diff --git a/packages/gittensory-miner/DEPLOYMENT.md b/packages/gittensory-miner/DEPLOYMENT.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9e07cc7b40
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/gittensory-miner/DEPLOYMENT.md
@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+# Gittensory miner deployment
+
+Two form factors for running `@jsonbored/gittensory-miner`: **laptop mode** (single machine, zero Docker) and **fleet mode** (containerized workers with a shared data volume). Both are 100% client-side for core operation — the miner never uploads source and never requires a hosted Gittensory callback to boot. Credentials (GitHub tokens, etc.) stay on the operator's machine or in their own secret store; nothing is baked into images.
+
+| | Laptop mode | Fleet mode |
+|---|---|---|
+| **Best for** | One contributor machine, local experimentation | Many parallel miner attempts on a host or small cluster |
+| **Dependencies** | Node.js `>=22.13.0` only | Docker (or compatible runtime) + Node image or custom image |
+| **State** | SQLite files under `~/.config/gittensory-miner/` (override with `GITTENSORY_MINER_CONFIG_DIR`) | Same SQLite layout on a mounted `/data` (or `GITTENSORY_MINER_CONFIG_DIR`) volume |
+| **Setup** | `npm install -g @jsonbored/gittensory-miner` or workspace build | `docker run` with env + volume (see below) |
+| **Footprint** | One Node process, local disk for ledgers/queues | One container per worker; scale horizontally by adding containers |
+
+## Laptop mode walkthrough
+
+1. Install Node.js 22.13+ and the package:
+
+   ```sh
+   npm install -g @jsonbored/gittensory-miner@latest
+   # or from a checkout:
+   npm install && npm --workspace @jsonbored/gittensory-miner run build
+   ```
+
+2. Inspect what is installed and where local state will live (no network calls):
+
+   ```sh
+   gittensory-miner status
+   gittensory-miner doctor
+   ```
+
+3. Expected layout after first use (default paths):
+
+   ```text
+   ~/.config/gittensory-miner/
+     claim-ledger.sqlite3      # soft issue claims (#2314)
+     plan-store.sqlite3        # persisted MCP plan DAGs (#2318)
+     portfolio-queue.sqlite3   # local portfolio queue
+     event-ledger.sqlite3      # manage-loop audit trail
+     governor-ledger.sqlite3   # governor decisions
+   ```
+
+   Override the directory with `GITTENSORY_MINER_CONFIG_DIR` or `XDG_CONFIG_HOME` (same resolution chain as `@jsonbored/gittensory-mcp`).
+
+4. Optional per-repo miner goals: copy [`.gittensory-miner.yml.example`](../../.gittensory-miner.yml.example) to a target repo as `.gittensory-miner.yml`. See [`docs/miner-goal-spec.md`](docs/miner-goal-spec.md).
+
+## Fleet mode walkthrough
+
+There is no separate published miner fleet image yet. Run the same CLI inside a standard Node container, mount persistent state, and inject secrets at runtime (never bake them into the image):
+
+```sh
+docker run --rm -it \
+  -e GITTENSORY_MINER_CONFIG_DIR=/data/miner \
+  -e GITHUB_TOKEN \
+  -v miner-data:/data/miner \
+  node:24-slim \
+  bash -lc 'npm install -g @jsonbored/gittensory-miner@latest && gittensory-miner doctor && gittensory-miner status'
+```
+
+- **`/data` volume** — holds all SQLite state so containers are disposable.
+- **`GITHUB_TOKEN`** — supplied by the operator at run time; the image contains no credentials.
+- **Scale** — launch additional containers with the same volume (or partitioned config dirs) for parallel attempts.
+
+The repo-root [`docker-compose.yml`](../../docker-compose.yml) documents the **self-hosted review stack** (the `gittensory` API/orb), not the miner CLI. Miners are clients of that stack (or of github.com directly) and do not require it to run locally.
+
+## Invariants
+
+- Core miner bookkeeping (claims, plans, queues, ledgers) works offline after install.
+- `gittensory-miner status` and `gittensory-miner doctor` make **no network calls**.
+- Discovery/ranking primitives that touch GitHub only run when explicitly invoked and only perform documented GETs unless a future command says otherwise.
+- Operators own secret injection; images and packages ship without embedded tokens.
diff --git a/packages/gittensory-miner/README.md b/packages/gittensory-miner/README.md
index b8b5ab8a39..b53045754b 100644
--- a/packages/gittensory-miner/README.md
+++ b/packages/gittensory-miner/README.md
@@ -32,6 +32,8 @@ no enforcement wiring yet. (#2328)
 
 See [`docs/miner-goal-spec.md`](docs/miner-goal-spec.md) for the `.gittensory-miner.yml` field reference and [`.gittensory-miner.yml.example`](../../.gittensory-miner.yml.example) at the repo root.
 
+See [`DEPLOYMENT.md`](DEPLOYMENT.md) for laptop vs fleet deployment.
+
 From a local checkout:
 
 ```sh
diff --git a/test/unit/miner-deployment-doc.test.ts b/test/unit/miner-deployment-doc.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..5a561a1425
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/unit/miner-deployment-doc.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+import { readFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { join } from "node:path";
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+
+const DEPLOYMENT_PATH = join(process.cwd(), "packages/gittensory-miner/DEPLOYMENT.md");
+const README_PATH = join(process.cwd(), "packages/gittensory-miner/README.md");
+
+describe("miner deployment guide (#2330)", () => {
+  it("documents laptop and fleet modes with required walkthrough sections", () => {
+    const doc = readFileSync(DEPLOYMENT_PATH, "utf8");
+    expect(doc).toContain("Laptop mode");
+    expect(doc).toContain("Fleet mode");
+    expect(doc).toContain("gittensory-miner status");
+    expect(doc).toContain("gittensory-miner doctor");
+    expect(doc).toContain("GITTENSORY_MINER_CONFIG_DIR");
+    expect(doc).toContain("100% client-side");
+    expect(doc).toContain("credentials");
+    expect(doc).toContain("docker run");
+    expect(doc).toContain("docker-compose.yml");
+  });
+
+  it("is linked from the miner package README", () => {
+    const readme = readFileSync(README_PATH, "utf8");
+    expect(readme).toContain("DEPLOYMENT.md");
+  });
+});