diff --git a/packages/cli/src/demo-seeded-inspect.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/demo-seeded-inspect.test.ts
index 35c76861..d8f1a083 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/demo-seeded-inspect.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/demo-seeded-inspect.test.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import { join } from 'node:path';
 import { afterEach, describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
 import { runDemoSeeded } from './demo-seeded.js';
 import { formatSeededInspect, inspectSeededProject } from './demo-seeded-inspect.js';
-import { KTX_NEXT_STEP_COMMANDS } from './next-steps.js';
+import { KTX_NEXT_STEP_DIRECT_COMMANDS } from './next-steps.js';
 
 describe('seeded demo inspect contract', () => {
   const projectDir = join(tmpdir(), `ktx-demo-seeded-inspect-${process.pid}`);
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ describe('seeded demo inspect contract', () => {
         reports: { primaryPath: 'reports/seeded-demo-report.json', fileCount: 1 },
         replays: { primaryPath: 'replays/replay.memory-flow.v1.json', latestPath: 'replays/latest.memory-flow.v1.json' },
       },
-      nextCommands: KTX_NEXT_STEP_COMMANDS,
+      nextCommands: KTX_NEXT_STEP_DIRECT_COMMANDS,
     });
 
     expect(inspect.generatedOutputs.replays.fileCount).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(3);
@@ -91,10 +91,7 @@ describe('seeded demo inspect contract', () => {
     expect(output).toContain('Latest replay: seeded (packaged, prebuilt)');
     expect(output).toContain('  $ ktx agent tools --json');
     expect(output).toContain('  $ ktx agent context --json');
-    expect(output).toContain('  $ ktx serve --mcp stdio --user-id local');
-    expect(output.indexOf('ktx agent tools --json')).toBeLessThan(
-      output.indexOf('ktx serve --mcp stdio --user-id local'),
-    );
+    expect(output).not.toContain('ktx serve --mcp stdio --user-id local');
     expect(output).not.toContain('ktx ask');
     expect(output).not.toContain('deterministic mode');
   });
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/demo-seeded-inspect.ts b/packages/cli/src/demo-seeded-inspect.ts
index 0081e4b8..49f8b83f 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/demo-seeded-inspect.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/demo-seeded-inspect.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import { join, resolve } from 'node:path';
 import type { MemoryFlowReplayInput } from '@ktx/context/ingest/memory-flow';
 import { loadPackagedDemoReplay } from './demo-assets.js';
 import { DEMO_LATEST_REPLAY_FILE, loadLatestDemoReplay } from './demo-replay-store.js';
-import { KTX_NEXT_STEP_COMMANDS, KTX_NEXT_STEP_COMMAND_WIDTH } from './next-steps.js';
+import { KTX_NEXT_STEP_COMMAND_WIDTH, KTX_NEXT_STEP_DIRECT_COMMANDS } from './next-steps.js';
 
 type SeededInspectReadiness = 'missing' | 'ready' | 'corrupt';
 
@@ -181,7 +181,7 @@ function sourceBundleFromManifest(manifest: DemoSeededManifest): SeededInspectSu
 }
 
 function nextCommands(): SeededInspectSummary['nextCommands'] {
-  return [...KTX_NEXT_STEP_COMMANDS];
+  return [...KTX_NEXT_STEP_DIRECT_COMMANDS];
 }
 
 function modeMetadataFromReplay(replay: MemoryFlowReplayInput | null): SeededInspectSummary['modeMetadata'] {
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/demo.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/demo.test.ts
index 0cedba99..22c2ee1d 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/demo.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/demo.test.ts
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ import { DEMO_FULL_JOB_ID, defaultDemoProjectDir, ensureDemoProject } from './de
 import type { DemoFullResult } from './demo-full.js';
 import { createTestDemoPromptAdapter } from './demo-interaction.js';
 import type { renderMemoryFlowTui } from './memory-flow-tui.js';
-import { KTX_NEXT_STEP_COMMANDS } from './next-steps.js';
+import { KTX_NEXT_STEP_DIRECT_COMMANDS } from './next-steps.js';
 import { resetVizFallbackWarningsForTest } from './viz-fallback.js';
 
 function makeIo(options: { isTTY?: boolean; columns?: number; rawMode?: boolean } = {}) {
@@ -205,7 +205,7 @@ describe('runKtxDemo', () => {
     expect(io.stdout()).toContain('Connection: orbit_demo');
     expect(io.stdout()).toContain('ktx sl list');
     expect(io.stdout()).toContain('ktx wiki list');
-    expect(io.stdout()).toContain('ktx serve --mcp stdio --user-id local');
+    expect(io.stdout()).not.toContain('ktx serve --mcp stdio --user-id local');
     expect(io.stdout()).not.toContain('KTX memory flow');
     expect(io.stderr()).toContain(
       'Visualization requested but stdin raw mode is unavailable; printing plain output.',
@@ -223,7 +223,7 @@ describe('runKtxDemo', () => {
     expect(testIo.stdout()).toContain('Connection: orbit_demo');
     expect(testIo.stdout()).toContain('ktx sl list');
     expect(testIo.stdout()).toContain('ktx wiki list');
-    expect(testIo.stdout()).toContain('ktx serve --mcp stdio --user-id local');
+    expect(testIo.stdout()).not.toContain('ktx serve --mcp stdio --user-id local');
     expect(testIo.stdout()).not.toContain('KTX memory flow');
     expect(testIo.stderr()).toContain(
       'Visualization requested but stdout is not an interactive terminal; printing plain output.',
@@ -284,7 +284,7 @@ describe('runKtxDemo', () => {
     expect(io.stdout()).toContain('LLM calls: none');
     expect(io.stdout()).toContain('Your KTX project files are at:');
     expect(io.stdout()).toContain(join(tmpdir(), 'ktx-demo-'));
-    expect(io.stdout()).toContain('ktx serve --mcp stdio');
+    expect(io.stdout()).not.toContain('ktx serve --mcp stdio');
     expect(io.stdout()).not.toContain(['ktx', 'mcp'].join(' '));
     expect(io.stdout()).not.toContain('deterministic');
   });
@@ -347,7 +347,7 @@ describe('runKtxDemo', () => {
         generatedContext: 'prebuilt from bundled assets',
         llmCalls: 'none',
       },
-      nextCommands: KTX_NEXT_STEP_COMMANDS,
+      nextCommands: KTX_NEXT_STEP_DIRECT_COMMANDS,
     });
     expect(parsed.generatedOutputs.replays.fileCount).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(3);
     expect(jsonIo.stderr()).toBe('');
@@ -414,7 +414,7 @@ describe('runKtxDemo', () => {
     expect(testIo.stdout()).toContain('KTX finished ingesting your data');
     expect(testIo.stdout()).toContain('ktx sl list');
     expect(testIo.stdout()).toContain('ktx wiki list');
-    expect(testIo.stdout()).toContain('ktx serve --mcp stdio --user-id local');
+    expect(testIo.stdout()).not.toContain('ktx serve --mcp stdio --user-id local');
     expect(testIo.stdout()).not.toContain(['ktx', 'ask'].join(' '));
     expect(testIo.stdout()).not.toContain(['ktx', 'mcp'].join(' '));
   });
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/memory-flow-tui.test.tsx b/packages/cli/src/memory-flow-tui.test.tsx
index 9bf5425e..54640836 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/memory-flow-tui.test.tsx
+++ b/packages/cli/src/memory-flow-tui.test.tsx
@@ -201,7 +201,7 @@ describe('MemoryFlowTuiApp', () => {
     expect(frame).toContain('KTX finished ingesting your data');
     expect(frame).toContain('ktx sl list');
     expect(frame).toContain('ktx wiki list');
-    expect(frame).toContain('ktx serve --mcp stdio --user-id local');
+    expect(frame).not.toContain('ktx serve --mcp stdio --user-id local');
     expect(frame).not.toContain(['ktx', 'ask'].join(' '));
     expect(frame).not.toContain(['ktx', 'mcp'].join(' '));
   });
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/next-steps.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/next-steps.test.ts
index 39b0e22d..39202c6d 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/next-steps.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/next-steps.test.ts
@@ -66,11 +66,10 @@ describe('KTX demo next steps', () => {
     const rendered = formatNextStepLines().join('\n');
 
     expect(rendered).toContain('KTX context is ready for agents.');
-    expect(rendered).toContain('Preferred route: CLI + Skills');
-    expect(rendered).toContain('no MCP server is required');
-    expect(rendered).toContain('Direct CLI checks:');
-    expect(rendered).toContain('Optional MCP:');
-    expect(rendered).not.toContain('Ask your agent to use KTX');
+    expect(rendered).toContain('ask a data question');
+    expect(rendered).toContain('Verify with:');
+    expect(rendered).not.toContain('Preferred route');
+    expect(rendered).not.toContain('Optional MCP:');
   });
 
   it('does not advertise removed Commander migration commands', () => {
@@ -80,7 +79,6 @@ describe('KTX demo next steps', () => {
     expect(rendered).toContain('ktx agent context --json');
     expect(rendered).toContain('ktx sl list');
     expect(rendered).toContain('ktx wiki list');
-    expect(rendered).toContain('ktx serve --mcp stdio --user-id local');
 
     for (const removed of [
       command('ktx', 'ask'),
@@ -91,6 +89,7 @@ describe('KTX demo next steps', () => {
       command('dev', 'knowledge'),
       command('ktx', 'ingest', 'run'),
       command('ktx', 'ingest', 'replay'),
+      command('ktx', 'serve', '--mcp', 'stdio', '--user-id', 'local'),
     ]) {
       expect(rendered).not.toContain(removed);
     }
@@ -123,7 +122,7 @@ describe('KTX demo next steps', () => {
 
     expect(rendered).toContain('KTX context is ready for agents.');
     expect(rendered).toContain('ktx agent context --json');
-    expect(rendered).toContain('ktx serve --mcp stdio --user-id local');
+    expect(rendered).not.toContain('ktx serve --mcp stdio --user-id local');
     expect(rendered).not.toContain('Build KTX context next.');
   });
 });
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/next-steps.ts b/packages/cli/src/next-steps.ts
index a07f5cea..18870ab8 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/next-steps.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/next-steps.ts
@@ -58,12 +58,9 @@ function commandLines(commands: ReadonlyArray<{ command: string; description: st
 
 export function formatNextStepLines(indent = '  '): string[] {
   return [
-    `${indent}KTX context is ready for agents.`,
-    `${indent}Preferred route: CLI + Skills; installed rules call the pinned local CLI directly, so no MCP server is required.`,
-    `${indent}Direct CLI checks:`,
+    `${indent}KTX context is ready for agents. Open your coding agent in this directory and ask a data question.`,
+    `${indent}Verify with:`,
     ...commandLines(KTX_NEXT_STEP_DIRECT_COMMANDS, indent),
-    `${indent}Optional MCP:`,
-    ...commandLines(KTX_NEXT_STEP_MCP_COMMANDS, indent),
   ];
 }
 
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/standalone-smoke.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/standalone-smoke.test.ts
index 27f34b92..a2c05fe8 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/standalone-smoke.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/standalone-smoke.test.ts
@@ -221,7 +221,7 @@ describe('standalone built ktx CLI smoke', () => {
     expect(result.stdout).toContain('Notion:');
     expect(result.stdout).toContain('Semantic-layer sources:');
     expect(result.stdout).toContain('Knowledge pages:');
-    expect(result.stdout).toContain('ktx serve --mcp stdio');
+    expect(result.stdout).not.toContain('ktx serve --mcp stdio');
     expect(result.stdout).not.toContain(['--mode', 'deterministic'].join(' '));
   });
 
@@ -336,7 +336,7 @@ describe('standalone built ktx CLI smoke', () => {
     expect(inspect.stdout).toContain('ktx agent tools --json');
     expect(inspect.stdout).toContain('ktx agent context --json');
     expect(inspect.stdout).not.toContain('ktx ask "your question here"');
-    expect(inspect.stdout).toContain('ktx serve --mcp stdio');
+    expect(inspect.stdout).not.toContain('ktx serve --mcp stdio');
   });
 
   it('serves seeded demo wiki and semantic-layer context over stdio MCP', async () => {