diff --git a/viewer/windows/JFJochProcessingJobsWindow.cpp b/viewer/windows/JFJochProcessingJobsWindow.cpp
index 68a07e6c..6aff0ed7 100644
--- a/viewer/windows/JFJochProcessingJobsWindow.cpp
+++ b/viewer/windows/JFJochProcessingJobsWindow.cpp
@@ -224,20 +224,6 @@ int JFJochProcessingJobsWindow::askJob(const ReprocessingInputs &inputs, JobSpec
         "axis from the whole sweep, then re-integrates at the refined geometry. The refined pass is the "
         "canonical <prefix> output; the header-geometry pass is kept as <prefix>_01. Default on; a no-op for stills.");
 
-    // De-novo by default, exactly as `rugnux` with no -C / -S: it discards any cell and space group
-    // stored in the input file so neither indexing nor the space-group search is biased by them. This is
-    // offered only when there IS something stored - most often because a previous run of this very
-    // dataset wrote it, which is how a run that once ended in P1 used to pin every later run to P1.
-    const bool has_stored_crystal = inputs.experiment.GetUnitCell().has_value()
-                                    || inputs.experiment.GetSpaceGroupNumber().has_value();
-    auto *keep_crystal = new QCheckBox("Use the stored unit cell / space group", &dlg);
-    keep_crystal->setChecked(false);
-    keep_crystal->setEnabled(has_stored_crystal && !azint);
-    keep_crystal->setToolTip(
-        "Off (default): the cell and space group are determined from the data, discarding whatever the "
-        "file carries - the same as running rugnux with no -C / -S. On: index and merge with the stored "
-        "values instead, which is what you want for serial stills with a known cell.");
-
     auto *form = new QFormLayout;
     form->addRow("Start image", start_image);
     form->addRow("End image", end_image);
@@ -248,8 +234,6 @@ int JFJochProcessingJobsWindow::askJob(const ReprocessingInputs &inputs, JobSpec
     form->addRow(scaling);
     form->addRow(refineRow);
     form->addRow(postrefine);
-    if (has_stored_crystal && !azint)
-        form->addRow(keep_crystal);
 
     int result = 0;
     auto *run = new QPushButton("Run locally", &dlg);
@@ -279,7 +263,6 @@ int JFJochProcessingJobsWindow::askJob(const ReprocessingInputs &inputs, JobSpec
         spec.save_h5 = save_h5->isChecked();
         spec.save_merged = save_merged->isEnabled() && save_merged->isChecked();
         spec.prefix = prefix->text();
-        spec.keep_stored_crystal = keep_crystal->isEnabled() && keep_crystal->isChecked();
         spec.scaling = scaling->isEnabled() && scaling->isChecked();
         spec.refine_geometry = refine_geometry->isEnabled() && refine_geometry->isChecked();
         spec.refine_geometry_frames = refine_frames->value();
@@ -336,17 +319,16 @@ void JFJochProcessingJobsWindow::newJob(bool azint) {
     // The experiment carries the panel's indexing settings — including RotationIndexing set by "Process
     // as stills" (needed so IndexAndRefine builds a rotation indexer). On top of that it gets exactly
     // the defaults `rugnux` with no options would apply, so the two front ends agree: the analysis
-    // policy the panel does not expose (the polarization factor), the rotation scaling defaults, and
-    // the de-novo starting point.
+    // policy the panel does not expose (the polarization factor) and the rotation scaling defaults.
     //
-    // Clearing the stored crystal is the important one. Without it the space group carried in the file
-    // is left on the experiment, Rugnux skips the whole search (it only searches when none is set) and
-    // reports that group straight back — and since a finished job's own _process.h5 becomes the active
-    // snapshot, a run that ended in P1 pinned every later run to P1 as well.
+    // The cell and space group come from the settings panel and nowhere else: with "Unit cell known"
+    // ticked they are indexed and merged with, unticked the panel clears both and the run determines
+    // them from the data (-C / -S versus bare `rugnux`). The panel is filled from the file when one is
+    // opened, so what a run will use is always the crystal shown on screen - including after a finished
+    // job's _process.h5 becomes the active snapshot, where a run that ended in P1 shows P1 and can be
+    // cleared, rather than silently pinning every later run to it.
     DiffractionExperiment experiment = inputs.experiment;
     ApplyRugnuxExperimentDefaults(experiment);
-    if (!spec.keep_stored_crystal)
-        ClearStoredCrystal(experiment);
     if (spec.mode == ProcessMode::FullAnalysis && spec.scaling) {
         ScalingSettings scaling = RugnuxDefaultScalingSettings(config.rotation_indexing);
         // Keep what the settings dock does expose; take the rest from the shared defaults.
diff --git a/viewer/windows/JFJochProcessingJobsWindow.h b/viewer/windows/JFJochProcessingJobsWindow.h
index cea804cb..c042bc43 100644
--- a/viewer/windows/JFJochProcessingJobsWindow.h
+++ b/viewer/windows/JFJochProcessingJobsWindow.h
@@ -85,9 +85,6 @@ private:
         bool refine_geometry = false;       // stills-only global geometry bundle-adjust (needs a known cell)
         int refine_geometry_frames = 200;   // strong indexed frames fed to that bundle adjustment
         bool rotation_postrefine = true;    // rotation-only two-pass geometry post-refine (default on)
-        // Process with the unit cell / space group the input file carries, instead of determining them
-        // de novo. Off by default, which is what `rugnux` with no -C/-S does.
-        bool keep_stored_crystal = false;
     };
 
     // Returns 0 = cancel, 1 = run locally, 2 = copy command line; fills spec from the dialog.