diff --git a/docs/fish-config.1 b/docs/fish-config.1
index b7817e8..05ce0c3 100644
--- a/docs/fish-config.1
+++ b/docs/fish-config.1
@@ -1086,18 +1086,16 @@ Install method priority (highest to lowest):
   3. system PM (paru/apt/brew/etc.)
   4. git clone (fzf)
   5. curl installer (starship, fisher, uv)
-  6. pipx (Python tools)
 
 When multiple methods are available you are prompted to choose.
 
 Dependencies are grouped into three tiers:
 
-  Required      uv, cargo, fish, fisher, starship, fzf, zoxide,
-                direnv, paru/yay
+  Required      fish, fzf, zoxide
   Integrations  wakatime, tailscale
-  Recommended   eza, lsd, bat, btop, dust, duf, prettyping, ov,
-                ripgrep, lazygit, lazydocker, trash, kitty, wezterm,
-                python3
+  Recommended   cargo, starship, uv, direnv, paru, yay, eza, lsd, bat,
+                btop, dust, duf, prettyping, ov, ripgrep, lazygit,
+                lazydocker, trash, kitty, wezterm, python3
 
 fish-deps
 fish-deps install
@@ -1735,16 +1733,9 @@ to install missing ones.
 .IP
 .nf
 \f[C]
-uv        Python package manager (Astral)
-cargo     Rust toolchain (via rustup)
 fish      Fish shell >= 4.0
-fisher    Fish plugin manager
-starship  Cross-shell prompt
 fzf       Fuzzy finder
 zoxide    Smart cd with frecency
-direnv    Per-directory environment loading
-paru      AUR helper (Arch only; preferred)
-yay       AUR helper (Arch only; fallback)
 \f[R]
 .fi
 .SS Integrations
@@ -1759,6 +1750,20 @@ tailscale  Mesh VPN client
 .IP
 .nf
 \f[C]
+cargo       Rust toolchain (via rustup); used by fish-deps to install
+            Rust-based tools and to build fish from source. All paths
+            are gated on type -q cargo and degrade gracefully.
+starship    Cross-shell prompt; loaded via type -q starship guard.
+            Without it fish falls back to its built-in default prompt.
+uv          Python package and project manager (Astral); used by the
+            fish-from-source build path in fish-deps. All consumers
+            degrade gracefully without it.
+direnv      Per-directory environment loading; integration is fully
+            guarded with type -q direnv. Without it the direnv hook
+            is simply not loaded and auto-venv activates normally.
+paru        AUR helper (Arch only; preferred); guarded throughout \[em]
+            non-Arch systems silently skip AUR-specific paths.
+yay         AUR helper (Arch only; fallback to paru); same guards apply.
 eza         Modern ls replacement
 lsd         ls replacement (fallback to eza)
 bat         Syntax-highlighted cat
@@ -1791,7 +1796,6 @@ cargo     Rust tools (eza, lsd, bat, dust, ov, ripgrep, trashy, zoxide,
 system PM paru / apt / brew / dnf / etc. \[em] for tools without a crate
 git clone fzf \[em] installed from GitHub to \[ti]/.fzf/
 curl      starship installer, fisher bootstrap, uv installer
-pipx      Python-based tools
 \f[R]
 .fi
 .PP
diff --git a/docs/html/10-6-dependency-catalog.html b/docs/html/10-6-dependency-catalog.html
index f49a736..c0085c8 100644
--- a/docs/html/10-6-dependency-catalog.html
+++ b/docs/html/10-6-dependency-catalog.html
@@ -493,21 +493,28 @@ CATALOG</h1>
 <p>fish-deps manages these tools. Run <code>fish-deps</code> to check
 status, or <code>fish-deps install</code> to install missing ones.</p>
 <h2 data-number="10.1" id="required">Required</h2>
-<pre><code>uv        Python package manager (Astral)
-cargo     Rust toolchain (via rustup)
-fish      Fish shell &gt;= 4.0
-fisher    Fish plugin manager
-starship  Cross-shell prompt
+<pre><code>fish      Fish shell &gt;= 4.0
 fzf       Fuzzy finder
-zoxide    Smart cd with frecency
-direnv    Per-directory environment loading
-paru      AUR helper (Arch only; preferred)
-yay       AUR helper (Arch only; fallback)</code></pre>
+zoxide    Smart cd with frecency</code></pre>
 <h2 data-number="10.2" id="integrations-1">Integrations</h2>
 <pre><code>wakatime   Developer time tracking
 tailscale  Mesh VPN client</code></pre>
 <h2 data-number="10.3" id="recommended">Recommended</h2>
-<pre><code>eza         Modern ls replacement
+<pre><code>cargo       Rust toolchain (via rustup); used by fish-deps to install
+            Rust-based tools and to build fish from source. All paths
+            are gated on type -q cargo and degrade gracefully.
+starship    Cross-shell prompt; loaded via type -q starship guard.
+            Without it fish falls back to its built-in default prompt.
+uv          Python package and project manager (Astral); used by the
+            fish-from-source build path in fish-deps. All consumers
+            degrade gracefully without it.
+direnv      Per-directory environment loading; integration is fully
+            guarded with type -q direnv. Without it the direnv hook
+            is simply not loaded and auto-venv activates normally.
+paru        AUR helper (Arch only; preferred); guarded throughout —
+            non-Arch systems silently skip AUR-specific paths.
+yay         AUR helper (Arch only; fallback to paru); same guards apply.
+eza         Modern ls replacement
 lsd         ls replacement (fallback to eza)
 bat         Syntax-highlighted cat
 btop        Modern resource monitor
@@ -532,8 +539,7 @@ python3     Standalone interpreter — used by the AI session helpers
           starship) — always gets the latest crate version
 system PM paru / apt / brew / dnf / etc. — for tools without a crate
 git clone fzf — installed from GitHub to ~/.fzf/
-curl      starship installer, fisher bootstrap, uv installer
-pipx      Python-based tools</code></pre>
+curl      starship installer, fisher bootstrap, uv installer</code></pre>
 <hr />
 </body>
 </html>
diff --git a/docs/html/9-5-functions-reference.html b/docs/html/9-5-functions-reference.html
index 14cc6e1..33119b3 100644
--- a/docs/html/9-5-functions-reference.html
+++ b/docs/html/9-5-functions-reference.html
@@ -763,18 +763,16 @@ Install method priority (highest to lowest):
   3. system PM (paru/apt/brew/etc.)
   4. git clone (fzf)
   5. curl installer (starship, fisher, uv)
-  6. pipx (Python tools)
 
 When multiple methods are available you are prompted to choose.
 
 Dependencies are grouped into three tiers:
 
-  Required      uv, cargo, fish, fisher, starship, fzf, zoxide,
-                direnv, paru/yay
+  Required      fish, fzf, zoxide
   Integrations  wakatime, tailscale
-  Recommended   eza, lsd, bat, btop, dust, duf, prettyping, ov,
-                ripgrep, lazygit, lazydocker, trash, kitty, wezterm,
-                python3
+  Recommended   cargo, starship, uv, direnv, paru, yay, eza, lsd, bat,
+                btop, dust, duf, prettyping, ov, ripgrep, lazygit,
+                lazydocker, trash, kitty, wezterm, python3
 
 fish-deps
 fish-deps install
diff --git a/docs/wiki/5-functions-reference.md b/docs/wiki/5-functions-reference.md
index 6feb222..8b613c1 100644
--- a/docs/wiki/5-functions-reference.md
+++ b/docs/wiki/5-functions-reference.md
@@ -358,18 +358,16 @@
       3. system PM (paru/apt/brew/etc.)
       4. git clone (fzf)
       5. curl installer (starship, fisher, uv)
-      6. pipx (Python tools)
 
     When multiple methods are available you are prompted to choose.
 
     Dependencies are grouped into three tiers:
 
-      Required      uv, cargo, fish, fisher, starship, fzf, zoxide,
-                    direnv, paru/yay
+      Required      fish, fzf, zoxide
       Integrations  wakatime, tailscale
-      Recommended   eza, lsd, bat, btop, dust, duf, prettyping, ov,
-                    ripgrep, lazygit, lazydocker, trash, kitty, wezterm,
-                    python3
+      Recommended   cargo, starship, uv, direnv, paru, yay, eza, lsd, bat,
+                    btop, dust, duf, prettyping, ov, ripgrep, lazygit,
+                    lazydocker, trash, kitty, wezterm, python3
 
     fish-deps
     fish-deps install
diff --git a/docs/wiki/6-dependency-catalog.md b/docs/wiki/6-dependency-catalog.md
index 5cd581f..cc7b178 100644
--- a/docs/wiki/6-dependency-catalog.md
+++ b/docs/wiki/6-dependency-catalog.md
@@ -9,16 +9,9 @@ fish-deps manages these tools. Run `fish-deps` to check status, or
 
 ## Required
 
-    uv        Python package manager (Astral)
-    cargo     Rust toolchain (via rustup)
     fish      Fish shell >= 4.0
-    fisher    Fish plugin manager
-    starship  Cross-shell prompt
     fzf       Fuzzy finder
     zoxide    Smart cd with frecency
-    direnv    Per-directory environment loading
-    paru      AUR helper (Arch only; preferred)
-    yay       AUR helper (Arch only; fallback)
 
 ## Integrations
 
@@ -27,6 +20,20 @@ fish-deps manages these tools. Run `fish-deps` to check status, or
 
 ## Recommended
 
+    cargo       Rust toolchain (via rustup); used by fish-deps to install
+                Rust-based tools and to build fish from source. All paths
+                are gated on type -q cargo and degrade gracefully.
+    starship    Cross-shell prompt; loaded via type -q starship guard.
+                Without it fish falls back to its built-in default prompt.
+    uv          Python package and project manager (Astral); used by the
+                fish-from-source build path in fish-deps. All consumers
+                degrade gracefully without it.
+    direnv      Per-directory environment loading; integration is fully
+                guarded with type -q direnv. Without it the direnv hook
+                is simply not loaded and auto-venv activates normally.
+    paru        AUR helper (Arch only; preferred); guarded throughout —
+                non-Arch systems silently skip AUR-specific paths.
+    yay         AUR helper (Arch only; fallback to paru); same guards apply.
     eza         Modern ls replacement
     lsd         ls replacement (fallback to eza)
     bat         Syntax-highlighted cat
@@ -56,6 +63,5 @@ The install priority for each tool:
     system PM paru / apt / brew / dnf / etc. — for tools without a crate
     git clone fzf — installed from GitHub to ~/.fzf/
     curl      starship installer, fisher bootstrap, uv installer
-    pipx      Python-based tools
 
 ---