diff --git a/packages/server/src/tools/read-many-files.test.ts b/packages/server/src/tools/read-many-files.test.ts
index 50156b55..ea801ddb 100644
--- a/packages/server/src/tools/read-many-files.test.ts
+++ b/packages/server/src/tools/read-many-files.test.ts
@@ -293,9 +293,7 @@ describe('ReadManyFilesTool', () => {
           (c) => typeof c === 'string' && c.includes('--- notes.txt ---'),
         ),
       ).toBe(true);
-      expect(result.returnDisplay).toContain(
-        '**Skipped 1 item(s) (up to 5 shown):**',
-      );
+      expect(result.returnDisplay).toContain('**Skipped 1 item(s):**');
       expect(result.returnDisplay).toContain(
         '- `document.pdf` (Reason: asset file (image/pdf) was not explicitly requested by name or extension)',
       );
diff --git a/packages/server/src/tools/read-many-files.ts b/packages/server/src/tools/read-many-files.ts
index 1f9ab86e..b825de04 100644
--- a/packages/server/src/tools/read-many-files.ts
+++ b/packages/server/src/tools/read-many-files.ts
@@ -402,7 +402,11 @@ Use this tool when the user's query implies needing the content of several files
       if (processedFilesRelativePaths.length === 0) {
         displayMessage += `No files were read and concatenated based on the criteria.\n`;
       }
-      displayMessage += `\n**Skipped ${skippedFiles.length} item(s) (up to 5 shown):**\n`;
+      if (skippedFiles.length <= 5) {
+        displayMessage += `\n**Skipped ${skippedFiles.length} item(s):**\n`;
+      } else {
+        displayMessage += `\n**Skipped ${skippedFiles.length} item(s) (first 5 shown):**\n`;
+      }
       skippedFiles
         .slice(0, 5)
         .forEach(