diff --git a/apps/server/src/mcp/McpHttpServer.test.ts b/apps/server/src/mcp/McpHttpServer.test.ts
index 1415e2e8dcb87f0ecffee94b1907e110fc16553c..5619f19b25497b76a5f3ac25b027717d94ce7ac5 100644
--- a/apps/server/src/mcp/McpHttpServer.test.ts
+++ b/apps/server/src/mcp/McpHttpServer.test.ts
@@ -161,21 +161,73 @@ it.effect.each([{}, { includeImage: false }])(
             Effect.provideService(McpSchema.McpServerClient, client),
           );
 
+        const message = "Preview automation snapshot failed on client mcp-failure-client.";
         expect(snapshot.isError).toBe(true);
         expect(snapshot.content).toEqual([
-          { type: "text", text: "Preview snapshot failed: PreviewAutomationExecutionError." },
+          { type: "text", text: `Preview snapshot failed: ${message}` },
         ]);
         expect(snapshot.structuredContent).toEqual({
           error: {
             _tag: "PreviewAutomationExecutionError",
             operation: "snapshot",
             failureCount: 1,
+            message,
           },
         });
       }),
     ).pipe(Effect.provide(TestLayer)),
 );
 
+it.effect.each([
+  { args: {}, advice: "No active preview tab was found for snapshot. Call preview_open first." },
+  {
+    args: { tabId: alternateTabId },
+    advice: `Preview tab ${alternateTabId} was not found for snapshot. Omit tabId to use the current tab, or call preview_open.`,
+  },
+])("tells the agent to open a tab when the snapshot has none $args", ({ args, advice }) =>
+  Effect.scoped(
+    Effect.gen(function* () {
+      const broker = yield* PreviewAutomationBroker.PreviewAutomationBroker;
+      const connected = yield* Deferred.make<void>();
+      const events = yield* broker.connect({ clientId: "mcp-no-tab-client", environmentId });
+      yield* Stream.runForEach(events, (event) =>
+        event.type === "connected"
+          ? Deferred.succeed(connected, undefined)
+          : broker.respond({
+              clientId: "mcp-no-tab-client",
+              connectionId: event.connectionId,
+              requestId: event.request.requestId,
+              ok: false,
+              error: { _tag: "PreviewAutomationTabNotFoundError", message: "no tab" },
+            }),
+      ).pipe(Effect.forkScoped);
+      yield* Deferred.await(connected);
+
+      const snapshot = yield* callSnapshot(args);
+
+      expect(snapshot.isError).toBe(true);
+      expect(snapshot.content).toEqual([
+        { type: "text", text: `Preview snapshot failed: ${advice}` },
+      ]);
+    }),
+  ).pipe(Effect.provide(TestLayer)),
+);
+
+it.effect("tells the agent how to fall back when no desktop app can run the snapshot", () =>
+  Effect.gen(function* () {
+    const snapshot = yield* callSnapshot({});
+
+    expect(snapshot.isError).toBe(true);
+    const [text] = snapshot.content;
+    expect(text?.type === "text" ? text.text : "").toContain(
+      "use a headless browser from the shell",
+    );
+    expect(snapshot.structuredContent).toMatchObject({
+      error: { _tag: "PreviewAutomationNoAvailableHostError" },
+    });
+  }).pipe(Effect.provide(TestLayer)),
+);
+
 it.effect.each([
   { mode: "default", input: {}, images: true },
   { mode: "explicit image", input: { includeImage: true }, images: true },
diff --git a/apps/server/src/mcp/McpHttpServer.ts b/apps/server/src/mcp/McpHttpServer.ts
index f93c7643dafb064a3a3e6b5990ea099b819b0ce7..5a807fc328af01b577bed46e98128f58883ffb7b 100644
--- a/apps/server/src/mcp/McpHttpServer.ts
+++ b/apps/server/src/mcp/McpHttpServer.ts
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import * as Stream from "effect/Stream";
 import type * as Types from "effect/Types";
 import { McpProtocol, McpSchema, McpServer, Tool } from "effect/unstable/ai";
 import { HttpRouter, HttpServerRequest, HttpServerResponse } from "effect/unstable/http";
+import { PreviewAutomationError } from "@t3tools/contracts";
 
 import packageJson from "../../package.json" with { type: "json" };
 import * as ServerConfig from "../config.ts";
@@ -328,6 +329,8 @@ const saveScreenshot = Effect.fn("McpHttpServer.saveScreenshot")(function* (
   return screenshotPath;
 });
 
+const isPreviewAutomationError = Schema.is(PreviewAutomationError);
+
 const previewSnapshotFailure = <E>(cause: Cause.Cause<E>) => {
   if (Cause.hasInterrupts(cause) || cause.reasons.some(Cause.isDieReason)) {
     return Effect.failCause(cause).pipe(Effect.orDie);
@@ -341,6 +344,9 @@ const previewSnapshotFailure = <E>(cause: Cause.Cause<E>) => {
     typeof firstFailure._tag === "string"
       ? firstFailure._tag
       : "PreviewSnapshotError";
+  // Preview errors build their message on the server, never from page output,
+  // and it tells the agent what to do next, such as falling back to a shell browser.
+  const message = isPreviewAutomationError(firstFailure) ? firstFailure.message : undefined;
   const result = new McpSchema.CallToolResult({
     isError: true,
     structuredContent: {
@@ -348,10 +354,11 @@ const previewSnapshotFailure = <E>(cause: Cause.Cause<E>) => {
         _tag: errorTag,
         operation: "snapshot",
         failureCount: failures.length,
+        ...(message === undefined ? {} : { message }),
       },
     },
-    // Agents usually see only the text content, so name the tag there too.
-    content: [{ type: "text", text: `Preview snapshot failed: ${errorTag}.` }],
+    // Some clients show only the text content and others only structuredContent, so both carry it.
+    content: [{ type: "text", text: `Preview snapshot failed: ${message ?? `${errorTag}.`}` }],
   });
   return Effect.logWarning("preview snapshot failed", {
     operation: "snapshot",
diff --git a/apps/server/src/mcp/McpInvocationContext.test.ts b/apps/server/src/mcp/McpInvocationContext.test.ts
index 123944206e37d94e9e7d1466547a4bcbc33b3d5f..4314c82e6ddc369b53b6d8d25b83d993ebcf86ed 100644
--- a/apps/server/src/mcp/McpInvocationContext.test.ts
+++ b/apps/server/src/mcp/McpInvocationContext.test.ts
@@ -34,7 +34,8 @@ it.effect("reports the scoped credential context when preview capability is unav
       providerSessionId: invocation.providerSessionId,
       providerInstanceId: invocation.providerInstanceId,
     });
-    expect(error.message).toBe("MCP credential does not grant the preview capability.");
+    expect(error.message).toContain("MCP credential does not grant the preview capability");
+    expect(error.message).toContain("use a headless browser from the shell");
   });
 });
 
diff --git a/packages/contracts/src/previewAutomation.ts b/packages/contracts/src/previewAutomation.ts
index 431e83189d2246bdcce5afe26b2b633ce5b86ff5..f87739670f75d86e8aba4008c6d72af184982b8d 100644
--- a/packages/contracts/src/previewAutomation.ts
+++ b/packages/contracts/src/previewAutomation.ts
@@ -649,6 +649,7 @@ const McpCapabilityErrorFields = {
   providerInstanceId: ProviderInstanceId,
 };
 
+/** Agents read this message, so it names the next step and not only the failure. */
 export class PreviewAutomationUnavailableError extends Schema.TaggedError<PreviewAutomationUnavailableError>()(
   "PreviewAutomationUnavailableError",
   {
@@ -657,7 +658,7 @@ export class PreviewAutomationUnavailableError extends Schema.TaggedError<Previe
   },
 ) {
   override get message(): string {
-    return `MCP credential does not grant the ${this.capability} capability.`;
+    return `MCP credential does not grant the ${this.capability} capability: browser preview tools are off for this thread. Do not retry them. To check a page, use a headless browser from the shell, such as Playwright, or curl. The user can turn on "Agent browser access" in Settings; it applies when the agent session next starts.`;
   }
 }
 
@@ -722,8 +723,7 @@ export class PreviewAutomationNoAvailableHostError extends Schema.TaggedError<Pr
   },
 ) {
   override get message(): string {
-    const summary = `No preview automation host is available for ${this.operation} in environment ${this.environmentId}.`;
-    return summary;
+    return `No preview automation host is available for ${this.operation} in environment ${this.environmentId}. Preview tools run in a T3 Code desktop app that is open and connected to this environment; a headless server has no browser of its own. Do not retry. To check a page, use a headless browser from the shell, such as Playwright, or curl, or ask the user to open this thread in the T3 Code desktop app.`;
   }
 }
 
@@ -747,10 +747,9 @@ export class PreviewAutomationTabNotFoundError extends Schema.TaggedError<Previe
   },
 ) {
   override get message(): string {
-    const summary = this.tabId
-      ? `Preview tab ${this.tabId} was not found for ${this.operation}.`
-      : `No active preview tab was found for ${this.operation}.`;
-    return summary;
+    return this.tabId
+      ? `Preview tab ${this.tabId} was not found for ${this.operation}. Omit tabId to use the current tab, or call preview_open.`
+      : `No active preview tab was found for ${this.operation}. Call preview_open first.`;
   }
 }