diff --git a/app/api/welcome.py b/app/api/welcome.py
index b09c1c0..7f06c7c 100644
--- a/app/api/welcome.py
+++ b/app/api/welcome.py
@@ -43,6 +43,14 @@ _VALIDATION_STUB_CONTEXT = {
     "today": "2026-01-01",
 }
 
+# Same stub with user=None to validate templates against anonymous /setup visitors.
+# /setup is publicly accessible — templates that reference user.* without an
+# {% if user %} guard will crash with StrictUndefined for anon visitors.
+_VALIDATION_STUB_CONTEXT_ANON = {
+    **{k: v for k, v in _VALIDATION_STUB_CONTEXT.items() if k != "user"},
+    "user": None,
+}
+
 
 class BannerResponse(BaseModel):
     content: str
@@ -93,11 +101,29 @@ async def admin_put_template(
     env = Environment(undefined=StrictUndefined, autoescape=False)
     try:
         template = env.from_string(payload.content)
-        # Render against a stub context so undefined placeholders or runtime
-        # errors are caught here, not when /setup renders for a real user.
+        # Pass 1 — render with an authenticated user stub so undefined
+        # placeholders or runtime errors are caught at save time.
         template.render(**_VALIDATION_STUB_CONTEXT)
     except TemplateError as e:
         raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail=f"Template invalid: {e}")
+
+    # Pass 2 — render with user=None to catch templates that reference user.*
+    # fields without an {% if user %} guard.  /setup is publicly accessible to
+    # anonymous visitors, so a guard-less template would crash with
+    # StrictUndefined at runtime and silently fall back to the default — the
+    # admin would have no idea their override is broken for anon visitors.
+    try:
+        template.render(**_VALIDATION_STUB_CONTEXT_ANON)
+    except TemplateError as e:
+        raise HTTPException(
+            status_code=400,
+            detail=(
+                f"Template fails for anonymous /setup visitors: {e}. "
+                "Wrap user-dependent expressions in {{% if user %}}...{{% endif %}} — "
+                "/setup is publicly accessible to non-logged-in users."
+            ),
+        )
+
     WelcomeTemplateRepository(conn).set(payload.content, updated_by=user["email"])
     return {"status": "ok"}
 
diff --git a/app/web/router.py b/app/web/router.py
index 2d0d56b..603bebb 100644
--- a/app/web/router.py
+++ b/app/web/router.py
@@ -247,52 +247,46 @@ def _build_context(
                 return {k: v for k, v in theme.items() if v}
             return {}
 
-    # Lines + server_url for the "Setup a new Claude Code" preview/clipboard
-    # partial; single source of truth lives in app/web/setup_instructions.py.
-    # Resolve the wheel filename server-side so the URL in the setup snippet
-    # is a PEP 427-compliant path — `uv tool install` rejects bare `agnes.whl`.
-    from app.web.setup_instructions import resolve_lines
-    from app.api.cli_artifacts import _find_wheel
-    _wheel = _find_wheel()
-    _wheel_filename = _wheel.name if _wheel else "agnes.whl"
-
-    # Inline the user's RBAC-allowed marketplace plugins as `claude plugin
-    # install` commands so a single paste also bootstraps the marketplace
-    # and plugin set. Anonymous viewers (no user, or no DB conn) get the
-    # original 6-step layout.
-    plugin_install_names: list[str] = []
-    if user and conn is not None:
-        try:
-            from src import marketplace_filter
-            plugin_install_names = [
-                p["manifest_name"]
-                for p in marketplace_filter.resolve_allowed_plugins(conn, user)
-            ]
-        except Exception:  # pragma: no cover — defensive: never block dashboard render
-            logger.exception("Failed to resolve marketplace plugins for setup prompt")
-            plugin_install_names = []
-
-    # `AGNES_DEBUG_AUTH` is the existing dev/staging gate (see
-    # `app/api/me_debug.py`, `app/web/router.py` template ConfigProxy).
-    # When on, the setup prompt also disables host-scoped git TLS verify
-    # so `claude plugin marketplace add` works against self-signed instances.
-    # Subsumed by the cert trust block when `ca_pem` is loaded below.
-    self_signed_tls = os.environ.get("AGNES_DEBUG_AUTH", "").strip().lower() in (
-        "1", "true", "yes",
-    )
-    server_host = request.url.netloc
-
-    ca_pem = _read_agnes_ca_pem()
-
-    setup_instructions_lines = resolve_lines(
-        _wheel_filename,
-        plugin_install_names=plugin_install_names,
-        self_signed_tls=self_signed_tls,
-        server_host=server_host,
-        ca_pem=ca_pem,
-    )
     ctx_server_url = str(request.base_url).rstrip("/")
 
+    # Lines for the "Setup a new Claude Code" preview/clipboard partial.
+    #
+    # When a DB connection is available, we go through render_agent_prompt_banner
+    # which checks for an admin override first (stored in welcome_template) and
+    # falls back to the live default from setup_instructions.resolve_lines().
+    # This guarantees that both /setup and /dashboard clipboard CTA always reflect
+    # the same content — the override is honoured everywhere.
+    #
+    # When no conn is supplied (e.g. public pages that don't need a DB round-trip)
+    # we fall back to resolve_lines() directly with anonymous/no-plugin context.
+    if conn is not None:
+        from src.welcome_template import render_agent_prompt_banner
+        _script_text = render_agent_prompt_banner(
+            conn, user=user, server_url=ctx_server_url
+        )
+        setup_instructions_lines = _script_text.split("\n")
+    else:
+        # No DB connection — use the unauthenticated default (no override possible,
+        # no marketplace plugins).
+        from app.web.setup_instructions import resolve_lines
+        from app.api.cli_artifacts import _find_wheel
+        _wheel = _find_wheel()
+        _wheel_filename = _wheel.name if _wheel else "agnes.whl"
+
+        self_signed_tls = os.environ.get("AGNES_DEBUG_AUTH", "").strip().lower() in (
+            "1", "true", "yes",
+        )
+        server_host = request.url.netloc
+        ca_pem = _read_agnes_ca_pem()
+
+        setup_instructions_lines = resolve_lines(
+            _wheel_filename,
+            plugin_install_names=[],
+            self_signed_tls=self_signed_tls,
+            server_host=server_host,
+            ca_pem=ca_pem,
+        )
+
     ctx = {
         "request": request,
         "config": ConfigProxy,
diff --git a/tests/test_welcome_template_api.py b/tests/test_welcome_template_api.py
index f1ea249..c3f9fda 100644
--- a/tests/test_welcome_template_api.py
+++ b/tests/test_welcome_template_api.py
@@ -45,10 +45,10 @@ def test_admin_can_set_and_reset_template(seeded_app):
     c = seeded_app["client"]
     admin = _auth(seeded_app["admin_token"])
 
-    # PUT override
+    # PUT override — use an {% if user %} guard so it passes anon validation too
     r = c.put(
         "/api/admin/welcome-template",
-        json={"content": "<p>Hello {{ user.email }}</p>"},
+        json={"content": "<p>{% if user %}Hello {{ user.email }}{% endif %}</p>"},
         headers=admin,
     )
     assert r.status_code == 200
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ def test_admin_can_set_and_reset_template(seeded_app):
     # GET reflects override
     r = c.get("/api/admin/welcome-template", headers=admin)
     assert r.status_code == 200
-    assert r.json()["content"] == "<p>Hello {{ user.email }}</p>"
+    assert r.json()["content"] == "<p>{% if user %}Hello {{ user.email }}{% endif %}</p>"
 
     # DELETE = reset (no banner)
     r = c.delete("/api/admin/welcome-template", headers=admin)
@@ -212,3 +212,72 @@ def test_get_template_default_field_has_server_url_placeholder(seeded_app):
     body = r.json()
     assert "{server_url}" in body["default"]
     assert "{token}" in body["default"]
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Finding #2: PUT validation rejects templates that fail for anonymous visitors
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+def test_put_rejects_template_that_breaks_for_anonymous(seeded_app):
+    """A template referencing user.email without an {% if user %} guard fails
+    for anonymous visitors on /setup (user is None → StrictUndefined raises).
+    PUT validation must catch this and return 400 with a clear message."""
+    c = seeded_app["client"]
+    admin = _auth(seeded_app["admin_token"])
+    r = c.put(
+        "/api/admin/welcome-template",
+        json={"content": "Hello {{ user.email }}"},  # no {% if user %} guard
+        headers=admin,
+    )
+    assert r.status_code == 400
+    detail = r.json()["detail"].lower()
+    assert "anonymous" in detail
+
+
+def test_put_accepts_template_with_user_guard(seeded_app):
+    """The same template wrapped in {% if user %} passes both validation passes."""
+    c = seeded_app["client"]
+    admin = _auth(seeded_app["admin_token"])
+    r = c.put(
+        "/api/admin/welcome-template",
+        json={"content": "{% if user %}Hello {{ user.email }}{% endif %}"},
+        headers=admin,
+    )
+    assert r.status_code == 200
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Finding #1: /dashboard clipboard CTA honours admin override
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+def test_dashboard_clipboard_uses_override_when_set(seeded_app):
+    """When an admin override is saved, the dashboard's SETUP_INSTRUCTIONS_TEMPLATE
+    JS array must contain the override content instead of the default script.
+    The dashboard button copies that array — so the override must appear there."""
+    c = seeded_app["client"]
+    admin = _auth(seeded_app["admin_token"])
+
+    # Save a distinctive override (plain text — no Jinja2 needed).
+    r = c.put(
+        "/api/admin/welcome-template",
+        json={"content": "# CUSTOM_OVERRIDE_MARKER\necho custom-setup"},
+        headers=admin,
+    )
+    assert r.status_code == 200
+
+    # Fetch the dashboard as the admin user (cookie-style auth via access_token).
+    r = c.get("/dashboard", cookies={"access_token": seeded_app["admin_token"]})
+    assert r.status_code == 200
+    body = r.text
+
+    # The override lines must appear in the embedded JS template array.
+    assert "CUSTOM_OVERRIDE_MARKER" in body
+
+    # Reset
+    r = c.delete("/api/admin/welcome-template", headers=admin)
+    assert r.status_code == 204
+
+    # After reset, the override must no longer appear in the dashboard.
+    r = c.get("/dashboard", cookies={"access_token": seeded_app["admin_token"]})
+    assert r.status_code == 200
+    assert "CUSTOM_OVERRIDE_MARKER" not in r.text