diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index dad227d..e243484 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ See [`ARCHITECTURE.md`](ARCHITECTURE.md) §6 for the full upstream roadmap.
 - [MemPalace](https://github.com/MemPalace/mempalace) CLI v3.3.3+ — **see [Installing mempalace itself](#installing-mempalace-itself-prerequisite) below if you haven't already**.
 - Python 3 (stdlib `sqlite3` only — no extra deps)
 - [opencode](https://github.com/anomalyco/opencode) with an active session DB at `~/.local/share/opencode/opencode.db` *(only needed for `mempalace-session`)*
+- The mempalace **wake-up protocol** at `~/.config/opencode/instructions/mempalace.md` — without it, opencode loads the mempalace skill but never auto-runs it at session start, so most of mempalace's value is forfeited silently. Shipped by the [skillset repo](https://gitea.jordbo.se/joakimp/skillset); deploy via `./deploy-skills.sh --bootstrap` once per machine. `mempalace-toolkit/install.sh` probes for this file and warns if it's missing.
 
 ### Installing mempalace itself (prerequisite)
 
diff --git a/install.sh b/install.sh
index 02edb43..04e9c28 100755
--- a/install.sh
+++ b/install.sh
@@ -156,6 +156,36 @@ check_path() {
     esac
 }
 
+# ── Verify the mempalace wake-up protocol is reachable ──
+# The mempalace skill is only useful if the agent actually loads its
+# wake-up protocol at session start. Opencode loads that from
+# ~/.config/opencode/instructions/mempalace.md. Without this file, the
+# skill is available but never auto-runs, and most of mempalace's value
+# (search-before-speak, wind-down diary) is forfeited silently.
+#
+# The file is owned by the skillset repo, not this one — pointing users
+# at skillset if they haven't run it there. Opencode-only: we skip this
+# check if ~/.config/opencode doesn't exist (non-opencode host).
+check_wake_up_protocol() {
+    local opencode_config="$HOME/.config/opencode"
+    [[ -d "$opencode_config" ]] || return 0   # not an opencode box → nothing to warn about
+
+    local instr="$opencode_config/instructions/mempalace.md"
+    if [[ -e "$instr" ]]; then
+        ok "Wake-up protocol detected: $instr"
+        return 0
+    fi
+
+    warn "Wake-up protocol NOT installed at $instr"
+    printf '       Without it, the mempalace skill is loadable but never auto-runs\n'
+    printf '       at session start. Agents forget to search before answering and to\n'
+    printf '       write a diary entry at wind-down. Install via the skillset repo:\n'
+    printf '           git clone ssh://git@gitea.jordbo.se:2222/joakimp/skillset.git ~/skillset\n'
+    printf '           cd ~/skillset && ./deploy-skills.sh --bootstrap\n'
+    printf '       (if skillset is already cloned, just run the --bootstrap step)\n'
+    return 0
+}
+
 do_install() {
     echo
     echo "mempalace-toolkit installer"
@@ -173,6 +203,8 @@ do_install() {
     echo
     check_path
     echo
+    check_wake_up_protocol
+    echo
     ok "Done."
     echo
     echo "Next: ./bin/mempalace-session --dry-run"