diff --git a/pkg/cli/init_integration_test.go b/pkg/cli/init_integration_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..0c173ca5e4b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/cli/init_integration_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,160 @@
+//go:build integration
+
+package cli
+
+import (
+	"os"
+	"os/exec"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/github/gh-aw/pkg/fileutil"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+)
+
+// initIntegrationTestSetup holds the setup state for init integration tests
+type initIntegrationTestSetup struct {
+	tempDir    string
+	originalWd string
+	binaryPath string
+	cleanup    func()
+}
+
+// setupInitIntegrationTest creates a minimal test environment for init command:
+// - temporary directory with git init
+// - pre-built gh-aw binary
+func setupInitIntegrationTest(t *testing.T) *initIntegrationTestSetup {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	tempDir, err := os.MkdirTemp("", "gh-aw-init-integration-*")
+	require.NoError(t, err, "Failed to create temp directory")
+
+	originalWd, err := os.Getwd()
+	require.NoError(t, err, "Failed to get current working directory")
+
+	err = os.Chdir(tempDir)
+	require.NoError(t, err, "Failed to change to temp directory")
+
+	// Initialize git repository (required by init command)
+	gitInitCmd := exec.Command("git", "init")
+	gitInitCmd.Dir = tempDir
+	output, err := gitInitCmd.CombinedOutput()
+	require.NoError(t, err, "Failed to run git init: %s", string(output))
+
+	// Copy the pre-built binary to this test's temp directory
+	binaryPath := filepath.Join(tempDir, "gh-aw")
+	err = fileutil.CopyFile(globalBinaryPath, binaryPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err, "Failed to copy gh-aw binary to temp directory")
+
+	err = os.Chmod(binaryPath, 0755)
+	require.NoError(t, err, "Failed to make binary executable")
+
+	cleanup := func() {
+		_ = os.Chdir(originalWd)
+		_ = os.RemoveAll(tempDir)
+	}
+
+	return &initIntegrationTestSetup{
+		tempDir:    tempDir,
+		originalWd: originalWd,
+		binaryPath: binaryPath,
+		cleanup:    cleanup,
+	}
+}
+
+// TestInitCommandIntegration tests that the init command generates the expected files
+// when run through the compiled CLI binary.
+func TestInitCommandIntegration(t *testing.T) {
+	setup := setupInitIntegrationTest(t)
+	defer setup.cleanup()
+
+	// Run: gh-aw init --no-mcp (skip MCP to avoid network requirements)
+	cmd := exec.Command(setup.binaryPath, "init", "--no-mcp")
+	cmd.Dir = setup.tempDir
+	output, err := cmd.CombinedOutput()
+	outputStr := string(output)
+	t.Logf("init command output:\n%s", outputStr)
+
+	require.NoError(t, err, "init command should succeed: %s", outputStr)
+
+	// .gitattributes must exist and contain the lock.yml entry
+	gitAttrPath := filepath.Join(setup.tempDir, ".gitattributes")
+	content, err := os.ReadFile(gitAttrPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err, ".gitattributes should be created")
+	assert.Contains(t, string(content), ".github/workflows/*.lock.yml linguist-generated=true merge=ours",
+		".gitattributes should mark lock.yml files as generated")
+
+	// Dispatcher skill should be created
+	skillPath := filepath.Join(setup.tempDir, ".github", "skills", "agentic-workflows", "SKILL.md")
+	_, err = os.Stat(skillPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err, "dispatcher skill file should be created at %s", skillPath)
+
+	// Custom agent should be created
+	agentPath := filepath.Join(setup.tempDir, ".github", "agents", "agentic-workflows.md")
+	_, err = os.Stat(agentPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err, "custom agent file should be created at %s", agentPath)
+
+	// VSCode settings should be created
+	vscodePath := filepath.Join(setup.tempDir, ".vscode", "settings.json")
+	_, err = os.Stat(vscodePath)
+	require.NoError(t, err, ".vscode/settings.json should be created")
+}
+
+// TestInitCommandNoSkillIntegration tests that --no-skill skips creating the dispatcher skill
+func TestInitCommandNoSkillIntegration(t *testing.T) {
+	setup := setupInitIntegrationTest(t)
+	defer setup.cleanup()
+
+	cmd := exec.Command(setup.binaryPath, "init", "--no-mcp", "--no-skill")
+	cmd.Dir = setup.tempDir
+	output, err := cmd.CombinedOutput()
+	outputStr := string(output)
+	t.Logf("init --no-skill command output:\n%s", outputStr)
+
+	require.NoError(t, err, "init --no-skill command should succeed: %s", outputStr)
+
+	// .gitattributes must still be created
+	gitAttrPath := filepath.Join(setup.tempDir, ".gitattributes")
+	_, err = os.Stat(gitAttrPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err, ".gitattributes should be created even with --no-skill")
+
+	// Dispatcher skill must NOT be created
+	skillPath := filepath.Join(setup.tempDir, ".github", "skills", "agentic-workflows", "SKILL.md")
+	_, err = os.Stat(skillPath)
+	assert.True(t, os.IsNotExist(err), "dispatcher skill should NOT be created with --no-skill")
+}
+
+// TestInitCommandIdempotentIntegration tests that running init twice produces no errors
+func TestInitCommandIdempotentIntegration(t *testing.T) {
+	setup := setupInitIntegrationTest(t)
+	defer setup.cleanup()
+
+	runInit := func(label string) {
+		cmd := exec.Command(setup.binaryPath, "init", "--no-mcp")
+		cmd.Dir = setup.tempDir
+		output, err := cmd.CombinedOutput()
+		require.NoError(t, err, "%s: init command should succeed: %s", label, string(output))
+	}
+
+	runInit("first run")
+	runInit("second run (idempotent)")
+
+	// Verify files still exist after second run
+	gitAttrPath := filepath.Join(setup.tempDir, ".gitattributes")
+	content, err := os.ReadFile(gitAttrPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err, ".gitattributes should exist after second run")
+	assert.Contains(t, string(content), ".github/workflows/*.lock.yml",
+		".gitattributes should still have the lock.yml entry after second run")
+
+	// Ensure no duplicate lines were added
+	lines := strings.Split(string(content), "\n")
+	count := 0
+	for _, line := range lines {
+		if strings.Contains(line, ".github/workflows/*.lock.yml") {
+			count++
+		}
+	}
+	assert.Equal(t, 1, count, ".gitattributes should not have duplicate lock.yml entries")
+}