diff --git a/PLAN-OPERATOR-USB-NEXT.md b/PLAN-OPERATOR-USB-NEXT.md
index d84dd8c4..dd452d21 100644
--- a/PLAN-OPERATOR-USB-NEXT.md
+++ b/PLAN-OPERATOR-USB-NEXT.md
@@ -624,12 +624,13 @@ and let that agent inspect the live system and the shipped source side by side.
 **Goal:** make the live USB self-debuggable without first cloning repositories
 over a possibly flaky network.
 
-**Candidate layout:**
+**Candidate layout:** keep the source snapshots under one operator-facing
+folder so `$HOME` stays uncluttered:
 
 ```text
-/home/clawdie/src/clawdie-iso
-/home/clawdie/src/clawdie-ai
-/home/clawdie/src/colibri
+/home/clawdie/ai/clawdie-iso
+/home/clawdie/ai/clawdie-ai
+/home/clawdie/ai/colibri
 ```
 
 **Implementation notes:**
@@ -640,7 +641,7 @@ over a possibly flaky network.
 - Prefer the exact branch/commit used by the image build, recorded in
   `/usr/local/share/clawdie-iso/build-manifest.json` and visible from
   `hw-report`.
-- The checkouts should be owned by `clawdie:clawdie` and readable/writable from
+- The snapshots should be owned by `clawdie:clawdie` and readable/writable from
   XFCE terminals.
 - Keep provider authentication manual. The image may include code, but it must
   not bake provider credentials.
diff --git a/build.sh b/build.sh
index 7ea73173..cb2f1e36 100755
--- a/build.sh
+++ b/build.sh
@@ -802,6 +802,67 @@ install_live_npm_globals() {
     fi
 }
 
+seed_live_ai_source_repo() {
+    _repo_src="$1"
+    _repo_name="$2"
+    _repo_dest="${MOUNT_POINT}/home/clawdie/ai/${_repo_name}"
+
+    if [ ! -d "${_repo_src}" ]; then
+        echo "    Skipping AI source seed ${_repo_name}: ${_repo_src} not found"
+        return 0
+    fi
+    if ! command -v git >/dev/null 2>&1 || ! git -C "${_repo_src}" rev-parse --git-dir >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+        echo "    Skipping AI source seed ${_repo_name}: not a git worktree"
+        return 0
+    fi
+
+    echo "    Seeding AI source snapshot: ${_repo_name}"
+    rm -rf "${_repo_dest}"
+    mkdir -p "${_repo_dest}"
+    git -C "${_repo_src}" archive --format=tar HEAD | tar -C "${_repo_dest}" -xf -
+
+    _repo_branch=$(git -C "${_repo_src}" symbolic-ref --short -q HEAD 2>/dev/null || echo detached)
+    _repo_commit=$(git -C "${_repo_src}" rev-parse HEAD 2>/dev/null || echo unknown)
+    _repo_origin=$(git -C "${_repo_src}" remote get-url origin 2>/dev/null || echo unknown)
+    _repo_dirty=false
+    if ! git -C "${_repo_src}" diff --quiet 2>/dev/null || ! git -C "${_repo_src}" diff --cached --quiet 2>/dev/null; then
+        _repo_dirty=true
+    fi
+
+    cat > "${_repo_dest}/.clawdie-source.json" <<EOF
+{
+  "name": "$(json_escape "${_repo_name}")",
+  "source_path": "$(json_escape "${_repo_src}")",
+  "origin": "$(json_escape "${_repo_origin}")",
+  "branch": "$(json_escape "${_repo_branch}")",
+  "commit": "$(json_escape "${_repo_commit}")",
+  "dirty_at_build": ${_repo_dirty},
+  "snapshot_note": "git archive of HEAD; uncommitted changes and ignored/private files are not included"
+}
+EOF
+}
+
+install_live_ai_source_snapshots() {
+    echo "    Installing live AI source snapshots..."
+    mkdir -p "${MOUNT_POINT}/home/clawdie/ai"
+    cat > "${MOUNT_POINT}/home/clawdie/ai/README.txt" <<'EOF'
+Clawdie live AI source snapshots
+
+These directories are included so the operator can start a local provider-backed
+Pi session from the live XFCE desktop and inspect the shipped source beside the
+running system.
+
+No API keys, .env files, SSH private keys, build caches, package caches, tmp/
+directories, or uncommitted worktree changes are included. Each snapshot has a
+.clawdie-source.json file recording the source remote, branch, commit, and dirty
+state at image build time.
+EOF
+    seed_live_ai_source_repo "${SCRIPT_DIR}" "clawdie-iso"
+    seed_live_ai_source_repo "${SCRIPT_DIR}/../clawdie-ai" "clawdie-ai"
+    seed_live_ai_source_repo "${SCRIPT_DIR}/../colibri" "colibri"
+    chroot "${MOUNT_POINT}" chown -R clawdie:clawdie /home/clawdie/ai
+}
+
 configure_live_operator_session() {
     echo "    Configuring live operator session..."
 
@@ -1152,6 +1213,8 @@ EOF
         "${MOUNT_POINT}/home/clawdie/Desktop/Clawdie Bootstrap.desktop" \
         "${MOUNT_POINT}/home/clawdie/Desktop/Clawdie Hardware Report.desktop"
 
+    install_live_ai_source_snapshots
+
     # The stock FreeBSD install memstick is intentionally read-only. This live
     # operator USB needs a writable root so SDDM, Xorg, NetworkMgr, logs, and
     # operator diagnostics can create runtime state on the flashed stick.