diff --git a/.github/workflows/openshell-next.yml b/.github/workflows/openshell-next.yml
index 977e7b9..5966f1b 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/openshell-next.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/openshell-next.yml
@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@ name: openshell-next
 # Pushes made with GITHUB_TOKEN do not trigger other workflows, so this job runs the test suite itself and then
 # dispatches ci.yml on the pushed commit (workflow_dispatch is the one event GITHUB_TOKEN may start), which puts the
 # required `check` / `audit` results on the tracking PR's head commit.
+# The scripts that move the branch (scripts/openshell-next.sh, scripts/openshell-tags.sh) always come from main: they
+# are copied to a temp dir before openshell-next is checked out and run against that checkout (OPENSHELL_ANNOTATE_ROOT).
 # Local equivalent: scripts/openshell-next.sh sync && scripts/openshell-next.sh update
 
 on:
@@ -27,6 +29,12 @@ on:
 permissions:
   contents: read
 
+# `shell: bash` runs steps with `bash --noprofile --norc -eo pipefail`; the implicit default (`bash -e`) has no pipefail,
+# so a failing command piped into `tee` would pass.
+defaults:
+  run:
+    shell: bash
+
 concurrency:
   group: openshell-next
   cancel-in-progress: false
@@ -50,6 +58,15 @@ jobs:
         with:
           fetch-depth: 0
 
+      - name: Keep main's branch tooling
+        run: |
+          mkdir -p "$RUNNER_TEMP/tools"
+          cp scripts/openshell-next.sh scripts/openshell-tags.sh "$RUNNER_TEMP/tools/"
+          {
+            echo "TOOLS=$RUNNER_TEMP/tools"
+            echo "OPENSHELL_ANNOTATE_ROOT=$GITHUB_WORKSPACE"
+          } >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+
       - name: Check out openshell-next (created from main if missing)
         id: branch
         run: |
@@ -63,6 +80,7 @@ jobs:
             echo "created=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
           fi
           echo "before=$(git rev-parse HEAD)" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          echo "pin=$("$TOOLS/openshell-tags.sh" pinned)" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
 
       - name: Install Rust
         run: rustup toolchain install 1.94 --profile minimal --component rustfmt,clippy && rustup default 1.94
@@ -78,17 +96,17 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Merge main into openshell-next
         id: sync
-        run: scripts/openshell-next.sh sync origin/main 2>&1 | tee "$RUNNER_TEMP/sync.log"
+        run: '"$TOOLS/openshell-next.sh" sync origin/main 2>&1 | tee "$RUNNER_TEMP/sync.log"'
 
       - name: Bump to the newest OpenShell tag
         id: bump
         env:
           WANT: ${{ inputs.tag }}
         run: |
-          scripts/openshell-next.sh update "$WANT" | tee "$RUNNER_TEMP/update.out"
+          "$TOOLS/openshell-next.sh" update "$WANT" 2>&1 | tee "$RUNNER_TEMP/update.log"
           if ! git diff --quiet; then
-            tag=$(sed -n 's/^tag=//p' "$RUNNER_TEMP/update.out")
-            prev=$(sed -n 's/^previous=//p' "$RUNNER_TEMP/update.out")
+            tag=$(sed -n 's/^tag=//p' "$RUNNER_TEMP/update.log")
+            prev=$(sed -n 's/^previous=//p' "$RUNNER_TEMP/update.log")
             git commit -a --signoff -m "chore(deps): track OpenShell $tag on openshell-next" \
               -m "Automated by .github/workflows/openshell-next.yml. Upstream changes: $UPSTREAM/compare/$prev...$tag"
           fi
@@ -97,7 +115,6 @@ jobs:
         id: test
         continue-on-error: true
         run: |
-          set -o pipefail
           {
             cargo fmt --check &&
               cargo clippy --all-targets --locked -- -D warnings &&
@@ -131,7 +148,9 @@ jobs:
         env:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
           SYNC: ${{ steps.sync.outcome }}
+          BUMP: ${{ steps.bump.outcome }}
           TEST: ${{ steps.test.outcome }}
+          START_PIN: ${{ steps.branch.outputs.pin }}
           CHANGED: ${{ steps.bump.outputs.changed }}
           PREV: ${{ steps.bump.outputs.previous }}
           TAG: ${{ steps.bump.outputs.tag }}
@@ -142,15 +161,19 @@ jobs:
           RUN_URL: ${{ github.server_url }}/${{ github.repository }}/actions/runs/${{ github.run_id }}
           REPO_URL: ${{ github.server_url }}/${{ github.repository }}
         run: |
-          icon() { case "$1" in success) echo "✅ passed" ;; failure) echo "❌ failed" ;; *) echo "⏭️ skipped" ;; esac; }
-          if [ "$CHANGED" != true ] && [ "$SYNC" = success ] && [ "$TEST" = success ] && [ "$CREATED" != true ] && [ "$FORCE_REPORT" != true ]; then
+          icon() { case "$1" in success) echo "✅ passed" ;; failure) echo "❌ failed" ;; cancelled) echo "🚫 cancelled" ;; *) echo "⏭️ skipped" ;; esac; }
+          # The pin as the branch has it now (after any bump), else as the bump step or the checkout saw it.
+          TAG=$("$TOOLS/openshell-tags.sh" pinned 2>/dev/null || echo "${TAG:-${START_PIN:-unknown}}")
+          if [ "$CHANGED" != true ] && [ "$SYNC" = success ] && [ "$BUMP" = success ] && [ "$TEST" = success ] && [ "$CREATED" != true ] && [ "$FORCE_REPORT" != true ]; then
             echo "pin unchanged (${TAG:-?}) and everything passed: nothing to report" | tee -a "$GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY"
             exit 0
           fi
           sha=$(git rev-parse HEAD)
           pr=$(gh pr list --head "$BRANCH" --base main --state open --json url --jq '.[0].url // empty')
           {
-            if [ "$CHANGED" = true ]; then echo "### OpenShell \`$TAG\` is now pinned on \`$BRANCH\`"; else echo "### \`$BRANCH\` check (pin \`${TAG:-unknown}\`)"; fi
+            failed=""
+            for o in "$SYNC" "$BUMP" "$TEST"; do [ "$o" = failure ] && failed=" ❌"; done
+            if [ "$CHANGED" = true ]; then echo "### OpenShell \`$TAG\` is now pinned on \`$BRANCH\`$failed"; else echo "### \`$BRANCH\` check (pin \`$TAG\`)$failed"; fi
             echo
             echo "| | |"
             echo "|---|---|"
@@ -159,17 +182,22 @@ jobs:
               echo "| Upstream | [release]($UPSTREAM/releases/tag/$TAG) · [changes since \`$PREV\`]($UPSTREAM/compare/$PREV...$TAG) |"
             fi
             echo "| Merge of main | $(icon "$SYNC") |"
+            echo "| Pin update | $(icon "$BUMP")$([ "$CHANGED" = true ] || [ "$BUMP" != success ] || echo ", already on the newest tag") |"
             echo "| Tests (fmt, clippy, test, docs) | $(icon "$TEST") |"
             echo "| Branch | [\`$BRANCH\` @ \`${sha:0:12}\`]($REPO_URL/commit/$sha)$([ "$PUSHED" = true ] && echo ", pushed; ci.yml dispatched") |"
             echo "| Tracking PR | ${pr:-none open: [open one]($REPO_URL/compare/main...$BRANCH?expand=1) as a draft} |"
             echo "| Run | $RUN_URL |"
             if [ "$SYNC" = failure ]; then
-              echo; echo "Merging main hit conflicts outside Cargo.toml/Cargo.lock; nothing was pushed. Resolve them by hand:"
-              echo '```'; tail -n 20 "$RUNNER_TEMP/sync.log" 2>/dev/null; echo '```'
+              echo; echo "Merging main failed (usually a conflict outside Cargo.toml/Cargo.lock, which needs resolving by hand); nothing was pushed:"
+              echo '```'; tail -n 20 "$RUNNER_TEMP/sync.log" 2>/dev/null || echo "(no log captured)"; echo '```'
+            fi
+            if [ "$BUMP" = failure ]; then
+              echo; echo "Moving the pin failed; nothing was pushed:"
+              echo '```'; tail -n 20 "$RUNNER_TEMP/update.log" 2>/dev/null || echo "(no log captured)"; echo '```'
             fi
             if [ "$TEST" = failure ]; then
               echo; echo "Last lines of the test log (fix on \`$BRANCH\`; fixes that also hold on main's pin go to main first):"
-              echo '```'; tail -n 40 "$RUNNER_TEMP/test.log" 2>/dev/null; echo '```'
+              echo '```'; tail -n 40 "$RUNNER_TEMP/test.log" 2>/dev/null || echo "(no log captured)"; echo '```'
             fi
             if [ "$CHANGED" = true ] && [ "$STABLE" = true ]; then
               echo
@@ -188,6 +216,6 @@ jobs:
               --body-file "$RUNNER_TEMP/body.md"
           fi
 
-      - name: Fail the run when the merge or the tests failed
-        if: steps.sync.outcome == 'failure' || steps.test.outcome == 'failure'
+      - name: Fail the run when the merge, the pin update or the tests failed
+        if: always() && (steps.sync.outcome == 'failure' || steps.bump.outcome == 'failure' || steps.test.outcome == 'failure')
         run: exit 1
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 005a687..2c7a3c3 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ version section and adds the squash-merged PR titles since the previous tag. Ver
 ## [Unreleased]
 
 - ci: `openshell-next` branch automation: a daily workflow merges main into `openshell-next`, moves its OpenShell pin to the newest upstream tag (prereleases included), runs the tests and reports on the tracking issue; `scripts/openshell-tags.sh` and `scripts/openshell-next.sh` do the same by hand
+- fix(ci): the `openshell-next` workflow runs main's copy of its scripts against the branch (`OPENSHELL_ANNOTATE_ROOT`), runs steps with `pipefail` so merge/bump/test failures fail the run, and its issue comment shows the pin and every failed step
 - fix(ci): `scripts/upstream-compat.sh` repoints both OpenShell crates (it left `openshell-policy` on the old tag) and runs on macOS; `upstream-compat.yml` also runs, non-blocking, on every push to main
 - chore(audit): ignore RUSTSEC-2026-0459 (`libsqlite3-sys` 0.37.0, pinned by OpenShell v0.1.7 through `sqlx` 0.9.0) in `.cargo/audit.toml` until OpenShell upgrades it (#76)
 - chore(deps): build against OpenShell v0.1.7 (`openshell-policy-schema`, `openshell-policy`); docs and generated policy headers now name v0.1.7
diff --git a/docs/DEVELOPING.md b/docs/DEVELOPING.md
index f80ee52..5b0932b 100644
--- a/docs/DEVELOPING.md
+++ b/docs/DEVELOPING.md
@@ -115,7 +115,11 @@ specific tag, `report` to comment even when nothing changed). It:
    adds a note to promote the branch (see "Promoting `openshell-next`" in `docs/RELEASING.md`).
 
 It uses only `GITHUB_TOKEN` (`contents: write` for `openshell-next`, `issues: write`, `actions: write` to dispatch CI,
-`pull-requests: read`). It never pushes to `main` or opens pull requests.
+`pull-requests: read`). It never pushes to `main` or opens pull requests. The branch tooling always comes from `main`:
+the workflow copies `scripts/openshell-next.sh` and `scripts/openshell-tags.sh` to a temp dir before checking out
+`openshell-next` and runs them against that checkout (`OPENSHELL_ANNOTATE_ROOT=<checkout>`), so a fix to the scripts
+takes effect on the next run and the branch does not need its own copy. Steps run with `shell: bash` (`-eo pipefail`),
+so a failure piped into `tee` still fails the step, the run, and the issue comment.
 
 Working on the branch by hand:
 
@@ -124,6 +128,7 @@ git fetch origin && git switch openshell-next && git pull --ff-only
 scripts/openshell-next.sh sync              # merge origin/main (what the workflow does first)
 scripts/openshell-next.sh update            # move the pin if upstream has a newer tag (edits files only)
 scripts/openshell-next.sh bump v0.1.8-pre.3 # or pin an exact tag
+OPENSHELL_ANNOTATE_ROOT=../other-checkout scripts/openshell-next.sh update  # work on another checkout
 TOOLCHAIN=1.94 scripts/ci-local.sh
 ```
 
diff --git a/scripts/openshell-next.sh b/scripts/openshell-next.sh
index fa3b2a1..e0658d9 100755
--- a/scripts/openshell-next.sh
+++ b/scripts/openshell-next.sh
@@ -10,10 +10,15 @@
 # branch both changed the pin, `sync` keeps the newer of the two tags and re-resolves Cargo.lock; any other conflict
 # aborts the merge (exit 3) so a human can resolve it.
 # `update` prints `previous=`, `tag=`, `changed=` and `stable=` lines (also appended to $GITHUB_OUTPUT when set).
+# Env: OPENSHELL_ANNOTATE_ROOT, the checkout to work on (default: the one this script lives in). The workflow runs
+#      main's copy of these scripts from a temp dir against the openshell-next checkout, so the branch needs no copy.
 # Exit: 0 ok, 2 usage / bad tag, 3 merge conflict that needs a human.
 set -euo pipefail
-cd "$(dirname "$0")/.."
-TAGS=scripts/openshell-tags.sh
+HERE=$(cd "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd)
+ROOT=$(cd "${OPENSHELL_ANNOTATE_ROOT:-$HERE/..}" && pwd)
+export OPENSHELL_ANNOTATE_ROOT="$ROOT" # so openshell-tags.sh reads the same Cargo.toml
+cd "$ROOT"
+TAGS="$HERE/openshell-tags.sh"
 CRATES=(openshell-policy-schema openshell-policy)
 
 bump() {
diff --git a/scripts/openshell-tags.sh b/scripts/openshell-tags.sh
index c5ad8dd..2ca6934 100755
--- a/scripts/openshell-tags.sh
+++ b/scripts/openshell-tags.sh
@@ -10,10 +10,11 @@
 #
 # Only vX.Y.Z and vX.Y.Z-pre.N tags count; anything else upstream (`dev`, `vm-runtime`, ...) is ignored.
 # Env: UPSTREAM_REPO (default https://github.com/NVIDIA/OpenShell); OPENSHELL_TAGS (newline-separated tag list to use
-#      instead of asking the remote, for tests and offline runs).
+#      instead of asking the remote, for tests and offline runs); OPENSHELL_ANNOTATE_ROOT (checkout whose Cargo.toml
+#      `pinned` reads; default: the checkout this script lives in).
 # Exit: 0 ok / true, 1 false, 2 usage or no tags found.
 set -euo pipefail
-cd "$(dirname "$0")/.."
+cd "${OPENSHELL_ANNOTATE_ROOT:-$(dirname "$0")/..}"
 
 REPO="${UPSTREAM_REPO:-https://github.com/NVIDIA/OpenShell}"
 RE='^v[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+(-pre\.[0-9]+)?$'