diff --git a/.claude/tasks/0003-per-project-placement-dev-shell.md b/.claude/tasks/0003-per-project-placement-dev-shell.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..68a8dd5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.claude/tasks/0003-per-project-placement-dev-shell.md
@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+---
+spec: nix-skill-packaging
+blocked-by: 0001-content-tier-skill-packaging
+---
+
+## What to build
+
+The per-project placement output: a dev-shell helper that drops a project's selected skills into its own `.claude/skills/`, plus the check that proves it.
+
+Exposed as `lib.mkSkillsShellHook`, which takes a list of selected skill derivations and returns a shellHook string a project drops into its dev shell. On shell entry the hook symlinks each selected skill as a direct child of `<project>/.claude/skills/`, pointing into the Nix store. Selection is by derivation (skills pulled from `packages.<system>`), and the hook is a plain shell string relying on ambient POSIX tools — it needs no home-manager context.
+
+Lifecycle is stateless with no manifest or state file: each entry first removes only the symlinks under `.claude/skills/` that point into the store (unambiguously "ours"), then recreates the current selection. This gives free stale-removal (deselect a skill → its symlink is gone next entry) and never touches real directories. Real (non-symlink) skill directories under `.claude/skills/` — hand-authored, project-private skills — are left untouched. The hook maintains a generated, self-ignoring `.claude/skills/.gitignore` listing the names it manages (and ignoring itself), so Nix-delivered symlinks stay out of git while hand-authored skills remain tracked. The committed record of a project's selection is its `flake.nix` selection list plus its pinned `flake.lock`.
+
+Verified by the shellHook assertion check under `nix flake check`: it instantiates `lib.mkSkillsShellHook` with sample skills and asserts the produced hook is non-empty and references the expected store paths / skill names.
+
+## Acceptance criteria
+
+- [x] `lib.mkSkillsShellHook` is exposed, takes a list of selected skill derivations, and returns a shellHook string.
+- [x] The hook is a plain shell string using ambient POSIX tools and needs no home-manager context.
+- [x] On entry, each selected skill is symlinked as a direct child of `<project>/.claude/skills/` pointing into the store.
+- [x] Each entry first removes only store-pointing symlinks under `.claude/skills/`, then recreates the current selection — deselecting a skill removes its symlink next entry.
+- [x] Real (non-symlink) skill directories under `.claude/skills/` are never touched.
+- [x] The hook maintains a generated, self-ignoring `.claude/skills/.gitignore` listing the names it manages, keeping store symlinks out of git while hand-authored skills stay tracked.
+- [x] No manifest or state file is used.
+- [x] `nix flake check` includes a shellHook assertion that instantiates the helper with sample skills and asserts the hook is non-empty and references the expected store paths / skill names.
+
+## Implementation Notes
+
+Files: `lib/mk-skills-shell-hook.nix` (the helper), `checks/shell-hook.nix` (the check), and the `flake.nix` wiring (a `mkSkillsShellHook` binding in the top-level `lib` output, plus the check registration).
+
+- **Placement name comes from `skillName`.**
+  The hook reads each derivation's `passthru.skillName` (from task 0001) to name its symlink, so the selection stays by-derivation and the name needs no `$out` read.
+
+- **The whole hook runs in a subshell.**
+  It defines helper variables and a function, so wrapping it in `( … )` keeps those from leaking into the operator's interactive shell.
+  Verified by a real `bash` run: after sourcing, `_mkskills_managed` and the link function are absent from the parent shell.
+
+- **Name collision with a hand-authored skill: the real directory wins.**
+  If a selected skill's name already exists as a real (non-symlink) directory, the hook skips it with a stderr warning and leaves the directory in place.
+  A skipped skill is deliberately kept out of the managed set, so it is never added to the `.gitignore` and the hand-authored directory stays tracked.
+  Only skills the hook actually links are listed in the `.gitignore`.
+
+- **Cleanup is precise to store-pointing symlinks.**
+  The stale-removal sweep removes a direct-child symlink only when `readlink` shows it targets the Nix store, so a symlink a project points elsewhere is left alone.
+  The check's fixture includes such a non-store symlink and asserts it survives.
+
+- **The check executes the hook, beyond the literal testing decision.**
+  The task's testing decision only requires asserting the hook string is non-empty and references the expected store paths and names.
+  The check does that, then additionally sources the hook against a fixture project across two successive selections and asserts placement, stateless stale-removal, the collision guard, the non-store-symlink survival, the `.gitignore` contents, and that no state file appears.
+  This is a strict superset that proves the spec-mandated lifecycle (criteria 3–7) rather than trusting a string match, and each added assertion maps to a stated requirement.
+
+- **POSIX-tool notes.**
+  The hook relies on `readlink` to classify symlinks; it is not in POSIX but is present on every Nix-based machine this targets, and there is no clean substitute.
+  The link step avoids the non-POSIX `ln -n` overwrite flag by removing any residual symlink first, then using a plain `ln -s`.
+  A single quote in a skill name would break the generated shell string; skill names are kebab-case by convention, so hardening against that is left out as out of scope.
diff --git a/checks/shell-hook.nix b/checks/shell-hook.nix
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ad54162
--- /dev/null
+++ b/checks/shell-hook.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,121 @@
+# Runs the dev-shell helper's hook against a fixture project and asserts the
+# placement, stateless stale-removal, and hand-authored-skill safety it promises.
+{
+  pkgs,
+  mkSkill,
+  mkSkillsShellHook,
+}:
+let
+  # Sample skills built through the flake's own `mkSkill`, so they carry the
+  # `skillName` passthru the hook reads and land at real store paths the hook
+  # can link to.
+  mkSampleSkill =
+    name:
+    mkSkill {
+      inherit pkgs name;
+      src = pkgs.runCommandLocal "${name}-src" { } ''
+        mkdir -p "$out"
+        printf '%s\n' "sample skill ${name}" > "$out/SKILL.md"
+      '';
+    };
+
+  skillAlpha = mkSampleSkill "sample-alpha";
+  skillBeta = mkSampleSkill "sample-beta";
+  # Selected, but a hand-authored real directory of the same name already exists
+  # in the fixture, so the hook must skip it.
+  skillGamma = mkSampleSkill "sample-gamma";
+
+  # Two hooks for two successive selections: the second drops sample-beta, so
+  # sourcing it after the first proves a deselected skill's symlink is removed.
+  hookBoth = mkSkillsShellHook [
+    skillAlpha
+    skillBeta
+    skillGamma
+  ];
+  hookAlpha = mkSkillsShellHook [ skillAlpha ];
+in
+pkgs.runCommandLocal "skills-shell-hook-check"
+  {
+    inherit hookBoth hookAlpha;
+    alphaPath = "${skillAlpha}";
+    betaPath = "${skillBeta}";
+  }
+  ''
+    fail() { echo "FAIL: $1" >&2; exit 1; }
+
+    echo "the hook is a non-empty string referencing each skill's store path and name"
+    [ -n "$hookBoth" ] || fail "the produced hook is empty"
+    for token in "$alphaPath" "$betaPath" sample-alpha sample-beta; do
+      printf '%s' "$hookBoth" | grep -qF "$token" \
+        || fail "the hook does not reference $token"
+    done
+
+    # The fixture project carries three things the hook must not disturb: a
+    # hand-authored skill under its own name, a hand-authored skill whose name
+    # collides with a selected one, and a symlink pointing outside the store.
+    mkdir -p proj/.claude/skills/handmade
+    printf '%s\n' "a hand-authored skill" > proj/.claude/skills/handmade/SKILL.md
+    mkdir -p proj/.claude/skills/sample-gamma
+    printf '%s\n' "a hand-authored gamma" > proj/.claude/skills/sample-gamma/SKILL.md
+    ln -s /nonexistent/external-target proj/.claude/skills/external
+    cd proj
+
+    echo "first entry: the two free skills link as store symlinks that resolve"
+    printf '%s\n' "$hookBoth" > ../hook-both.sh
+    . ../hook-both.sh
+    for name in sample-alpha sample-beta; do
+      [ -L ".claude/skills/$name" ] || fail "$name was not linked as a symlink"
+      case "$(readlink ".claude/skills/$name")" in
+        ${builtins.storeDir}/*) : ;;
+        *) fail "$name's symlink does not point into the store" ;;
+      esac
+      test -f ".claude/skills/$name/SKILL.md" \
+        || fail "$name's link does not resolve to its SKILL.md"
+    done
+
+    echo "a selected skill colliding with a hand-authored one leaves the real directory"
+    { [ -d .claude/skills/sample-gamma ] && [ ! -L .claude/skills/sample-gamma ]; } \
+      || fail "the colliding hand-authored skill was replaced by a symlink"
+    grep -qx "a hand-authored gamma" .claude/skills/sample-gamma/SKILL.md \
+      || fail "the colliding hand-authored skill's content was overwritten"
+
+    echo "the non-colliding hand-authored skill is an untouched real directory"
+    { [ -d .claude/skills/handmade ] && [ ! -L .claude/skills/handmade ]; } \
+      || fail "the hand-authored skill was replaced or removed"
+    test -f .claude/skills/handmade/SKILL.md || fail "the hand-authored skill lost its content"
+
+    echo "a symlink pointing outside the store is not ours, so it is left alone"
+    [ -L .claude/skills/external ] || fail "the non-store symlink was removed"
+
+    echo "the .gitignore lists only the skills the hook actually linked, plus itself"
+    grep -qx '/.gitignore' .claude/skills/.gitignore || fail ".gitignore does not ignore itself"
+    grep -qx '/sample-alpha' .claude/skills/.gitignore || fail ".gitignore omits sample-alpha"
+    grep -qx '/sample-beta' .claude/skills/.gitignore || fail ".gitignore omits sample-beta"
+    for tracked in /handmade /sample-gamma /external; do
+      grep -qx "$tracked" .claude/skills/.gitignore \
+        && fail ".gitignore lists $tracked, which would untrack a real path"
+    done
+
+    echo "no manifest or state file is written: only the fixtures and links exist"
+    entries=$(ls -A .claude/skills | sort | tr '\n' ' ')
+    [ "$entries" = ".gitignore external handmade sample-alpha sample-beta sample-gamma " ] \
+      || fail "unexpected entries under .claude/skills: [$entries]"
+
+    echo "second entry with sample-beta deselected: its symlink is removed, the rest stay"
+    printf '%s\n' "$hookAlpha" > ../hook-alpha.sh
+    . ../hook-alpha.sh
+    test ! -e .claude/skills/sample-beta || fail "the deselected skill's symlink was not removed"
+    [ -L .claude/skills/sample-alpha ] || fail "the still-selected skill was dropped"
+    { [ -d .claude/skills/handmade ] && [ ! -L .claude/skills/handmade ]; } \
+      || fail "the hand-authored skill was disturbed on re-entry"
+    { [ -d .claude/skills/sample-gamma ] && [ ! -L .claude/skills/sample-gamma ]; } \
+      || fail "the colliding hand-authored skill was disturbed on re-entry"
+    [ -L .claude/skills/external ] || fail "the non-store symlink was disturbed on re-entry"
+
+    echo "the .gitignore tracks the new selection"
+    grep -qx '/sample-alpha' .claude/skills/.gitignore || fail ".gitignore lost sample-alpha"
+    grep -qx '/sample-beta' .claude/skills/.gitignore \
+      && fail ".gitignore still lists the deselected sample-beta"
+
+    touch "$out"
+  ''
diff --git a/flake.nix b/flake.nix
index 7fdf076..9cb18e4 100644
--- a/flake.nix
+++ b/flake.nix
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
     { self, nixpkgs, flake-utils, home-manager }:
     let
       mkSkill = import ./lib/mk-skill.nix;
+      mkSkillsShellHook = import ./lib/mk-skills-shell-hook.nix;
       discoverSkills = import ./lib/discover.nix nixpkgs.lib;
 
       discoveredSkills = discoverSkills ./skills;
@@ -31,7 +32,7 @@
         );
     in
     {
-      lib = { inherit mkSkill; };
+      lib = { inherit mkSkill mkSkillsShellHook; };
 
       # Global placement: an operator selects skills into `~/.claude/skills/`
       # via `programs.agents.skills`. Not per-system — it is a module function,
@@ -76,6 +77,13 @@
               inherit pkgs home-manager mkSkill;
               module = self.homeModules.default;
             };
+
+            # Proves the per-project dev-shell helper: it runs the produced hook
+            # against a fixture project and asserts placement, stateless
+            # stale-removal, and that hand-authored skills stay untouched.
+            shell-hook = import ./checks/shell-hook.nix {
+              inherit pkgs mkSkill mkSkillsShellHook;
+            };
           };
         }
       );
diff --git a/lib/mk-skills-shell-hook.nix b/lib/mk-skills-shell-hook.nix
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1926158
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/mk-skills-shell-hook.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+# Builds a dev-shell shellHook that links a project's selected skills into its
+# own `.claude/skills/` as direct-child symlinks into the Nix store.
+skills:
+let
+  storeDir = builtins.storeDir;
+  links = builtins.concatStringsSep "\n" (
+    map (skill: "    _mkskills_link '${skill.skillName}' '${skill}'") skills
+  );
+in
+''
+  # Places this project's Nix-delivered skills into ./.claude/skills/ on shell
+  # entry.
+  # Each run first drops every direct-child symlink pointing into the store,
+  # then relinks the current selection.
+  # Those store symlinks are unambiguously ours, so this removes deselected
+  # skills for free and needs no manifest.
+  # A real (non-symlink) skill directory is a hand-authored, project-private
+  # skill and is left untouched.
+  # The whole hook runs in a subshell so it leaks no names into the interactive
+  # shell.
+  (
+    _mkskills_dir=".claude/skills"
+    mkdir -p "$_mkskills_dir"
+
+    for _mkskills_entry in "$_mkskills_dir"/*; do
+      [ -L "$_mkskills_entry" ] || continue
+      case "$(readlink "$_mkskills_entry")" in
+        ${storeDir}/*) rm -f "$_mkskills_entry" ;;
+      esac
+    done
+
+    # A real path at a selected skill's name is a hand-authored skill.
+    # It is left in place and left out of the managed set, so the .gitignore
+    # below keeps tracking it rather than the skill that would have been linked.
+    _mkskills_managed=""
+    _mkskills_link() {
+      _mkskills_dest="$_mkskills_dir/$1"
+      if [ -e "$_mkskills_dest" ] && [ ! -L "$_mkskills_dest" ]; then
+        printf 'mkSkillsShellHook: skipping %s: a non-symlink path already exists\n' "$1" >&2
+      else
+        # At most a non-store symlink remains at this name, so removing it first
+        # keeps the link step to a plain POSIX `ln -s` with no overwrite flag.
+        rm -f "$_mkskills_dest"
+        ln -s "$2" "$_mkskills_dest"
+        _mkskills_managed="$_mkskills_managed $1"
+      fi
+    }
+${links}
+
+    # Regenerate the self-ignoring .gitignore from the current selection, so the
+    # store symlinks stay out of git while hand-authored skills, absent from this
+    # list, remain tracked.
+    {
+      printf '%s\n' "# Generated by mkSkillsShellHook. Nix-delivered skill symlinks, kept out of git."
+      printf '%s\n' "/.gitignore"
+      # Disable pathname expansion so a managed name is never glob-expanded.
+      set -f
+      for _mkskills_name in $_mkskills_managed; do
+        printf '/%s\n' "$_mkskills_name"
+      done
+    } > "$_mkskills_dir/.gitignore"
+  )
+''