diff --git a/src/mcplocal/tests/smoke/mcp-client.ts b/src/mcplocal/tests/smoke/mcp-client.ts
index cb25e74..bbb1d46 100644
--- a/src/mcplocal/tests/smoke/mcp-client.ts
+++ b/src/mcplocal/tests/smoke/mcp-client.ts
@@ -261,6 +261,21 @@ export async function isMcplocalRunning(): Promise<boolean> {
   }
 }
 
+/**
+ * Pull the drill-down id out of a paginated result or TOC.
+ *
+ * The instruction is written `_resultId="pm-abc"`, while the legacy paginator
+ * emits it as JSON (`"_resultId": "pm-abc"`). A regex matching only the JSON
+ * form silently found nothing in the current format, so drill-down checks
+ * either reported a false failure or skipped themselves as "not large enough
+ * for section-split" — both invisible in a green run. Accept either spelling
+ * and return the bare id.
+ */
+export function extractResultId(text: string): string | null {
+  const match = /_resultId"?\s*[:=]\s*"?(pm-[a-zA-Z0-9]+)/.exec(text);
+  return match?.[1] ?? null;
+}
+
 /**
  * Run an mcpctl CLI command and return stdout.
  */
diff --git a/src/mcplocal/tests/smoke/prompt-drilldown.test.ts b/src/mcplocal/tests/smoke/prompt-drilldown.test.ts
index 1925611..74cff82 100644
--- a/src/mcplocal/tests/smoke/prompt-drilldown.test.ts
+++ b/src/mcplocal/tests/smoke/prompt-drilldown.test.ts
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
  * Requires: mcplocal running on localhost:3200, mcpd at https://mcpctl.ad.itaz.eu
  */
 import { describe, it, expect, beforeAll, afterAll } from 'vitest';
-import { SmokeMcpSession, isMcplocalRunning } from './mcp-client.js';
+import { SmokeMcpSession, isMcplocalRunning, extractResultId } from './mcp-client.js';
 
 const PROJECT_NAME = 'smoke-data';
 
@@ -90,9 +90,8 @@ describe('Smoke: Prompt section drill-down', () => {
         console.log(`  TOC preview: ${text.slice(0, 200)}...`);
 
         // Extract _resultId
-        const match = /_resultId:\s*(pm-[a-z0-9]+)/.exec(text);
-        if (match) {
-          const resultId = match[1];
+        const resultId = extractResultId(text);
+        if (resultId !== null) {
           // Extract first section id from TOC
           const sectionMatch = /\[([^\]]+)\]/.exec(text);
           if (sectionMatch) {
diff --git a/src/mcplocal/tests/smoke/proxy-pipeline.test.ts b/src/mcplocal/tests/smoke/proxy-pipeline.test.ts
index cb53c0b..e339d17 100644
--- a/src/mcplocal/tests/smoke/proxy-pipeline.test.ts
+++ b/src/mcplocal/tests/smoke/proxy-pipeline.test.ts
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
 import { describe, it, expect, beforeAll, afterAll } from 'vitest';
 import { writeFile, mkdir, rm } from 'node:fs/promises';
 import { join, resolve } from 'node:path';
-import { SmokeMcpSession, isMcplocalRunning, mcpctl } from './mcp-client.js';
+import { SmokeMcpSession, isMcplocalRunning, mcpctl, extractResultId } from './mcp-client.js';
 import { ChatReporter } from './reporter.js';
 
 const PROJECT_NAME = 'smoke-data';
@@ -286,8 +286,7 @@ describe('Smoke: ProxyModel pipeline', () => {
       chat.check('Response is manageable size', text.length, (v) => v < 20_000);
 
       if (text.includes('_resultId')) {
-        const match = text.match(/_resultId:\s*(\S+)/);
-        chat.check('_resultId is present', !!match, (v) => v === true);
+        chat.check('_resultId is present', extractResultId(text) !== null, (v) => v === true);
       } else {
         chat.info('Content small enough — no pagination needed');
       }
@@ -307,14 +306,12 @@ describe('Smoke: ProxyModel pipeline', () => {
       });
       const text = result.content[0]?.text ?? '';
 
-      const match = text.match(/_resultId:\s*(\S+)/);
-      if (!match) {
+      const resultId = extractResultId(text);
+      if (resultId === null) {
         chat.info('Content not large enough for pagination — skip drill-down');
         return;
       }
 
-      const resultId = match[1]!.replace(/[^a-zA-Z0-9-]/g, '');
-
       const sectionResult = await chat.callTool('smoke-aws-docs_read_documentation', {
         url: 'https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/Welcome.html',
         _resultId: resultId,
@@ -401,8 +398,7 @@ describe('Smoke: ProxyModel pipeline', () => {
       chat.check('Response is manageable size', text.length, (v) => v < 20_000);
 
       if (text.includes('_resultId')) {
-        const match = text.match(/_resultId:\s*(\S+)/);
-        chat.check('Has _resultId for drill-down', !!match, (v) => v === true);
+        chat.check('Has _resultId for drill-down', extractResultId(text) !== null, (v) => v === true);
       }
     }, 60_000);
 
@@ -420,14 +416,12 @@ describe('Smoke: ProxyModel pipeline', () => {
       });
       const text = result.content[0]?.text ?? '';
 
-      const match = text.match(/_resultId:\s*(\S+)/);
-      if (!match) {
+      const resultId = extractResultId(text);
+      if (resultId === null) {
         chat.info('Content not large enough for section-split');
         return;
       }
 
-      const resultId = match[1]!.replace(/[^a-zA-Z0-9-]/g, '');
-
       const sectionResult = await chat.callTool('smoke-aws-docs_read_documentation', {
         url: 'https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/Welcome.html',
         _resultId: resultId,