diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 27c53293..8c5a907d 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -180,6 +180,12 @@ All notable changes to AgentDescent are documented here. The format follows
 
 ### Fixed
 
+- `agentdescent init selection --kind policy_slot` now finishes successfully and
+  explains how to provide the `data.problems` ref and its import allowlist.
+  It previously wrote the starter spec and then crashed looking for `data.path`,
+  which policy slots do not use. The clean-wheel smoke check now exercises this
+  installed command as well as the offline demo and MCP server.
+
 - **Onboarding, published-version guidance and CI support coverage.** Lead with
   the packaged offline demo on current `main`, distinguish it from the v0.5.0
   source-example path, name NumPy as a runtime dependency, exercise Python 3.10
diff --git a/agentdescent/cli.py b/agentdescent/cli.py
index 5b3b694e..ca754ee0 100644
--- a/agentdescent/cli.py
+++ b/agentdescent/cli.py
@@ -281,11 +281,17 @@ def cmd_init(a: argparse.Namespace) -> int:
     with open(out, "w", encoding="utf-8") as fh:
         json.dump(spec, fh, indent=2)
     print(f"wrote {out}")
-    data = spec["data"]["path"]
-    if not os.path.exists(os.path.expanduser(data)):
-        print(f"next: create {data} -- one JSON object per line, "
-              '{"prompt": "...", "gold": "..."}')
-        print("      (`agentdescent demo` runs a complete example, offline, to copy from)")
+    if spec["kind"] == "policy_slot":
+        problems = spec["data"]["problems"]
+        print(f"next: provide {problems} -- a zero-argument builder "
+              "returning a mapping of inner problems")
+        print("      make its module importable and include its package in the spec's allow list")
+    else:
+        data = spec["data"]["path"]
+        if not os.path.exists(os.path.expanduser(data)):
+            print(f"next: create {data} -- one JSON object per line, "
+                  '{"prompt": "...", "gold": "..."}')
+            print("      (`agentdescent demo` runs a complete example, offline, to copy from)")
     print(f"then: agentdescent plan {out}")
     return 0
 
@@ -785,7 +791,7 @@ def build_parser() -> argparse.ArgumentParser:
     s.add_argument("path")
     s.add_argument("--kind", choices=("text", "skill_dir", "agent_dir", "agent_code",
                                   "plugin", "policy_slot"))
-    s.add_argument("--data", help="cases file to point the spec at")
+    s.add_argument("--data", help="cases file, or a module:attribute problems ref for policy_slot")
     s.add_argument("--agent", default="claude_code", help="worker agent short name")
     s.add_argument("--out", help="where to write the spec")
     s.set_defaults(fn=cmd_init)
diff --git a/docs/meta-evolution.md b/docs/meta-evolution.md
index 6c0d9451..f9e193b9 100644
--- a/docs/meta-evolution.md
+++ b/docs/meta-evolution.md
@@ -170,8 +170,10 @@ nature of the thing rather than an inconsistency:
   artifact is a decision rule of the optimiser, and there is no file to point at.
 * **`data` holds refs, not rows.** An inner problem is a callable
   `(value, seed) -> MetaOutcome`; no row format can express one. `data.problems`
-  is a `module:attribute` ref to a mapping of them (or a zero-argument builder),
-  inside the spec's import allowlist.
+  is a `module:attribute` ref to a zero-argument builder returning a mapping of them,
+  inside the spec's import allowlist. Pass `--data mypkg.problems:build` to
+  `init` to choose that ref; make the module importable and include its package
+  in the generated spec's `allow` list before planning.
 
 `score` takes `auc` (the default), `final_reward`, `rollouts_to`, or a ref to
 any `MetaOutcome -> float`.
diff --git a/scripts/smoke-installed-wheel.py b/scripts/smoke-installed-wheel.py
index 8fb05e75..af636e8c 100755
--- a/scripts/smoke-installed-wheel.py
+++ b/scripts/smoke-installed-wheel.py
@@ -75,6 +75,25 @@ def main() -> None:
             env.pop(name, None)
         env["AGENTDESCENT_HOME"] = str(workdir / "home")
 
+        policy_init = subprocess.run(
+            ["agentdescent", "init", "selection", "--kind", "policy_slot"],
+            cwd=workdir, env=env, text=True, capture_output=True, timeout=30,
+        )
+        assert policy_init.returncode == 0, (
+            f"installed policy-slot init failed ({policy_init.returncode})\n"
+            f"{policy_init.stdout}\n{policy_init.stderr}"
+        )
+        policy_spec = json.loads(
+            (workdir / ".agentdescent" / "selection.evolve.json").read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+        )
+        assert policy_spec["target"] == "selection", policy_spec
+        assert policy_spec["data"] == {"problems": "mypkg.problems:build", "seeds": [0]}, (
+            policy_spec
+        )
+        assert "mypkg.problems:build" in policy_init.stdout, policy_init.stdout
+        assert "allow list" in policy_init.stdout, policy_init.stdout
+        assert "JSON object per line" not in policy_init.stdout, policy_init.stdout
+
         demo = subprocess.run(
             ["agentdescent", "demo"], cwd=workdir, env=env,
             text=True, capture_output=True, timeout=120,
diff --git a/tests/test_cli_init_policy_slot.py b/tests/test_cli_init_policy_slot.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..94f37bfe
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_cli_init_policy_slot.py
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+"""Policy-slot onboarding uses problem refs rather than row-data paths."""
+
+import json
+
+import pytest
+
+from agentdescent import cli
+from agentdescent.evolvespec import load_spec
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("problems", [None, "custom.problems:build"])
+def test_init_policy_slot_writes_spec_and_explains_problem_ref(
+    tmp_path, monkeypatch, capsys, problems
+):
+    monkeypatch.chdir(tmp_path)
+    args = ["init", "selection", "--kind", "policy_slot"]
+    if problems is not None:
+        args.extend(["--data", problems])
+    assert cli.main(args) == 0
+
+    spec_path = tmp_path / ".agentdescent" / "selection.evolve.json"
+    payload = json.loads(spec_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+    expected = problems or "mypkg.problems:build"
+    assert payload["kind"] == "policy_slot"
+    assert payload["target"] == "selection"
+    assert payload["data"] == {"problems": expected, "seeds": [0]}
+    assert payload["allow"] == ["mypkg"]  # init does not expand import permissions
+    assert load_spec(str(spec_path)).target == "selection"
+
+    out = capsys.readouterr().out
+    assert expected in out
+    assert "zero-argument builder returning a mapping of inner problems" in out
+    assert "importable" in out and "allow list" in out
+    assert "then: agentdescent plan .agentdescent/selection.evolve.json" in out
+    assert "JSON object per line" not in out