diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index eed1b4d..6c112c0 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -2,3 +2,5 @@
 result
 /nix
 .DS_Store
+hosts/*-hardware.nix
+hosts/local-*.nix
diff --git a/agents.md b/agents.md
index c438683..9587cb5 100644
--- a/agents.md
+++ b/agents.md
@@ -296,3 +296,5 @@ If you want, next we can:
 - Network: DHCP on primary interface (e.g., `ensp1s0` in VM); SSH reachable once IP obtained.
 - Purpose: sandbox for validating flake changes before baking into the ISO.
 - Workflow: sync repo to VM and `nixos-rebuild switch --flake /etc/nixos#installer`; rebuild ISO **only on explicit request** (ISO must remain hardware-agnostic, no embedded host-specific files).
+- Host-local files: the installer writes `hosts/local-<hostname>.nix` and `hosts/local-<hostname>-hardware.nix` on the target. These are ignored by git. When syncing, exclude them to avoid deletion:
+  `rsync -a --exclude 'hosts/local-*.nix' --exclude 'hosts/*-hardware.nix' --exclude '.git' . admin@<vm>:/home/admin/nixos-sync`
diff --git a/docs/install-help.txt b/docs/install-help.txt
index a515de7..ddda7c8 100644
--- a/docs/install-help.txt
+++ b/docs/install-help.txt
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ Optionally set DISK and HOSTNAME (defaults: DISK=/dev/vda, HOSTNAME=nanuqsaurus)
   sudo DISK=/dev/vda HOSTNAME=nanuqsaurus /etc/nixos/scripts/install-btrfs.sh
 
 
-The script wipes the whole disk, creates Btrfs subvolumes (root, home, nix), copies the flake, generates hardware config, and installs.
+The script wipes the whole disk, creates Btrfs subvolumes (root, home, nix), copies the flake, generates hardware config, and installs. It writes host files under `/etc/nixos/hosts/local-<hostname>.nix` and `local-<hostname>-hardware.nix` (kept local to the machine).
 
 
 If you need a more custom setup please run the partitioning manually, mount the target to /mnt and then install the system:
diff --git a/scripts/install-btrfs.sh b/scripts/install-btrfs.sh
index aa345ad..ee5ab45 100755
--- a/scripts/install-btrfs.sh
+++ b/scripts/install-btrfs.sh
@@ -44,9 +44,9 @@ fi
 
 echo "[6/7] Generating hardware config"
 mkdir -p /mnt/etc/nixos/hosts
-nixos-generate-config --root /mnt --show-hardware-config > "/mnt/etc/nixos/hosts/${HOSTNAME}-hardware.nix"
+nixos-generate-config --root /mnt --show-hardware-config > "/mnt/etc/nixos/hosts/local-${HOSTNAME}-hardware.nix"
 
-host_file="/mnt/etc/nixos/hosts/${HOSTNAME}.nix"
+host_file="/mnt/etc/nixos/hosts/local-${HOSTNAME}.nix"
 if [ ! -e "${host_file}" ]; then
   cat > "${host_file}" <<EOF
 { inputs, ... }:
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ if [ ! -e "${host_file}" ]; then
     ../modules/system/base.nix
     ../modules/desktop/gnome-minimal.nix
     ../modules/users/admin.nix
-    ./${HOSTNAME}-hardware.nix
+    ./local-${HOSTNAME}-hardware.nix
   ];
 
   networking.hostName = "${HOSTNAME}";