diff --git a/checks/shell-hook.nix b/checks/shell-hook.nix
index ad54162..9b7c784 100644
--- a/checks/shell-hook.nix
+++ b/checks/shell-hook.nix
@@ -53,68 +53,75 @@ pkgs.runCommandLocal "skills-shell-hook-check"
     # The fixture project carries three things the hook must not disturb: a
     # hand-authored skill under its own name, a hand-authored skill whose name
     # collides with a selected one, and a symlink pointing outside the store.
-    mkdir -p proj/.claude/skills/handmade
-    printf '%s\n' "a hand-authored skill" > proj/.claude/skills/handmade/SKILL.md
-    mkdir -p proj/.claude/skills/sample-gamma
-    printf '%s\n' "a hand-authored gamma" > proj/.claude/skills/sample-gamma/SKILL.md
-    ln -s /nonexistent/external-target proj/.claude/skills/external
+    mkdir -p proj/.agents/skills/handmade
+    printf '%s\n' "a hand-authored skill" > proj/.agents/skills/handmade/SKILL.md
+    mkdir -p proj/.agents/skills/sample-gamma
+    printf '%s\n' "a hand-authored gamma" > proj/.agents/skills/sample-gamma/SKILL.md
+    ln -s /nonexistent/external-target proj/.agents/skills/external
     cd proj
 
     echo "first entry: the two free skills link as store symlinks that resolve"
     printf '%s\n' "$hookBoth" > ../hook-both.sh
     . ../hook-both.sh
     for name in sample-alpha sample-beta; do
-      [ -L ".claude/skills/$name" ] || fail "$name was not linked as a symlink"
-      case "$(readlink ".claude/skills/$name")" in
+      [ -L ".agents/skills/$name" ] || fail "$name was not linked as a symlink"
+      case "$(readlink ".agents/skills/$name")" in
         ${builtins.storeDir}/*) : ;;
         *) fail "$name's symlink does not point into the store" ;;
       esac
-      test -f ".claude/skills/$name/SKILL.md" \
+      test -f ".agents/skills/$name/SKILL.md" \
         || fail "$name's link does not resolve to its SKILL.md"
     done
 
     echo "a selected skill colliding with a hand-authored one leaves the real directory"
-    { [ -d .claude/skills/sample-gamma ] && [ ! -L .claude/skills/sample-gamma ]; } \
+    { [ -d .agents/skills/sample-gamma ] && [ ! -L .agents/skills/sample-gamma ]; } \
       || fail "the colliding hand-authored skill was replaced by a symlink"
-    grep -qx "a hand-authored gamma" .claude/skills/sample-gamma/SKILL.md \
+    grep -qx "a hand-authored gamma" .agents/skills/sample-gamma/SKILL.md \
       || fail "the colliding hand-authored skill's content was overwritten"
 
     echo "the non-colliding hand-authored skill is an untouched real directory"
-    { [ -d .claude/skills/handmade ] && [ ! -L .claude/skills/handmade ]; } \
+    { [ -d .agents/skills/handmade ] && [ ! -L .agents/skills/handmade ]; } \
       || fail "the hand-authored skill was replaced or removed"
-    test -f .claude/skills/handmade/SKILL.md || fail "the hand-authored skill lost its content"
+    test -f .agents/skills/handmade/SKILL.md || fail "the hand-authored skill lost its content"
 
     echo "a symlink pointing outside the store is not ours, so it is left alone"
-    [ -L .claude/skills/external ] || fail "the non-store symlink was removed"
+    [ -L .agents/skills/external ] || fail "the non-store symlink was removed"
+
+    echo "Claude Code compatibility points at the canonical skill directory"
+    [ -L .claude/skills ] || fail ".claude/skills is not a compatibility symlink"
+    [ "$(readlink .claude/skills)" = "../.agents/skills" ] \
+      || fail ".claude/skills points somewhere other than ../.agents/skills"
+    test -f .claude/skills/sample-alpha/SKILL.md \
+      || fail "Claude Code compatibility link does not resolve selected skills"
 
     echo "the .gitignore lists only the skills the hook actually linked, plus itself"
-    grep -qx '/.gitignore' .claude/skills/.gitignore || fail ".gitignore does not ignore itself"
-    grep -qx '/sample-alpha' .claude/skills/.gitignore || fail ".gitignore omits sample-alpha"
-    grep -qx '/sample-beta' .claude/skills/.gitignore || fail ".gitignore omits sample-beta"
+    grep -qx '/.gitignore' .agents/skills/.gitignore || fail ".gitignore does not ignore itself"
+    grep -qx '/sample-alpha' .agents/skills/.gitignore || fail ".gitignore omits sample-alpha"
+    grep -qx '/sample-beta' .agents/skills/.gitignore || fail ".gitignore omits sample-beta"
     for tracked in /handmade /sample-gamma /external; do
-      grep -qx "$tracked" .claude/skills/.gitignore \
+      grep -qx "$tracked" .agents/skills/.gitignore \
         && fail ".gitignore lists $tracked, which would untrack a real path"
     done
 
     echo "no manifest or state file is written: only the fixtures and links exist"
-    entries=$(ls -A .claude/skills | sort | tr '\n' ' ')
+    entries=$(ls -A .agents/skills | sort | tr '\n' ' ')
     [ "$entries" = ".gitignore external handmade sample-alpha sample-beta sample-gamma " ] \
-      || fail "unexpected entries under .claude/skills: [$entries]"
+      || fail "unexpected entries under .agents/skills: [$entries]"
 
     echo "second entry with sample-beta deselected: its symlink is removed, the rest stay"
     printf '%s\n' "$hookAlpha" > ../hook-alpha.sh
     . ../hook-alpha.sh
-    test ! -e .claude/skills/sample-beta || fail "the deselected skill's symlink was not removed"
-    [ -L .claude/skills/sample-alpha ] || fail "the still-selected skill was dropped"
-    { [ -d .claude/skills/handmade ] && [ ! -L .claude/skills/handmade ]; } \
+    test ! -e .agents/skills/sample-beta || fail "the deselected skill's symlink was not removed"
+    [ -L .agents/skills/sample-alpha ] || fail "the still-selected skill was dropped"
+    { [ -d .agents/skills/handmade ] && [ ! -L .agents/skills/handmade ]; } \
       || fail "the hand-authored skill was disturbed on re-entry"
-    { [ -d .claude/skills/sample-gamma ] && [ ! -L .claude/skills/sample-gamma ]; } \
+    { [ -d .agents/skills/sample-gamma ] && [ ! -L .agents/skills/sample-gamma ]; } \
       || fail "the colliding hand-authored skill was disturbed on re-entry"
-    [ -L .claude/skills/external ] || fail "the non-store symlink was disturbed on re-entry"
+    [ -L .agents/skills/external ] || fail "the non-store symlink was disturbed on re-entry"
 
     echo "the .gitignore tracks the new selection"
-    grep -qx '/sample-alpha' .claude/skills/.gitignore || fail ".gitignore lost sample-alpha"
-    grep -qx '/sample-beta' .claude/skills/.gitignore \
+    grep -qx '/sample-alpha' .agents/skills/.gitignore || fail ".gitignore lost sample-alpha"
+    grep -qx '/sample-beta' .agents/skills/.gitignore \
       && fail ".gitignore still lists the deselected sample-beta"
 
     touch "$out"
diff --git a/flake.nix b/flake.nix
index d4f5f9e..a0ffa42 100644
--- a/flake.nix
+++ b/flake.nix
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@
     {
       lib = { inherit mkSkill mkSkillsShellHook; };
 
-      # Global placement: an operator selects skills into `~/.claude/skills/`
+      # Global placement: an operator selects skills into enabled agent harnesses
       # via `programs.agents.skills`. Not per-system — it is a module function,
       # and the skills it places come from the importing configuration's own
       # selection rather than this flake's nixpkgs.
@@ -95,8 +95,8 @@
 
           # A working shell for developing skills in this repo.
           # python3 runs the benchmark skill's deterministic core.
-          # The benchmark-skill is placed into ./.claude/skills/ on entry, so
-          # /benchmark-skill is available while working in this repo.
+          # The benchmark-skill is placed into ./.agents/skills/ on entry, with
+          # ./.claude/skills as a compatibility symlink.
           devShells.default = pkgs.mkShell {
             packages = [ pkgs.python3 ];
             shellHook = mkSkillsShellHook [ (skillPackages pkgs).benchmark-skill ];
diff --git a/lib/mk-skills-shell-hook.nix b/lib/mk-skills-shell-hook.nix
index 1926158..2e91b0a 100644
--- a/lib/mk-skills-shell-hook.nix
+++ b/lib/mk-skills-shell-hook.nix
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 # Builds a dev-shell shellHook that links a project's selected skills into its
-# own `.claude/skills/` as direct-child symlinks into the Nix store.
+# own `.agents/skills/` as direct-child symlinks into the Nix store, with
+# `.claude/skills` as a compatibility symlink when that path is free.
 skills:
 let
   storeDir = builtins.storeDir;
@@ -8,7 +9,7 @@ let
   );
 in
 ''
-  # Places this project's Nix-delivered skills into ./.claude/skills/ on shell
+  # Places this project's Nix-delivered skills into ./.agents/skills/ on shell
   # entry.
   # Each run first drops every direct-child symlink pointing into the store,
   # then relinks the current selection.
@@ -16,12 +17,26 @@ in
   # skills for free and needs no manifest.
   # A real (non-symlink) skill directory is a hand-authored, project-private
   # skill and is left untouched.
+  # When ./.claude/skills is free, it is kept as a compatibility symlink to the
+  # canonical ./.agents/skills directory so Claude Code sees the same skills.
   # The whole hook runs in a subshell so it leaks no names into the interactive
   # shell.
   (
-    _mkskills_dir=".claude/skills"
+    _mkskills_dir=".agents/skills"
     mkdir -p "$_mkskills_dir"
 
+    mkdir -p .claude
+    if [ ! -e .claude/skills ] && [ ! -L .claude/skills ]; then
+      ln -s ../.agents/skills .claude/skills
+    elif [ -L .claude/skills ]; then
+      case "$(readlink .claude/skills)" in
+        ../.agents/skills) : ;;
+        ${storeDir}/*) rm -f .claude/skills && ln -s ../.agents/skills .claude/skills ;;
+      esac
+    else
+      printf 'mkSkillsShellHook: leaving existing non-symlink .claude/skills in place; Claude Code compatibility link not installed\n' >&2
+    fi
+
     for _mkskills_entry in "$_mkskills_dir"/*; do
       [ -L "$_mkskills_entry" ] || continue
       case "$(readlink "$_mkskills_entry")" in