diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index fd7f9c2..3cda18d 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -14,6 +14,8 @@ byte-for-byte unchanged apart from the `cli_version` field.
   and `Looked in:` paths now print home-relative (`~/.claude/skills`)
 - Fixed `NO_COLOR=''` (empty value) not being treated as "set" — the
   no-color.org standard disables color on presence, not truthiness
+- Sync messaging: CLI description, error output, and README now say the
+  hosted service is retired, not paused/rebuilt
 
 ## [0.2.0]
 
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 5a90632..ad0886d 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -125,7 +125,7 @@ npx devcat-cli --json | jq '.clients[] | {label, total}'
 | `devcat` | Scan and print your stack. Same as `devcat report`. |
 | `devcat report --markdown` | Print the shareable "My AI stack" snippet instead. |
 | `devcat report --json` | Print the scan as one JSON object. |
-| `devcat sync` | Push your manifest to devcat.dev. **Paused** — see [Profile sync](#profile-sync). |
+| `devcat sync` | Push your manifest to devcat.dev. **Retired** — see [Profile sync](#profile-sync). |
 | `devcat logout` | Clear local DevCat credentials. |
 | `devcat --version` / `--help` | Version, help. |
 
@@ -178,7 +178,7 @@ devcat
 |---|---|---|
 | `NO_COLOR` | unset | Disable color output ([no-color.org](https://no-color.org/) standard). |
 
-The four other variables the CLI reads take effect only on `devcat sync`, which is paused — they are documented under [Profile sync](#profile-sync).
+The four other variables the CLI reads take effect only on `devcat sync`, whose hosted default is retired — they are documented under [Profile sync](#profile-sync).
 
 ## Security
 
@@ -198,19 +198,19 @@ The four other variables the CLI reads take effect only on `devcat sync`, which
 
 <a id="profile-sync"></a>
 
-## Profile sync — paused while devcat.dev is rebuilt
+## Profile sync — retired
 
-Every other command in this README works offline and needs no account. This section covers `devcat sync` — the only command that talks to a server, and the only part of the CLI currently unavailable.
+Every other command in this README works offline and needs no account. This section covers `devcat sync` — the only command that talks to a server, and the only one whose hosted default is retired.
 
-`devcat sync` pushes your manifest to a devcat.dev profile. **That site is being rebuilt, so sync is paused** — it stops immediately with one line rather than starting a sign-in it can't finish:
+`devcat sync` pushed your manifest to a devcat.dev profile. **devcat.dev no longer hosts profiles — the hosted service is retired.** By default, `sync` now stops immediately with one line rather than starting a sign-in it can't finish:
 
 ```
-✗ Profile sync is paused while devcat.dev is rebuilt. Your local stack report still works — run `npx devcat-cli`.
+✗ Profile sync is retired — devcat.dev no longer hosts profiles. Your local stack report still works — run `npx devcat-cli`.
 ```
 
-Nothing else is affected: the scan, `--markdown`, and `logout` all work offline as normal. Sync returns with the site.
+Nothing else is affected: the scan, `--markdown`, and `logout` all work offline as normal.
 
-The sync path itself is intact — [RFC 8628 device authorization](https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc8628), tokens in your OS keychain via [`@napi-rs/keyring`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@napi-rs/keyring), no plaintext token on disk. If you run your own instance, point `DEVCAT_API_URL` at it and set `DEVCAT_SYNC_ENABLED=1` to run the full flow.
+The sync path itself is intact — [RFC 8628 device authorization](https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc8628), tokens in your OS keychain via [`@napi-rs/keyring`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@napi-rs/keyring), no plaintext token on disk. The hosted service is retired, but the self-host path remains: if you run your own instance, point `DEVCAT_API_URL` at it and set `DEVCAT_SYNC_ENABLED=1` to run the full flow.
 
 Sync sends MCP servers and plugins only. Skills and subagents are local report detections — they are folders on your machine with no catalog entry behind them, and they never enter the sync payload.
 
@@ -220,7 +220,7 @@ These four are read only on the sync and sign-in paths; none of them changes wha
 
 | Variable | Default | Purpose |
 |---|---|---|
-| `DEVCAT_SYNC_ENABLED` | unset | Set to `1` to run `devcat sync` against a live API instead of stopping at the paused message. |
+| `DEVCAT_SYNC_ENABLED` | unset | Set to `1` to run `devcat sync` against a live API instead of stopping at the retired message. |
 | `DEVCAT_API_URL` | `https://devcat.dev` | Override the API base URL (staging / self-hosted). HTTPS required except `http://localhost:*`. |
 | `DEVCAT_TOKEN` | unset | CI escape hatch — bypass keychain and use this access token directly. |
 | `DEVCAT_DEBUG` | unset | Verbose logging without the `--verbose` flag. |
diff --git a/src/cli.ts b/src/cli.ts
index c9ab532..274051d 100644
--- a/src/cli.ts
+++ b/src/cli.ts
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ export function buildProgram(sink: ExitCodeSink): Command {
 
   program
     .command('sync')
-    .description('Push your AI tool manifest to devcat.dev (paused while the site is rebuilt)')
+    .description('Push your AI tool manifest to devcat.dev (hosted sync retired)')
     .option('--no-open', 'do not auto-open the browser at the verification URL')
     .option('--json', 'emit machine-readable JSON event stream (for CI)')
     .option('-v, --verbose', 'emit redacted HTTP trace to stderr')
diff --git a/src/commands/sync.ts b/src/commands/sync.ts
index 75e6c60..e92c9eb 100644
--- a/src/commands/sync.ts
+++ b/src/commands/sync.ts
@@ -47,17 +47,18 @@ export interface SyncOptions {
 }
 
 /**
- * devcat.dev is being rebuilt, so the hosted sync endpoint is not answering.
- * Sync stops on the one line below instead of running the device flow and
- * failing deep inside an HTTP call — no browser, no polling, no retries.
+ * The hosted devcat.dev sync endpoint is retired — devcat.dev no longer
+ * accepts profile syncs. Sync stops on the one line below instead of
+ * running the device flow and failing deep inside an HTTP call — no
+ * browser, no polling, no retries.
  *
  * The whole sync path underneath is untouched and still compiles. Set
- * DEVCAT_SYNC_ENABLED=1 to run it anyway (integration tests do this, as does
- * anyone pointing DEVCAT_API_URL at their own host). Delete this gate when
- * devcat.dev is back.
+ * DEVCAT_SYNC_ENABLED=1 to run it anyway against a self-hosted instance —
+ * point DEVCAT_API_URL at it first. This gate is permanent for the hosted
+ * default, not a flag to delete once devcat.dev "comes back."
  */
 const SYNC_PAUSED_MESSAGE =
-  'Profile sync is paused while devcat.dev is rebuilt. Your local stack report still works — run `npx devcat-cli`.';
+  'Profile sync is retired — devcat.dev no longer hosts profiles. Your local stack report still works — run `npx devcat-cli`.';
 
 function isSyncPaused(): boolean {
   return process.env.DEVCAT_SYNC_ENABLED !== '1';
diff --git a/test/integration/sync.paused.test.ts b/test/integration/sync.paused.test.ts
index c0b0c31..435a026 100644
--- a/test/integration/sync.paused.test.ts
+++ b/test/integration/sync.paused.test.ts
@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach, afterEach } from 'vitest';
 
 /**
- * devcat.dev is being rebuilt, so `devcat sync` stops on one line instead of
- * starting a device flow that cannot finish. This suite deliberately does NOT
- * set DEVCAT_SYNC_ENABLED — it covers the paused path the other sync
- * integration suites opt out of.
+ * devcat.dev's hosted sync is retired, so `devcat sync` stops on one line
+ * instead of starting a device flow that cannot finish. This suite
+ * deliberately does NOT set DEVCAT_SYNC_ENABLED — it covers the retired
+ * path the other sync integration suites opt out of.
  */
 process.env.NO_COLOR = '1';
 
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ afterEach(() => {
   else process.env.DEVCAT_SYNC_ENABLED = originalFlag;
 });
 
-describe('sync — paused while devcat.dev is down', () => {
+describe('sync — retired (devcat.dev no longer hosts profiles)', () => {
   it('prints exactly one line, opens no browser, makes no request, exits 1', async () => {
     const stderr: string[] = [];
     const stdout: string[] = [];
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ describe('sync — paused while devcat.dev is down', () => {
 
     const err = stderr.join('');
     expect(err.trimEnd().split('\n')).toHaveLength(1);
-    expect(err).toContain('Profile sync is paused while devcat.dev is rebuilt.');
+    expect(err).toContain('Profile sync is retired — devcat.dev no longer hosts profiles.');
     expect(err).toContain('npx devcat-cli');
     // No stack trace, no retry noise.
     expect(err).not.toContain('at ');