diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index ca4b688..c3464d8 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ RESOURCES.md
 state.json
 *.lock
 *.pid
-escalations.jsonl
+escalations*.jsonl
 metrics/supervisor-metrics.jsonl
 
 # OS
diff --git a/dev/dev-agent.sh b/dev/dev-agent.sh
index 14ad448..0e43171 100755
--- a/dev/dev-agent.sh
+++ b/dev/dev-agent.sh
@@ -968,14 +968,30 @@ Phase file: ${PHASE_FILE}"
     # No phase change — check idle timeout
     if [ "$IDLE_ELAPSED" -ge "$IDLE_TIMEOUT" ]; then
       log "TIMEOUT: no phase update for ${IDLE_TIMEOUT}s — killing session"
-      notify "session idle for 2h — killed"
+      notify_ctx \
+        "session idle for 2h — killed. Escalating to gardener." \
+        "session idle for 2h — killed. Escalating to gardener.${PR_NUMBER:+ PR <a href='${CODEBERG_WEB}/pulls/${PR_NUMBER}'>#${PR_NUMBER}</a>}"
       kill_tmux_session
+
+      # Escalate: write to project-suffixed escalation file so gardener picks it up
+      echo "{\"issue\":${ISSUE},\"pr\":${PR_NUMBER:-0},\"reason\":\"idle_timeout\",\"ts\":\"$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)\"}" \
+        >> "${FACTORY_ROOT}/supervisor/escalations-${PROJECT_NAME}.jsonl"
+
+      # Restore labels: remove in-progress, add backlog
       cleanup_labels
+      curl -sf -X POST \
+        -H "Authorization: token ${CODEBERG_TOKEN}" \
+        -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+        "${API}/issues/${ISSUE}/labels" \
+        -d '{"labels":["backlog"]}' >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+
+      CLAIMED=false  # Don't unclaim again in cleanup()
       if [ -n "${PR_NUMBER:-}" ]; then
         log "keeping worktree (PR #${PR_NUMBER} still open)"
       else
         cleanup_worktree
       fi
+      rm -f "$PHASE_FILE" "$IMPL_SUMMARY_FILE" "$THREAD_FILE"
       break
     fi
     continue
@@ -1138,7 +1154,7 @@ Write PHASE:awaiting_review to the phase file, then stop and wait for review fee
       if [ "$CI_FIX_COUNT" -gt "$MAX_CI_FIXES" ]; then
         log "CI failure not recoverable after ${CI_FIX_COUNT} fix attempts — escalating"
         echo "{\"issue\":${ISSUE},\"pr\":${PR_NUMBER},\"reason\":\"ci_exhausted\",\"step\":\"${FAILED_STEP:-unknown}\",\"attempts\":${CI_FIX_COUNT},\"ts\":\"$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)\"}" \
-          >> "${FACTORY_ROOT}/supervisor/escalations.jsonl"
+          >> "${FACTORY_ROOT}/supervisor/escalations-${PROJECT_NAME}.jsonl"
         notify_ctx \
           "CI exhausted after ${CI_FIX_COUNT} attempts — escalated to supervisor" \
           "CI exhausted after ${CI_FIX_COUNT} attempts on PR <a href='${PR_URL:-${CODEBERG_WEB}/pulls/${PR_NUMBER}}'>#${PR_NUMBER}</a> | <a href='${_ci_pipeline_url}'>Pipeline</a><br>Step: <code>${FAILED_STEP:-unknown}</code> — escalated to supervisor"
@@ -1462,7 +1478,7 @@ $(printf '%s' "$REFUSAL_JSON" | head -c 2000)
         "❌ Issue #${ISSUE} session failed: ${FAILURE_REASON}" \
         "❌ <a href='${CODEBERG_WEB}/issues/${ISSUE}'>Issue #${ISSUE}</a> session failed: ${FAILURE_REASON}${PR_NUMBER:+ | PR <a href='${CODEBERG_WEB}/pulls/${PR_NUMBER}'>#${PR_NUMBER}</a>}"
       echo "{\"issue\":${ISSUE},\"pr\":${PR_NUMBER:-0},\"reason\":\"${FAILURE_REASON}\",\"ts\":\"$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)\"}" \
-        >> "${FACTORY_ROOT}/supervisor/escalations.jsonl"
+        >> "${FACTORY_ROOT}/supervisor/escalations-${PROJECT_NAME}.jsonl"
 
       # Restore backlog label
       cleanup_labels
diff --git a/gardener/gardener-poll.sh b/gardener/gardener-poll.sh
index e5f7839..4be31d6 100755
--- a/gardener/gardener-poll.sh
+++ b/gardener/gardener-poll.sh
@@ -990,13 +990,47 @@ if [ -s "$ESCALATION_FILE" ]; then
     ESC_ISSUE=$(echo "$esc_entry" | jq -r '.issue // empty')
     ESC_PR=$(echo "$esc_entry" | jq -r '.pr // empty')
     ESC_ATTEMPTS=$(echo "$esc_entry" | jq -r '.attempts // 3')
+    ESC_REASON=$(echo "$esc_entry" | jq -r '.reason // empty')
 
     if [ -z "$ESC_ISSUE" ] || [ -z "$ESC_PR" ]; then
       echo "$esc_entry" >> "$ESCALATION_DONE"
       continue
     fi
 
-    log "Escalation: issue #${ESC_ISSUE} PR #${ESC_PR} (${ESC_ATTEMPTS} CI attempt(s))"
+    log "Escalation: issue #${ESC_ISSUE} PR #${ESC_PR} reason=${ESC_REASON} (${ESC_ATTEMPTS} CI attempt(s))"
+
+    # Handle idle_timeout escalations — no CI steps to inspect, just notify
+    if [[ "$ESC_REASON" == idle_timeout* ]]; then
+      _issue_url="${CODEBERG_WEB}/issues/${ESC_ISSUE}"
+      sub_title="fix: investigate idle timeout for issue #${ESC_ISSUE}"
+      sub_body="## Dev-agent idle timeout
+
+The dev-agent session for issue #${ESC_ISSUE} was idle for 2h without a phase update and was killed.$([ "${ESC_PR:-0}" != "0" ] && printf '\n\nPR #%s may still be open.' "$ESC_PR")
+
+### What to check
+1. Was the agent stuck waiting for input? Check the issue spec for ambiguity.
+2. Was there an infrastructure issue (tmux crash, disk full, etc.)?
+3. Re-run the issue by restoring the \`backlog\` label if the spec is clear.
+
+### Context
+- Issue: [#${ESC_ISSUE}](${_issue_url})$([ "${ESC_PR:-0}" != "0" ] && printf '\n- PR: #%s' "$ESC_PR")"
+
+      new_issue=$(curl -sf -X POST \
+        -H "Authorization: token ${CODEBERG_TOKEN}" \
+        -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+        "${CODEBERG_API}/issues" \
+        -d "$(jq -nc --arg t "$sub_title" --arg b "$sub_body" \
+          '{"title":$t,"body":$b,"labels":["backlog"]}')" 2>/dev/null | jq -r '.number // ""') || true
+
+      if [ -n "$new_issue" ]; then
+        log "Created idle-timeout sub-issue #${new_issue} for #${ESC_ISSUE}"
+        _esc_total_created=$((_esc_total_created + 1))
+        matrix_send "gardener" "Created #${new_issue}: idle timeout on #${ESC_ISSUE}" 2>/dev/null || true
+      fi
+
+      echo "$esc_entry" >> "$ESCALATION_DONE"
+      continue
+    fi
 
     # Fetch PR metadata (SHA, mergeable status)
     ESC_PR_DATA=$(curl -sf -H "Authorization: token ${CODEBERG_TOKEN}" \