diff --git a/image-recipe/configs/nginx-archipelago.conf b/image-recipe/configs/nginx-archipelago.conf
index c908eb82..72e55eeb 100644
--- a/image-recipe/configs/nginx-archipelago.conf
+++ b/image-recipe/configs/nginx-archipelago.conf
@@ -125,6 +125,23 @@ server {
     # `always` the header applies only to 2xx/3xx; 404s are routed to a
     # named location that marks them no-store so the browser retries.
     location /assets/ {
+        try_files $uri @aiui_assets;
+        add_header Cache-Control "public, max-age=31536000, immutable";
+    }
+    # AIUI's built index.html emits ABSOLUTE /assets/<hashed> paths, so they
+    # land here, in the MAIN UI's assets dir, where they do not exist — the
+    # real files are in aiui/assets/. The nearby /aiui-assets/ alias names this
+    # exact problem in its comment but only catches a path AIUI never requests,
+    # so it never fixed it.
+    #
+    # A fallback rather than copying the files up one level: a frontend deploy
+    # replaces web-ui wholesale (update.rs preserves the aiui/ directory itself,
+    # not copies made into assets/), so a copy is erased by the very next deploy
+    # while this survives. Hash collision with a real main-UI asset is not a
+    # concern — Vite hashes are content-derived, and a main asset that exists is
+    # served by try_files before this is ever consulted.
+    location @aiui_assets {
+        rewrite ^/assets/(.*)$ /aiui/assets/$1 break;
         try_files $uri =404;
         add_header Cache-Control "public, max-age=31536000, immutable";
         error_page 404 = @asset_missing;
@@ -985,6 +1002,23 @@ server {
     # HTTP block). No `always` on the immutable header: a transient 404 must
     # not be cached for a year — 404s go to @asset_missing (no-store) instead.
     location /assets/ {
+        try_files $uri @aiui_assets;
+        add_header Cache-Control "public, max-age=31536000, immutable";
+    }
+    # AIUI's built index.html emits ABSOLUTE /assets/<hashed> paths, so they
+    # land here, in the MAIN UI's assets dir, where they do not exist — the
+    # real files are in aiui/assets/. The nearby /aiui-assets/ alias names this
+    # exact problem in its comment but only catches a path AIUI never requests,
+    # so it never fixed it.
+    #
+    # A fallback rather than copying the files up one level: a frontend deploy
+    # replaces web-ui wholesale (update.rs preserves the aiui/ directory itself,
+    # not copies made into assets/), so a copy is erased by the very next deploy
+    # while this survives. Hash collision with a real main-UI asset is not a
+    # concern — Vite hashes are content-derived, and a main asset that exists is
+    # served by try_files before this is ever consulted.
+    location @aiui_assets {
+        rewrite ^/assets/(.*)$ /aiui/assets/$1 break;
         try_files $uri =404;
         add_header Cache-Control "public, max-age=31536000, immutable";
         error_page 404 = @asset_missing;