diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 9150fb3..25b129d 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -10,5 +10,5 @@
 managed_components/
 sdkconfig.*
 
-# The built site
-site/public/
+# The built site (site/config.toml sends it here)
+/public/
diff --git a/docs/milestones/W1.md b/docs/milestones/W1.md
index b0b3733..31548a7 100644
--- a/docs/milestones/W1.md
+++ b/docs/milestones/W1.md
@@ -68,6 +68,7 @@ Changed before it ships:
 ## As built (phase 1)
 
 - **CI is split.** `ci.yml` (the firmware) has `paths-ignore: site/**, docs/**, README.md, CONTEXT.md` on pushes to `main` and on pull requests. `site.yml` runs `zola check` and `zola build` with a Zola pinned by its checksum, then `site/tools/check_site.py`, when those files change. Gitea's own source (v1.24, read, not run against the 1.27 server) shows that path filters count as matched for tag pushes, so a tag still releases. A change that touches both runs both.
+- **The build output** goes to `public/` at the root of the repository, not into `site/`: `output_dir = "../public"` in `site/config.toml`, so `zola build` in `site/` and `zola --root site build` from the root agree, and git ignores `/public/`.
 - **The site** is in `site/`: `config.toml`, templates (base, home, install, downloads, 404), `data/` for the App cards and the screenshots' captions, `static/` (stylesheet, theme switch, fonts, wordmark, icons, real screenshots, the vendored flasher). `site/README.md` says how to build it and what the server needs.
 - **The home page** follows the design. Changed from it: the hero and the mesh card promise nothing that isn't built (the mesh messenger is a "planned" card), an Install button first, a status box, a "what you need" row, a section of real screenshots, the updates section says the device installs releases itself, an independence line and a statement about cookies and third-party requests in the footer, the latest version read from the Gitea API at build time, and the nav's Wiki replaced. The two hero drawings are generated by `site/tools/make_illustrations.py` (a port of the design's scripted shapes) as inline SVG.
 - **The focus ring.** `clip-path` clips outlines, so a focused notched control drops its notches and shows square corners and its ring.
diff --git a/site/README.md b/site/README.md
index 4c90b46..279537c 100644
--- a/site/README.md
+++ b/site/README.md
@@ -14,12 +14,12 @@ tools/                make_illustrations.py, check_site.py
 ## Build and look
 
 ```sh
-docker run --rm -u "$(id -u):$(id -g)" -v "$PWD/site:/app" -w /app ghcr.io/getzola/zola:v0.22.0 build   # public/
-docker run --rm -u "$(id -u):$(id -g)" -p 1111:1111 -v "$PWD/site:/app" -w /app ghcr.io/getzola/zola:v0.22.0 serve --interface 0.0.0.0
-python3 site/tools/check_site.py site/public    # what the pages promise, kept
+docker run --rm -u "$(id -u):$(id -g)" -v "$PWD:/repo" -w /repo/site ghcr.io/getzola/zola:v0.22.0 build   # writes ./public
+docker run --rm -u "$(id -u):$(id -g)" -p 1111:1111 -v "$PWD:/repo" -w /repo/site ghcr.io/getzola/zola:v0.22.0 serve --interface 0.0.0.0
+python3 site/tools/check_site.py public    # what the pages promise, kept
 ```
 
-Or `zola build` with a Zola of your own. The build reads the latest release and the list of releases from the Gitea API (`load_data`); if the server can't be reached, the pages say so instead of failing.
+Or `zola build` with a Zola of your own, in `site/` (or `zola --root site build` from the root). **The output goes to `public/` at the root of the repository,** not into `site/`: `output_dir` in `config.toml`, and git ignores that directory. The build reads the latest release and the list of releases from the Gitea API (`load_data`); if the server can't be reached, the pages say so instead of failing.
 
 ## Publishing
 
diff --git a/site/config.toml b/site/config.toml
index b7674c7..7c1fe22 100644
--- a/site/config.toml
+++ b/site/config.toml
@@ -6,6 +6,9 @@ default_language = "en"
 compile_sass = false
 build_search_index = false
 generate_feeds = false
+# The built site goes to public/ at the root of the repository (git ignores it), whether Zola is run
+# from site/ or from the root with `--root site`.
+output_dir = "../public"
 
 [markdown]
 smart_punctuation = false