diff --git a/skills/bmad/scripts/setup.py b/skills/bmad/scripts/setup.py
index 35039a1db..23235ec8f 100644
--- a/skills/bmad/scripts/setup.py
+++ b/skills/bmad/scripts/setup.py
@@ -190,6 +190,7 @@ def setup(
     module_answers: dict[tuple[str, str], str] | None = None,
     module_answers_source: Path | None = None,
 ) -> None:
+    reject_symlinked_bmad(project_root)
     scripts_src, config_src = payload(skill_root)
     template_text = fill_team_config(
         config_src.read_text(encoding="utf-8"), project_root
@@ -262,7 +263,19 @@ def pending_config_questions(
     return find_pending_questions(modules, merged, project_root)
 
 
+def reject_symlinked_bmad(project_root: Path) -> None:
+    bmad = project_root / "_bmad"
+    if bmad.is_symlink():
+        target = bmad.resolve()
+        raise Exception(
+            f"{bmad} is a symlink to {target}; setup and doctor replace "
+            f"_bmad in place, so run them with --project-root "
+            f"{target.parent} to fix the real installation"
+        )
+
+
 def missing_bmad_report(project_root: Path) -> dict[str, object] | None:
+    reject_symlinked_bmad(project_root)
     bmad = project_root / "_bmad"
     if not bmad.exists():
         return {
diff --git a/tools/tests/test_bmad_setup.py b/tools/tests/test_bmad_setup.py
index 182f93e45..bd2644a94 100644
--- a/tools/tests/test_bmad_setup.py
+++ b/tools/tests/test_bmad_setup.py
@@ -1403,6 +1403,41 @@ class BmadSetupTests(unittest.TestCase):
             self.assertFalse((project / "_bmad").exists())
             self.assertEqual(list(project.glob("_bmad.setup-*")), [])
 
+    def test_symlinked_bmad_is_rejected_before_any_write(self):
+        if not symlink_to_temp_dir_succeeds():
+            self.skipTest("symlinks not available")
+        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as temp_dir:
+            root = Path(temp_dir)
+            project = root / "proj"
+            project.mkdir()
+            skill = write_dest_bmad(root)
+            real = root / "real-install" / "_bmad"
+            write(real / "config.toml", "[core]\nkeep = 1\n")
+            os.symlink(real, project / "_bmad", target_is_directory=True)
+            before = {
+                path.relative_to(real): path.read_bytes()
+                for path in real.rglob("*")
+                if path.is_file()
+            }
+
+            for extra in ((), ("--doctor",), ("--list-config-questions", "--doctor")):
+                with self.subTest(extra=extra):
+                    result = run_setup_python(project, skill, *extra)
+                    self.assertNotEqual(result.returncode, 0)
+                    self.assertIn("symlink", result.stderr)
+                    self.assertIn(str(real.resolve().parent), result.stderr)
+
+            self.assertTrue((project / "_bmad").is_symlink())
+            self.assertEqual(
+                {
+                    path.relative_to(real): path.read_bytes()
+                    for path in real.rglob("*")
+                    if path.is_file()
+                },
+                before,
+            )
+            self.assertEqual(list(project.glob("_bmad.*-*")), [])
+
     def test_declared_script_read_error_is_source_specific_and_atomic(self):
         setup = load_setup()
         with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as temp_dir: