diff --git a/.github/actions/log-api-budget/log-api-budget.test.mjs b/.github/actions/log-api-budget/log-api-budget.test.mjs
index 4a1a3388c09..9a9829e28d8 100644
--- a/.github/actions/log-api-budget/log-api-budget.test.mjs
+++ b/.github/actions/log-api-budget/log-api-budget.test.mjs
@@ -797,6 +797,7 @@ test("each heavy lane job names its API_BUDGET_TOKEN and ends with the log-api-b
     "pr-feedback-dispatch.yml": { "post-verify-notes": "github-token", dispatch: "github-token", "rerun-ci-status": "github-token" },
     "post-merge-test-mutation.yml": { report: "github-token" },
     "pr-refine.yml": { "fix-docs-head": "github-token" },
+    "post-merge-demotion-alert.yml": { alert: "github-token", "report-red-main": "github-token" },
   };
   for (const [file, tokens] of Object.entries(jobs)) {
     const text = readFileSync(new URL(`../../workflows/${file}`, import.meta.url), "utf8");
@@ -815,6 +816,23 @@ test("each heavy lane job names its API_BUDGET_TOKEN and ends with the log-api-b
   }
 });
 
+// A job's shell steps call gh through api-budget.bash's wrapper, so the
+// job-end step has their readings to count; a step that sends gh before it
+// wraps would leave those calls out.
+test("each shell step in the demotion alert job that calls gh wraps it first", () => {
+  const text = readFileSync(new URL("../../workflows/post-merge-demotion-alert.yml", import.meta.url), "utf8");
+  const block = /\n  alert:\n([\s\S]*?)(?=\n  [a-z0-9-]+:\n|$)/.exec(text)?.[1] ?? "";
+  const wrap = "{ . .base/.github/actions/log-api-budget/api-budget.bash 2>/dev/null && api_budget_wrap_gh github-token; } || true";
+  const calling = block.split(/\n {6}- name: /).filter((step) => /^ {10}[^#\n]*\bgh api\b/m.test(step));
+  assert.ok(calling.length >= 2, "the alert job's gh-calling steps are found");
+  for (const step of calling) {
+    const run = step.indexOf("        run: |\n");
+    assert.ok(run > 0, `${step.split("\n")[0]} is a run step`);
+    const at = step.indexOf(wrap);
+    assert.ok(at > run && at < step.search(/^ {10}[^#\n]*\bgh api\b/m), `${step.split("\n")[0]} wraps gh before its first call`);
+  }
+});
+
 // pr-review-main's record job has no checkout of the action, and its only
 // calls are one check-run POST per verdict file, so it counts them itself and
 // ends with the notice in api_budget_emit_calls' shape.
@@ -847,6 +865,7 @@ test("each job that holds the job token and calls no guarded client ends with th
     "pr-test-windows.yml": Object.fromEntries(windows.map((job) => [job, "./"])),
     "post-merge-detect-silent-revert.yml": { "detect-silent-revert": "./" },
     "release-publish-plugins.yml": { merge: "./", build: "./" },
+    "dependabot-fragments.yml": { write: "./" },
   };
   for (const [file, byJob] of Object.entries(jobs)) {
     const text = readFileSync(new URL(`../../workflows/${file}`, import.meta.url), "utf8");
diff --git a/.github/workflows/dependabot-fragments.yml b/.github/workflows/dependabot-fragments.yml
index d4c0656ce1b..dd6ecf6523e 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/dependabot-fragments.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/dependabot-fragments.yml
@@ -145,3 +145,12 @@ jobs:
             gh pr edit "$number" --repo "$GITHUB_REPOSITORY" --body-file "$body"
           fi
           gh pr merge "$number" --repo "$GITHUB_REPOSITORY" --auto --squash
+      # The steps above call GitHub on the release App's token, not this one,
+      # so the line reads 0 unless a step starts spending the job token.
+      - name: Log the API budget at the end
+        if: always()
+        continue-on-error: true
+        timeout-minutes: 1
+        uses: ./.github/actions/log-api-budget # zizmor: ignore[self-repository]
+        with:
+          tokens: github-token
diff --git a/.github/workflows/post-merge-demotion-alert.yml b/.github/workflows/post-merge-demotion-alert.yml
index 0d1119fa2ce..d3e1731ea7b 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/post-merge-demotion-alert.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/post-merge-demotion-alert.yml
@@ -142,6 +142,11 @@ jobs:
       # 'true' when every newly failing suite was outside the merges'
       # affected set or quarantined: no record, and no red-main report.
       excused: ${{ steps.file.outputs.excused }}
+    # Each guarded API call's rate-limit reading (the gh wrapper below and
+    # babysit_gh.py under the judge), for the job-end api-budget notice
+    # (.github/actions/log-api-budget).
+    env:
+      API_BUDGET_TOKEN: github-token
     steps:
       # main's tip, for babysit_postmerge.py --judge-run and the plan script it
       # runs in a worktree of the last green SHA; full history for that worktree.
@@ -185,6 +190,10 @@ jobs:
           RUN_TRIGGERING_ACTOR: ${{ github.event.workflow_run.triggering_actor.login }}
           RUN_COMMIT_MESSAGE: ${{ github.event.workflow_run.head_commit.message }}
         run: |
+          # Each `gh api` call keeps its rate-limit reading for the job-end
+          # api-budget notice (.github/actions/log-api-budget).
+          # shellcheck source=/dev/null
+          { . .base/.github/actions/log-api-budget/api-budget.bash 2>/dev/null && api_budget_wrap_gh github-token; } || true
           if [[ "$EVENT_NAME" == workflow_dispatch ]]; then
             if [[ ! "$INPUT_RUN_ID" =~ ^[1-9][0-9]{0,14}$ ]]; then
               echo "::error::run-id must be a run id (digits only)"
@@ -278,6 +287,10 @@ jobs:
           RUN_TRIGGERING_ACTOR: ${{ steps.run.outputs.triggering-actor }}
           RUN_COMMIT_MESSAGE: ${{ steps.run.outputs.commit-message }}
         run: |
+          # Each `gh api` call keeps its rate-limit reading for the job-end
+          # api-budget notice (.github/actions/log-api-budget).
+          # shellcheck source=/dev/null
+          { . .base/.github/actions/log-api-budget/api-budget.bash 2>/dev/null && api_budget_wrap_gh github-token; } || true
           case "$RUN_WORKFLOW:$RUN_EVENT" in
             pr-require-checks:schedule) signal=schedule ;;
             pr-require-checks:workflow_dispatch) signal=dispatch ;;
@@ -868,6 +881,14 @@ jobs:
             exit 1
           fi
 
+      - name: Log the API budget at the end
+        if: always()
+        continue-on-error: true
+        timeout-minutes: 1
+        uses: ./.base/.github/actions/log-api-budget # zizmor: ignore[self-repository]
+        with:
+          tokens: github-token
+
   # The red-main report. It runs after the alert job, so a re-run the alert
   # started is already under way, and only for a full run on main that
   # concluded failure: a cancelled, timed-out or not-started run, and the
diff --git a/scripts/post-merge-demotion-alert.test.sh b/scripts/post-merge-demotion-alert.test.sh
index a84d5972f7f..642d957de63 100755
--- a/scripts/post-merge-demotion-alert.test.sh
+++ b/scripts/post-merge-demotion-alert.test.sh
@@ -62,12 +62,14 @@ if [[ -n "$alert_job" ]] && grep -q '^permissions: {}$' "$WORKFLOW" &&
 else
   fail "the alert job's permissions are not exactly issues: write, actions: write, checks: read, contents: read, pull-requests: read"
 fi
-uses="$(grep -E '^[[:space:]]*-?[[:space:]]*uses:' <<<"$alert_job" | sed -E 's/^[[:space:]]*-?[[:space:]]*uses:[[:space:]]*//; s/@.*//')"
+# Beside the checkout, only the job-end log-api-budget action, run from that
+# checkout of main's tip.
+uses="$(grep -E '^[[:space:]]*-?[[:space:]]*uses:' <<<"$alert_job" | sed -E 's/^[[:space:]]*-?[[:space:]]*uses:[[:space:]]*//; s/@.*//; s/[[:space:]]+#.*//')"
 checkout="$(awk '/- name: Check out the default branch tip/ { on = 1 } on && /^      - name: Read/ { exit } on' <<<"$alert_job")"
-if [[ "$uses" == actions/checkout && "$checkout" == *"ref: refs/heads/main"* && "$checkout" == *"persist-credentials: false"* ]]; then
-  ok "the alert job's one action checks out main's tip without credentials"
+if [[ "$uses" == $'actions/checkout\n./.base/.github/actions/log-api-budget' && "$checkout" == *"ref: refs/heads/main"* && "$checkout" == *"persist-credentials: false"* ]]; then
+  ok "the alert job checks out main's tip without credentials and runs no other action but that checkout's log-api-budget"
 else
-  fail "the alert job runs an action other than one credential-less checkout of main: '$uses'"
+  fail "the alert job runs an action other than one credential-less checkout of main and its log-api-budget: '$uses'"
 fi
 if grep -qF "\${{" "$TMP_ROOT/body.sh"; then
   fail "the step body interpolates an expression; pass it through env"