diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 18177cc1aca..be147b6eac6 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -45,13 +45,7 @@ COPY --chown=hermes:hermes . .
 
 # Build browser dashboard and terminal UI assets.
 RUN cd web && npm run build && \
-    cd ../ui-tui && npm run build && \
-    rm -rf node_modules/@hermes/ink && \
-    rm -rf packages/hermes-ink/node_modules && \
-    cp -R packages/hermes-ink node_modules/@hermes/ink && \
-    npm install --omit=dev --prefer-offline --no-audit --prefix node_modules/@hermes/ink && \
-    rm -rf node_modules/@hermes/ink/node_modules/react && \
-    node --input-type=module -e "await import('@hermes/ink')"
+    cd ../ui-tui && npm run build
 
 # ---------- Permissions ----------
 # Make install dir world-readable so any HERMES_UID can read it at runtime.
diff --git a/hermes_cli/main.py b/hermes_cli/main.py
index 7b5834aea6b..831cd762579 100644
--- a/hermes_cli/main.py
+++ b/hermes_cli/main.py
@@ -922,9 +922,39 @@ def _find_bundled_tui(tui_dir: Path) -> Optional[Path]:
 
 
 def _tui_build_needed(tui_dir: Path) -> bool:
+    entry = tui_dir / "dist" / "entry.js"
+    # In the esbuild pipeline, ink is bundled into dist/entry.js directly.
+    # If the main bundle exists and is up to date with all source files,
+    # no separate ink rebuild is needed.
+    if entry.exists():
+        dist_m = entry.stat().st_mtime
+        skip = frozenset({"node_modules", "dist"})
+        stale = False
+        for dirpath, dirnames, filenames in os.walk(tui_dir, topdown=True):
+            dirnames[:] = [d for d in dirnames if d not in skip]
+            for fn in filenames:
+                if fn.endswith((".ts", ".tsx")):
+                    if os.path.getmtime(os.path.join(dirpath, fn)) > dist_m:
+                        stale = True
+                        break
+            if stale:
+                break
+        if not stale:
+            for meta in (
+                "package.json",
+                "package-lock.json",
+                "tsconfig.json",
+                "tsconfig.build.json",
+            ):
+                mp = tui_dir / meta
+                if mp.exists() and mp.stat().st_mtime > dist_m:
+                    stale = True
+                    break
+        if not stale:
+            return False
+
     if _hermes_ink_bundle_stale(tui_dir):
         return True
-    entry = tui_dir / "dist" / "entry.js"
     if not entry.exists():
         return True
     dist_m = entry.stat().st_mtime
diff --git a/tests/hermes_cli/test_tui_npm_install.py b/tests/hermes_cli/test_tui_npm_install.py
index 8e16c5e9dea..0ef98c9ea67 100644
--- a/tests/hermes_cli/test_tui_npm_install.py
+++ b/tests/hermes_cli/test_tui_npm_install.py
@@ -95,12 +95,25 @@ def test_no_install_prebuilt_bundle_mode(tmp_path: Path, main_mod) -> None:
     assert main_mod._tui_need_npm_install(tmp_path) is False
 
 
-def test_build_needed_when_local_ink_bundle_missing(tmp_path: Path, main_mod) -> None:
+def test_build_needed_when_source_newer_than_entry(tmp_path: Path, main_mod) -> None:
+    _touch_tui_entry(tmp_path)
+    _touch_ink(tmp_path)
+    src = tmp_path / "src" / "entry.tsx"
+    src.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    src.write_text("console.log('newer')")
+    os.utime(src, (200, 200))
+    os.utime(tmp_path / "dist" / "entry.js", (100, 100))
+
+    assert main_mod._tui_need_npm_install(tmp_path) is False
+    assert main_mod._tui_build_needed(tmp_path) is True
+
+
+def test_build_not_needed_when_entry_exists_and_sources_unchanged(tmp_path: Path, main_mod) -> None:
     _touch_tui_entry(tmp_path)
     _touch_ink(tmp_path)
 
     assert main_mod._tui_need_npm_install(tmp_path) is False
-    assert main_mod._tui_build_needed(tmp_path) is True
+    assert main_mod._tui_build_needed(tmp_path) is False
 
 
 def test_build_not_needed_when_entry_and_ink_bundle_present(tmp_path: Path, main_mod) -> None:
diff --git a/tests/tools/test_dockerfile_pid1_reaping.py b/tests/tools/test_dockerfile_pid1_reaping.py
index 52532a78dd2..960415d417b 100644
--- a/tests/tools/test_dockerfile_pid1_reaping.py
+++ b/tests/tools/test_dockerfile_pid1_reaping.py
@@ -121,20 +121,6 @@ def test_dockerfile_builds_tui_assets(dockerfile_text):
     )
 
 
-def test_dockerfile_materializes_local_tui_ink_package(dockerfile_text):
-    assert any(
-        "ui-tui" in step
-        and "node_modules/@hermes/ink" in step
-        and "packages/hermes-ink" in step
-        and "rm -rf packages/hermes-ink/node_modules" in step
-        and "npm install --omit=dev" in step
-        and "--prefix node_modules/@hermes/ink" in step
-        and "rm -rf node_modules/@hermes/ink/node_modules/react" in step
-        and "await import('@hermes/ink')" in step
-        for step in _run_steps(dockerfile_text)
-    )
-
-
 def test_dockerignore_excludes_nested_dependency_dirs():
     if not DOCKERIGNORE.exists():
         pytest.skip(".dockerignore not present in this checkout")