diff --git a/.agents/scripts/commands/pulse.md b/.agents/scripts/commands/pulse.md
index 84a4cb2676..cf968bf48c 100644
--- a/.agents/scripts/commands/pulse.md
+++ b/.agents/scripts/commands/pulse.md
@@ -40,8 +40,9 @@ This is idempotent — safe to run even when PATH is already correct. All subseq
 # Max workers (dynamic, from available RAM)
 MAX_WORKERS=$(cat ~/.aidevops/logs/pulse-max-workers 2>/dev/null || echo 4)
 
-# Count all full-loop workers (issue + PR advancement), excluding supervisor /pulse noise
-WORKER_COUNT=$(ps axo command | grep '\.opencode run' | grep '/full-loop' | grep -v '/pulse' | grep -v 'Supervisor Pulse' | grep -v grep | wc -l | tr -d ' ')
+# Count all full-loop workers using the same matcher as per-repo caps (unifies global capacity counting)
+source ~/.aidevops/agents/scripts/pulse-wrapper.sh
+WORKER_COUNT=$(list_active_worker_processes | wc -l | tr -d ' ')
 AVAILABLE=$((MAX_WORKERS - WORKER_COUNT))
 
 # Priority-class allocations (t1423) — read from pre-fetched state
@@ -556,6 +557,24 @@ ISSUE_DISPATCH_BUDGET=$(((AVAILABLE * NEW_ISSUE_DISPATCH_PCT) / 100))
 If budget is exhausted, stop opening new issue workers and continue PR advancement work.
 
 1. Skip if a worker is already running for it locally (check `ps` output for the issue number)
+1.5. **Apply per-repo worker cap before dispatch:** default `MAX_WORKERS_PER_REPO=5` (override via env var only when you have a clear reason). If the target repo already has `MAX_WORKERS_PER_REPO` active workers, skip dispatch for that repo this cycle and continue with other repos.
+
+```bash
+# Source once per pulse run
+source ~/.aidevops/agents/scripts/pulse-wrapper.sh
+
+MAX_WORKERS_PER_REPO=${MAX_WORKERS_PER_REPO:-5}
+ACTIVE_FOR_REPO=$(list_active_worker_processes | awk -v path="<path>" '
+  BEGIN { esc=path; gsub(/[][(){}.^$*+?|\\]/, "\\\\&", esc) }
+  $0 ~ ("--dir[[:space:]]+" esc "([[:space:]]|$)") { count++ }
+  END { print count + 0 }
+')
+if [[ "$ACTIVE_FOR_REPO" -ge "$MAX_WORKERS_PER_REPO" ]]; then
+  echo "Repo at worker cap (${ACTIVE_FOR_REPO}/${MAX_WORKERS_PER_REPO}) — skipping dispatch for <slug> this cycle"
+  continue
+fi
+```
+
 2. Skip if an open PR already exists for it (check PR list)
 3. Treat labels as hints, not gates. `status:queued`, `status:in-progress`, and `status:in-review` suggest active work, but verify with evidence (active worker, recent PR updates, recent commits) before skipping.
 4. Treat unassigned + non-blocked issues as available by default. `status:available` is optional metadata, not a requirement.
diff --git a/.agents/scripts/pulse-wrapper.sh b/.agents/scripts/pulse-wrapper.sh
index d61b25849a..bafb9c0d7d 100755
--- a/.agents/scripts/pulse-wrapper.sh
+++ b/.agents/scripts/pulse-wrapper.sh
@@ -956,9 +956,21 @@ This PR modifies \`.github/workflows/\` files but the GitHub OAuth token used by
 #
 # Output: worker summary to stdout (appended to STATE_FILE by caller)
 #######################################
+list_active_worker_processes() {
+	ps axo pid,etime,command | awk '
+		/\/full-loop/ &&
+		$0 !~ /(^|[[:space:]])\/pulse([[:space:]]|$)/ &&
+		$0 !~ /Supervisor Pulse/ &&
+		$0 ~ /(^|[[:space:]\/])\.?opencode([[:space:]]|$)/ {
+			print
+		}
+	'
+	return 0
+}
+
 prefetch_active_workers() {
 	local worker_lines
-	worker_lines=$(ps axo pid,etime,command | grep '/full-loop' | grep '[.]opencode' || true)
+	worker_lines=$(list_active_worker_processes || true)
 
 	echo ""
 	echo "# Active Workers"
@@ -1916,19 +1928,7 @@ normalize_active_issue_assignments() {
 #######################################
 count_active_workers() {
 	local count
-	count=$(ps axo command | awk '
-		index($0, ".opencode run") > 0 &&
-		index($0, "/full-loop") > 0 &&
-		!(
-			$0 ~ /(^|[[:space:]])--role([=[:space:]])pulse([[:space:]]|$)/ &&
-			$0 ~ /(^|[[:space:]])--session-key([=[:space:]])supervisor-pulse([[:space:]]|$)/
-		) {
-			count++
-		}
-		END {
-			print count + 0
-		}
-	') || count=0
+	count=$(list_active_worker_processes | wc -l | tr -d ' ') || count=0
 	echo "$count"
 	return 0
 }
@@ -1979,8 +1979,13 @@ has_worker_for_repo_issue() {
 	fi
 
 	local matches
-	matches=$(ps axo command | awk -v issue="$issue_number" -v path="$repo_path" '
-		index($0, path) > 0 && ($0 ~ ("issue-" issue "([^0-9]|$)") || $0 ~ ("Issue #" issue "([^0-9]|$)")) { count++ }
+	matches=$(list_active_worker_processes | awk -v issue="$issue_number" -v path="$repo_path" '
+		BEGIN {
+			esc = path
+			gsub(/[][(){}.^$*+?|\\]/, "\\\\&", esc)
+		}
+		$0 ~ ("--dir[[:space:]]+" esc "([[:space:]]|$)") &&
+		($0 ~ ("issue-" issue "([^0-9]|$)") || $0 ~ ("Issue #" issue "([^0-9]|$)")) { count++ }
 		END { print count + 0 }
 	') || matches=0
 	[[ "$matches" =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]] || matches=0
diff --git a/.agents/scripts/tests/test-pulse-wrapper-worker-detection.sh b/.agents/scripts/tests/test-pulse-wrapper-worker-detection.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..188ca8437d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.agents/scripts/tests/test-pulse-wrapper-worker-detection.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,166 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)" || exit
+PULSE_WRAPPER_SCRIPT="${SCRIPT_DIR}/../pulse-wrapper.sh"
+
+readonly TEST_RED='\033[0;31m'
+readonly TEST_GREEN='\033[0;32m'
+readonly TEST_RESET='\033[0m'
+
+TESTS_RUN=0
+TESTS_FAILED=0
+
+TEST_ROOT=""
+PS_FIXTURE_FILE=""
+
+print_result() {
+	local test_name="$1"
+	local passed="$2"
+	local message="${3:-}"
+	TESTS_RUN=$((TESTS_RUN + 1))
+
+	if [[ "$passed" -eq 0 ]]; then
+		printf '%bPASS%b %s\n' "$TEST_GREEN" "$TEST_RESET" "$test_name"
+		return 0
+	fi
+
+	printf '%bFAIL%b %s\n' "$TEST_RED" "$TEST_RESET" "$test_name"
+	if [[ -n "$message" ]]; then
+		printf '       %s\n' "$message"
+	fi
+	TESTS_FAILED=$((TESTS_FAILED + 1))
+	return 0
+}
+
+setup_test_env() {
+	TEST_ROOT=$(mktemp -d)
+	PS_FIXTURE_FILE="${TEST_ROOT}/ps-fixture.txt"
+	export HOME="${TEST_ROOT}/home"
+	mkdir -p "${HOME}/.aidevops/logs"
+
+	export REPOS_JSON="${TEST_ROOT}/repos.json"
+	cat >"${REPOS_JSON}" <<'JSON'
+{
+  "initialized_repos": [
+    {
+      "slug": "marcusquinn/aidevops",
+      "path": "/tmp/aidevops"
+    }
+  ]
+}
+JSON
+
+	return 0
+}
+
+teardown_test_env() {
+	if [[ -n "$TEST_ROOT" && -d "$TEST_ROOT" ]]; then
+		rm -rf "$TEST_ROOT"
+	fi
+	return 0
+}
+
+set_ps_fixture() {
+	local content="$1"
+	printf '%s\n' "$content" >"$PS_FIXTURE_FILE"
+	return 0
+}
+
+ps() {
+	if [[ "${1:-}" == "axo" && "${2:-}" == "pid,etime,command" ]]; then
+		cat "$PS_FIXTURE_FILE"
+		return 0
+	fi
+	command ps "$@"
+	return 0
+}
+
+test_counts_plain_and_dot_prefixed_opencode_workers() {
+	# Line 125: supervisor /pulse — excluded by standalone /pulse filter
+	# Line 126: worker whose session-key contains /pulse-related (not standalone) — must be counted
+	set_ps_fixture "123 00:10 opencode run --dir /tmp/aidevops --title Issue #4342 \"/full-loop Implement issue #4342\"
+124 00:11 /Users/test/.opencode/bin/opencode run --dir /tmp/aidevops --title Issue #4343 \"/full-loop Implement issue #4343\"
+125 00:20 opencode run --dir /tmp/aidevops --title Supervisor Pulse \"/pulse\"
+126 00:05 opencode run --dir /tmp/aidevops --session-key issue-4344 --title Issue #4344 \"/full-loop Implement issue #4344 -- fix /pulse-related bug\""
+
+	local count
+	count=$(count_active_workers)
+	# Lines 123, 124, 126 are workers; line 125 is the supervisor /pulse (excluded)
+	if [[ "$count" != "3" ]]; then
+		print_result "count_active_workers excludes supervisor /pulse but counts worker with /pulse in args" 1 "Expected 3, got ${count}"
+		return 0
+	fi
+
+	print_result "count_active_workers excludes supervisor /pulse but counts worker with /pulse in args" 0
+	return 0
+}
+
+test_repo_issue_detection_uses_filtered_worker_list() {
+	set_ps_fixture "211 00:31 opencode run --dir /tmp/aidevops --session-key issue-4342 --title Issue #4342: fix \"/full-loop Implement issue #4342\"
+212 00:31 opencode run --dir /tmp/other --session-key issue-4342 --title Issue #4342: other \"/full-loop Implement issue #4342\"
+213 00:05 opencode run --dir /tmp/aidevops --title Supervisor Pulse \"/pulse\"
+214 00:12 opencode run --dir /tmp/aidevops-tools --session-key issue-4342 --title Issue #4342: tools \"/full-loop Implement issue #4342\""
+
+	if ! has_worker_for_repo_issue "4342" "marcusquinn/aidevops"; then
+		print_result "has_worker_for_repo_issue matches scoped worker process" 1 "Expected worker match for repo issue"
+		return 0
+	fi
+
+	if has_worker_for_repo_issue "9999" "marcusquinn/aidevops"; then
+		print_result "has_worker_for_repo_issue rejects unrelated issues" 1 "Expected no worker match for issue 9999"
+		return 0
+	fi
+
+	# Line 214 uses /tmp/aidevops-tools — a prefix of /tmp/aidevops — must NOT match
+	# Add a second repo entry for aidevops-tools to verify exact path matching
+	cat >"${REPOS_JSON}" <<'JSON'
+{
+  "initialized_repos": [
+    {
+      "slug": "marcusquinn/aidevops",
+      "path": "/tmp/aidevops"
+    },
+    {
+      "slug": "marcusquinn/aidevops-tools",
+      "path": "/tmp/aidevops-tools"
+    }
+  ]
+}
+JSON
+	# Worker 214 is for aidevops-tools, not aidevops — should not count for aidevops
+	local count_aidevops
+	count_aidevops=$(list_active_worker_processes | awk -v path="/tmp/aidevops" '
+		BEGIN { esc = path; gsub(/[][(){}.^$*+?|\\]/, "\\\\&", esc) }
+		$0 ~ ("--dir[[:space:]]+" esc "([[:space:]]|$)") { count++ }
+		END { print count + 0 }
+	')
+	if [[ "$count_aidevops" != "1" ]]; then
+		print_result "has_worker_for_repo_issue does not match prefix-sibling repo path" 1 "Expected 1 match for /tmp/aidevops, got ${count_aidevops}"
+		return 0
+	fi
+
+	print_result "has_worker_for_repo_issue matches scoped worker process" 0
+	print_result "has_worker_for_repo_issue rejects unrelated issues" 0
+	print_result "has_worker_for_repo_issue does not match prefix-sibling repo path" 0
+	return 0
+}
+
+main() {
+	trap teardown_test_env EXIT
+	setup_test_env
+	# shellcheck source=/dev/null
+	source "$PULSE_WRAPPER_SCRIPT"
+
+	test_counts_plain_and_dot_prefixed_opencode_workers
+	test_repo_issue_detection_uses_filtered_worker_list
+
+	printf '\nRan %s tests, %s failed.\n' "$TESTS_RUN" "$TESTS_FAILED"
+	if [[ "$TESTS_FAILED" -gt 0 ]]; then
+		return 1
+	fi
+	return 0
+}
+
+main "$@"