diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/composer-utils.ts b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/composer-utils.ts
index 7939be35b6b6..547a210f06f0 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/composer-utils.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/composer-utils.ts
@@ -50,6 +50,9 @@ export function slashChipKindForItem(item: Unstable_TriggerItem): SlashChipKind
   return 'command'
 }
 
+/** True for a skill completion — the only kind offered mid-message. */
+export const isSkillItem = (item: Unstable_TriggerItem) => slashChipKindForItem(item) === 'skill'
+
 /** A `/` query is at its arg stage once it's past the command name. */
 export const slashArgStage = (query: string) => query.includes(' ')
 
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/hooks/use-composer-trigger.test.ts b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/hooks/use-composer-trigger.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..c356fae3af84
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/hooks/use-composer-trigger.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,123 @@
+import type { Unstable_TriggerAdapter, Unstable_TriggerItem } from '@assistant-ui/core'
+import { act, renderHook } from '@testing-library/react'
+import { createRef } from 'react'
+import { describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
+
+import { composerPlainText, renderComposerContents, RICH_INPUT_SLOT } from '../rich-editor'
+
+import { useComposerTrigger } from './use-composer-trigger'
+
+/** A live contentEditable seeded with `text`, caret parked at the end. */
+function mountEditor(text: string) {
+  const editor = document.createElement('div')
+  editor.dataset.slot = RICH_INPUT_SLOT
+  editor.contentEditable = 'true'
+  document.body.append(editor)
+  renderComposerContents(editor, text)
+
+  const range = document.createRange()
+  range.selectNodeContents(editor)
+  range.collapse(false)
+  const selection = window.getSelection()!
+  selection.removeAllRanges()
+  selection.addRange(range)
+
+  return editor
+}
+
+const item = (command: string, group = 'Skills'): Unstable_TriggerItem => ({
+  id: command,
+  type: 'slash',
+  label: command.slice(1),
+  metadata: { command, display: command, meta: '', group, action: '', rawText: command }
+})
+
+function mountTrigger(editor: HTMLDivElement, items: Unstable_TriggerItem[]) {
+  const editorRef = createRef<HTMLDivElement>() as { current: HTMLDivElement | null }
+  editorRef.current = editor
+
+  const draftRef = { current: composerPlainText(editor) }
+
+  const adapter: Unstable_TriggerAdapter = {
+    categories: () => [],
+    categoryItems: () => [],
+    search: () => items
+  }
+
+  const setComposerText = vi.fn()
+
+  const hook = renderHook(() =>
+    useComposerTrigger({
+      at: { adapter: null, loading: false },
+      draftRef,
+      editorRef,
+      requestMainFocus: vi.fn(),
+      setComposerText,
+      slash: { adapter, loading: false }
+    })
+  )
+
+  return { draftRef, hook, setComposerText }
+}
+
+describe('useComposerTrigger — slash anywhere in the prompt', () => {
+  it('opens the completion list for a slash typed mid-message', () => {
+    const editor = mountEditor('please run /cle')
+    const { hook } = mountTrigger(editor, [item('/clean')])
+
+    act(() => hook.result.current.refreshTrigger())
+
+    expect(hook.result.current.trigger).toMatchObject({ kind: '/', inline: true, query: 'cle' })
+    expect(hook.result.current.triggerItems).toHaveLength(1)
+  })
+
+  it('inserts the picked skill inline and keeps the surrounding prose intact', () => {
+    const editor = mountEditor('please run /cle')
+    const { hook } = mountTrigger(editor, [item('/clean')])
+
+    act(() => hook.result.current.refreshTrigger())
+    act(() => hook.result.current.replaceTriggerWithChip(item('/clean')))
+
+    // The `/cle` the user typed is replaced by the full command; "please run"
+    // in front of it survives untouched.
+    expect(composerPlainText(editor)).toBe('please run /clean ')
+  })
+
+  it('offers only skills mid-message, not app commands', () => {
+    // `/model` and `/new` act on the app — meaningless as a reference in prose.
+    const editor = mountEditor('please run /')
+    const { hook } = mountTrigger(editor, [item('/clean'), item('/model', 'Commands'), item('/new', 'Commands')])
+
+    act(() => hook.result.current.refreshTrigger())
+
+    expect(hook.result.current.triggerItems.map(i => i.label)).toEqual(['clean'])
+  })
+
+  it('still offers the full command set at the start of the prompt', () => {
+    const editor = mountEditor('/')
+    const { hook } = mountTrigger(editor, [item('/clean'), item('/model', 'Commands')])
+
+    act(() => hook.result.current.refreshTrigger())
+
+    expect(hook.result.current.triggerItems.map(i => i.label)).toEqual(['clean', 'model'])
+  })
+
+  it('still opens the list for a slash at the start of the prompt', () => {
+    const editor = mountEditor('/cle')
+    const { hook } = mountTrigger(editor, [item('/clean')])
+
+    act(() => hook.result.current.refreshTrigger())
+
+    expect(hook.result.current.trigger).toMatchObject({ kind: '/', query: 'cle' })
+    expect(hook.result.current.trigger?.inline).toBeUndefined()
+  })
+
+  it('leaves a mid-message file path alone', () => {
+    const editor = mountEditor('open src/foo/bar')
+    const { hook } = mountTrigger(editor, [item('/clean')])
+
+    act(() => hook.result.current.refreshTrigger())
+
+    expect(hook.result.current.trigger).toBeNull()
+  })
+})
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/hooks/use-composer-trigger.ts b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/hooks/use-composer-trigger.ts
index 20abc03309f5..3c22fddb6348 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/hooks/use-composer-trigger.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/hooks/use-composer-trigger.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,13 @@ import { type MutableRefObject, type RefObject, useCallback, useEffect, useRef,
 import { hermesDirectiveFormatter } from '@/components/assistant-ui/directive-text'
 import { desktopSlashCommandTakesArgs } from '@/lib/desktop-slash-commands'
 
-import { COMPLETION_ACTIONS, slashArgStage, slashChipKindForItem, slashCommandToken } from '../composer-utils'
+import {
+  COMPLETION_ACTIONS,
+  isSkillItem,
+  slashArgStage,
+  slashChipKindForItem,
+  slashCommandToken
+} from '../composer-utils'
 import {
   composerPlainText,
   placeCaretEnd,
@@ -112,7 +118,13 @@ export function useComposerTrigger({
       return
     }
 
-    setTriggerItems(triggerAdapter.search(trigger.query))
+    const items = triggerAdapter.search(trigger.query)
+
+    // Mid-message only offers SKILLS. A built-in like `/model` or `/new` acts
+    // on the app, so it's meaningless as a reference inside prose — only a
+    // skill reads as "handle this part with X". Filtering here rather than in
+    // the fetcher keeps one completion source for both shapes.
+    setTriggerItems(trigger.inline ? items.filter(isSkillItem) : items)
   }, [trigger, triggerAdapter])
 
   const triggerLoading = trigger?.kind === '@' ? at.loading : trigger?.kind === '/' ? slash.loading : false
@@ -191,10 +203,13 @@ export function useComposerTrigger({
     // Picking a bare arg-taking command (e.g. `/personality`) shouldn't commit
     // it — expand to its options step so the popover shows the inline list, just
     // as typing `/personality ` by hand would. A serialized value with a space is
-    // already an arg pick (`/personality alice`), so it commits normally.
+    // already an arg pick (`/personality alice`), so it commits normally. An
+    // inline (mid-message) pick never expands: it's a reference inside prose, so
+    // there's no command invocation for the args to belong to.
     const command = (item.metadata as { command?: string } | undefined)?.command ?? ''
 
-    const expandsToArgs = trigger.kind === '/' && !serialized.includes(' ') && desktopSlashCommandTakesArgs(command)
+    const expandsToArgs =
+      trigger.kind === '/' && !trigger.inline && !serialized.includes(' ') && desktopSlashCommandTakesArgs(command)
 
     const text = starter || serialized.endsWith(' ') ? serialized : `${serialized} `
     const directive = !starter && serialized.match(/^@([^:]+):(.+)$/)
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/text-utils.test.ts b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/text-utils.test.ts
index 6c6a20780f64..ca2ac8035761 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/text-utils.test.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/text-utils.test.ts
@@ -44,14 +44,25 @@ describe('detectTrigger', () => {
   it('does not treat file-style paths as slash triggers', () => {
     expect(detectTrigger('src/foo/bar')).toBeNull()
     expect(detectTrigger('/path/to/file')).toBeNull()
+    // Mid-message paths stay excluded too: a path keeps going past the command
+    // token, so the trailing-anchored inline trigger never matches it.
+    expect(detectTrigger('check src/foo/bar')).toBeNull()
+    expect(detectTrigger('look at /usr/local/bin')).toBeNull()
+    expect(detectTrigger('and/or')).toBeNull()
   })
 
-  it('does not trigger slash popover mid-message', () => {
-    expect(detectTrigger('hello /')).toBeNull()
-    expect(detectTrigger('hello /skill')).toBeNull()
+  it('treats a mid-message slash as an inline reference', () => {
+    // Skills have to be reachable anywhere in a prompt, not just at position 0.
+    expect(detectTrigger('hello /')).toEqual({ kind: '/', inline: true, query: '', tokenLength: 1 })
+    expect(detectTrigger('hello /clean')).toEqual({ kind: '/', inline: true, query: 'clean', tokenLength: 6 })
+    expect(detectTrigger('text\n/skill')).toEqual({ kind: '/', inline: true, query: 'skill', tokenLength: 6 })
+  })
+
+  it('does not carry arg completion into an inline slash reference', () => {
+    // Only a position-0 slash is a real invocation, so `/personality alic`
+    // mid-message is prose — the trigger ends at the command token.
     expect(detectTrigger('hello there /personality alic')).toBeNull()
-    expect(detectTrigger('text\n/skill')).toBeNull()
-    expect(detectTrigger('multi word message /')).toBeNull()
+    expect(detectTrigger('run /tools enable foo')).toBeNull()
   })
 
   it('still anchors at-mention triggers strictly at the token edge', () => {
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/text-utils.ts b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/text-utils.ts
index b9b6adc07f1e..8bc6663210e5 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/text-utils.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/text-utils.ts
@@ -1,22 +1,35 @@
 import { DATA_IMAGE_URL_RE, dataUrlToBlob } from '@/lib/embedded-images'
 
 export interface TriggerState {
+  /** True for a `/` typed mid-message — an inline skill/command reference in
+   *  prose rather than a command invocation. Arg completion doesn't apply. */
+  inline?: boolean
   kind: '@' | '/'
   query: string
   tokenLength: number
 }
 
 // `@` triggers stop at the first whitespace — `@file:path` and `@diff` are
-// single tokens. `/` triggers keep going so the popover stays live while the
-// user types args (`/personality alic` → arg completer suggests `alice`).
-// Restricting the slash command name to `[a-zA-Z][\w-]*` avoids matching file
-// paths like `src/foo/bar`.
+// single tokens. Restricting the slash command name to `[a-zA-Z][\w-]*` avoids
+// matching file paths like `src/foo/bar`.
 //
-// Slash commands only execute at the beginning of a message, so the `/`
-// trigger is anchored strictly at position 0 — not after whitespace — to
-// avoid opening the popover mid-message (e.g. `hello /`).
+// `/` triggers fire in two shapes, because a slash means two different things
+// depending on where it sits:
+//
+//  - At position 0 it's a COMMAND invocation the app executes (SLASH_COMMAND_RE
+//    is `^`-anchored, and so is the backend's). The popover stays live past the
+//    command name so arg completion works (`/personality alic` → `alice`).
+//  - After whitespace it's an inline REFERENCE the user is dropping into prose
+//    ("clean this up with /clean"). The text submits as an ordinary message, so
+//    there are no args to complete — the trigger is a single token that ends at
+//    the next space, exactly like `@`.
+//
+// The inline shape is what makes skills reachable anywhere in a prompt. Both
+// shapes need the trailing `$`: detection runs against the text BEFORE the
+// caret, so the match must end where the user is typing.
 const AT_TRIGGER_RE = /(?:^|[\s])(@)([^\s@/]*)$/
-const SLASH_TRIGGER_RE = /^(\/)((?:[a-zA-Z][\w-]*(?:\s+\S*)*)?)$/
+const SLASH_COMMAND_TRIGGER_RE = /^(\/)((?:[a-zA-Z][\w-]*(?:\s+\S*)*)?)$/
+const SLASH_INLINE_TRIGGER_RE = /[\s](\/)([a-zA-Z][\w-]*)?$/
 
 /** Stable key for paste dedupe — `items` and `files` often mirror the same image as different objects. */
 export function blobDedupeKey(blob: Blob): string {
@@ -107,10 +120,20 @@ export function textBeforeCaret(editor: HTMLDivElement): string | null {
 }
 
 export function detectTrigger(textBefore: string): TriggerState | null {
-  const slash = SLASH_TRIGGER_RE.exec(textBefore)
+  const command = SLASH_COMMAND_TRIGGER_RE.exec(textBefore)
 
-  if (slash) {
-    return { kind: '/', query: slash[2], tokenLength: 1 + slash[2].length }
+  if (command) {
+    return { kind: '/', query: command[2], tokenLength: 1 + command[2].length }
+  }
+
+  // An inline `/skill` is a reference dropped into prose, so it carries no args
+  // and the whole match is the token the chip replaces.
+  const inline = SLASH_INLINE_TRIGGER_RE.exec(textBefore)
+
+  if (inline) {
+    const query = inline[2] ?? ''
+
+    return { inline: true, kind: '/', query, tokenLength: 1 + query.length }
   }
 
   const at = AT_TRIGGER_RE.exec(textBefore)
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/session-tile.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/session-tile.tsx
index 410cf87e2e42..6ca29e70ade9 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/session-tile.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/session-tile.tsx
@@ -113,7 +113,7 @@ function TileChat({
   storedSessionId: string
   view: SessionView
 }) {
-  const { gatewayRef, requestGateway } = useGatewayRequest()
+  const { gateway, requestGateway } = useGatewayRequest()
   const queryClient = useQueryClient()
   const { selectModel } = useModelControls({ queryClient, requestGateway })
   const activeGatewayProfile = useStore($activeGatewayProfile)
@@ -151,20 +151,20 @@ function TileChat({
     () =>
       gatewayOpen ? (
         <ModelMenuPanel
-          gateway={gatewayRef.current || undefined}
+          gateway={gateway || undefined}
           onSelectModel={selectModel}
           profile={activeGatewayProfile}
           requestGateway={requestGateway}
         />
       ) : null,
-    [activeGatewayProfile, gatewayOpen, gatewayRef, requestGateway, selectModel]
+    [activeGatewayProfile, gateway, gatewayOpen, requestGateway, selectModel]
   )
 
   return (
     <SessionViewProvider value={view}>
       <ComposerScopeProvider value={scope}>
         <ChatView
-          gateway={gatewayRef.current}
+          gateway={gateway}
           modelMenuContent={modelMenuContent}
           onAddContextRef={composer.addContextRefAttachment}
           onAddUrl={url => composer.addContextRefAttachment(`@url:${formatRefValue(url)}`, url)}
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/contrib/wiring.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/app/contrib/wiring.tsx
index e8716bde9262..963fc67c3d0f 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/contrib/wiring.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/contrib/wiring.tsx
@@ -222,7 +222,7 @@ export function ContribWiring({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) {
     setMessages
   })
 
-  const { connectionRef, gatewayRef, requestGateway } = useGatewayRequest()
+  const { connectionRef, gateway, gatewayRef, requestGateway } = useGatewayRequest()
 
   const {
     loadMoreMessagingForPlatform,
@@ -943,13 +943,13 @@ export function ContribWiring({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) {
         />
       )}
       <ModelPickerOverlay
-        gateway={gatewayRef.current || undefined}
+        gateway={gateway || undefined}
         onSelect={selectModel}
         profile={activeGatewayProfile}
       />
       <SessionPickerOverlay onResume={resumeSession} />
       <ModelVisibilityOverlay
-        gateway={gatewayRef.current || undefined}
+        gateway={gateway || undefined}
         onOpenProviders={openProviderSettings}
         profile={activeGatewayProfile}
       />
@@ -965,7 +965,7 @@ export function ContribWiring({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) {
       {settingsOpen && (
         <Suspense fallback={null}>
           <SettingsView
-            gateway={gatewayRef.current}
+            gateway={gateway}
             onClose={closeOverlayToPreviousRoute}
             onConfigSaved={() => {
               void refreshHermesConfig()
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/gateway/hooks/use-gateway-request.test.ts b/apps/desktop/src/app/gateway/hooks/use-gateway-request.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..72ad6a2a2687
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/gateway/hooks/use-gateway-request.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+import { act, renderHook } from '@testing-library/react'
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
+
+import type { HermesGateway } from '@/hermes'
+import { $gateway } from '@/store/gateway'
+
+import { useGatewayRequest } from './use-gateway-request'
+
+const fakeGateway = { connectionState: 'open' } as unknown as HermesGateway
+
+afterEach(() => {
+  $gateway.set(null)
+})
+
+describe('useGatewayRequest', () => {
+  // The composer's `/` completions only exist when ChatBar receives a non-null
+  // gateway PROP. `gatewayRef` is populated by a subscription effect, so it is
+  // still null on the first render — a surface that read the ref while
+  // rendering (session tiles / ⌘T tabs) shipped `gateway={null}` and silently
+  // lost slash completions. The returned `gateway` value must be live
+  // immediately so that never happens again.
+  it('exposes the live gateway on the first render, before effects run', () => {
+    $gateway.set(fakeGateway)
+
+    const { result } = renderHook(() => useGatewayRequest())
+
+    expect(result.current.gateway).toBe(fakeGateway)
+  })
+
+  it('tracks the gateway when the active socket changes', () => {
+    const { result } = renderHook(() => useGatewayRequest())
+
+    expect(result.current.gateway).toBeNull()
+
+    act(() => $gateway.set(fakeGateway))
+
+    expect(result.current.gateway).toBe(fakeGateway)
+  })
+})
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/gateway/hooks/use-gateway-request.ts b/apps/desktop/src/app/gateway/hooks/use-gateway-request.ts
index 76c98c17a230..04f53f785b48 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/gateway/hooks/use-gateway-request.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/gateway/hooks/use-gateway-request.ts
@@ -9,6 +9,14 @@ import { $gatewayState, setConnection } from '@/store/session'
 
 export function useGatewayRequest() {
   const gatewayState = useStore($gatewayState)
+  // Reactive companion to `gatewayRef`. The ref exists so `requestGateway`
+  // keeps a stable identity and always reaches the live socket, but it is only
+  // populated by the subscription effect below — i.e. AFTER the first render.
+  // A component that reads `gatewayRef.current` while rendering therefore sees
+  // null on mount, and if the connection state doesn't happen to flip
+  // afterwards it never re-renders to pick the instance up. Anything that needs
+  // the gateway as a render-time VALUE (props, memo deps) must use this.
+  const gateway = useStore($gateway) as HermesGateway | null
   const gatewayRef = useRef<HermesGateway | null>(null)
 
   const connectionRef = useRef<Awaited<ReturnType<NonNullable<typeof window.hermesDesktop>['getConnection']>> | null>(
@@ -136,5 +144,5 @@ export function useGatewayRequest() {
     [ensureGatewayOpen]
   )
 
-  return { connectionRef, gatewayRef, requestGateway }
+  return { connectionRef, gateway, gatewayRef, requestGateway }
 }
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/components/assistant-ui/directive-text.test.ts b/apps/desktop/src/components/assistant-ui/directive-text.test.ts
index 36ab54d743e7..d5f7074e5d13 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/components/assistant-ui/directive-text.test.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/components/assistant-ui/directive-text.test.ts
@@ -47,3 +47,42 @@ describe('hermesDirectiveFormatter.parse', () => {
     ])
   })
 })
+
+describe('inline skill references', () => {
+  const skills = (text: string) =>
+    [...hermesDirectiveFormatter.parse(text)]
+      .filter(segment => segment.kind === 'mention' && segment.type === 'skill')
+      .map(segment => (segment.kind === 'mention' ? segment.id : ''))
+
+  it('keeps a picked skill a chip in the sent message instead of flattening it', () => {
+    expect(skills('please run /clean on this')).toEqual(['/clean'])
+  })
+
+  it('keeps the surrounding prose as text around the chip', () => {
+    const segments = hermesDirectiveFormatter.parse('tidy this with /clean thanks')
+
+    expect(segments).toEqual([
+      { kind: 'text', text: 'tidy this with ' },
+      { kind: 'mention', type: 'skill', label: 'clean', id: '/clean' },
+      { kind: 'text', text: ' thanks' }
+    ])
+  })
+
+  it('leaves file paths and fractions alone', () => {
+    expect(skills('check src/foo/bar')).toEqual([])
+    expect(skills('look at /usr/local/bin')).toEqual([])
+    expect(skills('roughly 3 /4 of it')).toEqual([])
+  })
+
+  it('does not chip a leading slash — that is a command invocation, not prose', () => {
+    expect(skills('/clean')).toEqual([])
+  })
+
+  it('parses a skill chip alongside an @ reference', () => {
+    const mentions = [...hermesDirectiveFormatter.parse('run /clean on @file:`src/a.ts`')].filter(
+      segment => segment.kind === 'mention'
+    )
+
+    expect(mentions.map(segment => (segment.kind === 'mention' ? segment.type : ''))).toEqual(['skill', 'file'])
+  })
+})
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/components/assistant-ui/directive-text.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/components/assistant-ui/directive-text.tsx
index 6ea2580f16b8..c9a45f2d3f76 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/components/assistant-ui/directive-text.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/components/assistant-ui/directive-text.tsx
@@ -171,6 +171,17 @@ const HERMES_DIRECTIVE_RE = new RegExp(
   'g'
 )
 
+// A skill referenced mid-prose (`clean this up with /clean`). The composer
+// inserts it as a pill, so the sent message renders it as one too rather than
+// flattening back to raw text. Only matches after whitespace — a leading `/`
+// is a command invocation, which never reaches a rendered message as text.
+//
+// Unlike the composer's caret-anchored trigger, this scans finished text, so
+// it must reject a token that continues into a path: `/usr/local/bin` would
+// otherwise chip as `/usr`. `(?![\w-]*\/)` requires the token to end at
+// something other than another slash.
+const SLASH_SKILL_RE = /(?<=\s)\/([a-zA-Z][\w-]*)(?![\w-]*\/)/g
+
 const TRAILING_PUNCTUATION_RE = /[,.;!?]+$/
 
 function unwrapRefValue(raw: string): string {
@@ -269,7 +280,14 @@ function parseDirectiveText(text: string): Unstable_DirectiveSegment[] {
         label: shortLabel(match[1] as HermesRefType, id),
         id
       }
-    })
+    }),
+    ...Array.from(text.matchAll(SLASH_SKILL_RE)).map(match => ({
+      start: match.index ?? 0,
+      end: (match.index ?? 0) + match[0].length,
+      type: 'skill',
+      label: match[1],
+      id: `/${match[1]}`
+    }))
   ]
     .filter(match => match.id)
     .sort((a, b) => a.start - b.start)
@@ -369,6 +387,8 @@ export function DirectiveContent({ text }: { text: string }) {
           <Fragment key={`t-${index}`}>{segment.text}</Fragment>
         ) : segment.type === 'image' ? null : segment.type === 'session' ? (
           <SessionRefChip key={`m-${index}-${segment.id}`} label={segment.label} value={segment.id} />
+        ) : segment.type === 'skill' ? (
+          <SlashChip key={`m-${index}-${segment.id}`} kind="skill" label={segment.label} value={segment.id} />
         ) : (
           <DirectiveChip id={segment.id} key={`m-${index}-${segment.id}`} label={segment.label} type={segment.type} />
         )
@@ -505,6 +525,28 @@ export const SessionRefLink: FC<{
   )
 }
 
+/** A skill referenced inside a sent message — the rendered twin of the
+ *  composer's slash pill, so a picked skill stays a chip after send. */
+const SlashChip: FC<{ kind: SlashChipKind; label: string; value: string }> = ({ kind, label, value }) => (
+  <span className={slashChipClass(kind)} data-slot="aui_slash-chip" title={value}>
+    <svg
+      className="size-3 shrink-0 opacity-80"
+      fill="none"
+      stroke="currentColor"
+      strokeLinecap="round"
+      strokeLinejoin="round"
+      strokeWidth={2}
+      viewBox="0 0 24 24"
+      xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"
+    >
+      {SLASH_ICON_PATHS[kind].map(d => (
+        <path d={d} key={d} />
+      ))}
+    </svg>
+    <span className="truncate">{label}</span>
+  </span>
+)
+
 /** Inert by default; `onClick` promotes the chip to a real button (session
  *  refs, which open the session they name). */
 const DirectiveChip: FC<{