diff --git a/.github/workflows/notify-umbrella.yml b/.github/workflows/notify-umbrella.yml
index b4a7f54..6458b14 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/notify-umbrella.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/notify-umbrella.yml
@@ -1,14 +1,16 @@
-# notify-umbrella — tell the umbrella a repo's docs changed, so it rebuilds within minutes
-# instead of waiting for its daily cron (MIP-0070 §5.5). Modelled on h0ffmann/nix-config's
-# profile-ping.yml reusable workflow — a plain repository_dispatch, no checkout needed on either
-# side.
+# notify-umbrella — tell the umbrella every push to main (`submodule-updated`), so
+# pointer-sync.yml can move pointers on event instead of its daily cron, and that a repo's docs
+# changed too (`submodule-docs-updated`) when the push touches README.md or docs/**, so
+# docs.yml rebuilds within minutes (MIP-0070 §5.5, MIP-0076 §5.5 step 1). Modelled on
+# h0ffmann/nix-config's profile-ping.yml reusable workflow — a plain repository_dispatch, no
+# checkout needed on either side: the docs check reads the compare API instead of git.
 #
-# A consumer adds about three lines:
+# A consumer adds about three lines, no `paths:` filter — this workflow decides for itself which
+# event types a given push earns:
 #
 #   on:
 #     push:
 #       branches: [main]
-#       paths: [README.md, docs/**]
 #   jobs:
 #     notify:
 #       uses: marola-dev/marola-devkit/.github/workflows/notify-umbrella.yml@v0.5.0
@@ -28,9 +30,9 @@ on:
         type: string
         default: marola-dev/marola
       event-type:
-        description: "repository_dispatch event_type the umbrella's docs workflow listens for."
+        description: "Deprecated, ignored (MIP-0076): every call now sends submodule-updated, plus submodule-docs-updated on a docs change. Kept declared so a caller still passing it doesn't fail GitHub's reusable-workflow input check."
         type: string
-        default: submodule-docs-updated
+        default: ""
       runner:
         description: "Runner label for the dispatch job — a reusable workflow's runs-on resolves in the caller's repository."
         type: string
@@ -47,26 +49,62 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ${{ inputs.runner }}
     timeout-minutes: 2
     steps:
-      - name: repository_dispatch ${{ inputs.event-type }} -> ${{ inputs.umbrella }}
+      # A reusable workflow can only keep or lower the caller's permissions, and every caller sets
+      # permissions: {} — so this reads the compare API instead of checking the repo out. Even a
+      # token with no declared scope can read a public repo's API.
+      - name: Did this push touch README.md or docs/**?
+        id: docs
+        env:
+          TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
+          BEFORE: ${{ github.event.before }}
+          SHA: ${{ github.sha }}
+          REPO: ${{ github.repository }}
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          changed=false
+          if [ -z "${BEFORE:-}" ] || [ "$BEFORE" = "0000000000000000000000000000000000000000" ]; then
+            changed=true # first push on the branch: no prior ref to compare against
+          else
+            resp="$RUNNER_TEMP/notify-umbrella-compare.json"
+            code="$(curl -sS -o "$resp" -w '%{http_code}' \
+              -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" -H "X-GitHub-Api-Version: 2022-11-28" \
+              "https://api.github.com/repos/$REPO/compare/$BEFORE...$SHA")"
+            if [ "$code" != 200 ]; then
+              changed=true # before unknown to the API (e.g. a force-push): take the conservative path
+            elif [ "$(jq '(.files // []) | length' "$resp")" -ge 300 ]; then
+              changed=true # the compare API caps its file list at 300: the list may be truncated
+            elif jq -e '(.files // []) | any(.[]; .filename == "README.md" or (.filename | startswith("docs/")))' "$resp" >/dev/null; then
+              changed=true
+            fi
+          fi
+          echo "changed=$changed" >>"$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+
+      - name: repository_dispatch -> ${{ inputs.umbrella }}
         env:
           TOKEN: ${{ secrets.token }}
           UMBRELLA: ${{ inputs.umbrella }}
-          EVENT_TYPE: ${{ inputs.event-type }}
           REPO: ${{ github.repository }}
           SHA: ${{ github.sha }}
+          DOCS_CHANGED: ${{ steps.docs.outputs.changed }}
         run: |
           set -euo pipefail
           if [ -z "$TOKEN" ]; then
             echo "::notice::no umbrella-dispatch token set in $REPO — skipping; the umbrella's daily cron still picks this up"
             exit 0
           fi
-          body="$(jq -nc --arg repo "$REPO" --arg sha "$SHA" --arg event "$EVENT_TYPE" \
-            '{event_type: $event, client_payload: {repo: $repo, sha: $sha}}')"
-          code="$(curl -sS -o "$RUNNER_TEMP/notify-umbrella-response.txt" -w '%{http_code}' -X POST \
-            -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" -H "X-GitHub-Api-Version: 2022-11-28" \
-            "https://api.github.com/repos/$UMBRELLA/dispatches" -d "$body")"
-          if [ "$code" != 204 ]; then
-            echo "::warning::dispatch to $UMBRELLA answered HTTP $code: $(head -c 300 "$RUNNER_TEMP/notify-umbrella-response.txt")"
-            exit 0
+          events=(submodule-updated)
+          if [ "$DOCS_CHANGED" = true ]; then
+            events+=(submodule-docs-updated)
           fi
-          echo "dispatched $EVENT_TYPE for $REPO@$SHA to $UMBRELLA"
+          for event in "${events[@]}"; do
+            body="$(jq -nc --arg repo "$REPO" --arg sha "$SHA" --arg event "$event" \
+              '{event_type: $event, client_payload: {repo: $repo, sha: $sha}}')"
+            code="$(curl -sS -o "$RUNNER_TEMP/notify-umbrella-response.txt" -w '%{http_code}' -X POST \
+              -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" -H "X-GitHub-Api-Version: 2022-11-28" \
+              "https://api.github.com/repos/$UMBRELLA/dispatches" -d "$body")"
+            if [ "$code" != 204 ]; then
+              echo "::warning::dispatch of $event to $UMBRELLA answered HTTP $code: $(head -c 300 "$RUNNER_TEMP/notify-umbrella-response.txt")"
+            else
+              echo "dispatched $event for $REPO@$SHA to $UMBRELLA"
+            fi
+          done
diff --git a/docs/4-reference_workflows.md b/docs/4-reference_workflows.md
index a58dc8f..37a6a40 100644
--- a/docs/4-reference_workflows.md
+++ b/docs/4-reference_workflows.md
@@ -114,16 +114,20 @@ No secrets.
 
 ## notify-umbrella
 
-Tells the umbrella a repo's docs changed via `repository_dispatch`, so it rebuilds within minutes
-instead of at its next daily cron (MIP-0070 §5.5). Modelled on h0ffmann/nix-config's
-`profile-ping.yml` — no checkout on either side, ~3 lines to call.
+Tells the umbrella every push to `main` via `repository_dispatch` (`submodule-updated`), so
+pointer-sync.yml can move pointers on the event instead of waiting for its daily cron, and that a
+repo's docs changed too (`submodule-docs-updated`) when the push touched `README.md` or `docs/**`,
+so docs.yml rebuilds within minutes (MIP-0070 §5.5, MIP-0076 §5.5 step 1). Modelled on
+h0ffmann/nix-config's `profile-ping.yml` — no checkout on either side. The caller needs no
+`paths:` filter: this workflow reads the compare API itself to decide which event types a given
+push earns (every caller sets `permissions: {}`, which a reusable workflow can only keep or
+lower, so it can't check its own repo out).
 
 ```yaml
 name: notify umbrella
 on:
   push:
     branches: [main]
-    paths: [README.md, docs/**]
 jobs:
   notify:
     uses: marola-dev/marola-devkit/.github/workflows/notify-umbrella.yml@v0.5.0
@@ -134,7 +138,7 @@ jobs:
 | Input | Default | Notes |
 |---|---|---|
 | `umbrella` | `marola-dev/marola` | MAROLA_UMBRELLA, MIP-0070 §5.6 |
-| `event-type` | `submodule-docs-updated` | what the umbrella's docs workflow listens for |
+| `event-type` | `""` | deprecated, ignored (MIP-0076) — kept so a caller still passing it doesn't fail GitHub's input check |
 | `runner` | `ubuntu-latest` | resolved in the *caller's* repo |
 
 **Secret** `token` (optional): every repo passes the org secret `MAROLA_CROSS_REPO_PAT`, a
@@ -142,6 +146,10 @@ fine-grained PAT with Contents: read & write on the umbrella (`repository_dispat
 `GITHUB_TOKEN` cannot reach another repo). Unset is a notice, not a failure — the umbrella's daily
 cron still catches the change.
 
+A zero `github.event.before` (a branch's first push), a compare API call that doesn't answer 200
+(e.g. `before` unknown to it after a force-push), or a truncated compare (the API caps its file
+list at 300) all count as a docs change too, so both events go rather than silently dropping one.
+
 ## labels-sync
 
 Reconciles the caller repo's labels against `scripts/issues.sh labels sync`'s own default manifest