diff --git a/test-plans/java-basic-editing.yaml b/test-plans/java-basic-editing.yaml
index 0093d73d..c1f8377a 100644
--- a/test-plans/java-basic-editing.yaml
+++ b/test-plans/java-basic-editing.yaml
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ steps:
   - id: "ls-ready"
     action: "waitForLanguageServer"
     verify: "Java extension has activated and the simple-app project tree is visible in the Explorer sidebar"
+    skipLlmVerify: true  # waitForLanguageServer reads the same status bar text the LLM would inspect
     verifyProblems:
       errors: 2
     timeout: 120
@@ -140,6 +141,10 @@ steps:
       path: "~/src/app/App.java"
       contains: "import java.io.File"
     timeout: 10
+    # Save All has no on-screen change (tab dirty dot clears on the saved
+    # tab but the active editor isn't the saved file). LLM downgrades on
+    # before==after by-design.
+    skipLlmVerify: true
 
   # ── Step 8: Rename Symbol (F2) ──────────────────────────────
   - id: "close-all-before-rename"
diff --git a/test-plans/java-debugger.yaml b/test-plans/java-debugger.yaml
index a30051c1..92e241b2 100644
--- a/test-plans/java-debugger.yaml
+++ b/test-plans/java-debugger.yaml
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ steps:
     verify: "Java workspace has loaded; Problems panel shows no errors"
     verifyProblems:
       errors: 0
+    skipLlmVerify: true  # waitForLanguageServer is authoritative; LLM only sees the same status bar
     timeout: 120
 
   # ── Open App.java ────────────────────────────────────────
diff --git a/test-plans/java-dependency-viewer.yaml b/test-plans/java-dependency-viewer.yaml
index 89bbb5c0..258530ce 100644
--- a/test-plans/java-dependency-viewer.yaml
+++ b/test-plans/java-dependency-viewer.yaml
@@ -28,6 +28,11 @@ steps:
   - id: "ls-ready"
     action: "waitForLanguageServer"
     verify: "Java workspace has loaded; Explorer shows the project tree and Problems panel is settled"
+    # waitForLanguageServer is the authoritative deterministic check — the
+    # status bar can still flicker "Java: Searching... 0%" for background
+    # indexing right after the LS reports ready, which has historically
+    # caused LLM screenshot downgrades. Skip LLM here.
+    skipLlmVerify: true
     timeout: 120
 
   # ── Open dependency view ─────────────────────────────────
diff --git a/test-plans/java-extension-pack.yaml b/test-plans/java-extension-pack.yaml
index 7e26ec98..05e7a9d0 100644
--- a/test-plans/java-extension-pack.yaml
+++ b/test-plans/java-extension-pack.yaml
@@ -30,6 +30,9 @@ steps:
   - id: "ls-ready"
     action: "waitForLanguageServer"
     verify: "Java workspace has loaded; Explorer shows the project tree and Problems panel is settled"
+    # waitForLanguageServer is the authoritative deterministic check —
+    # status-bar background indexing can cause spurious LLM downgrades.
+    skipLlmVerify: true
     timeout: 120
 
   # ── Trigger Classpath configuration command ──────────────
diff --git a/test-plans/java-fresh-import.yaml b/test-plans/java-fresh-import.yaml
index e077e526..b12858fc 100644
--- a/test-plans/java-fresh-import.yaml
+++ b/test-plans/java-fresh-import.yaml
@@ -45,6 +45,9 @@ steps:
   - id: "ls-ready"
     action: "waitForLanguageServer"
     verify: "spring-petclinic project has been imported; Java extension is activated and ready for editing"
+    # waitForLanguageServer is authoritative — skip LLM screenshot re-check
+    # (status bar background indexing causes false downgrades).
+    skipLlmVerify: true
     timeout: 300
 
   # ── Verify completion ────────────────────────────────────
@@ -67,3 +70,6 @@ steps:
     verifyCompletion:
       notEmpty: true
     waitBefore: 5
+    # LLM may downgrade if it sees "Loading..." spinner on cold cache; retry
+    # gives the LS a warmed cache so the popup is fully rendered.
+    retries: 1
diff --git a/test-plans/java-gradle-java25.yaml b/test-plans/java-gradle-java25.yaml
index 2b8392c9..2462f6e1 100644
--- a/test-plans/java-gradle-java25.yaml
+++ b/test-plans/java-gradle-java25.yaml
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ steps:
     verifyProblems:
       errors: 0
     timeout: 300
+    skipLlmVerify: true  # waitForLanguageServer is authoritative; LLM only sees the same status bar
 
   # ── Step 2: Open Java file ───────────────────────────────
   # wiki: "Open Foo.java, make sure the editing experience is correctly working"
@@ -54,6 +55,8 @@ steps:
     verifyCompletion:
       notEmpty: true
     waitBefore: 8
+    # Retry once on cold-cache "Loading..." LLM downgrades.
+    retries: 1
 
   # ── Step 4: Verify editing ────────────────────────────────
   - id: "goto-line"
diff --git a/test-plans/java-gradle.yaml b/test-plans/java-gradle.yaml
index f6f488cc..02416b46 100644
--- a/test-plans/java-gradle.yaml
+++ b/test-plans/java-gradle.yaml
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ steps:
     verifyProblems:
       errors: 0
     timeout: 300
+    skipLlmVerify: true  # waitForLanguageServer is authoritative; LLM only sees the same status bar
 
   # ── Step 2: Open Foo.java and verify editing experience ─
   # wiki: "Open Foo.java file, make sure the editing experience
diff --git a/test-plans/java-maven-java25.yaml b/test-plans/java-maven-java25.yaml
index 25c5f444..2a785235 100644
--- a/test-plans/java-maven-java25.yaml
+++ b/test-plans/java-maven-java25.yaml
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ steps:
     verifyProblems:
       errors: 0
     timeout: 180
+    skipLlmVerify: true  # waitForLanguageServer is authoritative; LLM only sees the same status bar
 
   # ── Step 2: Open Java file ───────────────────────────────
   # wiki: "Open Bar.java, make sure the editing experience is correctly working"
@@ -52,6 +53,8 @@ steps:
     verifyCompletion:
       notEmpty: true
     waitBefore: 8
+    # Retry once on cold-cache "Loading..." LLM downgrades.
+    retries: 1
 
   # ── Step 4: Verify editing ────────────────────────────────
   - id: "goto-line"
diff --git a/test-plans/java-maven-multimodule.yaml b/test-plans/java-maven-multimodule.yaml
index ff0e2f89..efe24dec 100644
--- a/test-plans/java-maven-multimodule.yaml
+++ b/test-plans/java-maven-multimodule.yaml
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ steps:
     action: "waitForLanguageServer"
     verify: "Multimodule Maven workspace has loaded; the Java extension is initialized for the project with module1 and module2 visible in the Explorer (the Problems panel may briefly show diagnostics that are still being recomputed after import — the verifyProblems checks below pin the final state)"
     timeout: 180
+    skipLlmVerify: true  # waitForLanguageServer is authoritative; LLM only sees the same status bar
 
   # ── Step 2: Verify module1 Foo.java ──────────────────────
   # wiki: "make sure the editing experience is correctly working
@@ -48,6 +49,8 @@ steps:
     verifyCompletion:
       notEmpty: true
     waitBefore: 8
+    # Retry once on cold-cache "Loading..." LLM downgrades.
+    retries: 1
 
   # Close module1's tab first so the next `open file Foo.java` request
   # disambiguates to module2/Foo.java rather than re-focusing the already-
@@ -69,3 +72,5 @@ steps:
     verifyCompletion:
       notEmpty: true
     waitBefore: 8
+    # Retry once on cold-cache "Loading..." LLM downgrades.
+    retries: 1
diff --git a/test-plans/java-maven-resolve-type.yaml b/test-plans/java-maven-resolve-type.yaml
index a136171e..477bc100 100644
--- a/test-plans/java-maven-resolve-type.yaml
+++ b/test-plans/java-maven-resolve-type.yaml
@@ -49,6 +49,8 @@ steps:
     action: "waitForLanguageServer"
     verify: "maven-resolve-type project has been imported; the Java extension is activated and pom.xml is visible in the Explorer"
     timeout: 180
+    # waitForLanguageServer is authoritative — skip LLM screenshot re-check.
+    skipLlmVerify: true
 
   # ── Open Java file ──────────────────────────────────────
   - id: "open-app"
@@ -103,6 +105,10 @@ steps:
       path: "~/pom.xml"
       contains: "com.google.code.gson"
     waitBefore: 2
+    # Disk-only insertLineInFile: pom.xml isn't in any editor, so before/after
+    # screenshots are necessarily identical. LLM always downgrades; verifyFile
+    # reading from disk is the only meaningful signal.
+    skipLlmVerify: true
 
   # Re-open pom.xml so the AFTER screenshot shows the new <dependency>
   # block. Loading fresh from disk avoids any in-memory/disk mismatch.
@@ -161,6 +167,10 @@ steps:
       errors: 0
     waitBefore: 20
     timeout: 90
+    # Maven re-import on a cold cache can take significantly longer than the
+    # waitBefore window; a single retry (with the LS likely already settled
+    # by then) recovers without inflating the happy-path wait further.
+    retries: 1
 
   # After save, the language server publishes diagnostics (status bar updates
   # to 0 errors, verified deterministically above). However, on Linux runners
diff --git a/test-plans/java-maven.yaml b/test-plans/java-maven.yaml
index a87e17d3..c2f198bb 100644
--- a/test-plans/java-maven.yaml
+++ b/test-plans/java-maven.yaml
@@ -30,6 +30,8 @@ steps:
   - id: "ls-ready"
     action: "waitForLanguageServer"
     verify: "Maven workspace has loaded; the Java extension is initialized and pom.xml is visible in the Explorer (the Problems panel may briefly show diagnostics that are still being recomputed after import)"
+    # waitForLanguageServer is authoritative — skip LLM screenshot re-check.
+    skipLlmVerify: true
     timeout: 120
 
   # ── Step 2: Open Java file and verify editing experience ─────────────────
@@ -48,6 +50,8 @@ steps:
     verifyCompletion:
       notEmpty: true
     waitBefore: 8
+    # Retry once on cold-cache "Loading..." LLM downgrades.
+    retries: 1
 
   # 2c. Verify cursor navigation (goToLine)
   - id: "goto-line"
diff --git a/test-plans/java-new-file-snippet.yaml b/test-plans/java-new-file-snippet.yaml
index 8b7ea695..3731340d 100644
--- a/test-plans/java-new-file-snippet.yaml
+++ b/test-plans/java-new-file-snippet.yaml
@@ -28,6 +28,8 @@ steps:
   - id: "ls-ready"
     action: "waitForLanguageServer"
     verify: "Java workspace has loaded for the simple-app project; no error notifications visible"
+    # waitForLanguageServer is authoritative — skip LLM screenshot re-check.
+    skipLlmVerify: true
     timeout: 120
 
   # ── Step 9: Create new Java file ─────────────────────────────
diff --git a/test-plans/java-pack-help-center-webview.yaml b/test-plans/java-pack-help-center-webview.yaml
index 7023d3f6..3d749cd0 100644
--- a/test-plans/java-pack-help-center-webview.yaml
+++ b/test-plans/java-pack-help-center-webview.yaml
@@ -13,6 +13,13 @@ description: |
 
 setup:
   extension: "redhat.java"
+  # The Help Center webview lives in vscode-java-pack itself. On scheduled
+  # runs there is no built VSIX, so the pack must be installed from the
+  # marketplace; otherwise the `java.welcome` command is unregistered and
+  # the open-help-center step times out silently. On PR runs the
+  # build-pack job's VSIX takes precedence (--vsix overrides marketplace).
+  extensions:
+    - "vscjava.vscode-java-pack"
   vscodeVersion: "stable"
   timeout: 60
   settings:
diff --git a/test-plans/java-single-file.yaml b/test-plans/java-single-file.yaml
index d66b634b..d41867a6 100644
--- a/test-plans/java-single-file.yaml
+++ b/test-plans/java-single-file.yaml
@@ -31,6 +31,8 @@ steps:
   - id: "ls-ready"
     action: "waitForLanguageServer"
     verify: "Java extension has activated for the single-file workspace; no error notifications are visible"
+    # waitForLanguageServer is authoritative — skip LLM screenshot re-check.
+    skipLlmVerify: true
     timeout: 120
 
   # ── Step 2: Open Java file ──────────────────────────────
@@ -50,6 +52,8 @@ steps:
     verifyCompletion:
       notEmpty: true
     waitBefore: 8
+    # Retry once on cold-cache "Loading..." LLM downgrades.
+    retries: 1
 
   # ── Step 4: Verify basic editing ────────────────────────────────
   - id: "goto-main"
diff --git a/test-plans/java-single-no-workspace.yaml b/test-plans/java-single-no-workspace.yaml
index eec9557e..87638cbb 100644
--- a/test-plans/java-single-no-workspace.yaml
+++ b/test-plans/java-single-no-workspace.yaml
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ steps:
     action: "waitForLanguageServer"
     verify: "Java extension has activated for the single-file (no-workspace) mode; no error notifications visible"
     timeout: 120
+    skipLlmVerify: true  # waitForLanguageServer is authoritative; LLM only sees the same status bar
 
   # ── Step 2: Verify file is open ──────────────────────────────
   - id: "verify-file-open"
@@ -52,6 +53,8 @@ steps:
       notEmpty: true
     waitBefore: 8
     timeout: 30
+    # Retry once on cold-cache "Loading..." LLM downgrades.
+    retries: 1
 
   # ── Step 4: Verify editing ────────────────────────────────────
   - id: "goto-line"
diff --git a/test-plans/java-test-runner.yaml b/test-plans/java-test-runner.yaml
index 06021602..ae12f83f 100644
--- a/test-plans/java-test-runner.yaml
+++ b/test-plans/java-test-runner.yaml
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ steps:
     action: "waitForLanguageServer"
     verify: "maven-junit workspace has loaded; the Java extension is initialized for the project"
     timeout: 300
+    skipLlmVerify: true  # waitForLanguageServer is authoritative; LLM only sees the same status bar
 
   # ── Step 1: Open test file so CodeLens can render ───────────
   - id: "open-test-file"
@@ -52,7 +53,7 @@ steps:
   # ready — discovery is asynchronous and Test Explorer is initially empty.
   # On cold-cache CI runners 20s is sometimes too short; bump to 45s.
   - id: "wait-test-discovery"
-    action: "wait 45 seconds"
+    action: "wait 90 seconds"
 
   # ── Step 2: Run tests via Java Test Runner palette command ───────
   # autotest 0.7.1 ships `openTestExplorer`/`runAllTests` actions wired to
@@ -72,6 +73,11 @@ steps:
     action: "run command Java: Run Tests"
     verify: "Java: Run Tests command has been invoked from the palette; the Java Test Runner extension has responded (this may show as a Testing view becoming active, a run indicator in the status bar, or an informational notification such as 'No tests found in this file' if discovery is still in progress — all of these indicate the command executed successfully)"
     waitBefore: 3
+    # Test discovery is asynchronous in vscode-java-test; on cold-cache
+    # CI runners the first Run Tests invocation can land before discovery
+    # completes ("No tests have been found"). Allow one retry — by the
+    # second attempt the discovery cache is usually warm.
+    retries: 1
 
   - id: "wait-test-complete"
     action: "wait 45 seconds"
diff --git a/test-plans/java-webview-migration.yaml b/test-plans/java-webview-migration.yaml
index 49aa321a..ec1eeeb1 100644
--- a/test-plans/java-webview-migration.yaml
+++ b/test-plans/java-webview-migration.yaml
@@ -55,6 +55,10 @@ steps:
   - id: "ls-ready"
     action: "waitForLanguageServer"
     verify: "Maven salut workspace has loaded; the Java extension and the pack webview commands are ready"
+    # waitForLanguageServer is authoritative — skip LLM screenshot re-check
+    # (status bar may still show "Java: Searching... 0%" for background
+    # indexing right after the LS reports ready).
+    skipLlmVerify: true
     timeout: 180
 
   # ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
@@ -256,6 +260,9 @@ steps:
     verifyFile:
       path: "~/.vscode/java-formatter.xml"
       contains: "CodeFormatterProfile"
+    # Disk-only insertLineInFile against a file not in any editor.
+    # before/after screenshots are by-design identical.
+    skipLlmVerify: true
 
   - id: "close-profile-file-before-formatter"
     action: "run command View: Close All Editors"