diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
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@@ -183,6 +183,51 @@ a registry entry.
 one-time NVCM) with minimal JTAG — out of scope for this JTAG-centric
 tool.
 
+## Embedded port (design note)
+
+Not yet implemented — captured for a possible standalone programmer.
+No hard blocker: standalone JTAG programmers are all MCU-based. The
+architecture has the right seam (the driver function-pointer table).
+
+**Reference target: Arduino GIGA R1 WiFi** — STM32H747XI (Cortex-M7
+@ 480 MHz + M4 @ 240 MHz, 1 MB RAM, 2 MB flash), WiFi/BT, Arduino/Mbed
+OS. The comfortable high end. ESP32 is a lighter alternative (WiFi
+on-die, ~520 KB RAM); avoid bare AVR (RAM too small).
+
+**The seam — the MCU *is* the JTAG master.** Replace `modules/drivers/`
+with a GPIO bit-bang (or SPI-assisted: MOSI=TDI, MISO=TDO, SCK=TCK,
+TMS bit-banged between scans → multi-MHz) driver behind
+`drv_TX_TMS` / `drv_TXRX_DATA`. Everything above that — `jtag_core`, the
+`bscan_set_ir`/`bscan_shift_dr` primitives, the `fpga_target` registry,
+the SVF player and the flash logic — is portable C, reused as-is.
+
+**Dropped / replaced on the MCU:**
+- readline REPL → command interface over WiFi (HTTP/telnet) or USB-CDC;
+- `os_interface` (host fs/net) → Mbed OS filesystem + network (real
+  implementations, little rework);
+- runtime BSDL parsing → pre-baked tables (the registry already does
+  this); `bsdl_parser` can be left out;
+- `libftd2xx` / Digilent dlopen → gone (the MCU is the probe).
+
+**The one real rework: stream, don't `malloc`.** `bscan_shift_dr`
+currently allocates the whole shift buffer (`malloc(nbits)` — ~19 MB for
+a Xilinx proxy). On an MCU the payload (proxy `.bit`, flash image, SVF)
+lives on **SD or a USB stick** and must be **shifted in chunks**; WiFi
+fetches the file / triggers the job. With an SD/USB source this is
+natural (read a block, shift, repeat). 1 MB RAM relaxes buffer sizes but
+does not remove the need (a 32 MB image never fits).
+
+**Ideal fit: an SVF player streamed from SD** — a classic embedded
+programmer design, and it matches the small-Lattice/IGLOO2-in-a-PSU use
+case (small config, modest `SDR` vectors). Big Xilinx external-flash
+images (huge SVF vectors) stay on the host or a large MCU.
+
+**Hardware notes:**
+- the GIGA R1 has **no onboard microSD** — add it via the GIGA Display
+  Shield, an SPI SD module, or its USB-A host port (USB mass storage);
+- 3.3 V GPIO → **level-shift** for 1.8 V JTAG targets (e.g. KCU105),
+  same as on the host side.
+
 ## External references
 
 - **BSCAN proxy bitstreams**: `quartiq/bscan_spi_bitstreams` (MIT).