diff --git a/.github/scripts/run-autofix-review-verification.sh b/.github/scripts/run-autofix-review-verification.sh
index 4a46a182fa3..1e334ea923a 100755
--- a/.github/scripts/run-autofix-review-verification.sh
+++ b/.github/scripts/run-autofix-review-verification.sh
@@ -153,13 +153,15 @@ baseline_also_fails() {
     } > "${WORKDIR}/gate-rejection.md" || true
     exit 1
   fi
+  # Every retryable exit below hands the tree to the repair agent with
+  # dist/ REBUILT FROM BASELINE SOURCES (the restore checkout brings back
+  # tracked files only) — the mirror of the dist confound that exempted
+  # typecheck from the A/B. seed_dist_note seeds the repair feedback so
+  # the agent rebuilds before it trusts any dist-consuming check. The
+  # pre-existing exit is the exception: no repair runs for it, so the
+  # note stays out of its document.
   if [[ "${rc}" -ne 1 ]]; then
-    # Both retryable exits below hand the tree to the repair agent with
-    # dist/ REBUILT FROM BASELINE SOURCES (the restore checkout brings back
-    # tracked files only) — the mirror of the dist confound that exempted
-    # typecheck from the A/B. The note seeds the repair feedback so the
-    # agent rebuilds before it trusts any dist-consuming check.
-    echo "⚠️ the baseline leg rebuilt dist/ from baseline sources — run npm run build before typecheck/tests" >> "${GATE_LOG}"
+    seed_dist_note
     echo "🔁 baseline is green — the failure belongs to this round" \
       | tee -a "${GATE_LOG}"
     return 1
@@ -185,9 +187,14 @@ baseline_also_fails() {
   # verdict-less gate crash.
   # (sig_head was extracted before the detach.)
   sig_base="$(fail_signature "${ab_log}")" || true
-  new_in_round="$(comm -23 <(printf '%s\n' "${sig_head}") <(printf '%s\n' "${sig_base}"))" ||
+  new_in_round="$(comm -23 <(printf '%s\n' "${sig_head}") <(printf '%s\n' "${sig_base}"))" || {
+    seed_dist_note
+    echo "🔁 signature comparison failed — fail-closed, charged to the round" \
+      | tee -a "${GATE_LOG}"
     return 1
+  }
   if [[ -z "${sig_head}" || -z "${sig_base}" ]] || [[ -n "${new_in_round}" ]]; then
+    seed_dist_note
     echo "🔁 baseline fails for a DIFFERENT reason — charged to the round" \
       | tee -a "${GATE_LOG}"
     return 1
@@ -212,6 +219,12 @@ fail_signature() {
   grep -oE "[^ '\"]+\([0-9]+,[0-9]+\): error TS[0-9]+.*" "${1}" 2> /dev/null \
     | sed -E 's/\([0-9]+,[0-9]+\)//' | sort -u
 }
+# The one emit point for the dist-rebuild steering note — every retryable
+# exit of baseline_also_fails after the baseline leg calls this, so the
+# guidance cannot drift across exits.
+seed_dist_note() {
+  echo "⚠️ the baseline leg rebuilt dist/ from baseline sources — run npm run build before typecheck/tests" >> "${GATE_LOG}"
+}
 run_check() {
   # pipefail makes the pipeline carry the command's status, not tee's. The
   # side copy holds THIS check's transcript alone — the identity comparison
diff --git a/scripts/tests/qwen-autofix-workflow.test.js b/scripts/tests/qwen-autofix-workflow.test.js
index 1ea08ed3189..02b428e3d45 100644
--- a/scripts/tests/qwen-autofix-workflow.test.js
+++ b/scripts/tests/qwen-autofix-workflow.test.js
@@ -11581,7 +11581,9 @@ describe('review verification gate: baseline A/B on deterministic rejection', ()
     restoreClash = false,
     hugeFail = false,
     noIdentity = false,
+    baselineNoIdentity = false,
     trackedDirt = false,
+    commFail = false,
   }) => {
     const dir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'gate-ab-'));
     try {
@@ -11663,6 +11665,11 @@ describe('review verification gate: baseline A/B on deterministic rejection', ()
           // vite/esbuild shape: a red build with no tsc diagnostic at all.
           '        echo "error during build: something exploded"; exit 1',
           '      fi',
+          '      if [[ "$head" == "${BASELINE_SHA:-}" && "${BASELINE_NO_IDENTITY:-}" == "1" ]]; then',
+          // Same shape restricted to the baseline leg — the head keeps its
+          // tsc identity while the baseline loses its.
+          '        echo "error during build: something exploded"; exit 1',
+          '      fi',
           '      if [[ "$head" == "${BASELINE_SHA:-}" && "${TRACKED_DIRT:-}" == "1" ]]; then',
           // The build rewrites a TRACKED file (the settings-schema shape):
           // f.txt differs across refs, so an undiscarded rewrite makes the
@@ -11698,6 +11705,13 @@ describe('review verification gate: baseline A/B on deterministic rejection', ()
         ].join('\n'),
       );
       chmodSync(join(bin, 'npm'), 0o755);
+      if (commFail) {
+        // Shadows the system comm via PATH precedence: the signature
+        // comparison itself fails (the SIGPIPE-under-pipefail class), so
+        // the gate takes its fail-closed retryable exit.
+        writeFileSync(join(bin, 'comm'), '#!/bin/bash\nexit 1\n');
+        chmodSync(join(bin, 'comm'), 0o755);
+      }
       const rt = join(dir, 'rt');
       mkdirSync(rt);
       writeFileSync(
@@ -11741,6 +11755,7 @@ describe('review verification gate: baseline A/B on deterministic rejection', ()
             EXTRA_BASELINE_DIAG: extraBaselineDiag ? '1' : '',
             RESTORE_CLASH: restoreClash ? '1' : '',
             NO_IDENTITY: noIdentity ? '1' : '',
+            BASELINE_NO_IDENTITY: baselineNoIdentity ? '1' : '',
             TRACKED_DIRT: trackedDirt ? '1' : '',
             SCHEMA_FAIL: schemaFail ? '1' : '',
             TYPECHECK_FAIL: typecheckFail ? '1' : '',
@@ -11795,6 +11810,11 @@ describe('review verification gate: baseline A/B on deterministic rejection', ()
     // The baseline leg's own transcript is the ONLY proof behind the
     // verdict — it must reach the rejection document.
     expect(r.rejection).toContain(`stub build FAILED at ${r.baselineSha}`);
+    // No repair runs for a pre-existing failure — the dist/ steering note
+    // is for the repair agent and stays out of this document.
+    expect(r.rejection).not.toContain(
+      'run npm run build before typecheck/tests',
+    );
     expect(r.headAfter).toBe('feature');
   });
 
@@ -11934,6 +11954,46 @@ describe('review verification gate: baseline A/B on deterministic rejection', ()
     expect(r.outputs).toContain('retryable=true');
     expect(r.outputs).not.toContain('preexisting=true');
     expect(r.stdout).toContain('DIFFERENT reason');
+    // The same repair handoff as the green path — the dist/ warning must
+    // seed this rejection too.
+    expect(r.rejection).toContain('run npm run build before typecheck/tests');
+  });
+
+  it('charges the round when the baseline fails without a failure identity', () => {
+    // Mirror of the head-side noIdentity shape on the other leg: the
+    // baseline crashes vite/esbuild-style with no tsc diagnostic, so its
+    // signature is empty and identity cannot be established — fail
+    // closed and charge the round, with the same repair handoff (and
+    // dist/ note) as the sibling retryable exits.
+    const r = runGate({
+      failAt: ['feature', 'origin/feature'],
+      baselineNoIdentity: true,
+    });
+    expect(r.status).toBe(1);
+    expect(r.outputs).toContain('retryable=true');
+    expect(r.outputs).not.toContain('preexisting=true');
+    expect(r.stdout).toContain('DIFFERENT reason');
+    expect(r.rejection).toContain('run npm run build before typecheck/tests');
+  });
+
+  it('seeds the dist-rebuild warning when the signature comparison itself fails', () => {
+    // comm failing (SIGPIPE under pipefail, an infrastructure hiccup)
+    // takes the same retryable handoff as the green/different-signature
+    // exits — without the note the repair agent trusts baseline-built
+    // dist/ and chases phantom dist-consuming failures.
+    const r = runGate({
+      failAt: ['feature', 'origin/feature'],
+      commFail: true,
+    });
+    expect(r.status).toBe(1);
+    expect(r.outputs).toContain('retryable=true');
+    expect(r.outputs).not.toContain('preexisting=true');
+    expect(r.rejection).toContain('run npm run build before typecheck/tests');
+    // Like its sibling exits, this one names its verdict — an oncall must
+    // distinguish "the comparison itself failed" from "baseline is green"
+    // without re-running the A/B.
+    expect(r.rejection).toContain('signature comparison failed');
+    expect(r.headAfter).toBe('feature');
   });
 
   it('keeps the green path intact', () => {