diff --git a/plugins/fusion-plugin-grok-runtime/src/__tests__/runtime-adapter.test.ts b/plugins/fusion-plugin-grok-runtime/src/__tests__/runtime-adapter.test.ts
index 8fb8e63811..97e0cd1b4b 100644
--- a/plugins/fusion-plugin-grok-runtime/src/__tests__/runtime-adapter.test.ts
+++ b/plugins/fusion-plugin-grok-runtime/src/__tests__/runtime-adapter.test.ts
@@ -226,10 +226,44 @@ describe("GrokRuntimeAdapter (ACP)", () => {
     expect(session.state.errorMessage).toContain("ENOENT grok");
     expect(onText).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.stringContaining("ENOENT grok"));
 
-    // Second prompt must not duplicate the diagnostic bubble.
+    /*
+    FNXC:GrokAcp 2026-07-12-06:15:
+    Follow-up prompts on a dead session must re-surface a diagnostic (including
+    the prior error) rather than appending the user turn and returning silently.
+    */
     onText.mockClear();
     await adapter.promptWithFallback(session, "hi");
-    expect(onText).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(onText).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.stringContaining("no live connection"));
+    expect(onText).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.stringContaining("ENOENT grok"));
+    expect(session.state.errorMessage).toContain("ENOENT grok");
+  });
+
+  it("re-surfaces diagnostics on follow-up prompts after connection is dropped", async () => {
+    const adapter = new GrokRuntimeAdapter({ createAcpAdapter: makeFakeAcpAdapter() });
+    const onText = vi.fn();
+    const { session } = await adapter.createSession({ onText });
+
+    // Drop the live ACP connection (simulates dispose / process death mid-session).
+    delete (session as { connection?: unknown }).connection;
+    session.state.errorMessage = "ACP bridge hung up";
+
+    onText.mockClear();
+    await expect(adapter.promptWithFallback(session, "still there?")).resolves.toBeUndefined();
+    expect(onText).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    expect(onText).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.stringContaining("no live connection"));
+    expect(onText).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.stringContaining("ACP bridge hung up"));
+    expect(session.state.messages?.some((m) => typeof m === "object" && m !== null && (m as { role?: string }).role === "user")).toBe(
+      true,
+    );
+    expect(
+      session.state.messages?.some(
+        (m) =>
+          typeof m === "object" &&
+          m !== null &&
+          (m as { role?: string; content?: string }).role === "assistant" &&
+          String((m as { content?: string }).content ?? "").includes("no live connection"),
+      ),
+    ).toBe(true);
   });
 
   it("describeModel formats grok prefix", async () => {
diff --git a/plugins/fusion-plugin-grok-runtime/src/__tests__/skill-loader.test.ts b/plugins/fusion-plugin-grok-runtime/src/__tests__/skill-loader.test.ts
index f46a31311d..5822892829 100644
--- a/plugins/fusion-plugin-grok-runtime/src/__tests__/skill-loader.test.ts
+++ b/plugins/fusion-plugin-grok-runtime/src/__tests__/skill-loader.test.ts
@@ -1,20 +1,33 @@
 import { existsSync, mkdirSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
-import { join } from "node:path";
+import { join, resolve } from "node:path";
 import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
 import { mkdtempSync } from "node:fs";
+import { pathToFileURL } from "node:url";
 import { afterEach, describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
 import {
   buildGrokSkillRules,
   extractRequestedSkillNames,
+  getFusionSkillSourceCandidates,
   resolveBundledFusionSkillSource,
   stageGrokSessionSkills,
 } from "../skill-loader.js";
 
 const disposers: Array<() => void> = [];
+const envKeysTouched = new Set<string>();
+
 afterEach(() => {
   while (disposers.length > 0) disposers.pop()?.();
+  for (const key of envKeysTouched) {
+    delete process.env[key];
+  }
+  envKeysTouched.clear();
 });
 
+function setEnv(key: string, value: string): void {
+  process.env[key] = value;
+  envKeysTouched.add(key);
+}
+
 describe("skill-loader", () => {
   it("resolves the bundled Fusion skill from the monorepo", () => {
     const source = resolveBundledFusionSkillSource();
@@ -22,6 +35,69 @@ describe("skill-loader", () => {
     expect(existsSync(join(source!, "SKILL.md"))).toBe(true);
   });
 
+  it("includes monorepo packages/cli/skill/fusion among candidates", () => {
+    const candidates = getFusionSkillSourceCandidates();
+    expect(
+      candidates.some((c) => c.endsWith(join("packages", "cli", "skill", "fusion")) || c.includes(`${join("packages", "cli", "skill", "fusion")}`)),
+    ).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  /*
+  FNXC:GrokAcp 2026-07-12-06:15:
+  Packaged @runfusion/fusion ships skill/** at package root next to dist/plugins/.
+  Candidate generation from a synthetic bundled.js URL must reach skill/fusion
+  without a monorepo tree.
+  */
+  it("generates packaged-install candidates for bundled plugin layout", () => {
+    const packageRoot = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "fusion-pkg-"));
+    const pluginDist = join(packageRoot, "dist", "plugins", "fusion-plugin-grok-runtime");
+    mkdirSync(pluginDist, { recursive: true });
+    const bundledJs = join(pluginDist, "bundled.js");
+    writeFileSync(bundledJs, "// stub\n");
+
+    const skillDir = join(packageRoot, "skill", "fusion");
+    mkdirSync(skillDir, { recursive: true });
+    writeFileSync(join(skillDir, "SKILL.md"), "---\nname: fusion\n---\n# fusion\n");
+
+    const moduleUrl = pathToFileURL(bundledJs).href;
+    const candidates = getFusionSkillSourceCandidates(moduleUrl);
+    const resolvedSkill = resolve(skillDir);
+
+    expect(candidates).toContain(resolvedSkill);
+    expect(resolveBundledFusionSkillSource(moduleUrl)).toBe(resolvedSkill);
+  });
+
+  it("walks ancestors for packages/cli/skill/fusion layout", () => {
+    const repoRoot = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "fusion-repo-"));
+    const pluginSrc = join(repoRoot, "plugins", "fusion-plugin-grok-runtime", "src");
+    mkdirSync(pluginSrc, { recursive: true });
+    const moduleFile = join(pluginSrc, "skill-loader.js");
+    writeFileSync(moduleFile, "// stub\n");
+
+    const skillDir = join(repoRoot, "packages", "cli", "skill", "fusion");
+    mkdirSync(skillDir, { recursive: true });
+    writeFileSync(join(skillDir, "SKILL.md"), "---\nname: fusion\n---\n# fusion\n");
+
+    const moduleUrl = pathToFileURL(moduleFile).href;
+    const candidates = getFusionSkillSourceCandidates(moduleUrl);
+    expect(candidates).toContain(resolve(skillDir));
+    expect(resolveBundledFusionSkillSource(moduleUrl)).toBe(resolve(skillDir));
+  });
+
+  it("prefers FUSION_SKILL_SOURCE when set and valid", () => {
+    const root = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "fusion-env-skill-"));
+    const skillDir = join(root, "custom-fusion");
+    mkdirSync(skillDir, { recursive: true });
+    writeFileSync(join(skillDir, "SKILL.md"), "---\nname: fusion\n---\n# env\n");
+    setEnv("FUSION_SKILL_SOURCE", skillDir);
+
+    const candidates = getFusionSkillSourceCandidates(pathToFileURL(join(root, "missing", "mod.js")).href);
+    expect(candidates[0]).toBe(resolve(skillDir));
+    expect(resolveBundledFusionSkillSource(pathToFileURL(join(root, "missing", "mod.js")).href)).toBe(
+      resolve(skillDir),
+    );
+  });
+
   it("stages fusion skill plus additional skill roots into a plugin dir", () => {
     const extraRoot = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "extra-skills-"));
     const skillDir = join(extraRoot, "ce-plan");
@@ -39,6 +115,18 @@ describe("skill-loader", () => {
     expect(staged.skillNames).toEqual(expect.arrayContaining(["fusion", "ce-plan"]));
   });
 
+  it("still lists requested fusion skill in rules when staging cannot copy files", () => {
+    const staged = stageGrokSessionSkills({
+      requestedSkillNames: ["fusion"],
+      includeFusionSkill: false,
+    });
+    disposers.push(staged.dispose);
+    expect(staged.skillNames).toContain("fusion");
+    const rules = buildGrokSkillRules({ skillNames: staged.skillNames, fusionToolCount: 0 });
+    expect(rules).toContain("fusion");
+    expect(rules).toContain("Use the Fusion skill workflows");
+  });
+
   it("extracts requested skill names from skills or skillSelection", () => {
     expect(extractRequestedSkillNames({ skills: ["a", "b"] })).toEqual(["a", "b"]);
     expect(
diff --git a/plugins/fusion-plugin-grok-runtime/src/runtime-adapter.ts b/plugins/fusion-plugin-grok-runtime/src/runtime-adapter.ts
index b38ebc1534..727c69c165 100644
--- a/plugins/fusion-plugin-grok-runtime/src/runtime-adapter.ts
+++ b/plugins/fusion-plugin-grok-runtime/src/runtime-adapter.ts
@@ -336,13 +336,18 @@ export class GrokRuntimeAdapter implements AgentRuntime {
     const hasConnection =
       acp && "connection" in session && Boolean((session as { connection?: unknown }).connection);
 
+    /*
+    FNXC:GrokAcp 2026-07-12-06:15:
+    Dead / disposed sessions have no ACP connection. Follow-up prompts must not
+    append a user message and return silently — always re-surface a diagnostic
+    via onText + assistant message so multi-turn chat stays visible. Prefer the
+    previous errorMessage when present so operators still see the root cause.
+    */
     if (!hasConnection) {
       const existing = grokSession.state.errorMessage?.trim();
-      if (existing) {
-        return;
-      }
-      const diagnostic =
-        "Grok ACP session has no live connection. The `grok agent stdio` process failed to start or was disposed.";
+      const diagnostic = existing
+        ? `Grok ACP session has no live connection (previous error: ${existing}). Start a new session to retry.`
+        : "Grok ACP session has no live connection. The `grok agent stdio` process failed to start or was disposed.";
       grokSession.state.errorMessage = diagnostic;
       grokSession.callbacks.onText?.(diagnostic);
       appendMessage(grokSession, "assistant", diagnostic);
diff --git a/plugins/fusion-plugin-grok-runtime/src/skill-loader.ts b/plugins/fusion-plugin-grok-runtime/src/skill-loader.ts
index 45aaea9650..19dbeec518 100644
--- a/plugins/fusion-plugin-grok-runtime/src/skill-loader.ts
+++ b/plugins/fusion-plugin-grok-runtime/src/skill-loader.ts
@@ -7,6 +7,14 @@ Grok loads skills from trusted `--plugin-dir` / `_meta.pluginDirs` plugins
   - skills from engine additionalSkillPaths / skill roots
 Requested skill names are also listed in runtime context rules so the agent
 still sees the selection when a skill file cannot be resolved on disk.
+
+FNXC:GrokAcp 2026-07-12-06:15:
+Packaged `@runfusion/fusion` publishes `skill/**` (not only monorepo
+`packages/cli/skill/fusion`). Expand fusion-skill candidates so CLI installs under
+`dist/plugins/fusion-plugin-grok-runtime/` still resolve `skill/fusion` at the
+package root, via parent walks, createRequire of `@runfusion/fusion/package.json`,
+and optional `FUSION_SKILL_SOURCE`. Missing fusion skill must not fail session
+create — rules still list requested skills via buildGrokSkillRules.
 */
 
 import {
@@ -19,6 +27,7 @@ import {
   symlinkSync,
   writeFileSync,
 } from "node:fs";
+import { createRequire } from "node:module";
 import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
 import { basename, dirname, join, resolve } from "node:path";
 import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
@@ -35,21 +44,84 @@ function isSkillDir(dir: string): boolean {
   return existsSync(join(dir, "SKILL.md"));
 }
 
-export function getFusionSkillSourceCandidates(moduleUrl = import.meta.url): string[] {
-  const here = fileURLToPath(moduleUrl);
-  const moduleDir = dirname(here);
-  return [
-    // Monorepo source checkout: packages/cli/skill/fusion
-    resolve(moduleDir, "..", "..", "..", "packages", "cli", "skill", FUSION_SKILL_NAME),
-    // Bundled CLI layout: dist/skill/fusion or sibling skill/
-    resolve(moduleDir, "..", "..", "skill", FUSION_SKILL_NAME),
-    resolve(moduleDir, "..", "skill", FUSION_SKILL_NAME),
-    resolve(moduleDir, "..", "..", "..", "skill", FUSION_SKILL_NAME),
-  ];
+function pushUnique(out: string[], candidate: string | null | undefined): void {
+  if (!candidate) return;
+  const resolved = resolve(candidate);
+  if (!out.includes(resolved)) out.push(resolved);
 }
 
-export function resolveBundledFusionSkillSource(): string | null {
-  for (const candidate of getFusionSkillSourceCandidates()) {
+function pushSkillLayoutsAtRoot(out: string[], root: string): void {
+  pushUnique(out, join(root, "skill", FUSION_SKILL_NAME));
+  pushUnique(out, join(root, "packages", "cli", "skill", FUSION_SKILL_NAME));
+}
+
+function walkAncestorSkillCandidates(out: string[], startDir: string, maxParents = 8): void {
+  let dir = startDir;
+  for (let i = 0; i < maxParents; i++) {
+    pushSkillLayoutsAtRoot(out, dir);
+    const parent = dirname(dir);
+    if (parent === dir) break;
+    dir = parent;
+  }
+}
+
+function pushPackageRequireCandidates(out: string[], from: string): void {
+  try {
+    const require = createRequire(from);
+    const pkgJson = require.resolve("@runfusion/fusion/package.json");
+    pushUnique(out, join(dirname(pkgJson), "skill", FUSION_SKILL_NAME));
+  } catch {
+    // Package not resolvable from this origin (plugin-only tree, tests, etc.).
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Ordered candidate directories for the bundled Fusion skill (`skill/fusion` with SKILL.md).
+ * First existing skill dir wins in resolveBundledFusionSkillSource.
+ */
+export function getFusionSkillSourceCandidates(moduleUrl = import.meta.url): string[] {
+  const candidates: string[] = [];
+  const envSource = process.env.FUSION_SKILL_SOURCE?.trim();
+  if (envSource) {
+    pushUnique(candidates, envSource);
+  }
+
+  const here = fileURLToPath(moduleUrl);
+  const moduleDir = dirname(here);
+
+  // Monorepo source checkout relative to plugins/fusion-plugin-grok-runtime/src
+  pushUnique(candidates, resolve(moduleDir, "..", "..", "..", "packages", "cli", "skill", FUSION_SKILL_NAME));
+  // Relative siblings used in various dist layouts
+  pushUnique(candidates, resolve(moduleDir, "..", "..", "skill", FUSION_SKILL_NAME));
+  pushUnique(candidates, resolve(moduleDir, "..", "skill", FUSION_SKILL_NAME));
+  pushUnique(candidates, resolve(moduleDir, "..", "..", "..", "skill", FUSION_SKILL_NAME));
+  /*
+  FNXC:GrokAcp 2026-07-12-06:15:
+  Published package layout: dist/plugins/fusion-plugin-grok-runtime/* → ../../../skill/fusion
+  at the @runfusion/fusion package root (files includes skill/**).
+  */
+  pushUnique(candidates, resolve(moduleDir, "..", "..", "..", "skill", FUSION_SKILL_NAME));
+  pushUnique(candidates, resolve(moduleDir, "../../../skill", FUSION_SKILL_NAME));
+
+  walkAncestorSkillCandidates(candidates, moduleDir, 8);
+  pushPackageRequireCandidates(candidates, moduleUrl);
+
+  const argv1 = typeof process.argv[1] === "string" ? process.argv[1].trim() : "";
+  if (argv1) {
+    try {
+      const argvPath = resolve(argv1);
+      pushPackageRequireCandidates(candidates, argvPath);
+      walkAncestorSkillCandidates(candidates, dirname(argvPath), 8);
+    } catch {
+      // ignore bad argv paths
+    }
+  }
+
+  return candidates;
+}
+
+export function resolveBundledFusionSkillSource(moduleUrl = import.meta.url): string | null {
+  for (const candidate of getFusionSkillSourceCandidates(moduleUrl)) {
     if (isSkillDir(candidate)) return candidate;
   }
   return null;