diff --git a/.changeset/hip-pots-study.md b/.changeset/hip-pots-study.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ad87130f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/hip-pots-study.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"task-master-ai": patch
+---
+
+Improve CLI startup speed by 2x
diff --git a/apps/cli/src/utils/auto-update/check-update.ts b/apps/cli/src/utils/auto-update/check-update.ts
index f5a5a7b0..5cac9a28 100644
--- a/apps/cli/src/utils/auto-update/check-update.ts
+++ b/apps/cli/src/utils/auto-update/check-update.ts
@@ -1,88 +1,187 @@
 /**
- * @fileoverview Check npm registry for package updates
+ * @fileoverview Check npm registry for package updates with caching
+ *
+ * Uses a simple file-based cache in the OS temp directory to avoid
+ * hitting npm on every CLI invocation. Cache expires after 1 hour.
  */
 
+import fs from 'node:fs';
 import https from 'https';
+import os from 'node:os';
+import path from 'node:path';
 
 import { fetchChangelogHighlights } from './changelog.js';
 import type { UpdateInfo } from './types.js';
 import { compareVersions, getCurrentVersion } from './version.js';
 
+// ============================================================================
+// Cache Configuration
+// ============================================================================
+
+/** Cache TTL: 1 hour in milliseconds */
+const CACHE_TTL_MS = 60 * 60 * 1000;
+
+/** Cache file name */
+const CACHE_FILENAME = 'taskmaster-update-cache.json';
+
+interface UpdateCache {
+	timestamp: number;
+	latestVersion: string;
+	highlights?: string[];
+}
+
+// ============================================================================
+// Cache Operations (Single Responsibility: cache I/O)
+// ============================================================================
+
+/**
+ * Get the path to the update cache file in OS temp directory
+ */
+const getCachePath = (): string => path.join(os.tmpdir(), CACHE_FILENAME);
+
+/**
+ * Read cached update info if still valid
+ * @returns Cached data or null if expired/missing/invalid
+ */
+function readCache(): UpdateCache | null {
+	try {
+		const cachePath = getCachePath();
+		if (!fs.existsSync(cachePath)) return null;
+
+		const data: UpdateCache = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(cachePath, 'utf-8'));
+		const isExpired = Date.now() - data.timestamp > CACHE_TTL_MS;
+
+		return isExpired ? null : data;
+	} catch {
+		return null;
+	}
+}
+
+/**
+ * Write update info to cache
+ */
+function writeCache(latestVersion: string, highlights?: string[]): void {
+	try {
+		fs.writeFileSync(
+			getCachePath(),
+			JSON.stringify(
+				{
+					timestamp: Date.now(),
+					latestVersion,
+					highlights
+				} satisfies UpdateCache,
+				null,
+				2
+			)
+		);
+	} catch {
+		// Cache write failures are non-critical - silently ignore
+	}
+}
+
+// ============================================================================
+// NPM Registry Operations (Single Responsibility: npm API)
+// ============================================================================
+
+/** Request timeout for npm registry */
+const NPM_TIMEOUT_MS = 3000;
+
+/**
+ * Fetch latest version from npm registry
+ * @returns Latest version string or null on failure
+ */
+function fetchLatestVersion(currentVersion: string): Promise<string | null> {
+	return new Promise((resolve) => {
+		const req = https.request(
+			{
+				hostname: 'registry.npmjs.org',
+				path: '/task-master-ai',
+				method: 'GET',
+				headers: {
+					Accept: 'application/vnd.npm.install-v1+json',
+					'User-Agent': `task-master-ai/${currentVersion}`
+				}
+			},
+			(res) => {
+				let data = '';
+				res.on('data', (chunk) => (data += chunk));
+				res.on('end', () => {
+					try {
+						if (res.statusCode !== 200) {
+							resolve(null);
+							return;
+						}
+						const npmData = JSON.parse(data);
+						resolve(npmData['dist-tags']?.latest || null);
+					} catch {
+						resolve(null);
+					}
+				});
+			}
+		);
+
+		req.on('error', () => resolve(null));
+		req.setTimeout(NPM_TIMEOUT_MS, () => {
+			req.destroy();
+			resolve(null);
+		});
+		req.end();
+	});
+}
+
+// ============================================================================
+// Public API
+// ============================================================================
+
+/**
+ * Build UpdateInfo response
+ */
+function buildUpdateInfo(
+	currentVersion: string,
+	latestVersion: string,
+	highlights?: string[]
+): UpdateInfo {
+	return {
+		currentVersion,
+		latestVersion,
+		needsUpdate: compareVersions(currentVersion, latestVersion) < 0,
+		highlights
+	};
+}
+
 /**
  * Check for newer version of task-master-ai
+ * Uses a 1-hour cache to avoid hitting npm on every CLI invocation
  */
 export async function checkForUpdate(
 	currentVersionOverride?: string
 ): Promise<UpdateInfo> {
 	const currentVersion = currentVersionOverride || getCurrentVersion();
 
-	return new Promise((resolve) => {
-		const options = {
-			hostname: 'registry.npmjs.org',
-			path: '/task-master-ai',
-			method: 'GET',
-			headers: {
-				Accept: 'application/vnd.npm.install-v1+json',
-				'User-Agent': `task-master-ai/${currentVersion}`
-			}
-		};
+	// Return cached result if valid
+	const cached = readCache();
+	if (cached) {
+		return buildUpdateInfo(
+			currentVersion,
+			cached.latestVersion,
+			cached.highlights
+		);
+	}
 
-		const req = https.request(options, (res) => {
-			let data = '';
+	// Fetch from npm registry
+	const latestVersion = await fetchLatestVersion(currentVersion);
+	if (!latestVersion) {
+		return buildUpdateInfo(currentVersion, currentVersion);
+	}
 
-			res.on('data', (chunk) => {
-				data += chunk;
-			});
+	// Fetch changelog highlights if update available
+	const needsUpdate = compareVersions(currentVersion, latestVersion) < 0;
+	const highlights = needsUpdate
+		? await fetchChangelogHighlights(latestVersion)
+		: undefined;
 
-			res.on('end', async () => {
-				try {
-					if (res.statusCode !== 200)
-						throw new Error(`npm registry status ${res.statusCode}`);
-					const npmData = JSON.parse(data);
-					const latestVersion = npmData['dist-tags']?.latest || currentVersion;
+	// Cache result
+	writeCache(latestVersion, highlights);
 
-					const needsUpdate =
-						compareVersions(currentVersion, latestVersion) < 0;
-
-					// Fetch highlights if update is needed
-					let highlights: string[] | undefined;
-					if (needsUpdate) {
-						highlights = await fetchChangelogHighlights(latestVersion);
-					}
-
-					resolve({
-						currentVersion,
-						latestVersion,
-						needsUpdate,
-						highlights
-					});
-				} catch {
-					resolve({
-						currentVersion,
-						latestVersion: currentVersion,
-						needsUpdate: false
-					});
-				}
-			});
-		});
-
-		req.on('error', () => {
-			resolve({
-				currentVersion,
-				latestVersion: currentVersion,
-				needsUpdate: false
-			});
-		});
-
-		req.setTimeout(3000, () => {
-			req.destroy();
-			resolve({
-				currentVersion,
-				latestVersion: currentVersion,
-				needsUpdate: false
-			});
-		});
-
-		req.end();
-	});
+	return buildUpdateInfo(currentVersion, latestVersion, highlights);
 }
diff --git a/apps/cli/vitest.config.ts b/apps/cli/vitest.config.ts
index 7c0a425b..44c8d31f 100644
--- a/apps/cli/vitest.config.ts
+++ b/apps/cli/vitest.config.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,10 @@ import rootConfig from '../../vitest.config';
 /**
  * CLI package Vitest configuration
  * Extends root config with CLI-specific settings
+ *
+ * Integration tests (.test.ts) spawn CLI processes and need more time.
+ * The 30s timeout is reasonable now that auto-update network calls are skipped
+ * when TASKMASTER_SKIP_AUTO_UPDATE=1 or NODE_ENV=test.
  */
 export default mergeConfig(
 	rootConfig,
@@ -15,7 +19,10 @@ export default mergeConfig(
 				'tests/**/*.spec.ts',
 				'src/**/*.test.ts',
 				'src/**/*.spec.ts'
-			]
+			],
+			// Integration tests spawn CLI processes - 30s is reasonable with optimized startup
+			testTimeout: 30000,
+			hookTimeout: 15000
 		}
 	})
 );
diff --git a/scripts/modules/commands.js b/scripts/modules/commands.js
index b8ac63c2..e3ca7061 100644
--- a/scripts/modules/commands.js
+++ b/scripts/modules/commands.js
@@ -5402,9 +5402,16 @@ async function runCLI(argv = process.argv) {
 			displayBanner();
 		}
 
-		// Check for updates BEFORE executing the command
+		// Check for updates BEFORE executing the command (skip entirely in test/CI mode)
+		const skipAutoUpdate =
+			process.env.TASKMASTER_SKIP_AUTO_UPDATE === '1' ||
+			process.env.CI ||
+			process.env.NODE_ENV === 'test';
+
 		const currentVersion = getTaskMasterVersion();
-		const updateInfo = await checkForUpdate(currentVersion);
+		const updateInfo = skipAutoUpdate
+			? { currentVersion, latestVersion: currentVersion, needsUpdate: false }
+			: await checkForUpdate(currentVersion);
 
 		if (updateInfo.needsUpdate) {
 			// Display the upgrade notification first