diff --git a/.agents/rules/testing.md b/.agents/rules/testing.md
index 0f369b3861..769197f968 100644
--- a/.agents/rules/testing.md
+++ b/.agents/rules/testing.md
@@ -13,6 +13,11 @@
 * Changes to transitive module extension dependencies or `.bzl` files loaded by
   extensions update Bazel 9 lockfile hashes, requiring `bazel mod deps
   --lockfile_mode=update` in integration test workspaces.
+* When requirements files (e.g., in `//tools/publish` or root pip parses) are
+  modified or bumped by Dependabot, update the integration lockfile by running
+  `bazel mod deps --lockfile_mode=update` in `tests/integration/bzlmod_lockfile`
+  and verify with
+  `bazel test //tests/integration:bzlmod_lockfile_test_bazel_9.1.0`.
 
 ## Documentation Flake Handling
 * When building `//docs:docs` fails with exit code 2, treat it as a known
diff --git a/.agents/skills/merge-pr/SKILL.md b/.agents/skills/merge-pr/SKILL.md
index 30b8f38af4..406590e49f 100644
--- a/.agents/skills/merge-pr/SKILL.md
+++ b/.agents/skills/merge-pr/SKILL.md
@@ -13,7 +13,15 @@ When the user asks to merge a pull request (e.g., "merge PR <number>", "merge th
      merge. Never invoke `--admin` autonomously.
 2. **Invoke a Background Shepherd**: Launch a background subagent with the role `Merge PR Shepherd` to continuously watch the PR until it merges.
 3. **Leverage Existing CI Skills**: 
-   - Have the subagent use the **`monitor-ci-results`** skill to watch for CI check failures and generate analysis reports.
-   - Have the subagent use the **`buildkite-retry-job`** skill (`retry_buildkite_jobs.py <pr_number>`) to automatically retry any transient network flakes (e.g., HTTP 504 gateway timeouts, downloader errors).
+   - Have the subagent use the **`monitor-ci-results`** skill to watch for CI
+     check failures and generate analysis reports.
+   - Have the subagent use the **`buildkite-retry-job`** skill
+     (`retry_buildkite_jobs.py <pr_number>`) to automatically retry any
+     transient network flakes (e.g., HTTP 504 gateway timeouts, downloader
+     errors).
+   - When the PR is queued, actively discover the merge queue branch via
+     `gh api repos/:owner/:repo/branches --jq '.[].name | select(test("gh-readonly-queue/.*/pr-<pr_number>-"))'`
+     and monitor commit statuses/Buildkite builds running on that temporary
+     branch.
 4. **Queue Shepherding**: Periodically check `gh pr view <pr_number> --json state,autoMergeRequest`. While `state` is `"OPEN"`, ensure auto-merge is enabled / queued by running `gh pr merge <pr_number> --auto --squash`. If `autoMergeRequest` is null (e.g., ejected from the merge queue due to a CI flake in the temporary queue branch), re-enqueue it for merge by running `gh pr merge <pr_number> --auto --squash` once checks are retried or green.
 5. **Completion Notification**: Once `state` becomes `"MERGED"`, send a high-priority message back to the parent conversation.