diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 26f2137..5cdeed6 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -8,6 +8,10 @@ semantic versioning.
 
 ### Fixed
 
+- Corrected the `[External_Data] repeater_prefix_api_url` comment, which claimed that
+  leaving it empty "disables prefix command functionality" (#70). Empty is the normal
+  setup: the prefix command answers from the bot's own database. The option only adds
+  an optional external dataset, and its JSON contract is now documented.
 - `message_stats.path` no longer reports another packet's route (#80). When RF
   correlation failed, `find_recent_rf_data` fell back to the most recent packet in the
   cache, and the caller attributed that packet's route to the message — which is how a
@@ -52,6 +56,10 @@ semantic versioning.
 
 ### Added
 
+- Documented installing with `pipx`, which sidesteps PEP 668 on Debian 12+, Ubuntu
+  23.04+, Fedora and Arch (#222), including where `config.ini`, the database and
+  `local/` live — everything resolves relative to the config file's directory, so an
+  absolute `--config` is what makes a pipx install deterministic.
 - Migration 23: nullable `snr` / `rssi` columns on `observed_paths` for
   zero-hop advert rows.
 - `{cmd:<command> [args]}` placeholders in `[Scheduled_Messages]`: a scheduled message
diff --git a/config.ini.example b/config.ini.example
index 36307e6..3e2ef4a 100644
--- a/config.ini.example
+++ b/config.ini.example
@@ -675,9 +675,19 @@ airnow_api_key =
 # Paid tier (14 EUR/year): 3-6 day forecast, 15-30 minute resolution
 forecast_solar_api_key = 
 
-# Repeater prefix API URL for prefix command
-# Leave empty to disable prefix command functionality
-# Configure your own regional API endpoint
+# Optional external repeater-prefix API for the prefix command.
+#
+# LEAVE THIS EMPTY unless you run your own endpoint. Empty does NOT disable the
+# prefix command: the bot answers from its own database of heard repeaters, which
+# is the normal setup. The API only augments that with node counts from a wider
+# regional dataset; location details still come from the local database.
+#
+# This dates from when the project fetched repeater data from map.w0z.is, which is
+# defunct. There is no drop-in public replacement. To serve your own, return JSON:
+#   {"data": [{"prefix": "AB", "node_count": 3, "node_names": ["Node One", ...]}, ...]}
+# Fetched with a plain GET, must answer HTTP 200 with that JSON, 10s timeout.
+# "prefix" is upper-cased by the bot; "node_count" is an int; "node_names" a list.
+# Responses are cached for repeater_prefix_cache_hours below.
 repeater_prefix_api_url = 
 
 # Repeater prefix cache duration in hours
diff --git a/docs/command-reference.md b/docs/command-reference.md
index 44ce95e..2779238 100644
--- a/docs/command-reference.md
+++ b/docs/command-reference.md
@@ -780,6 +780,27 @@ prefix free
 - Last seen time
 - Location (if available)
 
+**Data source:** By default the bot answers from its own database of repeaters it has
+heard. No external service is required, and `[External_Data] repeater_prefix_api_url`
+should be left **empty** — leaving it empty does not disable the command.
+
+Setting that option adds an optional external dataset on top: node counts come from the
+API while names and locations still come from the local database. The setting dates from
+when the project fetched data from `map.w0z.is`, which is defunct, and there is no
+drop-in public replacement. To serve your own, answer a plain `GET` with HTTP 200 and:
+
+```json
+{
+  "data": [
+    {"prefix": "AB", "node_count": 3, "node_names": ["Node One", "Node Two", "Node Three"]}
+  ]
+}
+```
+
+`prefix` is upper-cased by the bot, `node_count` is an integer, and `node_names` is a
+list of strings. The request times out after 10 seconds, and responses are cached for
+`repeater_prefix_cache_hours` (default 1).
+
 ---
 
 ### `stats`
diff --git a/docs/installation.md b/docs/installation.md
index d4d783d..5002e34 100644
--- a/docs/installation.md
+++ b/docs/installation.md
@@ -7,12 +7,55 @@ Choose how to run the bot:
 | **[Docker](docker.md)** | Containers, consistent environments, easy updates |
 | **[Service (systemd)](service-installation.md)** | Linux servers, run at boot, no containers |
 | **Debian package** | `make deb` in the repo — see [README](https://github.com/agessaman/meshcore-bot/blob/main/README.md) |
+| **[pipx](#pipx)** | A single-user install with no repo checkout and no venv management |
 
 ## Requirements
 
 - **Python 3.10+**
 - MeshCore-compatible device (USB, BLE, or TCP)
 
+## pipx
+
+`pipx` installs the `meshcore-bot` and `meshcore-viewer` console scripts into their own
+isolated environment, which sidesteps PEP 668 (`externally-managed-environment`) on
+Debian 12+, Ubuntu 23.04+, Fedora and Arch without you managing a virtualenv:
+
+```bash
+pipx install "git+https://github.com/agessaman/meshcore-bot@v1.0.0"
+```
+
+Upgrade to a newer tag with `pipx install --force "git+https://github.com/agessaman/meshcore-bot@vX.Y.Z"`.
+
+### Where your data lives
+
+The bot has no fixed data directory. **Everything is resolved relative to the directory
+containing your `config.ini`**, so that directory is effectively your install:
+
+| What | Default | Resolved against |
+|------|---------|------------------|
+| Config | `config.ini` | your working directory, unless you pass `--config` |
+| Database | `meshcore_bot.db` (`[Bot] db_path`) | the config file's directory |
+| Local plugins | `local/` (`[Bot] local_dir_path`) | the config file's directory |
+
+Because a bare `meshcore-bot` looks for `config.ini` in the *current* directory, running
+it from somewhere else silently starts a different, empty install. **Pass an absolute
+`--config` so it is unambiguous:**
+
+```bash
+mkdir -p ~/.local/share/meshcore-bot
+cd ~/.local/share/meshcore-bot
+# put your config.ini here, then:
+meshcore-bot --config ~/.local/share/meshcore-bot/config.ini
+```
+
+The database and `local/` are then created alongside that `config.ini` no matter where
+you launch from. Absolute paths in `db_path` or `local_dir_path` are used as-is.
+
+For a systemd unit, set `WorkingDirectory=` to that directory and use the absolute
+`--config` in `ExecStart=`. Note the [service installer](service-installation.md) is a
+separate, self-contained path — it builds its own virtualenv under `/opt/meshcore-bot`
+and does not use pipx.
+
 ## Development setup
 
 See [Getting started](getting-started.md) for a quick development setup (run from the repo with `python meshcore_bot.py`).