diff --git a/hermes_cli/config.py b/hermes_cli/config.py
index 6d4c49fd4..fd19adae9 100644
--- a/hermes_cli/config.py
+++ b/hermes_cli/config.py
@@ -760,6 +760,17 @@ DEFAULT_CONFIG = {
         "inline_shell": False,
         # Timeout (seconds) for each !`cmd` snippet when inline_shell is on.
         "inline_shell_timeout": 10,
+        # Run the keyword/pattern security scanner on skills the agent
+        # writes via skill_manage (create/edit/patch).  Off by default
+        # because the agent can already execute the same code paths via
+        # terminal() with no gate, so the scan adds friction (blocks
+        # skills that mention risky keywords in prose) without meaningful
+        # security.  Turn on if you want the belt-and-suspenders — a
+        # dangerous verdict will then surface as a tool error to the
+        # agent, which can retry with the flagged content removed.
+        # External hub installs (trusted/community sources) are always
+        # scanned regardless of this setting.
+        "guard_agent_created": False,
     },
 
     # Honcho AI-native memory -- reads ~/.honcho/config.json as single source of truth.
diff --git a/tests/tools/test_skill_manager_tool.py b/tests/tools/test_skill_manager_tool.py
index dd0ae17f8..9918a826c 100644
--- a/tests/tools/test_skill_manager_tool.py
+++ b/tests/tools/test_skill_manager_tool.py
@@ -484,3 +484,85 @@ class TestSkillManageDispatcher:
             raw = skill_manage(action="create", name="test-skill", content=VALID_SKILL_CONTENT)
         result = json.loads(raw)
         assert result["success"] is True
+
+
+class TestSecurityScanGate:
+    """_security_scan_skill is gated by skills.guard_agent_created config flag."""
+
+    def test_scan_noop_when_flag_off(self, tmp_path):
+        """Default config (flag off) short-circuits before running scan_skill."""
+        from tools.skill_manager_tool import _security_scan_skill
+
+        with patch("tools.skill_manager_tool._guard_agent_created_enabled", return_value=False), \
+             patch("tools.skill_manager_tool.scan_skill") as mock_scan:
+            result = _security_scan_skill(tmp_path)
+
+        assert result is None
+        mock_scan.assert_not_called()  # scan never ran
+
+    def test_scan_runs_when_flag_on(self, tmp_path):
+        """When flag is on, scan_skill is invoked and its verdict is honored."""
+        from tools.skill_manager_tool import _security_scan_skill
+        from tools.skills_guard import ScanResult
+
+        # Fake a safe scan result — caller should return None (allow)
+        fake_result = ScanResult(
+            skill_name="test",
+            source="agent-created",
+            trust_level="agent-created",
+            verdict="safe",
+            findings=[],
+            summary="ok",
+        )
+        with patch("tools.skill_manager_tool._guard_agent_created_enabled", return_value=True), \
+             patch("tools.skill_manager_tool.scan_skill", return_value=fake_result) as mock_scan:
+            result = _security_scan_skill(tmp_path)
+
+        assert result is None
+        mock_scan.assert_called_once()
+
+    def test_scan_blocks_dangerous_when_flag_on(self, tmp_path):
+        """Dangerous verdict + flag on → returns an error string for the agent."""
+        from tools.skill_manager_tool import _security_scan_skill
+        from tools.skills_guard import ScanResult, Finding
+
+        finding = Finding(
+            pattern_id="test", severity="critical", category="exfiltration",
+            file="SKILL.md", line=1, match="curl $TOKEN", description="test",
+        )
+        fake_result = ScanResult(
+            skill_name="test",
+            source="agent-created",
+            trust_level="agent-created",
+            verdict="dangerous",
+            findings=[finding],
+            summary="dangerous",
+        )
+        with patch("tools.skill_manager_tool._guard_agent_created_enabled", return_value=True), \
+             patch("tools.skill_manager_tool.scan_skill", return_value=fake_result):
+            result = _security_scan_skill(tmp_path)
+
+        assert result is not None
+        assert "Security scan blocked" in result
+
+    def test_guard_flag_reads_config_default_false(self):
+        """_guard_agent_created_enabled returns False when config doesn't set it."""
+        from tools.skill_manager_tool import _guard_agent_created_enabled
+
+        with patch("hermes_cli.config.load_config", return_value={"skills": {}}):
+            assert _guard_agent_created_enabled() is False
+
+    def test_guard_flag_reads_config_when_set(self):
+        """_guard_agent_created_enabled returns True when user explicitly enables."""
+        from tools.skill_manager_tool import _guard_agent_created_enabled
+
+        with patch("hermes_cli.config.load_config",
+                   return_value={"skills": {"guard_agent_created": True}}):
+            assert _guard_agent_created_enabled() is True
+
+    def test_guard_flag_handles_config_error(self):
+        """If load_config raises, _guard_agent_created_enabled defaults to False (fail-safe off)."""
+        from tools.skill_manager_tool import _guard_agent_created_enabled
+
+        with patch("hermes_cli.config.load_config", side_effect=RuntimeError("boom")):
+            assert _guard_agent_created_enabled() is False
diff --git a/tests/tools/test_skills_guard.py b/tests/tools/test_skills_guard.py
index 12c527ca7..ccc55da20 100644
--- a/tests/tools/test_skills_guard.py
+++ b/tests/tools/test_skills_guard.py
@@ -174,27 +174,24 @@ class TestShouldAllowInstall:
         assert allowed is True
         assert "agent-created" in reason
 
-    def test_dangerous_agent_created_allowed(self):
-        """Agent-created skills bypass verdict gating — agent can already
-        execute the same code via terminal(), so skill_manage allows all
-        verdicts. This prevents friction when the agent writes skills that
-        mention risky keywords in prose (e.g. describing cache-busting or
-        persistence semantics in a PR-review skill)."""
+    def test_dangerous_agent_created_asks(self):
+        """Agent-created skills with dangerous verdict return None (ask for confirmation)
+        when the scan runs. The caller (_security_scan_skill) surfaces this as an error
+        to the agent, who can retry without the flagged content.
+
+        This gate only runs when skills.guard_agent_created is enabled (off by default)."""
         f = [Finding("env_exfil_curl", "critical", "exfiltration", "SKILL.md", 1, "curl $TOKEN", "exfiltration")]
         allowed, reason = should_allow_install(self._result("agent-created", "dangerous", f))
-        assert allowed is True
-        assert "agent-created" in reason
+        assert allowed is None
+        assert "Requires confirmation" in reason
 
-    def test_force_noop_for_agent_created_dangerous(self):
-        """With agent-created dangerous mapped to 'allow', force becomes a
-        no-op — the allow branch returns first. Force still works for any
-        trust level that maps to block (community/trusted)."""
+    def test_force_overrides_dangerous_for_agent_created(self):
         f = [Finding("x", "critical", "c", "f", 1, "m", "d")]
         allowed, reason = should_allow_install(
             self._result("agent-created", "dangerous", f), force=True
         )
         assert allowed is True
-        assert "agent-created" in reason
+        assert "Force-installed" in reason
 
 
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
diff --git a/tools/skill_manager_tool.py b/tools/skill_manager_tool.py
index 493b434c5..c28f421a7 100644
--- a/tools/skill_manager_tool.py
+++ b/tools/skill_manager_tool.py
@@ -44,8 +44,8 @@ from typing import Dict, Any, Optional, Tuple
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
-# Import security scanner — agent-created skills get the same scrutiny as
-# community hub installs.
+# Import security scanner — external hub installs always get scanned;
+# agent-created skills only get scanned when skills.guard_agent_created is on.
 try:
     from tools.skills_guard import scan_skill, should_allow_install, format_scan_report
     _GUARD_AVAILABLE = True
@@ -53,10 +53,31 @@ except ImportError:
     _GUARD_AVAILABLE = False
 
 
+def _guard_agent_created_enabled() -> bool:
+    """Read skills.guard_agent_created from config (default False).
+
+    Off by default because the agent can already execute the same code
+    paths via terminal() with no gate, so the scan adds friction without
+    meaningful security.  Users who want belt-and-suspenders can turn it
+    on via `hermes config set skills.guard_agent_created true`.
+    """
+    try:
+        from hermes_cli.config import load_config
+        cfg = load_config()
+        return bool(cfg.get("skills", {}).get("guard_agent_created", False))
+    except Exception:
+        return False
+
+
 def _security_scan_skill(skill_dir: Path) -> Optional[str]:
-    """Scan a skill directory after write. Returns error string if blocked, else None."""
+    """Scan a skill directory after write. Returns error string if blocked, else None.
+
+    No-op when skills.guard_agent_created is disabled (the default).
+    """
     if not _GUARD_AVAILABLE:
         return None
+    if not _guard_agent_created_enabled():
+        return None
     try:
         result = scan_skill(skill_dir, source="agent-created")
         allowed, reason = should_allow_install(result)
@@ -65,7 +86,8 @@ def _security_scan_skill(skill_dir: Path) -> Optional[str]:
             return f"Security scan blocked this skill ({reason}):\n{report}"
         if allowed is None:
             # "ask" verdict — for agent-created skills this means dangerous
-            # findings were detected.  Block the skill and include the report.
+            # findings were detected.  Surface as an error so the agent can
+            # retry with the flagged content removed.
             report = format_scan_report(result)
             logger.warning("Agent-created skill blocked (dangerous findings): %s", reason)
             return f"Security scan blocked this skill ({reason}):\n{report}"
diff --git a/tools/skills_guard.py b/tools/skills_guard.py
index fadbb8173..ffb965b52 100644
--- a/tools/skills_guard.py
+++ b/tools/skills_guard.py
@@ -43,11 +43,11 @@ INSTALL_POLICY = {
     "builtin":       ("allow",  "allow",   "allow"),
     "trusted":       ("allow",  "allow",   "block"),
     "community":     ("allow",  "block",   "block"),
-    # Agent-created skills run in the same process as the agent that
-    # wrote them — the agent could already execute the same code via
-    # terminal(), so a dangerous-pattern gate on skill_manage adds
-    # friction without meaningful security. Allow all verdicts.
-    "agent-created": ("allow",  "allow",   "allow"),
+    # Agent-created: "ask" on dangerous surfaces as an error to the agent,
+    # which can retry without the flagged content. This gate only runs when
+    # skills.guard_agent_created is enabled (off by default) — see
+    # tools/skill_manager_tool.py::_guard_agent_created_enabled.
+    "agent-created": ("allow",  "allow",   "ask"),
 }
 
 VERDICT_INDEX = {"safe": 0, "caution": 1, "dangerous": 2}