diff --git a/appview/db/spindle.go b/appview/db/spindle.go
index 434f81135..349a5b66b 100644
--- a/appview/db/spindle.go
+++ b/appview/db/spindle.go
@@ -4,18 +4,49 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"database/sql"
 	"fmt"
+	"slices"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/bluesky-social/indigo/atproto/syntax"
 	"tangled.org/core/appview/models"
+	"tangled.org/core/consts"
 	"tangled.org/core/orm"
 )
 
-// RecentSpindles lists spindles user recently used.
+// RecentSpindles suggests spindles for the spindle picker: ones this user already
+// pointed a repo at, most recently created first, plus the default spindle.
 func RecentSpindles(ctx context.Context, e Execer, user syntax.DID) ([]string, error) {
-	// NOTE: should I use redis instead..?
-	panic("unimplemented")
+	rows, err := e.QueryContext(ctx, `
+		select spindle from repos
+		where did = ? and coalesce(spindle, '') != ''
+		group by spindle
+		order by max(id) desc
+		limit 5
+	`, user)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	defer rows.Close()
+
+	var spindles []string
+	for rows.Next() {
+		var spindle string
+		if err := rows.Scan(&spindle); err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+		spindles = append(spindles, spindle)
+	}
+	if err := rows.Err(); err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	// a fresh account owns no repos, and a bare text input gives it nothing to go on
+	if !slices.Contains(spindles, consts.DefaultSpindle) {
+		spindles = append(spindles, consts.DefaultSpindle)
+	}
+
+	return spindles, nil
 }
 
 func GetSpindles(ctx context.Context, e Execer, filters ...orm.Filter) ([]models.Spindle, error) {
diff --git a/appview/db/spindle_test.go b/appview/db/spindle_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..00e1ac1b2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/appview/db/spindle_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+package db
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"fmt"
+	"slices"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/bluesky-social/indigo/atproto/syntax"
+	"tangled.org/core/consts"
+)
+
+func insertRepoWithSpindle(t *testing.T, d *DB, did, name, spindle string) {
+	t.Helper()
+	if _, err := d.Exec(
+		`insert into repos (did, name, knot, rkey, at_uri, spindle) values (?, ?, 'knot.test', ?, ?, ?)`,
+		did, name, name, fmt.Sprintf("at://%s/sh.tangled.repo/%s", did, name), spindle,
+	); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("insert repo %q: %v", name, err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestRecentSpindles(t *testing.T) {
+	d := newTestDB(t)
+	const user = "did:plc:akshay"
+
+	// oldest first; "one" and "three" share a spindle
+	insertRepoWithSpindle(t, d, user, "one", "a.spindle.test")
+	insertRepoWithSpindle(t, d, user, "two", "b.spindle.test")
+	insertRepoWithSpindle(t, d, user, "three", "a.spindle.test")
+	insertRepoWithSpindle(t, d, user, "no-spindle", "")
+	if _, err := d.Exec(
+		`insert into repos (did, name, knot, rkey, at_uri) values (?, 'null-spindle', 'knot.test', 'null-spindle', ?)`,
+		user, fmt.Sprintf("at://%s/sh.tangled.repo/null-spindle", user),
+	); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("insert null-spindle repo: %v", err)
+	}
+	insertRepoWithSpindle(t, d, "did:plc:someone-else", "theirs", "other.spindle.test")
+
+	got, err := RecentSpindles(context.Background(), d, syntax.DID(user))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("RecentSpindles: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	want := []string{"a.spindle.test", "b.spindle.test", consts.DefaultSpindle}
+	if !slices.Equal(got, want) {
+		t.Errorf("RecentSpindles = %v, want %v", got, want)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestRecentSpindlesNoRepos(t *testing.T) {
+	d := newTestDB(t)
+
+	got, err := RecentSpindles(context.Background(), d, syntax.DID("did:plc:akshay"))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("RecentSpindles: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	// a fresh account still gets something to pick
+	if !slices.Equal(got, []string{consts.DefaultSpindle}) {
+		t.Errorf("RecentSpindles = %v, want [%s]", got, consts.DefaultSpindle)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/appview/models/repo.go b/appview/models/repo.go
index 893abe205..41f89c9f8 100644
--- a/appview/models/repo.go
+++ b/appview/models/repo.go
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import (
 	securejoin "github.com/cyphar/filepath-securejoin"
 	enry "github.com/go-enry/go-enry/v2"
 	"tangled.org/core/api/tangled"
+	"tangled.org/core/hostutil"
 )
 
 type Repo struct {
@@ -198,6 +199,29 @@ func StripGitExt(name string) string {
 	return strings.TrimSuffix(name, ".git")
 }
 
+// ValidateSpindle normalizes a user-typed spindle host. Empty means "no spindle".
+//
+// Membership is enforced by the spindle itself, so this only checks that the value
+// is a host the appview can safely send service-auth requests to.
+func ValidateSpindle(raw string, dev bool) (string, error) {
+	raw = strings.TrimSpace(raw)
+	if raw == "" {
+		return "", nil
+	}
+
+	host, noTLS, err := hostutil.ParseHostname(raw)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("%q is not a valid spindle host", raw)
+	}
+
+	// ParseHostname allows localhost:PORT, which would make the appview dial itself
+	if noTLS && !dev {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("spindle must be a public https host")
+	}
+
+	return host, nil
+}
+
 type RepoGroup struct {
 	Repo   *Repo
 	Issues []Issue
diff --git a/appview/models/repo_test.go b/appview/models/repo_test.go
index d534ceb78..3f64b7d7a 100644
--- a/appview/models/repo_test.go
+++ b/appview/models/repo_test.go
@@ -104,3 +104,36 @@ func TestRepoSlug(t *testing.T) {
 		})
 	}
 }
+
+func TestValidateSpindle(t *testing.T) {
+	cases := []struct {
+		name    string
+		raw     string
+		dev     bool
+		want    string
+		wantErr bool
+	}{
+		{"empty means no spindle", "", false, "", false},
+		{"whitespace only", "   ", false, "", false},
+		{"bare hostname", "spindle.example.com", false, "spindle.example.com", false},
+		{"scheme and trailing slash stripped", " https://Spindle.Example.com/ ", false, "spindle.example.com", false},
+		{"localhost in dev", "localhost:6555", true, "localhost:6555", false},
+		{"localhost in prod", "localhost:6555", false, "", true},
+		{"plain http in prod", "http://spindle.example.com", false, "", true},
+		{"link-local ip", "169.254.169.254", false, "", true},
+		{"port on public host", "spindle.example.com:8443", false, "", true},
+		{"single word", "spindle", false, "", true},
+		{"not a host", "not a host", false, "", true},
+	}
+	for _, c := range cases {
+		t.Run(c.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			got, err := ValidateSpindle(c.raw, c.dev)
+			if (err != nil) != c.wantErr {
+				t.Fatalf("ValidateSpindle(%q, %v) error = %v, wantErr %v", c.raw, c.dev, err, c.wantErr)
+			}
+			if got != c.want {
+				t.Errorf("ValidateSpindle(%q, %v) = %q, want %q", c.raw, c.dev, got, c.want)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
diff --git a/appview/pages/compose_parse_test.go b/appview/pages/compose_parse_test.go
index 9735ec12b..e8f8beaa7 100644
--- a/appview/pages/compose_parse_test.go
+++ b/appview/pages/compose_parse_test.go
@@ -10,13 +10,14 @@ import (
 	"tangled.org/core/appview/config"
 	"tangled.org/core/appview/models"
 	"tangled.org/core/appview/pages/repoinfo"
+	"tangled.org/core/idresolver"
 	"tangled.org/core/patchutil"
 	"tangled.org/core/types"
 )
 
 func TestPullComposeTemplatesParse(t *testing.T) {
 	cfg := &config.Config{}
-	p := NewPages(cfg, nil, nil, nil, slog.New(slog.NewTextHandler(io.Discard, nil)))
+	p := NewPages(cfg, idresolver.DefaultResolver("https://plc.test"), nil, nil, slog.New(slog.NewTextHandler(io.Discard, nil)))
 
 	cases := []struct {
 		name  string
@@ -45,7 +46,7 @@ func TestPullComposeTemplatesParse(t *testing.T) {
 
 func TestPullComposeHostRender(t *testing.T) {
 	cfg := &config.Config{}
-	p := NewPages(cfg, nil, nil, nil, slog.New(slog.NewTextHandler(io.Discard, nil)))
+	p := NewPages(cfg, idresolver.DefaultResolver("https://plc.test"), nil, nil, slog.New(slog.NewTextHandler(io.Discard, nil)))
 
 	base := RepoNewPullParams{
 		RepoInfo: repoinfo.RepoInfo{
@@ -80,7 +81,7 @@ func TestPullComposeHostRender(t *testing.T) {
 
 func TestPullComposeHostRenderWithData(t *testing.T) {
 	cfg := &config.Config{}
-	p := NewPages(cfg, nil, nil, nil, slog.New(slog.NewTextHandler(io.Discard, nil)))
+	p := NewPages(cfg, idresolver.DefaultResolver("https://plc.test"), nil, nil, slog.New(slog.NewTextHandler(io.Discard, nil)))
 
 	sampleBranches := []types.Branch{
 		{Reference: types.Reference{Name: "feature"}},
@@ -209,7 +210,7 @@ index 0000000..1111111 100644
 
 func TestPullComposeLabelStateRoundTrip(t *testing.T) {
 	cfg := &config.Config{}
-	p := NewPages(cfg, nil, nil, nil, slog.New(slog.NewTextHandler(io.Discard, nil)))
+	p := NewPages(cfg, idresolver.DefaultResolver("https://plc.test"), nil, nil, slog.New(slog.NewTextHandler(io.Discard, nil)))
 
 	sampleBranches := []types.Branch{
 		{Reference: types.Reference{Name: "feature"}},
diff --git a/appview/pages/ratchet_test.go b/appview/pages/ratchet_test.go
index 635042a01..8bc49a112 100644
--- a/appview/pages/ratchet_test.go
+++ b/appview/pages/ratchet_test.go
@@ -44,7 +44,6 @@ func TestNoRepoRkeyInTemplates(t *testing.T) {
 var bareDidAllowlist = map[string]bool{
 	"templates/strings/string.html":         true,
 	"templates/strings/fragments/form.html": true,
-	"templates/spindles/dashboard.html":     true,
 }
 
 var didCloseAsUrlSegment = regexp.MustCompile(`\.(?:Did|OwnerDid)\s*\}\}\s*/`)
diff --git a/appview/pages/spindle_input_test.go b/appview/pages/spindle_input_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..43da84845
--- /dev/null
+++ b/appview/pages/spindle_input_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,88 @@
+package pages
+
+import (
+	"bytes"
+	"io"
+	"log/slog"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"tangled.org/core/appview/config"
+	"tangled.org/core/appview/oauth"
+	"tangled.org/core/appview/pages/repoinfo"
+	"tangled.org/core/idresolver"
+)
+
+// the spindle picker is free text with a datalist of recently used spindles, and
+// is shared by repo-new, repo-fork and repo-settings/pipelines. Rendering catches
+// what parsing can't: a mistyped fragment name or dict key only fails on execute.
+func TestSpindleInputRenders(t *testing.T) {
+	cfg := &config.Config{}
+	p := NewPages(cfg, idresolver.DefaultResolver("https://plc.test"), nil, nil, slog.New(slog.NewTextHandler(io.Discard, nil)))
+
+	cases := []struct {
+		name   string
+		stack  []string
+		define string
+		params any
+		want   []string
+	}{
+		{
+			name:   "repo/new",
+			stack:  []string{"repo/new"},
+			define: "spindle",
+			params: NewRepoParams{Spindles: []string{"spindle.example.com"}},
+			want:   []string{`list="spindle-options"`, `<option value="spindle.example.com">`, `value=""`},
+		},
+		{
+			name:   "repo/fork",
+			stack:  []string{"repo/fork"},
+			define: "content",
+			params: ForkRepoParams{
+				BaseParams: BaseParams{
+					LoggedInUser: &oauth.MultiAccountUser{Did: "did:plc:test"},
+				},
+				Spindles: []string{"spindle.example.com"},
+				RepoInfo: repoinfo.RepoInfo{OwnerDid: "did:plc:test", Name: "test-repo"},
+			},
+			want: []string{`list="spindle-options"`, `<option value="spindle.example.com">`},
+		},
+		{
+			name:   "repo/settings/pipelines",
+			stack:  []string{"repo/settings/pipelines"},
+			define: "spindleSettings",
+			params: RepoPipelineSettingsParams{
+				Spindles:       []string{"spindle.example.com"},
+				CurrentSpindle: "spindle.tangled.sh",
+				RepoInfo: repoinfo.RepoInfo{
+					OwnerDid: "did:plc:test",
+					Name:     "test-repo",
+					Roles:    repoinfo.RolesInRepo{Roles: []string{"repo:owner"}},
+				},
+			},
+			// the current spindle is prefilled, and clearing the field removes it
+			want: []string{`value="spindle.tangled.sh"`, `<option value="spindle.example.com">`},
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, c := range cases {
+		t.Run(c.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			tpl, err := p.rawParse(c.stack...)
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatalf("parse %v: %v", c.stack, err)
+			}
+
+			var buf bytes.Buffer
+			if err := tpl.ExecuteTemplate(&buf, c.define, c.params); err != nil {
+				t.Fatalf("execute %q: %v", c.define, err)
+			}
+
+			got := buf.String()
+			for _, want := range c.want {
+				if !strings.Contains(got, want) {
+					t.Errorf("output missing %q:\n%s", want, got)
+				}
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
diff --git a/appview/pages/templates/repo/fork.html b/appview/pages/templates/repo/fork.html
index 4cb7b2866..75c6a80cf 100644
--- a/appview/pages/templates/repo/fork.html
+++ b/appview/pages/templates/repo/fork.html
@@ -141,37 +141,15 @@
           <div class="flex-1 flex flex-col gap-2 pt-4">
             <div class="space-y-4">
 
-            {{/* Spindle list */}}
+            {{/* Spindle */}}
             <div>
-              <label class="block text-sm font-bold dark:text-white mb-1">Select a spindle</label>
-              <div class="w-full dark:bg-gray-800 dark:text-white dark:border-gray-700 space-y-2">
-                <div class="flex items-center">
-                  <input
-                    type="radio"
-                    name="spindle"
-                    value=""
-                    id="spindle-none"
-                    checked
-                    class="mr-2"
-                  />
-                  <label for="spindle-none" class="dark:text-white">No spindle</label>
-                </div>
-                {{ range .Spindles }}
-                  <div class="flex items-center">
-                    <input
-                      type="radio"
-                      name="spindle"
-                      value="{{ . }}"
-                      id="spindle-{{ . }}"
-                      class="mr-2"
-                    />
-                    <label for="spindle-{{ . }}" class="dark:text-white lowercase">{{ . }}</label>
-                  </div>
-                {{ end }}
-              </div>
+              <label for="spindle" class="block text-sm font-bold dark:text-white mb-1">Spindle</label>
+              {{ template "repo/fragments/spindleInput" (dict "Spindles" .Spindles "Current" "") }}
               <p class="text-sm text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400 mt-1">
-                A spindle runs your CI workflows.
-                You can also <a href="/settings/spindles" class="underline">register your own spindle</a>.
+                Optional. A spindle runs your CI workflows; leave this empty for none.
+                Its operator has to have allowed you as a member, otherwise it will
+                ignore this repository. You can also
+                <a href="https://docs.tangled.org/spindles.html#self-hosting-guide" class="underline">run your own spindle</a>.
               </p>
             </div>
 
diff --git a/appview/pages/templates/repo/fragments/spindleInput.html b/appview/pages/templates/repo/fragments/spindleInput.html
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..802248878
--- /dev/null
+++ b/appview/pages/templates/repo/fragments/spindleInput.html
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+{{ define "repo/fragments/spindleInput" }}
+  {{/* free text: membership lives on the spindle, so the appview can't offer a
+       closed list. .Spindles is only a type-ahead of recently used spindles. */}}
+  <input
+    type="text"
+    id="spindle"
+    name="spindle"
+    list="spindle-options"
+    value="{{ .Current }}"
+    placeholder="spindle.example.com"
+    autocomplete="off"
+    spellcheck="false"
+    class="{{ or .Class "w-full py-2" }}"
+  />
+  <datalist id="spindle-options">
+    {{ range .Spindles }}
+      <option value="{{ . }}"></option>
+    {{ end }}
+  </datalist>
+{{ end }}
diff --git a/appview/pages/templates/repo/new.html b/appview/pages/templates/repo/new.html
index 42b1cf290..0dc823e47 100644
--- a/appview/pages/templates/repo/new.html
+++ b/appview/pages/templates/repo/new.html
@@ -199,36 +199,14 @@
 {{ define "spindle" }}
   <!-- Spindle Selection -->
   <div>
-    <label class="block text-sm font-bold dark:text-white mb-1">
-      Select a spindle
+    <label for="spindle" class="block text-sm font-bold dark:text-white mb-1">
+      Spindle
     </label>
-    <div class="w-full space-y-2">
-      <div class="flex items-center">
-        <input
-          type="radio"
-          name="spindle"
-          value=""
-          class="mr-2"
-          id="spindle-none"
-          checked
-        />
-        <label for="spindle-none" class="dark:text-white">No spindle</label>
-      </div>
-      {{ range .Spindles }}
-        <div class="flex items-center">
-          <input
-            type="radio"
-            name="spindle"
-            value="{{ . }}"
-            class="mr-2"
-            id="spindle-{{ . }}"
-          />
-          <label for="spindle-{{ . }}" class="dark:text-white lowercase">{{ . }}</label>
-        </div>
-      {{ end }}
-    </div>
+    {{ template "repo/fragments/spindleInput" (dict "Spindles" .Spindles "Current" "") }}
     <p class="text-sm text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400 mt-1">
-      A spindle runs your CI workflows.
+      Optional. A spindle runs your CI workflows; leave this empty for none.
+      Its operator has to have allowed you as a member, otherwise it will
+      ignore this repository.
     </p>
   </div>
 {{ end }}
diff --git a/appview/pages/templates/repo/settings/pipelines.html b/appview/pages/templates/repo/settings/pipelines.html
index 750c0963c..a7885c5fb 100644
--- a/appview/pages/templates/repo/settings/pipelines.html
+++ b/appview/pages/templates/repo/settings/pipelines.html
@@ -20,8 +20,10 @@
     <div class="col-span-1 md:col-span-2">
       <h2 class="text-lg pb-2 font-medium">Spindle</h2>
       <p class="text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400">
-        Choose a spindle to execute your workflows on. Only repository owners
-        can configure spindles. Spindles can be selfhosted,
+        The spindle to execute your workflows on; leave it empty to disable
+        pipelines. Its operator has to have allowed you as a member, otherwise
+        it will ignore this repository. Only repository owners can configure
+        spindles. Spindles can be selfhosted,
         <a class="text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400 underline" href="https://docs.tangled.org/spindles.html#self-hosting-guide">
           click to learn more.
         </a>
@@ -33,25 +35,8 @@
       </div>
     {{ else }}
       <form hx-post="/{{ $.RepoInfo.FullName }}/settings/spindle" class="col-span-1 md:col-span-1 md:justify-self-end group flex gap-2 items-stretch">
-        <select
-          id="spindle"
-          name="spindle"
-          required
-          class="p-1 max-w-64 border border-gray-200 bg-white dark:bg-gray-800 dark:text-white dark:border-gray-700">
-          {{/* For some reason, we can't use an empty string in a <select> in all scenarios unless it is preceded by a disabled select?? No idea, could just be a Firefox thing? */}}
-          <option value="[[none]]" class="py-1" {{ if not $.CurrentSpindle }}selected{{ end }}>
-            {{ if not $.CurrentSpindle }}
-            Choose a spindle
-            {{ else }}
-            Disable pipelines
-            {{ end }}
-          </option>
-          {{ range $.Spindles }}
-            <option value="{{ . }}" class="py-1" {{ if eq . $.CurrentSpindle }}selected{{ end }}>
-              {{ . }}
-            </option>
-          {{ end }}
-        </select>
+        {{ template "repo/fragments/spindleInput"
+          (dict "Spindles" $.Spindles "Current" $.CurrentSpindle "Class" "p-1 max-w-64") }}
         <button class="btn flex gap-2 items-center" type="submit" {{ if not $.RepoInfo.Roles.IsOwner }}disabled{{ end }}>
           {{ i "check" "size-4" }}
           {{ i "loader-circle" "w-4 h-4 animate-spin hidden group-[.htmx-request]:inline" }}
diff --git a/appview/pages/templates/spindles/index.html b/appview/pages/templates/spindles/index.html
index a302ef274..c937c627c 100644
--- a/appview/pages/templates/spindles/index.html
+++ b/appview/pages/templates/spindles/index.html
@@ -39,19 +39,3 @@
   </div>
 </section>
 {{ end }}
-
-{{ define "list" }}
-<section class="rounded w-full flex flex-col gap-2">
-  <h2 class="text-lg font-medium py-2 dark:text-gray-300">Your spindles</h2>
-  <div class="flex flex-col rounded border border-gray-200 dark:border-gray-700 w-full">
-    {{ range $spindle := .Spindles }}
-    {{ template "spindles/fragments/spindleListing" . }}
-    {{ else }}
-    <div class="flex items-center justify-center p-2 border-b border-gray-200 dark:border-gray-700 text-gray-500">
-      No spindles registered yet
-    </div>
-    {{ end }}
-  </div>
-  <div id="operation-error" class="text-red-500 dark:text-red-400"></div>
-</section>
-{{ end }}
diff --git a/appview/repo/repo.go b/appview/repo/repo.go
index a184d3cd5..5187ce90f 100644
--- a/appview/repo/repo.go
+++ b/appview/repo/repo.go
@@ -114,26 +114,19 @@ func (rp *Repo) EditSpindle(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 		return
 	}
 
-	newSpindle := r.FormValue("spindle")
-	removingSpindle := newSpindle == "[[none]]" // see pages/templates/repo/settings/pipelines.html for more info on why we use this value
-	client, err := rp.oauth.AuthorizedClient(r)
+	// an empty field removes the spindle; membership is the spindle's call, we
+	// only check that the value is a host we can talk to
+	newSpindle, err := models.ValidateSpindle(r.FormValue("spindle"), rp.config.Core.Dev)
 	if err != nil {
-		fail("Failed to authorize. Try again later.", err)
+		rp.pages.Notice(w, errorId, err.Error())
 		return
 	}
+	removingSpindle := newSpindle == ""
 
-	if !removingSpindle {
-		// ensure that this is a valid spindle for this user
-		validSpindles, err := rp.enforcer.GetSpindlesForUser(user.Did)
-		if err != nil {
-			fail("Failed to find spindles. Try again later.", err)
-			return
-		}
-
-		if !slices.Contains(validSpindles, newSpindle) {
-			fail("Failed to configure spindle.", fmt.Errorf("%s is not a valid spindle: %q", newSpindle, validSpindles))
-			return
-		}
+	client, err := rp.oauth.AuthorizedClient(r)
+	if err != nil {
+		fail("Failed to authorize. Try again later.", err)
+		return
 	}
 
 	newRepo := *f
@@ -1445,19 +1438,12 @@ func (rp *Repo) ForkRepo(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 			return
 		}
 
-		// optional spindle selection; validate the user is a member if provided
-		spindle := r.FormValue("spindle")
-		if spindle != "" {
-			validSpindles, err := rp.enforcer.GetSpindlesForUser(user.Did)
-			if err != nil {
-				l.Error("failed to fetch spindles", "err", err)
-				rp.pages.Notice(w, "repo", "Failed to configure spindle. Try again later.")
-				return
-			}
-			if !slices.Contains(validSpindles, spindle) {
-				rp.pages.Notice(w, "repo", "Invalid spindle selection.")
-				return
-			}
+		// optional spindle selection; the spindle itself decides whether to accept
+		// this repo, we only check that the value is a host we can talk to
+		spindle, err := models.ValidateSpindle(r.FormValue("spindle"), rp.config.Core.Dev)
+		if err != nil {
+			rp.pages.Notice(w, "repo", err.Error())
+			return
 		}
 
 		// choose a name for a fork
diff --git a/appview/state/state.go b/appview/state/state.go
index 844efa48a..3995f37cd 100644
--- a/appview/state/state.go
+++ b/appview/state/state.go
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"log/slog"
 	"net/http"
-	"slices"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
 
@@ -501,19 +500,12 @@ func (s *State) NewRepo(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 			return
 		}
 
-		// optional spindle selection; validate the user is a member if provided
-		spindle := r.FormValue("spindle")
-		if spindle != "" {
-			validSpindles, err := s.enforcer.GetSpindlesForUser(user.Did)
-			if err != nil {
-				l.Error("failed to fetch spindles", "err", err)
-				s.pages.Notice(w, "repo", "Failed to configure spindle. Try again later.")
-				return
-			}
-			if !slices.Contains(validSpindles, spindle) {
-				s.pages.Notice(w, "repo", "Invalid spindle selection.")
-				return
-			}
+		// optional spindle selection; the spindle itself decides whether to accept
+		// this repo, we only check that the value is a host we can talk to
+		spindle, err := models.ValidateSpindle(r.FormValue("spindle"), s.config.Core.Dev)
+		if err != nil {
+			s.pages.Notice(w, "repo", err.Error())
+			return
 		}
 		l = l.With("spindle", spindle)
 
diff --git a/docs/DOCS.md b/docs/DOCS.md
index 574ff1feb..d61a359c2 100644
--- a/docs/DOCS.md
+++ b/docs/DOCS.md
@@ -1542,6 +1542,12 @@ cache (and read from it), configure the cache (prefix
 
 Spindle will now start, connect to the Jetstream server, and begin processing pipelines.
 
+Spindles are not registered with the appview. To point a repository at
+yours, type its hostname into the spindle field under the repository's
+pipeline settings (or when creating or forking a repo); recently used
+spindles are offered as suggestions. The spindle picks the repo up from
+the network and runs its pipelines if its owner is a member.
+
 ### Managing members
 
 An invite-only spindle (the default, see `SPINDLE_SERVER_INVITE_ONLY`) only
@@ -2692,9 +2698,12 @@ git push local-dev main
 ```
 
 The above VM should already be running a spindle on
-`localhost:6555`. Head to http://localhost:3000/settings/spindles and
-hit "Verify". You can then configure each repository to use
-this spindle and run CI jobs.
+`localhost:6555`. Spindles aren't registered with the appview:
+type `localhost:6555` into the spindle field on a repository's
+pipeline settings (or when creating the repo) and it will run
+that repo's CI jobs, as long as the spindle allows you as a
+member (see [Managing members](#managing-members), or run it
+with `SPINDLE_SERVER_INVITE_ONLY=false`).
 
 Of interest when debugging spindles: