diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 941d490..f9d9ab8 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -105,6 +105,7 @@ pre-release-replacements = [
   { file = "skills/hotdata/subskills/search/SKILL.md", search = "^version: .+", replace = "version: {{version}}", exactly = 1 },
   { file = "skills/hotdata/subskills/analytics/SKILL.md", search = "^version: .+", replace = "version: {{version}}", exactly = 1 },
   { file = "skills/hotdata/subskills/geospatial/SKILL.md", search = "^version: .+", replace = "version: {{version}}", exactly = 1 },
+  { file = ".claude-plugin/plugin.json", search = "\"version\": \"[^\"]+\"", replace = "\"version\": \"{{version}}\"", exactly = 1 },
   # README.md no longer carries a hardcoded version badge — it tracks GitHub releases.
 ]
 
diff --git a/scripts/check-skills.sh b/scripts/check-skills.sh
index de84697..06dfb98 100755
--- a/scripts/check-skills.sh
+++ b/scripts/check-skills.sh
@@ -125,6 +125,13 @@ if [ "$REQUIRE_VERSION" = 1 ]; then
             fail=1
         fi
     done
+    if [ -f .claude-plugin/plugin.json ]; then
+        pv="$(jq -r .version .claude-plugin/plugin.json 2>/dev/null || true)"
+        if [ "$pv" != "$crate" ]; then
+            echo "error: .claude-plugin/plugin.json declares version $pv, Cargo.toml is $crate" >&2
+            fail=1
+        fi
+    fi
     [ "$fail" = 0 ] && echo "→ skills: version ok ($crate)"
 fi
 
diff --git a/skills/hotdata/SKILL.md b/skills/hotdata/SKILL.md
index afa7840..1cfbd90 100644
--- a/skills/hotdata/SKILL.md
+++ b/skills/hotdata/SKILL.md
@@ -14,6 +14,16 @@ hotdata <command> [args]
 
 Or if installed on PATH: `hotdata <command> [args]`
 
+## Prerequisites: CLI installation
+
+If the `hotdata` executable is not found on PATH or under `~/.hotdata/cli/`, prompt the user to install it:
+
+```sh
+curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -LsSf https://github.com/hotdata-dev/hotdata-cli/releases/latest/download/install.sh | HOTDATA_NO_SKILLS=1 sh
+```
+
+(The `HOTDATA_NO_SKILLS=1` flag prevents duplicate skill installations when running inside the Claude Code plugin.) The installer uses Homebrew (`brew install hotdata-dev/tap/cli`) when `brew` is present; otherwise it places a prebuilt binary at `~/.hotdata/cli/hotdata`. `HOTDATA_NO_BREW=1` forces the prebuilt path.
+
 ## Sub-skills (loaded on demand)
 
 This is the only top-level hotdata skill. Three specialized guides ship **bundled inside it** under `subskills/` and are not separate skills — **`Read` the matching file only when the task needs it** (progressive disclosure), then follow it: