diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 4aae7916..3dec0d7b 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -7,7 +7,9 @@ A persistent operator USB with XFCE as the live-image baseline:
 - bootable USB image
 - stable XFCE desktop for the live operator environment
 - browser available immediately
-- `pi` agent harness available immediately (bundled npm global)
+- Colibri's agent harness staged with the control plane (under the colibri
+  umbrella — no separate feature flag)
+- `pi` retained as a spawnable agent backend (bundled npm global)
 - Tailscale available immediately
 - Colibri control-plane daemon staged and enabled as the live-USB rc.d service
   (`service colibri_daemon`)
@@ -50,7 +52,8 @@ Live operator USB
   SDDM/XFCE desktop
     └── colibri_daemon      # lightweight control plane, enabled on USB
           ├── colibri CLI / colibri-tui
-          └── agent harness events (pi today; runtime adapters in Colibri)
+          └── agent harness     # Colibri's bundled agent (staged with the
+                                # daemon); pi available as a spawnable backend
 
 Deployed disk/server system
   service clawdie           # target operator service name
diff --git a/build.cfg b/build.cfg
index 2d8dce70..6db6e062 100644
--- a/build.cfg
+++ b/build.cfg
@@ -104,20 +104,22 @@ COLIBRI_COST_MODE="${COLIBRI_COST_MODE:-smart}"
 # lightweight `colibri_daemon` control plane directly. Add deployed-system
 # service packaging only after that implementation is chosen.
 
-# zot agent harness (the consolidation target — see colibri ADR
-# docs/ADR-agent-harness-consolidation.md). zot is a single static Go binary
-# (providers incl. DeepSeek, Telegram bot, json/rpc modes, SKILL.md, extensions).
-# Opt-in (default NO) while Pi stays the default harness during migration.
-# Pin a tag for reproducible images; zot has no FreeBSD release, so the build
-# host compiles it: (cd $ZOT_REPO && git checkout $ZOT_VERSION &&
+# Colibri's bundled agent harness (the consolidation target — see colibri ADR
+# docs/ADR-agent-harness-consolidation.md). Shipped under the colibri umbrella as
+# a single static Go binary (providers incl. DeepSeek, Telegram bot, json/rpc
+# modes, SKILL.md, extensions), so it has NO separate feature flag: it stages
+# automatically whenever FEATURE_COLIBRI=YES. Internal escape hatch only —
+# COLIBRI_STAGE_AGENT=NO stages the daemon without the agent (debug builds).
+# Pin a tag for reproducible images; the agent has no FreeBSD release, so the
+# build host compiles it: (cd $ZOT_REPO && git checkout $ZOT_VERSION &&
 #   GOOS=freebsd GOARCH=amd64 go build -trimpath -o bin/zot ./cmd/zot)
-FEATURE_ZOT="${FEATURE_ZOT:-NO}"
+COLIBRI_STAGE_AGENT="${COLIBRI_STAGE_AGENT:-YES}"
 ZOT_VERSION="${ZOT_VERSION:-v0.2.29}"
 ZOT_REPO="${ZOT_REPO:-/home/clawdie/ai/zot}"
 ZOT_ARTIFACT_DIR="${ZOT_ARTIFACT_DIR:-}"
-# Optional: bake the operator's DeepSeek key into $ZOT_HOME/auth.json (0600).
+# Optional: bake the operator's DeepSeek key into the agent's auth.json (0600).
 # Leave blank to stage an auth.json.sample template the operator fills in, or
-# to configure at runtime via `zot` env / `zot telegram-bot setup`.
+# to configure at runtime via agent env / `zot telegram-bot setup`.
 ZOT_DEEPSEEK_KEY="${ZOT_DEEPSEEK_KEY:-}"
 
 # Local LLM runtime (optional)
diff --git a/build.sh b/build.sh
index 5fa42664..214a324a 100755
--- a/build.sh
+++ b/build.sh
@@ -121,8 +121,7 @@ echo "    Pkg     : ${DEFAULT_PKG_BRANCH}"
 echo "    GPU     : ${GPU_DRIVER:-auto-detect}"
 echo "    NVIDIA universal : ${NVIDIA_UNIVERSAL:-NO}"
 echo "    Target  : ${TARGET:-baremetal}"
-echo "    Colibri : ${FEATURE_COLIBRI:-NO}"
-echo "    zot agent     : ${FEATURE_ZOT:-NO} (${ZOT_VERSION:-})"
+echo "    Colibri : ${FEATURE_COLIBRI:-NO} (agent ${ZOT_VERSION:-} / stage ${COLIBRI_STAGE_AGENT:-YES})"
 echo ""
 
 # Name the output for the thing we are actually building.
@@ -354,16 +353,17 @@ resolve_zot_paths() {
 }
 
 preflight_zot_artifacts() {
-    [ "${FEATURE_ZOT:-NO}" = "YES" ] || return 0
+    [ "${FEATURE_COLIBRI:-NO}" = "YES" ] || return 0
+    [ "${COLIBRI_STAGE_AGENT:-YES}" = "YES" ] || return 0
     [ "${FETCH_ONLY:-0}" -eq 0 ] || return 0
 
     resolve_zot_paths
     if [ ! -x "${_resolved_zot_artifact_dir}/zot" ]; then
-        echo "ERROR: zot binary missing: ${_resolved_zot_artifact_dir}/zot"
-        echo "       zot has no FreeBSD release — build it first:"
+        echo "ERROR: Colibri agent binary missing: ${_resolved_zot_artifact_dir}/zot"
+        echo "       The agent has no FreeBSD release — build it first:"
         echo "       (cd ${_resolved_zot_repo} && git checkout ${ZOT_VERSION:-v0.2.29} && \\"
         echo "          GOOS=freebsd GOARCH=amd64 go build -trimpath -o bin/zot ./cmd/zot)"
-        echo "       Or set FEATURE_ZOT=NO to skip zot staging."
+        echo "       Or set COLIBRI_STAGE_AGENT=NO to skip agent staging."
         exit 1
     fi
 }
@@ -852,12 +852,16 @@ install_colibri_service() {
 }
 
 install_zot_agent() {
-    [ "${FEATURE_ZOT:-NO}" = "YES" ] || {
-        echo "    zot agent staging disabled (FEATURE_ZOT=${FEATURE_ZOT:-NO})"
+    [ "${FEATURE_COLIBRI:-NO}" = "YES" ] || {
+        echo "    Colibri agent staging disabled (FEATURE_COLIBRI=${FEATURE_COLIBRI:-NO})"
+        return 0
+    }
+    [ "${COLIBRI_STAGE_AGENT:-YES}" = "YES" ] || {
+        echo "    Colibri agent staging disabled (COLIBRI_STAGE_AGENT=${COLIBRI_STAGE_AGENT:-YES})"
         return 0
     }
 
-    echo "    Staging zot agent (${ZOT_VERSION:-})..."
+    echo "    Staging Colibri agent (${ZOT_VERSION:-})..."
     resolve_zot_paths
 
     env \