diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 33dec68..55cb359 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -351,12 +351,27 @@ regenerates nothing on your machine.
 
 ```bash
 bun install                # --frozen-lockfile in CI
+bun run dev:install        # link the checkout, register the catalog, wire MCP
 bun run typecheck
 bun run test:unit          # no CBM executable, no network
 bun run test:packaging     # rebuilds both bundles, then loads them
 bun run build              # commit the result
 ```
 
+`bun run dev:install` is the whole setup step for a checkout. It rebuilds both
+bundles, runs `omp plugin link .`, registers this repository's own marketplace
+catalog so `omp plugin discover` and `omp plugin upgrade` have something to
+read, writes the owned MCP entry without waiting for the next session start, and
+then reports what resolves. It is idempotent, and it refuses rather than
+replacing a registration that came from somewhere other than your checkout.
+
+Two things it will not do. It never downloads a CBM executable: `/cbm install`
+asks for confirmation when a system copy already resolves, and answering that
+for you would decide which executable your account's index belongs to. It never
+installs from the catalog it registers, because that resolves the catalog's ref
+and so needs a published release. Add `--no-build`, `--no-marketplace`,
+`--no-mcp`, or `--force` to skip or override a step.
+
 Run `bun run build` after changing anything under `src/`. CI rejects a committed
 bundle that is not byte-identical to one built from the current source.
 
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index db5ecd3..2a1d5f6 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
   },
   "scripts": {
     "build": "bun build src/index.ts --target=bun --format=esm --outfile=dist/index.js && bun build src/augment-entry.ts --target=bun --format=esm --outfile=dist/augment.js",
+    "dev:install": "bun run scripts/dev-install.ts",
     "harvest": "bun run scripts/harvest.ts",
     "test": "bun test",
     "test:unit": "bun test test/unit",
diff --git a/scripts/dev-install.ts b/scripts/dev-install.ts
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..f0dd7eb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/dev-install.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,338 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bun
+/**
+ * Brings a development checkout to the state a finished install actually has.
+ *
+ *   bun run dev:install [--no-build] [--no-marketplace] [--no-mcp] [--force]
+ *
+ * `omp plugin link .` is one of four things a complete install is, and doing
+ * only that leaves a half-installed machine: the bundles may be stale against
+ * `src/`, the catalog is not registered so `omp plugin discover` and
+ * `omp plugin upgrade` have nothing to read, and the owned MCP entry is not
+ * written until some later session happens to start. Each of those is a
+ * separate command an operator has to remember, so this script is the list.
+ *
+ * It is not a second implementation of any of them. The plugin registry and the
+ * catalog are touched only through OMP's own CLI, and the MCP entry only through
+ * this package's own `syncEntry` -- the same call the extension makes at session
+ * start, against the same single owned key. No path is derived here: every one
+ * comes from `src/paths.ts`, so this script cannot disagree with the extension
+ * about where anything lives.
+ *
+ * What it deliberately does not do:
+ *
+ * - It never acquires a CBM executable. `/cbm install` asks for confirmation
+ *   when a system copy already resolves, and a script that answered that
+ *   question for you would be deciding which executable your account's index
+ *   belongs to. When nothing resolves, this reports it and names the command.
+ * - It never installs from the catalog it registers. That resolves the catalog's
+ *   `source.ref`, so it needs a published release; the script says so rather
+ *   than failing at it.
+ * - It refuses instead of replacing a registration this checkout does not own,
+ *   so a git-spec install is never silently swapped for a link.
+ */
+import { realpath } from "node:fs/promises";
+
+import { run } from "../src/exec.ts";
+import { syncEntry, type Lifecycle } from "../src/lifecycle.ts";
+import { entryStatus } from "../src/mcp-config.ts";
+import { agentDir, processHost, type Host } from "../src/paths.ts";
+import { hostTarget, UnsupportedPlatformError } from "../src/platform.ts";
+import { githubReleaseSource } from "../src/release.ts";
+import { managedCopy, resolveExecutable, resolvedVersion } from "../src/resolve.ts";
+import { readState } from "../src/state.ts";
+
+/** The plugin name OMP registers this checkout under, from the manifest. */
+const PACKAGE_NAME = "omp-codebase-memory";
+
+/** The catalog this repository publishes itself through, in `owner/repo` form. */
+const MARKETPLACE_SOURCE = "pashifika/omp-codebase-memory";
+
+/** Accepted options, so an unknown one fails rather than being ignored. */
+const KNOWN_FLAGS: Record<string, true> = {
+  "--no-build": true,
+  "--no-marketplace": true,
+  "--no-mcp": true,
+  "--force": true,
+};
+
+interface Options {
+  readonly build: boolean;
+  readonly marketplace: boolean;
+  readonly mcp: boolean;
+  readonly force: boolean;
+}
+
+/**
+ * What the catalog says about itself.
+ *
+ * Both fields are read rather than repeated here: the marketplace name is what
+ * `omp plugin marketplace list` prints and what `<plugin>@<marketplace>`
+ * addresses, and the ref is what an install from the catalog resolves. A rename
+ * in the file would otherwise leave this script looking for a marketplace
+ * nobody has, or naming a ref nobody installs.
+ */
+interface Catalog {
+  readonly name: string;
+  readonly ref: string;
+}
+
+/** One labelled step, so a partial run says where it stopped. */
+function step(n: number, title: string): void {
+  console.log(`\n=== ${n}. ${title}`);
+}
+
+/**
+ * One aligned fact under a step.
+ *
+ * The pad is one short of the column so a label at or past the column width
+ * still gets a separator instead of running into its value.
+ */
+function detail(label: string, value: string): void {
+  console.log(`  ${label.padEnd(11)} ${value}`);
+}
+
+/**
+ * Runs an `omp` subcommand, failing the script on anything but success.
+ *
+ * Through `run` rather than a second spawn helper: the timeout, the output cap,
+ * and the missing-executable answer are already decided there.
+ */
+async function omp(argv: readonly string[], timeoutMs = 120_000): Promise<string> {
+  const result = await run(["omp", ...argv], { timeoutMs });
+  if (result.spawnError !== undefined) {
+    throw new Error(`omp ${argv.join(" ")}: ${result.spawnError}`);
+  }
+  const output = `${result.stdout}${result.stderr}`.trim();
+  if (!result.ok) {
+    throw new Error(`omp ${argv.join(" ")} exited ${result.exitCode}\n${output}`);
+  }
+  return output;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Where OMP currently thinks this plugin lives, or `null` when it is unknown.
+ *
+ * The registry is OMP's, so it is read through OMP: `plugin list --json` reports
+ * the resolved path, which for a linked checkout is the symlink under the plugin
+ * root. Every group in that document is scanned rather than just `npm`, because
+ * which group a plugin lands in is the installer's choice and this question is
+ * about the name, not the route.
+ */
+async function registeredPath(): Promise<string | null> {
+  const result = await run(["omp", "plugin", "list", "--json"], { timeoutMs: 60_000 });
+  if (result.spawnError !== undefined || !result.ok) return null;
+
+  let listing: unknown;
+  try {
+    listing = JSON.parse(result.stdout);
+  } catch {
+    return null;
+  }
+  if (typeof listing !== "object" || listing === null) return null;
+
+  for (const group of Object.values(listing)) {
+    if (!Array.isArray(group)) continue;
+    for (const entry of group) {
+      if (typeof entry !== "object" || entry === null) continue;
+      if (!("name" in entry) || entry.name !== PACKAGE_NAME) continue;
+      return "path" in entry && typeof entry.path === "string" ? entry.path : null;
+    }
+  }
+  return null;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Reports which optional features will actually load, computed the way OMP does.
+ *
+ * `omp plugin features <name>` is not quoted here, and the reason is a real trap
+ * rather than a formatting preference. Its renderer builds its enabled set from
+ * `getEnabledFeatures`, so the `enabledFeatures: null` case -- no explicit
+ * selection recorded, which is what a plain install leaves -- yields an empty
+ * set and prints the disabled glyph beside every feature, including one whose
+ * manifest default is `true` and which the loader does load. A development
+ * install that pasted that output would report the augmentation as off while it
+ * is demonstrably appending to tool results.
+ *
+ * The rule reproduced here is `resolvePluginManifestEntries`
+ * (`@oh-my-pi/pi-coding-agent`, `extensibility/plugins/loader.ts`): an explicit
+ * array selects exactly its members, and `null` selects every feature whose
+ * `default` is true.
+ */
+async function reportFeatures(root: string): Promise<void> {
+  const manifest = await Bun.file(`${root}/package.json`).json();
+  const features = manifest.omp?.features;
+  if (typeof features !== "object" || features === null) {
+    console.log("  features    none declared in the manifest");
+    return;
+  }
+
+  const state = JSON.parse(await omp(["plugin", "features", PACKAGE_NAME, "--json"]));
+  const selection: unknown = state.enabledFeatures;
+  const explicit = Array.isArray(selection) ? new Set(selection.map(String)) : null;
+
+  for (const [name, feature] of Object.entries(features)) {
+    const byDefault =
+      typeof feature === "object" && feature !== null && "default" in feature
+        ? feature.default === true
+        : false;
+    const on = explicit === null ? byDefault : explicit.has(name);
+    const why =
+      explicit === null
+        ? `manifest default ${byDefault ? "on" : "off"}, no explicit selection recorded`
+        : `explicitly ${explicit.has(name) ? "selected" : "declined"} at install`;
+    detail(name, `${on ? "on" : "off"} — ${why}`);
+  }
+}
+
+async function main(): Promise<void> {
+  const argv = process.argv.slice(2);
+  for (const arg of argv) {
+    if (KNOWN_FLAGS[arg] !== true) throw new Error(`unknown option ${arg}`);
+  }
+  const options: Options = {
+    build: !argv.includes("--no-build"),
+    marketplace: !argv.includes("--no-marketplace"),
+    mcp: !argv.includes("--no-mcp"),
+    force: argv.includes("--force"),
+  };
+
+  const root = await realpath(new URL("..", import.meta.url).pathname);
+  const host: Host = processHost();
+  const document = await Bun.file(`${root}/.omp-plugin/marketplace.json`).json();
+  const catalogName = document.name;
+  const catalogRef = document.plugins?.[0]?.source?.ref;
+  if (typeof catalogName !== "string" || catalogName === "") {
+    throw new Error(".omp-plugin/marketplace.json declares no marketplace name");
+  }
+  const catalog: Catalog = {
+    name: catalogName,
+    ref: typeof catalogRef === "string" && catalogRef !== "" ? catalogRef : "(none declared)",
+  };
+
+  console.log(`development install of ${PACKAGE_NAME}`);
+  detail("checkout", root);
+  detail("agent dir", agentDir(host));
+
+  step(1, "check what currently owns the plugin name");
+  const existing = await registeredPath();
+  const existingRoot = existing === null ? null : await realpath(existing).catch(() => existing);
+  if (existing === null) {
+    console.log("  nothing registered under this name yet");
+  } else if (existingRoot === root) {
+    console.log(`  already registered from this checkout: ${existing}`);
+  } else if (options.force) {
+    console.log(`  registered elsewhere (${existing}); --force given, relinking anyway`);
+  } else {
+    throw new Error(
+      `${PACKAGE_NAME} is registered from ${existing}, which is not this checkout.\n` +
+        "Replacing it would swap a real install for a link without saying so. Run\n" +
+        `  omp plugin uninstall ${PACKAGE_NAME}\n` +
+        "first, or pass --force if that is what you meant.",
+    );
+  }
+
+  step(2, "build both committed bundles");
+  if (options.build) {
+    const built = await run(["bun", "run", "build"], { cwd: root, timeoutMs: 300_000 });
+    if (built.spawnError !== undefined) throw new Error(`bun run build: ${built.spawnError}`);
+    if (!built.ok) {
+      throw new Error(`bun run build exited ${built.exitCode}\n${built.stdout}${built.stderr}`);
+    }
+    console.log("  dist/index.js and dist/augment.js rebuilt from src/");
+    console.log("  commit the result if it differs; CI compares both byte-for-byte");
+  } else {
+    console.log("  skipped (--no-build); the committed bundles are used as they are");
+  }
+
+  step(3, "register the checkout");
+  console.log(`  ${await omp(["plugin", "link", "."])}`);
+  const linked = await registeredPath();
+  if (linked === null) {
+    throw new Error("omp plugin link reported success but the plugin is not registered");
+  }
+  detail("path", linked);
+  await reportFeatures(root);
+
+  step(4, "register the marketplace catalog");
+  if (options.marketplace) {
+    // Matched on the source rather than the catalog's name: `marketplace list`
+    // ignores `--json` and prints `<name>  <source>` per line, and this
+    // repository's catalog name and package name are the same string, so a name
+    // match would also accept some other marketplace that merely mentions it.
+    const listed = await omp(["plugin", "marketplace", "list"]);
+    if (listed.includes(MARKETPLACE_SOURCE)) {
+      console.log(`  already registered: ${catalog.name}  ${MARKETPLACE_SOURCE}`);
+    } else {
+      console.log(`  ${await omp(["plugin", "marketplace", "add", MARKETPLACE_SOURCE])}`);
+    }
+    console.log(
+      `  omp plugin discover and omp plugin upgrade read the catalog and work now.\n` +
+        `  Installing from it resolves ${catalog.ref}, so that needs a published release;\n` +
+        "  until then the git spec is the route that resolves.",
+    );
+  } else {
+    console.log("  skipped (--no-marketplace)");
+  }
+
+  step(5, "wire the owned MCP entry");
+  let lifecycle: Lifecycle | null = null;
+  try {
+    lifecycle = { host, target: hostTarget(), source: githubReleaseSource() };
+  } catch (error) {
+    console.log(
+      `  skipped: ${
+        error instanceof UnsupportedPlatformError
+          ? error.message
+          : `platform detection failed: ${error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)}`
+      }`,
+    );
+  }
+  if (lifecycle === null) {
+    // Nothing to wire and nothing to report: the reason is already printed.
+  } else if (options.mcp) {
+    const sync = await syncEntry(lifecycle);
+    console.log(`  ${sync.kind}: ${sync.message}`);
+  } else {
+    console.log("  skipped (--no-mcp); the next session start writes it");
+  }
+
+  step(6, "report what resolves");
+  const state = await readState(host);
+  const resolution = await resolveExecutable(host, state);
+  if (!resolution.ok) {
+    detail("executable", `none — ${resolution.reason}`);
+  } else {
+    detail("executable", resolution.resolved.executable);
+    detail("source", `${resolution.resolved.source} (${resolution.resolved.origin})`);
+    detail("version", (await resolvedVersion(resolution.resolved)) ?? "unknown (it did not run)");
+  }
+  const managed = await managedCopy(host, state);
+  detail("managed", managed === null ? "none under this package's root" : managed.version);
+
+  const entry = await entryStatus(host, resolution.ok ? resolution.resolved.executable : null);
+  detail(
+    "mcp entry",
+    entry.problem !== undefined
+      ? `unreadable — ${entry.problem}`
+      : !entry.present
+        ? `absent from ${entry.path}`
+        : entry.current
+          ? `current in ${entry.path}`
+          : `stale, names ${entry.command ?? "(no command)"}`,
+  );
+
+  console.log(
+    "\nWhat remains is not this script's to do:\n" +
+      "  - Indexing is the agent's work. Ask it to index this repository; nothing here\n" +
+      "    ships an index command.\n" +
+      "  - `/cbm status` in a session reports the index half, which needs a CBM process\n" +
+      "    this script does not open.",
+  );
+}
+
+try {
+  await main();
+} catch (error) {
+  console.error(`dev-install: ${error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)}`);
+  process.exit(1);
+}