diff --git a/src/services/tools/toolExecution.test.ts b/src/services/tools/toolExecution.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..6c1cfc18
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/services/tools/toolExecution.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+import { describe, expect, test } from 'bun:test'
+
+import { SkillTool } from '../../tools/SkillTool/SkillTool.js'
+import { getSchemaValidationErrorOverride } from './toolExecution.js'
+
+describe('getSchemaValidationErrorOverride', () => {
+  test('returns actionable missing-skill error for SkillTool', () => {
+    expect(getSchemaValidationErrorOverride(SkillTool, {})).toBe(
+      'Missing skill name. Pass the slash command name as the skill parameter (e.g., skill: "commit" for /commit, skill: "review-pr" for /review-pr).',
+    )
+  })
+
+  test('does not override unrelated tool schema failures', () => {
+    expect(getSchemaValidationErrorOverride({ name: 'Read' } as never, {})).toBe(
+      null,
+    )
+  })
+
+  test('does not override SkillTool when skill is present', () => {
+    expect(
+      getSchemaValidationErrorOverride(SkillTool, { skill: 'commit' }),
+    ).toBe(null)
+  })
+})
diff --git a/src/services/tools/toolExecution.ts b/src/services/tools/toolExecution.ts
index 40ef38ec..df170a70 100644
--- a/src/services/tools/toolExecution.ts
+++ b/src/services/tools/toolExecution.ts
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@ import { FILE_READ_TOOL_NAME } from '../../tools/FileReadTool/prompt.js'
 import { FILE_WRITE_TOOL_NAME } from '../../tools/FileWriteTool/prompt.js'
 import { NOTEBOOK_EDIT_TOOL_NAME } from '../../tools/NotebookEditTool/constants.js'
 import { POWERSHELL_TOOL_NAME } from '../../tools/PowerShellTool/toolName.js'
+import { SKILL_TOOL_NAME } from '../../tools/SkillTool/constants.js'
 import { parseGitCommitId } from '../../tools/shared/gitOperationTracking.js'
 import {
   isDeferredTool,
@@ -596,6 +597,22 @@ export function buildSchemaNotSentHint(
   )
 }
 
+export function getSchemaValidationErrorOverride(
+  tool: Tool,
+  input: unknown,
+): string | null {
+  if (tool.name !== SKILL_TOOL_NAME || !input || typeof input !== 'object') {
+    return null
+  }
+
+  const skill = (input as { skill?: unknown }).skill
+  if (skill === undefined || skill === null) {
+    return 'Missing skill name. Pass the slash command name as the skill parameter (e.g., skill: "commit" for /commit, skill: "review-pr" for /review-pr).'
+  }
+
+  return null
+}
+
 async function checkPermissionsAndCallTool(
   tool: Tool,
   toolUseID: string,
@@ -614,7 +631,9 @@ async function checkPermissionsAndCallTool(
   // Validate input types with zod (surprisingly, the model is not great at generating valid input)
   const parsedInput = tool.inputSchema.safeParse(input)
   if (!parsedInput.success) {
-    let errorContent = formatZodValidationError(tool.name, parsedInput.error)
+    let errorContent =
+      getSchemaValidationErrorOverride(tool, input) ??
+      formatZodValidationError(tool.name, parsedInput.error)
 
     const schemaHint = buildSchemaNotSentHint(
       tool,
diff --git a/src/tools/SkillTool/SkillTool.test.ts b/src/tools/SkillTool/SkillTool.test.ts
index 543327a9..dd09552a 100644
--- a/src/tools/SkillTool/SkillTool.test.ts
+++ b/src/tools/SkillTool/SkillTool.test.ts
@@ -3,15 +3,14 @@ import { describe, expect, test } from 'bun:test'
 import { SkillTool } from './SkillTool.js'
 
 describe('SkillTool missing parameter handling', () => {
-  test('missing skill reaches validateInput with an actionable error', async () => {
+  test('missing skill stays required at the schema level', async () => {
     const parsed = SkillTool.inputSchema.safeParse({})
 
-    expect(parsed.success).toBe(true)
-    if (!parsed.success) {
-      throw new Error('expected SkillTool schema to allow missing skill for custom validation')
-    }
+    expect(parsed.success).toBe(false)
+  })
 
-    const result = await SkillTool.validateInput?.(parsed.data as never, {
+  test('validateInput still returns an actionable error when called with missing skill', async () => {
+    const result = await SkillTool.validateInput?.({} as never, {
       options: { tools: [] },
       messages: [],
     } as never)
diff --git a/src/tools/SkillTool/SkillTool.ts b/src/tools/SkillTool/SkillTool.ts
index 821a7534..519e957f 100644
--- a/src/tools/SkillTool/SkillTool.ts
+++ b/src/tools/SkillTool/SkillTool.ts
@@ -292,7 +292,6 @@ export const inputSchema = lazySchema(() =>
   z.object({
     skill: z
       .string()
-      .optional()
       .describe('The skill name. E.g., "commit", "review-pr", or "pdf"'),
     args: z.string().optional().describe('Optional arguments for the skill'),
   }),
diff --git a/src/utils/api.test.ts b/src/utils/api.test.ts
index 8c51142f..721746b0 100644
--- a/src/utils/api.test.ts
+++ b/src/utils/api.test.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { expect, test } from 'bun:test'
 import { z } from 'zod/v4'
 import { getEmptyToolPermissionContext, type Tool, type Tools } from '../Tool.js'
+import { SkillTool } from '../tools/SkillTool/SkillTool.js'
 import { toolToAPISchema } from './api.js'
 
 test('toolToAPISchema preserves provider-specific schema keywords in input_schema', async () => {
@@ -64,3 +65,16 @@ test('toolToAPISchema preserves provider-specific schema keywords in input_schem
     },
   })
 })
+
+test('toolToAPISchema keeps skill required for SkillTool', async () => {
+  const schema = await toolToAPISchema(SkillTool, {
+    getToolPermissionContext: async () => getEmptyToolPermissionContext(),
+    tools: [] as unknown as Tools,
+    agents: [],
+  })
+
+  expect((schema as { input_schema: unknown }).input_schema).toMatchObject({
+    type: 'object',
+    required: ['skill'],
+  })
+})