1 files changed, 11 insertions, 4 deletions
diff --git a/docs/MESHBAY_DESIGN.md b/docs/MESHBAY_DESIGN.md
index dcfc77b..551c0ed 100644
--- a/docs/MESHBAY_DESIGN.md
+++ b/docs/MESHBAY_DESIGN.md
@@ -30,6 +30,8 @@
 | Read | For |
 |---|---|
 | **this document** | the architecture, the trust model, and the reason each decision is what it is |
+| `QUICKSTART.md` | one machine to a working group, for somebody who has installed nothing |
+| `USERGUIDE.md` | using a group and running a node, for the person who does either |
 | `MESHBAY_NODE_PROTOCOL.md` | the MNP wire format, message by message |
 | `transfers-v1.md` | the transfer system's failure-mode analysis, kept because a synthesis cannot carry "every way a slot can be lost" |
 | `playlists.md` | the playlist design and its interface in full, with what building it corrected (§9.10) |
@@ -38,10 +40,15 @@
 | `PACKAGING-GUIDE.md`, `HTTPS.md`, `MAIL-SERVER.md`, `windows-build.md` | installation and server operations |
 | `CLAUDE.md` | project conventions and the engineering lessons that govern how changes are made |
 
-**There is no user guide.** The one that existed described the system before
-per-node identity, named roots and the sealed wire, and was retired rather than
-repaired — a document a reader cannot tell the sound parts of is worse than none.
-Writing a new one starts here.
+**The user documentation is `QUICKSTART.md` and `USERGUIDE.md`** (written
+2026-09-18). The guide that preceded them described the system before per-node
+identity, named roots and the sealed wire, and was retired rather than repaired
+— a document a reader cannot tell the sound parts of is worse than none. The
+replacements are written from this document and from the code, address a reader
+who is not a developer, and cover Linux and the browser; Windows stays in
+`PACKAGING-GUIDE.md`. **They state what is not built as readily as what is**
+(§15.2, §15.3), which is what keeps them from drifting into the same condition
+as the one they replace.
 
 ### 0.2 Reference labels