diff --git a/internal/herdr/adapter.go b/internal/herdr/adapter.go
index 47e4c96..aa9639a 100644
--- a/internal/herdr/adapter.go
+++ b/internal/herdr/adapter.go
@@ -120,7 +120,15 @@ const LaunchContextFile = ".orchestra/launch.md"
 // evidence is worth having, and is not worth refusing to start work over.
 func WriteLaunchContext(worktree, prompt string) error {
 	path := filepath.Join(worktree, LaunchContextFile)
-	if err := os.MkdirAll(filepath.Dir(path), 0o755); err != nil {
+	dir := filepath.Dir(path)
+	if err := os.MkdirAll(dir, 0o755); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	// Orchestra's own scratch directory must not show up as the session's
+	// work. A .gitignore of "*" ignores the directory including itself, so the
+	// tree stays clean for the agent, for the gate, and for review evidence.
+	// The worker's done marker lives here too and had the same problem.
+	if err := os.WriteFile(filepath.Join(dir, ".gitignore"), []byte("*\n"), 0o644); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 	return os.WriteFile(path, []byte(prompt), 0o644)
diff --git a/internal/herdr/tmux_test.go b/internal/herdr/tmux_test.go
index f2dba3f..55eb64e 100644
--- a/internal/herdr/tmux_test.go
+++ b/internal/herdr/tmux_test.go
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package herdr
 import (
 	"context"
 	"os"
+	"os/exec"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
@@ -98,3 +99,29 @@ func TestTmuxSessionNameKeepsCollisionResistantSuffix(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("unsafe tmux session names %q %q", a, b)
 	}
 }
+
+// The launch dump is Orchestra's scratch space, not the session's work. A
+// worktree that starts dirty pollutes the gate, the review diff, and the
+// agent's own reading of `git status`.
+func TestWriteLaunchContextLeavesTheWorktreeClean(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	for _, args := range [][]string{{"init"}, {"config", "user.email", "t@t"}, {"config", "user.name", "t"}, {"commit", "--allow-empty", "-m", "init"}} {
+		if out, err := exec.Command("git", append([]string{"-C", dir}, args...)...).CombinedOutput(); err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("git %v: %v: %s", args, err, out)
+		}
+	}
+	if err := WriteLaunchContext(dir, "the instruction"); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	b, err := os.ReadFile(filepath.Join(dir, LaunchContextFile))
+	if err != nil || string(b) != "the instruction" {
+		t.Fatalf("launch context = %q, err %v", b, err)
+	}
+	out, err := exec.Command("git", "-C", dir, "status", "--short").CombinedOutput()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if strings.TrimSpace(string(out)) != "" {
+		t.Fatalf("worktree is dirty after a launch dump:\n%s", out)
+	}
+}