diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ce77000
--- /dev/null
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+# Changelog
+
+## [0.2.0] - 2026-04-06
+
+### Added
+
+- Auto-detect connection mode: when no `port` is configured, the bridge now
+  tries the mux daemon first and falls back to direct USB serial
+  (`find_port()`) if the mux is unavailable. Previously it would retry the mux
+  forever.
+
+### Changed
+
+- Config negotiation on direct serial connections now pushes `SetConfig` with
+  the desired radio config when it differs from the dongle's current config.
+  On mux connections, the existing behavior (accept the mux's config) is
+  unchanged.
+
+## [0.1.0] - 2026-04-06
+
+Initial release.
diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index b886c01..f1d42a0 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -906,7 +906,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "donglora-bridge"
-version = "0.1.0"
+version = "0.2.0"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "blake3",
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 53746c6..eeac257 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [package]
 name = "donglora-bridge"
-version = "0.1.0"
+version = "0.2.0"
 edition = "2024"
 authors = ["Stephen Waits <steve@waits.net>"]
 license = "MIT"
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 06a30f6..c61115e 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -39,16 +39,17 @@ similar ESP32+SX1262 board) into a USB LoRa dongle. You will need to:
 
 ### 2. (Optional) donglora-mux
 
-If you want multiple programs to share a single DongLoRa radio at the same time,
-install the multiplexer daemon:
+The bridge works fine without the mux -- it connects directly to the USB device.
+The mux is only needed if you want multiple programs to share a single DongLoRa
+radio at the same time (e.g. running two bridges with different configs, or a
+bridge alongside another donglora-client program).
 
 ```sh
 cargo install donglora-mux
 ```
 
-Run `donglora-mux` before starting the bridge. The bridge will auto-detect and
-connect to the mux. Without the mux, the bridge talks to the USB device
-directly, which means only one program can use the radio at a time.
+Run `donglora-mux` before starting the bridge. The bridge auto-detects the mux
+when it's running and falls back to direct USB serial when it's not.
 
 ### 3. donglora-bridge (this project)
 
@@ -112,6 +113,22 @@ donglora-bridge --config path.toml # custom config file
 donglora-bridge config             # re-run setup wizard
 ```
 
+### Running multiple bridges
+
+To run more than one bridge on the same machine (e.g. bridging two separate
+MeshCore networks), create a config file per bridge and run each with
+`--config`:
+
+```sh
+donglora-bridge --config ~/bridge-network-a.toml
+donglora-bridge --config ~/bridge-network-b.toml
+```
+
+Each config can specify a different passphrase, different radio settings, and
+(if using the mux) share the same radio. Without the mux, each bridge needs its
+own USB dongle and an explicit `port` in its config to avoid both trying to open
+the same device.
+
 ## Features
 
 - **Gossip swarm** -- broadcast packets via [iroh-gossip](https://github.com/n0-computer/iroh), a QUIC-based overlay network
@@ -142,7 +159,7 @@ Default location: `~/.config/donglora-bridge/config.toml`
 
 ```toml
 [radio]
-# port = "/dev/ttyACM0"   # serial port (omit for auto-detect via mux)
+# port = "/dev/ttyACM0"   # serial port (omit for auto-detect: tries mux, then USB)
 frequency = 910525000      # Hz (default: 910.525 MHz)
 bandwidth = "62.5kHz"      # 7.8kHz, 10.4kHz, 15.6kHz, 20.8kHz, 31.25kHz,
                            # 41.7kHz, 62.5kHz, 125kHz, 250kHz, 500kHz
diff --git a/src/radio.rs b/src/radio.rs
index 41e0244..3236838 100644
--- a/src/radio.rs
+++ b/src/radio.rs
@@ -96,9 +96,14 @@ fn connect_and_run(
     let (mut client, device) = if let Some(port) = port {
         let c = donglora_client::connect(Some(port), timeout)?;
         (c, shorten_path(port))
-    } else {
-        let c = donglora_client::connect_mux_auto(timeout)?;
+    } else if let Ok(c) = donglora_client::connect_mux_auto(timeout) {
         (c, "mux".to_string())
+    } else {
+        let port_path = donglora_client::find_port()
+            .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("no mux or USB dongle found"))?;
+        info!("no mux found, connecting to serial port {port_path}");
+        let c = donglora_client::connect(Some(&port_path), timeout)?;
+        (c, shorten_path(&port_path))
     };
     info!("[radio] transport connected: {device}");
 
@@ -112,7 +117,7 @@ fn connect_and_run(
     }
 
     info!("[radio] negotiating config...");
-    let (active_config, config_source) = match negotiate_config(&mut client, config) {
+    let (active_config, config_source) = match negotiate_config(&mut client, config, &device) {
         Ok(result) => {
             info!("[radio] config negotiated: source={:?}, config={}", result.1, format_radio_config(&result.0));
             result
@@ -203,28 +208,31 @@ fn connect_and_run(
 /// Negotiate radio config with the dongle/mux.
 ///
 /// Strategy:
-/// 1. `GetConfig` first to read what's active (caches the result).
+/// 1. `GetConfig` first to read what's active.
 /// 2. If it matches our desired config, use it — no `SetConfig` needed.
-/// 3. If it differs, only try `SetConfig` if we haven't been rejected before.
-/// 4. If `SetConfig` is rejected, set the flag IMMEDIATELY (before the mux can
-///    disconnect us and lose this state), then return the cached `GetConfig` result.
-///
-/// On reconnect, the flag ensures we never retry `SetConfig`.
+/// 3. If it differs and we're on the mux, accept the mux's config.
+/// 4. If it differs and we're on direct serial, `SetConfig` to push ours.
+/// 5. If `GetConfig` fails, try `SetConfig` with our desired config.
 fn negotiate_config<T: Transport>(
     client: &mut donglora_client::Client<T>,
     desired: &RadioConfig,
+    device: &str,
 ) -> Result<(RadioConfig, ConfigSource)> {
     info!("[negotiate] get_config...");
     match client.get_config() {
         Ok(cfg) => {
-            let source = if configs_match(&cfg, desired) {
+            if configs_match(&cfg, desired) {
                 info!("[negotiate] get_config OK (matches desired): {}", format_radio_config(&cfg));
-                ConfigSource::Ours
+                Ok((cfg, ConfigSource::Ours))
+            } else if device == "mux" {
+                info!("[negotiate] get_config OK (mux config differs, accepting): {}", format_radio_config(&cfg));
+                Ok((cfg, ConfigSource::Mux))
             } else {
-                info!("[negotiate] get_config OK (differs from desired): {}", format_radio_config(&cfg));
-                ConfigSource::Mux
-            };
-            Ok((cfg, source))
+                info!("[negotiate] get_config OK (serial config differs, setting ours)");
+                client.set_config(*desired)?;
+                info!("[negotiate] set_config OK");
+                Ok((*desired, ConfigSource::Ours))
+            }
         }
         Err(e) => {
             info!("[negotiate] get_config FAILED: {e:#}");