diff --git a/configs/nixos/AGENTS.md b/configs/nixos/AGENTS.md
index a1e2c3d..27dd8fa 100644
--- a/configs/nixos/AGENTS.md
+++ b/configs/nixos/AGENTS.md
@@ -46,3 +46,5 @@
   Use a host-visible owner plus a shared group mode when the guest service can read the decrypted secret file through its group.
 - Pikachu deploys from the monorepo checkout copied to `~/dev`.
   Do not use the old `~/wrk/dotfiles` path for remote rebuild commands.
+- Do not hand-author `hardware-configuration.nix` for a host that has not been generated on that machine.
+  Generate it on the target system or live ISO, then stage it before evaluating the flake.
diff --git a/configs/nixos/hosts/zeus/default.nix b/configs/nixos/hosts/zeus/default.nix
index 98bbca4..095fd2a 100644
--- a/configs/nixos/hosts/zeus/default.nix
+++ b/configs/nixos/hosts/zeus/default.nix
@@ -1,14 +1,12 @@
-{ pkgs, ... }:
+{ lib, pkgs, ... }:
 # zeus — Ryzen desktop with AMD graphics.
 # Disk layout is in ./disk.nix.
 # `fileSystems` are derived from it, none declared here.
 {
-  imports = [
-    ./hardware-configuration.nix
-    ./disk.nix
-  ];
+  imports = [ ./disk.nix ] ++ lib.optional (builtins.pathExists ./hardware-configuration.nix) ./hardware-configuration.nix;
 
   system.stateVersion = "26.05";
+  nixpkgs.hostPlatform = "x86_64-linux";
 
   # systemd-boot on the EFI system partition.
   boot.loader.systemd-boot.enable = true;
diff --git a/configs/nixos/hosts/zeus/hardware-configuration.nix b/configs/nixos/hosts/zeus/hardware-configuration.nix
deleted file mode 100644
index 65c6e8d..0000000
--- a/configs/nixos/hosts/zeus/hardware-configuration.nix
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,18 +0,0 @@
-{ lib, modulesPath, ... }:
-# Hardware inferred from the CachyOS inventory for this desktop.
-# disko derives `fileSystems` and the LUKS device, none declared here.
-{
-  imports = [ (modulesPath + "/installer/scan/not-detected.nix") ];
-
-  boot.initrd.availableKernelModules = [
-    "ahci"
-    "nvme"
-    "sd_mod"
-    "xhci_pci"
-  ];
-  boot.initrd.kernelModules = [ ];
-  boot.kernelModules = [ "kvm-amd" ];
-  boot.extraModulePackages = [ ];
-
-  nixpkgs.hostPlatform = lib.mkDefault "x86_64-linux";
-}