diff --git a/src/resources/extensions/gsd/auto.ts b/src/resources/extensions/gsd/auto.ts
index bcf9c6582..4fd9f2dad 100644
--- a/src/resources/extensions/gsd/auto.ts
+++ b/src/resources/extensions/gsd/auto.ts
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ import type {
   ExtensionCommandContext,
 } from "@gsd/pi-coding-agent";
 
-import { deriveState } from "./state.js";
+import { deriveState, invalidateStateCache } from "./state.js";
 import type { GSDState } from "./types.js";
 import { loadFile, parseContinue, parsePlan, parseRoadmap, parseSummary, extractUatType, inlinePriorMilestoneSummary, getManifestStatus } from "./files.js";
 export { inlinePriorMilestoneSummary };
@@ -574,6 +574,7 @@ export async function startAuto(
     } catch { /* non-fatal */ }
     // Self-heal: clear stale runtime records where artifacts already exist
     await selfHealRuntimeRecords(base, ctx);
+    invalidateStateCache();
     await dispatchNextUnit(ctx, pi);
     return;
   }
@@ -763,6 +764,10 @@ export async function handleAgentEnd(
   // Unit completed — clear its timeout
   clearUnitTimeout();
 
+  // Invalidate deriveState() cache — the unit just completed and may have
+  // written planning files (task summaries, roadmap checkboxes, etc.)
+  invalidateStateCache();
+
   // Small delay to let files settle (git commits, file writes)
   await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 500));
 
@@ -1332,6 +1337,7 @@ async function dispatchNextUnit(
           }
         }
         // Re-derive state from the now-merged working tree
+        invalidateStateCache();
         state = await deriveState(basePath);
         mid = state.activeMilestone?.id;
         midTitle = state.activeMilestone?.title;
@@ -1396,6 +1402,7 @@ async function dispatchNextUnit(
               "info",
             );
             // Re-derive state from main so downstream logic sees merged state
+            invalidateStateCache();
             state = await deriveState(basePath);
             mid = state.activeMilestone?.id;
             midTitle = state.activeMilestone?.title;
diff --git a/src/resources/extensions/gsd/state.ts b/src/resources/extensions/gsd/state.ts
index 662545093..9aa14e85c 100644
--- a/src/resources/extensions/gsd/state.ts
+++ b/src/resources/extensions/gsd/state.ts
@@ -53,6 +53,27 @@ export function isMilestoneComplete(roadmap: Roadmap): boolean {
 
 // ─── State Derivation ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
+// ── deriveState memoization ─────────────────────────────────────────────────
+// Cache the most recent deriveState() result keyed by basePath. Within a single
+// dispatch cycle (~100ms window), repeated calls return the cached value instead
+// of re-reading the entire .gsd/ tree from disk.
+
+interface StateCache {
+  basePath: string;
+  result: GSDState;
+  timestamp: number;
+}
+
+const CACHE_TTL_MS = 100;
+let _stateCache: StateCache | null = null;
+
+/**
+ * Invalidate the deriveState() cache. Call this whenever planning files on disk
+ * may have changed (unit completion, merges, file writes).
+ */
+export function invalidateStateCache(): void {
+  _stateCache = null;
+}
 
 /**
  * Returns the ID of the first incomplete milestone, or null if all are complete.
@@ -86,6 +107,21 @@ export async function getActiveMilestoneId(basePath: string): Promise<string | n
  * Falls back to sequential JS file reads when the native module is absent.
  */
 export async function deriveState(basePath: string): Promise<GSDState> {
+  // Return cached result if within the TTL window for the same basePath
+  if (
+    _stateCache &&
+    _stateCache.basePath === basePath &&
+    Date.now() - _stateCache.timestamp < CACHE_TTL_MS
+  ) {
+    return _stateCache.result;
+  }
+
+  const result = await _deriveStateImpl(basePath);
+  _stateCache = { basePath, result, timestamp: Date.now() };
+  return result;
+}
+
+async function _deriveStateImpl(basePath: string): Promise<GSDState> {
   const milestoneIds = findMilestoneIds(basePath);
 
   // ── Batch-parse file cache ──────────────────────────────────────────────