Purpose The purpose of this study is the characterization of the dramatic variation in the flow scenario occurring at incipient stall conditions on a NACA0015 hydrofoil at moderate Reynolds numbers via the experimental analysis of time- and space-resolved skin-friction maps. The examined flow conditions are relevant for a variety of applications, including renewable energy production and unmanned and micro-aerial vehicles. Design/methodology/approach Grounding on the global temperature data acquired via temperature-sensitive paint, the proposed methodology adopts two approaches: one to obtain time-resolved, relative skin-friction vector fields by means of an optical-flow-based algorithm and the other one to extract quantitative, time-averaged skin-friction maps after minimization of the dissimilarity between the observed passive transport of temperature fluctuations and that suggested by the Taylor hypothesis. Findings Through the synergistic application of the proposed methods, the time-dependent evolution of the incipient stall over the hydrofoil suction side is globally described by firstly identifying the trailing edge separation at an angle of attack (AoA) AoA = 11.5°, and then by capturing the onset of upstream oriented, mushroom-like structures at AoA = 13°. The concomitant occurrence of both scenarios is found at the intermediate incidence AoA = 12.2°. Originality/value The qualitative, time-resolved skin-friction topology, combined with the quantitative, time-averaged distribution of the streamwise friction velocity, enables to establish a portrait of the complex, three-dimensional, unsteady scenario occurring at the examined flow conditions, thus providing new, fundamental information for a deeper understanding of the incipient stall development and for its control.