diff --git a/docker/openemr/8.0.0/openemr.sh b/docker/openemr/8.0.0/openemr.sh
index b2aa7138..9829ca99 100644
--- a/docker/openemr/8.0.0/openemr.sh
+++ b/docker/openemr/8.0.0/openemr.sh
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ set -e
 # source-follower without ever running it — BusyBox ash treats `.` as a
 # special builtin and exits the shell on file-not-found even with `|| true`.
 if false; then
-    # shellcheck source=docker/openemr/8.0.0/env.stub
+    # shellcheck source=SCRIPTDIR/env.stub
     . /root/env.stub
 fi
 
diff --git a/docker/openemr/8.0.0/ssl.sh b/docker/openemr/8.0.0/ssl.sh
index 30c97299..e3843b16 100644
--- a/docker/openemr/8.0.0/ssl.sh
+++ b/docker/openemr/8.0.0/ssl.sh
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ set -e
 # source-follower without ever running it — BusyBox ash treats `.` as a
 # special builtin and exits the shell on file-not-found even with `|| true`.
 if false; then
-    # shellcheck source=docker/openemr/8.0.0/env.stub
+    # shellcheck source=SCRIPTDIR/env.stub
     . /root/env.stub
 fi
 
diff --git a/tools/release/tests/SlotRotatorTest.php b/tools/release/tests/SlotRotatorTest.php
index 1ddcb21a..485a1eb9 100644
--- a/tools/release/tests/SlotRotatorTest.php
+++ b/tools/release/tests/SlotRotatorTest.php
@@ -195,6 +195,37 @@ public function testReplacementAvoidsPartialVersionMatches(): void
         self::assertStringContainsString('rel-820', $after);
     }
 
+    public function testRotationLeavesScriptdirShellcheckDirectiveIntact(): void
+    {
+        $rotator = new SlotRotator($this->tmpDir, $this->registryPath);
+
+        $rotator->rotate([
+            'current' => [
+                'minor' => '8.2',
+                'full' => '8.2.0',
+                'branch' => 'rel-820',
+                'docker_dir' => '8.2.0',
+            ],
+        ]);
+
+        $script = (string) file_get_contents($this->tmpDir . '/docker/openemr/8.0.0/openemr.sh');
+        self::assertStringContainsString(
+            '# shellcheck source=SCRIPTDIR/env.stub',
+            $script,
+            'self-referential SCRIPTDIR directive must survive rotation byte-for-byte',
+        );
+        self::assertStringNotContainsString(
+            'source=docker/openemr',
+            $script,
+            'rotation must never inject a version path into a shellcheck source directive',
+        );
+        self::assertStringContainsString(
+            "echo 'init for docker/openemr/8.2.0'",
+            $script,
+            'sanity: the genuine rotating docker_dir token should have been rewritten',
+        );
+    }
+
     private function seedFixtures(): void
     {
         $this->writeFile('tools/release/versions.yml', <<<'YAML'
@@ -230,6 +261,9 @@ private function seedFixtures(): void
           - path: docker/openemr/8.0.0/Dockerfile
             slot: current
             kinds: [docker_clone_branch]
+          - path: docker/openemr/8.0.0/openemr.sh
+            slot: current
+            kinds: [docker_dir_ref]
           - path: docker/openemr/8.1.0/Dockerfile
             slot: next
             kinds: [docker_arg_branch]
@@ -256,6 +290,17 @@ private function seedFixtures(): void
         $this->writeFile('docker/openemr/8.1.0/Dockerfile', "FROM alpine:3.21\nARG OPENEMR_VERSION=rel-810\n");
         $this->writeFile('docker/openemr/8.1.1/Dockerfile', "FROM alpine:3.21\nARG OPENEMR_VERSION=master\n");
 
+        // In-container init script for the current slot. It carries a rotating
+        // docker_dir token (the path in the echo line) alongside a
+        // self-referential `SCRIPTDIR` shellcheck directive that must never be
+        // rewritten.
+        $this->writeFile(
+            'docker/openemr/8.0.0/openemr.sh',
+            "#!/bin/sh\nset -e\n"
+            . "# shellcheck source=SCRIPTDIR/env.stub\n. /root/env.stub\n"
+            . "echo 'init for docker/openemr/8.0.0'\n",
+        );
+
         $this->writeFile(
             'docker/openemr/OVERVIEW.md',
             "| 8.0.0 | latest |\n| 8.1.0 | next |\n| 8.1.1 | dev |\n",
diff --git a/tools/release/versions.yml b/tools/release/versions.yml
index 67030411..bff5101e 100644
--- a/tools/release/versions.yml
+++ b/tools/release/versions.yml
@@ -122,17 +122,6 @@ files:
     slot: all
     kinds: [dependabot_directory]
 
-  # In-container init scripts; reference their own dir as shellcheck source
-  # comments, so they rotate with the slot's docker_dir. Only the 8.0.0/*.sh
-  # files currently have these refs; the next/dev variants have no path
-  # comments and will be picked up by the linter only if added later.
-  - path: docker/openemr/8.0.0/openemr.sh
-    slot: current
-    kinds: [shellcheck_source]
-  - path: docker/openemr/8.0.0/ssl.sh
-    slot: current
-    kinds: [shellcheck_source]
-
   # Container-benchmarking docs reference the next-slot version as defaults.
   - path: utilities/container_benchmarking/README.md
     slot: next