diff --git a/hermes_cli/main.py b/hermes_cli/main.py
index a1144314a56c..1db8d66546e4 100644
--- a/hermes_cli/main.py
+++ b/hermes_cli/main.py
@@ -16133,6 +16133,19 @@ def main():
                 if report.get("backup_path"):
                     print(f"  A backup is preserved at: {report['backup_path']}")
                 print("  Keep state.db and the backup; do not delete them.")
+                # Without this pointer the user is at a dead end: in-place
+                # repair has failed and nothing tells them the non-destructive
+                # offline recovery path exists. Lead with --inspect-only so
+                # they confirm the data is readable before writing anything.
+                print("")
+                print("  Next step — offline recovery (never modifies the source):")
+                source_hint = report.get("backup_path") or db_path
+                print(f"    hermes sessions recover --source {source_hint} \\")
+                print("        --inspect-only")
+                print("  If that reports the data is recoverable, rebuild it into")
+                print("  a NEW database (the active one is left untouched):")
+                print(f"    hermes sessions recover --source {source_hint} \\")
+                print("        --output recovered-state.db")
             return
 
         if action == "recover":
diff --git a/tests/hermes_cli/test_session_recovery.py b/tests/hermes_cli/test_session_recovery.py
index eded2b8d5259..39ef1430a0d0 100644
--- a/tests/hermes_cli/test_session_recovery.py
+++ b/tests/hermes_cli/test_session_recovery.py
@@ -323,3 +323,39 @@ def test_cli_recover_writes_verified_report_without_touching_source(
     assert report["complete"] is True
     assert report["verification"]["table_counts"]["sessions"] == expected["sessions"]
     assert report["verification"]["table_counts"]["messages"] == expected["messages"]
+
+
+def test_failed_repair_points_the_user_at_offline_recovery(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    """A failed in-place repair must name the offline recovery command.
+
+    This is the reported dead end: `hermes sessions repair` exhausts its
+    in-place ladder, prints "keep the files", and stops -- leaving the user
+    with no idea that a non-destructive recovery path exists. The failure
+    branch has to hand them the next command, inspection first, seeded with
+    the preserved backup it just made.
+    """
+    hermes_home = tmp_path / "isolated-hermes-home"
+    hermes_home.mkdir()
+    # Not a database at all -> every in-place repair strategy fails.
+    (hermes_home / "state.db").write_bytes(b"SQLite format 3\x00" + b"\x7f" * 2048)
+    env = os.environ.copy()
+    env["HERMES_HOME"] = str(hermes_home)
+
+    result = subprocess.run(
+        [sys.executable, "-m", "hermes_cli.main", "sessions", "repair"],
+        cwd=Path(__file__).resolve().parents[2],
+        env=env,
+        capture_output=True,
+        text=True,
+        timeout=60,
+        check=False,
+    )
+
+    combined = result.stdout + result.stderr
+    assert "Repair failed" in combined, combined
+    # The pointer, and specifically the read-only step first.
+    assert "sessions recover" in combined, combined
+    assert "--inspect-only" in combined, combined
+    # It must offer the source it actually preserved, not a placeholder.
+    assert "--source" in combined, combined
+    assert "malformed-backup" in combined, combined