diff --git a/src/routes/skills/-useSkillsBrowseModel.ts b/src/routes/skills/-useSkillsBrowseModel.ts
index 25a26de02..c5a3d0e77 100644
--- a/src/routes/skills/-useSkillsBrowseModel.ts
+++ b/src/routes/skills/-useSkillsBrowseModel.ts
@@ -48,10 +48,9 @@ export function useSkillsBrowseModel({
 
   const trimmedQuery = useMemo(() => query.trim(), [query])
   const hasQuery = trimmedQuery.length > 0
-  const sort: SortKey =
-    search.sort === 'relevance' && !hasQuery
-      ? 'downloads'
-      : (search.sort ?? (hasQuery ? 'relevance' : 'downloads'))
+  const sort: SortKey = hasQuery
+    ? (search.sort ?? 'relevance')
+    : (search.sort === 'relevance' ? 'downloads' : (search.sort ?? 'downloads'))
   const listSort = toListSort(sort)
   const dir = parseDir(search.dir, sort)
   const searchKey = trimmedQuery
@@ -229,7 +228,13 @@ export function useSkillsBrowseModel({
       const trimmed = next.trim()
       navigateTimer.current = window.setTimeout(() => {
         void navigate({
-          search: (prev) => ({ ...prev, q: trimmed ? next : undefined }),
+          search: (prev) => ({
+            ...prev,
+            q: trimmed ? next : undefined,
+            // When entering a search query, clear any injected sort so relevance
+            // becomes the default. Users can still pick a different sort manually.
+            sort: trimmed ? undefined : prev.sort,
+          }),
           replace: true,
         })
       }, 220)