diff --git a/src/sidebar/components/ProjectPanel.context-menu.test.tsx b/src/sidebar/components/ProjectPanel.context-menu.test.tsx
index f5f0b17b..4e98245e 100644
--- a/src/sidebar/components/ProjectPanel.context-menu.test.tsx
+++ b/src/sidebar/components/ProjectPanel.context-menu.test.tsx
@@ -370,7 +370,7 @@ function registerTaskPanelTransport({ fake, discoveryResult }: { fake: FakeTrans
     const wg = discoveryResult.workgroups.find(wg => wg.path === workgroupRoot);
     return sidebarSnapshot(String(workgroupRoot), {
       taskTitle: wg?.taskTitle ?? null,
-      description: wg?.task?.includes("stale body") ? "stale body text" : "Ready to start a new topic\n",
+      description: wg?.task?.includes("stale body") ? "stale body text" : "",
     });
   });
   fake.resolve("task_clean", { workgroupRoot: workgroupPath, task: null });
@@ -461,14 +461,19 @@ describe("ProjectPanel replica context menu — gray/red (#545)", () => {
 
   for (const active of [false, true]) {
     it.each([
-      ["canonical LF", "Ready to start a new topic\n", true],
+      ["legacy LF", "Ready to start a new topic\n", true],
       ["CRLF", "Ready to start a new topic\r\n", true],
       ["no framing LF", "Ready to start a new topic", true],
       ["extra blank", "Ready to start a new topic\n\n", false],
       ["extra space", "Ready to start a new topic \n", false],
       ["case change", "ready to start a new topic\n", false],
       ["custom multiline", "human\nnotes", false],
-      ["empty body", "", false],
+      ["empty body", "", true],
+      ["space", " ", false],
+      ["tab", "	", false],
+      ["LF", "\n", false],
+      ["CRLF whitespace", "\r\n", false],
+      ["multiple LF", "\n\n", false],
     ])(`Clean description %s in ${active ? "active" : "inactive"} menu`, async (_label, description, disabled) => {
       const fake = await setupPanel(active ? [coordSession(), memberSession()] : [], projectDiscovery("Clean"));
       fake.resolve("task_get_snapshot_at", sidebarSnapshot(workgroupPath, { taskTitle: "Clean", description }));
@@ -479,12 +484,13 @@ describe("ProjectPanel replica context menu — gray/red (#545)", () => {
       expect(broom.title).toBe(disabled ? "Nothing to clear" : "Clear task title");
     });
 
-    it(`allows status and unknown snapshots in ${active ? "active" : "inactive"} menu`, async () => {
+    it.each(["title", "status", "status record"])(`allows %s and unknown snapshots in ${active ? "active" : "inactive"} menu`, async (guard) => {
       const fake = await setupPanel(active ? [coordSession(), memberSession()] : [], projectDiscovery("Clean"));
       fake.resolve("task_get_snapshot_at", sidebarSnapshot(workgroupPath, {
-        taskTitle: "Clean", description: "Ready to start a new topic\n", status: "complete status",
-        statusRecord: { schemaVersion: 1, kind: "status", topicId: "topic", sequence: 1,
-          requestId: null, baseRevision: null, recordedAt: "now", author: null, status: "complete status" },
+        taskTitle: guard === "title" ? "USER title" : "Clean", description: "",
+        status: guard === "status" ? "complete status" : null,
+        statusRecord: guard === "status record" ? { schemaVersion: 1, kind: "status", topicId: "topic", sequence: 1,
+          requestId: null, baseRevision: null, recordedAt: "now", author: null, status: "complete status" } : null,
       }));
       await projectStore.refreshTaskSnapshot(workgroupPath);
       contextMenu(findRow(rendered!.root, memberRowTestId));
diff --git a/src/sidebar/components/ProjectPanel.tsx b/src/sidebar/components/ProjectPanel.tsx
index 253b1c52..e57e1679 100644
--- a/src/sidebar/components/ProjectPanel.tsx
+++ b/src/sidebar/components/ProjectPanel.tsx
@@ -496,6 +496,7 @@ function taskCleanDisabled(room: string): boolean {
   const snapshot = projectStore.taskSnapshot(room);
   if (!snapshot || snapshot.statusRecord?.kind === "status" || !isTaskClean(snapshot.taskTitle)) return false;
   if (snapshot.status !== null) return false;
+  if (snapshot.description === "") return true;
   const description = snapshot.description.replace(/\r\n/g, "\n").replace(/\n$/, "");
   return description === "Ready to start a new topic";
 }
diff --git a/src/sidebar/stores/project.test.ts b/src/sidebar/stores/project.test.ts
index 52eec46f..beb4ac9f 100644
--- a/src/sidebar/stores/project.test.ts
+++ b/src/sidebar/stores/project.test.ts
@@ -156,10 +156,11 @@ describe("projectStore", () => {
     const old = deferred<TaskSnapshot>();
     m.getSnapshot.mockReturnValueOnce(old.promise);
     const pending = projectStore.refreshTaskSnapshot(wg.path);
-    m.getSnapshot.mockResolvedValueOnce(taskSnapshot(wg.path, { taskTitle: "Clean", description: "Ready to start a new topic\n", status: null }));
+    m.getSnapshot.mockResolvedValueOnce(taskSnapshot(wg.path, { taskTitle: "Clean", description: "", status: null }));
     await projectStore.refreshTaskSnapshot(wg.path);
     old.resolve(taskSnapshot(wg.path, { status: "before Clean" }));
     await pending;
+    expect(projectStore.taskSnapshot(wg.path)?.description).toBe("");
     expect(projectStore.taskSnapshot(wg.path)?.taskTitle).toBe("Clean");
     expect(projectStore.taskSnapshot(wg.path)?.status).toBeNull();
   });