diff --git a/src/hooks/ralph-loop/completion-promise-detector.test.ts b/src/hooks/ralph-loop/completion-promise-detector.test.ts
index 704517732..bbb2206fb 100644
--- a/src/hooks/ralph-loop/completion-promise-detector.test.ts
+++ b/src/hooks/ralph-loop/completion-promise-detector.test.ts
@@ -273,6 +273,28 @@ describe("detectCompletionInSessionMessages", () => {
       // #then
       expect(detected).toBe(true)
     })
+
+    test("#when promise is VERIFIED #then semantic completion should NOT trigger", async () => {
+      // #given
+      const messages: SessionMessage[] = [
+        {
+          info: { role: "assistant" },
+          parts: [{ type: "text", text: "The task is complete. All work has been finished." }],
+        },
+      ]
+      const ctx = createPluginInput(messages)
+
+      // #when
+      const detected = await detectCompletionInSessionMessages(ctx, {
+        sessionID: "session-123",
+        promise: "VERIFIED",
+        apiTimeoutMs: 1000,
+        directory: "/tmp",
+      })
+
+      // #then
+      expect(detected).toBe(false)
+    })
   })
 })
 
diff --git a/src/hooks/ralph-loop/completion-promise-detector.ts b/src/hooks/ralph-loop/completion-promise-detector.ts
index 39322e536..cd02ce7f7 100644
--- a/src/hooks/ralph-loop/completion-promise-detector.ts
+++ b/src/hooks/ralph-loop/completion-promise-detector.ts
@@ -49,8 +49,9 @@ export function detectCompletionInTranscript(
 				if (entry.type === "user") continue
 				if (startedAt && entry.timestamp && entry.timestamp < startedAt) continue
 				if (pattern.test(line)) return true
-				// Fallback: check for semantic completion
-				if (detectSemanticCompletion(line)) {
+				// Fallback: semantic completion only for DONE promise and assistant entries
+				const isAssistantEntry = entry.type === "assistant" || entry.type === "text"
+				if (promise === "DONE" && isAssistantEntry && detectSemanticCompletion(line)) {
 					log("[ralph-loop] WARNING: Semantic completion detected in transcript (agent used natural language instead of <promise>DONE</promise>)")
 					return true
 				}
@@ -118,8 +119,8 @@ export async function detectCompletionInSessionMessages(
 				return true
 			}
 
-			// Fallback: check for semantic completion
-			if (detectSemanticCompletion(responseText)) {
+			// Fallback: semantic completion only for DONE promise
+			if (options.promise === "DONE" && detectSemanticCompletion(responseText)) {
 				log("[ralph-loop] WARNING: Semantic completion detected (agent used natural language instead of <promise>DONE</promise>)", {
 					sessionID: options.sessionID,
 				})