diff --git a/.github/workflows/deployPR.yml b/.github/workflows/deployPR.yml
index 5afde46212..e71fb0e688 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/deployPR.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/deployPR.yml
@@ -329,6 +329,10 @@ jobs:
             "20260228185557_default_ticket_sweep_enabled" \
             "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM information_schema.columns WHERE table_name='janitor_configs' AND column_name='ticket_sweep_enabled' AND column_default='true';"
 
+          resolve_migration \
+            "20260301004827_add_fast_track_to_feature" \
+            "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM information_schema.columns WHERE table_name='features' AND column_name='is_fast_track';"
+
           resolve_migration \
             "20260319000000_add_created_by_id_to_whiteboards" \
             "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM information_schema.columns WHERE table_name='whiteboards' AND column_name='created_by_id';"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/test.yml b/.github/workflows/test.yml
index d0bb521f26..edc748ae35 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/test.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/test.yml
@@ -30,6 +30,8 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Install dependencies
         if: steps.cache-node-modules.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
+        env:
+          DATABASE_URL: postgresql://dummy:dummy@localhost:5432/dummy
         run: npm ci
 
       - name: Run unit tests
diff --git a/prisma/migrations/20260301004827_add_fast_track_to_feature/migration.sql b/prisma/migrations/20260301004827_add_fast_track_to_feature/migration.sql
index 68c409bef3..455ce7c9f3 100644
--- a/prisma/migrations/20260301004827_add_fast_track_to_feature/migration.sql
+++ b/prisma/migrations/20260301004827_add_fast_track_to_feature/migration.sql
@@ -1,2 +1,2 @@
 -- AlterTable
-ALTER TABLE "features" ADD COLUMN     "is_fast_track" BOOLEAN NOT NULL DEFAULT false;
+ALTER TABLE "features" ADD COLUMN IF NOT EXISTS "is_fast_track" BOOLEAN NOT NULL DEFAULT false;
diff --git a/src/__tests__/integration/api/admin/pr-stats.test.ts b/src/__tests__/integration/api/admin/pr-stats.test.ts
index 7d4db52b7c..c325e024d1 100644
--- a/src/__tests__/integration/api/admin/pr-stats.test.ts
+++ b/src/__tests__/integration/api/admin/pr-stats.test.ts
@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@ describe("GET /api/admin/workspaces/[id]/pr-stats (integration)", () => {
           messageId: message.id,
           type: "PULL_REQUEST",
           content: {
-            url: `https://github.com/testorg/testrepo/pull/${Math.floor(Math.random() * 9999)}`,
+            url: `https://github.com/testorg/testrepo/pull/${ageHours * 100}`,
             repo: "testorg/testrepo",
             status,
             title: `Test PR (${status})`,
@@ -144,6 +144,7 @@ describe("GET /api/admin/workspaces/[id]/pr-stats (integration)", () => {
       repositoryUrl: "https://github.com/testorg/bucketrepo",
     });
 
+    let artifactCounter = 1;
     async function seedDoneArtifact(ageHours: number) {
       const task = await createTestTask({ workspaceId: workspace.id, createdById: regularUser.id });
       const message = await createTestChatMessage({ taskId: task.id, message: "test" });
@@ -153,7 +154,7 @@ describe("GET /api/admin/workspaces/[id]/pr-stats (integration)", () => {
           messageId: message.id,
           type: "PULL_REQUEST",
           content: {
-            url: `https://github.com/testorg/bucketrepo/pull/${Math.floor(Math.random() * 9999)}`,
+            url: `https://github.com/testorg/bucketrepo/pull/${artifactCounter++}`,
             repo: "testorg/bucketrepo",
             status: "DONE",
             title: "Test PR",
diff --git a/src/__tests__/unit/services/notifications.test.ts b/src/__tests__/unit/services/notifications.test.ts
index 548f245a01..2fe9293901 100644
--- a/src/__tests__/unit/services/notifications.test.ts
+++ b/src/__tests__/unit/services/notifications.test.ts
@@ -182,16 +182,16 @@ describe("createAndSendNotification", () => {
       await createAndSendNotification(baseInput);
 
       expect(create).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
-      expect(mockedSendDirectMessage).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
-      expect(update).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect(create).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
         expect.objectContaining({
-          where: { id: "notif-1" },
           data: expect.objectContaining({
             sendAfter: expect.any(Date),
             message: baseInput.message,
           }),
         })
       );
+      expect(mockedSendDirectMessage).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+      expect(update).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
     });
   });
 
diff --git a/src/services/notifications.ts b/src/services/notifications.ts
index eeb3c6bb4e..3954d381e3 100644
--- a/src/services/notifications.ts
+++ b/src/services/notifications.ts
@@ -75,7 +75,11 @@ export async function createAndSendNotification(input: {
       : null;
     const dmReady = isDirectMessageConfigured() && !!decryptedPubkey;
 
-    // 4. Always insert a row — use SKIPPED when DM is not ready
+    // 4. Compute deferred fields up-front to avoid a two-step create+update race
+    const isDeferred = dmReady && DEFERRED_NOTIFICATION_TYPES.has(input.notificationType);
+    const sendAfter = isDeferred ? new Date(Date.now() + DEFERRED_DELAY_MS) : null;
+
+    // 5. Insert a single row with all fields set atomically
     const record = await db.notificationTrigger.create({
       data: {
         targetUserId: input.targetUserId,
@@ -88,10 +92,11 @@ export async function createAndSendNotification(input: {
           : NotificationTriggerStatus.SKIPPED,
         notificationMethod: NotificationMethod.SPHINX,
         notificationTimestamps: [],
+        ...(isDeferred && { sendAfter, message: input.message }),
       },
     });
 
-    // 5. Stop here if DM is not configured — no send attempted
+    // 6. Stop here if DM is not configured — no send attempted
     if (!dmReady) {
       logger.info(
         `[Notifications] DM not ready — record created as SKIPPED for ${input.notificationType}`,
@@ -101,15 +106,10 @@ export async function createAndSendNotification(input: {
       return;
     }
 
-    // 6. Deferred types: store sendAfter + message, return without sending
-    if (DEFERRED_NOTIFICATION_TYPES.has(input.notificationType)) {
-      const sendAfter = new Date(Date.now() + DEFERRED_DELAY_MS);
-      await db.notificationTrigger.update({
-        where: { id: record.id },
-        data: { sendAfter, message: input.message },
-      });
+    // 7. Deferred types: log and return — sendAfter already persisted above
+    if (isDeferred) {
       logger.info(
-        `[Notifications] Deferred ${input.notificationType} — will dispatch after ${sendAfter.toISOString()}`,
+        `[Notifications] Deferred ${input.notificationType} — will dispatch after ${sendAfter!.toISOString()}`,
         "NOTIFICATIONS",
         { recordId: record.id, targetUserId: input.targetUserId, taskId, featureId }
       );