diff --git a/agent/background_review.py b/agent/background_review.py
index 52ed842926..ad37ab580b 100644
--- a/agent/background_review.py
+++ b/agent/background_review.py
@@ -330,263 +330,204 @@ def _digest_history(messages_snapshot: List[Dict], tail: int = 24) -> List[Dict]
 _MEMORY_REVIEW_PROMPT = (
     "Review the conversation above and consider saving to memory if appropriate.\n\n"
     "Focus on:\n"
-    "1. Has the user revealed things about themselves — their persona, desires, "
-    "preferences, or personal details worth remembering?\n"
-    "2. Has the user expressed expectations about how you should behave, their work "
-    "style, or ways they want you to operate?\n\n"
-    "If something stands out, save it using the memory tool. "
-    "If nothing is worth saving, just say 'Nothing to save.' and stop."
+    "1. Has the user revealed things about themselves — their persona, desires, preferences, or "
+    "personal details worth remembering?\n"
+    "2. Has the user expressed expectations about how you should behave, their work style, or ways "
+    "they want you to operate?\n\n"
+    "If something stands out, save it using the memory tool. If nothing is worth saving, just say "
+    "'Nothing to save.' and stop."
 )
 
 _SKILL_REVIEW_PROMPT = (
-    "Review the conversation above and update the skill library. Be "
-    "ACTIVE — most sessions produce at least one skill update, even if "
-    "small. A pass that does nothing is a missed learning opportunity, "
-    "not a neutral outcome.\n\n"
-    "Target shape of the library: CLASS-LEVEL skills, each with a rich "
-    "SKILL.md and a `references/` directory for session-specific detail. "
-    "Not a long flat list of narrow one-session-one-skill entries. This "
-    "shapes HOW you update, not WHETHER you update.\n\n"
+    "Review the conversation above and update the skill library. Be ACTIVE — most sessions produce "
+    "at least one skill update, even if small. A pass that does nothing is a missed learning "
+    "opportunity, not a neutral outcome.\n\n"
+    "Target shape of the library: CLASS-LEVEL skills, each with a rich SKILL.md and a "
+    "`references/` directory for session-specific detail. Not a long flat list of narrow "
+    "one-session-one-skill entries. This shapes HOW you update, not WHETHER you update.\n\n"
     "Signals to look for (any one of these warrants action):\n"
-    "  • User corrected your style, tone, format, legibility, or "
-    "verbosity. Frustration signals like 'stop doing X', 'this is too "
-    "verbose', 'don't format like this', 'why are you explaining', "
-    "'just give me the answer', 'you always do Y and I hate it', or an "
-    "explicit 'remember this' are FIRST-CLASS skill signals, not just "
-    "memory signals. Update the relevant skill(s) to embed the "
-    "preference so the next session starts already knowing.\n"
-    "  • User corrected your workflow, approach, or sequence of steps. "
-    "Encode the correction as a pitfall or explicit step in the skill "
-    "that governs that class of task.\n"
-    "  • Non-trivial technique, fix, workaround, debugging path, or "
-    "tool-usage pattern emerged that a future session would benefit "
-    "from. Capture it.\n"
-    "  • A skill that got loaded or consulted this session turned out "
-    "to be wrong, missing a step, or outdated. Patch it NOW.\n\n"
-    "Preference order — prefer the earliest action that fits, but do "
-    "pick one when a signal above fired:\n"
-    "  1. UPDATE A CURRENTLY-LOADED SKILL. Look back through the "
-    "conversation for skills the user loaded via /skill-name or you "
-    "read via skill_view. If any of them covers the territory of the "
-    "new learning, PATCH that one first (re-load it with skill_view "
-    "during this review — see Read-before-write below). It is the "
-    "skill that was in play, so it's the right one to extend — but "
-    "only if it is "
-    "curator-managed. Bundled, hub, pinned, and user-owned skills are "
-    "off-limits to you no matter how relevant (see Protected skills "
-    "below); for those, fall through to the next option.\n"
-    "  2. UPDATE AN EXISTING UMBRELLA (via skills_list + skill_view). "
-    "If no loaded skill fits but an existing class-level skill does, "
-    "patch it. Add a subsection, a pitfall, or broaden a trigger.\n"
-    "  3. ADD A SUPPORT FILE under an existing umbrella. Skills can be "
-    "packaged with three kinds of support files — use the right "
-    "directory per kind:\n"
-    "     • `references/<topic>.md` — session-specific detail (error "
-    "transcripts, reproduction recipes, provider quirks) AND "
-    "condensed knowledge banks: quoted research, API docs, external "
-    "authoritative excerpts, or domain notes you found while working "
-    "on the problem. Write it concise and for the value of the task, "
-    "not as a full mirror of upstream docs.\n"
-    "     • `templates/<name>.<ext>` — starter files meant to be "
-    "copied and modified (boilerplate configs, scaffolding, a "
-    "known-good example the agent can `reproduce with modifications`).\n"
-    "     • `scripts/<name>.<ext>` — statically re-runnable actions "
-    "the skill can invoke directly (verification scripts, fixture "
-    "generators, deterministic probes, anything the agent should run "
-    "rather than hand-type each time).\n"
-    "     Add support files via skill_manage action=write_file with "
-    "file_path starting 'references/', 'templates/', or 'scripts/'. "
-    "The umbrella's SKILL.md should gain a one-line pointer to any "
-    "new support file so future agents know it exists.\n"
-    "  4. CREATE A NEW CLASS-LEVEL UMBRELLA SKILL when no existing "
-    "skill covers the class. The name MUST be at the class level. "
-    "The name MUST NOT be a specific PR number, error string, feature "
-    "codename, library-alone name, or 'fix-X / debug-Y / audit-Z-today' "
-    "session artifact. If the proposed name only makes sense for "
-    "today's task, it's wrong — fall back to (1), (2), or (3).\n\n"
-    "Read-before-write (ENFORCED — skill_manage refuses otherwise): "
-    "before you patch or edit an existing skill's SKILL.md, call "
-    "skill_view(name) for that skill during this review. Before you "
-    "overwrite or remove an EXISTING supporting file, call "
-    "skill_view(name, file_path=...) for that exact file. Content "
-    "quoted earlier in the conversation transcript does NOT count — "
-    "the guard requires a fresh load within this review, and your "
-    "write must be based on what skill_view just returned. Creating "
-    "a brand-new skill or adding a NEW supporting file needs no "
-    "prior read. If a write is refused with a read-before-write "
-    "error, call skill_view for the named target once and retry the "
-    "write once; do not loop.\n\n"
-    "User-preference embedding (important): when the user expressed a "
-    "style/format/workflow preference, the update belongs in the "
-    "SKILL.md body, not just in memory. Memory captures 'who the user "
-    "is and what the current situation and state of your operations "
-    "are'; skills capture 'how to do this class of task for this "
-    "user'. When they complain about how you handled a task, the "
-    "skill that governs that task needs to carry the lesson.\n\n"
-    "If you notice two existing skills that overlap, note it in your "
-    "reply — the background curator handles consolidation at scale.\n\n"
+    "  • User corrected your style, tone, format, legibility, or verbosity. Frustration signals "
+    "like 'stop doing X', 'this is too verbose', 'don't format like this', 'why are you "
+    "explaining', 'just give me the answer', 'you always do Y and I hate it', or an explicit "
+    "'remember this' are FIRST-CLASS skill signals, not just memory signals. Update the relevant "
+    "skill(s) to embed the preference so the next session starts already knowing.\n"
+    "  • User corrected your workflow, approach, or sequence of steps. Encode the correction as a "
+    "pitfall or explicit step in the skill that governs that class of task.\n"
+    "  • Non-trivial technique, fix, workaround, debugging path, or tool-usage pattern emerged "
+    "that a future session would benefit from. Capture it.\n"
+    "  • A skill that got loaded or consulted this session turned out to be wrong, missing a step, "
+    "or outdated. Patch it NOW.\n\n"
+    "Preference order — prefer the earliest action that fits, but do pick one when a signal above "
+    "fired:\n"
+    "  1. UPDATE A CURRENTLY-LOADED SKILL. Look back through the conversation for skills the user "
+    "loaded via /skill-name or you read via skill_view. If any of them covers the territory of the "
+    "new learning, PATCH that one first (re-load it with skill_view during this review — see "
+    "Read-before-write below). It is the skill that was in play, so it's the right one to extend — "
+    "but only if it is curator-managed. Bundled, hub, pinned, and user-owned skills are off-limits "
+    "to you no matter how relevant (see Protected skills below); for those, fall through to the "
+    "next option.\n"
+    "  2. UPDATE AN EXISTING UMBRELLA (via skills_list + skill_view). If no loaded skill fits but "
+    "an existing class-level skill does, patch it. Add a subsection, a pitfall, or broaden a "
+    "trigger.\n"
+    "  3. ADD A SUPPORT FILE under an existing umbrella. Skills can be packaged with three kinds "
+    "of support files — use the right directory per kind:\n"
+    "     • `references/<topic>.md` — session-specific detail (error transcripts, reproduction "
+    "recipes, provider quirks) AND condensed knowledge banks: quoted research, API docs, external "
+    "authoritative excerpts, or domain notes you found while working on the problem. Write it "
+    "concise and for the value of the task, not as a full mirror of upstream docs.\n"
+    "     • `templates/<name>.<ext>` — starter files meant to be copied and modified (boilerplate "
+    "configs, scaffolding, a known-good example the agent can `reproduce with modifications`).\n"
+    "     • `scripts/<name>.<ext>` — statically re-runnable actions the skill can invoke directly "
+    "(verification scripts, fixture generators, deterministic probes, anything the agent should "
+    "run rather than hand-type each time).\n"
+    "     Add support files via skill_manage action=write_file with file_path starting "
+    "'references/', 'templates/', or 'scripts/'. The umbrella's SKILL.md should gain a one-line "
+    "pointer to any new support file so future agents know it exists.\n"
+    "  4. CREATE A NEW CLASS-LEVEL UMBRELLA SKILL when no existing skill covers the class. The "
+    "name MUST be at the class level. The name MUST NOT be a specific PR number, error string, "
+    "feature codename, library-alone name, or 'fix-X / debug-Y / audit-Z-today' session artifact. "
+    "If the proposed name only makes sense for today's task, it's wrong — fall back to (1), (2), "
+    "or (3).\n\n"
+    "Read-before-write (ENFORCED — skill_manage refuses otherwise): before you patch or edit an "
+    "existing skill's SKILL.md, call skill_view(name) for that skill during this review. Before "
+    "you overwrite or remove an EXISTING supporting file, call skill_view(name, file_path=...) for "
+    "that exact file. Content quoted earlier in the conversation transcript does NOT count — the "
+    "guard requires a fresh load within this review, and your write must be based on what "
+    "skill_view just returned. Creating a brand-new skill or adding a NEW supporting file needs no "
+    "prior read. If a write is refused with a read-before-write error, call skill_view for the "
+    "named target once and retry the write once; do not loop.\n\n"
+    "User-preference embedding (important): when the user expressed a style/format/workflow "
+    "preference, the update belongs in the SKILL.md body, not just in memory. Memory captures 'who "
+    "the user is and what the current situation and state of your operations are'; skills capture "
+    "'how to do this class of task for this user'. When they complain about how you handled a "
+    "task, the skill that governs that task needs to carry the lesson.\n\n"
+    "If you notice two existing skills that overlap, note it in your reply — the background "
+    "curator handles consolidation at scale.\n\n"
     "Protected skills (DO NOT edit these):\n"
     "  • Bundled skills (shipped with Hermes, e.g. 'hermes-agent').\n"
     "  • Hub-installed skills (installed via 'hermes skills install').\n"
     "  • Skills in skills.external_dirs (externally owned).\n"
-    "  • PINNED skills (marked via 'hermes curator pin'). You are an "
-    "autonomous no-user-present actor, so pin blocks your writes too — "
-    "content updates included. Only the user, in a foreground session, "
-    "can change a pinned skill.\n"
-    "  • USER-OWNED skills — anything not curator-managed. A skill the "
-    "user hand-wrote, installed by URL, or asked a foreground agent to "
-    "create is theirs, not yours; your writes to it WILL be refused. "
-    "This includes skills that were loaded or consulted this session: "
-    "being in play does not make one yours to edit. If such a skill is "
-    "wrong or outdated, say so in your reply and recommend "
-    "'hermes curator adopt <name>' — do not try to patch it.\n"
+    "  • PINNED skills (marked via 'hermes curator pin'). You are an autonomous no-user-present "
+    "actor, so pin blocks your writes too — content updates included. Only the user, in a "
+    "foreground session, can change a pinned skill.\n"
+    "  • USER-OWNED skills — anything not curator-managed. A skill the user hand-wrote, installed "
+    "by URL, or asked a foreground agent to create is theirs, not yours; your writes to it WILL be "
+    "refused. This includes skills that were loaded or consulted this session: being in play does "
+    "not make one yours to edit. If such a skill is wrong or outdated, say so in your reply and "
+    "recommend 'hermes curator adopt <name>' — do not try to patch it.\n"
     "If the only skills that need updating are protected, say\n"
     "'Nothing to save.' and stop.\n\n"
-    "Do NOT capture (these become persistent self-imposed constraints "
-    "that bite you later when the environment changes):\n"
-    "  • Environment-dependent failures: missing binaries, fresh-install "
-    "errors, post-migration path mismatches, 'command not found', "
-    "unconfigured credentials, uninstalled packages. The user can fix "
-    "these — they are not durable rules.\n"
-    "  • Negative claims about tools or features ('browser tools do not "
-    "work', 'X tool is broken', 'cannot use Y from execute_code'). These "
-    "harden into refusals the agent cites against itself for months "
-    "after the actual problem was fixed.\n"
-    "  • Session-specific transient errors that resolved before the "
-    "conversation ended. If retrying worked, the lesson is the retry "
-    "pattern, not the original failure.\n"
-    "  • One-off task narratives. A user asking 'summarize today's "
-    "market' or 'analyze this PR' is not a class of work that warrants "
-    "a skill.\n\n"
-    "  • Unresolved failures: if the session ended WITHOUT actually "
-    "finding a working method — you tried several things, none worked, "
-    "and told the user to check manually — do NOT write those attempts "
-    "up as a 'reliable workflow' or 'recommended approach'. That presents "
-    "an untested sequence of failures as validated guidance a future "
-    "session will trust and repeat. Either say 'Nothing to save', or, "
-    "only if you are independently confident of a real working alternative "
-    "(not something you are merely guessing might work), capture ONLY that "
-    "alternative — never the dead ends, and never dressed up as best practice.\n\n"
-    "If a tool failed because of setup state, capture the FIX (install "
-    "command, config step, env var to set) under an existing setup or "
-    "troubleshooting skill — never 'this tool does not work' as a "
-    "standalone constraint.\n\n"
-    "'Nothing to save.' is a real option but should NOT be the "
-    "default. If the session ran smoothly with no corrections and "
-    "produced no new technique, just say 'Nothing to save.' and stop. "
-    "Otherwise, act."
+    "Do NOT capture (these become persistent self-imposed constraints that bite you later when the "
+    "environment changes):\n"
+    "  • Environment-dependent failures: missing binaries, fresh-install errors, post-migration "
+    "path mismatches, 'command not found', unconfigured credentials, uninstalled packages. The "
+    "user can fix these — they are not durable rules.\n"
+    "  • Negative claims about tools or features ('browser tools do not work', 'X tool is broken', "
+    "'cannot use Y from execute_code'). These harden into refusals the agent cites against itself "
+    "for months after the actual problem was fixed.\n"
+    "  • Session-specific transient errors that resolved before the conversation ended. If "
+    "retrying worked, the lesson is the retry pattern, not the original failure.\n"
+    "  • One-off task narratives. A user asking 'summarize today's market' or 'analyze this PR' is "
+    "not a class of work that warrants a skill.\n\n"
+    "  • Unresolved failures: if the session ended WITHOUT actually finding a working method — you "
+    "tried several things, none worked, and told the user to check manually — do NOT write those "
+    "attempts up as a 'reliable workflow' or 'recommended approach'. That presents an untested "
+    "sequence of failures as validated guidance a future session will trust and repeat. Either say "
+    "'Nothing to save', or, only if you are independently confident of a real working alternative "
+    "(not something you are merely guessing might work), capture ONLY that alternative — never the "
+    "dead ends, and never dressed up as best practice.\n\n"
+    "If a tool failed because of setup state, capture the FIX (install command, config step, env "
+    "var to set) under an existing setup or troubleshooting skill — never 'this tool does not "
+    "work' as a standalone constraint.\n\n"
+    "'Nothing to save.' is a real option but should NOT be the default. If the session ran "
+    "smoothly with no corrections and produced no new technique, just say 'Nothing to save.' and "
+    "stop. Otherwise, act."
 )
 
 _COMBINED_REVIEW_PROMPT = (
     "Review the conversation above and update two things:\n\n"
-    "**Memory**: who the user is. Did the user reveal persona, "
-    "desires, preferences, personal details, or expectations about "
-    "how you should behave? Save facts about the user and durable "
+    "**Memory**: who the user is. Did the user reveal persona, desires, preferences, personal "
+    "details, or expectations about how you should behave? Save facts about the user and durable "
     "preferences with the memory tool.\n\n"
-    "**Skills**: how to do this class of task. Be ACTIVE — most "
-    "sessions produce at least one skill update. A pass that does "
-    "nothing is a missed learning opportunity, not a neutral outcome.\n\n"
-    "Target shape of the skill library: CLASS-LEVEL skills with a rich "
-    "SKILL.md and a `references/` directory for session-specific detail. "
-    "Not a long flat list of narrow one-session-one-skill entries.\n\n"
+    "**Skills**: how to do this class of task. Be ACTIVE — most sessions produce at least one "
+    "skill update. A pass that does nothing is a missed learning opportunity, not a neutral "
+    "outcome.\n\n"
+    "Target shape of the skill library: CLASS-LEVEL skills with a rich SKILL.md and a "
+    "`references/` directory for session-specific detail. Not a long flat list of narrow "
+    "one-session-one-skill entries.\n\n"
     "Signals that warrant a skill update (any one is enough):\n"
-    "  • User corrected your style, tone, format, legibility, "
-    "verbosity, or approach. Frustration is a FIRST-CLASS skill "
-    "signal, not just a memory signal. 'stop doing X', 'don't format "
-    "like this', 'I hate when you Y' — embed the lesson in the skill "
-    "that governs that task so the next session starts fixed.\n"
-    "  • Non-trivial technique, fix, workaround, or debugging path "
-    "emerged.\n"
-    "  • A skill that was loaded or consulted turned out wrong, "
-    "missing, or outdated — patch it now.\n\n"
+    "  • User corrected your style, tone, format, legibility, verbosity, or approach. Frustration "
+    "is a FIRST-CLASS skill signal, not just a memory signal. 'stop doing X', 'don't format like "
+    "this', 'I hate when you Y' — embed the lesson in the skill that governs that task so the next "
+    "session starts fixed.\n"
+    "  • Non-trivial technique, fix, workaround, or debugging path emerged.\n"
+    "  • A skill that was loaded or consulted turned out wrong, missing, or outdated — patch it "
+    "now.\n\n"
     "Preference order for skills — pick the earliest that fits:\n"
-    "  1. UPDATE A CURRENTLY-LOADED SKILL. Check what skills were "
-    "loaded via /skill-name or skill_view in the conversation. If one "
-    "of them covers the learning, PATCH it first (re-load it with "
-    "skill_view during this review — see Read-before-write below). "
-    "It was in play; "
-    "it's the right place — provided it is curator-managed. Protected "
-    "and user-owned skills are off-limits however relevant; fall "
-    "through when one of those is the best fit.\n"
-    "  2. UPDATE AN EXISTING UMBRELLA (skills_list + skill_view to "
-    "find the right one). Patch it.\n"
-    "  3. ADD A SUPPORT FILE under an existing umbrella via "
-    "skill_manage action=write_file. Three kinds: "
-    "`references/<topic>.md` for session-specific detail OR condensed "
-    "knowledge banks (quoted research, API docs excerpts, domain "
-    "notes) written concise and task-focused; `templates/<name>.<ext>` "
-    "for starter files meant to be copied and modified; "
-    "`scripts/<name>.<ext>` for statically re-runnable actions "
-    "(verification, fixture generators, probes). Add a one-line "
-    "pointer in SKILL.md so future agents find them.\n"
-    "  4. CREATE A NEW CLASS-LEVEL UMBRELLA when nothing exists. "
-    "Name at the class level — NOT a PR number, error string, "
-    "codename, library-alone name, or 'fix-X / debug-Y' session "
-    "artifact. If the name only fits today's task, fall back to (1), "
-    "(2), or (3).\n\n"
-    "Read-before-write (ENFORCED — skill_manage refuses otherwise): "
-    "before patching or editing an existing skill's SKILL.md, call "
-    "skill_view(name) during this review; before overwriting or "
-    "removing an EXISTING supporting file, call skill_view(name, "
-    "file_path=...) for that exact file. Content quoted earlier in "
-    "the transcript does NOT count — base the write on what "
-    "skill_view just returned. New skills and NEW supporting files "
-    "need no prior read. On a read-before-write refusal: view the "
-    "named target once, retry the write once, do not loop.\n\n"
-    "User-preference embedding: when the user complains about how "
-    "you handled a task, update the skill that governs that task — "
-    "memory alone isn't enough. Memory says 'who the user is and "
-    "what the current situation and state of your operations are'; "
-    "skills say 'how to do this class of task for this user'. Both "
-    "should carry user-preference lessons when relevant.\n\n"
-    "If you notice overlapping existing skills, mention it — the "
-    "background curator handles consolidation.\n\n"
+    "  1. UPDATE A CURRENTLY-LOADED SKILL. Check what skills were loaded via /skill-name or "
+    "skill_view in the conversation. If one of them covers the learning, PATCH it first (re-load "
+    "it with skill_view during this review — see Read-before-write below). It was in play; it's "
+    "the right place — provided it is curator-managed. Protected and user-owned skills are "
+    "off-limits however relevant; fall through when one of those is the best fit.\n"
+    "  2. UPDATE AN EXISTING UMBRELLA (skills_list + skill_view to find the right one). Patch it.\n"
+    "  3. ADD A SUPPORT FILE under an existing umbrella via skill_manage action=write_file. Three "
+    "kinds: `references/<topic>.md` for session-specific detail OR condensed knowledge banks "
+    "(quoted research, API docs excerpts, domain notes) written concise and task-focused; "
+    "`templates/<name>.<ext>` for starter files meant to be copied and modified; "
+    "`scripts/<name>.<ext>` for statically re-runnable actions (verification, fixture generators, "
+    "probes). Add a one-line pointer in SKILL.md so future agents find them.\n"
+    "  4. CREATE A NEW CLASS-LEVEL UMBRELLA when nothing exists. Name at the class level — NOT a "
+    "PR number, error string, codename, library-alone name, or 'fix-X / debug-Y' session artifact. "
+    "If the name only fits today's task, fall back to (1), (2), or (3).\n\n"
+    "Read-before-write (ENFORCED — skill_manage refuses otherwise): before patching or editing an "
+    "existing skill's SKILL.md, call skill_view(name) during this review; before overwriting or "
+    "removing an EXISTING supporting file, call skill_view(name, file_path=...) for that exact "
+    "file. Content quoted earlier in the transcript does NOT count — base the write on what "
+    "skill_view just returned. New skills and NEW supporting files need no prior read. On a "
+    "read-before-write refusal: view the named target once, retry the write once, do not loop.\n\n"
+    "User-preference embedding: when the user complains about how you handled a task, update the "
+    "skill that governs that task — memory alone isn't enough. Memory says 'who the user is and "
+    "what the current situation and state of your operations are'; skills say 'how to do this "
+    "class of task for this user'. Both should carry user-preference lessons when relevant.\n\n"
+    "If you notice overlapping existing skills, mention it — the background curator handles "
+    "consolidation.\n\n"
     "Protected skills (DO NOT edit these):\n"
     "  • Bundled skills (shipped with Hermes, e.g. 'hermes-agent').\n"
     "  • Hub-installed skills (installed via 'hermes skills install').\n"
     "  • Skills in skills.external_dirs (externally owned).\n"
-    "  • PINNED skills (marked via 'hermes curator pin'). Pin blocks "
-    "autonomous writes entirely — content updates included — because no "
-    "user is present to consent. Only a foreground session can change one.\n"
-    "  • USER-OWNED skills — anything not curator-managed (hand-written, "
-    "URL-installed, or created by a foreground agent at the user's "
-    "request). Your writes to these WILL be refused, including to skills "
-    "loaded or consulted this session. If one is wrong, say so in your "
-    "reply and recommend 'hermes curator adopt <name>' instead.\n"
+    "  • PINNED skills (marked via 'hermes curator pin'). Pin blocks autonomous writes entirely — "
+    "content updates included — because no user is present to consent. Only a foreground session "
+    "can change one.\n"
+    "  • USER-OWNED skills — anything not curator-managed (hand-written, URL-installed, or created "
+    "by a foreground agent at the user's request). Your writes to these WILL be refused, including "
+    "to skills loaded or consulted this session. If one is wrong, say so in your reply and "
+    "recommend 'hermes curator adopt <name>' instead.\n"
     "If the only skills that need updating are protected, say\n"
     "'Nothing to save.' and stop.\n\n"
-    "Do NOT capture as skills (these become persistent self-imposed "
-    "constraints that bite you later when the environment changes):\n"
-    "  • Environment-dependent failures: missing binaries, fresh-install "
-    "errors, post-migration path mismatches, 'command not found', "
-    "unconfigured credentials, uninstalled packages. The user can fix "
-    "these — they are not durable rules.\n"
-    "  • Negative claims about tools or features ('browser tools do not "
-    "work', 'X tool is broken', 'cannot use Y from execute_code'). These "
-    "harden into refusals the agent cites against itself for months "
-    "after the actual problem was fixed.\n"
-    "  • Session-specific transient errors that resolved before the "
-    "conversation ended. If retrying worked, the lesson is the retry "
-    "pattern, not the original failure.\n"
-    "  • One-off task narratives. A user asking 'summarize today's "
-    "market' or 'analyze this PR' is not a class of work that warrants "
-    "a skill.\n\n"
-    "  • Unresolved failures: if the session ended WITHOUT actually "
-    "finding a working method — you tried several things, none worked, "
-    "and told the user to check manually — do NOT write those attempts "
-    "up as a 'reliable workflow' or 'recommended approach'. That presents "
-    "an untested sequence of failures as validated guidance a future "
-    "session will trust and repeat. Either say 'Nothing to save', or, "
-    "only if you are independently confident of a real working alternative "
-    "(not something you are merely guessing might work), capture ONLY that "
-    "alternative — never the dead ends, and never dressed up as best practice.\n\n"
-    "If a tool failed because of setup state, capture the FIX (install "
-    "command, config step, env var to set) under an existing setup or "
-    "troubleshooting skill — never 'this tool does not work' as a "
-    "standalone constraint.\n\n"
-    "Act on whichever of the two dimensions has real signal. If "
-    "genuinely nothing stands out on either, say 'Nothing to save.' "
-    "and stop — but don't reach for that conclusion as a default."
+    "Do NOT capture as skills (these become persistent self-imposed constraints that bite you "
+    "later when the environment changes):\n"
+    "  • Environment-dependent failures: missing binaries, fresh-install errors, post-migration "
+    "path mismatches, 'command not found', unconfigured credentials, uninstalled packages. The "
+    "user can fix these — they are not durable rules.\n"
+    "  • Negative claims about tools or features ('browser tools do not work', 'X tool is broken', "
+    "'cannot use Y from execute_code'). These harden into refusals the agent cites against itself "
+    "for months after the actual problem was fixed.\n"
+    "  • Session-specific transient errors that resolved before the conversation ended. If "
+    "retrying worked, the lesson is the retry pattern, not the original failure.\n"
+    "  • One-off task narratives. A user asking 'summarize today's market' or 'analyze this PR' is "
+    "not a class of work that warrants a skill.\n\n"
+    "  • Unresolved failures: if the session ended WITHOUT actually finding a working method — you "
+    "tried several things, none worked, and told the user to check manually — do NOT write those "
+    "attempts up as a 'reliable workflow' or 'recommended approach'. That presents an untested "
+    "sequence of failures as validated guidance a future session will trust and repeat. Either say "
+    "'Nothing to save', or, only if you are independently confident of a real working alternative "
+    "(not something you are merely guessing might work), capture ONLY that alternative — never the "
+    "dead ends, and never dressed up as best practice.\n\n"
+    "If a tool failed because of setup state, capture the FIX (install command, config step, env "
+    "var to set) under an existing setup or troubleshooting skill — never 'this tool does not "
+    "work' as a standalone constraint.\n\n"
+    "Act on whichever of the two dimensions has real signal. If genuinely nothing stands out on "
+    "either, say 'Nothing to save.' and stop — but don't reach for that conclusion as a default."
 )