diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 5de3ddd8b7..1bb11a2ebb 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
     "docs:start": "pnpm --filter @objectstack/docs start",
     "os": "node packages/cli/bin/run.js",
     "objectui:build": "bash scripts/build-console.sh",
+    "sdui:manifest": "bash scripts/gen-sdui-manifest.sh",
     "objectui:bump": "bash scripts/bump-objectui.sh",
     "objectui:refresh": "bash scripts/bump-objectui.sh && bash scripts/build-console.sh",
     "objectui:clean": "rm -rf packages/console/dist .cache/objectui-*",
diff --git a/scripts/build-console.sh b/scripts/build-console.sh
index a11ba1ea2e..c05da32b7d 100755
--- a/scripts/build-console.sh
+++ b/scripts/build-console.sh
@@ -129,38 +129,10 @@ cp -R "$CONSOLE_DIST" "$TARGET"
 BYTES="$(du -sk "$TARGET" 2>/dev/null | awk '{print $1}')"
 echo "✓ @objectstack/console dist ready (${BYTES} KB) from objectui@${PINNED_SHA:0:12}"
 
-# ADR-0080: generate the public-tier SDUI manifest from the just-built console's
-# registry so the framework os-build JSX gate can do full component/prop
-# validation. Best-effort and GUARDED: skips on a sha without the dump tooling,
-# and never fails the console build (the gate falls back to parse-level).
-DUMP_PAGE="${BUILD_ROOT}/apps/console/dev/manifest-dump.html"
-DUMP_SCRIPT="${BUILD_ROOT}/scripts/dump-public-manifest.mjs"
-if [[ -f "$DUMP_PAGE" && -f "$DUMP_SCRIPT" ]]; then
-  echo "→ Generating SDUI public-tier manifest (ADR-0080)..."
-  pushd "$BUILD_ROOT" > /dev/null
-  pnpm --filter @object-ui/console exec vite dev --port 5180 > /tmp/sdui-dump-dev.log 2>&1 &
-  DUMP_DEV_PID=$!
-  for _ in $(seq 1 90); do curl -sf "http://localhost:5180/" > /dev/null 2>&1 && break; sleep 1; done
-  if BASE_URL="http://localhost:5180" OUT="${TARGET}/sdui.manifest.json" node scripts/dump-public-manifest.mjs; then
-    echo "✓ wrote ${TARGET}/sdui.manifest.json"
-    # ADR-0081: ratchet the spec↔frontend react-block conformance against the
-    # committed baseline while the freshly-dumped manifest is here for free. This
-    # is the ONLY place the manifest exists, so it is the cheapest place to catch
-    # NEW divergence (a component exposing an undocumented prop, or a block
-    # vanishing). Warn-only — never fails the console build; run check:react-conformance
-    # --strict locally to gate intentionally.
-    if [[ -f "${FRAMEWORK_ROOT}/packages/spec/react-conformance.baseline.json" ]]; then
-      echo "→ Ratcheting spec↔frontend react-block conformance (ADR-0081)..."
-      ( cd "${FRAMEWORK_ROOT}" && MANIFEST="${TARGET}/sdui.manifest.json" \
-        pnpm --filter @objectstack/spec check:react-conformance \
-        --baseline react-conformance.baseline.json ) || \
-        echo "⚠ conformance ratchet reported new divergence (non-fatal) — see output above"
-    fi
-  else
-    echo "⚠ manifest generation failed — os-build JSX gate falls back to parse-level (non-fatal)"
-  fi
-  kill "$DUMP_DEV_PID" 2>/dev/null || true
-  popd > /dev/null
-else
-  echo "ℹ manifest dump tooling not present at objectui@${PINNED_SHA:0:12} — skipping (bump .objectui-sha to >=96b1293 to enable full JSX validation)"
-fi
+# ADR-0080/0081: the public-tier SDUI manifest and the spec↔frontend react-block
+# conformance ratchet are intentionally NOT generated here — they require a real
+# browser (Playwright) to enumerate the console registry, and the console build
+# must not drag in a browser dependency. Regenerate them on demand instead:
+#   pnpm sdui:manifest        (see scripts/gen-sdui-manifest.sh)
+echo "ℹ SDUI manifest + conformance ratchet are decoupled from the console build."
+echo "  Run 'pnpm sdui:manifest' on demand to regenerate (requires Playwright)."
diff --git a/scripts/gen-sdui-manifest.sh b/scripts/gen-sdui-manifest.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..f9661f31d9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/gen-sdui-manifest.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# ADR-0080/0081: generate the public-tier SDUI component manifest and ratchet the
+# spec↔frontend react-block conformance.
+#
+# This is deliberately SEPARATE from build-console.sh and is NOT part of the
+# default build. The console component registry is a browser app (plugin-map /
+# charts pull browser-only deps), so the only reliable way to enumerate it is to
+# load the built `manifest-dump.html` in a real browser and read
+# `window.__MANIFEST`. We do not want every console rebuild to drag in a
+# Playwright browser dependency, so this step is opt-in / on-demand:
+#
+#   pnpm objectui:build      # (re)build + vendor the console dist at .objectui-sha
+#   pnpm sdui:manifest       # then dump the manifest + ratchet conformance
+#
+# Requires a matching Playwright browser. If it complains the executable is
+# missing, install it:
+#
+#   pnpm exec playwright install chromium-headless-shell
+#
+# Output: packages/console/dist/sdui.manifest.json  (consumed by the os-build
+# JSX gate for full component/prop validation; absent -> gate falls back to
+# parse-level).
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+FRAMEWORK_ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/.." && pwd)"
+SHA_FILE="${FRAMEWORK_ROOT}/.objectui-sha"
+
+if [[ ! -f "$SHA_FILE" ]]; then
+  echo "✗ ${SHA_FILE} is missing — cannot determine which objectui commit to use."
+  exit 1
+fi
+PINNED_SHA="$(tr -d '[:space:]' < "$SHA_FILE")"
+
+BUILD_ROOT="${FRAMEWORK_ROOT}/.cache/objectui-${PINNED_SHA:0:12}"
+TARGET="${FRAMEWORK_ROOT}/packages/console/dist"
+DUMP_PAGE="${BUILD_ROOT}/apps/console/dev/manifest-dump.html"
+DUMP_SCRIPT="${BUILD_ROOT}/scripts/dump-public-manifest.mjs"
+
+if [[ ! -d "$BUILD_ROOT" ]]; then
+  echo "✗ objectui build tree not found at ${BUILD_ROOT}"
+  echo "  Run 'pnpm objectui:build' first to vendor the console at the pinned SHA."
+  exit 1
+fi
+if [[ ! -f "$DUMP_PAGE" || ! -f "$DUMP_SCRIPT" ]]; then
+  echo "ℹ manifest dump tooling not present at objectui@${PINNED_SHA:0:12} — nothing to do."
+  echo "  (bump .objectui-sha to >=96b1293 to enable full JSX validation)"
+  exit 0
+fi
+
+echo "→ Generating SDUI public-tier manifest (ADR-0080) from objectui@${PINNED_SHA:0:12}..."
+pushd "$BUILD_ROOT" > /dev/null
+pnpm --filter @object-ui/console exec vite dev --port 5180 > /tmp/sdui-dump-dev.log 2>&1 &
+DUMP_DEV_PID=$!
+trap 'kill "$DUMP_DEV_PID" 2>/dev/null || true' EXIT
+for _ in $(seq 1 90); do curl -sf "http://localhost:5180/" > /dev/null 2>&1 && break; sleep 1; done
+
+if BASE_URL="http://localhost:5180" OUT="${TARGET}/sdui.manifest.json" node scripts/dump-public-manifest.mjs; then
+  echo "✓ wrote ${TARGET}/sdui.manifest.json"
+else
+  status=$?
+  echo "✗ manifest generation failed (exit ${status})."
+  echo "  If Playwright reported a missing browser, install it and retry:"
+  echo "    pnpm exec playwright install chromium-headless-shell"
+  popd > /dev/null
+  exit "$status"
+fi
+popd > /dev/null
+
+# ADR-0081: ratchet the spec↔frontend react-block conformance against the
+# committed baseline. Warn-only here — run check:react-conformance --strict to
+# gate intentionally.
+if [[ -f "${FRAMEWORK_ROOT}/packages/spec/react-conformance.baseline.json" ]]; then
+  echo "→ Ratcheting spec↔frontend react-block conformance (ADR-0081)..."
+  ( cd "${FRAMEWORK_ROOT}" && MANIFEST="${TARGET}/sdui.manifest.json" \
+    pnpm --filter @objectstack/spec check:react-conformance \
+    --baseline react-conformance.baseline.json ) || \
+    echo "⚠ conformance ratchet reported new divergence — run check:react-conformance --strict to gate."
+fi