diff --git a/workspace-template/skill_loader/watcher.py b/workspace-template/skill_loader/watcher.py
index 1a147fa4..03b2372f 100644
--- a/workspace-template/skill_loader/watcher.py
+++ b/workspace-template/skill_loader/watcher.py
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ Architecture
 ------------
 ``SkillsWatcher`` runs as a background asyncio task alongside the agent.  It
 polls the skill directories every ``POLL_INTERVAL`` seconds (default 3 s),
-computes MD5 hashes of every file, and fires ``_reload_skill()`` when any
+computes SHA-256 hashes of every file, and fires ``_reload_skill()`` when any
 file inside a skill's folder changes.
 
 ``_reload_skill()`` calls ``load_skills()`` from ``skills.loader`` for the
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ class SkillsWatcher:
         self.config_path = config_path
         self.skill_names = list(skill_names)
         self.on_reload   = on_reload
-        self._hashes: dict[str, str] = {}   # rel_path → md5 hex
+        self._hashes: dict[str, str] = {}   # rel_path → sha256 hex
         self._running = False
 
     # ------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -103,12 +103,13 @@ class SkillsWatcher:
 
     def _hash_file(self, path: Path) -> str:
         try:
-            return hashlib.md5(path.read_bytes()).hexdigest()
+            # H1: SHA-256 replaces MD5 for file-integrity change detection.
+            return hashlib.sha256(path.read_bytes()).hexdigest()
         except OSError:
             return ""
 
     def _scan(self) -> dict[str, str]:
-        """Return {relative_path: md5} for every file in watched skill dirs."""
+        """Return {relative_path: sha256} for every file in watched skill dirs."""
         hashes: dict[str, str] = {}
         root = self._skills_root()
         for skill_name in self.skill_names:
diff --git a/workspace-template/tests/test_skills_watcher.py b/workspace-template/tests/test_skills_watcher.py
index c9bbcf2e..c587eb7b 100644
--- a/workspace-template/tests/test_skills_watcher.py
+++ b/workspace-template/tests/test_skills_watcher.py
@@ -40,8 +40,8 @@ def _write(path: Path, content: str) -> None:
     path.write_text(content, encoding="utf-8")
 
 
-def _md5(content: str) -> str:
-    return hashlib.md5(content.encode()).hexdigest()
+def _sha256(content: str) -> str:
+    return hashlib.sha256(content.encode()).hexdigest()
 
 
 # ============================================================================
@@ -149,7 +149,7 @@ class TestChangedSkills:
         _write(tmp_path / "skills" / "unwatched" / "SKILL.md", "v2")
         # Also add path for unwatched to new_hashes manually (shouldn't matter)
         new_hashes = w._scan()
-        new_hashes["unwatched/SKILL.md"] = _md5("v2")
+        new_hashes["unwatched/SKILL.md"] = _sha256("v2")
 
         changed = w._changed_skills(new_hashes)
         assert "unwatched" not in changed
@@ -351,13 +351,13 @@ class TestHashFile:
         result = w._hash_file(missing)
         assert result == ""
 
-    def test_hash_file_returns_md5_for_existing_file(self, tmp_path):
-        """_hash_file returns a non-empty hex digest for a readable file."""
+    def test_hash_file_returns_sha256_for_existing_file(self, tmp_path):
+        """_hash_file returns a non-empty SHA-256 hex digest for a readable file."""
         f = tmp_path / "real_file.txt"
         f.write_text("hello")
         w = SkillsWatcher(str(tmp_path), [])
         result = w._hash_file(f)
-        assert len(result) == 32  # MD5 hex digest length
+        assert len(result) == 64  # SHA-256 hex digest length
         assert result != ""
 
 
diff --git a/workspace-template/tests/test_watcher.py b/workspace-template/tests/test_watcher.py
index b94456e9..c8496db2 100644
--- a/workspace-template/tests/test_watcher.py
+++ b/workspace-template/tests/test_watcher.py
@@ -64,10 +64,10 @@ def test_init_defaults_on_reload(tmp_config):
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 def test_hash_file_real_file(tmp_path, watcher):
-    """_hash_file returns md5 hex digest of the file's bytes."""
+    """_hash_file returns sha256 hex digest of the file's bytes."""
     f = tmp_path / "sample.txt"
     f.write_bytes(b"hello world")
-    expected = hashlib.md5(b"hello world").hexdigest()
+    expected = hashlib.sha256(b"hello world").hexdigest()
     assert watcher._hash_file(str(f)) == expected
 
 
diff --git a/workspace-template/watcher.py b/workspace-template/watcher.py
index 7091ee51..ca22042b 100644
--- a/workspace-template/watcher.py
+++ b/workspace-template/watcher.py
@@ -37,7 +37,11 @@ class ConfigWatcher:
 
     def _hash_file(self, path: str) -> str:
         try:
-            return hashlib.md5(Path(path).read_bytes()).hexdigest()
+            # H1: SHA-256 replaces MD5 for file-integrity change detection.
+            # MD5 is collision-prone; using SHA-256 prevents a crafted config
+            # file from producing the same hash as a benign one, which would
+            # silently suppress the hot-reload callback.
+            return hashlib.sha256(Path(path).read_bytes()).hexdigest()
         except (OSError, IOError):
             return ""