diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 55f4196..94471ce 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -5,6 +5,14 @@ All notable changes to this project are documented here.
 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/),
 and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
+## [8.1.1] - 2026-08-02
+
+### Fixed
+- `omind doctor` printed the `pip install 'omind[embed]'` hint **twice** in the
+  semantic-search warning: `embed.status()`'s reason already carries the install
+  command for the common cause, and 8.1.0 appended it unconditionally. Found by
+  running `doctor` on a real Windows install rather than reading the code.
+
 ## [8.1.0] - 2026-08-02
 
 ### Changed
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index e4e04c5..c170f42 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [project]
 name = "omind"
-version = "8.1.0"
+version = "8.1.1"
 description = "Reproduce the OMI/Obsidian memory integration for AI agents, plus a local web app to view, edit, and add memory entries."
 readme = "README.md"
 requires-python = ">=3.10"
diff --git a/src/omind/__init__.py b/src/omind/__init__.py
index 2afee3c..17f9c4b 100644
--- a/src/omind/__init__.py
+++ b/src/omind/__init__.py
@@ -2,4 +2,4 @@
 # Copyright 2026 Aaron K. Clark
 """omind — OMI/Obsidian memory tooling for AI agents."""
 
-__version__ = "8.1.0"
+__version__ = "8.1.1"
diff --git a/src/omind/cli.py b/src/omind/cli.py
index 11be760..6c149e0 100644
--- a/src/omind/cli.py
+++ b/src/omind/cli.py
@@ -778,12 +778,17 @@ def _diagnose_search_index(config: SetupConfig) -> list[CheckResult]:
         # green tick for "your recall is materially worse than it could be" is
         # the same failure mode as an index that silently stopped updating: the
         # honest signal existed and did not read as a problem.
+        # `reason` from embed.status() already carries the install command for
+        # the common cause (model2vec missing), so appending it unconditionally
+        # printed it twice — verified on a real Windows install.
+        reason = str(semantic["reason"])
+        cost = "worth ~20pp of recall@1 on a real vault"
+        hint = "" if "omind[embed]" in reason else "; pip install 'omind[embed]'"
         results.append(
             CheckResult(
                 "search_semantic",
                 "warn",
-                f"semantic search: off (keyword path) — {semantic['reason']}; "
-                "install the extra for ~20pp better recall: pip install 'omind[embed]'",
+                f"semantic search: off (keyword path) — {reason}{hint} ({cost})",
             )
         )
 
diff --git a/tests/test_cli.py b/tests/test_cli.py
index 2909063..6ef2a49 100644
--- a/tests/test_cli.py
+++ b/tests/test_cli.py
@@ -300,4 +300,8 @@ def test_doctor_warns_when_semantic_search_is_off(
     config = SetupConfig(vault=tmp_path, folder="OMI")
     checks = {c.key: c for c in cli._diagnose_search_index(config)}
     assert checks["search_semantic"].level == "warn"
-    assert "omind[embed]" in checks["search_semantic"].message
+    message = checks["search_semantic"].message
+    assert "omind[embed]" in message
+    # The reason already carries the install command; saying it twice is what a
+    # real Windows install actually printed.
+    assert message.count("omind[embed]") == 1
diff --git a/uv.lock b/uv.lock
index e994c53..e93db36 100644
--- a/uv.lock
+++ b/uv.lock
@@ -2354,7 +2354,7 @@ wheels = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "omind"
-version = "8.1.0"
+version = "8.1.1"
 source = { editable = "." }
 dependencies = [
     { name = "cryptography" },