diff --git a/.github/actions/setup-bazel/action.yml b/.github/actions/setup-bazel/action.yml
index 9b80820ed3..7a0350b724 100644
--- a/.github/actions/setup-bazel/action.yml
+++ b/.github/actions/setup-bazel/action.yml
@@ -26,8 +26,11 @@ inputs:
     description: Whether master jobs may save Bazelisk and newly fetched dependencies.
     default: "true"
   repository-cache-key:
-    description: Exact dependency snapshot to restore without prefix fallback.
+    description: Exact dependency snapshot to restore without a workload fallback.
     default: ""
+  verify-launcher-cache:
+    description: Restore only the complete launcher cache for an offline verification.
+    default: "false"
   windows-redirect-temp:
     description: Put Windows test temporary files on the runner workspace drive.
     default: "false"
@@ -52,12 +55,15 @@ outputs:
   repository-cache-key:
     description: Fresh save key; empty when this job cannot publish dependencies.
     value: ${{ github.ref == 'refs/heads/master' && github.event_name != 'pull_request' && inputs.cache-save == 'true' && steps.repository-cache.outputs.cache-primary-key || '' }}
-  repository-cache-restored-key:
-    description: Snapshot restored before the build.
-    value: ${{ steps.repository-cache.outputs.cache-matched-key }}
   repository-cache-entries:
     description: Restored entry count, used to avoid uploading an unchanged cache.
     value: ${{ steps.repository-cache-state.outputs.entries }}
+  launcher-cache-key:
+    description: Immutable platform and manifest key for a complete launcher archive.
+    value: ${{ steps.launcher-cache.outputs.cache-primary-key }}
+  launcher-cache-hit:
+    description: Whether the exact complete launcher archive was restored.
+    value: ${{ steps.launcher-cache.outputs.cache-hit }}
 
 runs:
   using: composite
@@ -148,6 +154,10 @@ runs:
       shell: bash
       env:
         CACHE_NAME: ${{ inputs.cache-key }}
+        WORKFLOW_NAME: ${{ github.workflow }}
+        JOB_NAME: ${{ github.job }}
+        MANIFEST: ${{ hashFiles('MODULE.bazel', 'Cargo.lock', 'pnpm-lock.yaml', '.bazelversion') }}
+        LAUNCHER_MANIFEST: ${{ hashFiles('MODULE.bazel', 'Cargo.lock', 'pnpm-lock.yaml', '.bazelversion', '.bazelrc', 'scripts/bazel/downloader.cfg', '.github/workflows/dependency-cache.yml') }}
         EXTRA_RESTORE_KEYS: ${{ inputs.extra-restore-keys }}
       run: |
         node <<'JS'
@@ -162,17 +172,30 @@ runs:
         const repositoryPath = windowsRoot
           ? `${windowsRoot}b-repo`
           : `${os.homedir().replace(/\\/g, '/')}/.cache/bazel-repo`;
-        const repositoryPrefix = `setup-bazel-1-${process.platform}-${os.arch()}-repository-`;
+        const platform = `setup-bazel-1-${process.platform}-${os.arch()}`;
+        const { WORKFLOW_NAME, JOB_NAME, CACHE_NAME, MANIFEST } = process.env;
+        const identity = [WORKFLOW_NAME, JOB_NAME, CACHE_NAME].map(encodeURIComponent).join(':');
+        const workload = `${platform}-deps:${identity}:`;
+        const launcher = `${platform}-launcher-helpers-${process.env.LAUNCHER_MANIFEST}`;
         const names = [process.env.CACHE_NAME, ...(process.env.EXTRA_RESTORE_KEYS || '')
           .split(',')
           .map((name) => name.trim())
           .filter(Boolean)];
         const prefixes = names.map((name) =>
           `setup-bazel-1-${process.platform}-${os.arch()}-disk-${name}-`);
-        fs.appendFileSync(
-          process.env.GITHUB_OUTPUT,
-          `repository-path=${repositoryPath}\nrepository-prefix=${repositoryPrefix}\npath=${path}\noutput-base=${windowsRoot ? `${windowsRoot}b` : ''}\nprefix=${prefixes[0]}\nrestore-keys<<EOF\n${prefixes.join('\n')}\nEOF\n`,
-        );
+        const outputs = [
+          `repository-path=${repositoryPath}`,
+          `workload=${workload}`,
+          `workload-manifest=${workload}${MANIFEST}-`,
+          `launcher=${launcher}`,
+          `path=${path}`,
+          `output-base=${windowsRoot ? `${windowsRoot}b` : ''}`,
+          `prefix=${prefixes[0]}`,
+          'restore-keys<<EOF',
+          ...prefixes,
+          'EOF',
+        ];
+        fs.appendFileSync(process.env.GITHUB_OUTPUT, outputs.join('\n') + '\n');
         JS
 
     - name: Preserve the runner network environment for Tailscale
@@ -273,18 +296,29 @@ runs:
         # under its repository name twice; keep the output base short.
         output-base: ${{ steps.disk-cache-config.outputs.output-base }}
 
-    # Restore by manifest, then platform. Publishing uses a fresh key only
-    # when the caller fetched new blobs, so a partial snapshot can grow.
-    - name: Restore dependency cache
+    # A partial dependency snapshot can seed only its own workload.
+    - name: Restore workload dependency cache
       id: repository-cache
+      if: inputs.repository-cache-key == '' && inputs.verify-launcher-cache != 'true'
       uses: actions/cache/restore@55cc8345863c7cc4c66a329aec7e433d2d1c52a9 # v6.1.0
       with:
         path: ${{ steps.disk-cache-config.outputs.repository-path }}
-        key: ${{ inputs.repository-cache-key || format('{0}{1}-run-{2}-{3}-{4}-{5}', steps.disk-cache-config.outputs.repository-prefix, hashFiles('MODULE.bazel', 'Cargo.lock', 'pnpm-lock.yaml', '.bazelversion'), github.run_id, github.run_attempt, github.job, inputs.cache-key) }}
-        fail-on-cache-miss: ${{ inputs.repository-cache-key != '' }}
+        key: ${{ steps.disk-cache-config.outputs.workload-manifest }}run-${{ github.run_id }}-${{ github.run_attempt }}
         restore-keys: |
-          ${{ inputs.repository-cache-key == '' && format('{0}{1}-', steps.disk-cache-config.outputs.repository-prefix, hashFiles('MODULE.bazel', 'Cargo.lock', 'pnpm-lock.yaml', '.bazelversion')) || '' }}
-          ${{ inputs.repository-cache-key == '' && steps.disk-cache-config.outputs.repository-prefix || '' }}
+          ${{ steps.disk-cache-config.outputs.workload-manifest }}
+          ${{ steps.disk-cache-config.outputs.workload }}
+
+    # The hosted Ubuntu warmer publishes all launcher targets as one immutable
+    # snapshot. Extract it into the checksum-addressed cache after the workload
+    # snapshot, before Bazel runs, so a partial workload cannot shadow it.
+    - name: Restore exact dependency snapshot
+      id: launcher-cache
+      if: runner.os == 'Linux' || inputs.repository-cache-key != ''
+      uses: actions/cache/restore@55cc8345863c7cc4c66a329aec7e433d2d1c52a9 # v6.1.0
+      with:
+        path: ${{ steps.disk-cache-config.outputs.repository-path }}
+        key: ${{ inputs.repository-cache-key || steps.disk-cache-config.outputs.launcher }}
+        fail-on-cache-miss: ${{ inputs.repository-cache-key != '' || inputs.verify-launcher-cache == 'true' }}
 
     - name: Measure restored dependency cache
       id: repository-cache-state
diff --git a/.github/actions/setup-bazel/save/action.yml b/.github/actions/setup-bazel/save/action.yml
index 28290aaf63..0c48f5c014 100644
--- a/.github/actions/setup-bazel/save/action.yml
+++ b/.github/actions/setup-bazel/save/action.yml
@@ -10,19 +10,12 @@ inputs:
   restored-entries:
     description: Entry count returned by setup-bazel before the build.
     required: true
-  restored-key:
-    description: Previously restored snapshot, returned when no new files were fetched.
-    default: ""
-outputs:
-  key:
-    description: Published or already complete dependency snapshot.
-    value: ${{ steps.changed.outputs.changed == 'true' && inputs.key || inputs.restored-key }}
 runs:
   using: composite
   steps:
     - name: Check for newly fetched dependencies
       id: changed
-      if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/master' && github.event_name != 'pull_request' && inputs.key != ''
+      if: always() && !cancelled() && github.ref == 'refs/heads/master' && github.event_name != 'pull_request' && inputs.key != '' && inputs.restored-entries != ''
       shell: bash
       env:
         CACHE_PATH: ${{ inputs.path }}
@@ -37,7 +30,7 @@ runs:
         fs.appendFileSync(process.env.GITHUB_OUTPUT, `changed=${changed}\n`);
         JS
     - uses: actions/cache/save@55cc8345863c7cc4c66a329aec7e433d2d1c52a9 # v6.1.0
-      if: steps.changed.outputs.changed == 'true'
+      if: always() && !cancelled() && steps.changed.outputs.changed == 'true'
       with:
         path: ${{ inputs.path }}
         key: ${{ inputs.key }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/dependency-cache.yml b/.github/workflows/dependency-cache.yml
index 5d671997f3..39d8ce4889 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/dependency-cache.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/dependency-cache.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
   helpers:
     name: Cache launcher helpers
     outputs:
-      cache-key: ${{ steps.saved.outputs.key }}
+      cache-key: ${{ steps.bazel.outputs.launcher-cache-key }}
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     timeout-minutes: 15
     env:
@@ -42,9 +42,11 @@ jobs:
         with:
           cache-key: dependency-helpers
           cache-save: ${{ inputs.offline != true }}
+          verify-launcher-cache: ${{ inputs.offline == true }}
 
       - &resolve-helpers
         name: Resolve launcher helpers for every supported platform
+        id: fetch
         run: |
           set -euo pipefail
           targets=()
@@ -59,20 +61,28 @@ jobs:
           fi
           bazel build "${options[@]}" "${targets[@]}"
 
-      - name: Save newly fetched Bazel dependencies
-        id: saved
-        if: always() && !cancelled() && steps.bazel.outputs.repository-cache-key != ''
+      # Only a successful build of every target establishes a complete archive.
+      # A warm workload cache can already contain every blob on the
+      # first run; the immutable helper key must still be published then.
+      - name: Publish complete launcher helpers
+        if: success() && github.ref == 'refs/heads/master' && inputs.offline != true && steps.bazel.outputs.launcher-cache-hit != 'true' && steps.bazel.outputs.launcher-cache-key != ''
+        uses: actions/cache/save@55cc8345863c7cc4c66a329aec7e433d2d1c52a9 # v6.1.0
+        with:
+          path: ${{ steps.bazel.outputs.repository-cache-path }}
+          key: ${{ steps.bazel.outputs.launcher-cache-key }}
+
+      - name: Preserve partially fetched launcher dependencies
+        if: failure() && !cancelled() && steps.fetch.outcome == 'failure' && steps.bazel.outputs.repository-cache-key != ''
         uses: ./.github/actions/setup-bazel/save
         with:
           path: ${{ steps.bazel.outputs.repository-cache-path }}
           key: ${{ steps.bazel.outputs.repository-cache-key }}
           restored-entries: ${{ steps.bazel.outputs.repository-cache-entries }}
-          restored-key: ${{ steps.bazel.outputs.repository-cache-restored-key }}
 
   verify:
     name: Verify restored dependency cache
     needs: helpers
-    if: inputs.offline != true
+    if: inputs.offline != true && github.ref == 'refs/heads/master'
     permissions:
       contents: read
       actions: write
@@ -87,6 +97,7 @@ jobs:
           cache-key: dependency-helpers-verification
           repository-cache-key: ${{ needs.helpers.outputs.cache-key }}
           cache-save: "false"
+          verify-launcher-cache: "true"
       - *resolve-helpers
 
       - name: Retire incomplete legacy Linux cache snapshots