diff --git a/shipkit/__init__.py b/shipkit/__init__.py
index b645bf0..36a3f4c 100644
--- a/shipkit/__init__.py
+++ b/shipkit/__init__.py
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 """Shipkit — CLI-agnostic AI dev productivity kit."""
 
-__version__ = "0.1.14"
+__version__ = "0.1.15"
diff --git a/shipkit/cli.py b/shipkit/cli.py
index e3ea05d..254519c 100644
--- a/shipkit/cli.py
+++ b/shipkit/cli.py
@@ -810,20 +810,17 @@ def run(prompt: tuple[str, ...], no_agent: bool):
     if not no_agent:
         cmd.extend(["--agent", f"shipkit v{__version__}"])
 
-    # Build prompt — inject init hint for first-time projects
-    prompt_str = " ".join(prompt) if prompt else ""
+    # For first-time projects, inject init hint into system prompt
     if is_first_run and not no_agent:
-        init_hint = (
-            "This project hasn't been configured with shipkit yet. "
-            "Offer to run /init to set up project-specific MCP servers and preferences."
-        )
-        if prompt_str:
-            prompt_str = init_hint + " Then: " + prompt_str
-        else:
-            prompt_str = init_hint
-
-    if prompt_str:
-        cmd.append(prompt_str)
+        cmd.extend(["--append-system-prompt", (
+            "IMPORTANT: This is a new project that hasn't been set up with shipkit yet. "
+            "Your FIRST action must be to run the /init skill to detect the tech stack "
+            "and configure project-specific MCP servers. Do this before anything else."
+        )])
+
+    # Pass user prompt if provided
+    if prompt:
+        cmd.append(" ".join(prompt))
 
     click.echo("Launching shipkit on Claude Code...")
     subprocess.run(cmd, check=False)
diff --git a/tests/test_run.py b/tests/test_run.py
index b7c7ce0..4b259f4 100644
--- a/tests/test_run.py
+++ b/tests/test_run.py
@@ -80,9 +80,10 @@ def test_run_first_time_injects_init_hint(self, initialized_home, tmp_repo, monk
 
             assert mock_run.called
             call_args = mock_run.call_args[0][0]
-            # Should include init hint in the prompt
-            prompt_arg = call_args[-1]
-            assert "/init" in prompt_arg
+            # Should include --append-system-prompt with init hint
+            assert "--append-system-prompt" in call_args
+            hint_idx = call_args.index("--append-system-prompt") + 1
+            assert "/init" in call_args[hint_idx]
 
     def test_run_existing_project_no_hint(self, initialized_home, tmp_repo, monkeypatch):
         """Test run command does NOT inject init hint for already-initialized projects."""
@@ -102,8 +103,8 @@ def test_run_existing_project_no_hint(self, initialized_home, tmp_repo, monkeypa
 
             assert mock_run.called
             call_args = mock_run.call_args[0][0]
-            # Should NOT include any init hint (just claude + --agent)
-            assert len(call_args) == 3  # claude, --agent, "shipkit v..."
+            # Should NOT include init hint
+            assert "--append-system-prompt" not in call_args
 
     def test_run_with_prompt(self, initialized_home, tmp_repo, monkeypatch):
         """Test run command with initial prompt."""