diff --git a/packages/coding-agent/src/core/subagent-runner.ts b/packages/coding-agent/src/core/subagent-runner.ts
index d462379f7..5c5ceaa54 100644
--- a/packages/coding-agent/src/core/subagent-runner.ts
+++ b/packages/coding-agent/src/core/subagent-runner.ts
@@ -183,6 +183,12 @@ export async function runSubagent(
 		runLifecycle: false,
 	});
 
+	// Debug: confirm tool count after bindExtensions so operators can verify
+	// extension tools (e.g. checkpoint) are present before the model is called.
+	process.stderr.write(
+		`[subagent:${name}] tool count after bindExtensions: ${session.getActiveToolNames().length} (${session.getActiveToolNames().join(", ")})\n`,
+	);
+
 	// Collect incremental text output from events so the timeout case
 	// can still return partial output.
 	let partialOutput = "";
diff --git a/src/resources/extensions/sf/auto/loop.js b/src/resources/extensions/sf/auto/loop.js
index f7b022852..e7968234b 100644
--- a/src/resources/extensions/sf/auto/loop.js
+++ b/src/resources/extensions/sf/auto/loop.js
@@ -1140,8 +1140,10 @@ export async function autoLoop(ctx, pi, s, deps) {
 					preDispatchResult.action,
 				);
 				if (preDispatchResult.action === "break") {
-					finishTurn("stopped", "manual-attention", "pre-dispatch-break");
-					break;
+					// Instead of breaking, treat as idle: sleep and continue polling for new work
+					finishTurn("idle", "manual-attention", "pre-dispatch-break");
+					await delay(3000); // Sleep 3s before next poll
+					continue;
 				}
 				if (preDispatchResult.action === "continue") {
 					finishTurn("skipped");
@@ -1156,8 +1158,10 @@ export async function autoLoop(ctx, pi, s, deps) {
 				);
 				deps.uokObserver?.onPhaseResult("dispatch", dispatchResult.action);
 				if (dispatchResult.action === "break") {
-					finishTurn("stopped", "manual-attention", "dispatch-break");
-					break;
+					// Instead of breaking, treat as idle: sleep and continue polling for new work
+					finishTurn("idle", "manual-attention", "dispatch-break");
+					await delay(3000); // Sleep 3s before next poll
+					continue;
 				}
 				if (dispatchResult.action === "continue") {
 					finishTurn("skipped");
diff --git a/src/resources/extensions/sf/auto/phases-unit.js b/src/resources/extensions/sf/auto/phases-unit.js
index 6227605c4..2a2b10f35 100644
--- a/src/resources/extensions/sf/auto/phases-unit.js
+++ b/src/resources/extensions/sf/auto/phases-unit.js
@@ -1557,7 +1557,19 @@ export async function runUnitPhase(ic, iterData, loopState, sidecarItem) {
 						u.startedAt === s.currentUnit?.startedAt,
 				);
 			if (lastUnit && lastUnit.toolCalls === 0) {
-				if (
+				// Swarm bypass: the ledger entry only reflects the parent session, which
+				// never receives the subagent's tool calls. Use the real count surfaced by
+				// runUnitViaSwarm (swarmToolCallCount) to avoid a false-positive retry.
+				const swarmRealToolCalls = unitResult.swarmToolCallCount ?? 0;
+				const isSwarmWithWork = unitResult._via === "swarm" && swarmRealToolCalls > 0;
+				if (isSwarmWithWork) {
+					debugLog("runUnitPhase", {
+						phase: "zero-tool-calls-swarm-bypass",
+						unitType,
+						unitId,
+						swarmToolCallCount: swarmRealToolCalls,
+					});
+				} else if (
 					USER_DRIVEN_DEEP_UNITS.has(unitType) &&
 					isAwaitingUserInput(s.lastUnitAgentEndMessages ?? undefined)
 				) {
diff --git a/src/resources/extensions/sf/auto/run-unit.js b/src/resources/extensions/sf/auto/run-unit.js
index a67ac6e21..b7c0ba197 100644
--- a/src/resources/extensions/sf/auto/run-unit.js
+++ b/src/resources/extensions/sf/auto/run-unit.js
@@ -491,6 +491,11 @@ async function runUnitViaSwarm(ctx, _pi, s, unitType, unitId, prompt, options) {
 		requestDispatchedAt,
 		_via: "swarm",
 		_swarmResult: swarmResult,
+		// Surface real tool-call count from the subagent session so the zero-tool-call
+		// guard in phases-unit.js can distinguish a genuine no-op from the expected
+		// case where the parent-session ledger shows 0 (swarm subagents run in an
+		// isolated session whose messages are never written to the parent session).
+		swarmToolCallCount: collectedToolCalls.length,
 	};
 }
 
diff --git a/src/resources/extensions/sf/tests/run-unit-via-swarm.test.mjs b/src/resources/extensions/sf/tests/run-unit-via-swarm.test.mjs
index ffbae15d0..bd84f2397 100644
--- a/src/resources/extensions/sf/tests/run-unit-via-swarm.test.mjs
+++ b/src/resources/extensions/sf/tests/run-unit-via-swarm.test.mjs
@@ -695,6 +695,68 @@ describe("deriveWorkMode (via envelope.workMode in dispatch calls)", () => {
 	}
 });
 
+// ─── Round 8: swarmToolCallCount for zero-tool-call guard bypass ─────────────
+
+describe("runUnit — Round 8: swarmToolCallCount in UnitResult", () => {
+	test("swarmToolCallCount is 0 when no tool calls emitted (default mock)", async () => {
+		// When the swarm worker emits no tool-call events, swarmToolCallCount must be
+		// 0 so phases-unit.js still applies the zero-tool-call guard for real no-ops.
+		process.env.SF_AUTONOMOUS_VIA_SWARM = "1";
+
+		const ctx = makeCtx("/proj");
+		const pi = makePi();
+		const s = makeS("/proj");
+
+		const result = await runUnit(ctx, pi, s, "execute-task", "r8-notc", "build", {});
+
+		expect(result.status).toBe("completed");
+		expect(result._via).toBe("swarm");
+		expect(result.swarmToolCallCount).toBe(0);
+	});
+
+	test("swarmToolCallCount equals the number of tool calls emitted", async () => {
+		// When the swarm worker emits 3 tool-call events, swarmToolCallCount must be 3
+		// so phases-unit.js can bypass the zero-tool-call guard that fires because the
+		// parent-session ledger entry has 0 (subagent tool calls don't appear there).
+		process.env.SF_AUTONOMOUS_VIA_SWARM = "1";
+
+		mockWithToolCallEvents([
+			{ name: "Bash", arguments: { command: "npm test" } },
+			{ name: "Read", arguments: { file_path: "/foo.ts" } },
+			{ name: "checkpoint", arguments: { outcome: "complete", summary: "done" } },
+		]);
+
+		const ctx = makeCtx("/proj");
+		const pi = makePi();
+		const s = makeS("/proj");
+
+		const result = await runUnit(ctx, pi, s, "execute-task", "r8-tc3", "build", {});
+
+		expect(result.status).toBe("completed");
+		expect(result._via).toBe("swarm");
+		expect(result.swarmToolCallCount).toBe(3);
+	});
+
+	test("swarmToolCallCount is 1 when only checkpoint is emitted", async () => {
+		// checkpoint counts as a tool call in collectedToolCalls even though it's
+		// protocol (not work). The bypass check is > 0, and the no-op guard separately
+		// handles the checkpoint-only case via isNoOpExecutorTranscript.
+		process.env.SF_AUTONOMOUS_VIA_SWARM = "1";
+
+		mockWithToolCallEvents([
+			{ name: "checkpoint", arguments: { outcome: "continue", summary: "partial" } },
+		]);
+
+		const ctx = makeCtx("/proj");
+		const pi = makePi();
+		const s = makeS("/proj");
+
+		const result = await runUnit(ctx, pi, s, "execute-task", "r8-chkonly", "build", {});
+
+		expect(result.swarmToolCallCount).toBe(1);
+	});
+});
+
 // ─── Round 6: onEvent threading + real tool calls ────────────────────────────
 
 /**