# Code Review: fix-dashboard-read-state

## Reviewed Files
- `automaton/dashboard/core/task.py` (`_state_string_to_task_state()`, `determine_task_state()`)

## Changes
Added `_state_string_to_task_state()` helper and modified `determine_task_state()` to read `.state` file before falling back to artifact heuristic.

## Analysis
- **Correctness**: `.state` file is the source of truth per v2.0 framework design, so it should take precedence
- **Sub-state handling**: `_state_string_to_task_state()` correctly splits on `:` to extract base phase (e.g. `code_review:awaiting_approval` → `CODE_REVIEW`)
- **Fallback**: Tasks without `.state` files still work via artifact heuristic (backward compatible)
- **Null safety**: Returns `None` for unrecognized phase strings, which `determine_task_state()` handles by falling through to artifacts

## Verdict: PASS

The fix correctly prioritizes the `.state` file as source of truth while maintaining backward compatibility.