diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 2ba539c1d9..58ba66aa04 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -227,8 +227,7 @@ jobs:
       - uses: ./.github/actions/prepare-ffmpeg-bin
       - run: bun install --frozen-lockfile
       - run: bun run test:scripts
-      - run: bun run --filter '@hyperframes/parsers' build
-      - run: bun run --filter '@hyperframes/studio-server' build
+      - run: bun run --filter '@hyperframes/{parsers,lint,studio-server}' build
       - run: bun run --cwd packages/core build
       - run: bun run --cwd packages/core build:hyperframes-runtime
       - run: bun run --filter '!@hyperframes/producer' test
@@ -361,8 +360,7 @@ jobs:
       # Build workspace deps so the studio vite.config.ts (loaded by Node) can
       # resolve @hyperframes/core and @hyperframes/studio-server via the "node"
       # export condition (dist).
-      - run: bun run --filter '@hyperframes/parsers' build
-      - run: bun run --filter '@hyperframes/studio-server' build
+      - run: bun run --filter '@hyperframes/{parsers,lint,studio-server}' build
       - run: bun run --cwd packages/core build
       - run: bun run --cwd packages/core build:hyperframes-runtime
       - name: Start studio and check for runtime errors
@@ -575,6 +573,10 @@ jobs:
           test -s /tmp/hf-cli-input.mp4
 
       - name: Smoke-test CLI from monorepo source
+        # init's --skip-skills flag is neutered (see init.ts); opt out of the
+        # GitHub skills check via this env so the smoke test stays offline/fast.
+        env:
+          HYPERFRAMES_SKIP_SKILLS: "1"
         run: |
           set -euo pipefail
           rm -rf /tmp/hf-cli-inside
@@ -628,6 +630,10 @@ jobs:
           npm install -g --prefix /tmp/hf-cli-global "$HF_CLI_TARBALL"
 
       - name: Smoke-test packed CLI outside monorepo
+        # init's --skip-skills flag is neutered (see init.ts); opt out of the
+        # GitHub skills check via this env so the smoke test stays offline/fast.
+        env:
+          HYPERFRAMES_SKIP_SKILLS: "1"
         run: |
           set -euo pipefail
           export PATH="/tmp/hf-cli-global/bin:$PATH"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/windows-render.yml b/.github/workflows/windows-render.yml
index e8d9f5b63a..5bff10743a 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/windows-render.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/windows-render.yml
@@ -199,6 +199,10 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Scaffold canary composition
         shell: pwsh
+        # init's --skip-skills flag is neutered (see init.ts); opt out of the
+        # GitHub skills check via this env so the canary scaffold stays offline.
+        env:
+          HYPERFRAMES_SKIP_SKILLS: "1"
         run: |
           New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path "$env:RUNNER_TEMP\windows-canary" | Out-Null
           cd "$env:RUNNER_TEMP\windows-canary"
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/init.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/init.test.ts
index 6334ea1740..e913d61191 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/init.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/init.test.ts
@@ -18,6 +18,9 @@ function runInit(args: string[]): { status: number; stdout: string; stderr: stri
   const res = spawnSync("bun", ["run", cliEntry, "init", ...args], {
     encoding: "utf-8",
     timeout: 30_000,
+    // The `--skip-skills` flag is neutered (see init.ts); the GitHub skills check
+    // is opted out only via this env var, so tests stay offline and fast.
+    env: { ...process.env, HYPERFRAMES_SKIP_SKILLS: "1" },
   });
   return {
     status: res.status ?? -1,
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/init.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/init.ts
index 03b611974d..a921c002bf 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/init.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/init.ts
@@ -10,7 +10,10 @@ export const examples: Example[] = [
   ["Start from an audio file", "hyperframes init my-video --audio track.mp3"],
   ["Scaffold with Tailwind CSS", "hyperframes init my-video --example blank --tailwind"],
   ["Non-interactive mode (for CI or AI agents)", "hyperframes init my-video --non-interactive"],
-  ["Skip AI coding skills installation", "hyperframes init my-video --skip-skills"],
+  [
+    "Opt out of the GitHub skills check (CI/tests only)",
+    "HYPERFRAMES_SKIP_SKILLS=1 hyperframes init my-video --non-interactive",
+  ],
 ];
 import {
   existsSync,
@@ -601,7 +604,19 @@ async function ensureSkillsCurrent(destDir: string): Promise<void> {
     // installAllSkills installs the full set once globally and mirrors it into
     // every installed agent's global dir — project-independent, so a freshly
     // scaffolded project doesn't need any agent folders yet.
-    await installAllSkills({ cwd: destDir });
+    //
+    // Best-effort: installAllSkills (non-strict here) already swallows its own
+    // failures, but now that --skip-skills no longer escapes this path every
+    // init runs it — including offline ones, where checkSkills throws and we
+    // fall through to "install anyway". Wrap defensively so a skills-install
+    // failure can never break `init` itself; it only warns and proceeds.
+    try {
+      await installAllSkills({ cwd: destDir });
+    } catch (err) {
+      console.log(
+        c.dim(`AI coding skills install skipped: ${err instanceof Error ? err.message : err}`),
+      );
+    }
   } else {
     console.log(c.success("AI coding skills are already up to date."));
   }
@@ -670,7 +685,8 @@ export default defineCommand({
     },
     "skip-skills": {
       type: "boolean",
-      description: "Skip AI coding skills installation",
+      description:
+        "[temporarily ignored] init always checks AI skills against GitHub while the skills.sh registry catches up; set HYPERFRAMES_SKIP_SKILLS=1 to opt out (CI/tests)",
     },
     tailwind: {
       type: "boolean",
@@ -705,13 +721,32 @@ export default defineCommand({
     const videoFlag = args.video;
     const audioFlag = args.audio;
     const skipTranscribe = args["skip-transcribe"] === true;
-    const skipSkills = args["skip-skills"] === true;
+    // Temporary measure while the skills.sh registry sync lags GitHub main: the
+    // `--skip-skills` FLAG is neutered so an agent (or user) that passes it can
+    // NOT dodge the GitHub skills freshness check. The "don't pass --skip-skills"
+    // guidance lives in SKILL.md, which ships through the same laggy skills.sh
+    // channel and can't be relied on to reach the agent — so the guarantee has to
+    // live in the CLI, the one channel that updates promptly (`npx
+    // hyperframes@latest`). CI and unit tests still opt out via the
+    // HYPERFRAMES_SKIP_SKILLS=1 env var, which the agent/user CLI path never sets.
+    // Revert to `args["skip-skills"] === true` once skills.sh catches up.
+    const skipSkills = process.env.HYPERFRAMES_SKIP_SKILLS === "1";
+    const skipSkillsFlagIgnored = args["skip-skills"] === true && !skipSkills;
     const tailwind = args.tailwind === true;
     const nonInteractive = args["non-interactive"] === true;
     const modelFlag = args.model;
     const languageFlag = args.language;
     const interactive = !nonInteractive && process.stdout.isTTY === true;
 
+    if (skipSkillsFlagIgnored) {
+      console.log(
+        c.dim(
+          "Note: --skip-skills is temporarily ignored — init always checks AI skills " +
+            "against GitHub while the skills.sh registry catches up.",
+        ),
+      );
+    }
+
     let resolutionPreset: CanvasResolution | undefined;
     if (args.resolution !== undefined) {
       resolutionPreset = normalizeResolutionFlag(args.resolution);
@@ -1053,7 +1088,8 @@ export default defineCommand({
     clack.note(files.map((f) => c.accent(f)).join("\n"), c.success(`Created ${name}/`));
 
     // Check skills against GitHub and (re)install only if outdated or missing —
-    // init is the one place the full set is pulled. Opt out with --skip-skills.
+    // init is the one place the full set is pulled. The --skip-skills flag is
+    // temporarily neutered (see above); CI/tests opt out via HYPERFRAMES_SKIP_SKILLS=1.
     if (!skipSkills) {
       await ensureSkillsCurrent(destDir);
     }
diff --git a/skills-manifest.json b/skills-manifest.json
index 8296669ac4..165fa14ff2 100644
--- a/skills-manifest.json
+++ b/skills-manifest.json
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
       "files": 1
     },
     "hyperframes": {
-      "hash": "1b35d1424ca18261",
+      "hash": "55f1e72887f8f983",
       "files": 1
     },
     "hyperframes-animation": {
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@
       "files": 115
     },
     "hyperframes-cli": {
-      "hash": "4eda382550997fe8",
+      "hash": "e493e8902805efef",
       "files": 7
     },
     "hyperframes-core": {
diff --git a/skills/hyperframes-cli/SKILL.md b/skills/hyperframes-cli/SKILL.md
index f893d9fd56..026d56c2cc 100644
--- a/skills/hyperframes-cli/SKILL.md
+++ b/skills/hyperframes-cli/SKILL.md
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ Everything runs through `npx hyperframes` unless project instructions specify a
 
 ## Workflow
 
-1. **Scaffold** — `npx hyperframes init my-video` (or `capture` from a URL). `init` also checks the installed skills against the latest on GitHub and updates the global set if any are out of date — keep it on (don't pass `--skip-skills`) so each new project pulls our latest skills.
+1. **Scaffold** — `npx hyperframes init my-video` (or `capture` from a URL). `init` also checks the installed skills against the latest on GitHub and updates the global set if any are out of date. The `--skip-skills` flag is currently neutered (temporary, while the skills.sh registry catches up), so every `init` runs this check and pulls our latest skills regardless.
 2. **Write** — author HTML composition (see the `hyperframes-core` skill)
 3. **Lint** — `npx hyperframes lint`
 4. **Validate** — `npx hyperframes validate` (runtime errors + contrast)
diff --git a/skills/hyperframes-cli/references/init-and-scaffold.md b/skills/hyperframes-cli/references/init-and-scaffold.md
index 85fc11ef46..6c319f1cf2 100644
--- a/skills/hyperframes-cli/references/init-and-scaffold.md
+++ b/skills/hyperframes-cli/references/init-and-scaffold.md
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ Templates: `blank`, `warm-grain`, `play-mode`, `swiss-grid`, `vignelli`, `decisi
 Other useful flags:
 
 - `--resolution` — preset: `landscape` (1920×1080), `portrait` (1080×1920), `landscape-4k`, `portrait-4k`, `square` (1080×1080), `square-4k`. Aliases: `1080p`, `4k`, `uhd`, `1080p-square`, `4k-square`.
-- `--skip-skills` — don't install AI coding skills after scaffold.
+- `--skip-skills` — **temporarily ignored**: `init` always checks AI coding skills against GitHub while the skills.sh registry catches up. To opt out (CI/tests), set the `HYPERFRAMES_SKIP_SKILLS=1` env var instead.
 - `--skip-transcribe` — don't auto-transcribe `--audio` / `--video` with Whisper.
 - `--model`, `--language` — Whisper model / language for the auto-transcription.
 
diff --git a/skills/hyperframes/SKILL.md b/skills/hyperframes/SKILL.md
index 3845b785c1..f446e30f97 100644
--- a/skills/hyperframes/SKILL.md
+++ b/skills/hyperframes/SKILL.md
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ After they run it, re-read the workflow's skill and continue.
 
 ## Keeping skills current
 
-HyperFrames skills are versioned. `npx hyperframes init` checks the installed skills against the latest on GitHub and installs/refreshes the **full** set whenever anything is out of date or missing — so a freshly init'd project always has the complete, latest set (and re-running init on an up-to-date project is a no-op). The check is a quick GitHub round-trip; offline (or rate-limited) it falls back to installing after a short timeout, so init never hard-fails on a network hiccup. The creation workflows scaffold with `init` (no `--skip-skills`), so starting a new project always runs this check and pulls our latest skills from GitHub when they're stale. Opt out only by adding `--skip-skills`.
+HyperFrames skills are versioned. `npx hyperframes init` checks the installed skills against the latest on GitHub and installs/refreshes the **full** set whenever anything is out of date or missing — so a freshly init'd project always has the complete, latest set (and re-running init on an up-to-date project is a no-op). The check is a quick GitHub round-trip; offline (or rate-limited) it falls back to installing after a short timeout, so init never hard-fails on a network hiccup. The creation workflows scaffold with `init`, so starting a new project always runs this check and pulls our latest skills from GitHub when they're stale. The `--skip-skills` flag is currently neutered (a temporary measure while the skills.sh registry catches up): passing it no longer skips the check, so every `init` checks GitHub. CI/tests opt out via the `HYPERFRAMES_SKIP_SKILLS=1` env var.
 
 If a task is behaving unexpectedly, or before a long build, confirm the installed skills are current: