diff --git a/.github/workflows/e2e_custom_cl.yml b/.github/workflows/e2e_custom_cl.yml
index 52d93442f..36e9b8d1f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/e2e_custom_cl.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/e2e_custom_cl.yml
@@ -103,7 +103,15 @@ jobs:
         with:
           name: artifacts
           path: ./temp/artifacts
+      - name: hash current artifacts
+        id: current
+        run: |
+          cd ./temp/artifacts # need to be in directory for hashes to  compare without path differences
+          # shellcheck disable=SC2035
+          echo "hash=$(sha1sum * | sha1sum)" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          
       - name: build contracts
+        id: previous
         run: |
           # TODO: make dynamic container
           # docker run -d -v "$(pwd)":/repo --name build-container projectserum/build:v0.25.0 tail -f /dev/null
@@ -120,13 +128,24 @@ jobs:
           docker stop build-container
           docker rm build-container
 
+          # copy + save hash
+          cp ${{ env.CONTRACT_ARTIFACTS_PATH }}/* ./temp/artifacts/previous
+          cd ./temp/artifacts/previous # need to be in directory for hashes to  compare without path differences
+          # shellcheck disable=SC2035
+          echo "hash=$(sha1sum * | sha1sum)" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          
+        
       - name: compare hashes
+        id: check
         run: |
-          echo "current:  $(sha1sum ./temp/artifacts/* | sha1sum)" # get hash of current artifacts       
-          mkdir -p temp/artifacts/previous
-          cp ${{ env.CONTRACT_ARTIFACTS_PATH }}/* temp/artifacts/previous
-          echo "previous: $(sha1sum ${{ env.CONTRACT_ARTIFACTS_PATH }}/* | sha1sum)" # get hash of previous artifacts
+          echo "previous: ${{ steps.previous.outputs.hash }}"
+          echo "current:  ${{ steps.current.outputs.hash }}"
+
+          if [ "${{ steps.previous.outputs.hash }}" != "${{ steps.current.outputs.hash }}" ]; then
+            echo "continue=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          fi
       - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+        if: steps.check.outputs.continue
         with:
           name: artifacts
           path: ./temp/artifacts/ # combine artifacts
diff --git a/.github/workflows/upstream-tracker.yml b/.github/workflows/upstream-tracker.yml
index 806dd5568..8debc3bba 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/upstream-tracker.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/upstream-tracker.yml
@@ -31,18 +31,18 @@ jobs:
           WIKI="${WIKI//$'\n'/\\n}" # preserve new line
           printf -v WIKI "%q " "$WIKI" # escape chars that may cause issues
 
-          echo "open<<EOF" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-          echo "$OPEN" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-          echo "EOF" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          echo "open<<EOF" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          echo "$OPEN" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          echo "EOF" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
 
-          echo "closed<<EOF" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-          echo "$CLOSED" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-          echo "EOF" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          echo "closed<<EOF" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          echo "$CLOSED" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          echo "EOF" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
 
-          echo "wiki<<EOF" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-          echo "$WIKI" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-          echo "EOF" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-          echo "wikirange=$WIKIRANGE" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          echo "wiki<<EOF" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          echo "$WIKI" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          echo "EOF" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          echo "wikirange=$WIKIRANGE" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
       - uses: actions/checkout@44c2b7a8a4ea60a981eaca3cf939b5f4305c123b # v4.1.5
         if: steps.updates.outputs.open || steps.updates.outputs.closed || steps.updates.outputs.wiki
       - name: Open Issue