diff --git a/src/message-agent-executor.ts b/src/message-agent-executor.ts
index f68de60..1b6c26b 100644
--- a/src/message-agent-executor.ts
+++ b/src/message-agent-executor.ts
@@ -194,7 +194,7 @@ export async function runAgentForGroup(
         roomRoleServiceId: roomRoleContext?.serviceId,
         roomRole: roomRoleContext?.role,
       },
-      'Blocked reviewer execution before review-ready snapshot was available',
+      'Blocked paired execution before runner start',
     );
     await onOutput?.({
       status: 'success',
diff --git a/src/paired-execution-context.test.ts b/src/paired-execution-context.test.ts
index 389f08b..7c91f35 100644
--- a/src/paired-execution-context.test.ts
+++ b/src/paired-execution-context.test.ts
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ vi.mock('./db.js', () => {
 });
 
 vi.mock('./paired-workspace-manager.js', () => ({
+  isOwnerWorkspaceRepairNeededError: vi.fn(() => false),
   markPairedTaskReviewReady: vi.fn(),
   prepareReviewerWorkspaceForExecution: vi.fn(),
   provisionOwnerWorkspaceForPairedTask: vi.fn(),
@@ -448,6 +449,34 @@ describe('paired execution context', () => {
     );
   });
 
+  it('blocks owner execution when the owner workspace needs branch repair', () => {
+    const repairError = new Error(
+      'BLOCKED\nOwner workspace needs repair.\nOwner workspace branch mismatch: `codex/owner/paired-room-sync` -> expected `codex/owner/paired-room`.',
+    );
+    vi.mocked(
+      pairedWorkspaceManager.provisionOwnerWorkspaceForPairedTask,
+    ).mockImplementation(() => {
+      throw repairError;
+    });
+    vi.mocked(
+      pairedWorkspaceManager.isOwnerWorkspaceRepairNeededError,
+    ).mockReturnValue(true);
+
+    const result = preparePairedExecutionContext({
+      group,
+      chatJid: 'dc:test',
+      runId: 'run-owner-repair-needed',
+      roomRoleContext: ownerContext,
+      hasHumanMessage: true,
+    });
+
+    expect(result?.blockMessage).toContain('Owner workspace needs repair.');
+    expect(result?.blockMessage).toContain(
+      '`codex/owner/paired-room-sync` -> expected `codex/owner/paired-room`',
+    );
+    expect(result?.envOverrides.EJCLAW_WORK_DIR).toBeUndefined();
+  });
+
   it('blocks reviewer execution when an in-review snapshot became stale', () => {
     vi.mocked(db.getLatestOpenPairedTaskForChat).mockReturnValue({
       id: 'task-1',
diff --git a/src/paired-execution-context.ts b/src/paired-execution-context.ts
index 8ed7150..9461095 100644
--- a/src/paired-execution-context.ts
+++ b/src/paired-execution-context.ts
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ import {
   transitionPairedTaskStatus,
 } from './paired-execution-context-shared.js';
 import {
+  isOwnerWorkspaceRepairNeededError,
   markPairedTaskReviewReady,
   prepareReviewerWorkspaceForExecution,
   provisionOwnerWorkspaceForPairedTask,
@@ -273,7 +274,15 @@ export function preparePairedExecutionContext(args: {
     }
     // Use a stable per-channel worktree (not per-task) so the Claude SDK
     // session persists across tasks. Different channels still get isolation.
-    workspace = provisionOwnerWorkspaceForPairedTask(latestTask.id);
+    try {
+      workspace = provisionOwnerWorkspaceForPairedTask(latestTask.id);
+    } catch (error) {
+      if (isOwnerWorkspaceRepairNeededError(error)) {
+        blockMessage = error.blockMessage || error.message;
+      } else {
+        throw error;
+      }
+    }
     // Update source_ref from workspace HEAD so change detection compares
     // against the correct repo. At task creation, source_ref is from the
     // canonical workDir which may differ from the workspace clone.
diff --git a/src/paired-workspace-manager.test.ts b/src/paired-workspace-manager.test.ts
index 5e7723f..e98d70a 100644
--- a/src/paired-workspace-manager.test.ts
+++ b/src/paired-workspace-manager.test.ts
@@ -990,6 +990,123 @@ describe('paired workspace manager', () => {
     ).toBe('keep me\n');
   });
 
+  it('auto-repairs a clean named owner workspace onto the expected new channel branch', async () => {
+    const { db, manager } = await loadModules();
+    db._initTestDatabase();
+
+    const canonicalDir = path.join(tempRoot, 'canonical');
+    initCanonicalRepo(canonicalDir);
+    seedPairedTask(db, canonicalDir, {
+      taskId: 'paired-task-named-branch-repair',
+      groupFolder: 'named-repair-room',
+    });
+
+    const workspaceDir = ownerWorkspacePath('named-repair-room');
+    fs.mkdirSync(path.dirname(workspaceDir), { recursive: true });
+    runGit(
+      [
+        'worktree',
+        'add',
+        '-b',
+        'codex/owner/named-repair-room-sync',
+        workspaceDir,
+        'HEAD',
+      ],
+      canonicalDir,
+    );
+
+    const ownerWorkspace = manager.provisionOwnerWorkspaceForPairedTask(
+      'paired-task-named-branch-repair',
+    );
+
+    expect(
+      runGit(['branch', '--show-current'], ownerWorkspace.workspace_dir),
+    ).toBe(ownerBranchName('named-repair-room'));
+    expect(
+      fs.readFileSync(
+        path.join(ownerWorkspace.workspace_dir, 'README.md'),
+        'utf-8',
+      ),
+    ).toBe('original\n');
+  });
+
+  it('auto-repairs a clean named owner workspace onto an existing matching channel branch', async () => {
+    const { db, manager } = await loadModules();
+    db._initTestDatabase();
+
+    const canonicalDir = path.join(tempRoot, 'canonical');
+    initCanonicalRepo(canonicalDir);
+    seedPairedTask(db, canonicalDir, {
+      taskId: 'paired-task-named-existing-branch-repair',
+      groupFolder: 'named-existing-room',
+    });
+
+    runGit(
+      ['branch', ownerBranchName('named-existing-room'), 'HEAD'],
+      canonicalDir,
+    );
+    const workspaceDir = ownerWorkspacePath('named-existing-room');
+    fs.mkdirSync(path.dirname(workspaceDir), { recursive: true });
+    runGit(
+      [
+        'worktree',
+        'add',
+        '-b',
+        'codex/owner/named-existing-room-sync',
+        workspaceDir,
+        'HEAD',
+      ],
+      canonicalDir,
+    );
+
+    const ownerWorkspace = manager.provisionOwnerWorkspaceForPairedTask(
+      'paired-task-named-existing-branch-repair',
+    );
+
+    expect(
+      runGit(['branch', '--show-current'], ownerWorkspace.workspace_dir),
+    ).toBe(ownerBranchName('named-existing-room'));
+  });
+
+  it('blocks provisioning when a named owner workspace branch mismatch has local changes', async () => {
+    const { db, manager } = await loadModules();
+    db._initTestDatabase();
+
+    const canonicalDir = path.join(tempRoot, 'canonical');
+    initCanonicalRepo(canonicalDir);
+    seedPairedTask(db, canonicalDir, {
+      taskId: 'paired-task-dirty-named-branch',
+      groupFolder: 'dirty-named-room',
+    });
+
+    const workspaceDir = ownerWorkspacePath('dirty-named-room');
+    fs.mkdirSync(path.dirname(workspaceDir), { recursive: true });
+    runGit(
+      [
+        'worktree',
+        'add',
+        '-b',
+        'codex/owner/dirty-named-room-sync',
+        workspaceDir,
+        'HEAD',
+      ],
+      canonicalDir,
+    );
+    fs.writeFileSync(
+      path.join(workspaceDir, 'README.md'),
+      'dirty named branch\n',
+    );
+
+    expect(() =>
+      manager.provisionOwnerWorkspaceForPairedTask(
+        'paired-task-dirty-named-branch',
+      ),
+    ).toThrow(/Owner workspace needs repair/);
+    expect(runGit(['branch', '--show-current'], workspaceDir)).toBe(
+      'codex/owner/dirty-named-room-sync',
+    );
+  });
+
   it('blocks provisioning when the channel branch is already checked out in another worktree', async () => {
     const { db, manager } = await loadModules();
     db._initTestDatabase();
diff --git a/src/paired-workspace-manager.ts b/src/paired-workspace-manager.ts
index 1ee09a1..5e377f4 100644
--- a/src/paired-workspace-manager.ts
+++ b/src/paired-workspace-manager.ts
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ const REVIEWER_SNAPSHOT_STALE_BLOCK_MESSAGE =
   'Review snapshot is stale after owner changes. Retry the review once to refresh against the latest owner workspace.';
 const REVIEWER_SNAPSHOT_NOT_READY_BLOCK_MESSAGE =
   'Review snapshot is not ready yet. Wait for the owner to complete a turn so the reviewer snapshot can be prepared.';
+const OWNER_WORKSPACE_REPAIR_PREFIX = 'BLOCKED\nOwner workspace needs repair.';
 const REVIEWER_SNAPSHOT_DENY_SEGMENTS = new Set([
   '.git',
   '.claude',
@@ -108,6 +109,22 @@ function runGitWithInput(args: string[], cwd: string, input: string): string {
   }).trim();
 }
 
+export class OwnerWorkspaceRepairNeededError extends Error {
+  readonly blockMessage: string;
+
+  constructor(blockMessage: string) {
+    super(blockMessage);
+    this.name = 'OwnerWorkspaceRepairNeededError';
+    this.blockMessage = blockMessage;
+  }
+}
+
+export function isOwnerWorkspaceRepairNeededError(
+  error: unknown,
+): error is OwnerWorkspaceRepairNeededError {
+  return error instanceof OwnerWorkspaceRepairNeededError;
+}
+
 function ensureGitRepository(repoDir: string): void {
   const insideWorkTree = runGit(
     ['rev-parse', '--is-inside-work-tree'],
@@ -118,6 +135,82 @@ function ensureGitRepository(repoDir: string): void {
   }
 }
 
+function isGitWorktreeClean(repoDir: string): boolean {
+  return runGit(['status', '--short'], repoDir).length === 0;
+}
+
+function buildOwnerWorkspaceRepairBlockMessage(args: {
+  workspaceDir: string;
+  currentBranch: string;
+  targetBranch: string;
+  reason: string;
+}): string {
+  return `${OWNER_WORKSPACE_REPAIR_PREFIX}
+Owner workspace branch mismatch: \`${args.currentBranch}\` -> expected \`${args.targetBranch}\`.
+${args.reason}
+Workspace: \`${args.workspaceDir}\`
+Repair the owner workspace branch, then retry the task.`;
+}
+
+function maybeRepairNamedOwnerWorkspaceBranch(args: {
+  canonicalWorkDir: string;
+  workspaceDir: string;
+  currentBranch: string;
+  targetBranch: string;
+  targetBranchCommit: string | null;
+}): boolean {
+  const {
+    canonicalWorkDir,
+    workspaceDir,
+    currentBranch,
+    targetBranch,
+    targetBranchCommit,
+  } = args;
+  const currentHeadCommit = resolveCommit(workspaceDir, 'HEAD');
+  if (!currentHeadCommit) {
+    throw new Error(
+      `Unable to resolve owner workspace HEAD for ${workspaceDir}.`,
+    );
+  }
+
+  if (!isGitWorktreeClean(workspaceDir)) {
+    throw new OwnerWorkspaceRepairNeededError(
+      buildOwnerWorkspaceRepairBlockMessage({
+        workspaceDir,
+        currentBranch,
+        targetBranch,
+        reason:
+          'Automatic repair was skipped because the workspace has local changes.',
+      }),
+    );
+  }
+
+  if (!targetBranchCommit) {
+    runGit(['switch', '-c', targetBranch], workspaceDir);
+    return true;
+  }
+
+  if (targetBranchCommit !== currentHeadCommit) {
+    throw new OwnerWorkspaceRepairNeededError(
+      buildOwnerWorkspaceRepairBlockMessage({
+        workspaceDir,
+        currentBranch,
+        targetBranch,
+        reason:
+          'Automatic repair was skipped because the expected branch points at a different commit.',
+      }),
+    );
+  }
+
+  ensureBranchNotCheckedOutElsewhere(
+    canonicalWorkDir,
+    workspaceDir,
+    targetBranch,
+  );
+  runGit(['switch', targetBranch], workspaceDir);
+  return true;
+}
+
 function ensureCleanDirectory(targetDir: string): void {
   fs.mkdirSync(targetDir, { recursive: true });
 }
@@ -629,9 +722,25 @@ export function provisionOwnerWorkspaceForPairedTask(
     if (currentBranch === targetBranch) {
       // Stable owner workspace is already attached to the channel branch.
     } else if (currentBranch) {
-      throw new Error(
-        `Owner workspace ${workspaceDir} is on unexpected branch ${currentBranch}; expected ${targetBranch}.`,
-      );
+      const repaired = maybeRepairNamedOwnerWorkspaceBranch({
+        canonicalWorkDir,
+        workspaceDir,
+        currentBranch,
+        targetBranch,
+        targetBranchCommit,
+      });
+      if (repaired) {
+        logger.warn(
+          {
+            taskId,
+            workspaceDir,
+            previousBranch: currentBranch,
+            targetBranch,
+            targetBranchCommit,
+          },
+          'Auto-repaired owner workspace branch mismatch',
+        );
+      }
     } else {
       const currentHeadCommit = resolveCommit(workspaceDir, 'HEAD');
       if (!currentHeadCommit) {