diff --git a/src/core/prepare.ts b/src/core/prepare.ts
index 8844ffb4..3f7f94f8 100644
--- a/src/core/prepare.ts
+++ b/src/core/prepare.ts
@@ -34,8 +34,23 @@ export function restorePkgSymlink(skillsDir: string, name: string, info: SkillIn
   if (!existsSync(join(skillsDir, name)))
     return
 
-  if (existsSync(pkgLink))
-    return
+  // Use lstatSync to detect dangling symlinks — existsSync follows symlinks
+  // and returns false for dangling ones, causing symlinkSync to throw EEXIST
+  try {
+    const stat = lstatSync(pkgLink)
+    if (stat.isSymbolicLink()) {
+      if (existsSync(pkgLink))
+        return // symlink exists and target is valid
+      unlinkSync(pkgLink) // dangling symlink — remove before re-creating
+    }
+    else {
+      return // real file/dir exists at this path
+    }
+  }
+  catch (err) {
+    if ((err as NodeJS.ErrnoException).code !== 'ENOENT')
+      return // permission/IO error — bail instead of masking
+  }
 
   const pkgName = info.packageName || name
   const pkgDir = resolvePkgDir(pkgName, cwd, info.version)
diff --git a/test/unit/prepare-restore.test.ts b/test/unit/prepare-restore.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9cdd9900
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/unit/prepare-restore.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,118 @@
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
+
+vi.mock('node:fs', async () => {
+  const actual = await vi.importActual<typeof import('node:fs')>('node:fs')
+  return {
+    ...actual,
+    existsSync: vi.fn(),
+    lstatSync: vi.fn(),
+    mkdirSync: vi.fn(),
+    symlinkSync: vi.fn(),
+    unlinkSync: vi.fn(),
+  }
+})
+
+vi.mock('../../src/cache/version', () => ({
+  getCacheDir: (name: string, version: string) => `/home/.skilld/references/${name}@${version}`,
+}))
+
+describe('restorePkgSymlink', () => {
+  beforeEach(() => vi.resetAllMocks())
+  afterEach(() => vi.restoreAllMocks())
+
+  it('skips when skill directory does not exist', async () => {
+    const fs = await import('node:fs')
+    const { restorePkgSymlink } = await import('../../src/core/prepare')
+
+    vi.mocked(fs.existsSync).mockImplementation((p) => {
+      // skill dir doesn't exist — triggers early return
+      if (String(p).endsWith('/vue'))
+        return false
+      return true
+    })
+
+    restorePkgSymlink('/project/.skills', 'vue', { version: '3.4.0' }, '/project')
+
+    expect(fs.symlinkSync).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
+  })
+
+  it('skips when pkg symlink target is valid', async () => {
+    const fs = await import('node:fs')
+    const { restorePkgSymlink } = await import('../../src/core/prepare')
+
+    vi.mocked(fs.existsSync).mockReturnValue(true)
+    vi.mocked(fs.lstatSync).mockReturnValue({ isSymbolicLink: () => true } as any)
+
+    restorePkgSymlink('/project/.skills', 'vue', { version: '3.4.0' }, '/project')
+
+    expect(fs.symlinkSync).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
+  })
+
+  it('removes dangling symlink before re-creating', async () => {
+    const fs = await import('node:fs')
+    const { restorePkgSymlink } = await import('../../src/core/prepare')
+
+    vi.mocked(fs.existsSync).mockImplementation((p) => {
+      const path = String(p)
+      // skill dir exists
+      if (path === '/project/.skills/vue')
+        return true
+      // dangling symlink: existsSync returns false (follows symlink, target gone)
+      if (path.endsWith('/pkg'))
+        return false
+      // node_modules/vue exists (freshly installed)
+      if (path.includes('node_modules/vue'))
+        return true
+      return false
+    })
+    // lstatSync succeeds — the symlink itself exists on disk
+    vi.mocked(fs.lstatSync).mockReturnValue({ isSymbolicLink: () => true } as any)
+
+    restorePkgSymlink('/project/.skills', 'vue', { version: '3.4.0' }, '/project')
+
+    // Should remove the dangling symlink first
+    expect(fs.unlinkSync).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.stringContaining('pkg'),
+    )
+    // Then create a fresh symlink
+    expect(fs.symlinkSync).toHaveBeenCalledOnce()
+  })
+
+  it('creates symlink when no prior link exists', async () => {
+    const fs = await import('node:fs')
+    const { restorePkgSymlink } = await import('../../src/core/prepare')
+
+    vi.mocked(fs.existsSync).mockImplementation((p) => {
+      const path = String(p)
+      if (path === '/project/.skills/vue')
+        return true
+      if (path.includes('node_modules/vue'))
+        return true
+      return false
+    })
+    // lstatSync throws ENOENT — no file at all
+    vi.mocked(fs.lstatSync).mockImplementation(() => {
+      const err = new Error('ENOENT') as NodeJS.ErrnoException
+      err.code = 'ENOENT'
+      throw err
+    })
+
+    restorePkgSymlink('/project/.skills', 'vue', { version: '3.4.0' }, '/project')
+
+    expect(fs.unlinkSync).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
+    expect(fs.symlinkSync).toHaveBeenCalledOnce()
+  })
+
+  it('skips when real file exists at pkg path', async () => {
+    const fs = await import('node:fs')
+    const { restorePkgSymlink } = await import('../../src/core/prepare')
+
+    vi.mocked(fs.existsSync).mockReturnValue(true)
+    // lstatSync returns a regular file, not a symlink
+    vi.mocked(fs.lstatSync).mockReturnValue({ isSymbolicLink: () => false } as any)
+
+    restorePkgSymlink('/project/.skills', 'vue', { version: '3.4.0' }, '/project')
+
+    expect(fs.symlinkSync).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
+  })
+})