diff --git a/.planning/REQUIREMENTS.md b/.planning/REQUIREMENTS.md
index eaeaf3cf..6cea3a5a 100644
--- a/.planning/REQUIREMENTS.md
+++ b/.planning/REQUIREMENTS.md
@@ -1,59 +1,101 @@
-# Requirements — Milestone v1.4: Hermes Default Provider
+# Requirements: Nexus v1.5 — Smart Onboarding + Personal AI Assistant
 
-## Hermes Integration (7)
+**Defined:** 2026-04-02
+**Core Value:** A fresh onboard asks for ONE thing (root directory), auto-creates PM + Engineer agents, and drops you in the dashboard.
 
-- [x] **HERM-01** — Hermes adapter is installed, enabled, and appears in the "Add Agent" dropdown
-- [x] **HERM-02** — User can create a Hermes agent with config options (model selection, tool permissions)
-- [x] **HERM-03** — Heartbeat execution spawns `hermes chat -q`, processes task, returns result
-- [x] **HERM-04** — Session persistence works across heartbeats via `--resume` flag
-- [x] **HERM-05** — Nexus-managed skills are visible alongside Hermes native skills in agent config
-- [x] **HERM-06** — Cost tracking captures token usage and model costs for Hermes agents
-- [x] **HERM-07** — Dashboard shows Hermes-specific info (model name, memory usage, native skill count)
+## v1.5 Requirements
 
-## Ollama Integration (5)
+### Onboarding
 
-- [x] **OLLA-01** — Nexus detects whether Ollama is installed locally
-- [x] **OLLA-02** — User can see a list of available Ollama models when configuring a Hermes agent
-- [x] **OLLA-03** — User can configure a Hermes agent with any local Ollama model
-- [x] **OLLA-04** — Model recommendation based on RAM/VRAM from a shipped catalog
-- [x] **OLLA-05** — If Ollama is not present, user is offered installation instructions
+- [ ] **ONBD-01**: User can select mode (Personal AI Assistant / Project Builder / Both) during onboarding
+- [ ] **ONBD-02**: System auto-detects GPU, RAM, and Apple Silicon unified memory within 5 seconds
+- [ ] **ONBD-03**: System recommends best local model from pre-built JSON database based on detected hardware
+- [ ] **ONBD-04**: User can skip any onboarding step without blocking subsequent steps
+- [ ] **ONBD-05**: User sees summary screen showing configured providers and agent-model pairings
+- [ ] **ONBD-06**: User can go from summary screen directly into chat with one click
+- [ ] **ONBD-07**: Local AI framed as privacy premium ("runs entirely on your machine, no accounts, works offline")
 
-## Default Provider Logic (4)
+### Cloud Providers
 
-- [x] **DFLT-01** — If no cloud provider (Claude Code, etc.) is detected, Hermes + Ollama is offered as default during onboarding
-- [x] **DFLT-02** — Default agent templates (PM, Engineer, Generalist) work correctly with Hermes runtime
-- [x] **DFLT-03** — GSD workflow functions correctly with Hermes as the agent runtime
-- [x] **DFLT-04** — Fresh install with only Hermes + Ollama works end-to-end (no paid subscription or API key required)
+- [ ] **CLOUD-01**: User gets working AI via Puter.js with zero API keys and no sign-up required
+- [ ] **CLOUD-02**: Puter.js integrated as server-proxied adapter (not browser-direct) with full cost tracking
+- [ ] **CLOUD-03**: User can sign in via Google OAuth to access Gemini free tier
+- [ ] **CLOUD-04**: System auto-detects installed tools (Hermes, Claude Code, OpenClaw) and pre-fills configuration
+- [ ] **CLOUD-05**: User can enter API keys for subscription providers during onboarding
 
----
+### Voice
+
+- [ ] **VOICE-01**: User gets Piper TTS speech output that works on CPU-only hardware
+- [ ] **VOICE-02**: Piper TTS pre-warms on first use with visible download progress (no silent 15-30s hang)
+- [ ] **VOICE-03**: Voice features (Whisper STT + Piper TTS) offered during onboarding based on hardware capability
+
+### Personal AI Assistant
+
+- [ ] **ASST-01**: User has persistent memory across chat sessions (summary-based, injected into system prompts)
+- [ ] **ASST-02**: Memory content sanitized at write time to prevent prompt injection
+- [ ] **ASST-03**: User can hand off an assistant conversation to a PM agent with one click, transferring context
+- [ ] **ASST-04**: Assistant and Project Builder modes work standalone or together
+
+### CLI
+
+- [ ] **CLI-01**: User can run `npx buildthis` to bootstrap Nexus from scratch
+- [ ] **CLI-02**: CLI bootstrapper detects hardware and walks through the same provider tiering as web onboarding
 
 ## Future Requirements
 
-None deferred — all PRD items included in this milestone.
+### Cloud
+
+- **CLOUD-F01**: OpenAI OAuth free tier (unstable API, defer to v2+)
+
+### Assistant
+
+- **ASST-F01**: MCP connections for assistant mode
+
+### Voice
+
+- **VOICE-F01**: Server-side TTS fallback for headless mode
 
 ## Out of Scope
 
-- Multi-provider model routing (Hermes can use OpenRouter/Anthropic/OpenAI but that's Hermes config, not Nexus)
-- Hermes MCP server management (Hermes handles its own MCP connections)
-- Custom Hermes skill authoring UI (skills are file-based, not GUI-managed)
+| Feature | Reason |
+|---------|--------|
+| OpenAI OAuth | Endpoint specifics unstable, low confidence on free tier details |
+| MCP tool connections | Complexity too high for v1.5; assistant works without it |
+| Server-side Piper TTS | Browser WASM sufficient; headless is edge case |
+| DB schema changes | Upstream sync constraint — all state in existing JSONB/files |
+| Vector database for memory | Summary-based approach sufficient; no infra overhead |
 
 ## Traceability
 
 | Requirement | Phase | Status |
 |-------------|-------|--------|
-| HERM-01 | Phase 27 | Complete |
-| HERM-02 | Phase 27 | Complete |
-| HERM-03 | Phase 27 | Complete |
-| HERM-04 | Phase 27 | Complete |
-| HERM-05 | Phase 28 | Complete |
-| HERM-06 | Phase 28 | Complete |
-| HERM-07 | Phase 28 | Complete |
-| OLLA-01 | Phase 28 | Complete |
-| OLLA-02 | Phase 28 | Complete |
-| OLLA-03 | Phase 28 | Complete |
-| OLLA-04 | Phase 28 | Complete |
-| OLLA-05 | Phase 28 | Complete |
-| DFLT-01 | Phase 29 | Complete |
-| DFLT-02 | Phase 29 | Complete |
-| DFLT-03 | Phase 29 | Complete |
-| DFLT-04 | Phase 29 | Complete |
+| ONBD-01 | — | Pending |
+| ONBD-02 | — | Pending |
+| ONBD-03 | — | Pending |
+| ONBD-04 | — | Pending |
+| ONBD-05 | — | Pending |
+| ONBD-06 | — | Pending |
+| ONBD-07 | — | Pending |
+| CLOUD-01 | — | Pending |
+| CLOUD-02 | — | Pending |
+| CLOUD-03 | — | Pending |
+| CLOUD-04 | — | Pending |
+| CLOUD-05 | — | Pending |
+| VOICE-01 | — | Pending |
+| VOICE-02 | — | Pending |
+| VOICE-03 | — | Pending |
+| ASST-01 | — | Pending |
+| ASST-02 | — | Pending |
+| ASST-03 | — | Pending |
+| ASST-04 | — | Pending |
+| CLI-01 | — | Pending |
+| CLI-02 | — | Pending |
+
+**Coverage:**
+- v1.5 requirements: 21 total
+- Mapped to phases: 0
+- Unmapped: 21 ⚠️
+
+---
+*Requirements defined: 2026-04-02*
+*Last updated: 2026-04-02 after initial definition*