diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 131ceeae..3d40ca54 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -25,10 +25,11 @@ If extending, have your LLM read the three `AGENTS.md` files: `./AGENTS.md`, `./
 ## Requirements
 
 - Python 3.10+
-- Node.js LTS or current (20, 22, 24, 25)
 - [UV](https://astral.sh/uv) package manager: `curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh`
 - MeshCore radio connected via USB serial, TCP, or BLE
 
+Node.js is not required to run the app when using the bundled prebuilt frontend. You only need Node>=20 + recent NPM if you want to develop the frontend or rebuild the web UI from source.
+
 <details>
 <summary>Finding your serial port</summary>
 
@@ -76,9 +77,6 @@ cd Remote-Terminal-for-MeshCore
 # Install backend dependencies
 uv sync
 
-# Build frontend
-cd frontend && npm install && npm run build && cd ..
-
 # Run server
 uv run uvicorn app.main:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000
 ```
@@ -101,16 +99,16 @@ $env:MESHCORE_SERIAL_PORT="COM8" # or your COM port
 uv run uvicorn app.main:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000
 ```
 
-Access at http://localhost:8000
+Access at http://localhost:8000.
 
 > **Note:** WebGPU cracking requires HTTPS when not on localhost. See the HTTPS section under Additional Setup.
+>
+> If you're running from a source checkout and want to rebuild the UI yourself, install Node.js and run `cd frontend && npm install && npm run build`. The backend prefers `frontend/dist` when present and otherwise falls back to the bundled prebuilt frontend.
 
 ## Docker Compose
 
 > **Warning:** Docker has intermittent issues with serial event subscriptions. The native method above is more reliable.
 
-> **Note:** BLE-in-docker is outside the scope of this README, but the env vars should all still work.
-
 Edit `docker-compose.yaml` to set a serial device for passthrough, or uncomment your transport (serial or TCP). Then:
 
 ```bash
@@ -177,7 +175,7 @@ uv run uvicorn app.main:app --reload
 cd frontend
 npm install
 npm run dev      # Dev server at http://localhost:5173 (proxies API to :8000)
-npm run build    # Production build to dist/
+npm run build    # Production build to dist/ (used preferentially) and prebuilt/ (bundled to save low-memory friends from needing to build)
 ```
 
 Run both the backend and `npm run dev` for hot-reloading frontend development.
@@ -207,7 +205,7 @@ cd frontend
 npm run lint:fix                     # esLint + auto-fix
 npm run test:run                     # run tests
 npm run format                       # prettier (always writes)
-npm run build                        # build the frontend
+npm run build                        # build frontend/dist and frontend/prebuilt
 ```
 </details>
 
@@ -298,11 +296,6 @@ cd /opt/remoteterm
 sudo -u remoteterm uv venv
 sudo -u remoteterm uv sync
 
-# Build frontend (required for the backend to serve the web UI)
-cd /opt/remoteterm/frontend
-sudo -u remoteterm npm install
-sudo -u remoteterm npm run build
-
 # Install and start service
 sudo cp /opt/remoteterm/remoteterm.service /etc/systemd/system/
 sudo systemctl daemon-reload
@@ -314,6 +307,8 @@ sudo journalctl -u remoteterm -f
 ```
 
 Edit `/etc/systemd/system/remoteterm.service` to set `MESHCORE_SERIAL_PORT` if needed.
+
+If you are deploying from a source checkout that does not include the bundled prebuilt frontend, install Node.js and run `cd /opt/remoteterm/frontend && sudo -u remoteterm npm install && sudo -u remoteterm npm run build` before starting the service.
 </details>
 
 <details>
diff --git a/app/frontend_static.py b/app/frontend_static.py
index ddb0109c..45bb6777 100644
--- a/app/frontend_static.py
+++ b/app/frontend_static.py
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 INDEX_CACHE_CONTROL = "no-store"
 ASSET_CACHE_CONTROL = "public, max-age=31536000, immutable"
 STATIC_FILE_CACHE_CONTROL = "public, max-age=3600"
+FRONTEND_BUILD_INSTRUCTIONS = "Run 'cd frontend && npm install && npm run build'."
 
 
 class CacheControlStaticFiles(StaticFiles):
@@ -48,40 +49,38 @@ def _resolve_request_origin(request: Request) -> str:
     return str(request.base_url).rstrip("/")
 
 
-def register_frontend_static_routes(app: FastAPI, frontend_dir: Path) -> bool:
-    """Register frontend static file routes if a built frontend is available.
-
-    Returns True when routes are registered, False when frontend files are
-    missing/incomplete. Missing frontend files are logged but are not fatal.
-    """
+def _validate_frontend_dir(frontend_dir: Path, *, log_failures: bool = True) -> tuple[bool, Path]:
+    """Resolve and validate a built frontend directory."""
     frontend_dir = frontend_dir.resolve()
     index_file = frontend_dir / "index.html"
-    assets_dir = frontend_dir / "assets"
 
     if not frontend_dir.exists():
-        logger.error(
-            "Frontend build directory not found at %s. "
-            "Run 'cd frontend && npm run build'. API will continue without frontend routes.",
-            frontend_dir,
-        )
-        return False
+        if log_failures:
+            logger.error("Frontend build directory not found at %s.", frontend_dir)
+        return False, frontend_dir
 
     if not frontend_dir.is_dir():
-        logger.error(
-            "Frontend build path is not a directory: %s. "
-            "API will continue without frontend routes.",
-            frontend_dir,
-        )
-        return False
+        if log_failures:
+            logger.error("Frontend build path is not a directory: %s.", frontend_dir)
+        return False, frontend_dir
 
     if not index_file.exists():
-        logger.error(
-            "Frontend index file not found at %s. "
-            "Run 'cd frontend && npm run build'. API will continue without frontend routes.",
-            index_file,
-        )
+        if log_failures:
+            logger.error("Frontend index file not found at %s.", index_file)
+        return False, frontend_dir
+
+    return True, frontend_dir
+
+
+def register_frontend_static_routes(app: FastAPI, frontend_dir: Path) -> bool:
+    """Register frontend static file routes if a built frontend is available."""
+    valid, frontend_dir = _validate_frontend_dir(frontend_dir)
+    if not valid:
         return False
 
+    index_file = frontend_dir / "index.html"
+    assets_dir = frontend_dir / "assets"
+
     if assets_dir.exists() and assets_dir.is_dir():
         app.mount(
             "/assets",
@@ -157,6 +156,30 @@ def register_frontend_static_routes(app: FastAPI, frontend_dir: Path) -> bool:
     return True
 
 
+def register_first_available_frontend_static_routes(
+    app: FastAPI, frontend_dirs: list[Path]
+) -> Path | None:
+    """Register frontend routes from the first valid build directory."""
+    for i, candidate in enumerate(frontend_dirs):
+        valid, resolved_candidate = _validate_frontend_dir(candidate, log_failures=False)
+        if not valid:
+            continue
+
+        if register_frontend_static_routes(app, resolved_candidate):
+            logger.info("Selected frontend build directory %s", resolved_candidate)
+            return resolved_candidate
+
+        if i < len(frontend_dirs) - 1:
+            logger.warning("Frontend build at %s was unusable; trying fallback", resolved_candidate)
+
+    logger.error(
+        "No usable frontend build found. Searched: %s. %s API will continue without frontend routes.",
+        ", ".join(str(path.resolve()) for path in frontend_dirs),
+        FRONTEND_BUILD_INSTRUCTIONS,
+    )
+    return None
+
+
 def register_frontend_missing_fallback(app: FastAPI) -> None:
     """Register a fallback route that tells the user to build the frontend."""
 
@@ -164,7 +187,5 @@ def register_frontend_missing_fallback(app: FastAPI) -> None:
     async def frontend_not_built():
         return JSONResponse(
             status_code=404,
-            content={
-                "detail": "Frontend not built. Run: cd frontend && npm install && npm run build"
-            },
+            content={"detail": f"Frontend not built. {FRONTEND_BUILD_INSTRUCTIONS}"},
         )
diff --git a/app/main.py b/app/main.py
index 35d499cc..2a03f5d7 100644
--- a/app/main.py
+++ b/app/main.py
@@ -11,7 +11,10 @@ from fastapi.responses import JSONResponse
 from app.config import settings as server_settings
 from app.config import setup_logging
 from app.database import db
-from app.frontend_static import register_frontend_missing_fallback, register_frontend_static_routes
+from app.frontend_static import (
+    register_first_available_frontend_static_routes,
+    register_frontend_missing_fallback,
+)
 from app.radio import RadioDisconnectedError
 from app.radio_sync import (
     stop_message_polling,
@@ -151,6 +154,9 @@ app.include_router(statistics.router, prefix="/api")
 app.include_router(ws.router, prefix="/api")
 
 # Serve frontend static files in production
-FRONTEND_DIR = Path(__file__).parent.parent / "frontend" / "dist"
-if not register_frontend_static_routes(app, FRONTEND_DIR):
+FRONTEND_DIST_DIR = Path(__file__).parent.parent / "frontend" / "dist"
+FRONTEND_PREBUILT_DIR = Path(__file__).parent.parent / "frontend" / "prebuilt"
+if not register_first_available_frontend_static_routes(
+    app, [FRONTEND_DIST_DIR, FRONTEND_PREBUILT_DIR]
+):
     register_frontend_missing_fallback(app)
diff --git a/frontend/package.json b/frontend/package.json
index 7794dad1..b7962e33 100644
--- a/frontend/package.json
+++ b/frontend/package.json
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
   "type": "module",
   "scripts": {
     "dev": "vite",
-    "build": "tsc && vite build",
+    "build": "tsc && vite build && vite build --outDir prebuilt",
     "preview": "vite preview",
     "test": "vitest",
     "test:run": "vitest run",
diff --git a/frontend/prebuilt/apple-touch-icon.png b/frontend/prebuilt/apple-touch-icon.png
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..81c36f5a
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diff --git a/frontend/prebuilt/assets/BotCodeEditor-CBFX17Kn.js b/frontend/prebuilt/assets/BotCodeEditor-CBFX17Kn.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..344d57af
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new file mode 100644
index 00000000..4810b403
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diff --git a/frontend/prebuilt/robots.txt b/frontend/prebuilt/robots.txt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..1f53798b
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diff --git a/frontend/prebuilt/web-app-manifest-192x192.png b/frontend/prebuilt/web-app-manifest-192x192.png
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a8820761
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diff --git a/frontend/prebuilt/web-app-manifest-512x512.png b/frontend/prebuilt/web-app-manifest-512x512.png
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c7fd26df
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diff --git a/tests/test_frontend_static.py b/tests/test_frontend_static.py
index fbc21cec..212b85c1 100644
--- a/tests/test_frontend_static.py
+++ b/tests/test_frontend_static.py
@@ -5,8 +5,10 @@ from fastapi.testclient import TestClient
 
 from app.frontend_static import (
     ASSET_CACHE_CONTROL,
+    FRONTEND_BUILD_INSTRUCTIONS,
     INDEX_CACHE_CONTROL,
     STATIC_FILE_CACHE_CONTROL,
+    register_first_available_frontend_static_routes,
     register_frontend_missing_fallback,
     register_frontend_static_routes,
 )
@@ -28,8 +30,7 @@ def test_missing_dist_logs_error_and_keeps_app_running(tmp_path, caplog):
     with TestClient(app) as client:
         resp = client.get("/")
         assert resp.status_code == 404
-        assert "npm install" in resp.json()["detail"]
-        assert "npm run build" in resp.json()["detail"]
+        assert FRONTEND_BUILD_INSTRUCTIONS in resp.json()["detail"]
 
 
 def test_missing_index_logs_error_and_skips_frontend_routes(tmp_path, caplog):
@@ -120,3 +121,41 @@ def test_webmanifest_uses_forwarded_origin_headers(tmp_path):
         assert data["start_url"] == "https://mesh.example.com:8443/"
         assert data["scope"] == "https://mesh.example.com:8443/"
         assert data["id"] == "https://mesh.example.com:8443/"
+
+
+def test_first_available_prefers_dist_over_prebuilt(tmp_path):
+    app = FastAPI()
+    frontend_dir = tmp_path / "frontend"
+    dist_dir = frontend_dir / "dist"
+    prebuilt_dir = frontend_dir / "prebuilt"
+    dist_dir.mkdir(parents=True)
+    prebuilt_dir.mkdir(parents=True)
+    (dist_dir / "index.html").write_text("<html><body>dist</body></html>")
+    (prebuilt_dir / "index.html").write_text("<html><body>prebuilt</body></html>")
+
+    selected = register_first_available_frontend_static_routes(app, [dist_dir, prebuilt_dir])
+
+    assert selected == dist_dir.resolve()
+
+    with TestClient(app) as client:
+        response = client.get("/")
+        assert response.status_code == 200
+        assert "dist" in response.text
+
+
+def test_first_available_uses_prebuilt_when_dist_missing(tmp_path):
+    app = FastAPI()
+    frontend_dir = tmp_path / "frontend"
+    dist_dir = frontend_dir / "dist"
+    prebuilt_dir = frontend_dir / "prebuilt"
+    prebuilt_dir.mkdir(parents=True)
+    (prebuilt_dir / "index.html").write_text("<html><body>prebuilt</body></html>")
+
+    selected = register_first_available_frontend_static_routes(app, [dist_dir, prebuilt_dir])
+
+    assert selected == prebuilt_dir.resolve()
+
+    with TestClient(app) as client:
+        response = client.get("/")
+        assert response.status_code == 200
+        assert "prebuilt" in response.text