diff --git a/.github/workflows/audit-workflows.lock.yml b/.github/workflows/audit-workflows.lock.yml
index 8b435204e3e..f4224322c63 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/audit-workflows.lock.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/audit-workflows.lock.yml
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# gh-aw-metadata: {"schema_version":"v4","frontmatter_hash":"e75d04c33581e67c4e336e88de543633aaaa5e33c575107e97125885532d7b59","body_hash":"679ffc9cc2b11b1925cbc6a1f3dc4987e424ea1005b8852dcfa5c8feb24a62a8","strict":true,"agent_id":"claude","engine_versions":{"claude":"2.1.226"}}
+# gh-aw-metadata: {"schema_version":"v4","frontmatter_hash":"e75d04c33581e67c4e336e88de543633aaaa5e33c575107e97125885532d7b59","body_hash":"9c4079cd29c26c2df3eeb0a3b07b2f170759f8670839c6e221427e6b351fc4b5","strict":true,"agent_id":"claude","engine_versions":{"claude":"2.1.226"}}
 # gh-aw-manifest: {"version":1,"secrets":["ANTHROPIC_API_KEY","COPILOT_GITHUB_TOKEN","GH_AW_GITHUB_MCP_SERVER_TOKEN","GH_AW_GITHUB_TOKEN","GH_AW_OTEL_GRAFANA_AUTHORIZATION","GH_AW_OTEL_GRAFANA_ENDPOINT","GH_AW_OTEL_SENTRY_AUTHORIZATION","GH_AW_OTEL_SENTRY_ENDPOINT","GITHUB_TOKEN"],"actions":[{"repo":"actions/cache/restore","sha":"55cc8345863c7cc4c66a329aec7e433d2d1c52a9","version":"v6.1.0"},{"repo":"actions/cache/save","sha":"55cc8345863c7cc4c66a329aec7e433d2d1c52a9","version":"v6.1.0"},{"repo":"actions/checkout","sha":"3d3c42e5aac5ba805825da76410c181273ba90b1","version":"v7.0.1"},{"repo":"actions/download-artifact","sha":"3e5f45b2cfb9172054b4087a40e8e0b5a5461e7c","version":"v8.0.1"},{"repo":"actions/github-script","sha":"3a2844b7e9c422d3c10d287c895573f7108da1b3","version":"v9.0.0"},{"repo":"actions/setup-go","sha":"b7ad1dad31e06c5925ef5d2fc7ad053ef454303e","version":"v7.0.0"},{"repo":"actions/setup-node","sha":"820762786026740c76f36085b0efc47a31fe5020","version":"v7.0.0"},{"repo":"actions/setup-python","sha":"5fda3b95a4ea91299a34e894583c3862153e4b97","version":"v7.0.0"},{"repo":"actions/upload-artifact","sha":"043fb46d1a93c77aae656e7c1c64a875d1fc6a0a","version":"v7.0.1"},{"repo":"docker/build-push-action","sha":"53b7df96c91f9c12dcc8a07bcb9ccacbed38856a","version":"v7.3.0"},{"repo":"docker/setup-buildx-action","sha":"bb05f3f5519dd87d3ba754cc423b652a5edd6d2c","version":"v4.2.0"}],"containers":[{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/agent:0.27.44","digest":"sha256:0d727725c737b58c7bdf51f640cffb928385ec46517e0917c7f1a02f1bada8b4","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/agent:0.27.44@sha256:0d727725c737b58c7bdf51f640cffb928385ec46517e0917c7f1a02f1bada8b4"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/api-proxy:0.27.44","digest":"sha256:b50fbadba138f6e9aba94aca09711335c489bb3b15861220cb66f6092e042dc7","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/api-proxy:0.27.44@sha256:b50fbadba138f6e9aba94aca09711335c489bb3b15861220cb66f6092e042dc7"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/squid:0.27.44","digest":"sha256:83e48bbe12c634be8c228a576832fe45f66c529ac3659db92bddbcf2eeb6d627","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/squid:0.27.44@sha256:83e48bbe12c634be8c228a576832fe45f66c529ac3659db92bddbcf2eeb6d627"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-mcpg:v0.4.9","digest":"sha256:e5a1569aeaf41820fa7bdee3e94468cae448133cdbf00119ad24f5b74db1ab9f","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-mcpg:v0.4.9@sha256:e5a1569aeaf41820fa7bdee3e94468cae448133cdbf00119ad24f5b74db1ab9f"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-node","digest":"sha256:0d9f1fb5fd6610c0ac1f5194a38e45a8a1e81f8a390d5142d8e4e6f26a4b3196","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-node@sha256:0d9f1fb5fd6610c0ac1f5194a38e45a8a1e81f8a390d5142d8e4e6f26a4b3196"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server:v1.9.0","digest":"sha256:881b53d6f75f69bdbc1b5b10fc2f1361717c19054143b3a8529fb5c32061a50e","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server:v1.9.0@sha256:881b53d6f75f69bdbc1b5b10fc2f1361717c19054143b3a8529fb5c32061a50e"}]}
 # This file was automatically generated by gh-aw. DO NOT EDIT. To debug this workflow, load the skill at https://github.com/github/gh-aw/blob/main/debug.md
 #
diff --git a/.github/workflows/audit-workflows.md b/.github/workflows/audit-workflows.md
index 17e3dffaf24..c8fddd160c4 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/audit-workflows.md
+++ b/.github/workflows/audit-workflows.md
@@ -143,6 +143,7 @@ Before writing the final report, verify recommendations are concrete and evidenc
 
 When updating repo memory:
 - merge with existing data instead of overwriting useful history
+- serialize `workflow-trends.json` and `recommendations.json` as pretty-printed JSON with two-space indentation and a trailing newline; never store them as minified single-line JSON
 - keep stable IDs so issues, recommendations, and anomalies can be cross-referenced across days
 - increment recurrence and persistence counters when the same problem reappears
 - compare the current audit with prior entries before deciding whether something is new or ongoing