diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index d8a075ca6..53f25c39d 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -151,6 +151,46 @@ codex:
 - `server.port` or CLI `--port` enables the optional Phoenix LiveView dashboard and JSON API at
   `/`, `/api/v1/state`, `/api/v1/<issue_identifier>`, and `/api/v1/refresh`.
 
+### Issue filtering
+
+Symphony can target issues by **project slug** or **team key**, and optionally filter by **label**.
+
+`tracker.team_key` is an alternative to `tracker.project_slug`. When both are set, `team_key` takes
+priority. Use the team's short key from Linear (e.g. `RVR`, `ENG`).
+
+`tracker.labels` is a comma-separated list of Linear labels. When set, only issues carrying at least
+one of the listed labels are dispatched. Label matching is case-insensitive.
+
+```yaml
+tracker:
+  kind: linear
+  team_key: RVR
+  labels: "symphony"
+```
+
+### Dispatch states vs active states
+
+By default, `tracker.active_states` controls both which issues are eligible for new agent dispatch
+and which states keep already-running agents alive. If you want agents to stay alive through later
+pipeline states (like code review or staging) without picking up new issues in those states, use
+`tracker.dispatch_states` to restrict where new agents are created.
+
+When `dispatch_states` is set, only issues in those states get new agents. `active_states` continues
+to govern agent lifecycle — running agents won't be stopped when their issue moves to a state in
+`active_states` but not in `dispatch_states`.
+
+When `dispatch_states` is not set, it defaults to `active_states` (the original behavior).
+
+```yaml
+tracker:
+  dispatch_states: "Todo, In Progress"
+  active_states: "Todo, In Progress, Code Review, On Staging"
+```
+
+In this example, agents are only dispatched to issues in "Todo" or "In Progress". But if an agent is
+already working on an issue and that issue moves to "Code Review" or "On Staging", the agent keeps
+running. Once the issue leaves all active states (or hits a terminal state), the agent is stopped.
+
 ## Web dashboard
 
 The observability UI runs on a minimal Phoenix stack:
diff --git a/lib/symphony_elixir/config.ex b/lib/symphony_elixir/config.ex
index 29a31c312..839903ec2 100644
--- a/lib/symphony_elixir/config.ex
+++ b/lib/symphony_elixir/config.ex
@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@ defmodule SymphonyElixir.Config do
                                  team_key: [type: {:or, [:string, nil]}, default: nil],
                                  assignee: [type: {:or, [:string, nil]}, default: nil],
                                  labels: [type: {:list, :string}, default: []],
+                                 dispatch_states: [type: {:list, :string}, default: []],
                                  active_states: [
                                    type: {:list, :string},
                                    default: @default_active_states
@@ -221,6 +222,11 @@ defmodule SymphonyElixir.Config do
     get_in(validated_workflow_options(), [:tracker, :labels])
   end
 
+  @spec linear_dispatch_states() :: [String.t()]
+  def linear_dispatch_states do
+    get_in(validated_workflow_options(), [:tracker, :dispatch_states])
+  end
+
   @spec linear_active_states() :: [String.t()]
   def linear_active_states do
     get_in(validated_workflow_options(), [:tracker, :active_states])
@@ -477,6 +483,7 @@ defmodule SymphonyElixir.Config do
     |> put_if_present(:project_slug, scalar_string_value(Map.get(section, "project_slug")))
     |> put_if_present(:team_key, scalar_string_value(Map.get(section, "team_key")))
     |> put_if_present(:labels, csv_value(Map.get(section, "labels")))
+    |> put_if_present(:dispatch_states, csv_value(Map.get(section, "dispatch_states")))
     |> put_if_present(:active_states, csv_value(Map.get(section, "active_states")))
     |> put_if_present(:terminal_states, csv_value(Map.get(section, "terminal_states")))
   end
diff --git a/lib/symphony_elixir/orchestrator.ex b/lib/symphony_elixir/orchestrator.ex
index eb123e8ec..cffd7520b 100644
--- a/lib/symphony_elixir/orchestrator.ex
+++ b/lib/symphony_elixir/orchestrator.ex
@@ -270,7 +270,7 @@ defmodule SymphonyElixir.Orchestrator do
   @doc false
   @spec should_dispatch_issue_for_test(Issue.t(), term()) :: boolean()
   def should_dispatch_issue_for_test(%Issue{} = issue, %State{} = state) do
-    should_dispatch_issue?(issue, state, active_state_set(), terminal_state_set(), label_filter_set())
+    should_dispatch_issue?(issue, state, dispatch_state_set(), terminal_state_set(), label_filter_set())
   end
 
   @doc false
@@ -436,14 +436,14 @@ defmodule SymphonyElixir.Orchestrator do
   defp terminate_task(_pid), do: :ok
 
   defp choose_issues(issues, state) do
-    active_states = active_state_set()
+    dispatch_states = dispatch_state_set()
     terminal_states = terminal_state_set()
     label_filter = label_filter_set()
 
     issues
     |> sort_issues_for_dispatch()
     |> Enum.reduce(state, fn issue, state_acc ->
-      if should_dispatch_issue?(issue, state_acc, active_states, terminal_states, label_filter) do
+      if should_dispatch_issue?(issue, state_acc, dispatch_states, terminal_states, label_filter) do
         dispatch_issue(state_acc, issue)
       else
         state_acc
@@ -595,6 +595,17 @@ defmodule SymphonyElixir.Orchestrator do
     |> MapSet.new()
   end
 
+  defp dispatch_state_set do
+    case Config.linear_dispatch_states() do
+      [] -> active_state_set()
+      states when is_list(states) ->
+        states
+        |> Enum.map(&normalize_issue_state/1)
+        |> Enum.filter(&(&1 != ""))
+        |> MapSet.new()
+    end
+  end
+
   defp label_filter_set do
     Config.linear_labels()
     |> Enum.map(&normalize_issue_state/1)
@@ -1133,7 +1144,7 @@ defmodule SymphonyElixir.Orchestrator do
   end
 
   defp retry_candidate_issue?(%Issue{} = issue, terminal_states) do
-    candidate_issue?(issue, active_state_set(), terminal_states) and
+    candidate_issue?(issue, dispatch_state_set(), terminal_states) and
       !todo_issue_blocked_by_non_terminal?(issue, terminal_states)
   end