diff --git a/ci-operator/step-registry/openshift/claude/payload/agent/openshift-claude-payload-agent-commands.sh b/ci-operator/step-registry/openshift/claude/payload/agent/openshift-claude-payload-agent-commands.sh
index f6694a58d9b01..4bb470dc44134 100644
--- a/ci-operator/step-registry/openshift/claude/payload/agent/openshift-claude-payload-agent-commands.sh
+++ b/ci-operator/step-registry/openshift/claude/payload/agent/openshift-claude-payload-agent-commands.sh
@@ -28,22 +28,6 @@ else
     echo "Warning: Slack webhook not found at ${SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL}. Notifications will be skipped."
 fi
 
-JIRA_API_TOKEN=""
-if [ -f "${JIRA_API_TOKEN_PATH}" ]; then
-    JIRA_API_TOKEN=$(cat "${JIRA_API_TOKEN_PATH}")
-    echo "Jira API token loaded."
-else
-    echo "Warning: Jira API token not found at ${JIRA_API_TOKEN_PATH}. Jira operations will not be available."
-fi
-
-JIRA_USERNAME=""
-if [ -f "${JIRA_USERNAME_PATH}" ]; then
-    JIRA_USERNAME=$(cat "${JIRA_USERNAME_PATH}")
-    echo "Jira username loaded."
-else
-    echo "Warning: Jira username not found at ${JIRA_USERNAME_PATH}. Jira operations will not be available."
-fi
-
 # Install gcloud CLI for GCS artifact access (no root required)
 echo "Installing gcloud CLI..."
 curl -sSL https://dl.google.com/dl/cloudsdk/channels/rapid/downloads/google-cloud-cli-linux-x86_64.tar.gz | tar -xz -C /tmp
@@ -63,7 +47,6 @@ PAYLOAD_URL="${RELEASE_CONTROLLER_URL}/releasestream/${STREAM_NAME}/release/${PA
 
 echo "Version: ${VERSION}, Stream: ${STREAM}"
 echo "Release API: ${API_URL}"
-echo "Automatic reverts enabled: ${ENABLE_PAYLOAD_REVERT}"
 
 # Poll until blocking jobs finish OR the payload reaches a terminal state.
 # The release controller can report jobs as Pending even after they complete
@@ -93,7 +76,13 @@ echo ""
 
 while true; do
     POLL_COUNT=$((POLL_COUNT + 1))
-    RELEASE_JSON=$(curl -sf "${API_URL}")
+    RELEASE_JSON=$(curl -sf "${API_URL}" || true)
+    if [[ -z "${RELEASE_JSON}" ]]; then
+        echo "  Warning: Failed to fetch release API. Retrying next poll..."
+        sleep ${POLL_INTERVAL}
+        ELAPSED=$((ELAPSED + POLL_INTERVAL))
+        continue
+    fi
     PENDING=$(echo "${RELEASE_JSON}" | jq '[.results.blockingJobs // {} | to_entries[] | select(.value.state == "Pending")] | length')
     FAILED=$(echo "${RELEASE_JSON}" | jq '[.results.blockingJobs // {} | to_entries[] | select(.value.state == "Failed")] | length')
     SUCCEEDED=$(echo "${RELEASE_JSON}" | jq '[.results.blockingJobs // {} | to_entries[] | select(.value.state == "Succeeded")] | length')
@@ -125,7 +114,7 @@ while true; do
                 SLACK_TEXT=":green-check: *Payload Accepted for <${PAYLOAD_URL}|${PAYLOAD_TAG}>*
 
 All ${TOTAL} blocking jobs succeeded.${RETRY_INFO}
-_Agent: ${CLAUDE_MODEL}_"
+_Model: ${CLAUDE_MODEL}_"
 
                 set +x
                 jq -n --arg text "$SLACK_TEXT" '{text: $text}' | \
@@ -200,6 +189,21 @@ copy_reports() {
 }
 trap copy_reports EXIT TERM INT
 
+# Create payload snapshot deterministically (no tokens spent)
+echo ""
+echo "=== Creating payload snapshot ==="
+SNAPSHOT_SCRIPT="/opt/ai-helpers/plugins/ci/skills/payload-snapshot/scripts/payload_snapshot.py"
+SNAPSHOT_DIR="${WORKDIR}/snapshot"
+PHASE_SNAPSHOT_START=$(date +%s)
+python3 "${SNAPSHOT_SCRIPT}" "${PAYLOAD_TAG}" --output-dir "${SNAPSHOT_DIR}"
+PHASE_SNAPSHOT_DURATION=$(( $(date +%s) - PHASE_SNAPSHOT_START ))
+echo "Snapshot created in ${PHASE_SNAPSHOT_DURATION}s"
+echo "Archiving payload snapshot to artifacts..."
+tar -czf "${ARTIFACT_DIR}/snapshot-${PAYLOAD_TAG}.tar.gz" -C "${SNAPSHOT_DIR}" .
+
+SNAPSHOT_DATA_DIR=$(dirname "$(find "${SNAPSHOT_DIR}" -name summary.json -print -quit)")
+echo "Snapshot data dir: ${SNAPSHOT_DATA_DIR}"
+
 # Install the must-gather plugin for analyzing must-gather archives
 echo "Installing must-gather plugin..."
 claude plugin install must-gather@ai-helpers
@@ -209,7 +213,9 @@ ALLOWED_TOOLS="Bash Read Write Edit Grep Glob WebFetch WebSearch Task Skill"
 
 SYSTEM_PROMPT="You are a diligent senior OpenShift release engineer triaging failures.
 
-**CRITICAL**: You have many ci, must-gather, and jira skills at your disposal. You MUST load the relevant skills using the Skill tool BEFORE you begin any work. Do NOT improvise or guess. This applies equally to subagents: instruct every subagent to review its available skills and load the appropriate ones before beginning its investigation. A subagent that does not load a skill will produce shallow, unreliable analysis."
+**CRITICAL**: You have many ci and must-gather skills at your disposal. You MUST load the relevant skills using the Skill tool BEFORE you begin any work. Do NOT improvise or guess. This applies equally to subagents: instruct every subagent to review its available skills and load the appropriate ones before beginning its investigation. A subagent that does not load a skill will produce shallow, unreliable analysis.
+
+After completing your analysis, you MUST use the Skill tool to invoke ci:payload-results-yaml and ci:payload-autodl-json to generate the structured output files. NEVER write these files directly — the skills enforce the canonical schema."
 
 PHASE_ANALYSIS_START=$(date +%s)
 CLAUDE_EXIT=0
@@ -219,11 +225,9 @@ timeout 3600 claude \
     --output-format stream-json \
     --max-turns 100 \
     --append-system-prompt "${SYSTEM_PROMPT}" \
-    -p "/ci:analyze-payload ${PAYLOAD_TAG}" \
+    -p "/ci:payload-analysis ${PAYLOAD_TAG} --snapshot-dir ${SNAPSHOT_DATA_DIR}" \
     --verbose 2>&1 | tee "${ARTIFACT_DIR}/claude-output.log" || CLAUDE_EXIT=$?
 
-PHASE_ANALYSIS_DURATION=$(( $(date +%s) - PHASE_ANALYSIS_START ))
-
 # If Claude timed out (exit 124), nudge it to wrap up with a shorter timeout
 PHASE_NUDGE_START=$(date +%s)
 NUDGE_EXIT=0
@@ -241,74 +245,64 @@ if [[ "${CLAUDE_EXIT}" -eq 124 ]]; then
 fi
 PHASE_NUDGE_DURATION=$(( $(date +%s) - PHASE_NUDGE_START ))
 
-# Optionally stage reverts for high-confidence candidates
-PHASE_REVERT_START=$(date +%s)
-REVERT_EXIT=0
-if [[ "${ENABLE_PAYLOAD_REVERT}" == "true" ]]; then
-    if [[ -z "${GITHUB_TOKEN:-}" ]]; then
-        echo "Warning: Automatic reverts enabled but no GitHub token is available. Skipping reverts."
-    elif ls "${WORKDIR}"/payload-results-*.yaml 1>/dev/null 2>&1; then
-        echo ""
-        echo "=== Staging reverts for high-confidence candidates ==="
-
-        # Configure Jira MCP server for creating TRT issues
-        REVERT_ALLOWED_TOOLS="${ALLOWED_TOOLS}"
-        if [[ -n "${JIRA_API_TOKEN}" ]] && [[ -n "${JIRA_USERNAME}" ]]; then
-            echo "Configuring Jira MCP server..."
-            set +x
-            claude mcp add \
-                -e JIRA_URL="${JIRA_URL}" \
-                -e JIRA_API_TOKEN="${JIRA_API_TOKEN}" \
-                -e JIRA_USERNAME="${JIRA_USERNAME}" \
-                --transport stdio \
-                jira -- uvx mcp-atlassian@0.21.0
-            echo "Jira MCP server configured."
-            REVERT_ALLOWED_TOOLS="${REVERT_ALLOWED_TOOLS} mcp__jira__*"
-        else
-            echo "Warning: Jira API token or username not available. TRT issues will not be created."
-        fi
+# Validate structured output files, retry up to 3 times if missing/invalid
+VALIDATE_YAML="/opt/ai-helpers/plugins/ci/skills/payload-results-yaml/scripts/validate.py"
+VALIDATE_JSON="/opt/ai-helpers/plugins/ci/skills/payload-autodl-json/scripts/validate.py"
 
-        timeout 3600 claude \
-            --model "${CLAUDE_MODEL}" \
-            --continue \
-            --allowedTools "${REVERT_ALLOWED_TOOLS}" \
-            --output-format stream-json \
-            --max-turns 50 \
-            -p "/ci:payload-revert ${PAYLOAD_TAG}" \
-            --verbose 2>&1 | tee "${ARTIFACT_DIR}/claude-revert.log" || REVERT_EXIT=$?
+for attempt in 1 2 3; do
+    YAML_OK=false
+    JSON_OK=false
 
-    else
-        echo "Warning: No payload results YAML found. Skipping reverts."
+    RESULTS_YAML=$(find . -maxdepth 1 -name "payload-results-*.yaml" -print -quit)
+    RESULTS_JSON=$(find . -maxdepth 1 -name "payload-analysis-*-autodl.json" -print -quit)
+
+    if [[ -n "${RESULTS_YAML}" ]] && python3 "${VALIDATE_YAML}" "${RESULTS_YAML}"; then
+        YAML_OK=true
+    fi
+    if [[ -n "${RESULTS_JSON}" ]] && python3 "${VALIDATE_JSON}" "${RESULTS_JSON}"; then
+        JSON_OK=true
     fi
-else
-    echo "Automatic reverts not enabled. Skipping revert stage."
-fi
-PHASE_REVERT_DURATION=$(( $(date +%s) - PHASE_REVERT_START ))
+
+    if $YAML_OK && $JSON_OK; then
+        echo "Structured outputs validated (attempt ${attempt})."
+        break
+    fi
+
+    if [[ "${attempt}" -eq 3 ]]; then
+        echo "ERROR: Structured outputs still invalid after 3 attempts."
+        PHASE_ANALYSIS_DURATION=$(( $(date +%s) - PHASE_ANALYSIS_START ))
+        exit 1
+    fi
+
+    MISSING=""
+    if ! $YAML_OK; then MISSING="ci:payload-results-yaml"; fi
+    if ! $JSON_OK; then MISSING="${MISSING:+${MISSING} and }ci:payload-autodl-json"; fi
+    echo "Attempt ${attempt}: Missing/invalid outputs (${MISSING}). Re-invoking Claude..."
+
+    timeout 600 claude \
+        --model "${CLAUDE_MODEL}" \
+        --continue \
+        --allowedTools "${ALLOWED_TOOLS}" \
+        --output-format stream-json \
+        --max-turns 10 \
+        -p "Your structured output files are missing or invalid. Use the Skill tool to invoke ${MISSING} to regenerate them now." \
+        --verbose 2>&1 | tee -a "${ARTIFACT_DIR}/claude-output.log" || true
+done
+
+PHASE_ANALYSIS_DURATION=$(( $(date +%s) - PHASE_ANALYSIS_START ))
 
 # Generate JUnit XML for timeout and phase duration tracking
 JUNIT_FILE="${ARTIFACT_DIR}/junit_claude-ci.xml"
 PHASE_PREFIX="[sig-claude]"
 TIMEOUT_TESTCASE="${PHASE_PREFIX} Claude should complete in a reasonable time"
-TOTAL_DURATION=$(( PHASE_WAIT_DURATION + PHASE_ANALYSIS_DURATION + PHASE_NUDGE_DURATION + PHASE_REVERT_DURATION ))
+TOTAL_DURATION=$(( PHASE_WAIT_DURATION + PHASE_SNAPSHOT_DURATION + PHASE_ANALYSIS_DURATION + PHASE_NUDGE_DURATION ))
 
 PHASE_CASES="  <testcase name=\"${PHASE_PREFIX} Phase: wait for blocking jobs\" time=\"${PHASE_WAIT_DURATION}\"/>
+  <testcase name=\"${PHASE_PREFIX} Phase: snapshot\" time=\"${PHASE_SNAPSHOT_DURATION}\"/>
   <testcase name=\"${PHASE_PREFIX} Phase: analysis\" time=\"${PHASE_ANALYSIS_DURATION}\"/>"
 
 TIMEOUT_CASES=""
 FAILURE_COUNT=0
-
-if [[ "${ENABLE_PAYLOAD_REVERT}" == "true" ]]; then
-    if [[ "${REVERT_EXIT}" -ne 0 ]]; then
-        FAILURE_COUNT=$(( FAILURE_COUNT + 1 ))
-        PHASE_CASES="${PHASE_CASES}
-  <testcase name=\"${PHASE_PREFIX} Phase: payload revert\" time=\"${PHASE_REVERT_DURATION}\">
-    <failure message=\"Payload revert failed with exit code ${REVERT_EXIT}\">Claude payload revert exited with code ${REVERT_EXIT}.</failure>
-  </testcase>"
-    else
-        PHASE_CASES="${PHASE_CASES}
-  <testcase name=\"${PHASE_PREFIX} Phase: payload revert\" time=\"${PHASE_REVERT_DURATION}\"/>"
-    fi
-fi
 TIMEOUT_TEST_COUNT=0
 
 if [[ "${CLAUDE_EXIT}" -eq 124 ]]; then
@@ -343,9 +337,9 @@ else
     TIMEOUT_CASES="  <testcase name=\"${TIMEOUT_TESTCASE}\" time=\"${PHASE_ANALYSIS_DURATION}\"/>"
 fi
 
-PHASE_COUNT=2
-if [[ "${ENABLE_PAYLOAD_REVERT}" == "true" ]]; then
-    PHASE_COUNT=3
+PHASE_COUNT=3
+if [[ "${CLAUDE_EXIT}" -eq 124 ]]; then
+    PHASE_COUNT=$((PHASE_COUNT + 1))
 fi
 TEST_COUNT=$(( PHASE_COUNT + TIMEOUT_TEST_COUNT ))
 cat > "${JUNIT_FILE}" <<EOF
@@ -379,7 +373,7 @@ SUMMARY=$(claude \
     --continue \
     --output-format text \
     --max-turns 5 \
-    -p "Write a very brief summary of your findings suitable for a Slack message. Include the payload tag and list the failed jobs. If any revert PRs were opened, include their URLs as links for Slack. Include a brief, encouraging CI-related joke or pun. Plain text only, no markdown. 2-3 sentences max." \
+    -p "Write a very brief summary of your findings suitable for a Slack message. Include the payload tag and list the failed jobs. If you identified revert candidates, mention them. Include a brief, encouraging CI-related joke or pun. Plain text only, no markdown. 2-3 sentences max." \
     2>/dev/null) || SUMMARY=""
 
 if [[ -n "${SLACK_WEBHOOK}" ]]; then
@@ -388,7 +382,7 @@ if [[ -n "${SLACK_WEBHOOK}" ]]; then
 ${SUMMARY:-No summary available.}
 
 <${PROW_JOB_URL}|:point_right: View Full Analysis Report>
-_Agent: ${CLAUDE_MODEL}_"
+_Model: ${CLAUDE_MODEL}_"
 
     set +x
     jq -n --arg text "$SLACK_TEXT" '{text: $text}' | \
diff --git a/ci-operator/step-registry/openshift/claude/payload/agent/openshift-claude-payload-agent-ref.yaml b/ci-operator/step-registry/openshift/claude/payload/agent/openshift-claude-payload-agent-ref.yaml
index d8f0a95eec2ff..94aeb9b6b6dce 100644
--- a/ci-operator/step-registry/openshift/claude/payload/agent/openshift-claude-payload-agent-ref.yaml
+++ b/ci-operator/step-registry/openshift/claude/payload/agent/openshift-claude-payload-agent-ref.yaml
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ ref:
   commands: openshift-claude-payload-agent-commands.sh
   credentials:
   - namespace: test-credentials
-    name: hypershift-team-claude-prow
+    name: sa-claude-openshift-ci
     mount_path: /var/run/claude-code-service-account
   - namespace: test-credentials
     name: trt-alert-slack-webhook-url
@@ -15,9 +15,6 @@ ref:
   - namespace: test-credentials
     name: claude-payload-agent-github-token
     mount_path: /var/run/github-token
-  - namespace: test-credentials
-    name: claude-payload-agent-jira-token
-    mount_path: /var/run/jira-token
   env:
   - name: PAYLOAD_TAG
   - name: CLAUDE_CODE_USE_VERTEX
@@ -27,21 +24,13 @@ ref:
   - name: ANTHROPIC_VERTEX_PROJECT_ID
     default: "itpc-gcp-hybrid-pe-eng-claude"
   - name: GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS
-    default: "/var/run/claude-code-service-account/claude-prow"
+    default: "/var/run/claude-code-service-account/token"
   - name: CLAUDE_MODEL
     default: "claude-opus-4-6"
   - name: SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL
     default: "/var/run/slack-webhook/url"
   - name: GITHUB_TOKEN_PATH
     default: "/var/run/github-token/token"
-  - name: JIRA_API_TOKEN_PATH
-    default: "/var/run/jira-token/token"
-  - name: JIRA_USERNAME_PATH
-    default: "/var/run/jira-token/username"
-  - name: JIRA_URL
-    default: "https://redhat.atlassian.net"
-  - name: ENABLE_PAYLOAD_REVERT
-    default: "false"
   - name: ENABLE_SLACK_NOTIFICATIONS
     default: "true"
   resources:
@@ -51,9 +40,7 @@ ref:
   timeout: 12h0m0s
   grace_period: 1m0s
   documentation: |-
-    Analyzes rejected release payloads using Claude AI and optionally
-    stages reverts for high-confidence causes. Receives a PAYLOAD_TAG
-    from the release controller, polls until blocking jobs complete,
-    runs the analyze-payload skill to identify root causes, generates
-    an HTML report, and when ENABLE_PAYLOAD_REVERT is true, stages
-    reverts for high-confidence candidates via payload-revert.
+    Analyzes rejected release payloads using Claude AI. Creates a
+    deterministic snapshot of payload data, then runs the
+    payload-analysis skill to identify root causes and generate an
+    HTML report with revert recommendations.