diff --git a/.github/workflows/coreutils-args-drift.yml b/.github/workflows/coreutils-args-drift.yml
index 79c13183e..0e73a7d86 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/coreutils-args-drift.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/coreutils-args-drift.yml
@@ -16,6 +16,10 @@ name: Coreutils Args Drift
 # build, and tests run without repository write permission and without
 # persisted checkout credentials. Only the later PR job gets write
 # permission, and it only commits generated files after tests pass.
+#
+# Token split: the drift branch is pushed with the job token, but the PR is
+# opened with a Doppler-resolved PAT, because the job token is not permitted
+# to create pull requests. See the comment on the PR steps below.
 
 on:
   schedule:
@@ -271,19 +275,52 @@ jobs:
               exit 1
           fi
 
-      - name: Commit and open PR
+      # The job token cannot open pull requests. With "Allow GitHub Actions
+      # to create and approve pull requests" off — the safer setting, since
+      # the same switch also governs approvals — `gh pr create` is rejected
+      # with "GitHub Actions is not permitted to create or approve pull
+      # requests". Run 39234801977 regenerated the drift, pushed it, then
+      # died on that call: red run, no PR, drift invisible for a week.
+      #
+      # Pushing only needs `contents: write`, which the job token has, so
+      # the two are split: the branch goes up on the job token, the PR is
+      # opened with a PAT resolved from Doppler — this repo's existing
+      # pattern for privileged CI credentials (see ci.yml). With no PAT the
+      # job fails saying exactly that, instead of with a GraphQL error that
+      # reads like a bug in the drift tooling.
+      - name: Detect Doppler availability
+        run: echo "DOPPLER_AVAILABLE=${{ secrets.DOPPLER_TOKEN != '' }}" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+
+      - name: Install Doppler CLI
+        if: env.DOPPLER_AVAILABLE == 'true'
+        uses: dopplerhq/cli-action@4819d808ab99e5cde19a0637a16536a4038fad73 # v4
+
+      # Resolve only the required key, and mask it before it crosses the
+      # step boundary. Non-fatal: a missing key is reported by the guard in
+      # the PR step, which can name what is actually wrong.
+      - name: Fetch pull-request token
+        id: pat
+        if: env.DOPPLER_AVAILABLE == 'true'
+        continue-on-error: true
+        shell: bash
+        env:
+          DOPPLER_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.DOPPLER_TOKEN }}
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          token="$(doppler secrets get GITHUB_TOKEN --plain)"
+          printf '::add-mask::%s\n' "$token"
+          printf 'token=%s\n' "$token" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+
+      - name: Commit and push drift branch
         working-directory: bashkit
         env:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
           NEW_REV: ${{ needs.regenerate.outputs.rev }}
-          OLD_REV: ${{ needs.regenerate.outputs.old_rev }}
           UTILS: ${{ needs.regenerate.outputs.utils }}
           MODULES: ${{ needs.regenerate.outputs.modules }}
         run: |
           set -euo pipefail
           branch="chore/coreutils-args-drift"
-          title="chore: sync uutils/coreutils argument surfaces and vendored modules"
-          body_file="$(mktemp)"
 
           git config user.name "github-actions[bot]"
           git config user.email "41898282+github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
@@ -299,6 +336,28 @@ jobs:
           # whenever the branch already exists from a prior week's run.
           git push --force --set-upstream origin "$branch"
 
+      - name: Open or update pull request
+        working-directory: bashkit
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ steps.pat.outputs.token }}
+          HAVE_PAT: ${{ steps.pat.outputs.token != '' }}
+          NEW_REV: ${{ needs.regenerate.outputs.rev }}
+          OLD_REV: ${{ needs.regenerate.outputs.old_rev }}
+          UTILS: ${{ needs.regenerate.outputs.utils }}
+          MODULES: ${{ needs.regenerate.outputs.modules }}
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          branch="chore/coreutils-args-drift"
+          title="chore: sync uutils/coreutils argument surfaces and vendored modules"
+          body_file="$(mktemp)"
+
+          # The drift is pushed by the time this runs, so say so: the work is
+          # recoverable by hand and only the PR step is blocked.
+          if [ "$HAVE_PAT" != "true" ]; then
+              echo "::error::Drift was regenerated and pushed to '$branch', but no pull request could be opened. The Actions job token is not permitted to create pull requests, and no Doppler-provided GITHUB_TOKEN was available. Add a GITHUB_TOKEN secret in Doppler with 'pull-requests: write' on this repository, or open a PR from '$branch' by hand."
+              exit 1
+          fi
+
           cat > "$body_file" <<EOF
           Automated regeneration of argument surfaces and vendored modules
           ported from [uutils/coreutils](https://github.com/uutils/coreutils).
diff --git a/knowledge/runtimes/coreutils-args-port.md b/knowledge/runtimes/coreutils-args-port.md
index eda1e404b..53f821fac 100644
--- a/knowledge/runtimes/coreutils-args-port.md
+++ b/knowledge/runtimes/coreutils-args-port.md
@@ -447,6 +447,32 @@ and on `workflow_dispatch`:
    credentials, applies only generated-file changes from that patch, and
    opens or updates the drift PR with `gh`.
 
+The PR job uses **two tokens**, because the Actions job token can push a
+branch but cannot open a pull request: with "Allow GitHub Actions to create
+and approve pull requests" off — the safer setting, since the same switch also
+governs approvals — `gh pr create` is rejected with "GitHub Actions is not
+permitted to create or approve pull requests". Run 39234801977 regenerated the
+drift, force-pushed it, then died on that call, so the run went red with no PR
+and the drift stayed invisible. The branch is therefore pushed with
+`github.token` (only `contents: write` is needed), and the PR is opened with a
+PAT read from Doppler's `GITHUB_TOKEN` — the same pattern `ci.yml` uses for
+privileged CI credentials, gated on `DOPPLER_TOKEN` being configured and masked
+before it crosses a step boundary. The PAT needs `pull-requests: write` on this
+repository.
+
+With no PAT the job **fails loudly** naming the branch, rather than skipping
+the PR: the drift is already pushed at that point, so a green run with no PR is
+exactly the silent-absorption failure mode this design exists to prevent.
+Regression test: `scripts/tests/test_coreutils_drift_pr.py`.
+
+The PAT must stay confined to the PR job. `regenerate` is the job that builds
+and executes third-party uutils code, and it has no Doppler step and no secret
+access; `open-pr` holds the PAT but never checks out, builds or runs uutils.
+That split is what keeps a compromised upstream from reaching a credential, so
+a Doppler step must never be added to `regenerate`. The workflow is
+`schedule` + `workflow_dispatch` only for the same reason — no pull-request
+trigger can reach the secret.
+
 The PR lookup matches **open** PRs only (`gh pr list --head <branch> --state
 open`). `gh pr view <branch>` resolves a PR for the branch in any state, so
 once a drift PR is closed unmerged it keeps matching and every later run edits
diff --git a/scripts/tests/test_coreutils_drift_pr.py b/scripts/tests/test_coreutils_drift_pr.py
index be92d3d01..11ba18654 100644
--- a/scripts/tests/test_coreutils_drift_pr.py
+++ b/scripts/tests/test_coreutils_drift_pr.py
@@ -5,6 +5,10 @@
 run silently edited that closed PR instead of opening a new one and the drift
 stopped surfacing. These tests execute the workflow's own `run` script with
 stubbed `gh`/`git` to pin the open-PR-only lookup.
+
+They also pin the token split. The Actions job token cannot create pull
+requests, so the PR step runs on a Doppler-resolved PAT; with no PAT it must
+fail loudly rather than skip the PR and leave the drift invisible.
 """
 import os
 from pathlib import Path
@@ -30,10 +34,11 @@ def setUp(self):
             step
             for job in jobs.values()
             for step in job.get('steps', [])
-            if step.get('name') == 'Commit and open PR'
+            if step.get('name') == 'Open or update pull request'
         )
 
-    def _run(self, *, open_pr_exists: bool):
+    def _run(self, *, open_pr_exists: bool, have_pat: bool = True,
+             expect_success: bool = True):
         """Run the step with a closed PR present and `open_pr_exists` open ones."""
         with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as directory:
             root = Path(directory)
@@ -62,7 +67,8 @@ def _run(self, *, open_pr_exists: bool):
                 'PATH': f"{bin_dir}:{os.environ['PATH']}",
                 'HOME': str(root),
                 'GITHUB_REPOSITORY': 'everruns/bashkit',
-                'GH_TOKEN': 'stub',
+                'GH_TOKEN': 'stub' if have_pat else '',
+                'HAVE_PAT': 'true' if have_pat else 'false',
                 'RUNNER_TEMP': str(root),
                 'NEW_REV': 'abc1234',
                 'OLD_REV': 'def5678',
@@ -73,22 +79,57 @@ def _run(self, *, open_pr_exists: bool):
                 ['/bin/bash', '-c', self.step['run']],
                 env=env, capture_output=True, text=True, cwd=root,
             )
-            self.assertEqual(result.returncode, 0, result.stderr)
-            return log.read_text() if log.exists() else ''
+            if expect_success:
+                self.assertEqual(result.returncode, 0, result.stderr)
+            else:
+                self.assertNotEqual(result.returncode, 0, result.stdout)
+            calls = log.read_text() if log.exists() else ''
+            return calls, result
 
     def test_opens_a_new_pr_when_only_a_closed_one_matches(self):
-        calls = self._run(open_pr_exists=False)
+        calls, _ = self._run(open_pr_exists=False)
         self.assertIn('pr create', calls, calls)
         self.assertNotIn('pr edit', calls, calls)
 
     def test_updates_the_existing_pr_when_one_is_open(self):
-        calls = self._run(open_pr_exists=True)
+        calls, _ = self._run(open_pr_exists=True)
         self.assertIn('pr edit', calls, calls)
         self.assertNotIn('pr create', calls, calls)
 
     def test_open_state_is_scoped_in_the_lookup(self):
         self.assertIn('--state open', self.step['run'])
 
+    def test_missing_pat_fails_loudly_without_touching_the_pr(self):
+        """No PAT must be a red run, not a silently skipped PR.
+
+        The job token can push but cannot create a PR. If this step merely
+        skipped the PR, the drift would sit on a force-pushed branch that
+        nobody looks at and the run would go green.
+        """
+        calls, result = self._run(
+            open_pr_exists=False, have_pat=False, expect_success=False,
+        )
+        self.assertNotIn('pr create', calls, calls)
+        self.assertNotIn('pr edit', calls, calls)
+        self.assertIn('::error::', result.stdout, result.stdout)
+        # The message has to name the recovery path: the drift is already
+        # pushed, so the branch is where a human picks it up.
+        self.assertIn('chore/coreutils-args-drift', result.stdout)
+
+    def test_push_and_pr_use_separate_tokens(self):
+        """The push runs on the job token; only the PR gets the PAT."""
+        jobs = yaml.safe_load(WORKFLOW.read_text())['jobs']
+        steps = {
+            step.get('name'): step
+            for job in jobs.values()
+            for step in job.get('steps', [])
+        }
+        push = steps['Commit and push drift branch']
+        self.assertEqual(push['env']['GH_TOKEN'], '${{ github.token }}')
+        self.assertIn('git push', push['run'])
+        self.assertIn('steps.pat.outputs.token', self.step['env']['GH_TOKEN'])
+        self.assertNotIn('git push', self.step['run'])
+
 
 if __name__ == '__main__':
     unittest.main()