diff --git a/packages/core/src/session/instructions.ts b/packages/core/src/session/instructions.ts
index 4688c79bb3..2e20c871a8 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/session/instructions.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/session/instructions.ts
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ export interface Interface {
   readonly load: (input: {
     readonly sessionID: SessionSchema.ID
     readonly paths: ReadonlyArray<string>
-  }) => Effect.Effect<void, MessageDecodeError | FSUtil.Error>
+  }) => Effect.Effect<ReadonlyArray<string>, MessageDecodeError | FSUtil.Error>
 }
 
 export class Service extends Context.Service<Service, Interface>()("@opencode/SessionInstructions") {}
@@ -53,10 +53,10 @@ const layer = Layer.effect(
         next.set(input.sessionID, new Set([...existing, ...newlyClaimed]))
         return [newlyClaimed, next]
       })
-      if (claimed.length === 0) return
+      if (claimed.length === 0) return []
       const alreadyInjected = yield* previouslyInjected(store, input.sessionID)
       const toInject = claimed.filter((path) => !alreadyInjected.has(path))
-      if (toInject.length === 0) return
+      if (toInject.length === 0) return []
       const files = yield* Effect.forEach(
         toInject,
         (path) =>
@@ -66,7 +66,8 @@ const layer = Layer.effect(
         { concurrency: "unbounded" },
       )
       const readable = files.filter((file): file is { path: string; content: string } => file !== undefined)
-      if (readable.length === 0) return
+      if (readable.length === 0) return []
+      const paths = readable.map((file) => file.path)
       // Publish directly rather than through Session.synthetic: a Location-scoped layer
       // cannot depend on Session (it routes through LocationServiceMap, forming a type
       // cycle with this node). The durable publish is what makes the synthetic visible on
@@ -76,8 +77,9 @@ const layer = Layer.effect(
         sessionID: input.sessionID,
         text: readable.map((file) => `Instructions from: ${file.path}\n${file.content}`).join("\n\n"),
         description: `Loaded ${readable.map((file) => describePath(root, file.path)).join(", ")}`,
-        metadata: { instruction: { paths: readable.map((file) => file.path) } },
+        metadata: { instruction: { paths } },
       })
+      return paths
     })
 
     return Service.of({ load })
diff --git a/packages/core/src/tool/plugin/read.ts b/packages/core/src/tool/plugin/read.ts
index 5ff8bee77f..a32ce4a4ad 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/tool/plugin/read.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/tool/plugin/read.ts
@@ -92,8 +92,8 @@ export const Plugin = {
                 // directory listing the walk starts at the directory itself (so its own AGENTS.md
                 // is discovered); for a file it starts at the file's dirname. External reads are
                 // skipped, and discovery failures never fail the read.
-                yield* Effect.gen(function* () {
-                  if (target.externalDirectory !== undefined) return
+                const instructions = yield* Effect.gen(function* () {
+                  if (target.externalDirectory !== undefined) return [] as string[]
                   const resolved = yield* fs.resolve(target.canonical)
                   const root = yield* fs.resolve(location.directory)
                   // up() searches its stop directory, so the Location-root AGENTS.md (already
@@ -106,19 +106,20 @@ export const Plugin = {
                   const candidates = (yield* Effect.forEach(discovered, fs.resolve)).filter(
                     (file) => dirname(file) !== root,
                   )
-                  if (candidates.length === 0) return
-                  yield* sessionInstructions.load({ sessionID: context.sessionID, paths: candidates })
+                  return yield* sessionInstructions.load({ sessionID: context.sessionID, paths: candidates })
                 }).pipe(
-                  Effect.catch(() => Effect.void),
-                  Effect.catchDefect(() => Effect.void),
+                  Effect.catch(() => Effect.succeed([] as string[])),
+                  Effect.catchDefect(() => Effect.succeed([] as string[])),
                 )
                 if (content.type === "file" && content.encoding === "base64" && !SUPPORTED_MEDIA_MIMES.has(content.mime))
                   return yield* Effect.fail(new ReadToolFileSystem.BinaryFileError({ resource }))
-                return content
+                return { output: content, instructions, absolute }
               }).pipe(
-                Effect.map((output) => ({
-                  output,
-                  content: toModelContent(input.path, input.offset, output),
+                Effect.map((result) => ({
+                  output: result.output,
+                  content: result.instructions.includes(result.absolute)
+                    ? `Read ${input.path}; its full contents are loaded as session instructions.`
+                    : toModelContent(input.path, input.offset, result.output),
                 })),
                 Effect.mapError((error) => {
                   if (error instanceof ToolFailure) return error
diff --git a/packages/core/test/session-instructions.test.ts b/packages/core/test/session-instructions.test.ts
index 1ccfec2068..24964d1e2f 100644
--- a/packages/core/test/session-instructions.test.ts
+++ b/packages/core/test/session-instructions.test.ts
@@ -272,6 +272,31 @@ describe("SessionInstructions", () => {
     }),
   )
 
+  it.effect("returns a receipt when a direct AGENTS.md read injects the same content", () =>
+    Effect.gen(function* () {
+      const location = yield* Location.Service
+      const dir = location.directory
+      const subPath = path.resolve(dir, "sub", "AGENTS.md")
+      yield* mkdir(path.dirname(subPath))
+      yield* writeAgents(subPath, "sub-instructions")
+
+      const session = yield* Session.Service
+      const registry = yield* Tool.Service
+      const sessionID = (yield* session.create({ location: Location.Ref.make({ directory: dir }) })).id
+      const result = yield* executeTool(registry, readCall(sessionID, "call-agents", "sub/AGENTS.md"))
+
+      expect(result.status).toBe("completed")
+      if (result.status !== "completed") return
+      expect(result.output.content).toBe("sub-instructions")
+      expect(result.content).toEqual([
+        { type: "text", text: "Read sub/AGENTS.md; its full contents are loaded as session instructions." },
+      ])
+      expect((yield* synthetics(sessionID)).map((message) => message.text)).toEqual([
+        `Instructions from: ${subPath}\nsub-instructions`,
+      ])
+    }),
+  )
+
   it.effect("loads instructions directly without a read", () =>
     Effect.gen(function* () {
       const location = yield* Location.Service