diff --git a/scripts/setup.ps1 b/scripts/setup.ps1
index 1c0b0e798..ba20b65d0 100644
--- a/scripts/setup.ps1
+++ b/scripts/setup.ps1
@@ -410,9 +410,13 @@ function Test-HostsFile {
     }
 
     $content = Get-Content $hostsPath -Raw
-    $sourceLines = Get-Content $hostsSource | Where-Object {
+    $sourceLines = Get-Content $hostsSource | ForEach-Object {
         $trimmed = $_.Trim()
-        $trimmed -and -not $trimmed.StartsWith('#')
+        # Skip blank lines and full-line comments
+        if (-not $trimmed -or $trimmed.StartsWith('#')) { return }
+        # Strip inline comments (e.g. "127.1.0.14 host.local  # alias note")
+        $noComment = ($trimmed -replace '\s+#.*$', '').Trim()
+        if ($noComment) { $noComment }
     }
 
     $missingLines = @()
@@ -465,12 +469,29 @@ function Test-HostsFile {
         }
     } else {
         Write-Host ''
-        Write-Host '   Stella Ops needs ~50 hosts file entries for local development.' -ForegroundColor Yellow
-        Write-Host '   To install them, run this command in an elevated (Administrator) PowerShell:' -ForegroundColor Yellow
+        Write-Warn '*** Stella Ops needs ~50 hosts file entries for local development. ***'
+        Write-Warn "*** $($missingHosts.Count) host alias(es) are missing -- the platform will NOT work without them. ***"
         Write-Host ''
-        Write-Host "   Get-Content '$hostsSource' | Add-Content '$hostsPath'" -ForegroundColor White
+        Write-Host '   Option 1: Re-run this script as Administrator to install them automatically.' -ForegroundColor Yellow
         Write-Host ''
-        Write-Host '   Or re-run this script as Administrator to install them automatically.' -ForegroundColor Yellow
+        Write-Host '   Option 2: Run the following in an elevated (Administrator) PowerShell:' -ForegroundColor Yellow
+        Write-Host ''
+        # Build a single-line PowerShell command that appends only the missing entries
+        $escapedLines = ($missingLines | ForEach-Object { "`"$_`"" }) -join ', '
+        Write-Host "   @($escapedLines) | Add-Content -Path '$hostsPath'" -ForegroundColor White
+        Write-Host ''
+
+        # Offer clipboard copy
+        $copyAnswer = $null
+        try { $copyAnswer = Read-Host '   Copy the missing entries to clipboard? (Y/n)' } catch {}
+        if ($null -eq $copyAnswer -or $copyAnswer -eq '' -or $copyAnswer -match '^[Yy]') {
+            try {
+                ($missingLines -join [Environment]::NewLine) | Set-Clipboard
+                Write-Ok 'Missing host entries copied to clipboard. Paste them into the hosts file (run Notepad as Administrator).'
+            } catch {
+                Write-Warn 'Could not copy to clipboard. Please copy manually from above.'
+            }
+        }
     }
 }
 
@@ -521,33 +542,42 @@ function Get-FrontdoorNetworkName {
     return 'stellaops_frontdoor'
 }
 
-function Ensure-FrontdoorNetwork {
-    $networkName = Get-FrontdoorNetworkName
+function Ensure-DockerNetwork([string]$networkName, [string]$label) {
     if ([string]::IsNullOrWhiteSpace($networkName)) {
-        Write-Fail 'Unable to resolve the frontdoor Docker network name.'
+        Write-Fail "Unable to resolve the $label Docker network name."
         exit 1
     }
 
     $existingNetworks = @(docker network ls --format '{{.Name}}' 2>$null)
     if ($existingNetworks -contains $networkName) {
-        Write-Ok "Frontdoor network available ($networkName)"
+        Write-Ok "$label network available ($networkName)"
         return
     }
 
-    Write-Warn "Frontdoor network missing ($networkName); creating it now."
+    Write-Warn "$label network missing ($networkName); creating it now."
     docker network create $networkName | Out-Null
     if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
-        Write-Fail "Failed to create frontdoor network ($networkName)."
+        Write-Fail "Failed to create $label network ($networkName)."
         exit 1
     }
 
-    Write-Ok "Created frontdoor network ($networkName)"
+    Write-Ok "Created $label network ($networkName)"
+}
+
+function Ensure-StellaOpsNetwork {
+    Ensure-DockerNetwork 'stellaops' 'Stellaops'
+}
+
+function Ensure-FrontdoorNetwork {
+    $networkName = Get-FrontdoorNetworkName
+    Ensure-DockerNetwork $networkName 'Frontdoor'
 }
 
 # ─── 4. Start infrastructure ───────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 function Start-Infrastructure {
     Write-Step 'Starting infrastructure containers (docker-compose.dev.yml)'
+    Ensure-StellaOpsNetwork
     Push-Location $ComposeDir
     try {
         docker compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml up -d
@@ -607,6 +637,7 @@ function Build-Images([switch]$PublishNoRestore) {
 
 function Start-Platform {
     Write-Step 'Starting full Stella Ops platform'
+    Ensure-StellaOpsNetwork
     Ensure-FrontdoorNetwork
     Push-Location $ComposeDir
     try {
diff --git a/scripts/setup.sh b/scripts/setup.sh
index e4b8aa11c..b3bbdcf1f 100644
--- a/scripts/setup.sh
+++ b/scripts/setup.sh
@@ -341,7 +341,13 @@ check_hosts() {
   local source_lines=()
   while IFS= read -r line; do
     [[ -z "${line// }" ]] && continue
+    # Skip full-line comments
     [[ "$line" =~ ^[[:space:]]*# ]] && continue
+    # Strip inline comments (e.g. "127.1.0.14 host.local  # alias note")
+    line="${line%%#*}"
+    # Trim trailing whitespace left after stripping the comment
+    line="${line%"${line##*[![:space:]]}"}"
+    [[ -z "$line" ]] && continue
     source_lines+=("$line")
   done < "$hosts_source"
 
@@ -445,24 +451,35 @@ get_frontdoor_network_name() {
   printf '%s\n' 'stellaops_frontdoor'
 }
 
-ensure_frontdoor_network() {
-  local network_name
-  network_name="$(get_frontdoor_network_name)"
+ensure_docker_network() {
+  local network_name="$1"
+  local label="$2"
 
   if docker network inspect "$network_name" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-    ok "Frontdoor network available ($network_name)"
+    ok "$label network available ($network_name)"
     return
   fi
 
-  warn "Frontdoor network missing ($network_name); creating it now."
+  warn "$label network missing ($network_name); creating it now."
   docker network create "$network_name" >/dev/null
-  ok "Created frontdoor network ($network_name)"
+  ok "Created $label network ($network_name)"
+}
+
+ensure_stellaops_network() {
+  ensure_docker_network 'stellaops' 'Stellaops'
+}
+
+ensure_frontdoor_network() {
+  local network_name
+  network_name="$(get_frontdoor_network_name)"
+  ensure_docker_network "$network_name" 'Frontdoor'
 }
 
 # ─── 4. Start infrastructure ───────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 start_infra() {
   step 'Starting infrastructure containers (docker-compose.dev.yml)'
+  ensure_stellaops_network
   cd "$COMPOSE_DIR"
 
   docker compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml up -d
@@ -509,6 +526,7 @@ build_images() {
 
 start_platform() {
   step 'Starting full Stella Ops platform'
+  ensure_stellaops_network
   ensure_frontdoor_network
   cd "$COMPOSE_DIR"
   docker compose -f docker-compose.stella-ops.yml up -d