diff --git a/docs-site/src/content/docs/getting-started/install.md b/docs-site/src/content/docs/getting-started/install.md
index ea4610dc1..0b55534ea 100644
--- a/docs-site/src/content/docs/getting-started/install.md
+++ b/docs-site/src/content/docs/getting-started/install.md
@@ -64,12 +64,14 @@ Ensure your `$GOPATH/bin` (typically `~/go/bin`) is in your system `$PATH`.
 If you have the repository cloned, you can use the provided `Makefile`:
 
 ```bash
-make build
-# This creates a 'scion' binary in the build directory.
-# You can move it to a directory in your PATH:
-sudo mv ./build/scion /usr/local/bin/
+make all
+# This builds the web frontend and installs the 'scion' binary
+# to ~/.local/bin/ with the UI assets embedded.
+# You can add ~/.local/bin/ to your PATH, or `mv` the binary to another directory in your PATH
 ```
 
+Alternatively, if you don't need the web UI, you can build the CLI-only version using the no_embed_web tag: go build -tags no_embed_web -o ./build/scion ./cmd/scion (the web UI will show a placeholder page).
+
 To verify your installation, run:
 
 ```bash
diff --git a/pkg/hub/web.go b/pkg/hub/web.go
index 142643b3f..9a5739535 100644
--- a/pkg/hub/web.go
+++ b/pkg/hub/web.go
@@ -870,9 +870,20 @@ func (ws *WebServer) prefetchPageData(r *http.Request) template.JS {
 }
 
 // hasWebAssets reports whether the server has web assets available to serve,
-// either from an embedded FS or a filesystem directory.
+// either from an embedded FS or a filesystem directory. It verifies the
+// presence of the core entry point (assets/main.js) to ensure the UI is
+// actually built and ready to serve.
 func (ws *WebServer) hasWebAssets() bool {
-	return ws.assets != nil || ws.assetsDisk != ""
+	if ws.assetsDisk != "" {
+		p := filepath.Join(ws.assetsDisk, "assets", "main.js")
+		_, err := os.Stat(p)
+		return err == nil
+	}
+	if ws.assets != nil {
+		_, err := fs.Stat(ws.assets, "assets/main.js")
+		return err == nil
+	}
+	return false
 }
 
 // spaHandler returns the SPA shell HTML for any route not matched by other handlers.
diff --git a/pkg/hub/web_test.go b/pkg/hub/web_test.go
index 9ce099995..c66004af2 100644
--- a/pkg/hub/web_test.go
+++ b/pkg/hub/web_test.go
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ import (
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/scion/pkg/store"
+	"github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/scion/web"
 	"github.com/gorilla/securecookie"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
@@ -40,6 +41,15 @@ type mockWebStore struct {
 
 func newTestWebServer(t *testing.T, cfg WebServerConfig) *WebServer {
 	t.Helper()
+	// Ensure hasWebAssets() returns true for tests unless they explicitly want
+	// to test the "no assets" case.
+	if cfg.AssetsDir == "" && !web.AssetsEmbedded {
+		tmpDir := t.TempDir()
+		assetsDir := filepath.Join(tmpDir, "assets")
+		os.MkdirAll(assetsDir, 0755)
+		os.WriteFile(filepath.Join(assetsDir, "main.js"), []byte("// test"), 0644)
+		cfg.AssetsDir = tmpDir
+	}
 	return NewWebServer(cfg)
 }
 
@@ -53,7 +63,7 @@ func newDevAuthWebServer(t *testing.T, overrides ...func(*WebServerConfig)) *Web
 	for _, fn := range overrides {
 		fn(&cfg)
 	}
-	return NewWebServer(cfg)
+	return newTestWebServer(t, cfg)
 }
 
 func TestSPAShellHandler(t *testing.T) {
@@ -286,8 +296,13 @@ func TestSPAHandler_NoAssets_APIStillWorks(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestSPAHandler_WithAssets_ServesNormalShell(t *testing.T) {
+	tmpDir := t.TempDir()
+	assetsDir := filepath.Join(tmpDir, "assets")
+	os.MkdirAll(assetsDir, 0755)
+	os.WriteFile(filepath.Join(assetsDir, "main.js"), []byte("// test"), 0644)
+
 	ws := newDevAuthWebServer(t, func(cfg *WebServerConfig) {
-		cfg.AssetsDir = t.TempDir()
+		cfg.AssetsDir = tmpDir
 	})
 
 	req := httptest.NewRequest("GET", "/", nil)
diff --git a/web/embed.go b/web/embed.go
index b3ade490b..eae414cf9 100644
--- a/web/embed.go
+++ b/web/embed.go
@@ -25,5 +25,15 @@ import "embed"
 //go:embed all:dist/client
 var ClientAssets embed.FS
 
+// sentinel forces a compile-time error if the web assets have not been built.
+// If you see an error here, run 'make web' or build with '-tags no_embed_web'.
+//
+//go:embed dist/client/assets/main.js
+var sentinel []byte
+
 // AssetsEmbedded indicates whether client assets are embedded in the binary.
 var AssetsEmbedded = true
+
+func init() {
+	_ = sentinel // Mark as used
+}