diff --git a/.github/docker/Dockerfile.ci b/.github/docker/Dockerfile.ci
index fed221005..550c90d3a 100644
--- a/.github/docker/Dockerfile.ci
+++ b/.github/docker/Dockerfile.ci
@@ -104,7 +104,12 @@ RUN for i in 1 2 3; do \
 # resolution. Without bun.lock here, bun install resolved transitive deps
 # differently in CI vs local (observed on v1.28.0.0: socks landed but
 # smart-buffer + ip-address didn't make it into the cached node_modules).
+# patches/ rides along: bun.lock's patchedDependencies (playwright-core
+# windowsHide, v1.67) makes install fail without the patch files present —
+# and the workflows' image-tag hash includes patches/** so editing a patch
+# rebuilds this layer.
 COPY package.json bun.lock /workspace/
+COPY patches /workspace/patches
 WORKDIR /workspace
 RUN bun install --frozen-lockfile && rm -rf /tmp/*
 
diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci-image.yml b/.github/workflows/ci-image.yml
index daa87761b..66ed42660 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci-image.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci-image.yml
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ jobs:
       # This is the tag the eval matrix looks up first — without pushing it
       # here, the weekly/main prebuild never warms the cache that matters.
       - id: meta
-        run: echo "tag=ghcr.io/${{ github.repository }}/ci:${{ hashFiles('.github/docker/Dockerfile.ci', 'bun.lock') }}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+        run: echo "tag=ghcr.io/${{ github.repository }}/ci:${{ hashFiles('.github/docker/Dockerfile.ci', 'bun.lock', 'patches/**') }}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
 
       - uses: docker/login-action@v4
         with:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/evals-periodic.yml b/.github/workflows/evals-periodic.yml
index 7a08ad02f..3dd672b67 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/evals-periodic.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/evals-periodic.yml
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ jobs:
       - id: meta
         # Keep in sync with evals.yml — key on Dockerfile + lockfile only
         # (package.json's version field would bust the key on every ship).
-        run: echo "tag=${{ env.IMAGE }}:${{ hashFiles('.github/docker/Dockerfile.ci', 'bun.lock') }}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+        run: echo "tag=${{ env.IMAGE }}:${{ hashFiles('.github/docker/Dockerfile.ci', 'bun.lock', 'patches/**') }}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
 
       - uses: docker/login-action@v4
         with:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/evals.yml b/.github/workflows/evals.yml
index c29a4462b..539b3ed5b 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/evals.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/evals.yml
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ jobs:
         # which rebuilt the image each time for a dependency set that only
         # bun.lock determines. A stale baked package.json is harmless — checkout
         # overwrites /workspace and node_modules comes from the lockfile.
-        run: echo "tag=${{ env.IMAGE }}:${{ hashFiles('.github/docker/Dockerfile.ci', 'bun.lock') }}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+        run: echo "tag=${{ env.IMAGE }}:${{ hashFiles('.github/docker/Dockerfile.ci', 'bun.lock', 'patches/**') }}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
 
       - uses: docker/login-action@v4
         with: