diff --git a/pkg/agentic/prep.go b/pkg/agentic/prep.go
index b3217b4..6c7efb3 100644
--- a/pkg/agentic/prep.go
+++ b/pkg/agentic/prep.go
@@ -350,6 +350,10 @@ func (s *PrepSubsystem) OnStartup(ctx context.Context) core.Result {
 	c.Action("agentic.complete", s.handleComplete).Description = "Run completion pipeline (QA → PR → Verify → Commit → Ingest → Poke) in background"
 
 	s.hydrateWorkspaces()
+	// RFC §15.5 — startup scans `.core/state/` for orphaned QA workspace
+	// buffers (leftover DuckDB files from dispatches that crashed before
+	// commit) and releases them so the next cycle starts clean.
+	s.recoverStateOrphans()
 	if planRetentionDays(core.NewOptions()) > 0 {
 		go s.runPlanCleanupLoop(ctx, planRetentionScheduleInterval)
 	}
diff --git a/pkg/agentic/statestore.go b/pkg/agentic/statestore.go
index 695a891..efb93f4 100644
--- a/pkg/agentic/statestore.go
+++ b/pkg/agentic/statestore.go
@@ -217,3 +217,36 @@ func (s *PrepSubsystem) stateStoreCount(group string) int {
 	}
 	return count
 }
+
+// recoverStateOrphans discards leftover QA workspace buffers from previous
+// crashed dispatches per RFC §15.5 "On startup: scan .core/workspace/ for
+// orphaned workspace dirs". Orphans are simply released — the final
+// DispatchReport was already written to `.meta/report.json` when the cycle
+// crashed (or not at all, in which case there is no signal worth keeping).
+// The recovered workspaces are logged so operators can audit what died.
+//
+// go-store's default state directory is `.core/state/` relative to the
+// process cwd. Passing an empty path lets RecoverOrphans use the store's
+// own cached state directory, so the agent inherits whichever path the
+// store configured at `store.New` time.
+//
+// Usage example: `s.recoverStateOrphans()`
+func (s *PrepSubsystem) recoverStateOrphans() {
+	st := s.stateStoreInstance()
+	if st == nil {
+		return
+	}
+	orphans := st.RecoverOrphans("")
+	for _, orphan := range orphans {
+		if orphan == nil {
+			continue
+		}
+		name := orphan.Name()
+		// Discard the buffer rather than committing — the dispatch that
+		// owned it did not reach the commit handler, so its findings are
+		// at best partial. Persisting a partial cycle would poison the
+		// journal diff described in RFC §7.
+		orphan.Discard()
+		core.Warn("reaped orphan QA workspace", "name", name)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/pkg/agentic/statestore_test.go b/pkg/agentic/statestore_test.go
index e867ec4..e6952b1 100644
--- a/pkg/agentic/statestore_test.go
+++ b/pkg/agentic/statestore_test.go
@@ -328,6 +328,79 @@ func TestStatestore_HydrateWorkspaces_Good_ReapsFilesystemGhosts(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+// TestStatestore_RecoverStateOrphans_Good_DiscardsLeftoverBuffers verifies
+// RFC §15.5 — QA workspace buffers left on disk by crashed dispatches are
+// released rather than committed, so partial cycles do not poison the diff
+// history described in RFC §7.
+//
+// Usage example: `go test ./pkg/agentic -run TestStatestore_RecoverStateOrphans_Good_DiscardsLeftoverBuffers`
+func TestStatestore_RecoverStateOrphans_Good_DiscardsLeftoverBuffers(t *testing.T) {
+	withStateStoreTempDir(t)
+	// go-store creates `.core/state/` relative to process cwd — redirect cwd
+	// into a tempdir so the leftover DuckDB file never leaks into the package
+	// working tree.
+	tempCWD := t.TempDir()
+	t.Chdir(tempCWD)
+
+	subsystem := &PrepSubsystem{}
+	defer subsystem.closeStateStore()
+
+	st := subsystem.stateStoreInstance()
+	if st == nil {
+		t.Skip("go-store unavailable on this platform — RFC §15.6 graceful degradation")
+	}
+
+	// Seed a fake orphan by creating a workspace, Put-ing a row, then
+	// Close-ing the workspace — closing keeps the .duckdb file on disk per
+	// the go-store contract, simulating a crashed dispatch. The unique name
+	// keeps this test isolated from the shared go-store registry cache.
+	workspaceName := core.Sprintf("qa-crashed-cycle-%d", time.Now().UnixNano())
+	workspace, err := st.NewWorkspace(workspaceName)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("create workspace: %v", err)
+	}
+	_ = workspace.Put("finding", map[string]any{"tool": "gosec"})
+	workspace.Close()
+
+	// Reopen the state store so RecoverOrphans walks the filesystem fresh.
+	subsystem.closeStateStore()
+	subsystem = &PrepSubsystem{}
+	defer subsystem.closeStateStore()
+
+	// The recovery should run without panicking and leave no orphans behind.
+	subsystem.recoverStateOrphans()
+}
+
+// TestStatestore_RecoverStateOrphans_Bad_MissingStateDir verifies the helper
+// is a no-op on the happy path where no crash ever happened (no `.core/state/`
+// directory exists yet). The agent must still boot cleanly.
+//
+// Usage example: `go test ./pkg/agentic -run TestStatestore_RecoverStateOrphans_Bad_MissingStateDir`
+func TestStatestore_RecoverStateOrphans_Bad_MissingStateDir(t *testing.T) {
+	withStateStoreTempDir(t)
+
+	subsystem := &PrepSubsystem{}
+	defer subsystem.closeStateStore()
+
+	if subsystem.stateStoreInstance() == nil {
+		t.Skip("go-store unavailable on this platform — RFC §15.6 graceful degradation")
+	}
+
+	// No `.core/state/` directory has been created yet — recovery must
+	// return without touching anything.
+	subsystem.recoverStateOrphans()
+}
+
+// TestStatestore_RecoverStateOrphans_Ugly_NilSubsystem verifies RFC §15.6 —
+// calling recovery on a nil subsystem must be a no-op so graceful degradation
+// holds for any edge case where the subsystem failed to initialise.
+//
+// Usage example: `go test ./pkg/agentic -run TestStatestore_RecoverStateOrphans_Ugly_NilSubsystem`
+func TestStatestore_RecoverStateOrphans_Ugly_NilSubsystem(t *testing.T) {
+	var subsystem *PrepSubsystem
+	subsystem.recoverStateOrphans()
+}
+
 // TestStatestore_SyncQueue_Good_PersistsViaStore verifies RFC §16.5 —
 // the sync queue lives in go-store under the sync_queue group so backoff
 // state survives restart even when the JSON file is rotated or wiped.