diff --git a/src/ucode/cli.py b/src/ucode/cli.py
index 16367e9..602ae1a 100644
--- a/src/ucode/cli.py
+++ b/src/ucode/cli.py
@@ -90,7 +90,10 @@
     purge_cross_workspace_mcp_residue,
     revert_mcp_configs,
 )
-from ucode.skills_download import configure_skills_download_command
+from ucode.skills_download import (
+    configure_skills_download_command,
+    download_managed_skills_on_launch,
+)
 from ucode.smart_routing import claude_routing, codex_routing
 from ucode.state import (
     STATE_PATH,
@@ -1456,13 +1459,47 @@ def _register_managed_mcp_servers(managed: dict, tool: str, state: dict) -> None
         print_note(f"Registered workspace MCP server(s) for {TOOL_SPECS[tool]['display']}: {names}")
 
 
+def _managed_skill_locations(managed: dict) -> list[str]:
+    """The ``<catalog>.<schema>`` skill locations the admin published, or ``[]``."""
+    return [
+        loc
+        for loc in ((managed.get("skills") or {}).get("names") or [])
+        if isinstance(loc, str) and loc
+    ]
+
+
+def _download_managed_skills(managed: dict, state: dict) -> None:
+    """Download the admin-published skill schemas to disk (user scope).
+
+    Registering the skills MCP connection (see :func:`_apply_managed_skills`) exposes the skill
+    *tools* over the gateway, but the agent's ``/skills`` picker reads skill bundles from
+    ``~/.claude/skills`` / ``~/.agents/skills`` on disk. Without this download those directories stay
+    empty, so a workspace-published skill never shows up in ``/skills``. Skills already on disk are
+    left untouched, so a steady-state launch only lists each schema and writes nothing. Best-effort:
+    a failure here never blocks the launch.
+    """
+    locations = _managed_skill_locations(managed)
+    if not locations:
+        return
+    try:
+        token = get_databricks_token(state["workspace"], state.get("profile"))
+        written = download_managed_skills_on_launch(state["workspace"], token, locations)
+    except RuntimeError as exc:
+        print_warning(f"Could not download your workspace's skills: {exc}")
+        return
+    if written:
+        print_note(f"Downloaded workspace skill(s) to disk: {', '.join(written)}")
+
+
 def _apply_managed_skills(managed: dict, tool: str, state: dict) -> None:
-    """Register the managed config's skill schemas on ``tool``'s skills MCP connection.
+    """Register the managed config's skill schemas on ``tool``'s skills MCP connection and disk.
 
     Sibling of :func:`_register_managed_mcp_servers` for the skills registry: the managed config
     lists the skill schemas the admin published, and nothing else on the launch path routes them to
     the agent. ``apply_managed_skills`` persists the connection (and the applied set, for diffing a
-    later removal) into ``state`` itself. A failure here never blocks the launch.
+    later removal) into ``state`` itself, then ``_download_managed_skills`` writes the skill bundles
+    to disk so the agent's ``/skills`` picker lists them. A failure in either step never blocks the
+    launch.
     """
     try:
         applied = apply_managed_skills(
@@ -1475,12 +1512,13 @@ def _apply_managed_skills(managed: dict, tool: str, state: dict) -> None:
         )
     except RuntimeError as exc:
         print_warning(f"Could not register your workspace's skills: {exc}")
-        return
-    if applied:
-        names = ", ".join(applied)
-        print_note(
-            f"Registered workspace skill schema(s) for {TOOL_SPECS[tool]['display']}: {names}"
-        )
+    else:
+        if applied:
+            names = ", ".join(applied)
+            print_note(
+                f"Registered workspace skill schema(s) for {TOOL_SPECS[tool]['display']}: {names}"
+            )
+    _download_managed_skills(managed, state)
 
 
 def _launch_tool(
diff --git a/src/ucode/skills_download.py b/src/ucode/skills_download.py
index e6aa9d9..2168b52 100644
--- a/src/ucode/skills_download.py
+++ b/src/ucode/skills_download.py
@@ -396,6 +396,43 @@ def download_skills(
         )
 
 
+def download_managed_skills_on_launch(
+    workspace: str, token: str, locations: list[str], path: str | None = None
+) -> list[str]:
+    """Download admin-published skills to disk so the agent's ``/skills`` lists them.
+
+    Runs on the managed launch path: the config only registers the skills MCP
+    connection, so nothing else writes the bundles that ``/skills`` reads. Writes
+    only skills not already on disk -- no overwrite prompt, so the launch never
+    blocks on input and a developer's own same-named skill is never clobbered.
+    Best-effort and never raises, so it can't block the launch. Returns the bundle
+    names newly written.
+    """
+    roots = skill_dir_roots(path)
+    written: list[str] = []
+    for location in locations:
+        if location.count(".") != 1:
+            continue
+        catalog, schema = location.split(".")
+        refs, reason = list_schema_skills(workspace, token, catalog, schema)
+        if reason:
+            print_warning(f"Could not list workspace skills in `{location}`: {reason}.")
+            continue
+        refs = _reject_bundle_name_collisions(refs, location=location)
+        missing = [ref for ref in refs if not existing_skill_on_disk(roots, ref.bundle_name)]
+        if not missing:
+            continue
+        bundles = _fetch_bundles(workspace, token, catalog, schema, missing)
+        for ref in missing:
+            files, reason = bundles[ref.securable_name]
+            if reason or files is None:
+                print_warning(f"Skipping `{location}.{ref.securable_name}`: {reason}.")
+                continue
+            write_skill(roots, ref, files)
+            written.append(ref.bundle_name)
+    return written
+
+
 def configure_skills_download_command(
     locations: list[str], *, path: str | None, skills: set[str] | None = None
 ) -> int:
diff --git a/tests/test_cli.py b/tests/test_cli.py
index 7125528..7daa4bf 100644
--- a/tests/test_cli.py
+++ b/tests/test_cli.py
@@ -681,6 +681,76 @@ def test_path_without_location_exit_1(self):
         mock_download.assert_not_called()
 
 
+class TestApplyManagedSkills:
+    """The launch path both registers the skills MCP connection and downloads bundles to disk."""
+
+    def _state(self):
+        return {"workspace": "https://example.databricks.com", "profile": "prod"}
+
+    def test_downloads_managed_skill_schemas_to_disk(self):
+        managed = {"skills": {"names": ["main.default", "ml.prod"]}}
+        with (
+            patch("ucode.cli.apply_managed_skills", return_value=["main.default"]) as mock_apply,
+            patch("ucode.cli.get_databricks_token", return_value="tok") as mock_token,
+            patch(
+                "ucode.cli.download_managed_skills_on_launch", return_value=["triage"]
+            ) as mock_dl,
+        ):
+            from ucode import cli
+
+            cli._apply_managed_skills(managed, "claude", self._state())
+
+        mock_apply.assert_called_once()
+        mock_token.assert_called_once_with("https://example.databricks.com", "prod")
+        mock_dl.assert_called_once_with(
+            "https://example.databricks.com", "tok", ["main.default", "ml.prod"]
+        )
+
+    def test_no_managed_skills_skips_the_download(self):
+        with (
+            patch("ucode.cli.apply_managed_skills", return_value=[]),
+            patch("ucode.cli.get_databricks_token") as mock_token,
+            patch("ucode.cli.download_managed_skills_on_launch") as mock_dl,
+        ):
+            from ucode import cli
+
+            cli._apply_managed_skills({}, "claude", self._state())
+
+        mock_token.assert_not_called()
+        mock_dl.assert_not_called()
+
+    def test_download_still_runs_when_mcp_registration_fails(self):
+        # A failure registering the MCP connection must not stop the disk download — the two are
+        # independent ways skills reach the agent, and /skills depends only on the disk write.
+        with (
+            patch("ucode.cli.apply_managed_skills", side_effect=RuntimeError("boom")),
+            patch("ucode.cli.get_databricks_token", return_value="tok"),
+            patch("ucode.cli.download_managed_skills_on_launch", return_value=[]) as mock_dl,
+        ):
+            from ucode import cli
+
+            cli._apply_managed_skills(
+                {"skills": {"names": ["main.default"]}}, "claude", self._state()
+            )
+
+        mock_dl.assert_called_once()
+
+    def test_download_failure_never_blocks_launch(self):
+        with (
+            patch("ucode.cli.apply_managed_skills", return_value=[]),
+            patch("ucode.cli.get_databricks_token", side_effect=RuntimeError("no auth")),
+            patch("ucode.cli.download_managed_skills_on_launch") as mock_dl,
+        ):
+            from ucode import cli
+
+            # Must not raise.
+            cli._apply_managed_skills(
+                {"skills": {"names": ["main.default"]}}, "claude", self._state()
+            )
+
+        mock_dl.assert_not_called()
+
+
 class TestStatusSkillsSection:
     def _run(self, state):
         with patch("ucode.cli.load_state", return_value=state):
diff --git a/tests/test_skills_download.py b/tests/test_skills_download.py
index a7e7924..c792701 100644
--- a/tests/test_skills_download.py
+++ b/tests/test_skills_download.py
@@ -610,6 +610,95 @@ def test_none_skill_filter_downloads_everything(self, tmp_path, monkeypatch):
         assert (tmp_path / ".claude/skills/b/SKILL.md").exists()
 
 
+class TestDownloadManagedSkillsOnLaunch:
+    def test_writes_missing_skills_and_returns_their_bundle_names(self, tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+        monkeypatch.setattr(
+            sd, "list_schema_skills", lambda *a, **k: ([ref("triage"), ref("pii")], None)
+        )
+        monkeypatch.setattr(
+            sd,
+            "fetch_skill_bundle",
+            lambda ws, tok, c, s, leaf: ({"SKILL.md": leaf.encode()}, None),
+        )
+
+        written = sd.download_managed_skills_on_launch(WS, "token", ["main.default"], str(tmp_path))
+
+        assert sorted(written) == ["pii", "triage"]
+        assert (tmp_path / ".claude/skills/triage/SKILL.md").read_bytes() == b"triage"
+        assert (tmp_path / ".agents/skills/pii/SKILL.md").read_bytes() == b"pii"
+
+    def test_skips_already_downloaded_skills_without_prompting(self, tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+        roots = skill_dir_roots(str(tmp_path))
+        write_skill(roots, ref("triage"), {"SKILL.md": b"kept"})
+        monkeypatch.setattr(
+            sd, "list_schema_skills", lambda *a, **k: ([ref("triage"), ref("pii")], None)
+        )
+        fetched = []
+        monkeypatch.setattr(
+            sd,
+            "fetch_skill_bundle",
+            lambda ws, tok, c, s, leaf: fetched.append(leaf) or ({"SKILL.md": b"new"}, None),
+        )
+        monkeypatch.setattr(sd, "prompt_yes_no", lambda msg: pytest.fail(f"prompted: {msg}"))
+
+        written = sd.download_managed_skills_on_launch(WS, "token", ["main.default"], str(tmp_path))
+
+        # Only the missing one is fetched; the existing skill is left untouched.
+        assert fetched == ["pii"]
+        assert written == ["pii"]
+        assert (roots[0] / "triage/SKILL.md").read_bytes() == b"kept"
+
+    def test_nothing_missing_fetches_nothing(self, tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+        roots = skill_dir_roots(str(tmp_path))
+        write_skill(roots, ref("triage"), {"SKILL.md": b"kept"})
+        monkeypatch.setattr(sd, "list_schema_skills", lambda *a, **k: ([ref("triage")], None))
+        monkeypatch.setattr(
+            sd, "fetch_skill_bundle", lambda *a, **k: pytest.fail("should not fetch")
+        )
+
+        assert (
+            sd.download_managed_skills_on_launch(WS, "token", ["main.default"], str(tmp_path)) == []
+        )
+
+    def test_list_failure_warns_and_skips_location(self, tmp_path, monkeypatch, capsys):
+        monkeypatch.setattr(sd, "list_schema_skills", lambda *a, **k: ([], "HTTP 404 Not Found"))
+        monkeypatch.setattr(
+            sd, "fetch_skill_bundle", lambda *a, **k: pytest.fail("should not fetch")
+        )
+
+        assert (
+            sd.download_managed_skills_on_launch(WS, "token", ["main.default"], str(tmp_path)) == []
+        )
+        assert "Could not list workspace skills in `main.default`" in capsys.readouterr().out
+
+    def test_bundle_failure_skips_that_skill_only(self, tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+        monkeypatch.setattr(
+            sd, "list_schema_skills", lambda *a, **k: ([ref("good"), ref("bad")], None)
+        )
+        monkeypatch.setattr(
+            sd,
+            "fetch_skill_bundle",
+            lambda ws, tok, c, s, leaf: (
+                ({"SKILL.md": b"ok"}, None) if leaf == "good" else (None, "HTTP 500 Server Error")
+            ),
+        )
+
+        written = sd.download_managed_skills_on_launch(WS, "token", ["main.default"], str(tmp_path))
+
+        assert written == ["good"]
+        assert (tmp_path / ".claude/skills/good/SKILL.md").read_bytes() == b"ok"
+        assert not (tmp_path / ".claude/skills/bad").exists()
+
+    def test_malformed_location_is_skipped(self, tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+        monkeypatch.setattr(
+            sd, "list_schema_skills", lambda *a, **k: pytest.fail("should not list a bad location")
+        )
+
+        assert (
+            sd.download_managed_skills_on_launch(WS, "token", ["not-a-schema"], str(tmp_path)) == []
+        )
+
+
 class TestConfigureSkillsDownloadCommand:
     def _stub(self, monkeypatch):
         calls: dict[str, object] = {}