diff --git a/src/story-mode.ts b/src/story-mode.ts
index 4666cece..acd6daa0 100644
--- a/src/story-mode.ts
+++ b/src/story-mode.ts
@@ -2434,6 +2434,10 @@ function touchedBefore(file: string, before: StoryEvent[]): boolean {
   return before.some((e) => editsOf(e).some((d) => d.file === file));
 }
 
+/** A command made only of git lookups ("git log --oneline; git status -sb", "git -C origin.git log"). */
+const GIT_LOOK =
+  /^(?:(?:git (?:-C \S+ |--git-dir=\S+ )?(?:log|status|show|ls-remote|branch|remote|describe|rev-parse|diff)\b[^;&|\n]*|(?:echo|head|tail|wc|sort)\b[^;&|\n]*)\s*(?:&&|\|\||;|\||\n|$)\s*)+$/;
+
 /** One or two files by name ("calc.py and test_calc.py"), more by count ("3 files"). */
 const fileWords = (files: string[], noun = 'file'): string =>
   files.length && files.length <= 2 ? files.map((f) => basename(f)).join(' and ') : plural(files.length, noun);
@@ -2543,6 +2547,8 @@ function decorate(draft: DraftPanel, events: StoryEvent[], turn: StoryTurn, inde
       const shown = files.filter((f) => !/(^|\/)\.codeman[-.]/.test(f));
       // A file or two by name; in a turn a report started, reading is checking what came back.
       const checking = turn.origin === 'task' || turn.origin === 'peer';
+      // Only git lookups (log, status, ls-remote) after a save in this turn: Claude checks its save.
+      const savedBefore = events.slice(0, Math.min(...draft.events)).some((e) => (e.commits ?? 0) > 0 || !!e.ships);
       const named = shown.map((f) => basename(f));
       story = evs.every((e) => e.tool === 'ToolSearch')
         ? evs.some((e) => /PlanMode/.test(e.label))
@@ -2554,7 +2560,9 @@ function decorate(draft: DraftPanel, events: StoryEvent[], turn: StoryTurn, inde
             ? `Claude reads ${plural(shown.length, 'file')} to find its way around.`
             : evs.every((e) => e.intent === 'search')
               ? 'Claude searches the code.'
-              : 'Claude looks around the project.';
+              : savedBefore && evs.every((e) => e.tool === 'Bash' && GIT_LOOK.test(e.label.trim()))
+                ? 'Claude checks what it saved.'
+                : 'Claude looks around the project.';
       // A tool lookup's query (`select:EnterPlanMode,ExitPlanMode`) means nothing to a reader.
       if (evs.every((e) => e.tool === 'ToolSearch')) panel.notes = [];
       break;
diff --git a/test/fixtures/story-corpus/errors-push-append.expected.json b/test/fixtures/story-corpus/errors-push-append.expected.json
index cba63484..eb7a42b7 100644
--- a/test/fixtures/story-corpus/errors-push-append.expected.json
+++ b/test/fixtures/story-corpus/errors-push-append.expected.json
@@ -205,7 +205,7 @@
       {
         "kind": "investigate",
         "ok": null,
-        "story": "Claude looks around the project.",
+        "story": "Claude checks what it saved.",
         "unaskedSave": false,
         "director": "Bash · git --git-dir=origin.git log --oneline master; git status -…",
         "balloon": null,
@@ -298,7 +298,7 @@
       {
         "kind": "investigate",
         "ok": null,
-        "story": "Claude looks around the project.",
+        "story": "Claude checks what it saved.",
         "unaskedSave": false,
         "director": "Bash · git --git-dir=origin.git log --oneline -1 master; git statu…",
         "balloon": null,
diff --git a/test/fixtures/story-corpus/long-turn-prompt-added.expected.json b/test/fixtures/story-corpus/long-turn-prompt-added.expected.json
index d9787ed0..678a212f 100644
--- a/test/fixtures/story-corpus/long-turn-prompt-added.expected.json
+++ b/test/fixtures/story-corpus/long-turn-prompt-added.expected.json
@@ -313,7 +313,7 @@
       {
         "kind": "investigate",
         "ok": null,
-        "story": "Claude looks around the project.",
+        "story": "Claude checks what it saved.",
         "unaskedSave": false,
         "director": "Bash · git log --oneline",
         "balloon": "Step 16:",
diff --git a/test/story-mode.test.ts b/test/story-mode.test.ts
index 051e3c7f..e99b1841 100644
--- a/test/story-mode.test.ts
+++ b/test/story-mode.test.ts
@@ -1084,6 +1084,25 @@ describe('buildStoryPage', () => {
     expect(page.panels.map((p) => p.caption.story)).toContain('Claude changes run.sh; the tests pass.');
   });
 
+  it('git lookups after a save are Claude checking its save, and stay fast on a crafted command', () => {
+    const look = (saveFirst: boolean, command: string) =>
+      pageOf([
+        prompt('go'),
+        ...(saveFirst ? bash('b0', 'git commit -qm "add a"', 'Commit', '') : []),
+        ...bash('b1', command, 'Look', 'ok'),
+        end(1000),
+      ]).panels.find((p) => p.kind === 'investigate')?.caption.story;
+    expect(look(true, 'git --git-dir=origin.git log --oneline -1 master; git status -sb | head -1')).toBe(
+      'Claude checks what it saved.'
+    );
+    expect(look(false, 'git log --oneline; git status -sb | head -1')).toBe('Claude looks around the project.');
+    // The wording reads the event's display label (clipped), so a long command costs nothing; the
+    // panel's kind still comes from the whole command.
+    const start = performance.now();
+    expect(look(true, `git log ${'a '.repeat(100_000)}&& cat x`)).toBeTypeOf('string');
+    expect(performance.now() - start).toBeLessThan(1500);
+  });
+
   it('a short ending keeps the sentence that leaves something open', () => {
     const page = pageOf([
       prompt('run them'),