diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index 9dbd6f5ae9..72672f23c7 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -39,8 +39,7 @@ HUB_ALLOW_GIT_INSIDE_WORK_TREE=1
 # Directory of built user-interface files the hub serves at BASE_URL.
 # Relative paths resolve against the hub's working directory (apps/hub
 # under `bun run dev`), so ../web/dist is the web app's build output;
-# produce it with `bun run build` before starting the hub. Any directory
-# with an index.html works — ../hub/public is a minimal placeholder page.
+# produce it with `bun run build` before starting the hub.
 HUB_STATIC_DIR=../web/dist
 
 # The administrator identity `bun run dev` seeds for local development:
diff --git a/apps/hub/public/index.html b/apps/hub/public/index.html
deleted file mode 100644
index 71c5491ec2..0000000000
--- a/apps/hub/public/index.html
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,14 +0,0 @@
-<!doctype html>
-<html lang="en">
-  <head>
-    <meta charset="utf-8" />
-    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" />
-    <title>Hub</title>
-  </head>
-  <body>
-    <p>
-      The hub is running. Its API is served under <code>/api</code>; point
-      <code>HUB_STATIC_DIR</code> at an interface build to replace this page.
-    </p>
-  </body>
-</html>
diff --git a/apps/hub/src/config.ts b/apps/hub/src/config.ts
index afee380a27..37f179ac83 100644
--- a/apps/hub/src/config.ts
+++ b/apps/hub/src/config.ts
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ const HubEnv = type({
     "a filesystem directory for the hub's durable repo and asset state, e.g. .data/hub",
   ),
   HUB_STATIC_DIR: type("string > 0").describe(
-    "a directory of built user-interface files the hub serves, e.g. apps/hub/public",
+    "a directory of built user-interface files the hub serves, e.g. apps/web/dist",
   ),
   "SIGNUP_RATE_LIMIT_WINDOW_SECONDS?": type(/^[1-9]\d*$/).describe(
     "the per-IP sign-up rate-limit window, in seconds, e.g. 60",
diff --git a/apps/hub/test/config.test.ts b/apps/hub/test/config.test.ts
index 7a4495a2d9..4f4470c2c1 100644
--- a/apps/hub/test/config.test.ts
+++ b/apps/hub/test/config.test.ts
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ const validEnv = {
   BASE_URL: "http://localhost:3000",
   SESSION_SECRET: "insecure-dev-only-session-secret-0000",
   HUB_DATA_DIR: ".data/hub",
-  HUB_STATIC_DIR: "apps/hub/public",
+  HUB_STATIC_DIR: "apps/web/dist",
 };
 
 function readExpectingError(env: Record<string, string | undefined>): string {
diff --git a/apps/hub/test/credential-cipher.test.ts b/apps/hub/test/credential-cipher.test.ts
index bb3db43d23..fecf374ace 100644
--- a/apps/hub/test/credential-cipher.test.ts
+++ b/apps/hub/test/credential-cipher.test.ts
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ const baseConfig: HubConfig = {
   baseUrl: "http://localhost:3000",
   sessionSecret: "insecure-test-only-session-secret-0000",
   hubDataDir: ".data/hub",
-  hubStaticDir: "apps/hub/public",
+  hubStaticDir: "apps/web/dist",
   signupRateLimit: { windowSeconds: 60, max: 5 },
   socialProviders: {},
   allowPlaintextSecrets: false,
diff --git a/scripts/e2e/harness.ts b/scripts/e2e/harness.ts
index f66ffa9675..4a9763f285 100644
--- a/scripts/e2e/harness.ts
+++ b/scripts/e2e/harness.ts
@@ -262,14 +262,13 @@ export async function startHub(options: {
   const baseUrl = `http://localhost:${options.port}`;
   const app = spawnApp("hub", HUB_DIR, {
     ...osEnv(),
-    // e2e hubs serve apps/hub/public and advertise BASE_URL as their
-    // own listen address by default (signup is ungated in stock
-    // composition, so no signup env is needed); a caller's
-    // extraEnv can still override any of these (e.g. a real web build's
-    // dist dir, or a public BASE_URL that differs from the actual listen
+    // e2e hubs point at the web build (absent for API-only suites, which
+    // makes non-/api paths 404) and advertise BASE_URL as their own
+    // listen address by default; a caller's extraEnv can override any of
+    // these (e.g. a public BASE_URL that differs from the actual listen
     // port — see PORT below — for a browser-driven suite fronted by a
     // dev-server proxy).
-    HUB_STATIC_DIR: "public",
+    HUB_STATIC_DIR: "../web/dist",
     BASE_URL: baseUrl,
     // The routine scheduler's real production cadence is a 30s
     // setInterval (routine-scheduler.ts); waiting that out for real on