diff --git a/crates/obscura-render/src/style.rs b/crates/obscura-render/src/style.rs
index e23ed72..e527e91 100644
--- a/crates/obscura-render/src/style.rs
+++ b/crates/obscura-render/src/style.rs
@@ -2795,8 +2795,25 @@ fn set_grid_placement_side(
 /// alphabetic token that is not a bare `span <n>` count), so it must defer to
 /// the parent's line-name map.
 fn grid_line_has_name(value: &str) -> bool {
+    let value = value.trim();
+    // `auto` is a grid-placement keyword, not a custom-ident. Sending
+    // `auto / span 4` down the named-line path loses the span whenever the
+    // parent has no named-line map. CSS-wide keywords likewise cannot name a
+    // line and must retain their reset-to-auto behavior in this compact
+    // computed-style model.
+    if value.eq_ignore_ascii_case("auto")
+        || matches!(
+            value.to_ascii_lowercase().as_str(),
+            "initial" | "inherit" | "unset" | "revert" | "revert-layer"
+        )
+    {
+        return false;
+    }
     value.split('/').any(|part| {
         let p = part.trim();
+        if p.eq_ignore_ascii_case("auto") {
+            return false;
+        }
         let rest = p.strip_prefix("span").map(str::trim).unwrap_or(p);
         rest.chars().any(|c| c.is_ascii_alphabetic())
     })
@@ -5653,6 +5670,39 @@ mod tests {
         );
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn grid_placement_shorthand_keeps_auto_span_out_of_named_line_resolution() {
+        let style = compute_style("div", Some("grid-column:auto / span 4"));
+        assert_eq!(
+            style.grid_column,
+            Some(taffy::Line {
+                start: taffy::GridPlacement::Auto,
+                end: taffy::style_helpers::span(4),
+            })
+        );
+        assert_eq!(style.grid_column_raw, None);
+
+        let named = compute_style("div", Some("grid-column:content-start / content-end"));
+        assert_eq!(
+            named.grid_column_raw.as_deref(),
+            Some("content-start / content-end")
+        );
+        assert_eq!(named.grid_column, None);
+
+        let reset = compute_style(
+            "div",
+            Some("grid-column:2 / span 4;grid-column:initial"),
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            reset.grid_column,
+            Some(taffy::Line {
+                start: taffy::GridPlacement::Auto,
+                end: taffy::GridPlacement::Auto,
+            })
+        );
+        assert_eq!(reset.grid_column_raw, None);
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn contextual_css_math_uses_runtime_geometry() {
         let context = (20.0, 16.0, 9.0, 10.0, 900.0);
diff --git a/crates/obscura-render/tests/layout_test.rs b/crates/obscura-render/tests/layout_test.rs
index 86d42aa..473718f 100644
--- a/crates/obscura-render/tests/layout_test.rs
+++ b/crates/obscura-render/tests/layout_test.rs
@@ -1636,6 +1636,66 @@ fn responsive_grid_child_spans_all_tracks_via_end_longhand() {
     );
 }
 
+#[test]
+fn grid_column_auto_span_shorthand_places_six_cards_in_two_rows() {
+    let tree = parse_html(
+        r#"
+        <style>
+          .gallery {
+            display: grid;
+            width: 1376px;
+            grid-template-columns: repeat(12, minmax(0, 1fr));
+            column-gap: 16px;
+            row-gap: 64px;
+          }
+          .card {
+            grid-column: auto / span 4;
+            height: 100px;
+          }
+        </style>
+        <div class="gallery">
+          <div class="card" id="card-1"></div>
+          <div class="card" id="card-2"></div>
+          <div class="card" id="card-3"></div>
+          <div class="card" id="card-4"></div>
+          <div class="card" id="card-5"></div>
+          <div class="card" id="card-6"></div>
+        </div>
+        "#,
+    );
+    let layout = layout_dom(&tree, (1440.0, 900.0));
+    let cards: Vec<_> = (1..=6)
+        .map(|index| {
+            let id = tree
+                .get_element_by_id(&format!("card-{index}"))
+                .expect("card exists");
+            layout.rects[&id]
+        })
+        .collect();
+
+    for card in &cards {
+        assert!(
+            (card.width - 448.0).abs() < 0.01,
+            "four of twelve tracks plus internal gaps should be 448px: {card:?}"
+        );
+    }
+    assert_eq!(cards[0].y, cards[1].y);
+    assert_eq!(cards[1].y, cards[2].y);
+    assert_eq!(cards[3].y, cards[4].y);
+    assert_eq!(cards[4].y, cards[5].y);
+    assert!(
+        (cards[3].y - cards[0].y - 164.0).abs() < 0.01,
+        "fourth card should start a second row after the 64px row gap: {:?}",
+        cards
+    );
+    assert!(
+        (cards[1].x - cards[0].x - 464.0).abs() < 0.01
+            && (cards[2].x - cards[1].x - 464.0).abs() < 0.01,
+        "cards should advance by four tracks plus the outer column gap: {:?}",
+        cards
+    );
+}
+
 #[test]
 fn length_line_height_computes_before_inheritance() {
     let tree = parse_html(