diff --git a/src/lib/microcosm/feed.ts b/src/lib/microcosm/feed.ts
index 3998cb9..c3f356d 100644
--- a/src/lib/microcosm/feed.ts
+++ b/src/lib/microcosm/feed.ts
@@ -20,8 +20,8 @@ import {
   hydrateProfileBasic,
 } from '#/lib/microcosm/hydrate'
 import {
+  fetchFeedSkeletonDirect,
   getRecordByUri,
-  hydrateFeedSkeleton,
   listRecords,
   resolveMiniDoc,
 } from '#/lib/microcosm/slingshot'
@@ -179,7 +179,10 @@ export async function buildCustomFeed(
     ? await opts.getAuthorization(feedGenDid).catch(() => undefined)
     : undefined
 
-  const batch = await hydrateFeedSkeleton(
+  // Call the feed generator's getFeedSkeleton DIRECTLY with the viewer's
+  // service-auth token (no AppView, no Slingshot batch proxy). The generator
+  // personalizes based on the token and returns an ordered list of post uris.
+  const skeleton = await fetchFeedSkeletonDirect(
     {
       feedGenDid,
       feed: feedUri,
@@ -189,21 +192,23 @@ export async function buildCustomFeed(
     },
     signal,
   ).catch(() => undefined)
-  if (!batch) return {feed: []}
+  if (!skeleton || skeleton.order.length === 0) return {feed: []}
 
-  // Preserve the feed generator's ordering; hydrate author-only from the
-  // already-fetched records.
+  // Hydrate each post uri into a PostView (records + authors via Slingshot,
+  // which needs no auth). getRecordByUri is cached/deduped, so repeated authors
+  // and records across pages are cheap.
   const posts = await Promise.all(
-    batch.order.map(item => {
-      const rec = batch.records.get(item.post)
-      return rec
-        ? hydratePostFromRecord(item.post, rec, signal).catch(() => undefined)
-        : Promise.resolve(undefined)
+    skeleton.order.map(async item => {
+      const rec = await getRecordByUri(item.post, undefined, signal).catch(
+        () => undefined,
+      )
+      if (!rec) return undefined
+      return hydratePostFromRecord(item.post, rec, signal).catch(() => undefined)
     }),
   )
 
   return {
-    cursor: batch.cursor,
+    cursor: skeleton.cursor,
     feed: posts
       .filter((p): p is AppBskyFeedDefs.PostView => !!p)
       .map(post => ({post})),
diff --git a/src/lib/microcosm/slingshot.ts b/src/lib/microcosm/slingshot.ts
index e64c3fd..a09a087 100644
--- a/src/lib/microcosm/slingshot.ts
+++ b/src/lib/microcosm/slingshot.ts
@@ -258,6 +258,61 @@ export async function resolveService(
   return res?.endpoint
 }
 
+/**
+ * Call a feed generator's `getFeedSkeleton` DIRECTLY (resolving its endpoint via
+ * Slingshot), bypassing both the AppView and Slingshot's batch proxy. The
+ * service-auth token (if given) goes in a normal Authorization header, which the
+ * generator validates itself - this is how personalized feeds work without the
+ * AppView. Returns the ordered post at-uris + cursor; hydration is done
+ * separately.
+ */
+export async function fetchFeedSkeletonDirect(
+  args: {
+    feedGenDid: string
+    feed: string
+    limit?: number
+    cursor?: string
+    /** Service-auth JWT (aud = feedGenDid). Forwarded as a Bearer token. */
+    authorization?: string
+  },
+  signal?: AbortSignal,
+): Promise<{
+  order: Array<{post: string; feedContext?: string}>
+  cursor?: string
+}> {
+  const endpoint = await resolveService(args.feedGenDid, 'bsky_fg', signal)
+  if (!endpoint) {
+    throw new SlingshotError(
+      `could not resolve feed generator service for ${args.feedGenDid}`,
+      404,
+    )
+  }
+  const url = new URL('/xrpc/app.bsky.feed.getFeedSkeleton', endpoint)
+  url.searchParams.set('feed', args.feed)
+  url.searchParams.set('limit', String(args.limit ?? 30))
+  if (args.cursor) url.searchParams.set('cursor', args.cursor)
+
+  const headers: Record<string, string> = {Accept: 'application/json'}
+  if (args.authorization) {
+    headers.Authorization = args.authorization.startsWith('Bearer ')
+      ? args.authorization
+      : `Bearer ${args.authorization}`
+  }
+
+  const res = await fetch(url.toString(), {headers, signal})
+  if (!res.ok) {
+    throw new SlingshotError(
+      `getFeedSkeleton failed: ${res.status}`,
+      res.status,
+    )
+  }
+  const data = (await res.json()) as {
+    feed?: Array<{post: string; feedContext?: string}>
+    cursor?: string
+  }
+  return {order: data.feed ?? [], cursor: data.cursor}
+}
+
 export type ListedRecord = {uri: string; cid: string; value: unknown}
 export type ListRecordsResponse = {records: ListedRecord[]; cursor?: string}