diff --git a/.changeset/readonly-package-error-copy.md b/.changeset/readonly-package-error-copy.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f999dd529
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/readonly-package-error-copy.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"@objectstack/metadata-protocol": patch
+---
+
+Rewrite the `writable_package_required` rejection message as user-facing remediation ("switch to a writable package in the package selector, or create a new one") instead of developer-facing copy that cited an internal ADR path — the message is surfaced verbatim as a Studio toast. The ADR pointer moves to a `docs` property on the error; `code`, `status`, and `packageId` are unchanged.
diff --git a/packages/metadata-protocol/src/protocol.ts b/packages/metadata-protocol/src/protocol.ts
index 1e37dd742..67c0b5adf 100644
--- a/packages/metadata-protocol/src/protocol.ts
+++ b/packages/metadata-protocol/src/protocol.ts
@@ -3909,14 +3909,17 @@ export class ObjectStackProtocolImplementation implements ObjectStackProtocol {
                 request.packageId != null &&
                 !this.isWritablePackage(request.packageId)
             ) {
+                // Surfaced verbatim as a console toast — keep the sentence
+                // user-actionable; the ADR pointer lives in `docs` below.
                 const err = new Error(
-                    `[writable_package_required] Cannot author ${singularTypeForRepo}/${request.name} into `
-                    + `'${request.packageId}': it is a read-only package. `
-                    + `Switch to or create a writable package, then retry.`,
+                    `[writable_package_required] Cannot save ${singularTypeForRepo}/${request.name}: `
+                    + `the package '${request.packageId}' is read-only (provided by code or an installed app). `
+                    + `Switch to a writable package in the package selector, or create a new one, and retry.`,
                 );
                 (err as any).code = 'writable_package_required';
                 (err as any).status = 422;
                 (err as any).packageId = request.packageId;
+                (err as any).docs = 'docs/adr/0070-package-first-authoring.md';
                 throw err;
             }
             const orgId = request.organizationId ?? null;