diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 0be06fff476776225d827c371777c10228662ed9..511088133d0fd9fd73ecf2d4e1dabd0c45d3363f 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -49,112 +49,155 @@ This project automates user registration workflows at UAB using **RabbitMQ** to
 
 ### Prerequisites
 
--   macOS
-    
--   Homebrew
-    
--   Python 3.x
+* Launch an alma9 instance on openstack, ssh into it and run the following commands
+
+*Before proceeding, set these environment variables:*
+```
+export RABBITMQ_USER="reggie"                  # RabbitMQ admin username
+export RABBITMQ_PASSWORD="secure_password"     # RabbitMQ admin password
+export CELERY_VHOST="adduser"                  # Celery-dedicated vhost
+export CELERY_USER="celery_user"               # Celery service username
+export CELERY_PASSWORD="celery_pass"           # Celery service password
+```
+
+### 1.1 Configure Package Repositories
 
-### Install and Setup RabbitMQ
+# Import security keys
+sudo rpm --import https://github.com/rabbitmq/signing-keys/releases/download/2.0/rabbitmq-release-signing-key.asc
+sudo rpm --import https://packagecloud.io/rabbitmq/erlang/gpgkey
+sudo rpm --import https://packagecloud.io/rabbitmq/rabbitmq-server/gpgkey
 
-```bash
-brew update
-brew install rabbitmq
+# Erlang Repository (AlmaLinux 8)
+```
+sudo tee /etc/yum.repos.d/rabbitmq_erlang.repo <<'EOL'
+[rabbitmq_erlang]
+name=RabbitMQ Erlang
+baseurl=https://packagecloud.io/rabbitmq/erlang/el/8/$basearch
+gpgcheck=1
+gpgkey=https://packagecloud.io/rabbitmq/erlang/gpgkey
+       https://github.com/rabbitmq/signing-keys/releases/download/2.0/rabbitmq-release-signing-key.asc
+enabled=1
+EOL
 ```
-For CentOS, refer to:
 
--   [RabbitMQ Role Configuration](https://github.com/jprorama/CRI_XCBC/blob/dev/roles/ohpc_rabbitmq/tasks/main.yaml)
-    
--   [VHost Configuration](https://github.com/jprorama/CRI_XCBC/blob/dev/roles/ohpc_add_rabbitmq_agents/tasks/main.yaml)
+# RabbitMQ Server Repository
+```
+sudo tee /etc/yum.repos.d/rabbitmq_server.repo <<'EOL'
+[rabbitmq_server]
+name=RabbitMQ Server
+baseurl=https://packagecloud.io/rabbitmq/rabbitmq-server/el/8/$basearch
+gpgcheck=1
+gpgkey=https://packagecloud.io/rabbitmq/rabbitmq-server/gpgkey
+enabled=1
+EOL
+```
 
-### Add RabbitMQ to Your PATH
+### 1.2 Install Packages
 
 ```
-echo 'export PATH="/usr/local/sbin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc
-source ~/.zshrc  # Reload your shell to apply changes
+sudo yum install -y socat logrotate
+sudo yum install -y erlang-25.3.2 rabbitmq-server-3.12.6
+sudo systemctl enable --now rabbitmq-server
 ```
-### install centos steps 
-https://github.com/jprorama/CRI_XCBC/blob/dev/roles/ohpc_rabbitmq/tasks/main.yaml
-and the 2 vhosts
-https://github.com/jprorama/CRI_XCBC/blob/dev/roles/ohpc_add_rabbitmq_agents/tasks/main.yaml
 
-### Start RabbitMQ
+
+
+## 2. RabbitMQ Configuration
+### 2.1 Create Admin User & Permissions
+
 ```
-brew services start rabbitmq
+sudo rabbitmqctl add_user $RABBITMQ_USER $RABBITMQ_PASSWORD
+sudo rabbitmqctl set_user_tags $RABBITMQ_USER administrator
+sudo rabbitmqctl set_permissions -p / $RABBITMQ_USER ".*" ".*" ".*"
 ```
 
-### Check RabbitMQ Status
+
+### 2.2 Configure Celery Environment
+
 ```
-rabbitmqctl status
+sudo rabbitmqctl add_vhost $CELERY_VHOST
+sudo rabbitmqctl add_user $CELERY_USER $CELERY_PASSWORD
+sudo rabbitmqctl set_permissions -p $CELERY_VHOST $CELERY_USER ".*" ".*" ".*"
 ```
-### Create Config File
+
+## 3. Agent Service Setup
+
+### 3.1 Deploy Agent Codebase
+
 ```
-echo '[{rabbit, [{loopback_users, []}]}].' | sudo tee /etc/rabbitmq/rabbitmq.config
-sudo chown rabbitmq:rabbitmq /etc/rabbitmq/rabbitmq.config
-sudo chmod 644 /etc/rabbitmq/rabbitmq.config
+AGENT_DIR="/cm/shared/rabbitmq_agents"
+sudo git clone https://gitlab.rc.uab.edu/rc/rabbitmq_agents.git $AGENT_DIR
+cd $AGENT_DIR
+sudo git checkout main  # Or specific commit/tag
 ```
-###  Restart Service
+
+### 3.2 Configure Python Environment
+
 ```
-sudo systemctl restart rabbitmq-server
+sudo python3 -m venv $AGENT_DIR/venv
+sudo $AGENT_DIR/venv/bin/pip install -r $AGENT_DIR/requirements.txt
 ```
 
-### Access the Management UI
+### 3.3 Create Agent Configuration
 
--   **URL**:  [http://localhost:15672](http://localhost:15672/)
-    
--   **Credentials**:
-    
-    -   Username:  `guest`
-        
-    -   Password:  `guest`
+Create  `$AGENT_DIR/rabbit_config.py`  with:
+
+```
+# rabbit_config.py
+host = 'localhost'           # Or your cluster host
+port = 5672
+vhost = '$CELERY_VHOST'      # Use actual vhost name
+user = '$CELERY_USER'        # Celery username
+password = '$CELERY_PASSWORD'
+```
 
-### Add Vhost in **rabbit_config.py**
+### 3.4 Systemd Service Setup
 
 ```
-RABBITMQ = {
-    'HOST': 'localhost',
-    'PORT': 5672,
-    'VHOST': 'adduser',
-    'USER': 'reggie',
-    'PASSWORD': 'reggie'
-}
+sudo tee /etc/systemd/system/ood_account_agent.service <<'EOL'
+[Unit]
+Description=User Account Agent
+After=rabbitmq-server.service
+
+[Service]
+Type=simple
+User=root
+WorkingDirectory=/cm/shared/rabbitmq_agents
+ExecStart=/cm/shared/rabbitmq_agents/venv/bin/python agent_main.py
+Restart=on-failure
+Environment="PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1"
+
+[Install]
+WantedBy=multi-user.target
+EOL
+
+sudo systemctl daemon-reload
+sudo systemctl enable --now ood_account_agent
 ```
 
-### Add Celery Vhost 
+## 4. Network Configuration
+### Disable Firewall (Testing Only)
 
 ```
-rabbitmqctl add_vhost adduser
-rabbitmqctl add_user reggie reggie
-rabbitmqctl set_permissions -p adduser reggie ".*" ".*" ".*"
+sudo systemctl stop firewalld
+sudo systemctl disable firewalld
 ```
 
-### WIP Configuration Steps
+## 5. Validation & Testing
+
+```
+# Verify Services 
+systemctl is-active rabbitmq-server ood_account_agent 
+
+# Check RabbitMQ Users  
+sudo rabbitmqctl list_users 
+
+# Inspect Agent Logs 
+journalctl -u ood_account_agent -f  --since  "5m ago"
+
+```
 
-1.  **Bind Queues to  `RegUsr`  Exchange**:  
-    Use these routing keys:
-    
-    -   `request<queuename>`
-        
-    -   `completed<queuename>`
-        
-    -   `verify<queuename>`  
-        _(Replace  `<queuename>`  with your queue’s name, e.g.,  `request_user_reg`)_
-        
-2.  **Deploy Agents**:
-    
-    -   Run the Web UI (`self_reg_app`) for user submissions.
-        
-    -   Execute  `create_account.py`  to process tasks (e.g., UID assignment).
-        
-3.  **Monitor Queues**:  
-    Use RabbitMQ’s management UI or CLI tools to check:
-    
-    -   `task_manager`  for workflow progress.
-        
-    -   `notify user`  for delivery status of emails/SMS.
-        
 
-----------
 
 ## Error Handling