diff --git a/dev/dev-agent.sh b/dev/dev-agent.sh
index 02e46ab..8bda468 100755
--- a/dev/dev-agent.sh
+++ b/dev/dev-agent.sh
@@ -545,6 +545,10 @@ else
   cd "$WORKTREE"
   git checkout -B "$BRANCH" origin/master 2>/dev/null
   git submodule update --init --recursive 2>/dev/null || true
+
+  # Write STATE.md entry — will be included in the first commit
+  write_state_entry "in-progress"
+
   # Symlink lib node_modules from main repo (submodule init doesn't run npm install)
   for lib_dir in "$REPO_ROOT"/onchain/lib/*/; do
     lib_name=$(basename "$lib_dir")
@@ -856,45 +860,32 @@ fi
 # =============================================================================
 # STATE.MD APPEND
 # =============================================================================
-# After each merge, append one line to STATE.md describing what now exists.
-# Format: - [YYYY-MM-DD] what is now true about harb (#PR)
-# The planner will collapse this into a compact snapshot later.
-append_state_log() {
-  local state_file="${REPO_ROOT}/STATE.md"
+# Write STATE.md entry in the worktree BEFORE implementation starts.
+# This ensures the STATE.md update is part of the first commit, not a separate
+# push that would dismiss stale approvals.
+# Format: - [YYYY-MM-DD] <in-progress|done> description (#ISSUE)
+write_state_entry() {
+  local status_word="${1:-in-progress}"  # "in-progress" or "done"
+  local target="${WORKTREE:-$REPO_ROOT}"
+  local state_file="${target}/STATE.md"
   local today
   today=$(date -u +%Y-%m-%d)
 
-  # Derive a "what now exists" description from the issue title.
-  # Strip prefixes (feat:/fix:/refactor:) to get the essence.
   local description
   description=$(echo "$ISSUE_TITLE" | sed 's/^feat:\s*//i;s/^fix:\s*//i;s/^refactor:\s*//i')
 
-  local line="- [${today}] ${description} (#${PR_NUMBER})"
-
-  # Create file with header if it doesn't exist
-  if [ ! -f "$state_file" ]; then
-    echo "# STATE.md — What harb currently is and does" > "$state_file"
-    echo "" >> "$state_file"
-  fi
-
-  echo "$line" >> "$state_file"
-
-  # Append to STATE.md on the PR branch, push before merge
-  local worktree="${WORKTREE:-}"
-  local target="${worktree:-$REPO_ROOT}"
-  local state_file="${target}/STATE.md"
+  local line="- [${today}] [${status_word}] ${description} (#${ISSUE})"
 
   if [ ! -f "$state_file" ]; then
     printf '# STATE.md — What harb currently is and does\n\n' > "$state_file"
   fi
   echo "$line" >> "$state_file"
+  log "STATE.md: ${line}"
+}
 
-  cd "$target"
-  git add STATE.md 2>/dev/null || true
-  git diff --cached --quiet && return 0
-  git commit -m "state: ${description} (#${PR_NUMBER})" --no-verify 2>/dev/null || true
-  git push origin "${BRANCH}" 2>/dev/null || log "STATE.md push failed — will be missing from this merge"
-  log "STATE.md updated: ${line}"
+# Alias for backward compat
+append_state_log() {
+  write_state_entry "done"
 }
 
 # MERGE HELPER
@@ -948,6 +939,10 @@ do_merge() {
   if [ "$http_code" = "200" ] || [ "$http_code" = "204" ]; then
     log "PR #${PR_NUMBER} merged!"
 
+    # Update STATE.md on master (pull merged changes first)
+    (cd "$REPO_ROOT" && git checkout master 2>/dev/null && git pull --ff-only origin master 2>/dev/null) || true
+    append_state_log || log "WARNING: STATE.md update failed (non-fatal)"
+
     curl -sf -X DELETE \
       -H "Authorization: token ${CODEBERG_TOKEN}" \
       "${API}/branches/${BRANCH}" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
diff --git a/dev/dev-poll.sh b/dev/dev-poll.sh
index fb20191..0c5950a 100755
--- a/dev/dev-poll.sh
+++ b/dev/dev-poll.sh
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ if [ "$ORPHAN_COUNT" -gt 0 ]; then
         "${API}/pulls/${HAS_PR}/merge" \
         -d '{"Do":"merge","delete_branch_after_merge":true}')
 
-      if [ "$MERGE_CODE" = "200" ] || [ "$MERGE_CODE" = "204" ] || [ "$MERGE_CODE" = "405" ]; then
+      if [ "$MERGE_CODE" = "200" ] || [ "$MERGE_CODE" = "204" ] ; then
         log "PR #${HAS_PR} merged! Closing #${ISSUE_NUM}"
         curl -sf -X PATCH -H "Authorization: token ${CODEBERG_TOKEN}" \
           -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
@@ -186,6 +186,63 @@ if [ "$ORPHAN_COUNT" -gt 0 ]; then
   fi
 fi
 
+# =============================================================================
+# PRIORITY 1.5: any open PR with REQUEST_CHANGES or CI failure (stuck PRs)
+# =============================================================================
+log "checking for stuck PRs"
+OPEN_PRS=$(curl -sf -H "Authorization: token ${CODEBERG_TOKEN}" \
+  "${API}/pulls?state=open&limit=20")
+
+for i in $(seq 0 $(($(echo "$OPEN_PRS" | jq 'length') - 1))); do
+  PR_NUM=$(echo "$OPEN_PRS" | jq -r ".[$i].number")
+  PR_BRANCH=$(echo "$OPEN_PRS" | jq -r ".[$i].head.ref")
+  PR_SHA=$(echo "$OPEN_PRS" | jq -r ".[$i].head.sha")
+
+  # Extract issue number from branch name (fix/issue-NNN)
+  STUCK_ISSUE=$(echo "$PR_BRANCH" | grep -oP '(?<=fix/issue-)\d+' || true)
+  [ -z "$STUCK_ISSUE" ] && continue
+
+  CI_STATE=$(curl -sf -H "Authorization: token ${CODEBERG_TOKEN}" \
+    "${API}/commits/${PR_SHA}/status" | jq -r '.state // "unknown"') || true
+  HAS_CHANGES=$(curl -sf -H "Authorization: token ${CODEBERG_TOKEN}" \
+    "${API}/pulls/${PR_NUM}/reviews" | \
+    jq -r '[.[] | select(.state == "REQUEST_CHANGES") | select(.stale == false)] | length') || true
+  HAS_APPROVE=$(curl -sf -H "Authorization: token ${CODEBERG_TOKEN}" \
+    "${API}/pulls/${PR_NUM}/reviews" | \
+    jq -r '[.[] | select(.state == "APPROVED") | select(.stale == false)] | length') || true
+
+  # Try merge if approved + CI green
+  if [ "$CI_STATE" = "success" ] && [ "${HAS_APPROVE:-0}" -gt 0 ]; then
+    log "PR #${PR_NUM} (issue #${STUCK_ISSUE}) approved + CI green → merging"
+    MERGE_CODE=$(curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" -X POST \
+      -H "Authorization: token ${CODEBERG_TOKEN}" \
+      -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+      "${API}/pulls/${PR_NUM}/merge" \
+      -d '{"Do":"merge","delete_branch_after_merge":true}')
+    if [ "$MERGE_CODE" = "200" ] || [ "$MERGE_CODE" = "204" ]; then
+      log "PR #${PR_NUM} merged! Closing #${STUCK_ISSUE}"
+      curl -sf -X PATCH -H "Authorization: token ${CODEBERG_TOKEN}" \
+        -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+        "${API}/issues/${STUCK_ISSUE}" -d '{"state":"closed"}' >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+      openclaw system event --text "✅ PR #${PR_NUM} merged! Issue #${STUCK_ISSUE} done." --mode now 2>/dev/null || true
+    fi
+    continue
+  fi
+
+  # Stuck: REQUEST_CHANGES or CI failure → spawn agent
+  if [ "$CI_STATE" = "success" ] && [ "${HAS_CHANGES:-0}" -gt 0 ]; then
+    log "PR #${PR_NUM} (issue #${STUCK_ISSUE}) has REQUEST_CHANGES — fixing first"
+    nohup "${SCRIPT_DIR}/dev-agent.sh" "$STUCK_ISSUE" >> "$LOGFILE" 2>&1 &
+    log "started dev-agent PID $! for stuck PR #${PR_NUM}"
+    exit 0
+  elif [ "$CI_STATE" = "failure" ] || [ "$CI_STATE" = "error" ]; then
+    log "PR #${PR_NUM} (issue #${STUCK_ISSUE}) CI failed — fixing first"
+    nohup "${SCRIPT_DIR}/dev-agent.sh" "$STUCK_ISSUE" >> "$LOGFILE" 2>&1 &
+    log "started dev-agent PID $! for stuck PR #${PR_NUM}"
+    exit 0
+  fi
+done
+
 # =============================================================================
 # PRIORITY 2: find ready backlog issues (pull system)
 # =============================================================================
@@ -236,7 +293,7 @@ for i in $(seq 0 $((BACKLOG_COUNT - 1))); do
         -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
         "${API}/pulls/${EXISTING_PR}/merge" \
         -d '{"Do":"merge","delete_branch_after_merge":true}')
-      if [ "$MERGE_CODE" = "200" ] || [ "$MERGE_CODE" = "204" ] || [ "$MERGE_CODE" = "405" ]; then
+      if [ "$MERGE_CODE" = "200" ] || [ "$MERGE_CODE" = "204" ] ; then
         log "PR #${EXISTING_PR} merged! Closing #${ISSUE_NUM}"
         curl -sf -X PATCH -H "Authorization: token ${CODEBERG_TOKEN}" \
           -H "Content-Type: application/json" \