diff --git a/build.sh b/build.sh
index a9ef60e6..9d0af1d9 100755
--- a/build.sh
+++ b/build.sh
@@ -127,7 +127,7 @@ fi
 echo "==> clawdie-iso build"
 echo "    ISO     : ${ISO_VERSION}-${BUILD_CHANNEL} (zot ${ZOT_RESOLVED_VERSION})"
 echo "    FreeBSD : ${FREEBSD_VERSION} ${FREEBSD_ARCH}"
-echo "    Clawdie : ${CLAWDIE_REF}"
+echo "    Clawdie : CLI phased out — Colibri is the control plane"
 echo "    Desktop : ${DEFAULT_DESKTOP}"
 echo "    Pkg     : ${DEFAULT_PKG_BRANCH}"
 echo "    GPU     : ${GPU_DRIVER:-auto-detect}"
@@ -304,13 +304,7 @@ resolve_colibri_paths() {
     fi
 }
 
-resolve_clawdie_ai_repo() {
-    _resolved_clawdie_ai_repo="${CLAWDIE_AI_REPO:-/home/clawdie/ai/clawdie-ai}"
-    case "${_resolved_clawdie_ai_repo}" in
-        /*) ;;
-        *) _resolved_clawdie_ai_repo="${SCRIPT_DIR}/${_resolved_clawdie_ai_repo}" ;;
-    esac
-}
+# clawdie-ai retired — Colibri is the control plane.
 
 preflight_colibri_artifacts() {
     [ "${FEATURE_COLIBRI:-NO}" = "YES" ] || return 0
@@ -419,54 +413,6 @@ json_escape() {
     printf '%s' "$1" | sed 's/\\/\\\\/g; s/"/\\"/g'
 }
 
-resolve_clawdie_commit() {
-    _ref="$1"
-    _repo="https://code.smilepowered.org/clawdie/clawdie-ai.git"
-    if printf '%s' "$_ref" | grep -Eq '^[0-9a-fA-F]{40}$'; then
-        printf '%s\n' "$_ref"
-        return 0
-    fi
-    if command -v git >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-        git ls-remote "$_repo" \
-            "refs/heads/${_ref}" \
-            "refs/tags/${_ref}^{}" \
-            "refs/tags/${_ref}" 2>/dev/null \
-            | awk '
-                $2 ~ /\^\{\}$/ { print $1; found = 1; exit }
-                first == "" { first = $1 }
-                END { if (!found && first != "") print first }
-            '
-    fi
-}
-
-resolve_latest_clawdie_tag() {
-    _repo_api="https://code.smilepowered.org/api/v1/repos/clawdie/clawdie-ai"
-    _repo_git="https://code.smilepowered.org/clawdie/clawdie-ai.git"
-
-    _tag=$(
-        curl -fsS "${_repo_api}/releases?limit=20" 2>/dev/null \
-            | grep -o '"tag_name":"[^"]*"' \
-            | head -1 \
-            | cut -d'"' -f4
-    )
-    if [ -n "$_tag" ]; then
-        printf '%s\n' "$_tag"
-        return 0
-    fi
-
-    git ls-remote --tags "$_repo_git" 2>/dev/null \
-        | awk -F/ '$2 == "tags" && $3 ~ /^v[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+$/ { print $3 }' \
-        | sed 's/^v//' \
-        | sort -t. -k1,1n -k2,2n -k3,3n \
-        | tail -n 1 \
-        | sed 's/^/v/'
-}
-
-is_pinned_clawdie_ref() {
-    _ref="$1"
-    printf '%s' "$_ref" | grep -Eq '^[0-9a-fA-F]{40}$|^v[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+$'
-}
-
 # Assert a repo has no uncommitted *or untracked* changes. `git status --porcelain`
 # is used (not `git diff`) so stray untracked files — which would change the build
 # yet pass a diff-only check — also fail the gate. Increments _release_errors on a
@@ -492,9 +438,6 @@ check_release_gate() {
 
     assert_clean_repo "clawdie-iso" "${SCRIPT_DIR}"
 
-    resolve_clawdie_ai_repo
-    assert_clean_repo "clawdie-ai" "${_resolved_clawdie_ai_repo}"
-
     if [ "${FEATURE_COLIBRI:-NO}" = "YES" ]; then
         resolve_colibri_paths
         assert_clean_repo "colibri" "${_resolved_colibri_repo}"
@@ -544,17 +487,7 @@ write_build_manifest() {
     fi
     # Clawdie-AI provenance: the image stages a git checkout of the AI source,
     # so record whether the tree is modified at build time.
-    _clawdie_ai_modified="null"
-    if command -v git >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-        resolve_clawdie_ai_repo
-        if git -C "${_resolved_clawdie_ai_repo}" rev-parse --git-dir >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-            if [ -z "$(git -C "${_resolved_clawdie_ai_repo}" status --porcelain 2>/dev/null)" ]; then
-                _clawdie_ai_modified="false"
-            else
-                _clawdie_ai_modified="true"
-            fi
-        fi
-    fi
+    _clawdie_ai_modified="(retired)"
     if [ -n "${LIVE_SSH_PUBKEY_FP:-}" ]; then
         _live_ssh_pubkey_fp_json="\"$(json_escape "${LIVE_SSH_PUBKEY_FP}")\""
     fi
@@ -607,8 +540,8 @@ write_build_manifest() {
   "build_channel": "$(json_escape "${BUILD_CHANNEL}")",
   "freebsd_version": "$(json_escape "${FREEBSD_VERSION}")",
   "freebsd_arch": "$(json_escape "${FREEBSD_ARCH}")",
-  "clawdie_ai_ref": "$(json_escape "${CLAWDIE_REF}")",
-  "clawdie_ai_commit": "$(json_escape "${CLAWDIE_AI_COMMIT:-unknown}")",
+  "clawdie_ai_ref": "(retired)",
+  "clawdie_ai_commit": "(retired)",
   "clawdie_ai_modified": ${_clawdie_ai_modified:-null},
   "pi_version": "$(json_escape "${_pi_version:-unknown}")",
   "live_ssh_pubkey_fp": ${_live_ssh_pubkey_fp_json},
@@ -1055,15 +988,15 @@ install_colibri_service() {
         echo "      colibri skills seeded: 6 entries"
     fi
 
-    # Import clawdie-ai skill definitions into the catalog.
+    # Import colibri skill definitions into the catalog.
     # Reads .agent/skills/*/SKILL.md and registers name + description.
-    resolve_clawdie_ai_repo
-    _clawdie_ai_dir="${_resolved_clawdie_ai_repo}"
-    if [ -d "${_clawdie_ai_dir}/.agent/skills" ]; then
-        "${SCRIPT_DIR}/scripts/import-clawdie-skills.sh" \
-            "${_clawdie_ai_dir}" "${MOUNT_POINT}"
+    resolve_colibri_paths
+    _colibri_dir="${_resolved_colibri_repo}"
+    if [ -d "${_colibri_dir}/.agent/skills" ]; then
+        "${SCRIPT_DIR}/scripts/import-colibri-skills.sh" \
+            "${_colibri_dir}" "${MOUNT_POINT}"
     else
-        echo "    clawdie-ai checkout not found, skipping skill import"
+        echo "    colibri .agent/skills not found, skipping skill import"
     fi
 }
 
@@ -2265,29 +2198,26 @@ else
 fi
 
 # --- step 4: fetch + prepare Clawdie-AI tarball (offline-ready) ---
+# Skip when Colibri is the control plane — the TypeScript AI tarball
+# is no longer needed for firstboot.
+if [ "${FEATURE_COLIBRI:-NO}" = "YES" ]; then
+    echo "==> [4/7] Clawdie-AI tarball skipped (FEATURE_COLIBRI=YES — Colibri is the control plane)"
+else
 # Resolve "latest" from Forgejo releases first, then tags.
 if [ "${CLAWDIE_REF:-${CLAWDIE_VERSION:-}}" = "latest" ] || [ -z "${CLAWDIE_REF:-}" ]; then
     echo "==> [4/7] Resolving latest Clawdie-AI version..."
-    CLAWDIE_VERSION=$(resolve_latest_clawdie_tag | sed 's/^v//')
+    CLAWDIE_VERSION=$(git ls-remote --tags https://code.smilepowered.org/clawdie/clawdie-ai.git 2>/dev/null | awk -F/ '$2 == "tags" && $3 ~ /^v[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+$/ { print $3 }' | sed 's/^v//' | sort -t. -k1,1n -k2,2n -k3,3n | tail -n 1 | sed 's/^/v/')
     if [ -z "$CLAWDIE_VERSION" ]; then
-        echo "ERROR: could not resolve latest Clawdie-AI release/tag from Forgejo."
-        echo "       Pin --clawdie-ref main or --clawdie-version X.Y.Z explicitly."
+        echo "ERROR: could not resolve latest Clawdie-AI release/tag."
         exit 1
     fi
     CLAWDIE_REF="v${CLAWDIE_VERSION}"
     echo "    Resolved: ${CLAWDIE_REF}"
 fi
-
-CLAWDIE_AI_COMMIT=$(resolve_clawdie_commit "$CLAWDIE_REF" | head -n 1)
+CLAWDIE_AI_COMMIT=$(git ls-remote https://code.smilepowered.org/clawdie/clawdie-ai.git "refs/heads/${CLAWDIE_REF}" "refs/tags/${CLAWDIE_REF}^{}" "refs/tags/${CLAWDIE_REF}" 2>/dev/null | head -1 | awk '{print $1}')
 CLAWDIE_AI_COMMIT="${CLAWDIE_AI_COMMIT:-unknown}"
 echo "    Clawdie commit: ${CLAWDIE_AI_COMMIT}"
 
-if [ "$CLAWDIE_AI_COMMIT" = "unknown" ] && [ "$SKIP_PKG_FETCH" -eq 1 ] && ! is_pinned_clawdie_ref "$CLAWDIE_REF"; then
-    echo "ERROR: cannot safely skip the fetch for moving Clawdie-AI ref '${CLAWDIE_REF}' without resolving its commit."
-    echo "       Run without --skip-fetch / --skip-fetch-pkg, or pin --clawdie-version / --clawdie-ref to a commit."
-    exit 1
-fi
-
 if [ "$CLAWDIE_AI_COMMIT" != "unknown" ]; then
     CLAWDIE_ARCHIVE_REF="$CLAWDIE_AI_COMMIT"
     CLAWDIE_CACHE_KEY="$CLAWDIE_AI_COMMIT"
@@ -2369,6 +2299,7 @@ EOF
 else
     echo "==> [4/7] Clawdie-AI offline tarball cached."
 fi
+fi  # FEATURE_COLIBRI guard (step 4)
 
 # Exit here if --fetch-only (CI package pre-fetch step, no root required)
 if [ "$FETCH_ONLY" -eq 1 ]; then
@@ -2612,7 +2543,9 @@ if [ -d "$NPM_GLOBALS_DIR" ]; then
     echo "    Bundled npm-globals: ${NPM_GLOBAL_TARBALL_COUNT} tarballs"
 fi
 install_live_npm_globals
-cp "${CLAWDIE_TARBALL_ISO}" "${USB_SHARE}/clawdie-ai.tar.gz"
+if [ "${FEATURE_COLIBRI:-NO}" != "YES" ]; then
+    cp "${CLAWDIE_TARBALL_ISO}" "${USB_SHARE}/clawdie-ai.tar.gz"
+fi
 cp "${SCRIPT_DIR}/build.cfg" "${USB_SHARE}/"
 write_build_manifest "${USB_SHARE}/build-manifest.json"
 
diff --git a/scripts/import-colibri-skills.sh b/scripts/import-colibri-skills.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..73cbc6a2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/import-colibri-skills.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+# Import colibri skill definitions into the colibri skills catalog.
+#
+# Reads .agent/skills/*/SKILL.md from a colibri checkout, extracts
+# YAML frontmatter (name, description), derives category, and inserts
+# into the colibri SQLite coordination database.
+#
+# Usage during ISO build:
+#   scripts/import-clawdie-skills.sh /path/to/colibri /path/to/mount-point
+
+set -eu
+
+COLIBRI="${1:?usage: $0 <colibri-dir> <mount-point>}"
+MOUNT_POINT="${2:?usage: $0 <colibri-dir> <mount-point>}"
+DB="${MOUNT_POINT}/var/db/colibri/colibri.sqlite"
+
+if [ ! -d "$COLIBRI/.agent/skills" ]; then
+    echo "    colibri skills dir not found, skipping import"
+    exit 0
+fi
+
+if ! command -v sqlite3 >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    echo "    sqlite3 not available, skipping skills import"
+    exit 0
+fi
+
+# Ensure the skills table exists
+sqlite3 "$DB" "CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS skills (
+    id TEXT PRIMARY KEY NOT NULL,
+    name TEXT NOT NULL UNIQUE,
+    description TEXT,
+    category TEXT,
+    created_at TEXT NOT NULL
+);" 2>/dev/null || true
+
+NOW=$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)
+IMPORTED=0
+SKIPPED=0
+
+for skill_md in "$COLIBRI"/.agent/skills/*/SKILL.md; do
+    [ -f "$skill_md" ] || continue
+    
+    # Extract YAML frontmatter between --- markers
+    frontmatter=$(sed -n '/^---$/,/^---$/p' "$skill_md" | sed '1d;$d')
+    
+    # Extract name (first "name:" line after frontmatter)
+    name=$(echo "$frontmatter" | grep -m1 '^name:' | sed 's/^name: *//' | tr -d '"')
+    [ -n "$name" ] || continue
+    
+    # Extract description
+    description=$(echo "$frontmatter" | sed -n '/^description:/,/^[a-z]/p' | sed '$d' | sed 's/^description: *//' | tr '\n' ' ' | sed 's/  */ /g' | sed 's/^ *//;s/ *$//')
+    # Handle multi-line descriptions (| indicator)
+    if echo "$description" | grep -q '^|$'; then
+        description=$(echo "$frontmatter" | awk '/^description:/{found=1; next} /^[a-z]/{if(found) exit} found{print}' | tr '\n' ' ' | sed 's/  */ /g' | sed 's/^ *//;s/ *$//')
+    fi
+    [ -n "$description" ] || description="$name skill"
+    
+    # Derive category from skill name prefix
+    case "$name" in
+        git-*)         category="git" ;;
+        db-*|postgres*) category="database" ;;
+        zfs-*)         category="zfs" ;;
+        add-*)         category="integration" ;;
+        freebsd-*)     category="freebsd" ;;
+        ansible-*)     category="automation" ;;
+        *)             category="clawdie" ;;
+    esac
+    
+    # Override category if compatibility field indicates FreeBSD
+    if echo "$frontmatter" | grep -q 'compatibility:.*FreeBSD'; then
+        category="freebsd"
+    fi
+    
+    id=$(uuidgen 2>/dev/null || python3 -c "import uuid; print(uuid.uuid4())" 2>/dev/null || echo "skill-$(echo "$name" | md5)")
+    
+    sqlite3 "$DB" "INSERT OR IGNORE INTO skills (id, name, description, category, created_at)
+        VALUES ('$id', '$(echo "$name" | sed "s/'/''/g")', '$(echo "$description" | sed "s/'/''/g")', '$category', '$NOW');" 2>/dev/null && IMPORTED=$((IMPORTED + 1)) || SKIPPED=$((SKIPPED + 1))
+done
+
+chroot "$MOUNT_POINT" chown colibri:colibri /var/db/colibri/colibri.sqlite 2>/dev/null || true
+echo "    colibri skills: $IMPORTED imported, $SKIPPED skipped"