diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 00b6dd02894..7f954a8df11 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -44,9 +44,15 @@ package-lock.json
 *~
 
 # OS
+# Keep these in step with isOsMetadataSkillEntryName (skill-package-identity.ts): both disk
+# walkers skip a plain file with one of these names, the git-tree producer does not, and
+# ignoring them here is what keeps `git add -A` from committing a stray one.
 *.stackdump
 .DS_Store
+._*
 Thumbs.db
+ehthumbs.db
+desktop.ini
 
 # Lint/cache
 .oxlintcache
diff --git a/config/scripts/generate-skill-bundle-manifest.mjs b/config/scripts/generate-skill-bundle-manifest.mjs
index ee74cc85bcb..899cb6436df 100644
--- a/config/scripts/generate-skill-bundle-manifest.mjs
+++ b/config/scripts/generate-skill-bundle-manifest.mjs
@@ -124,6 +124,18 @@ function gitTreeSha(entries) {
   return hashDirectory(root).toString('hex')
 }
 
+// Why: kept in step with isOsMetadataSkillEntryName in src/main/skills/skill-package-identity.ts.
+// The scanner ignores these because the OS writes them into a live install; the generator
+// ignores them so a stray one in a working tree cannot be committed into the manifest as
+// content no user could ever match. Skipped rather than rejected: the file is not the
+// developer's doing, so failing the build over it would be hostile.
+const OS_METADATA_FILE_NAMES = new Set(['.ds_store', 'thumbs.db', 'ehthumbs.db', 'desktop.ini'])
+
+function isOsMetadataSkillEntryName(name) {
+  const folded = name.toLocaleLowerCase('en-US')
+  return OS_METADATA_FILE_NAMES.has(folded) || folded.startsWith('._')
+}
+
 async function collectPackageFiles(packageRoot) {
   const files = []
   const caseFoldedPaths = new Map()
@@ -135,6 +147,14 @@ async function collectPackageFiles(packageRoot) {
     entries.sort((left, right) => compareCodeUnits(left.name, right.name))
     for (const entry of entries) {
       const absolutePath = path.join(directory, entry.name)
+      const fileStat = await lstat(absolutePath)
+      // Only a plain file is OS-authored, so the type decides and not the name alone: a
+      // directory or link wearing the name would otherwise drop its subtree out of the
+      // manifest and skip the guards below. Decided before the case-fold map so two
+      // spellings of one sidecar cannot collide.
+      if (isOsMetadataSkillEntryName(entry.name) && fileStat.isFile()) {
+        continue
+      }
       const relativePath = path.relative(packageRoot, absolutePath)
       assertSafeRelativePath(relativePath)
       const manifestPath = relativePath.split(path.sep).join('/')
@@ -144,7 +164,6 @@ async function collectPackageFiles(packageRoot) {
         throw new Error(`Case-colliding skill paths: ${collision} and ${manifestPath}`)
       }
       caseFoldedPaths.set(foldedPath, manifestPath)
-      const fileStat = await lstat(absolutePath)
       if (fileStat.isSymbolicLink()) {
         throw new Error(`Symlink is not allowed in a shipped skill: ${manifestPath}`)
       }
diff --git a/config/scripts/generate-skill-bundle-manifest.test.mjs b/config/scripts/generate-skill-bundle-manifest.test.mjs
index 3069c1cbb68..e8a88b4636c 100644
--- a/config/scripts/generate-skill-bundle-manifest.test.mjs
+++ b/config/scripts/generate-skill-bundle-manifest.test.mjs
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ import { tmpdir } from 'node:os'
 import path from 'node:path'
 import { afterEach, describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
 import { parse } from 'yaml'
+import { observeSkillPackage } from '../../src/main/skills/skill-package-identity'
 import {
   appendReleaseRow,
   assertReleasedHistoryPreserved,
@@ -436,6 +437,90 @@ describe('skill bundle manifest generator', () => {
     )
   })
 
+  it('ignores OS-authored sidecars a working tree may carry', async () => {
+    const packageRoot = await createPackage()
+    await writeFile(path.join(packageRoot, 'SKILL.md'), 'demo skill\n')
+    await mkdir(path.join(packageRoot, 'references'))
+    await writeFile(path.join(packageRoot, 'references', 'guide.md'), 'nested\n')
+    const pristine = await collectPackageFiles(packageRoot)
+    expect(pristine.map((file) => file.path)).toEqual(['SKILL.md', 'references/guide.md'])
+    // Finder writes .DS_Store into any browsed folder, and it is gitignored — so without
+    // this the committed artifacts read as stale and lint fails for that developer, while
+    // the scanner would have no snapshot a real install could match.
+    await writeFile(path.join(packageRoot, '.DS_Store'), Buffer.from([0, 1, 2, 3]))
+    await writeFile(path.join(packageRoot, '._SKILL.md'), Buffer.from([0, 5]))
+    await writeFile(path.join(packageRoot, 'Thumbs.db'), Buffer.from([9]))
+    // Nested folders get browsed too, and a sidecar there shifts the same index-aligned list.
+    await writeFile(path.join(packageRoot, 'references', '.DS_Store'), Buffer.from([7]))
+
+    expect(await collectPackageFiles(packageRoot)).toEqual(pristine)
+  })
+
+  it('still records an unexpected file that is not OS metadata', async () => {
+    const packageRoot = await createPackage()
+    await writeFile(path.join(packageRoot, 'SKILL.md'), 'demo skill\n')
+    await writeFile(path.join(packageRoot, 'payload.sh'), 'echo hi\n')
+
+    expect((await collectPackageFiles(packageRoot)).map((file) => file.path)).toEqual([
+      'SKILL.md',
+      'payload.sh'
+    ])
+  })
+
+  it('keeps guarding a directory or link that only wears an OS metadata name', async () => {
+    const packageRoot = await createPackage()
+    await writeFile(path.join(packageRoot, 'SKILL.md'), 'demo skill\n')
+    // Only plain files are OS-authored, so a subtree behind one of these names is real
+    // content that must stay in the manifest instead of shipping unrecorded.
+    await mkdir(path.join(packageRoot, '.DS_Store'))
+    await writeFile(path.join(packageRoot, '.DS_Store', 'payload.sh'), 'echo hi\n')
+
+    expect((await collectPackageFiles(packageRoot)).map((file) => file.path)).toEqual([
+      '.DS_Store/payload.sh',
+      'SKILL.md'
+    ])
+
+    if (process.platform !== 'win32') {
+      await rm(path.join(packageRoot, '.DS_Store'), { recursive: true })
+      await symlink('SKILL.md', path.join(packageRoot, '._SKILL.md'))
+      await expect(collectPackageFiles(packageRoot)).rejects.toThrow(
+        'Symlink is not allowed in a shipped skill'
+      )
+    }
+  })
+
+  // Why: the predicate is hand-copied from the scanner, and an asymmetric skip is worse than
+  // no skip — one side would bake in content the other can never observe, leaving every
+  // install permanently unrecognized. Compared through both walkers so ordering and the
+  // case-fold map are covered too, not just the name test.
+  it('skips exactly the names the scanner skips', async () => {
+    const packageRoot = await createPackage()
+    for (const name of [
+      'SKILL.md',
+      '.DS_Store',
+      '.ds_store',
+      '.DS_STORE',
+      'Thumbs.db',
+      'THUMBS.DB',
+      'ehthumbs.db',
+      'desktop.ini',
+      'Desktop.INI',
+      '._SKILL.md',
+      '._',
+      // Near misses that both sides must keep.
+      '.dsstore',
+      'ds_store.md',
+      '_SKILL.md',
+      '.DS_Store.md'
+    ]) {
+      await writeFile(path.join(packageRoot, name), `${name}\n`)
+    }
+
+    const generated = (await collectPackageFiles(packageRoot)).map((file) => file.path)
+    expect(generated).toEqual((await observeSkillPackage(packageRoot)).files.map((f) => f.path))
+    expect(generated).toEqual(['.DS_Store.md', '.dsstore', 'SKILL.md', '_SKILL.md', 'ds_store.md'])
+  })
+
   it('computes the same Git tree identity as Git', async () => {
     const packageRoot = path.resolve('skills', 'orca-cli')
     const files = await collectPackageFiles(packageRoot)
diff --git a/src/main/skills/skill-freshness-inventory.test.ts b/src/main/skills/skill-freshness-inventory.test.ts
index 3aeca4bdd59..2b20055e646 100644
--- a/src/main/skills/skill-freshness-inventory.test.ts
+++ b/src/main/skills/skill-freshness-inventory.test.ts
@@ -248,6 +248,32 @@ describe('read-only skill freshness inventory', () => {
     expect(getSkillFreshnessDisplayStatus(inventory, 'orca-cli')).toBe('up-to-date')
   })
 
+  it('reads up to date after the OS drops a sidecar into an untouched install', async () => {
+    const test = await fixture()
+    const directory = await test.writeSkill(
+      join(test.homeDir, '.agents', 'skills'),
+      test.currentMarkdown
+    )
+    // What one Finder visit leaves behind. Sorts before SKILL.md, which is what made the
+    // index-aligned snapshot comparison miss and report the copy as modified.
+    await writeFile(join(directory, '.DS_Store'), Buffer.from([0, 1, 2, 3]))
+    // No lock trust available here: the recorded hash is a different tree, so this proves
+    // the identity fix alone carries it rather than falling through to newer-known.
+    await writeSkillLockHash(test.homeDir, 'a'.repeat(40))
+
+    const inventory = await inventorySkillFreshness({
+      currentAppVersion: '2.0.0',
+      homeDir: test.homeDir,
+      repos: [],
+      resourceRoot: test.resourceRoot
+    })
+
+    expect(inventory.installations.map((entry) => entry.status)).toEqual(['current'])
+    // The whole point: no amber, and nothing offered to "fix" a copy that is already right.
+    expect(getSkillFreshnessDisplayStatus(inventory, 'orca-cli')).toBe('up-to-date')
+    expect(inventory.eligibleUpdateNames).toEqual([])
+  })
+
   it('still flags canonical bytes that do not match what the lock says was installed', async () => {
     const test = await fixture()
     const editedMarkdown = `${test.currentMarkdown}\nLocal edit the updater never wrote.\n`
diff --git a/src/main/skills/skill-package-identity.test.ts b/src/main/skills/skill-package-identity.test.ts
index 648b628e82c..ca9beb9fd3d 100644
--- a/src/main/skills/skill-package-identity.test.ts
+++ b/src/main/skills/skill-package-identity.test.ts
@@ -80,6 +80,85 @@ describe('skill package identity', () => {
     ).rejects.toThrow('skill-package-entry-limit')
   })
 
+  it('ignores OS-authored sidecars so a browsed folder still matches its snapshot', async () => {
+    const pristine = await temporarySkill()
+    await writeFile(join(pristine, 'SKILL.md'), 'skill\n')
+    const official = await observeSkillPackage(pristine)
+
+    const browsed = await temporarySkill()
+    await writeFile(join(browsed, 'SKILL.md'), 'skill\n')
+    // Every name the OS writes on its own, including one that sorts BEFORE SKILL.md —
+    // the index-aligned comparison in matchingKnownSnapshot misaligns on a leading entry,
+    // so a trailing-name-only fixture would pass while the reported bug survived.
+    await writeFile(join(browsed, '.DS_Store'), Buffer.from([0, 1, 2, 3]))
+    await writeFile(join(browsed, '._SKILL.md'), Buffer.from([0, 5]))
+    await writeFile(join(browsed, 'Thumbs.db'), Buffer.from([9]))
+    await writeFile(join(browsed, 'desktop.ini'), '[.ShellClassInfo]\n')
+
+    const observed = await observeSkillPackage(browsed)
+
+    expect(observed.files.map((file) => file.path)).toEqual(['SKILL.md'])
+    // The lock-trust path compares this against the updater's recorded source tree, so it
+    // has to come out clean too, not just the digest.
+    expect(observed.observedGitTreeSha).toBe(official.observedGitTreeSha)
+    expect(
+      matchingKnownSnapshot(observed, [
+        {
+          releaseRevision: 1,
+          packageDigest: official.observedDigest,
+          gitTreeSha: official.observedGitTreeSha,
+          files: official.files
+        }
+      ])?.releaseRevision
+    ).toBe(1)
+  })
+
+  it('keeps guarding a directory or link that only wears an OS metadata name', async () => {
+    const root = await temporarySkill()
+    await writeFile(join(root, 'SKILL.md'), 'skill\n')
+    // The OS writes these names as plain files only, so a subtree behind one is real content:
+    // dropping it on the name alone would hide it from identity and read as pristine.
+    await mkdir(join(root, '._scripts'))
+    await writeFile(join(root, '._scripts', 'payload.sh'), '#!/bin/sh\n')
+
+    expect((await observeSkillPackage(root)).files.map((file) => file.path)).toEqual([
+      '._scripts/payload.sh',
+      'SKILL.md'
+    ])
+
+    if (process.platform !== 'win32') {
+      await rm(join(root, '._scripts'), { recursive: true })
+      await symlink(join(root, 'SKILL.md'), join(root, '._DS_Store'))
+      await expect(observeSkillPackage(root)).rejects.toThrow('skill-package-link')
+    }
+  })
+
+  it('still reports a genuinely modified skill as unmatched', async () => {
+    const pristine = await temporarySkill()
+    await writeFile(join(pristine, 'SKILL.md'), 'skill\n')
+    const official = await observeSkillPackage(pristine)
+
+    const edited = await temporarySkill()
+    await writeFile(join(edited, 'SKILL.md'), 'skill\nlocal tweak\n')
+    await writeFile(join(edited, '.DS_Store'), Buffer.from([0, 1]))
+    // An unexpected file that is NOT OS metadata must keep failing closed; tolerating
+    // extras in general would let an injected payload ride along beside a clean SKILL.md.
+    const withPayload = await temporarySkill()
+    await writeFile(join(withPayload, 'SKILL.md'), 'skill\n')
+    await writeFile(join(withPayload, 'payload.sh'), '#!/bin/sh\n')
+
+    const snapshot = [
+      {
+        releaseRevision: 1,
+        packageDigest: official.observedDigest,
+        gitTreeSha: official.observedGitTreeSha,
+        files: official.files
+      }
+    ]
+    expect(matchingKnownSnapshot(await observeSkillPackage(edited), snapshot)).toBeNull()
+    expect(matchingKnownSnapshot(await observeSkillPackage(withPayload), snapshot)).toBeNull()
+  })
+
   it.runIf(process.platform !== 'win32')('tracks executable mode in package identity', async () => {
     const root = await temporarySkill()
     await mkdir(join(root, 'scripts'))
diff --git a/src/main/skills/skill-package-identity.ts b/src/main/skills/skill-package-identity.ts
index d518bd05d43..4c883a2d6e6 100644
--- a/src/main/skills/skill-package-identity.ts
+++ b/src/main/skills/skill-package-identity.ts
@@ -18,6 +18,27 @@ export type ObservedSkillPackage = {
   observedGitTreeSha: string
 }
 
+// Why: package identity compares a live user directory against a tree the generator read
+// from a clean checkout, so anything the OS deposits on its own counts as drift the user
+// never caused. One Finder visit writes .DS_Store, and that alone made the copy
+// 'unrecognized' — reported as "may be modified", left out of the update, and unfixable by
+// running it, since the updater compares its lock to the source and never reads disk.
+//
+// Only OS-authored names belong here. Tolerating unexpected files in general would let a
+// modified skill pass: the entry is safe precisely because an official SKILL.md never
+// references these, so no agent can be routed into one. Mirrored in
+// config/scripts/generate-skill-bundle-manifest.mjs so neither side of the comparison can
+// bake one in. Deliberately NOT extended to mode bits — that would weaken identity for
+// real scripts.
+const OS_METADATA_FILE_NAMES = new Set(['.ds_store', 'thumbs.db', 'ehthumbs.db', 'desktop.ini'])
+
+export function isOsMetadataSkillEntryName(name: string): boolean {
+  const folded = name.toLocaleLowerCase('en-US')
+  // AppleDouble sidecars ('._SKILL.md') appear whenever a skill is copied through a
+  // filesystem that cannot hold macOS metadata inline.
+  return OS_METADATA_FILE_NAMES.has(folded) || folded.startsWith('._')
+}
+
 export const SKILL_PACKAGE_OBSERVATION_LIMITS = {
   maximumDepth: 16,
   maximumEntries: 2_048,
@@ -171,6 +192,17 @@ export async function observeSkillPackage(
     entries.sort((left, right) => compareCodeUnits(left.name, right.name))
     for (const entry of entries) {
       const absolutePath = join(directory, entry.name)
+      // Only a plain file is OS-authored, so the type decides and not the name alone: a
+      // directory or link wearing the name would otherwise hide a subtree from identity and
+      // slip past the link and special-file guards below. Decided before the case-fold map
+      // so two spellings of one sidecar cannot collide, and tolerant of a vanished entry so
+      // an unreadable sidecar cannot fail the whole package.
+      if (isOsMetadataSkillEntryName(entry.name)) {
+        const sidecarStat = await lstat(absolutePath).catch(() => null)
+        if (!sidecarStat || sidecarStat.isFile()) {
+          continue
+        }
+      }
       const relativePath = relative(packageRoot, absolutePath)
       if (
         isAbsolute(relativePath) ||
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/skills/SkillFreshnessNudge.test.tsx b/src/renderer/src/components/skills/SkillFreshnessNudge.test.tsx
index ea84e02c1d6..d32f6a017a8 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/components/skills/SkillFreshnessNudge.test.tsx
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/skills/SkillFreshnessNudge.test.tsx
@@ -223,6 +223,59 @@ describe('SkillFreshnessNudge', () => {
     expect(mocks.toastInfo).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
   })
 
+  it('keeps a project copy out of the dismissal key it persists', async () => {
+    // Why: the global update never reaches a project copy, so its identity must not enter
+    // the dismissal tuple — re-checking out that repo mints a new inode, which would
+    // re-raise a nudge the user already dismissed for the same global revision.
+    mocks.inventory = {
+      schemaVersion: 1,
+      installations: [
+        placement(),
+        placement({
+          id: 'repo-copy',
+          topology: 'repo-scope',
+          sourceKind: 'repo',
+          unresolvedPath: '/home/projects/work/.agents/skills/orca-cli',
+          resolvedPath: '/home/projects/work/.agents/skills/orca-cli',
+          physicalIdentity: 'physical-repo-orca-cli'
+        })
+      ],
+      eligibleUpdateNames: ['orca-cli'],
+      scanIssues: [],
+      scannedAt: 1
+    }
+
+    await renderNudge()
+    mocks.toastInfo.mock.calls[0]?.[1].onDismiss()
+
+    expect(mocks.updateSettings).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
+      dismissedSkillFreshnessNudges: [DISMISSAL_KEY]
+    })
+  })
+
+  it('stays dismissed when only a project copy changed identity', async () => {
+    mocks.dismissed = [DISMISSAL_KEY]
+    mocks.inventory = {
+      schemaVersion: 1,
+      installations: [
+        placement(),
+        placement({
+          id: 'repo-copy',
+          topology: 'repo-scope',
+          sourceKind: 'repo',
+          physicalIdentity: 'physical-repo-orca-cli-after-checkout'
+        })
+      ],
+      eligibleUpdateNames: ['orca-cli'],
+      scanIssues: [],
+      scannedAt: 2
+    }
+
+    await renderNudge()
+
+    expect(mocks.toastInfo).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
+  })
+
   it('waits for persisted settings before deciding whether to nudge', async () => {
     mocks.settingsLoaded = false
 
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/skills/SkillFreshnessNudge.tsx b/src/renderer/src/components/skills/SkillFreshnessNudge.tsx
index 135d860656b..eb29629812a 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/components/skills/SkillFreshnessNudge.tsx
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/skills/SkillFreshnessNudge.tsx
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import { toast } from 'sonner'
 import { useSkillFreshness } from '@/hooks/useSkillFreshness'
 import { translate } from '@/i18n/i18n'
 import { useAppStore } from '@/store'
+import { skillPlacementParticipatesInGlobalFreshness } from '../../../../shared/skill-freshness'
 import { requestSkillFreshnessUpdateDialog } from './skill-freshness-update-dialog'
 
 const MAX_DISMISSED_FRESHNESS_NUDGES = 512
@@ -52,6 +53,10 @@ export function SkillFreshnessNudge(): null {
     }
     const eligibleNames = new Set(inventory.eligibleUpdateNames)
     const candidates = inventory.installations.flatMap((installation) =>
+      // Why: a project copy the global update never touches must not enter the dismissal
+      // fingerprint, or re-checking out that repo re-raises a nudge the user already
+      // dismissed — and spends the bounded dismissal budget on copies Orca cannot update.
+      skillPlacementParticipatesInGlobalFreshness(installation) &&
       installation.status === 'outdated' &&
       eligibleNames.has(installation.name) &&
       installation.physicalIdentity
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/skills/SkillFreshnessUpdateDialog.test.tsx b/src/renderer/src/components/skills/SkillFreshnessUpdateDialog.test.tsx
index 7c00fb26d53..1a53ecdcf10 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/components/skills/SkillFreshnessUpdateDialog.test.tsx
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/skills/SkillFreshnessUpdateDialog.test.tsx
@@ -400,7 +400,9 @@ describe('SkillFreshnessUpdateDialog', () => {
   it('shows why a skill was skipped without needing the disclosure', async () => {
     mocks.inventory = {
       schemaVersion: 1,
-      installations: [placement('computer-use', { topology: 'repo-scope' })],
+      // Why: a read-only copy rather than a project one — a project-owned copy raises no
+      // row at all now, so it cannot carry this assertion about how a row renders.
+      installations: [placement('computer-use', { topology: 'read-only' })],
       eligibleUpdateNames: [],
       scanIssues: [],
       scannedAt: 3
@@ -415,14 +417,73 @@ describe('SkillFreshnessUpdateDialog', () => {
     // outside the disclosure — visible with the row still collapsed, and not
     // dependent on a mount-time `defaultOpen` a later re-scan could never re-fire.
     expect(row?.getAttribute('data-collapsible-open')).toBe('false')
-    expect(container?.textContent).toContain('This is a project skill, not a global one')
+    expect(container?.textContent).toContain('This copy is in a read-only location')
     // Assert the placement, not just the presence: moving it back inside the
     // disclosure would hide it in production but still satisfy `textContent`.
     expect(row?.querySelector('[data-collapsible-content]')?.textContent).not.toContain(
-      'This is a project skill, not a global one'
+      'This copy is in a read-only location'
     )
   })
 
+  it('raises no row for a skill whose only finding is a project-owned copy', async () => {
+    // The reported bug: a pristine global install plus a drifted copy inside a work
+    // directory. Orca only ever updates global skills, so a "Skipped" row here asserts
+    // it considered an update it could never perform.
+    mocks.inventory = {
+      schemaVersion: 1,
+      installations: [
+        placement('computer-use', { status: 'current' }),
+        placement('computer-use', {
+          rootId: 'repo-work',
+          sourceKind: 'repo',
+          topology: 'repo-scope',
+          status: 'unrecognized',
+          unresolvedPath: '/home/projects/work/.agents/skills/computer-use',
+          resolvedPath: '/home/projects/work/.agents/skills/computer-use',
+          physicalIdentity: 'physical-repo-computer-use'
+        })
+      ],
+      eligibleUpdateNames: [],
+      scanIssues: [],
+      scannedAt: 4
+    }
+    await renderDialog()
+    await openViaRequest()
+
+    expect(container?.textContent).toContain('All installed Orca skills are up to date.')
+    expect(container?.querySelector('[data-skill-row="computer-use"]')).toBeNull()
+  })
+
+  it('still lists a project copy when another placement earns the group', async () => {
+    // The converse: ownership suppresses the group, never the visibility of a location
+    // that exists. An outdated global copy earns the row, and the project copy has to
+    // stay listed there so the user can see every place the skill lives.
+    mocks.inventory = {
+      schemaVersion: 1,
+      installations: [
+        placement('computer-use', { topology: 'read-only' }),
+        placement('computer-use', {
+          rootId: 'repo-work',
+          sourceKind: 'repo',
+          topology: 'repo-scope',
+          status: 'unrecognized',
+          unresolvedPath: '/home/projects/work/.agents/skills/computer-use',
+          resolvedPath: '/home/projects/work/.agents/skills/computer-use',
+          physicalIdentity: 'physical-repo-computer-use'
+        })
+      ],
+      eligibleUpdateNames: [],
+      scanIssues: [],
+      scannedAt: 5
+    }
+    await renderDialog()
+    await openViaRequest()
+
+    const row = container?.querySelector('[data-skill-row="computer-use"]')
+    expect(row).not.toBeNull()
+    expect(row?.textContent).toContain('/home/projects/work/.agents/skills/computer-use')
+  })
+
   it('names the skill in the stale-record remedy so the command is runnable as-is', async () => {
     // Why: the reinstall advice only fires when the row hands its group name through
     // to skippedReason — dropping that argument silently degrades every stale-record
@@ -442,6 +503,40 @@ describe('SkillFreshnessUpdateDialog', () => {
     )
   })
 
+  it('keeps the stale-record remedy when a project copy is listed beside it', async () => {
+    // The same stale-record row as above, plus the user's own project copy. That copy is
+    // listed but was never judged, so letting it explain the skip replaced the only
+    // runnable command with advice about a copy the user never asked Orca to update.
+    mocks.inventory = {
+      schemaVersion: 1,
+      installations: [
+        placement('orchestration'),
+        placement('orchestration', {
+          rootId: 'repo-work',
+          sourceKind: 'repo',
+          topology: 'repo-scope',
+          status: 'unrecognized',
+          unresolvedPath: '/home/projects/work/.agents/skills/orchestration',
+          resolvedPath: '/home/projects/work/.agents/skills/orchestration',
+          physicalIdentity: 'physical-repo-orchestration'
+        })
+      ],
+      eligibleUpdateNames: [],
+      scanIssues: [],
+      scannedAt: 6
+    }
+    await renderDialog()
+    await openViaRequest()
+
+    const row = container?.querySelector('[data-skill-row="orchestration"]')
+    expect(row?.textContent).toContain(
+      'npx skills add https://github.com/stablyai/orca --skill orchestration --global'
+    )
+    expect(row?.textContent).not.toContain('This is a project skill, not a global one')
+    // Still listed, though — ownership silences the explanation, never the location.
+    expect(row?.textContent).toContain('/home/projects/work/.agents/skills/orchestration')
+  })
+
   it('stays coherent while an idle re-scan is in flight', async () => {
     await renderDialog()
     await openViaRequest()
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/skills/skill-freshness-grouping.test.ts b/src/renderer/src/components/skills/skill-freshness-grouping.test.ts
index 63c2243b71f..4c9afaed59b 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/components/skills/skill-freshness-grouping.test.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/skills/skill-freshness-grouping.test.ts
@@ -35,7 +35,12 @@ describe('groupSkillFreshness', () => {
     expect(groups).toHaveLength(1)
     expect(groups[0]).toMatchObject({ name: 'orca-cli', status: 'update-available' })
     expect(groups[0]?.locations).toEqual([
-      { id: expect.any(String), path: '/home/.agents/skills/orca-cli', chip: null }
+      {
+        id: expect.any(String),
+        path: '/home/.agents/skills/orca-cli',
+        chip: null,
+        participatesInGlobalFreshness: true
+      }
     ])
   })
 
@@ -75,7 +80,12 @@ describe('groupSkillFreshness', () => {
         name: 'dataviz',
         status: 'cannot-update',
         locations: [
-          { id: expect.any(String), path: '/home/.agents/skills/dataviz', chip: 'unrecognized' }
+          {
+            id: expect.any(String),
+            path: '/home/.agents/skills/dataviz',
+            chip: 'unrecognized',
+            participatesInGlobalFreshness: true
+          }
         ]
       },
       {
@@ -85,7 +95,8 @@ describe('groupSkillFreshness', () => {
           {
             id: expect.any(String),
             path: '/home/.agents/skills/linear-tickets',
-            chip: 'inaccessible'
+            chip: 'inaccessible',
+            participatesInGlobalFreshness: true
           }
         ]
       }
@@ -124,8 +135,18 @@ describe('groupSkillFreshness', () => {
     expect(groups[0]?.status).toBe('cannot-update')
     // Why: the out-of-date main copy is bare; only the poisoning copy carries a chip.
     expect(groups[0]?.locations).toEqual([
-      { id: expect.any(String), path: '/home/.agents/skills/orchestration', chip: null },
-      { id: expect.any(String), path: '/home/.claude/skills/orchestration', chip: 'unrecognized' }
+      {
+        id: expect.any(String),
+        path: '/home/.agents/skills/orchestration',
+        chip: null,
+        participatesInGlobalFreshness: true
+      },
+      {
+        id: expect.any(String),
+        path: '/home/.claude/skills/orchestration',
+        chip: 'unrecognized',
+        participatesInGlobalFreshness: true
+      }
     ])
   })
 
@@ -146,12 +167,22 @@ describe('groupSkillFreshness', () => {
     expect(groups).toHaveLength(1)
     expect(groups[0]?.status).toBe('cannot-update')
     expect(groups[0]?.locations).toEqual([
-      { id: expect.any(String), path: '/home/.agents/skills/orchestration', chip: 'current' },
-      { id: expect.any(String), path: '/home/.factory/skills/orchestration', chip: 'duplicate' }
+      {
+        id: expect.any(String),
+        path: '/home/.agents/skills/orchestration',
+        chip: 'current',
+        participatesInGlobalFreshness: true
+      },
+      {
+        id: expect.any(String),
+        path: '/home/.factory/skills/orchestration',
+        chip: 'duplicate',
+        participatesInGlobalFreshness: true
+      }
     ])
   })
 
-  it('prefers a location status over its topology and maps every topology to a chip', () => {
+  it('ranks a read failure over ownership, ownership over byte status, and maps every topology', () => {
     const chipFor = (overrides: Partial<SkillFreshnessInstallation>): string | null =>
       groupSkillFreshness(
         [placement('s', { status: 'outdated' }), placement('s', overrides)],
@@ -178,5 +209,79 @@ describe('groupSkillFreshness', () => {
     expect(chipFor(at('j', { status: 'unrecognized', topology: 'plugin-cache' }))).toBe(
       'plugin-cache'
     )
+    // Ownership outranks byte status: a project copy whose bytes match nothing known is
+    // the repo's content, not the user's drift, so it must not read "may be modified".
+    expect(chipFor(at('l', { status: 'unrecognized', topology: 'repo-scope' }))).toBe('in-a-repo')
+    // But a read failure outranks ownership, or that same rule would hide a real fault.
+    expect(chipFor(at('m', { status: 'inaccessible', topology: 'repo-scope' }))).toBe(
+      'inaccessible'
+    )
+  })
+
+  it('raises no group when every finding is project-owned', () => {
+    // Orca's updater only passes --global, so a project copy has no remedy; a row here
+    // would claim Orca considered an update it could never perform.
+    expect(
+      groupSkillFreshness(
+        [placement('computer-use', { status: 'unrecognized', topology: 'repo-scope' })],
+        []
+      )
+    ).toEqual([])
+    expect(
+      groupSkillFreshness(
+        [placement('computer-use', { status: 'outdated', topology: 'repo-scope' })],
+        []
+      )
+    ).toEqual([])
+  })
+
+  it('still lists a project copy inside a group another placement earned', () => {
+    const groups = groupSkillFreshness(
+      [
+        placement('computer-use', { status: 'outdated', topology: 'read-only' }),
+        placement('computer-use', {
+          status: 'unrecognized',
+          topology: 'repo-scope',
+          unresolvedPath: '/home/projects/work/.agents/skills/computer-use'
+        })
+      ],
+      []
+    )
+
+    expect(groups).toHaveLength(1)
+    expect(groups[0]?.locations.map((location) => location.chip)).toContain('in-a-repo')
+  })
+
+  it('marks only the project copy as one the global update never judged', () => {
+    // Why the flag rather than the chip: the skip sentence reads this to keep a listed-only
+    // copy from explaining a skip it had no part in, and a plugin copy — which does earn
+    // groups of its own — has to stay on the judged side of that line.
+    const groups = groupSkillFreshness(
+      [
+        placement('computer-use', { status: 'outdated', topology: 'read-only' }),
+        placement('computer-use', {
+          status: 'outdated',
+          topology: 'plugin-cache',
+          unresolvedPath: '/home/.claude/plugins/cache/pack/skills/computer-use'
+        }),
+        placement('computer-use', {
+          status: 'unrecognized',
+          topology: 'repo-scope',
+          unresolvedPath: '/home/projects/work/.agents/skills/computer-use'
+        })
+      ],
+      []
+    )
+
+    expect(
+      groups[0]?.locations.map((location) => [
+        location.chip,
+        location.participatesInGlobalFreshness
+      ])
+    ).toEqual([
+      ['read-only', true],
+      ['plugin-cache', true],
+      ['in-a-repo', false]
+    ])
   })
 })
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/skills/skill-freshness-grouping.ts b/src/renderer/src/components/skills/skill-freshness-grouping.ts
index 79d39b31aff..08241eda6a4 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/components/skills/skill-freshness-grouping.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/skills/skill-freshness-grouping.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 import {
+  isOwnerManagedSkillScope,
   isSkillCopyNeedingAttention,
+  skillPlacementParticipatesInGlobalFreshness,
   type SkillFreshnessInstallation
 } from '../../../../shared/skill-freshness'
 
@@ -21,6 +23,9 @@ export type SkillLocationRow = {
   id: string
   path: string
   chip: SkillLocationChip | null
+  /** False for a project-owned copy: listed for visibility, but never judged, so it
+   * cannot be the reason a skill was skipped. */
+  participatesInGlobalFreshness: boolean
 }
 
 export type SkillFreshnessGroupModel = {
@@ -29,16 +34,16 @@ export type SkillFreshnessGroupModel = {
   locations: SkillLocationRow[]
 }
 
+// Why: an owner-managed scope outranks 'unrecognized', or a project copy reads "may be
+// modified — remove it" over content its own repo owns. A read failure outranks both, so
+// that rule cannot hide a genuine fault.
 export function locationChip(installation: SkillFreshnessInstallation): SkillLocationChip | null {
-  if (installation.status === 'unrecognized' && installation.topology === 'plugin-cache') {
-    return 'plugin-cache'
-  }
-  if (installation.status === 'unrecognized') {
-    return 'unrecognized'
-  }
   if (installation.status === 'inaccessible') {
     return 'inaccessible'
   }
+  if (!isOwnerManagedSkillScope(installation.topology) && installation.status === 'unrecognized') {
+    return 'unrecognized'
+  }
   switch (installation.topology) {
     case 'independent-copy':
       return 'duplicate'
@@ -74,7 +79,8 @@ export function locationChip(installation: SkillFreshnessInstallation): SkillLoc
  * Details, and Details opens this modal. Returning only out-of-date skills left that
  * modal saying every skill was up to date over an empty list, contradicting the badge
  * that sent the user there. Skills where every copy is current are still omitted, as
- * is a plugin's own copy of a same-named skill, which is not the user's to fix.
+ * is a plugin's own copy of a same-named skill, and a project's own copy — neither is the
+ * user's to fix through the global update.
  *
  * `alwaysIncludeNames` overrides that filter. A successful update makes every
  * targeted skill current, which would otherwise drop its row the instant the
@@ -96,14 +102,26 @@ export function groupSkillFreshness(
   }
   const groups: SkillFreshnessGroupModel[] = []
   for (const [name, entries] of byName) {
+    // Why: the inclusion test only consults placements the global update can reach, so a
+    // skill whose only finding is a project-owned copy raises no row at all — a "Skipped"
+    // row would assert Orca considered an update it never could. Locations below are still
+    // listed in full, so a project copy stays visible whenever some other placement earns
+    // the group.
     if (
       !pinned.has(name) &&
-      !entries.some((entry) => entry.status === 'outdated' || isSkillCopyNeedingAttention(entry))
+      !entries
+        .filter(skillPlacementParticipatesInGlobalFreshness)
+        .some((entry) => entry.status === 'outdated' || isSkillCopyNeedingAttention(entry))
     ) {
       continue
     }
     const locations = entries
-      .map((entry) => ({ id: entry.id, path: entry.unresolvedPath, chip: locationChip(entry) }))
+      .map((entry) => ({
+        id: entry.id,
+        path: entry.unresolvedPath,
+        chip: locationChip(entry),
+        participatesInGlobalFreshness: skillPlacementParticipatesInGlobalFreshness(entry)
+      }))
       .sort((left, right) => left.path.localeCompare(right.path, 'en'))
     groups.push({
       name,
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/skills/skill-freshness-skipped-reason.test.ts b/src/renderer/src/components/skills/skill-freshness-skipped-reason.test.ts
index 664a4883f84..5f04d122dd6 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/components/skills/skill-freshness-skipped-reason.test.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/skills/skill-freshness-skipped-reason.test.ts
@@ -6,7 +6,15 @@ function row(
   chip: SkillLocationRow['chip'],
   path = `/home/.agents/skills/${chip}`
 ): SkillLocationRow {
-  return { id: `row-${chip}-${path}`, path, chip }
+  return { id: `row-${chip}-${path}`, path, chip, participatesInGlobalFreshness: true }
+}
+
+/** A project's own copy: listed, but never judged by the global update. */
+function projectRow(chip: SkillLocationRow['chip'] = 'in-a-repo'): SkillLocationRow {
+  return {
+    ...row(chip, '/home/projects/work/.agents/skills/orchestration'),
+    participatesInGlobalFreshness: false
+  }
 }
 
 describe('skippedReason', () => {
@@ -49,6 +57,35 @@ describe('skippedReason', () => {
     )
   })
 
+  it('keeps the reinstall remedy when a project copy sits beside the blocked global copy', () => {
+    // The reported shape: a bare out-of-date global copy the updater's record cannot
+    // converge, plus the user's own project copy. Letting the project copy explain the
+    // skip swapped the one runnable command for advice about a copy Orca never judged.
+    const reason = skippedReason([row(null), projectRow()], 'orchestration')
+    expect(reason).toContain('reports the skill as already up to date')
+    expect(reason).toContain('skills add')
+    expect(reason).not.toContain('This is a project skill')
+  })
+
+  it('does not let a project copy outrank the placement that blocked the update', () => {
+    // Why by row and not by chip: the scan-limit sentinel is also project-scoped and
+    // carries 'inaccessible', which would otherwise claim a read failure Orca never hit.
+    expect(skippedReason([row('duplicate'), projectRow()], 'orchestration')).toContain(
+      'separate copy'
+    )
+    expect(
+      skippedReason([row('duplicate'), projectRow('inaccessible')], 'orchestration')
+    ).toContain('separate copy')
+  })
+
+  it('explains a project copy when that is the only location there is', () => {
+    // Why the fallback exists: the sentence stays total. With nothing else to point at,
+    // "Orca only updates your global skills" is the honest reason.
+    expect(skippedReason([projectRow()], 'orchestration')).toContain(
+      'This is a project skill, not a global one'
+    )
+  })
+
   it('falls back to the generic sentence when no skill name is available', () => {
     expect(skippedReason([row('current')])).toContain('left this skill out of the update')
     expect(skippedReason([])).toContain('left this skill out of the update')
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/skills/skill-freshness-skipped-reason.ts b/src/renderer/src/components/skills/skill-freshness-skipped-reason.ts
index 0e9c01c01f1..84ef6fc3f29 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/components/skills/skill-freshness-skipped-reason.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/skills/skill-freshness-skipped-reason.ts
@@ -21,8 +21,12 @@ const SKIPPED_REASON_PRIORITY: SkillLocationChip[] = [
   'duplicate'
 ]
 
+// Why: a location the global update never judged cannot be why the skill was skipped, so it
+// must not outrank the placement that was — nor the ABSENCE of a chip, which is how the
+// stale-record remedy below is reached. The fallback keeps the sentence total.
 function blockingChip(locations: readonly SkillLocationRow[]): SkillLocationChip | undefined {
-  const present = new Set(locations.map((location) => location.chip))
+  const judged = locations.filter((location) => location.participatesInGlobalFreshness)
+  const present = new Set((judged.length > 0 ? judged : locations).map((location) => location.chip))
   return SKIPPED_REASON_PRIORITY.find((candidate) => present.has(candidate))
 }
 
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/lib/skill-freshness-display-status.test.ts b/src/renderer/src/lib/skill-freshness-display-status.test.ts
index 55a68e774e6..66c616a702f 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/lib/skill-freshness-display-status.test.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/lib/skill-freshness-display-status.test.ts
@@ -57,6 +57,18 @@ function pluginCachePlacement(
   }
 }
 
+function repoPlacement(status: SkillFreshnessStatus = 'unrecognized'): SkillFreshnessInstallation {
+  return {
+    ...placement(status, 7),
+    rootId: 'repo-work',
+    sourceKind: 'repo',
+    sourceLabel: 'work',
+    topology: 'repo-scope',
+    unresolvedPath: `/home/projects/work/.agents/skills/${SKILL_NAME}`,
+    resolvedPath: `/home/projects/work/.agents/skills/${SKILL_NAME}`
+  }
+}
+
 function inventory(
   installations: SkillFreshnessInstallation[],
   eligibleUpdateNames: string[] = [],
@@ -209,6 +221,46 @@ describe('hasSkillCopyNeedingAttention', () => {
     ).toBe(true)
   })
 
+  // The exact shape of the rc.4 report: a pristine global install alongside a drifted
+  // copy inside a work directory. Orca only updates global skills, so the project copy
+  // must not turn the badge amber over drift it has no way to fix.
+  it('reports up to date for a current global copy beside a drifted project copy', () => {
+    const value = inventory([placement('current'), repoPlacement('unrecognized')])
+
+    expect(getSkillFreshnessDisplayStatus(value, SKILL_NAME)).toBe('up-to-date')
+    expect(hasSkillCopyNeedingAttention(value, SKILL_NAME)).toBe(false)
+  })
+
+  // Why by scope and not by status: an outdated or unreadable project copy is just as
+  // far outside the global updater's reach as an unrecognized one, so pinning only the
+  // reported status would leave the same bug reachable through a different one.
+  it.each<[SkillFreshnessStatus]>([['unrecognized'], ['outdated'], ['inaccessible']])(
+    'ignores a %s project copy when judging global freshness',
+    (status) => {
+      const value = inventory([placement('current'), repoPlacement(status)])
+
+      expect(getSkillFreshnessDisplayStatus(value, SKILL_NAME)).toBe('up-to-date')
+    }
+  )
+
+  // A project copy is not evidence the skill is installed globally, so it reports
+  // presence rather than a freshness claim about a copy Orca does not manage.
+  it('reports presence only when every copy is project-owned', () => {
+    expect(getSkillFreshnessDisplayStatus(inventory([repoPlacement()]), SKILL_NAME)).toBe(
+      'installed'
+    )
+  })
+
+  // Regression guard for the centralization: the badge predicate deliberately omits the
+  // shared helper's outdated carve-out, so a non-eligible outdated copy stays amber.
+  // Collapsing the two predicates would flip this to green while the dialog still shows
+  // a reinstall row — the badge/dialog contradiction this change exists to avoid.
+  it('keeps a non-eligible outdated global copy amber', () => {
+    expect(getSkillFreshnessDisplayStatus(inventory([placement('outdated')]), SKILL_NAME)).toBe(
+      'needs-attention'
+    )
+  })
+
   // Why: an unreadable plugin path could hide a copy of anything, but a skill Orca
   // never found anywhere is not the one to blame for it — that reads as a problem
   // with a skill the user has not installed.
@@ -218,4 +270,14 @@ describe('hasSkillCopyNeedingAttention', () => {
     expect(getSkillFreshnessDisplayStatus(value, SKILL_NAME)).toBe('installed')
     expect(hasSkillCopyNeedingAttention(value, SKILL_NAME)).toBe(false)
   })
+
+  // Why: a project copy is not the presence that makes the cache fault this skill's
+  // problem either. The two helpers have to read the same placements, or the badge calls
+  // a repo-only skill merely installed while the review affordance flags it amber.
+  it('does not treat a project copy as the presence that owns a cache fault', () => {
+    const value = inventory([repoPlacement()], [], [scanIssue('io-error')])
+
+    expect(getSkillFreshnessDisplayStatus(value, SKILL_NAME)).toBe('installed')
+    expect(hasSkillCopyNeedingAttention(value, SKILL_NAME)).toBe(false)
+  })
 })
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/lib/skill-freshness-display-status.ts b/src/renderer/src/lib/skill-freshness-display-status.ts
index ed983e88c2a..3d6ad527a97 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/lib/skill-freshness-display-status.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/lib/skill-freshness-display-status.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import {
   isSkillCopyNeedingAttention,
   isSkillScanIssueNeedingAttention,
+  skillPlacementParticipatesInGlobalFreshness,
   type SkillFreshnessInventory
 } from '../../../shared/skill-freshness'
 
@@ -23,6 +24,13 @@ export function getSkillFreshnessDisplayStatus(
     if (installation.name !== skillName) {
       continue
     }
+    // Why: a project-owned copy is outside the global updater's reach, so it can neither
+    // stand in as evidence this skill is installed globally nor make the badge amber over
+    // drift Orca has no way to fix. Skipped before `hasPlacement` so a repo-only skill
+    // reports presence, not a freshness claim about a copy Orca does not manage.
+    if (!skillPlacementParticipatesInGlobalFreshness(installation)) {
+      continue
+    }
     hasPlacement = true
     // Why: 'newer-known' is recognized official content ahead of this build — the
     // updater's own install or a newer release's bytes. There is nothing to fix and
@@ -61,8 +69,11 @@ export function hasSkillCopyNeedingAttention(
   inventory: SkillFreshnessInventory | null,
   skillName: string
 ): boolean {
+  // Why: the same participation filter the status above applies, or an unreadable plugin
+  // folder flags a repo-only skill the status calls merely installed.
   const placements = (inventory?.installations ?? []).filter(
-    (installation) => installation.name === skillName
+    (installation) =>
+      installation.name === skillName && skillPlacementParticipatesInGlobalFreshness(installation)
   )
   return (
     (placements.length > 0 &&
diff --git a/src/shared/skill-freshness.ts b/src/shared/skill-freshness.ts
index fe3c94272f3..24bbcc9df38 100644
--- a/src/shared/skill-freshness.ts
+++ b/src/shared/skill-freshness.ts
@@ -86,17 +86,44 @@ export type SkillFreshnessInstallation = {
   errorCategory: string | null
 }
 
+// A scope whose contents belong to someone other than the user: a project's own checkout,
+// or a plugin's bundled copy. Orca's global update never writes here, so the owner's
+// content is not the user's drift — which is why ownership outranks byte status when
+// labelling a location.
+const OWNER_MANAGED_SKILL_SCOPES: ReadonlySet<SkillInstallationTopology> = new Set([
+  'repo-scope',
+  'plugin-cache'
+])
+
+export function isOwnerManagedSkillScope(topology: SkillInstallationTopology): boolean {
+  return OWNER_MANAGED_SKILL_SCOPES.has(topology)
+}
+
+// Why: Orca's updater only ever passes --global, so a copy a project owns is not
+// something Orca can act on — it has no remedy by design. Reporting it as global drift
+// produced an amber badge no user action could clear, over a copy their own repo
+// legitimately owns. Stated by scope rather than by byte status on purpose: an outdated
+// or unreadable project copy is just as far outside the global updater's reach as an
+// unrecognized one.
+export function skillPlacementParticipatesInGlobalFreshness(
+  installation: SkillFreshnessInstallation
+): boolean {
+  return installation.topology !== 'repo-scope'
+}
+
 /**
  * Whether a copy is wrong in a way running the update would not resolve.
  *
  * Shared so the badge and the review dialog cannot disagree about what counts: the
  * badge points at the dialog for the explanation, so a copy that turns the badge
  * amber must also produce a row there. An out-of-date copy the command converges is
- * ordinary work, not a problem, and a plugin's own copy of a same-named skill is the
- * vendor's business rather than the user's drift.
+ * ordinary work, not a problem; a plugin's own copy of a same-named skill is the vendor's
+ * business rather than the user's drift, and a project's own copy is outside the reach of
+ * the only update Orca runs.
  */
 export function isSkillCopyNeedingAttention(installation: SkillFreshnessInstallation): boolean {
   return (
+    skillPlacementParticipatesInGlobalFreshness(installation) &&
     installation.status !== 'current' &&
     // Why: 'newer-known' is recognized official content ahead of this build — the
     // updater's own install or a newer release's bytes. There is nothing to fix and