diff --git a/skills-manifest.json b/skills-manifest.json
index fcd78fcbb6..cf3d5ba607 100644
--- a/skills-manifest.json
+++ b/skills-manifest.json
@@ -18,8 +18,8 @@
       "files": 1
     },
     "hyperframes-animation": {
-      "hash": "57458f4308708e21",
-      "files": 115
+      "hash": "f789d7f95d9ad2fe",
+      "files": 116
     },
     "hyperframes-cli": {
       "hash": "9b36a367a0e3a332",
@@ -30,8 +30,8 @@
       "files": 13
     },
     "hyperframes-creative": {
-      "hash": "bb248c1bc5cc28b5",
-      "files": 67
+      "hash": "8573b34712e14ab1",
+      "files": 68
     },
     "hyperframes-media": {
       "hash": "096b2ab0a43b05dd",
diff --git a/skills/hyperframes-animation/SKILL.md b/skills/hyperframes-animation/SKILL.md
index 416c7c10a4..8e7c03250d 100644
--- a/skills/hyperframes-animation/SKILL.md
+++ b/skills/hyperframes-animation/SKILL.md
@@ -75,6 +75,8 @@ node skills/hyperframes-animation/scripts/animation-map.mjs <composition-dir> \
 
 Reads every GSAP timeline registered on `window.__timelines`, enumerates tweens, samples bboxes, computes flags, outputs `animation-map.json`. Use it to audit choreography (dead zones, stagger consistency, lifecycle warnings) after authoring.
 
+`animation-map.mjs` resolves helper packages from the current project first, then can bootstrap the bundled HyperFrames package version. Set `HYPERFRAMES_SKILL_PKG_VERSION=<version>` only when running the skill outside the bundled CLI/skill install and you need to pin that bootstrap version explicitly.
+
 ## See Also
 
 - `hyperframes-core` — composition structure, data attributes, sub-compositions, deterministic render contract
diff --git a/skills/hyperframes-animation/scripts/animation-map.mjs b/skills/hyperframes-animation/scripts/animation-map.mjs
index 95771ab795..f95bb09331 100644
--- a/skills/hyperframes-animation/scripts/animation-map.mjs
+++ b/skills/hyperframes-animation/scripts/animation-map.mjs
@@ -8,6 +8,11 @@
 // Usage:
 //   node skills/hyperframes-animation/scripts/animation-map.mjs <composition-dir> \
 //     [--frames N] [--out <dir>] [--min-duration S] [--width W] [--height H] [--fps N]
+//
+// Env:
+//   HYPERFRAMES_SKILL_PKG_VERSION — pin the @hyperframes/producer version used
+//     when bootstrapping (global skill installs cannot infer it; falls back to
+//     @latest with a warning otherwise).
 
 import { mkdir, writeFile } from "node:fs/promises";
 import { resolve, join } from "node:path";
diff --git a/skills/hyperframes-animation/scripts/package-loader.mjs b/skills/hyperframes-animation/scripts/package-loader.mjs
index d3e388225a..063bf4fe0c 100644
--- a/skills/hyperframes-animation/scripts/package-loader.mjs
+++ b/skills/hyperframes-animation/scripts/package-loader.mjs
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import { createInterface } from "node:readline/promises";
 import { fileURLToPath, pathToFileURL } from "node:url";
 
 const HERE = dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
+const VERSION_OVERRIDE_ENV = "HYPERFRAMES_SKILL_PKG_VERSION";
 const BOOTSTRAP_ENV = "HYPERFRAMES_SKILL_DEPS_BOOTSTRAPPED";
 const BOOTSTRAP_CONFIRM_ENV = "HYPERFRAMES_SKILL_BOOTSTRAP_DEPS";
 const NODE_MODULES_ENV = "HYPERFRAMES_SKILL_NODE_MODULES";
@@ -46,16 +47,24 @@ export async function importPackagesOrBootstrap(packageNames, options = {}) {
 }
 
 export function hyperframesPackageSpec(packageName) {
+  const override = process.env[VERSION_OVERRIDE_ENV]?.trim();
+  if (override) return `${packageName}@${override}`;
+
   const version = readBundledHyperframesVersion();
-  if (!version) {
-    throw new Error(
-      [
-        `Could not determine the bundled HyperFrames version for ${packageName}.`,
-        "Install the package yourself or pass a pinned options.npmPackages entry.",
-      ].join("\n"),
-    );
-  }
-  return `${packageName}@${version}`;
+  if (version) return `${packageName}@${version}`;
+
+  // Global skill installs (e.g. ~/.claude/skills) have no hyperframes package.json
+  // in their ancestor chain, so the bundled version is unknowable. Fall back to
+  // @latest instead of throwing: already-installed packages still import, and a
+  // bootstrap install can still proceed (@latest satisfies the pinned-spec guard).
+  process.stderr.write(
+    [
+      `hyperframes: could not determine the bundled version for ${packageName}; using @latest.`,
+      `Set ${VERSION_OVERRIDE_ENV}=<version> to pin it.`,
+      "",
+    ].join("\n"),
+  );
+  return `${packageName}@latest`;
 }
 
 function resolvePackageEntry(packageName) {
diff --git a/skills/hyperframes-animation/scripts/package-loader.test.mjs b/skills/hyperframes-animation/scripts/package-loader.test.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..7b36a3ceb3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/skills/hyperframes-animation/scripts/package-loader.test.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+import { test } from "node:test";
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import { spawnSync } from "node:child_process";
+import { copyFileSync, mkdtempSync, rmSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { dirname, join } from "node:path";
+import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
+import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
+
+const HERE = dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
+const ENV = "HYPERFRAMES_SKILL_PKG_VERSION";
+
+// (a) env override wins — no ancestor lookup, exact version echoed back.
+test("hyperframesPackageSpec: env override wins", async () => {
+  const prev = process.env[ENV];
+  process.env[ENV] = "9.9.9";
+  try {
+    const { hyperframesPackageSpec } = await import("./package-loader.mjs");
+    assert.equal(hyperframesPackageSpec("@hyperframes/producer"), "@hyperframes/producer@9.9.9");
+  } finally {
+    if (prev === undefined) delete process.env[ENV];
+    else process.env[ENV] = prev;
+  }
+});
+
+// (b) resolvable version (in-repo) pins the bundled hyperframes/@hyperframes/cli version.
+test("hyperframesPackageSpec: resolvable in-repo version pins it", async () => {
+  const prev = process.env[ENV];
+  delete process.env[ENV];
+  try {
+    const { hyperframesPackageSpec } = await import("./package-loader.mjs");
+    const spec = hyperframesPackageSpec("@hyperframes/producer");
+    assert.match(spec, /^@hyperframes\/producer@\d+\.\d+\.\d+/);
+  } finally {
+    if (prev !== undefined) process.env[ENV] = prev;
+  }
+});
+
+// (c) unresolvable + no override -> @latest fallback, no throw (global-install case).
+// Copy the loader into an isolated temp dir whose ancestor chain has no hyperframes
+// package.json, and run node from there so cwd cannot resolve one either.
+test("hyperframesPackageSpec: unresolvable falls back to @latest without throwing", () => {
+  const dir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "hf-pkgloader-"));
+  try {
+    copyFileSync(join(HERE, "package-loader.mjs"), join(dir, "package-loader.mjs"));
+    const probe = join(dir, "probe.mjs");
+    writeFileSync(
+      probe,
+      [
+        'import { hyperframesPackageSpec } from "./package-loader.mjs";',
+        'process.stdout.write(hyperframesPackageSpec("@hyperframes/producer"));',
+        "",
+      ].join("\n"),
+    );
+    const res = spawnSync(process.execPath, [probe], { cwd: dir, encoding: "utf8" });
+    assert.equal(res.status, 0, res.stderr);
+    assert.equal(res.stdout.trim(), "@hyperframes/producer@latest");
+    assert.match(res.stderr, /using @latest/);
+    assert.match(res.stderr, new RegExp(ENV));
+  } finally {
+    rmSync(dir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  }
+});
diff --git a/skills/hyperframes-creative/SKILL.md b/skills/hyperframes-creative/SKILL.md
index e249645944..e76ff5e78d 100644
--- a/skills/hyperframes-creative/SKILL.md
+++ b/skills/hyperframes-creative/SKILL.md
@@ -52,6 +52,8 @@ For motion patterns, scene blueprints, transitions, and CSS marker effects, use
 - `scripts/extract-audio-data.py` — pre-extract audio bands for audio-reactive compositions.
 - `scripts/package-loader.mjs` — support script for bundled creative tooling.
 
+`contrast-report.mjs` resolves helper packages from the current project first, then can bootstrap the bundled HyperFrames package version. Set `HYPERFRAMES_SKILL_PKG_VERSION=<version>` only when running the skill outside the bundled CLI/skill install and you need to pin that bootstrap version explicitly.
+
 Run from the repo root with explicit paths, for example:
 
 ```bash
diff --git a/skills/hyperframes-creative/scripts/contrast-report.mjs b/skills/hyperframes-creative/scripts/contrast-report.mjs
index cd18eaeb7e..ee9b7835b8 100644
--- a/skills/hyperframes-creative/scripts/contrast-report.mjs
+++ b/skills/hyperframes-creative/scripts/contrast-report.mjs
@@ -12,6 +12,11 @@
 //   node skills/hyperframes-creative/scripts/contrast-report.mjs <composition-dir> \
 //     [--samples N] [--out <dir>] [--width W] [--height H] [--fps N]
 //
+// Env:
+//   HYPERFRAMES_SKILL_PKG_VERSION — pin the @hyperframes/producer version used
+//     when bootstrapping (global skill installs cannot infer it; falls back to
+//     @latest with a warning otherwise).
+//
 // The composition directory must contain an index.html. Raw authoring HTML
 // works — the producer's file server auto-injects the runtime at serve time.
 // Exits 1 if any text element fails WCAG AA.
diff --git a/skills/hyperframes-creative/scripts/package-loader.mjs b/skills/hyperframes-creative/scripts/package-loader.mjs
index d3e388225a..063bf4fe0c 100644
--- a/skills/hyperframes-creative/scripts/package-loader.mjs
+++ b/skills/hyperframes-creative/scripts/package-loader.mjs
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import { createInterface } from "node:readline/promises";
 import { fileURLToPath, pathToFileURL } from "node:url";
 
 const HERE = dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
+const VERSION_OVERRIDE_ENV = "HYPERFRAMES_SKILL_PKG_VERSION";
 const BOOTSTRAP_ENV = "HYPERFRAMES_SKILL_DEPS_BOOTSTRAPPED";
 const BOOTSTRAP_CONFIRM_ENV = "HYPERFRAMES_SKILL_BOOTSTRAP_DEPS";
 const NODE_MODULES_ENV = "HYPERFRAMES_SKILL_NODE_MODULES";
@@ -46,16 +47,24 @@ export async function importPackagesOrBootstrap(packageNames, options = {}) {
 }
 
 export function hyperframesPackageSpec(packageName) {
+  const override = process.env[VERSION_OVERRIDE_ENV]?.trim();
+  if (override) return `${packageName}@${override}`;
+
   const version = readBundledHyperframesVersion();
-  if (!version) {
-    throw new Error(
-      [
-        `Could not determine the bundled HyperFrames version for ${packageName}.`,
-        "Install the package yourself or pass a pinned options.npmPackages entry.",
-      ].join("\n"),
-    );
-  }
-  return `${packageName}@${version}`;
+  if (version) return `${packageName}@${version}`;
+
+  // Global skill installs (e.g. ~/.claude/skills) have no hyperframes package.json
+  // in their ancestor chain, so the bundled version is unknowable. Fall back to
+  // @latest instead of throwing: already-installed packages still import, and a
+  // bootstrap install can still proceed (@latest satisfies the pinned-spec guard).
+  process.stderr.write(
+    [
+      `hyperframes: could not determine the bundled version for ${packageName}; using @latest.`,
+      `Set ${VERSION_OVERRIDE_ENV}=<version> to pin it.`,
+      "",
+    ].join("\n"),
+  );
+  return `${packageName}@latest`;
 }
 
 function resolvePackageEntry(packageName) {
diff --git a/skills/hyperframes-creative/scripts/package-loader.test.mjs b/skills/hyperframes-creative/scripts/package-loader.test.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..7b36a3ceb3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/skills/hyperframes-creative/scripts/package-loader.test.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+import { test } from "node:test";
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import { spawnSync } from "node:child_process";
+import { copyFileSync, mkdtempSync, rmSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { dirname, join } from "node:path";
+import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
+import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
+
+const HERE = dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
+const ENV = "HYPERFRAMES_SKILL_PKG_VERSION";
+
+// (a) env override wins — no ancestor lookup, exact version echoed back.
+test("hyperframesPackageSpec: env override wins", async () => {
+  const prev = process.env[ENV];
+  process.env[ENV] = "9.9.9";
+  try {
+    const { hyperframesPackageSpec } = await import("./package-loader.mjs");
+    assert.equal(hyperframesPackageSpec("@hyperframes/producer"), "@hyperframes/producer@9.9.9");
+  } finally {
+    if (prev === undefined) delete process.env[ENV];
+    else process.env[ENV] = prev;
+  }
+});
+
+// (b) resolvable version (in-repo) pins the bundled hyperframes/@hyperframes/cli version.
+test("hyperframesPackageSpec: resolvable in-repo version pins it", async () => {
+  const prev = process.env[ENV];
+  delete process.env[ENV];
+  try {
+    const { hyperframesPackageSpec } = await import("./package-loader.mjs");
+    const spec = hyperframesPackageSpec("@hyperframes/producer");
+    assert.match(spec, /^@hyperframes\/producer@\d+\.\d+\.\d+/);
+  } finally {
+    if (prev !== undefined) process.env[ENV] = prev;
+  }
+});
+
+// (c) unresolvable + no override -> @latest fallback, no throw (global-install case).
+// Copy the loader into an isolated temp dir whose ancestor chain has no hyperframes
+// package.json, and run node from there so cwd cannot resolve one either.
+test("hyperframesPackageSpec: unresolvable falls back to @latest without throwing", () => {
+  const dir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "hf-pkgloader-"));
+  try {
+    copyFileSync(join(HERE, "package-loader.mjs"), join(dir, "package-loader.mjs"));
+    const probe = join(dir, "probe.mjs");
+    writeFileSync(
+      probe,
+      [
+        'import { hyperframesPackageSpec } from "./package-loader.mjs";',
+        'process.stdout.write(hyperframesPackageSpec("@hyperframes/producer"));',
+        "",
+      ].join("\n"),
+    );
+    const res = spawnSync(process.execPath, [probe], { cwd: dir, encoding: "utf8" });
+    assert.equal(res.status, 0, res.stderr);
+    assert.equal(res.stdout.trim(), "@hyperframes/producer@latest");
+    assert.match(res.stderr, /using @latest/);
+    assert.match(res.stderr, new RegExp(ENV));
+  } finally {
+    rmSync(dir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  }
+});