diff --git a/deploy/sync-mirror.sh b/deploy/sync-mirror.sh
index 7b3a4e2..4446c49 100755
--- a/deploy/sync-mirror.sh
+++ b/deploy/sync-mirror.sh
@@ -204,7 +204,39 @@ sync_github_to_forgejo_with_prs() {
 
     local FORGEJO_TOKEN
     FORGEJO_TOKEN=$(cat /opt/teleo-eval/secrets/forgejo-admin-token 2>/dev/null)
+
+    # Lazy schema for sync-mirror's auto-create tracker. Records (branch, sha)
+    # pairs we've already auto-created PRs for, so the loop below can skip
+    # redundant creates after pipeline merge → _delete_remote_branch →
+    # GitHub-only re-discovery → re-push. Cheap CREATE IF NOT EXISTS on each
+    # cycle; no migration needed because this table is private to sync-mirror.
+    sqlite3 "$PIPELINE_DB" "CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS sync_autocreate_tracker (branch TEXT NOT NULL, sha TEXT NOT NULL, pr_number INTEGER, created_at TEXT DEFAULT (datetime('now')), PRIMARY KEY (branch, sha));" 2>/dev/null || true
+
     for branch in $GITHUB_ONLY; do
+        # Already-tracked gate: if we've previously auto-created a PR for
+        # this exact (branch, sha), skip the entire push+create sequence.
+        # Closes the empty-PR loop (research and reweave both observed):
+        #   pipeline merges PR → _delete_remote_branch on Forgejo → next sync
+        #   sees branch GitHub-only (origin still has it) → re-pushes to
+        #   Forgejo → HAS_PR misses (Forgejo ?head= broken; closed PRs scroll
+        #   past 50-item paginated window) → auto-creates fresh PR → pipeline
+        #   merges (empty no-op via cherry-pick / reweave union) → repeat.
+        # Tracker keys on SHA, so legitimate new commits on the same branch
+        # produce a new SHA → tracker miss → auto-create proceeds normally.
+        local BRANCH_SHA TRACKED_PR
+        if [[ "$branch" == gh-pr-* ]]; then
+            BRANCH_SHA=$(git rev-parse "refs/heads/$branch" 2>/dev/null || true)
+        else
+            BRANCH_SHA=$(git rev-parse "refs/remotes/origin/$branch" 2>/dev/null || true)
+        fi
+        if [ -n "$BRANCH_SHA" ]; then
+            TRACKED_PR=$(sqlite3 "$PIPELINE_DB" "SELECT pr_number FROM sync_autocreate_tracker WHERE branch=$(printf "'%s'" "${branch//\'/\'\'}") AND sha=$(printf "'%s'" "$BRANCH_SHA") LIMIT 1;" 2>/dev/null || true)
+            if [ -n "$TRACKED_PR" ]; then
+                log "Skip auto-create: $branch SHA $BRANCH_SHA already tracked (PR #$TRACKED_PR)"
+                continue
+            fi
+        fi
+
         log "New from GitHub: $branch -> Forgejo"
         # Fork PR branches live as local refs (from Step 2.1), not on origin remote
         if [[ "$branch" == gh-pr-* ]]; then
@@ -275,6 +307,13 @@ print('no')
         fi
         log "Auto-created PR #$PR_NUM on Forgejo for $branch"
 
+        # Record (branch, sha, pr_number) so the tracker gate above can short-
+        # circuit the next time we see this exact (branch, sha) combination.
+        # INSERT OR IGNORE: idempotent if a concurrent run already inserted.
+        if [ -n "$BRANCH_SHA" ] && [[ "$PR_NUM" =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]]; then
+            sqlite3 "$PIPELINE_DB" "INSERT OR IGNORE INTO sync_autocreate_tracker (branch, sha, pr_number) VALUES ($(printf "'%s'" "${branch//\'/\'\'}"), $(printf "'%s'" "$BRANCH_SHA"), $PR_NUM);" 2>/dev/null || true
+        fi
+
         # Step 4.5: Link GitHub PR to Forgejo PR in pipeline DB
         if [[ "$branch" == gh-pr-* ]]; then
             GH_PR_NUM=$(echo "$branch" | sed 's|gh-pr-\([0-9]*\)/.*|\1|')