diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 1f20f27..9f1188d 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -759,8 +759,7 @@ The menu is **driven entirely by config** and assembled from two sources:
    in or bind-mounting your own dir onto `/app/config` (a commented example sits in
    `compose.override.yml`). The file imports its typed builder from **`#menu-config`** (the
    subpath import mapped to `src/ui/menu-config.ts`), so it resolves wherever it's mounted
-   (keep the mounted `config/` a plain dir — no `package.json` of its own — or `#menu-config`
-   resolves against that instead and boot fails loud):
+   (keep the mounted `config/` a plain dir — no `package.json` of its own):
    ```ts
    import { defineMenu } from "#menu-config";
    export default defineMenu({ branding: { name: "Acme Ops" }, override: { hide: ["teams"] } });
diff --git a/src/ui/menu-config.test.ts b/src/ui/menu-config.test.ts
index a5657bb..d53f19f 100644
--- a/src/ui/menu-config.test.ts
+++ b/src/ui/menu-config.test.ts
@@ -1,16 +1,20 @@
 import assert from "node:assert/strict";
-import { mkdtempSync, rmSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { mkdirSync, mkdtempSync, rmSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
 import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
 import { join } from "node:path";
 import { test, type TestContext } from "node:test";
 import { DEFAULT_MENU, loadMenuConfig } from "./menu-config.ts";
 
 // Write a throwaway menu.ts (a plain object — defineMenu is identity) and clean it up after.
-function scaffold(t: TestContext, source: string): string {
+function scaffold(t: TestContext, source: string, strays: string[] = []): string {
   const dir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "pp-menu-"));
   t.after(() => rmSync(dir, { force: true, recursive: true }));
   const file = join(dir, "menu.ts");
   writeFileSync(file, source);
+  for (const stray of strays) {
+    if (stray.endsWith(".json")) writeFileSync(join(dir, stray), "{}");
+    else mkdirSync(join(dir, stray), { recursive: true });
+  }
   return file;
 }
 
@@ -37,3 +41,14 @@ test("loadMenuConfig fails loud on a malformed config", async (t) => {
   await assert.rejects(loadMenuConfig({ file: scaffold(t, `export default { branding: { theme: "neon" } };`) }), /theme/);
   await assert.rejects(loadMenuConfig({ file: scaffold(t, `export default { override: { hide: "teams" } };`) }), /hide.*array/s);
 });
+
+test("loadMenuConfig refuses a stray package.json or node_modules beside the config", async (t) => {
+  const valid = `export default { branding: { name: "Acme Ops" } };`;
+
+  for (const stray of ["node_modules", "package.json"]) {
+    await assert.rejects(
+      loadMenuConfig({ file: scaffold(t, valid, [stray]) }),
+      new RegExp(`config/${stray.replace(".", "\\.")} must not exist.*delete`, "s"),
+    );
+  }
+});
diff --git a/src/ui/menu-config.ts b/src/ui/menu-config.ts
index 7c24373..d897c67 100644
--- a/src/ui/menu-config.ts
+++ b/src/ui/menu-config.ts
@@ -50,6 +50,14 @@ export async function loadMenuConfig(options: LoadMenuOptions = {}): Promise<Men
   const file = options.file ?? MENU_CONFIG_FILE;
   if (!existsSync(file)) return DEFAULT_MENU; // clean clone: no central override
 
+  // Guarded before the import: Node's own ERR_PACKAGE_IMPORT_NOT_DEFINED names neither cause nor remedy.
+  const dir = dirname(file);
+  for (const stray of ["node_modules", "package.json"]) {
+    if (existsSync(join(dir, stray))) {
+      throw new Error(`config/${stray} must not exist — it makes config/ its own package scope, so the #menu-config import in config/menu.ts no longer resolves; delete config/{node_modules,package.json,package-lock.json} and keep config/ a plain dir`);
+    }
+  }
+
   let mod: { default?: unknown };
   try {
     mod = await import(pathToFileURL(file).href);