diff --git a/.github/workflows/queue_filing.yml b/.github/workflows/queue_filing.yml
index 236719f..92c209f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/queue_filing.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/queue_filing.yml
@@ -63,6 +63,15 @@ jobs:
 
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
+      - uses: actions/setup-python@v5
+        with:
+          python-version: "3.12"
+
+      # The gate below (and Claude's own in-sandbox check) runs pytest; the
+      # bare runner doesn't ship it — its absence failed the first live run.
+      - name: Install the test runner
+        run: pip install pytest
+
       - name: Stash the request for Claude
         env:
           # env, never inline interpolation — issue text is untrusted input.