *testing.T) {
 // `pick = "phantom" want the newest COMPLETE archive 'real'`.
 func TestPickRestoreCandidate_SkipsImplausibleArchives(t *testing.T) {
 	api := &fakeBackupAPI{content: []proxmox.StorageContent{
-		{VolID: "real", Content: "backup", CTime: 10, Size: 4 << 30},
-		{VolID: "phantom", Content: "backup", CTime: 99, Size: 1}, // newest, and impossible
+		{VolID: "felhom-pbs:backup/ct/9001/real", VMID: 9001, Content: "backup", CTime: 10, Size: 4 << 30},
+		{VolID: "felhom-pbs:backup/ct/9001/phantom", VMID: 9001, Content: "backup", CTime: 99, Size: 1}, // newest, and impossible
 	}}
 	r := NewBackupRunner(api, "local", "", "", "", quiet())
 	vol, err := r.PickRestoreCandidate(context.Background())
-	if err != nil || vol != "real" {
+	if err != nil || vol != "felhom-pbs:backup/ct/9001/real" {
 		t.Fatalf("pick = %q,%v want the newest COMPLETE archive 'real'", vol, err)
 	}
 }
diff --git a/internal/backup/r689_golden_test.go b/internal/backup/r689_golden_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..867a1d6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/backup/r689_golden_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+package backup
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"gitea.dooplex.hu/admin/felhom-agent/internal/proxmox"
+)
+
+// R-689 (v0.135.0) — demo-hp keeps its golden template in `local:backup/`. It is content "backup",
+// 654 MB and so "plausibly complete", and it was the newest SETTLED entry: the restore test picked it
+// every 6 h and failed extractconfig with a 403 (measured 2026-09-24 10:36, 09-25 04:57 and 10:57),
+// while the guest's own archive — younger than the 24 h settle — went untested and nothing was proven.
+//
+// COMPANION RED-PROOF (REPORT.md): drop the guestBackupArchive call from PickSettledRestoreCandidateOn —
+// this test then picks `local:backup/felhom-golden-0.236.0.tar.zst`.
+func TestR689_TheRestoreTestNeverPicksTheGolden(t *testing.T) {
+	const day = int64(86400)
+	now := int64(1790370000) // 2026-09-25 ~19:00Z
+	api := &fakeBackupAPI{content: []proxmox.StorageContent{
+		// the guest's real archive, settled (older than the cutoff below)
+		{VolID: "local:backup/vzdump-lxc-9201-2026_09_22-21_59_25.tar.zst", Content: "backup", VMID: 9201, Size: 8 << 30, CTime: now - 3*day},
+		// the golden: newer, settled, big, and NOT a backup of a guest
+		{VolID: "local:backup/felhom-golden-0.236.0.tar.zst", Content: "backup", Size: 654115664, CTime: now - 2*day},
+		// a hand-copied tarball that PVE happens to attribute to a vmid — the name is not a vzdump's
+		{VolID: "local:backup/copy-of-9201.tar.zst", Content: "backup", VMID: 9201, Size: 8 << 30, CTime: now - 2*day},
+	}}
+	r := NewBackupRunner(api, "local", proxmox.ModeSnapshot, "", "keep-last=1", quiet())
+	got, _, err := r.PickSettledRestoreCandidateOn(context.Background(), "local", time.Unix(now-day, 0).UTC())
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if got != "local:backup/vzdump-lxc-9201-2026_09_22-21_59_25.tar.zst" {
+		t.Fatalf("picked %q — the restore test must prove a backup OF A GUEST", got)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestR689_GuestBackupArchiveShapes(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, c := range []struct {
+		e  proxmox.StorageContent
+		ok bool
+	}{
+		{proxmox.StorageContent{VolID: "local:backup/vzdump-lxc-9201-2026_09_24-21_59_25.tar.zst", VMID: 9201}, true},
+		{proxmox.StorageContent{VolID: "local:backup/vzdump-qemu-300-2026_09_24-21_59_25.vma.zst", VMID: 300}, true},
+		{proxmox.StorageContent{VolID: "felhom-pbs:backup/ct/9201/2026-07-28T05:31:14Z", VMID: 9201}, true},
+		{proxmox.StorageContent{VolID: "felhom-pbs:backup/vm/300/2026-07-28T05:31:14Z", VMID: 300}, true},
+		{proxmox.StorageContent{VolID: "local:backup/felhom-golden-0.236.0.tar.zst"}, false},
+		{proxmox.StorageContent{VolID: "local:backup/vzdump-lxc-9201-x.tar.zst", VMID: 9202}, false}, // vmid disagrees with the name
+		{proxmox.StorageContent{VolID: "felhom-pbs:backup/ct/9201/2026-07-28T05:31:14Z"}, false},       // no vmid reported
+	} {
+		if ok, why := guestBackupArchive(c.e); ok != c.ok {
+			t.Errorf("%s vmid=%d: ok=%v (%s), want %v", c.e.VolID, c.e.VMID, ok, why, c.ok)
+		}
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/backup/runner.go b/internal/backup/runner.go
index b45b537..248fa3f 100644
--- a/internal/backup/runner.go
+++ b/internal/backup/runner.go
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"log/slog"
 	"sort"
+	"strconv"
 	"strings"
 	"sync"
 	"time"
@@ -362,6 +363,14 @@ func (r *BackupRunner) PickSettledRestoreCandidateOn(ctx context.Context, target
 		if e.Content != "backup" {
 			continue
 		}
+		// R-689 (v0.135.0): only a backup OF A GUEST is a restore-test candidate. demo-hp keeps its golden
+		// template in `local:backup/` — content "backup", 654 MB, plausibly complete — and it was picked as
+		// the newest settled archive every 6 h and failed extractconfig (403) each time, while the guest's
+		// real archive went untested.
+		if ok, why := guestBackupArchive(e); !ok {
+			r.noteNotAGuestBackupOnce(e, why)
+			continue
+		}
 		if !notAfter.IsZero() && e.CTime > notAfter.Unix() {
 			continue // not settled yet — a newer archive is not a reason to re-prove an older one
 		}
@@ -591,3 +600,46 @@ func ToHubRestoreTest(res reconcile.RestoreTestResult, testedAt time.Time) hub.R
 	}
 	return rt
 }
+
+// guestBackupArchive reports whether a storage entry is a whole-guest backup of a known guest — a
+// `vzdump-<type>-<vmid>-…` file on a dir storage, or a `backup/{ct,vm}/<vmid>/<time>` snapshot on a PBS
+// datastore — whose vmid the storage itself reports. Anything else in a backup content type (a golden
+// template, a hand-copied tarball) is not a backup of a guest and is never restore-tested (R-689).
+// Pure, so the rule is unit-tested without a storage.
+func guestBackupArchive(e proxmox.StorageContent) (bool, string) {
+	if e.VMID <= 0 {
+		return false, "not a backup of a guest (the storage reports no vmid)"
+	}
+	vol := e.VolID
+	if i := strings.Index(vol, ":"); i >= 0 {
+		vol = vol[i+1:]
+	}
+	vol = strings.TrimPrefix(vol, "backup/")
+	vmid := strconv.Itoa(e.VMID)
+	switch {
+	case strings.HasPrefix(vol, "vzdump-lxc-"+vmid+"-"), strings.HasPrefix(vol, "vzdump-qemu-"+vmid+"-"):
+		return true, ""
+	case strings.HasPrefix(vol, "ct/"+vmid+"/"), strings.HasPrefix(vol, "vm/"+vmid+"/"):
+		return true, ""
+	}
+	return false, "not a vzdump archive or a PBS snapshot of guest " + vmid
+}
+
+// noteNotAGuestBackupOnce logs, once per volid, that a backup-content entry is not a restore-test
+// candidate because it is not a backup of a guest (R-689). INFO, not WARN: a golden template kept in
+// the backup directory is the operator's, and not a fault.
+func (r *BackupRunner) noteNotAGuestBackupOnce(e proxmox.StorageContent, why string) {
+	r.rejectedMu.Lock()
+	if r.rejected == nil {
+		r.rejected = map[string]struct{}{}
+	}
+	_, seen := r.rejected[e.VolID]
+	if !seen {
+		r.rejected[e.VolID] = struct{}{}
+	}
+	r.rejectedMu.Unlock()
+	if !seen {
+		r.logger.Info("backup: restore-test skips an entry that is not a backup of a guest",
+			"target", r.target, "volid", e.VolID, "size_bytes", e.Size, "reason", why)
+	}
+}