diff --git a/.github/workflows/_static-checks.yaml b/.github/workflows/_static-checks.yaml
index edf465e6..922d5703 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/_static-checks.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/_static-checks.yaml
@@ -31,8 +31,8 @@ jobs:
       - name: Test workflow helper scripts
         run: python3 -m unittest discover -s .github/scripts -p 'test_*.py'
 
-      - name: Test release PR body renderer
-        run: node --test scripts/upstream-release/render-pr-body.test.mjs
+      - name: Test release docs helpers
+        run: node --test scripts/upstream-release/render-pr-body.test.mjs scripts/upstream-release/workflow.test.mjs
 
       - name: Test screenshot summary helpers
         run: node --test scripts/update-pr-screenshot-summary.test.mjs scripts/pr-screenshot-workflow.test.mjs
diff --git a/.github/workflows/upstream-release-docs.yml b/.github/workflows/upstream-release-docs.yml
index cf4470a8..bc4c00d2 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/upstream-release-docs.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/upstream-release-docs.yml
@@ -243,10 +243,21 @@ jobs:
       # idempotency on workflow_dispatch retries. The "Flip PR to
       # ready for review" step at the end reverses this once the body
       # is augmented and reviewers are assigned.
+      # Use the release app's write credential for the draft transition.
+      - name: Get draft management token from OctoSTS
+        id: draft_token
+        if: steps.eff.outputs.number != ''
+        uses: octo-sts/action@f603d3be9d8dd9871a265776e625a27b00effe05 # v1.1.1
+        with:
+          scope: stacklok/docs-website
+          identity: upstream-release-docs
+          domain: octo-sts.stacklok.dev
+
       # Pass --repo because retries have no checkout at this point.
       - name: Convert PR to draft
         if: steps.eff.outputs.number != ''
         env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ steps.draft_token.outputs.token }}
           PR_NUMBER: ${{ steps.eff.outputs.number }}
         run: |
           IS_DRAFT=$(gh pr view "$PR_NUMBER" --repo "$GITHUB_REPOSITORY" --json isDraft --jq .isDraft)
diff --git a/scripts/upstream-release/workflow.test.mjs b/scripts/upstream-release/workflow.test.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..79fb8ec3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/upstream-release/workflow.test.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,105 @@
+// SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright 2026 Stacklok, Inc.
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+
+import assert from 'node:assert/strict';
+import { spawnSync } from 'node:child_process';
+import fs from 'node:fs';
+import os from 'node:os';
+import path from 'node:path';
+import test from 'node:test';
+import { parse } from 'yaml';
+
+const workflow = parse(
+  fs.readFileSync(
+    new URL(
+      '../../.github/workflows/upstream-release-docs.yml',
+      import.meta.url
+    ),
+    'utf8'
+  )
+);
+const job = workflow.jobs.augment;
+const draftStep = job.steps.find((step) => step.name === 'Convert PR to draft');
+
+function convertToDraft(t, { isDraft = false, rejectMutation = false } = {}) {
+  const root = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'release-draft-'));
+  t.after(() => fs.rmSync(root, { recursive: true, force: true }));
+  const bin = path.join(root, 'bin');
+  fs.mkdirSync(bin);
+  fs.writeFileSync(
+    path.join(bin, 'gh'),
+    `#!/bin/sh
+if [ "$1 $2" = "pr view" ]; then
+  printf '%s\\n' "$IS_DRAFT"
+elif [ "$1 $2" = "pr ready" ]; then
+  if [ "$GH_TOKEN" != "fixture-app-token" ] || [ "$REJECT_MUTATION" = true ]; then
+    echo 'Resource not accessible by integration (convertPullRequestToDraft)' >&2
+    exit 1
+  fi
+  printf '%s\\n' "$*" > "$MUTATION_LOG"
+else
+  exit 1
+fi
+`,
+    { mode: 0o755 }
+  );
+
+  // Resolve the credential from the actual workflow. The default job token
+  // can read PR metadata but cannot perform the draft mutation in the failed run.
+  const expression = draftStep.env.GH_TOKEN || job.env.GH_TOKEN;
+  const tokenMatch = expression.match(
+    /^\$\{\{ steps\.(\w+)\.outputs\.token \}\}$/
+  );
+  let token = 'fixture-github-token';
+  if (tokenMatch) {
+    const exchange = job.steps.find((step) => step.id === tokenMatch[1]);
+    assert.match(exchange.uses, /^octo-sts\/action@/);
+    assert.equal(exchange.with.scope, 'stacklok/docs-website');
+    assert.equal(exchange.with.identity, 'upstream-release-docs');
+    assert.equal(exchange.with.domain, 'octo-sts.stacklok.dev');
+    assert.equal(exchange.if, draftStep.if);
+    assert.ok(job.steps.indexOf(exchange) < job.steps.indexOf(draftStep));
+    token = 'fixture-app-token';
+  }
+
+  const mutationLog = path.join(root, 'mutation');
+  const result = spawnSync('bash', ['-eo', 'pipefail', '-c', draftStep.run], {
+    encoding: 'utf8',
+    cwd: root,
+    env: {
+      ...process.env,
+      PATH: `${bin}${path.delimiter}${process.env.PATH}`,
+      GH_TOKEN: token,
+      GITHUB_REPOSITORY: 'stacklok/docs-website',
+      PR_NUMBER: '1307',
+      IS_DRAFT: String(isDraft),
+      REJECT_MUTATION: String(rejectMutation),
+      MUTATION_LOG: mutationLog,
+    },
+  });
+  return {
+    result,
+    mutation: fs.existsSync(mutationLog)
+      ? fs.readFileSync(mutationLog, 'utf8').trim()
+      : null,
+  };
+}
+
+test('converts an existing release PR using an app token before checkout', (t) => {
+  const { result, mutation } = convertToDraft(t);
+  assert.equal(result.status, 0, result.stderr);
+  assert.equal(mutation, 'pr ready 1307 --repo stacklok/docs-website --undo');
+});
+
+test('leaves an already-draft release PR unchanged', (t) => {
+  const { result, mutation } = convertToDraft(t, { isDraft: true });
+  assert.equal(result.status, 0, result.stderr);
+  assert.equal(mutation, null);
+});
+
+test('stops augmentation when draft conversion fails', (t) => {
+  const { result, mutation } = convertToDraft(t, { rejectMutation: true });
+  assert.notEqual(result.status, 0);
+  assert.match(result.stderr, /convertPullRequestToDraft/);
+  assert.equal(mutation, null);
+});