diff --git a/docs/guide.md b/docs/guide.md
index d20e8bc..f735826 100644
--- a/docs/guide.md
+++ b/docs/guide.md
@@ -1521,7 +1521,9 @@ compatibility argv list. When `inspect --write` succeeds on at least one
 bounded row, `recommended_review_queue_request_target`,
 `recommended_review_queue_request`, and `recommended_review_queue_next_command`
 point to the next local `coverage-pipeline server-validation-result
-review-queue` handoff for the written inspection directory.
+review-queue` handoff for the written inspection directory, using
+`download_smoke_review_queue.tsv` inside that inspection directory as the
+default output path.
 The inspection does not run `datasets`, extract ZIPs, write raw sequence text,
 access the network, contact providers, or mutate workflow outputs.
 
diff --git a/tests/test_cli_download_smoke.py b/tests/test_cli_download_smoke.py
index 5802d80..0412dfe 100644
--- a/tests/test_cli_download_smoke.py
+++ b/tests/test_cli_download_smoke.py
@@ -2028,18 +2028,19 @@ def test_download_smoke_inspect_write_outputs_row_quality_gate_blockers(
     assert summary["recommended_review_queue_request_target"] == (
         "coverage-pipeline server-validation-result review-queue"
     )
+    review_queue_path = outdir / "download_smoke_review_queue.tsv"
     assert summary["recommended_review_queue_request"] == {
         "command": "coverage-pipeline",
         "subcommand": "server-validation-result review-queue",
         "download_smoke_inspection_dir": str(outdir),
         "write": True,
-        "out": "<download_smoke_review_queue.tsv>",
+        "out": str(review_queue_path),
         "json": True,
     }
     assert summary["recommended_review_queue_next_command"] == (
         "typetreeflow coverage-pipeline server-validation-result review-queue "
         f"--download-smoke-inspection-dir {outdir} --write --out "
-        "<download_smoke_review_queue.tsv> --json"
+        f"{review_queue_path} --json"
     )
     assert (
         main(
@@ -2061,7 +2062,7 @@ def test_download_smoke_inspect_write_outputs_row_quality_gate_blockers(
         str(outdir),
         "--write",
         "--out",
-        "<download_smoke_review_queue.tsv>",
+        str(review_queue_path),
         "--json",
     ]
 
diff --git a/typetreeflow/download_smoke_cli.py b/typetreeflow/download_smoke_cli.py
index 25de136..eed003b 100644
--- a/typetreeflow/download_smoke_cli.py
+++ b/typetreeflow/download_smoke_cli.py
@@ -704,12 +704,13 @@ def _recommended_command_from_request(
 
 
 def _recommended_review_queue_request(inspection_dir: str | Path) -> dict[str, object]:
+    inspection_path = Path(inspection_dir)
     return {
         "command": "coverage-pipeline",
         "subcommand": "server-validation-result review-queue",
-        "download_smoke_inspection_dir": str(Path(inspection_dir)),
+        "download_smoke_inspection_dir": str(inspection_path),
         "write": True,
-        "out": "<download_smoke_review_queue.tsv>",
+        "out": str(inspection_path / "download_smoke_review_queue.tsv"),
         "json": True,
     }