diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 67cd2ec..4387597 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -8,11 +8,17 @@ Takes a spec generated by ralph-specum, analyzes task dependencies and file owne
 
 ## Install
 
-```
-/install-plugin kavanaghpatrick/ralph-parallel
-```
+```bash
+# 1. Install ralph-specum first (prerequisite)
+claude plugin marketplace add tzachbon/smart-ralph
+claude plugin install ralph-specum@smart-ralph
 
-Requires [ralph-specum](https://github.com/tzachbon/smart-ralph) to be installed first.
+# 2. Install ralph-parallel
+claude plugin marketplace add kavanaghpatrick/ralph-parallel
+claude plugin install ralph-parallel@ralph-parallel
+
+# 3. Restart Claude Code
+```
 
 ## Commands
 
@@ -44,4 +50,5 @@ Requires [ralph-specum](https://github.com/tzachbon/smart-ralph) to be installed
 
 - Claude Code with Agent Teams support
 - ralph-specum plugin (for spec generation)
-- Python 3.10+ (for analysis scripts)
+- Python 3.10+ (for analysis scripts) — macOS ships with 3.9; install via `brew install python`
+- `jq` (for hook scripts) — install via `brew install jq`
diff --git a/plugins/ralph-parallel/.claude-plugin/plugin.json b/plugins/ralph-parallel/.claude-plugin/plugin.json
index 94fff0a..b5e96d7 100644
--- a/plugins/ralph-parallel/.claude-plugin/plugin.json
+++ b/plugins/ralph-parallel/.claude-plugin/plugin.json
@@ -7,9 +7,6 @@
   },
   "license": "MIT",
   "homepage": "https://github.com/kavanaghpatrick/ralph-parallel",
-  "repository": {
-    "type": "git",
-    "url": "https://github.com/kavanaghpatrick/ralph-parallel.git"
-  },
+  "repository": "https://github.com/kavanaghpatrick/ralph-parallel",
   "keywords": ["ralph", "parallel", "agent-teams", "dispatch", "coordination", "worktree"]
 }
diff --git a/plugins/ralph-parallel/hooks/scripts/session-setup.sh b/plugins/ralph-parallel/hooks/scripts/session-setup.sh
index 5a63faa..710a38d 100755
--- a/plugins/ralph-parallel/hooks/scripts/session-setup.sh
+++ b/plugins/ralph-parallel/hooks/scripts/session-setup.sh
@@ -9,6 +9,18 @@
 
 set -euo pipefail
 
+# Pre-flight: check Python 3.10+ and jq are available
+if ! command -v jq &>/dev/null; then
+  echo "ralph-parallel: WARNING — jq not found. Install via: brew install jq"
+fi
+PYTHON_OK=$(python3 -c "import sys; print('ok' if sys.version_info >= (3, 10) else 'old')" 2>/dev/null) || PYTHON_OK="missing"
+if [ "$PYTHON_OK" = "old" ]; then
+  PY_VER=$(python3 -c "import sys; print(f'{sys.version_info.major}.{sys.version_info.minor}')")
+  echo "ralph-parallel: WARNING — Python 3.10+ required, found $PY_VER. Install via: brew install python"
+elif [ "$PYTHON_OK" = "missing" ]; then
+  echo "ralph-parallel: WARNING — python3 not found. Install via: brew install python"
+fi
+
 # Find project root (handles both main repo and worktrees)
 GIT_ROOT=$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null) || exit 0