diff --git a/pkg/memory/store/queue.go b/pkg/memory/store/queue.go
index cb5cc997c..b2d580709 100644
--- a/pkg/memory/store/queue.go
+++ b/pkg/memory/store/queue.go
@@ -148,6 +148,12 @@ func (q *QueueManager) EvictOldest(ctx context.Context, agentID, sessionKey stri
 		evicted++
 	}
 
+	// DB trigger cascades chunk deletion, but the in-memory vecCache
+	// doesn't know about it. Force a reload on next search.
+	if evicted > 0 {
+		q.store.invalidateVecCache()
+	}
+
 	summary := ""
 	if evicted > 0 {
 		summary = fmt.Sprintf("[Memory compaction: %d items archived]\nEvicted topics: %s",
diff --git a/pkg/skills/loader.go b/pkg/skills/loader.go
index 7d8ba7856..da8356b58 100644
--- a/pkg/skills/loader.go
+++ b/pkg/skills/loader.go
@@ -77,8 +77,9 @@ func NewSkillsLoader(primarySkillsDir string, globalSkills string, builtinSkills
 	}
 }
 
-// DirsMtime returns the latest modification time across all skill directories.
-// Used for cache invalidation — if no directories exist, returns zero time.
+// DirsMtime returns the latest modification time across all skill directories
+// and their immediate children. Catches both file additions (directory mtime)
+// and in-place edits of existing skill files (file mtime).
 func (sl *SkillsLoader) DirsMtime() time.Time {
 	var latest time.Time
 	for _, dir := range []string{sl.primarySkills, sl.globalSkills, sl.builtinSkills} {
@@ -92,6 +93,19 @@ func (sl *SkillsLoader) DirsMtime() time.Time {
 		if mt := info.ModTime(); mt.After(latest) {
 			latest = mt
 		}
+		entries, err := os.ReadDir(dir)
+		if err != nil {
+			continue
+		}
+		for _, e := range entries {
+			fi, err := e.Info()
+			if err != nil {
+				continue
+			}
+			if mt := fi.ModTime(); mt.After(latest) {
+				latest = mt
+			}
+		}
 	}
 	return latest
 }