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 33884bd..5b2e9ae 100644
--- a/plugins/kyberforge/.apm/skills/skill-author/references/deployment-modes.md
+++ b/plugins/kyberforge/.apm/skills/skill-author/references/deployment-modes.md
@@ -5,15 +5,15 @@ source_keys:
 
 # Deployment Modes
 
-Skills deploy standalone, or as part of a package — either a legacy plugin-mode cache install or an APM (`apm.yml`-governed `.apm/` tree, compiled via `apm compile`). All resolve relative paths from the skill root — the SKILL.md body works the same in any of them. Differences only arise when referencing files *outside* the skill directory.
+Skills deploy standalone, or as part of an APM package (an `apm.yml`-governed `.apm/` tree, compiled via `apm compile`). Some consumers also receive a package through a host's plugin install, which copies it into a cache. All modes resolve relative paths from the skill root — the SKILL.md body works the same in any of them. Differences only arise when referencing files *outside* the skill directory.
 
-## Cache isolation (plugin mode)
+## Cache isolation (host plugin install)
 
-When a plugin is installed, its directory is copied to a cache. Only the plugin's own files are copied. **Any path that leaves the skill directory breaks post-install:**
+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:**
 
 ```
 ../other-skill/validate.sh              # breaks
-plugins/kyberforge/skills/other-skill/  # breaks
+plugins/<plugin>/.apm/skills/other/     # breaks
 ../../shared/utils.sh                   # breaks
 ```
 
diff --git a/plugins/kyberforge/.apm/skills/skill-author/references/improve.md b/plugins/kyberforge/.apm/skills/skill-author/references/improve.md
index 5d0d118..c3cb2dc 100644
--- a/plugins/kyberforge/.apm/skills/skill-author/references/improve.md
+++ b/plugins/kyberforge/.apm/skills/skill-author/references/improve.md
@@ -76,6 +76,19 @@ into compliance first — the gates are hot and carry no baseline file, so a one
 non-compliant skill cannot be committed until the description and body meet
 `references/contract.md`. Treat that retrofit as part of the same change, not a follow-up.
 
+Retrofit against the number that actually failed: the audit reports description characters and
+body-only words separately. Audit the skill in its real package directory, never a scratch copy,
+where boundary resolution reports `DID NOT RUN` and exits 0 without checking anything. Cut in this
+order, stopping once the gate clears; the order puts the cuts that lose the least behaviour first:
+
+1. Gotchas that paraphrase a step below them — delete the Gotcha, keep the step.
+2. Spec restatements — text repeating a published spec, a tool's `--help`, or a limit the
+   validator already enforces.
+3. Capability enumeration — keep one capability clause in the description; drop the rest.
+4. Per-flow prose — move each flow into its own `references/` file behind a dispatch table.
+
+Still over after all four means the skill does two jobs: split it rather than compressing prose.
+
 If a signal points to a script or reference file, edit that file directly rather than adding a
 workaround in SKILL.md.
 
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 91d13d5..a96a189 100644
--- a/plugins/kyberforge/.apm/skills/skill-author/tests/new-skill.bats
+++ b/plugins/kyberforge/.apm/skills/skill-author/tests/new-skill.bats
@@ -146,7 +146,7 @@ EOF
 }
 
 @test "scaffold emits a live metadata.version seeded at 0.1.0 (ADR-0022)" {
-    # The scaffold must clear .pre-commit-config.yaml's `skill-frontmatter` hook
+    # The scaffold must clear .pre-commit-config.yaml's `skill-size-check` hook
     # on its first commit: a commented-out metadata block ships a skill with no
     # version and is blocked. Assert the field is live, not a comment.
     bash "$SCRIPT" my-tool "$DEST"