diff --git a/apps/server/container.ts b/apps/server/container.ts
index e72a7a3..a009504 100644
--- a/apps/server/container.ts
+++ b/apps/server/container.ts
@@ -212,6 +212,9 @@ export async function createContainer(options?: ContainerOptions): Promise<Conta
     repos.phaseRepository,
     repos.agentRepository,
     repos.pageRepository,
+    repos.projectRepository,
+    branchManager,
+    workspaceRoot,
   );
   const phaseDispatchManager = new DefaultPhaseDispatchManager(
     repos.phaseRepository,
diff --git a/apps/server/dispatch/manager.ts b/apps/server/dispatch/manager.ts
index ad17f7e..4fc7b7e 100644
--- a/apps/server/dispatch/manager.ts
+++ b/apps/server/dispatch/manager.ts
@@ -21,10 +21,13 @@ import type { AgentRepository } from '../db/repositories/agent-repository.js';
 import type { InitiativeRepository } from '../db/repositories/initiative-repository.js';
 import type { PhaseRepository } from '../db/repositories/phase-repository.js';
 import type { PageRepository } from '../db/repositories/page-repository.js';
+import type { ProjectRepository } from '../db/repositories/project-repository.js';
 import type { Task, Phase } from '../db/schema.js';
 import type { PageForSerialization } from '../agent/content-serializer.js';
+import type { BranchManager } from '../git/branch-manager.js';
 import type { DispatchManager, QueuedTask, DispatchResult } from './types.js';
 import { phaseBranchName, taskBranchName, isPlanningCategory, generateInitiativeBranch } from '../git/branch-naming.js';
+import { ensureProjectClone } from '../git/project-clones.js';
 import { buildExecutePrompt } from '../agent/prompts/index.js';
 import { createModuleLogger } from '../logger/index.js';
 
@@ -68,6 +71,9 @@ export class DefaultDispatchManager implements DispatchManager {
     private phaseRepository?: PhaseRepository,
     private agentRepository?: AgentRepository,
     private pageRepository?: PageRepository,
+    private projectRepository?: ProjectRepository,
+    private branchManager?: BranchManager,
+    private workspaceRoot?: string,
   ) {}
 
   /**
@@ -332,6 +338,29 @@ export class DefaultDispatchManager implements DispatchManager {
       } catch {
         // Non-fatal: fall back to default branching
       }
+
+      // Ensure branches exist in project clones before spawning worktrees
+      if (baseBranch && this.projectRepository && this.branchManager && this.workspaceRoot) {
+        try {
+          const initiative = await this.initiativeRepository.findById(task.initiativeId);
+          const initBranch = initiative?.branch;
+          if (initBranch) {
+            const projects = await this.projectRepository.findProjectsByInitiativeId(task.initiativeId);
+            for (const project of projects) {
+              const clonePath = await ensureProjectClone(project, this.workspaceRoot);
+              // Ensure initiative branch exists (from project defaultBranch)
+              await this.branchManager.ensureBranch(clonePath, initBranch, project.defaultBranch);
+              // Ensure phase branch exists (from initiative branch)
+              const phBranch = phaseBranchName(initBranch, (await this.phaseRepository?.findById(task.phaseId!))?.name ?? '');
+              if (phBranch) {
+                await this.branchManager.ensureBranch(clonePath, phBranch, initBranch);
+              }
+            }
+          }
+        } catch (err) {
+          log.warn({ taskId: task.id, err }, 'failed to ensure branches for task dispatch');
+        }
+      }
     }
 
     // Gather initiative context for the agent's input files