diff --git a/tests/test_scheduling.py b/tests/test_scheduling.py
index a78d757..7cfa7d9 100644
--- a/tests/test_scheduling.py
+++ b/tests/test_scheduling.py
@@ -680,3 +680,49 @@ def test_get_program_name_extracted(self):
     def test_read_program_state_extracted(self):
         # read_program_state exists in the workflow but depends on file I/O
         assert "read_program_state" in _funcs
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Workflow step ordering — repo-memory must be available before scheduling
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+class TestWorkflowStepOrdering:
+    """Verify that the repo-memory clone step appears before the scheduling step.
+
+    The scheduling pre-step reads persisted state from repo-memory.  If the
+    clone happens after scheduling, the script cannot see previous-run state,
+    causing incorrect selection/skip behaviour.
+    """
+
+    CLONE_STEP = "Clone repo-memory for scheduling"
+    SCHED_STEP = "Check which programs are due"
+
+    def _load_steps(self):
+        """Return the list of pre-step names from workflows/autoloop.md."""
+        import os
+        import re
+
+        wf_path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), "..", "workflows", "autoloop.md")
+        with open(wf_path) as f:
+            content = f.read()
+        step_names = []
+        for m in re.finditer(r'^\s*-\s*name:\s*(.+)$', content, re.MULTILINE):
+            step_names.append(m.group(1).strip())
+        return step_names
+
+    def test_clone_step_exists(self):
+        """A step that clones repo-memory for scheduling must exist."""
+        steps = self._load_steps()
+        assert self.CLONE_STEP in steps, (
+            f"Expected step '{self.CLONE_STEP}' not found. Steps: {steps}"
+        )
+
+    def test_clone_before_scheduling(self):
+        """The repo-memory clone step must come before 'Check which programs are due'."""
+        steps = self._load_steps()
+        clone_idx = steps.index(self.CLONE_STEP)
+        sched_idx = steps.index(self.SCHED_STEP)
+        assert clone_idx < sched_idx, (
+            f"'{self.CLONE_STEP}' (index {clone_idx}) must come before "
+            f"'{self.SCHED_STEP}' (index {sched_idx}). Steps: {steps}"
+        )
diff --git a/workflows/autoloop.md b/workflows/autoloop.md
index 32ddde3..de29c07 100644
--- a/workflows/autoloop.md
+++ b/workflows/autoloop.md
@@ -81,6 +81,28 @@ imports:
   - shared/reporting.md
 
 steps:
+  - name: Clone repo-memory for scheduling
+    env:
+      GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
+      GITHUB_REPOSITORY: ${{ github.repository }}
+      GITHUB_SERVER_URL: ${{ github.server_url }}
+    run: |
+      # Clone the repo-memory branch so the scheduling step can read persisted state
+      # from previous runs.  The framework-managed repo-memory clone happens after
+      # pre-steps, so we perform an early shallow clone here.
+      MEMORY_DIR="/tmp/gh-aw/repo-memory/autoloop"
+      BRANCH="memory/autoloop"
+      mkdir -p "$(dirname "$MEMORY_DIR")"
+      REPO_URL="${GITHUB_SERVER_URL}/${GITHUB_REPOSITORY}.git"
+      AUTH_URL="$(echo "$REPO_URL" | sed "s|https://|https://x-access-token:${GH_TOKEN}@|")"
+      if git ls-remote --exit-code --heads "$AUTH_URL" "$BRANCH" > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+        git clone --single-branch --branch "$BRANCH" --depth 1 "$AUTH_URL" "$MEMORY_DIR" 2>&1
+        echo "Cloned repo-memory branch to $MEMORY_DIR"
+      else
+        mkdir -p "$MEMORY_DIR"
+        echo "No repo-memory branch found yet (first run). Created empty directory."
+      fi
+
   - name: Check which programs are due
     env:
       GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}