diff --git a/services/secrets-broker/secret b/services/secrets-broker/secret
index b0316af..17dfdfa 100755
--- a/services/secrets-broker/secret
+++ b/services/secrets-broker/secret
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ Commands:
   secret put  <name> (--file P | --stdin) [--folder C] [--field k=v]...
   secret get  <name> [--field F] [--file OUT]
   secret list [--prefix P]
+  secret rm   <name>                       # delete an item (soft-delete to trash)
   secret backfill [--dry-run]              # scan THIS box's local secrets, upsert each
 """
 import argparse
@@ -186,6 +187,16 @@ def cmd_put(a):
     for kv in (a.field or []):
         k, v = kv.split("=", 1)
         extra.append({"name": k, "value": v, "type": 0})
+    # namespace heads-up: warn (don't block) when this opens a brand-new top-level
+    # namespace — catches a typo'd/missing host prefix at store time instead of
+    # letting the item hide under a prefix nobody searches.
+    if not find(env, s, a.name):
+        top = a.name.split("/")[0]
+        tops = {i["name"].split("/")[0] for i in json.loads(bw(["list", "items"], env, s).stdout.decode() or "[]")}
+        if top not in tops:
+            print(f"secret: note — '{a.name}' opens a NEW top-level namespace '{top}/' "
+                  f"(existing: {', '.join(sorted(tops)) or 'none'}). If you meant to host-prefix it, "
+                  f"'secret rm {a.name}' and re-put as {socket.gethostname()}/...", file=sys.stderr)
     _, sha, mode = store_secret(env, s, a.name, data, a.folder, extra)
     print(f"stored: {a.name}  (sha256 {sha[:12]}, {len(data)} bytes, {mode})")
 
@@ -209,6 +220,16 @@ def cmd_get(a):
         sys.stdout.buffer.write(data if data.endswith(b"\n") else data + b"\n")
 
 
+def cmd_rm(a):
+    env = load_env()
+    s = session(env)
+    it = find(env, s, a.name) or die(f"not found: {a.name}")
+    full = json.loads(bw(["get", "item", it["id"]], env, s).stdout.decode())
+    sha = next((f["value"][:12] for f in (full.get("fields") or []) if f["name"] == "sha256"), "?")
+    bw(["delete", "item", it["id"]], env, s)   # soft-delete to trash (recoverable in the vault)
+    print(f"deleted: {a.name}  (sha256 {sha}, id {it['id']}) -> trash")
+
+
 def cmd_list(a):
     env = load_env()
     s = session(env)
@@ -294,6 +315,8 @@ def main():
     pg = sub.add_parser("get"); pg.add_argument("name")
     pg.add_argument("--field"); pg.add_argument("--file"); pg.set_defaults(fn=cmd_get)
     pl = sub.add_parser("list"); pl.add_argument("--prefix"); pl.set_defaults(fn=cmd_list)
+    pr = sub.add_parser("rm", help="delete an item by exact name (soft-delete to trash)")
+    pr.add_argument("name"); pr.set_defaults(fn=cmd_rm)
     pb = sub.add_parser("backfill", help="scan THIS box's local secret files and upsert each")
     pb.add_argument("--dry-run", action="store_true"); pb.set_defaults(fn=cmd_backfill)
     a = p.parse_args()