diff --git a/.github/actions/create-pull-request/action.yml b/.github/actions/create-pull-request/action.yml
index c211663474f..d58dd17aeb8 100644
--- a/.github/actions/create-pull-request/action.yml
+++ b/.github/actions/create-pull-request/action.yml
@@ -29,6 +29,10 @@ inputs:
     description: 'Set to true if the branch is already pushed remotely (skips commit/push)'
     required: false
     default: 'false'
+  draft:
+    description: 'Create the pull request as a draft'
+    required: false
+    default: 'false'
 outputs:
   pull-request-number:
     description: 'The pull request number'
@@ -91,6 +95,7 @@ runs:
         PR_TITLE: ${{ inputs.title }}
         PR_BODY: ${{ inputs.body }}
         LABELS: ${{ inputs.labels }}
+        DRAFT: ${{ inputs.draft }}
       run: |
         # Check if a PR already exists for this branch
         EXISTING_PR=$(gh pr list --head "$BRANCH" --base "$BASE" --json number,url --jq '.[0] // empty')
@@ -133,12 +138,18 @@ runs:
           trap 'rm -f "$BODY_FILE"' EXIT
           printf '%s\n' "$PR_BODY" > "$BODY_FILE"
 
+          DRAFT_ARGS=()
+          if [ "$DRAFT" = "true" ]; then
+            DRAFT_ARGS+=(--draft)
+          fi
+
           # Create the pull request without eval — all args are properly quoted
           PR_URL=$(gh pr create \
             --title "$PR_TITLE" \
             --body-file "$BODY_FILE" \
             --base "$BASE" \
             --head "$BRANCH" \
+            "${DRAFT_ARGS[@]}" \
             "${LABEL_ARGS[@]}")
 
           rm -f "$BODY_FILE"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/update-aspire-skills-bundle.yml b/.github/workflows/update-aspire-skills-bundle.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..ac28ca9dad8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/update-aspire-skills-bundle.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+name: Update Aspire Skills Bundle
+
+on:
+  workflow_dispatch:
+    inputs:
+      version:
+        description: "Aspire skills release version to embed. Defaults to the currently pinned version."
+        required: false
+        type: string
+  schedule:
+    - cron: '0 17 * * *' # 9am PT / 17:00 UTC
+
+permissions:
+  contents: write
+  pull-requests: write
+
+jobs:
+  update-and-pr:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    if: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'microsoft' }}
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # v6.0.2
+
+      - name: Generate GitHub App Token for bundle update
+        id: update-token
+        uses: actions/create-github-app-token@1b10c78c7865c340bc4f6099eb2f838309f1e8c3 # v3.1.1
+        with:
+          app-id: ${{ secrets.ASPIRE_BOT_APP_ID }}
+          private-key: ${{ secrets.ASPIRE_BOT_PRIVATE_KEY }}
+
+      - name: Update embedded Aspire skills bundle
+        shell: pwsh
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ steps.update-token.outputs.token }}
+          VERSION: ${{ inputs.version }}
+        run: |
+          if ([string]::IsNullOrWhiteSpace($env:VERSION)) {
+            ./eng/scripts/update-aspire-skills-bundle.ps1
+          }
+          else {
+            ./eng/scripts/update-aspire-skills-bundle.ps1 -Version $env:VERSION
+          }
+
+      - name: Restore solution
+        run: ./restore.sh
+
+      - name: Test Aspire skills installer
+        run: >
+          dotnet test --project tests/Aspire.Cli.Tests/Aspire.Cli.Tests.csproj
+          --no-launch-profile
+          --
+          --filter-class "*.AspireSkillsInstallerTests"
+          --filter-class "*.AspireSkillsBundleTests"
+          --filter-class "*.AgentInitCommandTests"
+          --filter-not-trait "quarantined=true"
+          --filter-not-trait "outerloop=true"
+
+      - name: Generate GitHub App Token for pull request
+        id: pr-token
+        uses: actions/create-github-app-token@1b10c78c7865c340bc4f6099eb2f838309f1e8c3 # v3.1.1
+        with:
+          app-id: ${{ secrets.ASPIRE_BOT_APP_ID }}
+          private-key: ${{ secrets.ASPIRE_BOT_PRIVATE_KEY }}
+
+      - name: Create or update pull request
+        uses: ./.github/actions/create-pull-request
+        with:
+          token: ${{ steps.pr-token.outputs.token }}
+          branch: update-aspire-skills-bundle
+          base: main
+          draft: true
+          commit-message: "[Automated] Update Aspire skills bundle"
+          labels: |
+            area-cli
+            area-engineering-systems
+          title: "[Automated] Update Aspire skills bundle"
+          body: "Auto-generated update to refresh the embedded Aspire skills bundle fallback used by the Aspire CLI."
diff --git a/.github/workflows/verify-aspire-skills-bundle.yml b/.github/workflows/verify-aspire-skills-bundle.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..db82170a3dc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/verify-aspire-skills-bundle.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+name: Verify Aspire Skills Bundle
+
+on:
+  workflow_dispatch:
+  pull_request:
+    paths:
+      - 'src/Aspire.Cli/Agents/AspireSkills/Embedded/**'
+      - 'eng/scripts/verify-aspire-skills-bundle.ps1'
+      - '.github/workflows/verify-aspire-skills-bundle.yml'
+
+permissions:
+  contents: read
+  attestations: read
+
+jobs:
+  verify:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    if: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'microsoft' }}
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # v6.0.2
+
+      - name: Verify embedded Aspire skills bundle attestation
+        shell: pwsh
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+        run: ./eng/scripts/verify-aspire-skills-bundle.ps1
diff --git a/eng/scripts/update-aspire-skills-bundle.ps1 b/eng/scripts/update-aspire-skills-bundle.ps1
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..94c2212c641
--- /dev/null
+++ b/eng/scripts/update-aspire-skills-bundle.ps1
@@ -0,0 +1,164 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env pwsh
+
+[CmdletBinding()]
+param(
+    [string]$Version,
+    [string]$Repository = 'microsoft/aspire-skills'
+)
+
+Set-StrictMode -Version Latest
+$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'
+$PSNativeCommandUseErrorActionPreference = $true
+
+$scriptDir = $PSScriptRoot
+$repoRoot = (Resolve-Path (Join-Path $scriptDir '..\..')).Path
+$embeddedDir = Join-Path $repoRoot 'src\Aspire.Cli\Agents\AspireSkills\Embedded'
+$metadataPath = Join-Path $embeddedDir 'aspire-skills.metadata.json'
+$installerPath = Join-Path $repoRoot 'src\Aspire.Cli\Agents\AspireSkills\AspireSkillsInstaller.cs'
+$cliProjectPath = Join-Path $repoRoot 'src\Aspire.Cli\Aspire.Cli.csproj'
+
+function Invoke-GitHubCli {
+    param(
+        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true, ValueFromRemainingArguments = $true)]
+        [string[]]$Arguments
+    )
+
+    & gh @Arguments
+    if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
+        throw "gh $($Arguments -join ' ') failed with exit code $LASTEXITCODE."
+    }
+}
+
+function Get-UnprefixedVersion([string]$Value) {
+    if ([string]::IsNullOrWhiteSpace($Value)) {
+        throw 'A version is required.'
+    }
+
+    if ($Value.StartsWith('v', [System.StringComparison]::OrdinalIgnoreCase)) {
+        return $Value.Substring(1)
+    }
+
+    return $Value
+}
+
+function Get-CurrentEmbeddedVersion {
+    if (-not (Test-Path $metadataPath)) {
+        throw "Embedded Aspire skills metadata was not found at '$metadataPath'. Pass -Version to choose the initial version."
+    }
+
+    $metadata = Get-Content -Raw -Path $metadataPath | ConvertFrom-Json
+    return Get-UnprefixedVersion $metadata.version
+}
+
+function Set-TextFile {
+    param(
+        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Path,
+        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Content
+    )
+
+    $utf8NoBom = [System.Text.UTF8Encoding]::new($false)
+    [System.IO.File]::WriteAllText($Path, $Content.TrimEnd("`r", "`n") + [System.Environment]::NewLine, $utf8NoBom)
+}
+
+function Get-GitHubRelease([string]$NormalizedVersion) {
+    $tagCandidates = @("v$NormalizedVersion", $NormalizedVersion) | Select-Object -Unique
+
+    foreach ($tag in $tagCandidates) {
+        try {
+            $json = Invoke-GitHubCli release view $tag --repo $Repository --json 'tagName,assets'
+            return $json | ConvertFrom-Json
+        }
+        catch {
+            Write-Host "Release '$tag' was not found in '$Repository'."
+        }
+    }
+
+    throw "Could not find an Aspire skills release for version '$NormalizedVersion' in '$Repository'."
+}
+
+function Get-ReleaseAsset($Release, [string]$NormalizedVersion) {
+    $assetNameCandidates = foreach ($archiveExtension in @('.zip', '.tar.gz', '.tgz')) {
+        "aspire-skills-v$NormalizedVersion$archiveExtension"
+        "aspire-skills-$NormalizedVersion$archiveExtension"
+    }
+
+    foreach ($assetName in $assetNameCandidates) {
+        $asset = $Release.assets | Where-Object { $_.name -ieq $assetName } | Select-Object -First 1
+        if ($null -ne $asset) {
+            return $asset
+        }
+    }
+
+    throw "Release '$($Release.tagName)' does not contain a supported Aspire skills archive asset for version '$NormalizedVersion'."
+}
+
+if (-not (Get-Command gh -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue)) {
+    throw "The GitHub CLI ('gh') is required to update the embedded Aspire skills bundle."
+}
+
+$normalizedVersion = if ([string]::IsNullOrWhiteSpace($Version)) {
+    Get-CurrentEmbeddedVersion
+}
+else {
+    Get-UnprefixedVersion $Version
+}
+
+New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path $embeddedDir | Out-Null
+
+Write-Host "Resolving Aspire skills release '$normalizedVersion' from '$Repository'..."
+$release = Get-GitHubRelease $normalizedVersion
+$asset = Get-ReleaseAsset $release $normalizedVersion
+
+$tempDir = [System.IO.Directory]::CreateTempSubdirectory('aspire-skills-update-').FullName
+try {
+    Write-Host "Downloading '$($asset.name)' from '$Repository' release '$($release.tagName)'..."
+    Invoke-GitHubCli release download $release.tagName --repo $Repository --pattern $asset.name --dir $tempDir --clobber
+
+    $archivePath = Join-Path $tempDir $asset.name
+    if (-not (Test-Path $archivePath)) {
+        throw "Expected downloaded asset '$archivePath' was not found."
+    }
+
+    $certIdentity = "https://github.com/$Repository/.github/workflows/publish.yml@refs/tags/$($release.tagName)"
+    Write-Host "Verifying GitHub artifact attestation for '$($asset.name)'..."
+    Invoke-GitHubCli attestation verify $archivePath --repo $Repository --cert-identity $certIdentity --cert-oidc-issuer 'https://token.actions.githubusercontent.com'
+
+    $hash = (Get-FileHash -Algorithm SHA256 $archivePath).Hash.ToLowerInvariant()
+    $targetArchivePath = Join-Path $embeddedDir $asset.name
+
+    Get-ChildItem -Path $embeddedDir -File -Force |
+        Where-Object { $_.Name -match '^aspire-skills-.*\.(zip|tar\.gz|tgz)$' -and $_.Name -ne $asset.name } |
+        Remove-Item -Force
+
+    Copy-Item -Path $archivePath -Destination $targetArchivePath -Force
+
+    $metadata = [ordered]@{
+        version = $normalizedVersion
+        repository = $Repository
+        tag = $release.tagName
+        assetName = $asset.name
+        sha256 = $hash
+    }
+    Set-TextFile -Path $metadataPath -Content ($metadata | ConvertTo-Json)
+
+    $installerContent = Get-Content -Raw -Path $installerPath
+    $installerContent = [regex]::Replace(
+        $installerContent,
+        'internal const string Version = "[^"]+";',
+        "internal const string Version = ""$normalizedVersion"";")
+    Set-TextFile -Path $installerPath -Content $installerContent
+
+    $cliProjectContent = Get-Content -Raw -Path $cliProjectPath
+    $cliProjectContent = [regex]::Replace(
+        $cliProjectContent,
+        'Agents\\AspireSkills\\Embedded\\aspire-skills-[^"]+\.(zip|tar\.gz|tgz)',
+        "Agents\AspireSkills\Embedded\$($asset.name)")
+    Set-TextFile -Path $cliProjectPath -Content $cliProjectContent
+
+    Write-Host "Embedded Aspire skills bundle updated to '$($asset.name)' with SHA-256 '$hash'."
+}
+finally {
+    if (Test-Path $tempDir) {
+        Remove-Item -Path $tempDir -Recurse -Force
+    }
+}
diff --git a/eng/scripts/verify-aspire-skills-bundle.ps1 b/eng/scripts/verify-aspire-skills-bundle.ps1
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..550a5e34b03
--- /dev/null
+++ b/eng/scripts/verify-aspire-skills-bundle.ps1
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env pwsh
+
+[CmdletBinding()]
+param(
+    [string]$Repository = 'microsoft/aspire-skills'
+)
+
+Set-StrictMode -Version Latest
+$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'
+$PSNativeCommandUseErrorActionPreference = $true
+
+$scriptDir = $PSScriptRoot
+$repoRoot = (Resolve-Path (Join-Path $scriptDir '..\..')).Path
+$embeddedDir = Join-Path $repoRoot 'src\Aspire.Cli\Agents\AspireSkills\Embedded'
+$metadataPath = Join-Path $embeddedDir 'aspire-skills.metadata.json'
+
+if (-not (Get-Command gh -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue)) {
+    throw "The GitHub CLI ('gh') is required to verify the embedded Aspire skills bundle."
+}
+
+if (-not (Test-Path $metadataPath)) {
+    throw "Embedded Aspire skills metadata was not found at '$metadataPath'."
+}
+
+$metadata = Get-Content -Raw -Path $metadataPath | ConvertFrom-Json
+
+if ($metadata.repository -ne $Repository) {
+    throw "Unexpected embedded bundle repository '$($metadata.repository)'. Expected '$Repository'."
+}
+
+if ([string]::IsNullOrWhiteSpace($metadata.tag)) {
+    throw "Embedded Aspire skills metadata must specify a GitHub release tag."
+}
+
+if ([string]::IsNullOrWhiteSpace($metadata.assetName)) {
+    throw "Embedded Aspire skills metadata must specify a release asset name."
+}
+
+if ($metadata.assetName -ne [System.IO.Path]::GetFileName($metadata.assetName)) {
+    throw "Embedded Aspire skills asset name '$($metadata.assetName)' must not contain path separators."
+}
+
+if ([string]::IsNullOrWhiteSpace($metadata.sha256)) {
+    throw "Embedded Aspire skills metadata must specify the release asset SHA-256 hash."
+}
+
+$archivePath = Join-Path $embeddedDir $metadata.assetName
+if (-not (Test-Path $archivePath)) {
+    throw "Embedded Aspire skills archive was not found at '$archivePath'."
+}
+
+$actualHash = (Get-FileHash -Algorithm SHA256 $archivePath).Hash.ToLowerInvariant()
+if ($actualHash -ne $metadata.sha256) {
+    throw "Embedded bundle SHA-256 mismatch. Expected '$($metadata.sha256)', got '$actualHash'."
+}
+
+$certIdentity = "https://github.com/$($metadata.repository)/.github/workflows/publish.yml@refs/tags/$($metadata.tag)"
+gh attestation verify $archivePath `
+    --repo $metadata.repository `
+    --cert-identity $certIdentity `
+    --cert-oidc-issuer 'https://token.actions.githubusercontent.com'
+
+Write-Host "Embedded Aspire skills bundle '$($metadata.assetName)' verified against GitHub artifact attestation."
diff --git a/src/Aspire.Cli/Agents/AspireSkills/AspireSkillsBundle.cs b/src/Aspire.Cli/Agents/AspireSkills/AspireSkillsBundle.cs
index dc47c324cce..49c726ea960 100644
--- a/src/Aspire.Cli/Agents/AspireSkills/AspireSkillsBundle.cs
+++ b/src/Aspire.Cli/Agents/AspireSkills/AspireSkillsBundle.cs
@@ -302,7 +302,7 @@ internal static string NormalizeRelativePath(string? relativePath)
         return Path.Combine(segments);
     }
 
-    private static string NormalizeSha256(string sha256)
+    internal static string NormalizeSha256(string sha256)
     {
         const string prefix = "sha256-";
         return sha256.StartsWith(prefix, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase)
diff --git a/src/Aspire.Cli/Agents/AspireSkills/AspireSkillsInstaller.cs b/src/Aspire.Cli/Agents/AspireSkills/AspireSkillsInstaller.cs
index dbc2f1cfdd5..dec2cca8e41 100644
--- a/src/Aspire.Cli/Agents/AspireSkills/AspireSkillsInstaller.cs
+++ b/src/Aspire.Cli/Agents/AspireSkills/AspireSkillsInstaller.cs
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 using System.Globalization;
 using System.IO.Compression;
 using System.Net;
+using System.Security.Cryptography;
 using System.Text.Json;
 using Aspire.Cli.Interaction;
 using Aspire.Cli.Resources;
@@ -21,6 +22,7 @@ namespace Aspire.Cli.Agents.AspireSkills;
 internal sealed class AspireSkillsInstaller(
     IGitHubArtifactAttestationVerifier githubArtifactAttestationVerifier,
     IHttpClientFactory httpClientFactory,
+    IEmbeddedAspireSkillsBundleProvider embeddedBundleProvider,
     IInteractionService interactionService,
     CliExecutionContext executionContext,
     IConfiguration configuration,
@@ -46,7 +48,6 @@ public Task<AspireSkillsInstallResult> InstallAsync(CancellationToken cancellati
             AgentCommandStrings.AspireSkillsInstaller_InstallingStatus,
             () => InstallCoreAsync(cancellationToken));
     }
-
     private async Task<AspireSkillsInstallResult> InstallCoreAsync(CancellationToken cancellationToken)
     {
         using var activity = telemetry.StartReportedActivity("AspireSkillsInstaller.Install");
@@ -80,12 +81,24 @@ private async Task<AspireSkillsInstallResult> InstallCoreAsync(CancellationToken
 
         if (githubResult.Status == AcquisitionStatus.Failed)
         {
-            activity?.SetStatus(ActivityStatusCode.Error, githubResult.Message);
-            return AspireSkillsInstallResult.Failed(githubResult.Message ?? AgentCommandStrings.AspireSkillsInstaller_InvalidBundle);
+            logger.LogDebug("Aspire skills GitHub acquisition failed for version {Version}; falling back to embedded snapshot. Failure: {Failure}", effectiveVersion, githubResult.Message);
+        }
+
+        var embeddedResult = await InstallFromEmbeddedAsync(cacheRoot, effectiveVersion, activity, cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
+        if (embeddedResult.Status == AcquisitionStatus.Installed)
+        {
+            CleanupStaleCacheEntries(cacheRoot, effectiveVersion);
+            return AspireSkillsInstallResult.Installed(embeddedResult.Bundle!);
         }
 
-        activity?.SetStatus(ActivityStatusCode.Error, "GitHub acquisition is unavailable.");
-        return AspireSkillsInstallResult.Failed(AgentCommandStrings.AspireSkillsInstaller_GitHubUnavailable);
+        var failureMessage = embeddedResult.Status == AcquisitionStatus.Failed
+            ? embeddedResult.Message ?? AgentCommandStrings.AspireSkillsInstaller_GitHubUnavailable
+            : githubResult.Status == AcquisitionStatus.Failed
+                ? githubResult.Message ?? AgentCommandStrings.AspireSkillsInstaller_GitHubUnavailable
+                : AgentCommandStrings.AspireSkillsInstaller_GitHubUnavailable;
+
+        activity?.SetStatus(ActivityStatusCode.Error, failureMessage);
+        return AspireSkillsInstallResult.Failed(failureMessage);
     }
 
     private async Task<AcquisitionResult> InstallFromGitHubAsync(
@@ -167,6 +180,127 @@ private async Task<AcquisitionResult> InstallFromGitHubAsync(
         }
     }
 
+    private async Task<AcquisitionResult> InstallFromEmbeddedAsync(
+        string cacheRoot,
+        string version,
+        Activity? activity,
+        CancellationToken cancellationToken)
+    {
+        var metadata = embeddedBundleProvider.Metadata;
+        if (metadata is null)
+        {
+            logger.LogDebug("No embedded Aspire skills bundle metadata is available.");
+            return AcquisitionResult.Unavailable();
+        }
+
+        if (ValidateEmbeddedMetadata(metadata) is { } metadataError)
+        {
+            return AcquisitionResult.Failed($"Embedded Aspire skills bundle metadata is invalid: {metadataError}");
+        }
+
+        if (!string.Equals(metadata.Version, version, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
+        {
+            logger.LogDebug(
+                "Embedded Aspire skills bundle version {EmbeddedVersion} does not match requested version {Version}.",
+                metadata.Version,
+                version);
+            return AcquisitionResult.Unavailable();
+        }
+
+        var tempDir = Path.Combine(cacheRoot, $".embedded-{Guid.NewGuid():N}");
+        Directory.CreateDirectory(tempDir);
+
+        try
+        {
+            var archivePath = Path.Combine(tempDir, GetSafeFileName(metadata.AssetName!));
+            var archiveStream = embeddedBundleProvider.OpenArchive();
+            if (archiveStream is null)
+            {
+                logger.LogDebug("Embedded Aspire skills archive is unavailable for version {Version}.", version);
+                return AcquisitionResult.Unavailable();
+            }
+
+            await using (archiveStream)
+            {
+                await using var fileStream = File.Create(archivePath);
+                await archiveStream.CopyToAsync(fileStream, cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
+            }
+
+            ValidateArchiveSha256(archivePath, metadata.Sha256!);
+
+            try
+            {
+                var bundle = await CacheArchiveAsync(cacheRoot, archivePath, version, cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
+                activity?.SetTag("aspire.skills.source", "embedded");
+                activity?.SetTag("aspire.skills.cache_hit", false);
+                return AcquisitionResult.Installed(bundle);
+            }
+            catch (Exception ex) when (ex is IOException or UnauthorizedAccessException or InvalidDataException or InvalidOperationException)
+            {
+                logger.LogWarning(ex, "Embedded Aspire skills bundle {AssetName} is invalid.", metadata.AssetName);
+                return AcquisitionResult.Failed(string.Format(CultureInfo.CurrentCulture, AgentCommandStrings.AspireSkillsInstaller_InvalidBundle, ex.Message));
+            }
+        }
+        catch (Exception ex) when (ex is IOException or UnauthorizedAccessException or InvalidOperationException)
+        {
+            logger.LogDebug(ex, "Embedded Aspire skills bundle could not be staged for version {Version}.", version);
+            return AcquisitionResult.Failed(string.Format(CultureInfo.CurrentCulture, AgentCommandStrings.AspireSkillsInstaller_InvalidBundle, ex.Message));
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            TryDeleteDirectory(tempDir);
+        }
+    }
+
+    private static string? ValidateEmbeddedMetadata(EmbeddedAspireSkillsBundleMetadata metadata)
+    {
+        if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(metadata.Version))
+        {
+            return "Embedded Aspire skills metadata must specify a version.";
+        }
+
+        if (!string.Equals(metadata.Repository, GitHubRepository, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
+        {
+            return string.Format(CultureInfo.InvariantCulture, "Embedded Aspire skills metadata repository '{0}' does not match expected repository '{1}'.", metadata.Repository, GitHubRepository);
+        }
+
+        if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(metadata.Tag))
+        {
+            return "Embedded Aspire skills metadata must specify a GitHub release tag.";
+        }
+
+        if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(metadata.AssetName))
+        {
+            return "Embedded Aspire skills metadata must specify a release asset name.";
+        }
+
+        if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(metadata.Sha256))
+        {
+            return "Embedded Aspire skills metadata must specify the release asset SHA-256 hash.";
+        }
+
+        return null;
+    }
+
+    private static void ValidateArchiveSha256(string archivePath, string expectedSha256)
+    {
+        var expectedHash = AspireSkillsBundle.NormalizeSha256(expectedSha256);
+        string actualHash;
+        using (var stream = File.OpenRead(archivePath))
+        {
+            actualHash = Convert.ToHexString(SHA256.HashData(stream)).ToLowerInvariant();
+        }
+
+        if (!string.Equals(expectedHash, actualHash, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
+        {
+            throw new InvalidOperationException(string.Format(
+                CultureInfo.InvariantCulture,
+                "Embedded Aspire skills archive failed SHA-256 verification. Expected '{0}', got '{1}'.",
+                expectedHash,
+                actualHash));
+        }
+    }
+
     private async Task<GitHubReleaseInfo?> TryGetGitHubReleaseAsync(HttpClient httpClient, string version, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
     {
         foreach (var tag in GetGitHubTagCandidates(version))
diff --git a/src/Aspire.Cli/Agents/AspireSkills/Embedded/aspire-skills-v0.0.1.tgz b/src/Aspire.Cli/Agents/AspireSkills/Embedded/aspire-skills-v0.0.1.tgz
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..e25af3228df
Binary files /dev/null and b/src/Aspire.Cli/Agents/AspireSkills/Embedded/aspire-skills-v0.0.1.tgz differ
diff --git a/src/Aspire.Cli/Agents/AspireSkills/Embedded/aspire-skills.metadata.json b/src/Aspire.Cli/Agents/AspireSkills/Embedded/aspire-skills.metadata.json
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..4b76e028392
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Aspire.Cli/Agents/AspireSkills/Embedded/aspire-skills.metadata.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+  "version": "0.0.1",
+  "repository": "microsoft/aspire-skills",
+  "tag": "v0.0.1",
+  "assetName": "aspire-skills-v0.0.1.tgz",
+  "sha256": "8f0aa535917bb6d2589acbf8f986c7b0d622ee7744e39c526bb7166c0664b53c"
+}
diff --git a/src/Aspire.Cli/Agents/AspireSkills/EmbeddedAspireSkillsBundleProvider.cs b/src/Aspire.Cli/Agents/AspireSkills/EmbeddedAspireSkillsBundleProvider.cs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..3b7d70cadd1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Aspire.Cli/Agents/AspireSkills/EmbeddedAspireSkillsBundleProvider.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+// Licensed to the .NET Foundation under one or more agreements.
+// The .NET Foundation licenses this file to you under the MIT license.
+
+using System.Text.Json;
+using Microsoft.Extensions.Logging;
+
+namespace Aspire.Cli.Agents.AspireSkills;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// Provides access to the Aspire skills bundle snapshot embedded in the CLI assembly.
+/// </summary>
+internal interface IEmbeddedAspireSkillsBundleProvider
+{
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Gets metadata for the embedded Aspire skills bundle snapshot.
+    /// </summary>
+    EmbeddedAspireSkillsBundleMetadata? Metadata { get; }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Opens the embedded Aspire skills bundle archive.
+    /// </summary>
+    Stream? OpenArchive();
+}
+
+internal sealed class EmbeddedAspireSkillsBundleProvider : IEmbeddedAspireSkillsBundleProvider
+{
+    private const string ArchiveResourceName = "aspire-skills.bundle.tgz";
+    private const string MetadataResourceName = "aspire-skills.metadata.json";
+
+    private readonly ILogger<EmbeddedAspireSkillsBundleProvider> _logger;
+    private readonly Lazy<EmbeddedAspireSkillsBundleMetadata?> _metadata;
+
+    public EmbeddedAspireSkillsBundleProvider(ILogger<EmbeddedAspireSkillsBundleProvider> logger)
+    {
+        _logger = logger;
+        _metadata = new Lazy<EmbeddedAspireSkillsBundleMetadata?>(LoadMetadata);
+    }
+
+    public EmbeddedAspireSkillsBundleMetadata? Metadata => _metadata.Value;
+
+    public Stream? OpenArchive()
+    {
+        var stream = typeof(EmbeddedAspireSkillsBundleProvider).Assembly.GetManifestResourceStream(ArchiveResourceName);
+        if (stream is null)
+        {
+            _logger.LogDebug("Embedded Aspire skills archive resource {ResourceName} was not found.", ArchiveResourceName);
+        }
+
+        return stream;
+    }
+
+    private EmbeddedAspireSkillsBundleMetadata? LoadMetadata()
+    {
+        using var stream = typeof(EmbeddedAspireSkillsBundleProvider).Assembly.GetManifestResourceStream(MetadataResourceName);
+        if (stream is null)
+        {
+            _logger.LogDebug("Embedded Aspire skills metadata resource {ResourceName} was not found.", MetadataResourceName);
+            return null;
+        }
+
+        try
+        {
+            var metadata = JsonSerializer.Deserialize(
+                stream,
+                AspireSkillsJsonSerializerContext.Default.EmbeddedAspireSkillsBundleMetadata);
+
+            if (metadata is null)
+            {
+                _logger.LogDebug("Embedded Aspire skills metadata resource {ResourceName} was empty.", MetadataResourceName);
+            }
+
+            return metadata;
+        }
+        catch (JsonException ex)
+        {
+            _logger.LogWarning(ex, "Embedded Aspire skills metadata resource {ResourceName} could not be parsed.", MetadataResourceName);
+            return null;
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/Aspire.Cli/Agents/AspireSkills/SkillBundleManifest.cs b/src/Aspire.Cli/Agents/AspireSkills/SkillBundleManifest.cs
index a41777944c1..5e48ed3f573 100644
--- a/src/Aspire.Cli/Agents/AspireSkills/SkillBundleManifest.cs
+++ b/src/Aspire.Cli/Agents/AspireSkills/SkillBundleManifest.cs
@@ -56,6 +56,22 @@ internal sealed class SkillBundleFile
     public string? Sha256 { get; init; }
 }
 
+/// <summary>
+/// Describes the Aspire skills bundle archive embedded in the CLI.
+/// </summary>
+internal sealed class EmbeddedAspireSkillsBundleMetadata
+{
+    public string? Version { get; init; }
+
+    public string? Repository { get; init; }
+
+    public string? Tag { get; init; }
+
+    public string? AssetName { get; init; }
+
+    public string? Sha256 { get; init; }
+}
+
 /// <summary>
 /// Source-generation context for Aspire skills bundle JSON.
 /// </summary>
@@ -65,6 +81,7 @@ internal sealed class SkillBundleFile
     PropertyNamingPolicy = JsonKnownNamingPolicy.CamelCase,
     PropertyNameCaseInsensitive = true)]
 [JsonSerializable(typeof(SkillBundleManifest))]
+[JsonSerializable(typeof(EmbeddedAspireSkillsBundleMetadata))]
 internal sealed partial class AspireSkillsJsonSerializerContext : JsonSerializerContext
 {
 }
diff --git a/src/Aspire.Cli/Aspire.Cli.csproj b/src/Aspire.Cli/Aspire.Cli.csproj
index 096c95408cf..afd4bd73f5e 100644
--- a/src/Aspire.Cli/Aspire.Cli.csproj
+++ b/src/Aspire.Cli/Aspire.Cli.csproj
@@ -297,6 +297,12 @@
     <EmbeddedResource Include="$(SharedDir)Mcp\Resources\aspire-32.png" Link="Mcp\Resources\aspire-32.png" />
     <EmbeddedResource Include="$(SharedDir)Mcp\Resources\aspire-48.png" Link="Mcp\Resources\aspire-48.png" />
     <EmbeddedResource Include="$(SharedDir)Mcp\Resources\aspire-64.png" Link="Mcp\Resources\aspire-64.png" />
+    <EmbeddedResource Include="Agents\AspireSkills\Embedded\aspire-skills-v0.0.1.tgz" LogicalName="aspire-skills.bundle.tgz">
+      <WithCulture>false</WithCulture>
+    </EmbeddedResource>
+    <EmbeddedResource Include="Agents\AspireSkills\Embedded\aspire-skills.metadata.json" LogicalName="aspire-skills.metadata.json">
+      <WithCulture>false</WithCulture>
+    </EmbeddedResource>
   </ItemGroup>
 
 
diff --git a/src/Aspire.Cli/Commands/AgentInitCommand.cs b/src/Aspire.Cli/Commands/AgentInitCommand.cs
index 5788f880841..02c50da172c 100644
--- a/src/Aspire.Cli/Commands/AgentInitCommand.cs
+++ b/src/Aspire.Cli/Commands/AgentInitCommand.cs
@@ -124,7 +124,7 @@ internal async Task<AgentInitExecutionResult> PromptAndChainAsync(
 
         if (runAgentInit)
         {
-            return await ExecuteAgentInitAsync(workspaceRoot, parseResult: null, AgentInitErrorMode.BestEffort, cancellationToken);
+            return await ExecuteAgentInitAsync(workspaceRoot, parseResult: null, cancellationToken);
         }
 
         return new(CliExitCodes.Success, [], []);
@@ -133,7 +133,7 @@ internal async Task<AgentInitExecutionResult> PromptAndChainAsync(
     protected override async Task<CommandResult> ExecuteAsync(ParseResult parseResult, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
     {
         var workspaceRoot = await PromptForWorkspaceRootAsync(parseResult, cancellationToken);
-        var result = await ExecuteAgentInitAsync(workspaceRoot, parseResult, AgentInitErrorMode.Strict, cancellationToken);
+        var result = await ExecuteAgentInitAsync(workspaceRoot, parseResult, cancellationToken);
         return CommandResult.FromExitCode(result.ExitCode);
     }
 
@@ -167,7 +167,7 @@ private async Task<DirectoryInfo> PromptForWorkspaceRootAsync(ParseResult parseR
         return new DirectoryInfo(workspaceRootPath);
     }
 
-    private async Task<AgentInitExecutionResult> ExecuteAgentInitAsync(DirectoryInfo workspaceRoot, ParseResult? parseResult, AgentInitErrorMode errorMode, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
+    private async Task<AgentInitExecutionResult> ExecuteAgentInitAsync(DirectoryInfo workspaceRoot, ParseResult? parseResult, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
     {
         var context = new AgentEnvironmentScanContext
         {
@@ -296,18 +296,10 @@ private async Task<AgentInitExecutionResult> ExecuteAgentInitAsync(DirectoryInfo
             }
             else
             {
-                if (errorMode is AgentInitErrorMode.Strict)
-                {
-                    _interactionService.DisplayError(result.Message!);
-                    hasErrors = true;
-                }
-                else
-                {
-                    _interactionService.DisplayMessage(KnownEmojis.Warning, result.Message!);
-                    selectedSkills = selectedSkills
-                        .Where(static skill => skill.SourceKind is not SkillSourceKind.AspireSkillsBundle)
-                        .ToList();
-                }
+                _interactionService.DisplayMessage(KnownEmojis.Warning, result.Message!);
+                selectedSkills = selectedSkills
+                    .Where(static skill => skill.SourceKind is not SkillSourceKind.AspireSkillsBundle)
+                    .ToList();
             }
         }
 
@@ -555,12 +547,6 @@ private static async Task<IReadOnlyList<SkillAssetFile>> GetSkillFilesAsync(Skil
         throw new InvalidOperationException($"Skill '{skill.Name}' does not define installable files.");
     }
 
-    private enum AgentInitErrorMode
-    {
-        Strict,
-        BestEffort
-    }
-
     private sealed record InstalledSkillSummaryItem(string SkillName, string DisplayLocation);
 
     private readonly record struct SkillInstallResult(bool Succeeded, InstalledSkillSummaryItem? UpdatedSkill);
diff --git a/src/Aspire.Cli/Program.cs b/src/Aspire.Cli/Program.cs
index dc8df361491..8d6cc53c443 100644
--- a/src/Aspire.Cli/Program.cs
+++ b/src/Aspire.Cli/Program.cs
@@ -464,6 +464,7 @@ internal static async Task<IHost> BuildApplicationAsync(string[] args, CliStartu
         builder.Services.AddSingleton<Aspire.Cli.Npm.INpmRunner, Aspire.Cli.Npm.NpmRunner>();
         builder.Services.AddHttpClient<Aspire.Cli.Npm.INpmProvenanceChecker, Aspire.Cli.Npm.SigstoreNpmProvenanceChecker>();
         builder.Services.AddHttpClient<IGitHubArtifactAttestationVerifier, GitHubArtifactAttestationVerifier>();
+        builder.Services.AddSingleton<IEmbeddedAspireSkillsBundleProvider, EmbeddedAspireSkillsBundleProvider>();
         builder.Services.AddSingleton<IAspireSkillsInstaller, AspireSkillsInstaller>();
         builder.Services.AddSingleton<Aspire.Cli.Agents.Playwright.IPlaywrightCliRunner, Aspire.Cli.Agents.Playwright.PlaywrightCliRunner>();
         builder.Services.AddSingleton<Aspire.Cli.Agents.Playwright.PlaywrightCliInstaller>();
diff --git a/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/AgentCommandStrings.Designer.cs b/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/AgentCommandStrings.Designer.cs
index 21fe07396eb..6133c22ac5e 100644
--- a/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/AgentCommandStrings.Designer.cs
+++ b/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/AgentCommandStrings.Designer.cs
@@ -376,7 +376,7 @@ internal static string AspireSkillsInstaller_InstallingStatus {
         }
 
         /// <summary>
-        ///   Looks up a localized string similar to Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached bundle is available..
+        ///   Looks up a localized string similar to Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached or embedded bundle is available..
         /// </summary>
         internal static string AspireSkillsInstaller_GitHubUnavailable {
             get {
diff --git a/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/AgentCommandStrings.resx b/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/AgentCommandStrings.resx
index 58200adddbc..2364ff91d8d 100644
--- a/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/AgentCommandStrings.resx
+++ b/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/AgentCommandStrings.resx
@@ -166,7 +166,7 @@
     <value>Installing Aspire skills...</value>
   </data>
   <data name="AspireSkillsInstaller_GitHubUnavailable" xml:space="preserve">
-    <value>Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached bundle is available.</value>
+    <value>Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached or embedded bundle is available.</value>
   </data>
   <data name="AspireSkillsInstaller_InvalidBundle" xml:space="preserve">
     <value>The Aspire skills bundle is invalid: {0}</value>
diff --git a/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.cs.xlf b/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.cs.xlf
index 9d0d3f73197..7139b9c497a 100644
--- a/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.cs.xlf
+++ b/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.cs.xlf
@@ -3,8 +3,8 @@
   <file datatype="xml" source-language="en" target-language="cs" original="../AgentCommandStrings.resx">
     <body>
       <trans-unit id="AspireSkillsInstaller_GitHubUnavailable">
-        <source>Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached bundle is available.</source>
-        <target state="new">Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached bundle is available.</target>
+        <source>Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached or embedded bundle is available.</source>
+        <target state="new">Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached or embedded bundle is available.</target>
         <note />
       </trans-unit>
       <trans-unit id="ConfigUpdatesSelectPrompt">
diff --git a/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.de.xlf b/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.de.xlf
index 18040330c2d..a09a22f0b5d 100644
--- a/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.de.xlf
+++ b/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.de.xlf
@@ -3,8 +3,8 @@
   <file datatype="xml" source-language="en" target-language="de" original="../AgentCommandStrings.resx">
     <body>
       <trans-unit id="AspireSkillsInstaller_GitHubUnavailable">
-        <source>Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached bundle is available.</source>
-        <target state="new">Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached bundle is available.</target>
+        <source>Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached or embedded bundle is available.</source>
+        <target state="new">Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached or embedded bundle is available.</target>
         <note />
       </trans-unit>
       <trans-unit id="ConfigUpdatesSelectPrompt">
diff --git a/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.es.xlf b/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.es.xlf
index 726777809ba..416a73644e6 100644
--- a/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.es.xlf
+++ b/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.es.xlf
@@ -3,8 +3,8 @@
   <file datatype="xml" source-language="en" target-language="es" original="../AgentCommandStrings.resx">
     <body>
       <trans-unit id="AspireSkillsInstaller_GitHubUnavailable">
-        <source>Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached bundle is available.</source>
-        <target state="new">Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached bundle is available.</target>
+        <source>Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached or embedded bundle is available.</source>
+        <target state="new">Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached or embedded bundle is available.</target>
         <note />
       </trans-unit>
       <trans-unit id="ConfigUpdatesSelectPrompt">
diff --git a/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.fr.xlf b/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.fr.xlf
index ec7eb479f9f..38117b59c88 100644
--- a/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.fr.xlf
+++ b/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.fr.xlf
@@ -3,8 +3,8 @@
   <file datatype="xml" source-language="en" target-language="fr" original="../AgentCommandStrings.resx">
     <body>
       <trans-unit id="AspireSkillsInstaller_GitHubUnavailable">
-        <source>Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached bundle is available.</source>
-        <target state="new">Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached bundle is available.</target>
+        <source>Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached or embedded bundle is available.</source>
+        <target state="new">Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached or embedded bundle is available.</target>
         <note />
       </trans-unit>
       <trans-unit id="ConfigUpdatesSelectPrompt">
diff --git a/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.it.xlf b/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.it.xlf
index 2443bf1c751..670db6c9e77 100644
--- a/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.it.xlf
+++ b/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.it.xlf
@@ -3,8 +3,8 @@
   <file datatype="xml" source-language="en" target-language="it" original="../AgentCommandStrings.resx">
     <body>
       <trans-unit id="AspireSkillsInstaller_GitHubUnavailable">
-        <source>Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached bundle is available.</source>
-        <target state="new">Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached bundle is available.</target>
+        <source>Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached or embedded bundle is available.</source>
+        <target state="new">Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached or embedded bundle is available.</target>
         <note />
       </trans-unit>
       <trans-unit id="ConfigUpdatesSelectPrompt">
diff --git a/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.ja.xlf b/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.ja.xlf
index 92aa8ecd3d8..297b0f9eb54 100644
--- a/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.ja.xlf
+++ b/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.ja.xlf
@@ -3,8 +3,8 @@
   <file datatype="xml" source-language="en" target-language="ja" original="../AgentCommandStrings.resx">
     <body>
       <trans-unit id="AspireSkillsInstaller_GitHubUnavailable">
-        <source>Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached bundle is available.</source>
-        <target state="new">Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached bundle is available.</target>
+        <source>Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached or embedded bundle is available.</source>
+        <target state="new">Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached or embedded bundle is available.</target>
         <note />
       </trans-unit>
       <trans-unit id="ConfigUpdatesSelectPrompt">
diff --git a/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.ko.xlf b/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.ko.xlf
index d95b6611cb4..05a8359420d 100644
--- a/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.ko.xlf
+++ b/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.ko.xlf
@@ -3,8 +3,8 @@
   <file datatype="xml" source-language="en" target-language="ko" original="../AgentCommandStrings.resx">
     <body>
       <trans-unit id="AspireSkillsInstaller_GitHubUnavailable">
-        <source>Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached bundle is available.</source>
-        <target state="new">Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached bundle is available.</target>
+        <source>Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached or embedded bundle is available.</source>
+        <target state="new">Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached or embedded bundle is available.</target>
         <note />
       </trans-unit>
       <trans-unit id="ConfigUpdatesSelectPrompt">
diff --git a/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.pl.xlf b/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.pl.xlf
index 40716c99436..d87eccc448a 100644
--- a/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.pl.xlf
+++ b/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.pl.xlf
@@ -3,8 +3,8 @@
   <file datatype="xml" source-language="en" target-language="pl" original="../AgentCommandStrings.resx">
     <body>
       <trans-unit id="AspireSkillsInstaller_GitHubUnavailable">
-        <source>Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached bundle is available.</source>
-        <target state="new">Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached bundle is available.</target>
+        <source>Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached or embedded bundle is available.</source>
+        <target state="new">Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached or embedded bundle is available.</target>
         <note />
       </trans-unit>
       <trans-unit id="ConfigUpdatesSelectPrompt">
diff --git a/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.pt-BR.xlf b/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.pt-BR.xlf
index 6885e7e33cf..66b4e8820f1 100644
--- a/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.pt-BR.xlf
+++ b/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.pt-BR.xlf
@@ -3,8 +3,8 @@
   <file datatype="xml" source-language="en" target-language="pt-BR" original="../AgentCommandStrings.resx">
     <body>
       <trans-unit id="AspireSkillsInstaller_GitHubUnavailable">
-        <source>Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached bundle is available.</source>
-        <target state="new">Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached bundle is available.</target>
+        <source>Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached or embedded bundle is available.</source>
+        <target state="new">Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached or embedded bundle is available.</target>
         <note />
       </trans-unit>
       <trans-unit id="ConfigUpdatesSelectPrompt">
diff --git a/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.ru.xlf b/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.ru.xlf
index 8ac8e6a9d96..76dc2665fa2 100644
--- a/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.ru.xlf
+++ b/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.ru.xlf
@@ -3,8 +3,8 @@
   <file datatype="xml" source-language="en" target-language="ru" original="../AgentCommandStrings.resx">
     <body>
       <trans-unit id="AspireSkillsInstaller_GitHubUnavailable">
-        <source>Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached bundle is available.</source>
-        <target state="new">Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached bundle is available.</target>
+        <source>Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached or embedded bundle is available.</source>
+        <target state="new">Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached or embedded bundle is available.</target>
         <note />
       </trans-unit>
       <trans-unit id="ConfigUpdatesSelectPrompt">
diff --git a/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.tr.xlf b/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.tr.xlf
index 02725975345..65b85538393 100644
--- a/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.tr.xlf
+++ b/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.tr.xlf
@@ -3,8 +3,8 @@
   <file datatype="xml" source-language="en" target-language="tr" original="../AgentCommandStrings.resx">
     <body>
       <trans-unit id="AspireSkillsInstaller_GitHubUnavailable">
-        <source>Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached bundle is available.</source>
-        <target state="new">Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached bundle is available.</target>
+        <source>Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached or embedded bundle is available.</source>
+        <target state="new">Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached or embedded bundle is available.</target>
         <note />
       </trans-unit>
       <trans-unit id="ConfigUpdatesSelectPrompt">
diff --git a/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.zh-Hans.xlf b/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.zh-Hans.xlf
index 799665a0009..f4c08201732 100644
--- a/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.zh-Hans.xlf
+++ b/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.zh-Hans.xlf
@@ -3,8 +3,8 @@
   <file datatype="xml" source-language="en" target-language="zh-Hans" original="../AgentCommandStrings.resx">
     <body>
       <trans-unit id="AspireSkillsInstaller_GitHubUnavailable">
-        <source>Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached bundle is available.</source>
-        <target state="new">Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached bundle is available.</target>
+        <source>Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached or embedded bundle is available.</source>
+        <target state="new">Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached or embedded bundle is available.</target>
         <note />
       </trans-unit>
       <trans-unit id="ConfigUpdatesSelectPrompt">
diff --git a/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.zh-Hant.xlf b/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.zh-Hant.xlf
index 2b6bf955c01..62de972aa38 100644
--- a/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.zh-Hant.xlf
+++ b/src/Aspire.Cli/Resources/xlf/AgentCommandStrings.zh-Hant.xlf
@@ -3,8 +3,8 @@
   <file datatype="xml" source-language="en" target-language="zh-Hant" original="../AgentCommandStrings.resx">
     <body>
       <trans-unit id="AspireSkillsInstaller_GitHubUnavailable">
-        <source>Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached bundle is available.</source>
-        <target state="new">Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached bundle is available.</target>
+        <source>Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached or embedded bundle is available.</source>
+        <target state="new">Aspire skills could not be downloaded from the verified GitHub release asset, and no valid cached or embedded bundle is available.</target>
         <note />
       </trans-unit>
       <trans-unit id="ConfigUpdatesSelectPrompt">
diff --git a/tests/Aspire.Cli.Tests/Agents/AspireSkillsInstallerTests.cs b/tests/Aspire.Cli.Tests/Agents/AspireSkillsInstallerTests.cs
index f17750521e0..3b418f7cc99 100644
--- a/tests/Aspire.Cli.Tests/Agents/AspireSkillsInstallerTests.cs
+++ b/tests/Aspire.Cli.Tests/Agents/AspireSkillsInstallerTests.cs
@@ -31,12 +31,14 @@ public async Task InstallAsync_WhenValidBundleIsCached_UsesCacheWithoutNetwork()
             var executionContext = TestExecutionContextHelper.CreateExecutionContext(new DirectoryInfo(rootDirectory));
             var cachedBundleDirectory = Path.Combine(executionContext.CacheDirectory.FullName, "aspire-skills", AspireSkillsInstaller.Version);
             await CreateCachedBundleAsync(cachedBundleDirectory);
-            var installer = CreateInstaller(executionContext);
+            var embeddedBundleProvider = await CreateEmbeddedBundleProviderAsync();
+            var installer = CreateInstaller(executionContext, embeddedBundleProvider: embeddedBundleProvider);
 
             var result = await installer.InstallAsync(CancellationToken.None);
 
             Assert.Equal(AspireSkillsInstallStatus.Installed, result.Status);
             Assert.NotNull(result.Bundle);
+            Assert.False(embeddedBundleProvider.OpenArchiveCalled);
         }
         finally
         {
@@ -89,6 +91,47 @@ public async Task InstallAsync_WhenGitHubReleaseIsUnavailableAndNoCache_ReturnsF
         }
     }
 
+    [Fact]
+    public async Task InstallAsync_WhenGitHubReleaseIsUnavailableAndEmbeddedBundleMatches_UsesEmbeddedBundle()
+    {
+        var rootDirectory = CreateTempDirectory();
+
+        try
+        {
+            var executionContext = TestExecutionContextHelper.CreateExecutionContext(new DirectoryInfo(rootDirectory));
+            var embeddedBundleProvider = await CreateEmbeddedBundleProviderAsync();
+            var installer = CreateInstaller(executionContext, embeddedBundleProvider: embeddedBundleProvider);
+
+            var result = await installer.InstallAsync(CancellationToken.None);
+
+            Assert.Equal(AspireSkillsInstallStatus.Installed, result.Status);
+            Assert.NotNull(result.Bundle);
+            Assert.True(embeddedBundleProvider.OpenArchiveCalled);
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            Directory.Delete(rootDirectory, recursive: true);
+        }
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void EmbeddedAspireSkillsBundleProvider_OpensSnapshotResource()
+    {
+        var provider = new EmbeddedAspireSkillsBundleProvider(NullLogger<EmbeddedAspireSkillsBundleProvider>.Instance);
+
+        var metadata = Assert.IsType<EmbeddedAspireSkillsBundleMetadata>(provider.Metadata);
+        using var archiveStream = Assert.IsAssignableFrom<Stream>(provider.OpenArchive());
+
+        Assert.Equal(AspireSkillsInstaller.Version, metadata.Version);
+        Assert.Equal(AspireSkillsInstaller.GitHubRepository, metadata.Repository);
+        Assert.Equal(metadata.Sha256, ComputeSha256(archiveStream));
+    }
+
+    private static string ComputeSha256(Stream stream)
+    {
+        return Convert.ToHexString(SHA256.HashData(stream)).ToLowerInvariant();
+    }
+
     [Fact]
     public async Task InstallAsync_WhenGitHubReleaseAssetIsAvailable_UsesGitHub()
     {
@@ -115,7 +158,12 @@ public async Task InstallAsync_WhenGitHubReleaseAssetIsAvailable_UsesGitHub()
             });
             var executionContext = TestExecutionContextHelper.CreateExecutionContext(new DirectoryInfo(rootDirectory));
             var attestationVerifier = new TestGitHubArtifactAttestationVerifier();
-            var installer = CreateInstaller(executionContext, httpMessageHandler: handler, githubArtifactAttestationVerifier: attestationVerifier);
+            var embeddedBundleProvider = await CreateEmbeddedBundleProviderAsync();
+            var installer = CreateInstaller(
+                executionContext,
+                httpMessageHandler: handler,
+                githubArtifactAttestationVerifier: attestationVerifier,
+                embeddedBundleProvider: embeddedBundleProvider);
 
             var result = await installer.InstallAsync(CancellationToken.None);
 
@@ -127,6 +175,7 @@ public async Task InstallAsync_WhenGitHubReleaseAssetIsAvailable_UsesGitHub()
             Assert.Equal(AspireSkillsInstaller.ExpectedWorkflowPath, attestationVerifier.ExpectedWorkflowPath);
             Assert.Equal(GitHubReleaseAssetBuildType, attestationVerifier.ExpectedBuildType);
             Assert.Equal(AspireSkillsInstaller.Version, attestationVerifier.ExpectedVersion);
+            Assert.False(embeddedBundleProvider.OpenArchiveCalled);
             Assert.NotNull(releaseRequestUri);
             Assert.NotNull(assetRequestUri);
             Assert.Contains("/microsoft/aspire-skills/releases/tags/v0.0.1", releaseRequestUri.AbsolutePath);
@@ -139,7 +188,7 @@ public async Task InstallAsync_WhenGitHubReleaseAssetIsAvailable_UsesGitHub()
     }
 
     [Fact]
-    public async Task InstallAsync_WhenGitHubAttestationFails_ReturnsFailure()
+    public async Task InstallAsync_WhenGitHubAttestationFails_FallsBackToEmbeddedBundle()
     {
         var rootDirectory = CreateTempDirectory();
 
@@ -163,13 +212,85 @@ public async Task InstallAsync_WhenGitHubAttestationFails_ReturnsFailure()
             {
                 Result = new ProvenanceVerificationResult { Outcome = ProvenanceVerificationOutcome.WorkflowMismatch }
             };
-            var installer = CreateInstaller(executionContext, httpMessageHandler: handler, githubArtifactAttestationVerifier: attestationVerifier);
+            var embeddedBundleProvider = await CreateEmbeddedBundleProviderAsync();
+            var installer = CreateInstaller(
+                executionContext,
+                httpMessageHandler: handler,
+                githubArtifactAttestationVerifier: attestationVerifier,
+                embeddedBundleProvider: embeddedBundleProvider);
+
+            var result = await installer.InstallAsync(CancellationToken.None);
+
+            Assert.Equal(AspireSkillsInstallStatus.Installed, result.Status);
+            Assert.NotNull(result.Bundle);
+            Assert.True(attestationVerifier.VerifyCalled);
+            Assert.True(embeddedBundleProvider.OpenArchiveCalled);
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            Directory.Delete(rootDirectory, recursive: true);
+        }
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public async Task InstallAsync_WhenVersionOverrideDoesNotMatchEmbeddedBundle_DoesNotUseEmbeddedBundle()
+    {
+        var rootDirectory = CreateTempDirectory();
+
+        try
+        {
+            var configuration = new ConfigurationBuilder()
+                .AddInMemoryCollection(new Dictionary<string, string?>
+                {
+                    [AspireSkillsInstaller.VersionOverrideKey] = "9.9.9"
+                })
+                .Build();
+            var executionContext = TestExecutionContextHelper.CreateExecutionContext(new DirectoryInfo(rootDirectory));
+            var embeddedBundleProvider = await CreateEmbeddedBundleProviderAsync();
+            var installer = CreateInstaller(
+                executionContext,
+                configuration: configuration,
+                embeddedBundleProvider: embeddedBundleProvider);
+
+            var result = await installer.InstallAsync(CancellationToken.None);
+
+            Assert.Equal(AspireSkillsInstallStatus.Failed, result.Status);
+            Assert.False(embeddedBundleProvider.OpenArchiveCalled);
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            Directory.Delete(rootDirectory, recursive: true);
+        }
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public async Task InstallAsync_WhenEmbeddedArchiveHashDoesNotMatch_ReturnsFailure()
+    {
+        var rootDirectory = CreateTempDirectory();
+
+        try
+        {
+            var embeddedBundleProvider = await CreateEmbeddedBundleProviderAsync();
+            embeddedBundleProvider.Metadata = new EmbeddedAspireSkillsBundleMetadata
+            {
+                Version = AspireSkillsInstaller.Version,
+                Repository = AspireSkillsInstaller.GitHubRepository,
+                Tag = $"v{AspireSkillsInstaller.Version}",
+                AssetName = $"aspire-skills-v{AspireSkillsInstaller.Version}.tgz",
+                Sha256 = "0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000"
+            };
+            var executionContext = TestExecutionContextHelper.CreateExecutionContext(new DirectoryInfo(rootDirectory));
+            var installer = CreateInstaller(
+                executionContext,
+                embeddedBundleProvider: embeddedBundleProvider);
 
             var result = await installer.InstallAsync(CancellationToken.None);
 
             Assert.Equal(AspireSkillsInstallStatus.Failed, result.Status);
             Assert.NotNull(result.Message);
-            Assert.Contains("Provenance", result.Message, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase);
+            Assert.Contains("SHA-256", result.Message, StringComparison.Ordinal);
+            Assert.Contains("0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000", result.Message, StringComparison.Ordinal);
+            Assert.True(embeddedBundleProvider.OpenArchiveCalled);
         }
         finally
         {
@@ -180,14 +301,17 @@ public async Task InstallAsync_WhenGitHubAttestationFails_ReturnsFailure()
     private static AspireSkillsInstaller CreateInstaller(
         CliExecutionContext executionContext,
         HttpMessageHandler? httpMessageHandler = null,
-        TestGitHubArtifactAttestationVerifier? githubArtifactAttestationVerifier = null)
+        TestGitHubArtifactAttestationVerifier? githubArtifactAttestationVerifier = null,
+        IConfiguration? configuration = null,
+        IEmbeddedAspireSkillsBundleProvider? embeddedBundleProvider = null)
     {
         return new AspireSkillsInstaller(
             githubArtifactAttestationVerifier ?? new TestGitHubArtifactAttestationVerifier(),
             new MockHttpClientFactory(httpMessageHandler ?? new MockHttpMessageHandler(_ => new HttpResponseMessage(HttpStatusCode.NotFound))),
+            embeddedBundleProvider ?? new TestEmbeddedAspireSkillsBundleProvider(),
             new TestInteractionService(),
             executionContext,
-            new ConfigurationBuilder().Build(),
+            configuration ?? new ConfigurationBuilder().Build(),
             TestTelemetryHelper.CreateInitializedTelemetry(),
             NullLogger<AspireSkillsInstaller>.Instance);
     }
@@ -273,6 +397,28 @@ private static string ComputeSha256(string path)
         return Convert.ToHexString(SHA256.HashData(stream)).ToLowerInvariant();
     }
 
+    private static string ComputeSha256(byte[] bytes)
+    {
+        return Convert.ToHexString(SHA256.HashData(bytes)).ToLowerInvariant();
+    }
+
+    private static async Task<TestEmbeddedAspireSkillsBundleProvider> CreateEmbeddedBundleProviderAsync()
+    {
+        var archiveBytes = await CreateBundleArchiveBytesAsync();
+        return new TestEmbeddedAspireSkillsBundleProvider
+        {
+            Metadata = new EmbeddedAspireSkillsBundleMetadata
+            {
+                Version = AspireSkillsInstaller.Version,
+                Repository = AspireSkillsInstaller.GitHubRepository,
+                Tag = $"v{AspireSkillsInstaller.Version}",
+                AssetName = $"aspire-skills-v{AspireSkillsInstaller.Version}.tgz",
+                Sha256 = ComputeSha256(archiveBytes)
+            },
+            ArchiveBytes = archiveBytes
+        };
+    }
+
     private static HttpResponseMessage CreateJsonResponse(string json)
     {
         return new HttpResponseMessage(HttpStatusCode.OK)
@@ -341,4 +487,18 @@ public Task<ProvenanceVerificationResult> VerifyAsync(
         }
     }
 
+    private sealed class TestEmbeddedAspireSkillsBundleProvider : IEmbeddedAspireSkillsBundleProvider
+    {
+        public EmbeddedAspireSkillsBundleMetadata? Metadata { get; set; }
+
+        public byte[]? ArchiveBytes { get; init; }
+
+        public bool OpenArchiveCalled { get; private set; }
+
+        public Stream? OpenArchive()
+        {
+            OpenArchiveCalled = true;
+            return ArchiveBytes is null ? null : new MemoryStream(ArchiveBytes, writable: false);
+        }
+    }
 }
diff --git a/tests/Aspire.Cli.Tests/Commands/AgentInitCommandTests.cs b/tests/Aspire.Cli.Tests/Commands/AgentInitCommandTests.cs
index ace28bcd5c4..6bbd66cc744 100644
--- a/tests/Aspire.Cli.Tests/Commands/AgentInitCommandTests.cs
+++ b/tests/Aspire.Cli.Tests/Commands/AgentInitCommandTests.cs
@@ -269,7 +269,7 @@ public async Task AgentInitCommand_NonInteractive_WithoutWorkspaceRoot_UsesWorki
     }
 
     [Fact]
-    public async Task AgentInitCommand_NonInteractive_WithUnavailableAspireSkillsBundle_Fails()
+    public async Task AgentInitCommand_NonInteractive_WithUnavailableAspireSkillsBundle_WarnsAndSucceedsWithoutSelectedAspireSkills()
     {
         using var workspace = TemporaryWorkspace.Create(outputHelper);
         const string installFailureMessage = "Aspire skills bundle is unavailable.";
@@ -289,9 +289,12 @@ public async Task AgentInitCommand_NonInteractive_WithUnavailableAspireSkillsBun
 
         var exitCode = await result.InvokeAsync().DefaultTimeout();
 
-        Assert.Equal(CliExitCodes.InvalidCommand, exitCode);
-        Assert.Contains(installFailureMessage, interactionService.DisplayedErrors);
-        Assert.Empty(interactionService.DisplayedSuccess);
+        Assert.Equal(CliExitCodes.Success, exitCode);
+        Assert.DoesNotContain(installFailureMessage, interactionService.DisplayedErrors);
+        Assert.Contains(
+            interactionService.DisplayedMessages,
+            message => message.Emoji.Equals(KnownEmojis.Warning) && message.Message == installFailureMessage);
+        Assert.Contains(McpCommandStrings.InitCommand_ConfigurationComplete, interactionService.DisplayedSuccess);
     }
 
     [Fact]