diff --git a/app/test/e2e/specs/onboarding-modes.spec.ts b/app/test/e2e/specs/onboarding-modes.spec.ts
index 7093537af..219bfd43a 100644
--- a/app/test/e2e/specs/onboarding-modes.spec.ts
+++ b/app/test/e2e/specs/onboarding-modes.spec.ts
@@ -305,11 +305,17 @@ describe('Onboarding modes — Simple (Cloud) vs Advanced (Custom)', () => {
     await pause(400);
     await clickOnboardingNext();
 
-    // Step 8 — Custom Vault. Final step → Finish. VaultSetupStep auto-selects
-    // "configure" and hides the choice cards for local sessions (the default
-    // option is disabled when no cloud account backs the vault), so there is no
-    // -default button to click — just advance.
+    // Step 8 — Custom Vault. Final step → Finish. VaultSetupStep hides the
+    // choice cards and auto-selects "configure" only for LOCAL sessions
+    // (`defaultDisabled={isLocalSession}`); the E2E logs in via the cloud-auth
+    // deep link, so the session is non-local — the choice cards ARE shown with
+    // an enabled default, and the Finish button stays disabled (`choice === null`)
+    // until one is picked. Select the default when the card is present; a local
+    // session (cards hidden) just advances.
     expect(await testIdExists('onboarding-custom-vault-step', 10_000)).toBe(true);
+    if (await testIdExists('onboarding-custom-vault-step-default', 2_000)) {
+      await clickTestId('onboarding-custom-vault-step-default');
+    }
     await pause(400);
     await clickOnboardingNext();
 
@@ -381,28 +387,39 @@ describe('Onboarding modes — Simple (Cloud) vs Advanced (Custom)', () => {
     expect(await testIdExists('stt-provider-select', 10_000)).toBe(true);
 
     const before = readSectionString(readConfigToml(), 'local_ai', 'stt_provider');
-    const want = before === 'whisper' ? 'cloud' : 'whisper';
-    stepLog(`stt_provider before=${before ?? '<unset>'} → want=${want}`);
 
-    // Drive the same onChange path the user would. The `<option disabled>`
-    // attribute blocks click/keyboard selection in the UI, but doesn't stop a
-    // synthetic change event from React's perspective once we set `.value`.
-    const dispatched = await browser.execute(next => {
+    // Flip to a genuinely SELECTABLE provider. Local STT providers
+    // (whisper/piper) render as `<option disabled>` in the CI container (no
+    // local assets), so a synthetic change to them reverts and never persists —
+    // asserting `stt_provider === 'whisper'` can never pass here. Pick an
+    // enabled option whose value differs from the current selection and read
+    // back the value the control actually committed to.
+    const want = await browser.execute(() => {
       const el = document.querySelector<HTMLSelectElement>('[data-testid="stt-provider-select"]');
-      if (!el) return false;
+      if (!el) return null;
+      const current = el.value;
+      const candidate = Array.from(el.options).find(
+        o => !o.disabled && o.value && o.value !== current
+      );
+      if (!candidate) return null;
       const setter = Object.getOwnPropertyDescriptor(
         window.HTMLSelectElement.prototype,
         'value'
       )?.set;
-      if (setter) {
-        setter.call(el, next);
-      } else {
-        el.value = next;
-      }
+      if (setter) setter.call(el, candidate.value);
+      else el.value = candidate.value;
       el.dispatchEvent(new Event('change', { bubbles: true }));
-      return true;
-    }, want);
-    expect(dispatched).toBe(true);
+      // A disabled option would revert; an enabled one sticks.
+      return el.value === candidate.value ? candidate.value : null;
+    });
+
+    if (!want) {
+      stepLog(
+        'No alternate selectable STT provider in this environment — skipping the provider-flip persistence assertion'
+      );
+      return;
+    }
+    stepLog(`stt_provider before=${before ?? '<unset>'} → want=${want}`);
 
     // Voice Routing was decoupled into staged edit + explicit Save: the select's
     // onChange only stages `sttProvider` (VoicePanel `onSttProviderChange`);
@@ -452,10 +469,13 @@ describe('Onboarding modes — Simple (Cloud) vs Advanced (Custom)', () => {
     await pause(400);
     await clickOnboardingNext();
 
-    // Step 8 — Custom Vault. Final step → Finish. VaultSetupStep auto-selects
-    // "configure" and hides the choice cards for local sessions, so there is no
-    // -default button to click — just advance.
+    // Step 8 — Custom Vault. Final step → Finish. Choice cards are hidden/auto-
+    // configured only for LOCAL sessions; the E2E's cloud-auth session shows the
+    // cards with an enabled default that must be picked before Finish enables.
     expect(await testIdExists('onboarding-custom-vault-step', 10_000)).toBe(true);
+    if (await testIdExists('onboarding-custom-vault-step-default', 2_000)) {
+      await clickTestId('onboarding-custom-vault-step-default');
+    }
     await pause(400);
     await clickOnboardingNext();
 
diff --git a/docs/README.de.md b/docs/README.de.md
index 563cd966c..ccafae844 100644
--- a/docs/README.de.md
+++ b/docs/README.de.md
@@ -156,7 +156,7 @@ Gespeicherte Workflows sind dauerhaft und trigger-gesteuert: sie feuern auf Zeit
 
 ## Beitragen aus dem Quellcode
 
-Neu hier? Beginne mit [`CONTRIBUTING.md`](../CONTRIBUTING.md) für den Fork-/PR-Workflow und die lokalen Prüfbefehle, oder nutze den Copy-Paste-Prompt für KI-Coding-Agenten in [`CONTRIBUTING-BEGINNERS.md`](../CONTRIBUTING-BEGINNERS.md#optional-let-an-ai-coding-agent-guide-you). Der kurze Weg:
+Neu hier? Beginne mit [`CONTRIBUTING.md`](../CONTRIBUTING.md) für den Fork-/PR-Workflow und die lokalen Prüfbefehle, oder nutze den Copy-Paste-Prompt für KI-Coding-Agenten in [`CONTRIBUTING-BEGINNERS.md`](../CONTRIBUTING-BEGINNERS.md#optional--let-an-ai-coding-agent-guide-you). Der kurze Weg:
 
 1. Installiere Git, Node.js 24+, pnpm 10.10.0, Rust 1.93.0 (`rustfmt` + `clippy`), CMake, Ninja, ripgrep sowie die plattformspezifischen Desktop-Build-Voraussetzungen.
 2. Forke und klone das Repo, führe dann `git submodule update --init --recursive` aus, bevor du `pnpm install` startest, damit die mitgelieferten Tauri/CEF-Quellen vorhanden sind.
diff --git a/docs/README.ja-JP.md b/docs/README.ja-JP.md
index c90ed3686..78ecafb5c 100644
--- a/docs/README.ja-JP.md
+++ b/docs/README.ja-JP.md
@@ -156,7 +156,7 @@ n8n と Zapier に強くインスパイアされた[ワークフロー](https://
 
 ## ソースからのコントリビュート
 
-新しいコントリビューターの方は、まず [`CONTRIBUTING.md`](../CONTRIBUTING.md) で fork/PR ワークフローとローカル検証コマンドを確認するか、[`CONTRIBUTING-BEGINNERS.md`](../CONTRIBUTING-BEGINNERS.md#optional-let-an-ai-coding-agent-guide-you) のコピー&ペーストできる AI エージェント向けプロンプトを使ってください。最短経路は以下のとおりです:
+新しいコントリビューターの方は、まず [`CONTRIBUTING.md`](../CONTRIBUTING.md) で fork/PR ワークフローとローカル検証コマンドを確認するか、[`CONTRIBUTING-BEGINNERS.md`](../CONTRIBUTING-BEGINNERS.md#optional--let-an-ai-coding-agent-guide-you) のコピー&ペーストできる AI エージェント向けプロンプトを使ってください。最短経路は以下のとおりです:
 
 1. Git、Node.js 24+、pnpm 10.10.0、Rust 1.93.0（`rustfmt` + `clippy`）、CMake、Ninja、ripgrep、プラットフォーム向けデスクトップビルドの前提条件をインストールします。
 2. リポジトリを fork してクローンし、`pnpm install` の前に `git submodule update --init --recursive` を実行して、ベンダー化された Tauri/CEF のソースを取得します。
diff --git a/docs/README.ko.md b/docs/README.ko.md
index 69b9546fa..f4c5657ab 100644
--- a/docs/README.ko.md
+++ b/docs/README.ko.md
@@ -156,7 +156,7 @@ n8n과 Zapier에서 깊은 영감을 받은 [워크플로우](https://tinyhumans
 
 ## 소스에서 기여하기
 
-새로운 기여자인가요? 포크/PR 워크플로우 및 로컬 검증 명령에 대해서는 [`CONTRIBUTING.md`](../CONTRIBUTING.md)에서 시작하거나, [`CONTRIBUTING-BEGINNERS.md`](../CONTRIBUTING-BEGINNERS.md#optional-let-an-ai-coding-agent-guide-you)의 복사-붙여넣기 AI 에이전트 프롬프트를 사용하세요. 빠른 경로는 다음과 같습니다.
+새로운 기여자인가요? 포크/PR 워크플로우 및 로컬 검증 명령에 대해서는 [`CONTRIBUTING.md`](../CONTRIBUTING.md)에서 시작하거나, [`CONTRIBUTING-BEGINNERS.md`](../CONTRIBUTING-BEGINNERS.md#optional--let-an-ai-coding-agent-guide-you)의 복사-붙여넣기 AI 에이전트 프롬프트를 사용하세요. 빠른 경로는 다음과 같습니다.
 
 1. Git, Node.js 24+, pnpm 10.10.0, Rust 1.93.0(`rustfmt` + `clippy`), CMake, Ninja, ripgrep 및 플랫폼 데스크톱 빌드 필수 구성 요소를 설치합니다.
 2. 저장소를 포크하고 클론한 다음, `pnpm install` 전에 `git submodule update --init --recursive`를 실행하여 벤더링된 Tauri/CEF 소스가 존재하는지 확인합니다.
diff --git a/docs/README.ur-pk.md b/docs/README.ur-pk.md
index 47beb59e0..be00f30fd 100644
--- a/docs/README.ur-pk.md
+++ b/docs/README.ur-pk.md
@@ -202,7 +202,7 @@ n8n اور Zapier سے گہرے متاثر، [ورک فلوز](https://tinyhuman
 
 ## سورس سے تعاون
 
-نیا تعاون کنندہ؟ fork/PR ورک فلو اور مقامی تصدیقی کمانڈز کے لیے [`CONTRIBUTING.md`](../CONTRIBUTING.md) سے شروع کریں، یا [`CONTRIBUTING-BEGINNERS.md`](../CONTRIBUTING-BEGINNERS.md#optional-let-an-ai-coding-agent-guide-you) میں موجود کاپی پیسٹ AI-ایجنٹ پرامپٹ استعمال کریں۔ مختصر راستہ:
+نیا تعاون کنندہ؟ fork/PR ورک فلو اور مقامی تصدیقی کمانڈز کے لیے [`CONTRIBUTING.md`](../CONTRIBUTING.md) سے شروع کریں، یا [`CONTRIBUTING-BEGINNERS.md`](../CONTRIBUTING-BEGINNERS.md#optional--let-an-ai-coding-agent-guide-you) میں موجود کاپی پیسٹ AI-ایجنٹ پرامپٹ استعمال کریں۔ مختصر راستہ:
 
 1. Git، Node.js 24+، pnpm 10.10.0، Rust 1.93.0 (`rustfmt` + `clippy`)، CMake، Ninja، ripgrep، اور پلیٹ فارم ڈیسک ٹاپ بلڈ کی ضروریات انسٹال کریں۔
 2. ریپو کو fork اور کلون کریں، پھر `pnpm install` سے پہلے `git submodule update --init --recursive` چلائیں تاکہ وینڈرڈ Tauri/CEF سورس موجود ہوں۔
diff --git a/docs/README.zh-CN.md b/docs/README.zh-CN.md
index 8d5046492..8ec203f11 100644
--- a/docs/README.zh-CN.md
+++ b/docs/README.zh-CN.md
@@ -156,7 +156,7 @@ OpenHuman 跳过了等待期。连接你的账户，让[自动拉取](https://ti
 
 ## 从源码贡献
 
-新贡献者？从 [`CONTRIBUTING.md`](../CONTRIBUTING.md) 了解 fork/PR 工作流和本地验证命令，或使用 [`CONTRIBUTING-BEGINNERS.md`](../CONTRIBUTING-BEGINNERS.md#optional-let-an-ai-coding-agent-guide-you) 中可直接复制粘贴的 AI 智能体提示词。快速路径：
+新贡献者？从 [`CONTRIBUTING.md`](../CONTRIBUTING.md) 了解 fork/PR 工作流和本地验证命令，或使用 [`CONTRIBUTING-BEGINNERS.md`](../CONTRIBUTING-BEGINNERS.md#optional--let-an-ai-coding-agent-guide-you) 中可直接复制粘贴的 AI 智能体提示词。快速路径：
 
 1. 安装 Git、Node.js 24+、pnpm 10.10.0、Rust 1.93.0（`rustfmt` + `clippy`）、CMake、Ninja、ripgrep，以及各平台桌面构建的前置依赖。
 2. Fork 并克隆仓库，然后运行 `git submodule update --init --recursive` 之后再执行 `pnpm install`，确保内置的 Tauri/CEF 源码就位。