diff --git a/.github/scripts/issue_format.py b/.github/scripts/issue_format.py
index feb5170fd..a3f68f851 100644
--- a/.github/scripts/issue_format.py
+++ b/.github/scripts/issue_format.py
@@ -115,8 +115,10 @@ def _concrete_span(span: str) -> bool:
         return True
     if "_" in span or "." in span:
         return True
-    # Multi-segment CamelCase / PascalCase symbols (e.g. IssueFormatter).
-    return re.fullmatch(r"[A-Z][a-zA-Z0-9]*(?:[A-Z][a-zA-Z0-9]+)+", span) is not None
+    # Multi-segment PascalCase or lowerCamelCase symbols (e.g. IssueFormatter,
+    # calculateDiscount). A capitalized interior segment distinguishes them from
+    # generic lowercase prose.
+    return re.fullmatch(r"[A-Za-z][a-zA-Z0-9]*[A-Z][a-zA-Z0-9]+", span) is not None
 
 
 def _task_has_concrete_target(item: str) -> bool:
@@ -130,6 +132,13 @@ def _task_has_concrete_target(item: str) -> bool:
     for match in re.finditer(r"`([^`]+)`", item):
         if _concrete_span(match.group(1)):
             return True
+    for token in re.findall(r"\b[A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_]*\b", item):
+        # Unquoted: only unambiguous lowerCamelCase (calculateDiscount).
+        # Brand/prose capitals (GitHub, JavaScript, OpenAI) must not satisfy.
+        if not re.fullmatch(r"[a-z][a-zA-Z0-9]*[A-Z][a-zA-Z0-9]+", token):
+            continue
+        if _concrete_span(token):
+            return True
     if re.search(rf"(?:^|[\s])({_TASK_KNOWN_BASENAME})\b", item, re.I):
         return True
     if re.search(rf"(?:^|[\s])([\w.-]+\.(?:{_TASK_EXTENSION}))\b", item, re.I):
diff --git a/.github/workflows/agents-issue-format-guard.yml b/.github/workflows/agents-issue-format-guard.yml
index ebf03c9c0..089672ed6 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/agents-issue-format-guard.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/agents-issue-format-guard.yml
@@ -42,13 +42,6 @@ jobs:
         with:
           persist-credentials: false
 
-      - name: Setup API client
-        uses: ./.github/actions/setup-api-client
-        with:
-          # This guard only reads issue comments with the workflow token. Do not
-          # expose the repository-wide secret bundle to the composite action.
-          github_token: ${{ github.token }}
-
       - name: Resolve issue
         id: issue
         env:
@@ -77,8 +70,17 @@ jobs:
             echo "number=$NUMBER"
             echo "exempt=$exempt"
             echo "held=$held"
+            echo "state=$(jq -r '.state' issue.json)"
           } >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
 
+      - name: Setup API client
+        if: steps.issue.outputs.exempt != 'true' && steps.issue.outputs.held != 'true'
+        uses: ./.github/actions/setup-api-client
+        with:
+          # This guard only reads issue comments with the workflow token. Do not
+          # expose the repository-wide secret bundle to the composite action.
+          github_token: ${{ github.token }}
+
       - name: Validate against AGENT_ISSUE_FORMAT
         id: validate
         if: steps.issue.outputs.exempt != 'true'
@@ -111,12 +113,36 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Invalidate stale format completion after an invalid issue change
         if: >-
-          steps.issue.outputs.exempt != 'true' && steps.validate.outputs.rc == '1'
+          steps.issue.outputs.exempt != 'true' && steps.issue.outputs.state == 'OPEN' &&
+          steps.validate.outputs.rc == '1'
         env:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
           NUMBER: ${{ steps.issue.outputs.number }}
         run: |
           set -euo pipefail
+          live_issue="$(mktemp)"
+          live_body="$(mktemp)"
+          error_file="$(mktemp)"
+          trap 'rm -f "$live_issue" "$live_body" "$error_file"' EXIT
+          gh issue view "$NUMBER" --repo "$GITHUB_REPOSITORY" --json body,state > "$live_issue"
+          if [[ "$(jq -r '.state' "$live_issue")" != "OPEN" ]]; then
+            echo "Issue is now closed — preserving agents:formatted."
+            exit 0
+          fi
+          jq -r '.body // ""' "$live_issue" > "$live_body"
+          set +e
+          python3 .github/scripts/issue_format.py "$live_body" > /dev/null 2> "$error_file"
+          live_rc=$?
+          set -e
+          if [[ "$live_rc" -eq 0 ]]; then
+            echo "Live body now conforms — preserving agents:formatted."
+            exit 0
+          fi
+          if [[ "$live_rc" -ne 1 || -s "$error_file" ]]; then
+            echo "::error::issue-format validator failed unexpectedly during label revalidation"
+            cat "$error_file" >&2
+            exit "$live_rc"
+          fi
           if gh issue view "$NUMBER" --repo "$GITHUB_REPOSITORY" --json labels \
               --jq '.labels[].name' | grep -qx 'agents:formatted'; then
             if gh issue edit "$NUMBER" --repo "$GITHUB_REPOSITORY" --remove-label "agents:formatted"; then
@@ -127,7 +153,7 @@ jobs:
           fi
 
       - name: Route non-conforming issue to the optimizer
-        if: steps.issue.outputs.exempt != 'true' && steps.issue.outputs.held != 'true' && steps.validate.outputs.rc == '1'
+        if: steps.issue.outputs.exempt != 'true' && steps.issue.outputs.held != 'true' && steps.issue.outputs.state == 'OPEN' && steps.validate.outputs.rc == '1'
         env:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
           NUMBER: ${{ steps.issue.outputs.number }}
@@ -138,6 +164,10 @@ jobs:
           gh issue view "$NUMBER" --repo "$GITHUB_REPOSITORY" \
             --json number,body,labels,state,author > live.json
           jq -r '.body // ""' live.json > body.md
+          if [[ "$(jq -r '.state' live.json)" != "OPEN" ]]; then
+            echo "Issue is now closed — skipping optimizer dispatch."
+            exit 0
+          fi
           if jq -e '[.labels[].name] | any(. == "agents:auto-pilot-pause" or . == "needs-human")' live.json >/dev/null; then
             echo "Issue is now held — skipping optimizer dispatch."
             exit 0
diff --git a/templates/consumer-repo/.github/scripts/issue_format.py b/templates/consumer-repo/.github/scripts/issue_format.py
index feb5170fd..a3f68f851 100644
--- a/templates/consumer-repo/.github/scripts/issue_format.py
+++ b/templates/consumer-repo/.github/scripts/issue_format.py
@@ -115,8 +115,10 @@ def _concrete_span(span: str) -> bool:
         return True
     if "_" in span or "." in span:
         return True
-    # Multi-segment CamelCase / PascalCase symbols (e.g. IssueFormatter).
-    return re.fullmatch(r"[A-Z][a-zA-Z0-9]*(?:[A-Z][a-zA-Z0-9]+)+", span) is not None
+    # Multi-segment PascalCase or lowerCamelCase symbols (e.g. IssueFormatter,
+    # calculateDiscount). A capitalized interior segment distinguishes them from
+    # generic lowercase prose.
+    return re.fullmatch(r"[A-Za-z][a-zA-Z0-9]*[A-Z][a-zA-Z0-9]+", span) is not None
 
 
 def _task_has_concrete_target(item: str) -> bool:
@@ -130,6 +132,13 @@ def _task_has_concrete_target(item: str) -> bool:
     for match in re.finditer(r"`([^`]+)`", item):
         if _concrete_span(match.group(1)):
             return True
+    for token in re.findall(r"\b[A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_]*\b", item):
+        # Unquoted: only unambiguous lowerCamelCase (calculateDiscount).
+        # Brand/prose capitals (GitHub, JavaScript, OpenAI) must not satisfy.
+        if not re.fullmatch(r"[a-z][a-zA-Z0-9]*[A-Z][a-zA-Z0-9]+", token):
+            continue
+        if _concrete_span(token):
+            return True
     if re.search(rf"(?:^|[\s])({_TASK_KNOWN_BASENAME})\b", item, re.I):
         return True
     if re.search(rf"(?:^|[\s])([\w.-]+\.(?:{_TASK_EXTENSION}))\b", item, re.I):
diff --git a/templates/consumer-repo/.github/workflows/agents-issue-format-guard.yml b/templates/consumer-repo/.github/workflows/agents-issue-format-guard.yml
index ebf03c9c0..089672ed6 100644
--- a/templates/consumer-repo/.github/workflows/agents-issue-format-guard.yml
+++ b/templates/consumer-repo/.github/workflows/agents-issue-format-guard.yml
@@ -42,13 +42,6 @@ jobs:
         with:
           persist-credentials: false
 
-      - name: Setup API client
-        uses: ./.github/actions/setup-api-client
-        with:
-          # This guard only reads issue comments with the workflow token. Do not
-          # expose the repository-wide secret bundle to the composite action.
-          github_token: ${{ github.token }}
-
       - name: Resolve issue
         id: issue
         env:
@@ -77,8 +70,17 @@ jobs:
             echo "number=$NUMBER"
             echo "exempt=$exempt"
             echo "held=$held"
+            echo "state=$(jq -r '.state' issue.json)"
           } >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
 
+      - name: Setup API client
+        if: steps.issue.outputs.exempt != 'true' && steps.issue.outputs.held != 'true'
+        uses: ./.github/actions/setup-api-client
+        with:
+          # This guard only reads issue comments with the workflow token. Do not
+          # expose the repository-wide secret bundle to the composite action.
+          github_token: ${{ github.token }}
+
       - name: Validate against AGENT_ISSUE_FORMAT
         id: validate
         if: steps.issue.outputs.exempt != 'true'
@@ -111,12 +113,36 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Invalidate stale format completion after an invalid issue change
         if: >-
-          steps.issue.outputs.exempt != 'true' && steps.validate.outputs.rc == '1'
+          steps.issue.outputs.exempt != 'true' && steps.issue.outputs.state == 'OPEN' &&
+          steps.validate.outputs.rc == '1'
         env:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
           NUMBER: ${{ steps.issue.outputs.number }}
         run: |
           set -euo pipefail
+          live_issue="$(mktemp)"
+          live_body="$(mktemp)"
+          error_file="$(mktemp)"
+          trap 'rm -f "$live_issue" "$live_body" "$error_file"' EXIT
+          gh issue view "$NUMBER" --repo "$GITHUB_REPOSITORY" --json body,state > "$live_issue"
+          if [[ "$(jq -r '.state' "$live_issue")" != "OPEN" ]]; then
+            echo "Issue is now closed — preserving agents:formatted."
+            exit 0
+          fi
+          jq -r '.body // ""' "$live_issue" > "$live_body"
+          set +e
+          python3 .github/scripts/issue_format.py "$live_body" > /dev/null 2> "$error_file"
+          live_rc=$?
+          set -e
+          if [[ "$live_rc" -eq 0 ]]; then
+            echo "Live body now conforms — preserving agents:formatted."
+            exit 0
+          fi
+          if [[ "$live_rc" -ne 1 || -s "$error_file" ]]; then
+            echo "::error::issue-format validator failed unexpectedly during label revalidation"
+            cat "$error_file" >&2
+            exit "$live_rc"
+          fi
           if gh issue view "$NUMBER" --repo "$GITHUB_REPOSITORY" --json labels \
               --jq '.labels[].name' | grep -qx 'agents:formatted'; then
             if gh issue edit "$NUMBER" --repo "$GITHUB_REPOSITORY" --remove-label "agents:formatted"; then
@@ -127,7 +153,7 @@ jobs:
           fi
 
       - name: Route non-conforming issue to the optimizer
-        if: steps.issue.outputs.exempt != 'true' && steps.issue.outputs.held != 'true' && steps.validate.outputs.rc == '1'
+        if: steps.issue.outputs.exempt != 'true' && steps.issue.outputs.held != 'true' && steps.issue.outputs.state == 'OPEN' && steps.validate.outputs.rc == '1'
         env:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
           NUMBER: ${{ steps.issue.outputs.number }}
@@ -138,6 +164,10 @@ jobs:
           gh issue view "$NUMBER" --repo "$GITHUB_REPOSITORY" \
             --json number,body,labels,state,author > live.json
           jq -r '.body // ""' live.json > body.md
+          if [[ "$(jq -r '.state' live.json)" != "OPEN" ]]; then
+            echo "Issue is now closed — skipping optimizer dispatch."
+            exit 0
+          fi
           if jq -e '[.labels[].name] | any(. == "agents:auto-pilot-pause" or . == "needs-human")' live.json >/dev/null; then
             echo "Issue is now held — skipping optimizer dispatch."
             exit 0
diff --git a/tests/scripts/test_issue_format.py b/tests/scripts/test_issue_format.py
index 98bb5ba9f..b6aeca863 100644
--- a/tests/scripts/test_issue_format.py
+++ b/tests/scripts/test_issue_format.py
@@ -172,6 +172,8 @@ def test_task_without_concrete_target_is_non_conforming() -> None:
         "Fix bugs `later`",
         "Fix file handling",
         "Update the configuration",
+        "Update the GitHub configuration",
+        "Update the JavaScript documentation",
     ],
 )
 def test_vague_task_targets_are_non_conforming(task: str) -> None:
@@ -192,6 +194,7 @@ def test_vague_task_targets_are_non_conforming(task: str) -> None:
         "Update pom.xml",
         "Update Dockerfile",
         "Wire `IssueFormatter` into the guard",
+        "Write unit tests for calculateDiscount function",
         "Touch file `src/client.py`",
         "Run pytest tests/scripts/test_issue_format.py",
     ],
diff --git a/tests/workflows/test_agents_issue_optimizer_format_trigger.py b/tests/workflows/test_agents_issue_optimizer_format_trigger.py
index 821e47768..d2fa6b9c3 100644
--- a/tests/workflows/test_agents_issue_optimizer_format_trigger.py
+++ b/tests/workflows/test_agents_issue_optimizer_format_trigger.py
@@ -132,3 +132,26 @@ def test_format_guard_uses_event_inputs_and_fails_closed_on_revalidation_errors(
         assert (
             "github.event.issue.number || github.event.inputs.issue_number || github.run_id" in text
         )
+
+
+def test_format_guard_revalidates_before_clearing_state_and_skips_closed_issues() -> None:
+    for text in (
+        GUARD_PATH.read_text(encoding="utf-8"),
+        CONSUMER_GUARD_PATH.read_text(encoding="utf-8"),
+    ):
+        resolve_idx = text.index("- name: Resolve issue")
+        setup_idx = text.index("- name: Setup API client")
+        assert resolve_idx < setup_idx
+        assert (
+            "steps.issue.outputs.exempt != 'true' && steps.issue.outputs.held != 'true'"
+            in text[setup_idx : setup_idx + 250]
+        )
+        invalidate_idx = text.index("- name: Invalidate stale format completion")
+        route_idx = text.index("- name: Route non-conforming issue to the optimizer")
+        invalidate = text[invalidate_idx:route_idx]
+        assert "steps.issue.outputs.state == 'OPEN'" in invalidate
+        assert "Live body now conforms — preserving agents:formatted." in invalidate
+        assert "validator failed unexpectedly during label revalidation" in invalidate
+        route = text[route_idx:]
+        assert "steps.issue.outputs.state == 'OPEN'" in route
+        assert "Issue is now closed — skipping optimizer dispatch." in route