diff --git a/internal/cli/plugin_agents_test.go b/internal/cli/plugin_agents_test.go
index 316a7ec9..145baa64 100644
--- a/internal/cli/plugin_agents_test.go
+++ b/internal/cli/plugin_agents_test.go
@@ -376,17 +376,41 @@ func TestApply_AgentsFlagKeepsSiblingSharedSkill(t *testing.T) {
 	// Codex owns it in state. No --agents pi surface may offer it as an orphan:
 	// status would report a deletion, the dry run would preview one, and
 	// reconcile would prompt to remove a file Codex still depends on.
-	for _, args := range [][]string{
-		{"status", "--agents", "pi"},
-		{"apply", "--dry-run", "--agents", "pi"},
-		{"reconcile", "--auto-safe", "--agents", "pi"},
+	//
+	// The dry run never prints orphan paths, only the removal counts, so
+	// checking it for the skill name alone could never fail. Its removal line
+	// is pinned exactly instead: pi's own MCP cleanup is the one expected
+	// removal ("Removals: 1 key(s) (…)"), and a leaked skill delete turns it
+	// into "1 key(s), 1 file(s)". Pinning the whole line, rather than only the
+	// absence of "file(s)", keeps this row from going vacuous again if the
+	// label is ever reworded.
+	for _, tc := range []struct {
+		args  []string
+		leaks []string // must not appear
+		wants []string // must appear
+	}{
+		{args: []string{"status", "--agents", "pi"}, leaks: []string{"toolkit-audit"}},
+		{
+			args:  []string{"apply", "--dry-run", "--agents", "pi"},
+			leaks: []string{"toolkit-audit", "file(s)"},
+			wants: []string{"Removals: 1 key(s) (the real apply will remove these)"},
+		},
+		{args: []string{"reconcile", "--auto-safe", "--agents", "pi"}, leaks: []string{"toolkit-audit"}},
 	} {
-		out, err := runCLI(t, env, args...)
+		cmd := strings.Join(tc.args, " ")
+		out, err := runCLI(t, env, tc.args...)
 		if err != nil {
-			t.Fatalf("%s: %v\n%s", strings.Join(args, " "), err, out)
+			t.Fatalf("%s: %v\n%s", cmd, err, out)
+		}
+		for _, leak := range tc.leaks {
+			if strings.Contains(out, leak) {
+				t.Errorf("%s offered the skill Codex still owns (found %q):\n%s", cmd, leak, out)
+			}
 		}
-		if strings.Contains(out, "toolkit-audit") {
-			t.Errorf("%s offered the skill Codex still owns:\n%s", strings.Join(args, " "), out)
+		for _, want := range tc.wants {
+			if !strings.Contains(out, want) {
+				t.Errorf("%s: want %q in output:\n%s", cmd, want, out)
+			}
 		}
 	}
 	if out, err := runCLI(t, env, "apply", "--agents", "pi"); err != nil {