diff --git a/.github/workflows/course-updater.lock.yml b/.github/workflows/course-updater.lock.yml
index 52c079b..c52b718 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/course-updater.lock.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/course-updater.lock.yml
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# gh-aw-metadata: {"schema_version":"v3","frontmatter_hash":"a8031db3ba84823d0bceb239d4d708ce7d4814a446059dcab07251955e0eb901","compiler_version":"v0.68.1","strict":true,"agent_id":"copilot"}
+# gh-aw-metadata: {"schema_version":"v3","frontmatter_hash":"5379ca57d743b9d37185a76fd2486f16161b8d4cd38598a080f9fdeafeb77404","compiler_version":"v0.68.1","strict":true,"agent_id":"copilot"}
 # gh-aw-manifest: {"version":1,"secrets":["COPILOT_GITHUB_TOKEN","GH_AW_CI_TRIGGER_TOKEN","GH_AW_GITHUB_MCP_SERVER_TOKEN","GH_AW_GITHUB_TOKEN","GITHUB_TOKEN"],"actions":[{"repo":"actions/checkout","sha":"de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd","version":"v6.0.2"},{"repo":"actions/download-artifact","sha":"3e5f45b2cfb9172054b4087a40e8e0b5a5461e7c","version":"v8.0.1"},{"repo":"actions/github-script","sha":"373c709c69115d41ff229c7e5df9f8788daa9553","version":"v9"},{"repo":"actions/github-script","sha":"3a2844b7e9c422d3c10d287c895573f7108da1b3","version":"v9"},{"repo":"actions/upload-artifact","sha":"bbbca2ddaa5d8feaa63e36b76fdaad77386f024f","version":"v7"},{"repo":"github/gh-aw-actions/setup","sha":"2fe53acc038ba01c3bbdc767d4b25df31ca5bdfc","version":"v0.68.1"}]}
 #    ___                   _   _      
 #   / _ \                 | | (_)     
@@ -158,19 +158,19 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           bash "${RUNNER_TEMP}/gh-aw/actions/create_prompt_first.sh"
           {
-          cat << 'GH_AW_PROMPT_60309d17794877ae_EOF'
+          cat << 'GH_AW_PROMPT_decf373b1839bfdd_EOF'
           <system>
-          GH_AW_PROMPT_60309d17794877ae_EOF
+          GH_AW_PROMPT_decf373b1839bfdd_EOF
           cat "${RUNNER_TEMP}/gh-aw/prompts/xpia.md"
           cat "${RUNNER_TEMP}/gh-aw/prompts/temp_folder_prompt.md"
           cat "${RUNNER_TEMP}/gh-aw/prompts/markdown.md"
           cat "${RUNNER_TEMP}/gh-aw/prompts/safe_outputs_prompt.md"
-          cat << 'GH_AW_PROMPT_60309d17794877ae_EOF'
+          cat << 'GH_AW_PROMPT_decf373b1839bfdd_EOF'
           <safe-output-tools>
           Tools: create_pull_request, missing_tool, missing_data, noop
-          GH_AW_PROMPT_60309d17794877ae_EOF
+          GH_AW_PROMPT_decf373b1839bfdd_EOF
           cat "${RUNNER_TEMP}/gh-aw/prompts/safe_outputs_create_pull_request.md"
-          cat << 'GH_AW_PROMPT_60309d17794877ae_EOF'
+          cat << 'GH_AW_PROMPT_decf373b1839bfdd_EOF'
           </safe-output-tools>
           <github-context>
           The following GitHub context information is available for this workflow:
@@ -200,12 +200,12 @@ jobs:
           {{/if}}
           </github-context>
           
-          GH_AW_PROMPT_60309d17794877ae_EOF
+          GH_AW_PROMPT_decf373b1839bfdd_EOF
           cat "${RUNNER_TEMP}/gh-aw/prompts/github_mcp_tools_with_safeoutputs_prompt.md"
-          cat << 'GH_AW_PROMPT_60309d17794877ae_EOF'
+          cat << 'GH_AW_PROMPT_decf373b1839bfdd_EOF'
           </system>
           {{#runtime-import .github/workflows/course-updater.md}}
-          GH_AW_PROMPT_60309d17794877ae_EOF
+          GH_AW_PROMPT_decf373b1839bfdd_EOF
           } > "$GH_AW_PROMPT"
       - name: Interpolate variables and render templates
         uses: actions/github-script@3a2844b7e9c422d3c10d287c895573f7108da1b3 # v9
@@ -277,6 +277,7 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     permissions:
       contents: read
+      pull-requests: read
     concurrency:
       group: "gh-aw-copilot-${{ github.workflow }}"
     env:
@@ -369,9 +370,9 @@ jobs:
           mkdir -p "${RUNNER_TEMP}/gh-aw/safeoutputs"
           mkdir -p /tmp/gh-aw/safeoutputs
           mkdir -p /tmp/gh-aw/mcp-logs/safeoutputs
-          cat > "${RUNNER_TEMP}/gh-aw/safeoutputs/config.json" << 'GH_AW_SAFE_OUTPUTS_CONFIG_3aad4d6eae9cb6dd_EOF'
+          cat > "${RUNNER_TEMP}/gh-aw/safeoutputs/config.json" << 'GH_AW_SAFE_OUTPUTS_CONFIG_125f91baf6d3fd12_EOF'
           {"create_pull_request":{"base_branch":"main","labels":["automated-update","copilot-app-updates"],"max":1,"max_patch_size":1024,"protected_files":["package.json","bun.lockb","bunfig.toml","deno.json","deno.jsonc","deno.lock","global.json","NuGet.Config","Directory.Packages.props","mix.exs","mix.lock","go.mod","go.sum","stack.yaml","stack.yaml.lock","pom.xml","build.gradle","build.gradle.kts","settings.gradle","settings.gradle.kts","gradle.properties","package-lock.json","yarn.lock","pnpm-lock.yaml","npm-shrinkwrap.json","requirements.txt","Pipfile","Pipfile.lock","pyproject.toml","setup.py","setup.cfg","Gemfile","Gemfile.lock","uv.lock","CODEOWNERS"],"protected_path_prefixes":[".github/",".agents/"],"title_prefix":"[bot] "},"create_report_incomplete_issue":{},"missing_data":{},"missing_tool":{},"noop":{"max":1,"report-as-issue":"true"},"report_incomplete":{}}
-          GH_AW_SAFE_OUTPUTS_CONFIG_3aad4d6eae9cb6dd_EOF
+          GH_AW_SAFE_OUTPUTS_CONFIG_125f91baf6d3fd12_EOF
       - name: Write Safe Outputs Tools
         env:
           GH_AW_TOOLS_META_JSON: |
@@ -569,7 +570,7 @@ jobs:
           export MCP_GATEWAY_DOCKER_COMMAND='docker run -i --rm --network host -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock -e MCP_GATEWAY_PORT -e MCP_GATEWAY_DOMAIN -e MCP_GATEWAY_API_KEY -e MCP_GATEWAY_PAYLOAD_DIR -e MCP_GATEWAY_PAYLOAD_SIZE_THRESHOLD -e DEBUG -e MCP_GATEWAY_LOG_DIR -e GH_AW_MCP_LOG_DIR -e GH_AW_SAFE_OUTPUTS -e GH_AW_SAFE_OUTPUTS_CONFIG_PATH -e GH_AW_SAFE_OUTPUTS_TOOLS_PATH -e GH_AW_ASSETS_BRANCH -e GH_AW_ASSETS_MAX_SIZE_KB -e GH_AW_ASSETS_ALLOWED_EXTS -e DEFAULT_BRANCH -e GITHUB_MCP_SERVER_TOKEN -e GITHUB_MCP_GUARD_MIN_INTEGRITY -e GITHUB_MCP_GUARD_REPOS -e GITHUB_REPOSITORY -e GITHUB_SERVER_URL -e GITHUB_SHA -e GITHUB_WORKSPACE -e GITHUB_TOKEN -e GITHUB_RUN_ID -e GITHUB_RUN_NUMBER -e GITHUB_RUN_ATTEMPT -e GITHUB_JOB -e GITHUB_ACTION -e GITHUB_EVENT_NAME -e GITHUB_EVENT_PATH -e GITHUB_ACTOR -e GITHUB_ACTOR_ID -e GITHUB_TRIGGERING_ACTOR -e GITHUB_WORKFLOW -e GITHUB_WORKFLOW_REF -e GITHUB_WORKFLOW_SHA -e GITHUB_REF -e GITHUB_REF_NAME -e GITHUB_REF_TYPE -e GITHUB_HEAD_REF -e GITHUB_BASE_REF -e GH_AW_SAFE_OUTPUTS_PORT -e GH_AW_SAFE_OUTPUTS_API_KEY -v /tmp/gh-aw/mcp-payloads:/tmp/gh-aw/mcp-payloads:rw -v /opt:/opt:ro -v /tmp:/tmp:rw -v '"${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}"':'"${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}"':rw ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-mcpg:v0.2.17'
           
           mkdir -p /home/runner/.copilot
-          cat << GH_AW_MCP_CONFIG_8234c3d86b8db8c5_EOF | bash "${RUNNER_TEMP}/gh-aw/actions/start_mcp_gateway.sh"
+          cat << GH_AW_MCP_CONFIG_09b6a1f599f904bb_EOF | bash "${RUNNER_TEMP}/gh-aw/actions/start_mcp_gateway.sh"
           {
             "mcpServers": {
               "github": {
@@ -579,7 +580,7 @@ jobs:
                   "GITHUB_HOST": "\${GITHUB_SERVER_URL}",
                   "GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "\${GITHUB_MCP_SERVER_TOKEN}",
                   "GITHUB_READ_ONLY": "1",
-                  "GITHUB_TOOLSETS": "repos"
+                  "GITHUB_TOOLSETS": "repos,pull_requests"
                 },
                 "guard-policies": {
                   "allow-only": {
@@ -610,7 +611,7 @@ jobs:
               "payloadDir": "${MCP_GATEWAY_PAYLOAD_DIR}"
             }
           }
-          GH_AW_MCP_CONFIG_8234c3d86b8db8c5_EOF
+          GH_AW_MCP_CONFIG_09b6a1f599f904bb_EOF
       - name: Download activation artifact
         uses: actions/download-artifact@3e5f45b2cfb9172054b4087a40e8e0b5a5461e7c # v8.0.1
         with:
@@ -655,7 +656,7 @@ jobs:
           (umask 177 && touch /tmp/gh-aw/agent-stdio.log)
           # shellcheck disable=SC1003
           sudo -E awf --container-workdir "${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}" --mount "${RUNNER_TEMP}/gh-aw:${RUNNER_TEMP}/gh-aw:ro" --mount "${RUNNER_TEMP}/gh-aw:/host${RUNNER_TEMP}/gh-aw:ro" --env-all --exclude-env COPILOT_GITHUB_TOKEN --exclude-env GITHUB_MCP_SERVER_TOKEN --exclude-env MCP_GATEWAY_API_KEY --allow-domains api.business.githubcopilot.com,api.enterprise.githubcopilot.com,api.github.com,api.githubcopilot.com,api.individual.githubcopilot.com,api.snapcraft.io,archive.ubuntu.com,azure.archive.ubuntu.com,crl.geotrust.com,crl.globalsign.com,crl.identrust.com,crl.sectigo.com,crl.thawte.com,crl.usertrust.com,crl.verisign.com,crl3.digicert.com,crl4.digicert.com,crls.ssl.com,github.com,host.docker.internal,json-schema.org,json.schemastore.org,keyserver.ubuntu.com,ocsp.digicert.com,ocsp.geotrust.com,ocsp.globalsign.com,ocsp.identrust.com,ocsp.sectigo.com,ocsp.ssl.com,ocsp.thawte.com,ocsp.usertrust.com,ocsp.verisign.com,packagecloud.io,packages.cloud.google.com,packages.microsoft.com,ppa.launchpad.net,raw.githubusercontent.com,registry.npmjs.org,s.symcb.com,s.symcd.com,security.ubuntu.com,telemetry.enterprise.githubcopilot.com,ts-crl.ws.symantec.com,ts-ocsp.ws.symantec.com,www.googleapis.com --log-level info --proxy-logs-dir /tmp/gh-aw/sandbox/firewall/logs --audit-dir /tmp/gh-aw/sandbox/firewall/audit --enable-host-access --image-tag 0.25.18 --skip-pull --enable-api-proxy \
-            -- /bin/bash -c 'node ${RUNNER_TEMP}/gh-aw/actions/copilot_driver.cjs /usr/local/bin/copilot --add-dir /tmp/gh-aw/ --log-level all --log-dir /tmp/gh-aw/sandbox/agent/logs/ --disable-builtin-mcps --allow-tool github --allow-tool safeoutputs --allow-tool '\''shell(cat)'\'' --allow-tool '\''shell(curl:*)'\'' --allow-tool '\''shell(date)'\'' --allow-tool '\''shell(echo)'\'' --allow-tool '\''shell(gh:*)'\'' --allow-tool '\''shell(git add:*)'\'' --allow-tool '\''shell(git branch:*)'\'' --allow-tool '\''shell(git checkout:*)'\'' --allow-tool '\''shell(git commit:*)'\'' --allow-tool '\''shell(git merge:*)'\'' --allow-tool '\''shell(git rm:*)'\'' --allow-tool '\''shell(git status)'\'' --allow-tool '\''shell(git switch:*)'\'' --allow-tool '\''shell(grep)'\'' --allow-tool '\''shell(head)'\'' --allow-tool '\''shell(ls)'\'' --allow-tool '\''shell(pwd)'\'' --allow-tool '\''shell(sort)'\'' --allow-tool '\''shell(tail)'\'' --allow-tool '\''shell(uniq)'\'' --allow-tool '\''shell(wc)'\'' --allow-tool '\''shell(yq)'\'' --allow-tool web_fetch --allow-tool write --allow-all-paths --add-dir "${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}" --prompt "$(cat /tmp/gh-aw/aw-prompts/prompt.txt)"' 2>&1 | tee -a /tmp/gh-aw/agent-stdio.log
+            -- /bin/bash -c 'node ${RUNNER_TEMP}/gh-aw/actions/copilot_driver.cjs /usr/local/bin/copilot --add-dir /tmp/gh-aw/ --log-level all --log-dir /tmp/gh-aw/sandbox/agent/logs/ --disable-builtin-mcps --allow-tool github --allow-tool safeoutputs --allow-tool '\''shell(cat)'\'' --allow-tool '\''shell(curl:*)'\'' --allow-tool '\''shell(date)'\'' --allow-tool '\''shell(echo)'\'' --allow-tool '\''shell(gh:*)'\'' --allow-tool '\''shell(git add:*)'\'' --allow-tool '\''shell(git branch:*)'\'' --allow-tool '\''shell(git checkout:*)'\'' --allow-tool '\''shell(git commit:*)'\'' --allow-tool '\''shell(git merge:*)'\'' --allow-tool '\''shell(git rm:*)'\'' --allow-tool '\''shell(git status)'\'' --allow-tool '\''shell(git switch:*)'\'' --allow-tool '\''shell(grep)'\'' --allow-tool '\''shell(head)'\'' --allow-tool '\''shell(ls)'\'' --allow-tool '\''shell(pwd)'\'' --allow-tool '\''shell(sort)'\'' --allow-tool '\''shell(tail)'\'' --allow-tool '\''shell(uniq)'\'' --allow-tool '\''shell(wc)'\'' --allow-tool '\''shell(yq)'\'' --allow-tool web_fetch --allow-tool write --allow-all-paths --allow-url=https://github.com --add-dir "${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}" --prompt "$(cat /tmp/gh-aw/aw-prompts/prompt.txt)"' 2>&1 | tee -a /tmp/gh-aw/agent-stdio.log
         env:
           COPILOT_AGENT_RUNNER_TYPE: STANDALONE
           COPILOT_GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.COPILOT_GITHUB_TOKEN }}
@@ -801,6 +802,12 @@ jobs:
           if [ ! -f /tmp/gh-aw/agent_output.json ]; then
             echo '{"items":[]}' > /tmp/gh-aw/agent_output.json
           fi
+      - env:
+          GH_AW_SAFE_OUTPUTS: ${{ steps.set-runtime-paths.outputs.GH_AW_SAFE_OUTPUTS }}
+        if: always()
+        name: Require a complete course update check
+        run: "node <<'NODE'\nconst { readFileSync } = require('node:fs');\nconst outputPath = process.env.GH_AW_SAFE_OUTPUTS;\nif (!outputPath) {\n  throw new Error('The course update output path is missing.');\n}\nconst outputs = readFileSync(outputPath, 'utf8')\n  .split(/\\r?\\n/)\n  .filter(line => line.trim())\n  .map(line => JSON.parse(line));\nconst completeTypes = new Set(['create_pull_request', 'noop']);\nif (!outputs.length || outputs.some(output => !completeTypes.has(output.type))) {\n  const types = outputs.map(output => output.type).join(', ') || 'no output';\n  throw new Error(`Course update check is incomplete (${types}). See the agent logs.`);\n}\nNODE\n"
+
       - name: Upload agent artifacts
         if: always()
         continue-on-error: true
@@ -1061,7 +1068,7 @@ jobs:
           (umask 177 && touch /tmp/gh-aw/threat-detection/detection.log)
           # shellcheck disable=SC1003
           sudo -E awf --container-workdir "${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}" --mount "${RUNNER_TEMP}/gh-aw:${RUNNER_TEMP}/gh-aw:ro" --mount "${RUNNER_TEMP}/gh-aw:/host${RUNNER_TEMP}/gh-aw:ro" --env-all --exclude-env COPILOT_GITHUB_TOKEN --allow-domains api.business.githubcopilot.com,api.enterprise.githubcopilot.com,api.github.com,api.githubcopilot.com,api.individual.githubcopilot.com,github.com,host.docker.internal,telemetry.enterprise.githubcopilot.com --log-level info --proxy-logs-dir /tmp/gh-aw/sandbox/firewall/logs --audit-dir /tmp/gh-aw/sandbox/firewall/audit --enable-host-access --image-tag 0.25.18 --skip-pull --enable-api-proxy \
-            -- /bin/bash -c 'node ${RUNNER_TEMP}/gh-aw/actions/copilot_driver.cjs /usr/local/bin/copilot --add-dir /tmp/gh-aw/ --log-level all --log-dir /tmp/gh-aw/sandbox/agent/logs/ --disable-builtin-mcps --allow-all-tools --add-dir "${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}" --prompt "$(cat /tmp/gh-aw/aw-prompts/prompt.txt)"' 2>&1 | tee -a /tmp/gh-aw/threat-detection/detection.log
+            -- /bin/bash -c 'node ${RUNNER_TEMP}/gh-aw/actions/copilot_driver.cjs /usr/local/bin/copilot --add-dir /tmp/gh-aw/ --log-level all --log-dir /tmp/gh-aw/sandbox/agent/logs/ --disable-builtin-mcps --allow-all-tools --allow-url=https://github.com --add-dir "${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}" --prompt "$(cat /tmp/gh-aw/aw-prompts/prompt.txt)"' 2>&1 | tee -a /tmp/gh-aw/threat-detection/detection.log
         env:
           COPILOT_AGENT_RUNNER_TYPE: STANDALONE
           COPILOT_GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.COPILOT_GITHUB_TOKEN }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/course-updater.md b/.github/workflows/course-updater.md
index a5994bb..e0ae521 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/course-updater.md
+++ b/.github/workflows/course-updater.md
@@ -4,12 +4,40 @@ description: "Weekly check (Mondays) for new GitHub Copilot app features and upd
 on:
   schedule: weekly on monday
   workflow_dispatch:
+engine:
+  id: copilot
+  args: ["--allow-url=https://github.com"]
+permissions:
+  contents: read
+  pull-requests: read
 tools:
   bash: ["curl", "gh"]
   edit:
   web-fetch:
   github:
-    toolsets: [repos]
+    toolsets: [repos, pull_requests]
+post-steps:
+  - name: Require a complete course update check
+    if: always()
+    env:
+      GH_AW_SAFE_OUTPUTS: ${{ steps.set-runtime-paths.outputs.GH_AW_SAFE_OUTPUTS }}
+    run: |
+      node <<'NODE'
+      const { readFileSync } = require('node:fs');
+      const outputPath = process.env.GH_AW_SAFE_OUTPUTS;
+      if (!outputPath) {
+        throw new Error('The course update output path is missing.');
+      }
+      const outputs = readFileSync(outputPath, 'utf8')
+        .split(/\r?\n/)
+        .filter(line => line.trim())
+        .map(line => JSON.parse(line));
+      const completeTypes = new Set(['create_pull_request', 'noop']);
+      if (!outputs.length || outputs.some(output => !completeTypes.has(output.type))) {
+        const types = outputs.map(output => output.type).join(', ') || 'no output';
+        throw new Error(`Course update check is incomplete (${types}). See the agent logs.`);
+      }
+      NODE
 safe-outputs:
   allowed-domains:
     - github.com
@@ -25,11 +53,15 @@ You are a documentation maintainer for the Copilot App for Beginners repository.
 
 ## Step 1 — Gather recent Copilot app updates
 
-Use `web-fetch` to read the following pages and extract the latest entries from the past 7 days:
+Use `web-fetch` to read the following page and extract the latest entries from the past 7 days:
 
 - https://github.com/github/app/blob/main/changelog.md — GitHub Copilot app changelog
 
-Also use `gh` CLI to check the latest releases and commits in the `github/app` repo.
+Use the authenticated GitHub MCP tools `list_releases` and `list_commits` to check the latest releases and commits in `github/app`. Only include updates from the past 7 days.
+
+If `web-fetch` or a shell `gh` command is denied or cannot authenticate, continue with the GitHub MCP tools. Release notes and commits are valid alternative sources when `web-fetch` cannot read the changelog. Use `get_file_contents` if you need to read the changelog through MCP.
+
+If the authenticated MCP reads also fail, report the error with `missing_data` or `missing_tool` and stop. Do not assume that the repository is private or report that no updates are needed without source data. An incomplete check must fail the workflow.
 
 Look for:
 
@@ -39,7 +71,9 @@ Look for:
 
 ## Step 2 — Check for existing open PRs to avoid duplicates
 
-Before doing any content comparison, list all open pull requests in this repo that have the `automated-update` or `copilot-app-updates` labels. Read their titles and descriptions to understand which features or changes each PR already covers. Build a list of features that are **already addressed** by existing PRs — you must exclude those features from any updates you propose later. If every feature you found in Step 1 is already covered by an open PR, stop here and report that no new updates are needed.
+Before doing any content comparison, use the authenticated GitHub MCP `list_pull_requests` tool to list open pull requests in this repo. Select the PRs with either the `automated-update` or `copilot-app-updates` label. Read their titles and descriptions to understand which features or changes each PR already covers. Build a list of features that are **already addressed** by existing PRs — you must exclude those features from any updates you propose later. If every feature you found in Step 1 is already covered by an open PR, stop here and call `noop` to report that no new updates are needed.
+
+If the PR lookup fails, report `missing_data` or `missing_tool` and stop. Do not treat a failed lookup as an empty PR list.
 
 ## Step 3 — Compare against the current course content
 
@@ -51,7 +85,7 @@ Identify:
 - **Missing features** — new capabilities not yet documented
 - **Outdated information** — features that have been renamed, moved, or significantly changed (including UI labels, menu names, or button text shown in screenshots)
 
-If there is nothing new or everything is already up to date, stop here and report that no updates are needed.
+If there is nothing new or everything is already up to date, stop here and call `noop` to report that no updates are needed.
 
 ## Step 4 — Update the course content
 
@@ -68,3 +102,5 @@ Create a pull request with your changes, using the `main` branch as the base bra
 3. Links to the source announcements
 
 The PR should target the `main` branch and include the labels `automated-update` and `copilot-app-updates`.
+
+Match each feature to the version in its changelog heading and release record. Do not assign a feature to a different release.