diff --git a/app/src/main/java/com/m57/hermescontrol/ui/chat/tool/render/SkillRenderers.kt b/app/src/main/java/com/m57/hermescontrol/ui/chat/tool/render/SkillRenderers.kt
index 2366a69e..0937962c 100644
--- a/app/src/main/java/com/m57/hermescontrol/ui/chat/tool/render/SkillRenderers.kt
+++ b/app/src/main/java/com/m57/hermescontrol/ui/chat/tool/render/SkillRenderers.kt
@@ -105,14 +105,12 @@ internal object SkillManageRenderer : ToolRenderer {
 
         val msg = ToolJson.firstString(call.result, listOf("message"))
         val failed = ToolJson.boolFalse(call.result?.get("success"))
+        val succeeded = ToolJson.boolTrue(call.result?.get("success"))
 
-        // Pinned quirk from the original engine: the branch order is inverted
-        // (a non-false `success` renders the failure line). Preserved verbatim
-        // by the characterization suite; fix upstream deliberately if desired.
         return when {
-            !failed -> "❌ Skill operation failed"
-            msg.isNotEmpty() -> "✅ $msg"
-            else -> "✅ Skill operation done"
+            failed -> "❌ ${msg.ifEmpty { "Skill operation failed" }}"
+            succeeded -> "✅ ${msg.ifEmpty { "Skill operation done" }}"
+            else -> "❌ ${msg.ifEmpty { "Skill operation failed" }}"
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/app/src/test/java/com/m57/hermescontrol/ui/chat/tool/ToolViewCharacterizationTest.kt b/app/src/test/java/com/m57/hermescontrol/ui/chat/tool/ToolViewCharacterizationTest.kt
index e12fae36..aeb33d05 100644
--- a/app/src/test/java/com/m57/hermescontrol/ui/chat/tool/ToolViewCharacterizationTest.kt
+++ b/app/src/test/java/com/m57/hermescontrol/ui/chat/tool/ToolViewCharacterizationTest.kt
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 package com.m57.hermescontrol.ui.chat.tool
 
+import com.m57.hermescontrol.ui.chat.tool.render.SkillManageRenderer
 import kotlinx.serialization.json.Json
 import kotlinx.serialization.json.JsonElement
 import kotlinx.serialization.json.JsonPrimitive
@@ -655,6 +656,76 @@ class ToolViewCharacterizationTest {
         assertEquals("${"x".repeat(500)}\n... [120 more chars]", view.detail)
     }
 
+    @Test
+    fun `skill_manage success renders a success detail and status`() {
+        val view =
+            build(
+                "skill_manage",
+                """{"action":"create","name":"summarize"}""",
+                """{"success":true,"message":"Skill 'summarize' created."}""",
+            )
+
+        assertEquals(ToolViewStatus.SUCCESS, view.status)
+        assertEquals("✅ Skill 'summarize' created.", view.detail)
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun `skill_manage explicit failure renders a failure detail`() {
+        val call =
+            ToolCall.of(
+                "skill_manage",
+                Json.parseToJsonElement("""{"action":"create","name":"summarize"}"""),
+                Json.parseToJsonElement("""{"success":false,"message":"Permission denied"}"""),
+            )
+
+        assertEquals("❌ Permission denied", SkillManageRenderer.detail(call))
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun `skill_manage failure status and detail agree`() {
+        val view =
+            build(
+                "skill_manage",
+                """{"action":"create","name":"summarize"}""",
+                """{"success":false,"message":"Permission denied"}""",
+            )
+
+        assertEquals(ToolViewStatus.ERROR, view.status)
+        assertTrue(view.detail.contains("❌ Permission denied"))
+        assertTrue(!view.detail.contains("✅"))
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun `skill_manage error field remains the failure detail`() {
+        val call =
+            ToolCall.of(
+                "skill_manage",
+                Json.parseToJsonElement("""{"action":"create","name":"summarize"}"""),
+                Json.parseToJsonElement("""{"success":false,"error":"Permission denied"}"""),
+            )
+
+        assertEquals("❌ Permission denied", SkillManageRenderer.detail(call))
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun `skill_manage missing or invalid success fails closed`() {
+        val missing =
+            ToolCall.of(
+                "skill_manage",
+                null,
+                Json.parseToJsonElement("""{"message":"unexpected payload"}"""),
+            )
+        val invalid =
+            ToolCall.of(
+                "skill_manage",
+                null,
+                Json.parseToJsonElement("""{"success":"true","message":"unexpected payload"}"""),
+            )
+
+        assertEquals("❌ unexpected payload", SkillManageRenderer.detail(missing))
+        assertEquals("❌ unexpected payload", SkillManageRenderer.detail(invalid))
+    }
+
     @Test
     fun `tool_search shows match count and entries`() {
         val view =