diff --git a/docs/widgets.md b/docs/widgets.md
index 5c59235..15939e1 100644
--- a/docs/widgets.md
+++ b/docs/widgets.md
@@ -283,10 +283,16 @@ widgets on the same frame without a Floyd-Steinberg seam at the boundary
 (see that module's docstring for why ordered dithering doesn't have this
 problem and Floyd-Steinberg does) -- no `Frame`-level dithering setting
 was needed. Playwright/Chromium is a real, heavyweight runtime dependency
-imported lazily only when a weather widget actually uses this style, and
-its Docker packaging has a known likely-blocking image-size problem not
-yet resolved (see `server/Dockerfile`'s own comment) -- treat this style
-as unshipped/local-only until that's sorted out.
+imported lazily only when a weather widget actually uses this style.
+Its browser binary is fetched by `start.sh` at container startup rather
+than baked into the image (see `server/Dockerfile`'s own comment) --
+a single ~181MB `chrome-headless-shell` binary can't be split across
+Docker layers the way this project's pip/npm installs were, and
+confirmed-failed to push to the registry as a build-time layer; cached
+on the `/data` volume (`PLAYWRIGHT_BROWSERS_PATH`) so only the very
+first boot on a fresh volume actually downloads it. Still real-panel-
+unverified (see this widget's own render_style rollout notes/PR) --
+treat "modern" style as experimental regardless of deploy status.
 
 `current`/`hourly`/`daily` share one configured location
 (`city_label`/`city_latitude`/`city_longitude`, set via `POST .../
diff --git a/server/Dockerfile b/server/Dockerfile
index 43307b1..5b37813 100644
--- a/server/Dockerfile
+++ b/server/Dockerfile
@@ -36,8 +36,7 @@ RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
     tzdata fontconfig fonts-dejavu-core nodejs npm \
     && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
 
-# EXPERIMENTAL, likely unmergeable as-is -- see below. System libs a
-# headless Chromium needs (app/html_render.py, the weather widget's
+# EXPERIMENTAL. System libs a headless Chromium needs (app/html_render.py, the weather widget's
 # opt-in "modern" render style), trimmed from Playwright's own full
 # `install-deps chromium` list to just what a headless (no Xvfb),
 # Latin-text-plus-emoji use case needs: dropped xvfb (only needed for a
@@ -74,23 +73,23 @@ RUN pip install --no-cache-dir pypdfium2==5.12.1
 RUN pip install --no-cache-dir playwright==1.61.0
 RUN pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements.txt
 
-# KNOWN LIKELY BLOCKER, not resolved by pulling this into its own layer:
-# `playwright install chromium-headless-shell` unpacks to ~262MB, and its
-# single `chrome-headless-shell` binary alone (measured: 181MB) is one
-# file -- unlike the pip/npm splits above (independently-installable
-# smaller packages moved into their own layers), a single 181MB file
-# can't be divided across multiple <100MB Docker layers by any ordinary
-# COPY/RUN restructuring; the whole file lands in whichever layer's diff
-# contains it. This almost certainly exceeds the same Cloudflare single-
-# blob/layer limit that forced the pip/npm splits elsewhere in this file
-# (see their comments) -- an actual push to this project's registry
-# hasn't been attempted (would require pushing to `main`, which triggers
-# deploy) to confirm, but there is no reason to expect a single 181MB
-# blob to fit where combined ~113MB of many small wheels didn't. Needs a
-# real resolution (a registry without this limit, hosting the browser
-# binary outside the image, etc.) before this branch can actually ship --
-# tracked as open, not silently assumed away.
-RUN playwright install chromium-headless-shell
+# The headless Chromium binary itself is deliberately NOT installed
+# here at build time. `playwright install chromium-headless-shell`
+# unpacks to ~262MB, and its single `chrome-headless-shell` binary alone
+# (measured: 181MB) is one file -- unlike the pip/npm splits above
+# (independently-installable smaller packages moved into their own
+# layers), a single 181MB file can't be divided across multiple <100MB
+# Docker layers by any ordinary COPY/RUN restructuring; the whole file
+# lands in whichever layer's diff contains it, which confirmed-failed
+# to push to this project's registry (the same Cloudflare single-blob/
+# layer limit that forced the pip/npm splits elsewhere in this file --
+# see their comments). Fix: start.sh downloads it at container startup
+# instead, cached on the /data volume (PLAYWRIGHT_BROWSERS_PATH below)
+# so it survives restarts/redeploys and only ever downloads once per
+# volume, not once per image layer. Trade-off: first boot on a fresh
+# volume needs network access to Playwright's CDN -- true of Immich/
+# weather API access too, so not a new requirement for this server.
+ENV PLAYWRIGHT_BROWSERS_PATH=/data/.playwright-browsers
 
 # render-service/'s dependencies installed as several separate layers
 # rather than one `npm install` covering all of them -- a from-scratch
diff --git a/server/start.sh b/server/start.sh
index b243e09..3adb5bd 100755
--- a/server/start.sh
+++ b/server/start.sh
@@ -5,6 +5,18 @@
 # Then execs uvicorn as the foreground/PID 1 process so it receives
 # Docker's stop signal directly.
 #
+# Before either: fetch headless Chromium (app/html_render.py, the
+# weather widget's opt-in "modern" render style) into
+# PLAYWRIGHT_BROWSERS_PATH (set in the Dockerfile to a path on the /data
+# volume) if it isn't already cached there -- see the Dockerfile's own
+# comment for why this happens at startup instead of build time. Only
+# the very first boot on a fresh volume actually downloads anything;
+# every boot after that is a no-op ls check.
+if [ -z "$(ls -A "$PLAYWRIGHT_BROWSERS_PATH" 2>/dev/null)" ]; then
+  echo "Fetching headless Chromium into $PLAYWRIGHT_BROWSERS_PATH (first boot on this volume)..." >&2
+  playwright install chromium-headless-shell
+fi
+#
 # Wrapped in a restart loop, not a bare `node ... &`: a bare background
 # process that crashes stays dead for good, with nothing to bring it
 # back -- turning any single render crash (a not-yet-found jsdom/