diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 8fbe5f5c..6f62ae33 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -139,7 +139,7 @@ docker run -d \
 # Now edit ./data/config.json directly on the host
 ```
 
-**Theme customization:** Drop a `theme.json` in the same data directory (`/app/data/theme.json`) to override default colors, branding, and node/packet type colors for all users. Use the built-in customizer (Tools → Customize) to design your theme and download the file.
+**Theme customization:** Put `theme.json` next to `config.json` — wherever your config lives, that's where the theme goes. Use the built-in customizer (Tools → Customize) to design your theme, download the file, and drop it in. Changes are picked up on page refresh — no restart needed. The server logs where it's looking on startup.
 
 ### Manual Install
 
diff --git a/server.js b/server.js
index b0f81be4..acd3ca36 100644
--- a/server.js
+++ b/server.js
@@ -394,10 +394,10 @@ function getObserverIdsForRegions(regionParam) {
   return ids;
 }
 
-// Theme: hot-load from theme.json (checks data dir first, then app dir)
+// Theme: hot-load from theme.json (same dir as config.json, or data/ dir)
 const THEME_PATHS = [
-  path.join(__dirname, 'data', 'theme.json'),
-  path.join(__dirname, 'theme.json')
+  path.join(__dirname, 'theme.json'),
+  path.join(__dirname, 'data', 'theme.json')
 ];
 function loadThemeFile() {
   for (const p of THEME_PATHS) {
@@ -3039,6 +3039,12 @@ const listenPort = process.env.PORT || config.port;
 server.listen(listenPort, () => {
   const protocol = isHttps ? 'https' : 'http';
   console.log(`MeshCore Analyzer running on ${protocol}://localhost:${listenPort}`);
+  // Log theme file location
+  let themeFound = false;
+  for (const p of THEME_PATHS) {
+    try { fs.accessSync(p); console.log(`[theme] Loaded from ${p}`); themeFound = true; break; } catch {}
+  }
+  if (!themeFound) console.log(`[theme] No theme.json found. Place it next to config.json or in data/ to customize.`);
   // Pre-warm expensive caches via self-requests (yields event loop between each)
   setTimeout(() => {
     const port = listenPort;