diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index cb51915..a6ba779 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -109,3 +109,8 @@ The domain model (Host, Module, Skeleton, Auto-loader, Enable convention, overla
   To actually remove a builtin, list it explicitly with `<engine>.metaData.hidden = true` — an engine entry carrying only `metaData` is treated as a builtin rather than a custom engine.
   Engines are referenced by their current id, which the module maps from the old display names, so the default is `default = "ddg"`, not `"DuckDuckGo"` (the latter only warns and migrates).
   Prove the result by decoding the built file: `mozlz4a -d <search.json.mozlz4>` shows the `_metaData.hidden` flags and `defaultEngineId`.
+- `home.sessionVariables` do **not** reach the Hyprland session, so anything the compositor reads from its environment (cursor theme, toolkit hints) has to be declared elsewhere.
+  home-manager writes those variables to `hm-session-vars.sh`, which only a login shell sources; UWSM starts the graphical session without it, so the compositor's environment never gains them.
+  This is why a Stylix cursor (`XCURSOR_THEME`/`XCURSOR_SIZE` via `home.pointerCursor`) silently fails to apply and Hyprland draws its built-in cursor: the variables exist in `sessionVariables` but not in the running session (`tr '\0' '\n' < /proc/$(pgrep -x Hyprland)/environ` shows them absent).
+  The fix is Hyprland's own `env = KEY,VALUE` directive in `settings`, read at compositor startup regardless of the shell profile; `modules/desktop/hyprland/hyprland.nix` sets the cursor that way, sourced from `config.stylix.cursor`.
+  Bibata ships XCursor format only (no `hyprcursor/` dir), which Hyprland renders through its XCursor fallback, so both `XCURSOR_*` and `HYPRCURSOR_*` naming the same theme are safe.
diff --git a/modules/desktop/hyprland/hyprland.nix b/modules/desktop/hyprland/hyprland.nix
index 3344aba..d056e4f 100644
--- a/modules/desktop/hyprland/hyprland.nix
+++ b/modules/desktop/hyprland/hyprland.nix
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 let
   cfg = config.modules.desktop.hyprland;
   user = config.user.name;
+  cursor = config.stylix.cursor;
 
   # Numbered-workspace switch and move for 1..9, the operator's i3 muscle memory.
   workspaceBinds = lib.concatMap (n: [
@@ -62,6 +63,19 @@ in
         "$mod" = "SUPER";
         "$terminal" = "alacritty";
 
+        # Hand the cursor theme to the compositor directly. UWSM launches the
+        # session without the shell profile that carries the pointer-cursor
+        # variables, so without this Hyprland never sees a theme and falls back
+        # to its built-in cursor. Bibata ships XCursor only; the hyprcursor
+        # variables name the same theme, which Hyprland resolves through its
+        # XCursor fallback.
+        env = lib.optionals (cursor != null) [
+          "XCURSOR_THEME,${cursor.name}"
+          "XCURSOR_SIZE,${toString cursor.size}"
+          "HYPRCURSOR_THEME,${cursor.name}"
+          "HYPRCURSOR_SIZE,${toString cursor.size}"
+        ];
+
         input = {
           kb_layout = "us";
           # Caps is a second Escape.
diff --git a/modules/desktop/theming.nix b/modules/desktop/theming.nix
index f7fa96b..8a3b3ca 100644
--- a/modules/desktop/theming.nix
+++ b/modules/desktop/theming.nix
@@ -34,6 +34,8 @@ in
 
       cursor = {
         package = pkgs.bibata-cursors;
+        # Solid white with a dark outline, so it stays easy to spot against the
+        # dark Nord wallpaper.
         name = "Bibata-Modern-Ice";
         size = 24;
       };