diff --git a/.github/workflows/update-demo-server.yml b/.github/workflows/update-demo-server.yml
index cf058e5c7..252cd2ed9 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/update-demo-server.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/update-demo-server.yml
@@ -200,7 +200,7 @@ jobs:
             exit 1
           fi
           release_state="$(
-            gh release view "${TAG}" --json isDraft,isPrerelease,publishedAt,tagName \
+            gh release view "${TAG}" --repo rcourtman/Pulse --json isDraft,isPrerelease,publishedAt,tagName \
               --jq '[.tagName, (.isDraft | tostring), (.isPrerelease | tostring), (.publishedAt // "")] | @tsv'
           )"
           if [ "$(awk -F '\t' '{print $1}' <<<"${release_state}")" != "${TAG}" ] || \
diff --git a/docs/release-control/v6/internal/subsystems/deployment-installability.md b/docs/release-control/v6/internal/subsystems/deployment-installability.md
index 9f7aa2c19..13fd8d125 100644
--- a/docs/release-control/v6/internal/subsystems/deployment-installability.md
+++ b/docs/release-control/v6/internal/subsystems/deployment-installability.md
@@ -1944,6 +1944,9 @@ its proof. A demo failure is retriable convergence debt and cannot retroactively
 unpublish the committed GitHub release. An
 asynchronous dispatch or manual SSH deployment is not release completion. A one-shot `ssh-keyscan`
 against a private demo target is not sufficient release or deploy proof.
+Checkout-free mutation guards must address the Pulse repository explicitly
+when querying release state; they must not rely on `gh` discovering a local git
+checkout before the workflow's checkout step has intentionally been admitted.
 Those same workflows also own customer-visible browser truth for the public
 demo shell. Health checks and entry-asset parity are necessary but not
 sufficient; after those checks pass, the governed helpers
diff --git a/scripts/installtests/build_release_assets_test.go b/scripts/installtests/build_release_assets_test.go
index 7f54d0d9a..346505f5d 100644
--- a/scripts/installtests/build_release_assets_test.go
+++ b/scripts/installtests/build_release_assets_test.go
@@ -1420,6 +1420,7 @@ func TestUpdateDemoWorkflowUsesGovernedNetworkPath(t *testing.T) {
 		`activation_convergence_run_id:`,
 		`release-activation.json`,
 		`.convergence_run_id == $convergence_run_id`,
+		`gh release view "${TAG}" --repo rcourtman/Pulse`,
 		`Stable demo mutation refuses inactive or prerelease tag`,
 		`Verify public browser smoke`,
 		`./scripts/run_demo_public_browser_smoke.sh`,