diff --git a/packages/core/src/tool/edit.ts b/packages/core/src/tool/edit.ts
index f0bdb488a060..a11dc8023257 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/tool/edit.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/tool/edit.ts
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ const layer = Layer.effectDiscard(
                   Effect.mapError((error) =>
                     error instanceof FileMutation.StaleContentError
                       ? new ToolFailure({
-                          message: "File changed after permission approval. Read it again before editing.",
+                          message: "File changed since it was read. Read it again before editing.",
                         })
                       : new ToolFailure({ message: `Unable to edit ${input.path}` }),
                   ),
diff --git a/packages/core/test/tool-edit.test.ts b/packages/core/test/tool-edit.test.ts
index a9e4cbae4952..907b6f191fd9 100644
--- a/packages/core/test/tool-edit.test.ts
+++ b/packages/core/test/tool-edit.test.ts
@@ -398,7 +398,7 @@ describe("EditTool", () => {
             Effect.gen(function* () {
               expect(result).toEqual({
                 type: "error",
-                value: "File changed after permission approval. Read it again before editing.",
+                value: "File changed since it was read. Read it again before editing.",
               })
               expect(yield* Effect.promise(() => fs.readFile(target, "utf8"))).toBe("newer\n")
               expect(writes).toEqual([])