diff --git a/template/Makefile b/template/Makefile
index c888292..264c617 100644
--- a/template/Makefile
+++ b/template/Makefile
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 #   make postgen — finalize a freshly generated project (git init)
 #   make clangd  — write a local .clangd pointing at the resolved toolchain
 #   make clean   — remove build artifacts
-#   make QUIET=1 — quiet: status lines only, no echoed commands
+#   make V=1     — show the commands behind the status lines
 #
 # This is the build *frontend*: it orchestrates two independent
 # compilers — clang for the BPF objects, esbuild for the JS bundle.
@@ -56,8 +56,8 @@ ESBUILD_FLAGS := --bundle --format=esm --platform=neutral \
 	--outfile=dist/index.jsx --jsx=automatic --jsx-import-source=yeet:tui
 
 bundle: | toolchain
-	$(call status,Bundling,src/main.jsx)
 	$(Q)$(ESBUILD) src/main.jsx $(ESBUILD_FLAGS) --log-level=warning '--external:yeet:*' '--external:*.bpf.o'
+	@printf '$(STATUS_FMT)' 'Bundling' "src/main.jsx -> dist/index.jsx ($$(wc -c < dist/index.jsx | awk '{ printf "%.1fkb", $$1 / 1024 }'))" >&2
 
 # Post-generation finalize: initialize a git repository with the vendored git
 # (fetched via `vendored-git`). Idempotent — skipped if this is already a repo.
diff --git a/template/README.md b/template/README.md
index 6938f5d..b29f264 100644
--- a/template/README.md
+++ b/template/README.md
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ the `@/` alias; `main.jsx` wires them together and owns input.
 
 ```sh
 make           # compile BPF (clang + bpftool) + bundle JS (esbuild)
-make QUIET=1   # same, quiet: status lines only, no echoed commands
+make V=1       # same, showing every command behind the status lines
 yeet run .     # runs the bundled dist/index.jsx (needs root for BPF)
 ```
 
diff --git a/template/build/ui.mk b/template/build/ui.mk
index 5b65d62..0408fcb 100644
--- a/template/build/ui.mk
+++ b/template/build/ui.mk
@@ -5,24 +5,23 @@
 #      Compiling cpusched.bpf.c
 #      Compiling runqlat.bpf.c
 #        Linking bin/probe.bpf.o
-#       Bundling src/main.jsx
+#       Bundling src/main.jsx -> dist/index.jsx (15.5kb)
 #       Finished build in 0.84s
 #
 # A bold green verb, right-aligned to 12 columns, then the message — on
-# stderr, like cargo, so the build's stdout stays clean for piping. Each
-# command is echoed under its status line, so the exact invocation is always
-# on screen; `make QUIET=1` hides the commands and keeps only the status lines.
-# Color is used only when stderr is a terminal, TERM isn't dumb and
+# stderr, like cargo, so the build's stdout stays clean for piping. The
+# commands themselves are hidden; `make V=1` echoes each one under its status
+# line. Color is used only when stderr is a terminal, TERM isn't dumb and
 # NO_COLOR (https://no-color.org) is unset. Compiler diagnostics pass through
 # untouched, so a warning or error is never hidden.
 #
 # Included first by the project Makefile, so build/toolchain.mk and
 # build/bpf.mk can use `$(Q)` and `$(call status,Verb,message)`.
 
-ifeq ($(QUIET),1)
-  Q := @
-else
+ifeq ($(V),1)
   Q :=
+else
+  Q := @
 endif
 
 COLOR := $(shell [ -t 2 ] && [ -z "$$NO_COLOR" ] && [ "$$TERM" != dumb ] && echo 1)