diff --git a/apps/shared/package.json b/apps/shared/package.json
index 2a2f46ef73d..e3482d8a466 100644
--- a/apps/shared/package.json
+++ b/apps/shared/package.json
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
     "./billing": "./src/billing-types.ts",
     "./billing-policy": "./src/billing-policy.ts",
     "./charge-settlement": "./src/charge-settlement.ts",
+    "./skill-scaffold": "./src/skill-scaffold.ts",
     "./skin": "./src/skin.ts"
   },
   "types": "./src/index.ts",
diff --git a/apps/shared/src/index.ts b/apps/shared/src/index.ts
index 21c40a716db..2339c97716f 100644
--- a/apps/shared/src/index.ts
+++ b/apps/shared/src/index.ts
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ export {
   JsonRpcGatewayClient,
   type WebSocketLike
 } from './json-rpc-gateway'
+export { dispatchDisplayText, skillInvocationText } from './skill-scaffold'
 export {
   type HermesSkin,
   SKIN_BRANDING_TOKENS,
diff --git a/apps/shared/src/skill-scaffold.test.ts b/apps/shared/src/skill-scaffold.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..954ff41a6c9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/shared/src/skill-scaffold.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
+
+import { skillInvocationText } from './skill-scaffold'
+
+// Byte-identical to what agent/skill_commands.py emits — a desktop/TUI talking
+// to an older gateway sees exactly these strings.
+const BODY = 'SPIN UP A WORKTREE. Never edit the primary checkout.\n'.repeat(20)
+
+const singleSkill = (instruction?: string) =>
+  [
+    '[IMPORTANT: The user has invoked the "work" skill, indicating they want you to follow its instructions.',
+    'The full skill content is loaded below.]',
+    '',
+    BODY,
+    '',
+    '[Skill directory: /Users/x/skills/work]',
+    ...(instruction
+      ? ['', `The user has provided the following instruction alongside the skill invocation: ${instruction}`]
+      : [])
+  ].join('\n')
+
+const bundle = (instruction?: string) =>
+  [
+    '[IMPORTANT: The user has invoked the "/clean /work" stacked skill bundle, loading 2 skills together.]',
+    '',
+    'Skills loaded: clean, work',
+    ...(instruction ? ['', `User instruction: ${instruction}`] : []),
+    '',
+    '[Loaded as part of the stacked skill invocation "clean".]',
+    '',
+    BODY
+  ].join('\n')
+
+describe('skillInvocationText', () => {
+  it('renders a single-skill turn as the invocation, never the body', () => {
+    const projected = skillInvocationText(singleSkill('fix the title leak'))
+
+    expect(projected).toBe('/work fix the title leak')
+    expect(projected).not.toContain('WORKTREE')
+  })
+
+  it('renders a bare invocation as just the command', () => {
+    expect(skillInvocationText(singleSkill())).toBe('/work')
+  })
+
+  it('renders a bundle turn as the typed keys plus the instruction', () => {
+    const projected = skillInvocationText(bundle('ship it'))
+
+    expect(projected).toBe('/clean /work ship it')
+    expect(projected).not.toContain('WORKTREE')
+  })
+
+  it('collapses newlines in a multi-line instruction so the bubble stays one line', () => {
+    expect(skillInvocationText(singleSkill('fix the leak\n\nthen ship'))).toBe('/work fix the leak then ship')
+  })
+
+  it('leaves ordinary user prose alone', () => {
+    expect(skillInvocationText('just a normal message')).toBeNull()
+    expect(skillInvocationText('[IMPORTANT: read the docs]')).toBeNull()
+  })
+})
diff --git a/apps/shared/src/skill-scaffold.ts b/apps/shared/src/skill-scaffold.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..a06ce3d567a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/shared/src/skill-scaffold.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+/**
+ * A `/skill` invocation expands into a model-facing message that embeds the
+ * whole skill body. That payload is for the agent — the UI shows the
+ * invocation the user typed (`/work fix the leak`) and nothing else.
+ *
+ * The gateway already projects this (see `_skill_scaffold_projection` in
+ * tui_gateway/server.py) and ships the result as `display` on a dispatch and
+ * as the `text` of a `skill_invocation` history row. This module is the
+ * client-side twin so a desktop/TUI talking to an older gateway — or any
+ * future path that hands raw scaffolding to a bubble — still renders the
+ * invocation instead of the body.
+ *
+ * The markers below mirror `agent/skill_commands.py` byte for byte.
+ */
+
+const INVOCATION_PREFIX = '[IMPORTANT: The user has invoked the '
+const SINGLE_MARKER = 'The full skill content is loaded below.]'
+const SINGLE_INSTRUCTION = 'The user has provided the following instruction alongside the skill invocation: '
+const RUNTIME_NOTE = '\n\n[Runtime note:'
+const BUNDLE_MARKER = ' skill bundle,'
+const BUNDLE_INSTRUCTION = '\nUser instruction: '
+const BUNDLE_SKILL_BLOCK = '\n\n[Loaded as part of the '
+
+// The skill name is the first quoted span of the activation note, for both the
+// single-skill (`work`) and the bundle (`/clean /work`) header.
+const NAME_RE = new RegExp(`^${INVOCATION_PREFIX.replace(/[[\]]/g, '\\$&')}"([^"]*)"`)
+
+/** Text between `marker` and `end`, or '' when the marker is absent. */
+function between(text: string, marker: string, end: string, fromEnd = false): string {
+  const index = fromEnd ? text.lastIndexOf(marker) : text.indexOf(marker)
+
+  if (index < 0) {
+    return ''
+  }
+
+  const tail = text.slice(index + marker.length)
+  const stop = tail.indexOf(end)
+
+  return (stop >= 0 ? tail.slice(0, stop) : tail).trim()
+}
+
+/**
+ * The invocation a scaffolded turn came from (`/work fix the leak`), or null
+ * when `text` is ordinary user prose that should render as written.
+ */
+export function skillInvocationText(text: string): null | string {
+  if (!text.startsWith(INVOCATION_PREFIX)) {
+    return null
+  }
+
+  const name = (NAME_RE.exec(text)?.[1] ?? '').trim()
+
+  if (!name) {
+    return null
+  }
+
+  // Bundle headers already carry their typed "/a /b" keys; a single skill is
+  // a bare name. The single-skill instruction trails the body (which may quote
+  // the marker), so match it from the end.
+  const label = name.startsWith('/') ? name : `/${name}`
+
+  const instruction = text.includes(BUNDLE_MARKER)
+    ? between(text, BUNDLE_INSTRUCTION, BUNDLE_SKILL_BLOCK)
+    : text.includes(SINGLE_MARKER)
+      ? between(text, SINGLE_INSTRUCTION, RUNTIME_NOTE, true)
+      : ''
+
+  return instruction ? `${label} ${instruction.replace(/\s+/g, ' ')}` : label
+}
+
+/**
+ * What a skill/bundle dispatch should render as. Prefers the gateway's own
+ * projection; falls back to reading the payload for an older gateway that
+ * doesn't send one. Undefined for an ordinary send, which renders as written.
+ */
+export function dispatchDisplayText(display: string | undefined, message: string): string | undefined {
+  return display?.trim() || skillInvocationText(message) || undefined
+}