fix(init): clean up agent onboarding leftovers and persist onboarding source

install.sh

@@ -8,8 +8,9 @@ Installs the Steel CLI binary and, in an interactive terminal, runs
 
 Flags:
   --non-interactive    Skip the interactive `steel init` step (install only)
-  --agent              Run `steel init --agent` (print the onboarding guide
-                       to stdout; intended for AI coding agents)
+  --agent              Run `steel init --agent` (non-interactive: auto-accept
+                       prompts and print agent-friendly output; intended for
+                       AI coding agents)
   --from <name>        Tag the originating coding agent (claude-code, cursor,
                        opencode, codex, ...). Informational only; used for
                        onboarding telemetry. Supports `--from=<name>` too.
@@ -230,8 +231,8 @@ if [ -n "$_completion_shell" ]; then
 fi
 echo ""
 
-# Agent mode just prints the onboarding guide to stdout, which needs no TTY,
-# so it runs regardless of whether the surrounding shell is interactive.
+# Agent mode auto-accepts prompts and needs no TTY, so it runs regardless of
+# whether the surrounding shell is interactive.
 # Human mode drives `dialoguer` prompts, so we only run it when /dev/tty
 # exists.
 if [ "$STEEL_AGENT_MODE" = "yes" ]; then

src/commands/init/mod.rs

@@ -1,6 +1,10 @@
+use std::path::Path;
+
 use clap::Parser;
 
 use crate::commands::{doctor, login, skills};
+use crate::config;
+use crate::config::settings::{OnboardingConfig, read_config_from, write_config_to};
 use crate::status;
 
 #[derive(Parser)]
@@ -21,10 +25,11 @@ pub struct Args {
 
 pub async fn run(args: Args) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
     status!("Steel CLI setup");
-    if let Ok(from) = std::env::var("STEEL_ONBOARDING_FROM")
-        && !from.is_empty()
+    if let Some(source) =
+        onboarding_source_from_env(std::env::var("STEEL_ONBOARDING_FROM").ok().as_deref())
     {
-        status!("Onboarding source: {from}");
+        status!("Onboarding source: {source}");
+        record_onboarding_source(&source);
     }
     status!("");
 
@@ -91,3 +96,69 @@ async fn install_skills(args: &Args) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
 fn is_all_selection(selected: &[String]) -> bool {
     selected.len() == 1 && matches!(selected[0].as_str(), "__all__" | "all")
 }
+
+fn onboarding_source_from_env(value: Option<&str>) -> Option<String> {
+    value
+        .map(str::trim)
+        .filter(|source| !source.is_empty())
+        .map(str::to_string)
+}
+
+fn record_onboarding_source(source: &str) {
+    let config_path = config::config_path_in(&config::config_dir());
+    let _ = persist_onboarding_source(&config_path, source);
+    crate::telemetry::set_onboarding_source(source);
+}
+
+fn persist_onboarding_source(config_path: &Path, source: &str) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+    if let Some(parent) = config_path.parent() {
+        std::fs::create_dir_all(parent)?;
+    }
+    let mut cfg = read_config_from(config_path).unwrap_or_default();
+    cfg.onboarding = Some(OnboardingConfig {
+        source: Some(source.to_string()),
+    });
+    write_config_to(config_path, &cfg)?;
+    Ok(())
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+    use tempfile::TempDir;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn onboarding_source_from_env_trims_and_drops_blank() {
+        assert_eq!(
+            onboarding_source_from_env(Some(" claude-code ")).as_deref(),
+            Some("claude-code")
+        );
+        assert_eq!(onboarding_source_from_env(Some("  ")), None);
+        assert_eq!(onboarding_source_from_env(None), None);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn persist_onboarding_source_creates_config() {
+        let dir = TempDir::new().unwrap();
+        let path = dir.path().join("nested").join("config.json");
+
+        persist_onboarding_source(&path, "cursor").unwrap();
+
+        let cfg = read_config_from(&path).unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(cfg.onboarding_source(), Some("cursor"));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn persist_onboarding_source_preserves_existing_fields() {
+        let dir = TempDir::new().unwrap();
+        let path = dir.path().join("config.json");
+        std::fs::write(&path, r#"{"apiKey":"k","instance":"cloud"}"#).unwrap();
+
+        persist_onboarding_source(&path, "codex").unwrap();
+
+        let cfg = read_config_from(&path).unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(cfg.api_key.as_deref(), Some("k"));
+        assert_eq!(cfg.instance.as_deref(), Some("cloud"));
+        assert_eq!(cfg.onboarding_source(), Some("codex"));
+    }
+}

src/commands/mod.rs

@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ Global Flags:
 
 Getting Started:
   steel init                           Log in, verify, and install Steel skills into detected agents
-    --agent                              Print the agent onboarding guide to stdout and exit
+    --agent                              Auto-accept prompts and print agent-friendly output
   steel skills list                    List available Steel Skills
   steel skills install --all           Install all Steel Skills through npx skills
   steel skills install <name>          Install a Steel Skill through npx skills

src/config/settings.rs

@@ -114,6 +114,15 @@ pub struct Config {
     pub telemetry: Option<TelemetryConfig>,
     #[serde(skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
     pub computer: Option<ComputerConfig>,
+    #[serde(skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
+    pub onboarding: Option<OnboardingConfig>,
+}
+
+#[derive(Debug, Serialize, Deserialize, Default, Clone)]
+#[serde(rename_all = "camelCase")]
+pub struct OnboardingConfig {
+    #[serde(skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
+    pub source: Option<String>,
 }
 
 #[derive(Debug, Serialize, Deserialize, Default, Clone)]
@@ -159,6 +168,14 @@ impl Config {
             .and_then(|c| c.default_id.as_deref())
             .filter(|s| !s.trim().is_empty())
     }
+
+    pub fn onboarding_source(&self) -> Option<&str> {
+        self.onboarding
+            .as_ref()
+            .and_then(|o| o.source.as_deref())
+            .map(str::trim)
+            .filter(|s| !s.is_empty())
+    }
 }
 
 pub fn read_config_from(path: &Path) -> Result<Config> {
@@ -217,6 +234,9 @@ mod tests {
                 disabled: Some(true),
             }),
             computer: None,
+            onboarding: Some(OnboardingConfig {
+                source: Some("claude-code".into()),
+            }),
         };
 
         write_config_to(&path, &config).unwrap();
@@ -227,6 +247,19 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(loaded.instance.as_deref(), Some("cloud"));
         assert_eq!(loaded.local_api_url(), Some("http://localhost:4000/v1"));
         assert!(loaded.telemetry_disabled());
+        assert_eq!(loaded.onboarding_source(), Some("claude-code"));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn onboarding_source_ignores_blank_values() {
+        let config = Config {
+            onboarding: Some(OnboardingConfig {
+                source: Some("   ".into()),
+            }),
+            ..Default::default()
+        };
+        assert_eq!(config.onboarding_source(), None);
+        assert_eq!(Config::default().onboarding_source(), None);
     }
 
     #[test]