diff --git a/docs/reference/modules.md b/docs/reference/modules.md
index 43a15d704..7c92ee5eb 100644
--- a/docs/reference/modules.md
+++ b/docs/reference/modules.md
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ Enterprise-grade test strategy, automation guidance, and release gate decisions
 
 ## BMad Automator (Experimental)
 
-Automates the BMad story build loop with a pure skill bundle sourced from the separate Automator repository.
+Automates the BMad story build loop with a self-contained skill bundle sourced from the separate Automator repository's root `skills/` folder.
 
 - **Code:** `baut`
 - **npm:** [`bmad-story-automator`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/bmad-story-automator)
diff --git a/test/test-installation-components.js b/test/test-installation-components.js
index 503fcfb3a..aaa9cef84 100644
--- a/test/test-installation-components.js
+++ b/test/test-installation-components.js
@@ -124,7 +124,7 @@ async function createAutomatorBmadFixture() {
 
 async function createAutomatorSourceRootFixture() {
   const repoRoot = await fs.mkdtemp(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'bmad-automator-source-'));
-  const sourceRoot = path.join(repoRoot, 'payload', '.claude', 'skills');
+  const sourceRoot = path.join(repoRoot, 'skills');
 
   for (const skillName of ['bmad-story-automator', 'bmad-story-automator-review']) {
     const skillDir = path.join(sourceRoot, skillName);
@@ -135,10 +135,11 @@ async function createAutomatorSourceRootFixture() {
     );
   }
 
-  await fs.ensureDir(path.join(repoRoot, 'source', 'scripts'));
-  await fs.writeFile(path.join(repoRoot, 'source', 'scripts', 'story-automator'), '#!/usr/bin/env bash\n');
-  await fs.ensureDir(path.join(repoRoot, 'source', 'src', 'story_automator'));
-  await fs.writeFile(path.join(repoRoot, 'source', 'src', 'story_automator', 'cli.py'), 'def main():\n    return 0\n');
+  const storySkillDir = path.join(sourceRoot, 'bmad-story-automator');
+  await fs.ensureDir(path.join(storySkillDir, 'scripts'));
+  await fs.writeFile(path.join(storySkillDir, 'scripts', 'story-automator'), '#!/usr/bin/env bash\n');
+  await fs.ensureDir(path.join(storySkillDir, 'src', 'story_automator'));
+  await fs.writeFile(path.join(storySkillDir, 'src', 'story_automator', 'cli.py'), 'def main():\n    return 0\n');
 
   return { repoRoot, sourceRoot };
 }
@@ -3592,7 +3593,7 @@ async function runTests() {
     const automatorInfo42 = await externalManager42.getModuleByCode('baut');
     assert(automatorInfo42 !== null, 'BMad Automator is registered as an external module');
     assert(automatorInfo42.type === 'experimental', 'BMad Automator is marked experimental');
-    assert(automatorInfo42.sourceRoot === 'payload/.claude/skills', 'BMad Automator uses source-root for pure skill payload');
+    assert(automatorInfo42.sourceRoot === 'skills', 'BMad Automator uses root skills source-root for pure skill payload');
     assert(automatorInfo42.defaultChannel === 'next', 'BMad Automator defaults to next for latest payload compatibility fixes');
     assert(
       automatorInfo42.installTargets.length === 1 && automatorInfo42.installTargets.includes('claude-code'),
@@ -3629,11 +3630,11 @@ async function runTests() {
     await officialModules42.install('baut', runtimeBmadDir42, null, { skipModuleInstaller: true, silent: true });
     assert(
       await fs.pathExists(path.join(runtimeBmadDir42, 'baut', 'bmad-story-automator', 'scripts', 'story-automator')),
-      'BMad Automator source-root install includes runtime helper',
+      'BMad Automator self-contained skill install includes runtime helper',
     );
     assert(
       await fs.pathExists(path.join(runtimeBmadDir42, 'baut', 'bmad-story-automator', 'src', 'story_automator', 'cli.py')),
-      'BMad Automator source-root install includes Python runtime source',
+      'BMad Automator self-contained skill install includes Python runtime source',
     );
     await fs.remove(runtimeTargetRoot42).catch(() => {});
     runtimeTargetRoot42 = null;
diff --git a/tools/installer/modules/official-modules.js b/tools/installer/modules/official-modules.js
index b93d3c774..615daba86 100644
--- a/tools/installer/modules/official-modules.js
+++ b/tools/installer/modules/official-modules.js
@@ -301,7 +301,6 @@ class OfficialModules {
     }
 
     await this.copyModuleWithFiltering(sourcePath, targetPath, fileTrackingCallback, options.moduleConfig);
-    await this.copyAutomatorRuntimeIfNeeded(moduleName, sourcePath, targetPath, fileTrackingCallback);
 
     if (!options.skipModuleInstaller) {
       await this.createModuleDirectories(moduleName, bmadDir, options);
@@ -573,29 +572,6 @@ class OfficialModules {
     }
   }
 
-  async copyAutomatorRuntimeIfNeeded(moduleName, sourcePath, targetPath, fileTrackingCallback = null) {
-    if (moduleName !== 'baut') return;
-
-    const storyTarget = path.join(targetPath, 'bmad-story-automator');
-    if (!(await fs.pathExists(path.join(storyTarget, 'SKILL.md')))) return;
-
-    const repoRoot = path.resolve(sourcePath, '..', '..', '..');
-    const runtimeRoot = path.join(repoRoot, 'source');
-    const runtimeParts = [
-      ['scripts', 'scripts'],
-      ['src', 'src'],
-    ];
-
-    for (const [sourceRel, targetRel] of runtimeParts) {
-      const sourceDir = path.join(runtimeRoot, sourceRel);
-      const targetDir = path.join(storyTarget, targetRel);
-      if (!(await fs.pathExists(sourceDir))) {
-        throw new Error(`BMad Automator runtime source missing: source/${sourceRel}`);
-      }
-      await this.copyModuleWithFiltering(sourceDir, targetDir, fileTrackingCallback);
-    }
-  }
-
   /**
    * Create directories declared in module.yaml's `directories` key
    * This replaces the security-risky module installer pattern with declarative config
diff --git a/tools/installer/modules/registry-fallback.yaml b/tools/installer/modules/registry-fallback.yaml
index 941560e2b..3c5208cf0 100644
--- a/tools/installer/modules/registry-fallback.yaml
+++ b/tools/installer/modules/registry-fallback.yaml
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ modules:
 
   bmad-automator:
     url: https://github.com/bmad-code-org/bmad-automator
-    source-root: payload/.claude/skills
+    source-root: skills
     code: baut
     name: "BMad Automator (Experimental)"
     description: "Experimental pure-skill story automation. Runs only from Claude Code; supports Claude Code and Codex worker sessions; requires tmux on macOS."