diff --git a/src/browser/components/ChatInput/CreationControls.tsx b/src/browser/components/ChatInput/CreationControls.tsx
index dd231843b..b10fbe27d 100644
--- a/src/browser/components/ChatInput/CreationControls.tsx
+++ b/src/browser/components/ChatInput/CreationControls.tsx
@@ -10,6 +10,8 @@ interface CreationControlsProps {
   runtimeMode: RuntimeMode;
   sshHost: string;
   onRuntimeChange: (mode: RuntimeMode, host: string) => void;
+  autoRebaseTrunk: boolean;
+  onAutoRebaseChange: (value: boolean) => void;
   disabled: boolean;
 }
 
@@ -74,6 +76,27 @@ export function CreationControls(props: CreationControlsProps) {
           </Tooltip>
         </TooltipWrapper>
       </div>
+
+      {/* Auto Rebase Toggle */}
+      <div className="flex items-center gap-1" data-component="AutoRebaseToggle">
+        <label className="text-muted flex items-center gap-1 text-xs">
+          <input
+            type="checkbox"
+            checked={props.autoRebaseTrunk}
+            onChange={(event) => props.onAutoRebaseChange(event.target.checked)}
+            disabled={props.disabled}
+            className="accent-accent"
+          />
+          Auto rebase onto origin/{props.trunkBranch || "main"}
+        </label>
+        <TooltipWrapper inline>
+          <span className="text-muted cursor-help text-xs">?</span>
+          <Tooltip className="tooltip" align="center" width="wide">
+            Fetches origin/{props.trunkBranch || "main"} and rebases the new workspace before
+            running any init hooks. Disable if you need to stay on the local trunk snapshot.
+          </Tooltip>
+        </TooltipWrapper>
+      </div>
     </div>
   );
 }
diff --git a/src/browser/components/ChatInput/index.tsx b/src/browser/components/ChatInput/index.tsx
index 20bbb1827..6f81143e9 100644
--- a/src/browser/components/ChatInput/index.tsx
+++ b/src/browser/components/ChatInput/index.tsx
@@ -1021,6 +1021,8 @@ export const ChatInput: React.FC<ChatInputProps> = (props) => {
                 runtimeMode={creationState.runtimeMode}
                 sshHost={creationState.sshHost}
                 onRuntimeChange={creationState.setRuntimeOptions}
+                autoRebaseTrunk={creationState.autoRebaseTrunk}
+                onAutoRebaseChange={creationState.setAutoRebaseTrunk}
                 disabled={creationState.isSending || isSending}
               />
             )}
diff --git a/src/browser/components/ChatInput/useCreationWorkspace.ts b/src/browser/components/ChatInput/useCreationWorkspace.ts
index 89c0ba4ac..021af168b 100644
--- a/src/browser/components/ChatInput/useCreationWorkspace.ts
+++ b/src/browser/components/ChatInput/useCreationWorkspace.ts
@@ -39,6 +39,8 @@ interface UseCreationWorkspaceReturn {
   runtimeMode: RuntimeMode;
   sshHost: string;
   setRuntimeOptions: (mode: RuntimeMode, host: string) => void;
+  autoRebaseTrunk: boolean;
+  setAutoRebaseTrunk: (value: boolean) => void;
   error: string | null;
   setError: (error: string | null) => void;
   isSending: boolean;
@@ -60,6 +62,7 @@ export function useCreationWorkspace({
   const [recommendedTrunk, setRecommendedTrunk] = useState<string | null>(null);
   const [error, setError] = useState<string | null>(null);
   const [isSending, setIsSending] = useState(false);
+  const [autoRebaseTrunk, setAutoRebaseTrunk] = useState(true);
 
   // Centralized draft workspace settings with automatic persistence
   const { settings, setRuntimeOptions, setTrunkBranch, getRuntimeString } =
@@ -107,6 +110,7 @@ export function useCreationWorkspace({
           runtimeConfig,
           projectPath, // Pass projectPath when workspaceId is null
           trunkBranch: settings.trunkBranch, // Pass selected trunk branch from settings
+          autoRebaseTrunk,
         });
 
         if (!result.success) {
@@ -139,6 +143,7 @@ export function useCreationWorkspace({
       getRuntimeString,
       sendMessageOptions,
       settings.trunkBranch,
+      autoRebaseTrunk,
     ]
   );
 
@@ -149,6 +154,8 @@ export function useCreationWorkspace({
     runtimeMode: settings.runtimeMode,
     sshHost: settings.sshHost,
     setRuntimeOptions,
+    autoRebaseTrunk,
+    setAutoRebaseTrunk,
     error,
     setError,
     isSending,
diff --git a/src/common/types/ipc.ts b/src/common/types/ipc.ts
index 339da510d..82d3ff163 100644
--- a/src/common/types/ipc.ts
+++ b/src/common/types/ipc.ts
@@ -217,6 +217,8 @@ export interface SendMessageOptions {
   maxOutputTokens?: number;
   providerOptions?: MuxProviderOptions;
   mode?: string; // Mode name - frontend narrows to specific values, backend accepts any string
+  /** Whether to rebase onto origin/<trunk> before first workspace init */
+  autoRebaseTrunk?: boolean;
   muxMetadata?: MuxFrontendMetadata; // Frontend-defined metadata, backend treats as black-box
 }
 
diff --git a/src/node/runtime/LocalRuntime.test.ts b/src/node/runtime/LocalRuntime.test.ts
index a3cbdd053..638fe254e 100644
--- a/src/node/runtime/LocalRuntime.test.ts
+++ b/src/node/runtime/LocalRuntime.test.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,9 @@ import { describe, expect, it } from "bun:test";
 import * as os from "os";
 import * as path from "path";
 import { LocalRuntime } from "./LocalRuntime";
+import * as fsPromises from "fs/promises";
+import { execFileSync } from "child_process";
+import type { InitLogger } from "./Runtime";
 
 describe("LocalRuntime constructor", () => {
   it("should expand tilde in srcBaseDir", () => {
@@ -65,3 +68,97 @@ describe("LocalRuntime.resolvePath", () => {
     expect(path.isAbsolute(resolved)).toBe(true);
   });
 });
+
+const GIT_ENV = {
+  ...process.env,
+  GIT_AUTHOR_NAME: "Test User",
+  GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL: "test@example.com",
+  GIT_COMMITTER_NAME: "Test User",
+  GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL: "test@example.com",
+};
+
+function runGit(args: string[], cwd?: string) {
+  execFileSync("git", args, { cwd, env: GIT_ENV });
+}
+
+function gitOutput(args: string[], cwd?: string): string {
+  return execFileSync("git", args, { cwd, env: GIT_ENV }).toString().trim();
+}
+
+function createTestInitLogger(): InitLogger {
+  const logs: string[] = [];
+  return {
+    logStep: (m: string) => {
+      logs.push(`[step] ${m}`);
+    },
+    logStdout: (line: string) => {
+      if (line) logs.push(`[out] ${line}`);
+    },
+    logStderr: (line: string) => {
+      if (line) logs.push(`[err] ${line}`);
+    },
+    logComplete: (code: number) => {
+      logs.push(`[done] ${code}`);
+    },
+  };
+}
+
+describe("LocalRuntime auto rebase", () => {
+  it("rebases onto origin when enabled", async () => {
+    const tmpRoot = await fsPromises.mkdtemp(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "local-runtime-"));
+    const originDir = path.join(tmpRoot, "origin.git");
+    const projectDir = path.join(tmpRoot, "project");
+    const upstreamDir = path.join(tmpRoot, "upstream");
+    const workspacesDir = path.join(tmpRoot, "workspaces");
+    const trunkBranch = "main";
+
+    try {
+      runGit(["init", "--bare", originDir]);
+
+      await fsPromises.mkdir(projectDir, { recursive: true });
+      runGit(["init", "-b", trunkBranch], projectDir);
+      runGit(["remote", "add", "origin", originDir], projectDir);
+
+      await fsPromises.writeFile(path.join(projectDir, "README.md"), "first\n");
+      runGit(["add", "README.md"], projectDir);
+      runGit(["commit", "-m", "initial"], projectDir);
+      runGit(["push", "-u", "origin", trunkBranch], projectDir);
+
+      runGit(["clone", "-b", trunkBranch, originDir, upstreamDir]);
+      await fsPromises.appendFile(path.join(upstreamDir, "README.md"), "second\n");
+      runGit(["commit", "-am", "upstream change"], upstreamDir);
+      runGit(["push", "origin", trunkBranch], upstreamDir);
+
+      const runtime = new LocalRuntime(workspacesDir);
+      const initLogger = createTestInitLogger();
+      const branchName = "auto-rebase-test";
+
+      const createResult = await runtime.createWorkspace({
+        projectPath: projectDir,
+        branchName,
+        trunkBranch,
+        directoryName: branchName,
+        initLogger,
+      });
+
+      expect(createResult.success).toBe(true);
+      expect(createResult.workspacePath).toBeTruthy();
+      const workspacePath = createResult.workspacePath!;
+
+      await runtime.initWorkspace({
+        projectPath: projectDir,
+        branchName,
+        trunkBranch,
+        workspacePath,
+        initLogger,
+        autoRebaseTrunk: true,
+      });
+
+      const workspaceHead = gitOutput(["rev-parse", "HEAD"], workspacePath);
+      const originHead = gitOutput(["rev-parse", `origin/${trunkBranch}`], projectDir);
+      expect(workspaceHead).toBe(originHead);
+    } finally {
+      await fsPromises.rm(tmpRoot, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    }
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/node/runtime/LocalRuntime.ts b/src/node/runtime/LocalRuntime.ts
index 81012cd12..1bd5a5287 100644
--- a/src/node/runtime/LocalRuntime.ts
+++ b/src/node/runtime/LocalRuntime.ts
@@ -375,9 +375,13 @@ export class LocalRuntime implements Runtime {
   }
 
   async initWorkspace(params: WorkspaceInitParams): Promise<WorkspaceInitResult> {
-    const { projectPath, workspacePath, initLogger } = params;
+    const { projectPath, workspacePath, initLogger, trunkBranch, autoRebaseTrunk } = params;
 
     try {
+      if (autoRebaseTrunk && trunkBranch) {
+        await this.runAutoRebase(workspacePath, trunkBranch, initLogger);
+      }
+
       // Run .mux/init hook if it exists
       // Note: runInitHook calls logComplete() internally if hook exists
       const hookExists = await checkInitHookExists(projectPath);
@@ -399,6 +403,46 @@ export class LocalRuntime implements Runtime {
     }
   }
 
+  private async runAutoRebase(
+    workspacePath: string,
+    trunkBranch: string,
+    initLogger: InitLogger
+  ): Promise<void> {
+    const quote = (value: string) => `"${value}"`;
+
+    const hasOrigin = await (async () => {
+      try {
+        using remoteCheck = execAsync(`git -C ${quote(workspacePath)} remote get-url origin`);
+        const { stdout } = await remoteCheck.result;
+        return stdout.trim().length > 0;
+      } catch {
+        return false;
+      }
+    })();
+
+    if (!hasOrigin) {
+      initLogger.logStep("Skipping auto-rebase: origin remote not configured.");
+      return;
+    }
+
+    initLogger.logStep(`Fetching origin/${trunkBranch}...`);
+    try {
+      using fetchProc = execAsync(`git -C ${quote(workspacePath)} fetch origin ${trunkBranch}`);
+      await fetchProc.result;
+    } catch (error) {
+      throw new Error(`Failed to fetch origin/${trunkBranch}: ${getErrorMessage(error)}`);
+    }
+
+    initLogger.logStep(`Rebasing onto origin/${trunkBranch}...`);
+    try {
+      using rebaseProc = execAsync(`git -C ${quote(workspacePath)} rebase origin/${trunkBranch}`);
+      await rebaseProc.result;
+      initLogger.logStep(`Rebased onto origin/${trunkBranch}`);
+    } catch (error) {
+      throw new Error(`Failed to rebase onto origin/${trunkBranch}: ${getErrorMessage(error)}`);
+    }
+  }
+
   /**
    * Run .mux/init hook if it exists and is executable
    */
diff --git a/src/node/runtime/Runtime.ts b/src/node/runtime/Runtime.ts
index 4e01a0ceb..d1c9c7445 100644
--- a/src/node/runtime/Runtime.ts
+++ b/src/node/runtime/Runtime.ts
@@ -151,6 +151,8 @@ export interface WorkspaceInitParams {
   initLogger: InitLogger;
   /** Optional abort signal for cancellation */
   abortSignal?: AbortSignal;
+  /** Automatically fetch/rebase onto origin/<trunkBranch> before running init hooks */
+  autoRebaseTrunk?: boolean;
 }
 
 /**
diff --git a/src/node/runtime/SSHRuntime.ts b/src/node/runtime/SSHRuntime.ts
index 22588e873..81e33318e 100644
--- a/src/node/runtime/SSHRuntime.ts
+++ b/src/node/runtime/SSHRuntime.ts
@@ -722,6 +722,72 @@ export class SSHRuntime implements Runtime {
     }
   }
 
+  private async runAutoRebase(
+    workspacePath: string,
+    trunkBranch: string,
+    initLogger: InitLogger,
+    abortSignal?: AbortSignal
+  ): Promise<void> {
+    const remoteCheck = await this.exec(`git remote get-url origin`, {
+      cwd: workspacePath,
+      timeout: 30,
+      abortSignal,
+    });
+    const [, _remoteStderr, remoteExitCode] = await Promise.all([
+      streamToString(remoteCheck.stdout),
+      streamToString(remoteCheck.stderr),
+      remoteCheck.exitCode,
+    ]);
+
+    if (remoteExitCode !== 0) {
+      initLogger.logStep("Skipping auto-rebase: origin remote not configured.");
+      return;
+    }
+
+    await this.runGitCommandWithLogging(
+      workspacePath,
+      `git fetch origin ${trunkBranch}`,
+      `Fetching origin/${trunkBranch}...`,
+      initLogger,
+      abortSignal
+    );
+
+    await this.runGitCommandWithLogging(
+      workspacePath,
+      `git rebase origin/${trunkBranch}`,
+      `Rebasing onto origin/${trunkBranch}...`,
+      initLogger,
+      abortSignal
+    );
+
+    initLogger.logStep(`Rebased onto origin/${trunkBranch}`);
+  }
+
+  private async runGitCommandWithLogging(
+    workspacePath: string,
+    command: string,
+    description: string,
+    initLogger: InitLogger,
+    abortSignal?: AbortSignal,
+    timeout = 300
+  ): Promise<void> {
+    initLogger.logStep(description);
+    const stream = await this.exec(command, {
+      cwd: workspacePath,
+      timeout,
+      abortSignal,
+    });
+    const [stdout, stderr, exitCode] = await Promise.all([
+      streamToString(stream.stdout),
+      streamToString(stream.stderr),
+      stream.exitCode,
+    ]);
+
+    if (exitCode !== 0) {
+      throw new Error(stderr.trim() || stdout.trim() || description);
+    }
+  }
+
   /**
    * Run .mux/init hook on remote machine if it exists
    */
@@ -906,6 +972,10 @@ export class SSHRuntime implements Runtime {
       }
       initLogger.logStep("Branch checked out successfully");
 
+      if (params.autoRebaseTrunk && trunkBranch) {
+        await this.runAutoRebase(workspacePath, trunkBranch, initLogger, abortSignal);
+      }
+
       // 3. Run .mux/init hook if it exists
       // Note: runInitHook calls logComplete() internally if hook exists
       const hookExists = await checkInitHookExists(projectPath);
diff --git a/src/node/services/ipcMain.ts b/src/node/services/ipcMain.ts
index d76819023..fade4a582 100644
--- a/src/node/services/ipcMain.ts
+++ b/src/node/services/ipcMain.ts
@@ -267,6 +267,7 @@ export class IpcMain {
           trunkBranch: recommendedTrunk,
           workspacePath: createResult.workspacePath,
           initLogger,
+          autoRebaseTrunk: options.autoRebaseTrunk ?? false,
         })
         .catch((error: unknown) => {
           const errorMsg = error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error);
@@ -560,6 +561,7 @@ export class IpcMain {
             trunkBranch: normalizedTrunkBranch,
             workspacePath: createResult.workspacePath,
             initLogger,
+            autoRebaseTrunk: false,
           })
           .catch((error: unknown) => {
             const errorMsg = error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error);