diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 3767ac1..76cedd3 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -159,7 +159,7 @@ OMBRE_API_KEY=你的API密钥
 > 3. Set `dehydration.base_url` to `https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/openai` in `config.yaml`
 > Also supports DeepSeek, Ollama, LM Studio, vLLM, or any OpenAI-compatible API.
 
-没有 API key 也能用，脱水压缩会降级到本地模式，只是效果差一点。那就写：
+没有 API key 则脱水压缩和自动打标功能不可用（会报错），但记忆的读写和检索仍正常工作。如果暂时不用脱水功能，可以留空：
 
 ```
 OMBRE_API_KEY=
diff --git a/dehydrator.py b/dehydrator.py
index 98c8b77..a105df7 100644
--- a/dehydrator.py
+++ b/dehydrator.py
@@ -235,8 +235,8 @@ class Dehydrator:
     # ---------------------------------------------------------
     # Dehydrate: compress raw content into concise summary
     # 脱水：将原始内容压缩为精简摘要
-    # Try API first, fallback to local
-    # 先尝试 API，失败则回退本地
+    # API only (no local fallback)
+    # 仅通过 API 脱水（无本地回退）
     # ---------------------------------------------------------
     async def dehydrate(self, content: str, metadata: dict = None) -> str:
         """