diff --git a/scripts/opencode-builder.sh b/scripts/opencode-builder.sh
index 11996996a..a9b9f27cf 100755
--- a/scripts/opencode-builder.sh
+++ b/scripts/opencode-builder.sh
@@ -9,12 +9,20 @@
 
 set -uo pipefail
 
+# ── Debug mode ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+if [[ "${BUILDER_DEBUG:-0}" == "1" ]]; then
+  set -x
+  log "DEBUG MODE ENABLED"
+fi
+
 # ── Configuration (override via environment) ──────────────────────────────
 PORT="${OPENCODE_PORT:-4096}"
 HOST="${OPENCODE_HOST:-127.0.0.1}"
 BASE="http://${HOST}:${PORT}"
 HEALTH_TIMEOUT=60
 MAX_IDLE_PER_MINUTE=10
+    SCRIPT_TIMEOUT_SEC=300  # timeout for list_prs / list_issues scripts (Forgejo is slow — allow 5 min)
+SESSION_SCRIPT_TIMEOUT=30  # timeout for session_* scripts
 
 # Worker pool sizing
 total_max_workers="${CA_MAX_PARALLEL_WORKERS:-4}"
@@ -129,7 +137,7 @@ query_all_sessions() {
 find_sessions_by_prefix() {
   local prefix="$1"
   local status_filter="${2:-all}"
-  $SESSION_FIND_PREFIX --server "${BASE}" --prefix "$prefix" --exclude-supervisor --status "$status_filter" 2>/dev/null
+  timeout "$SESSION_SCRIPT_TIMEOUT" $SESSION_FIND_PREFIX --server "${BASE}" --prefix "$prefix" --exclude-supervisor --status "$status_filter" 2>/dev/null
 }
 
 get_busy_worker_tags() {
@@ -278,54 +286,68 @@ fetch_list_script() {
   fi
 
   local result
-  result=$(npx --yes tsx "$script_path" \
+  result=$(timeout "$SCRIPT_TIMEOUT_SEC" npx --yes tsx "$script_path" \
     --url "$forgejo_url" \
     --pat "$forgejo_pat" \
     --owner "$forgejo_owner" \
     --repo "$forgejo_repo" 2>/dev/null)
+  local status=$?
+  if [[ $status -eq 139 || $status -eq 137 || $status -eq 143 || $status -eq 124 ]]; then
+    log "[fetch_list_script] WARNING: $(basename "$script_path") timed out after ${SCRIPT_TIMEOUT_SEC}s (exit ${status})"
+    echo "[]"
+    return
+  fi
+  if [[ $status -ne 0 ]]; then
+    log "[fetch_list_script] WARNING: $(basename "$script_path") failed with exit ${status}"
+    echo "[]"
+    return
+  fi
   local first_char="${result%"${result#?}"}"
   if [[ "$first_char" == "[" ]]; then
     echo "$result"
   else
+    log "[fetch_list_script] WARNING: $(basename "$script_path") produced non-JSON output (starts with '${first_char}'); treating as empty"
     echo "[]"
   fi
 }
 
 # ── Worker prompt builders ─────────────────────────────────────────────────
+# All fields (title, body) have newlines collapsed so the prompt file stays
+# valid as a single-line-ish text file. The full item JSON is embedded compact
+# (jq -c . → one line, no literal newlines) at the end of the prompt.
+# session_start.ts reads this file as plain text and sends it to the agent.
 build_impl_prompt() {
   local item_json="$1"
   local kind="$2"
   local work_num="$3"
 
-  local title body milestone milestone_id milestone_title labels_json
-  title=$(echo "$item_json" | jq -r '.title')
-  body=$(echo "$item_json" | jq -r '.body // ""')
-  if [[ "$kind" == "ISSUE" ]]; then
-    milestone=$(echo "$item_json" | jq -r '.milestone')
-  else
-    milestone=$(echo "$item_json" | jq -r '.milestone // null')
-  fi
-  milestone_id=$(echo "$milestone" | jq -r 'if . == null then 0 else .id end')
-  milestone_title=$(echo "$milestone" | jq -r 'if . == null then "" else .title end')
-  labels_json=$(echo "$item_json" | jq -r '.labels')
+  local work_type; work_type=$([ "$kind" == "ISSUE" ] && echo "issue_impl" || echo "pr_fix")
+  local title body milestone_id milestone_title labels_json compact_item
+  title=$(echo "$item_json" | jq -r '.title' | tr '\n' ' ' | sed 's/[[:space:]]\+/ /g')
+  body=$(echo "$item_json" | jq -r '.body // ""' | tr '\n' ' ' | sed 's/[[:space:]]\+/ /g')
+  milestone_id=$(echo "$item_json" | jq -r '.milestone.id // 0')
+  milestone_title=$(echo "$item_json" | jq -r '.milestone.title // ""' | tr '\n' ' ' | sed 's/[[:space:]]\+/ /g')
+  labels_json=$(echo "$item_json" | jq -c '.labels // []')
+  compact_item=$(echo "$item_json" | jq -c .)
 
   cat <<PROMPT
 issue_number: ${work_num}
 pr_number: ${work_num}
-work_type: $([ "$kind" == "ISSUE" ] && echo "issue_impl" || echo "pr_fix")
-issue_title: "${title//\"/\\\"}"
-pr_title: "${title//\"/\\\"}"
-issue_body: "${body//\"/\\\"}"
-pr_body: "${body//\"/\\\"}"
+work_type: ${work_type}
+issue_title: ${title}
+pr_title: ${title}
+issue_body: ${body}
+pr_body: ${body}
 milestone_id: ${milestone_id}
-milestone_title: "${milestone_title}"
+milestone_title: ${milestone_title}
 labels_json: ${labels_json}
-forgejo_url: "${FORGEJO_URL}"
-forgejo_owner: "${FORGEJO_OWNER}"
-forgejo_repo: "${FORGEJO_REPO}"
-forgejo_pat: "${FORGEJO_PAT}"
-git_user_name: "${GIT_USER_NAME}"
-git_user_email: "${GIT_USER_EMAIL}"
+forgejo_url: ${FORGEJO_URL}
+forgejo_owner: ${FORGEJO_OWNER}
+forgejo_repo: ${FORGEJO_REPO}
+forgejo_pat: ${FORGEJO_PAT}
+git_user_name: ${GIT_USER_NAME}
+git_user_email: ${GIT_USER_EMAIL}
+item_json: ${compact_item}
 
 Implement or fix the indicated issue or pull request.
 
@@ -345,43 +367,40 @@ build_merge_prompt() {
   local pr_json="$1"
   local pr_num="$2"
 
-  local title branch_name head_sha base_sha merge_base is_stale has_conflicts
-  title=$(echo "$pr_json" | jq -r '.title')
-  branch_name=$(echo "$pr_json" | jq -r '.head.ref')
+  local title head_sha base_sha merge_base is_stale has_conflicts
+  title=$(echo "$pr_json" | jq -r '.title' | tr '\n' ' ' | sed 's/[[:space:]]\+/ /g')
   head_sha=$(echo "$pr_json" | jq -r '.head.sha')
   base_sha=$(echo "$pr_json" | jq -r '.base.sha')
   merge_base=$(echo "$pr_json" | jq -r '.merge_base // empty')
   [[ "$merge_base" == "empty" || -z "$merge_base" || "$merge_base" == "null" ]] && merge_base="$base_sha"
+  is_stale=$(echo "$pr_json" | jq -r 'if (.stale_state // "not_stale") == "not_stale" then "false" else "true" end')
+  has_conflicts=$(echo "$pr_json" | jq -r 'if .mergeable == false then "true" else "false" end')
 
-  local stale_state mergeable
-  stale_state=$(echo "$pr_json" | jq -r '.stale_state // "not_stale"')
-  mergeable=$(echo "$pr_json" | jq -r '.mergeable')
-  [[ "$stale_state" == "not_stale" ]] && is_stale="false" || is_stale="true"
-  [[ "$mergeable" == "false" ]] && has_conflicts="true" || has_conflicts="false"
-
-  local approvals_count ci_status review_status
+  local approvals_count ci_status review_status compact_item
   approvals_count=$(echo "$pr_json" | jq -r '.approvals_count // 0')
   ci_status=$(echo "$pr_json" | jq -r '.ci_status // "unknown"')
-  [[ "$approvals_count" -gt 0 ]] && review_status="approved" || review_status="not_approved"
+  review_status=$(echo "$pr_json" | jq -r 'if (.approvals_count // 0) > 0 then "approved" else "not_approved" end')
+  compact_item=$(echo "$pr_json" | jq -c .)
 
   cat <<PROMPT
 pr_number: ${pr_num}
-pr_title: "${title//\"/\\\"}"
-branch_name: "${branch_name}"
-head_sha: "${head_sha}"
-base_sha: "${base_sha}"
-merge_base_sha: "${merge_base}"
+pr_title: ${title}
+branch_name: ${head_sha}
+head_sha: ${head_sha}
+base_sha: ${base_sha}
+merge_base_sha: ${merge_base}
 is_stale: ${is_stale}
 has_conflicts: ${has_conflicts}
-review_status: "${review_status}"
-ci_status: "${ci_status}"
+review_status: ${review_status}
+ci_status: ${ci_status}
 approvals_count: ${approvals_count}
-forgejo_url: "${FORGEJO_URL}"
-forgejo_owner: "${FORGEJO_OWNER}"
-forgejo_repo: "${FORGEJO_REPO}"
-forgejo_pat: "${FORGEJO_PAT}"
-git_user_name: "${GIT_USER_NAME}"
-git_user_email: "${GIT_USER_EMAIL}"
+forgejo_url: ${FORGEJO_URL}
+forgejo_owner: ${FORGEJO_OWNER}
+forgejo_repo: ${FORGEJO_REPO}
+forgejo_pat: ${FORGEJO_PAT}
+git_user_name: ${GIT_USER_NAME}
+git_user_email: ${GIT_USER_EMAIL}
+item_json: ${compact_item}
 
 Process the indicated Pull Request or Issue.
 PROMPT
@@ -391,41 +410,37 @@ build_review_prompt() {
   local pr_json="$1"
   local pr_num="$2"
 
-  local title branch_name head_sha base_sha merge_base is_stale has_conflicts
-  title=$(echo "$pr_json" | jq -r '.title')
-  branch_name=$(echo "$pr_json" | jq -r '.head.ref')
+  local title head_sha base_sha merge_base is_stale has_conflicts
+  title=$(echo "$pr_json" | jq -r '.title' | tr '\n' ' ' | sed 's/[[:space:]]\+/ /g')
   head_sha=$(echo "$pr_json" | jq -r '.head.sha')
   base_sha=$(echo "$pr_json" | jq -r '.base.sha')
   merge_base=$(echo "$pr_json" | jq -r '.merge_base // empty')
   [[ "$merge_base" == "empty" || -z "$merge_base" || "$merge_base" == "null" ]] && merge_base="$base_sha"
+  is_stale=$(echo "$pr_json" | jq -r 'if (.stale_state // "not_stale") == "not_stale" then "false" else "true" end')
+  has_conflicts=$(echo "$pr_json" | jq -r 'if .mergeable == false then "true" else "false" end')
 
-  local stale_state mergeable
-  stale_state=$(echo "$pr_json" | jq -r '.stale_state // "not_stale"')
-  mergeable=$(echo "$pr_json" | jq -r '.mergeable')
-  [[ "$stale_state" == "not_stale" ]] && is_stale="false" || is_stale="true"
-  [[ "$mergeable" == "false" ]] && has_conflicts="true" || has_conflicts="false"
-
-  local approvals_count ci_status
+  local approvals_count ci_status compact_item
   approvals_count=$(echo "$pr_json" | jq -r '.approvals_count // 0')
   ci_status=$(echo "$pr_json" | jq -r '.ci_status // "unknown"')
+  compact_item=$(echo "$pr_json" | jq -c .)
 
   cat <<PROMPT
 pr_number: ${pr_num}
-pr_title: "${title//\"/\\\"}"
-branch_name: "${branch_name}"
-head_sha: "${head_sha}"
-base_sha: "${base_sha}"
-merge_base_sha: "${merge_base}"
+pr_title: ${title}
+head_sha: ${head_sha}
+base_sha: ${base_sha}
+merge_base_sha: ${merge_base}
 is_stale: ${is_stale}
 has_conflicts: ${has_conflicts}
 approvals_count: ${approvals_count}
-ci_status: "${ci_status}"
-forgejo_url: "${FORGEJO_URL}"
-forgejo_owner: "${FORGEJO_OWNER}"
-forgejo_repo: "${FORGEJO_REPO}"
-forgejo_pat: "${FORGEJO_PAT}"
-git_user_name: "${GIT_USER_NAME}"
-git_user_email: "${GIT_USER_EMAIL}"
+ci_status: ${ci_status}
+forgejo_url: ${FORGEJO_URL}
+forgejo_owner: ${FORGEJO_OWNER}
+forgejo_repo: ${FORGEJO_REPO}
+forgejo_pat: ${FORGEJO_PAT}
+git_user_name: ${GIT_USER_NAME}
+git_user_email: ${GIT_USER_EMAIL}
+item_json: ${compact_item}
 
 Process the indicated Pull Request or Issue.
 PROMPT
@@ -698,7 +713,9 @@ main_loop() {
     fi
 
     # ── Step 2: Per-type analysis & direct worker launch ──────────────────
+    log "[step2] resolving Forgejo config..."
     resolve_forgejo_config
+    log "[step2] Forgejo config: url=${FORGEJO_URL} owner=${FORGEJO_OWNER} repo=${FORGEJO_REPO} pat_set=$([[ -n "$FORGEJO_PAT" ]] && echo yes || echo no)"
 
     if [[ -z "$FORGEJO_PAT" ]]; then
       log "FORGEJO_PAT not set — skipping worker launch"
@@ -742,15 +759,21 @@ main_loop() {
       for pool_spec in "${pools[@]}"; do
         IFS='|' read -r prefix agent max wg_array_name <<< "$pool_spec"
 
+        log "[pool:${prefix}] starting pool processing (agent=${agent}, max=${max})"
+        log "[pool:${prefix}] deduplicate_workers..."
         deduplicate_workers "$prefix"
+        log "[pool:${prefix}] cleanup_orphan_tmp_dirs..."
         cleanup_orphan_tmp_dirs "$prefix"
 
         local exclude_numbers=","
+        log "[pool:${prefix}] find_sessions_by_prefix '${prefix}' 'all'..."
         local all_sessions_json
         all_sessions_json=$(find_sessions_by_prefix "$prefix" "all")
         local total_count
         total_count=$(echo "$all_sessions_json" | jq 'length')
+        log "[pool:${prefix}] total sessions found: ${total_count}"
 
+        log "[pool:${prefix}] get_busy_worker_tags..."
         local busy_tags
         busy_tags=$(get_busy_worker_tags "$prefix")
         local busy_count=0
@@ -763,6 +786,7 @@ main_loop() {
             ((busy_count++))
           fi
         done <<< "$busy_tags"
+        log "[pool:${prefix}] busy_count=${busy_count} (from ${total_count} sessions)"
 
         local available_slots=$((max - busy_count))
         if [[ "$available_slots" -le 0 ]]; then
@@ -776,6 +800,62 @@ main_loop() {
         local wg_array_ref="${wg_array_name}[@]"
         local work_groups=("${!wg_array_ref}")
 
+        # ── PRE-FETCH: launch ALL list scripts in parallel, cache results ────
+        # Each list_prs_*.ts script fetches ALL open PRs from Forgejo (~90s) and
+        # applies a filter. Running them sequentially = 11×90s = 990s.
+        # Running them in parallel  = ~90s total (one round of Forgejo API calls).
+        log "[pool:${prefix}] pre-fetching ${#work_groups[@]} work-group scripts in parallel..."
+        local -A script_cache
+        local -a cache_pids
+        local -a cache_keys
+        local cache_dir="/tmp/opencode-builder-cache-$$"
+        mkdir -p "$cache_dir"
+
+        for type_spec in "${work_groups[@]}"; do
+          IFS='|' read -r wg_label wg_scripts wg_kind <<< "$type_spec"
+          local scripts_arr
+          IFS=',' read -ra scripts_arr <<< "$wg_scripts"
+          for script_path in "${scripts_arr[@]}"; do
+            [[ -n "$script_path" ]] || continue
+            local cache_key="${script_path##*/}"  # just filename
+            cache_key="${cache_key%.ts}"
+            local out_file="${cache_dir}/${cache_key}.json"
+            cache_keys+=("$cache_key")
+            log "[pool:${prefix}]   launching $(basename "$script_path") (cache key: ${cache_key})..."
+            timeout "$SCRIPT_TIMEOUT_SEC" npx --yes tsx "$script_path" \
+              --url "$FORGEJO_URL" \
+              --pat "$FORGEJO_PAT" \
+              --owner "$FORGEJO_OWNER" \
+              --repo "$FORGEJO_REPO" \
+              > "$out_file" 2>/dev/null &
+            cache_pids+=($!)
+          done
+        done
+
+        log "[pool:${prefix}] waiting for ${#cache_pids[@]} pre-fetch jobs to complete..."
+        local cache_idx=0
+        for pid in "${cache_pids[@]}"; do
+          wait "$pid" 2>/dev/null
+          local ck="${cache_keys[$cache_idx]}"
+          local out_file="${cache_dir}/${ck}.json"
+          if [[ -s "$out_file" ]]; then
+            local first_char
+            first_char=$(head -c1 "$out_file" 2>/dev/null)
+            if [[ "$first_char" == "[" ]]; then
+              log "[pool:${prefix}]   ${ck}: ready ($(wc -l < "$out_file") lines)"
+            else
+              log "[pool:${prefix}]   ${ck}: invalid output (starts with '${first_char}'), treating as empty"
+              echo "[]" > "$out_file"
+            fi
+          else
+            log "[pool:${prefix}]   ${ck}: empty or timeout, treating as empty"
+            echo "[]" > "$out_file"
+          fi
+          ((cache_idx++))
+        done
+        log "[pool:${prefix}] pre-fetch complete, starting worker selection..."
+
+        # ── Worker selection: iterate cached work-groups ─────────────────────
         local launched=0
         for type_spec in "${work_groups[@]}"; do
           if (( launched >= available_slots )); then
@@ -783,7 +863,7 @@ main_loop() {
           fi
 
           IFS='|' read -r wg_label wg_scripts wg_kind <<< "$type_spec"
-          log "[${prefix}] checking work-group: '${wg_label}'"
+          log "[pool:${prefix}] work-group '${wg_label}': selecting workers..."
 
           local scripts_arr
           IFS=',' read -ra scripts_arr <<< "$wg_scripts"
@@ -793,14 +873,17 @@ main_loop() {
             fi
             [[ -n "$script_path" ]] || continue
 
+            local cache_key="${script_path##*/}"
+            cache_key="${cache_key%.ts}"
+            local out_file="${cache_dir}/${cache_key}.json"
             local json
-            json=$(fetch_list_script "$script_path" "$FORGEJO_URL" "$FORGEJO_OWNER" "$FORGEJO_REPO" "$FORGEJO_PAT")
+            json=$(cat "$out_file" 2>/dev/null || echo "[]")
 
             local raw_count
             raw_count=$(echo "$json" | jq 'length' 2>/dev/null || echo 0)
-            log "[${prefix}]   script $(basename "$script_path"): ${raw_count} items fetched"
+            log "[pool:${prefix}]   script $(basename "$script_path"): ${raw_count} items in cache"
 
-            if [[ "$raw_count" -eq 0 || "$raw_count" == "null" ]]; then
+            if [[ "$raw_count" -eq 0 || "$raw_count" == "null" || "$raw_count" == "" ]]; then
               continue
             fi
 
@@ -840,7 +923,7 @@ main_loop() {
               batch_count=$((available_slots - launched))
             fi
 
-            log "[${prefix}]   '${wg_label}': launching ${batch_count} workers in parallel (${#items_to_launch[@]} items in group)"
+            log "[pool:${prefix}]   '${wg_label}': launching ${batch_count} workers in parallel (${#items_to_launch[@]} candidates)"
 
             local -a pids=()
             local -a tmp_files=()
@@ -887,6 +970,7 @@ main_loop() {
         done
 
         log "Pool ${prefix}: done — ${launched} workers launched this iteration"
+        rm -rf "$cache_dir"
       done
     fi