diff --git a/implement/SKILL.md b/implement/SKILL.md
index 96c583e..01677bb 100644
--- a/implement/SKILL.md
+++ b/implement/SKILL.md
@@ -178,6 +178,13 @@ is no `BLOCKED.md` (DONE never writes one).
    that the diff itself does not: the *why*, the alternatives
    considered and rejected, the verification steps run, and any
    concerns that remain. Detail-fill comes from the end-report.
+   A concern phrased as a *held* or *unresolved quality finding* (the
+   per-task quality gate kept a plan-prescribed element against a
+   reviewer finding, or a repair was a no-op) is the gate handing you
+   the judgement it could not make in code: verify that finding by
+   hand against the diff before committing — do not auto-sign past it,
+   even under `/boss`. Keep it if it is a principled plan-hold; if it
+   is an unaddressed defect, send the iter back rather than commit.
 4. Stage + commit the code edits and the stats file.
 5. If the trigger is done-state and the user is away, run the project's
    configured notification command per `../boss/SKILL.md` "Done-state
diff --git a/implement/agents/quality-reviewer.md b/implement/agents/quality-reviewer.md
index 1812fb2..c097f96 100644
--- a/implement/agents/quality-reviewer.md
+++ b/implement/agents/quality-reviewer.md
@@ -177,6 +177,14 @@ At most 250 words, structured:
   Important + Minor, re-review` / `infra problem, see
   status`.
 
+When the `implement-loop` workflow dispatches you, its
+structured schema additionally requires a `diff_fingerprint`:
+the sha256 hex of the FULL `git diff HEAD` (the whole
+working-tree diff, `git diff HEAD | sha256sum` — not narrowed
+to the task footprint). The loop compares it across re-review
+rounds to detect a no-op repair and stop oscillating; compute
+it from the same full diff you reviewed, every round.
+
 ## Common Rationalisations
 
 | Excuse | Reality |
diff --git a/implement/workflows/implement-loop.js b/implement/workflows/implement-loop.js
index c3c9f81..c3dc48a 100644
--- a/implement/workflows/implement-loop.js
+++ b/implement/workflows/implement-loop.js
@@ -25,6 +25,20 @@
 //   • Spec-compliance is gated BEFORE quality, per task.
 //   • Re-loop limit: 2 repair retries per failure-mode per task; the 3rd
 //     unresolved attempt escalates to BLOCKED.
+//   • Quality re-loop hold (issue #10): a quality finding whose only remedy
+//     would contradict the ratified plan (a name/signature/structure the
+//     task prescribes) is HELD, not chased into a deviation the next review
+//     then re-flags. The repair implementer keeps the plan and records the
+//     finding in `held`; a no-op backstop holds it anyway when a repair
+//     leaves the diff unchanged (or cycles back) yet quality still flags.
+//     Either way the finding surfaces as a concern, not a false BLOCKED on a
+//     green task — and the orchestrator weighs it on its Step-3 inspection.
+//     A finding the implementer judges correctness-breaking (would not
+//     build / a test fails / a prescribed caller breaks) escalates to
+//     BLOCKED instead of holding. The held/no-op partition is the
+//     implementer's call, not enforced in code (the script cannot tell a
+//     cosmetic hold from an ignored bug) — hence the neutral concern label
+//     and the orchestrator backstop, same trust placed in its other reports.
 //   • The script has no filesystem or shell access of its own — every
 //     working-tree mutation (code, stats.json, BLOCKED.md) happens inside
 //     an agent() call.
@@ -107,6 +121,24 @@ const IMPL_SCHEMA = {
     summary: { type: 'string', description: 'one line: what changed (paths + functions)' },
     concerns: { type: 'array', items: { type: 'string' } },
     reason: { type: 'string', description: 'on BLOCKED/NEEDS_CONTEXT: the blocker' },
+    held: {
+      type: 'array',
+      description:
+        'quality-repair dispatch only: quality findings KEPT against the ratified plan because honouring them ' +
+        'would deviate from a plan-prescribed name/signature/structure while the tree stays green. Each is a ' +
+        'concern to surface, not a deviation to chase. A finding that would break correctness is NOT held — it ' +
+        'is escalated via status BLOCKED.',
+      items: {
+        type: 'object',
+        additionalProperties: false,
+        required: ['finding', 'kept', 'why'],
+        properties: {
+          finding: { type: 'string', description: 'the quality finding being kept (held)' },
+          kept: { type: 'string', description: 'the plan-prescribed element preserved (name/signature/structure)' },
+          why: { type: 'string', description: 'why honouring the finding would contradict the ratified plan' },
+        },
+      },
+    },
   },
 }
 const SPEC_SCHEMA = {
@@ -122,10 +154,16 @@ const SPEC_SCHEMA = {
 const QUAL_SCHEMA = {
   type: 'object',
   additionalProperties: false,
-  required: ['status'],
+  required: ['status', 'diff_fingerprint'],
   properties: {
     status: { type: 'string', enum: ['approved', 'changes_requested', 'infra_blocked'] },
     issues: { type: 'array', items: { type: 'string' }, description: 'Important + Minor only (Nits never gate)' },
+    diff_fingerprint: {
+      type: 'string',
+      description:
+        'sha256 hex of the FULL `git diff HEAD` (the whole working-tree diff, not a footprint subset) — REQUIRED; ' +
+        'the loop compares it across rounds to detect a no-op/cyclic repair and stop oscillating to a false BLOCKED',
+    },
   },
 }
 const E2E_SCHEMA = {
@@ -232,24 +270,81 @@ async function runTask(task) {
     )
   }
 
-  // 2.3 — quality check, with repair re-loop
+  // 2.3 — quality check, with repair re-loop.
+  // The plan-vs-finding judgement lives here, with the implementer that holds
+  // the task text — the quality-reviewer is deliberately blind to it. The hold
+  // is keyed on two structural signals, never on a self-reported status enum
+  // (which the implementer's contract overloads): the `held` array the repair
+  // returns, and a no-op backstop (a changes_requested verdict over a diff
+  // whose fingerprint was already reviewed-and-flagged this task means the
+  // intervening repair changed nothing or cycled back, so re-running quality
+  // is futile).
+  let heldConcerns = []
+  const seenFingerprints = new Set()
   for (let round = 0; ; round++) {
     const qual = await agent(
       `${STANDING}\n\nQuality review of task ${task.id} (spec-compliance is already green — do not re-check it). ` +
         'Read every chunk of `git diff HEAD` in this task\'s footprint. Report only Important and Minor issues; ' +
-        'Nits never gate.',
+        'Nits never gate. Also report `diff_fingerprint` (REQUIRED): the sha256 hex of the FULL `git diff HEAD` ' +
+        '(`git diff HEAD | sha256sum` — the whole working-tree diff, NOT narrowed to this task\'s footprint). ' +
+        'The loop compares it across rounds to detect a no-op/cyclic repair.',
       { agentType: 'quality-reviewer', label: `qual:${task.id}`, phase: 'Per-task loop', schema: QUAL_SCHEMA },
     )
     if (qual && qual.status === 'approved') break
+    // No-op / cyclic-repair backstop: a changes_requested verdict over a diff-state already reviewed-and-flagged
+    // this task means the intervening repair changed nothing (or cycled back to an earlier state) — the
+    // implementer kept the plan, or rejected the finding. Re-running quality would only re-flag identical code,
+    // so stop here rather than burning the retry budget down to a false BLOCKED. A byte-identical diff cannot
+    // distinguish a principled plan-hold from an ignored finding, so the concern is labelled neutrally and left
+    // for the orchestrator to adjudicate on its Step-3 inspection.
+    if (qual && qual.status === 'changes_requested' && qual.diff_fingerprint && seenFingerprints.has(qual.diff_fingerprint)) {
+      heldConcerns = (qual.issues && qual.issues.length ? qual.issues : ['(finding not reported)']).map(
+        (i) =>
+          'unresolved quality finding — the repair left the diff unchanged (a kept plan-prescribed element, or a ' +
+          `finding the implementer rejected); verify by hand on inspection: ${i}`,
+      )
+      break
+    }
     if (round >= 2) return { id: task.id, title: task.title, outcome: 'BLOCKED', reason: 'review-loop-exhausted (quality)' }
-    await agent(
-      `${STANDING}\n\nFix the quality issues on task ${task.id}. Address EACH Important/Minor issue; do not widen ` +
-        'scope. Keep build + tests green; leave edits unstaged.\n\nISSUES:\n- ' + (qual?.issues || ['(none reported)']).join('\n- '),
+    if (qual && qual.diff_fingerprint) seenFingerprints.add(qual.diff_fingerprint)
+    const fix = await agent(
+      `${STANDING}\n\nThe quality review of task ${task.id} requested changes. Address EACH Important/Minor issue; ` +
+        'do not widen scope; keep build + tests green; leave edits unstaged. The task text below is the ratified plan.\n\n' +
+        'HOLD CLAUSE — most issues you simply fix. But if honouring an issue would force you to deviate from a ' +
+        'name, signature, or structure THIS TASK prescribes (or to break the downstream callers the plan ' +
+        'prescribes), do NOT deviate. Two cases:\n' +
+        '  • The finding is cosmetic — keeping the plan leaves the build and tests GREEN (e.g. a name reads ' +
+        'slightly off but everything compiles and passes). KEEP the plan, fix every other issue, and record each ' +
+        'kept finding in `held` (finding / kept / why). Do not rename or restructure to chase it.\n' +
+        '  • Honouring the plan would make the code WRONG — it would not build, a test would fail, or a ' +
+        'prescribed caller would break. That is a real plan-vs-correctness conflict, not a cosmetic hold: report ' +
+        'status BLOCKED with the conflict in `reason`. Never bury a correctness defect in `held`.\n' +
+        'A finding whose only remedy is to diverge from the ratified plan must be held or escalated, never chased ' +
+        'into a deviation the next review flags.\n\n' +
+        `TASK ${task.id} — ${task.title}\n${task.text}\n\nISSUES:\n- ` + (qual?.issues || ['(none reported)']).join('\n- '),
       { agentType: 'implementer', label: `impl-fix-qual:${task.id}`, phase: 'Per-task loop', schema: IMPL_SCHEMA },
     )
+    if (fix && (fix.status === 'BLOCKED' || fix.status === 'NEEDS_CONTEXT')) {
+      // The implementer judged a finding a real plan-vs-correctness conflict. Escalate loudly so it is
+      // adjudicated, rather than letting that judgement ride a green commit as a quiet concern.
+      return {
+        id: task.id,
+        title: task.title,
+        outcome: 'BLOCKED',
+        reason: `quality/plan conflict: ${fix.reason || 'honouring a quality finding would break the ratified plan'}`,
+      }
+    }
+    if (fix && fix.held && fix.held.length) {
+      // The implementer kept plan-prescribed elements against cosmetic findings. Stop chasing — re-running
+      // quality would only re-flag the unchanged code. Surface the held findings as concerns to weigh.
+      heldConcerns = fix.held.map(
+        (h) => `quality finding held against the ratified plan: ${h.finding} — kept ${h.kept}; honouring it would ${h.why}`,
+      )
+      break
+    }
   }
 
-  return { id: task.id, title: task.title, outcome: 'DONE', concerns }
+  return { id: task.id, title: task.title, outcome: 'DONE', concerns: [...concerns, ...heldConcerns] }
 }
 
 const results = []