diff --git a/web/index.html b/web/index.html
index 4ae33c9..7529377 100644
--- a/web/index.html
+++ b/web/index.html
@@ -3,8 +3,8 @@
   <head>
     <meta charset="utf-8" />
     <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1, viewport-fit=cover" />
-    <title>nixamp - it really kicks the DMCA's ass...</title>
-    <meta name="description" content="nixamp — it really whips the terminal's ass. A Winamp-shaped player for your files and for the nixamp running on your other machine." />
+    <title>nixamp: open source live streaming from your own machine</title>
+    <meta name="description" content="An open source player that turns a folder on your machine into a live stream anyone can tune in to. Terminal, web and desktop on one engine. Listen free, publish with one command, charge with x402." />
     <link rel="manifest" href="/manifest.webmanifest" />
     <meta name="theme-color" content="#080c09" />
     <link rel="icon" href="/icons/icon-192.png" type="image/png" />
@@ -13,8 +13,8 @@
     <meta name="apple-mobile-web-app-status-bar-style" content="black-translucent" />
     <meta name="apple-mobile-web-app-title" content="nixamp" />
     <meta name="mobile-web-app-capable" content="yes" />
-    <meta property="og:title" content="nixamp - it really kicks the DMCA's ass..." />
-    <meta property="og:description" content="It really whips the terminal's ass." />
+    <meta property="og:title" content="nixamp: open source live streaming from your own machine" />
+    <meta property="og:description" content="Your library, live, from your own machine. Listen free, publish with one command, charge with x402." />
     <meta property="og:type" content="website" />
   </head>
   <body>
@@ -31,6 +31,43 @@
         <button id="install" type="button" class="ghost" hidden>Install</button>
       </header>
 
+      <!-- The pitch, for somebody who has never seen this before. In the shell
+           so a crawler and a link preview read it; shown by app.ts only where
+           accounts live (nixamp.com), only signed out, and only until hidden.
+           On your own server you already know what this is. -->
+      <section class="panel welcome player-only" data-title="What this is" id="welcome" hidden>
+        <h1 class="welcome-title">Your library, live, from your own machine.</h1>
+        <p class="welcome-lead">
+          nixamp is an open source player that turns a folder on your computer into a
+          stream anyone can tune in to. A terminal player, a web app and a desktop app
+          on one engine. The streaming service you would run yourself: nothing uploaded,
+          no platform in the middle, and the command line is a first class citizen.
+        </p>
+        <div class="welcome-grid">
+          <div>
+            <h2>Listen</h2>
+            <p>See what is on the air right now and press play. No account needed. Every
+               live stream has a room code you can dial from any phone.</p>
+          </div>
+          <div>
+            <h2>Publish</h2>
+            <p><code>nixamp serve ~/Music</code> and you are live with a link, a room code
+               and a phone number. Your recordings, a lecture, a podcast, or a link you paste.</p>
+          </div>
+          <div>
+            <h2>Get paid</h2>
+            <p>Past five listeners a stream can charge a dollar a day, paid to you through
+               x402. Only the audio is gated, so the page stays open to everyone.</p>
+          </div>
+        </div>
+        <div class="picker welcome-actions">
+          <button id="welcome-create" type="button" class="button primary">Create a free account</button>
+          <button id="welcome-browse" type="button" class="button">See what is live</button>
+          <code class="welcome-install">curl -fsSL https://nixamp.com/install.sh | sh</code>
+          <button id="welcome-hide" type="button" class="ghost" title="Hide this, on this device">Hide this</button>
+        </div>
+      </section>
+
       <section class="panel player-only" data-title="Now Playing">
         <video id="video" playsinline hidden></video>
         <!-- A pasted YouTube, Vimeo or SoundCloud link, played by that site's
diff --git a/web/src/app.ts b/web/src/app.ts
index c060b41..f833974 100644
--- a/web/src/app.ts
+++ b/web/src/app.ts
@@ -145,6 +145,10 @@ export function start(): void {
     accountProviders: need<HTMLDivElement>("account-providers"),
     accountPanel: need<HTMLElement>("account-panel"),
     accountElsewhere: need<HTMLParagraphElement>("account-elsewhere"),
+    welcome: need<HTMLElement>("welcome"),
+    welcomeCreate: need<HTMLButtonElement>("welcome-create"),
+    welcomeBrowse: need<HTMLButtonElement>("welcome-browse"),
+    welcomeHide: need<HTMLButtonElement>("welcome-hide"),
     accountSignOut: need<HTMLButtonElement>("account-signout"),
     accountNote: need<HTMLParagraphElement>("account-note"),
     adminPanel: need<HTMLElement>("admin-panel"),
@@ -3415,6 +3419,26 @@ export function start(): void {
   let creating = false;
   /** The signed-in account, so the directory knows whose stream is whose. */
   let meId = "";
+  /** Whether this nixamp keeps accounts at all: nixamp.com does, a laptop does not. */
+  let keepsAccounts = false;
+
+  // --- the welcome ------------------------------------------------------
+  //
+  // The pitch, for somebody who has never seen this before. Only where
+  // accounts live, only signed out, and only until they hide it: on your own
+  // server you already know what this is, and once you have an account so do
+  // you. Remembered per device, because the server has nobody to remember it
+  // for.
+  const WELCOME_HIDDEN = "nixamp.welcome";
+  const showWelcome = (): void => {
+    let hiddenByThem = false;
+    try {
+      hiddenByThem = localStorage.getItem(WELCOME_HIDDEN) === "hidden";
+    } catch {
+      // A private window may refuse storage; then it shows every time.
+    }
+    dom.welcome.hidden = !keepsAccounts || meId !== "" || hiddenByThem;
+  };
 
   const showAccount = (email: string | null): void => {
     const signedIn = email !== null;
@@ -3443,6 +3467,7 @@ export function start(): void {
     dom.accountSubmit.textContent = creating ? "Create account" : "Sign in";
     dom.accountToggle.textContent = creating ? "I have one" : "Create one";
     dom.accountPassword.autocomplete = creating ? "new-password" : "current-password";
+    showWelcome();
   };
 
   /**
@@ -3455,7 +3480,7 @@ export function start(): void {
    */
   const showProviders = async (): Promise<void> => {
     let offered: { id: string; name: string }[] = [];
-    let keepsAccounts = false;
+    keepsAccounts = false;
     try {
       const answer = await fetch("/api/v1/auth/providers");
       if (answer.ok) {
@@ -3474,6 +3499,7 @@ export function start(): void {
     // nixamp.com, so that is where the panel points instead.
     dom.accountPanel.hidden = !keepsAccounts;
     dom.accountElsewhere.hidden = keepsAccounts;
+    showWelcome();
     for (const provider of offered) {
       const link = document.createElement("a");
       link.className = "button";
@@ -3526,6 +3552,27 @@ export function start(): void {
     showAccount(null);
   });
 
+  // The welcome's buttons lead into the page rather than away from it: the
+  // form below, already switched to creating, and the directory.
+  dom.welcomeCreate.addEventListener("click", () => {
+    creating = true;
+    showAccount(null);
+    dom.accountPanel.scrollIntoView({ behavior: "smooth", block: "center" });
+    dom.accountEmail.focus({ preventScroll: true });
+  });
+  dom.welcomeBrowse.addEventListener("click", () => {
+    if (dom.directory.hidden) dom.browse.click();
+    else dom.directory.scrollIntoView({ behavior: "smooth", block: "nearest" });
+  });
+  dom.welcomeHide.addEventListener("click", () => {
+    try {
+      localStorage.setItem(WELCOME_HIDDEN, "hidden");
+    } catch {
+      // Then it comes back next visit, which is the most it can do.
+    }
+    dom.welcome.hidden = true;
+  });
+
   dom.accountForm.addEventListener("submit", (event) => {
     event.preventDefault();
     const email = dom.accountEmail.value.trim();
diff --git a/web/src/styles.css b/web/src/styles.css
index 95fd8b3..0689d64 100644
--- a/web/src/styles.css
+++ b/web/src/styles.css
@@ -60,6 +60,49 @@ body {
   gap: 10px;
 }
 
+/* ---- the welcome ------------------------------------------------------- */
+
+/* The pitch. Bigger type than anything else on the page, once, because it is
+   the only panel a stranger reads before deciding whether to stay. */
+.welcome-title {
+  margin: 4px 0 8px;
+  font-size: 22px;
+  line-height: 1.25;
+  color: var(--green);
+  font-weight: 600;
+}
+.welcome-lead { margin: 0 0 14px; max-width: 70ch; color: var(--fg); }
+.welcome-grid {
+  display: grid;
+  grid-template-columns: repeat(3, minmax(0, 1fr));
+  gap: 14px;
+  margin-bottom: 14px;
+}
+.welcome-grid h2 {
+  margin: 0 0 4px;
+  font-size: 13px;
+  letter-spacing: 0.06em;
+  text-transform: uppercase;
+  color: var(--green-dim);
+}
+.welcome-grid p { margin: 0; color: var(--muted); font-size: 13px; }
+.welcome-grid code, .welcome-install { color: var(--accent); }
+.welcome-actions { gap: 10px; }
+.welcome-install {
+  font-size: 12px;
+  padding: 6px 10px;
+  border: 1px dashed var(--edge);
+  border-radius: 4px;
+  overflow-wrap: anywhere;
+}
+/* A stranger's first button is the same shape as every other, but green. */
+.welcome .button.primary { color: var(--green); border-color: var(--green-dim); }
+
+@media (max-width: 720px) {
+  .welcome-grid { grid-template-columns: 1fr; }
+  .welcome-title { font-size: 19px; }
+}
+
 /* ---- header ------------------------------------------------------------ */
 
 .bar {
diff --git a/web/test/web.test.ts b/web/test/web.test.ts
index 24f2e3a..eac5148 100644
--- a/web/test/web.test.ts
+++ b/web/test/web.test.ts
@@ -236,6 +236,24 @@ test("the shell links the manifest, the icons and the theme colour", () => {
 });
 
 
+test("the shell says what nixamp is, and asks a stranger to sign up", () => {
+  const html = readFileSync(join(webDir, "index.html"), "utf8");
+  // The title is what a search result and a link preview show. It has to say
+  // what the thing is, and it must not dare anybody to send a takedown.
+  assert.match(html, /<title>nixamp: open source live streaming from your own machine<\/title>/);
+  assert.doesNotMatch(html, /DMCA/);
+  // The pitch is in the shell itself, hidden until app.ts decides, so a
+  // crawler reads it without running anything.
+  assert.match(html, /id="welcome"[^>]*hidden/);
+  assert.match(html, /id="welcome-create"/);
+  assert.match(html, /id="welcome-browse"/);
+  assert.match(html, /id="welcome-hide"/);
+  assert.match(html, /curl -fsSL https:\/\/nixamp\.com\/install\.sh \| sh/);
+  // And app.ts only ever shows it where accounts live.
+  const app = readFileSync(join(webDir, "src/app.ts"), "utf8");
+  assert.match(app, /dom\.welcome\.hidden = !keepsAccounts \|\| meId !== ""/);
+});
+
 test("the service worker can receive a push and act on a click", () => {
   const source = serviceWorkerSource(["/assets/app-abc123.js"], "build-9");
 
