diff --git a/egomimic/robot/annotations/chips/basic.txt b/egomimic/robot/annotations/chips/basic.txt
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d027450dc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/egomimic/robot/annotations/chips/basic.txt
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Using the left hand, pick the doritos from the table.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/egomimic/robot/annotations/chips/place_pink_plate.txt b/egomimic/robot/annotations/chips/place_pink_plate.txt
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..10714f331
--- /dev/null
+++ b/egomimic/robot/annotations/chips/place_pink_plate.txt
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+With left hand, place the doritos on the pink plate.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/egomimic/robot/annotations/croissant/basic.txt b/egomimic/robot/annotations/croissant/basic.txt
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..33d426954
--- /dev/null
+++ b/egomimic/robot/annotations/croissant/basic.txt
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Using the left hand, pick the croissant from the table.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/egomimic/robot/annotations/croissant/place_bowl.txt b/egomimic/robot/annotations/croissant/place_bowl.txt
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b0e02fb76
--- /dev/null
+++ b/egomimic/robot/annotations/croissant/place_bowl.txt
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+With left hand, place the croissant in the bowl.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/egomimic/robot/annotations/croissant/place_pink_cup.txt b/egomimic/robot/annotations/croissant/place_pink_cup.txt
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c321dbaa0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/egomimic/robot/annotations/croissant/place_pink_cup.txt
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+With left hand, place the croissant on the left side of pink mug.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/egomimic/robot/annotations/cup/basic.txt b/egomimic/robot/annotations/cup/basic.txt
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b62a4bb9e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/egomimic/robot/annotations/cup/basic.txt
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+With left hand, grab the pink mug from the table using the handle.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/egomimic/robot/annotations/cup/place_brown_toy.txt b/egomimic/robot/annotations/cup/place_brown_toy.txt
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..1f6188d1e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/egomimic/robot/annotations/cup/place_brown_toy.txt
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+With left hand, place the pink mug to the right of the brown toy.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/egomimic/robot/annotations/cup/place_pink_plate.txt b/egomimic/robot/annotations/cup/place_pink_plate.txt
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..9acf59832
--- /dev/null
+++ b/egomimic/robot/annotations/cup/place_pink_plate.txt
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+With left hand, place the pink mug on top of the pink plate.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/egomimic/robot/annotations/screwdriver/basic.txt b/egomimic/robot/annotations/screwdriver/basic.txt
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..38e43c1a7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/egomimic/robot/annotations/screwdriver/basic.txt
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Using the left hand, pick the orange screw driver from the table.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/egomimic/robot/annotations/screwdriver/place_bowl.txt b/egomimic/robot/annotations/screwdriver/place_bowl.txt
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f0dcc7bf1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/egomimic/robot/annotations/screwdriver/place_bowl.txt
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+With left hand, place the screw driver in the bowl.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/egomimic/robot/annotations/screwdriver/place_pink_plate.txt b/egomimic/robot/annotations/screwdriver/place_pink_plate.txt
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b6cad7fc7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/egomimic/robot/annotations/screwdriver/place_pink_plate.txt
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+With left hand, place the screw driver on top of the pink plate.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/egomimic/robot/annotations/toy/pick_basic.txt b/egomimic/robot/annotations/toy/pick_basic.txt
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b05a8be51
--- /dev/null
+++ b/egomimic/robot/annotations/toy/pick_basic.txt
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+With left hand, pick up the brown toy from the table.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/egomimic/robot/annotations/toy/pick_basic2.txt b/egomimic/robot/annotations/toy/pick_basic2.txt
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..2f19d3d32
--- /dev/null
+++ b/egomimic/robot/annotations/toy/pick_basic2.txt
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+With left hand, grab the brown toy from the table
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/egomimic/robot/annotations/toy/place_basic.txt b/egomimic/robot/annotations/toy/place_basic.txt
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..04f9c48b9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/egomimic/robot/annotations/toy/place_basic.txt
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+With the left hand, position the brown toy in front of the green bowl.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/egomimic/robot/annotations/toy/place_bowl.txt b/egomimic/robot/annotations/toy/place_bowl.txt
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d075d88f0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/egomimic/robot/annotations/toy/place_bowl.txt
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+With left hand, place the brown toy in the green bowl.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/egomimic/robot/annotations/toy/place_croissant.txt b/egomimic/robot/annotations/toy/place_croissant.txt
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..33a733a81
--- /dev/null
+++ b/egomimic/robot/annotations/toy/place_croissant.txt
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+With left hand, place the brown toy on the left side of the croissant.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/egomimic/robot/annotations/toy/place_pink_plate.txt b/egomimic/robot/annotations/toy/place_pink_plate.txt
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..049134f86
--- /dev/null
+++ b/egomimic/robot/annotations/toy/place_pink_plate.txt
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+With the left hand, place the brown toy on the pink plate.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/egomimic/robot/rollout.py b/egomimic/robot/rollout.py
index a7cbf97e7..ea3b5157b 100644
--- a/egomimic/robot/rollout.py
+++ b/egomimic/robot/rollout.py
@@ -10,15 +10,13 @@
 import h5py
 import numpy as np
 import torch
-from torch.utils.data import default_collate
 from robot_utils import RateLoop
 from scipy.spatial.transform import Rotation as R
 
 from egomimic.models.denoising_policy import DenoisingPolicy
 from egomimic.pl_utils.pl_model import ModelWrapper
-from egomimic.pl_utils.pl_data_utils import build_tokenized_collate
+from egomimic.pl_utils.pl_data_utils import annotation_collate
 from egomimic.rldb.embodiment.embodiment import get_embodiment
-from egomimic.utils.hydra_utils import find_run_snapshot_path, load_run_snapshot
 from egomimic.rldb.embodiment.eva import Eva
 from egomimic.robot.eva.eva_kinematics import EvaMinkKinematicsSolver
 from egomimic.utils.egomimicUtils import (
@@ -268,15 +266,18 @@ def __init__(
         self.debug = debug
         self.transform_list = Eva.get_transform_list(mode="cartesian_wristframe_ypr")
         self.annotation = None
-        self._tokenizer = None
-        self.collate_fn = default_collate
+        # PI's process_batch_for_training now owns prompt assembly + tokenization
+        # (see PI._build_prompts / _tokenize_prompts). The collate's only job is
+        # to stack tensors and preserve the raw per-sample `annotations` list as
+        # list-of-lists, which is what _build_prompts iterates over.
+        self.collate_fn = annotation_collate
         if annotation_path is not None:
             if not os.path.isfile(annotation_path):
                 print(f"[rollout] WARNING: annotation file not found: {annotation_path}  (continuing without annotation)")
             else:
                 with open(annotation_path, "r") as f:
                     self.annotation = f.read().strip()
-                self.collate_fn = self._build_collate_from_checkpoint_cfg(self.annotation)
+                self._apply_annotation_to_algo()
 
     LOCAL_WEIGHT_PATH = "/home/robot/robot_ws/egomimic/algo/pi_checkpoints/pi05_base_pytorch"
 
@@ -318,49 +319,33 @@ def _patch_checkpoint_paths(cls, ckpt_path):
         print(f"[rollout] Patched checkpoint saved to {patched_path}")
         return patched_path, cfg
 
-    def _build_collate_from_checkpoint_cfg(self, default_prompt):
-        """Build a tokenized collate_fn using the build_tokenized_collate flags
-        saved in the checkpoint's hydra config (under the top-level ``data:``
-        block). This mirrors the pi prompt formatting the model was trained on
-        (Task / Embodiment / Control mode / State blocks)."""
-        data_cfg = (self._ckpt_cfg or {}).get("data", {}) or {}
-        # TODO: remove (debug — verify build_tokenized_collate flags from ckpt)
-        print(
-            f"[rollout][debug] ckpt_cfg top-level keys: "
-            f"{list((self._ckpt_cfg or {}).keys())}"
-        )
-        print(
-            f"[rollout][debug] data_cfg flags: "
-            f"proprio={data_cfg.get('proprio')}, "
-            f"embodiment_label={data_cfg.get('embodiment_label')}, "
-            f"control_mode={data_cfg.get('control_mode')}, "
-            f"state_num_bins={data_cfg.get('state_num_bins')}, "
-            f"model_name={data_cfg.get('model_name')}"
-        )
-        return build_tokenized_collate(
-            max_length=128,
-            model_name=data_cfg.get("model_name", "google/paligemma-3b-mix-224"),
-            sampling_mode="first",
-            annotation_key="annotations",
-            default_prompt=default_prompt,
-            proprio_keys=data_cfg.get("proprio_keys"),
-            state_num_bins=data_cfg.get("state_num_bins", 256),
-            proprio=bool(data_cfg.get("proprio", False)),
-            embodiment_label=bool(data_cfg.get("embodiment_label", False)),
-            control_mode=data_cfg.get("control_mode"),
-        )
+    def _apply_annotation_to_algo(self):
+        """Wire the rollout-time annotation into the PI algo.
+
+        The algo was loaded with its trained-in ``annotation_key`` /
+        ``sampling_mode`` / ``default_prompt``. Override them so the prompt
+        the user supplies via --annotation-path is what actually gets
+        tokenized:
+          - ``annotation_key="annotations"`` matches the key we stuff into
+            each per-step sample in ``process_obs_for_transform_list``.
+          - ``sampling_mode="first"`` makes inference deterministic — there's
+            only ever one annotation per rollout, but if a list ever shows up
+            we always pick the same element.
+          - ``default_prompt=self.annotation`` is the fallback path for
+            edge cases (e.g. the annotations key gets dropped).
+        """
+        model = getattr(self.policy, "model", None)
+        if model is None:
+            return
+        if hasattr(model, "annotation_key"):
+            model.annotation_key = "annotations"
+        if hasattr(model, "sampling_mode"):
+            model.sampling_mode = "first"
+        if self.annotation is not None and hasattr(model, "default_prompt"):
+            model.default_prompt = self.annotation
 
     def _load_policy(self):
         patched_path, _ = self._patch_checkpoint_paths(self.policy_path)
-        # The .ckpt only stores the model subtree (see trainHydra._build_model_config_tree),
-        # so load the full hydra run-snapshot (with the data: block) from disk.
-        snapshot_path = find_run_snapshot_path(self.policy_path)
-        if snapshot_path is None:
-            print(f"[rollout] WARNING: no .hydra/config.yaml found near {self.policy_path}")
-            self._ckpt_cfg = None
-        else:
-            print(f"[rollout] Loaded hydra config from {snapshot_path}")
-            self._ckpt_cfg = load_run_snapshot(self.policy_path)
         policy = ModelWrapper.load_from_checkpoint(
             patched_path, weights_only=False, map_location="cpu"
         )
@@ -418,7 +403,6 @@ def rollout_step(self, i, obs):
             for transform in self.transform_list:
                 transform_list_batch = transform.transform(transform_list_batch)
             transform_list_batch = self.collate_fn([transform_list_batch])
-            print(f"[rollout][debug] sampled_prompt: {transform_list_batch.get('sampled_prompt')}")  # TODO: remove
             if self.arm == "both":
                 embodiment_name = "eva_bimanual"
             elif self.arm == "right":
@@ -547,9 +531,8 @@ def process_obs_for_transform_list(self, obs):
             left_cmd_ee_pose = torch.from_numpy(left_xyzwxyz).view(1, 7).repeat(45, 1)
             data["left.cmd_ee_pose"] = left_cmd_ee_pose
 
-        # `embodiment` is consumed by build_tokenized_collate's _embodiment_name,
-        # which calls int() on it to look up the embodiment name; it must be
-        # the integer id, not the string. The string lives in metadata.robot_name.
+        # `embodiment` must be the integer id (the string lives in
+        # metadata.robot_name). Downstream lookups call int() on it.
         if self.arm == "both":
             data["embodiment"] = self.embodiment_id
             data["metadata.robot_name"] = "eva_bimanual"
@@ -566,12 +549,12 @@ def process_obs_for_transform_list(self, obs):
         return data
 
     def load_annotation(self, annotation_path):
-        """Load a new annotation file, building the tokenized collate only if needed.
+        """Load a new annotation file.
 
-        The annotation text flows through data["annotations"] at each inference
-        step, so updating self.annotation is sufficient when the tokenized
-        collate already exists.  We only build it when the collate is still the
-        plain default_collate (i.e. no annotation was provided at init time).
+        The annotation text flows through ``data["annotations"]`` at each
+        inference step and is consumed by ``PI.process_batch_for_training``,
+        so updating ``self.annotation`` is sufficient. We also re-apply it to
+        the algo so ``default_prompt`` stays in sync as a fallback.
 
         Returns True on success, False if the file could not be loaded.
         """
@@ -580,8 +563,7 @@ def load_annotation(self, annotation_path):
             return False
         with open(annotation_path, "r") as f:
             self.annotation = f.read().strip()
-        if self.collate_fn is default_collate:
-            self.collate_fn = self._build_collate_from_checkpoint_cfg(self.annotation)
+        self._apply_annotation_to_algo()
         print(f"[rollout] Loaded new annotation from {annotation_path}: '{self.annotation}'")
         return True