diff --git a/bridged/bridged.example.yaml b/bridged/bridged.example.yaml
index 405c903..c1d962b 100644
--- a/bridged/bridged.example.yaml
+++ b/bridged/bridged.example.yaml
@@ -208,6 +208,29 @@ profiles:
     # `bridge_spawn{profile:"gx10"}` against it is refused too; a cap holds even when the profile
     # is named directly. Negative is refused at config load — there is no sane meaning for it.
     maxLoad: 2
+    # subscription: true
+    #   THE KNOB THAT DECIDES WHO PAYS (CB-539). Default false. When true, this profile's members
+    #   run on the OPERATOR'S OWN Claude subscription instead of a metered endpoint — every spawn
+    #   bills your plan and eats your usage limit. Off-subscription is the whole point of this
+    #   daemon, so treat `true` as a deliberate exception, not a convenience.
+    #
+    #   What changes when it is set (ClaudeCodeLauncher):
+    #     - no ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL and no ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN are injected — the member inherits
+    #       the operator's own Claude Code auth, which is exactly why it bills the plan;
+    #     - SubscriptionGuard never vets it, because there is no baseUrl to vet;
+    #     - no token is required, so `tokenEnv` is irrelevant here.
+    #
+    #   MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE with `baseUrl` — setting both is refused at config load (CB-542). On the
+    #   subscription path no guard would vet the URL, so allowing both would be a way around the
+    #   guard rather than a configuration.
+    #
+    #   GOTCHA 1 — it is invisible to the startup secret check. `Bridged.reportRequiredSecrets`
+    #   skips subscription profiles on purpose (they need no token), so a boot log that reports
+    #   every secret as fine says nothing about these profiles.
+    #
+    #   GOTCHA 2 — `maxLoad` is the ONLY throttle you have here. There is no metering, no budget
+    #   and no refusal on cost; the cap on live members is the single thing standing between a
+    #   fan-out and your monthly limit. Set it deliberately and keep it small.
     # gitTokenEnv: GITEA_TOKEN        # opt-in: let this profile's workers open their own PR (CB-302)
     # gitHostEnv: GITEA_HOST          # defaults to GITEA_HOST; injected only with gitTokenEnv
     # exhaustedPattern: "usage limit has been reached"   # opt-in: classify a usage-limit refusal (CB-578)