diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 3017d8f..9e9d696 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ node_modules
 dist
 build
 packages/cli-js/templates
+packages/cli-js/core
 npm-debug.log
 
 # python
diff --git a/packages/cli-js/package.json b/packages/cli-js/package.json
index b051c14..6dfdbcd 100644
--- a/packages/cli-js/package.json
+++ b/packages/cli-js/package.json
@@ -14,20 +14,19 @@
   "publishConfig": {
     "access": "public"
   },
-  "files": ["dist", "templates", "README.md"],
+  "files": ["dist", "templates", "core", "README.md"],
   "bin": {
     "planforge": "dist/index.js"
   },
   "scripts": {
     "check:templates": "node scripts/check-templates.js",
-    "build": "pnpm run check:templates && tsc && node scripts/copy-templates.js",
+    "build": "pnpm run check:templates && tsc && node scripts/copy-templates.js && node scripts/copy-core.js",
     "dev": "tsc --watch",
     "planforge": "node dist/index.js",
     "install:global": "pnpm run build && npm install -g .",
     "prepublishOnly": "pnpm run build"
   },
   "dependencies": {
-    "@planforge/core": "file:../core",
     "@daun_jung/korean-romanizer": "^1.0.1",
     "commander": "^12.0.0",
     "fs-extra": "^11.2.0"
diff --git a/packages/cli-js/pnpm-lock.yaml b/packages/cli-js/pnpm-lock.yaml
index f777fb8..1f147ef 100644
--- a/packages/cli-js/pnpm-lock.yaml
+++ b/packages/cli-js/pnpm-lock.yaml
@@ -11,9 +11,6 @@ importers:
       '@daun_jung/korean-romanizer':
         specifier: ^1.0.1
         version: 1.0.1
-      '@planforge/core':
-        specifier: file:../core
-        version: file:../core
       commander:
         specifier: ^12.0.0
         version: 12.1.0
@@ -37,9 +34,6 @@ packages:
     resolution: {integrity: sha512-V5eY5iB3kUt6u9uYcjilra9vkJ8cIdJpDYSNeaX9dle1qPPYqis+XrOn+Zf/+FsbxOLAL9WqMmkJEDwNOd+0OQ==}
     engines: {node: '>=14.0.0'}
 
-  '@planforge/core@file:../core':
-    resolution: {directory: ../core, type: directory}
-
   '@types/fs-extra@11.0.4':
     resolution: {integrity: sha512-yTbItCNreRooED33qjunPthRcSjERP1r4MqCZc7wv0u2sUkzTFp45tgUfS5+r7FrZPdmCCNflLhVSP/o+SemsQ==}
 
@@ -79,8 +73,6 @@ snapshots:
 
   '@daun_jung/korean-romanizer@1.0.1': {}
 
-  '@planforge/core@file:../core': {}
-
   '@types/fs-extra@11.0.4':
     dependencies:
       '@types/jsonfile': 6.1.4
diff --git a/packages/cli-js/scripts/copy-core.js b/packages/cli-js/scripts/copy-core.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1e84602
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/cli-js/scripts/copy-core.js
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+/**
+ * Copy @planforge/core content (prompts, models.json) into packages/cli-js/core so the published npm package contains them.
+ * Run from packages/cli-js (e.g. node scripts/copy-core.js).
+ */
+import { cpSync, mkdirSync, existsSync } from "fs";
+import { resolve, dirname } from "path";
+import { fileURLToPath } from "url";
+
+const __dirname = dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
+const repoRoot = resolve(__dirname, "..", "..", "..");
+const corePkg = resolve(repoRoot, "packages", "core");
+const dest = resolve(__dirname, "..", "core");
+const promptsSrc = resolve(corePkg, "prompts");
+const modelsSrc = resolve(corePkg, "models.json");
+
+if (!existsSync(promptsSrc) || !existsSync(modelsSrc)) {
+  console.error("copy-core: packages/core/prompts or models.json not found");
+  process.exit(1);
+}
+mkdirSync(dest, { recursive: true });
+cpSync(promptsSrc, resolve(dest, "prompts"), { recursive: true });
+cpSync(modelsSrc, resolve(dest, "models.json"));
+console.log("copy-core: copied core to", dest);
diff --git a/packages/cli-js/src/commands/model.ts b/packages/cli-js/src/commands/model.ts
index 30f57bb..1023db6 100644
--- a/packages/cli-js/src/commands/model.ts
+++ b/packages/cli-js/src/commands/model.ts
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ export function loadModelsCatalog(): ModelsCatalog {
   const filePath = existsSync(path) ? path : existsSync(fallback) ? fallback : null;
   if (!filePath) {
     throw new Error(
-      `models.json not found. Tried: ${path} and ${fallback}. Check @planforge/core package or run from repo root.`
+      `models.json not found. Tried: ${path} and ${fallback}. Run pnpm run build in cli-js or reinstall planforge.`
     );
   }
   return fs.readJsonSync(filePath) as ModelsCatalog;
diff --git a/packages/cli-js/src/utils/paths.ts b/packages/cli-js/src/utils/paths.ts
index 85aae43..a18b57f 100644
--- a/packages/cli-js/src/utils/paths.ts
+++ b/packages/cli-js/src/utils/paths.ts
@@ -5,10 +5,8 @@
 import { existsSync } from "fs";
 import { resolve, dirname } from "path";
 import { fileURLToPath } from "url";
-import { createRequire } from "module";
 
 const __dirname = dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
-const require = createRequire(import.meta.url);
 
 /**
  * Find project root by walking up from cwd until we find planforge.json or .cursor/plans or .cursor/contexts.
@@ -71,19 +69,22 @@ export function getTemplatesRoot(): string {
 }
 
 /**
- * Resolve prompts directory from @planforge/core package (for planner/implementer system prompts).
+ * Resolve core root (prompts, models.json). Always uses the bundled copy at package root; no @planforge/core dependency.
+ */
+function getCoreRoot(): string {
+  return resolve(__dirname, "..", "..", "core");
+}
+
+/**
+ * Resolve prompts directory (planner/implementer system prompts). Uses bundled core from build.
  */
 export function getPromptsDir(): string {
-  const corePackageJson = require.resolve("@planforge/core/package.json");
-  const coreRoot = dirname(corePackageJson);
-  return resolve(coreRoot, "prompts");
+  return resolve(getCoreRoot(), "prompts");
 }
 
 /**
- * Resolve models.json path from @planforge/core package (for planforge model command).
+ * Resolve models.json path (planforge model command). Uses bundled core from build.
  */
 export function getModelsJsonPath(): string {
-  const corePackageJson = require.resolve("@planforge/core/package.json");
-  const coreRoot = dirname(corePackageJson);
-  return resolve(coreRoot, "models.json");
+  return resolve(getCoreRoot(), "models.json");
 }