diff --git a/crates/tracedecay-sdk/tests/sdk_suite/production_daemon.rs b/crates/tracedecay-sdk/tests/sdk_suite/production_daemon.rs
index ec803de922..6e2ead1c76 100644
--- a/crates/tracedecay-sdk/tests/sdk_suite/production_daemon.rs
+++ b/crates/tracedecay-sdk/tests/sdk_suite/production_daemon.rs
@@ -303,7 +303,13 @@ fn enrolled_remote_client_rejects_an_untrusted_private_authority_and_isolates_en
         .json(&json!({"grant": grant, "admission": admission}))
         .send()
         .unwrap();
-    assert_eq!(provisioned.status(), reqwest::StatusCode::NO_CONTENT);
+    let provision_status = provisioned.status();
+    let provision_body = provisioned.text().unwrap_or_default();
+    assert_eq!(
+        provision_status,
+        reqwest::StatusCode::NO_CONTENT,
+        "{provision_body}"
+    );
 
     let request = enrollment_request(&grant);
     let untrusted_authority = EnrolledRemoteClient::new_with_root_certificate(
diff --git a/crates/tracedecay/src/daemon/http_application.rs b/crates/tracedecay/src/daemon/http_application.rs
index 73f602856a..543477933f 100644
--- a/crates/tracedecay/src/daemon/http_application.rs
+++ b/crates/tracedecay/src/daemon/http_application.rs
@@ -400,7 +400,10 @@ async fn provision_remote_node(
     .await
     {
         Ok(()) => StatusCode::NO_CONTENT.into_response(),
-        Err(_) => StatusCode::CONFLICT.into_response(),
+        Err(error) => {
+            tracing::error!(%error, "remote node provision failed");
+            (StatusCode::CONFLICT, error.to_string()).into_response()
+        }
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/scripts/check-sdk-publish-workflow.py b/scripts/check-sdk-publish-workflow.py
index 1cfb252ced..bce28e140a 100644
--- a/scripts/check-sdk-publish-workflow.py
+++ b/scripts/check-sdk-publish-workflow.py
@@ -62,13 +62,16 @@ def assert_actions_pinned(name: str, job: dict[str, Any]) -> None:
             fail(f"'{name}' uses unpinned action {uses!r}")
 
 
-def assert_release_trigger(workflow: dict[str, Any]) -> None:
+def assert_master_dispatch_trigger(workflow: dict[str, Any]) -> None:
     triggers = workflow.get("on", workflow.get(True, {}))
-    if not isinstance(triggers, dict) or set(triggers) != {"release", "workflow_dispatch"}:
-        fail("npm publication must ride the GitHub Release trigger plus tag recovery only")
-    release = triggers.get("release")
-    if not isinstance(release, dict) or release.get("types") != ["published"]:
-        fail("the release trigger must fire on published releases only")
+    # A run whose ref is the release tag cannot restore the previous release's
+    # Actions cache. release-please dispatches this workflow on master after
+    # the immutable tag exists, so a `release` trigger is not an allowed path.
+    if not isinstance(triggers, dict) or set(triggers) != {"workflow_dispatch"}:
+        fail(
+            "npm publication must be dispatched on master after the immutable "
+            "tag exists; a tag-ref run cannot restore the release cache"
+        )
     dispatch = triggers.get("workflow_dispatch")
     inputs = dispatch.get("inputs") if isinstance(dispatch, dict) else None
     if not isinstance(inputs, dict) or set(inputs) != {"release_tag"}:
@@ -204,7 +207,7 @@ def main() -> None:
             )
 
     workflow = yaml.safe_load(text)
-    assert_release_trigger(workflow)
+    assert_master_dispatch_trigger(workflow)
 
     if workflow.get("permissions") != {"contents": "read"}:
         fail("top-level permissions must grant contents: read only")
diff --git a/scripts/test-check-sdk-publish-workflow.py b/scripts/test-check-sdk-publish-workflow.py
index 1b1a8e79a8..74b129cab8 100644
--- a/scripts/test-check-sdk-publish-workflow.py
+++ b/scripts/test-check-sdk-publish-workflow.py
@@ -36,10 +36,26 @@ def assert_rejected(self, workflow: str) -> None:
             with self.assertRaises(SystemExit):
                 self.checker.main()
 
-    def test_rejects_dropping_the_release_trigger(self) -> None:
+    def test_rejects_dropping_the_release_dispatch(self) -> None:
         mutated = self.workflow.replace(
-            "on:\n  release:\n    types: [published]\n  workflow_dispatch:",
-            "on:\n  workflow_dispatch:",
+            "on:\n"
+            "  workflow_dispatch:\n"
+            "    inputs:\n"
+            "      release_tag:\n"
+            '        description: "Stable release tag to build or recover"\n'
+            "        required: true\n"
+            "        type: string\n",
+            "on:\n"
+            "  push:\n"
+            "    branches: [master]\n",
+            1,
+        )
+        self.assert_rejected(mutated)
+
+    def test_rejects_restoring_the_release_trigger(self) -> None:
+        mutated = self.workflow.replace(
+            "on:\n  workflow_dispatch:\n",
+            "on:\n  release:\n    types: [published]\n  workflow_dispatch:\n",
             1,
         )
         self.assert_rejected(mutated)