diff --git a/.github/workflows/navigation.yml b/.github/workflows/navigation.yml
index c4e157293..5fe2962c3 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/navigation.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/navigation.yml
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ name: Research navigation and public source checks
   push:
     branches: [chatgpt/navigation-price-20260924]
   pull_request:
-    paths: ['README.md', 'docs/**', 'tools/navigation_check.py', 'tests/test_navigation.py', '.github/workflows/navigation.yml']
+    paths: ['README.md', 'docs/**', 'tools/navigation_check.py', 'tests/test_navigation.py', '.github/workflows/navigation.yml', 'experiments/zeta_fold_exploration/make_manifest.py', 'experiments/zeta_fold_exploration/README.md', 'experiments/zeta_fold_exploration/MANIFEST.json', 'tests/test_zeta_manifest_check.py']
   workflow_dispatch:
 permissions:
   contents: read
@@ -19,14 +19,31 @@ jobs:
       - name: Current landing and navigation controls
         run: |
           set -euo pipefail
+          navigation_phase=evidence-setup
+          report_navigation_exit() {
+            local status=$?
+            if [ "$status" -ne 0 ]; then
+              printf 'NAVIGATION_PHASE_FAILED phase=%s exit=%s\n' "$navigation_phase" "$status" >&2 || :
+            fi
+            exit "$status"
+          }
+          trap report_navigation_exit EXIT
           mkdir -p navigation-evidence
+          navigation_phase=python-version
           python --version > navigation-evidence/python.txt
+          navigation_phase=source-identity
           git rev-parse HEAD > navigation-evidence/commit.txt
+          navigation_phase=landing
           python -B -S tools/workspace_landing_check.py > navigation-evidence/landing.txt
+          navigation_phase=tests-normal
           python -B -S -m unittest discover -s tests -p 'test_*.py' -v > navigation-evidence/tests-normal.log 2>&1
+          navigation_phase=tests-normal-count
           grep -Eq '^Ran [1-9][0-9]* tests? in ' navigation-evidence/tests-normal.log || { echo "::error::navigation normal discovery collected 0 tests or returned no count"; exit 1; }
+          navigation_phase=tests-optimized
           python -B -O -S -m unittest discover -s tests -p 'test_*.py' -v > navigation-evidence/tests-optimized.log 2>&1
+          navigation_phase=tests-optimized-count
           grep -Eq '^Ran [1-9][0-9]* tests? in ' navigation-evidence/tests-optimized.log || { echo "::error::navigation optimized discovery collected 0 tests or returned no count"; exit 1; }
+          navigation_phase=public-navigation
           python -B -S tools/navigation_check.py --verify-public > navigation-evidence/navigation.json
       - name: Preserve actual results including failures
         if: always()