diff --git a/frontend-modern/browser-verification/b63287638d6fa652.json b/frontend-modern/browser-verification/b63287638d6fa652.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a99856d7ad
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend-modern/browser-verification/b63287638d6fa652.json
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+{
+  "version": 1,
+  "base_sha": "f5157115b7b224000ef7035285d9ce64bbe60bb7",
+  "verified_at": "2026-10-04T22:46:28Z",
+  "result": "passed",
+  "changed_paths": [
+    "frontend-modern/src/hooks/useWorkloads.ts"
+  ],
+  "content_sha256": {
+    "frontend-modern/src/hooks/useWorkloads.ts": "ef6459b28c2ce225e5f5ec56731f135b1a2b1788af40aad14724e108167d86ec"
+  },
+  "routes": [
+    "/vmware/overview",
+    "/proxmox/overview"
+  ],
+  "viewports": [
+    {
+      "width": 1440,
+      "height": 1100
+    },
+    {
+      "width": 390,
+      "height": 844
+    }
+  ],
+  "states": [
+    "Mock estate (PULSE_MOCK_MODE, 5 Proxmox nodes in one cluster, Lab vCenter with 7 ESXi hosts in Production Cluster and Edge Services). Before the fix every vSphere host group header carried a chip naming its first VM (esxi-01.lab.local [etl-batch-01]); after it each header names the host cluster and matches the hosts table Cluster column.",
+    "Proxmox overview group headers still render the node row with the Production West cluster chip and Agent badge, unchanged.",
+    "Phone width (390x844, touch, DPR 2): vSphere group headers show Production Cluster / Edge Services chips without truncation.",
+    "Unit proof: useWorkloads test fails on the old helper (Received etl-batch-01) and passes with the explicit cluster; a standalone Proxmox guest now has no cluster and labels its context with the instance."
+  ],
+  "interactions": [
+    "Loaded each route signed in with Playwright Chromium at desktop and phone widths and inspected the screenshots; no console errors besides the dev-build update check."
+  ]
+}
diff --git a/frontend-modern/src/hooks/__tests__/useWorkloads.test.ts b/frontend-modern/src/hooks/__tests__/useWorkloads.test.ts
index e0c4a0eac0..fe512b6f09 100644
--- a/frontend-modern/src/hooks/__tests__/useWorkloads.test.ts
+++ b/frontend-modern/src/hooks/__tests__/useWorkloads.test.ts
@@ -1326,6 +1326,58 @@ describe('useWorkloads', () => {
     dispose();
   });
 
+  it('never labels a vSphere or standalone Proxmox workload as its own cluster', async () => {
+    apiFetchJSONMock.mockResolvedValueOnce({
+      data: [
+        {
+          ...sampleResource,
+          id: 'vmware-vm-etl',
+          name: 'etl-batch-01',
+          sources: ['vmware'],
+          parentName: 'esxi-01.lab.local',
+          proxmox: undefined,
+          vmware: {
+            managedObjectId: 'vm-206',
+            runtimeHostName: 'esxi-01.lab.local',
+            clusterName: 'Production Cluster',
+            connectionName: 'Lab vCenter',
+            powerState: 'poweredOn',
+          },
+        },
+        {
+          ...sampleResource,
+          id: 'pve-home-pve1-102',
+          name: 'standalone-vm',
+          vmid: 102,
+          instance: 'pve-home',
+          proxmox: {},
+        },
+      ],
+      meta: { totalPages: 1 },
+    });
+
+    let dispose = () => {};
+    let result: ReturnType<UseWorkloadsModule['useWorkloads']> | undefined;
+    createRoot((d) => {
+      dispose = d;
+      const [enabled] = createSignal(true);
+      result = useWorkloads(enabled);
+    });
+
+    await flushAsync();
+    await waitForWorkloadCount(() => result!.workloads().length, 2);
+
+    const byName = new Map(result!.workloads().map((workload) => [workload.name, workload]));
+    expect(byName.get('etl-batch-01')?.clusterName).toBe('Production Cluster');
+    expect(byName.get('etl-batch-01')?.contextLabel).toBe('esxi-01.lab.local (Production Cluster)');
+    expect(byName.get('etl-batch-01')?.instance).toBe('Production Cluster');
+    expect(byName.get('standalone-vm')?.clusterName).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(byName.get('standalone-vm')?.contextLabel).toBe('pve1 (pve-home)');
+    expect(byName.get('standalone-vm')?.instance).toBe('pve-home');
+
+    dispose();
+  });
+
   it('uses the shared cluster-name helper for proxmox workload labels', async () => {
     apiFetchJSONMock.mockResolvedValueOnce({
       data: [
diff --git a/frontend-modern/src/hooks/useWorkloads.ts b/frontend-modern/src/hooks/useWorkloads.ts
index 605418bc57..26540a4829 100644
--- a/frontend-modern/src/hooks/useWorkloads.ts
+++ b/frontend-modern/src/hooks/useWorkloads.ts
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ import {
   getPreferredResourceClusterName,
   getPreferredResourceKubernetesContext,
 } from '@/utils/resourceIdentity';
+import { getExplicitResourceClusterName } from '@/utils/agentResources';
 import type { WorkloadGuest } from '@/types/workloads';
 import type { HostRAIDArray } from '@/types/api';
 import type {
@@ -448,6 +449,14 @@ const mapResourceToWorkload = (resource: APIResource): WorkloadGuest | null => {
     '';
   const kubernetesContext = getPreferredResourceKubernetesContext(resource);
   const preferredClusterName = getPreferredResourceClusterName(resource);
+  // The preferred helper falls back to the resource's own name, which is the
+  // right label for a cluster resource but not for a workload: a vSphere VM
+  // or a standalone Proxmox guest would otherwise be labelled as its own
+  // cluster. Only an explicit cluster may become the workload's cluster.
+  const workloadClusterName =
+    (platformType === 'vmware-vsphere'
+      ? resource.vmware?.clusterName?.trim() || undefined
+      : undefined) ?? getExplicitResourceClusterName(resource);
   const instance =
     vmwareInstance ??
     resource.instance ??
@@ -638,7 +647,7 @@ const mapResourceToWorkload = (resource: APIResource): WorkloadGuest | null => {
       workloadType === 'vm' || workloadType === 'system-container'
         ? node
           ? (() => {
-              const cluster = preferredClusterName || '';
+              const cluster = workloadClusterName || '';
               if (cluster && cluster !== node) return `${node} (${cluster})`;
               if (instance && instance !== node) return `${node} (${instance})`;
               return node;
@@ -647,9 +656,9 @@ const mapResourceToWorkload = (resource: APIResource): WorkloadGuest | null => {
         : workloadType === 'app-container'
           ? resource.parentName || resource.docker?.hostname
           : workloadType === 'pod'
-            ? preferredClusterName
+            ? workloadClusterName
             : undefined,
-    clusterName: preferredClusterName || undefined,
+    clusterName: workloadClusterName || undefined,
     containerRuntime:
       workloadType === 'app-container'
         ? (resource.docker?.runtime || '').trim() || undefined