diff --git a/cli/commands/configure.py b/cli/commands/configure.py
index 7f4c5cb..0ab7ef6 100644
--- a/cli/commands/configure.py
+++ b/cli/commands/configure.py
@@ -20,9 +20,6 @@
 
 PLUGINS = ["CKAN", "Socrata", "ArcGIS"]
 
-# Bucket name must match the `backend "s3"` block in terraform/aws/main.tf.
-TERRAFORM_STATE_BUCKET = "opencontext-terraform-state"
-
 
 def _ensure_state_bucket(bucket_name: str, region: str) -> None:
     """Check that the Terraform S3 state bucket exists; create it if not.
@@ -198,19 +195,8 @@ def _write_tfvars(
 
 
 @friendly_exit
-def configure(
-    state_bucket: str = typer.Option(
-        TERRAFORM_STATE_BUCKET,
-        "--state-bucket",
-        help="S3 bucket name for Terraform state (default: opencontext-terraform-state)",
-    ),
-) -> None:
+def configure() -> None:
     """Interactive wizard to configure your OpenContext MCP server."""
-    # When called programmatically (e.g. in tests), Typer does not resolve
-    # Option defaults — guard against receiving the raw OptionInfo sentinel.
-    if not isinstance(state_bucket, str):
-        state_bucket = TERRAFORM_STATE_BUCKET
-
     project_root = get_project_root()
     terraform_dir = get_terraform_dir()
 
@@ -274,6 +260,19 @@ def configure(
         raise typer.Exit(0)
 
     city_slug = city_name.lower().replace(" ", "-")
+
+    # Prompt for a unique S3 bucket name for Terraform state.
+    # S3 bucket names are globally unique across all AWS accounts, so the
+    # default includes the org city slug to avoid collisions with other
+    # deployments of this project.
+    suggested_bucket = f"opencontext-terraform-state-{city_slug}"
+    state_bucket = questionary.text(
+        "S3 bucket name for Terraform state:",
+        default=suggested_bucket,
+    ).ask()
+    if state_bucket is None:
+        raise typer.Exit(0)
+
     suggested_lambda = f"{city_slug}-opencontext-mcp-{env}"
 
     lambda_name = questionary.text(
@@ -398,6 +397,7 @@ def configure(
     summary.add_row("City", city_name)
     summary.add_row("Environment", env)
     summary.add_row("Plugin", plugin)
+    summary.add_row("Terraform state bucket", state_bucket)
     summary.add_row("Lambda name", lambda_name)
     summary.add_row("AWS region", region)
     summary.add_row("Lambda memory", f"{lambda_memory} MB")
diff --git a/cli/commands/validate.py b/cli/commands/validate.py
index c46075a..98b8552 100644
--- a/cli/commands/validate.py
+++ b/cli/commands/validate.py
@@ -130,36 +130,13 @@ def run_checks(env: str) -> bool:
         ".terraform directory found" if tf_initialized else "Run: opencontext configure",
     ))
 
-    # 7. terraform validate
-    if tf_installed and tf_initialized:
-        try:
-            result = subprocess.run(
-                ["terraform", "validate", "-json"],
-                cwd=terraform_dir,
-                capture_output=True, text=True, timeout=30,
-            )
-            if result.returncode == 0:
-                checks.append(("terraform validate", True, "Configuration valid"))
-            else:
-                error_msg = ""
-                try:
-                    data = json.loads(result.stdout)
-                    error_msg = data.get("error_message", "")
-                except Exception:
-                    pass
-                if not error_msg:
-                    error_msg = (result.stderr or result.stdout or "Validation failed").strip()
-                checks.append(("terraform validate", False, error_msg[:100]))
-        except (FileNotFoundError, subprocess.TimeoutExpired) as e:
-            checks.append(("terraform validate", False, str(e)[:80]))
-    else:
-        checks.append((
-            "terraform validate",
-            False,
-            "Skipped — terraform not installed or not initialized",
-        ))
+    # Note: terraform validate is intentionally skipped here because it
+    # references lambda-deployment.zip, which does not exist until the
+    # packaging step inside `opencontext deploy`. Running validate before
+    # packaging would always fail. Terraform plan (run inside deploy) catches
+    # the same configuration errors after the zip has been created.
 
-    # 8. AWS credentials valid
+    # 7. AWS credentials valid
     try:
         result = subprocess.run(
             ["aws", "sts", "get-caller-identity", "--output", "json"],
@@ -179,7 +156,7 @@ def run_checks(env: str) -> bool:
     except (subprocess.TimeoutExpired, json.JSONDecodeError):
         checks.append(("AWS credentials valid", False, "Run: aws configure"))
 
-    # 9. ACM cert exists for custom domain (only if custom_domain is set)
+    # 8. ACM cert exists for custom domain (only if custom_domain is set)
     if custom_domain:
         try:
             result = subprocess.run(
diff --git a/terraform/bootstrap/variables.tf b/terraform/bootstrap/variables.tf
index 625c8c2..3a87afe 100644
--- a/terraform/bootstrap/variables.tf
+++ b/terraform/bootstrap/variables.tf
@@ -7,5 +7,4 @@ variable "aws_region" {
 variable "state_bucket_name" {
   description = "Name of the S3 bucket for Terraform state"
   type        = string
-  default     = "opencontext-terraform-state"
 }