diff --git a/lib/projects.ts b/lib/projects.ts
index da2f687..1158147 100644
--- a/lib/projects.ts
+++ b/lib/projects.ts
@@ -22,6 +22,8 @@ export type Project = {
   deployBranch: string;
   /** Messaging channel for this project's group (e.g. "telegram", "whatsapp", "discord", "slack"). Stored at registration time. */
   channel?: string;
+  /** Issue tracker provider type (github or gitlab). Auto-detected at registration, stored for reuse. */
+  provider?: "github" | "gitlab";
   /** Project-level role execution: parallel (DEV+QA can run simultaneously) or sequential (only one role at a time). Default: parallel */
   roleExecution?: "parallel" | "sequential";
   maxDevWorkers?: number;
diff --git a/lib/services/heartbeat.ts b/lib/services/heartbeat.ts
index 17302b0..f4ff19f 100644
--- a/lib/services/heartbeat.ts
+++ b/lib/services/heartbeat.ts
@@ -304,7 +304,7 @@ async function performHealthPass(
   project: any,
   sessions: SessionLookup | null,
 ): Promise<number> {
-  const { provider } = await createProvider({ repo: project.repo });
+  const { provider } = await createProvider({ repo: project.repo, provider: project.provider });
   let fixedCount = 0;
 
   for (const role of getAllRoleIds()) {
diff --git a/lib/services/queue.ts b/lib/services/queue.ts
index f5f1455..51f013c 100644
--- a/lib/services/queue.ts
+++ b/lib/services/queue.ts
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ export async function fetchProjectQueues(
   project: Project,
   workflow: WorkflowConfig = DEFAULT_WORKFLOW,
 ): Promise<Record<string, Issue[]>> {
-  const { provider } = await createProvider({ repo: project.repo });
+  const { provider } = await createProvider({ repo: project.repo, provider: project.provider });
   const queueLabels = getQueueLabelsWithPriority(workflow);
   const queues: Record<string, Issue[]> = {};
 
diff --git a/lib/services/tick.ts b/lib/services/tick.ts
index 077688a..97a54e3 100644
--- a/lib/services/tick.ts
+++ b/lib/services/tick.ts
@@ -162,7 +162,7 @@ export async function projectTick(opts: {
   const project = (await readProjects(workspaceDir)).projects[groupId];
   if (!project) return { pickups: [], skipped: [{ reason: `Project not found: ${groupId}` }] };
 
-  const provider = opts.provider ?? (await createProvider({ repo: project.repo })).provider;
+  const provider = opts.provider ?? (await createProvider({ repo: project.repo, provider: project.provider })).provider;
   const roleExecution = project.roleExecution ?? "parallel";
   const roles: Role[] = targetRole ? [targetRole] : getAllRoleIds() as Role[];
 
diff --git a/lib/tool-helpers.ts b/lib/tool-helpers.ts
index 54bea0d..22584f9 100644
--- a/lib/tool-helpers.ts
+++ b/lib/tool-helpers.ts
@@ -36,9 +36,10 @@ export async function resolveProject(
 
 /**
  * Create an issue provider for a project.
+ * Uses stored provider type from project config if available, otherwise auto-detects.
  */
 export async function resolveProvider(project: Project): Promise<ProviderWithType> {
-  return createProvider({ repo: project.repo });
+  return createProvider({ repo: project.repo, provider: project.provider });
 }
 
 /**
diff --git a/lib/tools/project-register.ts b/lib/tools/project-register.ts
index f3135dd..90f85a2 100644
--- a/lib/tools/project-register.ts
+++ b/lib/tools/project-register.ts
@@ -161,6 +161,7 @@ export function createProjectRegisterTool() {
         baseBranch,
         deployBranch,
         channel,
+        provider: providerType,
         roleExecution,
         dev: emptyWorkerState([...getLevelsForRole("dev")]),
         qa: emptyWorkerState([...getLevelsForRole("qa")]),