diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 1ca234e..c826145 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -62,10 +62,10 @@ cA2A is a trust profile layered on A2A, the way TRACE binds to IETF RATS, EAT, a
 ## Quick Start
 
 ```bash
-pip install ca2a-runtime
+pip install --pre ca2a-runtime
 ```
 
-> The runtime peer path is under construction (see [ROADMAP.md](ROADMAP.md)). Today you can build and verify delegation chains offline:
+> cA2A is in alpha; `--pre` opts into the pre-release. The runtime peer path is under construction (see [ROADMAP.md](ROADMAP.md)). Today you can build and verify delegation chains offline:
 
 ```bash
 ca2a verify-chain --chain ./examples/minimal/chain.json
diff --git a/docs/quickstart.md b/docs/quickstart.md
index 76d06e6..961f047 100644
--- a/docs/quickstart.md
+++ b/docs/quickstart.md
@@ -5,9 +5,11 @@ This walkthrough builds a delegation chain and verifies it offline. It needs no
 ## Install
 
 ```bash
-pip install ca2a-runtime
+pip install --pre ca2a-runtime
 ```
 
+cA2A is in alpha, so `--pre` is required to opt into the pre-release. Contributors working from a checkout can instead install from source: `pip install -e ".[dev]"`.
+
 ## Build an example chain
 
 The repo ships a generator that produces a valid three-hop chain (`admin` narrows to `read+write` narrows to `read`):