diff --git a/hive-c0re/src/manager_server.rs b/hive-c0re/src/manager_server.rs
index 3c9cab2..a15b338 100644
--- a/hive-c0re/src/manager_server.rs
+++ b/hive-c0re/src/manager_server.rs
@@ -258,9 +258,9 @@ async fn dispatch(req: &ManagerRequest, coord: &Arc<Coordinator>) -> ManagerResp
         }
         ManagerRequest::RequestApplyCommit { agent, commit_ref } => {
             tracing::info!(%agent, %commit_ref, "manager: request_apply_commit");
-            match coord.approvals.submit(agent, commit_ref) {
-                Ok(id) => {
-                    tracing::info!(%id, %agent, %commit_ref, "approval queued");
+            match submit_apply_commit(coord, agent, commit_ref).await {
+                Ok((id, sha)) => {
+                    tracing::info!(%id, %agent, manager_ref = %commit_ref, %sha, "approval queued + proposal tag planted");
                     ManagerResponse::Ok
                 }
                 Err(e) => ManagerResponse::Err {
@@ -271,6 +271,66 @@ async fn dispatch(req: &ManagerRequest, coord: &Arc<Coordinator>) -> ManagerResp
     }
 }
 
+/// Submit-time half of the apply flow: queue the approval row, then
+/// fetch the manager's commit from the proposed repo into applied and
+/// pin it as `refs/tags/proposal/<id>`. From this point on the manager
+/// repo is irrelevant for this approval — even if the manager amends
+/// or force-pushes, the canonical sha hive-c0re will eventually
+/// approve/deny lives in applied's object DB.
+///
+/// If anything fails after the row is inserted (sha missing in
+/// proposed, fs error, git plumbing crash) we mark the row failed and
+/// surface the error to the manager. We don't try to roll the row
+/// back — the failure is part of the audit trail.
+async fn submit_apply_commit(
+    coord: &Arc<Coordinator>,
+    agent: &str,
+    commit_ref: &str,
+) -> anyhow::Result<(i64, String)> {
+    let proposed_dir = crate::coordinator::Coordinator::agent_proposed_dir(agent);
+    let applied_dir = crate::coordinator::Coordinator::agent_applied_dir(agent);
+    if !proposed_dir.exists() {
+        anyhow::bail!(
+            "proposed repo missing for agent '{agent}' (expected at {})",
+            proposed_dir.display()
+        );
+    }
+    if !applied_dir.join(".git").exists() {
+        anyhow::bail!(
+            "applied repo at {} is uninitialised — spawn the agent first",
+            applied_dir.display()
+        );
+    }
+    let id = coord
+        .approvals
+        .submit(agent, commit_ref)
+        .map_err(|e| anyhow::anyhow!("queue approval row: {e:#}"))?;
+    let tag = format!("proposal/{id}");
+    let sha = match crate::lifecycle::git_fetch_to_tag(
+        &applied_dir,
+        &proposed_dir,
+        commit_ref,
+        &tag,
+    )
+    .await
+    {
+        Ok(s) => s,
+        Err(e) => {
+            // Surface the failure on the approval row so the
+            // dashboard reflects it instead of leaving a phantom
+            // pending entry. The note doubles as the operator-visible
+            // explanation of why the approval can't be approved.
+            let _ = coord.approvals.mark_failed(id, &format!("{e:#}"));
+            return Err(anyhow::anyhow!("git_fetch_to_tag: {e:#}"));
+        }
+    };
+    coord
+        .approvals
+        .set_fetched_sha(id, &sha)
+        .map_err(|e| anyhow::anyhow!("persist fetched_sha: {e:#}"))?;
+    Ok((id, sha))
+}
+
 /// On `AskOperator { ttl_seconds: Some(n) }`, sleep n seconds and then
 /// try to resolve the question with `[expired]`. If the operator (or
 /// any other path) already answered it, `answer()` returns Err and