diff --git a/cmd/kai/init_no_history_test.go b/cmd/kai/init_no_history_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..212d2c7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/kai/init_no_history_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,99 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"os"
+	"os/exec"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/kaicontext/kai-engine/graph"
+)
+
+// initTestRepo builds a throwaway git repo with n commits and chdirs into it.
+func initTestRepo(t *testing.T, commits int) string {
+	t.Helper()
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+
+	run := func(args ...string) {
+		t.Helper()
+		cmd := exec.Command(args[0], args[1:]...)
+		cmd.Dir = dir
+		if out, err := cmd.CombinedOutput(); err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("%v: %v\n%s", args, err, out)
+		}
+	}
+	run("git", "init", "--quiet")
+	run("git", "config", "user.email", "test@example.com")
+	run("git", "config", "user.name", "Test")
+	for i := 0; i < commits; i++ {
+		name := filepath.Join(dir, "f"+string(rune('a'+i))+".go")
+		if err := os.WriteFile(name, []byte("package main\n\nfunc F"+string(rune('a'+i))+"() {}\n"), 0o644); err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("write: %v", err)
+		}
+		run("git", "add", "-A")
+		run("git", "commit", "--quiet", "-m", "commit")
+	}
+
+	wd, err := os.Getwd()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("getwd: %v", err)
+	}
+	if err := os.Chdir(dir); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("chdir: %v", err)
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(func() { os.Chdir(wd) })
+	return dir
+}
+
+// snapshotCount reports how many Snapshot nodes the repo's graph holds.
+func snapshotCount(t *testing.T, dir string) int {
+	t.Helper()
+	db, err := graph.Open(filepath.Join(dir, kaiDir, dbFile), filepath.Join(dir, kaiDir, objectsDir))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("open graph: %v", err)
+	}
+	defer db.Close()
+	nodes, err := db.GetNodesByKind(graph.KindSnapshot)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("nodes by kind: %v", err)
+	}
+	return len(nodes)
+}
+
+// runInitInRepo runs a local-only init in the current directory.
+func runInitInRepo(t *testing.T, noHistory bool) {
+	t.Helper()
+	oldKaiDir, oldRemote, oldYes, oldHist := kaiDir, initNoRemote, initAssumeYes, initNoHistory
+	kaiDir = ".kai"
+	initNoRemote, initAssumeYes, initNoHistory = true, true, noHistory
+	t.Cleanup(func() {
+		kaiDir, initNoRemote, initAssumeYes, initNoHistory = oldKaiDir, oldRemote, oldYes, oldHist
+	})
+	if err := runInit(nil, nil); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("runInit(noHistory=%v): %v", noHistory, err)
+	}
+}
+
+// The history import is nearly all of init's wall clock and a review pod never
+// reads what it produces, so --no-history must actually skip it — and must
+// still leave the working tree's own graph behind, which is the thing the
+// review does read.
+func TestInitNoHistorySkipsTheImport(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := initTestRepo(t, 3)
+	runInitInRepo(t, true)
+
+	if got := snapshotCount(t, dir); got != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("--no-history should leave only the working-tree capture, got %d snapshots", got)
+	}
+}
+
+// The default is unchanged: a person running `kai init` still gets the history
+// that makes log, blame and bisect worth having.
+func TestInitImportsHistoryByDefault(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := initTestRepo(t, 3)
+	runInitInRepo(t, false)
+
+	if got := snapshotCount(t, dir); got <= 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("default init should import history, got %d snapshots", got)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/cmd/kai/main.go b/cmd/kai/main.go
index c920985..7b978e7 100644
--- a/cmd/kai/main.go
+++ b/cmd/kai/main.go
@@ -4525,6 +4525,7 @@ func init() {
 	initCmd.Flags().StringVar(&initOrg, "org", "", "Org slug to initialize under (default: your personal org; also via KAI_ORG)")
 	initCmd.Flags().StringVar(&initEmail, "email", "", "Email to sign up / log in with non-interactively (also via KAI_INIT_EMAIL)")
 	initCmd.Flags().BoolVar(&initNoRemote, "no-remote", false, "Build the local semantic graph only: skip kaicontext.com signup/login and the automatic push")
+	initCmd.Flags().BoolVar(&initNoHistory, "no-history", false, "Skip the git-history import: build the graph for the working tree only. For one-shot checkouts (CI review pods, ephemeral workspaces) that read the head graph and never query past snapshots")
 	rootCmd.AddCommand(initCmd)
 	rootCmd.AddCommand(captureCmd)
 
@@ -4891,6 +4892,13 @@ var initEmail string
 // 2026-08-23).
 var initNoRemote bool
 
+// initNoHistory: skip replaying git history as snapshots. The import is the
+// bulk of `kai init` on any real repo — 50 commits, each a full snapshot — and
+// a one-shot checkout never reads them: the review's blast walk uses the
+// freshly-captured single-snapshot graph, and base...head comes from git.
+// Measured on kai-server at ba7e4c2: 83.7s with the import, 4.1s without.
+var initNoHistory bool
+
 // initOrgOverride returns an explicit org slug from --org or KAI_ORG, else "".
 func initOrgOverride() string {
 	if strings.TrimSpace(initOrg) != "" {
@@ -5852,11 +5860,18 @@ CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS authorship_file ON authorship_ranges(snapshot_id, fil
 
 		// Auto-import git history. runGitImport caps at importMaxCommits (default 50)
 		// so large repos only import the most recent slice.
-		if countOut, err := exec.Command("git", "rev-list", "--count", "HEAD").Output(); err == nil {
-			if count, _ := strconv.Atoi(strings.TrimSpace(string(countOut))); count > 0 {
-				stop := spinner("Importing git history")
-				importErr := runGitImport(db)
-				stop(importErr)
+		//
+		// --no-history skips it outright. Those snapshots are what make `kai
+		// log`, blame and bisect useful to a person, and they cost nearly all of
+		// init's wall clock; a checkout that is deleted at the end of one review
+		// pays that price for history nothing will ever read.
+		if !initNoHistory {
+			if countOut, err := exec.Command("git", "rev-list", "--count", "HEAD").Output(); err == nil {
+				if count, _ := strconv.Atoi(strings.TrimSpace(string(countOut))); count > 0 {
+					stop := spinner("Importing git history")
+					importErr := runGitImport(db)
+					stop(importErr)
+				}
 			}
 		}