diff --git a/.github/workflows/loop.yml b/.github/workflows/loop.yml
index ec2bc02..1c8a31e 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/loop.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/loop.yml
@@ -5,7 +5,9 @@ name: Loop
 # lock (R2 has no concurrent writes).
 on:
   issues:
-    types: [opened, reopened, edited]
+    # `labeled` carries the claim signal (`ready-for-agent`): triage's verdict when the
+    # loop applied it, or a human claiming an issue for the loop by hand.
+    types: [opened, reopened, edited, labeled]
   issue_comment:
     types: [created]
   pull_request:
@@ -55,10 +57,17 @@ concurrency:
 # `pull_request` mode — so an unapproved direct push is refused for every credential
 # including the loop's. `permissions:` carries no `administration`, so the loop
 # cannot weaken that ruleset either.
+#
+# `actions: write` is the newest scope and the narrowest justified one: triage hands a
+# claimed task to the implementing stage with `gh workflow run`, because a label the
+# loop applies with `GITHUB_TOKEN` raises an event GitHub deliberately does not turn
+# into a run. It lets the loop start workflows — not change `main`, not edit workflow
+# files (that needs `workflows`, which `permissions:` cannot grant).
 permissions:
   contents: write
   issues: write
   pull-requests: write
+  actions: write
 
 jobs:
   loop:
diff --git a/docs/agents/ops.md b/docs/agents/ops.md
index 91b67db..adbef91 100644
--- a/docs/agents/ops.md
+++ b/docs/agents/ops.md
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ the relevant skill in `skills/`.
 | Event | Stage |
 | --- | --- |
 | issue opened/reopened/edited | `triage` → `bugfix`/`feature`/close/`needs-info` |
+| issue labeled `ready-for-agent` | `bugfix` (`bug` label) / `feature` — the claim signal |
 | loop PR opened/synchronize/review | `pr-review` |
 | external PR opened | read-only analysis + `needs-triage` |
 | PR merged (loop PR) | acceptance record (dispatcher) |
@@ -27,6 +28,25 @@ the relevant skill in `skills/`.
 | rejection / review failure | `retro-immediate` |
 | dependency/security | `deps`/`security` → bugfix template or `needs-triage` |
 
+### The claim signal
+
+Triage's `ready-for-agent` verdict is the hand-off: it means "classified, high or
+medium confidence, the loop may implement this". The task then runs `bugfix` when the
+issue also carries `bug`, and `feature` otherwise.
+
+Two ways it fires, and they are deliberately different mechanisms:
+
+- **A human applies `ready-for-agent`** → the `issues.labeled` event runs the stage
+  directly. This is also how a maintainer claims any issue for the loop by hand.
+- **The loop applies it** (the ordinary triage verdict) → GitHub suppresses runs for
+  events raised by `GITHUB_TOKEN`, so no `labeled` run exists. `entry.mjs` therefore
+  dispatches the next stage with `gh workflow run`, which is the documented exception
+  to that suppression. This is what the loop's `actions: write` scope is for.
+
+Consequence to keep in mind when auditing scopes: the loop can start its own
+workflows. It still cannot change `main` (ruleset) and cannot edit workflow files
+(no `workflows` permission exists to grant).
+
 ## Run ritual
 
 Opening (always):
diff --git a/scripts/loop/README.md b/scripts/loop/README.md
index b94d262..209c175 100644
--- a/scripts/loop/README.md
+++ b/scripts/loop/README.md
@@ -215,6 +215,7 @@ reason a future reader may see the parameter and wonder where it came from.
 | `agentEnv(writeLevel)` | `shared/agent.mjs` | Builds the child environment from scratch: strips the R2 keys (the state bucket is the host's business, not the agent's) and injects a git identity under `auto`. It does **not** hand the agent a weaker token — a job has only one. |
 | `persist-credentials: false` | the `actions/checkout` step | Keeps the job token out of the repo's git config, where every later `git` invocation would pick it up. Defence in depth, not the mechanism. |
 | `vars.LOOP_EXECUTE_WRITES` | job env | The switch. `workflow_dispatch` can override it per run: leave the input empty to follow the variable, or pass `true`/`false` to force one run. (The input has no `default:` on purpose — a non-empty default like `'false'` short-circuits the `github.event.inputs.x \|\| vars.x` fallback and makes the variable unreachable from the one entry point a human uses to test it, which is exactly what happened before this was fixed.) |
+| stage hand-off | `entry.mjs` (`dispatchStage`) | After a `triaged` **issue**, triage dispatches the implementing stage (`bugfix` if the issue carries `bug`, else `feature`). It cannot rely on its own label: GitHub suppresses runs for `GITHUB_TOKEN`-raised events, and `workflow_dispatch` is the documented exception. This is the only consumer of `actions: write`. A failed dispatch warns and leaves the task claimable rather than failing the run. |
 | `push` action | `planActions` | `pr-opened` plans `push` → `pr-create` → label/comment. A failure in either of the first two **aborts the chain**, so a PR that never appeared is never labelled. |
 | branch check | `applyActions` | `loop/<issueNo>-<slug>` only — no other ref is pushed, whatever the branch field says. |
 | dirty-tree check | `applyActions` | A dirty tree is refused: the commit would silently stay behind and the PR would ship an empty diff. |
@@ -263,6 +264,7 @@ GitHub event ─▶ loop.yml (concurrency group `loop` = platform-level single w
 | Event | Action |
 | --- | --- |
 | `issues` opened/reopened | run(triage) |
+| `issues` labeled `ready-for-agent` | run(bugfix/feature) — the claim signal; fires only for labels applied by **people**, since GitHub suppresses runs for `GITHUB_TOKEN`-raised events |
 | `issues` edited, `issue_comment` created | inbox first (never silently dropped), then run per task status |
 | loop PR (`loop/<n>-*` **and** `loop-task: #<n>`) opened/synchronize | run(pr-review) |
 | same-repo PR, other branches | run(triage) — PRs are a triage surface |
diff --git a/scripts/loop/entry.mjs b/scripts/loop/entry.mjs
index 3a7707c..1a324d5 100644
--- a/scripts/loop/entry.mjs
+++ b/scripts/loop/entry.mjs
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ import {
   beginRun, finishRun, lockExpired,
   nowIso, outcomeAllowed, allowedOutcomes, describeActions, LOOP_BRANCH_RE,
 } from './shared/state.mjs';
-import { route, eventKey } from './shared/route.mjs';
+import { route, eventKey, stageForIssue } from './shared/route.mjs';
 import { buildPrompt, runPi, parseEvents, summarize, classify } from './shared/agent.mjs';
 
 const ROOT = path.resolve(path.dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url)), '..', '..');
@@ -235,6 +235,34 @@ function validatePush({ writeLevel, stage, taskId, push }) {
   return { ok: true, push: { ...push, branch } };
 }
 
+/**
+ * Hand a triaged task to the stage that implements it.
+ *
+ * The obvious mechanism — let triage's `ready-for-agent` label raise an
+ * `issues.labeled` run — cannot work when the loop applies that label itself:
+ * GitHub suppresses workflow runs for events raised by `GITHUB_TOKEN`, precisely so
+ * a workflow cannot call itself in a loop. `workflow_dispatch` is the documented
+ * exception (it *always* creates a run), so the host asks for the next stage
+ * explicitly. One run stays one stage; the cost is `actions: write`.
+ *
+ * Not dispatching is not a failure of this run: the task is `ready` and the label is
+ * on the issue, so a human can start it by hand or a later sweep can pick it up. It
+ * is worth a warning because it stalls the claim silently otherwise.
+ */
+function dispatchStage({ repo, taskId, stage, log, warn }) {
+  const r = spawnSync('gh', ['workflow', 'run', 'loop.yml', '-R', repo,
+    '-f', `task=${taskId}`, '-f', `stage=${stage}`], { encoding: 'utf8' });
+  if (r.status !== 0) {
+    warn(`stage=${stage} not dispatched for task #${taskId}: `
+      + `${(r.stderr || '').trim()} — the task is claimable, start it by hand or let a`
+      + ' sweep pick it up');
+    return false;
+  }
+  log(`dispatched stage=${stage} for task #${taskId} (the loop cannot trigger itself`
+    + ' with a label, so it asks explicitly)');
+  return true;
+}
+
 async function doRun({ decision, ctx, repo, writeLevel }) {
   const stage = decision.stage;
   const isSystem = !decision.taskId;
@@ -336,10 +364,24 @@ async function doRun({ decision, ctx, repo, writeLevel }) {
   }
   if (done) log(`task #${done.id} → status=${done.status}${done.labels?.length ? `, label=${done.labels.join(',')}` : ''}`);
 
+  // Triage decided this is loop work → start the stage that implements it. Only
+  // issues: a triaged *PR* would have the loop push a branch and label the PR it is
+  // supposed to be reviewing.
+  let handedOff = null;
+  if (finalOutcome === 'triaged' && done?.kind === 'issue') {
+    try {
+      const cur = ghJson(['issue', 'view', String(done.id), '-R', repo, '--json', 'labels']);
+      const next = stageForIssue(cur.labels);
+      if (dispatchStage({ repo, taskId: done.id, stage: next, log, warn })) handedOff = next;
+    } catch (e) {
+      warn(`could not read task #${done.id} labels to start the next stage: ${e.message}`);
+    }
+  }
+
   return {
     state: 'run', taskId: done?.id ?? decision.taskId ?? null, runId: rid, stage,
     outcome: finalOutcome, exit: cls.exit, actions, usage, toolCalls, turns, sessionDir,
-    system: isSystem, reportFile: path.join(S.reportsDir, `${rid}.md`),
+    system: isSystem, handedOff, reportFile: path.join(S.reportsDir, `${rid}.md`),
   };
 }
 
@@ -381,6 +423,10 @@ function renderStepSummary({ decision, result, writeLevel }) {
     L.push('', head, '');
     for (const d of describeActions(result.actions)) L.push(`- [${writeLevel === 'auto' ? 'x' : ' '}] ${d}`);
   }
+  if (result?.handedOff) {
+    L.push('', `- handed off to \`${result.handedOff}\` (dispatched; the loop cannot trigger`
+      + ' itself with a label)');
+  }
   return L.join('\n');
 }
 
diff --git a/scripts/loop/gh-check.mjs b/scripts/loop/gh-check.mjs
index d710bc4..759bdff 100644
--- a/scripts/loop/gh-check.mjs
+++ b/scripts/loop/gh-check.mjs
@@ -235,15 +235,16 @@ const canPushBranches = probeBranch
   }, token)
   : null;
 
+// The hand-off needs `actions: write`. Probe an *impossible* workflow id: a scope the
+// credential lacks entirely answers `403`, while `404` means it has the scope and the
+// id simply does not exist. Nothing is dispatched either way.
+const dispatchProbe = gh(['api', '--method', 'POST',
+  `repos/${repo}/actions/workflows/${IMPOSSIBLE}/dispatches`, '-f', 'ref=main'], { token });
+const canDispatch = hasAnyScope(dispatchProbe.status);
+console.log(`  ${canDispatch ? 'present' : 'ABSENT '}  Actions: write       (dispatch the next stage) `
+  + `(HTTP ${dispatchProbe.status ?? 'n/a'})`);
+
 console.log('\n[loop:gh] scopes the loop should NOT have:');
-const dangerous = [
-  ['Actions: write       (trigger/disable workflows)', ['api', '--method', 'POST',
-    `repos/${repo}/actions/workflows/${IMPOSSIBLE}/dispatches`, '-f', 'ref=main']],
-];
-for (const [label, args] of dangerous) {
-  const r = gh(args, { token });
-  console.log(`  ${hasAnyScope(r.status) ? 'present' : 'ABSENT '}  ${label} (HTTP ${r.status ?? 'n/a'})`);
-}
 // Read-only probe: listing secret *names* requires the Secrets permission. The
 // listing itself is never printed — only whether the permission is present.
 const secrets = gh(['api', `repos/${repo}/actions/secrets`], { token });
@@ -265,6 +266,9 @@ console.log(`[loop:gh] label/comment/close: ${canLabel ? 'available'
   : 'NOT available — the loop cannot do its job'}`);
 console.log(`[loop:gh] branch push:     ${canPushBranches ? 'available' : 'NOT available'}`
   + ' (product stages need it; `main` is excluded by the ruleset, not by missing scope)');
+console.log(`[loop:gh] stage hand-off:  ${canDispatch ? 'available — triage can start the'
+  + ' implementing stage' : 'NOT available — triage will leave the task claimable instead'
+  + ' of starting it (needs `actions: write`)'}`);
 console.log(`[loop:gh] reads: ${brokenReads.length
   ? `${brokenReads.length} FAILED — the host's sweep will break: ${brokenReads.map((r) => r.label.trim().split(/\s+/)[0]).join(', ')}`
   : 'all OK'}`);
diff --git a/scripts/loop/shared/route.mjs b/scripts/loop/shared/route.mjs
index c692880..4cab377 100644
--- a/scripts/loop/shared/route.mjs
+++ b/scripts/loop/shared/route.mjs
@@ -45,6 +45,26 @@ export const isDependabotPr = (pr) =>
 
 export const isExternalPr = (pr) => !OWNER_ROLES.includes(pr?.author_association ?? '');
 
+/**
+ * The claim signal: the label that says "the loop may implement this".
+ *
+ * It is `ready-for-agent` because triage already applies exactly that on a
+ * `bug`/`feature` verdict of high or medium confidence (`skills/triage/SKILL.md`
+ * step 5), so the hand-off needs no new vocabulary. Applied by a *human* it also
+ * works as a manual trigger for any issue, which is why the route exists.
+ */
+export const CLAIM_LABEL = 'ready-for-agent';
+
+/** Labels that pick `bugfix` over `feature`. `bug` is the only signal the repo carries. */
+const BUG_LABELS = ['bug'];
+
+/** Label names, from either `string[]` or the API's `{ name }[]` shape. */
+const labelNames = (labels = []) => labels.map((l) => (typeof l === 'string' ? l : l?.name));
+
+/** Which implementation stage a claimed task starts. */
+export const stageForIssue = (labels = []) =>
+  labelNames(labels).some((n) => BUG_LABELS.includes(n)) ? 'bugfix' : 'feature';
+
 /**
  * Idempotency key: skip an event whose key has already been consumed.
  * Prefer immutable identifiers (PR head sha / comment id), falling back to the
@@ -77,6 +97,25 @@ export function route({ eventName, action, event = {} }) {
       if (action === 'edited') {
         return inbox({ taskId: n, kind: 'issue', stage: 'triage', reason: 'issues.edited' });
       }
+      // Claim signal: someone decided this is loop work and said so on the issue.
+      // Only `ready-for-agent` qualifies — the other four role labels are states, not
+      // requests, and reacting to them would make the loop chase its own writing.
+      //
+      // Note this branch fires only for labels a *human* applies: GitHub suppresses
+      // runs for events raised by `GITHUB_TOKEN`, so the loop's own label is invisible
+      // here and the automatic hand-off is a dispatch from entry.mjs instead.
+      if (action === 'labeled') {
+        const label = event.label?.name;
+        if (label !== CLAIM_LABEL) {
+          return noop(`issues.labeled (${label ?? 'unknown'}) is not a claim signal`);
+        }
+        return run({
+          taskId: n,
+          kind: 'issue',
+          stage: stageForIssue(event.issue?.labels),
+          reason: `issues.labeled ${CLAIM_LABEL}`,
+        });
+      }
       return noop(`issues.${action} has no Loop action`);
     }