diff --git a/config/redbear-bare.toml b/config/redbear-bare.toml
index b9eafac4ae..6c30039f7b 100644
--- a/config/redbear-bare.toml
+++ b/config/redbear-bare.toml
@@ -135,7 +135,10 @@ shell = "/usr/bin/zsh"
 gid = 1
 members = ["user"]
 
-# Build override: trigger the bare-initfs branch in base-initfs/recipe.toml.
-# The cookbook honors REDBEAR_BARE_INITFS in the env when invoking make.
-[build.env]
-REDBEAR_BARE_INITFS = "1"
+# Build override note: the cookbook's [build.env] section is not parsed
+# by the current config parser, so the REDBEAR_BARE_INITFS=1 env var is
+# set automatically by local/scripts/build-redbear.sh when CONFIG_NAME
+# is redbear-bare. See that script's per-target hook block.
+#
+# If you need to override or test the bare initfs directly:
+#   REDBEAR_BARE_INITFS=1 ./local/scripts/build-redbear.sh redbear-bare
diff --git a/local/scripts/build-redbear.sh b/local/scripts/build-redbear.sh
index 8f6b6e8dcd..c6e5694333 100755
--- a/local/scripts/build-redbear.sh
+++ b/local/scripts/build-redbear.sh
@@ -727,18 +727,31 @@ for src in relibc kernel base bootloader installer; do
     fi
 done
 
+# Per-target env propagation. The cookbook's [build.env] section is not
+# read by the current parser, so per-target env-var hooks must be set
+# here in the dispatch script. Specifically the redbear-bare target
+# reads REDBEAR_BARE_INITFS=1 in recipes/core/base-initfs/recipe.toml
+# to switch from a 22-daemon initfs to a 7-daemon minimal initfs
+# (init logd ramfs randd zerod ptyd getty). Auto-set when CONFIG is
+# redbear-bare unless the operator has overridden the env var.
+if [ "$CONFIG" = "redbear-bare" ] && [ -z "${REDBEAR_BARE_INITFS:-}" ]; then
+    REDBEAR_BARE_INITFS=1
+    export REDBEAR_BARE_INITFS
+    echo ">>> redbear-bare target: REDBEAR_BARE_INITFS=1 (auto-set; minimal 7-daemon initfs)"
+fi
+
 if [ "${REDBEAR_ALLOW_UPSTREAM:-0}" = "1" ]; then
     echo ">>> WARNING: Upstream fetch ENABLED (REDBEAR_ALLOW_UPSTREAM=1)"
-    REPO_OFFLINE=0 COOKBOOK_OFFLINE=false CI=1 make live "CONFIG_NAME=$CONFIG" "JOBS=$JOBS" 2>&1
+    REPO_OFFLINE=0 COOKBOOK_OFFLINE=false CI=1 REDBEAR_BARE_INITFS="${REDBEAR_BARE_INITFS:-0}" make live "CONFIG_NAME=$CONFIG" "JOBS=$JOBS" 2>&1
 elif [ -n "${REDBEAR_RELEASE:-}" ]; then
     echo ">>> Release mode: building from immutable archives (offline)"
-    REPO_OFFLINE=1 COOKBOOK_OFFLINE=true CI=1 make live "CONFIG_NAME=$CONFIG" "JOBS=$JOBS" 2>&1
+    REPO_OFFLINE=1 COOKBOOK_OFFLINE=true CI=1 REDBEAR_BARE_INITFS="${REDBEAR_BARE_INITFS:-0}" make live "CONFIG_NAME=$CONFIG" "JOBS=$JOBS" 2>&1
 elif [ "$ALLOW_UPSTREAM" -eq 1 ]; then
     echo ">>> Upstream recipe refresh enabled"
-    REPO_OFFLINE=0 COOKBOOK_OFFLINE=false CI=1 make live "CONFIG_NAME=$CONFIG" "JOBS=$JOBS" 2>&1
+    REPO_OFFLINE=0 COOKBOOK_OFFLINE=false CI=1 REDBEAR_BARE_INITFS="${REDBEAR_BARE_INITFS:-0}" make live "CONFIG_NAME=$CONFIG" "JOBS=$JOBS" 2>&1
 else
     echo ">>> Upstream recipe refresh disabled (default: offline)"
-    REPO_OFFLINE=1 COOKBOOK_OFFLINE=true CI=1 make live "CONFIG_NAME=$CONFIG" "JOBS=$JOBS" 2>&1
+    REPO_OFFLINE=1 COOKBOOK_OFFLINE=true CI=1 REDBEAR_BARE_INITFS="${REDBEAR_BARE_INITFS:-0}" make live "CONFIG_NAME=$CONFIG" "JOBS=$JOBS" 2>&1
 fi
 
 ARCH="${ARCH:-$(uname -m)}"