diff --git a/cli/package.json b/cli/package.json
index 8e5e66d0..dfd62d72 100644
--- a/cli/package.json
+++ b/cli/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@openrouter/spawn",
-  "version": "0.2.65",
+  "version": "0.2.66",
   "type": "module",
   "bin": {
     "spawn": "cli.js"
diff --git a/cli/src/__tests__/cli-entry-edge-cases.test.ts b/cli/src/__tests__/cli-entry-edge-cases.test.ts
index 5d448d05..3f0208fc 100644
--- a/cli/src/__tests__/cli-entry-edge-cases.test.ts
+++ b/cli/src/__tests__/cli-entry-edge-cases.test.ts
@@ -439,7 +439,7 @@ describe("fuzzy matching edge cases in showInfoOrError", () => {
     // "abcdefgh" is far from any agent/cloud
     const result = runCli(["abcdefgh"]);
     const out = output(result);
-    expect(out).toContain("Unknown command");
+    expect(out).toContain("Unknown agent or cloud");
     expect(out).not.toContain("Did you mean");
   });
 
diff --git a/cli/src/__tests__/list-empty-footer.test.ts b/cli/src/__tests__/list-empty-footer.test.ts
index d33bd207..46603733 100644
--- a/cli/src/__tests__/list-empty-footer.test.ts
+++ b/cli/src/__tests__/list-empty-footer.test.ts
@@ -271,7 +271,7 @@ function buildUnknownCommandError(
   if (cloudMatch) suggestions.push(`${cloudMatch} (cloud: ${manifest.clouds[cloudMatch].name})`);
 
   return {
-    errorMessage: `Unknown command: ${name}`,
+    errorMessage: `Unknown agent or cloud: ${name}`,
     hasSuggestion: suggestions.length > 0,
     suggestion: suggestions.length > 0 ? `Did you mean ${suggestions.join(" or ")}?` : undefined,
   };
@@ -662,9 +662,9 @@ describe("showUnknownCommandError logic", () => {
   });
 
   describe("error message format", () => {
-    it("should always include Unknown command prefix", () => {
+    it("should always include Unknown agent or cloud prefix", () => {
       const result = buildUnknownCommandError("foo", mockManifest);
-      expect(result.errorMessage).toStartWith("Unknown command:");
+      expect(result.errorMessage).toStartWith("Unknown agent or cloud:");
     });
 
     it("should include the actual input in error message", () => {
diff --git a/cli/src/__tests__/script-failure-guidance.test.ts b/cli/src/__tests__/script-failure-guidance.test.ts
index daccc033..3d656044 100644
--- a/cli/src/__tests__/script-failure-guidance.test.ts
+++ b/cli/src/__tests__/script-failure-guidance.test.ts
@@ -468,18 +468,24 @@ describe("buildRetryCommand", () => {
     );
   });
 
-  it("should truncate long prompts to 60 characters", () => {
+  it("should suggest --prompt-file for long prompts instead of truncating", () => {
     const longPrompt = "A".repeat(100);
     const result = buildRetryCommand("claude", "sprite", longPrompt);
-    expect(result).toContain("A".repeat(60) + "...");
-    expect(result).not.toContain("A".repeat(61));
+    expect(result).toBe("spawn claude sprite --prompt-file <your-prompt-file>");
+    expect(result).not.toContain("A"); // no truncated prompt content
   });
 
-  it("should not truncate prompts at exactly 60 characters", () => {
-    const exactPrompt = "B".repeat(60);
+  it("should include full prompt at exactly 80 characters", () => {
+    const exactPrompt = "B".repeat(80);
     const result = buildRetryCommand("aider", "hetzner", exactPrompt);
     expect(result).toBe(`spawn aider hetzner --prompt "${exactPrompt}"`);
-    expect(result).not.toContain("...");
+    expect(result).not.toContain("prompt-file");
+  });
+
+  it("should suggest --prompt-file for prompts over 80 characters", () => {
+    const longPrompt = "C".repeat(81);
+    const result = buildRetryCommand("aider", "hetzner", longPrompt);
+    expect(result).toBe("spawn aider hetzner --prompt-file <your-prompt-file>");
   });
 
   it("should escape double quotes in prompt", () => {
diff --git a/cli/src/__tests__/show-info-or-error.test.ts b/cli/src/__tests__/show-info-or-error.test.ts
index 4f1a5ed0..9d98e7b5 100644
--- a/cli/src/__tests__/show-info-or-error.test.ts
+++ b/cli/src/__tests__/show-info-or-error.test.ts
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ import { resolve } from "path";
  * case where a user types "spawn <name>" and the name could be:
  * - A valid agent key -> shows agent info (cmdAgentInfo)
  * - A valid cloud key -> shows cloud info (cmdCloudInfo)
- * - An unknown name -> shows "Unknown command" with fuzzy suggestions
+ * - An unknown name -> shows "Unknown agent or cloud" with fuzzy suggestions
  *
  * Since showInfoOrError is not exported and calls loadManifest + process.exit,
  * we test it by spawning bun subprocesses (same approach as index-main-routing.test.ts).
@@ -122,13 +122,13 @@ describe("showInfoOrError - single argument routing", () => {
     });
   });
 
-  // ── Unknown command: error output ──────────────────────────────────────
+  // ── Unknown agent or cloud: error output ──────────────────────────────────────
 
   describe("unknown single argument", () => {
-    it("should show 'Unknown command' for an unrecognized name", () => {
+    it("should show 'Unknown agent or cloud' for an unrecognized name", () => {
       const result = runCli(["xyzzyplugh"]);
       const output = result.stdout + result.stderr;
-      expect(output).toContain("Unknown command");
+      expect(output).toContain("Unknown agent or cloud");
       expect(result.exitCode).not.toBe(0);
     });
 
@@ -185,7 +185,7 @@ describe("showInfoOrError - single argument routing", () => {
       // "kubernetes" is far from any agent or cloud name
       const result = runCli(["kubernetes"]);
       const output = result.stdout + result.stderr;
-      expect(output).toContain("Unknown command");
+      expect(output).toContain("Unknown agent or cloud");
       expect(output).not.toContain("Did you mean");
     });
 
@@ -230,14 +230,14 @@ describe("showInfoOrError - single argument routing", () => {
     it("should not treat numeric-only input as a valid agent or cloud", () => {
       const result = runCli(["12345"]);
       const output = result.stdout + result.stderr;
-      expect(output).toContain("Unknown command");
+      expect(output).toContain("Unknown agent or cloud");
       expect(result.exitCode).not.toBe(0);
     });
 
     it("should handle hyphenated names that are not real entries", () => {
       const result = runCli(["not-a-real-entry"]);
       const output = result.stdout + result.stderr;
-      expect(output).toContain("Unknown command");
+      expect(output).toContain("Unknown agent or cloud");
       expect(result.exitCode).not.toBe(0);
     });
 
diff --git a/cli/src/commands.ts b/cli/src/commands.ts
index 2059e81a..8cae9ff1 100644
--- a/cli/src/commands.ts
+++ b/cli/src/commands.ts
@@ -623,9 +623,12 @@ export function getScriptFailureGuidance(exitCode: number | null, cloud: string,
 
 export function buildRetryCommand(agent: string, cloud: string, prompt?: string): string {
   if (!prompt) return `spawn ${agent} ${cloud}`;
-  const short = prompt.length > 60 ? prompt.slice(0, 60) + "..." : prompt;
-  const safe = short.replace(/"/g, '\\"');
-  return `spawn ${agent} ${cloud} --prompt "${safe}"`;
+  if (prompt.length <= 80) {
+    const safe = prompt.replace(/"/g, '\\"');
+    return `spawn ${agent} ${cloud} --prompt "${safe}"`;
+  }
+  // Long prompts: suggest --prompt-file instead of truncating into a broken command
+  return `spawn ${agent} ${cloud} --prompt-file <your-prompt-file>`;
 }
 
 function reportScriptFailure(errMsg: string, cloud: string, agent: string, authHint?: string, prompt?: string): never {
diff --git a/cli/src/index.ts b/cli/src/index.ts
index 532924fb..cccf20cf 100644
--- a/cli/src/index.ts
+++ b/cli/src/index.ts
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ function showUnknownCommandError(name: string, manifest: { agents: Record<string
   const agentMatch = findClosestKeyByNameOrKey(name, agentKeys(manifest), (k) => manifest.agents[k].name);
   const cloudMatch = findClosestKeyByNameOrKey(name, cloudKeys(manifest), (k) => manifest.clouds[k].name);
 
-  console.error(pc.red(`Unknown command: ${pc.bold(name)}`));
+  console.error(pc.red(`Unknown agent or cloud: ${pc.bold(name)}`));
   console.error();
   if (agentMatch || cloudMatch) {
     const suggestions: string[] = [];