diff --git a/justfile b/justfile
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..72c83f1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/justfile
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+# Repo helpers. Run `just` to list recipes.
+
+default:
+    @just --list
+
+# Sync live DMS config into this host's seed dir. Pass --dry-run, --settings-only, or a host module name.
+sync-dms *args='':
+    ./modules/desktop/shells/dms/_private/sync-seed.sh {{args}}
diff --git a/modules/deploy/navi.nix b/modules/deploy/navi.nix
index d034e62..618db95 100644
--- a/modules/deploy/navi.nix
+++ b/modules/deploy/navi.nix
@@ -116,16 +116,6 @@ in
       "x86_64-linux"
       "aarch64-linux"
     ]) {
-      devShells.default = pkgs.mkShell {
-        packages = [ inputs.navi.packages.${system}.default ];
-        shellHook = ''
-          echo "Navi fleet deploy (from repo root):"
-          echo "  navi apply --on <host>     # build + switch one host"
-          echo "  navi apply-local --node 14900k --sudo   # switch this machine locally (needs root), --node if hostname differs"
-          echo "  navi tui                   # interactive fleet dashboard"
-        '';
-      };
-
       apps = {
         navi = {
           type = "app";
diff --git a/modules/desktop/shells/dms/_private/default-settings.nix b/modules/desktop/shells/dms/_private/default-settings.nix
index f21b921..22bd508 100644
--- a/modules/desktop/shells/dms/_private/default-settings.nix
+++ b/modules/desktop/shells/dms/_private/default-settings.nix
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 # Generic defaults written once to ~/.config/DankMaterialShell/settings.json on first login.
-# Hosts can override via `chiasson.desktop.shells.dms.defaultSettingsFile` (see 14900k).
+# Hosts can override via `chiasson.desktop.shells.dms.defaultSeedDir` (see 14900k).
 # After seeding, DMS settings are owned by the UI — rebuilds do not overwrite them.
+#
+# To refresh host seeds from live DMS config: `just sync-dms`
 {
   lib,
   gpuTempEnabled ? true,
diff --git a/modules/desktop/shells/dms/_private/sync-seed.sh b/modules/desktop/shells/dms/_private/sync-seed.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..5f359de
--- /dev/null
+++ b/modules/desktop/shells/dms/_private/sync-seed.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,119 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Sync live DMS config into modules/hosts/<host>/_private/dms-defaults/ (see defaultSeedDir).
+set -euo pipefail
+
+usage() {
+  cat <<EOF
+Usage: $(basename "$0") [options] [host]
+
+Copy ~/.config/DankMaterialShell/{settings,plugin_settings}.json into the
+host seed directory (pretty-printed). Host defaults to this machine's hostname.
+
+Options:
+  --settings-only   Skip plugin_settings.json
+  -n, --dry-run     Preview without writing
+  -h, --help
+
+Examples:
+  just sync-dms
+  $(basename "$0") --dry-run ideapad
+EOF
+}
+
+find_repo_root() {
+  local dir="${1:-$PWD}"
+  while [[ "$dir" != "/" ]]; do
+    if [[ -f "$dir/flake.nix" && -d "$dir/modules/hosts" ]]; then
+      printf '%s\n' "$dir"
+      return 0
+    fi
+    dir="$(dirname "$dir")"
+  done
+  return 1
+}
+
+resolve_host_module() {
+  local hn="$1" repo_root="$2"
+  local hosts_dir="${repo_root}/modules/hosts" dir name
+
+  if [[ -d "${hosts_dir}/${hn}/_private" ]]; then
+    printf '%s' "$hn"
+    return 0
+  fi
+
+  for dir in "${hosts_dir}"/*/; do
+    name="$(basename "$dir")"
+    [[ -f "${dir}configuration.nix" ]] \
+      && grep -qF "hostName = \"${hn}\";" "${dir}configuration.nix" \
+      && { printf '%s' "$name"; return 0; }
+  done
+
+  echo "error: no host module for hostname '${hn}' (pass module name explicitly)" >&2
+  return 1
+}
+
+sync_json() {
+  local source="$1" dest="$2" label="$3"
+
+  [[ -f "$source" ]] || { echo "skip: $label not found" >&2; return 0; }
+
+  jq empty "$source"
+  if [[ "$DRY_RUN" -eq 1 ]]; then
+    echo "  $source -> $dest"
+    return 0
+  fi
+
+  local tmp
+  tmp="$(mktemp)"
+  jq . "$source" >"$tmp"
+  mv "$tmp" "$dest"
+  echo "Updated $dest"
+  UPDATED+=("$dest")
+}
+
+DRY_RUN=0
+SETTINGS_ONLY=0
+HOST=""
+UPDATED=()
+
+while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
+  case "$1" in
+    -n | --dry-run) DRY_RUN=1; shift ;;
+    --settings-only) SETTINGS_ONLY=1; shift ;;
+    -h | --help) usage; exit 0 ;;
+    -*) echo "error: unknown option: $1" >&2; usage >&2; exit 1 ;;
+    *) HOST="$1"; shift ;;
+  esac
+done
+
+REPO_ROOT="${CHIASSON_NIX_ROOT:-$(find_repo_root "$PWD" || true)}"
+[[ -n "$REPO_ROOT" ]] || { echo "error: run from chiasson-nix repo root" >&2; exit 1; }
+command -v jq >/dev/null || { echo "error: jq required" >&2; exit 1; }
+
+if [[ -z "$HOST" ]]; then
+  SYSTEM_HOSTNAME="$(hostname -s 2>/dev/null || hostname)"
+  HOST="$(resolve_host_module "$SYSTEM_HOSTNAME" "$REPO_ROOT")"
+  [[ "$HOST" == "$SYSTEM_HOSTNAME" ]] \
+    && echo "Using host module: $HOST" \
+    || echo "Using host module: $HOST (hostname: $SYSTEM_HOSTNAME)"
+fi
+
+HOST_PRIVATE="${REPO_ROOT}/modules/hosts/${HOST}/_private"
+SEED_DIR="${HOST_PRIVATE}/dms-defaults"
+DMS_CONFIG="${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}/DankMaterialShell"
+
+[[ -d "$HOST_PRIVATE" ]] || { echo "error: missing $HOST_PRIVATE" >&2; exit 1; }
+[[ -f "${DMS_CONFIG}/settings.json" ]] || {
+  echo "error: missing ${DMS_CONFIG}/settings.json" >&2
+  exit 1
+}
+
+[[ "$DRY_RUN" -eq 1 ]] && echo "Would sync into $SEED_DIR:"
+[[ "$DRY_RUN" -eq 0 ]] && mkdir -p "$SEED_DIR"
+
+sync_json "${DMS_CONFIG}/settings.json" "${SEED_DIR}/settings.json" settings.json
+[[ "$SETTINGS_ONLY" -eq 0 ]] \
+  && sync_json "${DMS_CONFIG}/plugin_settings.json" "${SEED_DIR}/plugin_settings.json" plugin_settings.json
+
+[[ "$DRY_RUN" -eq 1 || ${#UPDATED[@]} -eq 0 ]] && exit 0
+git -C "$REPO_ROOT" diff --stat -- "${UPDATED[@]}" 2>/dev/null || true
diff --git a/modules/desktop/shells/dms/default.nix b/modules/desktop/shells/dms/default.nix
index 14cd2a8..9e220de 100644
--- a/modules/desktop/shells/dms/default.nix
+++ b/modules/desktop/shells/dms/default.nix
@@ -38,13 +38,15 @@
         example = [ "sudo" "nixos-rebuild" "switch" "--flake" ".#14900k" ];
         description = "Command used by DMS nix-monitor widget for rebuild actions.";
       };
-      defaultSettingsFile = lib.mkOption {
+      defaultSeedDir = lib.mkOption {
         type = lib.types.nullOr lib.types.path;
         default = null;
-        example = ./dms-default-settings.json;
+        example = ./dms-defaults;
         description = ''
-          Host-specific first-run `settings.json` seed. When set, replaces the bundled
-          `default-settings.nix` template on fresh profiles.
+          Host-specific first-run DMS config seed directory. When set, copies
+          `settings.json` (required) and `plugin_settings.json` (optional) from this
+          directory into `~/.config/DankMaterialShell/` on fresh profiles.
+          Replaces the bundled `default-settings.nix` template for `settings.json`.
         '';
       };
       bundleThirdPartyPlugins = lib.mkOption {
@@ -101,7 +103,6 @@
         ])
         ++ (cfg.extraRightBarWidgets or [ ]);
       programs.nix-monitor.rebuildCommand = rebuildCommand;
-      dms.defaultSettingsFile = cfg.defaultSettingsFile or null;
       dms.bundleThirdPartyPlugins = cfg.bundleThirdPartyPlugins or true;
     };
   };
diff --git a/modules/desktop/shells/dms/home-manager/default.nix b/modules/desktop/shells/dms/home-manager/default.nix
index 5663b18..9b166b2 100644
--- a/modules/desktop/shells/dms/home-manager/default.nix
+++ b/modules/desktop/shells/dms/home-manager/default.nix
@@ -59,16 +59,26 @@
   '';
 
   jsonFormat = pkgs.formats.json { };
-  dmsSeedSettings =
-    if cfg.defaultSettingsFile != null then
-      builtins.fromJSON (builtins.readFile cfg.defaultSettingsFile)
+  dmsConfigDir = "${config.xdg.configHome}/DankMaterialShell";
+  defaultSeedDir = lib.attrByPath [ "chiasson" "desktop" "shells" "dms" "defaultSeedDir" ] null osConfig;
+
+  dmsSeedSources =
+    if defaultSeedDir != null then
+      {
+        "settings.json" = defaultSeedDir + "/settings.json";
+      }
+      // lib.optionalAttrs (builtins.pathExists (defaultSeedDir + "/plugin_settings.json")) {
+        "plugin_settings.json" = defaultSeedDir + "/plugin_settings.json";
+      }
     else
-      import ../_private/default-settings.nix {
-        inherit lib gpuTempEnabled;
-        extraRightBarWidgets = cfg.extraRightBarWidgets;
+      {
+        "settings.json" = jsonFormat.generate "dms-settings-seed.json" (
+          import ../_private/default-settings.nix {
+            inherit lib gpuTempEnabled;
+            extraRightBarWidgets = cfg.extraRightBarWidgets;
+          }
+        );
       };
-  dmsSeedFile = jsonFormat.generate "dms-settings-seed.json" dmsSeedSettings;
-  dmsSettingsPath = "${config.xdg.configHome}/DankMaterialShell/settings.json";
 
   # Directory name must match each plugin's `id` in plugin.json.
   thirdPartyPlugins = {
@@ -158,15 +168,6 @@ in {
       Ship rbw-lock-toggle into `~/.config/DankMaterialShell/plugins/rbwLockToggle/` (directory name matches plugin id; Bitwarden vault lock/unlock in the bar).
     '';
 
-    dms.defaultSettingsFile = lib.mkOption {
-      type = lib.types.nullOr lib.types.path;
-      default = null;
-      description = ''
-        Host-specific first-run `settings.json` seed. When set, replaces the bundled
-        `default-settings.nix` template on fresh profiles.
-      '';
-    };
-
     dms.bundleThirdPartyPlugins = lib.mkOption {
       type = lib.types.bool;
       default = true;
@@ -270,22 +271,25 @@ in {
     session = { };
   };
 
-  # Detach store symlink so UI edits survive rebuilds; seed defaults only on a fresh profile.
-  home.activation.dmsMaterializeSettings = lib.hm.dag.entryBefore [ "writeBoundary" ] ''
-    settingsFile=${lib.escapeShellArg dmsSettingsPath}
-    if [ -L "$settingsFile" ]; then
-      mkdir -p "$(dirname "$settingsFile")"
-      ${pkgs.coreutils}/bin/cp --remove-destination -L "$settingsFile" "$settingsFile"
-    fi
-  '';
-
-  home.activation.dmsSeedSettings = lib.hm.dag.entryAfter [ "writeBoundary" ] ''
-    settingsFile=${lib.escapeShellArg dmsSettingsPath}
-    mkdir -p "$(dirname "$settingsFile")"
-    if [ ! -e "$settingsFile" ]; then
-      ${pkgs.coreutils}/bin/cp ${lib.escapeShellArg dmsSeedFile} "$settingsFile"
-      chmod u+w "$settingsFile"
-    fi
+  # Detach store symlinks so UI edits survive rebuilds; seed defaults only on a fresh profile.
+  home.activation.dmsSeedConfig = lib.hm.dag.entryAfter [ "writeBoundary" ] ''
+    ${lib.concatMapStringsSep "\n" (
+      fileName:
+      let
+        dest = "${dmsConfigDir}/${fileName}";
+        src = dmsSeedSources.${fileName};
+      in ''
+        dest=${lib.escapeShellArg dest}
+        mkdir -p "$(dirname "$dest")"
+        if [ -L "$dest" ]; then
+          ${pkgs.coreutils}/bin/cp --remove-destination -L "$dest" "$dest"
+        fi
+        if [ ! -e "$dest" ]; then
+          ${pkgs.coreutils}/bin/cp ${lib.escapeShellArg src} "$dest"
+          chmod u+w "$dest"
+        fi
+      ''
+    ) (lib.attrNames dmsSeedSources)}
   '';
 
   # matugen won't create missing output_path parents; run before DMS theme generation.
diff --git a/modules/devshell.nix b/modules/devshell.nix
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..17c08b2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/modules/devshell.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+{ inputs, lib, ... }:
+{
+  perSystem =
+    {
+      pkgs,
+      system,
+      ...
+    }:
+    lib.optionalAttrs (lib.elem system [
+      "x86_64-linux"
+      "aarch64-linux"
+    ]) {
+      devShells.default = pkgs.mkShell {
+        packages = [
+          inputs.navi.packages.${system}.default
+          pkgs.just
+          pkgs.jq
+        ];
+        shellHook = ''
+          echo "Repo helpers (from repo root):"
+          echo "  just                       # list justfile recipes"
+          echo "  just sync-dms [--dry-run]     # copy live DMS config into host seed dir"
+          echo ""
+          echo "Navi fleet deploy:"
+          echo "  navi apply --on <host>     # build + switch one host"
+          echo "  navi apply-local --node 14900k --sudo   # switch locally (needs root)"
+          echo "  navi tui                   # interactive fleet dashboard"
+        '';
+      };
+    };
+}
diff --git a/modules/hosts/14900k/_private/dms-defaults/plugin_settings.json b/modules/hosts/14900k/_private/dms-defaults/plugin_settings.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..134a7ae
--- /dev/null
+++ b/modules/hosts/14900k/_private/dms-defaults/plugin_settings.json
@@ -0,0 +1,278 @@
+{
+  "dankDesktopWeather": {
+    "enabled": true
+  },
+  "nixMonitor": {
+    "enabled": true
+  },
+  "newClock": {
+    "enabled": true,
+    "clockStyle": "digital",
+    "showSeconds": true,
+    "showDate": true
+  },
+  "rbwLockToggle": {
+    "enabled": true
+  },
+  "ambientSound": {
+    "enabled": true,
+    "whenDoneActions": [],
+    "soundVolumes": {
+      "acoustic-guitar": 100,
+      "warm-piano": 100,
+      "lofi-beats": 100
+    }
+  },
+  "bongoCat": {
+    "enabled": true,
+    "selectedDevicePath": "/dev/input/event4"
+  },
+  "calculator": {
+    "enabled": true,
+    "trigger": "="
+  },
+  "dankGifSearch": {
+    "enabled": false
+  },
+  "homeAssistantMonitor": {
+    "enabled": true,
+    "hassUrl": "https://home.chiasson.cloud/",
+    "hassTokenPath": "/run/secrets/home-assistant/auth-token",
+    "showButtonsOnStatusBar": true,
+    "showAttributes": false
+  },
+  "unifiedTaskbar": {
+    "enabled": true,
+    "allMonitors": false,
+    "reverseMonitorOrder": false,
+    "groupByApp": false,
+    "compactMode": false,
+    "filledPills": false,
+    "iconPadding": 4,
+    "itemSpacing": 2
+  },
+  "widgetGroup": {
+    "enabled": true,
+    "variants": [
+      {
+        "icon": "widgets",
+        "label": "",
+        "display": "both",
+        "expandDir": "right",
+        "targets": [
+          "rbwLockToggle"
+        ],
+        "mainTarget": "",
+        "mainClickButton": "right",
+        "mainMarkerColor": "primary",
+        "expandIndicatorPosition": "",
+        "showArrow": false,
+        "showArrowOnlyOnHover": false,
+        "hideMain": false,
+        "id": "variant_1781997418516",
+        "name": "Test",
+        "autoCollapse": false,
+        "autoCollapseSeconds": 5,
+        "autoCollapseOnLeave": false
+      },
+      {
+        "icon": "bug_report",
+        "label": "",
+        "display": "both",
+        "expandDir": "right",
+        "targets": [
+          "nixMonitor",
+          "cpuUsage",
+          "memUsage",
+          "diskUsage",
+          "cpuTemp",
+          "gpuTemp"
+        ],
+        "mainTarget": "cpuUsage",
+        "mainClickButton": "right",
+        "mainMarkerColor": "primary",
+        "expandIndicatorPosition": "",
+        "showArrow": false,
+        "showArrowOnlyOnHover": false,
+        "hideMain": false,
+        "id": "variant_1781999113601",
+        "name": "SysInfo",
+        "autoCollapse": false,
+        "autoCollapseSeconds": 5,
+        "autoCollapseOnLeave": false
+      }
+    ]
+  },
+  "desktopWidgetToggle": {
+    "enabled": false,
+    "activeGroupIds": [],
+    "activeGroupId": "",
+    "groups": [
+      {
+        "id": "g1",
+        "name": "Group 1",
+        "icon": "widgets",
+        "widgets": [],
+        "overrideIndividual": false
+      },
+      {
+        "id": "g_1781998217464_d0ngn3bo3",
+        "name": "New Group",
+        "icon": "widgets",
+        "widgets": [],
+        "overrideIndividual": true,
+        "widgetOverrides": {}
+      }
+    ],
+    "conflictMode": "single"
+  },
+  "dropdownMenu": {
+    "enabled": true,
+    "variants": [
+      {
+        "icon": "expand_circle_down",
+        "text": "",
+        "items": [
+          {
+            "type": "popout",
+            "icon": "",
+            "label": "Home Assistant",
+            "display": "both",
+            "widgetId": "homeAssistantMonitor"
+          }
+        ],
+        "id": "variant_1781998267426",
+        "name": "Main Drop"
+      }
+    ]
+  },
+  "ocrScanner": {
+    "enabled": true
+  },
+  "obsidianSearch": {
+    "enabled": true,
+    "vaultPath": "/mnt/zimaos/Obsidian/Home/",
+    "isFlatpak": true
+  },
+  "dankObsidian": {
+    "enabled": false
+  },
+  "dankPinentry": {
+    "enabled": true
+  },
+  "dankVault": {
+    "enabled": true,
+    "backend": "rbw"
+  },
+  "nixPackageRunner": {
+    "enabled": true,
+    "runInTerminal": false
+  },
+  "dmsconky": {
+    "enabled": true
+  },
+  "discordVoice": {
+    "enabled": false
+  },
+  "emojiLauncher": {
+    "enabled": true,
+    "trigger": ":",
+    "pasteOnSelect": true,
+    "recentEmojis": "🃏"
+  },
+  "webSearch": {
+    "enabled": true,
+    "searchEngines": [],
+    "disabledEngines": [],
+    "trigger": "#"
+  },
+  "wallpaperCarousel": {
+    "enabled": true,
+    "cacheSize": 30,
+    "holdDelay": 1206
+  },
+  "ephemera": {
+    "enabled": true,
+    "provider": "gemini",
+    "model": "gemini-3-flash-preview"
+  },
+  "aiAssistant": {
+    "enabled": true,
+    "providers": {
+      "openai": {
+        "baseUrl": "https://api.openai.com",
+        "model": "gpt-5.2",
+        "apiKey": "",
+        "saveApiKey": false,
+        "apiKeyEnvVar": "",
+        "temperature": 0.7,
+        "maxTokens": 4096,
+        "timeout": 30
+      },
+      "anthropic": {
+        "baseUrl": "https://api.anthropic.com",
+        "model": "claude-sonnet-4-5",
+        "apiKey": "",
+        "saveApiKey": false,
+        "apiKeyEnvVar": "",
+        "temperature": 0.7,
+        "maxTokens": 4096,
+        "timeout": 30
+      },
+      "gemini": {
+        "baseUrl": "https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com",
+        "model": "gemini-3-flash-preview",
+        "apiKey": "",
+        "saveApiKey": false,
+        "apiKeyEnvVar": "",
+        "temperature": 0.7,
+        "maxTokens": 4096,
+        "timeout": 30,
+        "geminiWebSearch": false
+      },
+      "inception": {
+        "baseUrl": "https://api.inceptionlabs.ai/v1",
+        "model": "mercury-2",
+        "apiKey": "",
+        "saveApiKey": false,
+        "apiKeyEnvVar": "",
+        "temperature": 0.75,
+        "maxTokens": 8192,
+        "timeout": 30,
+        "inceptionReasoningEffort": "medium",
+        "inceptionReasoningSummary": true,
+        "inceptionReasoningSummaryWait": false
+      },
+      "ollama": {
+        "baseUrl": "http://localhost:11434",
+        "model": "",
+        "apiKey": "",
+        "saveApiKey": false,
+        "apiKeyEnvVar": "",
+        "temperature": 0.7,
+        "maxTokens": 4096,
+        "timeout": 30
+      },
+      "custom": {
+        "baseUrl": "https://api.openai.com",
+        "model": "gpt-5.2",
+        "apiKey": "",
+        "saveApiKey": false,
+        "apiKeyEnvVar": "",
+        "temperature": 0.7,
+        "maxTokens": 4096,
+        "timeout": 30
+      }
+    },
+    "provider": "openai",
+    "baseUrl": "https://api.openai.com",
+    "model": "gpt-5.2",
+    "apiKey": "",
+    "saveApiKey": false,
+    "apiKeyEnvVar": "",
+    "temperature": 0.7,
+    "maxTokens": 4096,
+    "timeout": 30,
+    "geminiWebSearch": false
+  }
+}
diff --git a/modules/hosts/14900k/_private/dms-default-settings.json b/modules/hosts/14900k/_private/dms-defaults/settings.json
similarity index 99%
rename from modules/hosts/14900k/_private/dms-default-settings.json
rename to modules/hosts/14900k/_private/dms-defaults/settings.json
index d041e7a..8cf7113 100644
--- a/modules/hosts/14900k/_private/dms-default-settings.json
+++ b/modules/hosts/14900k/_private/dms-defaults/settings.json
@@ -1152,4 +1152,4 @@
   },
   "launcherPluginOrder": [],
   "configVersion": 5
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
diff --git a/modules/hosts/14900k/configuration.nix b/modules/hosts/14900k/configuration.nix
index 3014e89..07022da 100644
--- a/modules/hosts/14900k/configuration.nix
+++ b/modules/hosts/14900k/configuration.nix
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@
             ".#14900k"
           ];
           enableRbwLockToggle = true;
-          defaultSettingsFile = ./_private/dms-default-settings.json;
+          defaultSeedDir = ./_private/dms-defaults;
         };
       };