diff --git a/.github/dependabot.yml b/.github/dependabot.yml
index 480e7d6..e3b20e6 100644
--- a/.github/dependabot.yml
+++ b/.github/dependabot.yml
@@ -9,6 +9,11 @@
 # want: a known advisory beats an unaudited release, which is the same
 # exception `scripts/dependency-age-exceptions.json` records for a human.
 #
+# Both ecosystems target `develop`, not `main`. A dependency bump is ordinary
+# work, and ordinary work enters through `develop` -- see Branching in
+# CONTRIBUTING.md. Opening these against `main` put them on the release branch
+# and left the back-merge to carry them the wrong way round.
+#
 # See .agents/skills/check-dependencies/SKILL.md for the reasoning, and
 # AGENTS.md for how a dependency change reaches a release.
 
@@ -18,6 +23,7 @@ updates:
   - package-ecosystem: npm
     # The workspace root: one pnpm-lock.yaml covers all four manifests.
     directory: /
+    target-branch: develop
     schedule:
       interval: weekly
       day: monday
@@ -46,6 +52,7 @@ updates:
 
   - package-ecosystem: github-actions
     directory: /
+    target-branch: develop
     schedule:
       interval: weekly
       day: monday
diff --git a/.github/workflows/backmerge.yml b/.github/workflows/backmerge.yml
index e47c8f7..69f1980 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/backmerge.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/backmerge.yml
@@ -1,8 +1,19 @@
-# After anything lands on main, keep develop in sync by opening (or refreshing)
-# a pull request that merges main back into develop.
+# After anything lands on main, bring develop up to it.
 #
-# A PR rather than a direct push, so the merge is visible and CI runs on it.
-# Conflicts are resolved on the PR.
+# A pull request that merges ITSELF. `develop` is protected -- pushes to it are
+# refused with "Changes must be made through a pull request" -- so the PR is not
+# optional. What is optional is the person, and the person was the problem: the
+# first back-merge PR was merged with "squash", which copied main's content into
+# develop as one ordinary commit and dropped its history. Git then had no way to
+# know develop already held those changes, so every later back-merge tried to
+# re-apply 236 commits whose content was already there: 67 conflicting files on
+# a merge that should have been a formality.
+#
+# So the workflow opens the PR and turns on auto-merge with the MERGE method.
+# GitHub merges it once the required checks pass, nobody chooses a method, and
+# a squash cannot happen by accident. Auto-merge has to be enabled on the
+# repository for this (`allow_auto_merge`); if it is off, the run says so and
+# leaves the PR for a person, who must merge it with a merge commit.
 #
 # While the project is pre-release the flow is inverted from the eventual one:
 # work happens on main, and develop follows it. Once releases start, features
@@ -16,6 +27,8 @@ on:
     branches: [main]
 
 permissions:
+  # Read is enough: nothing here pushes. The merge is GitHub'''s, done on the
+  # pull request once its checks pass.
   contents: read
   pull-requests: write
 
@@ -24,60 +37,68 @@ concurrency:
   cancel-in-progress: false
 
 jobs:
-  open-backmerge-pr:
+  back-merge:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v7
         with:
           fetch-depth: 0
 
-      - name: Skip if develop already contains main
+      - name: Decide what is needed
         id: check
         run: |
           set -uo pipefail
           # Said plainly rather than dying on `fatal: Not a valid object name`,
           # which is what the first run did before develop existed.
           if ! git rev-parse --verify --quiet origin/develop >/dev/null; then
-            echo "needs_pr=false" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+            echo "action=none" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
             echo "::notice::there is no develop branch, so there is nothing to back-merge into."
             exit 0
           fi
           if git merge-base --is-ancestor origin/main origin/develop; then
-            echo "needs_pr=false" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+            echo "action=none" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
             echo "develop already contains main; nothing to do."
           else
-            echo "needs_pr=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+            echo "action=pr" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
           fi
 
-      - name: Open or update back-merge PR
-        if: steps.check.outputs.needs_pr == 'true'
+      - name: Open the back-merge PR and let it merge itself
+        if: steps.check.outputs.action == 'pr'
         env:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
           WORKFLOW_NAME: ${{ github.workflow }}
           RUN_ID: ${{ github.run_id }}
         run: |
+          set -uo pipefail
           MAIN_SHA="$(git rev-parse --short origin/main)"
           MAIN_SUBJECT="$(git log -1 --format='%s' origin/main)"
 
-          EXISTING="$(gh pr list --head main --base develop --state open --json number --jq '.[0].number')"
-          if [ -n "$EXISTING" ]; then
-            echo "PR #$EXISTING already open for main -> develop; it will auto-update with the new push."
-            exit 0
-          fi
-
+          NUMBER="$(gh pr list --head main --base develop --state open --json number --jq '.[0].number')"
           BODY_FILE="$(mktemp)"
           cat > "$BODY_FILE" <<EOF
-          Automated back-merge of \`main\` into \`develop\`.
+          Automated back-merge of \`main\` into \`develop\`. Auto-merge is on, so this merges itself once the required checks pass.
 
           Latest commit on main: \`${MAIN_SHA}\` - ${MAIN_SUBJECT}
 
           Triggered by push to \`main\` in workflow \`${WORKFLOW_NAME}\` run \`${RUN_ID}\`.
 
-          Merge this PR (or enable auto-merge on it) to keep \`develop\` in sync with the latest release commit on \`main\`. Resolve any conflicts manually before merging.
+          **Merge this with a MERGE COMMIT, not a squash.** A squash copies main's content without its history, so git stops knowing that develop already contains it and every later back-merge conflicts on files nobody touched. That is what happened once already; see the comment at the top of \`.github/workflows/backmerge.yml\`.
           EOF
 
-          gh pr create \
-            --base develop \
-            --head main \
-            --title "chore: back-merge main into develop" \
-            --body-file "$BODY_FILE"
+          if [ -z "$NUMBER" ]; then
+            gh pr create \
+              --base develop \
+              --head main \
+              --title "chore: back-merge main into develop" \
+              --body-file "$BODY_FILE"
+            NUMBER="$(gh pr list --head main --base develop --state open --json number --jq '.[0].number')"
+          else
+            echo "PR #$NUMBER is already open; it tracks main and needs no new one."
+          fi
+
+          # --merge, never --squash: a squashed back-merge is what broke this
+          # once. If auto-merge is disabled on the repository this fails, and
+          # saying so is better than a PR that sits open looking healthy.
+          if ! gh pr merge "$NUMBER" --auto --merge; then
+            echo "::warning::could not enable auto-merge on PR #$NUMBER. Enable allow_auto_merge on the repository, or merge it by hand WITH A MERGE COMMIT."
+          fi