diff --git a/frontend-modern/src/components/Settings/ConnectionEditor/ConnectionEditor.tsx b/frontend-modern/src/components/Settings/ConnectionEditor/ConnectionEditor.tsx
index c399fc384..f8d24ddb5 100644
--- a/frontend-modern/src/components/Settings/ConnectionEditor/ConnectionEditor.tsx
+++ b/frontend-modern/src/components/Settings/ConnectionEditor/ConnectionEditor.tsx
@@ -76,64 +76,47 @@ export const ConnectionEditor: Component<ConnectionEditorProps> = (props) => {
       <Show
         when={showCredentialSlot()}
         fallback={
-          <div class="space-y-4 p-4">
-            <section class="space-y-3 rounded-md border border-border bg-surface-alt/30 p-3">
-              <div>
+          <div class="space-y-5 p-4">
+            <AddressProbeStep
+              state={state}
+              onSelectCandidate={chooseCandidate}
+              onChooseManually={() => setManualPickerOpen((v) => !v)}
+            />
+
+            <Show when={manualPickerOpen()}>
+              <div class="space-y-2 rounded-md border border-border bg-surface p-3">
                 <div class="text-xs font-semibold uppercase tracking-wide text-muted">
-                  Platform API
-                </div>
-                <div class="text-[11px] text-muted">
-                  Proxmox VE / PBS / PMG, VMware, TrueNAS
+                  Choose Platform API type manually
                 </div>
+                <ul class="divide-y divide-border rounded-md border border-border">
+                  {manualOptions().map((type) => (
+                    <li>
+                      <button
+                        type="button"
+                        class="flex w-full items-center justify-between px-3 py-2 text-left text-sm text-base-content transition-colors hover:bg-surface-hover"
+                        onClick={() => chooseManualType(type)}
+                      >
+                        <span>{CONNECTION_TYPE_LABELS[type] ?? type}</span>
+                        <span class="text-xs text-muted">{type}</span>
+                      </button>
+                    </li>
+                  ))}
+                </ul>
               </div>
+            </Show>
 
-              <AddressProbeStep
-                state={state}
-                onSelectCandidate={chooseCandidate}
-                onChooseManually={() => setManualPickerOpen((v) => !v)}
-              />
-
-              <Show when={manualPickerOpen()}>
-                <div class="space-y-2 rounded-md border border-border bg-surface p-3">
-                  <div class="text-xs font-semibold uppercase tracking-wide text-muted">
-                    Choose Platform API type manually
-                  </div>
-                  <ul class="divide-y divide-border rounded-md border border-border">
-                    {manualOptions().map((type) => (
-                      <li>
-                        <button
-                          type="button"
-                          class="flex w-full items-center justify-between px-3 py-2 text-left text-sm text-base-content transition-colors hover:bg-surface-hover"
-                          onClick={() => chooseManualType(type)}
-                        >
-                          <span>{CONNECTION_TYPE_LABELS[type] ?? type}</span>
-                          <span class="text-xs text-muted">{type}</span>
-                        </button>
-                      </li>
-                    ))}
-                  </ul>
-                </div>
-              </Show>
-            </section>
-
-            <section class="space-y-3 rounded-md border border-blue-200 bg-blue-50/40 p-3 dark:border-blue-900 dark:bg-blue-950/20">
-              <div>
-                <div class="text-xs font-semibold uppercase tracking-wide text-muted">
-                  Pulse Unified Agent
-                </div>
-                <div class="text-[11px] text-muted">
-                  Host-level metrics on Proxmox / VMware / TrueNAS, or the only path on
-                  bare-metal Linux, Unraid, FreeBSD.
-                </div>
-              </div>
+            <div class="border-t border-border pt-3 text-xs text-muted">
+              Setting up bare-metal Linux, Unraid, or FreeBSD, or adding host-level
+              metrics (CPU/disk temps, SMART, power) on Proxmox, VMware, or TrueNAS?{' '}
               <button
                 type="button"
                 onClick={() => chooseManualType('agent')}
-                class="inline-flex items-center rounded-md border border-blue-600 bg-blue-600 px-3 py-2 text-sm font-medium text-white transition-colors hover:bg-blue-500"
+                class="font-medium text-blue-600 underline underline-offset-2 hover:text-blue-700 dark:text-blue-400 dark:hover:text-blue-300"
               >
                 Install the Unified Agent on a host
               </button>
-            </section>
+              .
+            </div>
           </div>
         }
       >
diff --git a/frontend-modern/src/components/Settings/ConnectionEditor/__tests__/ConnectionEditor.test.tsx b/frontend-modern/src/components/Settings/ConnectionEditor/__tests__/ConnectionEditor.test.tsx
index f71d3b666..c83eb4199 100644
--- a/frontend-modern/src/components/Settings/ConnectionEditor/__tests__/ConnectionEditor.test.tsx
+++ b/frontend-modern/src/components/Settings/ConnectionEditor/__tests__/ConnectionEditor.test.tsx
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@ describe('ConnectionEditor', () => {
     expect(lastCall.candidate).toBeNull();
   });
 
-  it('surfaces Platform API and Pulse Unified Agent as the two add-paths, mirroring the explainer', () => {
+  it('leads with the address probe; agent install is an offramp, not a peer fork', () => {
     render(() => (
       <ConnectionEditor
         renderCredentialSlot={() => <div />}
@@ -102,8 +102,15 @@ describe('ConnectionEditor', () => {
       />
     ));
 
-    expect(screen.getByText('Platform API')).toBeInTheDocument();
-    expect(screen.getByText('Pulse Unified Agent')).toBeInTheDocument();
+    // Primary path is probe-the-address. The explainer on the ledger already
+    // taught the user the two-mode split, so the editor must not restate it
+    // as a second decision screen — no "Platform API" card header here.
+    expect(screen.getByRole('button', { name: /probe address/i })).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(screen.getByRole('button', { name: /enter credentials manually/i })).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(screen.queryByText('Platform API')).toBeNull();
+
+    // Agent install is still reachable, but as a contextual offramp beneath
+    // the probe, not as an equal-weight card.
     expect(
       screen.getByRole('button', { name: /install the unified agent on a host/i }),
     ).toBeInTheDocument();
diff --git a/frontend-modern/src/components/Settings/__tests__/settingsArchitecture.test.ts b/frontend-modern/src/components/Settings/__tests__/settingsArchitecture.test.ts
index 93bf5ac41..e149768ee 100644
--- a/frontend-modern/src/components/Settings/__tests__/settingsArchitecture.test.ts
+++ b/frontend-modern/src/components/Settings/__tests__/settingsArchitecture.test.ts
@@ -77,10 +77,8 @@ describe('settings architecture guardrails', () => {
   it('keeps probe-first connection setup and inline node credentials on the shared editor model', () => {
     expect(connectionEditorSource).toContain("import { AddressProbeStep } from './AddressProbeStep';");
     expect(connectionEditorSource).toContain('const DEFAULT_MANUAL_TYPES: ConnectionType[] =');
-    expect(connectionEditorSource).toContain('Platform API');
-    expect(connectionEditorSource).toContain('Pulse Unified Agent');
-    expect(connectionEditorSource).toContain('Install the Unified Agent on a host');
     expect(connectionEditorSource).toContain('<AddressProbeStep');
+    expect(connectionEditorSource).toContain('Install the Unified Agent on a host');
     expect(connectionEditorSource).not.toContain('NodeModal');
 
     expect(addressProbeStepSource).toContain('Probe address');