diff --git a/reme/steps/file_io/stat.py b/reme/steps/file_io/stat.py
index 4ef31dd4..ca3c3f51 100644
--- a/reme/steps/file_io/stat.py
+++ b/reme/steps/file_io/stat.py
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 """``file_stat`` — peek at file metadata under the workspace without copying it.
 
 Cheap inspection alternative to ``file_download``: the agent gets
-size, mtime, mime type, and (for markdown files) the parsed
-frontmatter — enough to decide whether to download / parse / skip
-without paying the copy cost.
+size and mtime in the answer, with mime type and (for markdown files)
+the parsed frontmatter alongside in metadata — enough to decide whether
+to download / parse / skip without paying the copy cost.
 
 Returns a uniform envelope:
 
@@ -68,12 +68,13 @@ class StatStep(BaseStep):
             return
 
         st = target.stat()
+        mtime = datetime.fromtimestamp(st.st_mtime).isoformat()
         payload: dict = {
             "path": path,
             "absolute_path": str(target),
             "exists": True,
             "type": "dir" if target.is_dir() else "file",
-            "mtime": datetime.fromtimestamp(st.st_mtime).isoformat(),
+            "mtime": mtime,
             "ctime": datetime.fromtimestamp(st.st_ctime).isoformat(),
         }
         if target != original_target:
@@ -90,9 +91,9 @@ class StatStep(BaseStep):
                 except Exception:
                     meta = {}
                 payload["frontmatter"] = meta
-            answer = f"stat: {path} (file, {st.st_size} bytes)"
+            answer = f"stat: {path} (file, {st.st_size} bytes, mtime {mtime})"
         else:
-            answer = f"stat: {path} (dir)"
+            answer = f"stat: {path} (dir, mtime {mtime})"
 
         self.context.response.success = True
         self.context.response.answer = answer
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_crud_steps.py b/tests/unit/test_crud_steps.py
index 498424bb..5d3a3184 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_crud_steps.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_crud_steps.py
@@ -150,6 +150,35 @@ def test_stat_directory_fallback():
     asyncio.run(run())
 
 
+def test_stat_answer_reports_size_and_mtime():
+    """The answer carries size and mtime, not just the path and type.
+
+    The ``stat`` job description advertises "size, mtime, exists, is_dir,
+    is_file", but only ``answer`` reaches an MCP caller — mtime used to live
+    solely in metadata, so an agent could not tell how fresh a file was.
+    """
+
+    async def run():
+        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as tmp, temp_chdir(tmp):
+            store = await _make_store({"topics/n.md": "---\nname: T\n---\nbody"})
+            step = crud_stat.StatStep(file_store=store)
+            await step(path="topics/n.md")
+            answer = step.context.response.answer
+            mtime = _metadata(step)["mtime"]
+            assert answer.startswith("stat: topics/n.md (file, ")
+            assert "bytes, mtime " in answer
+            assert answer.endswith(f"{mtime})")
+
+            (Path(tmp) / "topics").mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+            step = crud_stat.StatStep(file_store=store)
+            await step(path="topics")
+            answer = step.context.response.answer
+            assert answer == f"stat: topics (dir, mtime {_metadata(step)['mtime']})"
+            await store.close()
+
+    asyncio.run(run())
+
+
 def test_stat_directory_wins_over_same_name_index():
     """stat prefers an existing directory over its same-name ``.md`` index.