diff --git a/00-META/process/08-small-fixes.md b/00-META/process/08-small-fixes.md
index 83912b18..02efad3d 100644
--- a/00-META/process/08-small-fixes.md
+++ b/00-META/process/08-small-fixes.md
@@ -34,7 +34,11 @@ one delivery**. Everything before the push is local and fast.
    model; at most 3 rounds, as playbook 07; from round 2 only what is wrong). The reviewer's findings go back to the same agent that wrote the fix, continued by
    its id, so the fix keeps its context. A playbook or design edit of a few lines may skip the reviewer: the
    operator's word on the pull request is its review.
-5. **Push once and open the pull request.** The forge's merge checks run the integration tests. A failed check
+5. **Push the branch, try it, then open the pull request.** `mesh-controller.try` with the repository and the
+   branch runs the merge check in the check's own toolchain before any status is set; open the pull request
+   only once it passes. A local run never stands in for it: the check's containers carry other tools than the
+   nodes (a test that called util-linux `flock -E` passed on a node and failed on BusyBox's in the check). The
+   forge's merge checks run the integration tests. A failed check
    goes back to the same agent with the failure, and the reviewer reads only the change it makes.
 6. **Mark it ready** (`mesh/ready` and `ready at <full sha>`) once the operator's word is given; mesh-delivery
    merges it when its checks pass.