diff --git a/.github/workflows/pr-checklist.yml b/.github/workflows/pr-checklist.yml
index ebe34dac..554bb73e 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/pr-checklist.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/pr-checklist.yml
@@ -31,16 +31,15 @@ jobs:
               return;
             }
 
-            // Use regex patterns to be robust against checkbox formatting or minor phrasing changes
-            const requiredPatterns = [
-              /preview_removals\.sh/i,
-              /data\/?backups/i,
-              /(i will not run|will not run|do not run|don't run|won't run).+--force/i,
+            // Use a set of named checks with robust regex patterns for checkbox and phrase variants
+            const checks = [
+              { name: 'preview_removals.sh mention', pattern: /preview_removals\.sh/i },
+              { name: 'data/backups mention', pattern: /data\/?backups/i },
+              // Accept checked checkbox variants and inline code/backtick usage for the '--force' phrase
+              { name: 'explicit non-run of --force', pattern: /(?:\[\s*[xX]\s*\]\s*)?(?:i will not run|will not run|do not run|don'?t run|won'?t run)\b[^\n]*--force/i },
             ];
-            const missing = requiredPatterns
-              .map(p => ({ pattern: p, found: p.test(body) }))
-              .filter(x => !x.found)
-              .map(x => x.pattern.source);
+
+            const missing = checks.filter(c => !c.pattern.test(body)).map(c => c.name);
             if (missing.length > 0) {
               // Post a comment to the PR with instructions for filling the checklist
               const commentBody = `Hi! This PR touches history-rewrite artifacts and requires the checklist in .github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE/history-rewrite.md. The following items are missing in your PR body: ${missing.join(', ')}\n\nPlease update the PR description using the history-rewrite template and re-run checks.`;
diff --git a/scripts/history-rewrite/tests/clean_history.dryrun.bats b/scripts/history-rewrite/tests/clean_history.dryrun.bats
index 27305bbf..11ec5243 100644
--- a/scripts/history-rewrite/tests/clean_history.dryrun.bats
+++ b/scripts/history-rewrite/tests/clean_history.dryrun.bats
@@ -33,7 +33,8 @@ teardown() {
   rm -rf "$TMPREPO"
 }
 
-SCRIPT="/projects/Charon/scripts/history-rewrite/clean_history.sh"
+REPO_ROOT=$(cd "$BATS_TEST_DIRNAME/../../../" && pwd)
+SCRIPT="$REPO_ROOT/scripts/history-rewrite/clean_history.sh"
 
 @test "clean_history dry-run prints expected log and exits 0" {
   run bash "$SCRIPT" --dry-run --paths 'backend/codeql-db' --strip-size 1
@@ -42,7 +43,7 @@ SCRIPT="/projects/Charon/scripts/history-rewrite/clean_history.sh"
 }
 
 @test "preview_removals shows commits for the path" {
-  run bash /projects/Charon/scripts/history-rewrite/preview_removals.sh --paths 'backend/codeql-db' --strip-size 1
+  run bash "$REPO_ROOT/scripts/history-rewrite/preview_removals.sh" --paths 'backend/codeql-db' --strip-size 1
   [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
   [[ "$output" == *"Path: backend/codeql-db"* ]]
 }
diff --git a/scripts/history-rewrite/tests/tag_objects_excluded.bats b/scripts/history-rewrite/tests/tag_objects_excluded.bats
index 18b14531..a33e7d5a 100644
--- a/scripts/history-rewrite/tests/tag_objects_excluded.bats
+++ b/scripts/history-rewrite/tests/tag_objects_excluded.bats
@@ -19,7 +19,8 @@ teardown() {
   rm -rf "$TMPREPO"
 }
 
-SCRIPT="/projects/Charon/scripts/ci/dry_run_history_rewrite.sh"
+REPO_ROOT=$(cd "$BATS_TEST_DIRNAME/../../../" && pwd)
+SCRIPT="$REPO_ROOT/scripts/ci/dry_run_history_rewrite.sh"
 
 @test "dry_run script ignores tag-only objects and passes" {
   run bash "$SCRIPT" --paths 'backend/codeql-db' --strip-size 50
diff --git a/scripts/history-rewrite/tests/validate_after_rewrite.bats b/scripts/history-rewrite/tests/validate_after_rewrite.bats
index 4993ec4f..0e252837 100644
--- a/scripts/history-rewrite/tests/validate_after_rewrite.bats
+++ b/scripts/history-rewrite/tests/validate_after_rewrite.bats
@@ -23,7 +23,8 @@ teardown() {
   rm -rf "$TMPREPO"
 }
 
-SCRIPT="/projects/Charon/scripts/history-rewrite/validate_after_rewrite.sh"
+REPO_ROOT=$(cd "$BATS_TEST_DIRNAME/../../../" && pwd)
+SCRIPT="$REPO_ROOT/scripts/history-rewrite/validate_after_rewrite.sh"
 
 @test "validate_after_rewrite fails when backup branch is missing" {
   run bash "$SCRIPT"