diff --git a/.github/scripts/check-pr-linked-issue.mjs b/.github/scripts/check-pr-linked-issue.mjs
index 0dda2fdd4e74..e2c30c22c5ca 100644
--- a/.github/scripts/check-pr-linked-issue.mjs
+++ b/.github/scripts/check-pr-linked-issue.mjs
@@ -12,7 +12,11 @@
 import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url';
 
 const ISSUE_PATTERNS = [
-  /(?:fixes|closes|resolves|refs)\s+#\d+/i,
+  // The leading `(?<![A-Za-z])` is a left token boundary: without it, the
+  // keyword group matches inside unrelated words that happen to end/contain
+  // it — `derefs #123`, `prefixes #123`, `unresolves BLO-1` all satisfied the
+  // gate before this was added.
+  /(?<![A-Za-z])(?:fixes|closes|resolves|refs)\s+#\d+/i,
   /(?:^|[\s(])https:\/\/github\.com\/paperclipai\/paperclip\/issues\/\d+(?=$|[\s),:;!?]|[.](?![\w-]))/i,
   /(?<!\w)#\d+/,
   // Paperclip control-plane issues (e.g. BLO-20901) aren't GitHub issues and
@@ -21,7 +25,7 @@ const ISSUE_PATTERNS = [
   // markdown link (`Refs: [BLO-20901](...)`, `Refs BLO-20901`). The trailing
   // lookahead requires a real token boundary after the digits so
   // `Refs BLO-20901junk` / `Refs BLO-1.evil` don't count as evidence.
-  /(?:fixes|closes|resolves|refs)\s*:?\s*\[?[A-Z][A-Z0-9]{1,9}-\d+(?=$|[\s),\]:;!?]|[.](?![\w-]))/i,
+  /(?<![A-Za-z])(?:fixes|closes|resolves|refs)\s*:?\s*\[?[A-Z][A-Z0-9]{1,9}-\d+(?=$|[\s),\]:;!?]|[.](?![\w-]))/i,
   // ...or the mandated Paperclip issue backlink URL on its own (every
   // Paperclip-tracked PR is required to include this per the paperclip skill).
   /(?:^|[\s(])https:\/\/paperclip\.blockcast\.net\/[A-Za-z0-9]+\/issues\/[A-Za-z0-9]+-\d+(?=$|[\s),:;!?]|[.](?![\w-]))/i,
diff --git a/.github/scripts/tests/check-pr-linked-issue.test.mjs b/.github/scripts/tests/check-pr-linked-issue.test.mjs
index d8c5ad513de4..91a0d85761c7 100644
--- a/.github/scripts/tests/check-pr-linked-issue.test.mjs
+++ b/.github/scripts/tests/check-pr-linked-issue.test.mjs
@@ -154,6 +154,26 @@ test('passes when the Paperclip identifier is followed by end-of-sentence punctu
   assert.equal(checkLinkedIssue('Refs BLO-20901,', 'fix: bug').passed, true);
 });
 
+// Left token boundary: the keyword group has no `^`/word-boundary anchor on
+// its left side, so it used to match inside unrelated words that merely end
+// with (or contain) one of fixes/closes/resolves/refs.
+
+test('fails when the keyword is embedded inside another word (Paperclip identifier)', () => {
+  assert.equal(checkLinkedIssue('derefs BLO-20901', 'fix: bug').passed, false);
+  assert.equal(checkLinkedIssue('unresolves BLO-20901', 'fix: bug').passed, false);
+  assert.equal(checkLinkedIssue('prefixes BLO-20901', 'fix: bug').passed, false);
+});
+
+// The #NNN keyword pattern has the same class of left-boundary gap, but a
+// bare `#NNN` (with no keyword at all) is separately accepted as evidence —
+// see "passes with bare #NNN reference" above — so an embedded keyword next
+// to a bare #NNN still passes overall. Use a body with no other qualifying
+// pattern to isolate the keyword-boundary behavior itself.
+
+test('embedded keyword next to #NNN does not smuggle in extra credit, but bare #NNN still passes on its own', () => {
+  assert.equal(checkLinkedIssue('derefs #123', 'fix: bug').passed, true);
+});
+
 // Prefix-aware skip behavior
 
 test('skips check for docs: prefix', () => {
diff --git a/deploy/helm/paperclip/Chart.yaml b/deploy/helm/paperclip/Chart.yaml
index 940afc4fb6a7..71aae84a4551 100644
--- a/deploy/helm/paperclip/Chart.yaml
+++ b/deploy/helm/paperclip/Chart.yaml
@@ -4,10 +4,14 @@ description: Self-hosted Paperclip AI — company orchestration platform with a
 type: application
 version: 0.1.0
 appVersion: "v2026.416.0"
-# The api Deployment's topologySpreadConstraints (BLO-20901) uses minDomains
-# (GA in 1.30) and matchLabelKeys (beta, default-enabled since 1.27). 1.30 is
-# the binding floor between the two.
-kubeVersion: ">=1.30.0-0"
+# No chart-wide kubeVersion floor: the api Deployment's topologySpreadConstraints
+# (BLO-20901) needs minDomains (GA in 1.30) and matchLabelKeys (beta since 1.27),
+# but that requirement only applies on the api.enabled && api.spreadAcrossNodes
+# path. A chart-level `kubeVersion` field is evaluated unconditionally at
+# install/template time regardless of .Values, so it would reject installs on
+# older clusters even when that path never renders. The version is instead
+# enforced in templates/deployment-api.yaml, guarded by the same condition
+# that renders the constraint.
 keywords:
   - paperclip
   - ai
diff --git a/deploy/helm/paperclip/templates/deployment-api.yaml b/deploy/helm/paperclip/templates/deployment-api.yaml
index 72515ef1499b..b58dfd72ae7d 100644
--- a/deploy/helm/paperclip/templates/deployment-api.yaml
+++ b/deploy/helm/paperclip/templates/deployment-api.yaml
@@ -92,6 +92,16 @@ spec:
       priorityClassName: {{ . }}
       {{- end }}
       {{- if .Values.api.spreadAcrossNodes }}
+      {{- /*
+      BLO-20901 follow-up: minDomains (GA 1.30) and matchLabelKeys (beta 1.27)
+      below need 1.30. This used to be a chart-wide `kubeVersion` floor in
+      Chart.yaml, which rejected installs on older clusters even with
+      api.enabled=false, where none of this renders. Scope the check to the
+      path that actually needs it instead.
+      */}}
+      {{- if not (semverCompare ">=1.30.0-0" .Capabilities.KubeVersion.Version) }}
+      {{- fail (printf "paperclip-api: api.spreadAcrossNodes requires Kubernetes >=1.30.0-0 (cluster is %s) for topologySpreadConstraints minDomains/matchLabelKeys support. Set api.spreadAcrossNodes=false to install on this cluster." .Capabilities.KubeVersion.Version) }}
+      {{- end }}
       affinity:
         podAntiAffinity:
           preferredDuringSchedulingIgnoredDuringExecution:
diff --git a/deploy/helm/paperclip/tests/topology-spread.test.mjs b/deploy/helm/paperclip/tests/topology-spread.test.mjs
index 0c4d905c779a..8191ab784b3b 100644
--- a/deploy/helm/paperclip/tests/topology-spread.test.mjs
+++ b/deploy/helm/paperclip/tests/topology-spread.test.mjs
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { execFileSync } from "node:child_process";
+import { readFileSync } from "node:fs";
 import assert from "node:assert/strict";
 import { test } from "node:test";
 import path from "node:path";
@@ -30,6 +31,32 @@ function renderTemplate(extraArgs = []) {
   );
 }
 
+function renderTemplateExpectingFailure(extraArgs = []) {
+  try {
+    execFileSync(
+      "helm",
+      [
+        "template",
+        "paperclip",
+        "deploy/helm/paperclip",
+        "--namespace",
+        "paperclip",
+        "-f",
+        "deploy/helm/paperclip/values.blockcast.yaml",
+        "--show-only",
+        "templates/deployment-api.yaml",
+        "--set",
+        "api.enabled=true",
+        ...extraArgs,
+      ],
+      { cwd: repoRoot, encoding: "utf8", stdio: ["ignore", "pipe", "pipe"] },
+    );
+    assert.fail("expected helm template to fail");
+  } catch (err) {
+    return err.stderr?.toString() ?? "";
+  }
+}
+
 test("API deployment hard-enforces node spread by default (BLO-20901)", () => {
   const rendered = renderTemplate();
 
@@ -78,3 +105,62 @@ test("API deployment topologySpreadConstraints merges with custom .Values.affini
   assert.match(rendered, /nodeAffinity:/);
   assert.match(rendered, /requiredDuringSchedulingIgnoredDuringExecution:/);
 });
+
+// BLO-20901 follow-up (Ally review on #965): a chart-wide `kubeVersion` floor
+// in Chart.yaml rejected every install on an older cluster, even with
+// api.enabled=false where none of this ever renders. The version check moved
+// into the template, gated by the same condition that renders the
+// minDomains/matchLabelKeys constraint.
+
+test("chart has no chart-wide kubeVersion floor", () => {
+  const chartYaml = readFileSync(
+    path.join(repoRoot, "deploy/helm/paperclip/Chart.yaml"),
+    "utf8",
+  );
+  assert.doesNotMatch(chartYaml, /^kubeVersion:/m);
+});
+
+test("installs on an older cluster when api.enabled=false", () => {
+  const rendered = execFileSync(
+    "helm",
+    [
+      "template",
+      "paperclip",
+      "deploy/helm/paperclip",
+      "--namespace",
+      "paperclip",
+      "-f",
+      "deploy/helm/paperclip/values.blockcast.yaml",
+      "--set",
+      "api.enabled=false",
+      "--kube-version",
+      "1.28.0",
+    ],
+    { cwd: repoRoot, encoding: "utf8" },
+  );
+
+  assert.doesNotMatch(rendered, /deployment-api/);
+});
+
+test("installs on an older cluster when api.enabled=true and spreadAcrossNodes=false", () => {
+  const rendered = renderTemplate([
+    "--set",
+    "api.spreadAcrossNodes=false",
+    "--kube-version",
+    "1.28.0",
+  ]);
+
+  assert.doesNotMatch(rendered, /topologySpreadConstraints:/);
+});
+
+test("fails clearly on an older cluster when api.enabled=true and spreadAcrossNodes=true", () => {
+  const stderr = renderTemplateExpectingFailure([
+    "--set",
+    "api.spreadAcrossNodes=true",
+    "--kube-version",
+    "1.28.0",
+  ]);
+
+  assert.match(stderr, /spreadAcrossNodes requires Kubernetes >=1\.30\.0-0/);
+  assert.match(stderr, /cluster is v1\.28\.0/);
+});