diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index bbadfed..e9c24c6 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -172,12 +172,14 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Agent eval suite (Layer 2 thresholds)
         if: steps.eval_key.outputs.skip != 'true'
+        # GH Actions bash uses -e: pytest failure must not abort before we handle EXIT.
+        continue-on-error: ${{ vars.EVAL_GATE_ENFORCED != 'true' }}
         run: |
           mkdir -p eval-results
-          set -o pipefail
+          set +e
           PYTHONPATH=.:backend pytest tests/eval/ -v --tb=short -m "eval" \
             | tee eval-results/eval.log
-          EXIT=$?
+          EXIT=${PIPESTATUS[0]}
           if [ "$EXIT" -ne 0 ]; then
             if [ "${EVAL_GATE_ENFORCED}" = "true" ]; then
               echo "::error::Agent eval below threshold — merge blocked (EVAL_GATE_ENFORCED=true)"