diff --git a/.github/workflows/main.yaml b/.github/workflows/main.yaml
index 43dacaf1ea0..232952a3a33 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/main.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/main.yaml
@@ -1,17 +1,23 @@
 name: CI
 
 # Controls when the workflow will run.
+#
+# The only live job here (integration-tests) builds the trace_machina/nativelink
+# OCI image from the docker-compose Dockerfile and runs run_integration_tests.sh.
+# That is a per-PR OCI build — the same class of heavy work #image-off-pr moved
+# off PRs for image.yaml and #2877 moved off PRs for the nix integration job.
+# This lane fell in the crack between those two, so defer it the same way:
+# nightly cross-check + on every merge to main, not on every PR. Per-PR
+# build/test signal is carried by the Nix "Bazel Dev" lane.
 on:
   push:
     branches: [ main ]
     paths-ignore:
       - '.github/styles/**'
       - 'web/**'
-  pull_request:
-    branches: [ main ]
-    paths-ignore:
-      - '.github/styles/**'
-      - 'web/**'
+  schedule:
+    - cron: '0 7 * * *' # 07:00 UTC daily (off-peak)
+  workflow_dispatch:
 
 permissions: read-all
 
diff --git a/nativelink-scheduler/src/cache_lookup_scheduler.rs b/nativelink-scheduler/src/cache_lookup_scheduler.rs
index 3d6ced82639..c8600b77d2b 100644
--- a/nativelink-scheduler/src/cache_lookup_scheduler.rs
+++ b/nativelink-scheduler/src/cache_lookup_scheduler.rs
@@ -231,8 +231,15 @@ impl CacheLookupScheduler {
         let inflight_cache_checks = self.inflight_cache_checks.clone();
         // We need this spawn because we are returning a stream and this spawn will populate the stream's data.
         background_spawn!("cache_lookup_scheduler_add_action", async move {
-            // If our spawn ever dies, we will remove the action from the inflight_cache_checks map.
-            let _scope_guard = scope_guard;
+            // If our spawn ever dies before we take ownership of the map entry, remove the
+            // action from the inflight_cache_checks map (drop-safety). We defuse this guard
+            // the moment the cache check returns (below): from that point we remove the entry
+            // ourselves on every path with no intervening `.await`, so the guard's stale
+            // remove must NOT fire afterwards — a concurrent same-key request may have
+            // re-inserted a fresh entry in the window between our remove and this spawn's
+            // exit, and letting the guard run would orphan it (its oneshot tx is dropped,
+            // surfacing a spurious "tx hung up" to that client and forcing a retry).
+            let scope_guard = scope_guard;
 
             let unique_key = match &action_info.unique_qualifier {
                 ActionUniqueQualifier::Cacheable(unique_key) => unique_key,
@@ -254,6 +261,11 @@ impl CacheLookupScheduler {
                 action_info.unique_qualifier.digest_function(),
             )
             .await;
+            // The cache check has returned; from here every path removes our own map entry
+            // with no intervening `.await` (no drop point), so defusing the drop-guard now is
+            // leak-free and prevents its stale remove from clobbering a concurrent same-key
+            // re-insertion after we remove our entry.
+            scopeguard::ScopeGuard::into_inner(scope_guard);
             match maybe_action_result {
                 Ok(action_result) => {
                     let maybe_pending_txs = {
diff --git a/nativelink-scheduler/tests/cache_lookup_scheduler_test.rs b/nativelink-scheduler/tests/cache_lookup_scheduler_test.rs
index cbff20b9867..de24db6d328 100644
--- a/nativelink-scheduler/tests/cache_lookup_scheduler_test.rs
+++ b/nativelink-scheduler/tests/cache_lookup_scheduler_test.rs
@@ -32,12 +32,14 @@ use nativelink_scheduler::cache_lookup_scheduler::CacheLookupScheduler;
 use nativelink_scheduler::mock_scheduler::MockActionScheduler;
 use nativelink_store::memory_store::MemoryStore;
 use nativelink_util::action_messages::{
-    ActionResult, ActionStage, ActionState, ActionUniqueQualifier, OperationId,
+    ActionInfo, ActionResult, ActionStage, ActionState, ActionUniqueQualifier, OperationId,
 };
 use nativelink_util::buf_channel::{DropCloserReadHalf, DropCloserWriteHalf};
 use nativelink_util::common::DigestInfo;
 use nativelink_util::health_utils::{HealthStatusIndicator, default_health_status_indicator};
-use nativelink_util::operation_state_manager::{ClientStateManager, OperationFilter};
+use nativelink_util::operation_state_manager::{
+    ActionStateResult, ClientStateManager, OperationFilter,
+};
 use nativelink_util::store_trait::{
     RemoveItemCallback, Store, StoreDriver, StoreKey, StoreLike, UploadSizeInfo,
 };
@@ -253,3 +255,95 @@ async fn find_by_client_operation_id_call_passed() -> Result<(), Error> {
     );
     Ok(())
 }
+
+fn queued_result(
+    client_operation_id: OperationId,
+    action_info: Arc<ActionInfo>,
+) -> Box<dyn ActionStateResult> {
+    let (_tx, rx) = watch::channel(Arc::new(ActionState {
+        client_operation_id: client_operation_id.clone(),
+        stage: ActionStage::Queued,
+        action_digest: action_info.unique_qualifier.digest(),
+        last_transition_timestamp: SystemTime::now(),
+    }));
+    Box::new(TokioWatchActionStateResult::new(
+        client_operation_id,
+        action_info,
+        rx,
+    ))
+}
+
+// A leader's cache-check task removes its in-flight entry before forwarding a
+// miss to the inner scheduler, and that forward is an await point. A second
+// request for the same key arriving in that window inserts a fresh entry. The
+// leader's drop guard must not remove that fresh entry when the leader's task
+// exits, or the second request's sender is dropped and it fails with
+// "tx hung up". The default test runtime is single-threaded, so the
+// interleaving below is deterministic.
+#[nativelink_test]
+async fn leader_drop_guard_does_not_orphan_a_later_same_key_request() -> Result<(), Error> {
+    let context = make_cache_scheduler()?;
+    let cache_scheduler = Arc::new(context.cache_scheduler);
+    let mock_scheduler = context.mock_scheduler;
+    // Nothing in the AC, so both requests miss and are forwarded.
+    let action_info = make_base_action_info(UNIX_EPOCH, DigestInfo::new([7; 32], 77));
+
+    // Request A becomes the leader, misses, removes its entry and parks in the
+    // forward to the mock scheduler, which has not answered yet.
+    let op_a = OperationId::default();
+    let request_a = tokio::spawn({
+        let cache_scheduler = cache_scheduler.clone();
+        let (op_a, action_info) = (op_a.clone(), action_info.clone());
+        async move {
+            cache_scheduler
+                .add_action(op_a, action_info)
+                .await
+                .map(|_| ())
+        }
+    });
+    for _ in 0..50 {
+        tokio::task::yield_now().await;
+    }
+
+    // Request B for the same key arrives while A is parked: A's entry is gone,
+    // so B inserts its own.
+    let op_b = OperationId::default();
+    let request_b = tokio::spawn({
+        let cache_scheduler = cache_scheduler.clone();
+        let (op_b, action_info) = (op_b.clone(), action_info.clone());
+        async move {
+            cache_scheduler
+                .add_action(op_b, action_info)
+                .await
+                .map(|_| ())
+        }
+    });
+
+    // Answer A's forward. A's task then finishes while B's entry is in the map.
+    let (forwarded_a, _) = mock_scheduler
+        .expect_add_action(Ok(queued_result(op_a.clone(), action_info.clone())))
+        .await;
+    assert_eq!(forwarded_a, op_a);
+
+    // B must still be forwarded and answered, not orphaned.
+    let serve_b = tokio::spawn({
+        let mock_scheduler = mock_scheduler.clone();
+        let action_info = action_info.clone();
+        async move {
+            mock_scheduler
+                .expect_add_action(Ok(queued_result(op_b, action_info)))
+                .await
+        }
+    });
+    let result_b = tokio::time::timeout(std::time::Duration::from_secs(5), request_b)
+        .await
+        .expect("request B never completed")
+        .expect("request B panicked");
+    assert!(
+        result_b.is_ok(),
+        "a same-key request that arrived while the leader was forwarding was orphaned: {result_b:?}"
+    );
+    serve_b.await.expect("serving B panicked");
+    request_a.await.expect("request A panicked")?;
+    Ok(())
+}