diff --git a/image-recipe/build-auto-installer-iso.sh b/image-recipe/build-auto-installer-iso.sh
index 2a2e271e..e2682a33 100755
--- a/image-recipe/build-auto-installer-iso.sh
+++ b/image-recipe/build-auto-installer-iso.sh
@@ -1407,9 +1407,12 @@ cat > "$ARCH_DIR/auto-install.sh" <<'INSTALLER_SCRIPT'
 
 set -e
 
-# Log everything to a file on the target disk (after mount) and to console
+# Log file — verbose command output goes here, TUI stays on console
 INSTALL_LOG="/tmp/archipelago-install.log"
-exec > >(tee -a "$INSTALL_LOG") 2>&1
+# Run commands quietly: redirect their stdout/stderr to log
+# TUI functions (p, step, ok, etc.) print directly to console
+run() { "$@" >> "$INSTALL_LOG" 2>&1; }
+runq() { "$@" >>"$INSTALL_LOG" 2>&1 || true; }
 
 # Detect architecture at install time
 case "$(uname -m)" in
@@ -1620,8 +1623,8 @@ fi
 step "Formatting partitions"
 # Zero out the BIOS boot partition to prevent FAT-fs read errors during boot
 dd if=/dev/zero of="$BIOS_PART" bs=1M count=1 2>/dev/null || true
-mkfs.vfat -F32 -n EFI "$EFI_PART"
-mkfs.ext4 -F -L archipelago "$ROOT_PART"
+run mkfs.vfat -F32 -n EFI "$EFI_PART"
+run mkfs.ext4 -F -L archipelago "$ROOT_PART"
 
 # Mount root + extract rootfs (need cryptsetup from rootfs for LUKS)
 ok "Partitions created"
@@ -1633,7 +1636,7 @@ mkdir -p /mnt/target/boot/efi
 mount "$EFI_PART" /mnt/target/boot/efi
 
 step "Installing system"
-tar -xf "$ROOTFS_TAR" -C /mnt/target
+run tar -xf "$ROOTFS_TAR" -C /mnt/target
 
 # LUKS2 encryption for data partition
 step "Encrypting data partition"
@@ -1661,24 +1664,24 @@ else
 fi
 
 # Format LUKS2 partition with key file
-chroot /mnt/target cryptsetup luksFormat --type luks2 \
+run chroot /mnt/target cryptsetup luksFormat --type luks2 \
     --key-file /root/.luks-archipelago.key \
     --cipher "$LUKS_CIPHER" --key-size 512 \
     --pbkdf argon2id --batch-mode \
     "$DATA_PART"
 
 # Open the LUKS volume
-chroot /mnt/target cryptsetup open --type luks2 \
+run chroot /mnt/target cryptsetup open --type luks2 \
     --key-file /root/.luks-archipelago.key \
     "$DATA_PART" archipelago-data
 
 # Unmount chroot bind mounts (will be re-mounted later for grub-install)
-umount /mnt/target/sys 2>/dev/null || true
-umount /mnt/target/proc 2>/dev/null || true
-umount /mnt/target/dev
+runq umount /mnt/target/sys
+runq umount /mnt/target/proc
+runq umount /mnt/target/dev
 
 # Format the inner filesystem
-mkfs.ext4 -F -L archipelago-data /dev/mapper/archipelago-data
+run mkfs.ext4 -F -L archipelago-data /dev/mapper/archipelago-data
 
 # Mount encrypted partition
 mkdir -p /mnt/target/var/lib/archipelago
@@ -2144,14 +2147,14 @@ chroot /mnt/target dpkg --purge shim-signed shim-helpers-amd64-signed shim-helpe
 
 # UEFI boot: install to fallback path (/EFI/BOOT/BOOTX64.EFI) for maximum compatibility
 echo "   Installing UEFI bootloader..."
-if chroot /mnt/target grub-install --target=${GRUB_TARGET} --efi-directory=/boot/efi --bootloader-id=archipelago --removable; then
-    echo "   ✅ UEFI bootloader installed (removable/fallback path)"
+if run chroot /mnt/target grub-install --target=${GRUB_TARGET} --efi-directory=/boot/efi --bootloader-id=archipelago --removable; then
+    ok "UEFI bootloader installed (removable/fallback path)"
 else
-    echo "   ⚠️  UEFI removable install failed, trying standard..."
-    if chroot /mnt/target grub-install --target=${GRUB_TARGET} --efi-directory=/boot/efi --bootloader-id=archipelago; then
-        echo "   ✅ UEFI bootloader installed (standard)"
+    warn "UEFI removable install failed, trying standard..."
+    if run chroot /mnt/target grub-install --target=${GRUB_TARGET} --efi-directory=/boot/efi --bootloader-id=archipelago; then
+        ok "UEFI bootloader installed (standard)"
     else
-        echo "   ❌ UEFI bootloader installation failed"
+        fail "UEFI bootloader installation failed"
     fi
 fi
 
@@ -2195,10 +2198,10 @@ fi
 # (if /sys/firmware/efi exists, the machine supports UEFI — no need for BIOS fallback)
 if [ -n "${GRUB_BIOS_TARGET}" ] && [ ! -d /sys/firmware/efi ]; then
     echo "   Installing Legacy BIOS bootloader (machine booted in BIOS mode)..."
-    if chroot /mnt/target grub-install --target=${GRUB_BIOS_TARGET} "${TARGET_DISK}"; then
-        echo "   ✅ Legacy BIOS bootloader installed"
+    if run chroot /mnt/target grub-install --target=${GRUB_BIOS_TARGET} "${TARGET_DISK}"; then
+        ok "Legacy BIOS bootloader installed"
     else
-        echo "   ⚠️  Legacy BIOS bootloader failed (UEFI-only boot)"
+        warn "Legacy BIOS bootloader failed (UEFI-only boot)"
     fi
 elif [ -n "${GRUB_BIOS_TARGET}" ]; then
     echo "   Skipping Legacy BIOS bootloader (machine supports UEFI)"
@@ -2241,9 +2244,9 @@ fi
 # Regenerate initramfs — the one from Docker export is corrupt/incomplete
 # (Docker builds have limited /proc, /sys, /dev so initramfs generation fails silently)
 echo "   Regenerating initramfs..."
-chroot /mnt/target update-initramfs -u -k all 2>&1 | grep -v "Possible missing firmware"
+run chroot /mnt/target update-initramfs -u -k all
 
-chroot /mnt/target update-grub
+run chroot /mnt/target update-grub
 
 # CRITICAL: Write EFI grub.cfg that finds the root filesystem and loads the full config.
 # grub-install --removable creates a BOOTX64.EFI that looks for grub.cfg on the