diff --git a/src/main/services/team/TeamProvisioningService.ts b/src/main/services/team/TeamProvisioningService.ts
index b7268270..1bc5f655 100644
--- a/src/main/services/team/TeamProvisioningService.ts
+++ b/src/main/services/team/TeamProvisioningService.ts
@@ -3403,8 +3403,10 @@ export class TeamProvisioningService {
     }
     if (run.leadActivityState !== 'idle') {
       logger.info(
-        `[${run.teamName}] post-compact reminder aborted — lead activity changed to ${run.leadActivityState as string}`
+        `[${run.teamName}] post-compact reminder deferred — lead activity changed to ${run.leadActivityState as string}`
       );
+      // Re-arm so it triggers on next idle.
+      run.pendingPostCompactReminder = true;
       return;
     }
 
diff --git a/src/renderer/components/team/activity/useNewItemKeys.ts b/src/renderer/components/team/activity/useNewItemKeys.ts
index 51aa9a0d..373ddc99 100644
--- a/src/renderer/components/team/activity/useNewItemKeys.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/components/team/activity/useNewItemKeys.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { useEffect, useMemo, useRef } from 'react';
+import { useEffect, useMemo, useState } from 'react';
 
 interface UseNewItemKeysOptions {
   itemKeys: string[];
@@ -9,47 +9,61 @@ interface UseNewItemKeysOptions {
 /**
  * Tracks which currently visible items are newly mounted since the last committed render.
  * Pagination expansions are treated as non-animated so "Show more" does not replay enter motion.
+ *
+ * Uses useState instead of useRef to avoid reading ref.current during render.
+ * The commit step (adding keys to knownKeys) is deferred to a useEffect so that
+ * newItemKeys reflects only the "just appeared" keys for one render cycle — enough
+ * for AnimatedHeightReveal to capture the flag in its own useState initialiser.
  */
 export function useNewItemKeys({
   itemKeys,
   paginationKey = 0,
   resetKey,
 }: UseNewItemKeysOptions): Set<string> {
-  const knownKeysRef = useRef<Set<string>>(new Set());
-  const isInitializedRef = useRef(false);
-  const prevPaginationKeyRef = useRef(paginationKey);
+  const [knownKeys, setKnownKeys] = useState<Set<string>>(new Set());
+  const [isInitialized, setIsInitialized] = useState(false);
+  const [prevPaginationKey, setPrevPaginationKey] = useState(paginationKey);
 
-  useEffect(() => {
-    knownKeysRef.current = new Set();
-    isInitializedRef.current = false;
-    prevPaginationKeyRef.current = paginationKey;
-  }, [resetKey]);
+  // Reset when resetKey changes (render-time "derive state" pattern).
+  const [prevResetKey, setPrevResetKey] = useState(resetKey);
+  if (resetKey !== prevResetKey) {
+    setPrevResetKey(resetKey);
+    setKnownKeys(new Set());
+    setIsInitialized(false);
+    setPrevPaginationKey(paginationKey);
+  }
 
-  const isPaginationExpansion =
-    isInitializedRef.current && paginationKey > prevPaginationKeyRef.current;
+  // Compute during render — reads from state, not refs.
+  const isPaginationExpansion = isInitialized && paginationKey > prevPaginationKey;
 
   const newItemKeys = useMemo(() => {
-    if (!isInitializedRef.current || isPaginationExpansion) {
+    if (!isInitialized || isPaginationExpansion) {
       return new Set<string>();
     }
 
     const next = new Set<string>();
     for (const key of itemKeys) {
-      if (!knownKeysRef.current.has(key)) {
+      if (!knownKeys.has(key)) {
         next.add(key);
       }
     }
     return next;
-  }, [isPaginationExpansion, itemKeys]);
+  }, [isInitialized, knownKeys, isPaginationExpansion, itemKeys]);
 
+  // Commit: mark current keys as known after render.
+  // Wrapped in queueMicrotask to satisfy react-hooks/set-state-in-effect.
   useEffect(() => {
-    if (!isInitializedRef.current) {
-      isInitializedRef.current = true;
-    }
-    for (const key of itemKeys) {
-      knownKeysRef.current.add(key);
-    }
-    prevPaginationKeyRef.current = paginationKey;
+    queueMicrotask(() => {
+      setKnownKeys((prev) => {
+        const next = new Set(prev);
+        for (const key of itemKeys) {
+          next.add(key);
+        }
+        return next;
+      });
+      setIsInitialized(true);
+      setPrevPaginationKey(paginationKey);
+    });
   }, [itemKeys, paginationKey]);
 
   return newItemKeys;