diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 6afaa52..69d3f8b 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -101,6 +101,29 @@ this repo pins, not the reverse.
 Your machine list, hostnames, and any private specifics stay in *your* flake — you pull
 only the generic modules from here.
 
+## Updating (day-to-day)
+
+**Every** package version comes from the `nixpkgs` **you** declare — including the packages
+this repo's own modules install, since they build against your `nixpkgs` via `follows`, not
+against anything this repo pins. So the whole upgrade happens in your flake; you never touch
+this repo to move packages, even the ones it declares:
+
+```sh
+nix flake update                                 # bump every input to newest
+sudo nixos-rebuild switch --flake .#myhost       # build + activate
+```
+
+`nix flake update` advances `nixpkgs` to the newest commit on the branch you pinned (e.g.
+`nixos-unstable` or `nixos-25.11`) — that is what upgrades your packages. `home-manager` and
+`baseline` **follow** your `nixpkgs`, so they move in lockstep with no version skew. To move
+one input at a time, name it: `nix flake update nixpkgs` bumps only packages;
+`nix flake update baseline` pulls the latest **modules** from this repo (new features/fixes)
+without changing any package version. These are independent knobs — routine upgrades need
+only the `nixpkgs` bump.
+
+A **release jump** (e.g. `nixos-25.11` → `nixos-26.05`) is not a plain update: edit the
+branch in the `nixpkgs` and `home-manager` URLs in your `flake.nix`, then update and rebuild.
+
 ## Overriding the baseline
 
 The public modules are a baseline you extend without forking. Three ways to shape them