diff --git a/bin/multiagent-safety.js b/bin/multiagent-safety.js
index 2d1e140..428af80 100755
--- a/bin/multiagent-safety.js
+++ b/bin/multiagent-safety.js
@@ -754,6 +754,36 @@ function compactAutoFinishPathSegments(message) {
   });
 }
 
+function detectRecoverableAutoFinishConflict(message) {
+  const text = String(message || '').trim();
+  if (!text) {
+    return null;
+  }
+
+  if (/rebase --continue/i.test(text) && /rebase --abort/i.test(text)) {
+    return {
+      rawLabel: 'auto-finish requires manual rebase.',
+      summary: 'manual rebase required in the source-probe worktree; run rebase --continue or rebase --abort',
+    };
+  }
+
+  if (/Rebase\/merge '.+' into '.+' and resolve conflicts before finishing\./i.test(text)) {
+    return {
+      rawLabel: 'auto-finish requires manual rebase or merge.',
+      summary: 'manual rebase or merge required before auto-finish can continue',
+    };
+  }
+
+  if (/Merge conflict detected while merging/i.test(text)) {
+    return {
+      rawLabel: 'auto-finish requires manual merge resolution.',
+      summary: 'manual merge resolution required before auto-finish can continue',
+    };
+  }
+
+  return null;
+}
+
 function summarizeAutoFinishDetail(detail) {
   const trimmed = String(detail || '').trim();
   const match = trimmed.match(/^\[(\w+)\]\s+([^:]+):\s*(.*)$/);
@@ -764,8 +794,11 @@ function summarizeAutoFinishDetail(detail) {
   const [, status, rawBranch, rawMessage] = match;
   const branch = truncateMiddle(rawBranch, DOCTOR_AUTO_FINISH_BRANCH_LABEL_MAX);
   let message = String(rawMessage || '').trim();
+  const recoverableConflict = status === 'skip' ? detectRecoverableAutoFinishConflict(message) : null;
 
-  if (status === 'fail') {
+  if (recoverableConflict) {
+    message = recoverableConflict.summary;
+  } else if (status === 'fail') {
     message = message.replace(/^auto-finish failed\.?\s*/i, '');
     if (/\[agent-sync-guard\]/.test(message) && /Resolve conflicts/i.test(message)) {
       message = 'rebase conflict in finish flow; run rebase --continue or rebase --abort in the source-probe worktree';
@@ -3563,6 +3596,14 @@ function autoFinishReadyAgentBranches(repoRoot, options = {}) {
       continue;
     }
 
+    const recoverableConflict = detectRecoverableAutoFinishConflict(combinedOutput);
+    if (recoverableConflict) {
+      summary.skipped += 1;
+      const tail = combinedOutput ? ` ${combinedOutput.split('\n').slice(-2).join(' | ')}` : '';
+      summary.details.push(`[skip] ${branch}: ${recoverableConflict.rawLabel}${tail}`);
+      continue;
+    }
+
     summary.failed += 1;
     const tail = combinedOutput ? ` ${combinedOutput.split('\n').slice(-2).join(' | ')}` : '';
     summary.details.push(`[fail] ${branch}: auto-finish failed.${tail}`);
diff --git a/openspec/changes/agent-codex-doctor-auto-finish-manual-conflict-2026-04-22-10-42/proposal.md b/openspec/changes/agent-codex-doctor-auto-finish-manual-conflict-2026-04-22-10-42/proposal.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5a8eea7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/openspec/changes/agent-codex-doctor-auto-finish-manual-conflict-2026-04-22-10-42/proposal.md
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+## Why
+
+- `gx doctor` currently counts recoverable auto-finish rebase conflicts as hard failures even when the repo itself is safe and the only remaining work is a manual conflict resolution step.
+- That makes long doctor sweeps look broken or unsafe when the real state is narrower: the branch cannot be auto-finished yet and needs a human to rebase or merge it.
+
+## What Changes
+
+- Reclassify recoverable auto-finish conflict states during `gx doctor` from `[fail]` to a manual-action `[skip]` status.
+- Keep the compact default summary actionable and keep `--verbose-auto-finish` useful by preserving the raw tail text behind the skip line.
+- Add install-test coverage for the new summary counts and color behavior.
+
+## Impact
+
+- Affects only doctor auto-finish reporting for branches that hit recoverable rebase or merge conflicts.
+- Keeps true auto-finish failures red and failed; only manual-resolution conflict cases move to the skip/pending bucket.
+- Main risk: conflict detection could miss a new finish-script wording, so the pattern matching should stay narrow and test-backed.
diff --git a/openspec/changes/agent-codex-doctor-auto-finish-manual-conflict-2026-04-22-10-42/specs/doctor-workflow/spec.md b/openspec/changes/agent-codex-doctor-auto-finish-manual-conflict-2026-04-22-10-42/specs/doctor-workflow/spec.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..93786ed
--- /dev/null
+++ b/openspec/changes/agent-codex-doctor-auto-finish-manual-conflict-2026-04-22-10-42/specs/doctor-workflow/spec.md
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+## ADDED Requirements
+
+### Requirement: doctor sweep classifies manual conflict work as actionable skips
+The human-readable `gx doctor` auto-finish sweep SHALL classify recoverable manual conflict states as skip/manual-action rows instead of hard failures.
+
+#### Scenario: auto-finish rebase conflict becomes a skip/manual-action row
+- **GIVEN** a ready local `agent/*` branch exists during `gx doctor`
+- **AND** `scripts/agent-branch-finish.sh` stops because it needs a human to continue or abort a source-probe rebase
+- **WHEN** doctor prints the auto-finish summary
+- **THEN** the summary SHALL not count that branch as failed
+- **AND** the branch detail SHALL be emitted as a skip/manual-action row with the rebase instructions preserved in verbose mode
+
+#### Scenario: true auto-finish failures remain failures
+- **GIVEN** a ready local `agent/*` branch exists during `gx doctor`
+- **AND** `scripts/agent-branch-finish.sh` fails for a reason other than a recoverable manual conflict
+- **WHEN** doctor prints the auto-finish summary
+- **THEN** the summary SHALL still count that branch as failed
+- **AND** the branch detail SHALL remain a failed row
diff --git a/openspec/changes/agent-codex-doctor-auto-finish-manual-conflict-2026-04-22-10-42/tasks.md b/openspec/changes/agent-codex-doctor-auto-finish-manual-conflict-2026-04-22-10-42/tasks.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cd23542
--- /dev/null
+++ b/openspec/changes/agent-codex-doctor-auto-finish-manual-conflict-2026-04-22-10-42/tasks.md
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+## 1. Specification
+
+- [x] 1.1 Finalize proposal scope and acceptance criteria for `doctor-auto-finish-manual-conflict`.
+- [x] 1.2 Define normative requirements in `specs/doctor-workflow/spec.md`.
+
+## 2. Implementation
+
+- [x] 2.1 Reclassify recoverable doctor auto-finish rebase/merge conflicts from failed rows to manual-action skip rows.
+- [x] 2.2 Keep compact default output actionable and preserve verbose raw tail text for manual conflict rows.
+- [x] 2.3 Update focused doctor/install regressions for counts, detail text, and ANSI colors.
+
+## 3. Verification
+
+- [x] 3.1 Run focused doctor/install verification (`node --test --test-name-pattern "doctor" test/install.test.js`, `node --check bin/multiagent-safety.js`).
+- [x] 3.2 Run `openspec validate agent-codex-doctor-auto-finish-manual-conflict-2026-04-22-10-42 --type change --strict`.
+- [x] 3.3 Run `openspec validate --specs`.
+
+Verification note: `node --check bin/multiagent-safety.js` passed. `node --test --test-name-pattern "doctor" test/install.test.js` passed with `18/18` doctor-focused tests, including the new skip/manual-conflict regressions. `openspec validate agent-codex-doctor-auto-finish-manual-conflict-2026-04-22-10-42 --type change --strict` passed, and `openspec validate --specs` returned `No items found to validate.` Extra check: `npm test` still fails on the pre-existing metadata parity assertion that `scripts/agent-branch-start.sh` diverges from `templates/scripts/agent-branch-start.sh`; this branch did not modify either file.
+
+## 4. Completion
+
+- [ ] 4.1 Finish the agent branch via PR merge + cleanup (`gx finish --via-pr --wait-for-merge --cleanup` or `bash scripts/agent-branch-finish.sh --branch <agent-branch> --base <base-branch> --via-pr --wait-for-merge --cleanup`).
+- [ ] 4.2 Record PR URL + final `MERGED` state in the completion handoff.
+- [ ] 4.3 Confirm sandbox cleanup (`git worktree list`, `git branch -a`) or capture a `BLOCKED:` handoff if merge/cleanup is pending.
diff --git a/test/install.test.js b/test/install.test.js
index b3a5931..1af295c 100644
--- a/test/install.test.js
+++ b/test/install.test.js
@@ -1669,7 +1669,7 @@ exit 1
   assert.match(combinedOutput, /Auto-finish sweep \(base=main\): attempted=1, completed=1, skipped=\d+, failed=0/);
 });
 
-test('doctor compacts auto-finish failures by default and expands them with --verbose-auto-finish', () => {
+test('doctor treats recoverable auto-finish rebase conflicts as actionable skips', () => {
   const repoDir = initRepoOnBranch('main');
   seedCommit(repoDir);
   attachOriginRemoteForBranch(repoDir, 'main');
@@ -1706,10 +1706,11 @@ exit 1
   );
   assert.equal(result.status, 0, result.stderr || result.stdout);
   const compactOutput = `${result.stdout}\n${result.stderr}`;
+  assert.match(compactOutput, /Auto-finish sweep \(base=main\): attempted=1, completed=0, skipped=\d+, failed=0/);
   assert.match(
     compactOutput,
     new RegExp(
-      `\\[fail\\] ${escapeRegexLiteral(readyBranch)}: rebase conflict in finish flow; run rebase --continue or rebase --abort in the source-probe worktree`,
+      `\\[skip\\] ${escapeRegexLiteral(readyBranch)}: manual rebase required in the source-probe worktree; run rebase --continue or rebase --abort`,
     ),
   );
   assert.doesNotMatch(compactOutput, /git -C "\/tmp\/very\/long\/path\/for\/source-probe-agent-worktree/);
@@ -1721,11 +1722,11 @@ exit 1
   );
   assert.equal(result.status, 0, result.stderr || result.stdout);
   const verboseOutput = `${result.stdout}\n${result.stderr}`;
-  assert.match(verboseOutput, new RegExp(`\\[fail\\] ${escapeRegexLiteral(readyBranch)}: auto-finish failed\\.`));
+  assert.match(verboseOutput, new RegExp(`\\[skip\\] ${escapeRegexLiteral(readyBranch)}: auto-finish requires manual rebase\\.`));
   assert.match(verboseOutput, /git -C ".+rebase --continue/);
 });
 
-test('doctor colors failure and success status lines when color output is enabled', () => {
+test('doctor colors manual conflict skips yellow and success status lines green', () => {
   const repoDir = initRepoOnBranch('main');
   seedCommit(repoDir);
   attachOriginRemoteForBranch(repoDir, 'main');
@@ -1767,12 +1768,12 @@ exit 1
   assert.match(ansiOutput, /\u001B\[32m\[gitguardex\] ✅ No safety issues detected\.\u001B\[0m/);
   assert.match(
     ansiOutput,
-    /\u001B\[31m\[gitguardex\] Auto-finish sweep \(base=main\): attempted=1, completed=0, skipped=\d+, failed=1\u001B\[0m/,
+    /\u001B\[33m\[gitguardex\] Auto-finish sweep \(base=main\): attempted=1, completed=0, skipped=\d+, failed=0\u001B\[0m/,
   );
   assert.match(
     ansiOutput,
     new RegExp(
-      `\\u001B\\[31m\\[gitguardex\\]\\s+\\[fail\\] ${escapeRegexLiteral(readyBranch)}: rebase conflict in finish flow; run rebase --continue or rebase --abort in the source-probe worktree\\u001B\\[0m`,
+      `\\u001B\\[33m\\[gitguardex\\]\\s+\\[skip\\] ${escapeRegexLiteral(readyBranch)}: manual rebase required in the source-probe worktree; run rebase --continue or rebase --abort\\u001B\\[0m`,
     ),
   );
   assert.match(ansiOutput, /\u001B\[32m\[gitguardex\] ✅ Repo is fully safe\.\u001B\[0m/);