diff --git a/lib/checkrun/registry.py b/lib/checkrun/registry.py
index c194eaf..91fcb77 100755
--- a/lib/checkrun/registry.py
+++ b/lib/checkrun/registry.py
@@ -105,8 +105,25 @@ def _shell_dispatch_functions(phase: str) -> dict[str, str]:
     # cross the Python-to-shell boundary. Function existence alone is not enough:
     # a custom registry can point at a real helper such as `_lint_ruff`, but the
     # shell entrypoint still needs an adapter arm that calls that same helper with
-    # the right arguments. This narrow parser intentionally supports Checkrun's
-    # one-line dispatch arms instead of trying to understand arbitrary shell.
+    # the right arguments.
+    #
+    # WHY THIS PARSES SHELL: deriving control flow (the case -> function mapping)
+    # by scraping shell source is inherently coupled to how that source is
+    # formatted, and this runs on EVERY registry load — so a purely cosmetic edit
+    # to the dispatchers could otherwise brick all format/lint/plan. The durable
+    # fix is to make the dispatch mapping data the registry owns (declared in
+    # registry.json, validated by presence) rather than re-derived from shell;
+    # until then this scanner is deliberately tolerant of the benign reformats a
+    # shell formatter or a human introduces without changing behavior:
+    #   - the handler on the same line as the pattern:   `ruff-format) _f ... ;;`
+    #   - the handler on the following line(s):          `ruff-format)\n  _f ...`
+    #   - an indented `esac`/closing brace.
+    # It intentionally does NOT understand alternation (`a|b)`) or stacked bare
+    # labels sharing one handler; Checkrun's dispatchers use one adapter id per
+    # arm, and such a rewrite fails LOUDLY (empty/short table below) rather than
+    # mapping an arm to the wrong function. Anything it genuinely cannot read
+    # likewise fails loud rather than dropping arms silently, and is covered by
+    # regression tests.
     try:
         source, function = _SHELL_DISPATCH[phase]
     except KeyError as exc:
@@ -118,7 +135,10 @@ def _shell_dispatch_functions(phase: str) -> dict[str, str]:
 
     in_function = False
     dispatch: dict[str, str] = {}
-    arm = re.compile(r"^\s+([A-Za-z0-9_.+-]+)\)\s+([A-Za-z_][A-Za-z0-9_]*)\b")
+    pending: list[str] = []  # case patterns whose handler is on a later line
+    inline = re.compile(r"^\s*([A-Za-z0-9_.+-]+)\)\s+([A-Za-z_][A-Za-z0-9_]*)\b")
+    label = re.compile(r"^\s*([A-Za-z0-9_.+-]+)\)\s*$")
+    command = re.compile(r"^\s*([A-Za-z_][A-Za-z0-9_]*)\b")
     for line in lines:
         if not in_function:
             stripped = line.strip()
@@ -127,11 +147,29 @@ def _shell_dispatch_functions(phase: str) -> dict[str, str]:
             ):
                 in_function = True
             continue
-        if line == "}":
+        stripped = line.strip()
+        if stripped == "":
+            continue  # blank line: any pending pattern keeps waiting for its handler
+        # Arms live only inside the case block, so stop at its end (or the
+        # function's) regardless of indentation.
+        if stripped in ("}", "esac"):
             break
-        match = arm.match(line)
-        if match and match.group(1) != "*":
-            dispatch[match.group(1)] = match.group(2)
+        match = inline.match(line)
+        if match:
+            pending = []  # a new arm supersedes any orphaned label above it
+            if match.group(1) != "*":
+                dispatch[match.group(1)] = match.group(2)
+            continue
+        match = label.match(line)
+        if match:
+            pending = [match.group(1)] if match.group(1) != "*" else []
+            continue
+        if pending:
+            match = command.match(line)
+            if match:
+                for adapter_id in pending:
+                    dispatch[adapter_id] = match.group(1)
+                pending = []
     if not dispatch:
         raise RegistryError(f"{phase}: dispatch adapter table could not be read")
     return dispatch
diff --git a/test/suites/registry-test b/test/suites/registry-test
index 619acbd..507abc5 100755
--- a/test/suites/registry-test
+++ b/test/suites/registry-test
@@ -533,6 +533,89 @@ else:
 PY
 _assert_exit "registry: unknown shell dispatch adapter is rejected" 0 "$?"
 
+echo "=== checkrun: dispatch parser tolerates benign reformatting ==="
+
+# The dispatch table is re-derived from shell source on every registry load, so
+# a purely cosmetic reformat of the dispatchers must not change what the parser
+# reads (or it would brick all format/lint/plan). Assert the parser is tolerant
+# of the realistic reformats, and that an unreadable table still fails LOUDLY
+# instead of silently returning an empty mapping.
+python3 - "$CHECKRUN_REPO_ROOT" "$_td/reformatted-dispatch.sh" "$_td/empty-dispatch.sh" <<'PY'
+import importlib.util
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+
+root = Path(sys.argv[1])
+reformatted = Path(sys.argv[2])
+empty = Path(sys.argv[3])
+
+spec = importlib.util.spec_from_file_location("checkrun_registry", root / "lib/checkrun/registry.py")
+mod = importlib.util.module_from_spec(spec)
+assert spec.loader is not None
+spec.loader.exec_module(mod)
+
+# Semantically identical to the inline style, but reformatted the way a shell
+# formatter or a human edit might: handler on the line after the pattern, extra
+# blank lines, and an indented `esac`.
+reformatted.write_text(
+    '''
+_format_dispatch() {
+  local adapter="$1"
+  case "$adapter" in
+    ruff-format)
+      _format_ruff "$file" "$dir" ;;
+
+    rustfmt)
+      _format_rustfmt "$file" ;;
+    *)
+      echo "unknown" >&2
+      return 125
+      ;;
+    esac
+}
+
+_lint_dispatch() {
+  case "$adapter" in
+    shellcheck) _lint_sh "$file" ;;
+    ruff-lint)
+      _lint_ruff "$file" ;;
+  esac
+}
+''',
+    encoding="utf-8",
+)
+mod._SHELL_DISPATCH = {
+    "format": (reformatted, "_format_dispatch()"),
+    "lint": (reformatted, "_lint_dispatch()"),
+}
+fmt = mod._shell_dispatch_functions("format")
+assert fmt == {"ruff-format": "_format_ruff", "rustfmt": "_format_rustfmt"}, fmt
+lint = mod._shell_dispatch_functions("lint")
+assert lint == {"shellcheck": "_lint_sh", "ruff-lint": "_lint_ruff"}, lint
+
+# A dispatcher with no readable arms must fail loudly, never silently return an
+# empty table that would make every selector look undispatched.
+empty.write_text(
+    '''
+_format_dispatch() {
+  local adapter="$1"
+  case "$adapter" in
+    *) return 125 ;;
+  esac
+}
+''',
+    encoding="utf-8",
+)
+mod._SHELL_DISPATCH = {"format": (empty, "_format_dispatch()")}
+try:
+    mod._shell_dispatch_functions("format")
+except mod.RegistryError as error:
+    assert "could not be read" in str(error), str(error)
+else:
+    raise AssertionError("empty dispatch table was accepted")
+PY
+_assert_exit "registry: dispatch parser tolerates reformatting and fails loudly when empty" 0 "$?"
+
 cp "$REGISTRY" "$_td/registry.json"
 python3 - "$_td/registry.json" <<'PY'
 import json