diff --git a/core/archipelago/src/main.rs b/core/archipelago/src/main.rs
index 4e2d093d..0b5d71e7 100644
--- a/core/archipelago/src/main.rs
+++ b/core/archipelago/src/main.rs
@@ -198,6 +198,24 @@ async fn main() -> Result<()> {
         (Some(trait_obj), Some(dev))
     } else {
         let prod = Arc::new(ProdContainerOrchestrator::new(config.clone()).await?);
+        // Pull the freshest signed app-catalog BEFORE loading manifests, so any
+        // registry-embedded manifest (the origin-wins overlay in load_manifests)
+        // is in place on THIS boot — not a restart later. Without this the boot
+        // would overlay the previous run's cached catalog and a newly-published
+        // app (e.g. a registry-only install) wouldn't appear until the next
+        // restart. Bounded + best-effort: on timeout/unreachable origin the
+        // last-cached catalog (or the disk manifests) still load — registry is
+        // an overlay on top of disk, never a hard dependency.
+        match tokio::time::timeout(
+            std::time::Duration::from_secs(25),
+            crate::container::app_catalog::refresh_catalog(&config.data_dir),
+        )
+        .await
+        {
+            Ok(Ok(n)) => info!("🛰️  app-catalog refreshed before manifest load ({n} apps)"),
+            Ok(Err(e)) => tracing::debug!("app-catalog pre-load refresh failed (using cache): {e}"),
+            Err(_) => tracing::debug!("app-catalog pre-load refresh timed out (using cache)"),
+        }
         // Best-effort manifest load; a missing /opt/archipelago/apps is
         // logged inside load_manifests and not fatal.
         match prod.load_manifests().await {
diff --git a/scripts/generate-app-catalog.sh b/scripts/generate-app-catalog.sh
index 61ac1796..fa3cf181 100755
--- a/scripts/generate-app-catalog.sh
+++ b/scripts/generate-app-catalog.sh
@@ -14,16 +14,16 @@
 #
 # Usage:
 #   scripts/generate-app-catalog.sh [output-path]
-#   EMBED_MANIFESTS=1 scripts/generate-app-catalog.sh   # also embed full manifests
+#   EMBED_MANIFESTS=0 scripts/generate-app-catalog.sh   # version/image only (legacy)
 #   # then publish: push releases/app-catalog.json to the OVH gitea (raw URL).
 #
-# EMBED_MANIFESTS (opt-in, default off): also embed each app's full
-# apps/<id>/manifest.yml into its catalog entry's `manifest` field, so nodes can
+# EMBED_MANIFESTS (default ON, 2026-06-23): embed each app's full
+# apps/<id>/manifest.yml into its catalog entry's `manifest` field, so nodes
 # install from the signed registry alone (no OTA-shipped disk manifest). Consumed
 # by container::app_catalog + the orchestrator's load_manifests overlay
-# (origin-wins, disk = fallback). See docs/registry-manifest-design.md. Kept
-# opt-in during the migration window so a routine catalog regen never changes
-# what phase-1 nodes install until we deliberately turn it on.
+# (origin-wins, disk = fallback). See docs/registry-manifest-design.md. The
+# migration window is over — every regen now embeds; set EMBED_MANIFESTS=0 only
+# to reproduce the old version/image-only catalog.
 set -euo pipefail
 
 ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/.." && pwd)"
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ source "$ROOT/scripts/image-versions.sh"
 set +a
 
 UPDATED="$(date -u +%Y-%m-%d)" OUT="$OUT" APPS_DIR="$ROOT/apps" \
-EMBED_MANIFESTS="${EMBED_MANIFESTS:-}" python3 - <<'PY'
+EMBED_MANIFESTS="${EMBED_MANIFESTS:-1}" python3 - <<'PY'
 import glob
 import json, os