diff --git a/.gitmodules b/.gitmodules
index 21042be..68ef19c 100644
--- a/.gitmodules
+++ b/.gitmodules
@@ -10,10 +10,6 @@
 	path = omen
 	url = https://github.com/RUB-SysSec/OMEN.git
 	ignore = dirty
-[submodule "hashcat"]
-	path = hashcat
-	url = https://github.com/hashcat/hashcat.git
-	ignore = dirty
 [submodule "princeprocessor"]
 	path = princeprocessor
 	url = https://github.com/hashcat/princeprocessor.git
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 6bea46d..9858a01 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -12,10 +12,6 @@ submodules:
 	$(MAKE) submodules-pre; \
 	if [ -f .gitmodules ] && command -v git >/dev/null 2>&1; then \
 		for path in $$(git config --file .gitmodules --get-regexp path | awk '{print $$2}'); do \
-			if [ "$$path" = "hashcat" ] && command -v hashcat >/dev/null 2>&1; then \
-				echo "hashcat already installed in PATH, skipping submodule compilation"; \
-				continue; \
-			fi; \
 			if [ "$$path" = "princeprocessor" ]; then \
 				$(MAKE) -C "$$path/src" CFLAGS_LINUX64="-W -Wall -std=c99 -O2 -s -DLINUX"; \
 				if [ -f "$$path/src/pp64.bin" ]; then cp "$$path/src/pp64.bin" "$$path/"; \
@@ -32,9 +28,8 @@ submodules:
 submodules-pre:
 	@# Pre-step: basic sanity checks and file generation before building submodules.
 	@# Ensure required directories exist (whether as submodules or vendored copies).
-	@# hashcat is optional here: submodule is compiled if present, else PATH hashcat is used.
-	@test -d hashcat || command -v hashcat >/dev/null 2>&1 || { \
-		echo "Error: hashcat not found. Either initialize the hashcat submodule or install hashcat."; exit 1; }
+	@command -v hashcat >/dev/null 2>&1 || { \
+		echo "Error: hashcat not found. Install hashcat (e.g. apt install hashcat or brew install hashcat)."; exit 1; }
 	@test -d hashcat-utils || { echo "Error: missing required directory: hashcat-utils"; exit 1; }
 	@test -d princeprocessor || { echo "Error: missing required directory: princeprocessor"; exit 1; }
 	@test -d omen || { echo "Warning: missing directory: omen (OMEN attacks will not be available)"; }
@@ -51,7 +46,7 @@ vendor-assets:
 	@rm -rf hate_crack/hashcat hate_crack/hashcat-utils hate_crack/princeprocessor hate_crack/omen
 	@mkdir -p hate_crack/hashcat
 	@if [ -f hashcat/hashcat ]; then \
-		echo "Vendoring compiled hashcat submodule binary..."; \
+		echo "Vendoring compiled hashcat binary from submodule..."; \
 		cp hashcat/hashcat hate_crack/hashcat/hashcat; \
 		[ -d hashcat/rules ] && cp -R hashcat/rules hate_crack/hashcat/rules || true; \
 		[ -d hashcat/OpenCL ] && cp -R hashcat/OpenCL hate_crack/hashcat/OpenCL || true; \
@@ -71,7 +66,7 @@ vendor-assets:
 		[ -d "$$HASHCAT_DIR/OpenCL" ] && cp -R "$$HASHCAT_DIR/OpenCL" hate_crack/hashcat/OpenCL || true; \
 		[ -d "$$HASHCAT_DIR/modules" ] && cp -R "$$HASHCAT_DIR/modules" hate_crack/hashcat/modules || true; \
 	else \
-		echo "Error: hashcat not found. Either compile the hashcat submodule or install hashcat."; \
+		echo "Error: hashcat not found. Install hashcat (e.g. apt install hashcat or brew install hashcat)."; \
 		exit 1; \
 	fi
 	@cp -R hashcat-utils hate_crack/
@@ -124,7 +119,6 @@ dev-reinstall: uninstall dev-install
 
 clean:
 	-$(MAKE) -C hashcat-utils clean
-	-$(MAKE) -C hashcat clean
 	-@if [ -f .gitmodules ]; then git submodule deinit -f --all; fi
 	rm -rf .pytest_cache .ruff_cache build dist *.egg-info
 	rm -rf ~/.cache/uv
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index bcc0f31..e4efc93 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -9,11 +9,21 @@
 
 ## Installation
 
-### 1. Install hashcat (Optional)
+### 1. Install hashcat
 
-Hashcat is included as a git submodule and will be compiled automatically. If you already have hashcat installed and in your PATH, the build step will skip the submodule compilation.
+Hashcat must be installed and available in your PATH:
 
-To manually install hashcat instead (e.g., system package or pre-built binary), ensure `hashcat` is available in your PATH or set `hcatPath` in `config.json`.
+Ubuntu/Kali:
+```bash
+sudo apt-get install -y hashcat
+```
+
+macOS (Homebrew):
+```bash
+brew install hashcat
+```
+
+Or download a pre-built binary from https://hashcat.net/hashcat/ and set `hcatPath` in `config.json` to its location.
 
 ### 2. Download hate_crack
 
@@ -36,7 +46,7 @@ Then customize configuration in `config.json` if needed (wordlist paths, API key
 
 The easiest way is to run `make` (or `make install`), which auto-detects your OS and installs:
 - External dependencies (p7zip, transmission-cli)
-- Builds submodules (hashcat-utils, princeprocessor, and optionally hashcat if not in PATH)
+- Builds submodules (hashcat-utils, princeprocessor, and optionally omen)
 - Python tool via uv
 
 ```bash
@@ -532,10 +542,18 @@ HATE_CRACK_RUN_DOCKER_TESTS=1 uv run pytest tests/test_docker_script_install.py
 The Docker E2E test also downloads a small subset of rockyou and runs a basic
 hashcat crack to validate external tool integration.
 
-Lima VM end-to-end test (macOS only, requires Lima):
+Lima VM end-to-end test (macOS only):
+
+Prerequisites: [Lima](https://lima-vm.io/) and `rsync` must be installed.
 
 ```bash
-uv run pytest tests/test_lima_vm_install.py -v
+brew install lima
+```
+
+The test VM provisions automatically with all Linux dependencies (hashcat, build-essential, curl, git, gzip, p7zip-full, transmission-cli, ocl-icd-libopencl1, pocl-opencl-icd, uv).
+
+```bash
+HATE_CRACK_RUN_LIMA_TESTS=1 uv run pytest tests/test_lima_vm_install.py -v
 ```
 
 This test validates installation and execution within a lightweight Linux VM on macOS.
diff --git a/hashcat b/hashcat
deleted file mode 160000
index 2d71af3..0000000
--- a/hashcat
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Subproject commit 2d71af3718ef76f69c675e933cb4900c40788c58