diff --git a/cli/VERSION b/cli/VERSION
index b19b5211..85f7059b 100644
--- a/cli/VERSION
+++ b/cli/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-v0.8.0
+v0.8.1
diff --git a/cli/cmd_browser.go b/cli/cmd_browser.go
index 181c83cf..4263e4d0 100644
--- a/cli/cmd_browser.go
+++ b/cli/cmd_browser.go
@@ -62,12 +62,16 @@ USAGE
   homelab browser run <script.js> [--url URL] [--shared-context] [--keep-open] [--port N] [--timeout S]
   homelab browser open <url> [--shared-context] [--timeout S]
 
-WHEN TO USE THIS (not the headless @playwright/mcp browser)
-  A site LOADS fine but a gated action FAILS or HANGS — a submit/login/checkout
-  spins forever, or ONE request 500s / aborts while its siblings 200. That is
-  the signature of headless / anti-bot detection (navigator.webdriver, UA
-  "HeadlessChrome", disable-devtool traps). Switch to this command — it presents
-  as a real Chrome and typically succeeds first try.
+WHEN TO USE THIS — escalation only; DEFAULT to the headless/MCP browser
+  Default to the Playwright MCP / headless browser for ALL routine browsing and
+  automation — it's interactive (snapshot per step), fast to start, isolated.
+  Reach for THIS command ONLY when headless is demonstrably blocked: a site
+  LOADS fine but a gated action FAILS or HANGS — a submit/login/checkout spins
+  forever, or ONE request errors while its siblings 200. That is the signature
+  of headless / anti-bot detection (navigator.webdriver, UA "HeadlessChrome",
+  disable-devtool traps). It presents as a real Chrome and usually succeeds
+  first try — but it's the shared cluster browser (slower startup, one batch
+  run, no per-step feedback), so it's the escalation path, never the default.
 
 ERROR-CODE CHEAT-SHEET (diagnose BEFORE retrying)
   ERR_FILE_NOT_FOUND (-6)   request intercepted/resolved locally by the
diff --git a/cli/cmd_browser_test.go b/cli/cmd_browser_test.go
index ee6bc25d..668897d3 100644
--- a/cli/cmd_browser_test.go
+++ b/cli/cmd_browser_test.go
@@ -137,6 +137,18 @@ func TestBrowserHelpHasDiagnosticCheatSheet(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestBrowserHelpIsTiered(t *testing.T) {
+	// --help must frame this as the ESCALATION path (default to headless first),
+	// matching ~/code/CLAUDE.md and chrome-service.md — non-conflicting agent
+	// instructions. Guard against a regression to "co-equal choice" wording.
+	h := browserHelp()
+	for _, want := range []string{"Default to the", "escalation"} {
+		if !strings.Contains(h, want) {
+			t.Errorf("browser --help must carry the tiered/default-headless framing; missing %q", want)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
 func TestStealthJSEmbeddedMatchesCanonical(t *testing.T) {
 	// The embedded copy must never drift from the source of truth that the
 	// in-cluster callers use, else the CLI's stealth and the cluster's diverge.
diff --git a/docs/architecture/chrome-service.md b/docs/architecture/chrome-service.md
index e1b5208d..000eec90 100644
--- a/docs/architecture/chrome-service.md
+++ b/docs/architecture/chrome-service.md
@@ -184,9 +184,12 @@ inject `CHROME_CDP_URL`, vendor `stealth.js`).
 
 Agents on the devvm reach this browser through the **`homelab browser`** CLI
 (`cli/`, ADR-0013) — the packaged, discoverable form of the ad-hoc
-`connect_over_cdp` recipe. Use it when a site loads but a gated action
-(submit/login) silently fails or hangs — the signature of headless / anti-bot
-detection.
+`connect_over_cdp` recipe. It is the **escalation path, not the default**:
+agents default to the Playwright MCP / headless browser for all routine
+automation, and reach for `homelab browser` ONLY when headless is blocked — a
+site loads but a gated action (submit/login) silently fails or hangs, the
+signature of headless / anti-bot detection. (Same tiered rule lives in
+`~/code/CLAUDE.md` and `homelab browser --help`.)
 
 ```text
 devvm:  homelab browser run flow.js