diff --git a/cmd/status.go b/cmd/status.go
index 2bbef11..55c4620 100644
--- a/cmd/status.go
+++ b/cmd/status.go
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package cmd
 
 import (
 	"fmt"
+	"runtime"
 	"slices"
 	"time"
 
@@ -87,6 +88,11 @@ current staleness.`,
 		raptorSt := raptorstate.Resolve(active.Profile.RaptorProfile)
 		state["raptor"] = raptorStatusBlock(raptorSt, active.Profile.URL)
 
+		// One field an AI host can branch on instead of re-deriving "is this
+		// machine actually usable?" from installed/found/logged_in. The skills'
+		// raptor preflight reads this.
+		state["setup_complete"] = loggedIn && raptorReady(raptorSt)
+
 		if asJSON {
 			if statusFull {
 				// Same shaped schema as `list-skills --json` and
@@ -157,19 +163,85 @@ current staleness.`,
 		for _, a := range agents {
 			fmt.Fprintf(out, "  - %-30s %-9s %-12s @ %s\n", a.AgentName, a.Kind, a.Harness, a.Path)
 		}
+		// Last thing on screen, so an unfinished setup isn't buried above the
+		// skills/agents listings.
+		fmt.Fprint(out, setupNotice(raptorSt))
 		return nil
 	},
 }
 
+// raptorAssetName is the release asset for a platform, or "" when raptor
+// publishes no build for it. Names match the assets actually on
+// Facets-cloud/raptor-releases (darwin/linux, amd64/arm64).
+func raptorAssetName(goos, goarch string) string {
+	switch goos {
+	case "darwin", "linux":
+	default:
+		return ""
+	}
+	switch goarch {
+	case "amd64", "arm64":
+	default:
+		return ""
+	}
+	return fmt.Sprintf("raptor-%s-%s", goos, goarch)
+}
+
+// raptorInstallHint points at raptor's own install instructions, plus an
+// escape hatch for hosts that can't use them.
+//
+// `docs` is the primary answer. raptor owns its install steps and we must not
+// fork them into praxis — that README already drifts from reality (it documents
+// Windows binaries the releases don't publish), and a second copy here would
+// drift further. Those documented steps end in `sudo mv … /usr/local/bin`.
+//
+// `no_sudo_commands` is the hatch: `sudo` prompts for a password, which a
+// non-interactive AI host cannot answer, so it would hang rather than fail.
+// The hatch installs to ~/.local/bin instead. That deviates from the README on
+// purpose, and the note says so — ~/.local/bin is not on every PATH.
+//
+// praxis is the only party that knows this machine's OS/arch, so it resolves
+// the asset; skill text can't.
+func raptorInstallHint(goos, goarch string) map[string]any {
+	hint := map[string]any{"docs": raptorInstallURL}
+	asset := raptorAssetName(goos, goarch)
+	if asset == "" {
+		// No published build for this platform — docs only. Never fabricate a
+		// download URL that 404s, and offer no hatch we can't stand behind.
+		hint["note"] = "raptor publishes no build for this platform; follow docs."
+		return hint
+	}
+	url := raptorDownloadURL + asset
+	hint["asset_url"] = url
+	hint["no_sudo_commands"] = []string{
+		"mkdir -p ~/.local/bin",
+		"curl -fsSL " + url + " -o ~/.local/bin/raptor",
+		"chmod +x ~/.local/bin/raptor",
+	}
+	hint["note"] = "Prefer docs — raptor's own steps install to /usr/local/bin via sudo. " +
+		"no_sudo_commands is an escape hatch for non-interactive hosts that can't answer a " +
+		"sudo password prompt; it installs to ~/.local/bin, which must be on PATH."
+	return hint
+}
+
 // raptorStatusBlock shapes a raptorstate.State for JSON output. `installed`
 // and `found` are always present; resolution detail only when it exists, and
 // the praxis-URL comparison only when a control plane actually resolved.
 func raptorStatusBlock(st raptorstate.State, praxisURL string) map[string]any {
+	return raptorStatusBlockFor(st, praxisURL, runtime.GOOS, runtime.GOARCH)
+}
+
+// raptorStatusBlockFor is raptorStatusBlock with the platform injected so the
+// install hint is testable across OS/arch.
+func raptorStatusBlockFor(st raptorstate.State, praxisURL, goos, goarch string) map[string]any {
 	block := map[string]any{
 		"installed": st.Installed,
 		"found":     st.Found,
 		"pinned":    st.Pinned,
 	}
+	if !st.Installed {
+		block["install_hint"] = raptorInstallHint(goos, goarch)
+	}
 	if st.Profile != "" {
 		block["profile"] = st.Profile
 	}
@@ -186,6 +258,18 @@ func raptorStatusBlock(st raptorstate.State, praxisURL string) map[string]any {
 	return block
 }
 
+const (
+	// raptorInstallURL is raptor's OWN install instructions — the single place
+	// those steps are maintained. praxis points at it rather than restating
+	// them, so the two can't drift. raptor ships no Homebrew formula or cask
+	// today (unlike praxis), so this README is the canonical path.
+	raptorInstallURL = "https://github.com/Facets-cloud/raptor-releases#installation"
+
+	// raptorDownloadURL is the release-asset prefix, used only to resolve the
+	// exact build for this machine.
+	raptorDownloadURL = "https://github.com/Facets-cloud/raptor-releases/releases/latest/download/"
+)
+
 // raptorStatusLine renders the human one-liner for the raptor auth state.
 func raptorStatusLine(st raptorstate.State, praxisURL string) string {
 	switch {
@@ -202,12 +286,40 @@ func raptorStatusLine(st raptorstate.State, praxisURL string) string {
 		// FACETS_PROFILE names a profile raptor doesn't have.
 		return fmt.Sprintf("profile %q (%s) not found in ~/.facets/credentials", st.Profile, st.Source)
 	case !st.Installed:
-		return "not installed"
+		// State the fact AND the next step. "not installed" alone names no
+		// consequence, and nothing else in the repo tells a user where to get it.
+		return "not installed — get it at " + raptorInstallURL
 	default:
 		return "no profile resolved — run `raptor login`"
 	}
 }
 
+// raptorReady reports whether raptor can actually run a control-plane command:
+// on PATH and resolved to a control plane it holds credentials for.
+func raptorReady(st raptorstate.State) bool { return st.Installed && st.Found }
+
+// setupNotice is the closing summary printed when raptor isn't usable yet.
+//
+// Without it the per-field `raptor:` line is followed by `logged in: yes`, so
+// the output as a whole still scans as healthy — a user has no reason to look
+// closer. praxis login succeeding is only half of setup: raptor is what reaches
+// projects, resources, environments and releases, so every praxis user needs it
+// working. Returns "" when there is nothing to say.
+func setupNotice(st raptorstate.State) string {
+	if raptorReady(st) {
+		return ""
+	}
+	if !st.Installed {
+		return "\n⚠ setup incomplete: raptor is not installed.\n" +
+			"  Facets projects, resources and releases all run through raptor.\n" +
+			"  Install: " + raptorInstallURL + "\n" +
+			"  Then:    raptor login\n"
+	}
+	// Installed but no usable profile — don't send them back to the install page.
+	return "\n⚠ setup incomplete: raptor is installed but not logged in.\n" +
+		"  Run: raptor login\n"
+}
+
 // summarizeInstalls collapses the per-(name, harness) receipt entries into
 // deduped, sorted name lists. Slices are always non-nil so JSON marshals
 // `[]`, never `null`.
diff --git a/cmd/status_test.go b/cmd/status_test.go
index e31d96b..d03fa86 100644
--- a/cmd/status_test.go
+++ b/cmd/status_test.go
@@ -463,9 +463,11 @@ func TestRaptorStatusLine(t *testing.T) {
 			want: "profile \"ghost\" (env-profile) not found in ~/.facets/credentials",
 		},
 		{
+			// States the fact AND the next step — nothing else in the repo
+			// tells a user where to get raptor.
 			name: "not installed",
 			st:   raptorstate.State{},
-			want: "not installed",
+			want: "not installed — get it at " + raptorInstallURL,
 		},
 		{
 			name: "installed, nothing resolved",
@@ -481,3 +483,178 @@ func TestRaptorStatusLine(t *testing.T) {
 		})
 	}
 }
+
+// A new user installs praxis, runs `praxis login`, and sees a clean result —
+// but raptor is the CLI that actually reaches the Facets control plane
+// (projects, resources, environments, releases). #68 made status say
+// "not installed", which is the right fact but not an actionable one: it names
+// no consequence and no next step. These tests pin the actionable form.
+func TestRaptorStatusLine_NotInstalledPointsAtTheInstall(t *testing.T) {
+	got := raptorStatusLine(raptorstate.State{}, "https://root.test")
+	if !strings.Contains(got, "not installed") {
+		t.Errorf("line must still state the fact; got %q", got)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(got, raptorInstallURL) {
+		t.Errorf("line must point at where to get raptor; got %q", got)
+	}
+}
+
+// setupNotice is the closing summary. Without it the `raptor: not installed`
+// line is followed by `logged in: yes`, so the output as a whole still reads
+// healthy and the user has no reason to look closer.
+func TestSetupNotice(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name      string
+		st        raptorstate.State
+		wantEmpty bool
+		must      []string
+	}{
+		{
+			name: "not installed — needs install AND login",
+			st:   raptorstate.State{},
+			must: []string{"setup incomplete", "not installed", raptorInstallURL, "raptor login"},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "installed but nothing resolved — needs login only",
+			st:   raptorstate.State{Installed: true},
+			must: []string{"setup incomplete", "raptor login"},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "installed, pinned profile missing — needs login",
+			st:   raptorstate.State{Installed: true, Pinned: true, Profile: "ghost", Source: raptorstate.SourcePin},
+			must: []string{"setup incomplete", "raptor login"},
+		},
+		{
+			name:      "fully set up — stay quiet",
+			st:        raptorstate.State{Installed: true, Found: true, Profile: "default", ControlPlaneURL: "https://root.test"},
+			wantEmpty: true,
+		},
+	}
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			got := setupNotice(tt.st)
+			if tt.wantEmpty {
+				if got != "" {
+					t.Errorf("want no notice when setup is complete; got %q", got)
+				}
+				return
+			}
+			if got == "" {
+				t.Fatal("want a notice, got none")
+			}
+			for _, want := range tt.must {
+				if !strings.Contains(got, want) {
+					t.Errorf("notice missing %q; got:\n%s", want, got)
+				}
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// An installed-but-not-logged-in raptor must NOT be told to install again —
+// that sends the user down the wrong path.
+func TestSetupNotice_InstalledDoesNotSuggestInstalling(t *testing.T) {
+	got := setupNotice(raptorstate.State{Installed: true})
+	if strings.Contains(got, raptorInstallURL) {
+		t.Errorf("raptor is already installed; notice must not point at the install URL:\n%s", got)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestRaptorAssetName(t *testing.T) {
+	// Verified against the real assets on Facets-cloud/raptor-releases
+	// (v0.1.91 publishes darwin/linux, amd64/arm64 only).
+	for _, tt := range []struct{ goos, goarch, want string }{
+		{"darwin", "arm64", "raptor-darwin-arm64"},
+		{"darwin", "amd64", "raptor-darwin-amd64"},
+		{"linux", "amd64", "raptor-linux-amd64"},
+		{"linux", "arm64", "raptor-linux-arm64"},
+		{"windows", "amd64", ""}, // not published — must not invent a URL
+		{"linux", "386", ""},
+	} {
+		if got := raptorAssetName(tt.goos, tt.goarch); got != tt.want {
+			t.Errorf("raptorAssetName(%q,%q) = %q, want %q", tt.goos, tt.goarch, got, tt.want)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// The install hint rides inside the existing `raptor` block from #68 rather
+// than as a parallel top-level key, so the meta-skill's "act on the raptor
+// block" contract keeps working.
+//
+// `docs` is the PRIMARY answer: raptor's own README owns the install steps and
+// we must not fork them (it already drifts — it documents Windows binaries the
+// releases don't publish). `no_sudo_commands` is an explicit escape hatch for
+// non-interactive hosts that cannot answer raptor's documented `sudo mv`.
+func TestRaptorStatusBlock_InstallHint(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Run("absent: README is the primary pointer", func(t *testing.T) {
+		b := raptorStatusBlockFor(raptorstate.State{}, "https://x.test", "darwin", "arm64")
+		hint, _ := b["install_hint"].(map[string]any)
+		if hint == nil {
+			t.Fatal("install_hint missing when raptor is not installed")
+		}
+		docs, _ := hint["docs"].(string)
+		if !strings.Contains(docs, "raptor-releases") {
+			t.Errorf("docs must point at raptor's own install instructions, got %q", docs)
+		}
+		note, _ := hint["note"].(string)
+		if !strings.Contains(note, "sudo") || !strings.Contains(note, "PATH") {
+			t.Errorf("note must say the official steps use sudo and that ~/.local/bin needs to be on PATH; got %q", note)
+		}
+	})
+
+	t.Run("hatch names this machine's asset and needs no sudo", func(t *testing.T) {
+		b := raptorStatusBlockFor(raptorstate.State{}, "https://x.test", "darwin", "arm64")
+		hint, _ := b["install_hint"].(map[string]any)
+		if !strings.Contains(hint["asset_url"].(string), "raptor-darwin-arm64") {
+			t.Errorf("asset_url must name this machine's build, got %v", hint["asset_url"])
+		}
+		cmds := strings.Join(toStrings(hint["no_sudo_commands"]), "\n")
+		// sudo prompts for a password and hangs a non-interactive AI host.
+		if strings.Contains(cmds, "sudo") {
+			t.Errorf("the hatch exists to avoid sudo:\n%s", cmds)
+		}
+		if !strings.Contains(cmds, "chmod +x") {
+			t.Errorf("downloaded binary must be made executable:\n%s", cmds)
+		}
+	})
+
+	t.Run("installed: no hint", func(t *testing.T) {
+		b := raptorStatusBlockFor(raptorstate.State{Installed: true}, "https://x.test", "darwin", "arm64")
+		if _, has := b["install_hint"]; has {
+			t.Error("install_hint must be omitted once raptor is installed")
+		}
+	})
+
+	t.Run("unpublished platform: docs only, no fabricated url", func(t *testing.T) {
+		b := raptorStatusBlockFor(raptorstate.State{}, "https://x.test", "windows", "amd64")
+		hint, _ := b["install_hint"].(map[string]any)
+		if hint == nil {
+			t.Fatal("install_hint missing")
+		}
+		if _, has := hint["asset_url"]; has {
+			t.Error("must not fabricate a download URL for a platform the releases don't publish")
+		}
+		if _, has := hint["no_sudo_commands"]; has {
+			t.Error("no hatch without a real asset — send them to docs")
+		}
+		if hint["docs"] == nil {
+			t.Error("docs must always be present")
+		}
+	})
+
+	// #68's fields must survive untouched.
+	t.Run("preserves the #68 block", func(t *testing.T) {
+		b := raptorStatusBlockFor(raptorstate.State{Installed: true, Found: true,
+			Profile: "default", ControlPlaneURL: "https://x.test"}, "https://x.test", "darwin", "arm64")
+		for _, k := range []string{"installed", "found", "pinned", "control_plane_url", "matches_praxis_url"} {
+			if _, has := b[k]; !has {
+				t.Errorf("#68 field %q went missing", k)
+			}
+		}
+	})
+}
+
+func toStrings(v any) []string {
+	out, _ := v.([]string)
+	return out
+}
diff --git a/internal/skillinstall/dummy.go b/internal/skillinstall/dummy.go
index c4624be..031081a 100644
--- a/internal/skillinstall/dummy.go
+++ b/internal/skillinstall/dummy.go
@@ -193,12 +193,15 @@ raptor get releases -p <project> -e <env> -o json
 
 Preflight — once per session, before the first raptor command:
 
-  - **Installed?** ` + "`command -v raptor`" + ` — if missing, ask the user to
-    install it; don't install it yourself.
-  - **Logged in?** ` + "`raptor whoami`" + ` — if it errors, ask the user to run
-    ` + "`raptor login`" + ` (a browser flow that stores a PAT in
-    ` + "`~/.facets/credentials`" + `). Never ask for a token in chat or write
-    credentials yourself.
+  - **Installed?** ` + "`command -v raptor`" + ` — if missing, install it for
+    the user with the ` + "`raptor.install_hint.commands`" + ` from
+    ` + "`praxis status --json`" + ` (already resolved for this OS/arch; no
+    sudo). See "Raptor profile ≠ praxis profile" below.
+  - **Logged in?** ` + "`raptor whoami`" + ` — if it errors, RUN
+    ` + "`raptor login`" + ` for the user. It opens their browser and they
+    complete the sign-in; it stores a PAT in
+    ` + "`~/.facets/credentials`" + `. Wait for exit 0. Never ask for a token
+    in chat or write credentials yourself.
   - **Up to date?** ` + "`praxis status --json`" + ` reports ` + "`tools`" + ` as an
     ARRAY, one object per tool with its ` + "`current`" + `/` + "`latest`" + ` version
     and a ` + "`stale`" + ` flag. Find the entry whose ` + "`tool`" + ` is
@@ -231,8 +234,26 @@ Act on it:
     askpraxis.ai (no raptor CP matches it). Otherwise say which two hosts
     you see and ask the user which is intended BEFORE any raptor write;
     read-only exploration may proceed with a note.
-  - ` + "`found: false`" + ` — raptor has no usable profile; ask the user to
-    run ` + "`raptor login`" + `.
+  - ` + "`installed: false`" + ` — raptor isn't on this machine at all, so every
+    control-plane command will fail. The block carries an
+    ` + "`install_hint`" + `. Point the user at ` + "`install_hint.docs`" + `
+    FIRST — that's raptor's own README and the maintained source of truth
+    (its steps end in ` + "`sudo mv … /usr/local/bin`" + `). If the user
+    can't run those, or asks you to do it, use
+    ` + "`install_hint.no_sudo_commands`" + `: already resolved for this
+    OS/arch and free of sudo, which you can't answer a password prompt
+    for. It installs to ` + "`~/.local/bin`" + `, so check that's on PATH
+    afterwards. When ` + "`asset_url`" + ` is absent raptor publishes no
+    build for this platform — docs only, don't improvise. Then continue
+    to ` + "`raptor login`" + ` below.
+  - ` + "`found: false`" + ` — raptor has no usable profile. RUN
+    ` + "`raptor login`" + ` on the user's behalf, exactly as you do for
+    ` + "`praxis login`" + `: it opens their browser and they complete the
+    sign-in themselves. Wait for exit 0. Never ask for a token in chat,
+    and never write ` + "`~/.facets/credentials`" + ` yourself.
+  - ` + "`setup_complete`" + ` (top level, not inside the raptor block) — true
+    only when praxis is logged in AND raptor is installed and resolved.
+    Check it first; the two bullets above say what to do when it's false.
 
 ## Discovering MCP tools
 
diff --git a/internal/skillinstall/dummy_test.go b/internal/skillinstall/dummy_test.go
index 6a411ea..66eb91a 100644
--- a/internal/skillinstall/dummy_test.go
+++ b/internal/skillinstall/dummy_test.go
@@ -104,3 +104,43 @@ func TestPraxisMetaSkill_ProfileManagementSurface(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 	}
 }
+
+// #68 taught the meta-skill to act on the `raptor` block, but only covered a
+// raptor that is present and mis-aimed. A raptor that is absent, or present
+// and logged out, left the host with nothing runnable — the old text said
+// "ask the user to install it" and no instructions existed anywhere.
+//
+// The host now installs and signs raptor in on the user's behalf, matching how
+// it already treats `praxis login`. Credentials stay off-limits either way.
+func TestPraxisMetaSkill_RaptorSetupIsActionable(t *testing.T) {
+	body, err := ContentFor("praxis")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("ContentFor(praxis): %v", err)
+	}
+	for _, want := range []string{
+		"installed: false", // the case #68 didn't cover
+		"install_hint",     // where the resolved commands live
+		"~/.local/bin",     // no-sudo install target
+		"setup_complete",   // the single field to branch on
+	} {
+		if !strings.Contains(body, want) {
+			t.Errorf("meta-skill missing raptor-setup guidance %q", want)
+		}
+	}
+
+	// The old stance told the host to stop at asking. That dead-ended the user.
+	if strings.Contains(body, "don't install it yourself") {
+		t.Error("stale guidance: the host now installs raptor via install_hint")
+	}
+
+	// Handling raptor's PAT is still forbidden — installing and running a
+	// browser login is not the same as touching credentials.
+	for _, want := range []string{
+		"Never ask for a token in chat",
+		"never write `~/.facets/credentials` yourself",
+	} {
+		if !strings.Contains(body, want) {
+			t.Errorf("credential guardrail weakened — missing %q", want)
+		}
+	}
+}