diff --git a/crates/op-editor-core/src/hoist_app_state.rs b/crates/op-editor-core/src/hoist_app_state.rs
index f2dbc1227..ff6102fd7 100644
--- a/crates/op-editor-core/src/hoist_app_state.rs
+++ b/crates/op-editor-core/src/hoist_app_state.rs
@@ -7,9 +7,9 @@
 //! (`op-editor-core`) then resolves cross-subtask conflicts
 //! deterministically regardless of concurrent replay order.
 
+use crate::EditorCommand;
 use jian_ops_schema::node::PenNode;
 use jian_ops_schema::state::StateSchema;
-use crate::EditorCommand;
 
 /// `plan_idx` for generation paths that have no orchestrator plan
 /// (agentic-loop finalize, MCP inserts). `usize::MAX` is the weakest
diff --git a/crates/op-orchestrator/src/loop_finalize.rs b/crates/op-orchestrator/src/loop_finalize.rs
index c62f2dbc1..34595db13 100644
--- a/crates/op-orchestrator/src/loop_finalize.rs
+++ b/crates/op-orchestrator/src/loop_finalize.rs
@@ -479,6 +479,25 @@ pub fn apply_loop_finalize(state: &mut EditorState) {
         crate::role_post_pass::enforce_surface_color_discipline(forest);
     }
 
+    // Hoist node-level `state` into the document root, mirroring the
+    // orchestrator's per-subtask `hoist_app_state` — without this the
+    // agentic-loop path leaves `$app.*` unseeded, so generated bindings
+    // and events reference keys that never reach `doc.state`. Runs over
+    // the REAL top-level nodes (not the unwrapped section forest) so a
+    // page wrapper's own `state` is hoisted too. Unplanned priority:
+    // any planned subtask default wins a conflict; doc-owned keys
+    // always win regardless.
+    let hoist_cmd = op_editor_core::hoist_app_state(
+        state.active_children_mut(),
+        op_editor_core::UNPLANNED_APP_STATE_IDX,
+    );
+    if matches!(
+        &hoist_cmd,
+        EditorCommand::MergeAppState { state: hoisted, .. } if !hoisted.is_empty()
+    ) {
+        state.apply(hoist_cmd);
+    }
+
     // The app-shell restructure (flat-vertical sidebar dashboard → horizontal
     // [sidebar | content]) runs inside `cleanup::finalize_design` below, the
     // whole-doc finalize point SHARED with the orchestrator path — so both the
diff --git a/crates/op-orchestrator/src/loop_finalize_tests.rs b/crates/op-orchestrator/src/loop_finalize_tests.rs
index be56f0d5f..9ecd68fa4 100644
--- a/crates/op-orchestrator/src/loop_finalize_tests.rs
+++ b/crates/op-orchestrator/src/loop_finalize_tests.rs
@@ -285,6 +285,30 @@ fn loop_finalize_gives_fill_less_text_a_visible_fill_on_dark_surface() {
     );
 }
 
+#[test]
+fn loop_finalize_hoists_node_state_to_doc_root() {
+    let mut state = state_with_forest(json!([
+        {"type": "frame", "id": "sec", "name": "Hero", "width": 1200, "height": 400,
+         "state": {"count": {"type": "int", "default": 3}},
+         "children": [
+             {"type": "text", "id": "t", "name": "HeroLabel", "content": "hi"}
+         ]}
+    ]));
+    apply_loop_finalize(&mut state);
+
+    // Node-level `state` must be stripped from the tree…
+    let hero = find_by_name(state.active_children(), "Hero").expect("hero survives finalize");
+    let v = serde_json::to_value(hero).expect("serialize hero");
+    assert!(v.get("state").is_none(), "node state must be stripped");
+
+    // …and merged into the document root (the `$app` store).
+    let root_state = state.doc.state.as_ref().expect("doc-root state seeded");
+    assert_eq!(
+        root_state.get("count").and_then(|e| e.default.clone()),
+        Some(json!(3))
+    );
+}
+
 #[test]
 fn loop_finalize_leaves_text_on_gradient_surface_alone() {
     // A gradient (or image) fill cannot be reduced to a solid hex — guessing a
diff --git a/crates/op-orchestrator/src/program_gen.rs b/crates/op-orchestrator/src/program_gen.rs
index ac6bd748d..bd584af15 100644
--- a/crates/op-orchestrator/src/program_gen.rs
+++ b/crates/op-orchestrator/src/program_gen.rs
@@ -16,18 +16,35 @@
 //! JavaScript program (`op_mcp::script_runner`), and the recorded
 //! `batch_design` program it produces is handed to
 //! [`run_program_to_forest`] here to build the section forest.
-
+//!
+//! ## Why this returns a `StateSchema` alongside the forest
+//!
+//! `op-mcp`'s generation-insert path (`batch_design.rs::hoist_generation_state`)
+//! hoists any node-level `state` block into a doc-root `MergeAppState` command
+//! BEFORE the insert command, tagged with the "unplanned" priority — it has no
+//! orchestrator plan index to stamp. That `MergeAppState` lands on whatever
+//! document it is applied to. Here that document is a SCRATCH `EditorState::new()`
+//! that exists only to run the program and get a forest back — its `doc.state`
+//! is discarded once this function returns the forest alone. The orchestrator
+//! (`subagent.rs`) is the one caller that actually knows the subtask's real
+//! `plan_idx`, so it needs the hoisted state handed back separately in order to
+//! re-tag it with that index (rather than the unplanned one baked in here) before
+//! merging it into the live document. Returning `(forest, program_state)` lets the
+//! caller do exactly that instead of silently losing every `$app.*` key a
+//! script-gen'd subtask declared.
 use std::collections::BTreeMap;
 
 use jian_ops_schema::node::PenNode;
+use jian_ops_schema::state::StateSchema;
 use op_editor_core::EditorState;
 
 /// Run a `batch_design` DSL PROGRAM string against a FRESH empty document and
-/// return the produced section forest. The caller (`script_gen`) hands in the
-/// DSL a JS engine emitted by calling the bound `I`/`C`/… functions. The
-/// executor collects per-line errors and applies the surviving lines
-/// (best-effort); a program that builds nothing is an error.
-pub fn run_program_to_forest(program: &str) -> Result<Vec<PenNode>, String> {
+/// return the produced section forest plus any doc-root `state` the program's
+/// nodes hoisted (see the module doc for why the latter matters). The caller
+/// (`script_gen`) hands in the DSL a JS engine emitted by calling the bound
+/// `I`/`C`/… functions. The executor collects per-line errors and applies the
+/// surviving lines (best-effort); a program that builds nothing is an error.
+pub fn run_program_to_forest(program: &str) -> Result<(Vec<PenNode>, StateSchema), String> {
     let mut state = EditorState::new();
     let mut args: BTreeMap<String, String> = BTreeMap::new();
     args.insert("operations".to_string(), program.to_string());
@@ -52,7 +69,11 @@ pub fn run_program_to_forest(program: &str) -> Result<Vec<PenNode>, String> {
     if nodes.is_empty() {
         return Err("program produced no nodes".into());
     }
-    Ok(nodes)
+    // The scratch document starts empty, so anything sitting in `doc.state`
+    // now came from the program's own hoisted `MergeAppState` — drain it so
+    // the caller can re-tag it with the subtask's real plan_idx.
+    let program_state = state.doc.state.take().unwrap_or_default();
+    Ok((nodes, program_state))
 }
 
 /// Echo the executor's per-line `errors[]` (if any) to stderr — visibility
diff --git a/crates/op-orchestrator/src/program_gen_tests.rs b/crates/op-orchestrator/src/program_gen_tests.rs
index cb88aab61..001789196 100644
--- a/crates/op-orchestrator/src/program_gen_tests.rs
+++ b/crates/op-orchestrator/src/program_gen_tests.rs
@@ -21,8 +21,9 @@ fn run_program_to_forest_nests_cells_under_rows_via_bindings() {
         "c1=I(r1, {\"type\":\"frame\",\"name\":\"Cell\"})\n",
         "I(c1, {\"type\":\"text\",\"content\":\"Alice\"})"
     );
-    let nodes = run_program_to_forest(program).expect("program builds a forest");
+    let (nodes, state) = run_program_to_forest(program).expect("program builds a forest");
     assert_eq!(nodes.len(), 1, "exactly one section root");
+    assert!(state.is_empty(), "program declared no state");
     let sec = &nodes[0];
     let tbl = &sec.children().expect("sec children")[0];
     let row = &tbl.children().expect("table children")[0];
@@ -51,7 +52,7 @@ fn image_without_src_and_bad_textgrowth_survive() {
         "I(sec, {\"type\":\"image\",\"name\":\"Avatar\",\"width\":40,\"height\":40})\n",
         "I(sec, {\"type\":\"text\",\"content\":\"Hi\",\"textGrowth\":\"fit_content\"})"
     );
-    let nodes = run_program_to_forest(program).expect("program builds a forest");
+    let (nodes, _state) = run_program_to_forest(program).expect("program builds a forest");
     let sec = &nodes[0];
     let kids = sec.children().expect("sec children");
     assert_eq!(
@@ -71,8 +72,36 @@ fn bare_identifier_sizing_value_survives() {
         "sec=I(null, {\"type\":\"frame\",\"name\":\"Sec\",\"layout\":\"vertical\",\"width\":\"fill_container\"})\n",
         "I(sec, {\"type\":\"text\",\"name\":\"Col Service\",\"content\":\"SERVICE\",\"width\":fill_container_str})"
     );
-    let nodes = run_program_to_forest(program).expect("program builds a forest");
+    let (nodes, _state) = run_program_to_forest(program).expect("program builds a forest");
     let sec = &nodes[0];
     let kids = sec.children().expect("sec children");
     assert_eq!(kids.len(), 1, "the bare-identifier-sized text survived");
 }
+
+#[test]
+fn run_program_to_forest_drains_hoisted_state_off_the_scratch_document() {
+    // A program whose `I()` node carries a `state` block must come back with
+    // that state DRAINED from the returned schema — and the returned nodes
+    // must have their own `state` field stripped (op-mcp's generation-hoist
+    // already stripped it before this executor ever saw the forest; this is
+    // a regression guard against that hoist landing on the scratch doc and
+    // getting silently discarded instead of returned to the caller).
+    let program = concat!(
+        "I(null, {\"type\":\"frame\",\"name\":\"Sec\",\"width\":\"fill_container\",",
+        "\"state\":{\"n\":{\"type\":\"int\",\"default\":0}},",
+        "\"children\":[{\"type\":\"text\",\"content\":\"Hi\"}]})"
+    );
+    let (nodes, state) = run_program_to_forest(program).expect("program builds a forest");
+    assert!(
+        state.contains_key("n"),
+        "hoisted state key must be returned to the caller, got {state:?}"
+    );
+    assert_eq!(nodes.len(), 1);
+    let jian_ops_schema::node::PenNode::Frame(frame) = &nodes[0] else {
+        panic!("expected a frame root");
+    };
+    assert!(
+        frame.state.is_none(),
+        "returned node must have its state drained, not just the scratch schema"
+    );
+}
diff --git a/crates/op-orchestrator/src/script_gen.rs b/crates/op-orchestrator/src/script_gen.rs
index ad230d82c..a5aa80bd6 100644
--- a/crates/op-orchestrator/src/script_gen.rs
+++ b/crates/op-orchestrator/src/script_gen.rs
@@ -7,10 +7,13 @@
 //! program into the section-forest executor.
 
 use jian_ops_schema::node::PenNode;
+use jian_ops_schema::state::StateSchema;
 
 /// Expand the emitted JS into a `batch_design` program and run it to a
-/// section forest via the shared executor.
-pub fn parse_script(text: &str) -> Result<Vec<PenNode>, String> {
+/// section forest via the shared executor. Returns the forest plus any
+/// doc-root `state` the program's nodes hoisted (see `program_gen`'s module
+/// doc for why the caller needs this separately from the forest).
+pub fn parse_script(text: &str) -> Result<(Vec<PenNode>, StateSchema), String> {
     let program = op_mcp::script_runner::run_script_to_program(text)?;
     crate::program_gen::run_program_to_forest(&program)
 }
diff --git a/crates/op-orchestrator/src/script_gen_tests.rs b/crates/op-orchestrator/src/script_gen_tests.rs
index a7c2f9e9e..ddbb7a37e 100644
--- a/crates/op-orchestrator/src/script_gen_tests.rs
+++ b/crates/op-orchestrator/src/script_gen_tests.rs
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ fn js_loop_builds_repeated_rows_nested_under_the_table() {
             I(cell, {type:"text", content:r.name});
         }
     "#;
-    let nodes = parse_script(script).expect("script builds a forest");
+    let (nodes, _state) = parse_script(script).expect("script builds a forest");
     assert_eq!(nodes.len(), 1, "one section root");
     let sec = &nodes[0];
     let tbl = &sec.children().expect("sec children")[0];
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ fn flex_aligned_cells_survive_the_forest() {
             I(amtCell, {type:"text", content:d.amount});
         }
     "#;
-    let nodes = parse_script(script).expect("script builds a forest");
+    let (nodes, _state) = parse_script(script).expect("script builds a forest");
     let json = serde_json::to_string(&nodes).unwrap();
     // The flex_end amount cells must NOT be dropped — both amounts present.
     assert!(
@@ -104,7 +104,8 @@ fn truncated_script_repair_still_builds_a_forest_via_parse_script() {
         const b = I(sec, {type:"text", content:"kept-2"});
         I(sec, {type:"text", content:"dangl
     "#;
-    let nodes = parse_script(cut).expect("truncation repair must salvage a runnable forest");
+    let (nodes, _state) =
+        parse_script(cut).expect("truncation repair must salvage a runnable forest");
     let sec = &nodes[0];
     assert_eq!(
         sec.children().map(|c| c.len()).unwrap_or(0),
diff --git a/crates/op-orchestrator/src/subagent.rs b/crates/op-orchestrator/src/subagent.rs
index c78535aab..9e0929b81 100644
--- a/crates/op-orchestrator/src/subagent.rs
+++ b/crates/op-orchestrator/src/subagent.rs
@@ -167,8 +167,12 @@ pub(crate) async fn run_subtask_with_reveal_at(
     // Script-gen is THE protocol on the full first attempt; the reduced /
     // minimal retry rungs teach raw JSONL, so parsing falls back to
     // `parse_nodes` there (matching the prompt in build_subagent_prompt).
+    // `program_state` carries any doc-root `state` script-gen's underlying
+    // `run_program_to_forest` hoisted on the SCRATCH document it builds the
+    // forest against (see `program_gen`'s module doc) — the flat-JSONL rung
+    // has no such hoist, so it stays an empty schema there.
     let script_on = !reduced_complexity && !minimal_skills;
-    let mut nodes = if script_on {
+    let (mut nodes, program_state) = if script_on {
         match crate::script_gen::parse_script(&text) {
             Ok(n) => n,
             Err(e) => {
@@ -184,7 +188,7 @@ pub(crate) async fn run_subtask_with_reveal_at(
         }
     } else {
         match parse_nodes(&text) {
-            Ok(n) => n,
+            Ok(n) => (n, jian_ops_schema::state::StateSchema::new()),
             Err(e) => {
                 tracing::warn!(
                     subtask = %subtask.id,
@@ -286,7 +290,18 @@ pub(crate) async fn run_subtask_with_reveal_at(
         .iter()
         .position(|s| s.id == subtask.id)
         .unwrap_or(0);
-    let merge_state = op_editor_core::hoist_app_state(&mut nodes, plan_idx);
+    let mut merge_state = op_editor_core::hoist_app_state(&mut nodes, plan_idx);
+    // Union in whatever state script-gen's scratch-document run already
+    // hoisted (`program_state`) — it was tagged "unplanned" there since
+    // `program_gen`/`op-mcp` don't know this subtask's real plan_idx. Node-
+    // drained state (above) takes priority on key collisions via `or_insert`;
+    // in practice there's no real overlap since exactly one protocol runs per
+    // attempt, but `or_insert` keeps the merge deterministic regardless.
+    if let EditorCommand::MergeAppState { state, .. } = &mut merge_state {
+        for (k, v) in program_state {
+            state.entry(k).or_insert(v);
+        }
+    }
     let has_state =
         matches!(&merge_state, EditorCommand::MergeAppState { state, .. } if !state.is_empty());
     if has_state {