diff --git a/gnommo/cli.py b/gnommo/cli.py
index fa7301c..d6f04af 100644
--- a/gnommo/cli.py
+++ b/gnommo/cli.py
@@ -3691,6 +3691,32 @@ def _parse_slide_range(slides_arg: str) -> tuple[str, Optional[str]]:
     return start_slide, end_slide
 
 
+def _resolve_pause_duration(
+    entry: dict, video_id: str, videos_dir: Path, shared_duration: dict[str, float]
+) -> Optional[float]:
+    """Resolve a clip's duration for auto-setting pause_narration.
+
+    Tries, in order: the local videos.json entry's own 'duration', the shared
+    library's duration (for is_shared clips whose metadata lives elsewhere), then
+    a direct ffprobe of the source file. Returns None if none succeed.
+    """
+    dur = entry.get("duration") or shared_duration.get(video_id.lower())
+    if dur:
+        return float(dur)
+
+    source_file = entry.get("source_file")
+    if source_file:
+        candidate = videos_dir / source_file
+        if candidate.exists():
+            try:
+                from .preprocessor import get_video_duration
+
+                return round(get_video_duration(candidate), 3)
+            except Exception:
+                return None
+    return None
+
+
 def _project_markers_to_videos(
     markers: list[str], videos_json_path: Path, config, project_path: Path = None
 ) -> None:
@@ -3737,11 +3763,12 @@ def _project_markers_to_videos(
     if not projection:
         return
 
-    # Build a case-insensitive index of shared_assets pause_narration values.
-    # When a video is marked is_shared but its local entry is missing pause_narration,
-    # we pull the value from the shared canonical entry so it's never lost when
-    # the ETL writes back cutout/layer under a lowercase key.
+    # Build case-insensitive indexes of shared_assets pause_narration and duration.
+    # When a video is marked is_shared its metadata lives in the shared canonical
+    # entry, not the local one — so a pause-prefix marker on a shared clip would
+    # otherwise never get pause_narration set (the local entry has no duration).
     _shared_pause: dict[str, float] = {}
+    _shared_duration: dict[str, float] = {}
     for _shared_candidate in [
         project_path / "shared_assets" / "videos.json",
         project_path.parent / "shared_assets" / "videos.json",
@@ -3754,6 +3781,9 @@ def _project_markers_to_videos(
                     pn = _v.get("pause_narration")
                     if pn:
                         _shared_pause[_k.lower()] = float(pn)
+                    dur = _v.get("duration")
+                    if dur:
+                        _shared_duration[_k.lower()] = float(dur)
             except (json.JSONDecodeError, OSError):
                 pass
             break
@@ -3773,21 +3803,28 @@ def _project_markers_to_videos(
             video_changed = False
             for field, value in fields.items():
                 if field == "_auto_pause":
-                    # Write pause_narration = duration only when:
+                    # A pause-prefix marker (vftp:, vfbp:, …) means "freeze the
+                    # narration for this clip's whole length", so pause_narration
+                    # must equal the clip's duration. Set it whenever:
                     #   - marker is a pause-prefix (value is True)
                     #   - pause_narration not already set (preserve manual overrides)
-                    #   - duration is known (probed by import)
-                    if value and not entry.get("pause_narration") and entry.get("duration"):
-                        entry["pause_narration"] = entry["duration"]
-                        changed = True
-                        video_changed = True
+                    #   - a duration can be resolved (local entry, shared library,
+                    #     or by probing the file as a last resort)
+                    if value and not entry.get("pause_narration"):
+                        dur = _resolve_pause_duration(
+                            entry, video_id, json_path.parent, _shared_duration
+                        )
+                        if dur:
+                            entry["pause_narration"] = dur
+                            changed = True
+                            video_changed = True
                 elif entry.get(field) != value:
                     entry[field] = value
                     changed = True
                     video_changed = True
             # For is_shared entries: inherit pause_narration from shared_assets if
-            # not already set locally (handles case where explicit pause_narration
-            # lives on a different-case key in the shared library).
+            # still not set (handles an explicit pause_narration that lives on a
+            # different-case key in the shared library).
             if entry.get("is_shared") and not entry.get("pause_narration"):
                 shared_pn = _shared_pause.get(video_id.lower())
                 if shared_pn: