diff --git a/main.ts b/main.ts
index ede1253..479ab0e 100644
--- a/main.ts
+++ b/main.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 import * as core from "@actions/core";
 import { deleteProgressComment, reportProgress } from "./mcp/comment.ts";
+import { startInstallation } from "./mcp/dependencies.ts";
 import {
   initToolState,
   startMcpHttpServer,
@@ -307,6 +308,8 @@ export async function main(): Promise<MainResult> {
     log.info(`» MCP server started at ${mcpHttpServer.url}`);
     timer.checkpoint("mcpServer");
 
+    startInstallation(toolContext);
+
     if (payload.model) log.info(`» model:   ${payload.model}`);
     if (payload.timeout) log.info(`» timeout: ${payload.timeout}`);
     log.info(`» push:    ${payload.push}`);
diff --git a/mcp/dependencies.ts b/mcp/dependencies.ts
index 9b5c37a..93c351f 100644
--- a/mcp/dependencies.ts
+++ b/mcp/dependencies.ts
@@ -67,9 +67,10 @@ Inspect the repository structure to determine how dependencies should be install
 }
 
 /**
- * start dependency installation in the background (non-blocking, idempotent)
+ * start dependency installation in the background (non-blocking, idempotent).
+ * called eagerly from main.ts at startup and also available via MCP tools.
  */
-function startInstallation(ctx: ToolContext): void {
+export function startInstallation(ctx: ToolContext): void {
   // already started or completed - do nothing
   if (ctx.toolState.dependencyInstallation) {
     return;
diff --git a/mcp/upload.ts b/mcp/upload.ts
index 4b1c94c..36bac81 100644
--- a/mcp/upload.ts
+++ b/mcp/upload.ts
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ export function UploadFileTool(ctx: ToolContext) {
   return tool({
     name: "upload_file",
     description:
-      "upload a file to get a permanent public URL. use for screenshots, artifacts, or any files you want to reference in PRs/comments. max 10MB, images/text/archives allowed.",
+      "upload a file to get a permanent public URL. use for screenshots, artifacts, or any files you want to reference in PRs/comments. max 10MB, images/text/archives allowed. when embedding uploaded images in comments or PR bodies, always use markdown image syntax: ![description](url)",
     parameters: UploadFileParams,
     execute: execute(async (params) => {
       // read file from disk eagerly on purpose to avoid its content being changed by the time it's uploaded
diff --git a/utils/buildPullfrogFooter.ts b/utils/buildPullfrogFooter.ts
index 37de638..9c25b57 100644
--- a/utils/buildPullfrogFooter.ts
+++ b/utils/buildPullfrogFooter.ts
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ export interface WorkflowRunFooterInfo {
 }
 
 export interface BuildPullfrogFooterParams {
-  /** add "Triggered by Pullfrog" link */
+  /** add "via Pullfrog" link */
   triggeredBy?: boolean;
   /** add "View workflow run" link */
   workflowRun?: WorkflowRunFooterInfo | undefined;
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ export function buildPullfrogFooter(params: BuildPullfrogFooterParams): string {
   }
 
   if (params.triggeredBy) {
-    parts.push("Triggered by [Pullfrog](https://pullfrog.com)");
+    parts.push("via [Pullfrog](https://pullfrog.com)");
   }
 
   if (params.model) {
diff --git a/utils/instructions.ts b/utils/instructions.ts
index 507617a..05c59b2 100644
--- a/utils/instructions.ts
+++ b/utils/instructions.ts
@@ -153,9 +153,10 @@ ${ctx.userQuoted}`;
 
   const eventInstructions = ctx.payload.eventInstructions ?? "";
   if (eventInstructions) {
+    const parts = [ctx.eventTitle, eventInstructions].filter(Boolean);
     return `************* YOUR TASK *************
 
-${eventInstructions}`;
+${parts.join("\n\n")}`;
   }
 
   return "";
diff --git a/utils/skills.ts b/utils/skills.ts
index a54580a..e1a2a70 100644
--- a/utils/skills.ts
+++ b/utils/skills.ts
@@ -1,9 +1,19 @@
 import { spawnSync } from "node:child_process";
-import { resolve } from "node:path";
+import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
 import { log } from "./cli.ts";
+import { getDevDependencyVersion } from "./version.ts";
 
-const skillsBin = resolve(import.meta.dirname, "../node_modules/.bin/skills");
+const skillsVersion = getDevDependencyVersion("skills");
 
+/**
+ * install a skill globally via the `skills` CLI.
+ *
+ * runs `npx skills add <ref> --skill <name> -g` with `cwd` set to os tmpdir
+ * so npm doesn't walk up and find a project-level `.npmrc` with pnpm-specific
+ * settings (e.g. `public-hoist-pattern`) that break npx binary resolution.
+ * the `-g` flag writes to `$HOME/.agents/skills/` which is controlled by
+ * `params.env.HOME` (the fake HOME), so cwd has no effect on install location.
+ */
 export function addSkill(params: {
   ref: string;
   skill: string;
@@ -11,9 +21,21 @@ export function addSkill(params: {
   agent: string;
 }): void {
   const result = spawnSync(
-    skillsBin,
-    ["add", params.ref, "--skill", params.skill, "-g", "-a", params.agent, "-y"],
+    "npx",
+    [
+      "-y",
+      `skills@${skillsVersion}`,
+      "add",
+      params.ref,
+      "--skill",
+      params.skill,
+      "-g",
+      "-a",
+      params.agent,
+      "-y",
+    ],
     {
+      cwd: tmpdir(),
       env: { ...process.env, ...params.env },
       stdio: "pipe",
       timeout: 30_000,
@@ -22,6 +44,8 @@ export function addSkill(params: {
   if (result.status === 0) {
     log.info(`installed ${params.skill} skill (${params.agent})`);
   } else {
-    log.info(`${params.skill} skill install failed: ${(result.stderr?.toString() || "").trim()}`);
+    const stderr = (result.stderr?.toString() || "").trim();
+    const errorMsg = result.error ? result.error.message : stderr;
+    log.info(`${params.skill} skill install failed: ${errorMsg}`);
   }
 }