diff --git a/agent/skill_commands.py b/agent/skill_commands.py
index c8b7d039c46f..42e7c857434f 100644
--- a/agent/skill_commands.py
+++ b/agent/skill_commands.py
@@ -425,7 +425,7 @@ def build_skill_invocation_message(
 
     loaded = _load_skill_payload(skill_info["skill_dir"], task_id=task_id)
     if not loaded:
-        return f"[Failed to load skill: {skill_info['name']}]"
+        return None
 
     loaded_skill, skill_dir, skill_name = loaded
 
diff --git a/tests/agent/test_skill_commands.py b/tests/agent/test_skill_commands.py
index bbecd5c43f61..c11976ef9786 100644
--- a/tests/agent/test_skill_commands.py
+++ b/tests/agent/test_skill_commands.py
@@ -466,6 +466,14 @@ def test_returns_none_for_unknown(self, tmp_path):
             msg = build_skill_invocation_message("/nonexistent")
         assert msg is None
 
+    def test_returns_none_when_skill_load_fails(self, tmp_path):
+        with patch("tools.skills_tool.SKILLS_DIR", tmp_path):
+            _make_skill(tmp_path, "broken-skill")
+            scan_skill_commands()
+            with patch("agent.skill_commands._load_skill_payload", return_value=None):
+                msg = build_skill_invocation_message("/broken-skill", "do stuff")
+        assert msg is None
+
     def test_uses_shared_skill_loader_for_secure_setup(self, tmp_path, monkeypatch):
         monkeypatch.delenv("TENOR_API_KEY", raising=False)
         calls = []