diff --git a/context/glass-cockpit.md b/context/glass-cockpit.md
index d57bf22..1063c01 100644
--- a/context/glass-cockpit.md
+++ b/context/glass-cockpit.md
@@ -25,7 +25,9 @@ version skew (a stale steam exe shipped 2 days behind), tripled build time, and
 |---|---|
 | `BT_PLATFORM=glass` | the desktop-cockpit profile: `L4CONTROLS=PAD` → PadRIO (clickable cockpit buttons, bindings.txt keymap), plasma window, and the miniconsole menu on a zero-arg launch |
 | `BT_STEAM_NET=1` | the Steam transport (FakeIP/SDR; degrades to Winsock without the Steam client). `steam_api.dll` is **DELAY-LOADED** (`/DELAYLOAD` + delayimp) — machines without the DLL run everything else |
-| (nothing) | the old pod-build behavior byte-for-byte: DEV profile, no menu, waits for the console egg — **the cabinet default is unchanged** |
+| (nothing) | **GLASS is the desktop DEFAULT (2026-07-22)** — a bare boot gets PadRIO/bindings.txt (and the menu on zero args). The old accidental-DEV trap ("the old keymap again") is closed: every launcher that forgot the env used to boot DEV (play bats, steam bat, the operator console — each needed the same one-line fix). |
+| `BT_PLATFORM=dev` | the legacy DEV profile (keyboard-only, the bring-up drive bridge) — explicit opt-in for debugging |
+| `BT_PLATFORM=pod` | the cabinet profile. **CONTRACT: the real pod's SETENV.BAT must set this** — the old "bare boot == cabinet shape" assumption no longer holds. |
 
 - The `BT_GLASS` macro is now ALWAYS defined (a seam marker only — the `#ifdef` sites remain
   as documentation of the layer boundary). Every gated code path was audited: all are
diff --git a/game/btl4main.cpp b/game/btl4main.cpp
index 56d4d50..fb5ba6b 100644
--- a/game/btl4main.cpp
+++ b/game/btl4main.cpp
@@ -293,8 +293,10 @@ int WINAPI WinMain(HINSTANCE hInstance, HINSTANCE hPrevInstance, LPSTR lpCmdLine
 	int gBTPlatformGlass = 0;
 	{
 		const char *pe = getenv("BT_PLATFORM");
+		int platform_dev = 0;
 		if (pe && _stricmp(pe, "pod") == 0) gBTPlatformPod = 1;
 		if (pe && _stricmp(pe, "glass") == 0) gBTPlatformGlass = 1;
+		if (pe && _stricmp(pe, "dev") == 0) platform_dev = 1;
 		// Convenience: also accept a raw `-platform pod` on the command line,
 		// parsed off lpCmdLine independently of L4Application::ParseCommandLine.
 		const char *pf = lpCmdLine ? strstr(lpCmdLine, "-platform") : 0;
@@ -305,16 +307,30 @@ int WINAPI WinMain(HINSTANCE hInstance, HINSTANCE hPrevInstance, LPSTR lpCmdLine
 				gBTPlatformPod = 1;
 			if (pv[0] && _stricmp(pv, "glass") == 0)
 				gBTPlatformGlass = 1;
+			if (pv[0] && _stricmp(pv, "dev") == 0)
+				platform_dev = 1;
 		}
+		//
+		// DESKTOP DEFAULT = GLASS (2026-07-22, "competing keymaps" fix): every
+		// launcher that forgot BT_PLATFORM=glass booted the DEV profile -- no
+		// PadRIO, the bring-up keyboard bridge owning the keys ("the old
+		// keymap again": play bats, steam bat, then the operator console,
+		// each needed the same one-line fix).  Glass is now the DEFAULT when
+		// no platform is chosen, so omission can never resurrect the old
+		// input stack.  BT_PLATFORM=dev opts back into the legacy DEV profile
+		// for debugging; the FUTURE pod cabinet must set BT_PLATFORM=pod in
+		// its SETENV.BAT (contract recorded in context/glass-cockpit.md --
+		// note this changes the old "bare boot == cabinet shape" assumption).
+		//
+		if (!gBTPlatformPod && !gBTPlatformGlass && !platform_dev)
+			gBTPlatformGlass = 1;
 	}
 
-	// UNIFIED-BUILD GUARD (2026-07-21): the miniconsole menu is a GLASS-
-	// platform feature.  It must NOT claim a bare zero-arg boot -- that is
-	// the POD CABINET's launch shape (DEV profile, wait for the console
-	// egg).  The menu runs only when the glass platform is selected
-	// (BT_PLATFORM=glass / -platform glass, e.g. play_steam.bat) or forced
-	// with BT_FE_MENU=1.  (Platform parse moved ABOVE this block so the
-	// flag is available; it reads only env/cmdline, no profile putenvs.)
+	// MENU GATE (2026-07-21, amended 2026-07-22): the miniconsole menu runs
+	// on a zero-arg GLASS boot.  With glass now the desktop DEFAULT, a bare
+	// double-click of btl4.exe opens the menu -- the desired desktop UX.
+	// The pod cabinet opts out via BT_PLATFORM=pod (SETENV.BAT contract);
+	// BT_PLATFORM=dev keeps the old bare-boot wait-for-egg shape.
 	int fe_menu_mode = 0;
 	{
 		int fe_has_egg = lpCmdLine && strstr(lpCmdLine, "-egg") != NULL;