diff --git a/package/startos/actions/configureSparks.ts b/package/startos/actions/configureSparks.ts
index 8f046fd..113f549 100644
--- a/package/startos/actions/configureSparks.ts
+++ b/package/startos/actions/configureSparks.ts
@@ -16,10 +16,10 @@ const inputSpec = InputSpec.of({
   spark1_user: Value.text({
     name: 'Spark 1 SSH user',
     description:
-      'The user account on Spark 1 to SSH in as. DGX Sparks ship with "<spark-user>" as the default user — change only if you customized yours.',
+      'The user account on Spark 1 to SSH in as — whatever you log in as when you ssh into it manually.',
     required: true,
-    default: '<spark-user>',
-    placeholder: '<spark-user>',
+    default: null,
+    placeholder: 'your SSH username',
     masked: false,
   }),
   spark2_host: Value.text({
@@ -36,8 +36,8 @@ const inputSpec = InputSpec.of({
     description:
       'The user account on Spark 2 to SSH in as. Usually the same as Spark 1.',
     required: true,
-    default: '<spark-user>',
-    placeholder: '<spark-user>',
+    default: null,
+    placeholder: 'your SSH username',
     masked: false,
   }),
 })
diff --git a/package/startos/actions/showPublicKey.ts b/package/startos/actions/showPublicKey.ts
index 10dbc74..dfd77aa 100644
--- a/package/startos/actions/showPublicKey.ts
+++ b/package/startos/actions/showPublicKey.ts
@@ -38,8 +38,10 @@ export const showPublicKey = sdk.Action.withoutInput(
     const cfg = await sparkConfigYaml.read().once()
     const hosts: Array<{ user: string; host: string }> = []
     if (cfg) {
-      if (cfg.spark1_host) hosts.push({ user: cfg.spark1_user || '<spark-user>', host: cfg.spark1_host })
-      if (cfg.spark2_host) hosts.push({ user: cfg.spark2_user || '<spark-user>', host: cfg.spark2_host })
+      if (cfg.spark1_host && cfg.spark1_user)
+        hosts.push({ user: cfg.spark1_user, host: cfg.spark1_host })
+      if (cfg.spark2_host && cfg.spark2_user)
+        hosts.push({ user: cfg.spark2_user, host: cfg.spark2_host })
     }
 
     let message: string
diff --git a/package/startos/fileModels/sparkConfig.yaml.ts b/package/startos/fileModels/sparkConfig.yaml.ts
index 3b7a6e6..1cd38ea 100644
--- a/package/startos/fileModels/sparkConfig.yaml.ts
+++ b/package/startos/fileModels/sparkConfig.yaml.ts
@@ -4,9 +4,9 @@ import { sdk } from '../sdk'
 
 export const sparkConfigSchema = z.object({
   spark1_host: z.string().catch(''),
-  spark1_user: z.string().catch('<spark-user>'),
+  spark1_user: z.string().catch(''),
   spark2_host: z.string().catch(''),
-  spark2_user: z.string().catch('<spark-user>'),
+  spark2_user: z.string().catch(''),
 })
 
 export type SparkConfig = z.infer<typeof sparkConfigSchema>
diff --git a/package/startos/main.ts b/package/startos/main.ts
index e9f7bdd..e785b33 100644
--- a/package/startos/main.ts
+++ b/package/startos/main.ts
@@ -10,9 +10,9 @@ export const main = sdk.setupMain(async ({ effects }) => {
   // Changing this file via the "Configure Sparks" action restarts the daemon.
   const cfg = (await sparkConfigYaml.read().const(effects)) ?? {
     spark1_host: '',
-    spark1_user: '<spark-user>',
+    spark1_user: '',
     spark2_host: '',
-    spark2_user: '<spark-user>',
+    spark2_user: '',
   }
 
   return sdk.Daemons.of(effects).addDaemon('primary', {
diff --git a/package/startos/versions/v0_1_0.ts b/package/startos/versions/v0_1_0.ts
index d8bf50a..4164f07 100644
--- a/package/startos/versions/v0_1_0.ts
+++ b/package/startos/versions/v0_1_0.ts
@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 import { VersionInfo, IMPOSSIBLE } from '@start9labs/start-sdk'
 
 export const v0_1_0 = VersionInfo.of({
-  version: '0.1.0:1',
+  version: '0.1.0:2',
   releaseNotes: {
     en_US:
-      'Generic placeholders in Configure Sparks; Show Public Key emits a ready-to-paste install command; dashboard shows the OpenAI-compatible base URL + current model ID with one-click copy and a curl example.',
+      'Fully generic SSH user fields (no suggested default); generic host placeholders in Configure Sparks; Show Public Key emits a ready-to-paste install command using your configured hostnames; dashboard shows the OpenAI-compatible base URL + current model ID with one-click copy and a curl example.',
   },
   migrations: {
     up: async ({ effects }) => {},