diff --git a/.github/workflows/noema-review.yml b/.github/workflows/noema-review.yml
index 9be705a50c..ff648754c8 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/noema-review.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/noema-review.yml
@@ -841,8 +841,8 @@ jobs:
             }' | gh api -X POST "repos/${TARGET_REPOSITORY}/dispatches" --input -
           echo "::notice::Scheduled Noema transport continuation re-dispatch for ${TARGET_REPOSITORY}#${PR_NUMBER} at ${EXPECTED_HEAD_SHA} (attempt ${NEXT_ATTEMPT})."
 
-      - name: Upload contextual-orchestrator sidecar evidence on failure
-        if: failure() && env.PR_NUMBER != ''
+      - name: Upload contextual-orchestrator sidecar evidence
+        if: always() && env.PR_NUMBER != ''
         uses: actions/upload-artifact@043fb46d1a93c77aae656e7c1c64a875d1fc6a0a # v7.0.1
         with:
           name: noema-sidecar-evidence
diff --git a/docs/noema-sidecar-evidence-1218.md b/docs/noema-sidecar-evidence-1218.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..594dee4239
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/noema-sidecar-evidence-1218.md
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+# Noema startup evidence for contextual-orchestrator PR #1218
+
+On 2026-09-27, run `36025318452`, attempt 3, job `108389560765`
+was inspected at consumer head `2fed942d378cd959250f648a16b35276279c9603`.
+The job used gateway pin `767e67fbc6b881a452761f32abb69b9971b9b03b`.
+Dependencies installed successfully. At 2026-09-26T12:37:08Z the sidecar
+started; no health/preflight-ready confirmation followed. The job was cancelled
+at 18:35:14Z, approximately six hours after admission. This does not establish
+that a Noema review request or any particular provider attempt occurred.
+
+Artifact `10877250808` was created on 2026-09-25T17:04:14Z and belongs to an
+earlier attempt. It must not be attributed to attempt 3 merely because the
+workflow run ID and consumer head are equal.
+
+The workflow uploaded its two existing sanitized evidence files only under
+`failure()`. Using `always()` preserves those same files after successful,
+failed and normally cancelled execution, without collecting raw provider logs.
+The pinned uploader, file allowlist, five-day retention and absent-file behavior
+remain intact. A hard runner timeout may prevent cleanup/upload entirely; this
+change cannot recover the missing attempt-3 evidence or prove its internal
+startup cause. Gateway inference timeouts must not be invented to hide it.
+
+Verification: the changed workflow contract fails on the previous source;
+the Noema workflow contract suite and actionlint verify the revised step.
+Hosted execution and independent review remain required before integration.
diff --git a/tests/test_noema_orchestrator_workflow_contract.py b/tests/test_noema_orchestrator_workflow_contract.py
index 490286aacc..fd9a7e9cc7 100644
--- a/tests/test_noema_orchestrator_workflow_contract.py
+++ b/tests/test_noema_orchestrator_workflow_contract.py
@@ -493,19 +493,16 @@ def test_noema_review_job_has_no_job_level_timeout() -> None:
     ), "the two-hour-per-model allowance this bound relies on must still be documented"
 
 
-def test_noema_review_uploads_sidecar_evidence_on_failure() -> None:
-    """A failed verdict phase ships the sanitized sidecar stderr and preflight report.
-
-    Before this step a failed Noema run left ``artifacts=0`` (run 33981136873:
-    3122 s, then HTTP 502, no per-route trace in the job log). The stderr file
-    is the sidecar sanitizer's bounded allowlist output -- the same file Strix
-    already publishes in ``strix-reports`` -- so shipping it on failure adds
-    diagnosis without adding exposure (#1935 follow-up).
+def test_noema_review_retains_sanitized_sidecar_evidence_after_any_outcome() -> None:
+    """Retain existing sanitized evidence on success, failure and cancellation.
+
+    A forced runner shutdown can still prevent upload; this contract only
+    removes the failure-only gate without adding raw logs or new files.
     """
     workflow = workflow_text("noema-review.yml")
-    name = "Upload contextual-orchestrator sidecar evidence on failure"
+    name = "Upload contextual-orchestrator sidecar evidence"
     step = workflow_step(workflow, name)
-    assert "if: failure() && env.PR_NUMBER != ''" in step
+    assert "if: always() && env.PR_NUMBER != ''" in step
     strix_pin = re.search(
         r"actions/upload-artifact@([0-9a-f]{40})", workflow_text("strix.yml")
     ).group(1)