diff --git a/bastion/bastion/.gitignore b/bastion/bastion/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c6a6369
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bastion/bastion/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+
+# Asahi build artifacts (large)
+.asahi-cache/
+asahi-repo/*.zip
diff --git a/bastion/src/bastion/src/routes/asahi.ts b/bastion/src/bastion/src/routes/asahi.ts
index 3622cab..ebdbfff 100644
--- a/bastion/src/bastion/src/routes/asahi.ts
+++ b/bastion/src/bastion/src/routes/asahi.ts
@@ -102,7 +102,8 @@ echo "    - Standard Asahi boot infrastructure (m1n1 + U-Boot)"
 echo "    - Fedora Asahi Remix root partition"
 echo "    - LVM data partition (remaining space)"
 echo ""
-echo "  On first boot, LVM volumes are created automatically."
+echo "  After first boot, SSH in and set up LVM:"
+echo "    ssh lab@<ip> 'curl -sf \${BASTION}/asahi/firstboot.sh | sudo bash'"
 echo ""
 
 # Run the installer
@@ -150,7 +151,7 @@ fi
   app.get<{
     Querystring: { hostname?: string; role?: string; mac?: string; user?: string };
   }>("/asahi/firstboot.sh", async (request, reply) => {
-    const hostname = request.query.hostname ?? "mac-studio";
+    const hostname = request.query.hostname ?? "unknown";
     const role = (request.query.role ?? "infra") as Role;
     const mac = request.query.mac ?? "unknown";
     const user = request.query.user ?? config.adminUser;
diff --git a/bastion/src/bastion/src/templates/asahi-firstboot.sh.ts b/bastion/src/bastion/src/templates/asahi-firstboot.sh.ts
index 49af7ab..cbc1062 100644
--- a/bastion/src/bastion/src/templates/asahi-firstboot.sh.ts
+++ b/bastion/src/bastion/src/templates/asahi-firstboot.sh.ts
@@ -222,21 +222,32 @@ lvs labvg
 
 fi  # end if/else for reprovision vs fresh install
 
-# ── Set hostname ─────────────────────────────────────────────────
-hostnamectl set-hostname "${hostname}"
+# ── Set hostname (use configured value, or keep existing) ────────
+CONF_HOSTNAME="${hostname}"
+if [ "$CONF_HOSTNAME" != "unknown" ] && [ -n "$CONF_HOSTNAME" ]; then
+    hostnamectl set-hostname "$CONF_HOSTNAME"
+fi
+ACTUAL_HOSTNAME=$(hostname)
+
+# ── Detect MAC address ───────────────────────────────────────────
+CONF_MAC="${mac}"
+if [ "$CONF_MAC" = "unknown" ] || [ -z "$CONF_MAC" ]; then
+    CONF_MAC=$(ip -o link show | grep -v "lo:" | grep "state UP" | head -1 | grep -oP 'link/ether \\K[^ ]+' || echo "unknown")
+fi
 
 # ── Configure admin user ─────────────────────────────────────────
-if ! id "${adminUser}" &>/dev/null; then
-    useradd -m -G wheel "${adminUser}"
-    echo "${adminUser} ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL" > /etc/sudoers.d/${adminUser}
-    chmod 440 /etc/sudoers.d/${adminUser}
+ADMIN="${adminUser}"
+if ! id "$ADMIN" &>/dev/null; then
+    useradd -m -G wheel "$ADMIN"
+    echo "$ADMIN ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL" > /etc/sudoers.d/$ADMIN
+    chmod 440 /etc/sudoers.d/$ADMIN
 fi
-ADMIN_SSH="/home/${adminUser}/.ssh"
+ADMIN_SSH="/home/$ADMIN/.ssh"
 mkdir -p "$ADMIN_SSH"
 chmod 700 "$ADMIN_SSH"
 ${sshKeyBlock}
 chmod 600 "$ADMIN_SSH/authorized_keys"
-chown -R ${adminUser}:${adminUser} "$ADMIN_SSH"
+chown -R $ADMIN:$ADMIN "$ADMIN_SSH"
 
 # Also authorize root
 mkdir -p /root/.ssh
@@ -250,9 +261,9 @@ sed -i 's/^#\\?PasswordAuthentication.*/PasswordAuthentication no/' /etc/ssh/ssh
 
 # ── Write provisioning metadata ──────────────────────────────────
 cat > /etc/lab-provisioned << LABMETA
-hostname=${hostname}
+hostname=$ACTUAL_HOSTNAME
 role=${role}
-mac=${mac}
+mac=$CONF_MAC
 provisioned_at=$(date -Iseconds)
 method=asahi-firstboot
 LABMETA
@@ -262,9 +273,9 @@ IP=$(hostname -I | awk '{print $1}')
 echo "Registering with bastion at ${serverIp}:${httpPort}..."
 curl -sf -X POST "http://${serverIp}:${httpPort}/api/register" \\
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \\
-    -d "{\\"mac\\":\\"${mac}\\",\\"hostname\\":\\"${hostname}\\",\\"role\\":\\"${role}\\",\\"ip\\":\\"$IP\\"}" \\
-    2>/dev/null && echo "  Registered as ${hostname} ($IP)" \\
-    || echo "  WARNING: Could not reach bastion — register manually with: labctl provision register ${mac} ${hostname} --role ${role} --ip $IP"
+    -d "{\\"mac\\":\\"$CONF_MAC\\",\\"hostname\\":\\"$ACTUAL_HOSTNAME\\",\\"role\\":\\"${role}\\",\\"ip\\":\\"$IP\\"}" \\
+    2>/dev/null && echo "  Registered as $ACTUAL_HOSTNAME ($IP)" \\
+    || echo "  WARNING: Could not reach bastion — register manually with: labctl provision register $CONF_MAC $ACTUAL_HOSTNAME --role ${role} --ip $IP"
 
 # ── Mark done ────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 touch "$MARKER"
diff --git a/bastion/src/bastion/tests/asahi.test.ts b/bastion/src/bastion/tests/asahi.test.ts
index ffe0ec5..b3f223c 100644
--- a/bastion/src/bastion/tests/asahi.test.ts
+++ b/bastion/src/bastion/tests/asahi.test.ts
@@ -184,7 +184,8 @@ describe("renderFirstbootScript", () => {
 
   it("sets hostname", () => {
     const script = renderFirstbootScript({ ...baseParams, role: "worker" });
-    expect(script).toContain('hostnamectl set-hostname "test-node"');
+    expect(script).toContain('CONF_HOSTNAME="test-node"');
+    expect(script).toContain("hostnamectl set-hostname");
   });
 
   it("includes bastion self-registration", () => {
diff --git a/bastion/src/cli/src/commands/asahi.ts b/bastion/src/cli/src/commands/asahi.ts
index 7cee58c..3d334c8 100644
--- a/bastion/src/cli/src/commands/asahi.ts
+++ b/bastion/src/cli/src/commands/asahi.ts
@@ -59,9 +59,9 @@ export function registerAsahiCommand(parent: Command): void {
       console.log(`    labvg/longhorn (remaining space)${RESET}`);
       console.log("");
       console.log(`  After first boot, SSH in and run the firstboot script:`);
-      console.log(`    ${BOLD}ssh root@<ip> 'curl -sf ${bastionUrl}/asahi/firstboot.sh?hostname=<name>\\&role=infra | bash'${RESET}`);
+      console.log(`    ${BOLD}ssh lab@<ip> 'curl -sf ${bastionUrl}/asahi/firstboot.sh | sudo bash'${RESET}`);
       console.log("");
-      console.log(`  This sets up LVM and self-registers with the bastion.`);
+      console.log(`  This sets up LVM, detects hostname/MAC, and self-registers.`);
       console.log(`  Then install k3s:`);
       console.log(`    ${BOLD}labctl app k3s install <hostname> --role infra${RESET}`);
       console.log("");