diff --git a/.changeset/skill-fast-path.md b/.changeset/skill-fast-path.md
index 7e933e0e..573554a3 100644
--- a/.changeset/skill-fast-path.md
+++ b/.changeset/skill-fast-path.md
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 ---
-'aicodeman': minor
+'aicodeman': patch
 ---
 
 Make the `codeman` agent skill spawn workers fast instead of deliberating first.
diff --git a/skills/codeman/SKILL.md b/skills/codeman/SKILL.md
index b887ddf7..35cedd5f 100644
--- a/skills/codeman/SKILL.md
+++ b/skills/codeman/SKILL.md
@@ -50,8 +50,8 @@ PRE="${XDG_CACHE_HOME:-$HOME/.cache}/codeman-agent-$CODEMAN_SESSION_ID.sh"
 mkdir -p "$(dirname "$PRE")"
 # Rewrite unless the file already ends with THIS version's stamp, so a stale or a
 # half-written file self-heals here instead of costing you a round trip to rm it.
-grep -qs '^CODEMAN_PREAMBLE=1.19.0$' "$PRE" || (umask 077; cat > "$PRE" <<'PREAMBLE'
-# ---- Codeman agent preamble 1.19.0 (written by the SKILL.md §0 bootstrap) ----
+grep -qs '^CODEMAN_PREAMBLE=1.18.2$' "$PRE" || (umask 077; cat > "$PRE" <<'PREAMBLE'
+# ---- Codeman agent preamble 1.18.2 (written by the SKILL.md §0 bootstrap) ----
 API="${CODEMAN_API_URL:?CODEMAN_API_URL not set; refusing to guess}"
 SELF="${CODEMAN_SESSION_ID:?CODEMAN_SESSION_ID not set}"
 # Credentials, cheapest first. Your session has usually INHERITED the server's
@@ -206,17 +206,17 @@ last_text() {
 # The stamp is the LAST line on purpose (a truncated write leaves it unset) and is kept
 # bare on purpose: the write condition above anchors on it with $, so an inline comment
 # here would fail that match and rewrite this file on every single bootstrap.
-CODEMAN_PREAMBLE=1.19.0
+CODEMAN_PREAMBLE=1.18.2
 PREAMBLE
 )
-. "$PRE"; [ "${CODEMAN_PREAMBLE:-}" = 1.19.0 ] || { echo "preamble at $PRE is stale or truncated: rm it and re-run this block"; exit 1; }
+. "$PRE"; [ "${CODEMAN_PREAMBLE:-}" = 1.18.2 ] || { echo "preamble at $PRE is stale or truncated: rm it and re-run this block"; exit 1; }
 ```
 
 Every later Bash call that touches the API starts with these two lines instead:
 
 ```bash
 . "${XDG_CACHE_HOME:-$HOME/.cache}/codeman-agent-$CODEMAN_SESSION_ID.sh" 2>/dev/null
-[ "${CODEMAN_PREAMBLE:-}" = 1.19.0 ] || { echo "preamble missing or stale; re-run the §0 bootstrap"; exit 1; }
+[ "${CODEMAN_PREAMBLE:-}" = 1.18.2 ] || { echo "preamble missing or stale; re-run the §0 bootstrap"; exit 1; }
 ```
 
 Why it is built this way, all of it load-bearing:
diff --git a/skills/codeman/reference/recipes.md b/skills/codeman/reference/recipes.md
index a1279adc..4f3795b6 100644
--- a/skills/codeman/reference/recipes.md
+++ b/skills/codeman/reference/recipes.md
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ by sourcing the preamble file the §0 bootstrap wrote, and checking its version
 
 ```bash
 . "${XDG_CACHE_HOME:-$HOME/.cache}/codeman-agent-$CODEMAN_SESSION_ID.sh" 2>/dev/null
-[ "${CODEMAN_PREAMBLE:-}" = 1.19.0 ] || { echo "preamble missing or stale; re-run the §0 bootstrap"; exit 1; }
+[ "${CODEMAN_PREAMBLE:-}" = 1.18.2 ] || { echo "preamble missing or stale; re-run the §0 bootstrap"; exit 1; }
 ```
 
 Do **not** re-paste the preamble body into each call. Sourcing it is what retires the