diff --git a/p/src/commands/ls.rs b/p/src/commands/ls.rs
index d2f99f0..3e881c6 100644
--- a/p/src/commands/ls.rs
+++ b/p/src/commands/ls.rs
@@ -27,8 +27,10 @@ pub fn execute(all: bool) -> Result<()> {
 
     // ── Reconcile running jobs ────────────────────────────────────────────────
     //
-    //    Group running jobs by worker, then make one SSH call per worker to
-    //    check all of them at once. Update and persist any that have finished.
+    // Poll each worker in its own thread so an unreachable worker doesn't
+    // block the display of jobs on reachable ones. poll_jobs uses a 3-second
+    // SSH connect timeout, so the whole ls completes in ~3 s worst-case
+    // regardless of how many workers are down.
 
     let mut by_worker: HashMap<String, Vec<usize>> = HashMap::new();
     for (i, job) in jobs.iter().enumerate() {
@@ -37,23 +39,28 @@ pub fn execute(all: bool) -> Result<()> {
         }
     }
 
-    for (worker_name, indices) in &by_worker {
-        let Some(worker_cfg) = cfg.get_worker(worker_name) else {
-            // Worker was deregistered; mark jobs unknown.
-            for &i in indices {
-                jobs[i].status = JobStatus::Unknown;
-            }
-            continue;
-        };
+    // Stable vec so we can zip with JoinHandles after collecting.
+    let poll_tasks: Vec<(String, Vec<usize>)> = by_worker.into_iter().collect();
 
-        let ids: Vec<&str> = indices.iter().map(|&i| jobs[i].id.as_str()).collect();
+    let handles: Vec<_> = poll_tasks
+        .iter()
+        .map(|(worker_name, indices)| {
+            let worker_cfg = cfg.get_worker(worker_name).cloned();
+            let ids: Vec<String> = indices.iter().map(|&i| jobs[i].id.clone()).collect();
+            std::thread::spawn(move || -> Option<HashMap<String, Option<i32>>> {
+                let w = worker_cfg?;
+                let id_refs: Vec<&str> = ids.iter().map(|s| s.as_str()).collect();
+                ssh::poll_jobs(&w, &id_refs).ok()
+            })
+        })
+        .collect();
 
-        match ssh::poll_jobs(worker_cfg, &ids) {
-            Ok(results) => {
-                let now = chrono::Utc::now().timestamp();
+    let now = chrono::Utc::now().timestamp();
+    for (handle, (_, indices)) in handles.into_iter().zip(poll_tasks.iter()) {
+        match handle.join().unwrap_or(None) {
+            Some(results) => {
                 for &i in indices {
-                    let id = jobs[i].id.clone();
-                    if let Some(Some(ec)) = results.get(&id) {
+                    if let Some(Some(ec)) = results.get(&jobs[i].id) {
                         jobs[i].status = if *ec == 0 {
                             JobStatus::Done
                         } else {
@@ -65,8 +72,7 @@ pub fn execute(all: bool) -> Result<()> {
                     }
                 }
             }
-            Err(_) => {
-                // Worker unreachable; show unknown rather than stale "running".
+            None => {
                 for &i in indices {
                     jobs[i].status = JobStatus::Unknown;
                 }
@@ -81,39 +87,36 @@ pub fn execute(all: bool) -> Result<()> {
 }
 
 fn print_table(jobs: &[Job]) {
-    // Compute column widths from content, with a minimum equal to the header.
-    let id_w = 8; // always show 8-char short IDs
+    let id_w = 8;
     let worker_w = jobs
         .iter()
         .map(|j| j.worker.len())
         .max()
         .unwrap_or(0)
-        .max(6); // "WORKER"
+        .max(6);
     let cwd_w = jobs
         .iter()
         .map(|j| j.cwd_display().len().min(24))
         .max()
         .unwrap_or(0)
-        .max(3); // "CWD"
+        .max(3);
     let cmd_w = jobs
         .iter()
         .map(|j| j.command_display(24).len())
         .max()
         .unwrap_or(0)
-        .max(7); // "COMMAND"
+        .max(7);
     let status_w = jobs
         .iter()
         .map(|j| j.status_display().len())
         .max()
         .unwrap_or(0)
-        .max(6); // "STATUS"
+        .max(6);
 
-    // Header
     println!(
         "{:<id_w$}  {:<worker_w$}  {:<cwd_w$}  {:<cmd_w$}  {:<status_w$}  DURATION",
         "ID", "WORKER", "CWD", "COMMAND", "STATUS",
     );
-    // Separator
     println!(
         "{:<id_w$}  {:<worker_w$}  {:<cwd_w$}  {:<cmd_w$}  {:<status_w$}  --------",
         "-".repeat(id_w),
@@ -138,7 +141,6 @@ fn print_table(jobs: &[Job]) {
     }
 }
 
-/// Truncate a string to `max` display characters, appending `…` if needed.
 fn truncate(s: &str, max: usize) -> String {
     if s.len() > max {
         format!("{}…", &s[..max.saturating_sub(1)])
diff --git a/p/src/commands/worker/register.rs b/p/src/commands/worker/register.rs
index 74d7d05..1e7f110 100644
--- a/p/src/commands/worker/register.rs
+++ b/p/src/commands/worker/register.rs
@@ -37,7 +37,31 @@ pub fn execute(connection: &str, name: Option<&str>) -> Result<()> {
         println!("Registered '{}' and set as default worker.", name);
     } else {
         println!("Registered '{}'.", name);
-        println!("Run 'p default {}' to make it the default.", name);
+        println!("Run 'p worker default {}' to make it the default.", name);
+    }
+
+    // Check that the worker has the tools p needs.
+    let worker = cfg.get_worker(&name).unwrap();
+    print!("Checking worker dependencies... ");
+    match ssh::check_dependencies(worker) {
+        Ok(ref missing) if missing.is_empty() => println!("ok"),
+        Ok(missing) => {
+            println!();
+            println!(
+                "warning: '{}' is missing required tools: {}",
+                name,
+                missing.join(", ")
+            );
+            println!("  install them and re-register, or jobs will fail at launch");
+        }
+        Err(_) => {
+            println!();
+            println!(
+                "note: could not reach '{}' to check dependencies (worker may be offline)",
+                name
+            );
+            println!("  run 'p worker ls --check' once it's available");
+        }
     }
 
     Ok(())
diff --git a/p/src/ssh.rs b/p/src/ssh.rs
index d2d51a8..75fed86 100644
--- a/p/src/ssh.rs
+++ b/p/src/ssh.rs
@@ -50,6 +50,30 @@ pub fn ssh_args(worker: &WorkerConfig) -> Vec<String> {
 
 // ── SSH execution ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
+/// Run a command over SSH with a connect timeout and BatchMode (no interactive
+/// prompts). Used for non-blocking checks where hanging is unacceptable.
+fn run_with_timeout(worker: &WorkerConfig, remote_cmd: &str, timeout_secs: u32) -> Result<String> {
+    let mut args = vec![
+        "-o".to_string(),
+        format!("ConnectTimeout={}", timeout_secs),
+        "-o".to_string(),
+        "BatchMode=yes".to_string(),
+    ];
+    args.extend(ssh_args(worker));
+    args.push(remote_cmd.to_string());
+
+    let out = Command::new("ssh")
+        .args(&args)
+        .output()
+        .context("failed to spawn ssh")?;
+
+    if !out.status.success() {
+        let err = String::from_utf8_lossy(&out.stderr);
+        anyhow::bail!("ssh command failed: {}", err.trim());
+    }
+    Ok(String::from_utf8_lossy(&out.stdout).into_owned())
+}
+
 /// Run a command over SSH with an interactive terminal (inherits stdin/stdout/stderr).
 ///
 /// Forces `TERM=xterm-256color` on the remote to avoid failures with terminal
@@ -132,13 +156,14 @@ pub fn read_job_exitcode(worker: &WorkerConfig, job_id: &str) -> Option<i32> {
 }
 
 /// Poll multiple jobs on one worker in a single SSH call.
+/// Uses a 3-second connect timeout so `p ls` stays responsive with
+/// unreachable workers.
 /// Returns a map of job_id → exit_code (None = still running).
 pub fn poll_jobs(worker: &WorkerConfig, job_ids: &[&str]) -> Result<HashMap<String, Option<i32>>> {
     if job_ids.is_empty() {
         return Ok(HashMap::new());
     }
 
-    // One SSH call: for each job, emit "UUID:exitcode" or "UUID:" if still running.
     let script = format!(
         "for id in {}; do \
             ec=$(cat ~/.p/jobs/$id/exitcode 2>/dev/null); \
@@ -147,7 +172,7 @@ pub fn poll_jobs(worker: &WorkerConfig, job_ids: &[&str]) -> Result<HashMap<Stri
         job_ids.join(" ")
     );
 
-    let output = run_capture(worker, &script)?;
+    let output = run_with_timeout(worker, &script, 3)?;
     let mut map = HashMap::new();
     for line in output.lines() {
         if let Some((id, ec)) = line.split_once(':') {
@@ -162,6 +187,19 @@ pub fn poll_jobs(worker: &WorkerConfig, job_ids: &[&str]) -> Result<HashMap<Stri
     Ok(map)
 }
 
+/// Check that the required worker-side tools (tmux, base64) are installed.
+/// Returns the names of any missing tools. Uses a 5-second timeout so
+/// `p worker register` doesn't hang on offline workers.
+pub fn check_dependencies(worker: &WorkerConfig) -> Result<Vec<String>> {
+    let script = "missing=''; \
+        command -v tmux   >/dev/null 2>&1 || missing=\"$missing tmux\";   \
+        command -v base64 >/dev/null 2>&1 || missing=\"$missing base64\"; \
+        printf '%s' \"$missing\"";
+
+    let out = run_with_timeout(worker, script, 5)?;
+    Ok(out.split_whitespace().map(|s| s.to_string()).collect())
+}
+
 // ── Tests ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 #[cfg(test)]
diff --git a/p/src/sync.rs b/p/src/sync.rs
index 3e7af35..61c9b60 100644
--- a/p/src/sync.rs
+++ b/p/src/sync.rs
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ pub fn push_dir(worker: &WorkerConfig, local_dir: &Path, remote_path: &str) -> R
     let (user_host, port) = parse_connection(&worker.connection);
 
     let mut cmd = Command::new("rsync");
-    cmd.args(["-az", "--filter=:- .gitignore"]);
+    cmd.args(["-az", "--info=progress2", "--filter=:- .gitignore"]);
 
     if let Some(p) = port {
         cmd.arg(format!("-e=ssh -p {}", p));