diff --git a/.github/copilot-instructions.md b/.github/copilot-instructions.md
index 3cf78ddf..a82456c3 100644
--- a/.github/copilot-instructions.md
+++ b/.github/copilot-instructions.md
@@ -16,6 +16,6 @@ Read and follow the CONTRIBUTING.md file in this repository for all code style c
 - Minimize `unwrap()` in non-test code — use proper error handling
 - Prefer `#[cfg_attr(..., ignore = "reason")]` over `#[cfg(...)]` to skip tests — use `#[cfg]` on tests only when the code cannot compile under the condition (e.g., references types/functions that don't exist on other platforms)
 - Install toolchain before running tests: `rustup toolchain install "$(< rust-toolchain)" && rustup component add --toolchain "$(< rust-toolchain)" rustfmt clippy`
-- Run `FMT=true LINT=true BUILD=true TEST=true DOC=true ./test.sh` to validate changes. If a test fails with a hint about `RUSTFLAGS` and `--cfg pdu_test_skip_*`, follow the hint and rerun with the suggested flags.
+- Run `FMT=true LINT=true BUILD=true TEST=true DOC=true ./test.sh` to validate changes. If a test fails with a hint about `TEST_SKIP`, follow the hint and rerun with the suggested variable.
 - **ALWAYS run the full test suite** (`FMT=true LINT=true BUILD=true TEST=true DOC=true ./test.sh`) before committing, regardless of how trivial the change seems — this includes documentation-only changes, comment edits, config changes, and refactors. The test suite checks formatting, linting, building, tests, and docs across multiple feature combinations; any type of change can break any of these checks.
 - Set `PDU_NO_FAIL_FAST=true` to run all checks instead of stopping at the first failure — this lets you see which checks pass and which fail
diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index 3cf78ddf..a82456c3 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -16,6 +16,6 @@ Read and follow the CONTRIBUTING.md file in this repository for all code style c
 - Minimize `unwrap()` in non-test code — use proper error handling
 - Prefer `#[cfg_attr(..., ignore = "reason")]` over `#[cfg(...)]` to skip tests — use `#[cfg]` on tests only when the code cannot compile under the condition (e.g., references types/functions that don't exist on other platforms)
 - Install toolchain before running tests: `rustup toolchain install "$(< rust-toolchain)" && rustup component add --toolchain "$(< rust-toolchain)" rustfmt clippy`
-- Run `FMT=true LINT=true BUILD=true TEST=true DOC=true ./test.sh` to validate changes. If a test fails with a hint about `RUSTFLAGS` and `--cfg pdu_test_skip_*`, follow the hint and rerun with the suggested flags.
+- Run `FMT=true LINT=true BUILD=true TEST=true DOC=true ./test.sh` to validate changes. If a test fails with a hint about `TEST_SKIP`, follow the hint and rerun with the suggested variable.
 - **ALWAYS run the full test suite** (`FMT=true LINT=true BUILD=true TEST=true DOC=true ./test.sh`) before committing, regardless of how trivial the change seems — this includes documentation-only changes, comment edits, config changes, and refactors. The test suite checks formatting, linting, building, tests, and docs across multiple feature combinations; any type of change can break any of these checks.
 - Set `PDU_NO_FAIL_FAST=true` to run all checks instead of stopping at the first failure — this lets you see which checks pass and which fail
diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index 5aa709ae..f0fc2926 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ Read and follow the CONTRIBUTING.md file in this repository for all code style c
 - Minimize `unwrap()` in non-test code — use proper error handling
 - Prefer `#[cfg_attr(..., ignore = "reason")]` over `#[cfg(...)]` to skip tests — use `#[cfg]` on tests only when the code cannot compile under the condition (e.g., references types/functions that don't exist on other platforms)
 - Install toolchain before running tests: `rustup toolchain install "$(< rust-toolchain)" && rustup component add --toolchain "$(< rust-toolchain)" rustfmt clippy`
-- Run `FMT=true LINT=true BUILD=true TEST=true DOC=true ./test.sh` to validate changes. If a test fails with a hint about `RUSTFLAGS` and `--cfg pdu_test_skip_*`, follow the hint and rerun with the suggested flags.
+- Run `FMT=true LINT=true BUILD=true TEST=true DOC=true ./test.sh` to validate changes. If a test fails with a hint about `TEST_SKIP`, follow the hint and rerun with the suggested variable.
 - **ALWAYS run the full test suite** (`FMT=true LINT=true BUILD=true TEST=true DOC=true ./test.sh`) before committing, regardless of how trivial the change seems — this includes documentation-only changes, comment edits, config changes, and refactors. The test suite checks formatting, linting, building, tests, and docs across multiple feature combinations; any type of change can break any of these checks.
 - Set `PDU_NO_FAIL_FAST=true` to run all checks instead of stopping at the first failure — this lets you see which checks pass and which fail
 - `gh` (GitHub CLI) is not installed — do not attempt to use it
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index edbd1049..0cba2540 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -215,7 +215,7 @@ pub enum RuntimeError {
 
 ### Conditional Test Skipping: `#[cfg]` vs `#[cfg_attr(..., ignore)]`
 
-When a test cannot run under certain conditions (e.g., wrong platform, running as root), prefer `#[cfg_attr(..., ignore)]` over `#[cfg(...)]` to skip it. This way the test is still compiled on all configurations — catching type errors and regressions early — but simply skipped at runtime.
+When a test cannot run under certain conditions (e.g., wrong platform), prefer `#[cfg_attr(..., ignore)]` over `#[cfg(...)]` to skip it. This way the test is still compiled on all configurations — catching type errors and regressions early — but simply skipped at runtime.
 
 Use `#[cfg]` on tests **only** when the code cannot compile under the condition — for example, when the test references types, functions, or trait methods that are gated behind `#[cfg]` and do not exist on other platforms or feature sets.
 
@@ -231,16 +231,6 @@ fn unix_path_logic() { /* uses hardcoded unix paths but no unix-only types */ }
 #[cfg(unix)]
 #[test]
 fn block_size() { /* uses GetBlockSize which only exists on unix */ }
-
-// Good — test compiles with the flag, skipped at runtime
-#[test]
-#[cfg_attr(pdu_test_skip_some_test, ignore = "pdu_test_skip_some_test is set")]
-fn some_test() { /* ... */ }
-
-// Bad — excludes the test from compilation entirely when it could still compile
-#[cfg(not(pdu_test_skip_some_test))]
-#[test]
-fn some_test() { /* ... */ }
 ```
 
 ### Using `pipe-trait`
@@ -380,4 +370,4 @@ FMT=true LINT=true BUILD=true TEST=true DOC=true ./test.sh
 > Always run the full test suite before committing, even for seemingly trivial changes such as documentation edits, comment changes, or config updates. Any change can break formatting, linting, building, tests, or doc generation across the different feature combinations.
 
 > [!NOTE]
-> Some tests may fail with a hint about `RUSTFLAGS` and `--cfg pdu_test_skip_*` flags. Follow the hint and rerun with the suggested flags.
+> Some tests may fail with a hint about `TEST_SKIP`. Follow the hint and rerun with the suggested variable.
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 7ba21ff4..ced6e8a2 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -91,6 +91,3 @@ maplit = "1.0.2"
 normalize-path = "0.2.1"
 pretty_assertions = "1.4.1"
 rand = "0.10.0"
-
-[lints.rust]
-unexpected_cfgs = { level = "warn", check-cfg = ['cfg(pdu_test_skip_fs_errors)'] }
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 67d3c8fd..12e52aa2 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -93,6 +93,7 @@ Environment Variables
 | `TEST`        | `true` or `false` | `true`        | Whether to run `cargo test`                     |
 | `BUILD_FLAGS` | string            | _(empty)_     | Space-separated list of flags for `cargo build` |
 | `TEST_FLAGS`  | string            | _(empty)_     | Space-separated list of flags for `cargo test`  |
+| `TEST_SKIP`   | string            | _(empty)_     | Space-separated list of test names to skip      |
 
 </details>
 
diff --git a/template/ai-instructions/shared.md b/template/ai-instructions/shared.md
index 3cf78ddf..a82456c3 100644
--- a/template/ai-instructions/shared.md
+++ b/template/ai-instructions/shared.md
@@ -16,6 +16,6 @@ Read and follow the CONTRIBUTING.md file in this repository for all code style c
 - Minimize `unwrap()` in non-test code — use proper error handling
 - Prefer `#[cfg_attr(..., ignore = "reason")]` over `#[cfg(...)]` to skip tests — use `#[cfg]` on tests only when the code cannot compile under the condition (e.g., references types/functions that don't exist on other platforms)
 - Install toolchain before running tests: `rustup toolchain install "$(< rust-toolchain)" && rustup component add --toolchain "$(< rust-toolchain)" rustfmt clippy`
-- Run `FMT=true LINT=true BUILD=true TEST=true DOC=true ./test.sh` to validate changes. If a test fails with a hint about `RUSTFLAGS` and `--cfg pdu_test_skip_*`, follow the hint and rerun with the suggested flags.
+- Run `FMT=true LINT=true BUILD=true TEST=true DOC=true ./test.sh` to validate changes. If a test fails with a hint about `TEST_SKIP`, follow the hint and rerun with the suggested variable.
 - **ALWAYS run the full test suite** (`FMT=true LINT=true BUILD=true TEST=true DOC=true ./test.sh`) before committing, regardless of how trivial the change seems — this includes documentation-only changes, comment edits, config changes, and refactors. The test suite checks formatting, linting, building, tests, and docs across multiple feature combinations; any type of change can break any of these checks.
 - Set `PDU_NO_FAIL_FAST=true` to run all checks instead of stopping at the first failure — this lets you see which checks pass and which fail
diff --git a/test.sh b/test.sh
index 3846d798..e0554d02 100755
--- a/test.sh
+++ b/test.sh
@@ -56,10 +56,19 @@ run_if() (
 unit() (
   read -ra build_flags <<<"${BUILD_FLAGS:-}"
   read -ra test_flags <<<"${TEST_FLAGS:-}"
+  read -ra test_skip <<<"${TEST_SKIP:-}"
+  skip_args=()
+  for name in ${test_skip[@]+"${test_skip[@]}"}; do
+    skip_args+=(--skip "$name")
+  done
   run_if "${LINT:-true}" cargo clippy "$@" -- -D warnings
   run_if "${DOC:-false}" cargo doc "$@"
   run_if "${BUILD:-true}" cargo build ${build_flags[@]+"${build_flags[@]}"} "$@"
-  run_if "${TEST:-true}" cargo test ${test_flags[@]+"${test_flags[@]}"} "$@"
+  if [[ ${#skip_args[@]} -gt 0 ]]; then
+    run_if "${TEST:-true}" cargo test ${test_flags[@]+"${test_flags[@]}"} "$@" -- "${skip_args[@]}"
+  else
+    run_if "${TEST:-true}" cargo test ${test_flags[@]+"${test_flags[@]}"} "$@"
+  fi
 )
 
 run_if "${FMT:-true}" cargo fmt -- --check
diff --git a/tests/cli_errors.rs b/tests/cli_errors.rs
index bb2c089b..f1802d5d 100644
--- a/tests/cli_errors.rs
+++ b/tests/cli_errors.rs
@@ -107,13 +107,12 @@ fn max_depth_0() {
 
 #[cfg(unix)]
 #[test]
-#[cfg_attr(pdu_test_skip_fs_errors, ignore = "pdu_test_skip_fs_errors is set")]
 fn fs_errors() {
     if unsafe { libc::geteuid() } == 0 {
         panic!(
             "{}\n{}",
             "error: This test must not be run as root because running with elevated privileges would affect its accuracy.",
-            "hint: Either run this test as a non-root user or set `RUSTFLAGS='--cfg pdu_test_skip_fs_errors'` to skip this test.",
+            "hint: Either run this test as a non-root user or rerun via `TEST_SKIP='fs_errors' ./test.sh` to skip this test.",
         );
     }