diff --git a/Android/rust/archy-fips-core/src/nostr.rs b/Android/rust/archy-fips-core/src/nostr.rs
index daf87cd7..337250a9 100644
--- a/Android/rust/archy-fips-core/src/nostr.rs
+++ b/Android/rust/archy-fips-core/src/nostr.rs
@@ -795,4 +795,30 @@ mod tests {
         );
         assert!(secret_from_nsec("npub1").is_err());
     }
+
+    /// The mesh ULA is a PURE function of the node's public key:
+    /// `fd ‖ sha256(x-only pubkey)[0..15]` (fips identity/node_addr.rs →
+    /// identity/address.rs). That is what makes "address by npub" work —
+    /// Termux's fipssh helper, and any future DNS-style resolver, just
+    /// computes what the fips daemon's DNS answers.
+    #[test]
+    fn npub_derives_the_same_mesh_ula_as_the_fips_identity() {
+        for seed in [0x42u8, 0x07, 0x31] {
+            // 0xff… would exceed the curve order — secret keys must be valid scalars.
+            let secret = [seed; 32];
+            let id = fips::Identity::from_secret_bytes(&secret).unwrap();
+            let npub = id.npub();
+            let expected = id.address().to_ipv6().to_string();
+
+            let pubkey_hex = pubkey_from_any(&npub).unwrap();
+            let pk = hex::decode(&pubkey_hex).unwrap();
+            let mut hasher = Sha256::new();
+            hasher.update(&pk);
+            let hash = hasher.finalize();
+            let mut ula = [0u8; 16];
+            ula[0] = 0xfd;
+            ula[1..].copy_from_slice(&hash[..15]);
+            assert_eq!(std::net::Ipv6Addr::from(ula).to_string(), expected, "npub {npub}");
+        }
+    }
 }
diff --git a/Android/tools/fipssh b/Android/tools/fipssh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..0adf8d24
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Android/tools/fipssh
@@ -0,0 +1,145 @@
+#!/data/data/com.termux/files/usr/bin/sh
+# fipssh — SSH to an Archipelago FIPS mesh node BY NPUB.
+#
+# The mesh ULA is a pure function of the node's public key (verified against
+# the fips crate itself — archy-fips-core's npub_derives_the_same_mesh_ula
+# test, and the Android tools commit that shipped this script):
+#
+#     ula = fd || sha256(x-only pubkey)[0..15]
+#
+# so the npub IS the address: no DNS server, no mesh query, works offline.
+# The node's fips daemon answers the same question through its DNS resolver
+# (core/archipelago/src/fips/dial.rs) — this is the phone-side equivalent.
+#
+# Setup (Termux):     pkg install python openssh
+# Usage:
+#   fipssh <user>@npub1… [ssh args…]   connect
+#   fipssh npub1…                      connect as $FIPSSH_USER
+#   fipssh --resolve npub1…            print the ULA and exit
+#
+# The companion's split tunnel carries the connection (fd00::/8 routes the
+# whole device while the mesh is up) — at home on LAN, away via the anchors.
+# The node still has to allow port 22 through its fips0 firewall: see
+# docs/HANDOFF-2026-08-31-ssh-over-mesh.md (the interim 90-ssh.nft drop-in,
+# restricted to your phone's ULA, until the node-side toggle ships).
+set -eu
+
+usage() {
+    sed -n '2,20p' "$0" | sed 's/^# \{0,1\}//'
+    exit 1
+}
+
+RESOLVE_ONLY=0
+if [ "${1:-}" = "--resolve" ]; then
+    RESOLVE_ONLY=1
+    shift
+fi
+[ $# -ge 1 ] || usage
+
+TARGET="$1"
+shift 2>/dev/null || true
+
+case "$TARGET" in
+    *npub1*)
+        case "$TARGET" in
+            *@npub1*) USER_PART="${TARGET%%@*}"; N_PUB="${TARGET#*@}" ;;
+            npub1*)
+                USER_PART="${FIPSSH_USER:-}"
+                N_PUB="$TARGET"
+                if [ -z "$USER_PART" ] && [ "$RESOLVE_ONLY" = 0 ]; then
+                    echo "fipssh: no user given (use user@npub… or set FIPSSH_USER)" >&2
+                    exit 1
+                fi
+                ;;
+            *) echo "fipssh: expected [user@]npub1…, got '$TARGET'" >&2; exit 1 ;;
+        esac
+        ;;
+    *) echo "fipssh: '$TARGET' is not an npub (expected [user@]npub1…)" >&2; exit 1 ;;
+esac
+
+command -v python3 >/dev/null 2>&1 || {
+    echo "fipssh: python3 not found — run: pkg install python" >&2
+    exit 1
+}
+
+ULA=$(python3 - "$N_PUB" <<'PYEOF'
+import hashlib, ipaddress, sys
+
+CHARSET = "qpzry9x8gf2tvdw0s3jn54khce6mua7l"
+
+
+def bech32_polymod(values):
+    gen = [0x3B6A57B2, 0x26508E6D, 0x1EA119FA, 0x3D4233DD, 0x2A1462B3]
+    chk = 1
+    for value in values:
+        top = chk >> 25
+        chk = (chk & 0x1FFFFFF) << 5 ^ value
+        for i in range(5):
+            chk ^= gen[i] if ((top >> i) & 1) else 0
+    return chk
+
+
+def bech32_hrp_expand(hrp):
+    return [ord(c) >> 5 for c in hrp] + [0] + [ord(c) & 31 for c in hrp]
+
+
+def bech32_verify_checksum(hrp, data):
+    return bech32_polymod(bech32_hrp_expand(hrp) + data) == 1
+
+
+def bech32_decode(s):
+    if any(ord(c) < 33 or ord(c) > 126 for c in s):
+        raise ValueError("bad character")
+    if s.lower() != s and s.upper() != s:
+        raise ValueError("mixed case")
+    s = s.lower()
+    pos = s.rfind("1")
+    if pos < 1 or pos + 7 > len(s) or len(s) > 90:
+        raise ValueError("bad separator")
+    hrp = s[:pos]
+    data = [CHARSET.find(c) for c in s[pos + 1:]]
+    if -1 in data:
+        raise ValueError("bad data character")
+    if not bech32_verify_checksum(hrp, data):
+        raise ValueError("bad checksum — typo in the npub?")
+    return hrp, data[:-6]
+
+
+def convertbits(data, frombits, tobits):
+    acc = 0
+    bits = 0
+    ret = bytearray()
+    maxv = (1 << tobits) - 1
+    for value in data:
+        if value < 0 or (value >> frombits):
+            raise ValueError("bad value")
+        acc = (acc << frombits) | value
+        bits += frombits
+        while bits >= tobits:
+            bits -= tobits
+            ret.append((acc >> bits) & maxv)
+    if bits >= frombits or ((acc << (tobits - bits)) & maxv):
+        raise ValueError("bad padding")
+    return bytes(ret)
+
+
+npub = sys.argv[1]
+hrp, data = bech32_decode(npub)
+if hrp != "npub":
+    raise ValueError(f"expected hrp 'npub', got '{hrp}'")
+pubkey = convertbits(data, 5, 8)
+if len(pubkey) != 32:
+    raise ValueError(f"npub data must be 32 bytes, got {len(pubkey)}")
+# ula = fd || sha256(pubkey)[0..15] — mirrors fips identity/node_addr.rs +
+# identity/address.rs (FIPS_ADDRESS_PREFIX = 0xfd).
+ula = bytes([0xFD]) + hashlib.sha256(pubkey).digest()[:15]
+print(ipaddress.IPv6Address(ula).compressed)
+PYEOF
+) || exit 1
+
+if [ "$RESOLVE_ONLY" = 1 ]; then
+    echo "$ULA"
+    exit 0
+fi
+
+exec ssh "${USER_PART}@${ULA}" "$@"
diff --git a/docs/HANDOFF-2026-08-31-ssh-over-mesh.md b/docs/HANDOFF-2026-08-31-ssh-over-mesh.md
index 9d32482a..627866b8 100644
--- a/docs/HANDOFF-2026-08-31-ssh-over-mesh.md
+++ b/docs/HANDOFF-2026-08-31-ssh-over-mesh.md
@@ -87,6 +87,25 @@ the node UI**, default **off**. Sketch:
 - [ ] Settings UI survives a page reload; RPC has a vitest like
       `TransportPrefsCard.test.ts`.
 
+## Addendum (2026-08-31, same day): the npub IS the address
+
+While wiring this up we confirmed the mesh ULA is a **pure function of the
+public key** — `fd ‖ sha256(x-only pubkey)[0..15]` (`fips/src/identity/node_addr.rs`
+`from_pubkey` → `identity/address.rs` `from_node_addr`,
+`FIPS_ADDRESS_PREFIX = 0xfd`). The daemon's DNS resolver (`fips/dial.rs`) just
+answers what anyone can compute. Consequences for the node side:
+
+- Docs/UI can advertise `ssh <user>@npub1…`-style addressing: Termux's
+  `Android/tools/fipssh` (shipped with the companion work) derives the ULA
+  from the npub with zero infrastructure, verified byte-identical against
+  the fips crate (`archy-fips-core` test
+  `npub_derives_the_same_mesh_ula_as_the_fips_identity`).
+- If the settings toggle from this handover ever grows a "copy command"
+  affordance, `fipssh <user>@<npub>` is the natural shape (npub, not ULA —
+  it is the durable identity; the ULA follows from it).
+- No node-side DNS surface is required for the SSH case; the resolver stays
+  what it is today (the node's own peer dials).
+
 ## Working rules
 
 Same as the queue handoffs: small commits, tracker issue for this feature