diff --git a/plugins/compound-engineering/skills/ce-dispatch/SKILL.md b/plugins/compound-engineering/skills/ce-dispatch/SKILL.md
index 3dfccb2f9..17aecb642 100644
--- a/plugins/compound-engineering/skills/ce-dispatch/SKILL.md
+++ b/plugins/compound-engineering/skills/ce-dispatch/SKILL.md
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ Config keys and resolution:
 |---|---|---|
 | `dispatch_mode` | `conductor`, or another short identifier | `conductor` |
 | `dispatch_branch_prefix` | any string (no leading/trailing slashes) | `dispatch/` |
-| `dispatch_base_branch` | any branch name | repo's default branch (`git symbolic-ref refs/remotes/origin/HEAD`) |
+| `dispatch_base_branch` | any branch name | repo's default branch (`git symbolic-ref --short refs/remotes/origin/HEAD`) |
 | `dispatch_labels` | comma-separated label list | `ce-dispatch` |
 | `dispatch_auto_review` | `true` or `false` | `true` |
 
@@ -164,7 +164,7 @@ Dispatch status: <count merged> / <total units> merged. <count open> open PRs. <
 
 Act on the user's selection — do not just announce it. The bare per-option action lives inline below. Elaborate sub-flows (review tool selection, conflict resolution prose) live further down.
 
-- **Check PR status (1)** — for each dispatched unit, run `gh pr list --search "head:<expected_branch>"` (or query by linked issue if the workspace renamed the branch); for each match, run `gh pr view <number> --json state,mergeable,statusCheckRollup,headRefName`. Update `dispatched_units` with the latest PR number, state (`OPEN`, `MERGED`, `CLOSED`), CI rollup, and mergeable flag. Re-render the loop status line and re-render the menu.
+- **Check PR status (1)** — for each dispatched unit, run `gh pr list --state all --search "head:<expected_branch>"` (or query by linked issue if the workspace renamed the branch); `--state all` is required because `gh pr list` defaults to open PRs only and would otherwise miss PRs merged outside this orchestrator (GitHub UI, Conductor, another shell). For each match, run `gh pr view <number> --json state,mergeable,statusCheckRollup,headRefName`. Update `dispatched_units` with the latest PR number, state (`OPEN`, `MERGED`, `CLOSED`), CI rollup, and mergeable flag. Re-render the loop status line and re-render the menu.
 
 - **Review a PR (2)** — ask the user which U-ID's PR to review (blocking tool single-select from open PRs in `dispatched_units`). Then invoke the `ce-code-review` skill via the platform's skill-invocation primitive (`Skill` in Claude Code, `Skill` in Codex, the equivalent on Gemini/Pi), passing the PR URL as the argument. When `dispatch_auto_review: true`, also auto-trigger this for every newly opened PR before the user is asked to merge it (record per-PR `reviewed: true` so it isn't re-run).
 
diff --git a/tests/skills/ce-dispatch-contract.test.ts b/tests/skills/ce-dispatch-contract.test.ts
index 459a05d5f..e65425c3a 100644
--- a/tests/skills/ce-dispatch-contract.test.ts
+++ b/tests/skills/ce-dispatch-contract.test.ts
@@ -314,6 +314,57 @@ describe("ce-plan post-generation menu surfaces dispatch as a fifth option", ()
   })
 })
 
+describe("ce-dispatch SKILL.md regression guards (Codex-flagged bugs)", () => {
+  // Both guards target real bugs flagged by the upstream's chatgpt-codex-connector
+  // bot on EveryInc#762. Without these, the original `gh pr list` and
+  // `git symbolic-ref` invocations silently return the wrong data.
+
+  test("Phase 4 status refresh queries merged PRs, not just open ones", () => {
+    // `gh pr list` defaults to open PRs only (CLI manual: "only lists open PRs"
+    // by default). Dispatched PRs merged outside this orchestrator (GitHub UI,
+    // Conductor, another shell) must still be discovered, otherwise the
+    // dependency graph never advances and `Dispatch newly unblocked units`
+    // can stay stuck even after prerequisites are merged. Required: --state all
+    // (or --state merged on a separate pass).
+    const phase4Start = SKILL_BODY.indexOf("### Phase 4:")
+    expect(phase4Start).toBeGreaterThan(-1)
+    const phase4Region = SKILL_BODY.slice(phase4Start)
+    // Match `gh pr list` invocations (those that include flags/arguments,
+    // identified by the `--search` flag we always pass) and require a state
+    // flag on each. A bare prose mention of `gh pr list` without arguments
+    // is not an invocation and is exempt. Allow `--state all` or
+    // `--state merged`.
+    const ghPrListInvocations =
+      phase4Region.match(/gh pr list[^\n`]*--search[^\n`]*/g) ?? []
+    expect(ghPrListInvocations.length).toBeGreaterThan(0)
+    for (const inv of ghPrListInvocations) {
+      expect(inv).toMatch(/--state (all|merged)/)
+    }
+  })
+
+  test("dispatch_base_branch default uses --short to return a bare branch name", () => {
+    // `git symbolic-ref refs/remotes/origin/HEAD` without --short returns the
+    // full ref path (refs/remotes/origin/main) rather than the bare branch
+    // name (main). That value gets propagated into dispatch metadata / agent
+    // prompt instructions where a plain branch name is expected, breaking
+    // PR-target instructions in dispatched workspaces.
+    const phase0Start = SKILL_BODY.indexOf("### Phase 0:")
+    const phase1Start = SKILL_BODY.indexOf("### Phase 1:")
+    expect(phase0Start).toBeGreaterThan(-1)
+    expect(phase1Start).toBeGreaterThan(phase0Start)
+    const phase0Region = SKILL_BODY.slice(phase0Start, phase1Start)
+    // Every `git symbolic-ref ... refs/remotes/origin/HEAD` invocation in
+    // Phase 0 must include the --short flag.
+    const symbolicRefMatches =
+      phase0Region.match(/git symbolic-ref[^`\n]*refs\/remotes\/origin\/HEAD/g) ??
+      []
+    expect(symbolicRefMatches.length).toBeGreaterThan(0)
+    for (const inv of symbolicRefMatches) {
+      expect(inv).toContain("--short")
+    }
+  })
+})
+
 describe("conductor-notes.md documents key Conductor behavior", () => {
   const requiredHeadings = [
     "Issue-to-workspace lifecycle",