diff --git a/agent-team/agent_team/nodes/builders.py b/agent-team/agent_team/nodes/builders.py
index 3daba97..079f4dd 100644
--- a/agent-team/agent_team/nodes/builders.py
+++ b/agent-team/agent_team/nodes/builders.py
@@ -208,7 +208,48 @@ def default_diff_builder(
         allowed_tools=_BUILDER_ALLOWED_TOOLS,
         budget_usd=_BUILDER_BUDGET_USD,
     )
-    return result.text
+    return _extract_unified_diff(result.text)
+
+
+# The agentic builder uses read-only tools, so its response can wrap the diff in
+# a fenced code block and/or surround it with narration ("Let me read the source
+# files first…"). Recover the unified diff from that response: a ```diff fence is
+# preferred, else the slice from the first ``diff --git`` header. A response with
+# NO diff header at all is a hard BuildError — narration must never dispatch as a
+# candidate diff (it would fail closed at CI in a confusing way).
+_DIFF_FENCE_RE = re.compile(r"```(?:diff|patch)?[ \t]*\n(.*?)```", re.DOTALL)
+_DIFF_GIT_MARKER = "diff --git "
+
+
+def _extract_unified_diff(text: str) -> str:
+    """Recover the unified diff from the (tool-using) builder response.
+
+    Prefers the last fenced ```diff block containing a ``diff --git`` header;
+    otherwise slices from the first ``diff --git`` marker to the end, dropping any
+    surrounding narration. Raises :class:`BuildError` when the response carries no
+    diff header at all (e.g. tool narration with no patch) so a prose-only reply
+    fails loudly here rather than dispatching as a bogus candidate diff.
+    """
+    if not isinstance(text, str):
+        raise BuildError("builder returned a non-string response")
+
+    diff = ""
+    for block in reversed(_DIFF_FENCE_RE.findall(text)):
+        if _DIFF_GIT_MARKER in block:
+            diff = block
+            break
+    if not diff:
+        marker = text.find(_DIFF_GIT_MARKER)
+        if marker != -1:
+            diff = text[marker:]
+
+    diff = diff.strip()
+    if _DIFF_GIT_MARKER not in diff:
+        raise BuildError(
+            "builder response contained no unified diff (no 'diff --git' header "
+            "— the model returned narration / tool output instead of a patch)"
+        )
+    return diff + "\n"
 
 
 def _render_build_prompt(plan: Mapping[str, Any]) -> str:
@@ -232,7 +273,13 @@ def _render_build_prompt(plan: Mapping[str, Any]) -> str:
         "Dependabot config.\n\n"
         f"Title: {title}\n"
         f"Declared scope (paths you may edit):\n{scope_lines}\n"
-        f"Phases:\n{phase_lines}\n"
+        f"Phases:\n{phase_lines}\n\n"
+        "You may use the read-only tools (Read/Grep/Glob) to inspect the repo "
+        "before writing the patch. Your FINAL message MUST be ONLY the unified "
+        "diff in `git diff` format (each file section beginning with a "
+        "`diff --git a/… b/…` header), wrapped in a single ```diff fenced code "
+        "block. Do NOT include any narration, explanation, or text before or "
+        "after the diff.\n"
     )
 
 
diff --git a/agent-team/tests/test_builders.py b/agent-team/tests/test_builders.py
index c14f123..21a6cb6 100644
--- a/agent-team/tests/test_builders.py
+++ b/agent-team/tests/test_builders.py
@@ -136,6 +136,57 @@ def test_default_diff_builder_fails_loud_when_unwired() -> None:
         default_diff_builder(plan={"title": "x"}, config=None)
 
 
+def test_extract_unified_diff_from_fenced_block_with_narration() -> None:
+    # The agentic builder may narrate around a fenced ```diff block; recover only
+    # the diff, dropping the prose.
+    text = (
+        "Let me read the key source files to get exact signatures first.\n"
+        "Here is the patch:\n\n"
+        "```diff\n" + CLEAN_DIFF + "```\n"
+        "That implements the plan."
+    )
+    assert builders._extract_unified_diff(text) == CLEAN_DIFF
+
+
+def test_extract_unified_diff_from_bare_diff_with_leading_narration() -> None:
+    # No fence: slice from the first ``diff --git`` header, dropping the prose.
+    text = "I inspected the repo. Applying this change:\n\n" + CLEAN_DIFF
+    assert builders._extract_unified_diff(text) == CLEAN_DIFF
+
+
+def test_extract_unified_diff_rejects_narration_only() -> None:
+    # The exact failure observed live: tool narration with no patch. It MUST fail
+    # closed (BuildError), never pass narration through as a candidate diff.
+    text = "Let me read the key source files to get exact signatures before writing the diff."
+    with pytest.raises(BuildError, match="no unified diff"):
+        builders._extract_unified_diff(text)
+
+
+def test_default_diff_builder_extracts_diff_from_narrated_response() -> None:
+    # End to end: the invoker returns narration + a fenced diff; the builder
+    # returns the clean unified diff, not the prose.
+    def fake(prompt: str, *, mode: BillingMode, **kw):
+        return ClaudeResult(
+            text="Sure — let me inspect the files.\n```diff\n" + CLEAN_DIFF + "```",
+            mode=mode,
+        )
+
+    billing.set_invoker(fake)
+    out = default_diff_builder(plan={"title": "x", "scope": ["src"]}, config=None)
+    assert out == CLEAN_DIFF
+
+
+def test_default_diff_builder_raises_on_prose_only_response() -> None:
+    # A prose-only builder reply parks/fails the task rather than dispatching
+    # garbage to CI (issue #60 output-contract hardening).
+    def fake(prompt: str, *, mode: BillingMode, **kw):
+        return ClaudeResult(text="Let me read the source files first.", mode=mode)
+
+    billing.set_invoker(fake)
+    with pytest.raises(BuildError, match="no unified diff"):
+        default_diff_builder(plan={"title": "x", "scope": ["src"]}, config=None)
+
+
 # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
 # Diff parsing / canonicalization
 # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #