diff --git a/dev/dev-poll.sh b/dev/dev-poll.sh
index bd3e67d..dd58306 100755
--- a/dev/dev-poll.sh
+++ b/dev/dev-poll.sh
@@ -125,7 +125,7 @@ open_pr_exists() {
 
 # Relabel a stale in-progress issue to blocked with diagnostic comment
 # Args: issue_number reason
-# Returns: 0 on success, 1 on failure
+# Uses shared helpers from lib/issue-lifecycle.sh
 relabel_stale_issue() {
   local issue="$1" reason="$2"
 
@@ -149,25 +149,17 @@ relabel_stale_issue() {
       -d "{\"labels\":[${bk_id}]}" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
   fi
 
-  # Post diagnostic comment
-  local tmpfile
-  tmpfile=$(mktemp /tmp/stale-issue-XXXXXX.md)
-  {
+  # Post diagnostic comment using shared helper
+  local comment_body
+  comment_body=$(
     printf '### Stale in-progress issue detected\n\n'
     printf '| Field | Value |\n|---|---|\n'
     printf '| Detection reason | `%s` |\n' "$reason"
     printf '| Timestamp | `%s` |\n' "$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)"
     printf '\n**Status:** This issue was labeled `in-progress` but no active tmux session exists.\n'
     printf '**Action required:** A maintainer should triage this issue.\n'
-  } > "$tmpfile"
-
-  jq -Rs '{body:.}' < "$tmpfile" > "${tmpfile}.json"
-  curl -sf -o /dev/null -X POST \
-    -H "Authorization: token ${FORGE_TOKEN}" \
-    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-    "${API}/issues/${issue}/comments" \
-    --data-binary @"${tmpfile}.json" 2>/dev/null || true
-  rm -f "$tmpfile" "${tmpfile}.json"
+  )
+  _ilc_post_comment "$issue" "$comment_body"
 
   _ilc_log "stale issue #${issue} relabeled to blocked: ${reason}"
 }
diff --git a/lib/issue-lifecycle.sh b/lib/issue-lifecycle.sh
index 81586f9..6b14090 100644
--- a/lib/issue-lifecycle.sh
+++ b/lib/issue-lifecycle.sh
@@ -161,6 +161,27 @@ issue_release() {
   _ilc_log "released issue #${issue}"
 }
 
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# _ilc_post_comment — Post a comment to an issue (internal helper)
+# Args: issue_number body_text
+# Uses a temp file to avoid large inline strings.
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+_ilc_post_comment() {
+  local issue="$1" body="$2"
+
+  local tmpfile tmpjson
+  tmpfile=$(mktemp /tmp/ilc-comment-XXXXXX.md)
+  tmpjson="${tmpfile}.json"
+  printf '%s' "$body" > "$tmpfile"
+  jq -Rs '{body:.}' < "$tmpfile" > "$tmpjson"
+  curl -sf -o /dev/null -X POST \
+    -H "Authorization: token ${FORGE_TOKEN}" \
+    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+    "${FORGE_API}/issues/${issue}/comments" \
+    --data-binary @"$tmpjson" 2>/dev/null || true
+  rm -f "$tmpfile" "$tmpjson"
+}
+
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # issue_block — add "blocked" label, post diagnostic comment, remove in-progress.
 # Args: issue_number reason [result_text]
@@ -187,14 +208,9 @@ issue_block() {
     fi
   } > "$tmpfile"
 
-  # Post comment
-  jq -Rs '{body:.}' < "$tmpfile" > "${tmpfile}.json"
-  curl -sf -o /dev/null -X POST \
-    -H "Authorization: token ${FORGE_TOKEN}" \
-    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-    "${FORGE_API}/issues/${issue}/comments" \
-    --data-binary @"${tmpfile}.json" 2>/dev/null || true
-  rm -f "$tmpfile" "${tmpfile}.json"
+  # Post comment using shared helper
+  _ilc_post_comment "$issue" "$(cat "$tmpfile")"
+  rm -f "$tmpfile"
 
   # Remove in-progress, add blocked
   local ip_id bk_id