diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index c2bd23d..b94bad9 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -71,14 +71,15 @@ During installation, the add-on copies Drupal.org GitLab CI template default
 config files into the project root. If conflicts are detected, you can choose to
 back up and replace, skip, or abort. Skipping a config may diverge from the
 Drupal.org GitLab CI template defaults. The installer will prompt for:
-- Accept recommended settings (default: no). Choosing yes applies the
+- A pre-prompt summary of recommended defaults.
+- Accept recommended settings (default: yes). Press Enter to apply the
   recommended defaults without further prompts.
 - Conflict handling (default: skip unless you choose replace/abort).
 - PHP tooling dependencies (install `drupal/core-dev` or run `ddev composer install`).
 - PHPStan default level (keep GitLab CI template level 0 or choose a local level 0-10; recommend 3).
 - Node toolchain install in the project root and package manager selection.
 - Missing Drupal JS dependencies when a root `package.json` exists.
-- Optional `.gitignore` update for `dcq-reports/`.
+- Optional `.gitignore` update for `dcq-reports/` (default: yes).
 - IDE settings (merge/overwrite/skip when templates are available).
 The installer runs in bash so it does not require host PHP.
 
@@ -217,7 +218,8 @@ The template points PHP tooling at `.ddev/drupal-code-quality/tooling/bin` and J
   to skip, or unset to prompt (default: install in the project root). The
   installer selects npm/yarn based on existing lockfiles.
 - `DCQ_INSTALL_GITIGNORE`: `add`/`true` to add `dcq-reports/` to `.gitignore`
-  without prompting, `skip`/`false` to skip, or unset to prompt when interactive.
+  without prompting, `skip`/`false` to skip, or unset to prompt when interactive
+  (default: yes).
 - `DCQ_INSTALL_IDE_SETTINGS`: `merge` to add missing VS Code settings and
   extension recommendations, `overwrite` to back up and replace, `skip` to
   handle manually, or unset to prompt.
diff --git a/dcq-install.sh b/dcq-install.sh
index e730e46..4e83b9b 100644
--- a/dcq-install.sh
+++ b/dcq-install.sh
@@ -509,7 +509,7 @@ prompt_node_install_action() {
 
   emit 'ESLint, Prettier, and Stylelint require several packages to function properly.\n'
   emit '\n'
-  emit '[i]nstall these in the project root, [s]kip node module installation (default: install): '
+  emit '[i]nstall in the project root, [s]kip (default: install): '
   if ! IFS= read -r -u "$PROMPT_IN_FD" choice; then
     choice=""
   fi
@@ -602,26 +602,32 @@ prompt_yes_no() {
 }
 
 prompt_recommended_settings() {
-  # Prompt for accepting recommended settings (default: no).
+  # Prompt for accepting recommended settings (default: yes).
   if [ "${PROMPT_AVAILABLE:-0}" -ne 1 ]; then
     return 1
   fi
 
-  printf 'Accept recommended settings? (y/N) ' >&"$PROMPT_OUT_FD"
-  local answer=""
-  if ! IFS= read -r -u "$PROMPT_IN_FD" answer; then
-    answer=""
-  fi
-  answer="$(string_lower "$answer")"
-  if [ -z "$answer" ]; then
-    return 1
+  if prompt_yes_no "Accept recommended settings for this install?" 0; then
+    return 0
   fi
-  case "$answer" in
-    y|yes) return 0 ;;
-  esac
   return 1
 }
 
+print_recommended_settings_summary() {
+  # Show what the one-step recommended install will do before prompting.
+  if [ "${PROMPT_AVAILABLE:-0}" -ne 1 ]; then
+    return
+  fi
+
+  emit '\nRecommended defaults for this install:\n'
+  emit '  - If a copied config file already exists, the installer will create a backup and then replace the file.\n'
+  emit '  - Install missing PHP tooling via drupal/core-dev, including PHPStan, PHPCS, PHPCBF, and Drupal coding standards.\n'
+  emit '  - Install Node tooling in the project root, including ESLint, Stylelint, Prettier, and CSpell dependencies.\n'
+  emit '  - Set phpstan.neon level to 3 as a practical local default.\n'
+  emit '  - Merge DCQ VS Code/Codium settings into .vscode/settings.json and extension recommendations into .vscode/extensions.json.\n'
+  emit "  - Add 'dcq-reports/' to .gitignore so generated check logs and patch previews are not committed.\n"
+}
+
 set_default_env() {
   local name="$1"
   local value="$2"
@@ -809,7 +815,7 @@ maybe_add_gitignore_reports() {
 
   emit 'Add %s to .gitignore to avoid committing report logs.\n' "$entry"
   printf '\n'
-  if prompt_yes_no "Add '${entry}' to .gitignore?" 1; then
+  if prompt_yes_no "Add '${entry}' to .gitignore?" 0; then
     if [ -f "$gitignore" ]; then
       printf '\n%s\n' "$entry" >>"$gitignore"
     else
@@ -929,6 +935,11 @@ expand_cspell_config() {
   local ddev_approot="${DDEV_APPROOT:-$app_root}"
   local prepare_script="${ddev_approot}/.ddev/drupal-code-quality/tooling/scripts/prepare-cspell.php"
   local cspell_config="${app_root%/}/.cspell.json"
+  local docroot="${DCQ_DOCROOT:-web}"
+  local ddev_cmd="${DDEV_EXECUTABLE:-ddev}"
+  local container_cspell="/var/www/html/.cspell.json"
+  local container_core_cspell_dir="/var/www/html/${docroot}/core/misc/cspell"
+  local container_prepare_script="/mnt/ddev_config/drupal-code-quality/tooling/scripts/prepare-cspell.php"
 
 
   # Check if CSpell config exists
@@ -944,28 +955,36 @@ expand_cspell_config() {
   fi
 
   # Run prepare-cspell.php in the container to expand .cspell.json
-  if command_available "${DDEV_EXECUTABLE:-ddev}"; then
-    emit 'Expanding .cspell.json with project-specific settings...\n'
-    local ddev_cmd="${DDEV_EXECUTABLE:-ddev}"
-
-    # Run the script in container from project root
-    # Capture both stdout and stderr, but don't fail the installer if it errors
-    # Pass the docroot via _WEB_ROOT environment variable
-    local output
-    if output=$("$ddev_cmd" exec bash -c "cd /var/www/html && export _WEB_ROOT='${DCQ_DOCROOT:-web}' && php .ddev/drupal-code-quality/tooling/scripts/prepare-cspell.php" 2>&1); then
-      if echo "$output" | grep -q "Writing json"; then
-        emit 'Successfully expanded .cspell.json\n'
-      else
-        emit 'CSpell expansion completed (no changes needed)\n'
-      fi
+  if ! command_available "$ddev_cmd"; then
+    emit 'DDEV not available; skipping CSpell expansion.\n'
+    return 0
+  fi
+
+  emit 'Expanding .cspell.json with project-specific settings...\n'
+
+  if ! wait_for_container_file "$ddev_cmd" "$container_cspell" 20 1; then
+    emit 'Skipping CSpell expansion (.cspell.json did not become visible in the container after waiting).\n'
+    return 0
+  fi
+
+  if ! "$ddev_cmd" exec test -f "${container_core_cspell_dir}/dictionary.txt" >/dev/null 2>&1 \
+    || ! "$ddev_cmd" exec test -f "${container_core_cspell_dir}/drupal-dictionary.txt" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    emit 'Skipping CSpell expansion (Drupal core dictionary files are not available at %s).\n' "${docroot}/core/misc/cspell"
+    return 0
+  fi
+
+  local output
+  if output=$("$ddev_cmd" exec bash -lc "cd /var/www/html && export _WEB_ROOT='${docroot}' _CSPELL_DICTIONARY='.cspell-project-words.txt' && php '${container_prepare_script}'" 2>&1); then
+    if echo "$output" | grep -q "Writing json"; then
+      emit 'Successfully expanded .cspell.json\n'
     else
-      emit 'Skipping CSpell expansion: prepare-cspell.php failed.\n'
-      if [ -n "$output" ]; then
-        emit '%s\n' "$output"
-      fi
+      emit 'CSpell expansion completed (no changes needed)\n'
     fi
   else
-    emit 'DDEV not available; skipping CSpell expansion.\n'
+    emit 'Skipping CSpell expansion (prepare-cspell.php failed).\n'
+    if truthy "${DCQ_VERBOSE:-0}" && [ -n "$output" ]; then
+      emit 'CSpell expansion error output:\n%s\n' "$output"
+    fi
   fi
 
   # Always return success - CSpell expansion is optional
@@ -1025,6 +1044,23 @@ command_available() {
   command -v "$1" >/dev/null 2>&1
 }
 
+wait_for_container_file() {
+  local ddev_cmd="$1"
+  local path="$2"
+  local max_attempts="${3:-20}"
+  local delay_seconds="${4:-1}"
+  local attempts=0
+
+  while [ "$attempts" -lt "$max_attempts" ]; do
+    if "$ddev_cmd" exec test -f "$path" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+      return 0
+    fi
+    attempts=$((attempts + 1))
+    sleep "$delay_seconds"
+  done
+  return 1
+}
+
 detect_package_manager() {
   local dir="$1"
   local has_yarn=0
@@ -1616,8 +1652,11 @@ fi
 # In non-interactive mode, or if user accepts, set recommended defaults for any unset vars.
 recommended_mode=0
 if [ "$non_interactive" -eq 0 ] && [ "${PROMPT_AVAILABLE:-0}" -eq 1 ]; then
+  print_recommended_settings_summary
   if prompt_recommended_settings; then
     recommended_mode=1
+  else
+    emit 'Using manual mode. You will be prompted for each setting.\n'
   fi
 fi
 
@@ -1711,9 +1750,9 @@ if [ "${#missing_tools[@]}" -gt 0 ]; then
     fi
 
     if [ "$action" = "install" ]; then
-      question="Recommend installing PHP dev tools from composer.lock. Proceed?"
+      question="Install PHP dev tools from composer.lock now?"
     else
-      question="Recommend installing drupal/core-dev as a dev dependency to install PHP code quality tools and Drupal coding standards. Proceed?"
+      question="Install drupal/core-dev now to provide PHP code quality tools and Drupal coding standards?"
     fi
 
     should_install=0
diff --git a/tests/test-installer-deps-prompt.bats b/tests/test-installer-deps-prompt.bats
index 8bfe603..0a0b6dc 100644
--- a/tests/test-installer-deps-prompt.bats
+++ b/tests/test-installer-deps-prompt.bats
@@ -93,8 +93,8 @@ env.pop("DDEV_NONINTERACTIVE", None)
 
 cmd = ["bash", os.path.join(addon_root, "dcq-install.sh")]
 prompts = {
-    b"Accept recommended settings? (y/N)": b"n\n",
-    b"Recommend installing drupal/core-dev as a dev dependency": b"n\n",
+    b"Accept recommended settings for this install? [Y/n]": b"n\n",
+    b"Install drupal/core-dev now to provide PHP code quality tools": b"n\n",
 }
 
 seen = set()
@@ -141,8 +141,8 @@ code = os.waitstatus_to_exitcode(status)
 sys.exit(code)
 PY
   [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
-  [[ "$output" == *"Accept recommended settings? (y/N)"* ]]
-  [[ "$output" == *"Recommend installing drupal/core-dev as a dev dependency"* ]]
+  [[ "$output" == *"Accept recommended settings for this install? [Y/n]"* ]]
+  [[ "$output" == *"Install drupal/core-dev now to provide PHP code quality tools"* ]]
   [[ "$output" == *"Project root tooling configs updated"* ]]
 
   run_search "^composer require --dev drupal/core-dev --with-all-dependencies$" "${DDEV_STUB_LOG}"
@@ -179,7 +179,7 @@ env.pop("DDEV_NONINTERACTIVE", None)
 
 cmd = ["bash", os.path.join(addon_root, "dcq-install.sh")]
 prompts = {
-    b"Accept recommended settings? (y/N)": b"y\n",
+    b"Accept recommended settings for this install? [Y/n]": b"y\n",
 }
 
 seen = set()
@@ -226,7 +226,7 @@ code = os.waitstatus_to_exitcode(status)
 sys.exit(code)
 PY
   [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
-  [[ "$output" == *"Accept recommended settings? (y/N)"* ]]
+  [[ "$output" == *"Accept recommended settings for this install? [Y/n]"* ]]
 
   run_search "^composer config --no-plugins allow-plugins\\.tbachert/spi false$" "${DDEV_STUB_LOG}"
   [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
@@ -288,7 +288,7 @@ env.pop("DDEV_NONINTERACTIVE", None)
 
 cmd = ["bash", os.path.join(addon_root, "dcq-install.sh")]
 prompts = {
-    b"Accept recommended settings? (y/N)": b"n\n",
+    b"Accept recommended settings for this install? [Y/n]": b"n\n",
     b"VS Code/Codium settings/extensions: choose merge, overwrite (with backup), or skip.": b"\n",
 }
 
@@ -336,7 +336,7 @@ code = os.waitstatus_to_exitcode(status)
 sys.exit(code)
 PY
   [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
-  [[ "$output" == *"Accept recommended settings? (y/N)"* ]]
+  [[ "$output" == *"Accept recommended settings for this install? [Y/n]"* ]]
   [[ "$output" == *"VS Code/Codium settings/extensions: choose merge, overwrite (with backup), or skip."* ]]
   [[ "$output" == *"Skipping IDE settings/extensions install."* ]]
   [ ! -f "${APP_ROOT}/.vscode/settings.json" ]
@@ -421,11 +421,11 @@ for key in (
 
 cmd = ["bash", os.path.join(addon_root, "dcq-install.sh")]
 prompts = {
-    b"Accept recommended settings? (y/N)": b"n\n",
-    b"Recommend installing drupal/core-dev as a dev dependency": b"n\n",
+    b"Accept recommended settings for this install? [Y/n]": b"n\n",
+    b"Install drupal/core-dev now to provide PHP code quality tools": b"n\n",
     b"Conflict at ": b"s\n",
     b"Set phpstan.neon level (0-10) (default: 0):": b"0\n",
-    b"[i]nstall these in the project root, [s]kip node module installation (default: install):": b"s\n",
+    b"[i]nstall in the project root, [s]kip (default: install):": b"s\n",
     b"Add 'dcq-reports/' to .gitignore?": b"n\n",
     b"VS Code/Codium settings/extensions: choose merge, overwrite (with backup), or skip.": b"\n",
 }
@@ -474,7 +474,7 @@ code = os.waitstatus_to_exitcode(status)
 sys.exit(code)
 PY
   [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
-  [[ "$output" == *"Recommend installing drupal/core-dev as a dev dependency"* ]]
+  [[ "$output" == *"Install drupal/core-dev now to provide PHP code quality tools"* ]]
   [[ "$output" == *"Conflict at"* ]]
   [[ "$output" == *"ESLint, Prettier, and Stylelint require several packages to function properly."* ]]
   [[ "$output" == *"Add 'dcq-reports/' to .gitignore?"* ]]
diff --git a/tests/test.bats b/tests/test.bats
index cb35982..7c03422 100644
--- a/tests/test.bats
+++ b/tests/test.bats
@@ -632,7 +632,7 @@ teardown() {
   health_checks
 }
 
-@test "installer prompt accepts recommended settings" {
+@test "installer prompt defaults to recommended settings" {
   set -u -o pipefail
   unset DCQ_NONINTERACTIVE
   unset DDEV_NONINTERACTIVE
@@ -659,7 +659,7 @@ import select
 import sys
 
 cmd = ["ddev", "add-on", "get", "${DIR}"]
-prompt = b"Accept recommended settings? (y/N)"
+prompt = b"Accept recommended settings for this install? [Y/n]"
 sent = False
 buf = b""
 
@@ -678,7 +678,7 @@ try:
             sys.stdout.buffer.flush()
             buf += data
             if (not sent) and (prompt in buf):
-                os.write(fd, b"y\\n")
+                os.write(fd, b"\\n")
                 sent = True
 except OSError:
     pass
@@ -688,7 +688,8 @@ code = os.waitstatus_to_exitcode(status)
 sys.exit(code)
 PY
   assert_success
-  assert_output --partial "Accept recommended settings? (y/N)"
+  assert_output --partial "Recommended defaults for this install:"
+  assert_output --partial "Accept recommended settings for this install? [Y/n]"
   assert_phpstan_level "3"
   if command -v rg >/dev/null 2>&1; then
     run rg -n "^dcq-reports/$" ".gitignore"
@@ -730,8 +731,8 @@ import sys
 cmd = ["ddev", "add-on", "get", "${DIR}"]
 # Answer 'n' to recommended settings, then respond to individual prompts
 responses = {
-    b"Accept recommended settings? (y/N)": b"n\n",
-    b"Recommend installing drupal/core-dev as a dev dependency": b"n\n",
+    b"Accept recommended settings for this install? [Y/n]": b"n\n",
+    b"Install drupal/core-dev now to provide PHP code quality tools": b"n\n",
     b"back up and replace, skip, or abort? [replace/skip/abort]": b"skip\n",
     b"Install Node toolchain": b"n\n",
     b"PHPStan level": b"0\n",
@@ -771,11 +772,13 @@ code = os.waitstatus_to_exitcode(status)
 sys.exit(code)
 PY
   assert_success
-  assert_output --partial "Accept recommended settings? (y/N)"
+  assert_output --partial "Recommended defaults for this install:"
+  assert_output --partial "Accept recommended settings for this install? [Y/n]"
   # Verify individual prompts appeared (user declined recommended settings)
-  assert_output --partial "Recommend installing drupal/core-dev as a dev dependency"
+  assert_output --partial "Install drupal/core-dev now to provide PHP code quality tools"
   assert_output --partial "VS Code/Codium settings/extensions: choose merge, overwrite (with backup), or skip."
   assert_output --partial "Skipping IDE settings/extensions install."
+  assert_output --partial "Add 'dcq-reports/' to .gitignore? [Y/n]"
   assert_output --partial "Set phpstan.neon level"
   # PHPStan level should be 0 (not the recommended 3) since user chose it
   assert_phpstan_level "0"
@@ -1039,8 +1042,15 @@ PHP
 
 @test "cspell config is expanded during installation" {
   set -u -o pipefail
-  run ddev add-on get "${DIR}"
+
+  # Provide minimal Drupal core dictionary files so expansion can run.
+  run ddev exec bash -lc 'mkdir -p /var/www/html/web/core/misc/cspell && printf "drupal\n" > /var/www/html/web/core/misc/cspell/drupal-dictionary.txt && printf "dictionary\n" > /var/www/html/web/core/misc/cspell/dictionary.txt'
+  assert_success
+
+  run bash -lc "ddev add-on get \"${DIR}\" 2>&1"
   assert_success
+  assert_output --partial "Expanding .cspell.json with project-specific settings..."
+  assert_output --partial "Successfully expanded .cspell.json"
 
   # Verify expanded dictionaries array includes Drupal and project-words
   run grep -q '"drupal"' .cspell.json
@@ -1070,6 +1080,15 @@ PHP
   assert_file_exist ".cspell-project-words.txt"
 }
 
+@test "cspell expansion explains skip when Drupal core dictionaries are missing" {
+  set -u -o pipefail
+
+  run bash -lc "ddev add-on get \"${DIR}\" 2>&1"
+  assert_success
+  assert_output --partial "Expanding .cspell.json with project-specific settings..."
+  assert_output --partial "Skipping CSpell expansion (Drupal core dictionary files are not available at web/core/misc/cspell)."
+}
+
 @test "remove cleans ddev assets and shims" {
   set -u -o pipefail
   run ddev add-on get "${DIR}"