diff --git a/scripts/idle-draft b/scripts/idle-draft
index 7b94723..b030cb7 100755
--- a/scripts/idle-draft
+++ b/scripts/idle-draft
@@ -1420,7 +1420,7 @@ def run_dispatch(args, config: dict, repo: Path, state_path: Path) -> int:
                         f"(7d {before_pct}%→{after_pct}%)"
                     )
                     rel_canonical = str(Path(canonical).relative_to(repo))
-                    ok, reason = git_commit(repo, [rel_canonical, "idle-draft.state.json"], msg)
+                    ok, reason = git_commit(repo, [rel_canonical], msg)
                     log_event(repo, f"success: {cand['item_key']} -> {rel_canonical}; commit={ok} ({reason})")
                 elif outcome == "content_failure":
                     blocked_reason = apply_failure_state(state, cand, defaults["max_attempts"])
diff --git a/specs/idle-draft.spec.md b/specs/idle-draft.spec.md
index 3717088..aa5c45b 100644
--- a/specs/idle-draft.spec.md
+++ b/specs/idle-draft.spec.md
@@ -305,10 +305,13 @@ For the selected `(item_or_dossier, work_type, provider)`:
 11. On success: write `idle-draft.state.json` atomically (temp file + `os.replace()` in
     the same directory), then:
     ```
-    git -C <repo> add -- <produced-file> idle-draft.state.json
-    git -C <repo> commit -m "<message>" -- <produced-file> idle-draft.state.json
+    git -C <repo> add -- <produced-file>
+    git -C <repo> commit -m "<message>" -- <produced-file>
     ```
-    Never `git add -A`, never `git commit -a`. Commit message:
+    Never `git add -A`, never `git commit -a`. `idle-draft.state.json` is
+    machine-managed churn and is gitignored in the target repo — it is written
+    atomically but never staged or committed (explicitly `git add`-ing an ignored
+    path fails, which would break every machine commit). Commit message:
     `idle-draft: <work_type> <item> via <provider> (7d <before>%→<after>%)`, where
     before/after are that provider's `seven_day.utilization_pct` immediately before
     dispatch and immediately after re-probe on completion. No push.