diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index f2fd0c5c..99ab0283 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -25,9 +25,22 @@ recipes/**/source.tar.tmp
 target
 wget-log
 
-# Explicitly track our source code (safety net)
-!local/recipes/**/source/
-!local/recipes/**/source/**
+# Explicitly track our OWN source code (recipes with path="source" where we wrote the code)
+# Only recipes under these categories contain our hand-written source:
+!local/recipes/branding/**/source/
+!local/recipes/branding/**/source/**
+!local/recipes/core/**/source/
+!local/recipes/core/**/source/**
+!local/recipes/drivers/**/source/
+!local/recipes/drivers/**/source/**
+!local/recipes/gpu/**/source/
+!local/recipes/gpu/**/source/**
+!local/recipes/system/**/source/
+!local/recipes/system/**/source/**
+!local/recipes/wayland/**/source/
+!local/recipes/wayland/**/source/**
+!local/recipes/kde/**/source/
+!local/recipes/kde/**/source/**
 
 # But not fetched tarballs or build artifacts inside local/
 local/recipes/**/source.tar
@@ -35,6 +48,9 @@ local/recipes/**/source.tar.tmp
 local/recipes/**/target/
 local/recipes/**/build/
 
+# Fetched vendor source trees in local/recipes (not our code, just ports)
+local/recipes/tui/*/source/
+
 # Vendor source trees (fetched, not our code)
 **/amdgpu-source/
 
diff --git a/local/scripts/fetch-sources.sh b/local/scripts/fetch-sources.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..fa4005db
--- /dev/null
+++ b/local/scripts/fetch-sources.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,136 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# fetch-sources.sh — Download Redox recipe sources for browsing and editing
+#
+# The build system fetches on-demand during `make all`, but you need sources
+# present BEFORE building to read, edit, and patch them. This script bulk-fetches
+# sources so they're available in recipes/<category>/<pkg>/source/.
+#
+# Usage:
+#   ./local/scripts/fetch-sources.sh                # All sources
+#   ./local/scripts/fetch-sources.sh core           # Core packages only
+#   ./local/scripts/fetch-sources.sh libs tools     # Multiple categories
+#   ./local/scripts/fetch-sources.sh --list         # Show available categories
+#   ./local/scripts/fetch-sources.sh --status       # Show fetch progress
+#
+# After fetching, sources live at:
+#   recipes/<category>/<pkg>/source/       (git repos, tar extractions)
+#   local/recipes/<category>/<pkg>/source/ (our custom overlay packages)
+set -euo pipefail
+
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd)"
+PROJECT_ROOT="$(cd "$SCRIPT_DIR/../.." && pwd)"
+REPO_BIN="$PROJECT_ROOT/target/release/repo"
+
+cd "$PROJECT_ROOT"
+
+if [ ! -f "$REPO_BIN" ]; then
+    echo ">>> Building cookbook binary..."
+    cargo build --release
+fi
+
+ALL_CATEGORIES=$(ls -d recipes/*/ 2>/dev/null | xargs -I{} basename {} | sort)
+
+list_categories() {
+    echo "Available recipe categories:"
+    for cat in $ALL_CATEGORIES; do
+        count=$(find "recipes/$cat" -mindepth 1 -maxdepth 1 -type d | wc -l)
+        printf "  %-20s %3d recipes\n" "$cat" "$count"
+    done
+}
+
+show_status() {
+    total=0; fetched=0
+    for d in $(find recipes -mindepth 2 -maxdepth 2 -type d); do
+        [ -f "$d/recipe.toml" ] || continue
+        total=$((total + 1))
+        if [ -d "$d/source" ] && [ "$(ls -A "$d/source/" 2>/dev/null)" ]; then
+            fetched=$((fetched + 1))
+        fi
+    done
+    local pct=0
+    [ "$total" -gt 0 ] && pct=$((fetched * 100 / total))
+    echo "Sources fetched: $fetched / $total ($pct%)"
+}
+
+if [ "${1:-}" = "--list" ]; then
+    list_categories
+    exit 0
+fi
+
+if [ "${1:-}" = "--status" ]; then
+    show_status
+    exit 0
+fi
+
+echo "========================================"
+echo "   Redox Source Fetcher"
+echo "========================================"
+show_status
+echo ""
+
+fetch_one() {
+    local recipe_path="$1"
+    local name
+    name=$(basename "$recipe_path")
+
+    if [ -d "$recipe_path/source" ] && [ "$(ls -A "$recipe_path/source/" 2>/dev/null)" ]; then
+        return 0
+    fi
+
+    "$REPO_BIN" fetch "$recipe_path" 2>/dev/null && return 0
+
+    echo "  FAIL $name"
+    return 1
+}
+
+fetch_category() {
+    local cat="$1"
+    local ok=0 fail=0 skip=0
+
+    for pkg_dir in "recipes/$cat"/*/; do
+        [ -f "$pkg_dir/recipe.toml" ] || continue
+        local name
+        name=$(basename "$pkg_dir")
+
+        if [ -d "$pkg_dir/source" ] && [ "$(ls -A "$pkg_dir/source/" 2>/dev/null)" ]; then
+            skip=$((skip + 1))
+            continue
+        fi
+
+        if "$REPO_BIN" fetch "$pkg_dir" 2>/dev/null; then
+            ok=$((ok + 1))
+        else
+            echo "  FAIL $name"
+            fail=$((fail + 1))
+        fi
+    done
+
+    [ "$ok" -gt 0 ] && echo "  ✅ $cat: $ok fetched, $skip cached, $fail failed"
+    [ "$ok" -eq 0 ] && [ "$skip" -gt 0 ] && echo "  ⏭️  $cat: $skip cached"
+    [ "$ok" -eq 0 ] && [ "$skip" -eq 0 ] && [ "$fail" -gt 0 ] && echo "  ❌ $cat: $fail failed"
+}
+
+if [ $# -eq 0 ]; then
+    echo ">>> Fetching ALL recipe sources..."
+    echo ""
+    for cat in $ALL_CATEGORIES; do
+        fetch_category "$cat"
+    done
+else
+    for cat in "$@"; do
+        if [ -d "recipes/$cat" ]; then
+            echo ">>> Fetching category: $cat"
+            fetch_category "$cat"
+        else
+            echo "WARNING: Unknown category '$cat' (skipping)"
+        fi
+    done
+fi
+
+echo ""
+echo "========================================"
+show_status
+echo "========================================"
+echo ""
+echo "Sources are at: recipes/<category>/<pkg>/source/"
+echo "Our overlay:    local/recipes/<category>/<pkg>/source/"