diff --git a/.github/scripts/verify-ci-checks.sh b/.github/scripts/verify-ci-checks.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..cdb7fb9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/scripts/verify-ci-checks.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Verify that the LATEST CI check run per check name passed on a commit.
+#
+# Called by auto-tag.yml's "Verify CI checks passed" step, and runnable
+# directly (read-only; needs only `gh` auth) to debug any SHA:
+#
+#   REPO=owner/name HEAD_SHA=<sha> bash .github/scripts/verify-ci-checks.sh
+#
+# Why "latest per (app, name)" instead of "every run on the SHA": the
+# check-runs API returns runs from EVERY check suite ever started on the
+# SHA. Two triggers landing on the same SHA — e.g. `gh pr create --label`
+# fires `opened` and `labeled` simultaneously, and the CI workflow's
+# concurrency group cancels one of the twin runs — park a cancelled or
+# failed run next to the successful same-named run, and those superseded
+# runs never turn green. Counting all of them blocked SynthBench v0.3.1
+# (PR #334) and SynthPanel's first v1.6.0 attempt, forcing manual tags.
+# Only the newest run per (app, name) reflects the commit's real status;
+# GitHub's own merge box collapses check runs the same way.
+#
+# CHECK_RUNS_FILTER=all additionally surfaces superseded ATTEMPTS of
+# re-run check runs (the API default, `latest`, already collapses those).
+# Useful only for reproducing historical states; the verdict grouping
+# makes both filters converge on the same latest-run answer.
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+: "${REPO:?REPO (owner/name) is required}"
+: "${HEAD_SHA:?HEAD_SHA is required}"
+FILTER="${CHECK_RUNS_FILTER:-latest}"
+
+echo "Verifying CI status for commit: $HEAD_SHA (filter=${FILTER})"
+
+# --paginate emits one JSON array per page; `jq -s 'add'` flattens them.
+# The auto-tag job's own check run is excluded, as before — a prior
+# failed tagging attempt on the SHA must not block the recovery re-run.
+ALL_RUNS=$(gh api "repos/${REPO}/commits/${HEAD_SHA}/check-runs?filter=${FILTER}" \
+  --paginate \
+  --jq '[.check_runs[] | select(.name != "auto-tag")
+         | {name, status, conclusion, started_at, id, app: (.app.slug // "unknown")}]' \
+  | jq -s 'add // []')
+
+TOTAL=$(echo "$ALL_RUNS" | jq 'length')
+if [ "$TOTAL" -eq 0 ]; then
+  echo "::error::No CI check runs found for commit $HEAD_SHA — refusing to tag"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+# Latest run per (app, name): started_at orders the runs; id breaks
+# same-second ties (a later-created run always has a higher id).
+RUNS=$(echo "$ALL_RUNS" | jq 'group_by([.app, .name]) | map(sort_by(.started_at, .id) | last)')
+
+KEPT=$(echo "$RUNS" | jq 'length')
+if [ "$KEPT" -lt "$TOTAL" ]; then
+  echo "Ignoring $((TOTAL - KEPT)) superseded run(s) shadowed by a newer run of the same check:"
+  echo "$ALL_RUNS" | jq 'group_by([.app, .name]) | map(sort_by(.started_at, .id) | .[:-1]) | add'
+fi
+
+echo "Latest check run per name:"
+echo "$RUNS" | jq '.'
+
+INCOMPLETE=$(echo "$RUNS" | jq '[.[] | select(.status != "completed")] | length')
+if [ "$INCOMPLETE" -gt 0 ]; then
+  echo "::error::${INCOMPLETE} check(s) still running — refusing to tag"
+  echo "$RUNS" | jq '[.[] | select(.status != "completed")]'
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+FAILED=$(echo "$RUNS" | jq '[.[] | select(.conclusion != "success" and .conclusion != "skipped" and .conclusion != "neutral")] | length')
+if [ "$FAILED" -gt 0 ]; then
+  echo "::error::${FAILED} check(s) did not pass — refusing to tag"
+  echo "$RUNS" | jq '[.[] | select(.conclusion != "success" and .conclusion != "skipped" and .conclusion != "neutral")]'
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+echo "All CI checks passed ✓"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/auto-tag.yml b/.github/workflows/auto-tag.yml
index 092339d..5d04c31 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/auto-tag.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/auto-tag.yml
@@ -74,40 +74,19 @@ jobs:
           echo "skipped=false" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
           echo "Bump type: $BUMP"
 
+      # Latest run per check name only. The check-runs API returns runs from
+      # every check suite on the SHA, so a workflow double-triggered on one
+      # SHA (label events don't move the head) parks superseded red/cancelled
+      # runs there forever — counting them blocked the first v1.6.0 attempt.
+      # The logic lives in a standalone script so it can be exercised
+      # directly against any SHA (see the script header for usage).
       - name: Verify CI checks passed
         if: steps.check.outputs.skipped != 'true'
         env:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
+          REPO: ${{ github.repository }}
           HEAD_SHA: ${{ github.event.pull_request.head.sha }}
-        run: |
-          echo "Verifying CI status for PR head commit: $HEAD_SHA"
-
-          RUNS=$(gh api "repos/${{ github.repository }}/commits/${HEAD_SHA}/check-runs" \
-            --paginate --jq '.check_runs[] | select(.name != "auto-tag") | {name: .name, status: .status, conclusion: .conclusion}')
-
-          if [ -z "$RUNS" ]; then
-            echo "::error::No CI check runs found for commit $HEAD_SHA — refusing to tag"
-            exit 1
-          fi
-
-          echo "Check runs:"
-          echo "$RUNS" | jq -s '.'
-
-          INCOMPLETE=$(echo "$RUNS" | jq -s '[.[] | select(.status != "completed")] | length')
-          if [ "$INCOMPLETE" -gt 0 ]; then
-            echo "::error::${INCOMPLETE} check(s) still running — refusing to tag"
-            echo "$RUNS" | jq -s '[.[] | select(.status != "completed")]'
-            exit 1
-          fi
-
-          FAILED=$(echo "$RUNS" | jq -s '[.[] | select(.conclusion != "success" and .conclusion != "skipped" and .conclusion != "neutral")] | length')
-          if [ "$FAILED" -gt 0 ]; then
-            echo "::error::${FAILED} check(s) did not pass — refusing to tag"
-            echo "$RUNS" | jq -s '[.[] | select(.conclusion != "success" and .conclusion != "skipped" and .conclusion != "neutral")]'
-            exit 1
-          fi
-
-          echo "All CI checks passed ✓"
+        run: bash .github/scripts/verify-ci-checks.sh
 
       - name: Compute next version
         if: steps.check.outputs.skipped != 'true'
@@ -222,9 +201,11 @@ jobs:
           # because render_site_markdown.py may rewrite multiple .md
           # files (docs/, blog/, mcp/, recommended-models/) on a single
           # bump; constraining to specific paths here would silently
-          # drop a refreshed file from the bump commit.
+          # drop a refreshed file from the bump commit. Root server.json
+          # is the second descriptor render_server_card.py rewrites —
+          # omitting it here left it drifted on main and bit PR #583.
           git add src/synth_panel/__version__.py site/index.html site/ \
-                  site/.well-known/mcp/server-card.json
+                  site/.well-known/mcp/server-card.json server.json
           if git diff --staged --quiet; then
             echo "Version artifacts already at ${NEW_TAG} (pre-bumped in PR) — nothing to commit."
           else
diff --git a/.github/workflows/semver-label.yml b/.github/workflows/semver-label.yml
index 2a8d2ee..43370f8 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/semver-label.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/semver-label.yml
@@ -10,24 +10,22 @@ name: Semver Label
 # It is wired as a required status check on main separately (branch ruleset,
 # managed in dataviking-infra) — this file only defines the check.
 #
-# Two design constraints, both forced by auto-tag.yml's "Verify CI checks
-# passed" step, which refuses to tag while ANY non-green check run sits on
-# the merged head SHA:
+# Labels are fetched fresh from the API, not read from the event payload.
+# Label events don't move the head SHA, and reruns replay the original
+# payload — a payload-based `opened` run that failed before the label was
+# added could never be manually rerun to green.
 #
-#   1. Labels are fetched fresh from the API, not read from the event
-#      payload. Label events don't move the head SHA, and reruns replay the
-#      original payload — a payload-based run that failed before the label
-#      was added could never be rerun to green, permanently poisoning the
-#      SHA for auto-tag.
+# A failed `opened` run superseded moments later by a green `labeled` run
+# is harmless: both GitHub's merge box and auto-tag.yml's verify step
+# (.github/scripts/verify-ci-checks.sh) evaluate only the LATEST run per
+# check name on the SHA. This workflow briefly (PR #584) carried a
+# self-heal step that re-ran superseded non-green runs of itself so they
+# wouldn't block auto-tag — dead weight once the verify step stopped
+# counting superseded runs, so it was removed (with its actions:write
+# permission).
 #
-#   2. Once the check passes, it re-runs any superseded non-green runs of
-#      itself on the same SHA (e.g. the `opened` run that correctly failed
-#      before the label existed, moments later). Thanks to (1), those
-#      reruns re-fetch the labels and flip green, leaving the SHA clean.
-#
-# No concurrency/cancel-in-progress: a cancelled run is just another
-# non-green conclusion parked on the SHA (this exact failure blocked the
-# v1.6.0 recovery), and runs here take ~2 seconds anyway.
+# No concurrency/cancel-in-progress: runs take ~2 seconds, and the newest
+# run wins everywhere that matters anyway.
 
 on:
   pull_request:
@@ -35,7 +33,6 @@ on:
 
 permissions:
   contents: read
-  actions: write # rerun superseded runs of this workflow (step 2)
 
 jobs:
   semver-label:
@@ -73,23 +70,3 @@ jobs:
               exit 1
               ;;
           esac
-
-      - name: Flip superseded non-green runs of this check green
-        env:
-          GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
-          HEAD_SHA: ${{ github.event.pull_request.head.sha }}
-        run: |
-          set -euo pipefail
-          RUN_IDS=$(gh api "repos/${GITHUB_REPOSITORY}/actions/workflows/semver-label.yml/runs?head_sha=${HEAD_SHA}&per_page=100" \
-            --jq ".workflow_runs[] | select(.status == \"completed\" and .conclusion != \"success\" and .id != ${GITHUB_RUN_ID}) | .id")
-
-          if [ -z "$RUN_IDS" ]; then
-            echo "No superseded non-green runs on ${HEAD_SHA} — nothing to heal."
-            exit 0
-          fi
-
-          for id in $RUN_IDS; do
-            echo "Re-running superseded run ${id} so it re-fetches labels and goes green"
-            gh api -X POST "repos/${GITHUB_REPOSITORY}/actions/runs/${id}/rerun" \
-              || echo "::warning::Could not re-run ${id} (fork PR token lacks actions:write?). Re-run it manually before merge, or Auto Semver Tag will refuse to tag this SHA."
-          done