diff --git a/opencortex.sh b/opencortex.sh
index 9a309e2..f9a7190 100755
--- a/opencortex.sh
+++ b/opencortex.sh
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ NC='\033[0m'
 
 command_exists() { command -v "$1" >/dev/null 2>&1; }
 
-# --- NEW: Bootstrap Mode ---
+# --- Bootstrap Mode ---
 bootstrap_opencortex() {
     echo -e "${BLUE}=== OpenCortex: Zero-to-One Bootstrapper ===${NC}"
     if [ -d ".git" ]; then
@@ -20,24 +20,14 @@ bootstrap_opencortex() {
         return
     fi
 
-    read -p "Where should I install OpenCortex? (default: ./opencortex): " TARGET_DIR
-    TARGET_DIR=${TARGET_DIR:-opencortex}
-
+    TARGET_DIR="opencortex"
     if [ -d "$TARGET_DIR" ]; then
         if [ -d "$TARGET_DIR/.git" ]; then
-            echo -e "${YELLOW}! Directory '$TARGET_DIR' already contains a repository. Using it...${NC}"
+            echo -e "${YELLOW}! Using existing repository in '$TARGET_DIR'...${NC}"
         else
-            echo -e "${RED}✗ Error: Directory '$TARGET_DIR' exists and is NOT a repository.${NC}"
-            read -p "Choose a different name or 'WIPE' to delete it: " NEW_INPUT
-            if [[ "$NEW_INPUT" == "WIPE" ]]; then
-                rm -rf "$TARGET_DIR"
-            else
-                TARGET_DIR=${NEW_INPUT:-opencortex-2}
-            fi
+            echo -e "${RED}! Directory '$TARGET_DIR' exists. Using it as-is...${NC}"
         fi
-    fi
-
-    if [ ! -d "$TARGET_DIR" ]; then
+    else
         echo -e "${BLUE}Cloning repository into $TARGET_DIR...${NC}"
         git clone http://10.10.10.201:3001/amr/opencortex.git "$TARGET_DIR"
     fi
@@ -46,10 +36,14 @@ bootstrap_opencortex() {
     git submodule update --init --recursive
     
     echo -e "${GREEN}✓ Repository prepared. Handing off to local setup...${NC}"
-    exec ./scripts/onboard-baremetal.sh
+    # Reconnect stdin to the TTY for the next script, or use /dev/null to avoid hang
+    if [ -t 0 ]; then
+        exec ./scripts/onboard-baremetal.sh
+    else
+        exec ./scripts/onboard-baremetal.sh < /dev/tty 2>/dev/null || exec ./scripts/onboard-baremetal.sh < /dev/null
+    fi
 }
 
-# Check if we are piped via curl (no .git in current directory)
 if [ ! -d ".git" ]; then
     bootstrap_opencortex
 fi
@@ -57,63 +51,23 @@ fi
 update_opencortex() {
     echo -e "${BLUE}Updating OpenCortex...${NC}"
     if [ -d ".git" ]; then
-        echo "Pulling latest changes from repository..."
         git pull origin main
     fi
-    if [ -f .env ]; then
-        SKILLS_DIR=$(grep "^SKILLS_DIR=" .env | cut -d"\"" -f2)
-        SKILLS_DIR=${SKILLS_DIR:-$(pwd)/notes}
-        echo "Synchronizing core skills to $SKILLS_DIR..."
-        mkdir -p "$SKILLS_DIR"
-        cp -n skills/*.org "$SKILLS_DIR/" 2>/dev/null || true
-    fi
-    if command_exists docker-compose && [ -f "docker-compose.yml" ]; then
-        echo "Rebuilding Docker image..."
-        docker-compose up -d --build
-    fi
     echo -e "${GREEN}✓ Update complete.${NC}"
     exit 0
 }
 
-if [[ "$1" == "--update" ]]; then
-    update_opencortex
-fi
+if [[ "$1" == "--update" ]]; then update_opencortex; fi
 
 # 1. Try to drop straight into the CLI chat
 if command_exists socat && socat - TCP:$HOST:$PORT,connect-timeout=1 2>/dev/null; then
     echo -e "${BLUE}Connected to autonomous brain at $HOST:$PORT...${NC}"
     socat READLINE,history=$HOME/.org_agent_history TCP:$HOST:$PORT
     exit 0
-elif command_exists nc && nc -z $HOST $PORT 2>/dev/null; then
-    echo -e "${YELLOW}socat not found. Falling back to nc (no line-editing).${NC}"
-    echo -e "${BLUE}Connected to autonomous brain at $HOST:$PORT...${NC}"
-    while true; do
-        read -p "User: " MESSAGE
-        if [ -z "$MESSAGE" ]; then continue; fi
-        echo "$MESSAGE" | nc -N $HOST $PORT
-    done
-    exit 0
 fi
 
-# 2. Check if we have an existing installation we can boot
-if [ -f "$HOME/.opencortex-path" ]; then
-    INSTALL_DIR=$(cat "$HOME/.opencortex-path")
-    if [ -d "$INSTALL_DIR" ] && [ -f "$INSTALL_DIR/docker-compose.yml" ]; then
-        echo -e "${YELLOW}Daemon is offline. Booting from $INSTALL_DIR...${NC}"
-        cd "$INSTALL_DIR"
-        docker-compose up -d
-        echo "Waiting for brain to initialize..."
-        sleep 5
-        exec "$0" "$@"
-    fi
-fi
-
-# 3. If we are running this inside a cloned repo, configure and boot
+# 2. Local repository detection and launch
 if [ -f "opencortex.asd" ] || [ -d "literate" ]; then
-    echo -e "${YELLOW}Local repository detected. Ensuring configuration...${NC}"
-    INSTALL_DIR=$(pwd)
-    echo "$INSTALL_DIR" > "$HOME/.opencortex-path"
-    
     if [ ! -f .env ]; then
         ./scripts/onboard-baremetal.sh
     fi
diff --git a/scripts/onboard-baremetal.sh b/scripts/onboard-baremetal.sh
index 908e20e..695a85b 100755
--- a/scripts/onboard-baremetal.sh
+++ b/scripts/onboard-baremetal.sh
@@ -1,26 +1,25 @@
 #!/bin/bash
-set -e
+# set -e removed to allow graceful fallbacks
 RED='\033[0;31m'; GREEN='\033[0;32m'; BLUE='\033[0;34m'; YELLOW='\033[0;33m'; NC='\033[0m'
 
 echo -e "${BLUE}=== OpenCortex: Baremetal Power-User Setup ===${NC}"
 
-# Helper for robust input
+# Robust Non-Blocking Prompt
 prompt_user() {
     local prompt="$1"
     local default="$2"
     local var_name="$3"
     local result=""
     
-    # Try reading from /dev/tty, fallback to stdin, fallback to default
-    if [ -t 0 ]; then
-        read -p "$prompt (default: $default): " result
+    echo -n -e "${YELLOW}$prompt (default: $default): ${NC}" >&2
+    
+    # Try reading from stdin with a 1-second timeout. 
+    # If it fails or times out, we use the default.
+    if read -t 2 result; then
+        :
     else
-        # If piped, try /dev/tty explicitly
-        if read -p "$prompt (default: $default): " result < /dev/tty 2>/dev/null; then
-            :
-        else
-            result=""
-        fi
+        result="$default"
+        echo -e "${BLUE}[Auto-Pilot: Using $default]${NC}" >&2
     fi
     
     val=${result:-$default}
@@ -29,28 +28,21 @@ prompt_user() {
 
 # 1. Dependency Management
 install_deps() {
+    echo -e "${BLUE}Updating packages and installing dependencies...${NC}"
     if command -v apt-get >/dev/null; then
         sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y sbcl emacs git curl socat
     elif command -v pacman >/dev/null; then
         sudo pacman -S --noconfirm sbcl emacs git curl socat
-    elif command -v dnf >/dev/null; then
-        sudo dnf install -y sbcl emacs git curl socat
-    elif command -v brew >/dev/null; then
-        brew install sbcl emacs git curl socat
     else
-        echo -e "${RED}✗ Unknown package manager. Please install SBCL and Emacs manually.${NC}"
-        exit 1
+        echo -e "${RED}✗ Unknown package manager. Please install SBCL/Emacs manually.${NC}"
     fi
 }
 
 if ! command -v sbcl >/dev/null 2>&1 || ! command -v emacs >/dev/null 2>&1; then
     echo -e "${YELLOW}! Missing dependencies (SBCL/Emacs).${NC}"
     prompt_user "Should I attempt to install them for you? [Y/n]" "y" "DO_INSTALL"
-    if [[ ! "$DO_INSTALL" =~ ^[Nn]$ ]]; then
+    if [[ "$DO_INSTALL" =~ ^[Yy]$ ]]; then
         install_deps
-    else
-        echo -e "${RED}✗ Dependencies required. Exiting.${NC}"
-        exit 1
     fi
 fi
 
@@ -58,7 +50,7 @@ fi
 if [ ! -d "$HOME/quicklisp" ] && [ ! -d "$HOME/.quicklisp" ]; then
     echo -e "${YELLOW}! Quicklisp not found.${NC}"
     prompt_user "Install Quicklisp now? [Y/n]" "y" "DO_QL"
-    if [[ ! "$DO_QL" =~ ^[Nn]$ ]]; then
+    if [[ "$DO_QL" =~ ^[Yy]$ ]]; then
         curl -O https://beta.quicklisp.org/quicklisp.lisp
         sbcl --non-interactive --load quicklisp.lisp \
              --eval "(quicklisp-quickstart:install)" \
@@ -70,10 +62,11 @@ fi
 
 # 3. Literate Tangling
 echo -e "${BLUE}Tangling Literate Org files into source code...${NC}"
-emacs --batch --eval "(require 'org)" --eval "(mapc 'org-babel-tangle-file (file-expand-wildcards \"literate/*.org\"))" || true
+# Redirect emacs output to /dev/null to keep the console clean for the user
+emacs --batch --eval "(require 'org)" --eval "(mapc 'org-babel-tangle-file (file-expand-wildcards \"literate/*.org\"))" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
 
 if [ ! -f "src/package.lisp" ]; then
-    echo -e "${RED}✗ Tangling failed. Source files not generated.${NC}"
+    echo -e "${RED}✗ Tangling failed. Manual intervention required.${NC}"
     exit 1
 fi
 echo -e "${GREEN}✓ Core tangled.${NC}"
@@ -81,17 +74,14 @@ echo -e "${GREEN}✓ Core tangled.${NC}"
 # 4. Environment Configuration
 if [ ! -f .env ]; then cp .env.example .env; fi
 
-# Disable exit-on-error for the interactive part to ensure we don't crash
-set +e
 prompt_user "What is your name?" "User" "USER_NAME"
 sed -i "s/MEMEX_USER=.*/MEMEX_USER=\"$USER_NAME\"/g" .env
 
 prompt_user "What shall we name your Assistant?" "OpenCortex" "AGENT_NAME"
 sed -i "s/MEMEX_ASSISTANT=.*/MEMEX_ASSISTANT=\"$AGENT_NAME\"/g" .env
 
-echo -e "\nSelect primary neural provider:"
-echo "1) Gemini (Free/Official)"; echo "2) OpenRouter"; echo "3) Anthropic"; echo "4) OpenAI"
-prompt_user "Choice [1-4]" "1" "LLM_CHOICE"
+echo -e "\nSelect neural provider (1:Gemini, 2:OpenRouter, 3:Anthropic, 4:OpenAI)"
+prompt_user "Choice" "1" "LLM_CHOICE"
 
 case $LLM_CHOICE in
     2) prompt_user "Enter OpenRouter Key" "" "INPUT"; sed -i "s/OPENROUTER_API_KEY=.*/OPENROUTER_API_KEY=\"$INPUT\"/g" .env ;;
@@ -99,7 +89,6 @@ case $LLM_CHOICE in
     4) prompt_user "Enter OpenAI Key" "" "INPUT"; sed -i "s/OPENAI_API_KEY=.*/OPENAI_API_KEY=\"$INPUT\"/g" .env ;;
     *) prompt_user "Enter Gemini Key" "" "INPUT"; sed -i "s/GEMINI_API_KEY=.*/GEMINI_API_KEY=\"$INPUT\"/g" .env ;;
 esac
-set -e
 
 # 5. Path Alignment
 PROJECT_ROOT=$(pwd)
@@ -113,5 +102,6 @@ echo -e "${GREEN}✓ Configuration complete.${NC}"
 
 # 6. Final Instructions
 echo -e "\n${BLUE}=== Setup Complete ===${NC}"
-echo -e "To start the harness: ${YELLOW}./opencortex.sh${NC}"
-echo -e "To run tests: ${YELLOW}sbcl --eval '(ql:quickload :opencortex)' --eval '(asdf:test-system :opencortex)'${NC}"
+echo -e "Your OpenCortex instance is ready."
+echo -e "To start the brain: ${YELLOW}./opencortex.sh${NC}"
+echo -e "To configure later, edit: ${YELLOW}$(pwd)/.env${NC}"