diff --git a/implement/workflows/implement-loop.js b/implement/workflows/implement-loop.js
index 9618fab..7d1d1aa 100644
--- a/implement/workflows/implement-loop.js
+++ b/implement/workflows/implement-loop.js
@@ -202,8 +202,17 @@ const PREFLIGHT_SCHEMA = {
 const TASK_INDEX_SCHEMA = {
   type: 'object',
   additionalProperties: false,
-  required: ['total_tasks', 'task_ids'],
+  required: ['clean', 'head_sha', 'branch', 'total_tasks', 'task_ids'],
   properties: {
+    // Folded clean-tree preflight (standard mode; issue #29): the same checks
+    // the dedicated preflight dispatch runs in mini mode, carried by the
+    // plan-index agent so a standard iteration saves one whole primed context.
+    // The script evaluates `clean` BEFORE any cardinality guard — a dirty tree
+    // never reaches the per-task loop.
+    clean: { type: 'boolean', description: '`git status --porcelain` produced no output' },
+    head_sha: { type: 'string' },
+    branch: { type: 'string' },
+    dirty_paths: { type: 'array', items: { type: 'string' } },
     total_tasks: {
       type: 'integer',
       description:
@@ -404,25 +413,32 @@ const FINALIZE_SCHEMA = {
   },
 }
 
-// ---- Phase 0 — clean-tree preflight ------------------------------------
-phase('Preflight')
-const pre = await agent(
-  `${STANDING}\n\nYou are the clean-tree preflight for an implement iteration. ` +
-    'Run `git status --porcelain`, `git rev-parse HEAD`, and `git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD`. ' +
-    'Report whether the tree is clean (no porcelain output), the HEAD sha, the branch, and any dirty paths. ' +
-    'Do NOT modify anything, do NOT commit. The HEAD sha is an informational anchor only — never a reset target.',
-  { model: 'sonnet', effort: 'medium', label: 'preflight', phase: 'Preflight', schema: PREFLIGHT_SCHEMA },
-)
-if (!pre) return { status: 'BLOCKED', iter_id, reason: 'infra: preflight agent did not return' }
-if (!pre.clean) {
-  return {
-    status: 'BLOCKED',
-    iter_id,
-    reason: 'infra: working tree dirty — the orchestrator must clean it before re-invoking',
-    dirty_paths: pre.dirty_paths || [],
+// ---- Phase 0 — clean-tree preflight (mini mode only) --------------------
+// Standard mode folds these checks into the plan-index dispatch (issue #29):
+// the check itself stays deterministic in the script (schema fields evaluated
+// before anything else), only the dedicated carrier dispatch is saved. Mini
+// mode has no plan-index to fold into, so it keeps the dedicated preflight.
+let startSha = null
+if (mode === 'mini') {
+  phase('Preflight')
+  const pre = await agent(
+    `${STANDING}\n\nYou are the clean-tree preflight for an implement iteration. ` +
+      'Run `git status --porcelain`, `git rev-parse HEAD`, and `git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD`. ' +
+      'Report whether the tree is clean (no porcelain output), the HEAD sha, the branch, and any dirty paths. ' +
+      'Do NOT modify anything, do NOT commit. The HEAD sha is an informational anchor only — never a reset target.',
+    { model: 'sonnet', effort: 'medium', label: 'preflight', phase: 'Preflight', schema: PREFLIGHT_SCHEMA },
+  )
+  if (!pre) return { status: 'BLOCKED', iter_id, reason: 'infra: preflight agent did not return' }
+  if (!pre.clean) {
+    return {
+      status: 'BLOCKED',
+      iter_id,
+      reason: 'infra: working tree dirty — the orchestrator must clean it before re-invoking',
+      dirty_paths: pre.dirty_paths || [],
+    }
   }
+  startSha = pre.head_sha
 }
-const startSha = pre.head_sha
 
 // ---- Phase 1 — assemble the task list ----------------------------------
 let tasks
@@ -471,7 +487,11 @@ if (mode === 'mini') {
   // narrower than the closed across-tasks vector and rests on the planner's
   // bite-sized-task invariant; it is the one truncation slice left open here.
   const index = await agent(
-    `${STANDING}\n\nRead the plan at ${plan_path}. List the task ` +
+    `${STANDING}\n\nFIRST the folded clean-tree preflight: run \`git status --porcelain\`, \`git rev-parse HEAD\`, ` +
+      'and `git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD`; report `clean` (no porcelain output), `head_sha`, `branch`, and any ' +
+      '`dirty_paths`. The HEAD sha is an informational anchor only — never a reset target. If the tree is DIRTY, ' +
+      'stop there: return task_ids: [] and total_tasks: 0 without reading the plan.\n\n' +
+      `Otherwise read the plan at ${plan_path}. List the task ` +
       (task_range
         ? `ids in the range ${task_range[0]}..${task_range[1]} (inclusive, 1-based)`
         : 'ids of EVERY task') +
@@ -480,7 +500,20 @@ if (mode === 'mini') {
       '`total_tasks`: the count of ALL tasks the entire plan defines, ignoring any range filter. Do not edit anything.',
     { model: 'sonnet', effort: 'medium', label: 'plan-index', phase: 'Per-task loop', schema: TASK_INDEX_SCHEMA },
   )
-  if (!index || !index.task_ids || index.task_ids.length === 0) {
+  if (!index) {
+    return { status: 'BLOCKED', iter_id, reason: 'infra: plan-index agent did not return' }
+  }
+  // Folded preflight verdict — evaluated before every cardinality guard.
+  if (index.clean === false) {
+    return {
+      status: 'BLOCKED',
+      iter_id,
+      reason: 'infra: working tree dirty — the orchestrator must clean it before re-invoking',
+      dirty_paths: index.dirty_paths || [],
+    }
+  }
+  startSha = index.head_sha
+  if (!index.task_ids || index.task_ids.length === 0) {
     return { status: 'NEEDS_CONTEXT', iter_id, reason: `no tasks found in ${plan_path}` }
   }
   // Dedup the enumerated ids (first title wins); they define the enumerate set.