diff --git a/src/apktool/ApktoolProvider.ts b/src/apktool/ApktoolProvider.ts
index c9a9c28040..eba734883b 100644
--- a/src/apktool/ApktoolProvider.ts
+++ b/src/apktool/ApktoolProvider.ts
@@ -153,12 +153,13 @@ const runApktool = async (
     invocation = apktoolInvocation(selection, arguments_, hostEnvironment);
   } catch (cause) {
     if (!(cause instanceof WindowsBatchCommandError)) throw cause;
+    const reason = `The apktool batch launcher cannot receive REA's decode paths through cmd.exe: ${cause.message}`;
     return err(
       new AnalysisCapabilityUnavailableError(
         APKTOOL_PROVIDER_IDENTITY.id,
         operation,
-        `The apktool batch launcher cannot receive REA's decode paths through cmd.exe: ${cause.message}`,
-        { cause },
+        reason,
+        { cause, userMessage: reason },
       ),
     );
   }
@@ -345,8 +346,8 @@ export class ApktoolProvider {
   async #inspectAvailability(
     signal: AbortSignal,
   ): Promise<ProviderAvailability> {
-    const selection = this.selection();
     try {
+      const selection = this.selection();
       await inspectApktoolClient(selection, signal, this.environment);
       throwIfCancelled("inspect_apktool_client", signal);
       return {
@@ -397,9 +398,10 @@ export class ApktoolProvider {
   ): Promise<Result<AnalysisExecution, AnalysisError>> {
     if (signal?.aborted === true)
       return err(new AnalysisCancelledError(request.operation));
-    const selection = this.selection();
+    let selection: ApktoolCommandSelection;
     let identity: ApktoolClientIdentity;
     try {
+      selection = this.selection();
       identity = await inspectApktoolClient(
         selection,
         signal,
@@ -407,17 +409,21 @@ export class ApktoolProvider {
       );
     } catch (cause) {
       if (cause instanceof AnalysisCancelledError) return err(cause);
-      if (cause instanceof ApktoolConfigurationFailure)
+      if (cause instanceof ApktoolConfigurationFailure) {
+        // A host configuration refusal; the target is not the problem.
+        const reason =
+          typeof cause.diagnostics.remediation === "string"
+            ? `${cause.message}. ${cause.diagnostics.remediation}.`
+            : `${cause.message}.`;
         return err(
           new AnalysisCapabilityUnavailableError(
             APKTOOL_PROVIDER_IDENTITY.id,
             request.operation,
-            typeof cause.diagnostics.remediation === "string"
-              ? `${cause.message} ${cause.diagnostics.remediation}`
-              : cause.message,
-            { cause },
+            reason,
+            { cause, userMessage: reason },
           ),
         );
+      }
       return err(
         new AnalysisProtocolError(
           `apktool version probe failed for ${request.operation}`,
diff --git a/tests/boundary/cli/apktoolCli.test.ts b/tests/boundary/cli/apktoolCli.test.ts
index 65752906fa..e3415e6f0b 100644
--- a/tests/boundary/cli/apktoolCli.test.ts
+++ b/tests/boundary/cli/apktoolCli.test.ts
@@ -12,13 +12,37 @@ it.each(["inspect-apktool-client", "decode-android-resources"])(
   },
 );
 
-it("reports a missing apktool launcher with recovery guidance", async () => {
-  const result = await serve(["inspect-apktool-client", "--json"], {
-    REA_APKTOOL_COMMAND: "/nonexistent/apktool",
-  });
-  expect(result.stdout).toContain("capability_unavailable");
-  expect(result.stdout).toContain("REA_APKTOOL_COMMAND");
-});
+it.each([
+  [
+    ["inspect-apktool-client", "--json"],
+    "/nonexistent/apktool",
+    "The selected apktool launcher was not found: /nonexistent/apktool. Set REA_APKTOOL_COMMAND",
+  ],
+  [
+    ["decode-android-resources", "/targets/app.apk", "--json"],
+    "/nonexistent/apktool",
+    "The selected apktool launcher was not found: /nonexistent/apktool. Set REA_APKTOOL_COMMAND",
+  ],
+  [
+    ["decode-android-resources", "/targets/app.apk", "--json"],
+    "relative/apktool",
+    "REA_APKTOOL_COMMAND must be an absolute path to the apktool launcher.",
+  ],
+])(
+  "%j with REA_APKTOOL_COMMAND=%s names the host requirement",
+  async (argv, command, reason) => {
+    const result = await serve(argv, { REA_APKTOOL_COMMAND: command });
+    const output = JSON.parse(result.stdout) as {
+      code?: unknown;
+      message?: unknown;
+      remediation?: { action?: unknown };
+    };
+    expect(output.code).toBe("capability_unavailable");
+    // The target is not the problem; the refusal must say what to configure.
+    expect(output.message).toEqual(expect.stringContaining(reason));
+    expect(output.remediation?.action).toEqual(expect.stringContaining(reason));
+  },
+);
 
 it("validates the locale option before launching apktool", async () => {
   const result = await serve([