diff --git a/.github/workflows/packer-snapshots.yml b/.github/workflows/packer-snapshots.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index abeb0bfb..00000000
--- a/.github/workflows/packer-snapshots.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,98 +0,0 @@
-name: Packer DigitalOcean Snapshots
-
-on:
-  schedule:
-    # 4 AM UTC daily (before docker at 6 AM)
-    - cron: "0 4 * * *"
-  workflow_dispatch:
-    inputs:
-      agent:
-        description: "Single agent to build (leave empty for all)"
-        required: false
-        type: string
-
-permissions:
-  contents: read
-
-jobs:
-  matrix:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    outputs:
-      agents: ${{ steps.set-matrix.outputs.agents }}
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-
-      - id: set-matrix
-        env:
-          AGENT_INPUT: ${{ inputs.agent }}
-        run: |
-          if [ -n "${AGENT_INPUT}" ]; then
-            echo "agents=$(jq -cn --arg a "${AGENT_INPUT}" '[$a]')" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
-          else
-            echo "agents=$(jq -c 'keys' packer/agents.json)" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
-          fi
-
-  build:
-    needs: matrix
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    strategy:
-      max-parallel: 3
-      fail-fast: false
-      matrix:
-        agent: ${{ fromJson(needs.matrix.outputs.agents) }}
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-
-      - name: Setup Packer
-        uses: hashicorp/setup-packer@main
-        with:
-          version: latest
-
-      - name: Generate Packer var file
-        env:
-          DIGITALOCEAN_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.DO_API_TOKEN }}
-          AGENT_NAME: ${{ matrix.agent }}
-        run: |
-          jq -n \
-            --arg token "${DIGITALOCEAN_TOKEN}" \
-            --arg agent "${AGENT_NAME}" \
-            --arg tier "$(jq -r --arg a "${AGENT_NAME}" '.[$a].tier' packer/agents.json)" \
-            --argjson install "$(jq --arg a "${AGENT_NAME}" '.[$a].install' packer/agents.json)" \
-            '{
-              do_api_token: $token,
-              agent_name: $agent,
-              cloud_init_tier: $tier,
-              install_commands: $install
-            }' > packer/build.auto.pkrvars.json
-
-      - name: Packer init
-        working-directory: packer
-        run: packer init digitalocean.pkr.hcl
-
-      - name: Packer build
-        working-directory: packer
-        run: packer build -var-file=build.auto.pkrvars.json digitalocean.pkr.hcl
-
-  cleanup:
-    needs: [matrix, build]
-    if: always()
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    strategy:
-      matrix:
-        agent: ${{ fromJson(needs.matrix.outputs.agents) }}
-    steps:
-      - name: Delete old snapshots
-        env:
-          DO_API_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.DO_API_TOKEN }}
-          AGENT_NAME: ${{ matrix.agent }}
-        run: |
-          # List snapshots for this agent, sorted by creation date
-          snapshots=$(curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer ${DO_API_TOKEN}" \
-            "https://api.digitalocean.com/v2/images?private=true&per_page=50&tag_name=spawn-${AGENT_NAME}" \
-            | jq -r '.images | sort_by(.created_at) | reverse | .[1:] | .[].id')
-
-          for id in $snapshots; do
-            echo "Deleting old snapshot: ${id}"
-            curl -s -X DELETE -H "Authorization: Bearer ${DO_API_TOKEN}" \
-              "https://api.digitalocean.com/v2/images/${id}"
-          done
diff --git a/packages/cli/package.json b/packages/cli/package.json
index 0e6f5b08..d34a347d 100644
--- a/packages/cli/package.json
+++ b/packages/cli/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@openrouter/spawn",
-  "version": "0.12.23",
+  "version": "0.12.24",
   "type": "module",
   "bin": {
     "spawn": "cli.js"
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/__tests__/do-snapshot.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/__tests__/do-snapshot.test.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index 4dc16b94..00000000
--- a/packages/cli/src/__tests__/do-snapshot.test.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,110 +0,0 @@
-import { describe, it, expect, beforeEach, afterEach, mock } from "bun:test";
-
-// We test findSpawnSnapshot by importing from the module.
-// The function uses the module-level doToken + doApi, so we mock fetch.
-
-const originalFetch = globalThis.fetch;
-
-describe("findSpawnSnapshot", () => {
-  // findSpawnSnapshot requires doToken to be set, which happens via ensureDoToken.
-  // Since doToken is module-private, we test the function's behavior via fetch mocking.
-
-  beforeEach(() => {
-    // Reset fetch before each test
-    globalThis.fetch = originalFetch;
-  });
-
-  afterEach(() => {
-    globalThis.fetch = originalFetch;
-  });
-
-  it("returns latest snapshot ID when API returns multiple images", async () => {
-    const images = {
-      images: [
-        {
-          id: 111,
-          created_at: "2026-03-01T00:00:00Z",
-          name: "spawn-claude-20260301",
-        },
-        {
-          id: 222,
-          created_at: "2026-03-03T00:00:00Z",
-          name: "spawn-claude-20260303",
-        },
-        {
-          id: 333,
-          created_at: "2026-03-02T00:00:00Z",
-          name: "spawn-claude-20260302",
-        },
-      ],
-    };
-
-    globalThis.fetch = mock(() => Promise.resolve(new Response(JSON.stringify(images))));
-
-    // Import fresh to avoid module-level state issues
-    const { findSpawnSnapshot } = await import("../digitalocean/digitalocean");
-    const result = await findSpawnSnapshot("claude");
-
-    // Should return the latest (ID 222, created 2026-03-03)
-    expect(result).toBe("222");
-  });
-
-  it("returns null when no images found", async () => {
-    globalThis.fetch = mock(() =>
-      Promise.resolve(
-        new Response(
-          JSON.stringify({
-            images: [],
-          }),
-        ),
-      ),
-    );
-
-    const { findSpawnSnapshot } = await import("../digitalocean/digitalocean");
-    const result = await findSpawnSnapshot("claude");
-
-    expect(result).toBeNull();
-  });
-
-  it("returns null on API error (graceful fallback)", async () => {
-    globalThis.fetch = mock(() =>
-      Promise.resolve(
-        new Response("Unauthorized", {
-          status: 401,
-        }),
-      ),
-    );
-
-    const { findSpawnSnapshot } = await import("../digitalocean/digitalocean");
-    const result = await findSpawnSnapshot("claude");
-
-    expect(result).toBeNull();
-  });
-
-  it("returns null when images have no valid ID", async () => {
-    const images = {
-      images: [
-        {
-          id: "not-a-number",
-          created_at: "2026-03-01T00:00:00Z",
-        },
-      ],
-    };
-
-    globalThis.fetch = mock(() => Promise.resolve(new Response(JSON.stringify(images))));
-
-    const { findSpawnSnapshot } = await import("../digitalocean/digitalocean");
-    const result = await findSpawnSnapshot("claude");
-
-    expect(result).toBeNull();
-  });
-
-  it("returns null on network failure", async () => {
-    globalThis.fetch = mock(() => Promise.reject(new Error("Network error")));
-
-    const { findSpawnSnapshot } = await import("../digitalocean/digitalocean");
-    const result = await findSpawnSnapshot("claude");
-
-    expect(result).toBeNull();
-  });
-});
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/digitalocean/digitalocean.ts b/packages/cli/src/digitalocean/digitalocean.ts
index a52c199f..dbdd8d9f 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/digitalocean/digitalocean.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/digitalocean/digitalocean.ts
@@ -750,56 +750,6 @@ export async function promptDoRegion(): Promise<string> {
   return selectFromList(items, "DigitalOcean region", DEFAULT_DO_REGION);
 }
 
-// ─── Snapshot Lookup ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
-
-/**
- * Find the latest pre-built Packer snapshot for an agent.
- * Returns the numeric image ID or null if none found / on error.
- */
-export async function findSpawnSnapshot(agentName: string): Promise<string | null> {
-  try {
-    const text = await doApi("GET", `/images?private=true&per_page=50&tag_name=spawn-${agentName}`, undefined, 1);
-    const data = parseJsonObj(text);
-    const images = toObjectArray(data?.images);
-    if (images.length === 0) {
-      return null;
-    }
-    // Sort by created_at descending and pick the latest
-    images.sort((a, b) => {
-      const aDate = isString(a.created_at) ? a.created_at : "";
-      const bDate = isString(b.created_at) ? b.created_at : "";
-      return bDate.localeCompare(aDate);
-    });
-    const latestId = images[0].id;
-    if (isNumber(latestId) && latestId > 0) {
-      logInfo(`Found pre-built snapshot for ${agentName} (ID: ${latestId})`);
-      return String(latestId);
-    }
-    return null;
-  } catch {
-    return null;
-  }
-}
-
-// ─── SSH-Only Wait (for snapshot-based boots) ────────────────────────────────
-
-/**
- * Wait for SSH to become available without waiting for cloud-init.
- * Used when booting from a pre-built snapshot (no cloud-init needed).
- */
-export async function waitForSshOnly(ip?: string): Promise<void> {
-  const serverIp = ip || doServerIp;
-  const selectedKeys = await ensureSshKeys();
-  const keyOpts = getSshKeyOpts(selectedKeys);
-  await sharedWaitForSsh({
-    host: serverIp,
-    user: "root",
-    maxAttempts: 36,
-    extraSshOpts: keyOpts,
-  });
-  logInfo("SSH available (snapshot boot — skipping cloud-init)");
-}
-
 // ─── Provisioning ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 function getCloudInitUserdata(tier: CloudInitTier = "full"): string {
@@ -833,21 +783,17 @@ export async function createServer(
   tier?: CloudInitTier,
   dropletSize?: string,
   region?: string,
-  snapshotId?: string,
 ): Promise<void> {
   const size = dropletSize || process.env.DO_DROPLET_SIZE || "s-2vcpu-4gb";
   const effectiveRegion = region || process.env.DO_REGION || "nyc3";
-  const image = snapshotId ? Number(snapshotId) : "ubuntu-24-04-x64";
+  const image = "ubuntu-24-04-x64";
 
   if (!validateRegionName(effectiveRegion)) {
     logError("Invalid DO_REGION");
     throw new Error("Invalid region");
   }
 
-  const imageLabel = snapshotId ? `snapshot ${snapshotId}` : "ubuntu-24-04-x64";
-  logStep(
-    `Creating DigitalOcean droplet '${name}' (size: ${size}, region: ${effectiveRegion}, image: ${imageLabel})...`,
-  );
+  logStep(`Creating DigitalOcean droplet '${name}' (size: ${size}, region: ${effectiveRegion})...`);
 
   // Get all SSH key IDs
   const keysText = await doApi("GET", "/account/keys");
@@ -856,20 +802,17 @@ export async function createServer(
     .map((k) => (isNumber(k.id) ? k.id : 0))
     .filter((n) => n > 0);
 
-  const dropletBody: Record<string, unknown> = {
+  const userdata = getCloudInitUserdata(tier);
+  const body = JSON.stringify({
     name,
     region: effectiveRegion,
     size,
     image,
     ssh_keys: sshKeyIds,
+    user_data: userdata,
     backups: false,
     monitoring: false,
-  };
-  // Only include cloud-init userdata when booting from a base image (not a snapshot)
-  if (!snapshotId) {
-    dropletBody.user_data = getCloudInitUserdata(tier);
-  }
-  const body = JSON.stringify(dropletBody);
+  });
 
   const createText = await doApi("POST", "/droplets", body);
   const createData = parseJsonObj(createText);
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/digitalocean/main.ts b/packages/cli/src/digitalocean/main.ts
index 50ab81ff..ce5f544b 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/digitalocean/main.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/digitalocean/main.ts
@@ -10,8 +10,6 @@ import {
   createServer as createDroplet,
   getServerName,
   waitForCloudInit,
-  waitForSshOnly,
-  findSpawnSnapshot,
   runServer,
   uploadFile,
   interactiveSession,
@@ -20,7 +18,7 @@ import { agents, resolveAgent } from "./agents";
 import { saveLaunchCmd } from "../history.js";
 import { runOrchestration } from "../shared/orchestrate";
 import type { CloudOrchestrator } from "../shared/orchestrate";
-import { logInfo, logStep } from "../shared/ui";
+import { logStep } from "../shared/ui";
 
 async function main() {
   const agentName = process.argv[2];
@@ -34,7 +32,6 @@ async function main() {
 
   let dropletSize = "";
   let region = "";
-  let snapshotId: string | null = null;
 
   const cloud: CloudOrchestrator = {
     cloudName: "digitalocean",
@@ -47,8 +44,6 @@ async function main() {
       await promptSpawnName();
       const usedBrowserAuth = await ensureDoToken();
       await ensureSshKey();
-      // Look for a pre-built snapshot after auth (needs valid token)
-      snapshotId = await findSpawnSnapshot(agentName);
       if (usedBrowserAuth) {
         logStep("Next step: OpenRouter authentication (opening browser in 5s)...");
         await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 5000));
@@ -59,31 +54,17 @@ async function main() {
       region = await promptDoRegion();
     },
     async createServer(name: string) {
-      await createDroplet(name, agent.cloudInitTier, dropletSize, region, snapshotId || undefined);
+      await createDroplet(name, agent.cloudInitTier, dropletSize, region);
     },
     getServerName,
     async waitForReady() {
-      if (snapshotId) {
-        await waitForSshOnly();
-      } else {
-        await waitForCloudInit();
-      }
+      await waitForCloudInit();
     },
     interactiveSession,
     saveLaunchCmd,
   };
 
-  // When using a snapshot, skip the agent install step (already pre-installed)
-  const effectiveAgent = snapshotId
-    ? {
-        ...agent,
-        install: async () => {
-          logInfo("Agent pre-installed (snapshot)");
-        },
-      }
-    : agent;
-
-  await runOrchestration(cloud, effectiveAgent, agentName);
+  await runOrchestration(cloud, agent, agentName);
 }
 
 main().catch((err) => {
diff --git a/packer/.gitignore b/packer/.gitignore
deleted file mode 100644
index 8097c9b2..00000000
--- a/packer/.gitignore
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,2 +0,0 @@
-*.auto.pkrvars.json
-.packer.d/
diff --git a/packer/agents.json b/packer/agents.json
deleted file mode 100644
index baeb335a..00000000
--- a/packer/agents.json
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,45 +0,0 @@
-{
-  "claude": {
-    "tier": "minimal",
-    "install": [
-      "curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash || npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code"
-    ]
-  },
-  "codex": {
-    "tier": "node",
-    "install": [
-      "npm install -g @openai/codex"
-    ]
-  },
-  "openclaw": {
-    "tier": "full",
-    "install": [
-      "npm install -g openclaw"
-    ]
-  },
-  "opencode": {
-    "tier": "minimal",
-    "install": [
-      "curl -fsSL https://opencode.ai/install | bash"
-    ]
-  },
-  "kilocode": {
-    "tier": "node",
-    "install": [
-      "npm install -g @kilocode/cli"
-    ]
-  },
-  "zeroclaw": {
-    "tier": "minimal",
-    "install": [
-      "fallocate -l 4G /swapfile && chmod 600 /swapfile && mkswap /swapfile && swapon /swapfile",
-      "curl -LsSf https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zeroclaw-labs/zeroclaw/a117be64fdaa31779204beadf2942c8aef57d0e5/scripts/bootstrap.sh | bash -s -- --install-rust --install-system-deps --prefer-prebuilt"
-    ]
-  },
-  "hermes": {
-    "tier": "minimal",
-    "install": [
-      "curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/main/scripts/install.sh | bash"
-    ]
-  }
-}
diff --git a/packer/digitalocean.pkr.hcl b/packer/digitalocean.pkr.hcl
deleted file mode 100644
index ecae0b39..00000000
--- a/packer/digitalocean.pkr.hcl
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,127 +0,0 @@
-packer {
-  required_plugins {
-    digitalocean = {
-      version = ">= 1.4.0"
-      source  = "github.com/digitalocean/digitalocean"
-    }
-  }
-}
-
-# ─── Variables ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
-
-variable "do_api_token" {
-  type        = string
-  sensitive   = true
-  description = "DigitalOcean API token"
-}
-
-variable "agent_name" {
-  type        = string
-  description = "Agent identifier (e.g. claude, codex, openclaw)"
-}
-
-variable "cloud_init_tier" {
-  type        = string
-  default     = "full"
-  description = "Package tier: minimal, node, bun, full"
-}
-
-variable "install_commands" {
-  type        = list(string)
-  default     = []
-  description = "Shell commands to install the agent"
-}
-
-variable "region" {
-  type        = string
-  default     = "nyc3"
-  description = "Build region"
-}
-
-variable "size" {
-  type        = string
-  default     = "s-2vcpu-4gb"
-  description = "Droplet size for the build VM"
-}
-
-variable "base_image" {
-  type        = string
-  default     = "ubuntu-24-04-x64"
-  description = "Base image slug"
-}
-
-# ─── Locals ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
-
-locals {
-  snapshot_name = "spawn-${var.agent_name}-${formatdate("YYYYMMDD", timestamp())}"
-}
-
-# ─── Source ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
-
-source "digitalocean" "agent" {
-  api_token     = var.do_api_token
-  image         = var.base_image
-  region        = var.region
-  size          = var.size
-  ssh_username  = "root"
-  snapshot_name = local.snapshot_name
-
-  snapshot_regions = [
-    "nyc1", "nyc3", "sfo3", "ams3", "sgp1",
-    "lon1", "fra1", "tor1", "blr1", "syd1",
-  ]
-
-  tags = ["spawn", "spawn-${var.agent_name}"]
-}
-
-# ─── Build ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
-
-build {
-  sources = ["source.digitalocean.agent"]
-
-  # 1. System update
-  provisioner "shell" {
-    inline = [
-      "export DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive",
-      "apt-get update -y",
-      "apt-get upgrade -y -o Dpkg::Options::='--force-confdef' -o Dpkg::Options::='--force-confold'",
-    ]
-  }
-
-  # 2. Tier packages + runtimes
-  provisioner "shell" {
-    script = "scripts/tier-${var.cloud_init_tier}.sh"
-  }
-
-  # 3. Agent install (15 min timeout, 2 retries via wrapper)
-  provisioner "shell" {
-    inline            = var.install_commands
-    timeout           = "15m"
-    max_retries       = 2
-    expect_disconnect = false
-    environment_vars = [
-      "HOME=/root",
-      "DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive",
-    ]
-  }
-
-  # 4. Marker file + PATH setup
-  provisioner "shell" {
-    inline = [
-      "echo 'agent=${var.agent_name}' > /root/.spawn-snapshot",
-      "echo 'built=${formatdate("YYYY-MM-DD", timestamp())}' >> /root/.spawn-snapshot",
-      "for rc in /root/.bashrc /root/.zshrc; do grep -q '.bun/bin' \"$rc\" 2>/dev/null || echo 'export PATH=\"$HOME/.local/bin:$HOME/.bun/bin:$PATH\"' >> \"$rc\"; done",
-    ]
-  }
-
-  # 5. Cleanup
-  provisioner "shell" {
-    inline = [
-      "apt-get clean",
-      "rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/* /tmp/* /var/tmp/*",
-      "rm -f /var/log/cloud-init*.log /var/log/syslog /var/log/auth.log",
-      "truncate -s 0 /var/log/lastlog /var/log/wtmp /var/log/btmp 2>/dev/null || true",
-      "sync",
-    ]
-  }
-}
diff --git a/packer/scripts/tier-bun.sh b/packer/scripts/tier-bun.sh
deleted file mode 100644
index ecbdb565..00000000
--- a/packer/scripts/tier-bun.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,22 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/bash
-set -eo pipefail
-
-export DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive
-
-apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
-  curl \
-  unzip \
-  git \
-  ca-certificates \
-  zsh
-
-# Bun
-if ! command -v bun >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-  curl --proto '=https' -fsSL https://bun.sh/install | bash
-fi
-ln -sf /root/.bun/bin/bun /usr/local/bin/bun 2>/dev/null || true
-
-# PATH setup
-for rc in /root/.bashrc /root/.zshrc; do
-  grep -q '.bun/bin' "$rc" 2>/dev/null || printf 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$HOME/.bun/bin:$PATH"\n' >> "$rc"
-done
diff --git a/packer/scripts/tier-full.sh b/packer/scripts/tier-full.sh
deleted file mode 100644
index 5b0047c6..00000000
--- a/packer/scripts/tier-full.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,26 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/bash
-set -eo pipefail
-
-export DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive
-
-apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
-  curl \
-  unzip \
-  git \
-  ca-certificates \
-  zsh \
-  build-essential
-
-# Node.js 22 via n
-curl --proto '=https' -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/tj/n/master/bin/n | bash -s install 22
-
-# Bun
-if ! command -v bun >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-  curl --proto '=https' -fsSL https://bun.sh/install | bash
-fi
-ln -sf /root/.bun/bin/bun /usr/local/bin/bun 2>/dev/null || true
-
-# PATH setup
-for rc in /root/.bashrc /root/.zshrc; do
-  grep -q '.bun/bin' "$rc" 2>/dev/null || printf 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$HOME/.bun/bin:$PATH"\n' >> "$rc"
-done
diff --git a/packer/scripts/tier-minimal.sh b/packer/scripts/tier-minimal.sh
deleted file mode 100644
index 9befb7af..00000000
--- a/packer/scripts/tier-minimal.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,10 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/bash
-set -eo pipefail
-
-export DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive
-
-apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
-  curl \
-  unzip \
-  git \
-  ca-certificates
diff --git a/packer/scripts/tier-node.sh b/packer/scripts/tier-node.sh
deleted file mode 100644
index 37047226..00000000
--- a/packer/scripts/tier-node.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,20 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/bash
-set -eo pipefail
-
-export DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive
-
-apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
-  curl \
-  unzip \
-  git \
-  ca-certificates \
-  zsh \
-  build-essential
-
-# Node.js 22 via n
-curl --proto '=https' -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/tj/n/master/bin/n | bash -s install 22
-
-# PATH setup
-for rc in /root/.bashrc /root/.zshrc; do
-  grep -q '.bun/bin' "$rc" 2>/dev/null || printf 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$HOME/.bun/bin:$PATH"\n' >> "$rc"
-done