diff --git a/.github/workflows/gemini-automated-issue-triage.yml b/.github/workflows/gemini-automated-issue-triage.yml
index b1251fee66..47801fcb9b 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/gemini-automated-issue-triage.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/gemini-automated-issue-triage.yml
@@ -93,7 +93,9 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: 'Generate GitHub App Token'
         id: 'generate_token'
-        if: ${{ secrets.APP_ID != '' }}
+        env:
+          APP_ID: '${{ secrets.APP_ID }}'
+        if: "${{ env.APP_ID != '' }}"
         uses: 'actions/create-github-app-token@a8d616148505b5069dccd32f177bb87d7f39123b' # ratchet:actions/create-github-app-token@v2
         with:
           app-id: '${{ secrets.APP_ID }}'
diff --git a/.github/workflows/gemini-scheduled-issue-triage.yml b/.github/workflows/gemini-scheduled-issue-triage.yml
index 76752388a7..6c3fbb7c63 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/gemini-scheduled-issue-triage.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/gemini-scheduled-issue-triage.yml
@@ -40,16 +40,18 @@ jobs:
           permission-issues: 'write'
 
       - name: 'Get issue from event'
-        if: github.event_name == 'issues'
+        if: "github.event_name == 'issues'"
         id: 'get_issue_from_event'
+        env:
+          ISSUE_EVENT: '${{ toJSON(github.event.issue) }}'
         run: |
           set -euo pipefail
-          ISSUE_JSON=$(jq -n --argjson issue "$${{ toJSON(github.event.issue) }}" '[{number: $issue.number, title: $issue.title, body: $issue.body}]')
+          ISSUE_JSON=$(echo "$ISSUE_EVENT" | jq -c '[{number: .number, title: .title, body: .body}]')
           echo "issues_to_triage=${ISSUE_JSON}" >> "${GITHUB_OUTPUT}"
           echo "✅ Found issue #${{ github.event.issue.number }} from event to triage! 🎯"
 
       - name: 'Find untriaged issues'
-        if: github.event_name == 'schedule' || github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch'
+        if: "github.event_name == 'schedule' || github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch'"
         id: 'find_issues'
         env:
           GITHUB_TOKEN: '${{ steps.generate_token.outputs.token }}'
@@ -90,12 +92,14 @@ jobs:
             return labelNames;
 
       - name: 'Run Gemini Issue Analysis'
-        if: steps.get_issue_from_event.outputs.issues_to_triage != '[]' || steps.find_issues.outputs.issues_to_triage != '[]'
+        if: |-
+          (steps.get_issue_from_event.outputs.issues_to_triage != '' && steps.get_issue_from_event.outputs.issues_to_triage != '[]') ||
+          (steps.find_issues.outputs.issues_to_triage != '' && steps.find_issues.outputs.issues_to_triage != '[]')
         uses: 'google-github-actions/run-gemini-cli@a3bf79042542528e91937b3a3a6fbc4967ee3c31' # ratchet:google-github-actions/run-gemini-cli@v0
         id: 'gemini_issue_analysis'
         env:
           GITHUB_TOKEN: '' # Do not pass any auth token here since this runs on untrusted inputs
-          ISSUES_TO_TRIAGE: "${{ steps.get_issue_from_event.outputs.issues_to_triage || steps.find_issues.outputs.issues_to_triage }}"
+          ISSUES_TO_TRIAGE: '${{ steps.get_issue_from_event.outputs.issues_to_triage || steps.find_issues.outputs.issues_to_triage }}'
           REPOSITORY: '${{ github.repository }}'
           AVAILABLE_LABELS: '${{ steps.get_labels.outputs.available_labels }}'
         with:
@@ -234,16 +238,23 @@ jobs:
             core.info(`Raw labels JSON: ${rawLabels}`);
             let parsedLabels;
             try {
+              // First, try to parse the raw output as JSON.
+              parsedLabels = JSON.parse(rawLabels.trim());
+            } catch (jsonError) {
+              // If that fails, check for a markdown code block.
+              core.info(`Direct JSON parsing failed: ${jsonError.message}. Trying to extract from a markdown block.`);
               const jsonMatch = rawLabels.match(/```json\s*([\s\S]*?)\s*```/);
-              if (!jsonMatch || !jsonMatch[1]) {
-                throw new Error("Could not find a ```json ... ``` block in the output.");
+              if (jsonMatch && jsonMatch[1]) {
+                try {
+                  parsedLabels = JSON.parse(jsonMatch[1].trim());
+                } catch (markdownError) {
+                  core.setFailed(`Failed to parse JSON even after extracting from markdown block: ${markdownError.message}\nRaw output: ${rawLabels}`);
+                  return;
+                }
+              } else {
+                core.setFailed(`Output is not valid JSON and does not contain a JSON markdown block.\nRaw output: ${rawLabels}`);
+                return;
               }
-              const jsonString = jsonMatch[1].trim();
-              parsedLabels = JSON.parse(jsonString);
-              core.info(`Parsed labels JSON: ${JSON.stringify(parsedLabels)}`);
-            } catch (err) {
-              core.setFailed(`Failed to parse labels JSON from Gemini output: ${err.message}\nRaw output: ${rawLabels}`);
-              return;
             }
 
             for (const entry of parsedLabels) {
@@ -297,4 +308,4 @@ jobs:
               if ((!entry.labels_to_add || entry.labels_to_add.length === 0) && (!entry.labels_to_remove || entry.labels_to_remove.length === 0)) {
                 core.info(`No labels to add or remove for #${issueNumber}, leaving as is`);
               }
-            }
\ No newline at end of file
+            }