diff --git a/.woodpecker/agent-smoke.sh b/.woodpecker/agent-smoke.sh
index 591653e..40d95b8 100644
--- a/.woodpecker/agent-smoke.sh
+++ b/.woodpecker/agent-smoke.sh
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ echo "=== 2/2  Function resolution ==="
 
 # Functions provided by shared lib files (available to all agent scripts via source)
 LIB_FUNS=$(
-  for f in lib/agent-session.sh lib/env.sh lib/ci-helpers.sh lib/load-project.sh; do
+  for f in lib/agent-session.sh lib/env.sh lib/ci-helpers.sh lib/load-project.sh lib/file-action-issue.sh; do
     if [ -f "$f" ]; then get_fns "$f"; fi
   done | sort -u
 )
@@ -159,6 +159,7 @@ check_script dev/dev-poll.sh
 check_script dev/phase-test.sh
 check_script gardener/gardener-agent.sh  lib/agent-session.sh
 check_script gardener/gardener-poll.sh
+check_script gardener/gardener-run.sh
 check_script review/review-pr.sh
 check_script review/review-poll.sh
 check_script planner/planner-poll.sh
diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index 4f90665..c1fe444 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -16,7 +16,8 @@ See `README.md` for the full architecture and `BOOTSTRAP.md` for setup.
 disinto/
 ├── dev/           dev-poll.sh, dev-agent.sh, phase-handler.sh — issue implementation
 ├── review/        review-poll.sh, review-pr.sh — PR review
-├── gardener/      gardener-poll.sh, gardener-agent.sh — backlog grooming
+├── gardener/      gardener-run.sh — files action issue for run-gardener formula
+│                  gardener-poll.sh, gardener-agent.sh — recipe engine + grooming
 ├── planner/       planner-poll.sh — files action issue for run-planner formula
 │                  prediction-poll.sh, prediction-agent.sh — evidence-based predictions
 ├── supervisor/    supervisor-poll.sh — health monitoring
@@ -111,12 +112,17 @@ spawns `review-pr.sh <pr-number>`.
 criteria, oversized issues, stale issues, and circular dependencies. Invoke
 Claude to fix or escalate to a human via Matrix.
 
-**Trigger**: `gardener-poll.sh` runs daily (or 2x/day) via cron. Accepts an
-optional project TOML argument.
+**Trigger**: `gardener-run.sh` runs 2x/day via cron. It files an `action`
+issue referencing `formulas/run-gardener.toml`; the [action-agent](#action-action)
+picks it up and executes the gardener steps in an interactive Claude tmux session.
+Accepts an optional project TOML argument (configures which project the action
+issue is filed against).
 
 **Key files**:
-- `gardener/gardener-poll.sh` — Cron wrapper: lock, escalation-reply injection for dev sessions, calls `gardener-agent.sh`, then processes dev-agent CI escalations via recipe engine
+- `gardener/gardener-run.sh` — Cron wrapper: lock, memory guard, dedup check, files action issue
+- `gardener/gardener-poll.sh` — Recipe engine: escalation-reply injection for dev sessions, processes dev-agent CI escalations via recipe engine (invoked by formula step ci-escalation-recipes)
 - `gardener/gardener-agent.sh` — Orchestrator: bash pre-analysis, creates tmux session (`gardener-{project}`) with interactive `claude`, monitors phase file, parses result file (ACTION:/DUST:/ESCALATE), handles dust bundling
+- `formulas/run-gardener.toml` — Execution spec: preflight, grooming, blocked-review, CI escalation recipes, agents-update, commit-and-pr
 
 **Environment variables consumed**:
 - `CODEBERG_TOKEN`, `CODEBERG_REPO`, `CODEBERG_API`, `PROJECT_NAME`, `PROJECT_REPO_ROOT`
@@ -278,6 +284,7 @@ sourced as needed.
 | `lib/load-project.sh` | Parses a `projects/*.toml` file into env vars (`PROJECT_NAME`, `CODEBERG_REPO`, `WOODPECKER_REPO_ID`, monitoring toggles, Matrix config, etc.). | env.sh (when `PROJECT_TOML` is set), supervisor-poll (per-project iteration) |
 | `lib/parse-deps.sh` | Extracts dependency issue numbers from an issue body (stdin → stdout, one number per line). Matches `## Dependencies` / `## Depends on` / `## Blocked by` sections and inline `depends on #N` patterns. Not sourced — executed via `bash lib/parse-deps.sh`. | dev-poll, supervisor-poll |
 | `lib/matrix_listener.sh` | Long-poll Matrix sync daemon. Dispatches thread replies to the correct agent via well-known files (`/tmp/{agent}-escalation-reply`). Handles supervisor, gardener, dev, review, vault, and action reply routing. Run as systemd service. | Standalone daemon |
+| `lib/file-action-issue.sh` | `file_action_issue()` — dedup check, label lookup, and issue creation for formula-driven cron wrappers. Sets `FILED_ISSUE_NUM` on success. | gardener-run.sh, planner-poll.sh |
 | `lib/agent-session.sh` | Shared tmux + Claude session helpers: `create_agent_session()`, `inject_formula()`, `agent_wait_for_claude_ready()`, `agent_inject_into_session()`, `agent_kill_session()`, `monitor_phase_loop()`, `read_phase()`. `create_agent_session(session, workdir, [phase_file])` optionally installs a PostToolUse hook (matcher `Bash\|Write`) that detects phase file writes in real-time — when Claude writes to the phase file, the hook writes a marker so `monitor_phase_loop` reacts on the next poll instead of waiting for mtime changes. Also installs a StopFailure hook (matcher `rate_limit\|server_error\|authentication_failed\|billing_error`) that writes `PHASE:failed` with an `api_error` reason to the phase file and touches the phase-changed marker, so the orchestrator discovers API errors within one poll cycle instead of waiting for idle timeout. When `MATRIX_THREAD_ID` is exported, also installs a Stop hook (`on-stop-matrix.sh`) that streams each Claude response to the Matrix thread. `monitor_phase_loop` sets `_MONITOR_LOOP_EXIT` to one of: `done`, `idle_timeout`, `idle_prompt` (Claude returned to `❯` for 3 consecutive polls without writing any phase — callback invoked with `PHASE:failed`, session already dead), `crashed`, or a `PHASE:*` string. Agents must handle `idle_prompt` in both their callback and their post-loop exit handler. | dev-agent.sh, gardener-agent.sh, action-agent.sh |
 
 ---
diff --git a/formulas/run-gardener.toml b/formulas/run-gardener.toml
index 1475574..8505990 100644
--- a/formulas/run-gardener.toml
+++ b/formulas/run-gardener.toml
@@ -191,7 +191,7 @@ needs = ["grooming"]
 id    = "ci-escalation-recipes"
 title = "CI escalation recipes (bash — gardener-poll.sh)"
 executor = "bash"
-script   = "gardener/gardener-poll.sh"
+script   = "gardener/gardener-poll.sh --recipes-only"
 description = """
 NOT a Claude step — executed by gardener-poll.sh before/after the Claude session.
 Documented here so the formula covers the full gardener run.
diff --git a/gardener/gardener-poll.sh b/gardener/gardener-poll.sh
index ca4e593..3e5dc43 100755
--- a/gardener/gardener-poll.sh
+++ b/gardener/gardener-poll.sh
@@ -25,8 +25,16 @@ set -euo pipefail
 SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd)"
 FACTORY_ROOT="$(dirname "$SCRIPT_DIR")"
 
+# --recipes-only: skip grooming (used by formula ci-escalation-recipes step
+# to avoid double-running grooming which the formula handles as its own step)
+RECIPES_ONLY=0
+if [ "${1:-}" = "--recipes-only" ]; then
+  RECIPES_ONLY=1
+  shift
+fi
+
 # Load shared environment (with optional project TOML override)
-# Usage: gardener-poll.sh [projects/harb.toml]
+# Usage: gardener-poll.sh [--recipes-only] [projects/harb.toml]
 export PROJECT_TOML="${1:-}"
 # shellcheck source=../lib/env.sh
 source "$FACTORY_ROOT/lib/env.sh"
@@ -108,8 +116,13 @@ Instructions:
 done
 
 # ── Backlog grooming (delegated to gardener-agent.sh) ────────────────────
-log "Invoking gardener-agent.sh for backlog grooming"
-bash "$SCRIPT_DIR/gardener-agent.sh" "${1:-}" || log "WARNING: gardener-agent.sh exited with error"
+# Skipped with --recipes-only (formula's grooming step handles this)
+if [ "$RECIPES_ONLY" -eq 0 ]; then
+  log "Invoking gardener-agent.sh for backlog grooming"
+  bash "$SCRIPT_DIR/gardener-agent.sh" "${1:-}" || log "WARNING: gardener-agent.sh exited with error"
+else
+  log "Skipping grooming (--recipes-only mode)"
+fi
 
 
 # ── Recipe matching engine ────────────────────────────────────────────────
diff --git a/gardener/gardener-run.sh b/gardener/gardener-run.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..36ecb3d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/gardener/gardener-run.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# =============================================================================
+# gardener-run.sh — Cron wrapper: files action issue for run-gardener formula
+#
+# Runs 2x/day (or on-demand). Guards against concurrent runs and low memory.
+# Files an action issue referencing formulas/run-gardener.toml; the action-agent
+# picks it up and executes the gardener steps in an interactive Claude session.
+# =============================================================================
+set -euo pipefail
+
+FACTORY_ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd)"
+
+# Load shared environment (with optional project TOML override)
+# Usage: gardener-run.sh [projects/harb.toml]
+export PROJECT_TOML="${1:-}"
+# shellcheck source=../lib/env.sh
+source "$FACTORY_ROOT/lib/env.sh"
+# shellcheck source=../lib/file-action-issue.sh
+source "$FACTORY_ROOT/lib/file-action-issue.sh"
+
+LOG_FILE="$FACTORY_ROOT/gardener/gardener.log"
+LOCK_FILE="/tmp/gardener-run.lock"
+
+log() { echo "[$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S)Z] $*" >> "$LOG_FILE"; }
+
+# ── Lock ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+if [ -f "$LOCK_FILE" ]; then
+  LOCK_PID=$(cat "$LOCK_FILE" 2>/dev/null || true)
+  if [ -n "$LOCK_PID" ] && kill -0 "$LOCK_PID" 2>/dev/null; then
+    log "run: gardener-run running (PID $LOCK_PID)"
+    exit 0
+  fi
+  rm -f "$LOCK_FILE"
+fi
+echo $$ > "$LOCK_FILE"
+trap 'rm -f "$LOCK_FILE"' EXIT
+
+# ── Memory guard ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+AVAIL_MB=$(free -m | awk '/Mem:/{print $7}')
+if [ "${AVAIL_MB:-0}" -lt 2000 ]; then
+  log "run: skipping — only ${AVAIL_MB}MB available (need 2000)"
+  exit 0
+fi
+
+log "--- Gardener run start ---"
+
+# ── File action issue for run-gardener formula ────────────────────────────
+ISSUE_BODY="---
+formula: run-gardener
+model: opus
+---
+
+Periodic gardener housekeeping run. The action-agent reads \`formulas/run-gardener.toml\`
+and executes the steps: preflight, grooming, blocked-review, CI escalation recipes,
+AGENTS.md update, and commit-and-pr.
+
+Filed automatically by \`gardener-run.sh\`."
+
+_rc=0
+file_action_issue "run-gardener" "action: run-gardener — periodic housekeeping" "$ISSUE_BODY" || _rc=$?
+case "$_rc" in
+  0) ;;
+  1) log "run: open run-gardener action issue already exists — skipping"
+     log "--- Gardener run done ---"
+     exit 0 ;;
+  2) log "ERROR: 'action' label not found — cannot file gardener issue"
+     exit 1 ;;
+  *) log "ERROR: failed to create action issue for run-gardener"
+     exit 1 ;;
+esac
+
+log "Filed action issue #${FILED_ISSUE_NUM} for run-gardener formula"
+matrix_send "gardener" "Filed action #${FILED_ISSUE_NUM}: run-gardener — periodic housekeeping" 2>/dev/null || true
+
+log "--- Gardener run done ---"
diff --git a/lib/file-action-issue.sh b/lib/file-action-issue.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a8f9dfa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/file-action-issue.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# file-action-issue.sh — File an action issue for a formula run
+#
+# Usage: source this file, then call file_action_issue.
+# Requires: codeberg_api() from lib/env.sh, jq
+#
+# file_action_issue <formula_name> <title> <body>
+#   Sets FILED_ISSUE_NUM on success.
+#   Returns: 0=created, 1=duplicate exists, 2=label not found, 3=API error
+
+file_action_issue() {
+  local formula_name="$1" title="$2" body="$3"
+  FILED_ISSUE_NUM=""
+
+  # Dedup: skip if an open action issue for this formula already exists
+  local open_actions
+  open_actions=$(codeberg_api GET "/issues?state=open&type=issues&labels=action&limit=50" 2>/dev/null || true)
+  if [ -n "$open_actions" ] && [ "$open_actions" != "null" ]; then
+    local existing
+    existing=$(printf '%s' "$open_actions" | \
+      jq --arg f "$formula_name" '[.[] | select(.title | test($f))] | length' 2>/dev/null || echo 0)
+    if [ "${existing:-0}" -gt 0 ]; then
+      return 1
+    fi
+  fi
+
+  # Fetch 'action' label ID
+  local action_label_id
+  action_label_id=$(codeberg_api GET "/labels" 2>/dev/null | \
+    jq -r '.[] | select(.name == "action") | .id' 2>/dev/null || true)
+  if [ -z "$action_label_id" ]; then
+    return 2
+  fi
+
+  # Create the issue
+  local payload result
+  payload=$(jq -nc \
+    --arg title "$title" \
+    --arg body "$body" \
+    --argjson labels "[$action_label_id]" \
+    '{title: $title, body: $body, labels: $labels}')
+
+  result=$(codeberg_api POST "/issues" -d "$payload" 2>/dev/null || true)
+  FILED_ISSUE_NUM=$(printf '%s' "$result" | jq -r '.number // empty' 2>/dev/null || true)
+
+  if [ -z "$FILED_ISSUE_NUM" ]; then
+    return 3
+  fi
+}
diff --git a/planner/planner-poll.sh b/planner/planner-poll.sh
index 6bd0f44..510709b 100755
--- a/planner/planner-poll.sh
+++ b/planner/planner-poll.sh
@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@ FACTORY_ROOT="$(dirname "$SCRIPT_DIR")"
 
 # shellcheck source=../lib/env.sh
 source "$FACTORY_ROOT/lib/env.sh"
+# shellcheck source=../lib/file-action-issue.sh
+source "$FACTORY_ROOT/lib/file-action-issue.sh"
 
 LOG_FILE="$SCRIPT_DIR/planner.log"
 LOCK_FILE="/tmp/planner-poll.lock"
@@ -40,28 +42,7 @@ fi
 
 log "--- Planner poll start ---"
 
-# ── Dedup: skip if an open run-planner action issue already exists ────────
-OPEN_ACTIONS=$(codeberg_api GET "/issues?state=open&type=issues&labels=action&limit=50" 2>/dev/null || true)
-if [ -n "$OPEN_ACTIONS" ] && [ "$OPEN_ACTIONS" != "null" ]; then
-  EXISTING=$(printf '%s' "$OPEN_ACTIONS" | \
-    jq '[.[] | select(.title | test("run-planner"))] | length' 2>/dev/null || echo 0)
-  if [ "${EXISTING:-0}" -gt 0 ]; then
-    log "poll: open run-planner action issue already exists — skipping"
-    log "--- Planner poll done ---"
-    exit 0
-  fi
-fi
-
-# ── Fetch 'action' label ID ──────────────────────────────────────────────
-ACTION_LABEL_ID=$(codeberg_api GET "/labels" 2>/dev/null | \
-  jq -r '.[] | select(.name == "action") | .id' 2>/dev/null || true)
-
-if [ -z "$ACTION_LABEL_ID" ]; then
-  log "ERROR: 'action' label not found — cannot file planner issue"
-  exit 1
-fi
-
-# ── File action issue ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+# ── File action issue for run-planner formula ─────────────────────────────
 ISSUE_BODY="---
 formula: run-planner
 model: opus
@@ -73,21 +54,20 @@ strategic planning (resource+leverage gap analysis), and memory update.
 
 Filed automatically by \`planner-poll.sh\`."
 
-PAYLOAD=$(jq -nc \
-  --arg title "action: run-planner — periodic strategic planning" \
-  --arg body "$ISSUE_BODY" \
-  --argjson labels "[$ACTION_LABEL_ID]" \
-  '{title: $title, body: $body, labels: $labels}')
+_rc=0
+file_action_issue "run-planner" "action: run-planner — periodic strategic planning" "$ISSUE_BODY" || _rc=$?
+case "$_rc" in
+  0) ;;
+  1) log "poll: open run-planner action issue already exists — skipping"
+     log "--- Planner poll done ---"
+     exit 0 ;;
+  2) log "ERROR: 'action' label not found — cannot file planner issue"
+     exit 1 ;;
+  *) log "ERROR: failed to create action issue for run-planner"
+     exit 1 ;;
+esac
 
-RESULT=$(codeberg_api POST "/issues" -d "$PAYLOAD" 2>/dev/null || true)
-ISSUE_NUM=$(printf '%s' "$RESULT" | jq -r '.number // empty' 2>/dev/null || true)
-
-if [ -z "$ISSUE_NUM" ]; then
-  log "ERROR: failed to create action issue for run-planner"
-  exit 1
-fi
-
-log "Filed action issue #${ISSUE_NUM} for run-planner formula"
-matrix_send "planner" "Filed action #${ISSUE_NUM}: run-planner — periodic strategic planning" 2>/dev/null || true
+log "Filed action issue #${FILED_ISSUE_NUM} for run-planner formula"
+matrix_send "planner" "Filed action #${FILED_ISSUE_NUM}: run-planner — periodic strategic planning" 2>/dev/null || true
 
 log "--- Planner poll done ---"