diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index e3dc839..8bfbca4 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -31,6 +31,10 @@ breaking changes may land in a minor release.
 
 ### Fixed
 
+- **Windows installs now pull `psutil` automatically** — moved from the opt-in `non-linux` extra to a
+  platform-scoped core dependency (`sys_platform == 'win32'`), so the TUI liveness column no longer
+  shows every run as `?` on a stock install. macOS keeps the `non-linux` extra; Linux stays dep-free.
+  (#72, closes #71)
 - **`bmad-loop-setup` no longer deletes live core BMAD config or the installer manifest.** In a
   multi-module BMAD v6 project the setup scripts hardcoded `core` (and `--also-remove _config`) into
   their delete lists, destroying `_bmad/core/config.yaml`, per-module config, and the whole
diff --git a/docs/game-engine-plugin-guide.md b/docs/game-engine-plugin-guide.md
index ac01e69..aad0fc6 100644
--- a/docs/game-engine-plugin-guide.md
+++ b/docs/game-engine-plugin-guide.md
@@ -242,8 +242,9 @@ guards, by script:
 
 - **`unity_teardown.py` — process discovery.** Linux uses a zero-dependency
   `/proc` scan to find the worktree-bound Editor/MCP-server; non-Linux falls back
-  to the same scan over **`psutil`**, imported lazily from the optional `non-linux`
-  extra (`pip install 'bmad-loop[non-linux]'`) with a clear error if missing. The
+  to the same scan over **`psutil`**, imported lazily — a core dependency on
+  Windows, the optional `non-linux` extra on macOS (`pip install
+'bmad-loop[non-linux]'`) — with a clear error if missing. The
   hard-kill uses `signal.SIGKILL` where present, degrading to `SIGTERM`/`taskkill`
   on Windows. Liveness uses `os.kill(pid, 0)` on POSIX but `psutil.pid_exists` on
   Windows (where `os.kill(pid, 0)` would _terminate_ the process).
diff --git a/docs/plugin-authoring-guide.md b/docs/plugin-authoring-guide.md
index 5c59905..7049ab5 100644
--- a/docs/plugin-authoring-guide.md
+++ b/docs/plugin-authoring-guide.md
@@ -634,8 +634,9 @@ seams instead of re-implementing OS primitives. Follow this discipline:
   script runs anywhere the core does. If you genuinely need a third-party package on
   one platform, make it an **optional extra** in `pyproject.toml` and **import it
   lazily** with a clear error if missing — never at module top level. The bundled
-  Unity plugin does exactly this for `psutil`: a `non-linux` extra it imports only on
-  non-Linux process _discovery_, so the dep-free Linux/WSL path never pulls it in.
+  Unity plugin does exactly this for `psutil`: imported only on non-Linux process
+  _discovery_ (a core dependency on Windows, the `non-linux` extra on macOS), so the
+  dep-free Linux/WSL path never pulls it in.
 
 - **Guard the primitives that have no seam.** Anything absent or differently-shaped
   on Windows that isn't behind a seam — `cp`/`--reflink`, symlinks, `/proc` scanning,
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 2302cdc..9089eca 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -11,17 +11,20 @@ license = "MIT"
 license-files = ["LICENSE"]
 authors = [{ name = "BMad Code, LLC" }]
 requires-python = ">=3.11"
-dependencies = ["pyyaml>=6.0"]
+dependencies = [
+  "pyyaml>=6.0",
+  # win32 liveness needs psutil (no /proc; os.kill(pid,0) is destructive there);
+  # without it the TUI shows every run as `?`. Hard dep so no install path misses it.
+  "psutil>=7.2.2; sys_platform == 'win32'",
+]
 
 [project.scripts]
 bmad-loop = "bmad_loop.cli:main"
 
 [project.optional-dependencies]
 tui = ["textual>=8.0,<9", "tomlkit>=0.13", "pyte>=0.8.2"]
-# Process discovery on non-Linux (no /proc): the Unity plugin's teardown lazily
-# imports psutil whenever it runs off Linux — macOS as well as a native-Windows
-# backend. The core stays dep-free; install with `pip install bmad-loop[non-linux]`
-# on those platforms.
+# macOS opt-in for psutil (identity/force-kill niceties); win32 gets it as a core
+# dep above, Linux stays dep-free. `pip install bmad-loop[non-linux]` on macOS.
 non-linux = ["psutil>=7.2.2"]
 
 [dependency-groups]
diff --git a/src/bmad_loop/data/plugins/unity/unity_teardown.py b/src/bmad_loop/data/plugins/unity/unity_teardown.py
index 80b8e26..0f06393 100644
--- a/src/bmad_loop/data/plugins/unity/unity_teardown.py
+++ b/src/bmad_loop/data/plugins/unity/unity_teardown.py
@@ -48,16 +48,17 @@
 
 
 def _psutil():
-    """Lazily import psutil (the optional ``non-linux`` extra), used only for
-    non-Linux process discovery (macOS and Windows). The dep-free core never imports
-    it; raise a clear, actionable error if it's missing on a platform that needs it."""
+    """Lazily import psutil — a core dep on Windows, the ``non-linux`` extra on
+    macOS — used only for non-Linux process discovery (macOS and Windows). The
+    dep-free core never imports it; raise a clear, actionable error if it's missing
+    on a platform that needs it."""
     try:
         import psutil  # noqa: PLC0415  (intentional lazy import — keeps the core dep-free)
     except ImportError as exc:  # pragma: no cover - exercised only off Linux
         raise RuntimeError(
             f"unity_teardown: process discovery on {sys.platform!r} needs psutil; "
-            "install the optional extra (pip install 'bmad-loop[non-linux]') or run "
-            "under Linux/WSL"
+            "on Windows reinstall bmad-loop (psutil is a required dependency there), "
+            "on macOS run `pip install 'bmad-loop[non-linux]'`"
         ) from exc
     return psutil
 
diff --git a/src/bmad_loop/process_host.py b/src/bmad_loop/process_host.py
index 04be02c..bf3a31e 100644
--- a/src/bmad_loop/process_host.py
+++ b/src/bmad_loop/process_host.py
@@ -219,17 +219,17 @@ def _proc_starttime(pid: int) -> float | None:
 
 
 def _psutil():
-    """Lazily import psutil (the optional ``non-linux`` extra), used only for the
-    non-destructive Windows/macOS liveness + identity probes. The dep-free core
-    never imports it on Linux; raise a clear, actionable error if it's missing where
-    it's needed."""
+    """Lazily import psutil — a core dep on Windows, the ``non-linux`` extra on
+    macOS — used only for the non-destructive Windows/macOS liveness + identity
+    probes. The dep-free core never imports it on Linux; raise a clear, actionable
+    error if it's missing where it's needed."""
     try:
         import psutil  # noqa: PLC0415  (intentional lazy import — keeps the core dep-free)
     except ImportError as exc:  # pragma: no cover - exercised only off Linux
         raise ProcessHostError(
             f"process_host: pid operations on {sys.platform!r} need psutil; "
-            "install the optional extra (pip install 'bmad-loop[non-linux]') or run "
-            "under Linux/WSL"
+            "on Windows reinstall bmad-loop (psutil is a required dependency there), "
+            "on macOS run `pip install 'bmad-loop[non-linux]'`"
         ) from exc
     return psutil
 
diff --git a/uv.lock b/uv.lock
index 908e843..e3966c0 100644
--- a/uv.lock
+++ b/uv.lock
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ name = "bmad-loop"
 version = "0.8.1"
 source = { editable = "." }
 dependencies = [
+    { name = "psutil", marker = "sys_platform == 'win32'" },
     { name = "pyyaml" },
 ]
 
@@ -31,6 +32,7 @@ dev = [
 
 [package.metadata]
 requires-dist = [
+    { name = "psutil", marker = "sys_platform == 'win32'", specifier = ">=7.2.2" },
     { name = "psutil", marker = "extra == 'non-linux'", specifier = ">=7.2.2" },
     { name = "pyte", marker = "extra == 'tui'", specifier = ">=0.8.2" },
     { name = "pyyaml", specifier = ">=6.0" },