diff --git a/nix/docs.nix b/nix/docs.nix
index c4427c94..8cadf7db 100644
--- a/nix/docs.nix
+++ b/nix/docs.nix
@@ -5,22 +5,28 @@
   nixosSystem,
 }:
 # Options documentation for hyperhive's NixOS module surfaces.
-# Closes #616.
+# Closes #616. HTML output added per mara on internal-requests #8.
 #
-# Two output trees:
-#   docs-host   — operator-facing options exposed by the meta module
-#                 (`hyperhive.nixosModules.default`). Covers
-#                 `hyperhive.*` (domain, enable, c0re, forge, matrix)
-#                 plus the deprecated `services.hive-c0re.*` alias.
-#   docs-agent  — per-agent options declared by the shared harness
-#                 module (`nix/templates/harness-base.nix`, transitively
-#                 imported by `agent-base.nix` and `manager.nix`).
-#                 Covers `hyperhive.*` (model, allowedRecipients,
-#                 extraMcpServers, frontend, forge, matrix, gui, …).
+# Three rendering layers:
+#   CommonMark — `pkgs.nixosOptionsDoc.optionsCommonMark`. Source of
+#                truth; kept as `.md` files in the bundle.
+#   HTML       — `pkgs.cmark-gfm` over the CommonMark output, wrapped
+#                in a minimal inline-CSS template. Primary surface; the
+#                bundle's `index.html` / `host.html` / `agent.html` are
+#                what the operator's nginx serves from
+#                `hyperhive.darkest.space/options/`.
 #
-# Both render as CommonMark via `pkgs.nixosOptionsDoc`. `docs` bundles
-# them into one derivation alongside a small `README.md` index so it
-# can be published verbatim.
+# Three output trees consumed by `flake.nix`:
+#   docs-host   — operator-facing host-module options
+#                 (`services.hive-c0re.*`, `hyperhive.{domain,forge,matrix}.*`)
+#   docs-agent  — per-agent harness options
+#                 (`hyperhive.{model,allowedRecipients,extraMcpServers,…}`)
+#   docs        — bundled static site (index + host + agent, .html + .md)
+#
+# All asset paths inside the rendered HTML are relative (e.g.
+# `./host.html`) so the bundle can be mounted at any URL prefix
+# without rewriting; styles are inline so there's no second-fetch
+# request for the operator's browser.
 let
   # Evaluate the host module under a stub NixOS system. Stubs satisfy
   # the few hard-required options (filesystems, stateVersion) without
@@ -121,9 +127,11 @@ let
     inherit transformOptions;
   };
 
-  mkPage =
+  # Plain-markdown page (with a short header). Source of truth; the
+  # HTML version is rendered from this.
+  mkMarkdownPage =
     name: title: doc:
-    pkgs.runCommand "hyperhive-${name}-options.md" { } ''
+    pkgs.runCommand "hyperhive-${name}.md" { } ''
       {
         echo "# ${title}"
         echo
@@ -134,38 +142,188 @@ let
         cat ${doc.optionsCommonMark}
       } > $out
     '';
+
+  # Single self-contained stylesheet. Inlined into every page so the
+  # bundle doesn't depend on a second HTTP fetch — keeps the
+  # `/options/` mount trivial for nginx (no MIME guessing for separate
+  # .css files, no cache-busting needed when this updates).
+  styleCSS = ''
+    :root {
+      color-scheme: light dark;
+      --fg: #1a1a1a;
+      --bg: #fafafa;
+      --muted: #6b6b6b;
+      --accent: #5e548e;
+      --code-bg: rgba(94, 84, 142, 0.08);
+      --rule: rgba(94, 84, 142, 0.2);
+    }
+    @media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
+      :root {
+        --fg: #e6e6e6;
+        --bg: #0d0d0d;
+        --muted: #9b9b9b;
+        --accent: #c4a7e7;
+        --code-bg: rgba(196, 167, 231, 0.08);
+        --rule: rgba(196, 167, 231, 0.2);
+      }
+    }
+    * { box-sizing: border-box; }
+    body {
+      font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, sans-serif;
+      max-width: 56rem;
+      margin: 0 auto;
+      padding: 2rem 1.25rem 4rem;
+      color: var(--fg);
+      background: var(--bg);
+      line-height: 1.55;
+    }
+    nav {
+      margin-bottom: 2rem;
+      padding-bottom: 1rem;
+      border-bottom: 1px solid var(--rule);
+      font-size: 0.9rem;
+      color: var(--muted);
+    }
+    nav a { color: var(--accent); text-decoration: none; }
+    nav a:hover { text-decoration: underline; }
+    nav a + a { margin-left: 0.5rem; }
+    nav a + a::before { content: "· "; color: var(--muted); margin-right: 0.25rem; }
+    h1, h2, h3 { color: var(--accent); line-height: 1.25; }
+    h1 { font-size: 1.75rem; margin-top: 0; }
+    h2 {
+      font-size: 1.15rem;
+      margin-top: 2.5rem;
+      padding-top: 0.5rem;
+      border-top: 1px solid var(--rule);
+      font-family: ui-monospace, "SFMono-Regular", Menlo, monospace;
+    }
+    h3 { font-size: 1rem; }
+    p { margin: 0.75rem 0; }
+    code {
+      background: var(--code-bg);
+      padding: 0.1em 0.35em;
+      border-radius: 0.25em;
+      font-family: ui-monospace, "SFMono-Regular", Menlo, monospace;
+      font-size: 0.9em;
+    }
+    pre {
+      background: var(--code-bg);
+      padding: 0.85rem 1rem;
+      border-left: 2px solid var(--accent);
+      border-radius: 0 0.25rem 0.25rem 0;
+      overflow-x: auto;
+      line-height: 1.4;
+    }
+    pre code { background: transparent; padding: 0; }
+    a { color: var(--accent); }
+    em { color: var(--muted); font-style: normal; font-size: 0.9em; }
+    footer {
+      margin-top: 4rem;
+      padding-top: 1rem;
+      border-top: 1px solid var(--rule);
+      font-size: 0.85rem;
+      color: var(--muted);
+    }
+  '';
+
+  # HTML page: CommonMark → cmark-gfm → minimal template with inline
+  # CSS + relative-only links. cmark-gfm rather than plain cmark so
+  # any future tables / autolinks Just Work without revisiting.
+  mkHtmlPage =
+    name: title: doc:
+    pkgs.runCommand "hyperhive-${name}.html" { nativeBuildInputs = [ pkgs.cmark-gfm ]; } ''
+      {
+        echo '<!doctype html>'
+        echo '<html lang="en">'
+        echo '<head>'
+        echo '<meta charset="utf-8">'
+        echo '<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">'
+        echo '<title>${title}</title>'
+        echo '<style>'
+        cat ${pkgs.writeText "hyperhive-docs-style.css" styleCSS}
+        echo '</style>'
+        echo '</head>'
+        echo '<body>'
+        echo '<nav>'
+        echo '<a href="./index.html">index</a>'
+        echo '<a href="./host.html">host options</a>'
+        echo '<a href="./agent.html">agent options</a>'
+        echo '</nav>'
+        echo '<main>'
+        echo '<h1>${title}</h1>'
+        echo '<p><em>Auto-generated from the hyperhive flake. Source: <a href="${forgeRoot}/nix/docs.nix">nix/docs.nix</a>.</em></p>'
+        cmark-gfm ${doc.optionsCommonMark}
+        echo '</main>'
+        echo '<footer>'
+        echo '<p>hyperhive · <a href="${forgeRoot}">source</a></p>'
+        echo '</footer>'
+        echo '</body>'
+        echo '</html>'
+      } > $out
+    '';
+
+  # Landing page — same template shape as the option pages but
+  # hand-authored content (short intro + cross-links). Kept tight; the
+  # detail lives on the two option pages.
+  indexHTML = pkgs.runCommand "hyperhive-docs-index.html" { } ''
+    {
+      echo '<!doctype html>'
+      echo '<html lang="en">'
+      echo '<head>'
+      echo '<meta charset="utf-8">'
+      echo '<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">'
+      echo '<title>hyperhive — nix options reference</title>'
+      echo '<style>'
+      cat ${pkgs.writeText "hyperhive-docs-style.css" styleCSS}
+      echo '</style>'
+      echo '</head>'
+      echo '<body>'
+      echo '<nav>'
+      echo '<a href="./index.html">index</a>'
+      echo '<a href="./host.html">host options</a>'
+      echo '<a href="./agent.html">agent options</a>'
+      echo '</nav>'
+      echo '<main>'
+      echo '<h1>hyperhive — nix options reference</h1>'
+      echo '<p>Auto-generated from the <a href="${forgeRoot}">hyperhive flake</a>. Two reading paths:</p>'
+      echo '<h2><a href="./host.html">host options</a></h2>'
+      echo '<p>Options exposed by <code>hyperhive.nixosModules.default</code> to operator host configurations: <code>services.hive-c0re.*</code>, <code>hyperhive.domain</code>, <code>hyperhive.forge.*</code>, <code>hyperhive.matrix.*</code>.</p>'
+      echo '<h2><a href="./agent.html">agent options</a></h2>'
+      echo '<p>Per-agent options declared in <code>nix/templates/harness-base.nix</code> and visible from every <code>agent.nix</code>: <code>hyperhive.model</code>, <code>hyperhive.allowedRecipients</code>, <code>hyperhive.extraMcpServers</code>, <code>hyperhive.frontend.*</code>, <code>hyperhive.forge.*</code>, <code>hyperhive.matrix.*</code>, <code>hyperhive.gui.*</code>.</p>'
+      echo '<h2>Regenerate</h2>'
+      echo '<pre><code>nix build .#docs          # bundled static site (index + host + agent)'
+      echo 'nix build .#docs-host     # host page only (HTML)'
+      echo 'nix build .#docs-agent    # agent page only (HTML)</code></pre>'
+      echo '<p>The bundle also ships <code>.md</code> versions of each page (<code>host.md</code>, <code>agent.md</code>) — same content, source-of-truth shape — alongside the HTML.</p>'
+      echo '</main>'
+      echo '<footer>'
+      echo '<p>hyperhive · <a href="${forgeRoot}">source</a></p>'
+      echo '</footer>'
+      echo '</body>'
+      echo '</html>'
+    } > $out
+  '';
+
+  hostHTML = mkHtmlPage "docs-host" "hyperhive — host options" hostDoc;
+  agentHTML = mkHtmlPage "docs-agent" "hyperhive — per-agent options" agentDoc;
+  hostMD = mkMarkdownPage "docs-host" "hyperhive — host options" hostDoc;
+  agentMD = mkMarkdownPage "docs-agent" "hyperhive — per-agent options" agentDoc;
 in
 {
-  host = mkPage "docs-host" "hyperhive — host options" hostDoc;
-  agent = mkPage "docs-agent" "hyperhive — per-agent options" agentDoc;
+  # Individual page outputs (HTML is the primary surface; the .md
+  # source is one `nix build` step away if needed).
+  host = hostHTML;
+  agent = agentHTML;
 
-  # Bundle both pages plus a thin index so the whole thing can be
-  # published as a single static tree.
+  # Bundled static site for nginx to serve at `/options/`. Asset paths
+  # are all relative, no root-absolute references, so the prefix can
+  # change without rebuild.
   bundle = pkgs.runCommand "hyperhive-options-docs" { } ''
     mkdir -p $out
-    cp ${mkPage "docs-host" "hyperhive — host options" hostDoc} $out/host.md
-    cp ${mkPage "docs-agent" "hyperhive — per-agent options" agentDoc} $out/agent.md
-    cat > $out/README.md <<'EOF'
-    # hyperhive — nix options reference
-
-    auto-generated from the hyperhive flake.
-
-    - [host.md](./host.md) — options exposed by `hyperhive.nixosModules.default`
-      to operator host configurations (`services.hive-c0re.*`,
-      `hyperhive.domain`, `hyperhive.forge.*`, `hyperhive.matrix.*`).
-    - [agent.md](./agent.md) — per-agent options declared in
-      `nix/templates/harness-base.nix` and visible from every `agent.nix`
-      (`hyperhive.model`, `hyperhive.allowedRecipients`,
-      `hyperhive.extraMcpServers`, `hyperhive.frontend.*`,
-      `hyperhive.forge.*`, `hyperhive.matrix.*`, `hyperhive.gui.*`).
-
-    regenerate:
-
-    ```sh
-    nix build .#docs           # bundled tree
-    nix build .#docs-host      # host page only
-    nix build .#docs-agent     # agent page only
-    ```
-    EOF
+    cp ${indexHTML} $out/index.html
+    cp ${hostHTML} $out/host.html
+    cp ${agentHTML} $out/agent.html
+    cp ${hostMD} $out/host.md
+    cp ${agentMD} $out/agent.md
   '';
 }