diff --git a/bin/omarchy-iso-test b/bin/omarchy-iso-test
index 7292632..3e670a8 100755
--- a/bin/omarchy-iso-test
+++ b/bin/omarchy-iso-test
@@ -606,6 +606,11 @@ audio-panel|meta_l-ctrl-a|omarchy-keyboard-panel|omarchy.audio'
 drive_configurator() {
   log "Driving the installer wizard"
 
+  # A greeter (animated logo + tagline) opens the installer; Return begins.
+  wait_for_screen "Opinionated" 300
+  capture_console "success-installer-00-greeter"
+  press ret
+
   # Keyboard is the first screen. Ctrl+C there is the hidden entry into deferred provisioning
   # mode; a normal install just selects the layout.
   wait_for_screen "keyboard layout" 300
@@ -710,7 +715,12 @@ drive_provision_owner() {
   # verifier can prove the deferred step applied a non-default layout — UK
   # leaves every letter identical to US, so the typed password (sent as raw
   # keycodes) still matches the literal one the harness pipes to sudo.
-  wait_for_screen "keyboard layout" 600
+  # A greeter (animated logo + tagline) opens first boot; Return begins.
+  wait_for_screen "Opinionated" 600
+  capture_console "success-provision-00-greeter"
+  press ret
+
+  wait_for_screen "keyboard layout" 120
   press up
   capture_console "success-provision-01-keyboard-layout-uk"
   press ret
@@ -743,13 +753,25 @@ drive_provision_owner() {
   capture_console "success-provision-04-email"
   press ret
 
+  # Hostname is deferred to first boot too.
+  wait_for_screen "Hostname" 60
+  type_text "$GUEST_HOSTNAME"
+  capture_console "success-provision-05-hostname"
+  press ret
+
+  # Timezone is deferred to first boot too; accept the geo-guessed default.
+  # Generous timeout: the tzupdate geo-guess over first-boot networking can lag.
+  wait_for_screen "Timezone" 180
+  capture_console "success-provision-06-timezone"
+  press ret
+
   wait_for_screen "look right" 60
-  capture_console "success-provision-05-review"
+  capture_console "success-provision-07-review"
   press ret
 
   # Finalization (offline Node unpack, LUKS re-key on encrypted installs)
   # runs before SDDM appears.
-  capture_console "success-provision-06-finalizing"
+  capture_console "success-provision-08-finalizing"
 }
 
 wait_for_install() {
@@ -766,6 +788,15 @@ wait_for_install() {
       return 0
     fi
 
+    # Deferred-provisioning installs skip the celebration and reboot on their own
+    # (no Reboot Now prompt); the first-boot greeter tagline appearing means the
+    # install finished and rebooted into setup.
+    if $PROVISION && grep -qi "Opinionated" <<<"$text"; then
+      log "Install finished and auto-rebooted into first-boot setup."
+      capture_console "success-installer-15-autoreboot"
+      return 0
+    fi
+
     if grep -qi "installation stopped" <<<"$text"; then
       capture_console "failure-installer-installation-stopped"
       echo "Install failed — screenshot saved to $RUN_DIR" >&2
@@ -965,8 +996,17 @@ install_phase() {
   # flag to clear before powering off.
   if $PROVISION; then
     log "Waiting for provisioning first-boot setup to finish"
-    local waited=0
-    while ssh_guest "test -f /var/lib/omarchy/provisioning/pending" 2>/dev/null; do
+    local waited=0 rc
+    while true; do
+      # Capture rc via `|| rc=$?` so a non-zero result doesn't trip `set -e`
+      # (this command is intentionally allowed to "fail" — that's the signal).
+      rc=0
+      ssh_guest "test -f /var/lib/omarchy/provisioning/pending" 2>/dev/null || rc=$?
+      # rc 0 = flag still present; rc 255 = SSH not up yet (finalization may
+      # still be running) — keep waiting. Only a clean "file absent" (rc 1)
+      # means provisioning finished, so we don't snapshot mid-finalization on a
+      # transient SSH blip.
+      (( rc == 0 || rc == 255 )) || break
       if ((waited >= 900)); then
         capture_console "failure-provision-finalization-timeout"
         echo "Timed out waiting for provisioning first-boot setup to complete" >&2
@@ -975,7 +1015,29 @@ install_phase() {
       sleep 10
       ((waited += 10))
     done
-    capture_console "success-provision-06-setup-complete"
+
+    # The owner's hostname and timezone are set at first boot now, not baked
+    # into the install — confirm they actually landed on the running system.
+    # Hostname is deterministic (we typed it), so a mismatch is a hard failure;
+    # timezone is geo-guessed, so just report what landed.
+    local got_host="" got_tz=""
+    got_host=$(ssh_guest "cat /etc/hostname" 2>/dev/null | tr -d '\r\n') || got_host=""
+    got_tz=$(ssh_guest "timedatectl show -p Timezone --value" 2>/dev/null | tr -d '\r\n') || got_tz=""
+    if [[ $got_host != "$GUEST_HOSTNAME" ]]; then
+      capture_console "failure-provision-hostname-not-applied"
+      echo "First-boot hostname is '${got_host:-<empty>}', expected '$GUEST_HOSTNAME'" >&2
+      return 1
+    fi
+    log "hostname applied at first boot: $got_host"
+    if [[ -n $got_tz && $got_tz != "UTC" ]]; then
+      log "timezone applied at first boot: $got_tz"
+    else
+      echo "WARN: timezone is '${got_tz:-<empty>}' (expected the owner's choice, not UTC)" >&2
+    fi
+
+    # Deferred first-boot setup hands straight off to SDDM once the oneshot
+    # service exits — no celebration screen, no Start Omarchy button to confirm.
+    capture_console "success-provision-09-handoff"
   fi
 
   ssh_guest "echo $GUEST_PASSWORD | sudo -S cat /var/log/omarchy-install-timing.json 2>/dev/null" \
diff --git a/configs/airootfs/root/.automated_script.sh b/configs/airootfs/root/.automated_script.sh
index 6057034..16904f8 100644
--- a/configs/airootfs/root/.automated_script.sh
+++ b/configs/airootfs/root/.automated_script.sh
@@ -101,6 +101,16 @@ else
   ./configurator
 fi
 
+# Deferred-provisioning installs skip the celebration/reboot prompt and reboot on
+# their own — the owner completes setup at first boot. Signalled by the config's
+# defer_provisioning flag (interactive) or the defer-provisioning marker (cidata).
+# Parse the flag with jq (the same JSON semantics the orchestrator uses) rather
+# than a line regex, so a reformatted config can't read as a direct install.
+if [[ -f /root/defer-provisioning ]] ||
+  [[ "$(jq -r '.omarchy_install.defer_provisioning // false' /root/user_configuration.json 2>/dev/null)" == "true" ]]; then
+  export OMARCHY_UI_DEFER_PROVISIONING=yes
+fi
+
 # The foreground dashboard is now the sole visible install UI owner. It starts
 # the actual installer as a non-interactive child, logs child output, waits for
 # completion, then renders the final installed-time/reboot prompt itself.
diff --git a/configs/airootfs/root/configurator b/configs/airootfs/root/configurator
index 1ab29f0..3a1ca9e 100644
--- a/configs/airootfs/root/configurator
+++ b/configs/airootfs/root/configurator
@@ -42,14 +42,12 @@ measure_terminal
 # console and only grows once the kernel framebuffer/KMS takes over (noticeably
 # late in VMs). The logo is wider than 80 columns, so a first draw against that
 # transient narrow console wraps the logo ("smushed") and can't center it
-# (padding clamps to 0, so it hugs the left). Every later screen re-measures and
-# looks right, so this only bites the very first screen. Hold that first draw
-# until the width settles at (or above) the logo width. Terminal emulators (dry
-# runs) are already at final size, so skip them; a real VT that never widens
-# (e.g. nomodeset) still proceeds after the cap rather than hanging.
+# (padding clamps to 0, so it hugs the left). A terminal emulator (or sudo's
+# pty) has the same problem the other way: it reports a stale 24x80 for a few
+# hundred ms after start before its real winsize is set. Either way, hold the
+# first draw until the width settles at (or above) the logo width. A real VT
+# that never widens (e.g. nomodeset) still proceeds after the cap.
 wait_for_stable_terminal() {
-  [[ $(tty 2>/dev/null) == /dev/tty* ]] || return 0
-
   local width last="" stable=0 waited=0
   while (( waited < 5000 )); do
     width=$(stty size 2>/dev/null </dev/tty | awk '{print $2}')
@@ -71,6 +69,80 @@ clear_logo() {
   gum style --foreground 2 --padding "1 0 0 $PADDING_LEFT" "$(<"$LOGO_PATH")"
 }
 
+# Vertically-centered welcome shown once before the keyboard step — the same
+# frame the deferred-provisioning first boot opens on, so install and first boot
+# bookend the setup identically. Logo, the Omarchy tagline, and a single button,
+# centered like the boot logo. No animation.
+greeter() {
+  measure_terminal
+
+  local rows logo_h content_h top cols logo_row tagline_row hint_row
+  local tagline hint tpad hpad anim
+  cols=$TERM_WIDTH
+  rows=$(stty size 2>/dev/null </dev/tty | awk '{print $1}')
+  [[ $rows =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]] || rows=${LINES:-24}
+  logo_h=$(wc -l <"$LOGO_PATH")
+
+  # logo + blank + tagline + blank + hint
+  content_h=$((logo_h + 4))
+  top=$(((rows - content_h) / 2))
+  (( top < 0 )) && top=0
+  logo_row=$((top + 1))
+  tagline_row=$((top + logo_h + 2))
+  hint_row=$((top + logo_h + 4))
+
+  printf '\033[?25l\033[H\033[2J'
+
+  printf '\033[%d;1H' "$logo_row"
+  gum style --foreground 2 --padding "0 0 0 $PADDING_LEFT" "$(<"$LOGO_PATH")"
+
+  tagline="Beautiful, Modern & Opinionated Linux by DHH"
+  tpad=$(((cols - ${#tagline}) / 2)); (( tpad < 0 )) && tpad=0
+  printf '\033[%d;%dH%s' "$tagline_row" "$((tpad + 1))" "$tagline"
+
+  hint="Press Return to Start Install"
+  hpad=$(((cols - ${#hint}) / 2)); (( hpad < 0 )) && hpad=0
+  printf '\033[%d;%dH\033[2m%s\033[0m' "$hint_row" "$((hpad + 1))" "$hint"
+
+  # ColorShift the logo: a green base (indexed color 2) with a cyan accent (6)
+  # drifting through, settling on green. Indexed ANSI colors, not hex — the
+  # framebuffer console can't render tte's truecolor faithfully (it crushes the
+  # palette to a muddy lavender), but the 16 indexed colors map to the Tokyo
+  # Night palette and render true. One long-running invocation (many cycles) so
+  # it never restarts — a restart is what flashed. The effect reads from
+  # /dev/null so it never swallows the Return; --reuse-canvas paints upward from
+  # the saved cursor, anchored one row below the logo.
+  if command -v tte >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    printf '\033[%d;1H\0337' "$((logo_row + logo_h))"
+    # Run tte directly (not inside a `while` subshell) so $anim is tte's own
+    # PID: killing a wrapping subshell would orphan tte, which then keeps
+    # painting the logo over the keyboard step. --cycles is high enough that it
+    # never ends on its own before Return.
+    tte -i "$LOGO_PATH" \
+      --canvas-width "$cols" \
+      --anchor-text c \
+      --frame-rate 60 \
+      --reuse-canvas \
+      colorshift \
+      --gradient-stops 2 10 6 10 \
+      --gradient-frames 3 \
+      --cycles 1000 \
+      --final-gradient-stops 2 \
+      </dev/null >/dev/tty 2>/dev/null &
+    anim=$!
+  fi
+
+  IFS= read -r _ </dev/tty || true
+  # Tolerate tte's kill signal in `wait` so a future `set -e` here can't abort.
+  [[ -n ${anim:-} ]] && { kill "$anim" 2>/dev/null; wait "$anim" 2>/dev/null || true; }
+  # tte leaves the tty in raw/no-echo mode when killed; restore it or the gum
+  # prompts in the keyboard step that follows silently die.
+  stty sane </dev/tty 2>/dev/null || true
+  # Reset the screen so the leftover animation frame doesn't linger under the
+  # keyboard step that follows.
+  printf '\033[0m\033[H\033[2J\033[?25h'
+}
+
 abort() {
   gum style "${1:-Aborted installation}"
   echo
@@ -116,7 +188,6 @@ keyboard_form() {
   keyboards=$'Azerbaijani|azerty
 Belarusian|by
 Belgian|be-latin1
-Bosnian|ba
 Bulgarian|bg-cp1251
 Croatian|croat
 Czech|cz
@@ -142,7 +213,6 @@ Irish|ie
 Italian|it
 Japanese|jp106
 Kazakh|kazakh
-Khmer (Cambodia)|khmer
 Kyrgyz|kyrgyz
 Lao|la-latin1
 Latvian|lv
@@ -975,6 +1045,8 @@ install_target="full_disk"
 # isn't measured against the transient 80-column boot console.
 wait_for_stable_terminal
 
+greeter
+
 keyboard_form true
 
 if $defer_provisioning; then
@@ -988,6 +1060,8 @@ if $defer_provisioning; then
   password_hash=""
   full_name=""
   email_address=""
+  # Neutral defaults for the install; the owner overwrites both in the
+  # first-boot OOBE (omarchy-provision-owner).
   hostname="omarchy"
   timezone="UTC"
 
diff --git a/configs/airootfs/usr/local/bin/omarchy-install-dashboard b/configs/airootfs/usr/local/bin/omarchy-install-dashboard
index 541a230..bf6da9d 100755
--- a/configs/airootfs/usr/local/bin/omarchy-install-dashboard
+++ b/configs/airootfs/usr/local/bin/omarchy-install-dashboard
@@ -736,6 +736,17 @@ if (( status != 0 )); then
   exit "$failure_status"
 fi
 
+# Deferred-provisioning installs finish silently and reboot on their own — the
+# owner completes setup (and sees the send-off) at first boot, so the "Installed
+# Omarchy in ..." celebration and the Reboot Now prompt belong to a direct
+# install only.
+if [[ ${OMARCHY_UI_DEFER_PROVISIONING:-} == "yes" ]]; then
+  printf '%s' "$CLEAR" >"$TTY_PATH" 2>/dev/null || true
+  [[ ${OMARCHY_UI_AUTO_REBOOT:-} == "no" ]] && exit 0
+  reboot 2>/dev/null || systemctl reboot 2>/dev/null || true
+  exit 0
+fi
+
 set +e
 render_finish
 finish_render_status=$?