diff --git a/cron/scheduler_delivery.py b/cron/scheduler_delivery.py
index dc58dbc4f6..600f03ea9f 100644
--- a/cron/scheduler_delivery.py
+++ b/cron/scheduler_delivery.py
@@ -653,25 +653,38 @@ def _get_bot_chat_delivery_timeout() -> int:
         return 600
 
 
-_BOT_CHAT_STREAM_TAIL = 500
+_BOT_CHAT_STDERR_TAIL = 500
+# stdout is the model's answer; only a short tail is persisted (jobs.json / ledger).
+_BOT_CHAT_STDOUT_TAIL = 200
+_BOT_CHAT_BANNER_PREFIXES = ("Resumed session", "session_id:")
 
 
 def _format_failure_streams(result) -> str:
-    """Labeled stderr+stdout tails for a failed delivery turn ("": none).
+    """Exit code plus labeled, redacted stderr/stdout tails for a failed delivery turn.
 
-    ``-Q`` reports the resume banner and ``session_id:`` on stderr while the
-    response rides stdout, so ``stderr or stdout`` discards half the signal —
-    and when stderr is empty and stdout holds only the banner, the recorded
-    error carries zero diagnostics (#104056). Both tails are kept, capped.
+    ``-Q`` reports the resume banner and ``session_id:`` while the response
+    rides stdout, so ``stderr or stdout`` discarded half the signal — and when
+    stderr is empty and stdout holds only the banner, the recorded error
+    carried zero diagnostics (#104056). The banner lines are dropped from the
+    stdout tail so what remains is the reason; the exit code is always named.
+    The text lands in ``last_delivery_error`` on disk, so it is scrubbed like
+    ``cron.incidents`` / ``cron.delivery_queue`` scrub their persisted errors.
     """
+    from agent.redact import redact_sensitive_text
+
     err = (getattr(result, "stderr", None) or "").strip()
     out = (getattr(result, "stdout", None) or "").strip()
-    parts = []
+    parts = [f"exit code {getattr(result, 'returncode', '?')}"]
     if err:
-        parts.append(f"stderr: {err[-_BOT_CHAT_STREAM_TAIL:]}")
+        parts.append(f"stderr: {err[-_BOT_CHAT_STDERR_TAIL:]}")
     if out:
-        parts.append(f"stdout: {out[-_BOT_CHAT_STREAM_TAIL:]}")
-    return " | ".join(parts)
+        kept = "\n".join(
+            line for line in out.splitlines()
+            if line.strip() and not line.strip().lstrip("↻ ").startswith(_BOT_CHAT_BANNER_PREFIXES))
+        parts.append(
+            f"stdout: {kept[-_BOT_CHAT_STDOUT_TAIL:]}" if kept
+            else "stdout was only the resume banner")
+    return redact_sensitive_text(" | ".join(parts), force=True, redact_url_credentials=True)
 
 
 def _deliver_to_bot_chat(job: dict, content: str, profile: str, *, deferred: Optional[dict] = None) -> Optional[str]:
@@ -807,12 +820,12 @@ def _deliver_to_bot_chat(job: dict, content: str, profile: str, *, deferred: Opt
         if result.returncode != 0:
             tail = _format_failure_streams(result)
             logger.warning(
-                "Job '%s': bot-chat delivery to profile '%s' failed (exit %s) at %s%s",
-                job_id, profile_label, result.returncode, home, f": {tail}" if tail else "")
+                "Job '%s': bot-chat delivery to profile '%s' failed at %s: %s",
+                job_id, profile_label, home, tail)
             return (
                 f"Hermes could not deliver this result to Bot Chat (profile '{profile_label}'). "
                 "The result is saved; run `hermes cron runs` to see it, or `hermes doctor` if this keeps happening"
-                + (f". Details: {tail}" if tail else ""))
+                f". Details: {tail}")
         logger.info("Job '%s': delivered to Bot Chat of profile '%s'", job_id, profile_label)
         return None
     except subprocess.TimeoutExpired:
diff --git a/tests/cron/test_cron_bot_chat_delivery.py b/tests/cron/test_cron_bot_chat_delivery.py
index 4ae3f676cc..10db89d725 100644
--- a/tests/cron/test_cron_bot_chat_delivery.py
+++ b/tests/cron/test_cron_bot_chat_delivery.py
@@ -169,20 +169,39 @@ def test_deliver_failure_reports_both_streams_labeled():
     assert "stdout: banner out" in err
 
 
-def test_deliver_failure_stdout_only_when_stderr_empty():
+def test_deliver_failure_banner_only_stdout_names_exit_code_not_banner():
     """The reported shape: empty stderr, stdout holding only the resume
-    banner — the recorded error must still carry it (#104056)."""
-    banner = 'Resumed session 20260905_121420_8084c7 "Bot Chat" (1 user message, 1 total messages)'
+    banner — the recorded error must say what happened (exit code, banner-only
+    stdout) instead of echoing the banner as if it were a reason (#104056)."""
+    banner = ('↻ Resumed session 20260905_121420_8084c7 "Bot Chat" (1 user message, 1 total messages)'
+              '\n\nsession_id: 20260905_121420_8084c7')
     with mock.patch.object(
         sched.subprocess, "run",
         return_value=_completed(returncode=1, stdout=banner, stderr=""),
     ), mock.patch.object(sched_delivery.shutil, "which", return_value="/usr/bin/hermes"):
         err = _deliver_to_bot_chat({"id": "j1", "name": "n"}, "out", "")
     assert err is not None
-    assert "stdout: " + banner in err
+    assert "exit code 1" in err
+    assert "stdout was only the resume banner" in err
+    assert "Resumed session" not in err
     assert "stderr:" not in err
 
 
+def test_deliver_failure_persisted_stdout_tail_is_short_and_redacted():
+    """``last_delivery_error`` lands in jobs.json / the ledger: the model's
+    answer on stdout is capped to a short tail and secrets are scrubbed."""
+    answer = "x" * 5000 + "\nToken: sk-ant-api03-" + "A" * 80 + " done"
+    with mock.patch.object(
+        sched.subprocess, "run",
+        return_value=_completed(returncode=1, stdout=answer, stderr="boom-err"),
+    ), mock.patch.object(sched_delivery.shutil, "which", return_value="/usr/bin/hermes"):
+        err = _deliver_to_bot_chat({"id": "j1", "name": "n"}, "out", "")
+    assert err is not None
+    stdout_part = err.split("stdout: ", 1)[1]
+    assert len(stdout_part) <= 200
+    assert "sk-ant-api03-" + "A" * 80 not in err
+
+
 def test_deliver_timeout_returns_error_string():
     with mock.patch.object(
         sched.subprocess, "run",