diff --git a/.pre-commit-config.yaml b/.pre-commit-config.yaml
index 31283f0..ef2d349 100644
--- a/.pre-commit-config.yaml
+++ b/.pre-commit-config.yaml
@@ -238,87 +238,6 @@ repos:
         pass_filenames: false
         always_run: true
 
-      - id: skill-frontmatter
-        stages: ['pre-commit']
-        name: SKILL.md frontmatter validation
-        description: Ensure SKILL.md files have required frontmatter fields
-        entry: bash
-        language: system
-        files: '^plugins/[^/]+/\.apm/skills/[^/]+/SKILL\.md$'
-        # Pinned by tests/test-skill-frontmatter.sh, which drives this exact
-        # `bash -c <script> <arg0> <files...>` call shape rather than a copy of
-        # the script -- the bug below was invisible to any test that did not.
-        args:
-          - -c
-          - |
-            # Every check reads the FRONTMATTER only, never the whole file. A
-            # `metadata:` / `name:` / `description:` line inside a body code
-            # fence is documentation (skill-author quotes exactly such a block)
-            # and used to satisfy these greps.
-            for f in "$@"; do
-              [[ -f "$f" ]] || continue
-
-              fm="$(awk '
-                { sub(/\r$/, "") }
-                NR == 1 { sub(/^\357\273\277/, "") }
-                !opened && /^[[:blank:]]*$/ { next }
-                !opened {
-                  if ($0 ~ /^---[[:blank:]]*$/) { opened = 1; next }
-                  exit
-                }
-                /^---[[:blank:]]*$/ { closed = 1; exit }
-                { print }
-                END { if (!opened || !closed) exit 3 }
-              ' "$f")" || {
-                echo "ERROR: $f has no closing YAML frontmatter block (expected --- ... --- at the top of the file)"
-                exit 1
-              }
-
-              missing=""
-              printf '%s\n' "$fm" | grep -q "^name:" || missing="${missing}name: "
-              printf '%s\n' "$fm" | grep -q "^description:" || missing="${missing}description: "
-
-              # Scoped to the `metadata:` block and stopped at the next
-              # top-level key, so a `version:` under a following `source:` list
-              # cannot stand in for it; the `^  version:` anchor is exact, so a
-              # deeper-nested `    version:` cannot either. No line budget, so a
-              # long `metadata:` block does not hide the key.
-              ver="$(printf '%s\n' "$fm" | awk '
-                /^metadata:/ { inm = 1; next }
-                inm && /^[A-Za-z]/ { exit }
-                inm && /^  version:/ {
-                  v = $0
-                  sub(/^  version:[[:blank:]]*/, "", v)
-                  sub(/[[:blank:]]+#.*$/, "", v)
-                  sub(/[[:blank:]]+$/, "", v)
-                  print "found:" v
-                  exit
-                }
-              ')"
-              [[ -n "$ver" ]] || missing="${missing}metadata.version "
-
-              if [[ -n "$missing" ]]; then
-                echo "ERROR: $f is missing required frontmatter fields (${missing})"
-                exit 1
-              fi
-
-              raw="${ver#found:}"
-              v="$raw"
-              case "$v" in
-                \"*\") v="${v#\"}"; v="${v%\"}" ;;
-                \'*\') v="${v#\'}"; v="${v%\'}" ;;
-              esac
-              if [[ ! "$v" =~ ^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+$ ]]; then
-                echo "ERROR: $f has a malformed frontmatter metadata.version (${raw:-<empty>}) -- expected a three-part semver, e.g. \"1.0.0\""
-                exit 1
-              fi
-            done
-          # arg0 for `bash -c`. WITHOUT it pre-commit's first filename lands in
-          # $0 and is dropped from "$@" -- so a single-file commit, the normal
-          # case, ran the loop zero times and reported Passed having checked
-          # nothing. Do not remove; tests/test-skill-frontmatter.sh pins it.
-          - skill-frontmatter
-
       - id: skill-size-check
         stages: ['pre-commit']
         name: SKILL.md size and context-budget ceilings
diff --git a/SIMPLIFICATION-AUDIT.md b/SIMPLIFICATION-AUDIT.md
index 98aa181..2257355 100644
--- a/SIMPLIFICATION-AUDIT.md
+++ b/SIMPLIFICATION-AUDIT.md
@@ -71,7 +71,8 @@ This is the area you named as hardest to understand and slowest. Root cause: mos
 
 3. **Tests of the test harness: 1,090 lines testing 475 lines.** `test-run-tests.sh` and `test-run-bats.sh` defend "green either way" holes that exist only because the runners hand-roll TAP parsing and set-equality checks. Replace both runners with about 40 lines (`bats -r plugins` plus a parallel `find | xargs` over `test-*.sh`) and delete the meta-tests. `lib/batch-run.sh` stays; `sync-plugin-content.sh` sources it. Effort M.
 
-4. **`skill-frontmatter` is a 62-line bash script inlined in YAML** with its own 366-line test. `skill-size-check.sh` already parses the same frontmatter with PyYAML. Fold it in (about 15 Python lines), delete the inline hook, its test, and the 79 lines in `gates.md` arguing for the split. Effort S.
+4. [x] ~~**`skill-frontmatter` is a 62-line bash script inlined in YAML** with its own 366-line test. `skill-size-check.sh` already parses the same frontmatter with PyYAML. Fold it in (about 15 Python lines), delete the inline hook, its test, and the 79 lines in `gates.md` arguing for the split. Effort S.~~
+   > **Done (2026-09-12):** see commit `388cbe4` on `docs/simplification-audit`. Added a ~20-line required-frontmatter check (`name`, `description`, `metadata.version` as three-part semver) to `scripts/skill-size-check.sh`, reusing the YAML mapping `description_value()` already parses. Removed the inline `skill-frontmatter` hook (~80 lines) from `.pre-commit-config.yaml` and deleted `tests/test-skill-frontmatter.sh` (366 lines). Removed the 79-line "the other hook on that scope" discussion from `docs/spec/gates.md` and its now-dangling cross-reference, replacing both with a one-line note of the fold; updated the pre-push hook counts there. Updated fixture builders in `tests/test-skill-size-check.sh`, `tests/test-adr0020-body-checks.sh`, `tests/test-adr0020-targets.sh`, `tests/test-adr0020-differential.sh`, and `tests/test-vale-hooks-consumer.sh` to carry valid `metadata.version` so the new check doesn't spuriously fail existing fixtures.
 
 5. **`skill-size-check.sh` has six test files totalling 3,589 lines for one 1,497-line script**, split by ADR section rather than behaviour. `test-adr0020-differential.sh` is 452 lines for 12 assertions. Merge to two files. Effort M.
 
diff --git a/docs/spec/gates.md b/docs/spec/gates.md
index a66f591..74da6b8 100644
--- a/docs/spec/gates.md
+++ b/docs/spec/gates.md
@@ -99,7 +99,10 @@ not installed`).
 The `skill-size-check` pre-commit hook, scoped to `^plugins/[^/]+/\.apm/skills/[^/]+/SKILL\.md$`,
 runs `scripts/skill-size-check.sh`. It is also shipped to external repos as
 `kyberforge-skill-size-check` (see
-[External consumers](#external-consumers-the-root-pre-commit-hooksyaml)).
+[External consumers](#external-consumers-the-root-pre-commit-hooksyaml)). Besides the ADR-0020
+gates below, it also asserts required frontmatter is present: `name`, a non-empty `description`, and
+a `metadata.version` matching three-part semver (`1.0.0`) — folded in from a formerly standalone
+`skill-frontmatter` hook that parsed the same fields with a shell script.
 
 **Two things fall outside that scope, both deliberately.** The `[^/]+/SKILL\.md$` tail admits only a
 `SKILL.md` sitting directly in a skill directory under `.apm/skills/`:
@@ -124,85 +127,6 @@ the second returns exactly the template. The remaining unmatched `SKILL.md` file
 generated flat mirror, which is excluded by the `.apm/` segment on purpose — a mirror edit is drift,
 not an authoring change.
 
-### `skill-frontmatter`, the other hook on that scope
-
-A second `repo: local` pre-commit hook, `skill-frontmatter`, runs on the **same** `files:` pattern at
-the same stage. It is a shell loop that, **for the YAML frontmatter block only** — everything between
-the opening `---` and the next `---` — asserts four things per file:
-
-| Check | Rejects with |
-|---|---|
-| a `^name:` line is present | "missing required frontmatter fields (name: …)" |
-| a `^description:` line is present | "missing required frontmatter fields (description: …)" |
-| `metadata:` contains a `^  version:` key, anchored, scanning to the next top-level key | "missing required frontmatter fields (metadata.version)" |
-| that version's value is three-part semver (`1.0.0`, quoted or not) | "has a malformed frontmatter metadata.version (…)" |
-
-Every one of those qualifiers is load-bearing, and each replaced a defect that let the hook report
-Passed having measured nothing. `tests/test-skill-frontmatter.sh` pins all of them:
-
-- **Frontmatter-scoped, not whole-file.** The checks used to `grep` the entire file, so a `metadata:`
-  or `name:` block quoted in a **body code fence** satisfied them — `skill-author`'s own docs quote
-  exactly such a block.
-- **Bounded by the next top-level key, not by `-A10`.** The version check was
-  `grep -A10 "^metadata:" | grep -q "  version:"`, which ran ten lines past the end of the block: a
-  `version:` belonging to a following `source:` list entry counted (`write-docs` and `research` both
-  have a `source:` list immediately after `metadata:`), while a `metadata:` block with more than ten
-  lines before its `version:` was reported missing.
-- **`^  version:` anchored.** `"  version:"` was an unanchored substring, so a deeper-nested
-  `    version:` matched too.
-- **The value is asserted, not just the key.** `plugins/bin/.apm/skills/write-docs/SKILL.md` carried
-  `version: "1.0"` — present, correctly nested, and not a version — through an entire PR under a
-  presence-only check. Two-part `1.0` is a YAML float, not a version string.
-- **The call shape is pinned.** `entry: bash` with `args: ['-c', <script>, …]` needs an explicit
-  arg0 placeholder after the script: without it `bash -c` puts pre-commit's **first** filename in
-  `$0`, where `for f in "$@"` never sees it. A single-file commit — the normal case — therefore ran
-  the loop body zero times and exited 0. The third `args` entry (`skill-frontmatter`) exists solely
-  to absorb `$0`; do not remove it.
-- **An unreadable file is an error, not a pass.** A file with no closing `---` fails with "no closing
-  YAML frontmatter block" rather than falling through to a green.
-
-**It still overlaps ADR-0020's "description present and non-empty" FAIL, and the overlap is not
-clean.** The ADR (`:95-101`) requires that question be decided on the **YAML-folded value** and
-nowhere else, precisely because a line regex gets it wrong in both directions. Measured on fixtures:
-
-| Frontmatter | `skill-frontmatter` | `skill-size-check` |
-|---|---|---|
-| `description:` with no value, then `model: sonnet` | passes — the key is on a line | ERROR, "missing or empty" |
-| `"description": …` (quoted key, valid YAML) | **fails** — `^description:` does not match | passes, description read normally |
-
-So the grep is not a second opinion on presence. It is blind to the shape ADR-0020 was written
-against, and it is the only one of the two that objects to a quoted key. Neither disagreement is
-currently live in the corpus, and the honest reading is that presence is `skill-size-check`'s
-question — the grep's contribution to it is noise on one shape and silence on the other.
-
-What the hook adds that **no** ADR-0020 check reads is two keys: `name:` and `metadata.version`. A
-`SKILL.md` missing either passes `skill-size-check` at exit 0. That is its unique coverage, and the
-reason not to fold it into the size gate on the grounds of redundancy.
-
-#### Why this one stays a shell parser
-
-[`python3` and PyYAML are hard requirements](#python3-and-pyyaml-are-hard-requirements) below records
-that a hand-rolled frontmatter reader on this exact `files:` scope was **deliberately deleted**,
-because "a reader that mis-parses an unfamiliar scalar shape reports a clean pass on a file it never
-measured." That reasoning is about `skill-size-check` and does **not** transfer here. Do not delete
-this hook citing it. Three differences:
-
-1. **It answers a strictly narrower question.** `skill-size-check` must know the *folded value* of a
-   `>`-block scalar to count its characters, which is where a line reader diverges from a parser —
-   one corpus description measured 270 characters parsed and 412 unparsed. This hook asks only
-   whether a key is on a line and whether one short **plain scalar** matches `N.N.N`. There is no
-   folding, no multi-line value, and no measurement to get subtly wrong.
-2. **It is frontmatter-scoped.** The failure mode that killed the old fallback was silently reading
-   past or short of the block. This one extracts the block explicitly and errors out when it cannot
-   find a closing marker, so "could not parse" is a red, never a green.
-3. **It is pinned by tests.** `tests/test-skill-frontmatter.sh` drives the hook through pre-commit's
-   real `bash -c <script> <arg0> <files…>` invocation and asserts each defect class above. The
-   deleted fallback had no such suite; that is how its disagreement with a real parser survived.
-
-The trade it buys is that the hook stays repo-local. Moving it to a script would change the
-externally exposed `.pre-commit-hooks.yaml` contract for consumers, for a check that has no need of a
-YAML parser.
-
 ### Two independent gate families, neither replaced the other
 
 **Family 1 — agentskills.io spec backstop** (unchanged, conformance not quality):
@@ -467,14 +391,9 @@ reader that mis-parses an unfamiliar scalar shape reports a clean pass on a file
 which is the exact vacuous-green failure the `python3` check exists to avoid. `pip install pyyaml`
 (or `python3 -m pip install PyYAML`, or the distro's `python3-yaml`) if the hook reports it missing.
 
-**Neither requirement generalises to every hook on this scope, and one deliberate exception sits
-right next to it.** [`skill-frontmatter`](#skill-frontmatter-the-other-hook-on-that-scope) runs on the
-same `files:` pattern as a **shell** parser, on purpose — it asks only whether a key is on a line and
-whether one short plain scalar matches `N.N.N`, with no folding to get wrong, and moving it to a
-script would change the externally exposed `.pre-commit-hooks.yaml` contract for consumers. That
-section carries the full argument. A reader arriving here first should not read this one as
-condemning it. `check-rtk-prefix` needs `python3` but **not** PyYAML: it reads the markdown body and
-never touches frontmatter, so it has no scalar to fold.
+**Neither requirement generalises to every hook in this repo.** `check-rtk-prefix` needs `python3`
+but **not** PyYAML: it reads the markdown body and never touches frontmatter, so it has no scalar to
+fold.
 
 ## Agent files take the description gates, not the body gate
 
diff --git a/scripts/skill-size-check.sh b/scripts/skill-size-check.sh
index 36828c1..324cf78 100755
--- a/scripts/skill-size-check.sh
+++ b/scripts/skill-size-check.sh
@@ -1353,6 +1353,26 @@ for path in files:
               % (path, exc))
         continue
 
+    # Required-field presence (folded in from the former standalone
+    # `skill-frontmatter` hook). description_value() above already proved the
+    # frontmatter is valid YAML and a mapping, so a second yaml.safe_load here
+    # cannot raise.
+    fm_data = yaml.safe_load(fm_match.group(1)) or {}
+    name_val = fm_data.get('name')
+    if not isinstance(name_val, str) or not name_val.strip():
+        error("%s: name field is missing or empty (required frontmatter field)."
+              % path)
+    version_val = None
+    metadata_val = fm_data.get('metadata')
+    if isinstance(metadata_val, dict):
+        version_val = metadata_val.get('version')
+    if version_val is None:
+        error("%s: metadata.version field is missing (required frontmatter "
+              "field, e.g. \"1.0.0\")." % path)
+    elif not re.match(r'^\d+\.\d+\.\d+$', str(version_val).strip().strip('\'"')):
+        error("%s: metadata.version is malformed (%r) -- expected a "
+              "three-part semver, e.g. \"1.0.0\"." % (path, version_val))
+
     body = content[fm_match.end():]
     skill_dir = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(path))
     # ADR-0020's hand-invocation carve-out. See hand_invoked() for what it lifts
diff --git a/tests/test-adr0020-body-checks.sh b/tests/test-adr0020-body-checks.sh
index 1d7c757..e9ae585 100755
--- a/tests/test-adr0020-body-checks.sh
+++ b/tests/test-adr0020-body-checks.sh
@@ -49,6 +49,8 @@ make_skill() {
     echo "---"
     echo "name: $name"
     echo "description: $desc"
+    echo "metadata:"
+    echo "  version: \"1.0.0\""
     echo "---"
     cat
   } > "$dir/SKILL.md"
diff --git a/tests/test-adr0020-differential.sh b/tests/test-adr0020-differential.sh
index ca60cc5..9e11f7d 100755
--- a/tests/test-adr0020-differential.sh
+++ b/tests/test-adr0020-differential.sh
@@ -60,6 +60,8 @@ make_fx() {
     echo "---"
     echo "name: $name"
     echo "description: $desc"
+    echo "metadata:"
+    echo "  version: \"1.0.0\""
     echo "---"
     echo ""
     python3 -c "print(' '.join(['word'] * $body_words))"
@@ -94,6 +96,8 @@ mkdir -p "$FX/folded-desc"
   echo "name: folded-desc"
   echo "description: >"
   python3 -c "print('\n'.join(['  ' + 'x' * 40] * 11))"
+  echo "metadata:"
+  echo "  version: \"1.0.0\""
   echo "---"
   echo ""
   echo "Do the thing."
@@ -212,6 +216,8 @@ mkdir -p "$ORPHAN_ROOT/no-universe"
   echo "---"
   echo "name: no-universe"
   echo "description: Use when doing the thing. Do not use for the other thing — use some-other-skill instead."
+  echo "metadata:"
+  echo "  version: \"1.0.0\""
   echo "---"
   echo ""
   echo "Do the thing."
diff --git a/tests/test-adr0020-targets.sh b/tests/test-adr0020-targets.sh
index cd1f20a..f012baa 100755
--- a/tests/test-adr0020-targets.sh
+++ b/tests/test-adr0020-targets.sh
@@ -61,6 +61,8 @@ write_skill() {
     echo "---"
     echo "name: $2"
     echo "description: $3"
+    echo "metadata:"
+    echo "  version: \"1.0.0\""
     echo "---"
     echo ""
     echo "Do the thing."
diff --git a/tests/test-skill-frontmatter.sh b/tests/test-skill-frontmatter.sh
deleted file mode 100644
index f9de65c..0000000
--- a/tests/test-skill-frontmatter.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,366 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env bash
-# Regression test for the `skill-frontmatter` pre-commit hook.
-#
-# The hook is `entry: bash` with `args: ['-c', <script>, <arg0>]`, and this file
-# drives that exact call shape -- read out of .pre-commit-config.yaml, never
-# re-implemented here. That is the whole point. `grep -rn skill-frontmatter
-# tests/` returned nothing before this file existed, and the two defect classes
-# below are both invisible to a test that copies the script body and calls it
-# some other way:
-#
-#   1. THE POSITIONAL DROP. `bash -c <script> fileA fileB` puts fileA in $0, not
-#      in "$@". The hook had no arg0 placeholder, so pre-commit's FIRST filename
-#      was swallowed -- and a single-file commit, the normal case, ran the loop
-#      body zero times and reported Passed having checked nothing. A test that
-#      sources or inlines the script never sees this; only the real invocation
-#      shape does. Cases 2 and 3 below are that regression.
-#
-#   2. THE UNSCOPED GREP. The checks used to run over the WHOLE file, and the
-#      version check was `grep -A10 "^metadata:" | grep -q "  version:"`. Four
-#      confirmed ways to pass while measuring nothing, all pinned below:
-#        * `metadata:` in a BODY code fence satisfies it (skill-author's own
-#          docs quote exactly such a block);
-#        * `-A10` runs past the end of the metadata block, so a `version:`
-#          belonging to a following `source:` list entry satisfies it
-#          (write-docs and research both have `source:` right after `metadata:`);
-#        * `"  version:"` is an unanchored substring, so `    version:` at a
-#          deeper nesting satisfies it;
-#        * and the mirror image, a false NEGATIVE: a metadata block with more
-#          than 10 lines before `version:` was reported missing.
-#
-# Plus the semver assertion, which is not redundant with presence: write-docs
-# carried `version: "1.0"` -- present, well-nested, and not a version -- through
-# an entire PR under a check that only ever asked whether the key was there.
-set -euo pipefail
-
-REPO_ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/.." && pwd)"
-CONFIG="$REPO_ROOT/.pre-commit-config.yaml"
-PASS=0
-FAIL=0
-
-pass() { echo "  PASS: $1"; PASS=$((PASS + 1)); }
-fail() { echo "  FAIL: $1"; FAIL=$((FAIL + 1)); }
-
-# Same guard shape as tests/test-check-executables-allow-sync.sh: the hook
-# definition is YAML and reading it any other way is guessing. README.md lists
-# python3/PyYAML as a pre-push prerequisite, and `run-tests.sh --strict` turns
-# this skip into a failure, which is the correct reading when it runs as a gate.
-command -v python3 > /dev/null 2>&1 || { echo "SKIP: python3 is required to read the hook definition out of .pre-commit-config.yaml"; exit 77; }
-python3 -c 'import yaml' > /dev/null 2>&1 || { echo "SKIP: PyYAML is required to read the hook definition out of .pre-commit-config.yaml"; exit 77; }
-
-TMPDIR_T="$(mktemp -d)"
-trap 'rm -rf "$TMPDIR_T"' EXIT
-
-# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-# The hook, as pre-commit will run it
-# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-# ENTRY and ARGS come straight out of the config. run_hook() then reproduces
-# pre-commit's own composition -- entry, then args, then the filenames appended
-# LAST -- so the positional handling under test is the real one.
-HOOK_JSON="$TMPDIR_T/hook.json"
-python3 - "$CONFIG" "$HOOK_JSON" <<'PY'
-import json
-import sys
-
-import yaml
-
-config_path, out_path = sys.argv[1:3]
-with open(config_path, encoding='utf-8') as fh:
-    cfg = yaml.safe_load(fh) or {}
-
-found = None
-for repo in cfg.get('repos') or []:
-    for hook in repo.get('hooks') or []:
-        if hook.get('id') == 'skill-frontmatter':
-            found = hook
-
-if found is None:
-    sys.exit("skill-frontmatter hook not found in " + config_path)
-
-with open(out_path, 'w', encoding='utf-8') as fh:
-    json.dump(
-        {
-            'entry': found.get('entry'),
-            'args': found.get('args') or [],
-            'files': found.get('files'),
-            'pass_filenames': found.get('pass_filenames', True),
-            'always_run': found.get('always_run', False),
-        },
-        fh,
-    )
-PY
-
-# Reads NUL-delimited fields on stdin into the named array. bash 3.2 (macOS) has
-# no `mapfil[e]`/`readarra[y]` builtin, and tests/test-vale-wrap.sh's static scan
-# rejects both — the bracket classes above match what a bare spelling would while
-# keeping one out of this file, the same trick that file uses for `npro[c]`.
-read_nul_array() {
-  local __var="$1"
-  shift
-  local __item
-  eval "$__var=()"
-  while IFS= read -r -d '' __item; do
-    eval "$__var+=(\"\$__item\")"
-  done
-}
-
-ENTRY="$(python3 -c 'import json,sys; print(json.load(open(sys.argv[1]))["entry"])' "$HOOK_JSON")"
-ARGS=()
-read_nul_array ARGS < <(python3 -c '
-import json
-import sys
-
-data = json.load(open(sys.argv[1]))
-for arg in data["args"]:
-    sys.stdout.write(arg + "\0")
-' "$HOOK_JSON")
-
-RUN_OUT=""
-RUN_RC=0
-# run_hook <file>... -- exactly `entry args... files...`, pre-commit's ordering.
-run_hook() {
-  RUN_RC=0
-  RUN_OUT="$("$ENTRY" ${ARGS[@]+"${ARGS[@]}"} "$@" 2>&1)" || RUN_RC=$?
-}
-
-# write_skill <path> <frontmatter-body> [markdown-body]
-write_skill() {
-  local path="$1" frontmatter="$2" body="${3:-# Heading
-
-Body text.}"
-  mkdir -p "$(dirname "$path")"
-  {
-    printf -- '---\n'
-    printf '%s\n' "$frontmatter"
-    printf -- '---\n\n'
-    printf '%s\n' "$body"
-  } > "$path"
-}
-
-VALID_FM='name: valid-skill
-description: A skill whose frontmatter is complete and well formed.
-metadata:
-  version: "1.0.0"'
-
-assert_passes() { # <label> <file>...
-  local label="$1"
-  shift
-  run_hook "$@"
-  if [[ $RUN_RC -eq 0 ]]; then
-    pass "$label"
-  else
-    fail "$label -- expected exit 0, got $RUN_RC. Output: $RUN_OUT"
-  fi
-}
-
-assert_fails_with() { # <label> <needle> <file>...
-  local label="$1" needle="$2"
-  shift 2
-  run_hook "$@"
-  if [[ $RUN_RC -eq 0 ]]; then
-    fail "$label -- exited 0, so the hook reported Passed having checked nothing. Output: $RUN_OUT"
-  elif [[ "$RUN_OUT" != *"$needle"* ]]; then
-    fail "$label -- exited $RUN_RC but the message lacked '$needle'. Output: $RUN_OUT"
-  else
-    pass "$label"
-  fi
-}
-
-# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-# 1. The call shape itself
-# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-# Asserted as a contract as well as behaviourally, because the behavioural
-# symptom of losing arg0 is a GREEN run -- the least likely thing to be noticed.
-echo "--- the hook passes an arg0 placeholder so pre-commit's filenames land in \"\$@\" ---"
-if [[ "$ENTRY" != "bash" ]]; then
-  fail "entry is '$ENTRY', not bash -- the arg0 reasoning below assumes bash -c"
-elif [[ ${#ARGS[@]} -lt 3 ]]; then
-  fail "args has ${#ARGS[@]} entries; a 'bash -c <script>' hook needs a third, the arg0 placeholder, or the first filename is dropped from \"\$@\""
-elif [[ "${ARGS[0]}" != "-c" ]]; then
-  fail "args[0] is '${ARGS[0]}', not -c"
-elif [[ "${ARGS[2]}" == -* ]]; then
-  fail "args[2] is '${ARGS[2]}', which bash will read as a flag rather than as \$0"
-else
-  pass "args is [-c, <script>, '${ARGS[2]}'] -- the third entry becomes \$0 and every filename reaches \"\$@\""
-fi
-
-FILES_PATTERN="$(python3 -c 'import json,sys; print(json.load(open(sys.argv[1]))["files"] or "")' "$HOOK_JSON")"
-PASS_FILENAMES="$(python3 -c 'import json,sys; print(json.load(open(sys.argv[1]))["pass_filenames"])' "$HOOK_JSON")"
-echo ""
-echo "--- the hook is filename-driven, so the loop is the only thing that ever runs ---"
-if [[ "$PASS_FILENAMES" != "True" ]]; then
-  fail "pass_filenames is $PASS_FILENAMES; with no filenames the loop body never executes and the hook is a permanent no-op"
-elif [[ "$FILES_PATTERN" != '^plugins/[^/]+/\.apm/skills/[^/]+/SKILL\.md$' ]]; then
-  fail "files: is '$FILES_PATTERN', not the .apm/ skill scope -- ADR-0020's gates and this one must agree on scope"
-else
-  pass "pass_filenames is on and files: is the .apm/ skill scope"
-fi
-
-# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-# 2. A single bad file, on its own -- THE regression
-# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-# This is the shipped bug in one line: one file, which is what a commit
-# touching one skill hands the hook. Before the arg0 fix the file landed in $0,
-# "$@" was empty, and this exited 0.
-echo ""
-echo "--- a SINGLE bad file fails (before the arg0 fix this exited 0 having read nothing) ---"
-write_skill "$TMPDIR_T/single/SKILL.md" 'name: single
-description: Missing its metadata block entirely.'
-assert_fails_with "one file with no metadata block is rejected" "missing required frontmatter fields" "$TMPDIR_T/single/SKILL.md"
-
-echo ""
-echo "--- and a single GOOD file still passes, so the case above is not failing for some other reason ---"
-write_skill "$TMPDIR_T/single-ok/SKILL.md" "$VALID_FM"
-assert_passes "one valid file passes" "$TMPDIR_T/single-ok/SKILL.md"
-
-# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-# 3. Position within the argument list must not matter
-# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-echo ""
-echo "--- the bad file is caught wherever it sits in the argument list ---"
-write_skill "$TMPDIR_T/ok-a/SKILL.md" "$VALID_FM"
-write_skill "$TMPDIR_T/ok-b/SKILL.md" "$VALID_FM"
-write_skill "$TMPDIR_T/bad/SKILL.md" 'name: bad
-description: No metadata block.'
-
-assert_fails_with "bad file FIRST is caught" "$TMPDIR_T/bad/SKILL.md" \
-  "$TMPDIR_T/bad/SKILL.md" "$TMPDIR_T/ok-a/SKILL.md" "$TMPDIR_T/ok-b/SKILL.md"
-assert_fails_with "bad file LAST is caught (the loop reaches the end of \"\$@\")" "$TMPDIR_T/bad/SKILL.md" \
-  "$TMPDIR_T/ok-a/SKILL.md" "$TMPDIR_T/ok-b/SKILL.md" "$TMPDIR_T/bad/SKILL.md"
-assert_passes "three valid files pass" "$TMPDIR_T/ok-a/SKILL.md" "$TMPDIR_T/ok-b/SKILL.md" "$TMPDIR_T/single-ok/SKILL.md"
-
-# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-# 4. The four grep defects
-# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-echo ""
-echo "--- defect 1: a \`metadata:\` block in a BODY code fence is documentation, not frontmatter ---"
-# skill-author's docs quote a metadata block verbatim. Under the old whole-file
-# grep that quotation satisfied the check for the file quoting it.
-write_skill "$TMPDIR_T/fence/SKILL.md" 'name: fence
-description: Frontmatter has no metadata block; the body quotes one.' '# Fence
-
-Skills declare their version like this:
-
-```yaml
-metadata:
-  version: "1.0.0"
-```'
-assert_fails_with "a quoted metadata block in the body does not satisfy metadata.version" "missing required frontmatter fields" "$TMPDIR_T/fence/SKILL.md"
-
-echo ""
-echo "--- ... and the same for name: and description: quoted in the body ---"
-write_skill "$TMPDIR_T/fence-keys/SKILL.md" 'metadata:
-  version: "1.0.0"' '# Fence keys
-
-```yaml
-name: not-the-real-name
-description: not the real description
-```'
-assert_fails_with "body-fenced name:/description: do not satisfy the presence checks" "name: description:" "$TMPDIR_T/fence-keys/SKILL.md"
-
-echo ""
-echo "--- defect 2: a \`version:\` under a following \`source:\` list is not metadata.version ---"
-# `-A10` ran ten lines past `metadata:` regardless of where the block ended.
-# write-docs and research both carry a `source:` list immediately after it.
-write_skill "$TMPDIR_T/source-list/SKILL.md" 'name: source-list
-description: metadata has no version; the next top-level key does.
-metadata:
-  author: someone
-source:
-  - name: upstream
-    version: "2.3.4"'
-assert_fails_with "a version: belonging to source[] does not satisfy metadata.version" "missing required frontmatter fields" "$TMPDIR_T/source-list/SKILL.md"
-
-echo ""
-echo "--- defect 3: a deeper-nested \`    version:\` is not metadata.version ---"
-# `grep -q "  version:"` was an unanchored substring match, so any indentation
-# of two spaces or more matched.
-write_skill "$TMPDIR_T/deep-indent/SKILL.md" 'name: deep-indent
-description: The only version: key sits one level too deep.
-metadata:
-  provenance:
-    version: "1.0.0"'
-assert_fails_with "a four-space-indented version: does not satisfy metadata.version" "missing required frontmatter fields" "$TMPDIR_T/deep-indent/SKILL.md"
-
-echo ""
-echo "--- defect 4: a version: more than ten lines into the metadata block is FOUND ---"
-# The mirror image: the old check reported this one missing.
-write_skill "$TMPDIR_T/long-metadata/SKILL.md" 'name: long-metadata
-description: A long metadata block whose version sits well past line ten.
-metadata:
-  a: 1
-  b: 2
-  c: 3
-  d: 4
-  e: 5
-  f: 6
-  g: 7
-  h: 8
-  i: 9
-  j: 10
-  k: 11
-  version: "1.0.0"'
-assert_passes "a version: 13 lines into the metadata block is found" "$TMPDIR_T/long-metadata/SKILL.md"
-
-# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-# 5. Present is not the same as well formed
-# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-echo ""
-echo "--- a present-but-non-semver version is rejected, with its own message ---"
-# plugins/bin/.apm/skills/write-docs/SKILL.md carried exactly this through a
-# whole PR: the key was present, so a presence-only check had nothing to say.
-write_skill "$TMPDIR_T/two-part/SKILL.md" 'name: two-part
-description: Its version is two-part, which is a float in YAML, not a version.
-metadata:
-  version: "1.0"'
-assert_fails_with "\"1.0\" is rejected as malformed, not reported as missing" "malformed frontmatter metadata.version" "$TMPDIR_T/two-part/SKILL.md"
-
-echo ""
-echo "--- ... and the malformed message quotes the offending value ---"
-run_hook "$TMPDIR_T/two-part/SKILL.md"
-if [[ "$RUN_OUT" == *'"1.0"'* ]]; then
-  pass "the message names the value it rejected"
-else
-  fail "the message did not quote the rejected value. Output: $RUN_OUT"
-fi
-
-echo ""
-echo "--- other non-semver shapes ---"
-write_skill "$TMPDIR_T/empty-version/SKILL.md" 'name: empty-version
-description: The key is present with no value at all.
-metadata:
-  version:'
-assert_fails_with "a valueless version: is rejected" "metadata.version" "$TMPDIR_T/empty-version/SKILL.md"
-
-write_skill "$TMPDIR_T/word-version/SKILL.md" 'name: word-version
-description: A non-numeric version.
-metadata:
-  version: latest'
-assert_fails_with "version: latest is rejected" "malformed frontmatter metadata.version" "$TMPDIR_T/word-version/SKILL.md"
-
-echo ""
-echo "--- an unquoted three-part version is accepted (both YAML spellings are legal) ---"
-write_skill "$TMPDIR_T/unquoted/SKILL.md" 'name: unquoted
-description: An unquoted semver, which YAML reads as a string.
-metadata:
-  version: 0.1.4'
-assert_passes "version: 0.1.4 unquoted passes" "$TMPDIR_T/unquoted/SKILL.md"
-
-# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-# 6. A file that cannot be read as frontmatter must not report green
-# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-echo ""
-echo "--- a file with no frontmatter block fails loudly rather than passing vacuously ---"
-printf '# Just a document\n\nname: not-frontmatter\ndescription: nor this\n' > "$TMPDIR_T/no-fm.md"
-assert_fails_with "a file with no --- block is an error" "no closing YAML frontmatter block" "$TMPDIR_T/no-fm.md"
-
-printf -- '---\nname: unterminated\ndescription: the block is never closed\nmetadata:\n  version: "1.0.0"\n' > "$TMPDIR_T/unterminated.md"
-assert_fails_with "an unterminated frontmatter block is an error" "no closing YAML frontmatter block" "$TMPDIR_T/unterminated.md"
-
-echo ""
-echo "--- a path that does not exist is skipped, not crashed on ---"
-assert_passes "a nonexistent path is ignored" "$TMPDIR_T/nope/SKILL.md"
-
-echo ""
-echo "Results: $PASS passed, $FAIL failed"
-[[ $FAIL -eq 0 ]]
diff --git a/tests/test-skill-size-check.sh b/tests/test-skill-size-check.sh
index ac1bf64..07088e7 100755
--- a/tests/test-skill-size-check.sh
+++ b/tests/test-skill-size-check.sh
@@ -35,6 +35,8 @@ make_fixture() {
     echo "---"
     echo "name: $name"
     echo "description: Test fixture."
+    echo "metadata:"
+    echo "  version: \"1.0.0\""
     echo "---"
     for ((i = 1; i <= lines; i++)); do
       w=""
@@ -173,9 +175,11 @@ make_line_fixture() {
     echo "---"
     echo "name: $name"
     echo "description: Test fixture."
+    echo "metadata:"
+    echo "  version: \"1.0.0\""
     echo "---"
   } > "$file"
-  body_lines=$((total_lines - 4))
+  body_lines=$((total_lines - 6))
   for ((i = 1; i <= body_lines; i++)); do
     echo "word"
   done >> "$file"
@@ -228,6 +232,8 @@ make_word_fixture() {
     echo "---"
     echo "name: $name"
     echo "description: Test fixture."
+    echo "metadata:"
+    echo "  version: \"1.0.0\""
     echo "notes:$padding"
     echo "---"
     echo ""
@@ -241,6 +247,8 @@ make_word_fixture() {
     echo "---"
     echo "name: $name"
     echo "description: Test fixture."
+    echo "metadata:"
+    echo "  version: \"1.0.0\""
     echo "notes:$padding"
     echo "---"
     echo ""
@@ -287,6 +295,8 @@ make_budget_fixture() {
     echo "---"
     echo "name: $name"
     echo "description: $desc"
+    echo "metadata:"
+    echo "  version: \"1.0.0\""
     echo "---"
     echo ""
     python3 -c "print(' '.join(['word'] * $body_words))"
@@ -352,6 +362,8 @@ make_tree_fixture() {
       echo "---"
       echo "name: $(basename "$sib")"
       echo "description: Use when doing the other thing. Do not use for anything else."
+      echo "metadata:"
+      echo "  version: \"1.0.0\""
       echo "---"
       echo ""
       echo "Do the thing."
@@ -361,6 +373,8 @@ make_tree_fixture() {
     echo "---"
     echo "name: $label"
     echo "description: $desc"
+    echo "metadata:"
+    echo "  version: \"1.0.0\""
     echo "---"
     echo ""
     python3 -c "print(' '.join(['word'] * $body_words))"
@@ -518,6 +532,8 @@ make_hand_invoked_fixture() {
     echo "name: $name"
     echo "description: $desc"
     echo "disable-model-invocation: true"
+    echo "metadata:"
+    echo "  version: \"1.0.0\""
     echo "---"
     echo ""
     python3 -c "print(' '.join(['word'] * $body_words))"
@@ -577,6 +593,8 @@ HAND_FALSE="$TMPDIR/hand-false.md"
   echo "name: hand-false"
   echo "description: $HAND_DESC"
   echo "disable-model-invocation: false"
+  echo "metadata:"
+  echo "  version: \"1.0.0\""
   echo "---"
   echo ""
   echo "Do the thing."
@@ -851,6 +869,8 @@ cat > "$LOCALE_SKILL/SKILL.md" <<'LOCALEEOF'
 ---
 name: locale-skill
 description: A valid skill description that is well within the limit.
+metadata:
+  version: "1.0.0"
 ---
 
 ## Step 1
diff --git a/tests/test-vale-hooks-consumer.sh b/tests/test-vale-hooks-consumer.sh
index c348794..e705480 100755
--- a/tests/test-vale-hooks-consumer.sh
+++ b/tests/test-vale-hooks-consumer.sh
@@ -77,6 +77,8 @@ name: demo
 description: >
   Use when the caller wants a demonstration skill $skill_body across two
   physical lines of one folded block scalar.
+metadata:
+  version: "1.0.0"
 ---
 
 Body.