diff --git a/.claude/hooks/session-start.sh b/.claude/hooks/session-start.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..26ca2951
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.claude/hooks/session-start.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+# Cloud-only: in Claude Code on the web, every container starts fresh, so we
+# install the onsager-ai/dev-skills bundle into ~/.claude/skills/ on each
+# session start. Local terminal sessions are skipped so a developer's
+# hand-installed skills are left alone.
+if [ "${CLAUDE_CODE_REMOTE:-}" != "true" ]; then
+  exit 0
+fi
+
+# Best-effort: a transient npm/registry/GitHub blip shouldn't fail the whole
+# session start. On failure we log a warning and let the session continue
+# without the bundle.
+echo "--- installing onsager-ai/dev-skills globally ---"
+if ! npx -y skills add -g onsager-ai/dev-skills --skill '*' -a claude-code; then
+  echo "warning: onsager-ai/dev-skills install failed; session will start without the bundle." >&2
+fi
diff --git a/.claude/settings.json b/.claude/settings.json
index ac1386a4..32fb413c 100644
--- a/.claude/settings.json
+++ b/.claude/settings.json
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
         "hooks": [
           {
             "type": "command",
-            "command": "echo '--- codervisor hooks: no setup needed ---'"
+            "command": "bash .claude/hooks/session-start.sh"
           }
         ]
       }