diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index bb1acc5..2344592 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -32,6 +32,10 @@ follow [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
 ### Fixed
 
+- **Docs links open the docs on the web.** Once the web app had been opened,
+  links to the [documentation](https://werb-dev.github.io/werb/docs/) showed
+  the app instead. A browser that already has the app picks up the fix with
+  the next update (*Reload* on the "New version available" banner).
 - **Library cards show OG, FG, ABV, IBU and color for every recipe**
   ([#49](https://github.com/werb-dev/werb/issues/49)). A card used to show "—"
   for any figure the recipe file didn't state (e.g. ABV on an imported BeerXML
diff --git a/apps/desktop/test/e2e/pwa.spec.ts b/apps/desktop/test/e2e/pwa.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..589f012
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/desktop/test/e2e/pwa.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+import { mkdirSync, rmSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
+import { expect, test } from "@playwright/test";
+
+/**
+ * Service worker scope. The mdBook docs are deployed under the app's
+ * `docs/`, inside the service worker's scope; they must load as docs,
+ * not as the app shell.
+ */
+
+const docsDir = fileURLToPath(new URL("../../dist/docs/", import.meta.url));
+const probe = `${docsDir}e2e-probe.html`;
+
+test.beforeAll(() => {
+  mkdirSync(docsDir, { recursive: true });
+  writeFileSync(probe, "<!doctype html><title>Werb docs probe</title><h1>Docs probe</h1>");
+});
+
+test.afterAll(() => {
+  rmSync(probe, { force: true });
+});
+
+test("docs pages load once the app's service worker controls the site", async ({ page }) => {
+  await page.goto("/");
+  await page.evaluate(() => navigator.serviceWorker.ready);
+  await page.reload();
+  expect(await page.evaluate(() => navigator.serviceWorker.controller !== null)).toBe(true);
+
+  await page.goto("/docs/e2e-probe.html");
+  await expect(page).toHaveTitle("Werb docs probe");
+});
diff --git a/apps/desktop/vite.config.ts b/apps/desktop/vite.config.ts
index 8f37e89..5615605 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/vite.config.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/vite.config.ts
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ function gitCommit(): string {
 }
 const COMMIT = gitCommit();
 const BUILD_DATE = new Date().toISOString().slice(0, 10);
+const BASE = process.env.VITE_BASE ?? "/";
 
 // Vite config tuned for Tauri 2: fixed dev port, no auto-clear of stderr,
 // HMR over the host Tauri injects, and exclusion of the Rust build dir from
@@ -43,7 +44,7 @@ const BUILD_DATE = new Date().toISOString().slice(0, 10);
 //   • GitHub Pages deploy:      base="/werb/"  (CI sets VITE_BASE=/werb/)
 //   • custom domain on Pages:   base="/"  (CI sets VITE_BASE=/)
 export default defineConfig({
-  base: process.env.VITE_BASE ?? "/",
+  base: BASE,
   define: {
     __APP_VERSION__: JSON.stringify(pkg.version),
     __APP_COMMIT__: JSON.stringify(COMMIT),
@@ -110,6 +111,9 @@ export default defineConfig({
         // bumping so it's precached alongside everything else.
         maximumFileSizeToCacheInBytes: 5 * 1024 * 1024,
         globPatterns: ["**/*.{js,css,html,wasm,woff,woff2,png,svg,webmanifest}"],
+        // The mdBook docs are deployed under <base>docs/, inside this
+        // worker's scope: navigations there go to the network, not the app shell.
+        navigateFallbackDenylist: [new RegExp(`^${BASE}docs(/|$)`)],
       },
     }),
   ],