diff --git a/.github/workflows/performance-ratchet.yml b/.github/workflows/performance-ratchet.yml
index dbafb4a90..39e3a0c4d 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/performance-ratchet.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/performance-ratchet.yml
@@ -94,19 +94,21 @@ jobs:
         timeout-minutes: 15
 
         steps:
+            # This job later receives secrets.PAT, so its actions are pinned
+            # to reviewed commits, as in refresh-windows-embedded-mpv-runtime.
             - name: Checkout code
-              uses: actions/checkout@v7
+              uses: actions/checkout@3d3c42e5aac5ba805825da76410c181273ba90b1 # v7.0.1
               with:
                   persist-credentials: false
 
             # The ratchet scripts are dependency-free Node; no pnpm install.
             - name: Setup Node.js
-              uses: actions/setup-node@v7
+              uses: actions/setup-node@820762786026740c76f36085b0efc47a31fe5020 # v7.0.0
               with:
                   node-version-file: '.nvmrc'
 
             - name: Download run summaries
-              uses: actions/download-artifact@v8
+              uses: actions/download-artifact@3e5f45b2cfb9172054b4087a40e8e0b5a5461e7c # v8.0.1
               with:
                   pattern: performance-ratchet-run-*
                   path: ${{ runner.temp }}/runs
@@ -158,7 +160,11 @@ jobs:
             # triggers no workflows, and this one needs ci.yml's Initial bytes
             # ratchet run. Same secret as refresh-windows-embedded-mpv-runtime.
             # The PR number is only known once the PR exists, so evidencePr is
-            # filled in afterwards and the single commit amended.
+            # filled in afterwards and the single commit amended. Each run
+            # replaces the branch with one fresh commit, but never over an open
+            # tightening PR that someone else committed to (review edits, an
+            # "Update branch" merge); explicit leases also refuse a push that
+            # lands between that check and ours.
             - name: Create or update the tightening pull request
               if: steps.tighten.outputs.changed == 'true' && github.ref == 'refs/heads/master'
               env:
@@ -179,16 +185,33 @@ jobs:
                   fi
                   baselines=tools/performance/journey-baselines.json
 
+                  bot_email="41898282+github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
+
                   gh auth setup-git
                   git config user.name "github-actions[bot]"
-                  git config user.email "41898282+github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
+                  git config user.email "$bot_email"
+
+                  pr="$(gh api "repos/$REPOSITORY/pulls?base=master&head=${REPOSITORY%%/*}:$BRANCH_NAME&state=open" --jq '.[0].number // empty')"
+                  remote_tip="$(git ls-remote --heads origin "refs/heads/$BRANCH_NAME" | cut -f1)"
+                  if [ -n "$pr" ] && [ -n "$remote_tip" ]; then
+                      foreign="$(gh api "repos/$REPOSITORY/compare/master...$remote_tip" |
+                          jq -r --arg bot "$bot_email" '.commits[] | select(.commit.author.email != $bot) | "\(.sha[0:9]) \(.commit.author.name)"')"
+                      if [ -n "$foreign" ]; then
+                          echo "::warning::Pull request #$pr has commits this workflow did not make; its branch is left as is. Merge or close it so the next run can refresh it. This run's numbers are in the job summary."
+                          echo "$foreign"
+                          exit 0
+                      fi
+                  fi
+                  if [ -n "$remote_tip" ]; then
+                      git fetch --no-tags --depth=1 origin "$remote_tip"
+                  fi
+
                   git switch -C "$BRANCH_NAME"
                   git add -- "$baselines"
                   git commit -m "$TITLE" -m "Measured by $RUN_URL"
-                  git fetch origin "$BRANCH_NAME:refs/remotes/origin/$BRANCH_NAME" || true
-                  git push --force-with-lease origin "HEAD:refs/heads/$BRANCH_NAME"
+                  git push --force-with-lease="refs/heads/$BRANCH_NAME:$remote_tip" origin "HEAD:refs/heads/$BRANCH_NAME"
+                  pushed="$(git rev-parse HEAD)"
 
-                  pr="$(gh api "repos/$REPOSITORY/pulls?base=master&head=${REPOSITORY%%/*}:$BRANCH_NAME&state=open" --jq '.[0].number // empty')"
                   if [ -z "$pr" ]; then
                       pr="$(gh api -X POST "repos/$REPOSITORY/pulls" \
                           -f title="$TITLE" -f head="$BRANCH_NAME" -f base=master \
@@ -200,7 +223,7 @@ jobs:
                       --fill-evidence-pr "$pr" --evidence-run "$RUN_URL"
                   git add -- "$baselines"
                   git commit --amend --no-edit
-                  git push --force-with-lease origin "HEAD:refs/heads/$BRANCH_NAME"
+                  git push --force-with-lease="refs/heads/$BRANCH_NAME:$pushed" origin "HEAD:refs/heads/$BRANCH_NAME"
 
                   {
                       echo "Automated weekly tightening of \`$baselines\` from [three runner measurements]($RUN_URL) of \`$HEAD_SHA\`."
diff --git a/docs/architecture/performance-journeys.md b/docs/architecture/performance-journeys.md
index eeb25a32c..e1cc64bbf 100644
--- a/docs/architecture/performance-journeys.md
+++ b/docs/architecture/performance-journeys.md
@@ -585,11 +585,18 @@ When the file changed and the run is on `master`, the job pushes
 `automation/performance-ratchet` and opens (or updates) a pull request with
 the per-run table, the diff and the run URL, labelled `no-release-note`. It
 pushes with the existing `PAT` secret, as the Windows MPV pin refresh does,
-because a pull request pushed with `GITHUB_TOKEN` starts no CI. When no
+because a pull request pushed with `GITHUB_TOKEN` starts no CI. Each run
+replaces the branch with one fresh commit, except when the open tightening
+pull request carries a commit the workflow did not make (a review edit, an
+"Update branch" merge): then it leaves the branch alone with a warning, and
+the numbers stay in the job summary. When no
 baseline was below its value in all three runs, the workflow ends without a
 pull request. A dispatch on another branch measures and prints the diff but
-never opens one; use `gh workflow run performance-ratchet.yml --ref <branch>`
-to validate a change to the workflow. Review the pull request like a manual
+never opens one, so `gh workflow run performance-ratchet.yml --ref <branch>`
+validates a change to the workflow once the file is on `master`. GitHub only
+dispatches workflows that exist on the default branch, so before the first
+merge of a new or renamed workflow add a temporary `push` trigger for the
+branch and drop it before review, as #1760 did. Review the pull request like a manual
 tightening: if `master` moved since the measured commit, the
 `Initial bytes ratchet` job on the pull request is what shows that the new
 value still holds (the concurrent-merge effect above).
diff --git a/docs/architecture/validation-map.md b/docs/architecture/validation-map.md
index 7903d5685..362b83fb9 100644
--- a/docs/architecture/validation-map.md
+++ b/docs/architecture/validation-map.md
@@ -263,7 +263,9 @@ target `master` and for `master` pushes (dispatch it with
 `gh workflow run ci.yml --ref <branch>` for a stacked branch). The weekly
 `performance-ratchet.yml` workflow lowers baselines through a bot PR; validate
 a change to it with `gh workflow run performance-ratchet.yml --ref <branch>`,
-which measures but opens no PR off `master`. `perf:journeys` builds the `electron-performance` configuration and runs every
+which measures but opens no PR off `master`. Dispatch needs the workflow file
+on `master`; before that, see the temporary-trigger note under Weekly
+tightening in the performance journeys document. `perf:journeys` builds the `electron-performance` configuration and runs every
 journey spec against the Xtream mock: J1 launch, then J2 open-source (a
 second set of launches, each followed by the click on the portal card), both
 written to the same summary file; its probe specs run with