diff --git a/ui/src/api/hardware.ts b/ui/src/api/hardware.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..4e459bb7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ui/src/api/hardware.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+// [nexus] Hardware detection and nexus settings API client
+import { api } from "./client";
+
+export type HardwareTier = "gpu" | "apple_silicon" | "cpu_only";
+
+export interface HardwareInfo {
+  totalGb: number;
+  freeGb: number;
+  usableGb: number;
+  platform: string;
+  gpuName: string | null;
+  gpuVramGb: number | null;
+  unifiedMemory: boolean;
+  hardwareTier: HardwareTier;
+  cpuModel: string | null;
+}
+
+export type NexusMode = "personal_ai" | "project_builder" | "both";
+
+export interface NexusSettings {
+  mode: NexusMode;
+}
+
+export function fetchHardwareInfo(): Promise<HardwareInfo> {
+  return api.get<HardwareInfo>("/system/providers");
+}
+
+export function fetchNexusSettings(): Promise<NexusSettings> {
+  return api.get<NexusSettings>("/nexus/settings");
+}
+
+export function updateNexusSettings(settings: Partial<NexusSettings>): Promise<NexusSettings> {
+  return api.patch<NexusSettings>("/nexus/settings", settings);
+}
diff --git a/ui/src/components/onboarding/HardwareSummaryStep.tsx b/ui/src/components/onboarding/HardwareSummaryStep.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..01e78c2f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ui/src/components/onboarding/HardwareSummaryStep.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+// [nexus] Hardware summary display for onboarding wizard step 1
+import { Skeleton } from "@/components/ui/skeleton";
+import type { HardwareInfo } from "@/api/hardware";
+
+interface HardwareSummaryStepProps {
+  hardwareInfo: HardwareInfo | undefined;
+  isLoading: boolean;
+  isError: boolean;
+}
+
+interface StatRowProps {
+  label: string;
+  value: string | number | null | undefined;
+}
+
+function StatRow({ label, value }: StatRowProps) {
+  return (
+    <div className="flex items-center justify-between gap-2">
+      <span className="text-xs text-muted-foreground">{label}</span>
+      <span className="text-sm font-medium">{value}</span>
+    </div>
+  );
+}
+
+export function HardwareSummaryStep({ hardwareInfo, isLoading, isError }: HardwareSummaryStepProps) {
+  if (isLoading) {
+    return (
+      <div className="flex flex-col gap-2">
+        <Skeleton className="h-4 w-full rounded" />
+        <Skeleton className="h-4 w-full rounded" />
+        <Skeleton className="h-4 w-full rounded" />
+      </div>
+    );
+  }
+
+  if (isError) {
+    return (
+      <p className="text-sm text-muted-foreground">
+        Could not detect hardware. You can still continue.
+      </p>
+    );
+  }
+
+  if (!hardwareInfo) {
+    return (
+      <p className="text-sm text-muted-foreground">
+        Could not detect hardware. You can still continue.
+      </p>
+    );
+  }
+
+  const { hardwareTier } = hardwareInfo;
+
+  return (
+    <div className="flex flex-col gap-4">
+      <div className="flex flex-col gap-2">
+        {hardwareTier === "apple_silicon" && (
+          <>
+            <StatRow label="Unified memory" value={`${hardwareInfo.totalGb} GB`} />
+            <StatRow label="Available" value={`${hardwareInfo.usableGb} GB`} />
+            <StatRow label="CPU" value={hardwareInfo.cpuModel} />
+          </>
+        )}
+
+        {hardwareTier === "gpu" && (
+          <>
+            <StatRow label="GPU" value={hardwareInfo.gpuName} />
+            <StatRow label="GPU VRAM" value={`${hardwareInfo.gpuVramGb} GB`} />
+            <StatRow label="System RAM" value={`${hardwareInfo.totalGb} GB`} />
+          </>
+        )}
+
+        {hardwareTier === "cpu_only" && (
+          <>
+            <StatRow label="System RAM" value={`${hardwareInfo.totalGb} GB`} />
+            <StatRow label="CPU" value={hardwareInfo.cpuModel} />
+            <p className="text-xs text-muted-foreground">
+              Slower than GPU-accelerated models -- cloud AI recommended
+            </p>
+          </>
+        )}
+      </div>
+
+      {hardwareTier !== "cpu_only" && (
+        <div className="flex flex-col gap-1 pt-2">
+          <span className="text-sm font-medium">Local AI (recommended for privacy)</span>
+          <span className="text-xs text-muted-foreground">
+            Runs entirely on your machine.{"\n"}
+            No accounts. No tracking. Works offline.
+          </span>
+        </div>
+      )}
+    </div>
+  );
+}
diff --git a/ui/src/components/onboarding/ModeSelector.tsx b/ui/src/components/onboarding/ModeSelector.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..009baed3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ui/src/components/onboarding/ModeSelector.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+// [nexus] Three-card mode selector for onboarding wizard step 2
+import { cn } from "@/lib/utils";
+import type { NexusMode } from "@/api/hardware";
+
+interface ModeSelectorProps {
+  value: NexusMode;
+  onChange: (mode: NexusMode) => void;
+}
+
+const MODES: { id: NexusMode; label: string; description: string }[] = [
+  {
+    id: "personal_ai",
+    label: "Personal AI Assistant",
+    description: "Always available, persistent memory, private.",
+  },
+  {
+    id: "project_builder",
+    label: "Project Builder",
+    description: "Brainstorm -> PM -> Engineer -> shipped product.",
+  },
+  {
+    id: "both",
+    label: "Both (recommended)",
+    description: "A conversation becomes a project with one click.",
+  },
+];
+
+export function ModeSelector({ value, onChange }: ModeSelectorProps) {
+  return (
+    <div className="grid gap-3">
+      {MODES.map((mode) => (
+        <button
+          key={mode.id}
+          type="button"
+          onClick={() => onChange(mode.id)}
+          className={cn(
+            "flex flex-col gap-1 rounded-lg border p-4 text-left transition-colors",
+            value === mode.id
+              ? "border-primary bg-primary/5"
+              : "border-border hover:border-muted-foreground/50"
+          )}
+        >
+          <span className="font-medium text-sm">{mode.label}</span>
+          <span className="text-xs text-muted-foreground">{mode.description}</span>
+        </button>
+      ))}
+    </div>
+  );
+}
diff --git a/ui/src/hooks/useHardwareInfo.ts b/ui/src/hooks/useHardwareInfo.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9cc53107
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ui/src/hooks/useHardwareInfo.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+// [nexus] React Query hook for hardware detection data
+import { useQuery } from "@tanstack/react-query";
+import { fetchHardwareInfo, type HardwareInfo } from "../api/hardware";
+import { queryKeys } from "../lib/queryKeys";
+
+export function useHardwareInfo(enabled = true) {
+  return useQuery<HardwareInfo>({
+    queryKey: queryKeys.hardware.info,
+    queryFn: fetchHardwareInfo,
+    enabled,
+    staleTime: 5 * 60 * 1000, // 5 minutes — matches server cache TTL
+    retry: 1,
+  });
+}
diff --git a/ui/src/lib/queryKeys.ts b/ui/src/lib/queryKeys.ts
index df94182e..de5d3944 100644
--- a/ui/src/lib/queryKeys.ts
+++ b/ui/src/lib/queryKeys.ts
@@ -147,6 +147,9 @@ export const queryKeys = {
     agentSkills: (agentId: string) => ["skill-groups", "agent", agentId, "skills"] as const,
     agentEffective: (agentId: string) => ["skill-groups", "agent", agentId, "effective"] as const,
   },
+  hardware: {
+    info: ["hardware", "info"] as const,
+  },
   plugins: {
     all: ["plugins"] as const,
     examples: ["plugins", "examples"] as const,