diff --git a/src/hooks/caveman-activate.js b/src/hooks/caveman-activate.js
index 09ae04cd..c244e1a4 100644
--- a/src/hooks/caveman-activate.js
+++ b/src/hooks/caveman-activate.js
@@ -48,14 +48,26 @@ if (INDEPENDENT_MODES.has(mode)) {
 const modeLabel = mode === 'wenyan' ? 'wenyan-full' : mode;
 
 // Read SKILL.md — the single source of truth for caveman behavior.
-// Plugin installs: __dirname = <plugin_root>/hooks/, SKILL.md at <plugin_root>/skills/caveman/SKILL.md
-// Standalone installs: __dirname = $CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR/hooks/, SKILL.md won't exist — falls back to hardcoded rules.
+// Plugin layout: hook at <plugin_root>/src/hooks/, SKILL.md two levels up at
+// <plugin_root>/skills/caveman/SKILL.md.
+// Legacy/flat layout: hook one level below skills/.
+// Standalone installs ($CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR/hooks/) ship no SKILL.md — both
+// probes miss and fall through to the hardcoded fallback below.
 let skillContent = '';
-try {
-  skillContent = fs.readFileSync(
-    path.join(__dirname, '..', 'skills', 'caveman', 'SKILL.md'), 'utf8'
-  );
-} catch (e) { /* standalone install — will use fallback below */ }
+const skillRoots = [];
+if (path.basename(__dirname) === 'hooks' && path.basename(path.dirname(__dirname)) === 'src') {
+  skillRoots.push(['..', '..', 'skills']);
+}
+skillRoots.push(['..', 'skills']);
+
+for (const rel of skillRoots) {
+  try {
+    skillContent = fs.readFileSync(
+      path.join(__dirname, ...rel, 'caveman', 'SKILL.md'), 'utf8'
+    );
+    break;
+  } catch (e) { /* try next candidate layout */ }
+}
 
 let output;
 
diff --git a/tests/test_hooks.py b/tests/test_hooks.py
index 6ae80a55..ed624bec 100644
--- a/tests/test_hooks.py
+++ b/tests/test_hooks.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import json
 import os
+import shutil
 import subprocess
 import tempfile
 import unittest
@@ -156,6 +157,76 @@ def test_activate_does_not_nudge_when_custom_statusline_exists(self):
             self.assertNotIn("STATUSLINE SETUP NEEDED", result.stdout)
             self.assertEqual((claude_dir / ".caveman-active").read_text(), "full")
 
+    def test_activate_loads_skill_from_plugin_src_layout(self):
+        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory(prefix="caveman-plugin-layout-") as tmp:
+            plugin_root = Path(tmp) / "plugin"
+            hooks_dir = plugin_root / "src" / "hooks"
+            skill_dir = plugin_root / "skills" / "caveman"
+            claude_dir = Path(tmp) / ".claude"
+            unrelated_cwd = Path(tmp) / "cwd"
+            unrelated_skill_dir = unrelated_cwd / "skills" / "caveman"
+
+            hooks_dir.mkdir(parents=True)
+            skill_dir.mkdir(parents=True)
+            claude_dir.mkdir()
+            unrelated_skill_dir.mkdir(parents=True)
+
+            for name in ("caveman-activate.js", "caveman-config.js", "package.json"):
+                shutil.copy2(REPO_ROOT / "src" / "hooks" / name, hooks_dir / name)
+            shutil.copy2(REPO_ROOT / "skills" / "caveman" / "SKILL.md", skill_dir / "SKILL.md")
+            (unrelated_skill_dir / "SKILL.md").write_text("SENTINEL CWD SKILL\n")
+
+            env = os.environ.copy()
+            env["CAVEMAN_DEFAULT_MODE"] = "full"
+            env["CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR"] = str(claude_dir)
+            env["HOME"] = str(Path(tmp) / "home")
+            env["USERPROFILE"] = str(Path(tmp) / "home")
+
+            result = subprocess.run(
+                ["node", str(hooks_dir / "caveman-activate.js")],
+                cwd=unrelated_cwd,
+                env=env,
+                text=True,
+                capture_output=True,
+                check=True,
+            )
+
+            self.assertIn("## Intensity", result.stdout)
+            self.assertNotIn("Current level:", result.stdout)
+            self.assertNotIn("SENTINEL CWD SKILL", result.stdout)
+
+    def test_activate_standalone_layout_does_not_read_home_skills(self):
+        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory(prefix="caveman-standalone-layout-") as tmp:
+            home = Path(tmp) / "home"
+            claude_dir = home / ".claude"
+            hooks_dir = claude_dir / "hooks"
+            home_skill_dir = home / "skills" / "caveman"
+
+            hooks_dir.mkdir(parents=True)
+            home_skill_dir.mkdir(parents=True)
+
+            for name in ("caveman-activate.js", "caveman-config.js", "package.json"):
+                shutil.copy2(REPO_ROOT / "src" / "hooks" / name, hooks_dir / name)
+            (home_skill_dir / "SKILL.md").write_text("SENTINEL HOME SKILL\n")
+
+            env = os.environ.copy()
+            env["CAVEMAN_DEFAULT_MODE"] = "full"
+            env["CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR"] = str(claude_dir)
+            env["HOME"] = str(home)
+            env["USERPROFILE"] = str(home)
+
+            result = subprocess.run(
+                ["node", str(hooks_dir / "caveman-activate.js")],
+                cwd=home,
+                env=env,
+                text=True,
+                capture_output=True,
+                check=True,
+            )
+
+            self.assertIn("Current level:", result.stdout)
+            self.assertNotIn("SENTINEL HOME SKILL", result.stdout)
+
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     unittest.main()