diff --git a/plugins/kyberforge/.apm/skills/skill-author/SKILL.md b/plugins/kyberforge/.apm/skills/skill-author/SKILL.md
index b3b356f..a310423 100644
--- a/plugins/kyberforge/.apm/skills/skill-author/SKILL.md
+++ b/plugins/kyberforge/.apm/skills/skill-author/SKILL.md
@@ -57,6 +57,6 @@ Gates `/factory-audit` enforces in both flows:
 
 Run `/factory-audit` on the resolved skill directory; resolve every FAIL before reporting done. It checks name-to-directory match, placeholders, both size budgets, boundary-target resolution and script hygiene — do not hand-check those. Hand-check the one thing it misses: an empty body reports `PASS  SKILL.md body word count 0 (ADR-0020 target: 600)`, so confirm at least one non-empty section exists.
 
-Versioning: on create, keep the scaffold's `0.1.0` — do not bump it (ADR-0022); on improve, bump the **patch** version.
+Versioning: on create, keep the scaffold's `0.1.0` — do not bump it (ADR-0022, Decision: `0.1.0` means "created and never yet revised"); on improve, bump the **patch** version.
 
 **Commit verification.** Inside a git worktree: once the audit is clean, run `rtk git add` and `rtk git commit` — do not stop at staging. Re-run `rtk git log --oneline -1` and confirm the hash changed from Step 1's. A non-empty `git diff --stat` is not proof: staged-but-uncommitted work is part of no commit and is silently lost if the tree is cleaned up. Report done only once the hash has changed. Outside a worktree (a skill under `~/.claude/skills/`, say) nothing is committable — report done on a clean audit, naming that as the reason.
diff --git a/plugins/kyberforge/.apm/skills/skill-author/references/deployment-modes.md b/plugins/kyberforge/.apm/skills/skill-author/references/deployment-modes.md
index 8255e03..37cae74 100644
--- a/plugins/kyberforge/.apm/skills/skill-author/references/deployment-modes.md
+++ b/plugins/kyberforge/.apm/skills/skill-author/references/deployment-modes.md
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 ---
 source_keys:
   - agentskills-spec
+  - apm-docs-llms-full
 ---
 
 # Deployment Modes
@@ -11,7 +12,7 @@ Skills deploy standalone, or as part of an APM package (an `apm.yml`-governed `.
 
 When a host installs a plugin, it copies the plugin directory to a cache. Only the plugin's own files are copied. **Any path that leaves the skill directory breaks post-install:**
 
-```
+```text
 ../other-skill/validate.sh              # breaks
 plugins/<plugin>/.apm/skills/other/     # breaks
 ../../shared/utils.sh                   # breaks
@@ -23,7 +24,7 @@ Fix: duplicate the file into the skill's own `scripts/` or `assets/`. There is n
 
 For a package (an `apm.yml`-governed `.apm/` source tree), the deployable artifact is generated by `apm compile` per target harness — not produced by copying the raw `.apm/` directory wholesale the way a plugin cache install copies a plugin directory. The same self-containment rule still applies at the skill level: **file references inside `.apm/skills/<name>/` must not reach outside that skill's own directory.**
 
-```
+```text
 ../other-skill/validate.sh          # breaks
 .apm/skills/other-skill/            # breaks
 ../../shared/utils.sh               # breaks
diff --git a/plugins/kyberforge/.apm/skills/skill-author/references/sources.md b/plugins/kyberforge/.apm/skills/skill-author/references/sources.md
index 2d169d7..c899ba9 100644
--- a/plugins/kyberforge/.apm/skills/skill-author/references/sources.md
+++ b/plugins/kyberforge/.apm/skills/skill-author/references/sources.md
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ source_keys:
   - agentskills-evaluating-skills
   - agentskills-using-scripts
   - agentskills-quickstart
+  - apm-docs-llms-full
 ---
 
 # Sources
@@ -68,3 +69,11 @@ source_keys:
 - **Description:** Step-by-step guide to creating a first skill (roll-dice example), how discovery/activation/execution work in practice
 - **Contributing files:** SKILL.md, references/create.md
 - **Status:** `extracted`
+
+## apm-docs-llms-full
+
+- **URL:** https://microsoft.github.io/apm/llms-full.txt
+- **Research doc:** plugins/kyberforge/docs/research/docs/microsoft-apm/sources.md
+- **Description:** Published apm docs bundle — `apm compile` producing per-target output from an `apm.yml` package, the target-neutral `${PLUGIN_ROOT}` hook token apm rewrites per target, and hooks as primitives under `.apm/hooks/`
+- **Contributing files:** references/deployment-modes.md
+- **Status:** `extracted`
diff --git a/plugins/kyberforge/.apm/skills/skill-author/scripts/new-skill.sh b/plugins/kyberforge/.apm/skills/skill-author/scripts/new-skill.sh
index 4c1b4da..6a28d2b 100755
--- a/plugins/kyberforge/.apm/skills/skill-author/scripts/new-skill.sh
+++ b/plugins/kyberforge/.apm/skills/skill-author/scripts/new-skill.sh
@@ -42,7 +42,8 @@ Output:
 Exit codes:
   0  Scaffold created, destination already complete (no-op), or a partial
      scaffold from an earlier failed run repaired
-  1  Invalid arguments, missing path, or templates not found
+  1  Invalid arguments, missing path, templates not found, name
+     substitution failed, or the destination appeared mid-build
 EOF
 }
 
@@ -162,41 +163,60 @@ SUBST_MARKERS=("name: SKILL_NAME" "bats <destination-dir>/SKILL_NAME/tests/")
 # Replace SKILL_NAME in one file. `sed -i` is not portable — GNU takes an
 # optional attached suffix, BSD/macOS requires a separate suffix argument and
 # reads the expression as one — so write to a temp file and move it over.
+# The move runs only if sed succeeded: a failed sed leaves an empty or partial
+# temp file, and moving that over the original would destroy it.
 substitute_file() {
   local f="$1"
-  sed "s/SKILL_NAME/$SKILL_NAME/g" "$f" > "$f.tmp"
-  mv "$f.tmp" "$f"
+  if sed "s/SKILL_NAME/$SKILL_NAME/g" "$f" > "$f.tmp" && mv "$f.tmp" "$f"; then
+    return 0
+  fi
+  rm -f "$f.tmp"
+  echo "Error: could not substitute the skill name in '$f'." >&2
+  return 1
 }
 
 # Substitute every placeholder file under dir $1 (a fresh template copy).
 substitute_name() {
   local dir="$1" rel
   for rel in "${SUBST_FILES[@]}"; do
-    [[ -f "$dir/$rel" ]] && substitute_file "$dir/$rel"
+    if [[ -f "$dir/$rel" ]]; then
+      substitute_file "$dir/$rel" || return 1
+    fi
   done
   return 0
 }
 
 # Substitute only the placeholder files under dir $1 that still carry their
-# template marker line; print how many were repaired.
+# template marker line. Sets REPAIRED to how many were repaired; returns 1 on
+# the first failure. Called directly, never inside $(...): a command
+# substitution would swallow the failure and let the caller report success.
+REPAIRED=0
 repair_placeholders() {
-  local dir="$1" i f n=0
+  local dir="$1" i f
+  REPAIRED=0
   for i in "${!SUBST_FILES[@]}"; do
     f="$dir/${SUBST_FILES[$i]}"
     if [[ -f "$f" ]] && grep -qxF "${SUBST_MARKERS[$i]}" "$f"; then
-      substitute_file "$f"
-      n=$((n + 1))
+      substitute_file "$f" || return 1
+      REPAIRED=$((REPAIRED + 1))
     fi
   done
-  echo "$n"
+  return 0
 }
 
 if [[ -d "$TARGET" ]]; then
   # A scaffold left half-built by an earlier failed run still carries a
   # template marker line; finish it instead of reporting a silent no-op.
   # Anything else — including a complete skill — is left untouched.
-  if [[ "$(repair_placeholders "$TARGET")" -gt 0 ]]; then
-    echo "Repaired partial scaffold at '$TARGET' — substituted SKILL_NAME." >&2
+  if ! repair_placeholders "$TARGET"; then
+    echo "Error: repair of '$TARGET' failed; no file was left half-written." >&2
+    exit 1
+  fi
+  if [[ "$REPAIRED" -gt 0 ]]; then
+    # The marker line proves only that the name was never substituted, not
+    # that the earlier copy finished — a file may still be missing.
+    echo "Repaired partial scaffold at '$TARGET' — only the name placeholder (SKILL_NAME) was substituted." >&2
+    echo "The earlier run may also have left files missing: run /factory-audit on it, or delete it and re-run this script." >&2
     exit 0
   fi
   echo "Scaffold already exists at '$TARGET' — nothing to do." >&2
@@ -207,10 +227,23 @@ mkdir -p "$(dirname "$TARGET")"
 
 # Build in a sibling staging directory and rename it into place only once
 # complete, so a failure mid-build never leaves a half-built $TARGET behind.
-STAGING="$TARGET.partial.$$"
+# The dot prefix matters: a SIGKILL skips the trap, and a leftover must not
+# look like a skill to anything scanning .apm/skills/.
+STAGING="$(mktemp -d "$(dirname "$TARGET")/.new-skill.XXXXXX")"
 trap 'rm -rf "$STAGING"' EXIT
-cp -r "$TEMPLATES_DIR" "$STAGING"
+# mktemp creates the directory 0700; give the skill the umask default instead.
+chmod "$(umask -S)" "$STAGING"
+cp -R "$TEMPLATES_DIR/." "$STAGING"
 substitute_name "$STAGING"
+
+# $TARGET may have appeared since the check above (a concurrent run). `mv`
+# onto an existing directory nests the source inside it instead of failing,
+# and GNU `mv -T` is not portable, so re-check immediately before the rename.
+# This narrows the window to the gap between two syscalls; it does not close it.
+if [[ -e "$TARGET" ]]; then
+  echo "Error: '$TARGET' appeared while the scaffold was being built; left it untouched." >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
 mv "$STAGING" "$TARGET"
 trap - EXIT
 
diff --git a/plugins/kyberforge/.apm/skills/skill-author/tests/new-skill.bats b/plugins/kyberforge/.apm/skills/skill-author/tests/new-skill.bats
index 2455628..2e349c5 100644
--- a/plugins/kyberforge/.apm/skills/skill-author/tests/new-skill.bats
+++ b/plugins/kyberforge/.apm/skills/skill-author/tests/new-skill.bats
@@ -113,9 +113,90 @@ teardown() {
     assert_failure
 }
 
+# Lists every entry in $1 other than my-tool and the fixture copies, so a
+# staging directory of any name (dotted or not) left behind is caught.
+leftovers() {
+    local entry name
+    for entry in "$1"/* "$1"/.[!.]* "$1"/..?*; do
+        [[ -e "$entry" ]] || continue
+        name=${entry##*/}
+        case "$name" in my-tool|bin|skill.orig) ;; *) printf '%s\n' "$name" ;; esac
+    done
+}
+
+# Puts a `sed` on PATH that fails without writing output, so a test can
+# inject a failure into the substitution step.
+stub_failing_sed() {
+    mkdir -p "$DEST/bin"
+    printf '#!/usr/bin/env bash\nexit 1\n' > "$DEST/bin/sed"
+    chmod +x "$DEST/bin/sed"
+}
+
 @test "leaves no staging directory behind after a successful run" {
     bash "$SCRIPT" my-tool "$DEST"
-    run bash -c "ls -d '$DEST'/my-tool.partial.* 2>/dev/null"
+    run leftovers "$DEST"
+    assert_output ""
+}
+
+@test "stages the build in a dot-prefixed directory that cannot pass for a skill" {
+    # A SIGKILL skips the cleanup trap, so the staging directory's name is what
+    # keeps a leftover from looking like a skill under .apm/skills/.
+    mkdir -p "$DEST/bin"
+    real_sed="$(command -v sed)"
+    printf '#!/usr/bin/env bash\nprintf "%%s\\n" "${@: -1}" >> "%s/sed.log"\nexec "%s" "$@"\n' \
+        "$DEST/bin" "$real_sed" > "$DEST/bin/sed"
+    chmod +x "$DEST/bin/sed"
+    PATH="$DEST/bin:$PATH" run bash "$SCRIPT" my-tool "$DEST"
+    assert_success
+    run grep -c . "$DEST/bin/sed.log"
+    refute_output "0"
+    run grep -vE "^$DEST/\.[^/]+/" "$DEST/bin/sed.log"
+    assert_output ""
+}
+
+@test "scaffold directory gets umask-default permissions, not mktemp's 0700" {
+    bash "$SCRIPT" my-tool "$DEST"
+    mkdir "$DEST/reference-dir"
+    assert_equal "$(ls -ld "$DEST/my-tool" | cut -c1-10)" \
+        "$(ls -ld "$DEST/reference-dir" | cut -c1-10)"
+    rmdir "$DEST/reference-dir"
+}
+
+@test "fresh scaffold: a failing sed aborts non-zero with no target and no staging left" {
+    stub_failing_sed
+    PATH="$DEST/bin:$PATH" run bash "$SCRIPT" my-tool "$DEST"
+    assert_failure
+    assert [ ! -e "$DEST/my-tool" ]
+    run leftovers "$DEST"
+    assert_output ""
+}
+
+@test "repair: a failing sed aborts non-zero and leaves the original file unchanged" {
+    cp -r "$BATS_TEST_DIRNAME/../assets/templates" "$DEST/my-tool"
+    cp "$DEST/my-tool/SKILL.md" "$DEST/skill.orig"
+    stub_failing_sed
+    PATH="$DEST/bin:$PATH" run bash "$SCRIPT" my-tool "$DEST"
+    assert_failure
+    refute_output --partial "Repaired"
+    run cmp "$DEST/skill.orig" "$DEST/my-tool/SKILL.md"
+    assert_success
+    run find "$DEST/my-tool" -name '*.tmp'
+    assert_output ""
+}
+
+@test "a target that appears after the existence check is not nested into" {
+    # A sed wrapper creates the target mid-build, standing in for a concurrent
+    # run winning the race between the check and the final rename.
+    mkdir -p "$DEST/bin"
+    real_sed="$(command -v sed)"
+    printf '#!/usr/bin/env bash\nmkdir -p "%s/my-tool"\nexec "%s" "$@"\n' \
+        "$DEST" "$real_sed" > "$DEST/bin/sed"
+    chmod +x "$DEST/bin/sed"
+    PATH="$DEST/bin:$PATH" run bash "$SCRIPT" my-tool "$DEST"
+    assert_failure
+    run ls -A "$DEST/my-tool"
+    assert_output ""
+    run leftovers "$DEST"
     assert_output ""
 }
 
@@ -126,6 +207,7 @@ teardown() {
     run bash "$SCRIPT" my-tool "$DEST"
     assert_success
     assert_output --partial "Repaired partial scaffold"
+    assert_output --partial "only the name placeholder"
     run grep -r "SKILL_NAME" "$DEST/my-tool"
     assert_failure
     run grep -E '^name: my-tool$' "$DEST/my-tool/SKILL.md"