diff --git a/apps/mac/Lobu/AppState.swift b/apps/mac/Lobu/AppState.swift
index 6997fa001..25458db9e 100644
--- a/apps/mac/Lobu/AppState.swift
+++ b/apps/mac/Lobu/AppState.swift
@@ -236,6 +236,13 @@ final class AppState: ObservableObject {
                 }
                 startAutoPollIfSignedIn()
             }
+        } else if credentials == nil, shouldAutoConnectAtLaunch() {
+            // First launch with no stored creds AND the URL points at the
+            // embedded runner we manage → auto-connect. No need to surface
+            // a "Start" button: spawn the runner, adopt no-auth credentials,
+            // signed in within ~1 s. Failures (CLI missing, port conflict)
+            // leave `credentials` nil and the connection card surfaces.
+            Task { @MainActor in await connect() }
         } else {
             startAutoPollIfSignedIn()
         }
@@ -465,6 +472,16 @@ final class AppState: ObservableObject {
         setStatus("")
     }
 
+    /// True iff init() should auto-trigger connect() at launch instead of
+    /// showing the connection card. We only do this when the URL targets the
+    /// embedded runner we manage — auto-spawning a process for a URL the
+    /// user typed pointing at someone else's server would be surprising.
+    private func shouldAutoConnectAtLaunch() -> Bool {
+        let raw = customServerDraft.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespacesAndNewlines)
+        guard let url = URL(string: raw) else { return false }
+        return AppState.matchesManagedRunner(url)
+    }
+
     // Contract with `ensureBootstrapPat` in packages/server/src/start-local.ts.
     // Changing either side without the other makes the menu bar's display
     // disagree with reality.
@@ -523,10 +540,16 @@ final class AppState: ObservableObject {
             setStatus("Lobu is running on this Mac (~/lobu).")
         } catch LocalLobuRunner.RunnerError.cliNotFound {
             localLobuStatus = .cliMissing
-            setStatus(LocalLobuRunner.RunnerError.cliNotFound.errorDescription ?? "Lobu CLI not installed.")
+            // The connection card surfaces `cliMissing` inline with the
+            // install hint — don't echo it into the header status too.
+            setStatus("")
         } catch {
             localLobuStatus = .failed(message: error.localizedDescription)
-            setStatus(error.localizedDescription)
+            // Same — connectionCard's `connectStatusLine` renders the failure
+            // in orange right under the Start button. Echoing it into
+            // `state.status` would also push it into the header, producing
+            // the duplicate the user saw.
+            setStatus("")
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/apps/mac/Lobu/LocalLobuRunner.swift b/apps/mac/Lobu/LocalLobuRunner.swift
index 8b0674cfc..b3b4db44f 100644
--- a/apps/mac/Lobu/LocalLobuRunner.swift
+++ b/apps/mac/Lobu/LocalLobuRunner.swift
@@ -88,6 +88,18 @@ final class LocalLobuRunner {
         // bind. start-local.ts defaults HOST to 0.0.0.0, so we must pin it
         // explicitly here — otherwise the runner just crashes on boot.
         env["HOST"] = "127.0.0.1"
+        // The embedded gateway refuses to boot without an ENCRYPTION_KEY (used
+        // to encrypt at-rest connection secrets). For a personal-use install
+        // the only sensible default is an ephemeral key generated on first
+        // boot and persisted under LOBU_DATA_DIR — opt in here so the user
+        // doesn't have to manage a secret manually.
+        env["LOBU_ALLOW_EPHEMERAL_ENCRYPTION_KEY"] = "1"
+        // The embedded server requires Node 22.x–24.x (isolated-vm constraint).
+        // If the user's PATH leads with a newer Node (Homebrew often does
+        // `node` = latest), inject the keg-only Node 22 location first so
+        // `lobu` picks the right interpreter without forcing the user to
+        // manage PATH manually.
+        env["PATH"] = Self.preferredPath(currentPath: env["PATH"] ?? "")
         proc.environment = env
         proc.standardInput = FileHandle.nullDevice  // no TTY — any prompt gets EOF and fails fast
 
@@ -151,6 +163,29 @@ final class LocalLobuRunner {
         return true
     }
 
+    /// Return a PATH that puts a known Node 22 install first if one exists,
+    /// so the spawned `lobu run` picks an interpreter the embedded server
+    /// supports (22.x–24.x; isolated-vm doesn't build on Node 25+).
+    ///
+    /// Looks in the obvious places: Homebrew keg-only `node@22`, plus the
+    /// version-manager shim paths the user might already have configured.
+    /// Order matters — Homebrew's keg-only formula is the most common case
+    /// on macOS, so it goes first.
+    private static func preferredPath(currentPath: String) -> String {
+        let candidates = [
+            "/opt/homebrew/opt/node@22/bin",
+            "/usr/local/opt/node@22/bin",
+            "/opt/homebrew/opt/node@24/bin",
+            "/usr/local/opt/node@24/bin",
+            "\(NSHomeDirectory())/.local/share/mise/installs/node/22/bin",
+            "\(NSHomeDirectory())/.local/share/fnm/aliases/default/bin",
+        ]
+        let fm = FileManager.default
+        let prefixes = candidates.filter { fm.isExecutableFile(atPath: "\($0)/node") }
+        if prefixes.isEmpty { return currentPath }
+        return (prefixes + [currentPath]).joined(separator: ":")
+    }
+
     private static func locateLobuCLI() -> String? {
         if let resourceURL = Bundle.main.resourceURL {
             let bundled = resourceURL.appendingPathComponent("lobu-cli/bin/lobu").path