diff --git a/.github/scripts/run_smoke.py b/.github/scripts/run_smoke.py
index 3822a45..239f862 100644
--- a/.github/scripts/run_smoke.py
+++ b/.github/scripts/run_smoke.py
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 """
 Run the workspace smoke test suite.
 
-Reads `smoke_tests.txt` from the workspace root and `config/build/env_vars.yaml`
+Reads `smoke_tests.txt` from the workspace root and `config/build/profile_smoke.yaml`
 for per-script env var overrides, then runs each listed script with the
 appropriate environment. Continues through failures and exits non-zero
 if any script failed.
@@ -23,7 +23,10 @@
 
 WORKSPACE = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[2]
 SMOKE_FILE = WORKSPACE / "smoke_tests.txt"
-ENV_VARS_FILE = WORKSPACE / "config" / "build" / "env_vars.yaml"
+ENV_VARS_FILE = WORKSPACE / "config" / "build" / "profile_smoke.yaml"
+# Legacy fallback; retired at the stage-3 cleanup once all repos are renamed.
+if not ENV_VARS_FILE.exists():
+    ENV_VARS_FILE = WORKSPACE / "config" / "build" / "env_vars.yaml"
 SCRIPTS_DIR = WORKSPACE / "scripts"
 
 
diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index f124f3a..bce4af0 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ and the generic `af.Model` / `af.Collection` API.
 ## Testing
 
 On CI, every PR is gated on Python **3.12 and 3.13** by `smoke_tests.yml` (runs
-`python .github/scripts/run_smoke.py`, driven by `smoke_tests.txt` + `config/build/env_vars.yaml` —
+`python .github/scripts/run_smoke.py`, driven by `smoke_tests.txt` + `config/build/profile_smoke.yaml` —
 the definition of green), `navigator_check.yml` (PyAutoHands's reusable navigator-catalogue check;
 see *Notebooks vs Scripts*), and `url_check.yml` (link checking). The smoke and navigator jobs check
 out **PyAutoHands** as a sibling and run the PyAuto* libraries from the **same-named branch** of each
diff --git a/config/build/env_vars.yaml b/config/build/profile_smoke.yaml
similarity index 95%
rename from config/build/env_vars.yaml
rename to config/build/profile_smoke.yaml
index f3d7846..d79e81d 100644
--- a/config/build/env_vars.yaml
+++ b/config/build/profile_smoke.yaml
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ defaults:
   MPLCONFIGDIR: "/tmp/matplotlib"           # Writable config dir for matplotlib
 
 # (Removed on 2026-07-23: the two overrides here, `plot/emcee_plotter` and
-# `plot/zeus_plotter`, were copied in from autofit_workspace's env_vars.yaml,
+# `plot/zeus_plotter`, were copied in from autofit_workspace's profile_smoke.yaml,
 # where the identical patterns still live and still match. Those scripts exist
 # only as autofit_workspace/scripts/plot/*.py and have never existed in
 # HowToFit, which contains only chapter_*/tutorial_*.py — so neither pattern