diff --git a/.woodpecker/publish.yml b/.woodpecker/publish.yml
index 4212c304..a5ada7b1 100644
--- a/.woodpecker/publish.yml
+++ b/.woodpecker/publish.yml
@@ -202,6 +202,20 @@ steps:
         echo "@mosaicstack:registry=https://git.mosaicstack.dev/api/packages/mosaicstack/npm/" >> ~/.npmrc
         DIST_TAGS_JSON="$(npm view @mosaicstack/mosaic dist-tags --registry https://git.mosaicstack.dev/api/packages/mosaicstack/npm/ --json)"
         DIST_TAGS_JSON="$DIST_TAGS_JSON" node -e 'const tags = JSON.parse(process.env.DIST_TAGS_JSON || "{}"); if (!tags || typeof tags !== "object" || !Object.hasOwn(tags, "latest")) { throw new Error("Gitea npm registry did not return a usable dist-tags object"); } console.log("[publish-next] registry dist-tags OK: latest=" + tags.latest);'
+        # #1404: snapshot every publishable manifest BEFORE the transform so the
+        # workspace can be restored byte-exact after publish. The transform
+        # rewrites package.json in place (needed: pnpm publish reads the
+        # workspace manifests); without restore, later steps in this pipeline
+        # (build-gateway kaniko COPY + pnpm install --frozen-lockfile) see
+        # manifests that no longer match pnpm-lock.yaml and fail
+        # ERR_PNPM_OUTDATED_LOCKFILE. Snapshot dir is step-local tmp.
+        SNAPSHOT_DIR="$(mktemp -d /tmp/publish-next-manifests.XXXXXX)"
+        export SNAPSHOT_DIR
+        find apps packages plugins -name package.json -not -path "*/node_modules/*" -not -path "*/dist/*" | while read -r mf; do
+          mkdir -p "$SNAPSHOT_DIR/$(dirname "$mf")"
+          cp -p "$mf" "$SNAPSHOT_DIR/$mf"
+        done
+        echo "[publish-next] snapshotted $(find "$SNAPSHOT_DIR" -name package.json | wc -l) manifests to $SNAPSHOT_DIR"
         node <<'NODE'
         const fs = require('node:fs');
         const path = require('node:path');
@@ -357,6 +371,29 @@ steps:
         }
         console.log('[publish-next-guard] OK: all ' + published.length + ' published manifests carry exact same-pipeline @mosaicstack/* dep pins');
         GUARD
+        # #1404 restore: put the workspace manifests back byte-exact so later
+        # steps (build-gateway frozen-lockfile install) see the committed tree.
+        RESTORE_FAIL=0
+        while read -r mf; do
+          if [ -f "$SNAPSHOT_DIR/$mf" ]; then
+            cp -p "$SNAPSHOT_DIR/$mf" "$mf"
+          else
+            echo "[publish-next] FATAL: no snapshot for $mf — cannot restore (snapshot incomplete?)" >&2
+            RESTORE_FAIL=1
+          fi
+        done < <(find apps packages plugins -name package.json -not -path "*/node_modules/*" -not -path "*/dist/*")
+        # Pristine guard (#1404 red-first control): the publish step must leave
+        # the workspace byte-identical to the checkout for every manifest.
+        # git diff is the arbiter — any residual mutation fails THIS step
+        # instead of surfacing as ERR_PNPM_OUTDATED_LOCKFILE in build-gateway.
+        if ! git diff --exit-code -- '**/package.json' >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+          echo "[publish-next] FATAL: workspace package.json files still differ from HEAD after restore (#1404 class)" >&2
+          git diff --stat -- '**/package.json' >&2 || true
+          RESTORE_FAIL=1
+        fi
+        rm -rf "$SNAPSHOT_DIR"
+        if [ "$RESTORE_FAIL" -ne 0 ]; then exit 1; fi
+        echo "[publish-next] workspace manifests restored byte-exact (git diff clean); later steps see the committed tree"
     depends_on:
       - build
       - verify