diff --git a/bin/gstack-review-dispatch b/bin/gstack-review-dispatch
index ff0634675..af3d4ac8d 100755
--- a/bin/gstack-review-dispatch
+++ b/bin/gstack-review-dispatch
@@ -346,6 +346,5 @@ function main(): number {
 }
 
 try { process.exitCode = main(); } catch (e) {
-  if (e instanceof BriefError) { process.stderr.write(`BRIEF_RENDER_FAILED: ${e.message}\n`); process.exitCode = EXIT.fail; }
-  throw e;
+  if (e instanceof BriefError) { process.stderr.write(`BRIEF_RENDER_FAILED: ${e.message}\n`); process.exitCode = EXIT.fail; } else throw e;
 }
diff --git a/test/review-dispatch.test.ts b/test/review-dispatch.test.ts
index 7bf53203a..7a5cf7c41 100644
--- a/test/review-dispatch.test.ts
+++ b/test/review-dispatch.test.ts
@@ -86,6 +86,14 @@ describe('gstack-review-dispatch render: briefs from the sections, slots only',
     expect(run(['render', '--role', 'specialist', '--name', 'no-such-specialist', '--out', out, '--diff-base', SHA]).stderr).toContain('BRIEF_RENDER_FAILED: checklist not found');
   });
 
+  // Value: protects=a brief-render refusal reads as one clean line, not a crash (GST-507 moved the bin to process.exitCode);
+  //   fails_when=the BriefError handler falls through to its rethrow and Bun dumps source and a stack after the line; seam=gstack-review-dispatch render
+  test('a BriefError prints only its BRIEF_RENDER_FAILED line and exits 1', () => {
+    const r = run(['render', '--role', 'specialist', '--name', 'no-such-specialist', '--out', tmp(), '--diff-base', SHA]);
+    expect(r.status).toBe(1);
+    expect(r.stderr.trim().split('\n')).toEqual([expect.stringMatching(/^BRIEF_RENDER_FAILED: checklist not found/)]);
+  });
+
   // Value: protects=the lean ensemble's one batched reader (GSTA-167 part 2) gets checklist paths when the parent passes the plan's
   //   checklists= names as printed; fails_when=the brief names bare checklist words a reader cannot open, or an unknown name
   //   renders; seam=gstack-review-dispatch render