diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 2784568..dca4667 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -58,6 +58,8 @@ mosaic yolo pi               # Pi in yolo mode
 
 The launcher verifies your config, checks for `SOUL.md`, injects your `AGENTS.md` standards into the runtime, and forwards all arguments.
 
+Pi launches default to a token-lean skill posture: `mosaic pi` passes `--no-skills` so Pi does not preload every global skill description into the system prompt. Use `MOSAIC_PI_SKILL_MODE=all mosaic pi` for the legacy all-skills catalog, or `MOSAIC_PI_SKILL_MODE=discover mosaic pi` to let Pi use its native settings/project skill discovery.
+
 ### TUI & Gateway
 
 ```bash
diff --git a/packages/mosaic/framework/tools/git/ci-queue-wait.sh b/packages/mosaic/framework/tools/git/ci-queue-wait.sh
index c75de5d..266577b 100755
--- a/packages/mosaic/framework/tools/git/ci-queue-wait.sh
+++ b/packages/mosaic/framework/tools/git/ci-queue-wait.sh
@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@ gitea_get_branch_head_sha() {
     local branch="$3"
     local token="$4"
     local url="https://${host}/api/v1/repos/${repo}/branches/${branch}"
-    curl -fsS -H "Authorization: token ${token}" "$url" | python3 -c '
+    curl -fsSL -H "Authorization: token ${token}" "$url" | python3 -c '
 import json, sys
 data = json.load(sys.stdin)
 commit = data.get("commit") or {}
@@ -151,7 +151,7 @@ gitea_get_commit_status_json() {
     local sha="$3"
     local token="$4"
     local url="https://${host}/api/v1/repos/${repo}/commits/${sha}/status"
-    curl -fsS -H "Authorization: token ${token}" "$url"
+    curl -fsSL -H "Authorization: token ${token}" "$url"
 }
 
 while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
diff --git a/packages/mosaic/framework/tools/git/pr-ci-wait.sh b/packages/mosaic/framework/tools/git/pr-ci-wait.sh
index 82f33bb..50c8b21 100755
--- a/packages/mosaic/framework/tools/git/pr-ci-wait.sh
+++ b/packages/mosaic/framework/tools/git/pr-ci-wait.sh
@@ -124,7 +124,7 @@ gitea_get_pr_head_sha() {
     local repo="$2"
     local token="$3"
     local url="https://${host}/api/v1/repos/${repo}/pulls/${PR_NUMBER}"
-    curl -fsS -H "Authorization: token ${token}" "$url" | python3 -c '
+    curl -fsSL -H "Authorization: token ${token}" "$url" | python3 -c '
 import json, sys
 data = json.load(sys.stdin)
 print((data.get("head") or {}).get("sha", ""))
@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@ gitea_get_commit_status_json() {
     local token="$3"
     local sha="$4"
     local url="https://${host}/api/v1/repos/${repo}/commits/${sha}/status"
-    curl -fsS -H "Authorization: token ${token}" "$url"
+    curl -fsSL -H "Authorization: token ${token}" "$url"
 }
 
 while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
diff --git a/packages/mosaic/src/commands/git-wrapper-redirects.spec.ts b/packages/mosaic/src/commands/git-wrapper-redirects.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..84f60ff
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/mosaic/src/commands/git-wrapper-redirects.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+import { readFileSync } from 'node:fs';
+import { join } from 'node:path';
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
+
+const packageRoot = join(import.meta.dirname, '..', '..');
+const gitToolsDir = join(packageRoot, 'framework', 'tools', 'git');
+
+function readGitTool(scriptName: string): string {
+  return readFileSync(join(gitToolsDir, scriptName), 'utf-8');
+}
+
+describe('Gitea git wrapper API calls', () => {
+  it.each(['ci-queue-wait.sh', 'pr-ci-wait.sh'])(
+    '%s follows Gitea API redirects before parsing JSON',
+    (scriptName) => {
+      const script = readGitTool(scriptName);
+
+      expect(script).not.toContain('curl -fsS -H "Authorization: token');
+      expect(script).toContain('curl -fsSL -H "Authorization: token');
+    },
+  );
+});
diff --git a/packages/mosaic/src/commands/launch.spec.ts b/packages/mosaic/src/commands/launch.spec.ts
index e1846d2..5c7d1e9 100644
--- a/packages/mosaic/src/commands/launch.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/mosaic/src/commands/launch.spec.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach, afterEach, type MockInstance } from 'vitest';
 import { Command } from 'commander';
-import { registerRuntimeLaunchers, type RuntimeLaunchHandler } from './launch.js';
+import { buildPiSkillArgs, registerRuntimeLaunchers, type RuntimeLaunchHandler } from './launch.js';
 
 /**
  * Tests for the commander wiring between `mosaic <runtime>` / `mosaic yolo <runtime>`
@@ -22,6 +22,8 @@ function buildProgram(handler: RuntimeLaunchHandler): Command {
   return program;
 }
 
+const fakeSkills = ['--skill', '/skills/test-driven-development', '--skill', '/skills/pdf'];
+
 // `process.exit` returns `never`, so vi.spyOn demands a replacement with the
 // same signature. We throw from the mock to short-circuit into test-land.
 const exitThrows = (): never => {
@@ -63,6 +65,30 @@ describe('registerRuntimeLaunchers — non-yolo subcommands', () => {
   });
 });
 
+describe('buildPiSkillArgs', () => {
+  it('defaults to disabling Pi skill discovery to keep startup context small', () => {
+    expect(buildPiSkillArgs([], {}, fakeSkills)).toEqual(['--no-skills']);
+  });
+
+  it('keeps explicit user skills while disabling automatic discovery', () => {
+    expect(buildPiSkillArgs(['--skill', '/tmp/custom'], {}, fakeSkills)).toEqual(['--no-skills']);
+  });
+
+  it('supports legacy all-skills mode without double-loading settings skills', () => {
+    expect(buildPiSkillArgs([], { MOSAIC_PI_SKILL_MODE: 'all' }, fakeSkills)).toEqual([
+      '--no-skills',
+      '--skill',
+      '/skills/test-driven-development',
+      '--skill',
+      '/skills/pdf',
+    ]);
+  });
+
+  it('supports native Pi discovery when explicitly requested', () => {
+    expect(buildPiSkillArgs([], { MOSAIC_PI_SKILL_MODE: 'discover' }, fakeSkills)).toEqual([]);
+  });
+});
+
 describe('registerRuntimeLaunchers — yolo <runtime>', () => {
   let mockExit: MockInstance<typeof process.exit>;
   let mockError: MockInstance<typeof console.error>;
diff --git a/packages/mosaic/src/commands/launch.ts b/packages/mosaic/src/commands/launch.ts
index 76c1702..de8179f 100644
--- a/packages/mosaic/src/commands/launch.ts
+++ b/packages/mosaic/src/commands/launch.ts
@@ -447,6 +447,32 @@ function discoverPiSkills(): string[] {
   return args;
 }
 
+type PiSkillMode = 'none' | 'all' | 'discover';
+
+function normalizePiSkillMode(env: NodeJS.ProcessEnv): PiSkillMode {
+  const value = env['MOSAIC_PI_SKILL_MODE']?.trim().toLowerCase();
+  if (value === 'all' || value === 'discover') return value;
+  return 'none';
+}
+
+export function buildPiSkillArgs(
+  _runtimeArgs: string[],
+  env: NodeJS.ProcessEnv = process.env,
+  discoveredSkillArgs: string[] = discoverPiSkills(),
+): string[] {
+  const mode = normalizePiSkillMode(env);
+
+  if (mode === 'discover') {
+    return [];
+  }
+
+  if (mode === 'all') {
+    return ['--no-skills', ...discoveredSkillArgs];
+  }
+
+  return ['--no-skills'];
+}
+
 function discoverPiExtension(): string[] {
   const ext = join(MOSAIC_HOME, 'runtime', 'pi', 'mosaic-extension.ts');
   return existsSync(ext) ? ['--extension', ext] : [];
@@ -523,7 +549,7 @@ function launchRuntime(runtime: RuntimeName, args: string[], yolo: boolean): nev
     case 'pi': {
       const prompt = buildRuntimePrompt('pi');
       const cliArgs = ['--append-system-prompt', prompt];
-      cliArgs.push(...discoverPiSkills());
+      cliArgs.push(...buildPiSkillArgs(args));
       cliArgs.push(...discoverPiExtension());
       if (hasMissionNoArgs) {
         cliArgs.push(missionPrompt);