diff --git a/backend/app/scanner/dns_lookup.py b/backend/app/scanner/dns_lookup.py
index 179eb4d..6bc9df6 100644
--- a/backend/app/scanner/dns_lookup.py
+++ b/backend/app/scanner/dns_lookup.py
@@ -6,15 +6,15 @@
 
 Resolution is attempted in two stages per host:
   1. Standard PTR lookup via socket.gethostbyaddr()
-  2. mDNS fallback via avahi-resolve (if installed), catching .local names
-     that PTR misses — common for IoT, NAS, Raspberry Pis, and Apple devices.
+  2. Direct mDNS PTR query to 224.0.0.251:5353 — no avahi-daemon required.
+     Works inside Docker containers using network_mode: host.
 """
 
 from __future__ import annotations
 
 import logging
 import socket
-import subprocess
+import struct
 from concurrent.futures import ThreadPoolExecutor
 
 from app.scanner.nmap_scan import NmapHost
@@ -23,6 +23,8 @@
 
 _LOOKUP_TIMEOUT_SECONDS = 2
 _MAX_WORKERS = 20
+_MDNS_ADDR = "224.0.0.251"
+_MDNS_PORT = 5353
 
 
 def _rdns(ip: str) -> str:
@@ -41,35 +43,130 @@ def _rdns(ip: str) -> str:
         socket.setdefaulttimeout(None)
 
 
-def _avahi_resolve(ip: str) -> str:
+# ── mDNS helpers ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+
+def _encode_dns_name(name: str) -> bytes:
+    """Encode a dotted DNS name into label-length-prefixed wire format."""
+    out = b""
+    for label in name.rstrip(".").split("."):
+        enc = label.encode("ascii")
+        out += bytes([len(enc)]) + enc
+    return out + b"\x00"
+
+
+def _read_dns_name(data: bytes, offset: int) -> tuple[str, int]:
+    """
+    Decode a DNS name at *offset*, following compression pointers.
+    Returns (name, new_offset_after_name).
     """
-    Return the mDNS hostname for *ip* via avahi-resolve, or empty string.
+    parts: list[str] = []
+    end_offset: int | None = None
+
+    while offset < len(data):
+        length = data[offset]
+        if length == 0:
+            if end_offset is None:
+                end_offset = offset + 1
+            break
+        if length & 0xC0 == 0xC0:  # compression pointer
+            if end_offset is None:
+                end_offset = offset + 2
+            ptr = struct.unpack("!H", data[offset : offset + 2])[0] & 0x3FFF
+            offset = ptr
+            continue
+        offset += 1
+        parts.append(data[offset : offset + length].decode("ascii", errors="replace"))
+        offset += length
+
+    return ".".join(parts), (end_offset if end_offset is not None else offset + 1)
+
+
+def _skip_dns_name(data: bytes, offset: int) -> int:
+    """Advance *offset* past a DNS name and return the new position."""
+    while offset < len(data):
+        length = data[offset]
+        if length == 0:
+            return offset + 1
+        if length & 0xC0 == 0xC0:
+            return offset + 2
+        offset += length + 1
+    return offset
+
+
+def _mdns_ptr_query(ip: str) -> str:
+    """
+    Send a unicast-requesting mDNS PTR query directly to the multicast group
+    (224.0.0.251:5353) and return the first PTR hostname found, or "".
 
-    Gracefully degrades when avahi-utils is not installed (FileNotFoundError)
-    or when the daemon is not running / has no record for the IP.
+    Does not require avahi-daemon or any system service — only a UDP socket
+    on the host network namespace (network_mode: host).
     """
+    parts = ip.split(".")
+    if len(parts) != 4:
+        return ""
+    ptr_name = ".".join(reversed(parts)) + ".in-addr.arpa"
+
+    # DNS header: ID=0, FLAGS=0 (query, no recursion), QDCOUNT=1
+    header = struct.pack("!HHHHHH", 0, 0x0000, 1, 0, 0, 0)
+    # Question: name + QTYPE=PTR(12) + QCLASS=IN with QU bit (0x8001 → unicast response)
+    question = _encode_dns_name(ptr_name) + struct.pack("!HH", 12, 0x8001)
+    packet = header + question
+
+    sock = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_DGRAM)
     try:
-        result = subprocess.run(  # noqa: S603 — fixed command list, no user input
-            ["avahi-resolve", "--address", ip],  # noqa: S607 — well-known system utility; full path not portable
-            capture_output=True,
-            text=True,
-            timeout=_LOOKUP_TIMEOUT_SECONDS,
-        )
-        if result.returncode == 0 and result.stdout.strip():
-            # Output format: "<ip>\t<hostname>"
-            parts = result.stdout.strip().split()
-            if len(parts) >= 2:
-                return parts[-1].rstrip(".")
-    except (FileNotFoundError, subprocess.TimeoutExpired, OSError):
-        pass
+        sock.setsockopt(socket.SOL_SOCKET, socket.SO_REUSEADDR, 1)
+        sock.setsockopt(socket.IPPROTO_IP, socket.IP_MULTICAST_TTL, 255)
+        sock.settimeout(_LOOKUP_TIMEOUT_SECONDS)
+        sock.sendto(packet, (_MDNS_ADDR, _MDNS_PORT))
+
+        data, _ = sock.recvfrom(4096)
+        return _parse_mdns_ptr(data)
+    except (OSError, struct.error):
+        return ""
+    finally:
+        sock.close()
+
+
+def _parse_mdns_ptr(data: bytes) -> str:
+    """Extract the first PTR RDATA name from a raw DNS/mDNS response."""
+    if len(data) < 12:
+        return ""
+
+    qdcount = struct.unpack("!H", data[4:6])[0]
+    ancount = struct.unpack("!H", data[6:8])[0]
+    if ancount == 0:
+        return ""
+
+    offset = 12
+    for _ in range(qdcount):
+        offset = _skip_dns_name(data, offset)
+        offset += 4  # QTYPE + QCLASS
+
+    for _ in range(ancount):
+        offset = _skip_dns_name(data, offset)  # owner name
+        if offset + 10 > len(data):
+            break
+        rtype = struct.unpack("!H", data[offset : offset + 2])[0]
+        offset += 8  # TYPE + CLASS + TTL
+        rdlength = struct.unpack("!H", data[offset : offset + 2])[0]
+        offset += 2
+        if rtype == 12:  # PTR
+            name, _ = _read_dns_name(data, offset)
+            return name.rstrip(".")
+        offset += rdlength
+
     return ""
 
 
+# ── public API ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+
 def _resolve(ip: str) -> str:
-    """Try PTR first, fall back to avahi-resolve for mDNS/.local names."""
+    """Try PTR first, fall back to direct mDNS for .local names."""
     name = _rdns(ip)
     if not name:
-        name = _avahi_resolve(ip)
+        name = _mdns_ptr_query(ip)
     return name
 
 
diff --git a/backend/tests/test_enrichment.py b/backend/tests/test_enrichment.py
index a774b67..b28eaef 100644
--- a/backend/tests/test_enrichment.py
+++ b/backend/tests/test_enrichment.py
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 
 from __future__ import annotations
 
-from unittest.mock import MagicMock, patch
+from unittest.mock import patch
 
 import pytest
 from app.scanner.dns_lookup import resolve_hostnames
@@ -227,60 +227,79 @@ def fake_rdns(ip):
             assert host.hostname == f"host-{i}.local"
 
     @pytest.mark.unit
-    def test_avahi_resolve_used_when_ptr_fails(self):
-        """When PTR returns nothing, avahi-resolve should be tried as fallback."""
+    def test_mdns_used_when_ptr_fails(self):
+        """When PTR returns nothing, direct mDNS query should be tried as fallback."""
         host = NmapHost(ip="192.168.1.50", hostname="")
-        mock_result = MagicMock()
-        mock_result.returncode = 0
-        mock_result.stdout = "192.168.1.50\tpi.local\n"
         with (
             patch("app.scanner.dns_lookup.socket.gethostbyaddr", side_effect=OSError),
-            patch("app.scanner.dns_lookup.subprocess.run", return_value=mock_result),
+            patch(
+                "app.scanner.dns_lookup._mdns_ptr_query",
+                return_value="pi.local",
+            ),
         ):
             resolve_hostnames([host])
         assert host.hostname == "pi.local"
 
     @pytest.mark.unit
-    def test_avahi_not_installed_falls_back_silently(self):
-        """FileNotFoundError from avahi-resolve must not raise; hostname stays empty."""
+    def test_mdns_oserror_falls_back_silently(self):
+        """OSError inside the mDNS socket must not propagate; hostname stays empty."""
         host = NmapHost(ip="192.168.1.51", hostname="")
         with (
             patch("app.scanner.dns_lookup.socket.gethostbyaddr", side_effect=OSError),
             patch(
-                "app.scanner.dns_lookup.subprocess.run",
-                side_effect=FileNotFoundError("avahi-resolve not found"),
+                "app.scanner.dns_lookup._mdns_ptr_query",
+                return_value="",  # _mdns_ptr_query swallows OSError internally
             ),
         ):
             resolve_hostnames([host])
         assert host.hostname == ""
 
     @pytest.mark.unit
-    def test_avahi_timeout_falls_back_silently(self):
-        """subprocess.TimeoutExpired from avahi-resolve must not raise."""
-        import subprocess as _subprocess
-
+    def test_mdns_timeout_falls_back_silently(self):
+        """socket.timeout inside mDNS must not propagate; hostname stays empty."""
         host = NmapHost(ip="192.168.1.52", hostname="")
         with (
             patch("app.scanner.dns_lookup.socket.gethostbyaddr", side_effect=OSError),
             patch(
-                "app.scanner.dns_lookup.subprocess.run",
-                side_effect=_subprocess.TimeoutExpired(cmd="avahi-resolve", timeout=2),
+                "app.scanner.dns_lookup._mdns_ptr_query",
+                return_value="",  # _mdns_ptr_query swallows timeout internally
             ),
         ):
             resolve_hostnames([host])
         assert host.hostname == ""
 
     @pytest.mark.unit
-    def test_avahi_not_called_when_ptr_succeeds(self):
-        """avahi-resolve must not be invoked when PTR already returned a hostname."""
+    def test_mdns_not_called_when_ptr_succeeds(self):
+        """_mdns_ptr_query must not be invoked when PTR already returned a hostname."""
         host = NmapHost(ip="192.168.1.1", hostname="")
         with (
             patch(
                 "app.scanner.dns_lookup.socket.gethostbyaddr",
                 return_value=("router.local", [], ["192.168.1.1"]),
             ),
-            patch("app.scanner.dns_lookup.subprocess.run") as mock_avahi,
+            patch("app.scanner.dns_lookup._mdns_ptr_query") as mock_mdns,
         ):
             resolve_hostnames([host])
-        mock_avahi.assert_not_called()
+        mock_mdns.assert_not_called()
         assert host.hostname == "router.local"
+
+    @pytest.mark.unit
+    def test_mdns_parse_ptr_response(self):
+        """_parse_mdns_ptr correctly extracts a PTR hostname from a raw DNS response."""
+        import struct
+
+        from app.scanner.dns_lookup import _encode_dns_name, _parse_mdns_ptr
+
+        # Build a minimal DNS response with one PTR answer
+        ptr_name = "50.1.168.192.in-addr.arpa"
+        answer_name = b"\xc0\x0c"  # compression pointer back to question (offset 12)
+        rdata = _encode_dns_name("pi.local")
+        rdlength = len(rdata)
+
+        # Header: ID=0, QR=1|AA=1 flags, QDCOUNT=1, ANCOUNT=1
+        header = struct.pack("!HHHHHH", 0, 0x8400, 1, 1, 0, 0)
+        question = _encode_dns_name(ptr_name) + struct.pack("!HH", 12, 1)
+        answer = answer_name + struct.pack("!HHIH", 12, 1, 120, rdlength) + rdata
+
+        response = header + question + answer
+        assert _parse_mdns_ptr(response) == "pi.local"
diff --git a/docker/Dockerfile b/docker/Dockerfile
index a2b755f..5f9db17 100644
--- a/docker/Dockerfile
+++ b/docker/Dockerfile
@@ -41,7 +41,6 @@ RUN apt-get update \
     && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
         nmap \
         arp-scan \
-        avahi-utils \
         libcap2-bin \
         gosu \
     && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/Layout.tsx b/frontend/src/components/Layout.tsx
index 82c7aea..1064188 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/Layout.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/Layout.tsx
@@ -8,6 +8,18 @@ import { NavLink, Outlet } from "react-router-dom";
 import { useTheme } from "../hooks";
 import { useAppVersion } from "../hooks/useAppVersion";
 
+/** Copy text to clipboard; works on HTTP as well as HTTPS. */
+function copyViaExecCommand(text: string): void {
+  const el = document.createElement("textarea");
+  el.value = text;
+  el.style.position = "fixed";
+  el.style.opacity = "0";
+  document.body.appendChild(el);
+  el.select();
+  document.execCommand("copy");
+  document.body.removeChild(el);
+}
+
 const navLinks = [
   { to: "/", label: "Dashboard", end: true },
   { to: "/devices", label: "Devices", end: false },
@@ -92,10 +104,25 @@ export function Layout() {
 
   const handleCopyVersion = () => {
     if (!version) return;
-    navigator.clipboard.writeText(`v${version}`).then(() => {
+    const text = `v${version}`;
+    const flash = () => {
       setCopied(true);
       setTimeout(() => setCopied(false), 1500);
-    });
+    };
+    // navigator.clipboard requires a secure context (HTTPS / localhost).
+    // Fall back to execCommand for plain-HTTP home-lab deployments.
+    if (navigator.clipboard) {
+      navigator.clipboard
+        .writeText(text)
+        .then(flash)
+        .catch(() => {
+          copyViaExecCommand(text);
+          flash();
+        });
+    } else {
+      copyViaExecCommand(text);
+      flash();
+    }
   };
 
   return (
diff --git a/frontend/src/pages/SettingsPage.tsx b/frontend/src/pages/SettingsPage.tsx
index c03ab01..4cd5c7a 100644
--- a/frontend/src/pages/SettingsPage.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/pages/SettingsPage.tsx
@@ -6,16 +6,41 @@ import { useState } from "react";
 import { Card, PageHeader } from "../components";
 import { useAppVersion } from "../hooks/useAppVersion";
 
+/** Copy text to clipboard; works on HTTP as well as HTTPS. */
+function copyViaExecCommand(text: string): void {
+  const el = document.createElement("textarea");
+  el.value = text;
+  el.style.position = "fixed";
+  el.style.opacity = "0";
+  document.body.appendChild(el);
+  el.select();
+  document.execCommand("copy");
+  document.body.removeChild(el);
+}
+
 export function SettingsPage() {
   const { version, loading } = useAppVersion();
   const [copied, setCopied] = useState(false);
 
   const handleCopyVersion = () => {
     if (!version) return;
-    navigator.clipboard.writeText(`v${version}`).then(() => {
+    const text = `v${version}`;
+    const flash = () => {
       setCopied(true);
       setTimeout(() => setCopied(false), 1500);
-    });
+    };
+    if (navigator.clipboard) {
+      navigator.clipboard
+        .writeText(text)
+        .then(flash)
+        .catch(() => {
+          copyViaExecCommand(text);
+          flash();
+        });
+    } else {
+      copyViaExecCommand(text);
+      flash();
+    }
   };
 
   return (