diff --git a/.github/workflows/smoke-test.yml b/.github/workflows/smoke-test.yml
index 903db92d..8ef61be6 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/smoke-test.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/smoke-test.yml
@@ -3,8 +3,9 @@ name: Smoke Test (published action)
 # Verifies the full end-user chain of the *published* v2 tag on every
 # supported platform: action resolution -> reporter install (Homebrew on
 # macOS, GitHub-release download on Linux/Windows) -> report upload.
-# Runs automatically after each release (once the v2 tag has been moved
-# by the Update Major Version Tag workflow).
+# Runs automatically after each release of *this* repo (once the v2 tag has
+# been moved by the Update Major Version Tag workflow), and weekly on a
+# schedule to catch changes underneath us that no release here would trigger.
 #
 # Run it manually after any change worth sanity-checking against the
 # published action -- e.g. a Homebrew major version, a runner-image
@@ -18,6 +19,12 @@ on:
   workflow_run:
     workflows: ["Update Major Version Tag"]
     types: [completed]
+  # Weekly safety net. The workflow_run trigger above only fires on *this*
+  # repo's releases, so it does not catch changes underneath us -- a new
+  # coverage-reporter release, a runner-image update, or a Homebrew change.
+  # Those are exactly the drifts that break the end-user chain silently.
+  schedule:
+    - cron: "23 12 * * 1"  # Mondays 12:23 UTC (off the hour to dodge peak load)
 
 jobs:
   smoke:
@@ -56,3 +63,61 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           which coveralls
           coveralls --version
+
+  # Email alone is a weak alarm for a scheduled job: GitHub sends scheduled-run
+  # failure notifications only to whoever last edited the cron, and a wrong
+  # notification setting fails silently. Open an issue instead -- visible,
+  # persistent, and independent of anyone's inbox config.
+  report-failure:
+    needs: smoke
+    if: failure()
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    permissions:
+      issues: write
+    steps:
+      - name: Open or update the smoke-test failure issue
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+          GH_REPO: ${{ github.repository }}
+          RUN_URL: ${{ github.server_url }}/${{ github.repository }}/actions/runs/${{ github.run_id }}
+          TRIGGER: ${{ github.event_name }}
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+
+          label="smoke-test-failure"
+          # Ensure the label exists; harmless if it already does.
+          gh label create "$label" --color B60205 \
+            --description "Published action failed its end-user smoke test" 2>/dev/null || true
+
+          body=$(cat <<EOF
+          The [smoke test]($RUN_URL) failed (trigger: \`$TRIGGER\`).
+
+          This workflow verifies the **published \`@v2\`** end-user chain on every supported
+          platform: action resolution → reporter install (Homebrew on macOS, GitHub-release
+          download on Linux/Windows) → report upload.
+
+          A failure here means **end users are likely broken right now**, even though nothing
+          in this repository changed.
+
+          Usual causes:
+          - a new \`coverage-reporter\` release
+          - a runner-image change (e.g. \`macos-latest\` moving to a new macOS version)
+          - a Homebrew change (tap trust, formula/linkage rules, bottle availability)
+
+          Run: $RUN_URL
+          EOF
+          )
+
+          # Reuse the open issue if there is one, so a recurring failure does not
+          # open a new issue every week.
+          existing=$(gh issue list --label "$label" --state open --limit 1 --json number --jq '.[0].number // empty')
+          if [ -n "$existing" ]; then
+            echo "Commenting on existing issue #$existing"
+            gh issue comment "$existing" --body "$body"
+          else
+            echo "Opening a new issue"
+            gh issue create \
+              --title "Smoke test failed: published action is not installing correctly" \
+              --label "$label" \
+              --body "$body"
+          fi