diff --git a/apps/web/src/app.css b/apps/web/src/app.css
index c6a6c02f7..59ff2d170 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/app.css
+++ b/apps/web/src/app.css
@@ -1947,22 +1947,21 @@ select:disabled,
    question per phase. Deliberately does not reuse `--radius` — this chrome
    commits to square corners everywhere, the rest of the app does not. */
 .onboarding-shell {
-  display: grid;
   min-height: 100svh;
   background: var(--background);
 }
 
 .onboarding-form-col {
-  position: relative;
   display: flex;
   flex-direction: column;
+  min-height: 100svh;
 }
 
 .onboarding-brand {
   display: flex;
   align-items: center;
   gap: 0.625rem;
-  padding: 2rem;
+  padding: 1.5rem 2rem;
   font-size: 1rem;
   font-weight: 600;
   letter-spacing: -0.025em;
@@ -1974,8 +1973,8 @@ select:disabled,
   width: 1.75rem;
   flex-shrink: 0;
   place-items: center;
-  border-radius: 0;
-  background: var(--shell-accent);
+  border-radius: var(--radius);
+  background: var(--primary);
   color: var(--primary-foreground);
 }
 
@@ -1985,59 +1984,54 @@ select:disabled,
 }
 
 .onboarding-form-slot {
-  display: flex;
   flex: 1;
-  align-items: center;
-  justify-content: center;
-  padding: 1rem 2rem 4rem;
+  padding: 4vh 1.5rem 4rem;
 }
 
 .onboarding-form {
   width: 100%;
-  max-width: 30rem;
+  max-width: 35rem;
+  margin: 0 auto;
 }
 
-.onboarding-panel {
-  position: relative;
-  display: none;
-  overflow: hidden;
-  background: var(--foreground);
+/* Step progress: charcoal for done, ink-on-line for now, muted for ahead. */
+.onboarding-progress {
+  display: flex;
+  gap: 6px;
+  margin: 0 0 1.75rem;
+  padding: 0;
+  list-style: none;
 }
 
-.dark .onboarding-panel {
-  background: var(--card);
+.onboarding-progress li {
+  flex: 1;
+  height: 4px;
+  border-radius: 2px;
+  background: var(--border);
 }
 
-.onboarding-panel-fallback {
-  position: absolute;
-  inset: 0;
-  height: 100%;
-  width: 100%;
-  object-fit: cover;
+.onboarding-progress li[data-state="done"] {
+  background: var(--foreground);
 }
 
-.onboarding-panel-dither {
-  position: absolute;
-  inset: 0;
+.onboarding-progress li[data-state="now"] {
+  background: var(--shell-accent);
 }
 
-@media (min-width: 64rem) {
-  .onboarding-shell {
-    grid-template-columns: 1fr 1fr;
-  }
-
-  .onboarding-panel {
-    display: block;
-  }
+.onboarding-actions {
+  display: flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  gap: 0.625rem;
+  margin-top: 1.25rem;
 }
 
 /* One focused question per phase, large type, no card chrome around it —
    the whitespace of the form column does the framing. */
 .onboarding-title {
   margin: 0 0 0.75rem;
-  font-size: 2rem;
+  font-size: 1.875rem;
   line-height: 1.15;
-  font-weight: 600;
+  font-weight: 800;
   letter-spacing: -0.02em;
 }
 
@@ -2072,32 +2066,6 @@ select:disabled,
   gap: 0.875rem;
 }
 
-/* Square corners throughout the wizard's own inputs and buttons — the one
-   deliberate departure from the app's default `--radius`. */
-.onboarding-content input,
-.onboarding-content textarea,
-.onboarding-content button,
-.onboarding-content [role="radiogroup"] button {
-  border-radius: 0;
-}
-
-/* The escape hatch below the form: low-emphasis on purpose, since
-   connecting a provider is still the primary path — this is only for the
-   account that genuinely has nothing to paste yet. */
-.onboarding-credential-skip {
-  display: flex;
-  flex-direction: column;
-  align-items: flex-start;
-  gap: 0.25rem;
-  margin-top: -0.25rem;
-}
-
-.onboarding-credential-skip-hint {
-  margin: 0;
-  font-size: 0.8125rem;
-  color: var(--muted-foreground);
-}
-
 /* The one-click paths sit above the key forms, side by side in a
    two-column row so both fit without stacking the page tall — each card
    stays square-cornered like the rest of the wizard, with the shell
@@ -2179,12 +2147,6 @@ select:disabled,
   color: var(--muted-foreground);
 }
 
-.onboarding-name-form button[type="submit"],
-.onboarding-credential-form button[type="submit"] {
-  margin-top: 0.5rem;
-  align-self: flex-start;
-}
-
 .onboarding-provider-picker {
   display: flex;
   flex-wrap: wrap;
diff --git a/apps/web/src/onboarding/onboarding-layout.tsx b/apps/web/src/onboarding/onboarding-layout.tsx
index 94c0d9c0e..40f036ffc 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/onboarding/onboarding-layout.tsx
+++ b/apps/web/src/onboarding/onboarding-layout.tsx
@@ -1,16 +1,19 @@
 import { CorbitsMark } from "@corbits/react-ui";
 import type { ReactNode } from "react";
 
-import { DitherBackground } from "../auth/dither-background";
+const STEP_LABELS = ["Workspace", "Model", "Myra"] as const;
 
 /**
- * Full-screen wizard frame, modeled on `AuthLayout`'s two-column shell for
- * visual continuity with the sign-in screen: a form column on the left and
- * a dithered brand panel on the right (hidden on small screens). Wider than
- * the auth form column — the credential step's provider picker and the
- * guidance cards need more space than a login form does.
+ * Single centered column with a step progress bar, matching the onboarding
+ * mockup. `step` is the index of the current step (0-2).
  */
-export function OnboardingLayout({ children }: { readonly children: ReactNode }) {
+export function OnboardingLayout({
+  step,
+  children,
+}: {
+  readonly step: 0 | 1 | 2;
+  readonly children: ReactNode;
+}) {
   return (
     <div className="onboarding-shell">
       <main className="onboarding-form-col">
@@ -22,14 +25,21 @@ export function OnboardingLayout({ children }: { readonly children: ReactNode })
         </div>
 
         <div className="onboarding-form-slot">
-          <div className="onboarding-form">{children}</div>
+          <div className="onboarding-form">
+            <ol className="onboarding-progress" aria-label="Setup progress">
+              {STEP_LABELS.map((label, index) => (
+                <li
+                  key={label}
+                  data-state={index < step ? "done" : index === step ? "now" : "ahead"}
+                  aria-label={label}
+                  aria-current={index === step ? "step" : undefined}
+                />
+              ))}
+            </ol>
+            {children}
+          </div>
         </div>
       </main>
-
-      <div aria-hidden className="onboarding-panel">
-        <img src="/images/hero-dither.png" alt="" className="onboarding-panel-fallback" />
-        <DitherBackground className="onboarding-panel-dither" />
-      </div>
     </div>
   );
 }
diff --git a/apps/web/src/onboarding/provider-connect-step.tsx b/apps/web/src/onboarding/provider-connect-step.tsx
index ba26f48c1..cb34a2484 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/onboarding/provider-connect-step.tsx
+++ b/apps/web/src/onboarding/provider-connect-step.tsx
@@ -171,10 +171,12 @@ export function ProviderConnectStep({
   tenantId,
   onConnected,
   onError,
+  onSkip,
 }: {
   readonly tenantId: string;
   readonly onConnected: (offering: ExistingOffering) => void;
   readonly onError: (message: string) => void;
+  readonly onSkip: () => void;
 }) {
   const [selected, setSelected] = useState<string | null>(null);
   const [apiKey, setApiKey] = useState("");
@@ -417,9 +419,14 @@ export function ProviderConnectStep({
           />
         </label>
       )}
-      <Button type="submit" disabled={submitting || waiting || !ready}>
-        {submitLabel}
-      </Button>
+      <div className="onboarding-actions">
+        <Button type="submit" variant="primary" disabled={submitting || waiting || !ready}>
+          {submitLabel}
+        </Button>
+        <Button type="button" variant="ghost" onClick={onSkip}>
+          Skip for now
+        </Button>
+      </div>
     </form>
   );
 }
diff --git a/apps/web/src/pages/onboarding-page.tsx b/apps/web/src/pages/onboarding-page.tsx
index 02846b3ac..0be66e772 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/pages/onboarding-page.tsx
+++ b/apps/web/src/pages/onboarding-page.tsx
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import { ensurePrimaryTenant, runPortableClientBootstrap } from "../client-boots
 import { createFetchStockHub, findOwnedTenants } from "../needs-converge";
 import { deployMyraSource } from "../myra-deploy";
 import { useNavigate } from "../navigation";
+import { NEW_WORKBENCH_PATH } from "../routes";
 import { triggerFirstLoginProvisioning } from "../onboarding";
 import { OnboardingLayout } from "../onboarding/onboarding-layout";
 import {
@@ -184,7 +185,7 @@ export function OnboardingPage({ user }: { readonly user: SessionUser }) {
 
   if (state.phase === "checking" || state.phase === "resolving-tenant") {
     return (
-      <OnboardingLayout>
+      <OnboardingLayout step={0}>
         <div className="onboarding-phase onboarding-phase--loading" key="checking">
           <WorkbenchLoadingState
             delayMs={0}
@@ -199,11 +200,11 @@ export function OnboardingPage({ user }: { readonly user: SessionUser }) {
 
   if (state.phase === "provider-setup") {
     return (
-      <OnboardingLayout>
+      <OnboardingLayout step={1}>
         <div className="onboarding-phase onboarding-phase--credential" key="provider-setup">
-          <h1 className="onboarding-title">Connect a model provider</h1>
+          <h1 className="onboarding-title">Connect a brain</h1>
           <p className="onboarding-subtitle">
-            Myra needs one working inference credential before she can start.
+            Pick a provider and connect it, or skip for now and connect one later in Settings.
           </p>
           <div className="onboarding-content">
             <ProviderConnectStep
@@ -227,6 +228,7 @@ export function OnboardingPage({ user }: { readonly user: SessionUser }) {
                 });
               }}
               onError={(message) => setState({ phase: "error", message })}
+              onSkip={() => navigate(NEW_WORKBENCH_PATH)}
             />
           </div>
         </div>
@@ -236,7 +238,7 @@ export function OnboardingPage({ user }: { readonly user: SessionUser }) {
 
   if (state.phase === "publishing-myra" || state.phase === "installing") {
     return (
-      <OnboardingLayout>
+      <OnboardingLayout step={2}>
         <div className="onboarding-phase onboarding-phase--loading" key="installing">
           <WorkbenchLoadingState
             delayMs={0}
@@ -251,14 +253,19 @@ export function OnboardingPage({ user }: { readonly user: SessionUser }) {
 
   if (state.phase === "setup-pending") {
     return (
-      <OnboardingLayout>
+      <OnboardingLayout step={2}>
         <div className="onboarding-phase" key="setup-pending">
           <h1 className="onboarding-title">Set up your workbench</h1>
           <p className="onboarding-subtitle">{state.message}</p>
           <div className="onboarding-content">
-            <Button variant="outline" onClick={checkStatus}>
-              Check again
-            </Button>
+            <div className="onboarding-actions">
+              <Button variant="primary" onClick={checkStatus}>
+                Check again
+              </Button>
+              <Button variant="ghost" onClick={() => navigate(NEW_WORKBENCH_PATH)}>
+                Skip for now
+              </Button>
+            </div>
           </div>
         </div>
       </OnboardingLayout>
@@ -266,7 +273,7 @@ export function OnboardingPage({ user }: { readonly user: SessionUser }) {
   }
 
   return (
-    <OnboardingLayout>
+    <OnboardingLayout step={0}>
       <div className="onboarding-phase" key="status-error">
         <div className="onboarding-content">
           <EmptyState
@@ -286,9 +293,14 @@ export function OnboardingPage({ user }: { readonly user: SessionUser }) {
               )
             }
             action={
-              <Button variant="outline" onClick={checkStatus}>
-                Try again
-              </Button>
+              <div className="onboarding-actions">
+                <Button variant="primary" onClick={checkStatus}>
+                  Try again
+                </Button>
+                <Button variant="ghost" onClick={() => navigate(NEW_WORKBENCH_PATH)}>
+                  Skip for now
+                </Button>
+              </div>
             }
           />
         </div>