diff --git a/skills/project-ops/SKILL.md b/skills/project-ops/SKILL.md
index 447fef1..0efef62 100644
--- a/skills/project-ops/SKILL.md
+++ b/skills/project-ops/SKILL.md
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ VIKUNJA_TOKEN=$(grep "^VIKUNJA_TOKEN=" ~/.config/environment.d/10-secrets.conf |
 OL_API_KEY=$(grep "^OL_API_KEY=" ~/.config/environment.d/10-secrets.conf | head -1 | cut -d= -f2- | tr -d '"' | tr -d ' ')
 ```
 
-If token 401s: re-source or confirm the machine's secrets were pulled (`git -C ~/.agents pull`).
+If token 401s: **Vikunja sometimes intermittently rejects a valid token** (transient; observed on LAN). First **retry once** — the same call returning 401 then 200 with an identical token is a known flake, not a wrong value. Only if a retry still 401s: re-source the secrets (new shell/login) so the fresh value is read; if still failing, ask the user to confirm the token was regenerated in Vikunja and re-placed. Outline keys are stable (401 there = genuinely wrong key).
 Never commit or echo the token values.
 
 ## 2. Vikunja API (tasks, stages, progress)