diff --git a/ingest/ingest.smk b/ingest/ingest.smk
index a86b89e..ebb6c4c 100644
--- a/ingest/ingest.smk
+++ b/ingest/ingest.smk
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ rule transform_metadata:
         """
         ingest/scripts/tsv-to-ndjson.py < {input.metadata} |
             ingest/scripts/fix_country_field.py |
-            ingest/scripts/apply-geolocation-rules.py --geolocation-rules ingest/config/geoLocationRules.tsv |
+            ingest/vendored/apply-geolocation-rules --geolocation-rules ingest/config/geoLocationRules.tsv |
             ingest/scripts/add-year.py |
             ingest/scripts/ndjson-to-tsv.py --metadata-columns {params.metadata_columns} --metadata {output.metadata}
         """
diff --git a/ingest/vendored/README.md b/ingest/vendored/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..db9ff4c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ingest/vendored/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+# ingest
+
+Shared internal tooling for pathogen data ingest.  Used by our individual
+pathogen repos which produce Nextstrain builds.  Expected to be vendored by
+each pathogen repo using `git subtree` (or `git subrepo`).
+
+Some tools may only live here temporarily before finding a permanent home in
+`augur curate` or Nextstrain CLI.  Others may happily live out their days here.
+
+## History
+
+Much of this tooling originated in
+[ncov-ingest](https://github.com/nextstrain/ncov-ingest) and was passaged thru
+[monkeypox's ingest/](https://github.com/nextstrain/monkeypox/tree/@/ingest/).
+It subsequently proliferated from [monkeypox][] to other pathogen repos
+([rsv][], [zika][], [dengue][], [hepatitisB][], [forecasts-ncov][]) primarily
+thru copying.  To [counter that
+proliferation](https://bedfordlab.slack.com/archives/C7SDVPBLZ/p1688577879947079),
+this repo was made.
+
+[monkeypox]: https://github.com/nextstrain/monkeypox
+[rsv]: https://github.com/nextstrain/rsv
+[zika]: https://github.com/nextstrain/zika/pull/24
+[dengue]: https://github.com/nextstrain/dengue/pull/10
+[hepatitisB]: https://github.com/nextstrain/hepatitisB
+[forecasts-ncov]: https://github.com/nextstrain/forecasts-ncov
+
+## Elsewhere
+
+The creation of this repo, in both the abstract and concrete, and the general
+approach to "ingest" has been discussed in various internal places, including:
+
+- https://github.com/nextstrain/private/issues/59
+- @joverlee521's [workflows document](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rLWPvEuj0Ayc8MR0O1lfRJZfj9av53xU38f20g8nU_E/edit#heading=h.4g0d3mjvb89i)
+- [5 July 2023 Slack thread](https://bedfordlab.slack.com/archives/C7SDVPBLZ/p1688577879947079)
+- [6 July 2023 team meeting](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FPfx-ON5RdqL2wyvODhkrCcjgOVX3nlXgBwCPhIEsco/edit)
+- _…many others_
diff --git a/ingest/scripts/apply-geolocation-rules.py b/ingest/vendored/apply-geolocation-rules
similarity index 93%
rename from ingest/scripts/apply-geolocation-rules.py
rename to ingest/vendored/apply-geolocation-rules
index 1f46d70..2b653be 100755
--- a/ingest/scripts/apply-geolocation-rules.py
+++ b/ingest/vendored/apply-geolocation-rules
@@ -5,18 +5,6 @@
 any additional transformations on top of the user curations.
 """
 
-"""
-Copied from https://github.com/nextstrain/monkeypox/blob/62fca491c6775573ad036eedf34b271b4952f2c2/ingest/bin/apply-geolocation-rules
-with two changes:
-
-First change allows missing fields in the input ndjson
--             annotated_values = transform_geolocations(geolocation_rules, [record.[field] for field in location_fields])
-+             annotated_values = transform_geolocations(geolocation_rules, [record.get(field, '') for field in location_fields])
-
-Second change allows blank lines in the location-rules TSV
--            if line.lstrip()[0] == '#':
-+            if line.strip()=="" or line.lstrip()[0] == '#':
-"""
 
 import argparse
 import json