diff --git a/templates/default.yaml b/templates/default.yaml
index 712f01f..6dd732c 100644
--- a/templates/default.yaml
+++ b/templates/default.yaml
@@ -441,6 +441,34 @@ write_files:
       "$HOME/.local/bin/mise" exec -- git lfs install --skip-repo \
         || log "git lfs install failed"
 
+      # Install the mounted project's OWN pinned tools, not just the global
+      # ones above. mise auto-installs a missing tool the first time a shim
+      # runs it (auto_install defaults to true), so this is not about whether
+      # the versions ever arrive -- it is about when. Left alone, the download
+      # lands on whoever first types `ruby`, minutes AFTER orbx reported the
+      # machine ready, with no output on the provisioning log they were
+      # watching. An agent driving `orbx run` cannot tell that from a hang.
+      # Do it here, where the wait is expected and logged.
+      #
+      # The project path is discovered rather than passed in: this template
+      # never learns it (see orbx::mount_target, which only rewrites paths
+      # under $HOME). OrbStack surfaces every host share as a virtiofs mount,
+      # and that is exactly the set of directories that came from the host.
+      #
+      # Reads the project, never writes it: `mise install` resolves versions
+      # into ~/.local/share/mise and touches the repo only if lockfiles are
+      # enabled, which they are not by default. The mount is the user's real
+      # working tree, so it must come back clean.
+      while read -r projdir; do
+        for f in mise.toml .mise.toml .tool-versions; do
+          [ -f "$projdir/$f" ] || continue
+          log "Installing project tools pinned by $projdir/$f..."
+          ( cd "$projdir" && "$HOME/.local/bin/mise" install ) \
+            || log "mise install failed in $projdir (continuing)"
+          break
+        done
+      done < <(awk '$3 == "virtiofs" { print $2 }' /proc/mounts)
+
       # Claude Code (native installer -- self-updating, no Node dependency).
       # Alternative: mise exec -- npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
       log "Installing Claude Code..."
diff --git a/test/template.bats b/test/template.bats
index cdbb52f..9586b4e 100644
--- a/test/template.bats
+++ b/test/template.bats
@@ -188,6 +188,20 @@ load helpers/test_helper
   [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
 }
 
+@test "default template installs the mounted project's pinned tools" {
+  # Without this the versions still arrive -- mise auto-installs on first shim
+  # use -- but the download lands minutes after orbx reported ready, off the
+  # provisioning log, where an agent cannot tell it from a hang.
+  run grep -E 'cd "\$projdir" && "\$HOME/\.local/bin/mise" install' \
+    "$ORBX_TEST_ROOT/templates/default.yaml"
+  [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+
+  # The path is discovered from the mount table, never passed in: the template
+  # does not know where the project landed.
+  run grep -F 'virtiofs' "$ORBX_TEST_ROOT/templates/default.yaml"
+  [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+}
+
 @test "default template registers git-lfs filters, not just the binary" {
   # Installing git-lfs is not enough: until `git lfs install` writes the
   # clean/smudge filters, cloning an LFS repo silently yields pointer files.