diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 5ea5566..1840d2f 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -61,6 +61,12 @@ claudedo test-audio
 
 ## Usage
 
+**Run it in a terminal you watch** — that's the product. The `claudedo start`
+terminal is your recognition/action console (it logs what it heard, what it matched,
+and what it injected); you attach to the `claude-<name>` session in another pane to
+watch the keystrokes land. Backgrounding (tmux/autostart/systemd, below) is an
+optional extra, not the default — it hides the console you'd otherwise read.
+
 ```bash
 claudedo start            # run the daemon (foreground; listen mode by default)
 claudedo start --mode ptt # push-to-talk instead (desk-only — see Modes)
@@ -70,7 +76,8 @@ claudedo switch <name>    # retarget to claude-<name>
 claudedo test-audio       # verify the mic capture path
 ```
 
-Background it in its own tmux session:
+If you do want it backgrounded (optional — you lose the live console), run it in its
+own tmux session:
 
 ```bash
 tmux new-session -d -s claudedo 'claudedo start'