diff --git a/server/internal/handler/runtime_local_skills.go b/server/internal/handler/runtime_local_skills.go
index 86e4577a8..1928f2b2d 100644
--- a/server/internal/handler/runtime_local_skills.go
+++ b/server/internal/handler/runtime_local_skills.go
@@ -524,11 +524,19 @@ func (h *Handler) ReportLocalSkillListResult(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Requ
 			supported = *body.Supported
 		}
 		if err := h.LocalSkillListStore.Complete(r.Context(), requestID, body.Skills, supported); err != nil {
-			slog.Warn("local skills Complete failed", "error", err, "request_id", requestID)
+			// Surface the store failure as 5xx so the daemon can retry instead
+			// of swallowing the report (leaves the request stuck in running
+			// until the server-side timeout, which is exactly the "looks OK but
+			// nothing happens" class of bug we're trying to avoid).
+			slog.Error("local skills Complete failed", "error", err, "request_id", requestID)
+			writeError(w, http.StatusInternalServerError, "failed to persist completion")
+			return
 		}
 	} else {
 		if err := h.LocalSkillListStore.Fail(r.Context(), requestID, body.Error); err != nil {
-			slog.Warn("local skills Fail failed", "error", err, "request_id", requestID)
+			slog.Error("local skills Fail failed", "error", err, "request_id", requestID)
+			writeError(w, http.StatusInternalServerError, "failed to persist failure")
+			return
 		}
 	}
 
@@ -571,14 +579,18 @@ func (h *Handler) ReportLocalSkillImportResult(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Re
 
 	if body.Status != "completed" {
 		if err := h.LocalSkillImportStore.Fail(r.Context(), requestID, body.Error); err != nil {
-			slog.Warn("local skill import Fail failed", "error", err, "request_id", requestID)
+			slog.Error("local skill import Fail failed", "error", err, "request_id", requestID)
+			writeError(w, http.StatusInternalServerError, "failed to persist failure")
+			return
 		}
 		writeJSON(w, http.StatusOK, map[string]string{"status": "ok"})
 		return
 	}
 	if body.Skill == nil {
 		if err := h.LocalSkillImportStore.Fail(r.Context(), requestID, "daemon returned an empty skill bundle"); err != nil {
-			slog.Warn("local skill import Fail failed", "error", err, "request_id", requestID)
+			slog.Error("local skill import Fail failed", "error", err, "request_id", requestID)
+			writeError(w, http.StatusInternalServerError, "failed to persist failure")
+			return
 		}
 		writeJSON(w, http.StatusOK, map[string]string{"status": "ok"})
 		return
@@ -623,14 +635,27 @@ func (h *Handler) ReportLocalSkillImportResult(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Re
 			failMsg = "a skill with this name already exists"
 		}
 		if ferr := h.LocalSkillImportStore.Fail(r.Context(), requestID, failMsg); ferr != nil {
-			slog.Warn("local skill import Fail failed", "error", ferr, "request_id", requestID)
+			slog.Error("local skill import Fail failed", "error", ferr, "request_id", requestID)
+			writeError(w, http.StatusInternalServerError, "failed to persist failure")
+			return
 		}
 		writeJSON(w, http.StatusOK, map[string]string{"status": "ok"})
 		return
 	}
 
 	if err := h.LocalSkillImportStore.Complete(r.Context(), requestID, resp.SkillResponse); err != nil {
-		slog.Warn("local skill import Complete failed", "error", err, "request_id", requestID)
+		// We already wrote the Skill to Postgres. If the store-side Complete
+		// fails we can't leave that Skill orphaned: the daemon will retry on
+		// 5xx and re-create it, which blows up on the unique-name constraint
+		// and looks to the user like "import keeps failing". Roll back our
+		// side-effects so the retry lands on a clean slate.
+		slog.Error("local skill import Complete failed — rolling back created skill",
+			"error", err, "request_id", requestID, "skill_id", resp.ID)
+		if delErr := h.Queries.DeleteSkill(r.Context(), parseUUID(resp.ID)); delErr != nil {
+			slog.Warn("orphan skill rollback failed", "error", delErr, "skill_id", resp.ID)
+		}
+		writeError(w, http.StatusInternalServerError, "failed to persist import completion")
+		return
 	}
 	h.publish(protocol.EventSkillCreated, uuidToString(rt.WorkspaceID), "member", req.CreatorID, map[string]any{"skill": resp})
 	slog.Debug("runtime local skill imported", "runtime_id", runtimeID, "request_id", requestID, "skill_id", resp.ID)
diff --git a/server/internal/handler/runtime_local_skills_redis_store.go b/server/internal/handler/runtime_local_skills_redis_store.go
index 05b80dab4..c9f2fb497 100644
--- a/server/internal/handler/runtime_local_skills_redis_store.go
+++ b/server/internal/handler/runtime_local_skills_redis_store.go
@@ -20,23 +20,43 @@ import (
 //
 // PopPending is the critical multi-node primitive. It MUST atomically:
 //  1. pick the oldest pending request id for this runtime
-//  2. read and update its record to "running"
+//  2. claim it (remove from the pending zset) AND transition its record to
+//     "running" in a single step — otherwise a crash / transient Redis error
+//     between the two writes strands the request (no longer pending, record
+//     still says pending; no node will ever re-dispatch it).
 //
-// Redis WATCH/MULTI/EXEC gives us that without a Lua script: the transaction
-// aborts if another node modifies either key between WATCH and EXEC, so we
-// retry. In practice two nodes almost never race for the same runtime (each
-// runtime only has one daemon heartbeating), and the few ZPOPMIN fallbacks
-// below catch the rest.
+// Doing this as two round-trips is racy; we use a Lua script so Redis runs
+// ZREM + SET atomically server-side. If ZREM returns 0 (another node already
+// claimed it), the SET is skipped. This is the fix for the PR-1557 review
+// finding about the "request disappears under Redis hiccups" path.
 
 const (
 	// Namespaced so we don't collide with the realtime relay's ws:* keys.
-	localSkillListKeyPrefix         = "mul:local_skill:list:"
-	localSkillListPendingPrefix     = "mul:local_skill:list:pending:"
-	localSkillImportKeyPrefix       = "mul:local_skill:import:"
-	localSkillImportPendingPrefix   = "mul:local_skill:import:pending:"
-	localSkillRedisPopMaxRetries    = 5
+	localSkillListKeyPrefix       = "mul:local_skill:list:"
+	localSkillListPendingPrefix   = "mul:local_skill:list:pending:"
+	localSkillImportKeyPrefix     = "mul:local_skill:import:"
+	localSkillImportPendingPrefix = "mul:local_skill:import:pending:"
+	localSkillRedisPopMaxRetries  = 5
 )
 
+// claimPendingScript atomically claims a pending request:
+//   KEYS[1] = pending zset    ARGV[1] = request id to claim
+//   KEYS[2] = record key       ARGV[2] = new record JSON (status=running)
+//                              ARGV[3] = record TTL in seconds
+//
+// Returns 1 when this caller won the claim (zset entry removed, record
+// updated), 0 when the entry was already gone (another node won).
+// Either the ZREM and the SET both happen or neither does — Redis executes
+// a Lua script as a single atomic unit.
+var claimPendingScript = redis.NewScript(`
+local removed = redis.call('ZREM', KEYS[1], ARGV[1])
+if removed == 0 then
+    return 0
+end
+redis.call('SET', KEYS[2], ARGV[2], 'EX', tonumber(ARGV[3]))
+return 1
+`)
+
 func localSkillListKey(id string) string            { return localSkillListKeyPrefix + id }
 func localSkillListPendingKey(runtimeID string) string {
 	return localSkillListPendingPrefix + runtimeID
@@ -160,25 +180,28 @@ func (s *RedisLocalSkillListStore) PopPending(ctx context.Context, runtimeID str
 			continue
 		}
 
-		// Race guard: remove the id from the pending zset atomically-ish. Only
-		// the node whose ZRem returns 1 "wins" the claim; losers retry. Note
-		// we deliberately ZRem BEFORE overwriting the record so two winners
-		// never see Status=Pending in the persisted JSON at the same time.
-		removed, err := s.rdb.ZRem(ctx, pendingKey, id).Result()
-		if err != nil {
-			return nil, fmt.Errorf("zrem pending: %w", err)
-		}
-		if removed == 0 {
-			// Someone else popped it first.
-			continue
-		}
-
 		now := time.Now()
 		req.Status = RuntimeLocalSkillRunning
 		req.RunStartedAt = &now
 		req.UpdatedAt = now
-		if err := s.persistListRequest(ctx, req); err != nil {
-			return nil, err
+		data, err := json.Marshal(req)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("marshal list request: %w", err)
+		}
+
+		result, err := claimPendingScript.Run(
+			ctx, s.rdb,
+			[]string{pendingKey, localSkillListKey(id)},
+			id, data, int(runtimeLocalSkillStoreRetention.Seconds()),
+		).Int64()
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("claim pending: %w", err)
+		}
+		if result == 0 {
+			// Another node won the race. The record still says pending and is
+			// owned by the winner; we just retry to pick up whatever else is
+			// queued (or nothing).
+			continue
 		}
 		return req, nil
 	}
@@ -355,21 +378,26 @@ func (s *RedisLocalSkillImportStore) PopPending(ctx context.Context, runtimeID s
 			continue
 		}
 
-		removed, err := s.rdb.ZRem(ctx, pendingKey, id).Result()
-		if err != nil {
-			return nil, fmt.Errorf("zrem pending: %w", err)
-		}
-		if removed == 0 {
-			continue
-		}
-
 		now := time.Now()
 		req.Status = RuntimeLocalSkillRunning
 		req.RunStartedAt = &now
 		req.UpdatedAt = now
-		if err := s.persistImportRequest(ctx, req); err != nil {
+		data, err := s.marshalImport(req)
+		if err != nil {
 			return nil, err
 		}
+
+		result, err := claimPendingScript.Run(
+			ctx, s.rdb,
+			[]string{pendingKey, localSkillImportKey(id)},
+			id, data, int(runtimeLocalSkillStoreRetention.Seconds()),
+		).Int64()
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("claim pending: %w", err)
+		}
+		if result == 0 {
+			continue
+		}
 		return req, nil
 	}
 	return nil, nil
diff --git a/server/internal/handler/runtime_local_skills_redis_store_test.go b/server/internal/handler/runtime_local_skills_redis_store_test.go
index 91b94ed8f..a7169ae1e 100644
--- a/server/internal/handler/runtime_local_skills_redis_store_test.go
+++ b/server/internal/handler/runtime_local_skills_redis_store_test.go
@@ -310,6 +310,52 @@ func TestRedisLocalSkillListStore_PerRuntimeIsolation(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+// TestRedisLocalSkillListStore_PopPendingAtomicClaim pins the PR-1557 review
+// fix: the claim (ZREM pending + persist running record) MUST land as one
+// atomic unit. If the old two-step ordering came back ("ZRem first, SET
+// second") a transient error between the two would strand the request — not
+// in pending, still serialised as "pending" on disk, never re-dispatched.
+//
+// We verify the happy-path invariant end-to-end: after one PopPending the
+// record is in "running" state AND a second PopPending on the same runtime
+// returns nothing (i.e. the pending zset no longer references the id).
+func TestRedisLocalSkillListStore_PopPendingAtomicClaim(t *testing.T) {
+	rdb := newRedisTestClient(t)
+	ctx := context.Background()
+	store := NewRedisLocalSkillListStore(rdb)
+
+	req, err := store.Create(ctx, "runtime-atomic")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("create: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	popped, err := store.PopPending(ctx, "runtime-atomic")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("pop: %v", err)
+	}
+	if popped == nil || popped.ID != req.ID {
+		t.Fatalf("pop returned wrong request: %+v", popped)
+	}
+
+	got, err := store.Get(ctx, req.ID)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("get after pop: %v", err)
+	}
+	if got.Status != RuntimeLocalSkillRunning {
+		t.Fatalf("record status = %s, want running", got.Status)
+	}
+
+	// The pending queue must no longer reference the claimed id — exposed
+	// via PopPending rather than poking the zset directly.
+	again, err := store.PopPending(ctx, "runtime-atomic")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("second pop: %v", err)
+	}
+	if again != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("second pop should be empty, got %+v", again)
+	}
+}
+
 // Compile-time assertions: the Redis stores MUST satisfy the interfaces so
 // NewRouter's assignment stays type-safe.
 var (