diff --git a/scripts/context-sync.sh b/scripts/context-sync.sh
index a3f9468..bdf38ee 100755
--- a/scripts/context-sync.sh
+++ b/scripts/context-sync.sh
@@ -39,7 +39,17 @@ fi
 if [ -n "$ROOT_CONTEXT" ] && [ -f "$ROOT_CONTEXT" ]; then
   echo "  Root context: $ROOT_CONTEXT"
 else
-  echo "  No root AGENT.md found (project context only)"
+  # No reachable root AGENT.md — common in CI's clean checkout. The root+project
+  # adapters (AGENTS.md, .cursorrules, .aider.conventions.md, system-prompt.txt)
+  # require the root context to regenerate correctly, so we skip them entirely
+  # and only regenerate CLAUDE.md (which is project-only and inherits root via
+  # tree walk in Claude Code itself).
+  echo "  No root AGENT.md found — regenerating CLAUDE.md only"
+  echo "Syncing project context from $PROJECT_FILE..."
+  cat "$PROJECT_FILE" > CLAUDE.md
+  echo "  → CLAUDE.md (project-only)"
+  echo "Done."
+  exit 0
 fi
 
 # Emit root context + separator