diff --git a/scripts/agent/run-scheduler-cycle.mjs b/scripts/agent/run-scheduler-cycle.mjs
index f68e252..d5e9f47 100644
--- a/scripts/agent/run-scheduler-cycle.mjs
+++ b/scripts/agent/run-scheduler-cycle.mjs
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env node
+// Source of truth: numbered MUST steps 2 and 4-14 in src/prompts/scheduler-flow.md are
+// implemented by this script; step 3 (policy-file read) is best-effort and non-fatal.
 import fs from 'node:fs/promises';
 import path from 'node:path';
 import { spawn } from 'node:child_process';
@@ -237,6 +239,14 @@ async function main() {
   const schedulerConfig = await getSchedulerConfig(cadence, { isInteractive });
   const logDir = path.resolve(process.cwd(), 'task-logs', cadence);
 
+  const agentsPath = path.resolve(process.cwd(), 'AGENTS.md');
+  try {
+    const agentsContent = await fs.readFile(agentsPath, 'utf8');
+    process.stdout.write(`${agentsContent}\n`);
+  } catch {
+    console.log('No AGENTS.md found; continuing');
+  }
+
   while (true) {
     const checkResult = await runCommand('npm', ['run', `lock:check:${cadence}`]);
     const checkPayload = parseJsonFromOutput(`${checkResult.stdout}\n${checkResult.stderr}`) || {};
diff --git a/src/prompts/scheduler-flow.md b/src/prompts/scheduler-flow.md
index 2abc07c..52c5284 100644
--- a/src/prompts/scheduler-flow.md
+++ b/src/prompts/scheduler-flow.md
@@ -46,9 +46,10 @@ Every agent prompt invoked by the schedulers (daily/weekly) MUST enforce this co
 1. Set cadence variables before any command:
    - `cadence` = `daily` or `weekly`
    - `log_dir` = `task-logs/<cadence>/`
-   - `branch_prefix` = `agents/<cadence>/`
    - `prompt_dir` = `src/prompts/<cadence>/`
 
+   Note: branch naming (for example `agents/<cadence>/`) is orchestration-level behavior and is not used by `run-scheduler-cycle.mjs`.
+
 2. Run preflight to build the exclusion set:
 
    ```bash
@@ -59,7 +60,7 @@ Every agent prompt invoked by the schedulers (daily/weekly) MUST enforce this co
    - Use `excluded` from the `npm run lock:check:<cadence>` JSON output.
    - If `excluded` is unavailable, fallback to the union of `locked`, `paused`, and `completed` from that same JSON payload.
 
-3. Read policy file(s). This step is conditional: if `AGENTS.md` is missing, continue without failing.
+3. Read policy file(s) once before the run loop. This step is conditional: if `AGENTS.md` is missing, continue without failing.
 
    ```bash
    test -f AGENTS.md && cat AGENTS.md || echo "No AGENTS.md found; continuing"
diff --git a/test/scheduler-ratchet.test.mjs b/test/scheduler-ratchet.test.mjs
index e981f4b..95306a1 100644
--- a/test/scheduler-ratchet.test.mjs
+++ b/test/scheduler-ratchet.test.mjs
@@ -120,3 +120,29 @@ describe('Scheduler Ratchet Logic (Log Checking)', () => {
     assert.deepStrictEqual(result.available, ['agentA', 'agentB', 'agentC']);
   });
 });
+
+
+describe('Scheduler cycle ordering guarantees', () => {
+  it('keeps lock-check → lock-acquire → handoff → artifact-verify → validation → complete → completed-log order', async () => {
+    const { readFile } = await import('node:fs/promises');
+    const source = await readFile(new URL('../scripts/agent/run-scheduler-cycle.mjs', import.meta.url), 'utf8');
+
+    const order = [
+      "const checkResult = await runCommand('npm', ['run', `lock:check:${cadence}`]);",
+      "const lockResult = await runCommand(",
+      "if (schedulerConfig.handoffCommand)",
+      "const artifactCheck = await runCommand('node', [",
+      "for (const validation of schedulerConfig.validationCommands)",
+      "const completeResult = await runCommand(",
+      "await writeLog({ cadence, agent: selectedAgent, status: 'completed'",
+    ];
+
+    let previousIndex = -1;
+    for (const token of order) {
+      const index = source.indexOf(token);
+      assert.ok(index >= 0, `Expected token not found: ${token}`);
+      assert.ok(index > previousIndex, `Token out of order: ${token}`);
+      previousIndex = index;
+    }
+  });
+});