diff --git a/server/src/__tests__/run-liveness.test.ts b/server/src/__tests__/run-liveness.test.ts
index 08af19b7d26..2feeb076682 100644
--- a/server/src/__tests__/run-liveness.test.ts
+++ b/server/src/__tests__/run-liveness.test.ts
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ describe("run liveness classifier", () => {
     });
 
     expect(classification.livenessState).toBe("plan_only");
+    expect(classification.actionability).toBe("runnable");
     expect(classification.nextAction).toContain("inspect the repo");
   });
 
@@ -34,6 +35,7 @@ describe("run liveness classifier", () => {
     const classification = classifyRunLiveness(baseInput);
 
     expect(classification.livenessState).toBe("empty_response");
+    expect(classification.actionability).toBe("unknown");
   });
 
   it("treats issue comments, documents, products, and actions as progress", () => {
@@ -128,5 +130,81 @@ describe("run liveness classifier", () => {
     });
 
     expect(classification.livenessState).toBe("blocked");
+    expect(classification.actionability).toBe("blocked_external");
+  });
+
+  it("treats PAP-2000-style validation output as runnable follow-up, not an external blocker", () => {
+    const classification = classifyRunLiveness({
+      ...baseInput,
+      resultJson: {
+        summary: "PAP-1949 remains blocked until PAP-2000 is resolved.",
+      },
+      issueCommentBodies: [
+        [
+          "Validation is ready for the next pass.",
+          "",
+          "- Blocked chain context: PAP-1949 -> PAP-1999 -> PAP-2000",
+          "- Next action: run npm test and report the row counts.",
+        ].join("\n"),
+      ],
+    });
+
+    expect(classification.livenessState).toBe("plan_only");
+    expect(classification.actionability).toBe("runnable");
+    expect(classification.nextAction).toBe("run npm test and report the row counts.");
+  });
+
+  it("prefers durable comments over raw transcript next-action noise", () => {
+    const classification = classifyRunLiveness({
+      ...baseInput,
+      issueCommentBodies: ["Next action: run pnpm test -- --runInBand."],
+      stdoutExcerpt: [
+        "tool_call: write",
+        "command: rm -rf production-data",
+        "Next action: deploy to production",
+      ].join("\n"),
+    });
+
+    expect(classification.actionability).toBe("runnable");
+    expect(classification.nextAction).toBe("run pnpm test -- --runInBand.");
+  });
+
+  it("keeps approval requests out of automatic continuation", () => {
+    const classification = classifyRunLiveness({
+      ...baseInput,
+      resultJson: {
+        summary: "Next action: wait for board approval before continuing.",
+      },
+    });
+
+    expect(classification.livenessState).toBe("blocked");
+    expect(classification.actionability).toBe("approval_required");
+    expect(classification.nextAction).toBe("wait for board approval before continuing.");
+  });
+
+  it("routes production-sensitive next actions to manager review", () => {
+    const classification = classifyRunLiveness({
+      ...baseInput,
+      resultJson: {
+        summary: "Next action: deploy to production and verify live traffic.",
+      },
+    });
+
+    expect(classification.livenessState).toBe("needs_followup");
+    expect(classification.actionability).toBe("manager_review");
+    expect(classification.nextAction).toBe("deploy to production and verify live traffic.");
+  });
+
+  it("marks unclear useful output as unknown actionability", () => {
+    const classification = classifyRunLiveness({
+      ...baseInput,
+      resultJson: {
+        summary: "Observed mixed output and left notes for a later pass.",
+      },
+    });
+
+    expect(classification.livenessState).toBe("needs_followup");
+    expect(classification.actionability).toBe("unknown");
+    expect(classification.nextAction).toBeNull();
   });
 });
diff --git a/server/src/services/heartbeat.ts b/server/src/services/heartbeat.ts
index 78c3bc062f4..7337296f0ef 100644
--- a/server/src/services/heartbeat.ts
+++ b/server/src/services/heartbeat.ts
@@ -3836,6 +3836,26 @@ export function heartbeatService(db: Db) {
         )
       : [{ count: 0, latestAt: null }];
 
+    const issueCommentBodies = contextIssueId
+      ? await db
+        .select({ body: issueComments.body })
+        .from(issueComments)
+        .where(
+          and(
+            eq(issueComments.companyId, run.companyId),
+            eq(issueComments.issueId, contextIssueId),
+            eq(issueComments.createdByRunId, run.id),
+          ),
+        )
+        .orderBy(desc(issueComments.createdAt), desc(issueComments.id))
+        .limit(5)
+        .then((rows) => rows.reverse().map((row) => row.body))
+      : [];
+
+    const continuationSummary = contextIssueId
+      ? await getIssueContinuationSummaryDocument(db, contextIssueId)
+      : null;
+
     const [documentStats] = contextIssueId
       ? await db
         .select({
@@ -3906,6 +3926,8 @@ export function heartbeatService(db: Db) {
       runStatus: run.status,
       issue,
       resultJson: resultJson ?? run.resultJson ?? null,
+      issueCommentBodies,
+      continuationSummaryBody: continuationSummary?.body ?? null,
       stdoutExcerpt: run.stdoutExcerpt ?? null,
       stderrExcerpt: run.stderrExcerpt ?? null,
       error: run.error ?? null,
diff --git a/server/src/services/run-liveness.ts b/server/src/services/run-liveness.ts
index 75f82909b13..72be57e6f01 100644
--- a/server/src/services/run-liveness.ts
+++ b/server/src/services/run-liveness.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,12 @@
 import type { HeartbeatRunStatus, IssueStatus, RunLivenessState } from "@paperclipai/shared";
 
+export type RunLivenessActionability =
+  | "runnable"
+  | "manager_review"
+  | "blocked_external"
+  | "approval_required"
+  | "unknown";
+
 export interface RunLivenessIssueInput {
   status: IssueStatus | string;
   title: string;
@@ -21,6 +28,8 @@ export interface RunLivenessClassificationInput {
   runStatus: HeartbeatRunStatus | string;
   issue: RunLivenessIssueInput | null;
   resultJson?: Record<string, unknown> | null;
+  issueCommentBodies?: string[] | null;
+  continuationSummaryBody?: string | null;
   stdoutExcerpt?: string | null;
   stderrExcerpt?: string | null;
   error?: string | null;
@@ -35,6 +44,7 @@ export interface RunLivenessClassification {
   continuationAttempt: number;
   lastUsefulActionAt: Date | null;
   nextAction: string | null;
+  actionability: RunLivenessActionability;
 }
 
 const DEFAULT_EVIDENCE: RunLivenessEvidenceInput = {
@@ -54,6 +64,14 @@ const NEXT_STEPS_RE = /^\s*(?:next steps?|plan)\s*:/im;
 const BLOCKER_RE =
   /\b(?:blocked|can't proceed|cannot proceed|unable to proceed|waiting on|need(?:s|ed)? .{0,80}\b(?:approval|access|credential|credentials|secret|api key|token|input|clarification)|requires? .{0,80}\b(?:approval|access|credential|credentials|secret|api key|token|input|clarification))\b/i;
 const NEGATED_BLOCKER_RE = /\b(?:not blocked|no blocker|no blockers|unblocked)\b/i;
+const APPROVAL_REQUIRED_RE =
+  /\b(?:approval required|requires? .{0,80}\bapproval|need(?:s|ed)? .{0,80}\bapproval|waiting on .{0,80}\bapproval|pending approval|board approval|human approval|user approval|operator approval)\b/i;
+const EXTERNAL_BLOCKER_RE =
+  /\b(?:can't proceed|cannot proceed|unable to proceed|waiting on|blocked by|blocked on|need(?:s|ed)?|requires?) .{0,120}\b(?:access|credential|credentials|secret|secrets|api key|token|password|login|account|permission|permissions|input|clarification)\b/i;
+const MANAGER_REVIEW_RE =
+  /\b(?:manager review|human review|manual review|security review|escalate|production deploy|deploy(?:ing)? to production|deploy(?:ing)? to prod|prod deploy|production access|rotate .{0,40}\b(?:secret|key|token)|delete .{0,40}\bproduction|security-sensitive|credentialed operation|budget-sensitive|cost approval|spend approval)\b/i;
+const RUNNABLE_RE =
+  /\b(?:(?:run|rerun|execute)\s+(?:pnpm|npm|yarn|bun|vitest|jest|pytest|cargo|go test|curl|tests?|typecheck|build|lint|package|verification)|(?:inspect|check|review|look|investigate|analy[sz]e|open|read|start|begin|continue|implement|fix|test|update|create|add|write|verify|validate|report)\b)/i;
 const PLAN_TASK_TITLE_RE = /\b(?:plan|planning|analysis|investigation|research|report|proposal|design doc|write-?up)\b/i;
 const PLAN_TASK_DESCRIPTION_RE =
   /\b(?:create|write|produce|draft|update|revise|prepare)\s+(?:a\s+|the\s+)?(?:plan|analysis|investigation|research report|report|proposal|design doc|write-?up)\b/i;
@@ -76,12 +94,22 @@ function readText(value: unknown): string | null {
   return trimmed.length > 0 ? trimmed : null;
 }
 
-function resultText(resultJson: Record<string, unknown> | null | undefined) {
+function resultFinalText(resultJson: Record<string, unknown> | null | undefined) {
   if (!resultJson) return "";
   return [
+    readText(resultJson.nextAction),
     readText(resultJson.summary),
     readText(resultJson.result),
     readText(resultJson.message),
+    readText(resultJson.error),
+  ]
+    .filter((value): value is string => Boolean(value))
+    .join("\n");
+}
+
+function resultRawText(resultJson: Record<string, unknown> | null | undefined) {
+  if (!resultJson) return "";
+  return [
     readText(resultJson.stdout),
     readText(resultJson.stderr),
   ]
@@ -89,16 +117,34 @@ function resultText(resultJson: Record<string, unknown> | null | undefined) {
     .join("\n");
 }
 
-function combinedOutput(input: RunLivenessClassificationInput) {
+function highSignalSources(input: RunLivenessClassificationInput) {
   return [
-    resultText(input.resultJson),
+    ...(input.issueCommentBodies ?? []).map(readText),
+    readText(resultFinalText(input.resultJson)),
+    readText(input.continuationSummaryBody),
+  ].filter((value): value is string => Boolean(value));
+}
+
+function rawSources(input: RunLivenessClassificationInput) {
+  return [
+    readText(resultRawText(input.resultJson)),
     readText(input.stdoutExcerpt),
     readText(input.stderrExcerpt),
     readText(input.error),
   ]
     .filter((value): value is string => Boolean(value))
-    .join("\n")
-    .trim();
+    .map(stripNoisyTranscriptLines)
+    .filter((value) => value.length > 0);
+}
+
+function combinedOutput(input: RunLivenessClassificationInput) {
+  return [...highSignalSources(input), ...rawSources(input)].join("\n").trim();
+}
+
+function actionabilityText(input: RunLivenessClassificationInput) {
+  const highSignal = highSignalSources(input).join("\n").trim();
+  if (highSignal) return highSignal;
+  return rawSources(input).join("\n").trim();
 }
 
 export function hasUsefulOutput(input: RunLivenessClassificationInput) {
@@ -107,15 +153,14 @@ export function hasUsefulOutput(input: RunLivenessClassificationInput) {
 
 export function declaredBlocker(input: RunLivenessClassificationInput) {
   if (input.issue?.status === "blocked") return true;
-  const text = combinedOutput(input);
-  if (!text || NEGATED_BLOCKER_RE.test(text)) return false;
-  return BLOCKER_RE.test(text);
+  const actionability = classifyRunActionability(input);
+  return actionability === "blocked_external" || actionability === "approval_required";
 }
 
 export function looksLikePlanningOnly(input: RunLivenessClassificationInput) {
-  const text = combinedOutput(input);
+  const text = actionabilityText(input);
   if (!text) return false;
-  return PLANNING_ONLY_RE.test(text) || NEXT_STEPS_RE.test(text);
+  return PLANNING_ONLY_RE.test(text) || NEXT_STEPS_RE.test(text) || /^\s*next(?: steps?| action)?\s*:/im.test(text);
 }
 
 export function isPlanningOrDocumentTask(issue: RunLivenessIssueInput | null | undefined) {
@@ -163,20 +208,92 @@ function evidenceReason(evidence: RunLivenessEvidenceInput) {
   return parts.join(", ");
 }
 
-function extractNextAction(input: RunLivenessClassificationInput) {
-  const text = combinedOutput(input);
-  if (!text) return null;
-  const line = text
+function stripMarkdownListPrefix(line: string) {
+  return line.replace(/^\s*(?:[-*]|\d+\.)\s+/, "").trim();
+}
+
+function isNoisyTranscriptLine(line: string) {
+  const trimmed = line.trim();
+  if (!trimmed) return true;
+  return (
+    /^(?:command|status|exit_code|tool|tool_call|tool_result|stdout|stderr|event|payload|session|cwd|ref_id)\s*:/i.test(trimmed) ||
+    /^(?:\{|\[).{0,80}(?:tool|event|stdout|stderr|cmd|command|payload)/i.test(trimmed) ||
+    /^\$?\s*(?:rg|sed|cat|ls|git|pnpm|npm|yarn|curl|node|python)\b/i.test(trimmed)
+  );
+}
+
+function stripNoisyTranscriptLines(text: string) {
+  return text
     .split(/\r?\n/)
-    .map((entry) => entry.trim())
-    .find((entry) => PLANNING_ONLY_RE.test(entry) || /^next(?: steps?| action)?\s*:/i.test(entry));
-  if (!line) return null;
-  return line.length <= 500 ? line : `${line.slice(0, 497)}...`;
+    .map((line) => line.trim())
+    .filter((line) => !isNoisyTranscriptLine(line))
+    .join("\n")
+    .trim();
+}
+
+function nextNonNoiseLine(lines: string[], startIndex: number) {
+  for (let i = startIndex + 1; i < lines.length; i += 1) {
+    const line = stripMarkdownListPrefix(lines[i] ?? "");
+    if (!line || isNoisyTranscriptLine(line)) continue;
+    return line;
+  }
+  return null;
+}
+
+function extractNextActionFromText(text: string) {
+  const lines = text.split(/\r?\n/).map((entry) => entry.trim());
+  for (let i = 0; i < lines.length; i += 1) {
+    const rawLine = lines[i] ?? "";
+    if (!rawLine || isNoisyTranscriptLine(rawLine)) continue;
+    const line = stripMarkdownListPrefix(rawLine);
+    const labeled = line.match(/^next(?: steps?| action)?\s*:\s*(.*)$/i);
+    if (labeled) {
+      const sameLine = stripMarkdownListPrefix(labeled[1] ?? "");
+      return sameLine || nextNonNoiseLine(lines, i);
+    }
+    if (PLANNING_ONLY_RE.test(line)) return line;
+  }
+  return null;
+}
+
+function extractNextAction(input: RunLivenessClassificationInput) {
+  const structuredNextAction = readText(input.resultJson?.nextAction);
+  const candidates = [
+    ...(input.issueCommentBodies ?? []),
+    structuredNextAction ? `Next action: ${structuredNextAction}` : null,
+    resultFinalText(input.resultJson),
+    input.continuationSummaryBody,
+    ...rawSources(input),
+  ].filter((value): value is string => Boolean(readText(value)));
+
+  for (const candidate of candidates) {
+    const line = extractNextActionFromText(candidate);
+    if (!line) continue;
+    return line.length <= 500 ? line : `${line.slice(0, 497)}...`;
+  }
+  return null;
+}
+
+export function classifyRunActionability(input: RunLivenessClassificationInput): RunLivenessActionability {
+  const text = actionabilityText(input);
+  if (!text) return "unknown";
+  if (NEGATED_BLOCKER_RE.test(text)) {
+    return RUNNABLE_RE.test(text) ? "runnable" : "unknown";
+  }
+  if (APPROVAL_REQUIRED_RE.test(text)) return "approval_required";
+  if (EXTERNAL_BLOCKER_RE.test(text) || BLOCKER_RE.test(text) && /\b(?:credential|secret|api key|token|access|input|clarification)\b/i.test(text)) {
+    return "blocked_external";
+  }
+  if (MANAGER_REVIEW_RE.test(text)) return "manager_review";
+  if (RUNNABLE_RE.test(text)) return "runnable";
+  return "unknown";
 }
 
 export function classifyRunLiveness(input: RunLivenessClassificationInput): RunLivenessClassification {
   const evidence = normalizeEvidence(input.evidence);
   const continuationAttempt = normalizeContinuationAttempt(input.continuationAttempt);
+  const actionability = classifyRunActionability(input);
+  const nextAction = extractNextAction(input);
   const issueStatus = input.issue?.status ?? null;
   const usefulOutput = hasUsefulOutput(input);
   const concreteEvidence = hasConcreteActionEvidence(evidence);
@@ -189,6 +306,7 @@ export function classifyRunLiveness(input: RunLivenessClassificationInput): RunL
     continuationAttempt,
     lastUsefulActionAt: state === "advanced" || state === "completed" || state === "blocked" ? lastUsefulActionAt : null,
     nextAction,
+    actionability,
   });
 
   if (input.runStatus !== "succeeded") {
@@ -200,7 +318,7 @@ export function classifyRunLiveness(input: RunLivenessClassificationInput): RunL
   }
 
   if (declaredBlocker(input)) {
-    return output("blocked", issueStatus === "blocked" ? "Issue status is blocked" : "Run output declared a concrete blocker", extractNextAction(input));
+    return output("blocked", issueStatus === "blocked" ? "Issue status is blocked" : "Run output declared a concrete blocker", nextAction);
   }
 
   if (!usefulOutput && !concreteEvidence) {
@@ -215,12 +333,15 @@ export function classifyRunLiveness(input: RunLivenessClassificationInput): RunL
     return output("advanced", "Planning/document task produced useful output and is exempt from plan-only classification");
   }
 
-  if (looksLikePlanningOnly(input)) {
-    return output("plan_only", "Run described future work without concrete action evidence", extractNextAction(input));
+  if (looksLikePlanningOnly(input) || nextAction) {
+    if (actionability === "runnable") {
+      return output("plan_only", "Run described runnable future work without concrete action evidence", nextAction);
+    }
+    return output("needs_followup", "Run described future work that is not safe to auto-continue", nextAction);
   }
 
   if (usefulOutput) {
-    return output("needs_followup", "Run produced useful output but no concrete action evidence", extractNextAction(input));
+    return output("needs_followup", "Run produced useful output but no concrete action evidence", nextAction);
   }
 
   return output("empty_response", "Run succeeded without useful output");