diff --git a/packages/loopover-miner/bin/loopover-miner.js b/packages/loopover-miner/bin/loopover-miner.js
index 110f131883..cb53779d51 100755
--- a/packages/loopover-miner/bin/loopover-miner.js
+++ b/packages/loopover-miner/bin/loopover-miner.js
@@ -38,11 +38,13 @@ import { resolveMinerVersion } from "../lib/version.js";
 // deeper in the call graph) reads plain env vars, so this single early pass is all that's needed for the whole
 // CLI (#5178). A broken secret mount fails the process fast and loud with a clear message, instead of an
 // uncaught-exception stack trace or a silent empty credential surfacing as a confusing GitHub 401 later.
+// Exits 2, not 1: docs/unattended-scheduling.md's contract only defines 0 (success) and 2 (failure -- "Alert
+// on this"), so an operator alerting strictly on 2 would otherwise miss a broken secret mount entirely.
 try {
   loadMinerFileSecrets();
 } catch (error) {
   console.error(error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error));
-  process.exit(1);
+  process.exit(2);
 }
 
 // Opt-in Sentry (#6011): a complete no-op unless the operator sets LOOPOVER_MINER_SENTRY_DSN themselves. Must
diff --git a/test/unit/miner-env-file-indirection.test.ts b/test/unit/miner-env-file-indirection.test.ts
index 1a31c40956..5c733a75a2 100644
--- a/test/unit/miner-env-file-indirection.test.ts
+++ b/test/unit/miner-env-file-indirection.test.ts
@@ -149,7 +149,10 @@ describe("loadMinerFileSecrets (#5178)", () => {
       expect(result.stderr).not.toContain("ghp_end_to_end_value");
     });
 
-    it("fails the process fast with a clear error when GITHUB_TOKEN_FILE points at a missing file", () => {
+    // #6162: exit code 2, not 1 -- docs/unattended-scheduling.md's contract only defines 0 (success) and 2
+    // (failure -- "Alert on this"), so an operator wiring alerting strictly to 2 must catch a broken secret
+    // mount like this one.
+    it("fails the process fast with a clear error and the documented failure exit code when GITHUB_TOKEN_FILE points at a missing file", () => {
       const result = spawnSync("node", [bin, "status"], {
         encoding: "utf8",
         env: {
@@ -159,7 +162,8 @@ describe("loadMinerFileSecrets (#5178)", () => {
         },
       });
 
-      expect(result.status).toBe(1);
+      expect(result.status).toBe(2);
+      expect(result.status).not.toBe(1);
       expect(result.stderr).toContain("GITHUB_TOKEN_FILE");
       expect(result.stderr).toContain("/definitely/does/not/exist/github_token");
     });