diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index e0d5ef2..a0ceb70 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@mikefreno/ralpi",
-  "version": "0.2.2",
+  "version": "0.2.3",
   "description": "Execute tasks from task files/PRD's using DAG-based dependency resolution with persistent progress tracking",
   "keywords": [
     "pi-package",
diff --git a/src/parser.ts b/src/parser.ts
index 56f687c..27a0fe0 100644
--- a/src/parser.ts
+++ b/src/parser.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import * as fs from "node:fs";
 import * as path from "node:path";
-import type { Task, Project, ParallelGroup } from "./types";
+import type { Task, Project, ParallelGroup, Phase } from "./types";
 
 // Lazy-loaded yaml package
 let YAML_module: typeof import("yaml") | undefined;
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ function loadYaml(): typeof import("yaml") {
  * Parse a task file (markdown or YAML) into a Project structure.
  * Supports:
  * - Fio README format (numbered tasks with dependency graph)
+ * - Phased format (## Phase N — Title sections with tasks and dependencies)
  * - Simple checkbox format (- [ ] task)
  * - YAML format (tasks: [...])
  */
@@ -36,7 +37,7 @@ export function parseTaskFile(filePath: string): Project {
 	}
 
 	// Markdown: detect format
-	if (hasDependenciesSection(content)) {
+	if (hasDependenciesSection(content) || hasPhaseHeadings(content)) {
 		return parseFioFormat(content, absolutePath, dir);
 	}
 	return parseSimpleCheckbox(content, absolutePath, dir);
@@ -50,6 +51,10 @@ const DEP_HEADING_RE = /^(?:##\s+)?Dependencies\s*$/m;
 const TASK_HEADING_RE = /^(?:##\s+)?Tasks\s*$/m;
 /** Match other markdown headings (## Something). */
 const ANY_MD_HEADING_RE = /^##\s/;
+/** Match phase headings: ## Phase 1 — Push-to-Talk MVP */
+const PHASE_HEADING_RE = /^\s*##\s+Phase\s+(\d+)\s*[—–:-]\s*(.+)$/i;
+/** Detect plain phase headings too: Phase 1 — Title (no ##) */
+const PHASE_HEADING_PLAIN_RE = /^Phase\s+(\d+)\s*[—–:-]\s*(.+)$/i;
 /**
  * Detect a plain (non-markdown) section heading like "Exit criteria".
  * A plain heading must:
@@ -67,6 +72,10 @@ function hasDependenciesSection(content: string): boolean {
 	return DEP_HEADING_RE.test(content);
 }
 
+function hasPhaseHeadings(content: string): boolean {
+	return PHASE_HEADING_RE.test(content) || PHASE_HEADING_PLAIN_RE.test(content);
+}
+
 function parseFioFormat(
 	content: string,
 	sourcePath: string,
@@ -76,10 +85,38 @@ function parseFioFormat(
 	const tasks: Task[] = [];
 	const dependencies: Record<string, string[]> = {};
 	const parallelGroups: ParallelGroup[] = [];
+	const phases: Phase[] = [];
+	let currentPhase: number | null = null;
+	let currentPhaseTitle = "";
 	let inTasks = false;
 	let inDeps = false;
 
 	for (const line of lines) {
+		// Check for phase headings first
+		const phaseMatch =
+			line.match(PHASE_HEADING_RE) || line.match(PHASE_HEADING_PLAIN_RE);
+		if (phaseMatch) {
+			// Save previous phase if exists
+			if (currentPhase !== null) {
+				const phaseTaskIds = tasks
+					.filter((t) => t.phase === currentPhase)
+					.map((t) => t.id);
+				if (phaseTaskIds.length > 0) {
+					phases.push({
+						number: currentPhase,
+						title: currentPhaseTitle,
+						taskIds: phaseTaskIds,
+					});
+				}
+			}
+			// Start new phase
+			currentPhase = parseInt(phaseMatch[1], 10);
+			currentPhaseTitle = phaseMatch[2].trim();
+			inTasks = true;
+			inDeps = false;
+			continue;
+		}
+
 		if (TASK_HEADING_RE.test(line)) {
 			inTasks = true;
 			inDeps = false;
@@ -91,10 +128,13 @@ function parseFioFormat(
 			continue;
 		}
 		// Reset state on any other section heading — both ##-style and plain
+		// BUT NOT phase headings (already handled above)
 		if (
 			(ANY_MD_HEADING_RE.test(line) || isPlainSectionHeader(line)) &&
 			!TASK_HEADING_RE.test(line) &&
-			!DEP_HEADING_RE.test(line)
+			!DEP_HEADING_RE.test(line) &&
+			!PHASE_HEADING_RE.test(line) &&
+			!PHASE_HEADING_PLAIN_RE.test(line)
 		) {
 			inTasks = false;
 			inDeps = false;
@@ -118,6 +158,7 @@ function parseFioFormat(
 					dependencies: [],
 					timeoutMs,
 					index: tasks.length,
+					phase: currentPhase ?? undefined,
 				});
 			}
 		}
@@ -292,6 +333,43 @@ function parseFioFormat(
 		}
 	}
 
+	// Save final phase if we were in one
+	if (currentPhase !== null) {
+		const phaseTaskIds = tasks
+			.filter((t) => t.phase === currentPhase)
+			.map((t) => t.id);
+		if (phaseTaskIds.length > 0) {
+			phases.push({
+				number: currentPhase,
+				title: currentPhaseTitle,
+				taskIds: phaseTaskIds,
+			});
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Add implicit phase-boundary dependencies
+	// First task of each phase (except phase 1) depends on last task of previous phase
+	if (phases.length > 1) {
+		for (let i = 1; i < phases.length; i++) {
+			const prevPhase = phases[i - 1];
+			const currPhase = phases[i];
+			if (prevPhase.taskIds.length === 0 || currPhase.taskIds.length === 0)
+				continue;
+
+			const lastTaskOfPrevPhase =
+				prevPhase.taskIds[prevPhase.taskIds.length - 1];
+			const firstTaskOfCurrPhase = currPhase.taskIds[0];
+
+			// Add dependency if not already present
+			if (!dependencies[firstTaskOfCurrPhase]) {
+				dependencies[firstTaskOfCurrPhase] = [];
+			}
+			if (!dependencies[firstTaskOfCurrPhase].includes(lastTaskOfPrevPhase)) {
+				dependencies[firstTaskOfCurrPhase].push(lastTaskOfPrevPhase);
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
 	// Extract exit criteria — detect both ## Exit Criteria and plain Exit criteria
 	const exitCriteria: string[] = [];
 	const exitCriteriaRe = /^(?:##\s+)?Exit\s+Criteria/i;
@@ -330,6 +408,7 @@ function parseFioFormat(
 		tasks,
 		dependencies,
 		parallelGroups: parallelGroups.length > 0 ? parallelGroups : undefined,
+		phases: phases.length > 0 ? phases : undefined,
 		sourcePath,
 		sourceDir,
 		exitCriteria,
diff --git a/src/types.ts b/src/types.ts
index efbfd87..714f7a6 100644
--- a/src/types.ts
+++ b/src/types.ts
@@ -27,6 +27,8 @@ export interface Task {
 	timeoutMs?: number;
 	/** Original index in task list for deterministic ordering */
 	index?: number;
+	/** Phase number this task belongs to (1-indexed, from ## Phase N headings) */
+	phase?: number;
 }
 
 export interface ParallelGroup {
@@ -38,6 +40,15 @@ export interface ParallelGroup {
 	taskIds: string[];
 }
 
+export interface Phase {
+	/** Phase number (1-indexed, matches the heading number) */
+	number: number;
+	/** Phase title (e.g. "Push-to-Talk MVP") */
+	title: string;
+	/** Task IDs in this phase, in order */
+	taskIds: string[];
+}
+
 export interface Project {
 	/** Project-level objective / goal */
 	objective?: string;
@@ -47,6 +58,8 @@ export interface Project {
 	dependencies: Record<string, string[]>;
 	/** Explicit parallel groups from "can be done in parallel" declarations */
 	parallelGroups?: ParallelGroup[];
+	/** Phased sections from ## Phase N headings (in order) */
+	phases?: Phase[];
 	/** Exit criteria (from README ## Exit Criteria section) */
 	exitCriteria?: string[];
 	/** Path to the source task file */
diff --git a/tests/parser-phased.test.ts b/tests/parser-phased.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5843b25
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/parser-phased.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,521 @@
+/**
+ * Tests for phased task format parsing
+ * Covers: phase detection, task parsing, phase boundaries, implicit dependencies
+ */
+
+import { describe, test, expect } from "bun:test";
+import { parseTaskFile } from "../src/parser";
+import type { Task } from "../src/types";
+import { tempDir, writeTaskFile } from "./helpers";
+
+/** Parse a task file from an inline template literal. */
+function parse(content: string) {
+	const { dir, cleanup } = tempDir();
+	try {
+		const filePath = writeTaskFile(dir, "README.md", content);
+		return { project: parseTaskFile(filePath), cleanup };
+	} catch (e) {
+		cleanup();
+		throw e;
+	}
+}
+
+describe("Phased task format", () => {
+	describe("Phase detection", () => {
+		test("detects phased format with markdown headings", () => {
+			const content = `# Voice Conversation
+
+## Phase 1 - MVP
+- [ ] 01 - Build voice pipeline
+- [ ] 02 - Add audio playback
+
+## Phase 2 - Streaming
+- [ ] 03 - WebSocket channel
+- [ ] 04 - Streaming STT
+
+## Dependencies
+- 02 depends on 01
+`;
+			const { project, cleanup } = parse(content);
+			try {
+				expect(project.phases).toBeDefined();
+				expect(project.phases?.length).toBe(2);
+				expect(project.phases?.[0].number).toBe(1);
+				expect(project.phases?.[0].title).toBe("MVP");
+				expect(project.phases?.[1].number).toBe(2);
+				expect(project.phases?.[1].title).toBe("Streaming");
+			} finally {
+				cleanup();
+			}
+		});
+
+		test("detects phased format with plain headings", () => {
+			const content = `# Voice Conversation
+
+Phase 1 - MVP
+- [ ] 01 - Build voice pipeline
+- [ ] 02 - Add audio playback
+
+Phase 2 - Streaming
+- [ ] 03 - WebSocket channel
+
+## Dependencies
+`;
+			const { project, cleanup } = parse(content);
+			try {
+				expect(project.phases).toBeDefined();
+				expect(project.phases?.length).toBe(2);
+			} finally {
+				cleanup();
+			}
+		});
+
+		test("supports various separators in phase headings", () => {
+			const variants = [
+				"## Phase 1 - MVP",
+				"## Phase 1 - MVP",
+				"## Phase 1 - MVP",
+				"## Phase 1: MVP",
+				"## Phase 1 -  MVP", // multiple spaces
+			];
+
+			for (const heading of variants) {
+				const content = `# Test
+
+${heading}
+- [ ] 01 - Task
+
+## Dependencies
+`;
+				const { project, cleanup } = parse(content);
+				try {
+					expect(project.phases).toBeDefined();
+					expect(project.phases?.length).toBe(1);
+				} finally {
+					cleanup();
+				}
+			}
+		});
+
+		test("handles phase headings with extra whitespace", () => {
+			const content = `# Test
+
+  ## Phase 1 - MVP
+- [ ] 01 - Task
+
+## Dependencies
+`;
+			const { project, cleanup } = parse(content);
+			try {
+				expect(project.phases).toBeDefined();
+				expect(project.phases?.length).toBe(1);
+			} finally {
+				cleanup();
+			}
+		});
+	});
+
+	describe("Task parsing within phases", () => {
+		test("assigns phase number to tasks", () => {
+			const content = `# Test
+
+## Phase 1 - MVP
+- [ ] 01 - Task A
+- [ ] 02 - Task B
+
+## Phase 2 - Enhancement
+- [ ] 03 - Task C
+- [ ] 04 - Task D
+
+## Dependencies
+`;
+			const { project, cleanup } = parse(content);
+			try {
+				expect(project.tasks[0].id).toBe("01");
+				expect(project.tasks[0].phase).toBe(1);
+				expect(project.tasks[1].id).toBe("02");
+				expect(project.tasks[1].phase).toBe(1);
+				expect(project.tasks[2].id).toBe("03");
+				expect(project.tasks[2].phase).toBe(2);
+				expect(project.tasks[3].id).toBe("04");
+				expect(project.tasks[3].phase).toBe(2);
+			} finally {
+				cleanup();
+			}
+		});
+
+		test("tracks task IDs in each phase", () => {
+			const content = `# Test
+
+## Phase 1 - Foundation
+- [ ] 01 - Setup
+- [ ] 02 - Config
+
+## Phase 2 - Implementation
+- [ ] 03 - Feature A
+- [ ] 04 - Feature B
+- [ ] 05 - Feature C
+
+## Dependencies
+`;
+			const { project, cleanup } = parse(content);
+			try {
+				expect(project.phases?.[0].taskIds).toEqual(["01", "02"]);
+				expect(project.phases?.[1].taskIds).toEqual(["03", "04", "05"]);
+			} finally {
+				cleanup();
+			}
+		});
+
+		test("handles tasks with different statuses in phases", () => {
+			const content = `# Test
+
+## Phase 1 - MVP
+- [x] 01 - Done task
+- [ ] 02 - Pending task
+- [~] 03 - In progress
+
+## Phase 2 - Next
+- [ ] 04 - Future task
+
+## Dependencies
+`;
+			const { project, cleanup } = parse(content);
+			try {
+				expect(project.tasks[0].status).toBe("completed");
+				expect(project.tasks[1].status).toBe("pending");
+				expect(project.tasks[2].status).toBe("in_progress");
+				expect(project.tasks[3].status).toBe("pending");
+
+				expect(project.phases?.[0].taskIds).toEqual(["01", "02", "03"]);
+				expect(project.phases?.[1].taskIds).toEqual(["04"]);
+			} finally {
+				cleanup();
+			}
+		});
+
+		test("handles empty phases", () => {
+			const content = `# Test
+
+## Phase 1 - Empty
+
+## Phase 2 - Has tasks
+- [ ] 01 - Task
+
+## Dependencies
+`;
+			const { project, cleanup } = parse(content);
+			try {
+				expect(project.phases?.length).toBe(1);
+				expect(project.phases?.[0].number).toBe(2);
+				expect(project.phases?.[0].taskIds).toEqual(["01"]);
+			} finally {
+				cleanup();
+			}
+		});
+	});
+
+	describe("Implicit phase-boundary dependencies", () => {
+		test("adds dependency from first task of phase 2 to last task of phase 1", () => {
+			const content = `# Test
+
+## Phase 1 - MVP
+- [ ] 01 - Setup
+- [ ] 02 - Build
+
+## Phase 2 - Enhancement
+- [ ] 03 - Feature
+- [ ] 04 - Test
+
+## Dependencies
+`;
+			const { project, cleanup } = parse(content);
+			try {
+				// Task 03 should depend on task 02 (implicit phase boundary)
+				expect(
+					project.tasks.find((t: Task) => t.id === "03")?.dependencies,
+				).toContain("02");
+			} finally {
+				cleanup();
+			}
+		});
+
+		test("adds dependencies across multiple phases", () => {
+			const content = `# Test
+
+## Phase 1 - Foundation
+- [ ] 01 - Setup
+
+## Phase 2 - Core
+- [ ] 02 - Build
+- [ ] 03 - Test
+
+## Phase 3 — Polish
+- [ ] 04 — Refine
+- [ ] 05 — Release
+
+## Dependencies
+`;
+			const { project, cleanup } = parse(content);
+			try {
+				// Task 02 depends on task 01 (phase 1 → 2 boundary)
+				expect(
+					project.tasks.find((t: Task) => t.id === "02")?.dependencies,
+				).toContain("01");
+
+				// Task 04 depends on task 03 (phase 2 → 3 boundary)
+				expect(
+					project.tasks.find((t: Task) => t.id === "04")?.dependencies,
+				).toContain("03");
+			} finally {
+				cleanup();
+			}
+		});
+
+		test("does not duplicate explicit dependencies", () => {
+			const content = `# Test
+
+## Phase 1 - MVP
+- [ ] 01 - Setup
+- [ ] 02 - Build
+
+## Phase 2 — Enhancement
+- [ ] 03 — Feature
+
+## Dependencies
+- 03 depends on 02
+`;
+			const { project, cleanup } = parse(content);
+			try {
+				const task03 = project.tasks.find((t: Task) => t.id === "03");
+				const depCount = task03?.dependencies.filter(
+					(d: string) => d === "02",
+				).length;
+				expect(depCount).toBe(1); // Should not duplicate
+			} finally {
+				cleanup();
+			}
+		});
+
+		test("handles single phase (no boundaries)", () => {
+			const content = `# Test
+
+## Phase 1 - All tasks
+- [ ] 01 - Task A
+- [ ] 02 - Task B
+
+## Dependencies
+`;
+			const { project, cleanup } = parse(content);
+			try {
+				// No implicit dependencies should be added
+				expect(project.tasks[0].dependencies).toEqual([]);
+				expect(project.tasks[1].dependencies).toEqual([]);
+			} finally {
+				cleanup();
+			}
+		});
+
+		test("works alongside explicit dependencies", () => {
+			const content = `# Test
+
+## Phase 1 - MVP
+- [ ] 01 - Setup
+- [ ] 02 - Build
+
+## Phase 2 - Enhancement
+- [ ] 03 - Feature A
+- [ ] 04 - Feature B
+
+## Dependencies
+- 04 depends on 03
+`;
+			const { project, cleanup } = parse(content);
+			try {
+				// Task 03 has implicit dependency on task 02
+				expect(
+					project.tasks.find((t: Task) => t.id === "03")?.dependencies,
+				).toContain("02");
+
+				// Task 04 has explicit dependency on task 03
+				expect(
+					project.tasks.find((t: Task) => t.id === "04")?.dependencies,
+				).toContain("03");
+
+				// Task 04 should NOT have implicit dependency on task 02
+				expect(
+					project.tasks.find((t: Task) => t.id === "04")?.dependencies,
+				).not.toContain("02");
+			} finally {
+				cleanup();
+			}
+		});
+	});
+
+	describe("Mixed formats", () => {
+		test("phased format with arrow dependencies", () => {
+			const content = `# Test
+
+## Phase 1 - Setup
+- [ ] 01 - Initialize
+- [ ] 02 - Configure
+
+## Phase 2 - Build
+- [ ] 03 - Compile
+- [ ] 04 - Bundle
+
+## Dependencies
+- 01 → 02
+- 03 → 04
+`;
+			const { project, cleanup } = parse(content);
+			try {
+				expect(project.phases?.length).toBe(2);
+				expect(
+					project.tasks.find((t: Task) => t.id === "02")?.dependencies,
+				).toContain("01");
+				expect(
+					project.tasks.find((t: Task) => t.id === "04")?.dependencies,
+				).toContain("03");
+				expect(
+					project.tasks.find((t: Task) => t.id === "03")?.dependencies,
+				).toContain("02");
+			} finally {
+				cleanup();
+			}
+		});
+
+		test("phased format with parallel groups", () => {
+			const content = `# Test
+
+## Phase 1 - MVP
+- [ ] 01 - Setup
+- [ ] 02 - Build
+
+## Phase 2 - Enhancement
+- [ ] 03 - Feature
+- [ ] 04 - Test
+
+## Dependencies
+- 01, 02 can be done in parallel
+- 03, 04 can be done in parallel
+`;
+			const { project, cleanup } = parse(content);
+			try {
+				expect(project.phases?.length).toBe(2);
+				expect(project.parallelGroups?.length).toBe(2);
+				expect(
+					project.tasks.find((t: Task) => t.id === "03")?.dependencies,
+				).toContain("02");
+			} finally {
+				cleanup();
+			}
+		});
+
+		test("phased format with exit criteria", () => {
+			const content = `# Test
+
+## Phase 1 - MVP
+- [ ] 01 - Build
+- [ ] 02 - Test
+
+## Phase 2 - Release
+- [ ] 03 - Deploy
+
+## Dependencies
+
+## Exit Criteria
+- All tests pass
+- Deployment successful
+`;
+			const { project, cleanup } = parse(content);
+			try {
+				expect(project.phases?.length).toBe(2);
+				expect(project.exitCriteria?.length).toBe(2);
+			} finally {
+				cleanup();
+			}
+		});
+	});
+
+	describe("Real-world example", () => {
+		test("parses voice conversation PRD correctly", () => {
+			const content = `# Voice Conversation
+
+Objective: Add full voice conversation capability
+
+## Phase 1 - Push-to-Talk MVP
+- [ ] 01 - Build voice pipeline orchestrator → \`01-voice-pipeline-orchestrator.md\`
+- [ ] 02 - Build auto-playback audio module → \`02-auto-playback-audio-module.md\`
+- [ ] 03 - Wire voice mode toggle into chat UI → \`03-voice-mode-toggle-ui.md\`
+- [ ] 04 - End-to-end push-to-talk integration test → \`04-push-to-talk-integration-test.md\`
+
+## Phase 2 - Streaming & Real-Time
+- [ ] 05 - Build WebSocket voice channel → \`05-websocket-voice-channel.md\`
+- [ ] 06 - Implement streaming STT pipeline → \`06-streaming-stt-pipeline.md\`
+- [ ] 07 - Implement streaming TTS pipeline → \`07-streaming-tts-pipeline.md\`
+
+## Phase 3 - Optimization & Hardening
+- [ ] 08 - Model quantization and VRAM budget manager → \`08-model-quantization.md\`
+- [ ] 09 - Latency profiling and pipeline optimization → \`09-latency-profiling.md\`
+
+## Dependencies
+- 02 depends on 01
+- 03 depends on 01, 02
+- 04 depends on 03
+- 06 depends on 05
+- 07 depends on 05
+- 09 depends on 08
+
+## Exit Criteria
+- Users can hold multi-turn voice conversations
+- Total round-trip latency under 3s
+`;
+			const { project, cleanup } = parse(content);
+			try {
+				// Verify phases
+				expect(project.phases?.length).toBe(3);
+				expect(project.phases?.[0].title).toBe("Push-to-Talk MVP");
+				expect(project.phases?.[1].title).toBe("Streaming & Real-Time");
+				expect(project.phases?.[2].title).toBe("Optimization & Hardening");
+
+				// Verify task phases
+				expect(project.tasks[0].phase).toBe(1);
+				expect(project.tasks[4].phase).toBe(2);
+				expect(project.tasks[7].phase).toBe(3);
+
+				// Verify phase boundaries
+				// Task 05 (first in phase 2) depends on task 04 (last in phase 1)
+				expect(
+					project.tasks.find((t: Task) => t.id === "05")?.dependencies,
+				).toContain("04");
+
+				// Task 08 (first in phase 3) depends on task 07 (last in phase 2)
+				expect(
+					project.tasks.find((t: Task) => t.id === "08")?.dependencies,
+				).toContain("07");
+
+				// Verify explicit dependencies still work
+				expect(
+					project.tasks.find((t: Task) => t.id === "02")?.dependencies,
+				).toContain("01");
+				expect(
+					project.tasks.find((t: Task) => t.id === "03")?.dependencies,
+				).toContain("01");
+				expect(
+					project.tasks.find((t: Task) => t.id === "03")?.dependencies,
+				).toContain("02");
+
+				// Verify task files
+				expect(project.tasks[0].file).toBe("01-voice-pipeline-orchestrator.md");
+				expect(project.tasks[1].file).toBe("02-auto-playback-audio-module.md");
+
+				// Verify exit criteria
+				expect(project.exitCriteria?.length).toBe(2);
+				expect(project.objective).toBe("Voice Conversation");
+			} finally {
+				cleanup();
+			}
+		});
+	});
+});