diff --git a/.github/workflows/tests.yml b/.github/workflows/tests.yml
index 2f664ea9..0473c760 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/tests.yml
@@ -56,14 +56,21 @@ jobs:
         # (platformdirs>=4.12.2 registers a pytest plugin the old copy lacks).
         run: uv run --isolated --no-project --with phy --with pytest pytest PythonScripts/tests
 
+      # --no-cache: the restored uv cache holds the scripts' environments,
+      # and its key only has the minor Python version. When the runner image
+      # moves to a new patch release, those environments point at an
+      # interpreter that's gone (C:\hostedtoolcache\...\3.14.7\x64\python.exe),
+      # and on Windows uv reuses them anyway. (--isolated is a no-op for
+      # scripts.) Each script only needs pytest, numpy and scipy, which take
+      # a few seconds to fetch.
       - name: open_phy.py dat_path tests
-        run: uv run --script tests/test_open_phy_dat_path.py
+        run: uv run --no-cache --script tests/test_open_phy_dat_path.py
 
       - name: iblapps_version.py tests
-        run: uv run --script tests/test_iblapps_version.py
+        run: uv run --no-cache --script tests/test_iblapps_version.py
 
       - name: matlab_export.py tests
-        run: uv run --script tests/test_matlab_export.py
+        run: uv run --no-cache --script tests/test_matlab_export.py
 
   matlab:
     name: MATLAB