diff --git a/hermes_cli/skills_hub.py b/hermes_cli/skills_hub.py
index 370b69ab0c..b3ff90d0e2 100644
--- a/hermes_cli/skills_hub.py
+++ b/hermes_cli/skills_hub.py
@@ -151,7 +151,8 @@ def do_search(query: str, source: str = "all", limit: int = 10,
 
     auth = GitHubAuth()
     sources = create_source_router(auth)
-    results = unified_search(query, sources, source_filter=source, limit=limit)
+    with c.status("[bold]Searching registries..."):
+        results = unified_search(query, sources, source_filter=source, limit=limit)
 
     if not results:
         c.print("[dim]No skills found matching your query.[/]\n")
@@ -187,7 +188,7 @@ def do_browse(page: int = 1, page_size: int = 20, source: str = "all",
     Official skills are always shown first, regardless of source filter.
     """
     from tools.skills_hub import (
-        GitHubAuth, create_source_router,
+        GitHubAuth, create_source_router, parallel_search_sources,
     )
 
     # Clamp page_size to safe range
@@ -198,27 +199,23 @@ def do_browse(page: int = 1, page_size: int = 20, source: str = "all",
     auth = GitHubAuth()
     sources = create_source_router(auth)
 
-    # Collect results from all (or filtered) sources
-    # Use empty query to get everything; per-source limits prevent overload
+    # Collect results from all (or filtered) sources in parallel.
+    # Per-source limits are generous — parallelism + 30s timeout cap prevents hangs.
     _TRUST_RANK = {"builtin": 3, "trusted": 2, "community": 1}
-    _PER_SOURCE_LIMIT = {"official": 100, "skills-sh": 100, "well-known": 25, "github": 100, "clawhub": 50,
-                         "claude-marketplace": 50, "lobehub": 50}
+    _PER_SOURCE_LIMIT = {
+        "official": 200, "skills-sh": 200, "well-known": 50,
+        "github": 200, "clawhub": 500, "claude-marketplace": 100,
+        "lobehub": 500,
+    }
 
-    all_results: list = []
-    source_counts: dict = {}
-
-    for src in sources:
-        sid = src.source_id()
-        if source != "all" and sid != source and sid != "official":
-            # Always include official source for the "first" placement
-            continue
-        try:
-            limit = _PER_SOURCE_LIMIT.get(sid, 50)
-            results = src.search("", limit=limit)
-            source_counts[sid] = len(results)
-            all_results.extend(results)
-        except Exception:
-            continue
+    with c.status("[bold]Fetching skills from registries..."):
+        all_results, source_counts, timed_out = parallel_search_sources(
+            sources,
+            query="",
+            per_source_limits=_PER_SOURCE_LIMIT,
+            source_filter=source,
+            overall_timeout=30,
+        )
 
     if not all_results:
         c.print("[dim]No skills found in the Skills Hub.[/]\n")
@@ -252,8 +249,11 @@ def do_browse(page: int = 1, page_size: int = 20, source: str = "all",
 
     # Build header
     source_label = f"— {source}" if source != "all" else "— all sources"
+    loaded_label = f"{total} skills loaded"
+    if timed_out:
+        loaded_label += f", {len(timed_out)} source(s) still loading"
     c.print(f"\n[bold]Skills Hub — Browse {source_label}[/]"
-            f"  [dim]({total} skills, page {page}/{total_pages})[/]")
+            f"  [dim]({loaded_label}, page {page}/{total_pages})[/]")
     if official_count > 0 and page == 1:
         c.print(f"[bright_cyan]★ {official_count} official optional skill(s) from Nous Research[/]")
     c.print()
@@ -300,8 +300,11 @@ def do_browse(page: int = 1, page_size: int = 20, source: str = "all",
         parts = [f"{sid}: {ct}" for sid, ct in sorted(source_counts.items())]
         c.print(f"  [dim]Sources: {', '.join(parts)}[/]")
 
-    c.print("[dim]Use: hermes skills inspect <identifier> to preview, "
-            "hermes skills install <identifier> to install[/]\n")
+    if timed_out:
+        c.print(f"  [yellow]⚡ Slow sources skipped: {', '.join(timed_out)} "
+                f"— run again for cached results[/]")
+
+    c.print("[dim]Tip: 'hermes skills search <query>' searches deeper across all registries[/]\n")
 
 
 def do_install(identifier: str, category: str = "", force: bool = False,
diff --git a/tools/skills_hub.py b/tools/skills_hub.py
index 2b7a3aaae0..0c218c5b65 100644
--- a/tools/skills_hub.py
+++ b/tools/skills_hub.py
@@ -2675,19 +2675,89 @@ def create_source_router(auth: Optional[GitHubAuth] = None) -> List[SkillSource]
     return sources
 
 
+def _search_one_source(
+    src: SkillSource, query: str, limit: int
+) -> Tuple[str, List[SkillMeta]]:
+    """Search a single source.  Runs in a thread for parallelism."""
+    try:
+        return src.source_id(), src.search(query, limit=limit)
+    except Exception as e:
+        logger.debug("Search failed for %s: %s", src.source_id(), e)
+        return src.source_id(), []
+
+
+def parallel_search_sources(
+    sources: List[SkillSource],
+    query: str = "",
+    per_source_limits: Optional[Dict[str, int]] = None,
+    source_filter: str = "all",
+    overall_timeout: float = 30,
+    on_source_done: Optional[Any] = None,
+) -> Tuple[List[SkillMeta], Dict[str, int], List[str]]:
+    """Search all sources in parallel with per-source timeout.
+
+    Returns ``(all_results, source_counts, timed_out_ids)``.
+
+    *on_source_done* is an optional callback ``(source_id, count) -> None``
+    invoked as each source completes — useful for progress indicators.
+    """
+    from concurrent.futures import ThreadPoolExecutor, as_completed
+
+    per_source_limits = per_source_limits or {}
+
+    active: List[SkillSource] = []
+    for src in sources:
+        sid = src.source_id()
+        if source_filter != "all" and sid != source_filter and sid != "official":
+            continue
+        active.append(src)
+
+    all_results: List[SkillMeta] = []
+    source_counts: Dict[str, int] = {}
+    timed_out_ids: List[str] = []
+
+    if not active:
+        return all_results, source_counts, timed_out_ids
+
+    with ThreadPoolExecutor(max_workers=min(len(active), 8)) as pool:
+        futures = {}
+        for src in active:
+            lim = per_source_limits.get(src.source_id(), 50)
+            fut = pool.submit(_search_one_source, src, query, lim)
+            futures[fut] = src.source_id()
+
+        try:
+            for fut in as_completed(futures, timeout=overall_timeout):
+                try:
+                    sid, results = fut.result(timeout=0)
+                    source_counts[sid] = len(results)
+                    all_results.extend(results)
+                    if on_source_done:
+                        on_source_done(sid, len(results))
+                except Exception:
+                    pass
+        except TimeoutError:
+            timed_out_ids = [
+                futures[f] for f in futures if not f.done()
+            ]
+            if timed_out_ids:
+                logger.debug(
+                    "Skills browse timed out waiting for: %s",
+                    ", ".join(timed_out_ids),
+                )
+
+    return all_results, source_counts, timed_out_ids
+
+
 def unified_search(query: str, sources: List[SkillSource],
                    source_filter: str = "all", limit: int = 10) -> List[SkillMeta]:
-    """Search all sources and merge results."""
-    all_results: List[SkillMeta] = []
-
-    for src in sources:
-        if source_filter != "all" and src.source_id() != source_filter:
-            continue
-        try:
-            results = src.search(query, limit=limit)
-            all_results.extend(results)
-        except Exception as e:
-            logger.debug(f"Search failed for {src.source_id()}: {e}")
+    """Search all sources (in parallel) and merge results."""
+    all_results, _, _ = parallel_search_sources(
+        sources,
+        query=query,
+        source_filter=source_filter,
+        overall_timeout=30,
+    )
 
     # Deduplicate by name, preferring higher trust levels
     _TRUST_RANK = {"builtin": 2, "trusted": 1, "community": 0}