diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index ca67553..e2a900a 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ These run **when a session begins**:
 These run **before** a tool call is executed:
 
 - `mcp__.*very-good-cli__.*` matcher → `check-vgv-cli.sh` — reads `tool_name` from the payload and exits 0 unless the caller is a Very Good CLI tool, so a host that does not apply the matcher cannot have the decision land on an unrelated tool; for its own tools it auto-approves the call by returning a PreToolUse `allow` decision, so it is always permitted regardless of run mode (interactive, headless, or `skipAutoPermissionPrompt`) and never dead-ends when the tool isn't on `permissions.allow`; denies with an install/upgrade message if the CLI is missing or < 1.3.0, and stands aside when the CLI is present but its version cannot be read (`dart` missing from `PATH`), leaving normal permission handling to apply. The `.*` in the matcher covers both the bare `mcp__very-good-cli__*` server (repo-root `.mcp.json`) and the plugin-namespaced `mcp__plugin_<plugin>_very-good-cli__*` form used when installed from a marketplace
-- `Bash` matcher → `block-cli-workarounds.sh` — prevents direct CLI bypass of VGV CLI commands through the host's shell tool (`Bash`, or `Shell` on other hosts); exits 0 when the payload names a non-shell tool, so an unrelated tool carrying a `command` argument is never inspected; when the CLI is present but cannot run because `dart` is missing from `PATH`, the denial says so rather than redirecting to an MCP server that cannot start; exits 2 on failure (blocking)
+- `Bash` matcher → `block-cli-workarounds.sh` — prevents direct CLI bypass of VGV CLI commands through the host's shell tool (`Bash`, or `Shell` on other hosts); exits 0 when the payload names a non-shell tool, so an unrelated tool carrying a `command` argument is never inspected; when the CLI is present but cannot run because `dart` is missing from `PATH`, the denial says so rather than redirecting to an MCP server that cannot start; every denial also says the whole shell call was refused, so the agent re-runs any command chained with the blocked one instead of assuming it ran; exits 2 on failure (blocking)
 
 The first two PreToolUse hooks are plugin-level (defined in `hooks.json`) and share common utilities
 from `vgv-cli-common.sh`. The following hook is **agent-scoped** — it is declared in the
diff --git a/hooks/scripts/block-cli-workarounds.sh b/hooks/scripts/block-cli-workarounds.sh
index d422d99..98f2985 100644
--- a/hooks/scripts/block-cli-workarounds.sh
+++ b/hooks/scripts/block-cli-workarounds.sh
@@ -29,6 +29,11 @@ if [ -z "$COMMAND" ]; then
   exit 0
 fi
 
+# A deny refuses the whole shell call, so a command chained before or after the blocked
+# one (`edit-a-file && dart test`) never runs either. Without saying so, the agent
+# assumes the chained command's side effect happened and carries on without it.
+WHOLE_CALL_REFUSED="This whole shell call was refused, so none of it ran: run any other commands it chained in a call of their own."
+
 # Deny with an install/upgrade message when the CLI is missing or outdated, with a PATH
 # message when it is present but cannot run, and otherwise redirect to the MCP tool.
 deny_with_cli_check() {
@@ -37,19 +42,19 @@ deny_with_cli_check() {
   cli_status=$(check_vgv_cli)
   case "$cli_status" in
     not_installed)
-      deny "Very Good CLI is required but was not found. Install with: dart pub global activate very_good_cli"
+      deny "Very Good CLI is required but was not found. Install with: dart pub global activate very_good_cli. $WHOLE_CALL_REFUSED"
       ;;
     outdated:*)
       local version="${cli_status#outdated:}"
-      deny "Very Good CLI ${version} is too old (requires >= ${MIN_VERSION}). Update with: dart pub global activate very_good_cli"
+      deny "Very Good CLI ${version} is too old (requires >= ${MIN_VERSION}). Update with: dart pub global activate very_good_cli. $WHOLE_CALL_REFUSED"
       ;;
     unverifiable)
       # Redirecting to the MCP tool here would be a dead end: the server starts through
       # the same very_good shim, which cannot exec dart from this PATH either.
-      deny "Very Good CLI was found but could not run: dart is not on the PATH available to hooks, so the very_good_cli MCP server cannot start either. Add the Dart SDK bin directory to PATH for non-interactive shells (e.g. in ~/.zprofile) and start a new session."
+      deny "Very Good CLI was found but could not run: dart is not on the PATH available to hooks, so the very_good_cli MCP server cannot start either. Add the Dart SDK bin directory to PATH for non-interactive shells (e.g. in ~/.zprofile) and start a new session. $WHOLE_CALL_REFUSED"
       ;;
     *)
-      deny "$mcp_hint"
+      deny "$mcp_hint $WHOLE_CALL_REFUSED"
       ;;
   esac
 }
diff --git a/hooks/scripts/block-cli-workarounds_test.sh b/hooks/scripts/block-cli-workarounds_test.sh
index 128c6d9..d5d182e 100755
--- a/hooks/scripts/block-cli-workarounds_test.sh
+++ b/hooks/scripts/block-cli-workarounds_test.sh
@@ -193,6 +193,27 @@ stub_cli
 assert_blocked "flutter test"
 assert_reason_contains "dart is not on the PATH" "CLI that cannot run points at PATH, not the MCP tool"
 
+echo ""
+echo "--- Deny reason says the whole call was refused ---"
+
+# A command chained with the blocked one is refused with it. Every reason must say so,
+# or the agent assumes the chained command's side effect happened.
+stub_cli 1.5.0
+assert_blocked "python3 edit_pubspec.py && dart test"
+assert_reason_contains "none of it ran" "chained command, current CLI"
+
+stub_cli 1.2.9
+assert_blocked "python3 edit_pubspec.py && dart test"
+assert_reason_contains "none of it ran" "chained command, outdated CLI"
+
+no_cli
+assert_blocked "python3 edit_pubspec.py && dart test"
+assert_reason_contains "none of it ran" "chained command, missing CLI"
+
+stub_cli
+assert_blocked "python3 edit_pubspec.py && dart test"
+assert_reason_contains "none of it ran" "chained command, CLI that cannot run"
+
 echo ""
 echo "=== Results: $PASSED passed, $FAILED failed ==="