diff --git a/.github/workflows/build-claude-code.yml b/.github/workflows/build-claude-code.yml
index 76779fe..b15cbd6 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build-claude-code.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build-claude-code.yml
@@ -76,19 +76,19 @@ jobs:
       matrix:
         include:
           - image-suffix: claude-code
-            verify-command: "bun --version || true && claude --version && mise --version && fish --version && rtk --version && ralphex --version"
+            verify-command: "bun --version || true && claude --version && mise --version && fish --version && rtk --version && ralphex --version && test -x /usr/local/bin/patch-playwright-mcp"
             runner: ubuntu-24.04
             arch: amd64
           - image-suffix: claude-code
-            verify-command: "bun --version || true && claude --version && mise --version && fish --version && rtk --version && ralphex --version"
+            verify-command: "bun --version || true && claude --version && mise --version && fish --version && rtk --version && ralphex --version && test -x /usr/local/bin/patch-playwright-mcp"
             runner: ubuntu-24.04-arm
             arch: arm64
           - image-suffix: claude-code-sandbox
-            verify-command: "claude --version && mise --version && fish --version && which iptables && rtk --version && ralphex --version"
+            verify-command: "claude --version && mise --version && fish --version && which iptables && rtk --version && ralphex --version && test -x /usr/local/bin/patch-playwright-mcp"
             runner: ubuntu-24.04
             arch: amd64
           - image-suffix: claude-code-sandbox
-            verify-command: "claude --version && mise --version && fish --version && which iptables && rtk --version && ralphex --version"
+            verify-command: "claude --version && mise --version && fish --version && which iptables && rtk --version && ralphex --version && test -x /usr/local/bin/patch-playwright-mcp"
             runner: ubuntu-24.04-arm
             arch: arm64
     runs-on: ${{ matrix.runner }}
diff --git a/claude-code/.devcontainer/Dockerfile b/claude-code/.devcontainer/Dockerfile
index a5c98e6..8336e39 100644
--- a/claude-code/.devcontainer/Dockerfile
+++ b/claude-code/.devcontainer/Dockerfile
@@ -137,6 +137,13 @@ ENV MISE_TRUSTED_CONFIG_PATHS="/workspace"
 COPY --from=rtk-download /usr/local/bin/rtk /usr/local/bin/rtk
 COPY --from=ralphex-download /usr/local/bin/ralphex /usr/local/bin/ralphex
 
+# ── Playwright MCP patch script ──────────────────────────────────────────────
+# Universal logic with no project-specific config — bake into the image so
+# consumer projects don't carry a copy. Invoked from postCreateCommand
+# (init-plugins.sh) and postStartCommand (devcontainer.json) to re-patch
+# plugin auto-updates between sessions. See issue #87.
+COPY --chmod=0755 patch-playwright-mcp.sh /usr/local/bin/patch-playwright-mcp
+
 # ── Claude Code CLI ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 # Using npm instead of the native installer (curl claude.ai/install.sh | bash).
 # The native installer is recommended for interactive use, but rate-limits (429)
diff --git a/claude-code/.devcontainer/claude-sandbox/devcontainer.json b/claude-code/.devcontainer/claude-sandbox/devcontainer.json
index 3f6d2ea..11a93ad 100644
--- a/claude-code/.devcontainer/claude-sandbox/devcontainer.json
+++ b/claude-code/.devcontainer/claude-sandbox/devcontainer.json
@@ -126,7 +126,7 @@
   // Firewall init (bind-mounted from project) + re-patch the Playwright MCP
   // plugin's .mcp.json. The patch runs on every start so plugin auto-updates
   // between sessions don't leave MCP pointing at the missing chrome channel.
-  // See issue #85.
-  "postStartCommand": "sudo /usr/local/bin/init-firewall.sh && bash .devcontainer/patch-playwright-mcp.sh",
+  // See issues #85, #87.
+  "postStartCommand": "sudo /usr/local/bin/init-firewall.sh && /usr/local/bin/patch-playwright-mcp",
   "waitFor": "postStartCommand"
 }
diff --git a/claude-code/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json b/claude-code/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json
index b6f0855..cb67bd1 100644
--- a/claude-code/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json
+++ b/claude-code/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json
@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@
   // Re-patch the Playwright MCP plugin's .mcp.json on every start.
   // Plugin auto-updates between sessions create new cache dirs whose .mcp.json
   // points at /opt/google/chrome/chrome (which we don't ship). Without this,
-  // MCP silently breaks until the next image rebuild. See issue #85.
-  "postStartCommand": "bash .devcontainer/patch-playwright-mcp.sh",
+  // MCP silently breaks until the next image rebuild. See issues #85, #87.
+  "postStartCommand": "/usr/local/bin/patch-playwright-mcp",
   "waitFor": "postCreateCommand"
 }
diff --git a/claude-code/.devcontainer/init-plugins.sh b/claude-code/.devcontainer/init-plugins.sh
index aa865bb..2b42f73 100644
--- a/claude-code/.devcontainer/init-plugins.sh
+++ b/claude-code/.devcontainer/init-plugins.sh
@@ -58,9 +58,9 @@ done
 
 # ── Playwright MCP: route every cached .mcp.json to system chromium ─────────
 # Universal across arches (no Chrome stable binary in either default or sandbox).
-# Patch logic lives in patch-playwright-mcp.sh so it can also be invoked from
-# postStartCommand to catch plugin auto-updates between sessions (#85).
-bash "$(dirname "$0")/patch-playwright-mcp.sh"
+# The patch binary is baked into the image (see Dockerfile #87) and also runs
+# from postStartCommand to catch plugin auto-updates between sessions (#85).
+/usr/local/bin/patch-playwright-mcp
 
 # ── rtk init (token-optimized CLI proxy) ────────────────────────────────────
 # Global hook-first mode: installs only the PreToolUse rewrite hook to ~/.claude/,
diff --git a/claude-code/README.md b/claude-code/README.md
index b4cbd8d..3854f10 100644
--- a/claude-code/README.md
+++ b/claude-code/README.md
@@ -78,20 +78,22 @@ Projects consuming these images need the following files in their repository.
 
 Only pin tools that affect project stability — dev infrastructure (rtk, ralphex, Claude Code) is pre-installed in the image at latest. See [`mise.toml`](mise.toml) for a template.
 
-### Optional: `.devcontainer/init-plugins.sh` and `.devcontainer/patch-playwright-mcp.sh`
+### Optional: `.devcontainer/init-plugins.sh`
 
-Claude Code plugin initialization. `init-plugins.sh` registers marketplaces, installs plugins, and (via `patch-playwright-mcp.sh`) rewrites every cached Playwright MCP `.mcp.json` to launch the system chromium. Both scripts are idempotent. See [`.devcontainer/init-plugins.sh`](.devcontainer/init-plugins.sh) and [`.devcontainer/patch-playwright-mcp.sh`](.devcontainer/patch-playwright-mcp.sh) for templates.
+Claude Code plugin initialization. `init-plugins.sh` registers marketplaces, installs plugins, and invokes the image-baked `/usr/local/bin/patch-playwright-mcp` to rewrite every cached Playwright MCP `.mcp.json` to launch the system chromium. Idempotent. See [`.devcontainer/init-plugins.sh`](.devcontainer/init-plugins.sh) for the template.
 
-Wire them into `devcontainer.json`:
+Wire into `devcontainer.json`:
 
 ```jsonc
 "postCreateCommand": "bash .devcontainer/init-plugins.sh",
-"postStartCommand":  "bash .devcontainer/patch-playwright-mcp.sh"
+"postStartCommand":  "/usr/local/bin/patch-playwright-mcp"
 ```
 
 `postStartCommand` re-runs the patch on every container start so plugin auto-updates between sessions cannot leave MCP pointing at the missing chrome channel. See the [Playwright Strategy](#playwright-strategy) section.
 
-Mark as executable: `chmod +x init-plugins.sh patch-playwright-mcp.sh`
+Mark as executable: `chmod +x init-plugins.sh`
+
+> **Why `init-plugins.sh` stays per-project but `patch-playwright-mcp` doesn't:** `init-plugins.sh` carries project-specific configuration (marketplace list, plugin list) — it's *meant* to be edited per project. The patch script has zero project-specific config and is identical across every consumer, so it's baked into the image and flows through the same daily-rebuild + `pull_policy: always` channel as the rest of the image. That boundary is the rule: project-specific config stays per-project; universal logic moves into the image.
 
 ### Sandbox-only: `.devcontainer/claude-sandbox/init-firewall.sh`
 
@@ -183,7 +185,6 @@ The template includes extensions for Claude Code, Bun, OXC, Tailwind, YAML, Dock
 ├── devcontainer.json              ← default devcontainer
 ├── docker-compose.yml             ← default compose (image + pull_policy)
 ├── init-plugins.sh                ← Claude Code plugin setup (optional)
-├── patch-playwright-mcp.sh        ← Playwright MCP .mcp.json patch (optional)
 └── claude-sandbox/
     ├── devcontainer.json          ← sandbox devcontainer
     ├── docker-compose.yml         ← sandbox compose (image + pull_policy)
@@ -252,8 +253,10 @@ export default defineConfig({
 
 The `playwright@claude-plugins-official` plugin's `@playwright/mcp` defaults
 to the `chrome` channel (`/opt/google/chrome/chrome`), which the image does
-not ship. The included `patch-playwright-mcp.sh` rewrites every cached
-`.mcp.json` under `~/.claude/plugins/cache/` to use the system chromium:
+not ship. The image bakes in `/usr/local/bin/patch-playwright-mcp` (built
+from [`patch-playwright-mcp.sh`](.devcontainer/patch-playwright-mcp.sh)),
+which rewrites every cached `.mcp.json` under `~/.claude/plugins/cache/`
+to use the system chromium:
 
 ```json
 {
@@ -270,7 +273,7 @@ not ship. The included `patch-playwright-mcp.sh` rewrites every cached
 }
 ```
 
-`init-plugins.sh` invokes the patch script at `postCreateCommand`, and the
+`init-plugins.sh` invokes the patch binary at `postCreateCommand`, and the
 template `devcontainer.json` files run it again at `postStartCommand` so
 plugin auto-updates between sessions cannot leave MCP pointing at the
 missing chrome channel.