diff --git a/.github/workflows/techapi-verify-comment.yml b/.github/workflows/techapi-verify-comment.yml
index 38d41d8..5a55c96 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/techapi-verify-comment.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/techapi-verify-comment.yml
@@ -87,7 +87,9 @@ jobs:
           repository: GetTechAPI/TechAPI
           ref: ${{ env.TECHAPI_HEAD_SHA }}
           path: TechAPI
-          fetch-depth: 0
+          # Shallow: the diff only needs history back to the merge base, fetched
+          # below. A full clone was ~58% of this job's runtime.
+          fetch-depth: 1
 
       - uses: actions/setup-python@v6
         with:
@@ -105,7 +107,11 @@ jobs:
         env:
           TECHAPI_DATA_DIR: ${{ github.workspace }}/TechAPI/data
         run: |
-          git -C TechAPI fetch --no-tags origin "$TECHAPI_BASE_SHA"
+          # Deepen just enough for `base...HEAD` to find a merge base; fall back
+          # to the full history only if the PR branched from far back.
+          git -C TechAPI fetch --no-tags --depth=100 origin "$TECHAPI_BASE_SHA" "$TECHAPI_HEAD_SHA"
+          git -C TechAPI merge-base "$TECHAPI_BASE_SHA" "$TECHAPI_HEAD_SHA" >/dev/null 2>&1 \
+            || git -C TechAPI fetch --no-tags --unshallow origin
           {
             echo 'report<<VERIFY_EOF'
             python -m app.dump_check --base "$TECHAPI_BASE_SHA" --base-ref "$TECHAPI_BASE_REF" --scope-only
@@ -117,7 +123,9 @@ jobs:
               echo ""
               echo "### Full-dataset baseline"
               echo ""
-              python -m app.verify score --no-cache --format md || true
+              # Read the daily aggregate (verify-status.yml) instead of rescoring
+              # all ~190k records on every PR.
+              python -m app.verify.baseline "$TECHAPI_DATA_DIR/_verify/status.json" || true
             else
               python -m app.verify pr --base "$TECHAPI_BASE_SHA" || echo "_app.verify unavailable on this ref._"
             fi
diff --git a/app/verify/baseline.py b/app/verify/baseline.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f182fe6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/verify/baseline.py
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+"""Render the daily ``status.json`` aggregate as the PR comment's baseline table."""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import json
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+
+
+def main(path: str) -> int:
+    p = Path(path)
+    if not p.exists():
+        print("_status.json not available on this ref._")
+        return 0
+    d = json.loads(p.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+    print(f"_As of {d['generated_at']} (daily `verify-status` aggregate)._\n")
+    print("| category | total | green | yellow | red |")
+    print("| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |")
+    for cat, c in d["by_category"].items():
+        print(f"| {cat} | {c['total']} | {c['green']} | {c['yellow']} | {c['red']} |")
+    t = d["totals"]
+    print(f"| **all** | {t['records']} | {t['green']} | {t['yellow']} | {t['red']} |")
+    return 0
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    sys.exit(main(sys.argv[1]))