diff --git a/.github/workflows/generate-samples.yml b/.github/workflows/generate-samples.yml
index ab6d3e0..8acc130 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/generate-samples.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/generate-samples.yml
@@ -12,10 +12,12 @@ on:
 
 permissions:
   contents: write
+  pull-requests: write
 
 jobs:
   generate:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    timeout-minutes: 20
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
       - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
@@ -32,14 +34,18 @@ jobs:
           fi
           node scripts/build-samples.mjs --generate-missing
 
-      - name: Commit new samples
-        run: |
-          if ! git diff --quiet -- examples/samples web/samples.json; then
-            git config user.name "github-actions[bot]"
-            git config user.email "github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
-            git add examples/samples web/samples.json
-            git commit -m "chore(samples): generate sample outputs for the gallery"
-            git push
-          else
-            echo "No new samples to commit."
-          fi
+      # main is protected (requires PRs), so open a PR instead of pushing directly.
+      - name: Open a PR with the new samples
+        uses: peter-evans/create-pull-request@v7
+        with:
+          add-paths: |
+            examples/samples
+            web/samples.json
+          branch: sample-outputs
+          delete-branch: true
+          commit-message: "chore(samples): generate sample outputs for the gallery"
+          title: "chore(samples): generate sample outputs for the gallery"
+          body: |
+            Auto-generated by the **Generate Sample Outputs** workflow using the
+            ANTHROPIC_API_KEY secret. Adds real model outputs to the sample gallery
+            (examples.html). Hand-written samples are never overwritten.