diff --git a/.github/workflows/qa-analysis.yml b/.github/workflows/qa-analysis.yml
index ba7755a8..94e95de0 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/qa-analysis.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/qa-analysis.yml
@@ -257,7 +257,8 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Install package
         env:
-          SKBUILD_CMAKE_DEFINE: "monoprop_ENABLE_CXX_UNIT_TESTS=OFF;monoprop_ENABLE_MPI=ON"
+          SKBUILD_CMAKE_DEFINE: "monoprop_ENABLE_CXX_UNIT_TESTS=OFF"
+          monoprop_ENABLE_MPI: "ON"
         run: |
           uv sync --no-progress --all-extras -v
 
@@ -305,7 +306,8 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Build (generates compile_commands.json)
         env:
-          SKBUILD_CMAKE_DEFINE: "CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER=clang++;monoprop_ENABLE_CXX_UNIT_TESTS=OFF;monoprop_ENABLE_MPI=ON"
+          SKBUILD_CMAKE_DEFINE: "CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER=clang++;monoprop_ENABLE_CXX_UNIT_TESTS=OFF"
+          monoprop_ENABLE_MPI: "ON"
         run: |
           uv sync --no-progress --all-extras -v
 
diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index cf2f2fd0..8b191320 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -119,6 +119,7 @@ We also use [`just`](https://github.com/casey/just) for task automation.
 
 ```bash
 uv sync --all-groups --all-extras -v  # Build & install (workspace-wide)
+monoprop_ENABLE_MPI=ON uv sync --all-extras --reinstall-package monoprop --no-cache -v  # MPI-enabled build
 uv run pytest  # Run tests (monoprop's suite + the workspace members' suites)
 SKBUILD_CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=AsanUbsan SKBUILD_CMAKE_DEFINE="monoprop_SANITIZER=asan-ubsan" uv sync --group workspace-test --all-extras --reinstall-package monoprop --no-cache -v  # Rebuild when changing sanitizer settings.
 LD_PRELOAD="$(g++ -print-file-name=libasan.so):$(g++ -print-file-name=libstdc++.so.6)" ASAN_OPTIONS=detect_leaks=0 uv run pytest  # Python tests against a sanitizer tree
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 3f03bbbe..6b9d89b6 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ Python bindings (via [uv](https://github.com/astral-sh/uv)):
 ```bash
 uv sync --all-extras -v
 # with MPI:
-uv sync --all-extras -v --config-settings=cmake.define.monoprop_ENABLE_MPI=ON
+monoprop_ENABLE_MPI=ON uv sync --all-extras -v
 ```
 
 C++ unit-test build:
diff --git a/cpp/tests/README.md b/cpp/tests/README.md
index 6fc34490..a08df1f3 100644
--- a/cpp/tests/README.md
+++ b/cpp/tests/README.md
@@ -30,8 +30,8 @@ uv sync --all-extras -v
 ctest --test-dir build/editable/Release
 ```
 
-For an MPI-enabled tree, rerun `uv sync` with
-`--config-settings=cmake.define.monoprop_ENABLE_MPI=ON`.
+For an MPI-enabled tree, rerun `uv sync` with `monoprop_ENABLE_MPI=ON` in the
+environment.
 ## Running Tests
 
 ```bash
diff --git a/docs/content/docs/building.mdx b/docs/content/docs/building.mdx
index 87b80b83..23641129 100644
--- a/docs/content/docs/building.mdx
+++ b/docs/content/docs/building.mdx
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ mechanism differs by build:
 
 | Build | Enable MPI with |
 | --- | --- |
-| Python bindings and C++ tests (scikit-build / `uv` / `pip`) | `--config-settings=cmake.define.monoprop_ENABLE_MPI=ON` (or export `SKBUILD_CMAKE_ARGS="-Dmonoprop_ENABLE_MPI=ON"`) |
+| Python bindings and C++ tests (scikit-build / `uv` / `pip`) | `monoprop_ENABLE_MPI=ON` in the environment |
 
 The prebuilt wheels published to PyPI (`pip install monoprop`) are also built
 without MPI, so a from-source build is required for multi-rank runs.
@@ -48,19 +48,59 @@ This produces a single-process build with no MPI dependency.
 
 ### With MPI
 
-Pass a `config-settings` override to enable MPI:
+Set `monoprop_ENABLE_MPI=ON` in the environment:
+
+```bash
+monoprop_ENABLE_MPI=ON uv sync --all-extras -v
+```
+
+It works the same with `pip` when installing from a checkout:
+
+```bash
+monoprop_ENABLE_MPI=ON pip install .
+```
+
+That one variable does two things, matched by the
+`[[tool.scikit-build.overrides]]` block in `pyproject.toml`: it sets the
+`monoprop_ENABLE_MPI` CMake option, and it adds `mpi4py` to the build
+requirements. mpi4py is a build-time input — the bindings need its headers to
+hand an MPI communicator across the nanobind boundary — but only for MPI
+builds, so it is injected per-build through PEP 517's
+`get_requires_for_build_wheel` rather than sitting in `build-system.requires`
+where every build would pay for it.
+
+<Callout type="warn">
+  Because it is an environment variable, it does not participate in uv's build
+  cache key. Add `--reinstall-package monoprop --no-cache` when flipping MPI on
+  or off in an existing environment, or uv may reuse the previous build.
+</Callout>
+
+#### Driving it with config-settings instead
+
+A scikit-build-core override can only match environment variables, never
+config-settings, so `cmake.define` alone will not pull in mpi4py — the build
+would fail at configure time with a message telling you as much. Pass both
+settings to use this route:
 
 ```bash
 uv sync --all-extras -v \
-    --config-settings=cmake.define.monoprop_ENABLE_MPI=ON
+    --config-settings=cmake.define.monoprop_ENABLE_MPI=ON \
+    --config-settings=build.requires=mpi4py>=4.1.0
 ```
 
-The same override works with `pip` when installing from a checkout:
+In a workspace, prefer the per-package form so the settings do not reach the
+sibling distributions in `packages/`:
 
 ```bash
-pip install . --config-settings=cmake.define.monoprop_ENABLE_MPI=ON
+uv sync --all-extras -v \
+    --config-settings-package="monoprop:cmake.define.monoprop_ENABLE_MPI=ON" \
+    --config-settings-package="monoprop:build.requires=mpi4py>=4.1.0"
 ```
 
+The cost of this route is that the mpi4py pin is repeated on the command line
+instead of living once in `pyproject.toml`; the environment switch is preferred
+for that reason.
+
 ### Verify the install
 
 ```bash
diff --git a/docs/content/docs/testing.mdx b/docs/content/docs/testing.mdx
index 51326cff..ebfd6d09 100644
--- a/docs/content/docs/testing.mdx
+++ b/docs/content/docs/testing.mdx
@@ -41,14 +41,18 @@ just test-mpi-matrix   # MPI-marked tests across a rank matrix
 
 To do it by hand, build with MPI on, then run under `mpiexec` with `--no-sync`
 so each rank reuses that build. `--reinstall-package` and `--no-cache` force a
-genuine rebuild, since uv does not key its build cache on `SKBUILD_CMAKE_ARGS`:
+genuine rebuild, since uv does not key its build cache on the environment:
 
 ```bash
-SKBUILD_CMAKE_ARGS="-Dmonoprop_ENABLE_MPI=ON" \
+monoprop_ENABLE_MPI=ON \
     uv sync --all-extras --reinstall-package monoprop --no-cache
 mpiexec --allow-run-as-root -n 2 uv run --no-sync python -m pytest tests --with-mpi
 ```
 
+`monoprop_ENABLE_MPI` also provisions mpi4py as a build input; see
+[Building from source](/building#with-mpi) for why, and for the
+config-settings equivalent.
+
 ### C++ unit tests
 
 The C++ tests run through CTest. The build tree is produced by `uv sync` (via
@@ -65,7 +69,7 @@ With MPI, reuse the MPI-enabled `uv sync` from the Python MPI section above,
 then run CTest against the same tree:
 
 ```bash
-SKBUILD_CMAKE_ARGS="-Dmonoprop_ENABLE_MPI=ON" \
+monoprop_ENABLE_MPI=ON \
     uv sync --all-extras --reinstall-package monoprop --no-cache
 ctest --test-dir build/editable/Release --output-on-failure
 ```
@@ -89,7 +93,7 @@ CTest runs each Boost case as its own process, so an MPI build's `MPI_Init` prob
 fabric device per case, whether or not the test sends anything. `monoprop_TEST_EXCLUDE_MPI_FABRIC=ON`
 (default) skips that probe for the single-process `serial` variants only; multi-rank variants
 keep the full component set, since they exchange real messages. Turn it off by adding
-`-Dmonoprop_TEST_EXCLUDE_MPI_FABRIC=OFF` to the `SKBUILD_CMAKE_ARGS` MPI build above.
+`SKBUILD_CMAKE_DEFINE="monoprop_TEST_EXCLUDE_MPI_FABRIC=OFF"` to the MPI build above.
 
 CTest registers every Boost case individually as a `serial` variant. When the
 build has MPI enabled and a launcher is found, it also registers the whole suite
diff --git a/justfile b/justfile
index 9346525c..9609aa0f 100644
--- a/justfile
+++ b/justfile
@@ -32,7 +32,8 @@ test:
 # Pass RANKS as either a single integer or a semicolon-separated list (e.g. "1;2;4").
 
 test-mpi RANKS='':
-    uv sync --all-extras --group workspace-test --reinstall-package monoprop --no-cache --config-settings-package="monoprop:cmake.define.monoprop_ENABLE_MPI=ON" -v
+    monoprop_ENABLE_MPI=ON \
+        uv sync --all-extras --group workspace-test --reinstall-package monoprop --no-cache -v
     export OMPI_MCA_rmaps_base_oversubscribe="1"; \
     ranks="${1:-${monoprop_MPI_TEST_PROCS:-2}}"; \
     for r in ${ranks//;/ }; \
@@ -149,8 +150,8 @@ bench-mpi LABEL RANKS *MPIARGS:
 
 # Rebuild monoprop with MPI enabled (editable). Run once before `just bench-mpi`.
 bench-build-mpi:
-    uv sync --all-extras --group bench --reinstall-package monoprop --no-cache \
-        --config-settings-package="monoprop:cmake.define.monoprop_ENABLE_MPI=ON" -v
+    monoprop_ENABLE_MPI=ON \
+        uv sync --all-extras --group bench --reinstall-package monoprop --no-cache -v
 
 # Quick sanity run: tiny sizes, skip the slow static benchmarks.
 bench-smoke:
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index f67f7d6d..5e4b8dba 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 [build-system]
 requires = [
-  "mpi4py>=4.1.0",
   "nanobind-backend>=1.0.0",
   "nanobind==3.0.0",
   "scikit-build-core>=1.0.3,<2",
@@ -149,11 +148,22 @@ sdist.exclude = [
   ".prettierignore",
   "cspell.json",
 ]
-sdist.include = ["src/monoprop/_version.py", "src/monoprop/_dispatch.py", ".github/license-header.txt"]
+sdist.include = [
+  "src/monoprop/_version.py",
+  "src/monoprop/_dispatch.py",
+  ".github/license-header.txt",
+]
 build.verbose = true
 build.tool-args = ["-j2"]
-# Default to a single build job for Python bindings; CI and one-off builds can
-# still override this via config-settings or environment variables.
+# `monoprop_ENABLE_MPI` in the environment is the single switch: it both provisions the
+# build input and flips the CMake option.
+# NOTE: An override's `if.` clause can only match environment variables, never config-settings, so the
+# `--config-settings=cmake.define.monoprop_ENABLE_MPI=ON` route cannot reach this table
+# and has to carry `--config-settings=build.requires=mpi4py>=4.1.0` alongside it.
+[[tool.scikit-build.overrides]]
+if.env.monoprop_ENABLE_MPI = true
+build.requires = ["mpi4py>=4.1.0"]
+cmake.define.monoprop_ENABLE_MPI = "ON"
 
 
 [tool.setuptools_scm]
diff --git a/src/monoprop/bindings/CMakeLists.txt b/src/monoprop/bindings/CMakeLists.txt
index 9994563d..257a343e 100644
--- a/src/monoprop/bindings/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/monoprop/bindings/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,6 +1,22 @@
 if(monoprop_ENABLE_MPI)
   include(${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/cmake/custom/FindPythonModule.cmake)
-  find_python_module(mpi4py REQUIRED)
+  find_python_module(mpi4py QUIET)
+
+  if(NOT mpi4py_FOUND)
+    message(
+      FATAL_ERROR
+      "MPI is enabled but mpi4py is not importable from ${Python_EXECUTABLE}. "
+      "mpi4py is a build-time input of the bindings: its headers hand the MPI "
+      "communicator across the nanobind boundary.\n"
+      "Enable MPI with the environment switch, which provisions it automatically:\n"
+      "    monoprop_ENABLE_MPI=ON uv sync --all-extras\n"
+      "If you drive the build with config-settings, request it explicitly too, as "
+      "config-settings cannot trigger a scikit-build-core override:\n"
+      "    uv sync --all-extras \\\n"
+      "        --config-settings=cmake.define.monoprop_ENABLE_MPI=ON \\\n"
+      "        --config-settings=build.requires=mpi4py>=4.1.0"
+    )
+  endif()
 
   # we also need the include directories for mpi4py
   if(mpi4py_FOUND)