diff --git a/hermes_cli/curator.py b/hermes_cli/curator.py
index 15b8048e4b..fb451c1d5c 100644
--- a/hermes_cli/curator.py
+++ b/hermes_cli/curator.py
@@ -246,7 +246,7 @@ def _cmd_list_unmanaged(args) -> int:
         return 0
     print(f"unmanaged skills ({len(rows)}):")
     for r in sorted(rows, key=lambda x: x["name"]):
-        why = "created_by:null" if r.get("has_provenance_key") else "no marker"
+        why = f"created_by:{r.get('created_by') or 'null'}" if r.get("has_provenance_key") else "no marker"
         print(
             f"  {r['name']:44s} activity={r.get('activity_count', 0):4d}  "
             f"last_activity={_fmt_ts(r.get('last_activity_at')):14s}  ({why})")
diff --git a/tests/agent/test_learning_graph.py b/tests/agent/test_learning_graph.py
index 8b68fc6f11..14ea7efceb 100644
--- a/tests/agent/test_learning_graph.py
+++ b/tests/agent/test_learning_graph.py
@@ -81,13 +81,22 @@ def test_full_payload_shape_and_edge_integrity(tmp_path):
     assert all("timestamp" in n for n in graph["nodes"])
 
 
-def test_learning_signal_predicate_includes_user_taught_skills():
-    """created_by='learn' (foreground /learn, zero uses) is graph-worthy; an unmarked
-    unused skill is not; 'installed' alone is not a learning signal."""
-    from agent.learning_graph import SkillNode, _has_learning_signal
+def test_foreground_created_skill_is_in_journey_before_first_use(tmp_path):
+    """A skill created in the foreground (/learn, skill_manage) shows in the journey with zero
+    uses, while an unmarked never-used local skill (hand-written) stays out."""
+    from tools import skill_usage
 
-    assert _has_learning_signal(SkillNode(name="a", category="x", created_by="learn"))
-    assert _has_learning_signal(SkillNode(name="b", category="x", created_by="agent"))
-    assert _has_learning_signal(SkillNode(name="c", category="x", use_count=3))
-    assert not _has_learning_signal(SkillNode(name="d", category="x"))
-    assert not _has_learning_signal(SkillNode(name="e", category="x", created_by="installed"))
+    home = tmp_path / ".hermes"
+    for name in ("fresh-learn-skill", "hand-written"):
+        (home / "skills" / "demo" / name).mkdir(parents=True)
+        (home / "skills" / "demo" / name / "SKILL.md").write_text(
+            f"---\nname: {name}\ndescription: d.\n---\n\n# {name}\n", encoding="utf-8")
+    token = set_hermes_home_override(home)
+    try:
+        skill_usage.record_created("fresh-learn-skill", agent_created=False)
+        skill_nodes = {n["id"] for n in learning_graph.build_learning_graph()["nodes"] if n["kind"] == "skill"}
+    finally:
+        reset_hermes_home_override(token)
+
+    assert "fresh-learn-skill" in skill_nodes
+    assert "hand-written" not in skill_nodes
diff --git a/website/docs/user-guide/features/curator.md b/website/docs/user-guide/features/curator.md
index 1827bc7ad6..11ffc76a4a 100644
--- a/website/docs/user-guide/features/curator.md
+++ b/website/docs/user-guide/features/curator.md
@@ -207,14 +207,17 @@ agent turns). The background fork runs with a write origin of `"background_revie
 `mark_agent_created()` call in `skill_manage`.
 
 Skills the foreground agent creates via `skill_manage(action="create")` during a
-conversation are **not** marked as agent-created — they are considered
-user-directed and the curator intentionally leaves them alone.
+conversation (including `/learn`) are **not** marked as agent-created — they are
+recorded as `created_by: learn`, which makes them show up in the
+[learning journey](./memory.md#learning-journey-journey) right away but is not a
+curator opt-in. They are considered user-directed and the curator intentionally
+leaves them alone.
 
 :::warning Your hand-written skills are NOT curated
 If you manually created a `SKILL.md` or pointed Hermes at an external skill
 directory, that skill will have a `.usage.json` entry with `created_by: null`
 (or the field absent). The curator will not touch it. The same applies to
-skills the foreground agent created at your request.
+skills the foreground agent created at your request (`created_by: learn`).
 
 **To see which skills the curator actually manages**, run `hermes curator status`.
 If the agent-created count is 0, no skills are currently in the curator's
@@ -245,8 +248,9 @@ for one of two reasons:
 - **pre-dates marker** — the record was written before `created_by` existed, so
   it carries no provenance signal at all. Authorship is genuinely unknowable
   from the record.
-- **foreground-created** — a foreground `skill_manage(create)` left the marker
-  unset by design, since skills you ask for belong to you.
+- **foreground-created** — a foreground `skill_manage(create)` recorded
+  `created_by: learn` (older records: unset) by design, since skills you ask for
+  belong to you.
 
 A large library can therefore look fully curated while most of it is
 untouchable. `adopt` closes that gap by **declaration**:
diff --git a/website/docs/user-guide/features/memory.md b/website/docs/user-guide/features/memory.md
index 6e252e6a1a..8eff471759 100644
--- a/website/docs/user-guide/features/memory.md
+++ b/website/docs/user-guide/features/memory.md
@@ -226,6 +226,8 @@ The learning journey is a timeline view of everything Hermes has learned — sav
 - **TUI** — `/journey` (aliases: `/learning`, `/memory-graph`) opens the timeline as an overlay.
 - **Desktop app** — `/journey` opens the Star Map / memory-graph panel, an interactive visual of the same nodes.
 
+A skill appears on the timeline as soon as it has a learning signal: it was created in this profile (a `/learn` result or a foreground `skill_manage` create), created by the background review, or used at least once. Bundled skills and hand-written skills that have never been used stay out of the timeline.
+
 Beyond viewing, the journey is also where you **prune and correct** what Hermes has learned:
 
 | Command | What it does |