diff --git a/src/app/runtime/actions/mod.rs b/src/app/runtime/actions/mod.rs
index 9a2ad4c..a5f35b3 100644
--- a/src/app/runtime/actions/mod.rs
+++ b/src/app/runtime/actions/mod.rs
@@ -385,7 +385,7 @@ pub fn apply_action(state: &mut AppStateRest, action: Action) {
                             state.misc.api_connected = message == "connected";
                         } else if kind == "pipeline" {
                             // Clear old workflow agents when a new pipeline starts.
-                            if message.contains("started") {
+                            if message == HIVE_MIND_KICKOFF_NOTE {
                                 state.workflow_engine.agents.clear();
                                 state.workflow_engine.findings.clear();
                             }
@@ -937,6 +937,16 @@ fn archive_message(db: Option<&std::sync::Arc<std::sync::Mutex<rusqlite::Connect
 /// background subagents still fire at the end of the turn.
 const MAX_AUTO_REVIEWS_PER_TURN: usize = 2;
 
+/// Exact text of the "pipeline started" `SystemNote` pushed once per
+/// hive-mind kickoff. Matched by exact equality (not a loose substring)
+/// when deciding whether to reset the workflow panel's agent roster —
+/// shared between the push site and the check site so they cannot drift
+/// out of sync the way the previous `.contains("started")` check did
+/// (no real pipeline message ever contained that word, so the roster
+/// never cleared and agent cards accumulated across every hive-mind run
+/// in a session).
+const HIVE_MIND_KICKOFF_NOTE: &str = "Core Intelligence is compiling a cognitive cycle plan...";
+
 /// Execute one full agent turn: stream the conversation to the LLM,
 /// handle tool calls, and loop until the LLM produces a non-tool response
 /// or runs out of unfinished todo items.
@@ -1028,7 +1038,7 @@ fn run_agent_turn(
         if let Ok(mut q) = events_q.lock() {
             q.push_back(TurnEvent::SystemNote {
                 kind: "pipeline".to_string(),
-                message: "Core Intelligence is compiling a cognitive cycle plan...".to_string(),
+                message: HIVE_MIND_KICKOFF_NOTE.to_string(),
             });
         }