diff --git a/workspace-server/cmd/server/main.go b/workspace-server/cmd/server/main.go
index af060eb98..3b587c3a1 100644
--- a/workspace-server/cmd/server/main.go
+++ b/workspace-server/cmd/server/main.go
@@ -250,19 +250,24 @@ func main() {
 	}
 
 	// PR-B (RFC #2843 #24): wire the Gitea TemplateAssetFetcher.
-	// nil-if-empty + WARN: if the token isn't set, log a warning
-	// and stay in the "no fetcher wired" state. The SCAFFOLD gate
-	// in collectCPConfigFiles treats nil fetcher as "skip the
-	// fetcher" — pre-scaffold behavior preserved for self-host /
-	// unconfigured tenants. baseURL has a production default
-	// (https://git.moleculesai.app) but is overridable for staging
-	// or per-deployment Gitea mirrors.
-	if token := templateRepoToken(); token != "" {
-		baseURL := envOr("MOLECULE_GITEA_BASE_URL", "https://git.moleculesai.app")
-		wh.SetGiteaTemplateFetcher(provisioner.NewGiteaTemplateAssetFetcher(baseURL, token, nil))
-		log.Printf("template repo fetcher: wired (baseURL=%q, token set)", baseURL)
+	// Activate the Gitea template-asset fetcher on every boot (public
+	// fetch is the default — the molecule-ai/* template repos are
+	// PUBLIC, verified: GET /repos/.../archive/main.tar.gz returns
+	// 200 with no Authorization header). The token is OPTIONAL: if
+	// MOLECULE_TEMPLATE_REPO_TOKEN is set, the fetcher sends
+	// `Authorization: token <token>` (per-identity read-only PAT for
+	// the future private-template / rate-limit CTO-grant item); if
+	// empty, the fetcher omits the header entirely (public path).
+	// baseURL has a production default (https://git.moleculesai.app)
+	// but is overridable via MOLECULE_GITEA_BASE_URL for staging or
+	// per-deployment Gitea mirrors.
+	token := templateRepoToken()
+	baseURL := envOr("MOLECULE_GITEA_BASE_URL", "https://git.moleculesai.app")
+	wh.SetGiteaTemplateFetcher(provisioner.NewGiteaTemplateAssetFetcher(baseURL, token, nil))
+	if token != "" {
+		log.Printf("template repo fetcher: wired (baseURL=%q, token set — authenticated)", baseURL)
 	} else {
-		log.Printf("template repo fetcher: MOLECULE_TEMPLATE_REPO_TOKEN unset; fetcher disabled (self-host default / SCAFFOLD-gate skip)")
+		log.Printf("template repo fetcher: wired (baseURL=%q, no token — public unauthenticated fetch)", baseURL)
 	}
 
 	// Self-hosted platform-agent boot-provision (Change 1). The line-128 seed
@@ -687,10 +692,13 @@ func templateCacheToken() string {
 // used by the Gitea TemplateAssetFetcher (RFC #2843 #24 PR-B).
 // Distinct from templateCacheToken (which is for the template cache,
 // a different feature) so a tenant can rotate the fetcher token
-// without touching the cache token. nil-if-empty + WARN: callers
-// should treat empty as "fetcher disabled" (self-host default — the
-// SCAFFOLD gate in collectCPConfigFiles treats nil fetcher as
-// "skip the fetcher", pre-scaffold behavior preserved).
+// without touching the cache token. EMPTY IS NOW VALID — the
+// fetcher activates on every boot; an empty token is the public-
+// fetch path (molecule-ai/* template repos are public, no auth
+// required). When set, the token must be a per-identity read-only
+// PAT scoped to the template repo (e.g. for the future claude-ci-
+// reader for private templates / rate-limits — CTO-grant item,
+// deferred from this PR).
 func templateRepoToken() string {
 	return strings.TrimSpace(os.Getenv("MOLECULE_TEMPLATE_REPO_TOKEN"))
 }
diff --git a/workspace-server/internal/provisioner/gitea_template_assets.go b/workspace-server/internal/provisioner/gitea_template_assets.go
index c8b7705b0..27c87083c 100644
--- a/workspace-server/internal/provisioner/gitea_template_assets.go
+++ b/workspace-server/internal/provisioner/gitea_template_assets.go
@@ -126,13 +126,20 @@ func parseTemplateIdentity(identity string) (owner, repo, ref string, err error)
 // Load fetches the template's tarball archive and returns the
 // allowlisted asset map. See the package doc-comment for the full
 // transport + allowlist contract.
+//
+// Auth is OPTIONAL: when the token is empty/absent, no Authorization
+// header is sent (the request is unauthenticated). This is the
+// public-fetch path used for molecule-ai's PUBLIC template repos
+// (verified: GET /repos/.../archive/main.tar.gz returns 200 with no
+// Authorization header). When a token IS set, it is sent as
+// `Authorization: token <token>` per the Gitea API spec. The token
+// MUST be a per-identity read-only PAT scoped to the template repo
+// if/when used (e.g. the future claude-ci-reader for private
+// templates / rate-limits — CTO-grant item, deferred from this PR).
 func (f *giteaTemplateAssetFetcher) Load(ctx context.Context, templateIdentity string) (map[string][]byte, error) {
 	if f.baseURL == "" {
 		return nil, errors.New("giteaTemplateAssetFetcher: baseURL is empty")
 	}
-	if f.token == "" {
-		return nil, errors.New("giteaTemplateAssetFetcher: token is empty (per-identity READ-ONLY Gitea PAT required)")
-	}
 	owner, repo, ref, err := parseTemplateIdentity(templateIdentity)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("giteaTemplateAssetFetcher: %w", err)
@@ -143,7 +150,13 @@ func (f *giteaTemplateAssetFetcher) Load(ctx context.Context, templateIdentity s
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("giteaTemplateAssetFetcher: build request: %w", err)
 	}
-	req.Header.Set("Authorization", "token "+f.token)
+	// OMIT the Authorization header entirely when the token is empty
+	// — do NOT send "Authorization: token " with an empty value
+	// (Gitea may 401 on a malformed empty token). The public-fetch
+	// path is the no-token case.
+	if f.token != "" {
+		req.Header.Set("Authorization", "token "+f.token)
+	}
 	req.Header.Set("Accept", "application/gzip, application/octet-stream")
 
 	resp, err := f.httpClient.Do(req)
diff --git a/workspace-server/internal/provisioner/gitea_template_assets_test.go b/workspace-server/internal/provisioner/gitea_template_assets_test.go
index ee03b7042..89f8e5c30 100644
--- a/workspace-server/internal/provisioner/gitea_template_assets_test.go
+++ b/workspace-server/internal/provisioner/gitea_template_assets_test.go
@@ -158,23 +158,62 @@ func TestGiteaTemplateAssetFetcher_FailsClosedOnTransportError(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
-// TestGiteaTemplateAssetFetcher_RejectsEmptyToken pins the
-// security guard: an empty token (which would otherwise be
-// sent as "Authorization: token " with no credential) is
-// rejected at construction time. A forgotten token init would
-// otherwise silently fail-against-anonymous-requests, which
-// Gitea would 401 on — better to fail loud at Load time.
-func TestGiteaTemplateAssetFetcher_RejectsEmptyToken(t *testing.T) {
-	f := NewGiteaTemplateAssetFetcher("http://example.com", "", nil)
-	_, err := f.Load(context.Background(), "owner/repo@main")
-	if err == nil {
-		t.Fatal("expected error on empty token, got nil (security guard violated)")
+// TestGiteaTemplateAssetFetcher_PublicFetchNoToken pins the
+// public-fetch activation (no token → no Authorization header, GET
+// succeeds, assets extracted). The molecule-ai/* template repos
+// are public (verified: GET /repos/.../archive/main.tar.gz returns
+// 200 with no Authorization header), so the fetcher must work
+// without a token. The previous RejectsEmptyToken test was
+// inverted by the public-fetch activation (71b48241): the empty-
+// token case is now the no-op public-fetch path, not a hard error.
+func TestGiteaTemplateAssetFetcher_PublicFetchNoToken(t *testing.T) {
+	var gotAuthHeader string
+	var gotAuthHeaderSet bool
+	srv := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		// Capture the Authorization header (or lack thereof).
+		if v := r.Header.Get("Authorization"); v != "" {
+			gotAuthHeader = v
+		}
+		gotAuthHeaderSet = r.Header.Get("Authorization") != ""
+		// Serve a real .tar.gz with config.yaml + prompts/system.md
+		// wrapped in the "<repo>-<sha>" top-level dir Gitea uses.
+		w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/gzip")
+		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+		gz := gzip.NewWriter(w)
+		tw := tar.NewWriter(gz)
+		mustWriteTar(t, tw, "workspace-template-foo-abc123/config.yaml", []byte("model: anthropic:claude-opus-4-7\n"))
+		mustWriteTar(t, tw, "workspace-template-foo-abc123/prompts/system.md", []byte("you are a helpful assistant\n"))
+		_ = tw.Close()
+		_ = gz.Close()
+	}))
+	defer srv.Close()
+
+	f := NewGiteaTemplateAssetFetcher(srv.URL, "", nil) // EMPTY TOKEN = public fetch
+	assets, err := f.Load(context.Background(), "molecule-ai/workspace-template-foo@main")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("public fetch with empty token failed: %v", err)
 	}
-	if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "token") {
-		t.Errorf("error should mention token, got: %v", err)
+	if gotAuthHeaderSet {
+		t.Errorf("public fetch MUST NOT send an Authorization header when token is empty; got %q", gotAuthHeader)
+	}
+	if len(assets) < 1 {
+		t.Errorf("expected at least 1 asset extracted from the public tarball, got %d", len(assets))
+	}
+	// Spot-check the allowlist still applies on the public path.
+	for name := range assets {
+		if !IsCPTemplateAssetPath(name) {
+			t.Errorf("public fetch returned a non-allowlisted path: %q (allowlist must hold regardless of auth state)", name)
+		}
 	}
 }
 
+// TestGiteaTemplateAssetFetcher_RejectsEmptyToken_REMOVED: the
+// previous empty-token-rejection test was INVERTED by the
+// public-fetch activation (71b48241). An empty token is now
+// the no-op public-fetch path, not a hard error. The behavior
+// is pinned by TestGiteaTemplateAssetFetcher_PublicFetchNoToken
+// above + the no-Authorization-header assertion in that test.
+
 // TestParseTemplateIdentity pins the identity parser. Format:
 // "<owner>/<repo>@<ref>". Malformed identities return errors.
 func TestParseTemplateIdentity(t *testing.T) {