diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index d5969d29b7..e4b87d0541 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@ results/
 !/.github/signature-fixtures/basic_jobs.json
 !perf/perf_baseline.json
 !src/trend_analysis/export/manifest_schema.json
+!tests/fixtures/keepalive/*.json
 # Stop tracking noisy autofix history (now artifact-only)
 ci/autofix/history.json
 ci/autofix/diagnostics.json
diff --git a/scripts/keepalive-runner.js b/scripts/keepalive-runner.js
index 428394cfae..e435ed83df 100644
--- a/scripts/keepalive-runner.js
+++ b/scripts/keepalive-runner.js
@@ -189,8 +189,9 @@ async function runKeepalive({ core, github, context, env = process.env }) {
       }
 
       const latestCommandTs = new Date(commandComments[commandComments.length - 1].created_at).getTime();
-      if (latestCommandTs > lastAgentTs) {
-        core.info(`#${prNumber}: skipped – waiting for Codex response to the latest command.`);
+      const minutesSinceCommand = (now - latestCommandTs) / 60000;
+      if (latestCommandTs > lastAgentTs && minutesSinceCommand < idleMinutes) {
+        core.info(`#${prNumber}: skipped – waiting for Codex response to the latest command (${minutesSinceCommand.toFixed(1)} minutes < ${idleMinutes}).`);
         continue;
       }
 
diff --git a/tests/fixtures/keepalive/command_pending.json b/tests/fixtures/keepalive/command_pending.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..f2136b974a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/fixtures/keepalive/command_pending.json
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+{
+  "repo": {"owner": "stranske", "repo": "Trend_Model_Project"},
+  "now": "2024-05-18T12:00:00Z",
+  "env": {
+    "OPTIONS_JSON": "{}",
+    "DRY_RUN": "false"
+  },
+  "pulls": [
+    {
+      "number": 606,
+      "labels": ["agent:codex"],
+      "comments": [
+        {
+          "user": {"login": "triage-bot"},
+          "body": "@codex plan-and-execute",
+          "created_at": "2024-05-18T11:55:00Z"
+        },
+        {
+          "user": {"login": "chatgpt-codex-connector"},
+          "body": "Daily update\n- [ ] Refresh datasets",
+          "created_at": "2024-05-18T11:40:00Z"
+        }
+      ]
+    },
+    {
+      "number": 707,
+      "labels": ["agent:codex"],
+      "comments": [
+        {
+          "user": {"login": "triage-bot"},
+          "body": "@codex plan-and-execute",
+          "created_at": "2024-05-18T10:40:00Z"
+        },
+        {
+          "user": {"login": "chatgpt-codex-connector"},
+          "body": "Checklist\n- [ ] Extract scripts\n- [x] Prepare branch",
+          "created_at": "2024-05-18T10:30:00Z"
+        }
+      ]
+    }
+  ]
+}
diff --git a/tests/test_keepalive_workflow.py b/tests/test_keepalive_workflow.py
index f8914044c0..37db2f4597 100644
--- a/tests/test_keepalive_workflow.py
+++ b/tests/test_keepalive_workflow.py
@@ -39,7 +39,9 @@ def _raw_entries(summary: dict) -> list[str]:
 
 def _details(summary: dict, title_prefix: str) -> dict | None:
     for entry in summary["entries"]:
-        if entry.get("type") == "details" and entry.get("title", "").startswith(title_prefix):
+        if entry.get("type") == "details" and entry.get("title", "").startswith(
+            title_prefix
+        ):
             return entry
     return None
 
@@ -91,7 +93,10 @@ def test_keepalive_dedupes_configuration() -> None:
     labels_line = next(line for line in raw if line.startswith("Target labels:"))
     logins_line = next(line for line in raw if line.startswith("Agent logins:"))
     assert _extract_marked_values(labels_line) == ["agent:codex", "agent:triage"]
-    assert _extract_marked_values(logins_line) == ["chatgpt-codex-connector", "helper-bot"]
+    assert _extract_marked_values(logins_line) == [
+        "chatgpt-codex-connector",
+        "helper-bot",
+    ]
 
     created = data["created_comments"]
     assert [item["issue_number"] for item in created] == [505]
@@ -99,3 +104,22 @@ def test_keepalive_dedupes_configuration() -> None:
 
     details = _details(summary, "Triggered keepalive comments")
     assert details is not None and any("#505" in entry for entry in details["items"])
+
+
+def test_keepalive_waits_for_recent_command() -> None:
+    data = _run_scenario("command_pending")
+    summary = data["summary"]
+
+    created = data["created_comments"]
+    assert [item["issue_number"] for item in created] == [707]
+
+    info_logs = data["logs"]["info"]
+    assert any(
+        "#606: skipped – waiting for Codex response to the latest command (5.0 minutes < 10)."
+        == message
+        for message in info_logs
+    )
+
+    raw = _raw_entries(summary)
+    assert "Triggered keepalive count: 1" in raw
+    assert "Evaluated pull requests: 2" in raw