diff --git a/.github/workflows/npm-publish.yml b/.github/workflows/npm-publish.yml
index 7fa6882a88..f58acff65b 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/npm-publish.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/npm-publish.yml
@@ -287,7 +287,12 @@ jobs:
       # a staged package that is never approved simply expires, with no `npm deprecate` needed.
       - name: Prove clean-install AND upgrade-over-previous both boot
         if: steps.resolve.outputs.skip != 'true'
-        timeout-minutes: 30
+        # 60, not 30. This gate was added in #8953 and the 2026-08-27 v3.8.50 publish
+        # was the FIRST run to ever reach it — every earlier attempt died upstream, so
+        # its budget had never been measured against a real run. It then blew the limit
+        # on its debut: `npm pack` alone took 24m37s, leaving 5 minutes for two installs
+        # and two boots. 30 was a guess; 60 is sized to the one measurement we have.
+        timeout-minutes: 60
         run: npm run check:install-upgrade
 
       # WS1.3 (D2, v3.8.49 plan): STAGED publishing by default — `npm stage publish`
diff --git a/scripts/check/check-install-upgrade.mjs b/scripts/check/check-install-upgrade.mjs
index 87253c611d..04cb0b4437 100644
--- a/scripts/check/check-install-upgrade.mjs
+++ b/scripts/check/check-install-upgrade.mjs
@@ -223,6 +223,11 @@ async function main() {
   const warnings = [];
 
   try {
+    // Timed, because this turned out to be the expensive part: on the 2026-08-27
+    // v3.8.50 publish `npm pack` alone took 24m37s, leaving 5 of the step's 30-minute
+    // budget for two installs and two boots. Without a duration here the log showed
+    // only "packing…" then a timeout, which reads like a hang and is not.
+    const packStarted = Date.now();
     log(`packing v${version}…`);
     const packOut = execFileSync("npm", ["pack", "--json", "--pack-destination", tmp], {
       cwd: ROOT,
@@ -230,6 +235,8 @@ async function main() {
       maxBuffer: 128 * 1024 * 1024,
     });
     const tarball = path.join(tmp, pickTarball(packOut));
+    const packMb = (fs.statSync(tarball).size / 1024 / 1024).toFixed(1);
+    log(`packed in ${Math.round((Date.now() - packStarted) / 1000)}s (${packMb} MB)`);
 
     // ---- Phase A: clean install -------------------------------------------------
     log("PHASE A — clean install of the packed tarball");