diff --git a/firecrawl-usage-guide.md b/firecrawl-usage-guide.md
index cfd620d..591a2b3 100644
--- a/firecrawl-usage-guide.md
+++ b/firecrawl-usage-guide.md
@@ -66,6 +66,14 @@ No `FIRECRAWL_API_KEY` needed once `FIRECRAWL_API_URL` points somewhere other th
 
 Real headless-Chromium JS rendering and multi-page crawl/map are genuine wins over a plain HTTP fetch (e.g. Claude Code's WebFetch). No anti-bot/proxy rotation, no FIRE-1 autonomous browsing, no working `/search` or `/extract` without extra setup (SearXNG / `OPENAI_API_KEY` respectively). Full comparison in [[firecrawl-self-hosted-capabilities]].
 
+## Cloud fallback (manual only, no automatic failover)
+
+As of 2026-07-09 the cloud `FIRECRAWL_API_KEY` (`fc-1bfc9a53...`) is still valid on a paid subscription, likely to be canceled within a few weeks. Neither `firecrawl-cli` nor hermes01's native provider has ranked/automatic fallback — `FIRECRAWL_API_URL` is a single static switch, not a fallback list. If self-hosted is down or misbehaving:
+
+- **CLI / desktop**: `unset FIRECRAWL_API_URL` (or pass `--api-url https://api.firecrawl.dev`) — the existing `FIRECRAWL_API_KEY` in `~/.credentials` authenticates against cloud with no further setup.
+- **hermes01**: swap in `FIRECRAWL_API_KEY` (currently commented out in `~/.hermes/.env`) in place of `FIRECRAWL_API_URL` — the native provider reads the key and hits cloud instead.
+- This is a manual/one-off swap, not scripted health-check-and-failover — building that wasn't judged worth it given the subscription's short remaining life. Revisit if the subscription is kept longer-term.
+
 ## Related
 
 - [[firecrawl-self-host-setup]] — install/deploy and env-var reference
diff --git a/journal/2026-07-09.md b/journal/2026-07-09.md
index 1da1a98..0457e90 100644
--- a/journal/2026-07-09.md
+++ b/journal/2026-07-09.md
@@ -40,3 +40,17 @@ tags: [scope/global, type/log]
 **Reason:** other
 **Vault notes touched:**
 (none)
+
+## Session — 2026-07-09T15:12:14Z
+
+**Project:** /home/jared/servers/desktop
+**Reason:** prompt_input_exit
+**Vault notes touched:**
+(none)
+
+## Session — 2026-07-09T15:17:59Z
+
+**Project:** /home/jared/servers/desktop
+**Reason:** prompt_input_exit
+**Vault notes touched:**
+(none)