diff --git a/apps/backend/src/lib/ai/mcp-skill-context.test.ts b/apps/backend/src/lib/ai/mcp-skill-context.test.ts
index c6df7ce4c..3b83866ea 100644
--- a/apps/backend/src/lib/ai/mcp-skill-context.test.ts
+++ b/apps/backend/src/lib/ai/mcp-skill-context.test.ts
@@ -1,18 +1,33 @@
 import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
-import { getMcpSkillContextPrompt } from "./mcp-skill-context";
+import { _clearSkillCache, getMcpSkillContextPrompt } from "./mcp-skill-context";
 
 describe("getMcpSkillContextPrompt", () => {
   afterEach(() => {
     vi.restoreAllMocks();
+    _clearSkillCache();
   });
 
-  it("does not fetch skill context for non-ask_hexclave requests", async () => {
+  it("returns empty string for non-ask_hexclave tool names", async () => {
     const fetchSpy = vi.spyOn(globalThis, "fetch");
 
     await expect(getMcpSkillContextPrompt("other_tool")).resolves.toMatchInlineSnapshot(`""`);
     expect(fetchSpy).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
   });
 
+  it("returns empty string for null toolName", async () => {
+    const fetchSpy = vi.spyOn(globalThis, "fetch");
+
+    await expect(getMcpSkillContextPrompt(null)).resolves.toMatchInlineSnapshot(`""`);
+    expect(fetchSpy).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it("returns empty string for undefined toolName", async () => {
+    const fetchSpy = vi.spyOn(globalThis, "fetch");
+
+    await expect(getMcpSkillContextPrompt(undefined)).resolves.toMatchInlineSnapshot(`""`);
+    expect(fetchSpy).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
   it("fetches and embeds the canonical skill for ask_hexclave requests", async () => {
     const fetchSpy = vi.spyOn(globalThis, "fetch").mockResolvedValue(
       new Response("# Hexclave Skill\n\nUse Hexclave docs."),
@@ -34,9 +49,10 @@ describe("getMcpSkillContextPrompt", () => {
       Use Hexclave docs.
       "
     `);
-    expect(fetchSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith("https://skill.hexclave.com", {
+    expect(fetchSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith("https://skill.hexclave.com", expect.objectContaining({
       headers: { Accept: "text/markdown" },
-    });
+      signal: expect.any(AbortSignal),
+    }));
   });
 
   it("fails loudly when the canonical skill cannot be fetched", async () => {
@@ -48,4 +64,27 @@ describe("getMcpSkillContextPrompt", () => {
       `[Error: Failed to fetch skill from https://skill.hexclave.com: 503 Service Unavailable]`,
     );
   });
+
+  it("throws a descriptive error when the fetch times out", async () => {
+    vi.spyOn(globalThis, "fetch").mockImplementation(() => {
+      const err = new DOMException("The operation was aborted", "AbortError");
+      return Promise.reject(err);
+    });
+
+    await expect(getMcpSkillContextPrompt("ask_hexclave")).rejects.toThrowErrorMatchingInlineSnapshot(
+      `[Error: Skill fetch from https://skill.hexclave.com timed out after 5000ms]`,
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("returns cached skill on subsequent calls within TTL", async () => {
+    const fetchSpy = vi.spyOn(globalThis, "fetch").mockResolvedValue(
+      new Response("# Cached Skill"),
+    );
+
+    const first = await getMcpSkillContextPrompt("ask_hexclave");
+    const second = await getMcpSkillContextPrompt("ask_hexclave");
+
+    expect(first).toBe(second);
+    expect(fetchSpy).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+  });
 });
diff --git a/apps/backend/src/lib/ai/mcp-skill-context.ts b/apps/backend/src/lib/ai/mcp-skill-context.ts
index e3af3433a..a7e2dbb4b 100644
--- a/apps/backend/src/lib/ai/mcp-skill-context.ts
+++ b/apps/backend/src/lib/ai/mcp-skill-context.ts
@@ -1,20 +1,50 @@
-const hexclaveSkillResourceUri = "https://skill.hexclave.com";
+const HEXCLAVE_SKILL_URI = "https://skill.hexclave.com";
+const FETCH_TIMEOUT_MS = 5_000;
+const CACHE_TTL_MS = 5 * 60 * 1_000; // 5 minutes
+
+let cachedSkill: { text: string, fetchedAt: number } | null = null;
+
+async function fetchSkillText(): Promise<string> {
+  const now = Date.now();
+  if (cachedSkill && now - cachedSkill.fetchedAt < CACHE_TTL_MS) {
+    return cachedSkill.text;
+  }
+
+  const controller = new AbortController();
+  const timeoutId = setTimeout(() => controller.abort(), FETCH_TIMEOUT_MS);
+
+  let response: Response;
+  try {
+    response = await fetch(HEXCLAVE_SKILL_URI, {
+      headers: { Accept: "text/markdown" },
+      signal: controller.signal,
+    });
+  } catch (err: unknown) {
+    if (err instanceof DOMException && err.name === "AbortError") {
+      throw new Error(`Skill fetch from ${HEXCLAVE_SKILL_URI} timed out after ${FETCH_TIMEOUT_MS}ms`);
+    }
+    throw err;
+  } finally {
+    clearTimeout(timeoutId);
+  }
+
+  if (!response.ok) {
+    throw new Error(
+      `Failed to fetch skill from ${HEXCLAVE_SKILL_URI}: ${response.status} ${response.statusText}`,
+    );
+  }
+
+  const text = await response.text();
+  cachedSkill = { text, fetchedAt: now };
+  return text;
+}
 
 export async function getMcpSkillContextPrompt(toolName: string | null | undefined): Promise<string> {
   if (toolName !== "ask_hexclave") {
     return "";
   }
 
-  const response = await fetch(hexclaveSkillResourceUri, {
-    headers: { Accept: "text/markdown" },
-  });
-  if (!response.ok) {
-    throw new Error(
-      `Failed to fetch skill from ${hexclaveSkillResourceUri}: ${response.status} ${response.statusText}`,
-    );
-  }
-
-  const skillContext = await response.text();
+  const skillContext = await fetchSkillText();
   return `
 
 ## MCP-Provided Hexclave Skill Context
@@ -28,3 +58,10 @@ facts and citations:
 ${skillContext}
 `;
 }
+
+/**
+ * Exposed for testing only — clears the module-level skill cache.
+ */
+export function _clearSkillCache(): void {
+  cachedSkill = null;
+}