diff --git a/.github/workflows/docs-sync-to-example.yml b/.github/workflows/docs-sync-to-example.yml
index 368852df..bb3f084d 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/docs-sync-to-example.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/docs-sync-to-example.yml
@@ -11,6 +11,19 @@ on:
       - main
     paths:
       - "sdk/next/tutorials/example/**"
+  # Manual trigger. The push trigger only fires on tutorial .mdx changes, so a
+  # workflow-only fix cannot re-run the sync, and a sync PR left stale by a
+  # failed run has no way to catch up until the next docs edit.
+  workflow_dispatch:
+
+# Serialize runs. Two overlapping runs would each check out the same revision of
+# the open sync branch, commit divergently, and the loser's push would be
+# rejected as non-fast-forward, silently dropping its update. Queue instead of
+# cancelling: the transform is deterministic from the source docs, so the last
+# run to finish always produces the correct final state.
+concurrency:
+  group: docs-sync-to-example
+  cancel-in-progress: false
 
 jobs:
   sync:
@@ -37,6 +50,41 @@ jobs:
           path: cosmos-example
           persist-credentials: false
 
+      # Select the target branch BEFORE transforming. If an open sync PR exists we
+      # check its branch out while the tree is still clean, so the transform writes
+      # directly onto that branch. Switching branches after the transform would
+      # either abort ("local changes would be overwritten") or, via stash, conflict
+      # against changes the branch already carries and exit 1 under bash -e.
+      - name: Select target branch
+        id: target
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.EXAMPLE_REPO_TOKEN }}
+        run: |
+          cd cosmos-example
+
+          EXISTING=$(gh pr list \
+            --repo cosmos/example \
+            --label "docs-sync" \
+            --state open \
+            --json number,headRefName \
+            --jq '.[0]')
+
+          if [ -n "$EXISTING" ]; then
+            PR_NUMBER=$(echo "$EXISTING" | jq -r '.number')
+            BRANCH=$(echo "$EXISTING" | jq -r '.headRefName')
+            git fetch origin "refs/heads/${BRANCH}:refs/remotes/origin/${BRANCH}"
+            git checkout -B "$BRANCH" "origin/${BRANCH}"
+            echo "pr_number=$PR_NUMBER" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+            echo "Reusing open sync PR #$PR_NUMBER on branch $BRANCH"
+          else
+            BRANCH="docs-sync/from-docs-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)"
+            git checkout -b "$BRANCH"
+            echo "pr_number=" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+            echo "No open sync PR, will create branch $BRANCH"
+          fi
+
+          echo "branch=$BRANCH" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+
       - name: Transform Mintlify → example repo format
         run: |
           python3 scripts/docs-sync/transform.py \
@@ -44,18 +92,11 @@ jobs:
             --input sdk/next/tutorials/example/ \
             --output-dir cosmos-example/docs/
 
-      - name: Check for changes
-        id: diff
-        run: |
-          cd cosmos-example
-          [ -n "$(git status --porcelain docs/)" ] \
-            && echo "changed=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT" \
-            || echo "changed=false" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
-
-      - name: Open or update PR on cosmos/example
-        if: steps.diff.outputs.changed == 'true'
+      - name: Commit, then open or update the PR on cosmos/example
         env:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.EXAMPLE_REPO_TOKEN }}
+          BRANCH: ${{ steps.target.outputs.branch }}
+          PR_NUMBER: ${{ steps.target.outputs.pr_number }}
         run: |
           cd cosmos-example
 
@@ -63,50 +104,28 @@ jobs:
           git config user.email "docs-sync[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
           git remote set-url origin "https://x-access-token:${{ secrets.EXAMPLE_REPO_TOKEN }}@github.com/cosmos/example.git"
 
-          # Check for an existing open sync PR
-          EXISTING=$(gh pr list \
-            --repo cosmos/example \
-            --label "docs-sync" \
-            --state open \
-            --json number,headRefName \
-            --jq '.[0]')
+          git add docs/
 
-          if [ -n "$EXISTING" ]; then
-            PR_NUMBER=$(echo "$EXISTING" | jq -r '.number')
-            BRANCH=$(echo "$EXISTING" | jq -r '.headRefName')
+          if git diff --cached --quiet; then
+            echo "No doc changes to sync, nothing to commit."
+            exit 0
+          fi
 
-            # Stash the transform output before switching branches,
-            # then restore it on top of the existing sync branch.
-            git stash
-            git fetch origin "$BRANCH"
-            git checkout "$BRANCH"
-            git stash pop
-            git add docs/
-
-            if git diff --cached --quiet; then
-              echo "Existing sync branch is already up to date — nothing to commit."
-            else
-              git commit -m "docs: sync example tutorials from cosmos/docs [docs-sync]"
-              git push origin "$BRANCH"
-
-              gh pr comment "$PR_NUMBER" \
-                --repo cosmos/example \
-                --body "Sync updated: cosmos/docs was updated before this PR merged. Branch has been refreshed — please re-review."
-              echo "Updated existing PR #$PR_NUMBER"
-            fi
+          git commit -m "docs: sync example tutorials from cosmos/docs [docs-sync]"
+          git push origin "HEAD:refs/heads/${BRANCH}"
 
+          if [ -n "$PR_NUMBER" ]; then
+            gh pr comment "$PR_NUMBER" \
+              --repo cosmos/example \
+              --body "Sync updated: cosmos/docs was updated before this PR merged. Branch has been refreshed, please re-review."
+            echo "Updated existing PR #$PR_NUMBER"
           else
-            BRANCH="docs-sync/from-docs-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)"
-            git checkout -b "$BRANCH"
-            git add docs/
-            git commit -m "docs: sync example tutorials from cosmos/docs [docs-sync]"
-            git push origin "$BRANCH"
-
             gh pr create \
               --repo cosmos/example \
               --head "$BRANCH" \
               --base main \
               --title "docs: sync example tutorials from cosmos/docs" \
               --label "docs-sync" \
-              --body "Auto-synced from cosmos/docs. Transforms sdk/next/tutorials/example/*.mdx to docs/*.md. Do not edit docs/ files directly in cosmos/example — edit the source and let the sync bot update them."
+              --body "Auto-synced from cosmos/docs. Transforms sdk/next/tutorials/example/*.mdx to docs/*.md. Do not edit docs/ files directly in cosmos/example, edit the source and let the sync bot update them."
+            echo "Opened a new sync PR on branch $BRANCH"
           fi