diff --git a/src/workspaces/plugins/Terminal/server/pty-sidecar.mjs b/src/workspaces/plugins/Terminal/server/pty-sidecar.mjs
index ac4fbf7d..8bd21ffc 100644
--- a/src/workspaces/plugins/Terminal/server/pty-sidecar.mjs
+++ b/src/workspaces/plugins/Terminal/server/pty-sidecar.mjs
@@ -1,10 +1,17 @@
 import http from 'node:http';
 import { existsSync } from 'node:fs';
 import { cp, mkdir } from 'node:fs/promises';
-import { join } from 'node:path';
+import { join, dirname } from 'node:path';
+import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url';
 import { WebSocketServer } from 'ws';
 import * as pty from 'node-pty';
 
+const __dirname = dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
+const isDocker = existsSync('/opt/terminal-templates/.zshrc');
+
+const templateDir = isDocker ? '/opt/terminal-templates' : join(__dirname, 'templates');
+const ohMyZshSource = isDocker ? '/opt/oh-my-zsh' : null;
+
 const port = Number(process.env.TERMINAL_PTY_PORT ?? '5337');
 const host = process.env.TERMINAL_PTY_HOST ?? '127.0.0.1';
 
@@ -26,20 +33,45 @@ const sendJson = (ws, msg) => {
 const ensureUserFiles = async (homeDir) => {
   await mkdir(homeDir, { recursive: true });
   await mkdir(join(homeDir, '.config'), { recursive: true });
+  await mkdir(join(homeDir, '.local', 'bin'), { recursive: true });
 
   const zshrcPath = join(homeDir, '.zshrc');
   if (!existsSync(zshrcPath)) {
-    await cp('/opt/terminal-templates/.zshrc', zshrcPath);
+    await cp(join(templateDir, '.zshrc'), zshrcPath);
   }
 
   const starshipPath = join(homeDir, '.config', 'starship-officer.toml');
   if (!existsSync(starshipPath)) {
-    await cp('/opt/terminal-templates/starship-officer.toml', starshipPath);
+    await cp(join(templateDir, 'starship-officer.toml'), starshipPath);
   }
 
   const ohMyZshPath = join(homeDir, '.oh-my-zsh');
   if (!existsSync(ohMyZshPath)) {
-    await cp('/opt/oh-my-zsh', ohMyZshPath, { recursive: true });
+    if (ohMyZshSource && existsSync(ohMyZshSource)) {
+      await cp(ohMyZshSource, ohMyZshPath, { recursive: true });
+    } else {
+      // Clone oh-my-zsh on first run (host mode)
+      const proc = Bun.spawn({
+        cmd: ['git', 'clone', '--depth=1', 'https://github.com/ohmyzsh/ohmyzsh.git', ohMyZshPath],
+        stdout: 'ignore',
+        stderr: 'ignore',
+      });
+      await proc.exited;
+    }
+  }
+
+  // Install starship on host if missing (not needed in Docker)
+  if (!isDocker) {
+    const starshipBin = join(homeDir, '.local', 'bin', 'starship');
+    if (!existsSync(starshipBin)) {
+      const installProc = Bun.spawn({
+        cmd: ['sh', '-c', 'curl -sS https://starship.rs/install.sh | sh -s -- -y -b "$HOME/.local/bin"'],
+        env: { ...process.env, HOME: homeDir },
+        stdout: 'ignore',
+        stderr: 'ignore',
+      });
+      await installProc.exited;
+    }
   }
 };
 
diff --git a/src/workspaces/plugins/Terminal/server/templates/.zshrc b/src/workspaces/plugins/Terminal/server/templates/.zshrc
index 52d5b2fd..fbd0c2c1 100644
--- a/src/workspaces/plugins/Terminal/server/templates/.zshrc
+++ b/src/workspaces/plugins/Terminal/server/templates/.zshrc
@@ -25,6 +25,17 @@ source $ZSH/oh-my-zsh.sh
 if [[ -n "$OFFICER_TERMINAL_USER" ]]; then
   export STARSHIP_CONFIG="$HOME/.config/starship-officer.toml"
 fi
+
+# Auto-install starship if not available (host mode)
+if ! command -v starship &> /dev/null; then
+  if [[ ! -x "$HOME/.local/bin/starship" ]]; then
+    mkdir -p "$HOME/.local/bin"
+    echo "Installing starship..."
+    curl -sS https://starship.rs/install.sh | sh -s -- -y -b "$HOME/.local/bin" 2>/dev/null
+  fi
+  export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"
+fi
+
 eval "$(starship init zsh)"
 
 # ============================================================================