diff --git a/changelog.d/added-refresh-workflow-dispatch-gate.md b/changelog.d/added-refresh-workflow-dispatch-gate.md
new file mode 100644
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+++ b/changelog.d/added-refresh-workflow-dispatch-gate.md
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+- The scheduled refresh workflows' `REQUIRED_CHECK_WORKFLOWS` lists are now
+  covered by the vitest gate: every listed CI workflow must exist and declare
+  `workflow_dispatch` (so `gh workflow run` on the bot PR branch is accepted)
+  and `pull_request`, and both refresh workflows must list the same checks.
diff --git a/src/__tests__/refresh-workflow-dispatch.test.ts b/src/__tests__/refresh-workflow-dispatch.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..1e4b9e39
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+++ b/src/__tests__/refresh-workflow-dispatch.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,128 @@
+// Guards the contract between the scheduled refresh workflows and the CI
+// workflows they dispatch. PRs opened with GITHUB_TOKEN never get
+// pull_request runs (#335, #337, #496), so meeting-recordings-refresh.yml and
+// hive-docs-refresh.yml run `gh workflow run <wf>` for every entry in their
+// REQUIRED_CHECK_WORKFLOWS list instead. That only works while each listed
+// workflow still declares `on: workflow_dispatch`; dropping the trigger, or
+// renaming a workflow file without updating the list, fails only inside the
+// refresh run — the daily PR then sits without its required checks and never
+// merges. Reading the files here is the earliest point that can be caught.
+import { existsSync, readFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { join } from "node:path";
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+
+const WORKFLOWS_DIR = join(__dirname, "..", "..", ".github", "workflows");
+
+const REFRESH_WORKFLOWS = [
+  "meeting-recordings-refresh.yml",
+  "hive-docs-refresh.yml",
+];
+
+function readWorkflow(name: string): string {
+  return readFileSync(join(WORKFLOWS_DIR, name), "utf8");
+}
+
+// The list is a space-separated string under top-level `env:`; the dispatch
+// step iterates it with `for wf in $REQUIRED_CHECK_WORKFLOWS`.
+export function readRequiredCheckWorkflows(yaml: string): string[] | undefined {
+  const m = yaml.match(/^\s*REQUIRED_CHECK_WORKFLOWS:\s*(.+?)\s*$/m);
+  return m ? m[1].split(/\s+/).filter(Boolean) : undefined;
+}
+
+// Returns the trigger names under the top-level `on:` block. GitHub Actions
+// accepts `on: push`, `on: [a, b]` and the mapping form; the CI workflows
+// here all use the mapping form, and this reads only that shape so a change
+// to another shape fails loudly instead of being silently accepted.
+export function readTriggers(yaml: string): string[] {
+  const lines = yaml.split("\n");
+  const start = lines.findIndex(line => /^on:\s*$/.test(line));
+  if (start === -1) return [];
+  const triggers: string[] = [];
+  for (const line of lines.slice(start + 1)) {
+    if (/^\S/.test(line)) break; // next top-level key
+    const m = line.match(/^ {2}([A-Za-z_][\w-]*):/);
+    if (m) triggers.push(m[1]);
+  }
+  return triggers;
+}
+
+describe.each(REFRESH_WORKFLOWS)("%s dispatches required checks", refresh => {
+  const yaml = readWorkflow(refresh);
+  const required = readRequiredCheckWorkflows(yaml);
+
+  it("declares a non-empty REQUIRED_CHECK_WORKFLOWS list", () => {
+    expect(required).toBeDefined();
+    expect(required!.length).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+  });
+
+  it("iterates that list in the dispatch step", () => {
+    expect(yaml).toMatch(/for wf in \$REQUIRED_CHECK_WORKFLOWS;/);
+    expect(yaml).toMatch(/gh workflow run "\$wf"/);
+  });
+
+  it.each(required ?? [])("lists an existing workflow file: %s", wf => {
+    expect(existsSync(join(WORKFLOWS_DIR, wf))).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it.each(required ?? [])(
+    "%s declares workflow_dispatch so `gh workflow run` is accepted",
+    wf => {
+      expect(readTriggers(readWorkflow(wf))).toContain("workflow_dispatch");
+    }
+  );
+
+  it.each(required ?? [])(
+    "%s also runs on pull_request, so it is a check a PR can require",
+    wf => {
+      expect(readTriggers(readWorkflow(wf))).toContain("pull_request");
+    }
+  );
+});
+
+describe("refresh workflows agree on the required-check list", () => {
+  it("keeps both REQUIRED_CHECK_WORKFLOWS lists identical", () => {
+    const lists = REFRESH_WORKFLOWS.map(wf =>
+      [...(readRequiredCheckWorkflows(readWorkflow(wf)) ?? [])].sort()
+    );
+    for (const list of lists.slice(1)) {
+      expect(list).toEqual(lists[0]);
+    }
+  });
+});
+
+describe("readTriggers", () => {
+  it("reads mapping-form triggers and stops at the next top-level key", () => {
+    const yaml = [
+      "name: x",
+      "",
+      "on:",
+      "  pull_request:",
+      "    branches: [main]",
+      "  # a comment",
+      "  workflow_dispatch:",
+      "",
+      "permissions:",
+      "  contents: read",
+    ].join("\n");
+    expect(readTriggers(yaml)).toEqual(["pull_request", "workflow_dispatch"]);
+  });
+
+  it("returns nothing for the scalar and list forms rather than guessing", () => {
+    expect(readTriggers("on: push\njobs: {}")).toEqual([]);
+    expect(readTriggers("on: [push, workflow_dispatch]\njobs: {}")).toEqual([]);
+  });
+});
+
+describe("readRequiredCheckWorkflows", () => {
+  it("splits the space-separated env value", () => {
+    expect(
+      readRequiredCheckWorkflows(
+        "env:\n  REQUIRED_CHECK_WORKFLOWS: a.yml  b.yml\n"
+      )
+    ).toEqual(["a.yml", "b.yml"]);
+  });
+
+  it("is undefined when the env entry is missing", () => {
+    expect(readRequiredCheckWorkflows("env:\n  OTHER: x\n")).toBeUndefined();
+  });
+});