diff --git a/skills/last30days/SKILL.md b/skills/last30days/SKILL.md
index be86600..3075933 100644
--- a/skills/last30days/SKILL.md
+++ b/skills/last30days/SKILL.md
@@ -68,11 +68,20 @@ Before reading anything else in this file, check whether you loaded SKILL.md fro
 
 ```bash
 CLAUDE_CACHE_LATEST=$(find "$HOME/.claude/plugins/cache/last30days-skill/last30days" -mindepth 1 -maxdepth 1 -type d 2>/dev/null | sort -V | tail -1)
-CLAUDE_CACHE_LATEST="${CLAUDE_CACHE_LATEST%/}"
-echo "CLAUDE_CACHE_LATEST=$CLAUDE_CACHE_LATEST"
+# Two cache layouts ship in the wild — nested ({version}/skills/last30days/SKILL.md)
+# and flat ({version}/SKILL.md). Resolve to whichever shape actually exists.
+CLAUDE_CACHE_SKILL_MD=""
+if [ -n "$CLAUDE_CACHE_LATEST" ]; then
+  if [ -f "$CLAUDE_CACHE_LATEST/skills/last30days/SKILL.md" ]; then
+    CLAUDE_CACHE_SKILL_MD="$CLAUDE_CACHE_LATEST/skills/last30days/SKILL.md"
+  elif [ -f "$CLAUDE_CACHE_LATEST/SKILL.md" ]; then
+    CLAUDE_CACHE_SKILL_MD="$CLAUDE_CACHE_LATEST/SKILL.md"
+  fi
+fi
+echo "CLAUDE_CACHE_SKILL_MD=$CLAUDE_CACHE_SKILL_MD"
 ```
 
-If the SKILL.md path you just Read contains `/.claude/plugins/marketplaces/` AND `$CLAUDE_CACHE_LATEST` is non-empty, STOP and re-read `$CLAUDE_CACHE_LATEST/skills/last30days/SKILL.md` before proceeding. Otherwise the SKILL.md you have is fine — continue.
+If the SKILL.md path you just Read contains `/.claude/plugins/marketplaces/` AND `$CLAUDE_CACHE_SKILL_MD` is non-empty, STOP and re-read `$CLAUDE_CACHE_SKILL_MD` before proceeding. Otherwise the SKILL.md you have is fine — continue.
 
 **Why this specific check:** `~/.claude/plugins/marketplaces/last30days-skill/` is a git clone Claude Code auto-restores to `origin/main` on session start. It can lag the versioned cache by one or more releases. Three 2026-04-22 test runs (Linear, Coinbase) loaded SKILL.md from `marketplaces/`, ran `--help` from the same stale path, did not see the `--competitors` flag that existed in the cache, and fell back to a manual comparison plan. Result: 2 of 3 windows never invoked the feature they were asked to test. STEP 0 defends against that one Claude Code-specific bug.
 
diff --git a/skills/last30days/scripts/lib/render.py b/skills/last30days/scripts/lib/render.py
index f4c977e..7e4aeff 100644
--- a/skills/last30days/scripts/lib/render.py
+++ b/skills/last30days/scripts/lib/render.py
@@ -34,11 +34,13 @@ def _skill_version() -> str:
         manifest = parent / ".claude-plugin" / "plugin.json"
         if manifest.is_file():
             try:
-                return json.loads(manifest.read_text()).get("version", "?")
+                version = json.loads(manifest.read_text()).get("version")
             except (json.JSONDecodeError, OSError):
                 continue
+            if version:
+                return version
 
-    # No manifest found at any ancestor — fall back to SKILL.md frontmatter.
+    # No usable manifest found at any ancestor — fall back to SKILL.md frontmatter.
     for parent in here.parents:
         skill_md = parent / "SKILL.md"
         if skill_md.is_file():
diff --git a/tests/test_skill_version.py b/tests/test_skill_version.py
index d36d16e..f7a8e07 100644
--- a/tests/test_skill_version.py
+++ b/tests/test_skill_version.py
@@ -66,6 +66,30 @@ class SkillVersionFallbackTests(unittest.TestCase):
         with patch.object(render, "__file__", str(fake_render)):
             self.assertEqual("8.8.8", render._skill_version())
 
+    def test_manifest_missing_version_key_falls_back_to_skill_md_frontmatter(self):
+        # Valid JSON, but no "version" key. Old behavior returned "?" and never tried
+        # SKILL.md. Fix from greptile review: fall through to SKILL.md fallback.
+        skill_dir = self.tmp_path / "skill_root"
+        fake_render = self._make_render_at(skill_dir)
+        (skill_dir / ".claude-plugin").mkdir()
+        (skill_dir / ".claude-plugin" / "plugin.json").write_text('{"name": "x"}')
+        self._write_skill_md(skill_dir, 'version: "4.4.4"')
+
+        with patch.object(render, "__file__", str(fake_render)):
+            self.assertEqual("4.4.4", render._skill_version())
+
+    def test_manifest_empty_version_string_falls_back_to_skill_md_frontmatter(self):
+        # Manifest version present but empty — treat as missing so the badge
+        # doesn't emit a useless "🌐 last30days v · synced ..." line.
+        skill_dir = self.tmp_path / "skill_root"
+        fake_render = self._make_render_at(skill_dir)
+        (skill_dir / ".claude-plugin").mkdir()
+        (skill_dir / ".claude-plugin" / "plugin.json").write_text('{"version": ""}')
+        self._write_skill_md(skill_dir, 'version: "2.2.2"')
+
+        with patch.object(render, "__file__", str(fake_render)):
+            self.assertEqual("2.2.2", render._skill_version())
+
     def test_corrupt_inner_manifest_does_not_shadow_valid_outer_manifest(self):
         outer = self.tmp_path / "outer"
         inner = outer / "skill_root"