diff --git a/LABELS.md b/LABELS.md
index 68d6fac..6a5af1e 100644
--- a/LABELS.md
+++ b/LABELS.md
@@ -174,7 +174,11 @@ take. It is hand-set doctrine only: nothing in `actions/` sets, clears,
 reads, or validates it, and no reconciler enforces the assignee requirement.
 An `attention` issue without an assignee is therefore a board bug, not a
 demand; anyone may assign it or remove the flag. It never composes with
-`post-merge`, whose released claim has no assignee to answer the demand.
+`post-merge`, whose released claim has no assignee to answer the demand. The
+one machine-clear exception is the derived `claimed` → `post-merge`
+transition: releasing the assignee clears a carried `attention` in the same
+edit. A hand-created `post-merge` + `attention` composition is flagged, not
+rewritten.
 
 The three signals are mutually distinct: `attention` means an assignee owes
 a move; `needs-ruling` means a human owes a decision under
diff --git a/actions/issueflow-reconcile/issueflow-reconcile.sh b/actions/issueflow-reconcile/issueflow-reconcile.sh
index f5cca51..3ddb687 100644
--- a/actions/issueflow-reconcile/issueflow-reconcile.sh
+++ b/actions/issueflow-reconcile/issueflow-reconcile.sh
@@ -281,7 +281,7 @@ last_issue_activity() {
 
 reconcile_issue() {
   local n="$1" decision refs cross_refs states age assignees open_pr=false label owners
-  local merged_ref=false unchecked=""
+  local merged_ref=false unchecked="" remove_claimed=claimed
   decision="$(queue_decision <<<"$ISSUE_LABELS")"
   case "$decision" in
     ADD_NEEDS_TRIAGE)
@@ -307,12 +307,16 @@ $unchecked
 
 The merge releases the claim; no builder owes a draft. Triage owes completion in a follow-up comment that names the owner and wake condition."
       owners="$(jq -r '[.assignees[].login] | join(",")' <<<"$ISSUE_JSON")"
+      # `attention` is a demand for the assigned builder. The derived
+      # transition releases that builder, so carrying the demand forward
+      # would create an impossible parked-for state (#175 D4).
+      has_issue_label attention && remove_claimed=claimed,attention
       if [ -n "$owners" ]; then
         run gh issue edit "$n" -R "$REPO" --remove-assignee "$owners" \
-          --remove-label claimed --add-label post-merge >/dev/null
+          --remove-label "$remove_claimed" --add-label post-merge >/dev/null
       else
         run gh issue edit "$n" -R "$REPO" \
-          --remove-label claimed --add-label post-merge >/dev/null
+          --remove-label "$remove_claimed" --add-label post-merge >/dev/null
       fi
       log "#$n: merged Refs PR -> post-merge; claim released"
     else
@@ -359,10 +363,10 @@ The merge releases the claim; no builder owes a draft. Triage owes completion in
     fi
   elif has_issue_label post-merge; then
     assignees="$(jq '.assignees | length' <<<"$ISSUE_JSON")"
-    if [ "$assignees" -gt 0 ]; then
+    if [ "$assignees" -gt 0 ] || has_issue_label attention; then
       ensure_comment "$n" post-merge-assigned \
-        'This `post-merge` issue has an assignee. The sweep will not undo a hand-assignment; triage must either clear it or move the issue back into buildable queue state.'
-      log "#$n: assigned post-merge issue flagged"
+        'This `post-merge` issue has an assignee or `attention`. The sweep will not undo hand-set intent; triage must clear the invalid composition or move the issue back into buildable queue state.'
+      log "#$n: assigned or attention-bearing post-merge issue flagged"
     fi
   elif has_issue_label blocked; then
     refs="$(blocked_references <<<"$(jq -r '.body // ""' <<<"$ISSUE_JSON")")"
diff --git a/test/issueflow-reconcile.test.sh b/test/issueflow-reconcile.test.sh
index 9a89551..7679134 100644
--- a/test/issueflow-reconcile.test.sh
+++ b/test/issueflow-reconcile.test.sh
@@ -314,6 +314,7 @@ printf '[]\n' >"$(cfix 35)"
 transition="$(issue_probe 35 claimed 1 false true $'- [x] built\n- [ ] verify dispatch\n  * [ ] confirm warning clears')"
 check "merged Refs + unchecked criteria transitions in the sweep body" 0 "" \
   grep -q 'merged Refs PR -> post-merge; claim released' <<<"$transition"
+# shellcheck disable=SC2016 # positional parameters belong to bash -c
 check "...names every remaining criterion verbatim in the comment" 0 "" \
   bash -c 'grep -qF -- "- [ ] verify dispatch" "$1" &&
     grep -qF -- "  * [ ] confirm warning clears" "$1"' _ "$TMP/posted-35"
@@ -337,6 +338,52 @@ check "assigned post-merge is flagged" 0 "" \
 check "...and the hand-assignment is not repaired" 1 "" \
   grep -qF -- 'issue edit 37' "$TMP/issue-edits"
 
+# -- non-triggers stay byte-for-byte outside the transition ------------------
+recent_timeline() {
+  jq -n --arg at "$(iso_at $((INOW - 60)))" \
+    '[{"event":"assigned","created_at":$at}]' >"$(tfix "$1")"
+  printf '[]\n' >"$(cfix "$1")"
+}
+edit_count_before="$(wc -l <"$TMP/issue-edits")"
+recent_timeline 38
+open_refs="$(issue_probe 38 claimed 1 true false '- [ ] verify after merge')"
+check "open Refs PR leaves the issue exactly as found" 0 "" \
+  test -z "$open_refs"
+# shellcheck disable=SC2016 # positional parameters belong to bash -c
+check "...with no edit or comment" 0 "" \
+  bash -c 'test "$1" -eq "$(wc -l <"$2")" && test ! -f "$3"' _ \
+  "$edit_count_before" "$TMP/issue-edits" "$TMP/posted-38"
+
+recent_timeline 39
+merged_closes="$(issue_probe 39 claimed 1 false false '- [ ] verify after merge')"
+check "merged Closes PR leaves a recent claim exactly as found" 0 "" \
+  test -z "$merged_closes"
+# shellcheck disable=SC2016 # positional parameters belong to bash -c
+check "...with no edit or comment" 0 "" \
+  bash -c 'test "$1" -eq "$(wc -l <"$2")" && test ! -f "$3"' _ \
+  "$edit_count_before" "$TMP/issue-edits" "$TMP/posted-39"
+
+recent_timeline 40
+all_checked="$(issue_probe 40 claimed 1 false true '- [x] verified after merge')"
+check "merged Refs with zero unchecked boxes leaves the issue exactly as found" 0 "" \
+  test -z "$all_checked"
+# shellcheck disable=SC2016 # positional parameters belong to bash -c
+check "...with no edit or comment" 0 "" \
+  bash -c 'test "$1" -eq "$(wc -l <"$2")" && test ! -f "$3"' _ \
+  "$edit_count_before" "$TMP/issue-edits" "$TMP/posted-40"
+
+printf '[]\n' >"$(cfix 41)"
+attention_transition="$(issue_probe 41 $'claimed\nattention' 1 false true '- [ ] verify')"
+check "derived post-merge transition clears attention with the released claim" 0 "" \
+  grep -qF -- '--remove-label claimed,attention --add-label post-merge' "$TMP/issue-edits"
+check "...still completes the transition" 0 "" \
+  grep -qF 'merged Refs PR -> post-merge; claim released' <<<"$attention_transition"
+
+printf '[]\n' >"$(cfix 42)"
+issue_probe 42 $'post-merge\nattention' 0 >/dev/null
+check "hand-created post-merge plus attention is flagged, not rewritten" 0 "" \
+  grep -qF '<!-- issueflow:post-merge-assigned -->' "$TMP/posted-42"
+
 # -- offsite stops only the reclaim clock ------------------------------------
 offsite="$(issue_probe 25 $'claimed\noffsite')"
 check "a 10-day-quiet offsite claim is not reclaimed" 1 "" \
diff --git a/test/labels-reconcile.test.sh b/test/labels-reconcile.test.sh
index 2c41628..ed3439c 100755
--- a/test/labels-reconcile.test.sh
+++ b/test/labels-reconcile.test.sh
@@ -77,6 +77,9 @@ expect "a 300-char reason passes through whole" 300 "${#exact_reason}"
 # -- a missing core taxonomy row is visible without mutating labels ----------
 core_rows="$(core_label_rows)"
 core_names="$(cut -d'|' -f1 <<<"$core_rows")"
+expect "post-merge core row is byte-exact" \
+  "post-merge|006B75|Refs-linked PR merged; post-merge criteria remain and triage owns completion" \
+  "$(grep '^post-merge|' <<<"$core_rows")"
 expect "a complete core taxonomy does not warn" "" \
   "$(missing_core_labels_warning "$core_rows" "$core_names")"
 expect "one missing core label is named exactly" \