From d78dd9e8f94a5d9bfda9206aed0293ca1f0ca69d Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Timmy <timmy@storkit>
Date: Tue, 12 May 2026 22:31:59 +0100
Subject: [PATCH] feat(934): typed Stage enum replaces directory-string state
 model

The state machine's `Stage` enum becomes the source of truth for pipeline
state. Six stages of work land together:

  1. Clean wire vocabulary (`coding`, `merge`, `merge_failure`, ...) replaces
     legacy directory-style strings (`2_current`, `4_merge`, ...) on the wire.
     `Stage::from_dir` accepted both during deployment; new writes always
     emit the clean form via `stage_dir_name`. Lexicographic `dir >= "5_done"`
     checks in lifecycle.rs become typed `matches!` checks since the new
     vocabulary doesn't sort in pipeline order.
  2. `crdt_state::write_item` takes typed `&Stage`, serialising via
     `stage_dir_name` at the CRDT boundary. `#[cfg(test)] write_item_str`
     parses legacy strings for test fixtures.
  3. `WorkItem::stage()` returns typed `crdt_state::Stage`; `stage_str()`
     is gone from the public API. Projection dispatches on the typed enum.
  4. `frozen` becomes an orthogonal CRDT register. `Stage::Frozen` and
     `PipelineEvent::Freeze`/`Unfreeze` are removed; `transition_to_frozen`/
     `unfrozen` set the flag directly without touching the stage register.
  5. Watcher sweep and `tool_update_story`'s `blocked` setter route through
     `apply_transition` so the typed transition table validates every
     stage change. `update_story` gains a `frozen` field for symmetry.
  6. One-shot startup migration rewrites pre-934 directory-style stage
     registers (and sets `frozen=true` on items previously at `7_frozen`).
     `Stage::from_dir` drops legacy aliases. The db boundary keeps a small
     normaliser so callers with legacy strings (MCP, tests) still work.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
---
 server/src/agent_mode/claim.rs                |   6 +-
 server/src/agent_mode/loop_ops.rs             |   6 +-
 server/src/agents/lifecycle.rs                |  66 +++++----
 server/src/agents/pool/auto_assign/scan.rs    |  22 ++-
 .../agents/pool/auto_assign/story_checks.rs   |  31 ++---
 .../watchdog/tests/limits_tests.rs            |  30 ++--
 .../pool/pipeline/advance/tests_regression.rs |   6 +-
 .../agents/pool/start/tests_concurrency.rs    |  12 +-
 .../src/agents/pool/start/tests_selection.rs  |   2 +-
 server/src/chat/commands/backlog.rs           |   2 +
 server/src/chat/commands/freeze.rs            |   2 +-
 server/src/chat/commands/status/tests.rs      |   2 +
 server/src/chat/commands/unblock.rs           |   4 +-
 server/src/chat/lookup.rs                     |  14 +-
 server/src/chat/transport/matrix/assign.rs    |   6 +-
 server/src/chat/transport/matrix/delete.rs    |   3 +-
 server/src/crdt_snapshot/tests.rs             |  16 +--
 server/src/crdt_state/mod.rs                  |  10 +-
 server/src/crdt_state/ops.rs                  |   4 +-
 server/src/crdt_state/read.rs                 |  12 +-
 server/src/crdt_state/state/tests.rs          |  12 +-
 server/src/crdt_state/types.rs                |  80 +++++++----
 server/src/crdt_state/write/item.rs           |  96 ++++++++++++-
 server/src/crdt_state/write/migrations.rs     |  85 ++++++++++++
 server/src/crdt_state/write/mod.rs            |  10 +-
 server/src/crdt_state/write/tests.rs          |  34 ++---
 server/src/db/mod.rs                          |   8 +-
 server/src/db/ops.rs                          |  59 ++++++--
 server/src/http/agents/tests.rs               |   4 +-
 server/src/http/mcp/merge_tools.rs            |  23 ++--
 server/src/http/mcp/status_tools.rs           |  10 +-
 server/src/http/mcp/story_tools/epic.rs       |  24 ++--
 .../src/http/mcp/story_tools/story/freeze.rs  |   7 +-
 .../src/http/mcp/story_tools/story/update.rs  |  44 +++++-
 server/src/http/workflow/pipeline.rs          |   7 +-
 server/src/io/story_metadata/parser.rs        |  13 +-
 server/src/io/watcher/mod.rs                  |   1 -
 server/src/io/watcher/sweep.rs                |  39 ++----
 server/src/io/watcher/tests.rs                |  10 +-
 server/src/pipeline_state/apply.rs            |  35 +++--
 server/src/pipeline_state/mod.rs              |   7 +-
 server/src/pipeline_state/projection.rs       | 102 +++++++-------
 server/src/pipeline_state/tests.rs            | 130 ++++--------------
 server/src/pipeline_state/transition.rs       |  17 ---
 server/src/pipeline_state/types.rs            |  76 +++++-----
 server/src/service/agents/mod.rs              |  30 ++--
 server/src/service/gateway/polling.rs         |   4 +-
 server/src/service/notifications/format.rs    |  13 +-
 .../service/notifications/io/tests_stage.rs   |  14 +-
 server/src/service/status/format.rs           |  16 +--
 server/src/service/story/front_matter.rs      |  65 ++++-----
 server/src/service/work_item/assign.rs        |   4 +-
 server/src/service/work_item/delete.rs        |   2 +-
 server/src/service/work_item/freeze.rs        |  24 ++--
 server/src/startup/project.rs                 |   6 +
 55 files changed, 783 insertions(+), 584 deletions(-)

diff --git a/server/src/agent_mode/claim.rs b/server/src/agent_mode/claim.rs
index c765f2a2..2d9d01cb 100644
--- a/server/src/agent_mode/claim.rs
+++ b/server/src/agent_mode/claim.rs
@@ -78,7 +78,9 @@ mod tests {
     #[test]
     #[allow(clippy::string_slice)] // stale_holder is a hex/ASCII string literal; [..12] always valid
     fn stale_claim_displaced_and_logged() {
-        use crate::crdt_state::{init_for_test, our_node_id, read_item, write_claim, write_item};
+        use crate::crdt_state::{
+            init_for_test, our_node_id, read_item, write_claim, write_item_str,
+        };
 
         init_for_test();
 
@@ -88,7 +90,7 @@ mod tests {
         let stale_time = chrono::Utc::now().timestamp() as f64 - CLAIM_TIMEOUT_SECS - 300.0;
 
         // Seed the story with a stale claim from a foreign node.
-        write_item(
+        write_item_str(
             story_id,
             "2_current",
             Some("Stale Claim Displacement Test"),
diff --git a/server/src/agent_mode/loop_ops.rs b/server/src/agent_mode/loop_ops.rs
index 03edb054..4220dd75 100644
--- a/server/src/agent_mode/loop_ops.rs
+++ b/server/src/agent_mode/loop_ops.rs
@@ -42,8 +42,7 @@ pub(super) async fn scan_and_claim(
 
     for item in &items {
         // Only claim stories in active stages.
-        if !crate::pipeline_state::Stage::from_dir(item.stage_str()).is_some_and(|s| s.is_active())
-        {
+        if !item.stage().is_active() {
             continue;
         }
 
@@ -166,8 +165,7 @@ pub(super) fn reclaim_timed_out_work(_project_root: &Path) {
     let now = chrono::Utc::now().timestamp() as f64;
 
     for item in &items {
-        if !crate::pipeline_state::Stage::from_dir(item.stage_str()).is_some_and(|s| s.is_active())
-        {
+        if !item.stage().is_active() {
             continue;
         }
 
diff --git a/server/src/agents/lifecycle.rs b/server/src/agents/lifecycle.rs
index 97d08647..67d68966 100644
--- a/server/src/agents/lifecycle.rs
+++ b/server/src/agents/lifecycle.rs
@@ -103,10 +103,9 @@ pub fn feature_branch_has_unmerged_changes(project_root: &Path, story_id: &str)
 /// Spikes may transition directly from `3_qa/` to `5_done/`, skipping the merge stage.
 pub fn move_story_to_done(story_id: &str) -> Result<(), String> {
     let item = read_typed_or_err(story_id)?;
-    let dir = item.stage.dir_name();
 
     // Idempotent: already at or past done.
-    if dir >= "5_done" {
+    if matches!(item.stage, Stage::Done { .. } | Stage::Archived { .. }) {
         return Ok(());
     }
 
@@ -134,10 +133,15 @@ pub fn move_story_to_done(story_id: &str) -> Result<(), String> {
 /// Idempotent if already in `4_merge/`. Errors if not found in `2_current/` or `3_qa/`.
 pub fn move_story_to_merge(story_id: &str) -> Result<(), String> {
     let item = read_typed_or_err(story_id)?;
-    let dir = item.stage.dir_name();
 
     // Idempotent: already at or past merge.
-    if dir >= "4_merge" {
+    if matches!(
+        item.stage,
+        Stage::Merge { .. }
+            | Stage::MergeFailure { .. }
+            | Stage::Done { .. }
+            | Stage::Archived { .. }
+    ) {
         return Ok(());
     }
 
@@ -170,10 +174,16 @@ pub fn move_story_to_merge(story_id: &str) -> Result<(), String> {
 /// Idempotent if already in `3_qa/`. Errors if not found in `2_current/`.
 pub fn move_story_to_qa(story_id: &str) -> Result<(), String> {
     let item = read_typed_or_err(story_id)?;
-    let dir = item.stage.dir_name();
 
     // Idempotent: already at or past qa.
-    if dir >= "3_qa" {
+    if matches!(
+        item.stage,
+        Stage::Qa
+            | Stage::Merge { .. }
+            | Stage::MergeFailure { .. }
+            | Stage::Done { .. }
+            | Stage::Archived { .. }
+    ) {
         return Ok(());
     }
 
@@ -349,16 +359,19 @@ fn map_stage_move_to_event(
 /// Move any work item to an arbitrary pipeline stage by searching all stages.
 ///
 /// Accepts `target_stage` as one of: `backlog`, `current`, `qa`, `merge`, `done`.
+/// (`current` is the user-facing alias for the `coding` stage.)
 /// Idempotent: if the item is already in the target stage, returns Ok.
 /// Returns `(from_stage, to_stage)` on success.
 pub fn move_story_to_stage(story_id: &str, target_stage: &str) -> Result<(String, String), String> {
-    // Validate target.
-    let target_dir = match target_stage {
-        "backlog" => "1_backlog",
-        "current" => "2_current",
-        "qa" => "3_qa",
-        "merge" => "4_merge",
-        "done" => "5_done",
+    // Validate target. We accept the user-facing aliases (which include
+    // "current" as the historical alias for "coding") and normalise to the
+    // canonical clean wire form for the idempotency check.
+    let target_wire = match target_stage {
+        "backlog" => "backlog",
+        "current" => "coding",
+        "qa" => "qa",
+        "merge" => "merge",
+        "done" => "done",
         _ => {
             return Err(format!(
                 "Invalid target_stage '{target_stage}'. Must be one of: backlog, current, qa, merge, done"
@@ -370,7 +383,7 @@ pub fn move_story_to_stage(story_id: &str, target_stage: &str) -> Result<(String
     let from_name = stage_to_name(&item.stage);
 
     // Idempotent: already in the target stage.
-    if item.stage.dir_name() == target_dir {
+    if item.stage.dir_name() == target_wire {
         return Ok((target_stage.to_string(), target_stage.to_string()));
     }
 
@@ -387,7 +400,7 @@ pub fn move_story_to_stage(story_id: &str, target_stage: &str) -> Result<(String
 pub fn close_bug_to_archive(bug_id: &str) -> Result<(), String> {
     let item = read_typed_or_err(bug_id)?;
 
-    if item.stage.dir_name() >= "5_done" {
+    if matches!(item.stage, Stage::Done { .. } | Stage::Archived { .. }) {
         return Ok(());
     }
 
@@ -415,7 +428,6 @@ fn stage_to_name(s: &Stage) -> &'static str {
         Stage::MergeFailure { .. } => "merge_failure",
         Stage::Done { .. } => "done",
         Stage::Archived { .. } => "archived",
-        Stage::Frozen { .. } => "frozen",
     }
 }
 
@@ -444,8 +456,8 @@ mod tests {
             .expect("item should exist in CRDT after move");
         assert_eq!(
             item.stage.dir_name(),
-            "2_current",
-            "item should be in 2_current after move"
+            "coding",
+            "item should be in coding after move"
         );
     }
 
@@ -476,8 +488,8 @@ mod tests {
             .expect("item should exist in CRDT");
         assert_eq!(
             item.stage.dir_name(),
-            "5_done",
-            "item should be in 5_done after move"
+            "done",
+            "item should be in done after move"
         );
     }
 
@@ -540,11 +552,7 @@ mod tests {
         let item = crate::pipeline_state::read_typed("99866_story_block_test")
             .expect("read should succeed")
             .expect("item should exist");
-        assert_eq!(
-            item.stage.dir_name(),
-            "2_current",
-            "should start in 2_current"
-        );
+        assert_eq!(item.stage.dir_name(), "coding", "should start in coding");
 
         // Block via the state machine.
         transition_to_blocked("99866_story_block_test", "retry limit exceeded")
@@ -556,8 +564,8 @@ mod tests {
             .expect("item should exist after block");
         assert_eq!(
             item.stage.dir_name(),
-            "2_blocked",
-            "should be in 2_blocked after transition_to_blocked"
+            "blocked",
+            "should be in blocked after transition_to_blocked"
         );
         assert!(item.stage.is_blocked(), "is_blocked() should return true");
         assert!(
@@ -575,8 +583,8 @@ mod tests {
             .expect("item should exist after unblock");
         assert_eq!(
             item.stage.dir_name(),
-            "2_current",
-            "should return to 2_current after unblock"
+            "coding",
+            "should return to coding after unblock"
         );
         assert!(
             matches!(item.stage, Stage::Coding),
diff --git a/server/src/agents/pool/auto_assign/scan.rs b/server/src/agents/pool/auto_assign/scan.rs
index 30e1a2a0..6e94f08c 100644
--- a/server/src/agents/pool/auto_assign/scan.rs
+++ b/server/src/agents/pool/auto_assign/scan.rs
@@ -22,9 +22,29 @@ pub(super) fn scan_stage_items(_project_root: &Path, stage_dir: &str) -> Vec<Str
     use std::collections::BTreeSet;
     let mut items = BTreeSet::new();
 
+    // Accept legacy directory-style strings (`"2_current"`, `"4_merge"`,
+    // etc.) at the boundary; `Stage::from_dir` itself is strict post-934
+    // stage 6, so we normalise here.
+    let normalised = match stage_dir {
+        "0_upcoming" => "upcoming",
+        "1_backlog" => "backlog",
+        "2_current" => "coding",
+        "2_blocked" => "blocked",
+        "3_qa" => "qa",
+        "4_merge" => "merge",
+        "4_merge_failure" => "merge_failure",
+        "5_done" => "done",
+        "6_archived" => "archived",
+        other => other,
+    };
+    let Some(want) = crate::pipeline_state::Stage::from_dir(normalised) else {
+        return Vec::new();
+    };
+    let want = want.dir_name();
+
     // CRDT is the only source of truth — no filesystem fallback.
     for item in crate::pipeline_state::read_all_typed() {
-        if item.stage.dir_name() == stage_dir {
+        if item.stage.dir_name() == want {
             items.insert(item.story_id.0.clone());
         }
     }
diff --git a/server/src/agents/pool/auto_assign/story_checks.rs b/server/src/agents/pool/auto_assign/story_checks.rs
index c322319d..eb7990fb 100644
--- a/server/src/agents/pool/auto_assign/story_checks.rs
+++ b/server/src/agents/pool/auto_assign/story_checks.rs
@@ -116,14 +116,13 @@ pub(super) fn check_archived_dependencies(
     crate::crdt_state::check_archived_deps_crdt(story_id)
 }
 
-/// Return `true` if the story is in the `Frozen` pipeline stage.
+/// Return `true` if the story's `frozen` CRDT flag is set (story 934, stage 4).
 ///
-/// Checks the typed CRDT stage via `read_typed`.
+/// `frozen` is orthogonal to [`Stage`]: a frozen story keeps its current stage
+/// register but is skipped by the auto-assigner.
 pub(super) fn is_story_frozen(_project_root: &Path, _stage_dir: &str, story_id: &str) -> bool {
-    crate::pipeline_state::read_typed(story_id)
-        .ok()
-        .flatten()
-        .map(|item| item.stage.is_frozen())
+    crate::crdt_state::read_item(story_id)
+        .map(|view| view.frozen())
         .unwrap_or(false)
 }
 
@@ -140,7 +139,7 @@ mod tests {
         crate::crdt_state::init_for_test();
         crate::db::ensure_content_store();
         let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
-        crate::crdt_state::write_item(
+        crate::crdt_state::write_item_str(
             "890_spike_held",
             "3_qa",
             Some("Held Spike"),
@@ -161,7 +160,7 @@ mod tests {
         crate::crdt_state::init_for_test();
         crate::db::ensure_content_store();
         let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
-        crate::crdt_state::write_item(
+        crate::crdt_state::write_item_str(
             "890_spike_active_qa",
             "3_qa",
             Some("Active QA Spike"),
@@ -253,7 +252,7 @@ mod tests {
     fn has_unmet_dependencies_returns_true_when_dep_not_done() {
         crate::crdt_state::init_for_test();
         let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
-        crate::crdt_state::write_item(
+        crate::crdt_state::write_item_str(
             "10_story_blocked",
             "2_current",
             Some("Blocked"),
@@ -276,7 +275,7 @@ mod tests {
     fn has_unmet_dependencies_returns_false_when_dep_done() {
         crate::crdt_state::init_for_test();
         let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
-        crate::crdt_state::write_item(
+        crate::crdt_state::write_item_str(
             "999_story_dep",
             "5_done",
             Some("Dep"),
@@ -288,7 +287,7 @@ mod tests {
             None,
             None,
         );
-        crate::crdt_state::write_item(
+        crate::crdt_state::write_item_str(
             "10_story_ok",
             "2_current",
             Some("Ok"),
@@ -311,7 +310,7 @@ mod tests {
     fn has_unmet_dependencies_returns_false_when_no_deps() {
         crate::crdt_state::init_for_test();
         let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
-        crate::crdt_state::write_item(
+        crate::crdt_state::write_item_str(
             "5_story_free",
             "2_current",
             Some("Free"),
@@ -337,7 +336,7 @@ mod tests {
     fn check_archived_dependencies_returns_archived_ids() {
         crate::crdt_state::init_for_test();
         let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
-        crate::crdt_state::write_item(
+        crate::crdt_state::write_item_str(
             "500_spike_crdt",
             "6_archived",
             Some("CRDT Spike"),
@@ -349,7 +348,7 @@ mod tests {
             None,
             None,
         );
-        crate::crdt_state::write_item(
+        crate::crdt_state::write_item_str(
             "503_story_dependent",
             "1_backlog",
             Some("Dependent"),
@@ -371,7 +370,7 @@ mod tests {
     fn check_archived_dependencies_empty_when_dep_in_done() {
         crate::crdt_state::init_for_test();
         let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
-        crate::crdt_state::write_item(
+        crate::crdt_state::write_item_str(
             "490_story_done",
             "5_done",
             Some("Done"),
@@ -383,7 +382,7 @@ mod tests {
             None,
             None,
         );
-        crate::crdt_state::write_item(
+        crate::crdt_state::write_item_str(
             "503_story_waiting",
             "1_backlog",
             Some("Waiting"),
diff --git a/server/src/agents/pool/auto_assign/watchdog/tests/limits_tests.rs b/server/src/agents/pool/auto_assign/watchdog/tests/limits_tests.rs
index 78cde8fd..af520cd0 100644
--- a/server/src/agents/pool/auto_assign/watchdog/tests/limits_tests.rs
+++ b/server/src/agents/pool/auto_assign/watchdog/tests/limits_tests.rs
@@ -243,7 +243,7 @@ max_turns = 10
     let story_id = "42_story_runaway";
     let initial = "---\nname: Runaway Story\n---\n# Runaway Story\n";
     crate::db::write_content(story_id, initial);
-    crate::crdt_state::write_item(
+    crate::crdt_state::write_item_str(
         story_id,
         "2_current",
         Some("Runaway Story"),
@@ -274,10 +274,10 @@ max_turns = 10
     let item = crate::crdt_state::read_item(story_id)
         .expect("story must be in CRDT after watchdog termination");
     assert_eq!(
-        item.stage_str(),
-        "2_blocked",
+        item.stage().as_dir(),
+        "blocked",
         "story stage must be 2_blocked after limit termination with max_retries=1 — got: {}",
-        item.stage_str()
+        item.stage().as_dir()
     );
 
     // Sanity: the agent itself is also Failed with the right reason.
@@ -371,7 +371,7 @@ max_turns = 10
 
     let story_id = "story_e_per_session";
     crate::db::write_content(story_id, "---\nname: Per-Session Test\n---\n");
-    crate::crdt_state::write_item(
+    crate::crdt_state::write_item_str(
         story_id,
         "2_current",
         Some("Per-Session Test"),
@@ -416,8 +416,8 @@ max_turns = 10
     let item = crate::crdt_state::read_item(story_id)
         .expect("story must be in CRDT after per-session overrun");
     assert_eq!(
-        item.stage_str(),
-        "2_blocked",
+        item.stage().as_dir(),
+        "blocked",
         "story stage must be 2_blocked after per-session overrun with max_retries=1"
     );
 }
@@ -451,7 +451,7 @@ max_turns = 10
     let initial = "---\nname: Retry Test\n---\n";
     crate::crdt_state::init_for_test();
     crate::db::write_content(story_id, initial);
-    crate::crdt_state::write_item(
+    crate::crdt_state::write_item_str(
         story_id,
         "2_current",
         Some("Retry Test"),
@@ -478,8 +478,8 @@ max_turns = 10
             "after session 1, retry_count should be 1 in CRDT"
         );
         assert_ne!(
-            item.stage_str(),
-            "2_blocked",
+            item.stage().as_dir(),
+            "blocked",
             "story should NOT be blocked after session 1"
         );
     }
@@ -498,8 +498,8 @@ max_turns = 10
             "after session 2, retry_count should be 2 in CRDT"
         );
         assert_ne!(
-            item.stage_str(),
-            "2_blocked",
+            item.stage().as_dir(),
+            "blocked",
             "story should NOT be blocked after session 2"
         );
     }
@@ -513,10 +513,10 @@ max_turns = 10
 
         let item = crate::crdt_state::read_item(story_id).expect("story must be in CRDT");
         assert_eq!(
-            item.stage_str(),
-            "2_blocked",
+            item.stage().as_dir(),
+            "blocked",
             "story must be blocked after session 3 (retry_count=3 >= max_retries=3) — got: {}",
-            item.stage_str()
+            item.stage().as_dir()
         );
         // retry_count resets to 0 on stage transition (Bug 780) — the fact
         // that the story reached 2_blocked proves the retry limit was hit.
diff --git a/server/src/agents/pool/pipeline/advance/tests_regression.rs b/server/src/agents/pool/pipeline/advance/tests_regression.rs
index 997c09b3..a42d0101 100644
--- a/server/src/agents/pool/pipeline/advance/tests_regression.rs
+++ b/server/src/agents/pool/pipeline/advance/tests_regression.rs
@@ -298,12 +298,12 @@ async fn stale_mergemaster_advance_for_done_story_is_noop() {
         "No StoryBlocked event should be emitted for a stale advance"
     );
 
-    // The story should still be in 5_done (not moved elsewhere).
+    // The story should still be in done (not moved elsewhere).
     if let Ok(Some(item)) = crate::pipeline_state::read_typed(story_id) {
         assert_eq!(
             item.stage.dir_name(),
-            "5_done",
-            "Story should remain in 5_done after stale mergemaster advance"
+            "done",
+            "Story should remain in done after stale mergemaster advance"
         );
     }
 }
diff --git a/server/src/agents/pool/start/tests_concurrency.rs b/server/src/agents/pool/start/tests_concurrency.rs
index 9aabde99..4f65a019 100644
--- a/server/src/agents/pool/start/tests_concurrency.rs
+++ b/server/src/agents/pool/start/tests_concurrency.rs
@@ -443,11 +443,11 @@ async fn start_agent_rejects_mergemaster_on_coding_stage_story() {
 
     assert!(
         result.is_err(),
-        "mergemaster must not be assigned to a story in 2_current/"
+        "mergemaster must not be assigned to a story in coding stage"
     );
     let err = result.unwrap_err();
     assert!(
-        err.contains("stage") && err.contains("2_current"),
+        err.contains("stage") && err.contains("coding"),
         "error must mention stage mismatch, got: '{err}'"
     );
 }
@@ -482,11 +482,11 @@ async fn start_agent_rejects_coder_on_qa_stage_story() {
 
     assert!(
         result.is_err(),
-        "coder must not be assigned to a story in 3_qa/"
+        "coder must not be assigned to a story in qa stage"
     );
     let err = result.unwrap_err();
     assert!(
-        err.contains("stage") && err.contains("3_qa"),
+        err.contains("stage") && err.contains("qa"),
         "error must mention stage mismatch, got: '{err}'"
     );
 }
@@ -521,11 +521,11 @@ async fn start_agent_rejects_qa_on_merge_stage_story() {
 
     assert!(
         result.is_err(),
-        "qa must not be assigned to a story in 4_merge/"
+        "qa must not be assigned to a story in merge stage"
     );
     let err = result.unwrap_err();
     assert!(
-        err.contains("stage") && err.contains("4_merge"),
+        err.contains("stage") && err.contains("merge"),
         "error must mention stage mismatch, got: '{err}'"
     );
 }
diff --git a/server/src/agents/pool/start/tests_selection.rs b/server/src/agents/pool/start/tests_selection.rs
index 1ff0a438..d7439a8c 100644
--- a/server/src/agents/pool/start/tests_selection.rs
+++ b/server/src/agents/pool/start/tests_selection.rs
@@ -283,7 +283,7 @@ stage = "coder"
     crate::db::write_content("368_story_test", story_content);
     // Story 929: agent pin comes from the CRDT register, not YAML. Seed it.
     crate::crdt_state::init_for_test();
-    crate::crdt_state::write_item(
+    crate::crdt_state::write_item_str(
         "368_story_test",
         "2_current",
         Some("Test Story"),
diff --git a/server/src/chat/commands/backlog.rs b/server/src/chat/commands/backlog.rs
index ebd89b38..93d57f52 100644
--- a/server/src/chat/commands/backlog.rs
+++ b/server/src/chat/commands/backlog.rs
@@ -71,6 +71,7 @@ mod tests {
             stage,
             depends_on: Vec::new(),
             retry_count: 0,
+            frozen: false,
         }
     }
 
@@ -81,6 +82,7 @@ mod tests {
             stage,
             depends_on: deps.iter().map(|n| StoryId(n.to_string())).collect(),
             retry_count: 0,
+            frozen: false,
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/server/src/chat/commands/freeze.rs b/server/src/chat/commands/freeze.rs
index 4254c4dd..73cfe88e 100644
--- a/server/src/chat/commands/freeze.rs
+++ b/server/src/chat/commands/freeze.rs
@@ -205,7 +205,7 @@ mod tests {
             .expect("read_typed should succeed")
             .expect("item should be present");
         assert!(
-            item.stage.is_frozen(),
+            item.is_frozen(),
             "stage should be Frozen after freeze: {:?}",
             item.stage
         );
diff --git a/server/src/chat/commands/status/tests.rs b/server/src/chat/commands/status/tests.rs
index c7f83ef7..1e16e961 100644
--- a/server/src/chat/commands/status/tests.rs
+++ b/server/src/chat/commands/status/tests.rs
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ fn make_item(id: &str, name: &str, stage: Stage) -> PipelineItem {
         stage,
         depends_on: Vec::new(),
         retry_count: 0,
+        frozen: false,
     }
 }
 
@@ -24,6 +25,7 @@ fn make_item_with_deps(id: &str, name: &str, stage: Stage, deps: Vec<u32>) -> Pi
         stage,
         depends_on: deps.iter().map(|n| StoryId(n.to_string())).collect(),
         retry_count: 0,
+        frozen: false,
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/server/src/chat/commands/unblock.rs b/server/src/chat/commands/unblock.rs
index c6d33045..641920e3 100644
--- a/server/src/chat/commands/unblock.rs
+++ b/server/src/chat/commands/unblock.rs
@@ -205,7 +205,7 @@ mod tests {
         );
         // Seed the story in the CRDT in 2_blocked stage so the typed
         // Blocked → Coding transition fires and clears `blocked` properly.
-        crate::crdt_state::write_item(
+        crate::crdt_state::write_item_str(
             "9903_story_stuck",
             "2_blocked",
             Some("Stuck Story"),
@@ -273,7 +273,7 @@ mod tests {
         );
         // Seed CRDT registers: blocked=true, retry_count=5, with a name so the
         // response can echo it back instead of falling through to the raw id.
-        crate::crdt_state::write_item(
+        crate::crdt_state::write_item_str(
             story_id,
             stage,
             Some("Stuck Story"),
diff --git a/server/src/chat/lookup.rs b/server/src/chat/lookup.rs
index 36efdad8..73fb0438 100644
--- a/server/src/chat/lookup.rs
+++ b/server/src/chat/lookup.rs
@@ -33,18 +33,14 @@ pub(crate) fn find_story_by_number(
     if let Some(items) = crate::crdt_state::read_all_items() {
         for item in items {
             if item.story_id().split('_').next().unwrap_or("") == number {
+                let stage_dir = item.stage().as_dir().to_string();
                 let path = project_root
                     .join(".huskies")
                     .join("work")
-                    .join(item.stage_str())
+                    .join(&stage_dir)
                     .join(format!("{}.md", item.story_id()));
                 let content = crate::db::read_content(item.story_id());
-                return Some((
-                    item.story_id().to_string(),
-                    item.stage_str().to_string(),
-                    path,
-                    content,
-                ));
+                return Some((item.story_id().to_string(), stage_dir, path, content));
             }
         }
     }
@@ -58,8 +54,8 @@ pub(crate) fn find_story_by_number(
             continue;
         }
         let stage_dir = crate::crdt_state::read_item(&id)
-            .map(|v| v.stage_str().to_string())
-            .unwrap_or_else(|| "1_backlog".to_string());
+            .map(|v| v.stage().as_dir().to_string())
+            .unwrap_or_else(|| "backlog".to_string());
         let path = project_root
             .join(".huskies")
             .join("work")
diff --git a/server/src/chat/transport/matrix/assign.rs b/server/src/chat/transport/matrix/assign.rs
index 8dae27d6..152f150b 100644
--- a/server/src/chat/transport/matrix/assign.rs
+++ b/server/src/chat/transport/matrix/assign.rs
@@ -313,7 +313,7 @@ mod tests {
             None,
         );
         // Seed CRDT so set_agent can write to the item.
-        crate::crdt_state::write_item(
+        crate::crdt_state::write_item_str(
             "9972_story_test",
             "1_backlog",
             Some("Test Feature"),
@@ -369,7 +369,7 @@ mod tests {
             "---\nname: Small Story\n---\n",
             None,
         );
-        crate::crdt_state::write_item(
+        crate::crdt_state::write_item_str(
             "9973_story_small",
             "1_backlog",
             Some("Small Story"),
@@ -420,7 +420,7 @@ mod tests {
             "---\nname: Existing\nagent: coder-sonnet\n---\n",
             None,
         );
-        crate::crdt_state::write_item(
+        crate::crdt_state::write_item_str(
             "9974_story_existing",
             "1_backlog",
             Some("Existing"),
diff --git a/server/src/chat/transport/matrix/delete.rs b/server/src/chat/transport/matrix/delete.rs
index 0ba49bdc..5a3e0ae8 100644
--- a/server/src/chat/transport/matrix/delete.rs
+++ b/server/src/chat/transport/matrix/delete.rs
@@ -112,7 +112,6 @@ fn stage_display_name(stage: &str) -> &str {
         Some(Stage::Done { .. }) => "done",
         Some(Stage::Archived { .. }) => "archived",
         Some(Stage::MergeFailure { .. }) => "merge-failure",
-        Some(Stage::Frozen { .. }) => "frozen",
         None => stage,
     }
 }
@@ -239,7 +238,7 @@ mod tests {
         let story_number = "9977";
 
         // Seed in CRDT.
-        crate::crdt_state::write_item(
+        crate::crdt_state::write_item_str(
             story_id,
             "1_backlog",
             Some("CRDT Tombstone Check"),
diff --git a/server/src/crdt_snapshot/tests.rs b/server/src/crdt_snapshot/tests.rs
index 4ce553d3..ecc26239 100644
--- a/server/src/crdt_snapshot/tests.rs
+++ b/server/src/crdt_snapshot/tests.rs
@@ -231,7 +231,7 @@ fn snapshot_generation_includes_manifest() {
     crate::crdt_state::init_for_test();
 
     // Write some items to populate ALL_OPS.
-    crate::crdt_state::write_item(
+    crate::crdt_state::write_item_str(
         "636_test_a",
         "1_backlog",
         Some("Test A"),
@@ -243,7 +243,7 @@ fn snapshot_generation_includes_manifest() {
         None,
         None,
     );
-    crate::crdt_state::write_item(
+    crate::crdt_state::write_item_str(
         "636_test_b",
         "2_current",
         Some("Test B"),
@@ -276,7 +276,7 @@ fn attribution_query_by_story_id() {
     crate::crdt_state::init_for_test();
     init();
 
-    crate::crdt_state::write_item(
+    crate::crdt_state::write_item_str(
         "636_attrib_test",
         "1_backlog",
         Some("Attribution Test"),
@@ -314,7 +314,7 @@ fn compaction_reduces_ops() {
 
     // Write several items.
     for i in 0..5 {
-        crate::crdt_state::write_item(
+        crate::crdt_state::write_item_str(
             &format!("636_compact_{i}"),
             "1_backlog",
             Some(&format!("Item {i}")),
@@ -353,7 +353,7 @@ fn latest_snapshot_available_after_compaction() {
     crate::crdt_state::init_for_test();
     init();
 
-    crate::crdt_state::write_item(
+    crate::crdt_state::write_item_str(
         "636_latest_test",
         "1_backlog",
         Some("Latest Test"),
@@ -626,7 +626,7 @@ fn attribution_preserved_after_compaction() {
     init();
 
     // Write a story through its lifecycle.
-    crate::crdt_state::write_item(
+    crate::crdt_state::write_item_str(
         "636_archived_story",
         "1_backlog",
         Some("Archived Story"),
@@ -638,7 +638,7 @@ fn attribution_preserved_after_compaction() {
         None,
         None,
     );
-    crate::crdt_state::write_item(
+    crate::crdt_state::write_item_str(
         "636_archived_story",
         "2_current",
         None,
@@ -650,7 +650,7 @@ fn attribution_preserved_after_compaction() {
         None,
         None,
     );
-    crate::crdt_state::write_item(
+    crate::crdt_state::write_item_str(
         "636_archived_story",
         "6_archived",
         None,
diff --git a/server/src/crdt_state/mod.rs b/server/src/crdt_state/mod.rs
index b95e39ba..bc797a78 100644
--- a/server/src/crdt_state/mod.rs
+++ b/server/src/crdt_state/mod.rs
@@ -52,11 +52,15 @@ pub use types::{
     TestJobCrdt, TestJobView, TokenUsageCrdt, TokenUsageView, WorkItem,
 };
 pub use write::{
-    bump_retry_count, migrate_names_from_slugs, migrate_story_ids_to_numeric, name_from_story_id,
-    set_agent, set_blocked, set_depends_on, set_epic, set_item_type, set_mergemaster_attempted,
-    set_name, set_qa_mode, set_retry_count, set_review_hold, write_item,
+    bump_retry_count, migrate_legacy_stage_strings, migrate_names_from_slugs,
+    migrate_story_ids_to_numeric, name_from_story_id, set_agent, set_blocked, set_depends_on,
+    set_epic, set_frozen, set_item_type, set_mergemaster_attempted, set_name, set_qa_mode,
+    set_retry_count, set_review_hold, write_item,
 };
 
+#[cfg(test)]
+pub use write::write_item_str;
+
 #[cfg(test)]
 pub use state::init_for_test;
 
diff --git a/server/src/crdt_state/ops.rs b/server/src/crdt_state/ops.rs
index 30f7d233..a585ab2e 100644
--- a/server/src/crdt_state/ops.rs
+++ b/server/src/crdt_state/ops.rs
@@ -190,7 +190,7 @@ pub fn apply_remote_op(op: SignedOp) -> bool {
 mod tests {
     use super::super::state::init_for_test;
     use super::super::types::{NodePresenceCrdt, PipelineItemCrdt};
-    use super::super::write::write_item;
+    use super::super::write::write_item_str;
     use super::*;
     use bft_json_crdt::json_crdt::OpState;
     use bft_json_crdt::keypair::make_keypair;
@@ -542,7 +542,7 @@ mod tests {
         );
 
         // Attempt resurrection via write_item — must be rejected by tombstone check.
-        write_item(
+        write_item_str(
             story_id,
             "1_backlog",
             Some("Resurrected"),
diff --git a/server/src/crdt_state/read.rs b/server/src/crdt_state/read.rs
index d2ba3c2d..d19c4d39 100644
--- a/server/src/crdt_state/read.rs
+++ b/server/src/crdt_state/read.rs
@@ -363,6 +363,11 @@ pub(super) fn extract_item_view(item: &PipelineItemCrdt) -> Option<PipelineItemV
         _ => None,
     };
 
+    let frozen = match item.frozen.view() {
+        JsonValue::Bool(b) => Some(b),
+        _ => None,
+    };
+
     Some(PipelineItemView {
         story_id,
         stage,
@@ -379,6 +384,7 @@ pub(super) fn extract_item_view(item: &PipelineItemCrdt) -> Option<PipelineItemV
         review_hold,
         item_type,
         epic,
+        frozen,
     })
 }
 
@@ -458,7 +464,7 @@ mod tests {
     use super::super::state::init_for_test;
     use super::super::state::rebuild_index;
     use super::super::types::PipelineItemCrdt;
-    use super::super::write::write_item;
+    use super::super::write::write_item_str;
     use super::*;
     use bft_json_crdt::json_crdt::OpState;
     use bft_json_crdt::keypair::make_keypair;
@@ -540,7 +546,7 @@ mod tests {
         let story_id = "917_story_concurrent_evict";
 
         // Insert the story locally (simulates node 1's insert).
-        write_item(
+        write_item_str(
             story_id,
             "1_backlog",
             Some("Node 1 insert"),
@@ -611,7 +617,7 @@ mod tests {
         );
 
         // story_id must be in the tombstone set so write_item cannot resurrect it.
-        write_item(
+        write_item_str(
             story_id,
             "1_backlog",
             Some("Resurrection attempt"),
diff --git a/server/src/crdt_state/state/tests.rs b/server/src/crdt_state/state/tests.rs
index f3040d2c..b151cc69 100644
--- a/server/src/crdt_state/state/tests.rs
+++ b/server/src/crdt_state/state/tests.rs
@@ -102,14 +102,14 @@ fn rebuild_index_maps_story_ids() {
 #[tokio::test(flavor = "current_thread")]
 async fn subscribe_receives_stage_transition_events() {
     use super::super::types::CrdtEvent;
-    use super::super::write::write_item;
+    use super::super::write::write_item_str;
 
     crate::crdt_state::init_for_test();
 
     let mut rx = super::subscribe().expect("subscribe must return Some after init_for_test");
 
     // Insert a new item — emit_event fires with from_stage=None.
-    write_item(
+    write_item_str(
         "906_story_subscribe",
         "1_backlog",
         Some("Subscribe Wiring"),
@@ -125,10 +125,10 @@ async fn subscribe_receives_stage_transition_events() {
     let evt: CrdtEvent = rx.try_recv().expect("expected CrdtEvent on insert");
     assert_eq!(evt.story_id, "906_story_subscribe");
     assert!(evt.from_stage.is_none());
-    assert_eq!(evt.to_stage, "1_backlog");
+    assert_eq!(evt.to_stage, "backlog");
 
     // Update stage — emit_event fires again with the real from_stage.
-    write_item(
+    write_item_str(
         "906_story_subscribe",
         "2_current",
         None,
@@ -143,8 +143,8 @@ async fn subscribe_receives_stage_transition_events() {
 
     let evt: CrdtEvent = rx.try_recv().expect("expected CrdtEvent on stage change");
     assert_eq!(evt.story_id, "906_story_subscribe");
-    assert_eq!(evt.from_stage.as_deref(), Some("1_backlog"));
-    assert_eq!(evt.to_stage, "2_current");
+    assert_eq!(evt.from_stage.as_deref(), Some("backlog"));
+    assert_eq!(evt.to_stage, "coding");
 }
 
 #[tokio::test]
diff --git a/server/src/crdt_state/types.rs b/server/src/crdt_state/types.rs
index 8eef0379..9718af8d 100644
--- a/server/src/crdt_state/types.rs
+++ b/server/src/crdt_state/types.rs
@@ -94,6 +94,12 @@ pub struct PipelineItemCrdt {
     /// member of any epic.  Sub-story 933; replaces the legacy `epic:` YAML
     /// front-matter field that linked member work items to their epic.
     pub epic: LwwRegisterCrdt<String>,
+    /// Set to `true` when a story is frozen.  Frozen stories stay at their
+    /// current `Stage` but are skipped by the auto-assigner until explicitly
+    /// unfrozen.  Orthogonal to `Stage` (story 934, stage 4); replaces the
+    /// pre-934 `Stage::Frozen { resume_to }` variant whose resume payload was
+    /// just "the stage you were in when you froze".
+    pub frozen: LwwRegisterCrdt<bool>,
 }
 
 /// CRDT node that holds a single peer's presence entry.
@@ -143,46 +149,56 @@ pub enum Stage {
     Done,
     /// Out of the active flow (`6_archived`).
     Archived,
-    /// Frozen, awaiting human review (`7_frozen`).
-    Frozen,
     /// An unrecognised stage string — forward-compatible catch-all.
     Unknown(String),
 }
 
 impl Stage {
-    /// Parse a stage directory string into the typed enum.
+    /// Parse a stage wire string into the typed enum.
+    ///
+    /// Accepts only the post-934 clean vocabulary (`"backlog"`, `"coding"`,
+    /// `"qa"`, `"merge"`, `"merge_failure"`, `"blocked"`, `"done"`,
+    /// `"archived"`, `"upcoming"`).  Pre-934 directory-style strings
+    /// (`"2_current"`, `"4_merge"`, etc.) are no longer accepted — they are
+    /// rewritten at startup by `migrate_legacy_stage_strings`.
     pub fn from_dir(s: &str) -> Self {
         match s {
-            "0_upcoming" => Stage::Upcoming,
-            "1_backlog" => Stage::Backlog,
-            "2_current" => Stage::Coding,
-            "2_blocked" => Stage::Blocked,
-            "3_qa" => Stage::Qa,
-            "4_merge" => Stage::Merge,
-            "4_merge_failure" => Stage::MergeFailure,
-            "5_done" => Stage::Done,
-            "6_archived" => Stage::Archived,
-            "7_frozen" => Stage::Frozen,
+            "upcoming" => Stage::Upcoming,
+            "backlog" => Stage::Backlog,
+            "coding" => Stage::Coding,
+            "blocked" => Stage::Blocked,
+            "qa" => Stage::Qa,
+            "merge" => Stage::Merge,
+            "merge_failure" => Stage::MergeFailure,
+            "done" => Stage::Done,
+            "archived" => Stage::Archived,
             other => Stage::Unknown(other.to_string()),
         }
     }
 
-    /// Convert back to the filesystem directory name string.
+    /// Convert back to the wire string for persistence into the CRDT.
+    ///
+    /// Post-934: clean vocabulary (no numeric prefixes); the strings only
+    /// survive at this single CRDT-serialisation boundary.
     pub fn as_dir(&self) -> &str {
         match self {
-            Stage::Upcoming => "0_upcoming",
-            Stage::Backlog => "1_backlog",
-            Stage::Coding => "2_current",
-            Stage::Blocked => "2_blocked",
-            Stage::Qa => "3_qa",
-            Stage::Merge => "4_merge",
-            Stage::MergeFailure => "4_merge_failure",
-            Stage::Done => "5_done",
-            Stage::Archived => "6_archived",
-            Stage::Frozen => "7_frozen",
+            Stage::Upcoming => "upcoming",
+            Stage::Backlog => "backlog",
+            Stage::Coding => "coding",
+            Stage::Blocked => "blocked",
+            Stage::Qa => "qa",
+            Stage::Merge => "merge",
+            Stage::MergeFailure => "merge_failure",
+            Stage::Done => "done",
+            Stage::Archived => "archived",
             Stage::Unknown(s) => s.as_str(),
         }
     }
+
+    /// `true` if this is an "active" stage (`Coding`, `Qa`, or `Merge`).
+    pub fn is_active(&self) -> bool {
+        matches!(self, Stage::Coding | Stage::Qa | Stage::Merge)
+    }
 }
 
 /// A typed snapshot of a single pipeline work item derived from the CRDT document.
@@ -219,6 +235,8 @@ pub struct WorkItem {
     pub(super) item_type: Option<String>,
     /// Epic ID this item belongs to, or `None` (sub-story 933).
     pub(super) epic: Option<String>,
+    /// Whether the item is frozen (story 934, stage 4).  Orthogonal to `Stage`.
+    pub(super) frozen: Option<bool>,
 }
 
 impl WorkItem {
@@ -232,11 +250,6 @@ impl WorkItem {
         Stage::from_dir(&self.stage)
     }
 
-    /// Raw stage directory string (e.g. `"2_current"`).
-    pub fn stage_str(&self) -> &str {
-        &self.stage
-    }
-
     /// Human-readable story name, or `None` when unset.
     pub fn name(&self) -> Option<&str> {
         self.name.as_deref()
@@ -303,6 +316,13 @@ impl WorkItem {
         self.epic.as_deref()
     }
 
+    /// Whether the item is frozen (story 934, stage 4).  Returns `false` when
+    /// the register is unset.  Orthogonal to [`Self::stage`]: a frozen story
+    /// stays at its current stage but is skipped by the auto-assigner.
+    pub fn frozen(&self) -> bool {
+        self.frozen.unwrap_or(false)
+    }
+
     /// Construct a `WorkItem` for use in tests outside `crdt_state::*`.
     ///
     /// Within `crdt_state` use a struct literal directly (fields are `pub(super)`).
@@ -325,6 +345,7 @@ impl WorkItem {
         review_hold: Option<bool>,
         item_type: Option<String>,
         epic: Option<String>,
+        frozen: Option<bool>,
     ) -> Self {
         Self {
             story_id: story_id.into(),
@@ -342,6 +363,7 @@ impl WorkItem {
             review_hold,
             item_type,
             epic,
+            frozen,
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/server/src/crdt_state/write/item.rs b/server/src/crdt_state/write/item.rs
index a5aa32ad..3015300f 100644
--- a/server/src/crdt_state/write/item.rs
+++ b/server/src/crdt_state/write/item.rs
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ use serde_json::json;
 use super::super::state::{apply_and_persist, emit_event, get_crdt, rebuild_index};
 use super::super::types::CrdtEvent;
 use crate::io::story_metadata::QaMode;
+use crate::pipeline_state::{Stage, stage_dir_name};
 
 /// Set the typed `depends_on` CRDT register for a pipeline item.
 ///
@@ -103,6 +104,28 @@ pub fn set_review_hold(story_id: &str, value: bool) -> bool {
     true
 }
 
+/// Set the `frozen` CRDT flag for a pipeline item (story 934, stage 4).
+///
+/// `true` freezes the story at its current `Stage` — the auto-assigner skips
+/// it but the stage register is untouched.  `false` unfreezes; the story
+/// remains at its current stage and resumes auto-assignment.  Both writes
+/// are explicit (not removals) so the cleared state survives CRDT replay.
+///
+/// Returns `true` if the item was found and the op was applied, `false` otherwise.
+pub fn set_frozen(story_id: &str, value: bool) -> bool {
+    let Some(state_mutex) = get_crdt() else {
+        return false;
+    };
+    let Ok(mut state) = state_mutex.lock() else {
+        return false;
+    };
+    let Some(&idx) = state.index.get(story_id) else {
+        return false;
+    };
+    apply_and_persist(&mut state, |s| s.crdt.doc.items[idx].frozen.set(value));
+    true
+}
+
 /// Set the `mergemaster_attempted` CRDT flag for a pipeline item.
 ///
 /// Passing `true` records that a mergemaster session has been spawned for this
@@ -211,10 +234,13 @@ pub fn set_qa_mode(story_id: &str, mode: Option<QaMode>) -> bool {
 ///
 /// When the stage changes (or a new item is created), a [`CrdtEvent`] is
 /// broadcast so subscribers can react to the transition.
+///
+/// `stage` is the typed pipeline state; it is serialised to the canonical
+/// clean wire form (story 934) via [`stage_dir_name`] at the CRDT boundary.
 #[allow(clippy::too_many_arguments)]
 pub fn write_item(
     story_id: &str,
-    stage: &str,
+    stage: &Stage,
     name: Option<&str>,
     agent: Option<&str>,
     retry_count: Option<i64>,
@@ -224,6 +250,7 @@ pub fn write_item(
     claimed_at: Option<f64>,
     merged_at: Option<f64>,
 ) {
+    let stage_str = stage_dir_name(stage);
     let Some(state_mutex) = get_crdt() else {
         return;
     };
@@ -247,7 +274,7 @@ pub fn write_item(
 
         // Update existing item registers.
         apply_and_persist(&mut state, |s| {
-            s.crdt.doc.items[idx].stage.set(stage.to_string())
+            s.crdt.doc.items[idx].stage.set(stage_str.to_string())
         });
 
         if let Some(n) = name {
@@ -286,7 +313,7 @@ pub fn write_item(
         }
 
         // Broadcast a CrdtEvent if the stage actually changed.
-        let stage_changed = old_stage.as_deref() != Some(stage);
+        let stage_changed = old_stage.as_deref() != Some(stage_str);
         if stage_changed {
             // Read the current name from the CRDT document for the event.
             let current_name = match state.crdt.doc.items[idx].name.view() {
@@ -296,7 +323,7 @@ pub fn write_item(
             emit_event(CrdtEvent {
                 story_id: story_id.to_string(),
                 from_stage: old_stage,
-                to_stage: stage.to_string(),
+                to_stage: stage_str.to_string(),
                 name: current_name,
             });
         }
@@ -304,7 +331,7 @@ pub fn write_item(
         // Insert new item.
         let item_json: JsonValue = json!({
             "story_id": story_id,
-            "stage": stage,
+            "stage": stage_str,
             "name": name.unwrap_or(""),
             "agent": agent.unwrap_or(""),
             "retry_count": retry_count.unwrap_or(0) as f64,
@@ -318,6 +345,7 @@ pub fn write_item(
             "review_hold": false,
             "item_type": "",
             "epic": "",
+            "frozen": false,
         })
         .into();
 
@@ -348,18 +376,74 @@ pub fn write_item(
             item.review_hold.advance_seq(floor);
             item.item_type.advance_seq(floor);
             item.epic.advance_seq(floor);
+            item.frozen.advance_seq(floor);
         }
 
         // Broadcast a CrdtEvent for the new item.
         emit_event(CrdtEvent {
             story_id: story_id.to_string(),
             from_stage: None,
-            to_stage: stage.to_string(),
+            to_stage: stage_str.to_string(),
             name: name.map(String::from),
         });
     }
 }
 
+/// Test-only convenience that parses a wire-form stage string and forwards
+/// to [`write_item`]. Existing tests seed CRDT items with legacy directory
+/// strings (`"2_current"`, `"4_merge"`, etc.) — this shim keeps that idiom
+/// working without forcing every test to construct typed `Stage` payloads.
+///
+/// Stages are normalised through [`Stage::from_dir`]: unknown strings cause
+/// the write to be skipped (with a log line).
+#[cfg(test)]
+#[allow(clippy::too_many_arguments)]
+pub fn write_item_str(
+    story_id: &str,
+    stage: &str,
+    name: Option<&str>,
+    agent: Option<&str>,
+    retry_count: Option<i64>,
+    blocked: Option<bool>,
+    depends_on: Option<&str>,
+    claimed_by: Option<&str>,
+    claimed_at: Option<f64>,
+    merged_at: Option<f64>,
+) {
+    // Normalise pre-934 directory-style strings to clean wire form so
+    // existing test fixtures keep working after stage 6 dropped the legacy
+    // aliases from `Stage::from_dir`.  See `db::ops::normalise_stage_str`
+    // for the user-facing equivalent on the db boundary.
+    let normalised = match stage {
+        "0_upcoming" => "upcoming",
+        "1_backlog" => "backlog",
+        "2_current" => "coding",
+        "2_blocked" => "blocked",
+        "3_qa" => "qa",
+        "4_merge" => "merge",
+        "4_merge_failure" => "merge_failure",
+        "5_done" => "done",
+        "6_archived" => "archived",
+        other => other,
+    };
+    let Some(typed) = Stage::from_dir(normalised) else {
+        crate::slog!("[crdt_state] write_item_str: unknown stage '{stage}' for {story_id}");
+        return;
+    };
+    write_item(
+        story_id,
+        &typed,
+        name,
+        agent,
+        retry_count,
+        blocked,
+        depends_on,
+        claimed_by,
+        claimed_at,
+        merged_at,
+    );
+}
+
 /// Set `retry_count` to an explicit value for a pipeline item.
 ///
 /// Pure metadata operation — the item's stage is not changed.
diff --git a/server/src/crdt_state/write/migrations.rs b/server/src/crdt_state/write/migrations.rs
index 7bcd6f14..f94777aa 100644
--- a/server/src/crdt_state/write/migrations.rs
+++ b/server/src/crdt_state/write/migrations.rs
@@ -181,3 +181,88 @@ pub fn migrate_names_from_slugs() {
     }
     slog!("[crdt] Migrated names for {count} items from story ID slugs");
 }
+
+/// Map a pre-934 legacy directory-style stage string to its clean wire form.
+///
+/// Returns `None` if `s` is already in clean wire form (or is genuinely
+/// unknown), so the migration can quickly skip already-clean items.
+fn legacy_stage_to_clean(s: &str) -> Option<&'static str> {
+    match s {
+        "0_upcoming" => Some("upcoming"),
+        "1_backlog" => Some("backlog"),
+        "2_current" => Some("coding"),
+        "2_blocked" => Some("blocked"),
+        "3_qa" => Some("qa"),
+        "4_merge" => Some("merge"),
+        "4_merge_failure" => Some("merge_failure"),
+        "5_done" => Some("done"),
+        "6_archived" => Some("archived"),
+        // Story 934, stage 4: `Stage::Frozen` no longer exists.  Items that
+        // were previously frozen become orthogonal-flag-frozen: their stage
+        // register collapses to `backlog` (a safe "not progressing" default
+        // since the original resume_to payload was lost when the variant was
+        // dropped) and a separate write sets `frozen = true`.
+        "7_frozen" => Some("backlog"),
+        _ => None,
+    }
+}
+
+/// Rewrite every pipeline item whose `stage` register still carries a pre-934
+/// directory-style string (`"2_current"`, `"4_merge"`, etc.) to the clean wire
+/// vocabulary (`"coding"`, `"merge"`, etc.).
+///
+/// Items that were at `"7_frozen"` additionally get the new `frozen` flag set
+/// — the stage variant `Frozen` was dropped in story 934 stage 4 in favour of
+/// an orthogonal CRDT register.
+///
+/// One-time startup migration: items that have transitioned at least once
+/// since story 934 stage 1 (which made writes emit clean form) are no-ops.
+pub fn migrate_legacy_stage_strings() {
+    let Some(state_mutex) = get_crdt() else {
+        return;
+    };
+
+    // First pass: collect (index, clean_stage, set_frozen) for items that
+    // still carry legacy stage strings.
+    let migrations: Vec<(usize, &'static str, bool)> = {
+        let Ok(state) = state_mutex.lock() else {
+            return;
+        };
+        state
+            .index
+            .iter()
+            .filter_map(|(_story_id, &idx)| {
+                let item = &state.crdt.doc.items[idx];
+                let current = match item.stage.view() {
+                    JsonValue::String(s) => s,
+                    _ => return None,
+                };
+                let clean = legacy_stage_to_clean(&current)?;
+                let was_frozen = current == "7_frozen";
+                Some((idx, clean, was_frozen))
+            })
+            .collect()
+    };
+
+    if migrations.is_empty() {
+        return;
+    }
+
+    let Ok(mut state) = state_mutex.lock() else {
+        return;
+    };
+    let count = migrations.len();
+    let frozen_count = migrations.iter().filter(|(_, _, f)| *f).count();
+    for (idx, clean, was_frozen) in migrations {
+        apply_and_persist(&mut state, |s| {
+            s.crdt.doc.items[idx].stage.set(clean.to_string())
+        });
+        if was_frozen {
+            apply_and_persist(&mut state, |s| s.crdt.doc.items[idx].frozen.set(true));
+        }
+    }
+    slog!(
+        "[crdt] Migrated {count} legacy stage strings to clean wire form \
+         ({frozen_count} of which were '7_frozen' → backlog + frozen=true)"
+    );
+}
diff --git a/server/src/crdt_state/write/mod.rs b/server/src/crdt_state/write/mod.rs
index 98a1122d..e45ad42a 100644
--- a/server/src/crdt_state/write/mod.rs
+++ b/server/src/crdt_state/write/mod.rs
@@ -10,7 +10,13 @@ mod migrations;
 mod tests;
 
 pub use item::{
-    bump_retry_count, set_agent, set_blocked, set_depends_on, set_epic, set_item_type,
+    bump_retry_count, set_agent, set_blocked, set_depends_on, set_epic, set_frozen, set_item_type,
     set_mergemaster_attempted, set_name, set_qa_mode, set_retry_count, set_review_hold, write_item,
 };
-pub use migrations::{migrate_names_from_slugs, migrate_story_ids_to_numeric, name_from_story_id};
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+pub use item::write_item_str;
+pub use migrations::{
+    migrate_legacy_stage_strings, migrate_names_from_slugs, migrate_story_ids_to_numeric,
+    name_from_story_id,
+};
diff --git a/server/src/crdt_state/write/tests.rs b/server/src/crdt_state/write/tests.rs
index aa8129ef..f1dfbe9d 100644
--- a/server/src/crdt_state/write/tests.rs
+++ b/server/src/crdt_state/write/tests.rs
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ fn numeric_id_from_slug_returns_none_for_non_numeric_prefix() {
 fn migrate_story_ids_to_numeric_rewrites_slug_ids() {
     init_for_test();
 
-    write_item(
+    write_item_str(
         "42_story_my_feature",
         "1_backlog",
         Some("My Feature"),
@@ -123,7 +123,7 @@ fn migrate_story_ids_to_numeric_rewrites_slug_ids() {
 fn migrate_story_ids_to_numeric_is_idempotent() {
     init_for_test();
 
-    write_item(
+    write_item_str(
         "43",
         "1_backlog",
         Some("Already Numeric"),
@@ -153,7 +153,7 @@ fn migrate_story_ids_to_numeric_skips_conflict() {
     init_for_test();
 
     // Both the slug form AND its numeric target exist.
-    write_item(
+    write_item_str(
         "44_story_foo",
         "1_backlog",
         None,
@@ -165,7 +165,7 @@ fn migrate_story_ids_to_numeric_skips_conflict() {
         None,
         None,
     );
-    write_item(
+    write_item_str(
         "44",
         "2_current",
         None,
@@ -200,7 +200,7 @@ fn migrate_story_ids_to_numeric_noop_when_crdt_not_initialised() {
 fn migrate_story_ids_to_numeric_preserves_stage_and_name() {
     init_for_test();
 
-    write_item(
+    write_item_str(
         "45_bug_crash",
         "2_current",
         Some("Crash Bug"),
@@ -216,7 +216,7 @@ fn migrate_story_ids_to_numeric_preserves_stage_and_name() {
     migrate_story_ids_to_numeric();
 
     let item = read_item("45").expect("item must be accessible by numeric ID");
-    assert_eq!(item.stage, "2_current");
+    assert_eq!(item.stage, "coding");
     assert_eq!(item.name.as_deref(), Some("Crash Bug"));
     assert_eq!(item.agent.as_deref(), Some("coder-1"));
 }
@@ -226,7 +226,7 @@ fn migrate_names_from_slugs_fills_empty_names() {
     init_for_test();
 
     // Write an item without a name.
-    write_item(
+    write_item_str(
         "42_story_my_feature",
         "1_backlog",
         None,
@@ -261,7 +261,7 @@ fn migrate_names_from_slugs_fills_empty_names() {
 fn migrate_names_from_slugs_leaves_existing_names_unchanged() {
     init_for_test();
 
-    write_item(
+    write_item_str(
         "43_story_named_item",
         "1_backlog",
         Some("Already Named"),
@@ -299,7 +299,7 @@ fn set_depends_on_round_trip_and_clear() {
     use super::super::read::{check_unmet_deps_crdt, read_item};
     init_for_test();
 
-    write_item(
+    write_item_str(
         "872_test_target",
         "1_backlog",
         Some("Target"),
@@ -355,7 +355,7 @@ fn set_depends_on_returns_false_for_unknown_story() {
 fn set_mergemaster_attempted_true_then_false_flips_register() {
     init_for_test();
 
-    write_item(
+    write_item_str(
         "873_story_mergemaster_flip",
         "4_merge",
         None,
@@ -411,7 +411,7 @@ fn set_mergemaster_attempted_returns_false_for_unknown_story() {
 fn set_agent_some_writes_name() {
     init_for_test();
 
-    write_item(
+    write_item_str(
         "871_story_set_agent_write",
         "2_current",
         Some("Set Agent Write"),
@@ -439,7 +439,7 @@ fn set_agent_some_writes_name() {
 fn set_agent_none_clears_register() {
     init_for_test();
 
-    write_item(
+    write_item_str(
         "871_story_set_agent_clear",
         "2_current",
         Some("Set Agent Clear"),
@@ -485,7 +485,7 @@ fn set_qa_mode_round_trip_server_then_human() {
     use crate::io::story_metadata::QaMode;
     init_for_test();
 
-    write_item(
+    write_item_str(
         "869_story_qa_roundtrip",
         "1_backlog",
         None,
@@ -541,7 +541,7 @@ fn set_qa_mode_returns_false_for_unknown_story() {
 #[test]
 fn bump_retry_count_increments_by_one() {
     init_for_test();
-    write_item(
+    write_item_str(
         "9001_story_bump_test",
         "2_current",
         None,
@@ -571,7 +571,7 @@ fn bump_retry_count_increments_by_one() {
 #[test]
 fn set_retry_count_resets_to_zero() {
     init_for_test();
-    write_item(
+    write_item_str(
         "9002_story_set_test",
         "2_current",
         None,
@@ -755,7 +755,7 @@ async fn tombstone_survives_concurrent_writes() {
 
     let story_id = "889_story_tombstone_concurrent";
 
-    write_item(
+    write_item_str(
         story_id,
         "2_current",
         Some("Tombstone Concurrent Test"),
@@ -777,7 +777,7 @@ async fn tombstone_survives_concurrent_writes() {
 
     let writer = tokio::task::spawn(async move {
         while !stop_clone.load(Ordering::Relaxed) {
-            write_item(
+            write_item_str(
                 story_id,
                 "2_current",
                 Some("Tombstone Concurrent Test"),
diff --git a/server/src/db/mod.rs b/server/src/db/mod.rs
index 50a15fe8..915601c3 100644
--- a/server/src/db/mod.rs
+++ b/server/src/db/mod.rs
@@ -328,7 +328,7 @@ mod tests {
         write_item_with_content(story_id, "2_current", content, meta);
 
         let view = crate::crdt_state::read_item(story_id).expect("story exists in CRDT");
-        assert_eq!(view.stage_str(), "2_current");
+        assert_eq!(view.stage().as_dir(), "coding");
         assert_eq!(view.name(), Some("Typed Name"));
         assert_eq!(view.agent(), Some("coder-1"));
         assert_eq!(view.retry_count(), 2);
@@ -353,7 +353,7 @@ mod tests {
         write_item_with_content(story_id, "2_current", content, ItemMeta::default());
 
         let view = crate::crdt_state::read_item(story_id).expect("story exists in CRDT");
-        assert_eq!(view.stage_str(), "2_current");
+        assert_eq!(view.stage().as_dir(), "coding");
         assert_eq!(
             view.name(),
             None,
@@ -406,7 +406,7 @@ mod tests {
 
         // Seed the story in 2_current with retry_count = 3 (a coder that
         // burned all its retries).
-        crate::crdt_state::write_item(
+        crate::crdt_state::write_item_str(
             story_id,
             "2_current",
             Some("Retry reset test"),
@@ -433,7 +433,7 @@ mod tests {
         let typed_after = crate::pipeline_state::read_typed(story_id)
             .expect("read should succeed")
             .expect("story exists in CRDT");
-        assert_eq!(typed_after.stage.dir_name(), "4_merge");
+        assert_eq!(typed_after.stage.dir_name(), "merge");
         assert_eq!(
             typed_after.retry_count, 0,
             "retry_count must reset to 0 on stage transition"
diff --git a/server/src/db/ops.rs b/server/src/db/ops.rs
index f1de730a..4e56c557 100644
--- a/server/src/db/ops.rs
+++ b/server/src/db/ops.rs
@@ -33,6 +33,33 @@ impl ItemMeta {
     }
 }
 
+/// Normalise a stage string at the db boundary.
+///
+/// Accepts the clean post-934 vocabulary (passthrough) and the pre-934
+/// directory-style strings (`"2_current"`, `"4_merge"`, etc.) by mapping
+/// them to the clean form before handing off to `Stage::from_dir` (which
+/// itself only accepts clean form after stage 6).  This keeps the public
+/// db API tolerant for callers that still pass legacy strings while the
+/// internal type stays strict.
+fn normalise_stage_str(stage: &str) -> &str {
+    match stage {
+        "0_upcoming" => "upcoming",
+        "1_backlog" => "backlog",
+        "2_current" => "coding",
+        "2_blocked" => "blocked",
+        "3_qa" => "qa",
+        "4_merge" => "merge",
+        "4_merge_failure" => "merge_failure",
+        "5_done" => "done",
+        "6_archived" => "archived",
+        // `7_frozen` has no direct clean equivalent (the variant was
+        // removed in story 934 stage 4).  Returning the unmapped string
+        // makes `Stage::from_dir` return None, so the write is logged and
+        // skipped — frozen items should be seeded via the `frozen` flag.
+        other => other,
+    }
+}
+
 /// Write a pipeline item from in-memory content (no filesystem access).
 ///
 /// This is the primary write path for the DB-backed pipeline.  It updates
@@ -52,16 +79,18 @@ pub fn write_item_with_content(story_id: &str, stage: &str, content: &str, meta:
     write_content(story_id, content);
 
     // Primary: CRDT ops.
-    let merged_at_ts = if crate::pipeline_state::Stage::from_dir(stage)
-        .is_some_and(|s| matches!(s, crate::pipeline_state::Stage::Done { .. }))
-    {
-        Some(chrono::Utc::now().timestamp() as f64)
-    } else {
-        None
+    let stage = normalise_stage_str(stage);
+    let Some(typed_stage) = crate::pipeline_state::Stage::from_dir(stage) else {
+        crate::slog!(
+            "[db] write_item_with_content: unknown stage '{stage}' for {story_id}; skipping CRDT write"
+        );
+        return;
     };
+    let merged_at_ts = matches!(typed_stage, crate::pipeline_state::Stage::Done { .. })
+        .then(|| chrono::Utc::now().timestamp() as f64);
     crate::crdt_state::write_item(
         story_id,
-        stage,
+        &typed_stage,
         meta.name.as_deref(),
         meta.agent.as_deref(),
         meta.retry_count,
@@ -114,16 +143,18 @@ pub fn move_item_stage(
     // CRDT typed registers — no need to re-derive it from the content body's
     // YAML front matter on every stage transition.  Pass `None` for those
     // fields so write_item leaves the existing registers untouched.
-    let merged_at_ts = if crate::pipeline_state::Stage::from_dir(new_stage)
-        .is_some_and(|s| matches!(s, crate::pipeline_state::Stage::Done { .. }))
-    {
-        Some(chrono::Utc::now().timestamp() as f64)
-    } else {
-        None
+    let new_stage = normalise_stage_str(new_stage);
+    let Some(typed_stage) = crate::pipeline_state::Stage::from_dir(new_stage) else {
+        crate::slog!(
+            "[db] move_item_stage: unknown stage '{new_stage}' for {story_id}; skipping CRDT write"
+        );
+        return;
     };
+    let merged_at_ts = matches!(typed_stage, crate::pipeline_state::Stage::Done { .. })
+        .then(|| chrono::Utc::now().timestamp() as f64);
     crate::crdt_state::write_item(
         story_id,
-        new_stage,
+        &typed_stage,
         None,
         None,
         None,
diff --git a/server/src/http/agents/tests.rs b/server/src/http/agents/tests.rs
index 6e8017c5..e1fcf885 100644
--- a/server/src/http/agents/tests.rs
+++ b/server/src/http/agents/tests.rs
@@ -275,7 +275,7 @@ async fn get_work_item_content_returns_content_from_backlog() {
     )
     .unwrap();
     // Story 929: name lives in the typed CRDT register, not in YAML on disk.
-    crate::crdt_state::write_item(
+    crate::crdt_state::write_item_str(
         "42_story_foo",
         "1_backlog",
         Some("Foo Story"),
@@ -310,7 +310,7 @@ async fn get_work_item_content_returns_content_from_current() {
         "---\nname: \"Bar Story\"\n---\n\nBar content.",
     )
     .unwrap();
-    crate::crdt_state::write_item(
+    crate::crdt_state::write_item_str(
         "43_story_bar",
         "2_current",
         Some("Bar Story"),
diff --git a/server/src/http/mcp/merge_tools.rs b/server/src/http/mcp/merge_tools.rs
index c7d18d01..4a9983c9 100644
--- a/server/src/http/mcp/merge_tools.rs
+++ b/server/src/http/mcp/merge_tools.rs
@@ -17,21 +17,18 @@ pub(super) async fn tool_merge_agent_work(
     // Check CRDT stage before attempting merge — if already done or archived,
     // return success immediately to avoid spurious error notifications.
     if let Some(item) = crate::crdt_state::read_item(story_id)
-        && crate::pipeline_state::Stage::from_dir(item.stage_str()).is_some_and(|s| {
-            matches!(
-                s,
-                crate::pipeline_state::Stage::Done { .. }
-                    | crate::pipeline_state::Stage::Archived { .. }
-            )
-        })
+        && matches!(
+            item.stage(),
+            crate::crdt_state::Stage::Done | crate::crdt_state::Stage::Archived
+        )
     {
+        let stage_name = item.stage().as_dir().to_string();
         return serde_json::to_string_pretty(&json!({
             "story_id": story_id,
             "status": "completed",
             "success": true,
             "message": format!(
-                "Story '{}' is already in '{}' — no merge needed.",
-                story_id, item.stage_str()
+                "Story '{story_id}' is already in '{stage_name}' — no merge needed.",
             ),
         }))
         .map_err(|e| format!("Serialization error: {e}"));
@@ -283,7 +280,7 @@ mod tests {
     #[tokio::test]
     async fn tool_merge_agent_work_already_done_returns_success() {
         crate::crdt_state::init_for_test();
-        crate::crdt_state::write_item(
+        crate::crdt_state::write_item_str(
             "99_story_already_done",
             "5_done",
             Some("Already done story"),
@@ -304,13 +301,13 @@ mod tests {
         let v: serde_json::Value = serde_json::from_str(&body).unwrap();
         assert_eq!(v["status"], "completed");
         assert_eq!(v["success"], true);
-        assert!(v["message"].as_str().unwrap().contains("5_done"));
+        assert!(v["message"].as_str().unwrap().contains("done"));
     }
 
     #[tokio::test]
     async fn tool_merge_agent_work_already_archived_returns_success() {
         crate::crdt_state::init_for_test();
-        crate::crdt_state::write_item(
+        crate::crdt_state::write_item_str(
             "98_story_already_archived",
             "6_archived",
             Some("Already archived story"),
@@ -331,7 +328,7 @@ mod tests {
         let v: serde_json::Value = serde_json::from_str(&body).unwrap();
         assert_eq!(v["status"], "completed");
         assert_eq!(v["success"], true);
-        assert!(v["message"].as_str().unwrap().contains("6_archived"));
+        assert!(v["message"].as_str().unwrap().contains("archived"));
     }
 
     #[tokio::test]
diff --git a/server/src/http/mcp/status_tools.rs b/server/src/http/mcp/status_tools.rs
index 07722072..694c7dc3 100644
--- a/server/src/http/mcp/status_tools.rs
+++ b/server/src/http/mcp/status_tools.rs
@@ -158,16 +158,16 @@ pub(super) async fn tool_status(args: &Value, ctx: &AppContext) -> Result<String
 
     let root = ctx.state.get_project_root()?;
 
-    // Read from CRDT/DB content store — verify the item is in 2_current.
+    // Read from CRDT/DB content store — verify the item is in coding.
     let typed_item = crate::pipeline_state::read_typed(story_id)
         .map_err(|e| format!("Failed to read pipeline state: {e}"))?
         .ok_or_else(|| format!(
-            "Story '{story_id}' not found in work/2_current/. Check the story_id and ensure it is in the current stage."
+            "Story '{story_id}' not found in coding stage. Check the story_id and ensure it is in the current stage."
         ))?;
 
-    if typed_item.stage.dir_name() != "2_current" {
+    if !matches!(typed_item.stage, crate::pipeline_state::Stage::Coding) {
         return Err(format!(
-            "Story '{story_id}' not found in work/2_current/. Check the story_id and ensure it is in the current stage."
+            "Story '{story_id}' not found in coding stage. Check the story_id and ensure it is in the current stage."
         ));
     }
 
@@ -353,7 +353,7 @@ mod tests {
         let ctx = crate::http::context::AppContext::new_test(tmp.path().to_path_buf());
         let result = tool_status(&json!({"story_id": "999_story_nonexistent"}), &ctx).await;
         assert!(result.is_err());
-        assert!(result.unwrap_err().contains("not found in work/2_current/"));
+        assert!(result.unwrap_err().contains("not found in coding stage"));
     }
 
     #[tokio::test]
diff --git a/server/src/http/mcp/story_tools/epic.rs b/server/src/http/mcp/story_tools/epic.rs
index a26af53b..fbf797df 100644
--- a/server/src/http/mcp/story_tools/epic.rs
+++ b/server/src/http/mcp/story_tools/epic.rs
@@ -126,16 +126,20 @@ pub(crate) fn tool_show_epic(args: &Value, _ctx: &AppContext) -> Result<String,
             continue;
         };
         if member_view.epic() == Some(epic_id) {
-            let stage_name = match &item.stage {
-                Stage::Upcoming | Stage::Backlog => "backlog",
-                Stage::Coding => "current",
-                Stage::Qa => "qa",
-                Stage::Merge { .. } => "merge",
-                Stage::Done { .. } => "done",
-                Stage::Archived { .. } => "archived",
-                Stage::MergeFailure { .. } => "merge_failure",
-                Stage::Frozen { .. } => "frozen",
-                Stage::Blocked { .. } => "blocked",
+            // Frozen is now an orthogonal CRDT flag (story 934, stage 4).
+            let stage_name = if member_view.frozen() {
+                "frozen"
+            } else {
+                match &item.stage {
+                    Stage::Upcoming | Stage::Backlog => "backlog",
+                    Stage::Coding => "current",
+                    Stage::Qa => "qa",
+                    Stage::Merge { .. } => "merge",
+                    Stage::Done { .. } => "done",
+                    Stage::Archived { .. } => "archived",
+                    Stage::MergeFailure { .. } => "merge_failure",
+                    Stage::Blocked { .. } => "blocked",
+                }
             };
             member_items.push(json!({
                 "story_id": sid,
diff --git a/server/src/http/mcp/story_tools/story/freeze.rs b/server/src/http/mcp/story_tools/story/freeze.rs
index 7559c34a..db295f06 100644
--- a/server/src/http/mcp/story_tools/story/freeze.rs
+++ b/server/src/http/mcp/story_tools/story/freeze.rs
@@ -75,10 +75,7 @@ mod tests {
         let item = crate::pipeline_state::read_typed(story_id)
             .expect("read_typed should succeed")
             .expect("item should be present");
-        assert!(
-            item.stage.is_frozen(),
-            "stage should be frozen after MCP freeze"
-        );
+        assert!(item.is_frozen(), "stage should be frozen after MCP freeze");
     }
 
     #[test]
@@ -109,7 +106,7 @@ mod tests {
             .expect("read_typed should succeed")
             .expect("item should be present");
         assert!(
-            !item.stage.is_frozen(),
+            !item.is_frozen(),
             "stage should not be frozen after MCP unfreeze"
         );
     }
diff --git a/server/src/http/mcp/story_tools/story/update.rs b/server/src/http/mcp/story_tools/story/update.rs
index 90e5e3d3..8f3a447c 100644
--- a/server/src/http/mcp/story_tools/story/update.rs
+++ b/server/src/http/mcp/story_tools/story/update.rs
@@ -71,12 +71,23 @@ pub(crate) fn tool_update_story(args: &Value, ctx: &AppContext) -> Result<String
                     }
                 }
                 "blocked" => {
-                    if let Some(b) = value.as_bool() {
-                        crate::crdt_state::set_blocked(story_id, b);
-                    } else if value.as_str() == Some("true") {
-                        crate::crdt_state::set_blocked(story_id, true);
-                    } else if value.as_str() == Some("false") {
-                        crate::crdt_state::set_blocked(story_id, false);
+                    // Story 934, stage 5: blocked is now a stage transition,
+                    // not a raw register write. Route through the state
+                    // machine so invalid sources (Done/Archived/Upcoming) are
+                    // rejected and downstream subscribers see a TransitionFired.
+                    let want_blocked = match value {
+                        Value::Bool(b) => Some(*b),
+                        Value::String(s) if s == "true" => Some(true),
+                        Value::String(s) if s == "false" => Some(false),
+                        _ => None,
+                    };
+                    if let Some(true) = want_blocked {
+                        crate::agents::lifecycle::transition_to_blocked(
+                            story_id,
+                            "Set via update_story",
+                        )?;
+                    } else if let Some(false) = want_blocked {
+                        crate::agents::lifecycle::transition_to_unblocked(story_id)?;
                     }
                 }
                 "review_hold" => {
@@ -88,6 +99,24 @@ pub(crate) fn tool_update_story(args: &Value, ctx: &AppContext) -> Result<String
                         crate::crdt_state::set_review_hold(story_id, false);
                     }
                 }
+                "frozen" => {
+                    // Story 934, stage 4: frozen is an orthogonal CRDT flag.
+                    // Route through the state-machine API so callers see the
+                    // canonical NotFound behaviour if the story is missing.
+                    let want_frozen = match value {
+                        Value::Bool(b) => Some(*b),
+                        Value::String(s) if s == "true" => Some(true),
+                        Value::String(s) if s == "false" => Some(false),
+                        _ => None,
+                    };
+                    match want_frozen {
+                        Some(true) => crate::pipeline_state::transition_to_frozen(story_id)
+                            .map_err(|e| e.to_string())?,
+                        Some(false) => crate::pipeline_state::transition_to_unfrozen(story_id)
+                            .map_err(|e| e.to_string())?,
+                        None => {}
+                    }
+                }
                 "retry_count" => {
                     let n = value
                         .as_i64()
@@ -105,7 +134,8 @@ pub(crate) fn tool_update_story(args: &Value, ctx: &AppContext) -> Result<String
                     return Err(format!(
                         "Unknown front_matter field '{other}'. Story 929 removed the generic \
                          YAML pass-through; supported keys: name, agent, qa, epic, type, \
-                         depends_on, blocked, review_hold, retry_count, mergemaster_attempted."
+                         depends_on, blocked, frozen, review_hold, retry_count, \
+                         mergemaster_attempted."
                     ));
                 }
             }
diff --git a/server/src/http/workflow/pipeline.rs b/server/src/http/workflow/pipeline.rs
index aaa94e82..152152ab 100644
--- a/server/src/http/workflow/pipeline.rs
+++ b/server/src/http/workflow/pipeline.rs
@@ -137,6 +137,12 @@ pub fn load_pipeline_state(ctx: &AppContext) -> Result<PipelineState, String> {
             },
             epic_id,
         };
+        // Frozen items (CRDT flag) are routed to the backlog bucket regardless
+        // of their underlying stage — they're paused, not progressing.
+        if item.is_frozen() {
+            state.backlog.push(story);
+            continue;
+        }
         match &item.stage {
             Stage::Upcoming => state.backlog.push(story), // upcoming shown with backlog
             Stage::Backlog => state.backlog.push(story),
@@ -147,7 +153,6 @@ pub fn load_pipeline_state(ctx: &AppContext) -> Result<PipelineState, String> {
             Stage::MergeFailure { .. } => state.merge.push(story), // show merge failures with merge
             Stage::Done { .. } => state.done.push(story),
             Stage::Archived { .. } => {} // skip archived
-            Stage::Frozen { .. } => state.backlog.push(story), // show frozen with backlog
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/server/src/io/story_metadata/parser.rs b/server/src/io/story_metadata/parser.rs
index 204fdca9..21b32ddb 100644
--- a/server/src/io/story_metadata/parser.rs
+++ b/server/src/io/story_metadata/parser.rs
@@ -29,15 +29,14 @@ pub fn resolve_qa_mode(story_id: &str, default: QaMode) -> QaMode {
         .unwrap_or(default)
 }
 
-/// Return `true` if the story is in the `Frozen` pipeline stage.
+/// Return `true` if the story's `frozen` CRDT flag is set (story 934, stage 4).
 ///
-/// Checks the typed CRDT stage via `read_typed`. Used by the pipeline advance
-/// code to suppress stage transitions for frozen stories.
+/// Used by the pipeline advance code to suppress stage transitions for frozen
+/// stories.  `frozen` is orthogonal to [`Stage`]: a frozen story still has its
+/// stage register intact but is paused until unfrozen.
 pub fn is_story_frozen_in_store(story_id: &str) -> bool {
-    crate::pipeline_state::read_typed(story_id)
-        .ok()
-        .flatten()
-        .map(|item| item.stage.is_frozen())
+    crate::crdt_state::read_item(story_id)
+        .map(|view| view.frozen())
         .unwrap_or(false)
 }
 
diff --git a/server/src/io/watcher/mod.rs b/server/src/io/watcher/mod.rs
index c4da8209..96bbcd2d 100644
--- a/server/src/io/watcher/mod.rs
+++ b/server/src/io/watcher/mod.rs
@@ -60,7 +60,6 @@ pub fn stage_metadata(stage: &str, item_id: &str) -> Option<(&'static str, Strin
         }
         Stage::Done { .. } => ("done", format!("huskies: done {item_id}")),
         Stage::Archived { .. } => ("accept", format!("huskies: accept {item_id}")),
-        Stage::Frozen { .. } => ("freeze", format!("huskies: freeze {item_id}")),
     };
     Some((action, msg))
 }
diff --git a/server/src/io/watcher/sweep.rs b/server/src/io/watcher/sweep.rs
index e3136510..b8a7f0bd 100644
--- a/server/src/io/watcher/sweep.rs
+++ b/server/src/io/watcher/sweep.rs
@@ -1,18 +1,21 @@
-//! Periodic sweep of completed work items from `5_done` to `6_archived`.
+//! Periodic sweep of completed work items from `done` to `archived`.
 //!
-//! Items that have been in `5_done` for longer than the configured retention
-//! period are automatically promoted to `6_archived` via CRDT state transitions.
+//! Items in `Stage::Done` whose `merged_at` timestamp exceeds the configured
+//! retention duration are promoted to `Stage::Archived` via the canonical
+//! pipeline state machine (story 934, stage 5).
 
 use crate::slog;
 use std::time::Duration;
 
-/// Sweep items in `5_done` whose `merged_at` timestamp exceeds the retention
-/// duration to `6_archived` via CRDT state transitions.
+/// Sweep items in `Stage::Done` whose `merged_at` timestamp exceeds the
+/// retention duration to `Stage::Archived` via the typed transition table.
 ///
-/// All state is read from and written to CRDT — no filesystem access.
-/// Worktree pruning is handled separately by the CRDT event subscriber.
+/// Routes through [`crate::pipeline_state::apply_transition`] so the
+/// `Done + Accepted → Archived` transition is validated and a
+/// `TransitionFired` event is emitted to subscribers (worktree pruning,
+/// matrix notifier, etc.).
 pub(crate) fn sweep_done_to_archived(done_retention: Duration) {
-    use crate::pipeline_state::{PipelineEvent, Stage, read_all_typed, stage_dir_name, transition};
+    use crate::pipeline_state::{PipelineEvent, Stage, apply_transition, read_all_typed};
 
     for item in read_all_typed() {
         if let Stage::Done { merged_at, .. } = &item.stage {
@@ -22,24 +25,10 @@ pub(crate) fn sweep_done_to_archived(done_retention: Duration) {
                 .unwrap_or_default();
             if age >= done_retention {
                 let story_id = item.story_id.0.clone();
-                match transition(item.stage.clone(), PipelineEvent::Accepted) {
-                    Ok(new_stage) => {
-                        crate::crdt_state::write_item(
-                            &story_id,
-                            stage_dir_name(&new_stage),
-                            None,
-                            None,
-                            None,
-                            Some(false),
-                            None,
-                            None,
-                            None,
-                            None,
-                        );
-                        slog!("[watcher] sweep: promoted {story_id} → 6_archived/");
-                    }
+                match apply_transition(&story_id, PipelineEvent::Accepted, None) {
+                    Ok(_) => slog!("[watcher] sweep: promoted {story_id} → archived"),
                     Err(e) => {
-                        slog!("[watcher] sweep: transition error for {story_id}: {e}");
+                        slog!("[watcher] sweep: transition error for {story_id}: {e}")
                     }
                 }
             }
diff --git a/server/src/io/watcher/tests.rs b/server/src/io/watcher/tests.rs
index 518d19d8..644674ca 100644
--- a/server/src/io/watcher/tests.rs
+++ b/server/src/io/watcher/tests.rs
@@ -51,15 +51,15 @@ fn is_config_file_rejects_wrong_root() {
 
 #[test]
 fn stage_metadata_returns_correct_actions() {
-    let (action, msg) = stage_metadata("2_current", "42_story_foo").unwrap();
+    let (action, msg) = stage_metadata("coding", "42_story_foo").unwrap();
     assert_eq!(action, "start");
     assert_eq!(msg, "huskies: start 42_story_foo");
 
-    let (action, msg) = stage_metadata("5_done", "42_story_foo").unwrap();
+    let (action, msg) = stage_metadata("done", "42_story_foo").unwrap();
     assert_eq!(action, "done");
     assert_eq!(msg, "huskies: done 42_story_foo");
 
-    let (action, msg) = stage_metadata("6_archived", "42_story_foo").unwrap();
+    let (action, msg) = stage_metadata("archived", "42_story_foo").unwrap();
     assert_eq!(action, "accept");
     assert_eq!(msg, "huskies: accept 42_story_foo");
 
@@ -157,7 +157,7 @@ fn sweep_uses_crdt_merged_at_not_utc_now() {
     let ten_seconds_ago = (chrono::Utc::now() - chrono::Duration::seconds(10)).timestamp() as f64;
 
     // Write item in 5_done with an explicit past merged_at timestamp.
-    crate::crdt_state::write_item(
+    crate::crdt_state::write_item_str(
         "9883_story_sweep_merged_at",
         "5_done",
         Some("merged_at test"),
@@ -190,7 +190,7 @@ fn sweep_keeps_item_newer_than_retention() {
 
     let one_second_ago = (chrono::Utc::now() - chrono::Duration::seconds(1)).timestamp() as f64;
 
-    crate::crdt_state::write_item(
+    crate::crdt_state::write_item_str(
         "9884_story_sweep_recent",
         "5_done",
         Some("recent merged_at test"),
diff --git a/server/src/pipeline_state/apply.rs b/server/src/pipeline_state/apply.rs
index 429d4d5a..4ebbbe48 100644
--- a/server/src/pipeline_state/apply.rs
+++ b/server/src/pipeline_state/apply.rs
@@ -98,20 +98,33 @@ pub fn apply_transition_str(
     apply_transition(story_id, event, content_transform).map_err(|e| e.to_string())
 }
 
-/// Freeze a story at its current stage.
+/// Freeze a story.
 ///
-/// Story 929: the YAML write of `resume_to_stage` is gone; the projection
-/// layer no longer reads it (defaults to Coding). Story 934 will make
-/// frozen a flag orthogonal to Stage, so the story stays in its current
-/// Stage rather than encoding a "where to resume" payload — at which point
-/// the read-side default also becomes moot.
-pub fn transition_to_frozen(story_id: &str) -> Result<TransitionFired, ApplyError> {
-    apply_transition(story_id, PipelineEvent::Freeze, None)
+/// Story 934, stage 4: `frozen` is now a CRDT flag orthogonal to [`Stage`],
+/// so the story stays at its current stage and only the boolean register
+/// changes.  Returns `Err(NotFound)` if no item exists for `story_id`.
+pub fn transition_to_frozen(story_id: &str) -> Result<(), ApplyError> {
+    if read_typed(story_id)?.is_none() {
+        return Err(ApplyError::NotFound(story_id.to_string()));
+    }
+    crate::crdt_state::set_frozen(story_id, true);
+    crate::slog!("[pipeline/transition] #{}: Freeze (flag set)", story_id);
+    Ok(())
 }
 
 /// Unfreeze a story.
 ///
-/// Story 929: paired with `transition_to_frozen`, no longer touches YAML.
-pub fn transition_to_unfrozen(story_id: &str) -> Result<TransitionFired, ApplyError> {
-    apply_transition(story_id, PipelineEvent::Unfreeze, None)
+/// Story 934, stage 4: paired with [`transition_to_frozen`]; clears the
+/// CRDT `frozen` flag without touching the stage register.  Returns
+/// `Err(NotFound)` if no item exists for `story_id`.
+pub fn transition_to_unfrozen(story_id: &str) -> Result<(), ApplyError> {
+    if read_typed(story_id)?.is_none() {
+        return Err(ApplyError::NotFound(story_id.to_string()));
+    }
+    crate::crdt_state::set_frozen(story_id, false);
+    crate::slog!(
+        "[pipeline/transition] #{}: Unfreeze (flag cleared)",
+        story_id
+    );
+    Ok(())
 }
diff --git a/server/src/pipeline_state/mod.rs b/server/src/pipeline_state/mod.rs
index 22313a09..5854fa93 100644
--- a/server/src/pipeline_state/mod.rs
+++ b/server/src/pipeline_state/mod.rs
@@ -19,8 +19,11 @@
 //! - [`projection`] — CRDT → typed projection layer (`read_typed`, `read_all_typed`)
 //! - [`subscribers`] — concrete subscriber stubs
 
-// Some items are exercised by tests or used only in non-active code paths;
-// the dead_code lint is suppressed for the module.
+// Scaffolding types (AgentName, NodePubkey, ExecutionState, ExecutionEvent,
+// execution_transition, apply_transition_str, to_crdt_fields, is_upcoming,
+// MissingField/InvalidField) exist for stages 2–5 of story 934 and the
+// per-node execution-state work; they are only exercised by tests today.
+// Revisit and drop the allow once those stages land.
 #![allow(dead_code)]
 
 mod apply;
diff --git a/server/src/pipeline_state/projection.rs b/server/src/pipeline_state/projection.rs
index e69cdf34..207e7473 100644
--- a/server/src/pipeline_state/projection.rs
+++ b/server/src/pipeline_state/projection.rs
@@ -1,15 +1,12 @@
 //! Projection layer — converts loose CRDT views into typed `PipelineItem` enums.
 
-#![allow(unused_imports, dead_code)]
 use chrono::{DateTime, Utc};
 use std::fmt;
 use std::num::NonZeroU32;
 
-use crate::crdt_state::{PipelineItemView, read_all_items, read_item};
+use crate::crdt_state::PipelineItemView;
 
-use super::{
-    ArchiveReason, BranchName, ExecutionState, GitSha, PipelineItem, Stage, StoryId, stage_dir_name,
-};
+use super::{ArchiveReason, BranchName, GitSha, PipelineItem, Stage, StoryId, stage_dir_name};
 
 /// Errors from projecting loose CRDT data into typed enums.
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, PartialEq, Eq)]
@@ -61,27 +58,33 @@ impl TryFrom<&PipelineItemView> for PipelineItem {
             stage,
             depends_on,
             retry_count,
+            frozen: view.frozen(),
         })
     }
 }
 
-/// Project the stage string + associated fields from a WorkItem into
-/// a typed Stage enum. This is the one carefully-controlled boundary where
-/// loose CRDT data becomes typed.
+/// Project the typed low-level [`crdt_state::Stage`] plus the view's
+/// associated fields into a rich [`Stage`] with payload defaults.
+///
+/// This is the one carefully-controlled boundary where the CRDT's
+/// stringly-typed stage register gains payload fields (merge metadata,
+/// archive reason, etc.) synthesised from sibling registers and sane
+/// defaults. Unknown stage strings (forward-compat aliases) surface as
+/// [`ProjectionError::UnknownStage`].
 pub fn project_stage(view: &PipelineItemView) -> Result<Stage, ProjectionError> {
-    match view.stage_str() {
-        "0_upcoming" => Ok(Stage::Upcoming),
-        "1_backlog" => Ok(Stage::Backlog),
-        "2_blocked" => Ok(Stage::Blocked {
+    use crate::crdt_state::Stage as LowStage;
+    match view.stage() {
+        LowStage::Upcoming => Ok(Stage::Upcoming),
+        LowStage::Backlog => Ok(Stage::Backlog),
+        LowStage::Blocked => Ok(Stage::Blocked {
             reason: String::new(),
         }),
-        "2_current" => Ok(Stage::Coding),
-        "3_qa" => Ok(Stage::Qa),
-        "4_merge" => {
+        LowStage::Coding => Ok(Stage::Coding),
+        LowStage::Qa => Ok(Stage::Qa),
+        LowStage::Merge => {
             // Merge stage in the current CRDT doesn't carry feature_branch or
             // commits_ahead — those are computed at transition time. For
             // projection from existing CRDT data, we synthesize defaults.
-            // The feature branch follows the naming convention.
             let branch = format!("feature/story-{}", view.story_id());
             // Existing CRDT data doesn't track commits_ahead, so we use 1 as
             // a safe non-zero default (the item is in merge, so there must be
@@ -91,19 +94,19 @@ pub fn project_stage(view: &PipelineItemView) -> Result<Stage, ProjectionError>
                 commits_ahead: NonZeroU32::new(1).expect("1 is non-zero"),
             })
         }
-        "4_merge_failure" => {
-            // The reason is persisted in front-matter (merge_failure: "...") but
-            // is not part of the raw CRDT view; the projection uses an empty
-            // string here.  Consumers that need the reason should read content.
+        LowStage::MergeFailure => {
+            // The reason is persisted in the content body but is not part of
+            // the raw CRDT view; the projection uses an empty string here.
+            // Consumers that need the reason should read content directly.
             Ok(Stage::MergeFailure {
                 reason: String::new(),
             })
         }
-        "5_done" => {
+        LowStage::Done => {
             // Use the stored merged_at timestamp if present.  Legacy items
             // that pre-date this field have merged_at = None, so we fall back
             // to UNIX_EPOCH, which makes them older than any retention window
-            // and therefore eligible for immediate sweep to 6_archived.
+            // and therefore eligible for immediate sweep to archived.
             let merged_at = view
                 .merged_at()
                 .map(|ts| {
@@ -115,14 +118,12 @@ pub fn project_stage(view: &PipelineItemView) -> Result<Stage, ProjectionError>
                 merge_commit: GitSha("legacy".to_string()),
             })
         }
-        "6_archived" => {
-            // Determine the archive reason from the CRDT fields.
+        LowStage::Archived => {
             let reason = if view.blocked() {
                 ArchiveReason::Blocked {
                     reason: "migrated from legacy blocked field".to_string(),
                 }
             } else {
-                // Default to Completed for legacy archived items.
                 ArchiveReason::Completed
             };
             Ok(Stage::Archived {
@@ -130,16 +131,7 @@ pub fn project_stage(view: &PipelineItemView) -> Result<Stage, ProjectionError>
                 reason,
             })
         }
-        "7_frozen" => {
-            // Story 929: resume_to was previously read from YAML front matter;
-            // we default to Coding here. Story 934 will obviate this — frozen
-            // becomes a flag orthogonal to Stage, so the story stays in its
-            // current Stage rather than encoding a "where to go next" payload.
-            Ok(Stage::Frozen {
-                resume_to: Box::new(Stage::Coding),
-            })
-        }
-        other => Err(ProjectionError::UnknownStage(other.to_string())),
+        LowStage::Unknown(s) => Err(ProjectionError::UnknownStage(s)),
     }
 }
 
@@ -158,7 +150,6 @@ impl PipelineItem {
                     ..
                 }
         );
-        // Frozen stories map to "7_frozen"; they are not "blocked" in the CRDT sense.
         (dir, blocked)
     }
 }
@@ -199,7 +190,6 @@ pub fn read_typed(story_id: &str) -> Result<Option<PipelineItem>, ProjectionErro
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
     use super::*;
-    use chrono::TimeZone;
     use std::num::NonZeroU32;
 
     fn nz(n: u32) -> NonZeroU32 {
@@ -232,12 +222,13 @@ mod tests {
             None,
             None,
             None,
+            None,
         )
     }
 
     #[test]
     fn project_upcoming_item() {
-        let view = make_view("42_story_test", "0_upcoming", Some("Test Story"));
+        let view = make_view("42_story_test", "upcoming", Some("Test Story"));
         let item = PipelineItem::try_from(&view).unwrap();
         assert!(matches!(item.stage, Stage::Upcoming));
     }
@@ -246,7 +237,7 @@ mod tests {
     fn project_backlog_item() {
         let view = PipelineItemView::for_test(
             "42_story_test",
-            "1_backlog",
+            "backlog",
             Some("Test Story".to_string()),
             None,
             None,
@@ -260,6 +251,7 @@ mod tests {
             None,
             None,
             None,
+            None,
         );
         let item = PipelineItem::try_from(&view).unwrap();
         assert_eq!(item.story_id, StoryId("42_story_test".to_string()));
@@ -273,7 +265,7 @@ mod tests {
     fn project_current_item() {
         let view = PipelineItemView::for_test(
             "42_story_test",
-            "2_current",
+            "coding",
             Some("Test".to_string()),
             Some("coder-1".to_string()),
             Some(2),
@@ -287,6 +279,7 @@ mod tests {
             None,
             None,
             None,
+            None,
         );
         let item = PipelineItem::try_from(&view).unwrap();
         assert!(matches!(item.stage, Stage::Coding));
@@ -295,7 +288,7 @@ mod tests {
 
     #[test]
     fn project_merge_item() {
-        let view = make_view("42_story_test", "4_merge", Some("Test"));
+        let view = make_view("42_story_test", "merge", Some("Test"));
         let item = PipelineItem::try_from(&view).unwrap();
         assert!(matches!(item.stage, Stage::Merge { .. }));
         if let Stage::Merge {
@@ -310,7 +303,7 @@ mod tests {
 
     #[test]
     fn project_blocked_item() {
-        let view = make_view("42_story_test", "2_blocked", Some("Test"));
+        let view = make_view("42_story_test", "blocked", Some("Test"));
         let item = PipelineItem::try_from(&view).unwrap();
         assert!(matches!(item.stage, Stage::Blocked { .. }));
     }
@@ -319,7 +312,7 @@ mod tests {
     fn project_archived_blocked_item() {
         let view = PipelineItemView::for_test(
             "42_story_test",
-            "6_archived",
+            "archived",
             Some("Test".to_string()),
             None,
             None,
@@ -333,6 +326,7 @@ mod tests {
             None,
             None,
             None,
+            None,
         );
         let item = PipelineItem::try_from(&view).unwrap();
         assert!(matches!(
@@ -348,7 +342,7 @@ mod tests {
     fn project_archived_completed_item() {
         let view = PipelineItemView::for_test(
             "42_story_test",
-            "6_archived",
+            "archived",
             Some("Test".to_string()),
             None,
             None,
@@ -362,6 +356,7 @@ mod tests {
             None,
             None,
             None,
+            None,
         );
         let item = PipelineItem::try_from(&view).unwrap();
         assert!(matches!(
@@ -388,23 +383,23 @@ mod tests {
     #[test]
     fn reverse_projection_stage_dirs() {
         let cases: Vec<(Stage, &str, bool)> = vec![
-            (Stage::Upcoming, "0_upcoming", false),
-            (Stage::Backlog, "1_backlog", false),
-            (Stage::Coding, "2_current", false),
+            (Stage::Upcoming, "upcoming", false),
+            (Stage::Backlog, "backlog", false),
+            (Stage::Coding, "coding", false),
             (
                 Stage::Blocked {
                     reason: "stuck".into(),
                 },
-                "2_blocked",
+                "blocked",
                 true,
             ),
-            (Stage::Qa, "3_qa", false),
+            (Stage::Qa, "qa", false),
             (
                 Stage::Merge {
                     feature_branch: fb("f"),
                     commits_ahead: nz(1),
                 },
-                "4_merge",
+                "merge",
                 false,
             ),
             (
@@ -412,7 +407,7 @@ mod tests {
                     merged_at: Utc::now(),
                     merge_commit: sha("abc"),
                 },
-                "5_done",
+                "done",
                 false,
             ),
             (
@@ -420,7 +415,7 @@ mod tests {
                     archived_at: Utc::now(),
                     reason: ArchiveReason::Completed,
                 },
-                "6_archived",
+                "archived",
                 false,
             ),
             (
@@ -430,7 +425,7 @@ mod tests {
                         reason: "stuck".into(),
                     },
                 },
-                "6_archived",
+                "archived",
                 true,
             ),
         ];
@@ -442,6 +437,7 @@ mod tests {
                 stage,
                 depends_on: vec![],
                 retry_count: 0,
+                frozen: false,
             };
             let (dir, blocked) = item.to_crdt_fields();
             assert_eq!(dir, expected_dir);
diff --git a/server/src/pipeline_state/tests.rs b/server/src/pipeline_state/tests.rs
index 8ef27a8f..add9fe1e 100644
--- a/server/src/pipeline_state/tests.rs
+++ b/server/src/pipeline_state/tests.rs
@@ -571,129 +571,51 @@ fn cannot_reject_from_archived() {
     ));
 }
 
-// ── Freeze / Unfreeze ───────────────────────────────────────────────
+// ── Freeze / Unfreeze (story 934, stage 4: orthogonal flag) ────────────────
 
+/// Freeze sets the `frozen` flag without changing the stage register.
+/// Unfreeze clears the flag — the stage was never touched so there's nothing
+/// to "restore". Tests the freeze/unfreeze API on the apply layer, since
+/// freeze/unfreeze are no longer pure stage transitions.
 #[test]
-fn freeze_from_active_stages() {
-    for s in [Stage::Upcoming, Stage::Backlog, Stage::Coding, Stage::Qa] {
-        let result = transition(s.clone(), PipelineEvent::Freeze).unwrap();
-        assert!(
-            matches!(result, Stage::Frozen { .. }),
-            "expected Frozen from {s:?}"
-        );
-        if let Stage::Frozen { resume_to } = result {
-            assert_eq!(*resume_to, s);
-        }
-    }
-}
-
-#[test]
-fn freeze_from_merge() {
-    let m = Stage::Merge {
-        feature_branch: fb("f"),
-        commits_ahead: nz(1),
-    };
-    let result = transition(m.clone(), PipelineEvent::Freeze).unwrap();
-    assert!(matches!(result, Stage::Frozen { .. }));
-    if let Stage::Frozen { resume_to } = result {
-        assert_eq!(*resume_to, m);
-    }
-}
-
-#[test]
-fn unfreeze_restores_prior_stage() {
-    let prior = Stage::Coding;
-    let frozen = Stage::Frozen {
-        resume_to: Box::new(prior.clone()),
-    };
-    let result = transition(frozen, PipelineEvent::Unfreeze).unwrap();
-    assert_eq!(result, prior);
-}
-
-#[test]
-fn cannot_freeze_done() {
-    let s = Stage::Done {
-        merged_at: chrono::Utc::now(),
-        merge_commit: sha("abc"),
-    };
-    let result = transition(s, PipelineEvent::Freeze);
-    assert!(matches!(
-        result,
-        Err(TransitionError::InvalidTransition { .. })
-    ));
-}
-
-#[test]
-fn cannot_freeze_archived() {
-    let s = Stage::Archived {
-        archived_at: chrono::Utc::now(),
-        reason: ArchiveReason::Completed,
-    };
-    let result = transition(s, PipelineEvent::Freeze);
-    assert!(matches!(
-        result,
-        Err(TransitionError::InvalidTransition { .. })
-    ));
-}
-
-#[test]
-fn cannot_unfreeze_coding() {
-    let result = transition(Stage::Coding, PipelineEvent::Unfreeze);
-    assert!(matches!(
-        result,
-        Err(TransitionError::InvalidTransition { .. })
-    ));
-}
-
-/// Regression test: freeze → unfreeze round-trip via `apply_transition`.
-/// Verifies that the CRDT shows the correct prior stage restored.
-#[test]
-fn regression_freeze_unfreeze_restores_crdt_stage() {
+fn freeze_sets_flag_without_changing_stage() {
     crate::crdt_state::init_for_test();
     crate::db::ensure_content_store();
 
     let story_id = "9950_story_freeze_regression";
-    let content = "---\nname: Freeze Regression\n---\n# Story\n";
     crate::db::write_item_with_content(
         story_id,
         "2_current",
-        content,
+        "---\nname: Freeze Regression\n---\n# Story\n",
         crate::db::ItemMeta::named("Freeze Regression"),
     );
 
-    // Confirm starting stage.
     let item = read_typed(story_id).unwrap().unwrap();
-    assert!(
-        matches!(item.stage, Stage::Coding),
-        "should start at Coding"
-    );
+    assert!(matches!(item.stage, Stage::Coding));
+    assert!(!item.is_frozen());
 
-    // Freeze.
     super::apply::transition_to_frozen(story_id).expect("freeze should succeed");
 
     let item = read_typed(story_id).unwrap().unwrap();
     assert!(
-        matches!(item.stage, Stage::Frozen { .. }),
-        "should be Frozen after freeze: {:?}",
+        matches!(item.stage, Stage::Coding),
+        "stage register stays at Coding after freeze: {:?}",
         item.stage
     );
-    if let Stage::Frozen { ref resume_to } = item.stage {
-        assert!(
-            matches!(**resume_to, Stage::Coding),
-            "resume_to should be Coding: {:?}",
-            resume_to
-        );
-    }
+    assert!(item.is_frozen(), "frozen flag should be set after freeze");
 
-    // Unfreeze.
     super::apply::transition_to_unfrozen(story_id).expect("unfreeze should succeed");
 
     let item = read_typed(story_id).unwrap().unwrap();
     assert!(
         matches!(item.stage, Stage::Coding),
-        "should be restored to Coding after unfreeze: {:?}",
+        "stage register still at Coding after unfreeze: {:?}",
         item.stage
     );
+    assert!(
+        !item.is_frozen(),
+        "frozen flag should be cleared after unfreeze"
+    );
 }
 
 // ── Story 868: MergeFailure regression ─────────────────────────────
@@ -745,7 +667,7 @@ fn merge_failure_transition_emits_event_with_full_reason() {
         .expect("item should exist");
     assert_eq!(
         item.stage.dir_name(),
-        "4_merge_failure",
+        "merge_failure",
         "CRDT stage should be 4_merge_failure"
     );
 }
@@ -781,7 +703,7 @@ fn repeated_merge_failure_apply_transition_no_error_no_duplicate_notification()
     let story_id = "99913_story_merge_failure_selfloop";
     crate::db::write_item_with_content(
         story_id,
-        "4_merge_failure",
+        "merge_failure",
         "---\nname: MergeFailure Self-loop Test\n---\n# Story\n",
         crate::db::ItemMeta::named("MergeFailure Self-loop Test"),
     );
@@ -809,14 +731,14 @@ fn repeated_merge_failure_apply_transition_no_error_no_duplicate_notification()
         fired.after
     );
 
-    // Verify the CRDT stage is still 4_merge_failure.
+    // Verify the CRDT stage is still merge_failure.
     let item = read_typed(story_id)
         .expect("CRDT read should succeed")
         .expect("item should still exist");
     assert_eq!(
         item.stage.dir_name(),
-        "4_merge_failure",
-        "CRDT stage should remain 4_merge_failure after self-loop"
+        "merge_failure",
+        "CRDT stage should remain merge_failure after self-loop"
     );
 
     // Simulate the caller's de-dup logic: since fired.before is already MergeFailure,
@@ -854,7 +776,7 @@ fn merge_failure_accept_moves_to_done_via_crdt() {
     let story_id = "99892_story_merge_failure_accept";
     crate::db::write_item_with_content(
         story_id,
-        "4_merge_failure",
+        "merge_failure",
         "---\nname: MergeFailure Accept Test\n---\n# Story\n",
         crate::db::ItemMeta::named("MergeFailure Accept Test"),
     );
@@ -883,14 +805,14 @@ fn merge_failure_accept_moves_to_done_via_crdt() {
         fired.event
     );
 
-    // CRDT reflects 5_done.
+    // CRDT reflects done.
     let item = read_typed(story_id)
         .expect("CRDT read should succeed")
         .expect("item should exist");
     assert_eq!(
         item.stage.dir_name(),
-        "5_done",
-        "CRDT stage should be 5_done after MergeFailure + Accepted"
+        "done",
+        "CRDT stage should be done after MergeFailure + Accepted"
     );
 }
 
diff --git a/server/src/pipeline_state/transition.rs b/server/src/pipeline_state/transition.rs
index 79095fcf..34cb340b 100644
--- a/server/src/pipeline_state/transition.rs
+++ b/server/src/pipeline_state/transition.rs
@@ -59,10 +59,6 @@ pub enum PipelineEvent {
     Close,
     /// Manual demotion back to backlog from an active stage.
     Demote,
-    /// Freeze the story at its current stage (suspends pipeline and auto-assign).
-    Freeze,
-    /// Unfreeze the story, restoring it to the stage it was at when frozen.
-    Unfreeze,
 }
 
 // ── Per-node execution events ───────────────────────────────────────────────
@@ -102,8 +98,6 @@ pub fn event_label(e: &PipelineEvent) -> &'static str {
         PipelineEvent::Triage => "Triage",
         PipelineEvent::Close => "Close",
         PipelineEvent::Demote => "Demote",
-        PipelineEvent::Freeze => "Freeze",
-        PipelineEvent::Unfreeze => "Unfreeze",
     }
 }
 
@@ -267,17 +261,6 @@ pub fn transition(state: Stage, event: PipelineEvent) -> Result<Stage, Transitio
             Unblock,
         ) => Ok(Backlog),
 
-        // ── Freeze: any active stage → Frozen(resume_to=current) ────────
-        (stage @ (Upcoming | Backlog | Coding | Qa), Freeze) => Ok(Frozen {
-            resume_to: Box::new(stage),
-        }),
-        (stage @ Merge { .. }, Freeze) => Ok(Frozen {
-            resume_to: Box::new(stage),
-        }),
-
-        // ── Unfreeze: Frozen → resume_to ─────────────────────────────────
-        (Frozen { resume_to }, Unfreeze) => Ok(*resume_to),
-
         // ── Everything else is invalid ──────────────────────────────────
         _ => Err(invalid()),
     }
diff --git a/server/src/pipeline_state/types.rs b/server/src/pipeline_state/types.rs
index c93c04c2..ee838f4d 100644
--- a/server/src/pipeline_state/types.rs
+++ b/server/src/pipeline_state/types.rs
@@ -110,10 +110,6 @@ pub enum Stage {
     /// awaiting human intervention or retry.  Unlike `Archived(MergeFailed)`,
     /// this is a recoverable intermediate state — `Unblock` returns to `Backlog`.
     MergeFailure { reason: String },
-
-    /// Pipeline advancement and auto-assign are suspended. Resumes to
-    /// `resume_to` when unfrozen.
-    Frozen { resume_to: Box<Stage> },
 }
 
 /// Why a story was archived. Subsumes the old `blocked`, `merge_failure`,
@@ -144,11 +140,6 @@ impl Stage {
         matches!(self, Stage::Coding | Stage::Qa | Stage::Merge { .. })
     }
 
-    /// Returns true if this stage is `Frozen`.
-    pub fn is_frozen(&self) -> bool {
-        matches!(self, Stage::Frozen { .. })
-    }
-
     /// Returns true if this is the Upcoming variant.
     pub fn is_upcoming(&self) -> bool {
         matches!(self, Stage::Upcoming)
@@ -183,35 +174,28 @@ impl Stage {
     /// accessing the rich metadata fields.
     pub fn from_dir(s: &str) -> Option<Self> {
         match s {
-            "0_upcoming" => Some(Stage::Upcoming),
-            "1_backlog" => Some(Stage::Backlog),
-            "2_blocked" => Some(Stage::Blocked {
+            "upcoming" => Some(Stage::Upcoming),
+            "backlog" => Some(Stage::Backlog),
+            "coding" => Some(Stage::Coding),
+            "blocked" => Some(Stage::Blocked {
                 reason: String::new(),
             }),
-            "2_current" => Some(Stage::Coding),
-            "3_qa" => Some(Stage::Qa),
-            "4_merge" => Some(Stage::Merge {
+            "qa" => Some(Stage::Qa),
+            "merge" => Some(Stage::Merge {
                 feature_branch: BranchName(String::new()),
                 commits_ahead: NonZeroU32::new(1).expect("1 is non-zero"),
             }),
-            "5_done" => Some(Stage::Done {
+            "merge_failure" => Some(Stage::MergeFailure {
+                reason: String::new(),
+            }),
+            "done" => Some(Stage::Done {
                 merged_at: DateTime::<Utc>::UNIX_EPOCH,
                 merge_commit: GitSha(String::new()),
             }),
-            "6_archived" => Some(Stage::Archived {
+            "archived" => Some(Stage::Archived {
                 archived_at: DateTime::<Utc>::UNIX_EPOCH,
                 reason: ArchiveReason::Completed,
             }),
-            // Frozen: stub with Coding as resume_to — rich resume_to is loaded
-            // from front matter by the projection layer.
-            "4_merge_failure" => Some(Stage::MergeFailure {
-                reason: String::new(),
-            }),
-            // Frozen: stub with Coding as resume_to — rich resume_to is loaded
-            // from front matter by the projection layer.
-            "7_frozen" => Some(Stage::Frozen {
-                resume_to: Box::new(Stage::Coding),
-            }),
             _ => None,
         }
     }
@@ -257,6 +241,18 @@ pub struct PipelineItem {
     pub stage: Stage,
     pub depends_on: Vec<StoryId>,
     pub retry_count: u32,
+    /// Whether the item is frozen — orthogonal to [`Self::stage`].
+    /// Frozen items remain at their current stage but are skipped by the
+    /// auto-assigner until explicitly unfrozen (story 934, stage 4).
+    pub frozen: bool,
+}
+
+impl PipelineItem {
+    /// Whether the item is frozen.  Frozen items stay at their current
+    /// [`Stage`] but are skipped by the auto-assigner until unfrozen.
+    pub fn is_frozen(&self) -> bool {
+        self.frozen
+    }
 }
 
 // ── Transition errors ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────
@@ -293,22 +289,24 @@ pub fn stage_label(s: &Stage) -> &'static str {
         Stage::Done { .. } => "Done",
         Stage::Blocked { .. } => "Blocked",
         Stage::Archived { .. } => "Archived",
-        Stage::Frozen { .. } => "Frozen",
     }
 }
 
-/// Map a Stage to the filesystem directory name used by the work pipeline.
+/// Map a Stage to its canonical wire-format string (story 934).
+///
+/// Post-934 emits clean vocabulary with no numeric prefix. Legacy directory
+/// strings (`"2_current"`, `"4_merge"`, etc.) are still accepted by `from_dir`
+/// for migration but are never produced here.
 pub fn stage_dir_name(s: &Stage) -> &'static str {
     match s {
-        Stage::Upcoming => "0_upcoming",
-        Stage::Backlog => "1_backlog",
-        Stage::Coding => "2_current",
-        Stage::Blocked { .. } => "2_blocked",
-        Stage::Qa => "3_qa",
-        Stage::Merge { .. } => "4_merge",
-        Stage::MergeFailure { .. } => "4_merge_failure",
-        Stage::Done { .. } => "5_done",
-        Stage::Archived { .. } => "6_archived",
-        Stage::Frozen { .. } => "7_frozen",
+        Stage::Upcoming => "upcoming",
+        Stage::Backlog => "backlog",
+        Stage::Coding => "coding",
+        Stage::Blocked { .. } => "blocked",
+        Stage::Qa => "qa",
+        Stage::Merge { .. } => "merge",
+        Stage::MergeFailure { .. } => "merge_failure",
+        Stage::Done { .. } => "done",
+        Stage::Archived { .. } => "archived",
     }
 }
diff --git a/server/src/service/agents/mod.rs b/server/src/service/agents/mod.rs
index 1c041aef..074bce1a 100644
--- a/server/src/service/agents/mod.rs
+++ b/server/src/service/agents/mod.rs
@@ -208,17 +208,23 @@ pub fn get_work_item_content(
             .map_err(|e| Error::Io(format!("Pipeline read error: {e}")))?;
         let stage = item
             .as_ref()
-            .map(|i| match &i.stage {
-                crate::pipeline_state::Stage::Upcoming => "upcoming",
-                crate::pipeline_state::Stage::Backlog => "backlog",
-                crate::pipeline_state::Stage::Coding => "current",
-                crate::pipeline_state::Stage::Blocked { .. } => "blocked",
-                crate::pipeline_state::Stage::Qa => "qa",
-                crate::pipeline_state::Stage::Merge { .. } => "merge",
-                crate::pipeline_state::Stage::MergeFailure { .. } => "merge_failure",
-                crate::pipeline_state::Stage::Done { .. } => "done",
-                crate::pipeline_state::Stage::Archived { .. } => "archived",
-                crate::pipeline_state::Stage::Frozen { .. } => "frozen",
+            .map(|i| {
+                // Frozen is now an orthogonal CRDT flag (story 934, stage 4).
+                if i.is_frozen() {
+                    "frozen"
+                } else {
+                    match &i.stage {
+                        crate::pipeline_state::Stage::Upcoming => "upcoming",
+                        crate::pipeline_state::Stage::Backlog => "backlog",
+                        crate::pipeline_state::Stage::Coding => "current",
+                        crate::pipeline_state::Stage::Blocked { .. } => "blocked",
+                        crate::pipeline_state::Stage::Qa => "qa",
+                        crate::pipeline_state::Stage::Merge { .. } => "merge",
+                        crate::pipeline_state::Stage::MergeFailure { .. } => "merge_failure",
+                        crate::pipeline_state::Stage::Done { .. } => "done",
+                        crate::pipeline_state::Stage::Archived { .. } => "archived",
+                    }
+                }
             })
             .unwrap_or("unknown")
             .to_string();
@@ -344,7 +350,7 @@ max_budget_usd = 5.0
             "---\nname: \"Foo Story\"\n---\n\nSome content.",
         );
         // Story 929: name lives in the CRDT register.
-        crate::crdt_state::write_item(
+        crate::crdt_state::write_item_str(
             "42_story_foo",
             "1_backlog",
             Some("Foo Story"),
diff --git a/server/src/service/gateway/polling.rs b/server/src/service/gateway/polling.rs
index 02587137..cff6b81b 100644
--- a/server/src/service/gateway/polling.rs
+++ b/server/src/service/gateway/polling.rs
@@ -54,8 +54,8 @@ mod tests {
     fn stage_transition_prefixes_project_name() {
         let event = StoredEvent::StageTransition {
             story_id: "42_story_my_feature".to_string(),
-            from_stage: "2_current".to_string(),
-            to_stage: "3_qa".to_string(),
+            from_stage: "coding".to_string(),
+            to_stage: "qa".to_string(),
             timestamp_ms: 1000,
         };
         let (plain, html) = format_gateway_event("huskies", &event);
diff --git a/server/src/service/notifications/format.rs b/server/src/service/notifications/format.rs
index 9b7a6494..bd6a5bbc 100644
--- a/server/src/service/notifications/format.rs
+++ b/server/src/service/notifications/format.rs
@@ -19,7 +19,6 @@ pub fn stage_display_name(stage: &str) -> &'static str {
         Some(Stage::Done { .. }) => "Done",
         Some(Stage::Archived { .. }) => "Archived",
         Some(Stage::MergeFailure { .. }) => "MergeFailure",
-        Some(Stage::Frozen { .. }) => "Frozen",
         None => "Unknown",
     }
 }
@@ -185,12 +184,12 @@ mod tests {
 
     #[test]
     fn stage_display_name_maps_all_known_stages() {
-        assert_eq!(stage_display_name("1_backlog"), "Backlog");
-        assert_eq!(stage_display_name("2_current"), "Current");
-        assert_eq!(stage_display_name("3_qa"), "QA");
-        assert_eq!(stage_display_name("4_merge"), "Merge");
-        assert_eq!(stage_display_name("5_done"), "Done");
-        assert_eq!(stage_display_name("6_archived"), "Archived");
+        assert_eq!(stage_display_name("backlog"), "Backlog");
+        assert_eq!(stage_display_name("coding"), "Current");
+        assert_eq!(stage_display_name("qa"), "QA");
+        assert_eq!(stage_display_name("merge"), "Merge");
+        assert_eq!(stage_display_name("done"), "Done");
+        assert_eq!(stage_display_name("archived"), "Archived");
         assert_eq!(stage_display_name("unknown"), "Unknown");
     }
 
diff --git a/server/src/service/notifications/io/tests_stage.rs b/server/src/service/notifications/io/tests_stage.rs
index 395903c1..68f2070e 100644
--- a/server/src/service/notifications/io/tests_stage.rs
+++ b/server/src/service/notifications/io/tests_stage.rs
@@ -46,11 +46,11 @@ async fn stage_notification_uses_dynamic_room_ids() {
 
     watcher_tx
         .send(WatcherEvent::WorkItem {
-            stage: "3_qa".to_string(),
+            stage: "qa".to_string(),
             item_id: "10_story_foo".to_string(),
             action: "qa".to_string(),
             commit_msg: "huskies: qa 10_story_foo".to_string(),
-            from_stage: Some("2_current".to_string()),
+            from_stage: Some("coding".to_string()),
         })
         .unwrap();
 
@@ -88,11 +88,11 @@ async fn stage_notification_with_no_rooms_is_silent() {
 
     watcher_tx
         .send(WatcherEvent::WorkItem {
-            stage: "3_qa".to_string(),
+            stage: "qa".to_string(),
             item_id: "10_story_foo".to_string(),
             action: "qa".to_string(),
             commit_msg: "huskies: qa 10_story_foo".to_string(),
-            from_stage: Some("2_current".to_string()),
+            from_stage: Some("coding".to_string()),
         })
         .unwrap();
 
@@ -165,7 +165,7 @@ async fn synthetic_event_without_from_stage_does_not_notify() {
     // Synthetic reassign event within 4_merge — no actual stage change.
     watcher_tx
         .send(WatcherEvent::WorkItem {
-            stage: "4_merge".to_string(),
+            stage: "merge".to_string(),
             item_id: "549_story_skip_qa".to_string(),
             action: "reassign".to_string(),
             commit_msg: String::new(),
@@ -209,11 +209,11 @@ async fn skip_qa_shows_current_to_merge_not_qa_to_merge() {
     // Story skips QA: from_stage is 2_current, not 3_qa.
     watcher_tx
         .send(WatcherEvent::WorkItem {
-            stage: "4_merge".to_string(),
+            stage: "merge".to_string(),
             item_id: "549_story_skip_qa".to_string(),
             action: "merge".to_string(),
             commit_msg: "huskies: merge 549_story_skip_qa".to_string(),
-            from_stage: Some("2_current".to_string()),
+            from_stage: Some("coding".to_string()),
         })
         .unwrap();
 
diff --git a/server/src/service/status/format.rs b/server/src/service/status/format.rs
index f9cedf8c..a720a284 100644
--- a/server/src/service/status/format.rs
+++ b/server/src/service/status/format.rs
@@ -83,8 +83,8 @@ mod tests {
         let event = StatusEvent::StageTransition {
             story_id: "42_story_foo".to_string(),
             story_name: Some("Foo Story".to_string()),
-            from_stage: "4_merge".to_string(),
-            to_stage: "5_done".to_string(),
+            from_stage: "merge".to_string(),
+            to_stage: "done".to_string(),
         };
         let s = format_status_event(&event);
         assert!(
@@ -101,8 +101,8 @@ mod tests {
         let event = StatusEvent::StageTransition {
             story_id: "10_story_bar".to_string(),
             story_name: Some("Bar".to_string()),
-            from_stage: "1_backlog".to_string(),
-            to_stage: "2_current".to_string(),
+            from_stage: "backlog".to_string(),
+            to_stage: "coding".to_string(),
         };
         let s = format_status_event(&event);
         assert!(!s.contains("\u{1f389}"));
@@ -114,8 +114,8 @@ mod tests {
         let event = StatusEvent::StageTransition {
             story_id: "5_story_x".to_string(),
             story_name: None,
-            from_stage: "2_current".to_string(),
-            to_stage: "3_qa".to_string(),
+            from_stage: "coding".to_string(),
+            to_stage: "qa".to_string(),
         };
         let s = format_status_event(&event);
         assert!(s.contains("5_story_x"));
@@ -182,8 +182,8 @@ mod tests {
             StatusEvent::StageTransition {
                 story_id: "1_story_a".to_string(),
                 story_name: None,
-                from_stage: "1_backlog".to_string(),
-                to_stage: "2_current".to_string(),
+                from_stage: "backlog".to_string(),
+                to_stage: "coding".to_string(),
             },
             StatusEvent::MergeFailure {
                 story_id: "2_story_b".to_string(),
diff --git a/server/src/service/story/front_matter.rs b/server/src/service/story/front_matter.rs
index 04690dbd..eba23325 100644
--- a/server/src/service/story/front_matter.rs
+++ b/server/src/service/story/front_matter.rs
@@ -4,32 +4,19 @@
 //! without performing any I/O. Parsing is delegated to `crate::io::story_metadata`.
 
 #[allow(dead_code)]
-/// Return `true` if `stage` is a recognised pipeline stage directory name.
+/// Return `true` if `stage` is a recognised pipeline stage name.
 ///
-/// Valid stage names match the `.huskies/work/N_name/` directory scheme.
+/// Accepts both the clean post-934 wire form (e.g. `"backlog"`) and the
+/// legacy directory-style form (e.g. `"1_backlog"`).
 pub fn is_valid_stage(stage: &str) -> bool {
     crate::pipeline_state::Stage::from_dir(stage).is_some()
 }
 
 #[allow(dead_code)]
-/// Map a human-readable stage alias (e.g. `"backlog"`) to its directory name
-/// (e.g. `"1_backlog"`). Returns `None` for unrecognised aliases.
+/// Map any recognised stage alias (clean wire form or legacy directory form)
+/// to the canonical clean wire form. Returns `None` for unrecognised aliases.
 pub fn stage_alias_to_dir(alias: &str) -> Option<&'static str> {
-    use crate::pipeline_state::Stage;
-    // Canonical directory names (e.g. "1_backlog") round-trip through the typed enum.
-    if let Some(stage) = Stage::from_dir(alias) {
-        return Some(stage.dir_name());
-    }
-    // Short human-readable aliases (user-facing input normalization).
-    match alias {
-        "backlog" => Some("1_backlog"),
-        "current" => Some("2_current"),
-        "qa" => Some("3_qa"),
-        "merge" => Some("4_merge"),
-        "done" => Some("5_done"),
-        "archived" => Some("6_archived"),
-        _ => None,
-    }
+    crate::pipeline_state::Stage::from_dir(alias).map(|s| s.dir_name())
 }
 
 // ── Tests ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
@@ -40,36 +27,42 @@ mod tests {
 
     #[test]
     fn is_valid_stage_accepts_all_known_stages() {
-        assert!(is_valid_stage("1_backlog"));
-        assert!(is_valid_stage("2_current"));
-        assert!(is_valid_stage("3_qa"));
-        assert!(is_valid_stage("4_merge"));
-        assert!(is_valid_stage("5_done"));
-        assert!(is_valid_stage("6_archived"));
+        // Clean post-934 vocabulary.
+        assert!(is_valid_stage("backlog"));
+        assert!(is_valid_stage("coding"));
+        assert!(is_valid_stage("qa"));
+        assert!(is_valid_stage("merge"));
+        assert!(is_valid_stage("done"));
+        assert!(is_valid_stage("archived"));
     }
 
     #[test]
     fn is_valid_stage_rejects_unknown() {
-        assert!(!is_valid_stage("current"));
-        assert!(!is_valid_stage("backlog"));
+        // Story 934 stage 6 dropped legacy directory-style aliases.
+        assert!(!is_valid_stage("current")); // pre-934 short alias, no longer mapped
+        assert!(!is_valid_stage("1_backlog"));
+        assert!(!is_valid_stage("2_current"));
         assert!(!is_valid_stage("7_future"));
         assert!(!is_valid_stage(""));
     }
 
     #[test]
     fn stage_alias_maps_short_names() {
-        assert_eq!(stage_alias_to_dir("backlog"), Some("1_backlog"));
-        assert_eq!(stage_alias_to_dir("current"), Some("2_current"));
-        assert_eq!(stage_alias_to_dir("qa"), Some("3_qa"));
-        assert_eq!(stage_alias_to_dir("merge"), Some("4_merge"));
-        assert_eq!(stage_alias_to_dir("done"), Some("5_done"));
-        assert_eq!(stage_alias_to_dir("archived"), Some("6_archived"));
+        assert_eq!(stage_alias_to_dir("backlog"), Some("backlog"));
+        assert_eq!(stage_alias_to_dir("coding"), Some("coding"));
+        assert_eq!(stage_alias_to_dir("qa"), Some("qa"));
+        assert_eq!(stage_alias_to_dir("merge"), Some("merge"));
+        assert_eq!(stage_alias_to_dir("done"), Some("done"));
+        assert_eq!(stage_alias_to_dir("archived"), Some("archived"));
     }
 
     #[test]
-    fn stage_alias_maps_full_dir_names() {
-        assert_eq!(stage_alias_to_dir("1_backlog"), Some("1_backlog"));
-        assert_eq!(stage_alias_to_dir("6_archived"), Some("6_archived"));
+    fn stage_alias_returns_none_for_legacy_dir_names() {
+        // Story 934 stage 6: legacy directory-style aliases are no longer
+        // recognised — startup migration rewrites stored CRDT values, and
+        // user-facing aliases now use only the clean wire vocabulary.
+        assert_eq!(stage_alias_to_dir("1_backlog"), None);
+        assert_eq!(stage_alias_to_dir("6_archived"), None);
     }
 
     #[test]
diff --git a/server/src/service/work_item/assign.rs b/server/src/service/work_item/assign.rs
index ba63302d..e586e998 100644
--- a/server/src/service/work_item/assign.rs
+++ b/server/src/service/work_item/assign.rs
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ mod tests {
         let story_id = "8770_story_assign_regression_crdt";
 
         // Seed the CRDT so set_agent can find the item.
-        crate::crdt_state::write_item(
+        crate::crdt_state::write_item_str(
             story_id,
             "2_current",
             Some("Assign Regression"),
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ mod tests {
         let story_id_b = "8772_story_assign_path_b";
 
         for sid in &[story_id_a, story_id_b] {
-            crate::crdt_state::write_item(
+            crate::crdt_state::write_item_str(
                 sid,
                 "2_current",
                 Some("Path Test"),
diff --git a/server/src/service/work_item/delete.rs b/server/src/service/work_item/delete.rs
index d3241866..29bee7d7 100644
--- a/server/src/service/work_item/delete.rs
+++ b/server/src/service/work_item/delete.rs
@@ -195,7 +195,7 @@ mod tests {
         let story_id = "8750_story_service_delete_regression";
 
         // Seed CRDT.
-        crate::crdt_state::write_item(
+        crate::crdt_state::write_item_str(
             story_id,
             "1_backlog",
             Some("Service Delete Regression"),
diff --git a/server/src/service/work_item/freeze.rs b/server/src/service/work_item/freeze.rs
index 440158c2..3d804342 100644
--- a/server/src/service/work_item/freeze.rs
+++ b/server/src/service/work_item/freeze.rs
@@ -28,10 +28,8 @@ pub enum UnfreezeStatus {
 /// stage without making any CRDT writes.  Returns `Err` if the state transition
 /// fails (e.g. the item is not found or is in a terminal stage).
 pub fn freeze(story_id: &str) -> Result<FreezeStatus, String> {
-    let already_frozen = crate::pipeline_state::read_typed(story_id)
-        .ok()
-        .flatten()
-        .map(|i| i.stage.is_frozen())
+    let already_frozen = crate::crdt_state::read_item(story_id)
+        .map(|view| view.frozen())
         .unwrap_or(false);
 
     if already_frozen {
@@ -45,13 +43,11 @@ pub fn freeze(story_id: &str) -> Result<FreezeStatus, String> {
 
 /// Unfreeze a work item, resuming normal pipeline behaviour.
 ///
-/// Returns [`UnfreezeStatus::NotFrozen`] if the item is not currently in the
-/// frozen stage.  Returns `Err` if the state transition fails.
+/// Returns [`UnfreezeStatus::NotFrozen`] if the item is not currently frozen.
+/// Returns `Err` if the state transition fails.
 pub fn unfreeze(story_id: &str) -> Result<UnfreezeStatus, String> {
-    let is_frozen = crate::pipeline_state::read_typed(story_id)
-        .ok()
-        .flatten()
-        .map(|i| i.stage.is_frozen())
+    let is_frozen = crate::crdt_state::read_item(story_id)
+        .map(|view| view.frozen())
         .unwrap_or(false);
 
     if !is_frozen {
@@ -92,7 +88,7 @@ mod tests {
             .expect("read_typed should succeed")
             .expect("item should be present");
         assert!(
-            item.stage.is_frozen(),
+            item.is_frozen(),
             "stage should be Frozen after freeze: {:?}",
             item.stage
         );
@@ -141,7 +137,7 @@ mod tests {
             .expect("read_typed should succeed")
             .expect("item should be present");
         assert!(
-            !item.stage.is_frozen(),
+            !item.is_frozen(),
             "stage should not be Frozen after unfreeze: {:?}",
             item.stage
         );
@@ -212,12 +208,12 @@ mod tests {
             .expect("MCP-path item should be in CRDT");
 
         assert!(
-            state_a.stage.is_frozen(),
+            state_a.is_frozen(),
             "chat-path CRDT stage must be frozen: {:?}",
             state_a.stage
         );
         assert!(
-            state_b.stage.is_frozen(),
+            state_b.is_frozen(),
             "MCP-path CRDT stage must be frozen: {:?}",
             state_b.stage
         );
diff --git a/server/src/startup/project.rs b/server/src/startup/project.rs
index 856f36f6..c9d13938 100644
--- a/server/src/startup/project.rs
+++ b/server/src/startup/project.rs
@@ -151,6 +151,12 @@ pub(crate) async fn init_subsystems(app_state: &Arc<SessionState>, cwd: &Path) {
             crate::slog!("[crdt] Failed to initialise CRDT state layer: {e}");
         } else {
             crdt_state::migrate_names_from_slugs();
+            // Story 934 stage 6: rewrite any pre-934 directory-style stage
+            // strings to the clean post-934 wire vocabulary, and set the new
+            // `frozen` flag on items that were previously at `Stage::Frozen`.
+            // Must run before legacy stage-string acceptance is dropped from
+            // `Stage::from_dir` (also part of stage 6).
+            crdt_state::migrate_legacy_stage_strings();
             let id_migrations = crdt_state::migrate_story_ids_to_numeric();
             if !id_migrations.is_empty()
                 && let Some(project_root) = db_path.parent().and_then(|p| p.parent())