diff --git a/.claude/skills/pull-request/SKILL.md b/.claude/skills/pull-request/SKILL.md
index 2b10de815..4694ab6ed 100644
--- a/.claude/skills/pull-request/SKILL.md
+++ b/.claude/skills/pull-request/SKILL.md
@@ -97,13 +97,15 @@ PR title must follow `type(scope): description` (conventional commits). Link the
 - Checkbox sections (Validation, Guardrails): check each box that applies (`- [x]`), leave unchecked only what genuinely does not apply
 - Follow any instructions in the template (e.g. "Delete this section if not applicable")
 
-Once **draft CI passes** and the PR is ready for human review, convert to ready:
+**Ordering invariant — as soon as draft CI is green, flip to ready before doing anything else:**
 
 ```bash
 gh pr ready <number>
 ```
 
-> Some bots (e.g. CodeRabbit) trigger on ready, not on CI completion. After converting, do a **preliminary review pass** before entering the main loop:
+CodeRabbit (and some other review bots) never review a draft PR — they trigger on ready, not on CI completion. Entering or continuing the CodeRabbit/threads wait while the PR is still draft is a guaranteed silent deadlock (observed 2026-07-16: a converging PR sat in draft, CI green, CodeRabbit check pending indefinitely, until manually un-drafted). `gh pr ready` MUST run before section 6 starts waiting on any review signal — never after.
+
+> After converting, do a **preliminary review pass** before entering the main loop:
 >
 > ```bash
 > sleep 180
@@ -126,6 +128,10 @@ PR=<number>
 ```
 
 Per pass:
+0. Draft guard — if `isDraft: true` AND CI green, `gh pr ready` immediately,
+   then continue the pass. CodeRabbit never reviews a draft; this catches a
+   loop that started before the flip, or a rebase/force-push that reverted
+   the PR to draft.
 1. Wait CI → fix + /verify + commit + push if red, else continue
 2. Check mergeable — `CONFLICTING` stops, `UNKNOWN` retries
 3. Grace `sleep 180` + adaptive recheck of pending review checks
diff --git a/.claude/skills/pull-request/references/monitor-loop.md b/.claude/skills/pull-request/references/monitor-loop.md
index b03739905..8cd8f12ed 100644
--- a/.claude/skills/pull-request/references/monitor-loop.md
+++ b/.claude/skills/pull-request/references/monitor-loop.md
@@ -19,8 +19,12 @@ After `gh pr ready`, run this loop yourself — do not wait for the user.
 consecutive_zero = 0
 
 REPEAT:
+  0. Draft guard                        → if PR is still draft AND CI is green, flip to ready now (see 6-guard)
   1. Wait for CI                        → sleep 30 then gh pr checks $PR --watch
   2. If CI fails                        → fix, /verify, commit, push, consecutive_zero=0, GOTO 1
+  2a. CI just turned green              → re-run the draft guard now, before proceeding (see 6-guard) —
+                                           catches a pass that started draft+CI-red so the PR doesn't
+                                           stay draft into the review wait below
   2b. Check mergeable status            → STATUS=$(gh pr view $PR --json mergeable --jq .mergeable)
                                            if STATUS == "UNKNOWN" → sleep 10, retry up to 3 times
                                            if STATUS == "CONFLICTING" → report to user and STOP
@@ -34,6 +38,38 @@ REPEAT:
                                            else GOTO 3
 ```
 
+## 6-guard. Draft ordering guard (belt-and-braces)
+
+CodeRabbit never reviews a draft PR. Section 5 already flips the PR to ready
+before this loop starts, but run this check at the top of **every** pass —
+and again the moment CI turns green mid-pass (step 2a) — anyway: it covers a
+loop entered before that flip, a rebase/force-push that reverted the PR back
+to draft, or a pass that started draft with CI red:
+
+```bash
+STATUS=$(gh pr view "$PR" --json isDraft,statusCheckRollup)
+IS_DRAFT=$(echo "$STATUS" | jq -r '.isDraft')
+# green = rollup non-empty (an empty rollup right after a force-push/rebase must NOT read as green) AND
+# every check is SUCCESS/NEUTRAL/SKIPPED (all non-blocking; a bare FAILURE/CANCELLED or still-pending check stays not-green)
+CI_GREEN=$(echo "$STATUS" | jq -r '[.statusCheckRollup[]? | (.conclusion // .state)] | length > 0 and all(. as $s | ["SUCCESS","NEUTRAL","SKIPPED"] | index($s) != null)')
+
+if [ "$IS_DRAFT" = "true" ] && [ "$CI_GREEN" = "true" ]; then
+  gh pr ready "$PR" || { sleep 5; gh pr ready "$PR"; } || {
+    echo "ERROR: gh pr ready failed twice — PR still draft, cannot proceed to review wait." >&2
+    exit 1
+  }
+fi
+```
+
+If `gh pr ready` fails, retry once after a short sleep; if the retry also
+fails, stop here — do not fall through to the review wait with the PR still
+draft (that deadlocks on CodeRabbit, which never reviews a draft).
+
+If still draft with CI red, do nothing — wait for CI to go green first (step
+1). The instant CI turns green, step 2a re-runs this same guard within the
+same pass (not "next pass") so a still-draft PR flips ready before
+mergeability, grace period, or review-wait ever run.
+
 ## 6a. Wait for CI
 
 After any push, wait 30s then watch: