diff --git a/gitnexus/src/cli/i18n/en.ts b/gitnexus/src/cli/i18n/en.ts
index dfa5ec3c6..cef84f8d3 100644
--- a/gitnexus/src/cli/i18n/en.ts
+++ b/gitnexus/src/cli/i18n/en.ts
@@ -167,8 +167,9 @@ export const en = {
   'help.option.ciSetup.ci': 'CI/CD system: github-actions, azure-devops, or both',
   'help.option.ciSetup.deploy': 'Deploy target: docker, azure-container-app, or both',
   'help.option.ciSetup.port': 'Host port to bind (container always runs on 4747)',
-  'help.option.ciSetup.auth': 'Auth mode: token (Caddy proxy) or none',
-  'help.option.ciSetup.branchStrategy': 'Index strategy: pr-scoped or main-only',
+  'help.option.ciSetup.auth': 'Auth mode: token (Caddy proxy) or none (defaults to token)',
+  'help.option.ciSetup.branchStrategy':
+    'Index strategy: pr-scoped or main-only (defaults to pr-scoped)',
   'help.option.ciSetup.dryRun':
     'Print generated files without writing (default when no mode flag given)',
   'help.option.ciSetup.apply': 'Write files with per-file confirmation gates',
diff --git a/gitnexus/src/cli/i18n/zh-CN.ts b/gitnexus/src/cli/i18n/zh-CN.ts
index 612ae8156..2d5794bc2 100644
--- a/gitnexus/src/cli/i18n/zh-CN.ts
+++ b/gitnexus/src/cli/i18n/zh-CN.ts
@@ -159,8 +159,8 @@ export const zhCN = {
   'help.option.ciSetup.ci': 'CI/CD 系统：github-actions、azure-devops 或 both',
   'help.option.ciSetup.deploy': '部署目标：docker、azure-container-app 或 both',
   'help.option.ciSetup.port': '绑定的主机端口（容器始终运行在 4747）',
-  'help.option.ciSetup.auth': '认证模式：token（Caddy 代理）或 none',
-  'help.option.ciSetup.branchStrategy': '索引策略：pr-scoped 或 main-only',
+  'help.option.ciSetup.auth': '认证模式：token（Caddy 代理）或 none（默认 token）',
+  'help.option.ciSetup.branchStrategy': '索引策略：pr-scoped 或 main-only（默认 pr-scoped）',
   'help.option.ciSetup.dryRun': '打印生成的文件而不写入（未指定模式标志时的默认行为）',
   'help.option.ciSetup.apply': '写入文件，每个文件有独立确认步骤',
   'help.option.ciSetup.yes': '跳过逐文件确认提示（与 --apply 配合使用）',
diff --git a/gitnexus/src/cli/index.ts b/gitnexus/src/cli/index.ts
index f02c15dab..c96adaccf 100644
--- a/gitnexus/src/cli/index.ts
+++ b/gitnexus/src/cli/index.ts
@@ -58,8 +58,8 @@ program
   .option('--ci <system>', 'CI/CD system: github-actions, azure-devops, or both')
   .option('--deploy <target>', 'Deploy target: docker, azure-container-app, or both')
   .option('--port <port>', 'gitnexus serve port', '4747')
-  .option('--auth <mode>', 'Auth mode: token (Caddy proxy) or none', 'token')
-  .option('--branch-strategy <strategy>', 'Index strategy: pr-scoped or main-only', 'pr-scoped')
+  .option('--auth <mode>', 'Auth mode: token (Caddy proxy) or none')
+  .option('--branch-strategy <strategy>', 'Index strategy: pr-scoped or main-only')
   .option('--dry-run', 'Print generated files without writing (default when no mode flag given)')
   .option('--apply', 'Write files with per-file confirmation gates')
   .option('--yes', 'Skip per-file confirmation prompts (use with --apply)')
diff --git a/gitnexus/test/unit/ci-setup.test.ts b/gitnexus/test/unit/ci-setup.test.ts
index 7b653b6d5..f51c83735 100644
--- a/gitnexus/test/unit/ci-setup.test.ts
+++ b/gitnexus/test/unit/ci-setup.test.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest';
+import { select } from '@inquirer/prompts';
 import fs from 'fs/promises';
 import os from 'os';
 import path from 'path';
@@ -188,3 +189,48 @@ describe('ciSetupCommand', () => {
     expect(entries).toHaveLength(0);
   });
 });
+
+describe('resolveOptions (U1: interactive prompts reachable)', () => {
+  const detect = {
+    gitRoot: '/tmp/repo',
+    detectedCi: null,
+    hasDocker: false,
+    portAvailable: true,
+    primaryLanguage: 'TypeScript',
+  };
+  let originalTTY: boolean | undefined;
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    vi.clearAllMocks();
+    originalTTY = process.stdin.isTTY;
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    Object.defineProperty(process.stdin, 'isTTY', { value: originalTTY, configurable: true });
+  });
+
+  it('TTY with no auth/branch flags prompts for them (prompts are not dead code)', async () => {
+    Object.defineProperty(process.stdin, 'isTTY', { value: true, configurable: true });
+    const { resolveOptions } = await import('../../src/cli/ci-setup/prompts.js');
+    await resolveOptions(detect, { dryRun: true });
+    // select() is the prompt primitive for all four questions; reaching it proves
+    // promptAuth/promptBranchStrategy are no longer short-circuited by a commander default.
+    expect(vi.mocked(select)).toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it('non-TTY falls back to token/pr-scoped without prompting', async () => {
+    Object.defineProperty(process.stdin, 'isTTY', { value: false, configurable: true });
+    const { resolveOptions } = await import('../../src/cli/ci-setup/prompts.js');
+    const resolved = await resolveOptions(detect, { dryRun: true });
+    expect(resolved.auth).toBe('token');
+    expect(resolved.branchStrategy).toBe('pr-scoped');
+    expect(vi.mocked(select)).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it('explicit auth flag wins over the prompt', async () => {
+    Object.defineProperty(process.stdin, 'isTTY', { value: true, configurable: true });
+    const { resolveOptions } = await import('../../src/cli/ci-setup/prompts.js');
+    const resolved = await resolveOptions(detect, { auth: 'none', dryRun: true });
+    expect(resolved.auth).toBe('none');
+  });
+});