diff --git a/src/agent/detect.ts b/src/agent/detect.ts
index 2b5d1223..1b79bd3a 100644
--- a/src/agent/detect.ts
+++ b/src/agent/detect.ts
@@ -18,6 +18,15 @@ export function detectInstalledAgents(): AgentType[] {
     .map(([type]) => type as AgentType)
 }
 
+/** Detect the active agent from environment variables. */
+export function detectEnvAgent(): AgentType | null {
+  for (const [type, target] of Object.entries(agents)) {
+    if (target.detectEnv())
+      return type as AgentType
+  }
+  return null
+}
+
 /**
  * Detect the target agent (where skills are installed) from env vars and cwd.
  * This is NOT the generator LLM — it determines the skills directory.
@@ -27,10 +36,9 @@ export function detectInstalledAgents(): AgentType[] {
  * rather than silently picking the first match.
  */
 export function detectTargetAgent(): AgentType | null {
-  for (const [type, target] of Object.entries(agents)) {
-    if (target.detectEnv())
-      return type as AgentType
-  }
+  const envAgent = detectEnvAgent()
+  if (envAgent)
+    return envAgent
 
   const cwd = process.cwd()
   const projectMatches: AgentType[] = []
diff --git a/src/agent/index.ts b/src/agent/index.ts
index 03a14710..a8ee0ecd 100644
--- a/src/agent/index.ts
+++ b/src/agent/index.ts
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ export {
 // Import detection
 export { detectImportedPackages } from './detect-imports.ts'
 // Detection
-export { detectInstalledAgents, detectProjectAgents, detectTargetAgent, getAgentVersion } from './detect.ts'
+export { detectEnvAgent, detectInstalledAgents, detectProjectAgents, detectTargetAgent, getAgentVersion } from './detect.ts'
 // Installation
 export { computeSkillDirName, installSkillForAgents, linkSkillToAgents, sanitizeName, unlinkSkillFromAgents } from './install.ts'
 
diff --git a/src/cli/agent-prompt.ts b/src/cli/agent-prompt.ts
index 5a2fc45a..139219c1 100644
--- a/src/cli/agent-prompt.ts
+++ b/src/cli/agent-prompt.ts
@@ -1,16 +1,22 @@
 import type { AgentType } from '../agent/index.ts'
 import { styleText } from 'node:util'
 import * as p from '@clack/prompts'
-import { agents, detectInstalledAgents, detectProjectAgents, detectTargetAgent } from '../agent/index.ts'
+import { agents, detectEnvAgent, detectInstalledAgents, detectProjectAgents } from '../agent/index.ts'
 import { readConfig, updateConfig } from '../core/config.ts'
 import { isInteractive } from './env.ts'
 
+function detectProjectAgent(): AgentType | null {
+  const projectMatches = detectProjectAgents()
+  return projectMatches.length === 1 ? projectMatches[0]! : null
+}
+
 export function resolveAgent(agentFlag?: string): AgentType | 'none' | null {
   if (process.env.SKILLD_NO_AGENT)
     return null
   return (agentFlag as AgentType | undefined)
-    ?? detectTargetAgent()
+    ?? detectEnvAgent()
     ?? (readConfig().agent as AgentType | undefined)
+    ?? detectProjectAgent()
     ?? null
 }
 
@@ -35,10 +41,6 @@ export function autoResolveAgent(agentFlag?: string): AgentType | null {
   if (process.env.SKILLD_NO_AGENT)
     return null
 
-  const projectMatches = detectProjectAgents()
-  if (projectMatches.length === 1)
-    return projectMatches[0]!
-
   const installed = detectInstalledAgents()
   if (installed.length === 1)
     return installed[0]!
diff --git a/test/unit/agent-prompt.test.ts b/test/unit/agent-prompt.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..2e4150aa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/unit/agent-prompt.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
+import { autoResolveAgent } from '../../src/cli/agent-prompt.ts'
+
+const detection = vi.hoisted(() => ({
+  configAgent: undefined as string | undefined,
+  envAgent: null as string | null,
+  installedAgents: [] as string[],
+  projectAgents: [] as string[],
+}))
+
+vi.mock('../../src/agent/index.ts', () => ({
+  agents: {},
+  detectEnvAgent: () => detection.envAgent,
+  detectInstalledAgents: () => detection.installedAgents,
+  detectProjectAgents: () => detection.projectAgents,
+  detectTargetAgent: () => detection.envAgent
+    ?? (detection.projectAgents.length === 1 ? detection.projectAgents[0] : null),
+}))
+
+vi.mock('../../src/core/config.ts', () => ({
+  readConfig: () => ({ agent: detection.configAgent }),
+  updateConfig: vi.fn(),
+}))
+
+describe('autoResolveAgent', () => {
+  const originalNoAgent = process.env.SKILLD_NO_AGENT
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    detection.configAgent = undefined
+    detection.envAgent = null
+    detection.installedAgents = []
+    detection.projectAgents = []
+    delete process.env.SKILLD_NO_AGENT
+  })
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    if (originalNoAgent === undefined)
+      delete process.env.SKILLD_NO_AGENT
+    else
+      process.env.SKILLD_NO_AGENT = originalNoAgent
+  })
+
+  it('prefers the saved config over a single project marker', () => {
+    detection.configAgent = 'claude-code'
+    detection.projectAgents = ['cursor']
+
+    expect(autoResolveAgent()).toBe('claude-code')
+  })
+})