diff --git a/DETAILS.md b/DETAILS.md
index 90739e4..1a51171 100644
--- a/DETAILS.md
+++ b/DETAILS.md
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ obm/
 │   │   │   └── hetzner_test.go
 │   │   └── provider_test.go
 │   ├── terraform/
-│   │   └── terraform.go           # Runner: Init, Plan, Apply, Destroy (OpenTofu/Terraform)
+│   │   └── terraform.go           # Runner: Init, Plan, Apply, Destroy wrappers
 │   └── validation/
 │       ├── validation.go          # Check interface, Runner, CheckResult, Status enum
 │       └── validation_test.go
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ obm/
 | `obm deploy` | `--config <path>` | Interactive walkthrough (default) or non-interactive from YAML |
 | `obm validate` | `--env-file <path>` | Load `.env`, check required vars, validate API keys |
 | `obm status` | — | Show deployment state (not yet implemented) |
-| `obm destroy` | — | Confirmation prompt → `tofu destroy` → state cleanup |
+| `obm destroy` | — | Confirmation prompt → `terraform destroy` → state cleanup |
 | `obm version` | — | Print version with commit hash and build time |
 | `obm help` | — | Print usage |
 
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ The `obm deploy` interactive flow runs 8 steps in sequence:
 7. **Tailscale** — Optional VPN setup. Auth key and tailnet domain.
 8. **Discord** — Optional bot integration. Bot token, server ID, user IDs.
 
-Final step: summary display with cost estimate → confirm → write `.env` → optionally run `tofu init && tofu apply` (or `terraform` if installed).
+Final step: summary display with cost estimate → confirm → write `.env` → optionally run `terraform init && terraform apply`.
 
 ### Framework-specific defaults
 
@@ -355,15 +355,15 @@ DigitalOcean prices:
 
 ---
 
-## Terraform / OpenTofu Integration
+## Terraform Integration
 
-`obm` generates the `.env` file that OpenTofu (or Terraform) expects. The actual infrastructure configs live in the separate [openboatmobile-ai](https://github.com/openboatmobile/openboatmobile-ai) repo.
+`obm` generates the `.env` file that Terraform expects. The actual Terraform configs live in the separate [openboatmobile-ai](https://github.com/openboatmobile/openboatmobile-ai) repo.
 
-The `internal/terraform/terraform.go` wrapper provides (auto-detects OpenTofu first, Terraform fallback):
-- `Runner.Init()` — `tofu init -input=false`
-- `Runner.Plan(destroy bool)` — `tofu plan` (with optional `-destroy` flag)
-- `Runner.Apply()` — `tofu apply -auto-approve`
-- `Runner.Destroy()` — `tofu destroy -auto-approve`
+The `internal/terraform/terraform.go` wrapper provides:
+- `Runner.Init()` — `terraform init -input=false`
+- `Runner.Plan(destroy bool)` — `terraform plan` (with optional `-destroy` flag)
+- `Runner.Apply()` — `terraform apply -auto-approve`
+- `Runner.Destroy()` — `terraform destroy -auto-approve`
 
 All commands run in the `WorkDir` and capture combined output.
 
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@ User sets `TF_VAR_*` env vars → sourced from `.env` → Terraform reads them 
 
 ## Destroy Flow
 
-`obm destroy` reads `terraform.tfstate` to list resources, shows them, asks for confirmation, runs `tofu destroy`, then cleans up state files unless `--keep-state` is set.
+`obm destroy` reads `terraform.tfstate` to list resources, shows them, asks for confirmation, runs `terraform destroy`, then cleans up state files unless `--keep-state` is set.
 
 ---
 
diff --git a/LLMs.md b/LLMs.md
index 4c85d01..8b9365d 100644
--- a/LLMs.md
+++ b/LLMs.md
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ When your human runs `obm deploy`, they'll go through these in order:
 7. **Tailscale** — Optional VPN (auth key + tailnet)
 8. **Discord** — Optional bot integration (token, server ID, user IDs)
 
-After all 8 steps: summary + cost estimate → confirm → `.env` written → optional `tofu init && tofu apply` (or `terraform` if installed).
+After all 8 steps: summary + cost estimate → confirm → `.env` written → optional `terraform init && apply`.
 
 ---
 
@@ -200,7 +200,7 @@ This loads `.env`, checks required variables, and validates inference API keys a
 obm destroy
 ```
 
-It asks for confirmation. It reads the state file (`terraform.tfstate`) to show what will be destroyed.
+It asks for confirmation. It reads `terraform.tfstate` to show what will be destroyed.
 
 ### "Set up CI/CD deployment"
 
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index bfe215d..f817798 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -20,32 +20,60 @@ GOVET := $(GOCMD) vet
 # Cross-compilation targets
 TARGETS := linux-amd64 linux-arm64 darwin-arm64 windows-amd64 windows-arm64
 
-# Platform detection
-GOOS := $(shell go env GOOS)
-GOARCH := $(shell go env GOARCH)
+# Platform detection (noiseless fallback — true check happens in check-go target)
+GOOS := $(shell go env GOOS 2>/dev/null || echo "unknown")
+GOARCH := $(shell go env GOARCH 2>/dev/null || echo "unknown")
+
+# ──────────────────────────────────────────────
+# Friendly Go-not-found guard
+check-go:
+	@if ! command -v go >/dev/null 2>&1; then \
+		echo ""; \
+		echo "  ╭──────────────────────────────────────────────╮"; \
+		echo "  │ ⚠  Go is not installed on this machine!      │"; \
+		echo "  ├──────────────────────────────────────────────┤"; \
+		echo "  │                                              │"; \
+		echo "  │  This is a Go project. You need the          │"; \
+		echo "  │  Go language toolchain to build from source. │"; \
+		echo "  │                                              │"; \
+		echo "  │  Install Go:                                 │"; \
+		echo "  │    Linux:  your package manager              │"; \
+		echo "  │            or https://go.dev/dl/             │"; \
+		echo "  │                                              │"; \
+		echo "  │    macOS:  brew install go                   │"; \
+		echo "  │                                              │"; \
+		echo "  │    Windows: https://go.dev/dl/               │"; \
+		echo "  │                                              │"; \
+		echo "  │  Or use the obm full install script:         │"; \
+		echo "  │    ./scripts/install.sh                      │"; \
+		echo "  │                                              │"; \
+		echo "  ╰──────────────────────────────────────────────╯"; \
+		echo ""; \
+		exit 1; \
+	fi
 
 all: lint test build
 
-build:
+build: check-go
 	@echo "Building $(BINARY) v$(VERSION) for $(GOOS)/$(GOARCH)..."
 	$(GOBUILD) $(LDFLAGS) -o $(BINARY) ./cmd/obm
 
-test:
+test: check-go
 	@echo "Running tests..."
 	$(GOTEST) -v -race -coverprofile=coverage.out ./...
 
 lint: vet fmt
 	@echo "✓ Lint pass"
 
-vet:
+vet: check-go
 	@echo "Running go vet..."
 	$(GOVET) ./...
 
-fmt:
+fmt: check-go
 	@echo "Formatting code..."
 	gofmt -l -s -w .
 
-clean:
+clean: check-go
 	@echo "Cleaning..."
 	rm -f $(BINARY)
 	rm -f coverage.out
@@ -67,7 +95,7 @@ version:
 	@echo "$(VERSION)"
 
 # Cross-compilation
-cross-compile:
+cross-compile: check-go
 	@echo "Cross-compiling for all platforms..."
 	@mkdir -p bin
 	@for target in $(TARGETS); do \
@@ -84,23 +112,23 @@ cross-compile:
 	@echo "✓ Cross-compilation complete"
 
 # Build specific platform
-build-linux-amd64:
+build-linux-amd64: check-go
 	@mkdir -p bin
 	GOOS=linux GOARCH=amd64 CGO_ENABLED=0 $(GOBUILD) $(LDFLAGS) -o bin/linux-amd64/$(BINARY) ./cmd/obm
 
-build-linux-arm64:
+build-linux-arm64: check-go
 	@mkdir -p bin
 	GOOS=linux GOARCH=arm64 CGO_ENABLED=0 $(GOBUILD) $(LDFLAGS) -o bin/linux-arm64/$(BINARY) ./cmd/obm
 
-build-darwin-arm64:
+build-darwin-arm64: check-go
 	@mkdir -p bin
 	GOOS=darwin GOARCH=arm64 CGO_ENABLED=0 $(GOBUILD) $(LDFLAGS) -o bin/darwin-arm64/$(BINARY) ./cmd/obm
 
-build-windows-amd64:
+build-windows-amd64: check-go
 	@mkdir -p bin
 	GOOS=windows GOARCH=amd64 CGO_ENABLED=0 $(GOBUILD) $(LDFLAGS) -o bin/windows-amd64/$(BINARY).exe ./cmd/obm
 
-build-windows-arm64:
+build-windows-arm64: check-go
 	@mkdir -p bin
 	GOOS=windows GOARCH=arm64 CGO_ENABLED=0 $(GOBUILD) $(LDFLAGS) -o bin/windows-arm64/$(BINARY).exe ./cmd/obm
 
@@ -140,10 +168,10 @@ dev: build test
 	@echo "✓ Development build complete"
 
 # Quick test during development
-quick-test:
+quick-test: check-go
 	$(GOTEST) -race ./...
 
 # Coverage report
-coverage: test
+coverage: check-go test
 	$(GOCMD) tool cover -html=coverage.out -o coverage.html
 	@echo "Coverage report: coverage.html"
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index edea6c4..ba3c2f4 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -115,9 +115,9 @@ The AI model API costs are separate, and depend on your usage. Generally that's
 
 ## What happens under the hood?
 
-`obm` generates a `.env` file that [OpenTofu](https://opentofu.org) (or [Terraform](https://terraform.io) as a fallback) reads to provision your server, install the agent software, and configure everything. You don't need to know either — `obm` handles it.
+`obm` generates a `.env` file that [Terraform](https://terraform.io) reads to provision your server, install the agent software, and configure everything. You don't need to know Terraform — `obm` handles it.
 
-The infrastructure configs live in the [openboatmobile-ai](https://github.com/openboatmobile/openboatmobile-ai) repo. `obm` is the friendly CLI wrapper around them.
+The Terraform configs live in the [openboatmobile-ai](https://github.com/openboatmobile/openboatmobile-ai) repo. `obm` is the friendly CLI wrapper around them.
 
 ---
 
diff --git a/internal/destroy/destroy.go b/internal/destroy/destroy.go
index 8ece268..a2b5222 100644
--- a/internal/destroy/destroy.go
+++ b/internal/destroy/destroy.go
@@ -12,16 +12,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/openboatmobile/obm/internal/prompt"
 )
 
-// tfBinary returns the path to the IaC binary: tofu preferred, terraform fallback.
-func tfBinary() string {
-	for _, name := range []string{"tofu", "terraform"} {
-		if path, err := exec.LookPath(name); err == nil {
-			return path
-		}
-	}
-	return "tofu"
-}
-
 // Options configures the destroy operation.
 type Options struct {
 	WorkDir     string   // Working directory (default: current)
@@ -208,7 +198,7 @@ func displayDestroyPlan(resources []Resource) {
 	fmt.Println()
 }
 
-// runTerraformDestroy executes tofu/terraform destroy.
+// runTerraformDestroy executes terraform destroy.
 func runTerraformDestroy(workDir string, opts *Options) error {
 	args := []string{"destroy", "-auto-approve"}
 
@@ -217,7 +207,7 @@ func runTerraformDestroy(workDir string, opts *Options) error {
 		args = append(args, "-var-file", vf)
 	}
 
-	cmd := exec.Command(tfBinary(), args...)
+	cmd := exec.Command("terraform", args...)
 	cmd.Dir = workDir
 
 	// Stream output to stdout/stderr
diff --git a/internal/terraform/terraform.go b/internal/terraform/terraform.go
index e4a8580..fa55b91 100644
--- a/internal/terraform/terraform.go
+++ b/internal/terraform/terraform.go
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
-// Package terraform wraps IaC operations (init, plan, apply, destroy).
-// Supports OpenTofu (preferred) and Terraform (fallback).
+// Package terraform wraps Terraform operations (init, plan, apply, destroy).
 package terraform
 
 import (
@@ -7,32 +6,22 @@ import (
 	"os/exec"
 )
 
-// binary returns the path to the IaC binary: tofu preferred, terraform fallback.
-func binary() string {
-	for _, name := range []string{"tofu", "terraform"} {
-		if path, err := exec.LookPath(name); err == nil {
-			return path
-		}
-	}
-	return "tofu" // fallback — will produce a useful error at runtime
-}
-
-// Runner executes infrastructure-as-code commands.
+// Runner executes Terraform commands.
 type Runner struct {
 	WorkDir string
 }
 
-// NewRunner creates a runner for the given working directory.
+// NewRunner creates a Terraform runner for the given working directory.
 func NewRunner(workDir string) *Runner {
 	return &Runner{WorkDir: workDir}
 }
 
-// Init runs init.
+// Init runs terraform init.
 func (r *Runner) Init() error {
 	return r.run("init", "-input=false")
 }
 
-// Plan runs plan.
+// Plan runs terraform plan.
 func (r *Runner) Plan(destroy bool) error {
 	args := []string{"plan"}
 	if destroy {
@@ -41,23 +30,22 @@ func (r *Runner) Plan(destroy bool) error {
 	return r.run(args...)
 }
 
-// Apply runs apply.
+// Apply runs terraform apply.
 func (r *Runner) Apply() error {
 	return r.run("apply", "-auto-approve")
 }
 
-// Destroy runs destroy.
+// Destroy runs terraform destroy.
 func (r *Runner) Destroy() error {
 	return r.run("destroy", "-auto-approve")
 }
 
 func (r *Runner) run(args ...string) error {
-	bin := binary()
-	cmd := exec.Command(bin, args...)
+	cmd := exec.Command("terraform", args...)
 	cmd.Dir = r.WorkDir
 	output, err := cmd.CombinedOutput()
 	if err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("%s %v: %w\n%s", bin, args, err, output)
+		return fmt.Errorf("terraform %v: %w\n%s", args, err, output)
 	}
 	return nil
 }