diff --git a/packages/core/src/__tests__/post-comment-retriage-decision.test.ts b/packages/core/src/__tests__/post-comment-retriage-decision.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..aaabf26b4e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/core/src/__tests__/post-comment-retriage-decision.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { resolvePostCommentRetriageDecision } from "../task-store/comments-ops.js";
+
+/*
+FNXC:PostCommentRetriage 2026-07-29-19:15:
+Characterization of the decision `addCommentImpl` makes when a USER comments on a
+card that is still in a pre-implementation column: either the pending spec approval
+is invalidated, or an already-specified card is sent back for re-specification.
+Both write `status: "needs-replan"`; they differ in the audit wording, and — the
+case that matters — in WHETHER anything happens at all.
+
+Post-conversion: STATUS decides. The two cases marked U11 REGRESSION GUARD are the
+ones the column literals got wrong for the default lineage — they fail if the
+`column === "triage"` checks come back.
+*/
+describe("resolvePostCommentRetriageDecision — status is the discriminator", () => {
+  it("invalidates a pending approval on the legacy planner column", () => {
+    expect(resolvePostCommentRetriageDecision({ column: "triage", status: "awaiting-approval", hasRealPrompt: false }))
+      .toEqual({ invalidateApproval: true, retriagePlanned: false });
+  });
+
+  it("re-triages a specified card on the legacy planner column", () => {
+    expect(resolvePostCommentRetriageDecision({ column: "triage", status: null, hasRealPrompt: true }))
+      .toEqual({ invalidateApproval: false, retriagePlanned: true });
+  });
+
+  it("re-triages a specified card in the hold column", () => {
+    expect(resolvePostCommentRetriageDecision({ column: "todo", status: null, hasRealPrompt: true }))
+      .toEqual({ invalidateApproval: false, retriagePlanned: true });
+  });
+
+  it("does nothing for an unspecified card with no pending approval", () => {
+    expect(resolvePostCommentRetriageDecision({ column: "todo", status: null, hasRealPrompt: false }))
+      .toEqual({ invalidateApproval: false, retriagePlanned: false });
+  });
+
+  /*
+  The three below are what the column literals got wrong. `builtin:coding` resolves
+  to BUILTIN_STEPWISE_FINAL_REVIEW_CODING_WORKFLOW_IR, whose merged Planning column
+  keeps the id `todo` and declares NO `triage` column — so a default card awaiting
+  spec approval matched neither `triage` arm.
+  */
+  it("U11 REGRESSION GUARD: a merged-Planning card awaiting approval IS invalidated", () => {
+    // Pre-conversion this returned all-false: the approval silently stood.
+    expect(resolvePostCommentRetriageDecision({ column: "todo", status: "awaiting-approval", hasRealPrompt: false }))
+      .toEqual({ invalidateApproval: true, retriagePlanned: false });
+  });
+
+  it("U11 REGRESSION GUARD: invalidation wins over re-triage when a spec exists", () => {
+    // Pre-conversion this re-triaged, mis-auditing an approval invalidation.
+    expect(resolvePostCommentRetriageDecision({ column: "todo", status: "awaiting-approval", hasRealPrompt: true }))
+      .toEqual({ invalidateApproval: true, retriagePlanned: false });
+  });
+
+  it("a card on a workflow with a differently-named planning column behaves the same", () => {
+    // The point of the conversion: no column id appears in the decision at all.
+    expect(resolvePostCommentRetriageDecision({ column: "planning", status: "awaiting-approval", hasRealPrompt: false }))
+      .toEqual({ invalidateApproval: true, retriagePlanned: false });
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/core/src/task-store/comments-ops.ts b/packages/core/src/task-store/comments-ops.ts
index 3557b670e1..87ac628ce4 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/task-store/comments-ops.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/task-store/comments-ops.ts
@@ -20,6 +20,40 @@ import "../builtin-traits.js";
 import {__setTaskActivityLogLimitsForTesting, isBootstrapPromptStub} from "../task-store/comments.js";
 import {getLiveTaskColumn, publishArchivedTaskDocumentAddition as publishArchivedTaskDocumentAdditionAsync, upsertTaskDocument as upsertTaskDocumentAsync} from "../task-store/async-comments-attachments.js";
 
+/*
+FNXC:PostCommentRetriage 2026-07-29-19:30 (U11 lifecycle-column conversion):
+STATUS is the discriminator here, not the column id.
+
+Callers reach this only after establishing the card sits in a pre-implementation
+column, so re-testing the column inside was always redundant — and after U11 it was
+WRONG. `builtin:coding` resolves to BUILTIN_STEPWISE_FINAL_REVIEW_CODING_WORKFLOW_IR,
+whose merged Planning column keeps the id `todo` and declares no `triage` column at
+all. The old `column === "triage" && status === "awaiting-approval"` therefore never
+matched a default card, and the consequences were graded:
+
+  - with a real spec, the card fell through to the re-triage arm — same
+    `needs-replan` write, but audited as "requested re-specification" instead of
+    "invalidated spec approval";
+  - with a bootstrap-stub spec, `hasRealPrompt` was false and NEITHER arm fired, so
+    an operator comment on a card awaiting spec approval invalidated nothing. The
+    approval silently stood.
+
+Dropping the column re-checks fixes both and removes 2 of this file's 3 `triage`
+literals. The remaining one is the caller's gate (`column === "todo" || column ===
+"triage"`), which is deliberately left: it covers BOTH vocabularies, so it still
+fires for default cards, and narrowing it to traits needs an IR the caller does not
+have.
+*/
+export function resolvePostCommentRetriageDecision(input: {
+  column: string;
+  status?: string | null;
+  hasRealPrompt: boolean;
+}): { invalidateApproval: boolean; retriagePlanned: boolean } {
+  const invalidateApproval = input.status === "awaiting-approval";
+  const retriagePlanned = input.hasRealPrompt && !invalidateApproval;
+  return { invalidateApproval, retriagePlanned };
+}
+
 export async function addCommentImpl(store: TaskStore, id: string, text: string, author: string = "user", options?: { skipRefinement?: boolean; source?: "user" | "agent" | "github-review" | "github-review-comment"; externalId?: string; reviewState?: "APPROVED" | "CHANGES_REQUESTED" | "COMMENTED"; }, runContext?: RunMutationContext,): Promise<Task> {
     {
       const layer = store.asyncLayer!;
@@ -152,13 +186,8 @@ export async function addCommentImpl(store: TaskStore, id: string, text: string,
         });
       }
 
-      const shouldInvalidateAwaitingApproval =
-        task.column === "triage" && task.status === "awaiting-approval";
-      const shouldRetriagePlannedTask = hasRealPrompt
-        && (
-          task.column === "todo"
-          || (task.column === "triage" && task.status !== "awaiting-approval")
-        );
+      const { invalidateApproval: shouldInvalidateAwaitingApproval, retriagePlanned: shouldRetriagePlannedTask } =
+        resolvePostCommentRetriageDecision({ column: task.column, status: task.status, hasRealPrompt });
 
       if (shouldInvalidateAwaitingApproval || shouldRetriagePlannedTask) {
         const phase = shouldInvalidateAwaitingApproval