diff --git a/setup.sh b/setup.sh
index b8a0eee..e5f2195 100755
--- a/setup.sh
+++ b/setup.sh
@@ -606,6 +606,22 @@ if command -v starship >/dev/null 2>&1 && [[ ! -f "$HOME/.config/starship.toml"
     starship preset tokyo-night -o "$HOME/.config/starship.toml" \
         || warn "Could not apply the preset (starship still installed)."
 fi
+
+# bashrc wiring — ONLY when dotfiles were not cloned: on machines that
+# use fedora-dots, .bashrc is owned by the dots and must not be edited
+# here. Also requires starship to actually be present (a missing binary
+# would make every shell print an error from the eval line).
+if [[ "$DOTFILES" != "true" ]] \
+    && command -v starship >/dev/null 2>&1 \
+    && ! grep -q "starship init" "$HOME/.bashrc" 2>/dev/null; then
+    info "Wiring starship into ~/.bashrc..."
+    cat >> "$HOME/.bashrc" <<'EOF'
+
+# starship
+export STARSHIP_CONFIG="$HOME/.config/starship.toml"
+eval "$(starship init bash)"
+EOF
+fi
 pause_if_debug
 
 # --- 8.3 RobotoMono Nerd Font (the modules install JetBrainsMono) ---