diff --git a/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json b/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json
index 96b7681..5f9e0a6 100644
--- a/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json
+++ b/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
     {
       "name": "whippet",
       "source": "./whippet",
-      "description": "Three lean tools for Claude Code: a YAGNI code discipline, a config-drift auditor (/whippet-config), and a code↔docs drift hook.",
+      "description": "Autonomous lean discipline for Claude Code: a YAGNI code discipline plus quiet hooks that flag dependency bloat, config drift, and code↔docs drift. One command, /whippet-config, for the full setup audit.",
       "version": "2.1.1"
     }
   ]
diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index e096780..42874e0 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -64,12 +64,13 @@ npm run bench   # aggregate benchmarks/results/* into one scoreboard (CIs, per-c
 
 ## README — keep it minimal (owner's standing instruction)
 
-The README is **only**: the current version badge + a short paragraph of what the
-plugin does + the install block. **Nothing else** — no benchmark tables, no command
-lists, no honesty essays, no examples. Keep it accurate (update the one paragraph if
-what the plugin does changes) and benchmark-true (no measured edge the A/B doesn't
-show). The version badge is one of the four synced manifests — `npm run bump` moves
-it, never hand-edit.
+The README is **only**: a centered header (logo + a small badge row + a one-line
+italic tagline) + a short paragraph of what the plugin does + the install block.
+That header is **visual polish, not content** — still **nothing else**: no benchmark
+tables, no command lists, no honesty essays, no examples. Keep it accurate (update the
+one paragraph if what the plugin does changes) and benchmark-true (no measured edge the
+A/B doesn't show). The version badge is one of the four synced manifests — `npm run bump`
+moves it, never hand-edit (`check-manifests.js` greps `version-<v>-` in the README).
 
 ## Privacy — never leak private things into the public repo (owner's standing instruction)
 
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 159e395..c630df2 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,18 +1,22 @@
 <div align="center">
 
-<img src="assets/whippet-logo.png" alt="Whippet" width="220">
+<img src="assets/whippet-logo.png" alt="Whippet" width="200">
 
 # Whippet
 
-[![Claude Code](https://img.shields.io/badge/Claude_Code-plugin-d97757?style=flat-square)](https://docs.claude.com/en/docs/claude-code)
+***the least code that actually works — automatically***
+
+[![Claude Code](https://img.shields.io/badge/Claude_Code-plugin-d97757?style=flat-square&logo=anthropic&logoColor=white)](https://docs.claude.com/en/docs/claude-code)
 [![Version](https://img.shields.io/badge/version-2.1.1-4c8bf5?style=flat-square)](#)
-[![License: MIT](https://img.shields.io/badge/license-MIT-3fb950?style=flat-square)](LICENSE)
+[![License](https://img.shields.io/badge/license-MIT-3fb950?style=flat-square)](LICENSE)
+[![Dependencies](https://img.shields.io/badge/dependencies-0-555?style=flat-square)](package.json)
+[![Node](https://img.shields.io/badge/node-%E2%89%A522-339933?style=flat-square&logo=nodedotjs&logoColor=white)](package.json)
 
 </div>
 
 ---
 
-Whippet keeps your code, your dependencies, your config, and your docs from quietly bloating and drifting — **automatically**. Install it once and it runs on its own: an always-on discipline that writes the least code that actually works, plus quiet background checks that flag a dependency the platform already covers, a Claude setup that has drifted, or docs that fell behind the code. The one command, `/whippet-config`, runs the full setup audit on demand.
+Whippet keeps your code, dependencies, config, and docs from quietly bloating and drifting — **automatically**. Install it once and it runs on its own: an always-on discipline that writes the least code that actually works, plus quiet background checks that flag a dependency the platform already covers, a Claude setup that has drifted, or docs that fell behind the code. The one command, `/whippet-config`, runs the full setup audit on demand.
 
 ## Install