diff --git a/__tests__/resolve-payload-fields.test.ts b/__tests__/resolve-payload-fields.test.ts
index c70bcd47..d302f6bf 100644
--- a/__tests__/resolve-payload-fields.test.ts
+++ b/__tests__/resolve-payload-fields.test.ts
@@ -111,6 +111,42 @@ describe('run', () => {
     )
   })
 
+  it('inflates a wrapped compressed-payload envelope', async () => {
+    const envelope = {
+      type: 'compressed-payload',
+      data: gzipSync(JSON.stringify(payload)).toString('base64'),
+      pullRequestNumber: 123
+    }
+    const core = await runWith(JSON.stringify(JSON.stringify(envelope)))
+
+    expect(core.setFailed).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
+    expect(core.info).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      'client_payload mode=compressed-envelope'
+    )
+    expect(outputsOf(core).cm_repository).toBe('acme/cm-repo')
+  })
+
+  it('fails loudly when a compressed-payload envelope has no gzip data', async () => {
+    const core = await runWith(
+      JSON.stringify(
+        JSON.stringify({ type: 'compressed-payload', data: 'not-gzip' })
+      )
+    )
+
+    expect(core.setFailed).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.stringContaining('carries no gzip data')
+    )
+  })
+
+  it('treats a raw payload carrying its own type as a raw payload', async () => {
+    const core = await runWith(JSON.stringify({ ...payload, type: 'push' }))
+
+    expect(core.setFailed).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
+    expect(core.info).toHaveBeenCalledWith('client_payload mode=plain')
+    expect(outputsOf(core).github_token).toBe('ghs_token')
+    expect(outputsOf(core).cm_repository).toBe('acme/cm-repo')
+  })
+
   it('fails on a payload that is not valid JSON', async () => {
     const core = await runWith('not json')
 
@@ -153,6 +189,20 @@ describe('run with an oversized-payload reference', () => {
     expect(outputsOf(core).cm_repository).toBe('acme/cm-repo')
   })
 
+  it('fetches from a double-encoded reference envelope', async () => {
+    const fetchMock = mockFetch({
+      ok: true,
+      text: async () => JSON.stringify(payload)
+    })
+
+    const core = await runWith(JSON.stringify(JSON.stringify(reference)))
+
+    expect(core.setFailed).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
+    expect(core.info).toHaveBeenCalledWith('client_payload mode=reference')
+    expect(fetchMock).toHaveBeenCalled()
+    expect(outputsOf(core).cm_repository).toBe('acme/cm-repo')
+  })
+
   it('inflates a stashed payload that is gzipped', async () => {
     mockFetch({
       ok: true,
@@ -165,6 +215,35 @@ describe('run with an oversized-payload reference', () => {
     expect(outputsOf(core).cm_repo_ref).toBe('main')
   })
 
+  it('fails loudly when the stash returns neither gzip nor JSON', async () => {
+    // The stash holds the payload, not the envelope, and its form depends on
+    // whether compression won: bare base64(gzip) if it did, raw JSON if not.
+    // Anything else must be an error rather than a fall-through.
+    mockFetch({ ok: true, text: async () => 'not-json-not-gzip' })
+
+    const core = await runWith(JSON.stringify(reference))
+
+    expect(core.setFailed).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.stringContaining('Failed resolving client payload')
+    )
+  })
+
+  it('names the offending URL when payloadUrl is not absolute', async () => {
+    const fetchMock = mockFetch({ ok: true, text: async () => '{}' })
+
+    const core = await runWith(
+      JSON.stringify({
+        ...reference,
+        payloadUrl: '/api/v1/gitstream/payload/k'
+      })
+    )
+
+    expect(fetchMock).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
+    expect(core.setFailed).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.stringContaining('stashed payload URL is not absolute')
+    )
+  })
+
   it('refuses an origin other than the resolver', async () => {
     const fetchMock = mockFetch({ ok: true, text: async () => '{}' })
 
diff --git a/scripts/resolve-payload-fields.js b/scripts/resolve-payload-fields.js
index 07558392..b6686938 100644
--- a/scripts/resolve-payload-fields.js
+++ b/scripts/resolve-payload-fields.js
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
 const { gunzipSync } = require('zlib')
 
 const OVERSIZED_PAYLOAD_REFERENCE = 'oversized-payload-reference'
+const COMPRESSED_PAYLOAD = 'compressed-payload'
 const PAYLOAD_FETCH_TIMEOUT_MS = 10000
 
 // 32MB
@@ -51,18 +52,18 @@ function parsePayload(value) {
 }
 
 /**
- * @returns {object | null} the stash reference, or null for a regular payload
+ * @returns {object | null} the parsed value, or null when `raw` is not JSON at
+ * all - the bare base64(gzip) form, which has no envelope around it
  */
-function readStashReference(raw) {
-  // Cheap pre-check so a regular payload is only parsed once, further down.
-  if (!raw.includes(OVERSIZED_PAYLOAD_REFERENCE)) {
+function tryParsePayload(raw) {
+  try {
+    const parsed = parsePayload(raw)
+    return parsed && typeof parsed === 'object' ? parsed : null
+  } catch {
     return null
   }
-  const parsed = parsePayload(raw)
-  return parsed && parsed.type === OVERSIZED_PAYLOAD_REFERENCE ? parsed : null
 }
 
-// Builds the stash URL on the resolver's own origin.
 function stashUrl(payloadUrl, resolverUrl) {
   if (!resolverUrl) {
     throw new Error(
@@ -70,7 +71,16 @@ function stashUrl(payloadUrl, resolverUrl) {
     )
   }
   const resolverOrigin = new URL(resolverUrl).origin
-  const requested = new URL(payloadUrl)
+  let requested
+  try {
+    // The trigger always sends an absolute URL; both it and resolver_url are
+    // built from the same base, so a relative one means that base was empty.
+    requested = new URL(payloadUrl)
+  } catch {
+    throw new Error(
+      `stashed payload URL is not absolute: ${payloadUrl} - the resolver's public API base is probably unset`
+    )
+  }
   if (requested.origin !== resolverOrigin) {
     throw new Error(
       `refusing to fetch stashed payload from ${requested.origin}; expected ${resolverOrigin}`
@@ -96,19 +106,27 @@ async function fetchStashedPayload(reference, resolverUrl, core) {
   return parsePayload(inflateIfGzipped(body) ?? body)
 }
 
-/**
- * @returns {Promise<{ mode: string, payload: object }>}
- */
 async function resolvePayload(raw, resolverUrl, core) {
-  const reference = readStashReference(raw)
-  if (reference) {
-    const payload = await fetchStashedPayload(reference, resolverUrl, core)
-    return { mode: 'reference', payload }
+  const parsed = tryParsePayload(raw)
+  if (parsed) {
+    if (parsed.type === OVERSIZED_PAYLOAD_REFERENCE) {
+      const payload = await fetchStashedPayload(parsed, resolverUrl, core)
+      return { mode: 'reference', payload }
+    }
+    if (parsed.type === COMPRESSED_PAYLOAD) {
+      const inflated = inflateIfGzipped(parsed.data || '')
+      if (inflated === null) {
+        throw new Error(`${COMPRESSED_PAYLOAD} envelope carries no gzip data`)
+      }
+      return { mode: 'compressed-envelope', payload: parsePayload(inflated) }
+    }
+    return { mode: 'plain', payload: parsed }
   }
   const inflated = inflateIfGzipped(raw)
   if (inflated !== null) {
     return { mode: 'compressed', payload: parsePayload(inflated) }
   }
+  // Not JSON and not gzip - let the JSON error describe what arrived.
   return { mode: 'plain', payload: parsePayload(raw) }
 }