Development of effective tuberculosis vaccines is hampered by insufficient understanding of protective immunity. Here, Woodworth et al.1 show secondary effector CD4 T cells generated after Mtb challenge of H56/CAF01 vaccinated mice display superior lung homing compared with primary effectors. Vaccination generates large populations of parenchymal lung effector cells by inducing CXCR3+KLRG1- cells that continuously migrate from lymph nodes to lung, and limiting the generation of non-protective CX3CR1+KLRG1+ intravascular effectors, providing insight vaccine-mediated protection against tuberculosis.