diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/build-apps.yml b/.gitea/workflows/build-apps.yml
index e9ca41a..de458af 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/build-apps.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/build-apps.yml
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: macos
     steps:
       - name: Build both apps
+        id: build
         run: |
           set -eu
           export PATH="/usr/local/bin:/opt/homebrew/bin:$PATH"
@@ -97,15 +98,17 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           export PATH="/usr/local/bin:$PATH"
           cd "$HOME/checklist-app"
-          V="$(node -e 'const c=require("./mobile/release.config.json");console.log(`${c.version} (ios build ${c.iosBuild}, android code ${c.androidVersionCode})`)')"
-          # The body is built with a heredoc rather than a bare multi-line argument: an
-          # argument that starts at column 0 ends the YAML block scalar and makes this whole
-          # file unparseable, which Gitea reports only by silently never running it.
-          BODY="$(cat <<MSG
+          V="$(node -e 'const c=require("./mobile/release.config.json");console.log(c.version+" (ios build "+c.iosBuild+", android code "+c.androidVersionCode+")")')"
+          # The body goes to a file first. It must NOT be built with $(cat <<EOF ...): macOS
+          # ships bash 3.2, which mis-parses a heredoc inside command substitution as soon as
+          # the text contains an apostrophe — the word "anyone's" alone was enough to fail the
+          # step with "unexpected EOF while looking for matching '".
+          BODY_FILE="$(mktemp -t checklist-alert)"
+          cat > "$BODY_FILE" <<MSG
           A change landed that the iOS and Android apps bundle, so they were rebuilt on the
           ingest Mac. Both built cleanly and are signed and ready.
 
-          They are NOT on anyone's phone yet, and will not be until you ship them:
+          They are NOT on any phone yet, and will not be until you ship them:
 
               cd ~/Documents/recurring-checklist-app
               ./release.sh --ios --android
@@ -115,15 +118,19 @@ jobs:
           The website already has this change — it deploys on push. Only the apps, which
           carry their own copy of the UI, are waiting.
           MSG
-          )"
-          node scripts/alert.js "Apps rebuilt and waiting — shipped versions are now behind" "$BODY" || true
+          node scripts/alert.js "Apps rebuilt and waiting — shipped versions are now behind" "$(cat "$BODY_FILE")" || true
+          rm -f "$BODY_FILE"
 
       - name: Tell Christian the build broke
-        if: failure()
+        # Scoped to the build step, not the whole job. Previously any failure here sent "the
+        # build FAILED" — including a bug in the notification step itself, which is exactly
+        # what happened on run 4: both apps built fine and the email said they had not.
+        if: failure() && steps.build.outcome == 'failure'
         run: |
           export PATH="/usr/local/bin:$PATH"
           cd "$HOME/checklist-app"
-          BODY="$(cat <<MSG
+          BODY_FILE="$(mktemp -t checklist-alert)"
+          cat > "$BODY_FILE" <<MSG
           A push changed something the apps bundle, and the rebuild did not compile.
 
           The website is unaffected — it deploys separately and is already live with this
@@ -132,5 +139,5 @@ jobs:
           Full log:
           http://chronicles-ab.waterschurch.org:3000/christian/recurring-checklist/actions
           MSG
-          )"
-          node scripts/alert.js "App build FAILED on the ingest Mac" "$BODY" || true
+          node scripts/alert.js "App build FAILED on the ingest Mac" "$(cat "$BODY_FILE")" || true
+          rm -f "$BODY_FILE"