diff --git a/deploy/README.md b/deploy/README.md
index 80b31a9..49d98ba 100644
--- a/deploy/README.md
+++ b/deploy/README.md
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 # Deploying Nextcraft — the admin runbook (v0.8)
 
+**TL;DR** — AI-native outcome school + marketplace — graduates prove what they can build, not what they can write. This file explains how to stand the stack up on any Debian-based server: pick one of three install channels, run `nextcraft deploy --service`, and verify with the checklist; troubleshooting tables and evidence sit lower in the file.
+
 Production topology since v0.3.6: **one port, one process**. The ai-service
 (uvicorn, `:8420`) serves **both** the API and the exported web UI, so the
 site works behind any proxy that can reach exactly one backend port — e.g.