diff --git a/src/features/builtin-skills/skill-file-loader.test.ts b/src/features/builtin-skills/skill-file-loader.test.ts
index 6ad2ae87f..eb77810db 100644
--- a/src/features/builtin-skills/skill-file-loader.test.ts
+++ b/src/features/builtin-skills/skill-file-loader.test.ts
@@ -40,6 +40,30 @@ describe("shared builtin skill file loader", () => {
     expect(reads).toHaveLength(1)
   })
 
+  test("#given source and bundled layouts #when loading shared skill templates #then both package-relative paths resolve", () => {
+    // given
+    const expectedContent = "---\nname: layout\n---\nLayout body"
+    const createMissingFileError = (): Error => {
+      const error = new Error("ENOENT missing SKILL.md")
+      Object.defineProperty(error, "code", { value: "ENOENT" })
+      return error
+    }
+    const readFile = (path: string): string => {
+      if (path.endsWith("/packages/shared-skills/skills/layout/SKILL.md")) {
+        return expectedContent
+      }
+      throw createMissingFileError()
+    }
+
+    // when
+    const bundledLoader = createSharedSkillTemplateLoader(readFile, "/workspace/dist")
+    const sourceLoader = createSharedSkillTemplateLoader(readFile, "/workspace/src/features/builtin-skills")
+
+    // then
+    expect(bundledLoader("layout")).toBe("Layout body")
+    expect(sourceLoader("layout")).toBe("Layout body")
+  })
+
   test("#given a missing shared skill file #when loading the template #then the loader fails fast", () => {
     // given
     const loader = createSharedSkillTemplateLoader(() => {
diff --git a/src/features/builtin-skills/skill-file-loader.ts b/src/features/builtin-skills/skill-file-loader.ts
index 200798886..64a6fc4c5 100644
--- a/src/features/builtin-skills/skill-file-loader.ts
+++ b/src/features/builtin-skills/skill-file-loader.ts
@@ -1,28 +1,38 @@
 import { readFileSync } from "node:fs"
-import { join } from "node:path"
+import { dirname, join } from "node:path"
+import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url"
 import { parseFrontmatter } from "../../shared/frontmatter"
-
 type SkillFileReader = (path: string, encoding: "utf8") => string
-
-export function createSharedSkillTemplateLoader(readFile: SkillFileReader = readFileSync): (skillName: string) => string {
+const SHARED_SKILL_PATHS = [
+	["..", "packages", "shared-skills", "skills"],
+	["..", "..", "..", "packages", "shared-skills", "skills"],
+] as const
+const moduleDir = typeof import.meta.dir === "string" ? import.meta.dir : dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url))
+export function createSharedSkillTemplateLoader(
+	readFile: SkillFileReader = readFileSync,
+	baseDir: string = moduleDir,
+): (skillName: string) => string {
 	const cache = new Map<string, string>()
-
 	return (skillName) => {
 		const cached = cache.get(skillName)
-		if (cached !== undefined) {
-			return cached
+		if (cached !== undefined) return cached
+		let missingFileError: unknown
+		for (const segments of SHARED_SKILL_PATHS) {
+			try {
+				const { body } = parseFrontmatter(readFile(join(baseDir, ...segments, skillName, "SKILL.md"), "utf8"))
+				cache.set(skillName, body)
+				return body
+			} catch (error) {
+				if (!(error instanceof Error && Reflect.get(error, "code") === "ENOENT")) {
+					throw error
+				}
+				missingFileError ??= error
+			}
 		}
-
-		const skillPath = join(import.meta.dir, "..", "..", "..", "packages", "shared-skills", "skills", skillName, "SKILL.md")
-		const content = readFile(skillPath, "utf8")
-		const { body } = parseFrontmatter(content)
-		cache.set(skillName, body)
-		return body
+		throw missingFileError ?? new Error(`missing shared skill template: ${skillName}`)
 	}
 }
-
 const loadSharedSkillTemplateFromDisk = createSharedSkillTemplateLoader()
-
 export function loadSharedSkillTemplate(skillName: string): string {
 	return loadSharedSkillTemplateFromDisk(skillName)
 }