diff --git a/.github/workflows/skills-index-freshness.yml b/.github/workflows/skills-index-freshness.yml
index 9e4b2767be..ff2bc393aa 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/skills-index-freshness.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/skills-index-freshness.yml
@@ -23,6 +23,14 @@ jobs:
     timeout-minutes: 10
     environment: trusted-automation
     steps:
+      # `Get GitHub App token` below is a LOCAL composite action
+      # (./.github/actions/get-app-token), so the repository must be on disk
+      # before it can be resolved. Without this checkout the job dies with
+      # "Can't find 'action.yml' ... under .github/actions/get-app-token"
+      # every time the probe is non-ok — i.e. exactly when the watchdog is
+      # supposed to file its issue.
+      - uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # v6.0.2
+
       - name: Probe live index
         id: probe
         run: |
diff --git a/.github/workflows/skills-index.yml b/.github/workflows/skills-index.yml
index 5415499e02..cf6812630e 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/skills-index.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/skills-index.yml
@@ -63,12 +63,19 @@ jobs:
     timeout-minutes: 15
     environment: trusted-automation
     steps:
+      # Required: `Get GitHub App token` is a LOCAL composite action
+      # (./.github/actions/get-app-token) and cannot resolve without the repo
+      # checked out. `build-index` above already does this; this job did not,
+      # so the scheduled deploy re-trigger never fired.
+      - uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # v6.0.2
+
       - name: Get GitHub App token
         id: app-token
         uses: ./.github/actions/get-app-token
         with:
           client-id: ${{ vars.APP_CLIENT_ID }}
           private-key: ${{ secrets.APP_PRIVATE_KEY }}
+
       - name: Trigger Deploy Site workflow
         env:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ steps.app-token.outputs.token }}
diff --git a/tests/gateway/test_multiplex_busy_input_mode.py b/tests/gateway/test_multiplex_busy_input_mode.py
index d23c3c062f..c7cfbfe1f7 100644
--- a/tests/gateway/test_multiplex_busy_input_mode.py
+++ b/tests/gateway/test_multiplex_busy_input_mode.py
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 """Profile-specific busy-input behavior for multiplexed gateways."""
 
 import asyncio
-from unittest.mock import AsyncMock, MagicMock
+from pathlib import Path
+from unittest.mock import AsyncMock, MagicMock, patch
 
 import pytest
 
@@ -336,7 +337,20 @@ def test_profile_route_and_nonmultiplexed_resolution_preserve_boundaries():
     ]
     source = _event(profile=None).source
 
-    assert runner._effective_busy_input_mode(source) == "steer"
+    # `_profile_name_for_source` rejects a route whose target profile is not in
+    # the served set (`profiles_to_serve`). Without this patch the test reads
+    # the runner's real on-disk profiles, so "research" is unserved on any
+    # machine that does not happen to have it — and the route is rejected
+    # before the busy-mode snapshot is consulted. Sibling coverage in
+    # tests/gateway/test_profile_resolution.py patches the same seam.
+    with patch(
+        "hermes_cli.profiles.profiles_to_serve",
+        return_value=[
+            ("default", Path("/profiles/default")),
+            ("research", Path("/profiles/research")),
+        ],
+    ):
+        assert runner._effective_busy_input_mode(source) == "steer"
 
     runner.config.multiplex_profiles = False
     source.profile = "research"