diff --git a/.github/aw/github-agentic-workflows.md b/.github/aw/github-agentic-workflows.md
index 27f147ba174..340886078b0 100644
--- a/.github/aw/github-agentic-workflows.md
+++ b/.github/aw/github-agentic-workflows.md
@@ -571,14 +571,14 @@ The YAML frontmatter supports these fields:
       update-project:
         max: 20                         # Optional: max project operations (default: 10)
         project: "https://github.com/orgs/myorg/projects/42"  # REQUIRED in agent output (full URL)
-        github-token: ${{ secrets.GH_AW_PROJECT_GITHUB_TOKEN }}  # REQUIRED: PAT with projects:write (NOT GITHUB_TOKEN)
+        # github-token: ${{ secrets.GH_AW_PROJECT_GITHUB_TOKEN }}  # Optional here if GH_AW_PROJECT_GITHUB_TOKEN is set; PAT with projects:write (NOT GITHUB_TOKEN) is still required
     ```
     Use this to organize work by adding issues and pull requests to projects, updating field values (status, priority, effort, dates), creating custom fields, and setting up project views.
     
     **⚠️ IMPORTANT REQUIREMENTS:**
     - Agent must include full project URL in **every** call: `project: "https://github.com/orgs/myorg/projects/42"` or `https://github.com/users/username/projects/5`
     - Project URLs must be full URLs; project numbers alone are NOT accepted
-    - Requires a **PAT or GitHub App token** with Projects permissions configured as `github-token: ${{ secrets.GH_AW_PROJECT_GITHUB_TOKEN }}`
+    - Requires a **PAT or GitHub App token** with Projects permissions (for example via `github-token: ${{ secrets.GH_AW_PROJECT_GITHUB_TOKEN }}` or the `GH_AW_PROJECT_GITHUB_TOKEN` fallback)
     - Default `GITHUB_TOKEN` **cannot** access Projects v2 API
     - Token scopes:
       - Classic PAT: `project` and `repo` scopes
diff --git a/.github/workflows/smoke-project.lock.yml b/.github/workflows/smoke-project.lock.yml
index 1aca6143f78..1f74896bac9 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/smoke-project.lock.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/smoke-project.lock.yml
@@ -492,8 +492,8 @@ jobs:
                     "type": "string"
                   },
                   "project": {
-                    "description": "Full GitHub project URL (e.g., 'https://github.com/orgs/myorg/projects/42' or 'https://github.com/users/username/projects/5'). Project names or numbers alone are NOT accepted.",
-                    "pattern": "^https://github\\.com/(orgs|users)/[^/]+/projects/\\d+$",
+                    "description": "Full GitHub project URL (e.g., 'https://github.com/orgs/myorg/projects/42' or 'https://github.com/users/username/projects/5'), or a temporary project ID from a recent create_project call (e.g., '#aw_abc123def456' or 'aw_abc123def456'). Project names or numbers alone are NOT accepted.",
+                    "pattern": "^(https://github\\.com/(orgs|users)/[^/]+/projects/\\d+|#?aw_[0-9a-f]{12})$",
                     "type": "string"
                   },
                   "view": {
diff --git a/.github/workflows/test-project-url-default.lock.yml b/.github/workflows/test-project-url-default.lock.yml
index 56613195494..080de7534f8 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/test-project-url-default.lock.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/test-project-url-default.lock.yml
@@ -328,8 +328,8 @@ jobs:
                     "type": "string"
                   },
                   "project": {
-                    "description": "Full GitHub project URL (e.g., 'https://github.com/orgs/myorg/projects/42' or 'https://github.com/users/username/projects/5'). Project names or numbers alone are NOT accepted.",
-                    "pattern": "^https://github\\.com/(orgs|users)/[^/]+/projects/\\d+$",
+                    "description": "Full GitHub project URL (e.g., 'https://github.com/orgs/myorg/projects/42' or 'https://github.com/users/username/projects/5'), or a temporary project ID from a recent create_project call (e.g., '#aw_abc123def456' or 'aw_abc123def456'). Project names or numbers alone are NOT accepted.",
+                    "pattern": "^(https://github\\.com/(orgs|users)/[^/]+/projects/\\d+|#?aw_[0-9a-f]{12})$",
                     "type": "string"
                   },
                   "view": {