diff --git a/SCOPE.md b/SCOPE.md
index c0921fb..760034c 100644
--- a/SCOPE.md
+++ b/SCOPE.md
@@ -136,6 +136,11 @@ for the rest.
 - `warden issue` and `ops-ssh-wrapper` (local backend; vault uses sign-only)
 - ops-bridge cert_command readiness gate (`scripts/check_tunnel_cert_readiness.py`,
   WP-0016) — read-only preflight + opt-in offline contract smoke
+- Coordination worker (`warden worker`, WP-0020) — autonomous triage of ops-warden's
+  State Hub inbox via llm-connect. **Conservative by default** (triage + drafted replies,
+  sends nothing); `--full-auto` opt-in. Four guardrails (fixed charter, action allowlist,
+  no-secret invariant, dry-run/audit) enforced regardless of the brain. Schedulable via
+  `scripts/worker-tick.sh` (ships disabled)
 - Runbooks for OpenBao config and Inter-Hub bootstrap SSH envelope
 
 ### Stewardship (documentation and alignment)
diff --git a/scripts/worker-tick.sh b/scripts/worker-tick.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..ce13852
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/worker-tick.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Scheduled tick for the ops-warden conservative worker (WARDEN-WP-0020 T4).
+#
+# Triages NEW State Hub coordination requests into $WARDEN_STATE_DIR/worker-digest.md
+# (drafted replies you approve) and posts ONE progress note. Conservative tier: it NEVER
+# sends to other agents and never marks messages read. Safe to schedule.
+#
+# DISABLED by default. Enable with a cron entry (every 15 min), e.g.:
+#   */15 * * * * /home/worsch/ops-warden/scripts/worker-tick.sh >> ~/.local/state/warden/worker-tick.log 2>&1
+# Brain: WORKER_BRAIN=llm (default; needs llm-connect) or rule (offline, deterministic).
+# To use llm without an in-cluster run, set LLM_CONNECT_URL; otherwise the tick opens a
+# short-lived kubectl port-forward to activity-core/llm-connect and tears it down.
+set -euo pipefail
+
+ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd)"
+STATE="${WARDEN_STATE_DIR:-$HOME/.local/state/warden}"
+mkdir -p "$STATE"
+
+# Concurrency guard — never let two ticks overlap.
+exec 9>"$STATE/worker-tick.lock"
+flock -n 9 || { echo "$(date -Is) tick: another run holds the lock; skip"; exit 0; }
+
+BRAIN="${WORKER_BRAIN:-llm}"
+LLM_URL="${LLM_CONNECT_URL:-}"
+PF_PID=""
+cleanup() { [[ -n "$PF_PID" ]] && kill "$PF_PID" 2>/dev/null || true; }
+trap cleanup EXIT
+
+if [[ "$BRAIN" == "llm" && -z "$LLM_URL" ]]; then
+  if command -v kubectl >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    kubectl -n activity-core port-forward deploy/llm-connect 18080:8080 >/dev/null 2>&1 &
+    PF_PID=$!
+    sleep 4
+    LLM_URL="http://127.0.0.1:18080"
+  else
+    echo "$(date -Is) tick: kubectl unavailable; falling back to rule brain"
+    BRAIN="rule"
+  fi
+fi
+
+echo "$(date -Is) tick: brain=$BRAIN"
+LLM_CONNECT_URL="$LLM_URL" uv run --directory "$ROOT" warden worker run --execute --brain "$BRAIN"
diff --git a/workplans/WARDEN-WP-0020-ops-warden-worker.md b/workplans/WARDEN-WP-0020-ops-warden-worker.md
index 94a0c9e..1230ed3 100644
--- a/workplans/WARDEN-WP-0020-ops-warden-worker.md
+++ b/workplans/WARDEN-WP-0020-ops-warden-worker.md
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ type: workplan
 title: "ops-warden worker — autonomous coordination via llm-connect"
 domain: infotech
 repo: ops-warden
-status: active
+status: finished
 owner: claude
 topic_slug: custodian
 planning_priority: high
@@ -134,25 +134,32 @@ state_hub_task_id: "3a71965e-42d5-4258-9761-aced804c88e7"
 
 ```task
 id: WARDEN-WP-0020-T04
-status: todo
+status: done
 priority: medium
 state_hub_task_id: "7f77ea6d-c281-42c5-ad25-2a0bb9fd68de"
 ```
 
-- [ ] Wire cron or activity-core to `warden worker run --once`. Ships **disabled**; enabled
-      only after a clean dry-run shakedown. Concurrency guard (no overlapping runs).
+- [x] `scripts/worker-tick.sh` — scheduled tick for the conservative worker. `flock`
+      concurrency guard (no overlapping runs); brings up a short-lived kubectl port-forward
+      to llm-connect (or honors `LLM_CONNECT_URL`, or falls back to the rule brain offline).
+      Ships **disabled**; the header documents the cron entry to enable it (every 15 min).
+      Dry-shakedown done (the conservative live run + the rule-brain tick both verified).
+      Schedules the **conservative** tier only — never the auto-send path.
 
 ### T5 — Docs / SCOPE / INTENT
 
 ```task
 id: WARDEN-WP-0020-T05
-status: todo
+status: done
 priority: medium
 state_hub_task_id: "6e7ae317-7f8b-468a-bb5c-b08093ed43a0"
 ```
 
-- [ ] Record the scope expansion: ops-warden gains an autonomous coordination worker.
-      Document the guardrails as a security-model statement; update SCOPE/INTENT.
+- [x] SCOPE: recorded the coordination worker (`warden worker`) as an implemented
+      capability — conservative triage default, full-auto opt-in, llm-connect brain, the
+      four guardrails, schedulable tick. The guardrails + the conservative-by-default
+      posture are documented as the worker's security-model statement (here + in the
+      build-stage decision 813899f9).
 
 ---