diff --git a/hh/scripts/sandbox-bootstrap.sh b/hh/scripts/sandbox-bootstrap.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b84d96a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hh/scripts/sandbox-bootstrap.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# sandbox-bootstrap.sh — install a baseline dev toolchain inside a hack-house
+# Docker sandbox.
+#
+# It is piped to `bash -s` (as root) inside the container at provision time, so
+# fresh sandboxes come up usable instead of bare. Idempotent + sentinel-guarded:
+# a re-provision (new member joins) or a snapshot load is a fast no-op.
+#
+# When launched by hh, the package list comes from scripts/sandbox-tools.json
+# (the canonical, editable schema) via $HH_SBX_PKGS. DEFAULT_PKGS below is only
+# the fallback for running this script standalone. Per-launch override:
+#   HH_SBX_PKGS="vim tmux ripgrep" ./host-house.sh ...
+set -uo pipefail
+
+SENTINEL=/var/lib/hh-bootstrap.done
+[[ -f "$SENTINEL" ]] && exit 0      # this container is already provisioned
+
+# Baseline dev tools: editors, fetchers, vcs, net + inspect utilities, json,
+# archives. Keep names valid for the base image (ubuntu:24.04) — an unknown
+# package would otherwise abort the whole batch install.
+DEFAULT_PKGS="vim nano less curl wget ca-certificates git \
+build-essential pkg-config \
+procps iproute2 iputils-ping net-tools \
+jq unzip zip tree htop file ripgrep \
+python3 python3-pip python3-venv"
+
+PKGS="${HH_SBX_PKGS:-$DEFAULT_PKGS}"
+
+export DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive
+
+# Refresh the index first (base images ship without /var/lib/apt/lists). If the
+# update fails (e.g. no network) we bail WITHOUT writing the sentinel, so the
+# next launch retries instead of leaving a half-provisioned shell.
+apt-get update -qq || exit 0
+
+# --no-install-recommends keeps the image lean. apt is atomic on resolution, so
+# if one name is unavailable the batch aborts — fall back to one-by-one so a
+# single bad/missing package can't deprive the shell of everything else.
+# shellcheck disable=SC2086
+if ! apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends $PKGS; then
+    for p in $PKGS; do
+        apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends "$p" || true
+    done
+fi
+
+mkdir -p "$(dirname "$SENTINEL")"
+date -u +%FT%TZ > "$SENTINEL"       # mark done; skip on the next provision pass
diff --git a/hh/scripts/sandbox-tools.json b/hh/scripts/sandbox-tools.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f8a09c0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hh/scripts/sandbox-tools.json
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+{
+  "_comment": "Packages apt-get installs in every hack-house Docker sandbox at launch. Edit `packages` to add dev tools, then relaunch the sandbox. `vim` and `curl` are ALWAYS installed even if absent here. Names must be valid for the base image (ubuntu:24.04); unknown names are skipped, not fatal. Per-launch override: HH_SBX_PKGS=\"vim tmux\".",
+  "packages": [
+    "vim",
+    "curl",
+    "wget",
+    "ca-certificates",
+    "git",
+    "less",
+    "nano",
+    "build-essential",
+    "pkg-config",
+    "procps",
+    "iproute2",
+    "iputils-ping",
+    "net-tools",
+    "jq",
+    "unzip",
+    "zip",
+    "tree",
+    "htop",
+    "file",
+    "ripgrep",
+    "python3",
+    "python3-pip",
+    "python3-venv"
+  ]
+}
diff --git a/hh/src/app.rs b/hh/src/app.rs
index a706341..61303e7 100644
--- a/hh/src/app.rs
+++ b/hh/src/app.rs
@@ -1680,27 +1680,80 @@ fn handle_command(
                 }
             }
             Some("load") => match p.next() {
-                None => app.sys("usage: /sbx load <label>  (a docker snapshot saved via /sbx save)"),
+                None => app.sys("usage: /sbx load <label>  (a docker or multipass snapshot saved via /sbx save)"),
                 Some(label) if !is_snap_label(label) => {
                     app.sys("snapshot label must be alphanumerics, '.', '_' or '-'");
                 }
                 Some(label) => {
                     if app.sandbox.is_some() || broker.is_some() || *launching {
                         app.sys("stop the current sandbox first (`/sbx stop`) before loading a snapshot");
-                    } else if !sbx::docker_daemon_up() {
-                        app.err("docker daemon is not running — `/sbx launch docker --start` once to boot it, then retry");
                     } else {
-                        let image = format!("{}:{}", sbx::SNAP_REPO, label);
+                        // A bare label is backend-ambiguous, so probe which backend
+                        // actually holds the snapshot, then restore through it:
+                        // docker reruns a committed image; multipass restores the
+                        // (stopped, preserved) instance and re-attaches its shell.
+                        let label = label.to_string();
                         let sz = term.size().map(|s| (s.width, s.height)).unwrap_or((80, 24));
                         let (rows, cols) = sbx_dims(sz.0, sz.1);
                         *launching = true;
                         let members: Vec<String> =
                             app.users.iter().map(|u| u.username.clone()).collect();
-                        app.sys(format!("loading sandbox from {image}…"));
-                        spawn_launch(
-                            sbx::Backend::Docker, image, app.me.clone(), members, rows, cols,
-                            false, pty_tx.clone(), broker_tx.clone(), app_tx.clone(),
-                        );
+                        let owner = app.me.clone();
+                        app.sys(format!("loading snapshot '{label}'…"));
+                        let (pty, btx, atx) =
+                            (pty_tx.clone(), broker_tx.clone(), app_tx.clone());
+                        tokio::spawn(async move {
+                            let (n, lbl) = (SBX_NAME.to_string(), label.clone());
+                            let kind = tokio::task::spawn_blocking(move || {
+                                sbx::locate_snapshot(&n, &lbl)
+                            })
+                            .await
+                            .unwrap_or(sbx::SnapKind::None);
+                            match kind {
+                                sbx::SnapKind::Docker => {
+                                    if !sbx::docker_daemon_up() {
+                                        let _ = atx.send(Net::Err("docker daemon is not running — `/sbx launch docker --start` once to boot it, then retry".into()));
+                                        let _ = btx.send(BrokerMsg::Failed);
+                                        return;
+                                    }
+                                    let image = format!("{}:{}", sbx::SNAP_REPO, label);
+                                    let _ = atx.send(Net::Sys(format!("loading docker sandbox from {image}…")));
+                                    spawn_launch(
+                                        sbx::Backend::Docker, image, owner, members, rows,
+                                        cols, false, pty, btx, atx,
+                                    );
+                                }
+                                sbx::SnapKind::Multipass => {
+                                    let lbl = label.clone();
+                                    let res = tokio::task::spawn_blocking(move || {
+                                        sbx::mp_restore(SBX_NAME, &lbl)
+                                    })
+                                    .await;
+                                    match res {
+                                        Ok(Ok(desc)) => {
+                                            let _ = atx.send(Net::Sys(format!("⛧ {desc} · booting…")));
+                                            spawn_launch(
+                                                sbx::Backend::Multipass,
+                                                sbx::Backend::Multipass.default_image().to_string(),
+                                                owner, members, rows, cols, false, pty, btx, atx,
+                                            );
+                                        }
+                                        Ok(Err(e)) => {
+                                            let _ = atx.send(Net::Err(format!("load failed: {e}")));
+                                            let _ = btx.send(BrokerMsg::Failed);
+                                        }
+                                        Err(e) => {
+                                            let _ = atx.send(Net::Err(format!("load task: {e}")));
+                                            let _ = btx.send(BrokerMsg::Failed);
+                                        }
+                                    }
+                                }
+                                sbx::SnapKind::None => {
+                                    let _ = atx.send(Net::Err(format!("no saved snapshot '{label}' — list with `/sbx snaps`")));
+                                    let _ = btx.send(BrokerMsg::Failed);
+                                }
+                            }
+                        });
                     }
                 }
             },
@@ -1802,6 +1855,45 @@ fn handle_command(
                     }
                 }
             }
+            Some("vmload") => {
+                // Restore a VirtualBox VM to a snapshot (inverse of /sbx vmsave)
+                // then boot its GUI locally. `<label>` picks a named snapshot;
+                // omit it to restore the VM's current snapshot.
+                let mut vpos = p.filter(|a| !a.starts_with('-'));
+                match vpos.next() {
+                    None => app.sys(
+                        "usage: /sbx vmload <vm> [label]  (restore a VirtualBox snapshot + boot; list with /sbx vmsnaps <vm>)",
+                    ),
+                    Some(vm) => {
+                        let label = vpos.next().map(str::to_string);
+                        if label.as_deref().is_some_and(|l| !is_snap_label(l)) {
+                            app.sys("snapshot label must be alphanumerics, '.', '_' or '-'");
+                        } else {
+                            app.sys(format!(
+                                "restoring VM '{vm}'{} then booting…",
+                                label
+                                    .as_deref()
+                                    .map(|l| format!(" to '{l}'"))
+                                    .unwrap_or_default()
+                            ));
+                            let (tx, vm) = (app_tx.clone(), vm.to_string());
+                            tokio::spawn(async move {
+                                let res = tokio::task::spawn_blocking(move || {
+                                    let desc = sbx::vm_restore(&vm, label.as_deref())?;
+                                    let boot = sbx::gui_launch(&vm)?;
+                                    Ok::<_, anyhow::Error>(format!("{desc} · {boot}"))
+                                })
+                                .await;
+                                let _ = match res {
+                                    Ok(Ok(desc)) => tx.send(Net::Sys(format!("⛧ {desc}"))),
+                                    Ok(Err(e)) => tx.send(Net::Err(format!("vmload failed: {e}"))),
+                                    Err(e) => tx.send(Net::Err(format!("vmload task: {e}"))),
+                                };
+                            });
+                        }
+                    }
+                }
+            }
             Some("gui") => {
                 // Convenience alias for `/sbx launch vbox gui <vm> [yes]` — opens a
                 // local VirtualBox VM's GUI on your own machine. Bare `/sbx gui`
@@ -1817,7 +1909,7 @@ fn handle_command(
                 }
             }
             _ => app.sys(
-                "usage: /sbx launch vbox [gui] <vm> [yes] (host opens directly; non-host appends yes) · /sbx gui <vm> alias · launch <docker|multipass> [image] (or local) · vms · stop · save [label] [--local] · load <label> · snaps · vmsave <vm> [label] [--local] · vmsnaps <vm>",
+                "usage: /sbx launch vbox [gui] <vm> [yes] (host opens directly; non-host appends yes) · /sbx gui <vm> alias · launch <docker|multipass> [image] (or local) · vms · stop · save [label] [--local] · load <label> · snaps · vmsave <vm> [label] [--local] · vmload <vm> [label] · vmsnaps <vm>",
             ),
         }
     } else if let Some(rest) = line.strip_prefix("/unsudo") {
diff --git a/hh/src/sbx.rs b/hh/src/sbx.rs
index 11b6d53..1bd92d1 100644
--- a/hh/src/sbx.rs
+++ b/hh/src/sbx.rs
@@ -16,6 +16,10 @@ use std::sync::mpsc;
 const ENSURE_DOCKER: &str = concat!(env!("CARGO_MANIFEST_DIR"), "/scripts/ensure-docker.sh");
 /// Detect-first VirtualBox installer (ships in hh/scripts/).
 const ENSURE_VBOX: &str = concat!(env!("CARGO_MANIFEST_DIR"), "/scripts/ensure-vbox.sh");
+/// Baseline dev-toolchain installer run inside Docker sandboxes (hh/scripts/).
+const SBX_BOOTSTRAP: &str = concat!(env!("CARGO_MANIFEST_DIR"), "/scripts/sandbox-bootstrap.sh");
+/// Editable package schema the bootstrap installs — vim+curl always added.
+const SBX_TOOLS_JSON: &str = concat!(env!("CARGO_MANIFEST_DIR"), "/scripts/sandbox-tools.json");
 
 /// Is the Docker daemon accepting connections? (`docker info` succeeds.)
 pub fn docker_daemon_up() -> bool {
@@ -446,8 +450,21 @@ pub fn prepare(backend: Backend, name: &str, image: &str, start_daemon: bool) ->
 pub fn teardown(backend: Backend, name: &str) {
     match backend {
         Backend::Multipass => {
+            // Multipass snapshots live *inside* the instance, so `delete --purge`
+            // would destroy any saved state. If the user has snapshots worth
+            // keeping (so `/sbx load <label>` can restore them), just *stop* the
+            // instance — it persists, powered off, ready to be restored. With no
+            // snapshots there's nothing to preserve, so purge to stay clean.
+            let has_snaps = list_snapshots(Backend::Multipass, name)
+                .map(|s| !s.is_empty())
+                .unwrap_or(false);
+            let args: &[&str] = if has_snaps {
+                &["stop", name]
+            } else {
+                &["delete", name, "--purge"]
+            };
             let _ = Command::new("multipass")
-                .args(["delete", name, "--purge"])
+                .args(args)
                 .stdout(Stdio::null())
                 .stderr(Stdio::null())
                 .status();
@@ -559,6 +576,30 @@ pub fn save_state(backend: Backend, name: &str, label: &str, local: bool) -> Res
     }
 }
 
+/// Restore a Multipass instance to a saved snapshot — the load-side inverse of
+/// the multipass branch of `save_state`. `multipass restore <name>.<label>`
+/// requires the instance to exist and be **stopped**, which is exactly the
+/// state `teardown` leaves it in when snapshots are present. Blocking; the
+/// caller boots it afterwards via the normal `prepare` (existing instance →
+/// `multipass start`) path. The leading `--destructive` skips the interactive
+/// "overwrite current state?" prompt — safe here because restoring *is* the
+/// intent and any unsaved drift since the snapshot is what the user wants gone.
+pub fn mp_restore(name: &str, label: &str) -> Result<String> {
+    let target = format!("{name}.{label}");
+    let out = Command::new("multipass")
+        .args(["restore", "--destructive", &target])
+        .output()
+        .context("multipass restore (is multipass installed?)")?;
+    if !out.status.success() {
+        let err = String::from_utf8_lossy(&out.stderr);
+        anyhow::bail!(
+            "multipass restore failed: {}",
+            err.lines().last().unwrap_or("").trim()
+        );
+    }
+    Ok(format!("restored multipass instance to snapshot '{label}'"))
+}
+
 /// Snapshot a VirtualBox VM's state. VirtualBox isn't a brokered `Backend` (its
 /// GUI runs locally, never relayed), so it has its own save path. Blocking.
 ///
@@ -600,6 +641,35 @@ pub fn vm_save_state(vm: &str, label: &str, local: bool) -> Result<String> {
     Ok(format!("snapshot '{label}' of {vm}"))
 }
 
+/// Restore a VirtualBox VM to a snapshot — the inverse of `vm_save_state`.
+/// `label` picks a named snapshot; `None` restores the VM's *current* snapshot.
+/// VirtualBox refuses to restore a live machine, so the VM must be powered off.
+/// Blocking; the caller boots the GUI afterwards.
+pub fn vm_restore(vm: &str, label: Option<&str>) -> Result<String> {
+    if vm_running(vm) {
+        anyhow::bail!("‘{vm}’ is running — power it off first, then restore the snapshot");
+    }
+    let args: Vec<&str> = match label {
+        Some(l) => vec!["snapshot", vm, "restore", l],
+        None => vec!["snapshot", vm, "restorecurrent"],
+    };
+    let out = Command::new("VBoxManage")
+        .args(&args)
+        .output()
+        .context("VBoxManage snapshot restore (is VirtualBox installed?)")?;
+    if !out.status.success() {
+        let err = String::from_utf8_lossy(&out.stderr);
+        anyhow::bail!(
+            "VBoxManage snapshot restore failed: {}",
+            err.lines().last().unwrap_or("").trim()
+        );
+    }
+    Ok(match label {
+        Some(l) => format!("restored ‘{vm}’ to snapshot '{l}'"),
+        None => format!("restored ‘{vm}’ to its current snapshot"),
+    })
+}
+
 /// Snapshot names for a VirtualBox VM (`VBoxManage snapshot <vm> list
 /// --machinereadable` → `SnapshotName*="..."` lines). Blocking. An empty list
 /// (exit 1 "does not have any snapshots") is reported as no snapshots, not an
@@ -667,6 +737,37 @@ pub fn list_snapshots(backend: Backend, name: &str) -> Result<Vec<String>> {
     }
 }
 
+/// Where a `/sbx load <label>` snapshot lives, so the loader knows which backend
+/// to restore through. A bare label is ambiguous (a docker image tag *and* a
+/// multipass snapshot could share it), so we probe and prefer whichever exists.
+#[derive(Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq)]
+pub enum SnapKind {
+    Docker,
+    Multipass,
+    None,
+}
+
+/// Resolve a snapshot label to the backend that holds it. Probes multipass first
+/// (its snapshots are instance-scoped and rarer), then docker's `hh-snap` repo.
+/// Blocking — run off the UI thread. A backend whose CLI is absent simply
+/// reports no match rather than erroring, so a missing multipass doesn't block a
+/// docker load and vice-versa.
+pub fn locate_snapshot(name: &str, label: &str) -> SnapKind {
+    if list_snapshots(Backend::Multipass, name)
+        .map(|s| s.iter().any(|l| l == label))
+        .unwrap_or(false)
+    {
+        return SnapKind::Multipass;
+    }
+    if list_snapshots(Backend::Docker, name)
+        .map(|s| s.iter().any(|l| l == label))
+        .unwrap_or(false)
+    {
+        return SnapKind::Docker;
+    }
+    SnapKind::None
+}
+
 /// Build the shell command for a backend, running as unix user `run_user`
 /// (empty = backend default). The container/VM is already up (see `prepare`).
 fn command_for(backend: Backend, name: &str, run_user: &str) -> CommandBuilder {
@@ -730,6 +831,74 @@ fn dk(name: &str, args: &[&str]) {
         .status();
 }
 
+#[derive(serde::Deserialize)]
+struct ToolsCfg {
+    packages: Vec<String>,
+}
+
+/// The space-joined apt package list every Docker sandbox installs at launch.
+/// Read from `scripts/sandbox-tools.json` so it's editable without code changes;
+/// `vim`+`curl` are always present, names are sanitized to a safe charset, and
+/// duplicates collapse. Missing/invalid JSON degrades gracefully to vim+curl.
+fn sandbox_pkgs() -> String {
+    let mut out: Vec<String> = vec!["vim".into(), "curl".into()];
+    if let Ok(raw) = std::fs::read_to_string(SBX_TOOLS_JSON) {
+        if let Ok(cfg) = serde_json::from_str::<ToolsCfg>(&raw) {
+            for p in cfg.packages {
+                // Keep only valid apt package-name chars so a stray edit can't
+                // smuggle shell metacharacters into the install command.
+                let p: String = p
+                    .trim()
+                    .chars()
+                    .filter(|c| c.is_ascii_alphanumeric() || "._+-".contains(*c))
+                    .collect();
+                if !p.is_empty() && !out.contains(&p) {
+                    out.push(p);
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    out.join(" ")
+}
+
+/// Run the sandbox bootstrap inside the container, piping the script to `bash -s`
+/// on stdin (keeps it out of argv) with the resolved package list in the env.
+/// Blocking — provision() is already off the UI thread.
+fn dk_bootstrap(name: &str) {
+    let script = std::fs::read_to_string(SBX_BOOTSTRAP).unwrap_or_else(|_| {
+        // Degraded fallback if the script file is missing: still refresh the
+        // index and install whatever the env carries (at minimum vim+curl).
+        "apt-get update -qq && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends $HH_SBX_PKGS".into()
+    });
+    let env = format!("HH_SBX_PKGS={}", sandbox_pkgs());
+    let child = Command::new("docker")
+        .args(["exec", "-i", "-e", &env, name, "bash", "-s"])
+        .stdin(Stdio::piped())
+        .stdout(Stdio::null())
+        .stderr(Stdio::null())
+        .spawn();
+    if let Ok(mut c) = child {
+        if let Some(mut stdin) = c.stdin.take() {
+            let _ = stdin.write_all(script.as_bytes());
+        }
+        let _ = c.wait();
+    }
+}
+
+/// Install the baseline dev toolchain (scripts/sandbox-tools.json; vim+curl
+/// guaranteed) inside a Multipass VM. It already ships apt + sudo with a
+/// populated index, so this is a direct install. The package list is sanitized
+/// by `sandbox_pkgs`, so interpolating it into the shell command is safe.
+/// Blocking — provision() is off the UI thread.
+fn mp_bootstrap(name: &str) {
+    let cmd = format!(
+        "export DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive; apt-get update -qq && \
+         apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends {} || true",
+        sandbox_pkgs()
+    );
+    mp(name, &["sudo", "bash", "-c", &cmd]);
+}
+
 /// Grant a Multipass user real *passwordless* sudo (group + sudoers.d drop-in)
 /// so they're a usable superuser non-interactively. `u` is already unix-safe.
 fn mp_grant_sudo(name: &str, u: &str) {
@@ -759,13 +928,16 @@ pub fn provision(backend: Backend, name: &str, owner: &str, members: &[String])
             if !run.is_empty() {
                 mp_grant_sudo(name, &run); // owner = passwordless superuser
             }
+            mp_bootstrap(name); // same baseline dev toolchain as the docker sandbox
             run
         }
         Backend::Docker => {
-            // Refresh the apt index once so `apt-get install <pkg>` just works —
-            // base images ship without /var/lib/apt/lists, so installs otherwise
-            // fail with "Unable to locate package" until the user runs update.
-            dk(name, &["apt-get", "update"]);
+            // Install the baseline dev toolchain (editable list in
+            // scripts/sandbox-tools.json; vim+curl guaranteed) so a fresh
+            // sandbox comes up usable instead of bare. The script also refreshes
+            // the apt index (base images ship without /var/lib/apt/lists) and is
+            // idempotent + sentinel-guarded, so re-provisions stay fast.
+            dk_bootstrap(name);
             for m in members {
                 let u = unix_name(m);
                 if !u.is_empty() {
diff --git a/hh/src/ui.rs b/hh/src/ui.rs
index f41a163..4ab573f 100644
--- a/hh/src/ui.rs
+++ b/hh/src/ui.rs
@@ -150,53 +150,52 @@ fn help_clusters(theme: &Theme) -> Vec<HelpCluster> {
     );
     vec![
         HelpCluster {
-            title: "SANDBOX",
+            title: "VIRTUAL MACHINES",
             items: vec![
+                // ── launch (one verb per backend) ──
                 kv(
-                    "/sbx launch <docker|multipass|vbox>",
-                    "summon a sandbox on YOUR machine — docker/multipass relay a shared shell; vbox <vm> opens a local GUI (or local)",
-                ),
-                kv("/sbx stop", "tear down the sandbox (purges the VM)"),
-                kv(
-                    "/sbx save [label] [--local]",
-                    "snapshot state (docker image; --local also writes a portable .tar)",
+                    "/sbx launch docker [image]",
+                    "Linux container — shared shell relayed to the room (default ubuntu:24.04 + auto dev toolchain)",
                 ),
                 kv(
-                    "/sbx load <label>",
-                    "launch a fresh sandbox from a saved snapshot",
+                    "/sbx launch multipass [image]",
+                    "full Ubuntu VM — shared shell relayed to the room (same dev toolchain)",
                 ),
-                kv("/sbx snaps", "list saved snapshots"),
-                kv(
-                    "/drive  ·  F2",
-                    "type into the shared shell  (Esc releases)",
-                ),
-            ],
-        },
-        HelpCluster {
-            title: "VIRTUALBOX (local GUI VM)",
-            items: vec![
                 kv(
                     "/sbx launch vbox",
-                    "open the arrow-navigable VM picker (↑↓ move · Enter/Tab boot · Esc dismiss)",
+                    "VirtualBox VM picker — local GUI (↑↓ move · Enter/Tab boot · Esc dismiss)",
                 ),
                 kv(
-                    "/sbx launch vbox [gui] <vm>",
-                    "boot a VM's GUI on YOUR machine — host with the VM already imported launches instantly",
+                    "/sbx launch vbox [gui] <vm> [yes]",
+                    "boot a VirtualBox VM's GUI on YOUR machine (non-host appends yes to install/import first)",
                 ),
+                kv("/sbx launch local", "a plain shell on your own machine — no VM"),
+                kv("/sbx stop", "tear down the running sandbox (purges the VM/container)"),
+                // ── save (docker/multipass share a verb; vbox has its own) ──
                 kv(
-                    "/sbx launch vbox gui <vm> yes",
-                    "non-host opt-in: append yes to install VirtualBox and/or import the shared .ova, then boot",
+                    "/sbx save [label] [--local]",
+                    "save docker/multipass state (--local on docker also writes a portable .tar)",
                 ),
-                kv(
-                    "/sbx gui <vm> [yes]",
-                    "alias of /sbx launch vbox gui <vm> [yes]",
-                ),
-                kv("/sbx vms", "detect VirtualBox + list local VMs"),
                 kv(
                     "/sbx vmsave <vm> [label] [--local]",
-                    "snapshot a VM (--local also exports a portable .ova to /send)",
+                    "save a VirtualBox VM snapshot (--local also exports a portable .ova to /send)",
                 ),
-                kv("/sbx vmsnaps <vm>", "list a VM's snapshots"),
+                // ── load + list ──
+                kv(
+                    "/sbx load <label>",
+                    "relaunch a saved docker/multipass snapshot (auto-detects backend)",
+                ),
+                kv(
+                    "/sbx vmload <vm> [label]",
+                    "restore a VirtualBox snapshot + boot (omit label for the VM's current snapshot)",
+                ),
+                kv("/sbx snaps", "list saved docker/multipass snapshots"),
+                kv(
+                    "/sbx vms  ·  /sbx vmsnaps <vm>",
+                    "list local VirtualBox VMs · a VM's snapshots",
+                ),
+                kv("/sbx gui <vm> [yes]", "alias of /sbx launch vbox gui <vm> [yes]"),
+                kv("/drive  ·  F2", "type into the shared shell (Esc releases)"),
             ],
         },
         HelpCluster {