diff --git a/src/specify_cli/workflows/_commands.py b/src/specify_cli/workflows/_commands.py
index c3ba89157..e075de077 100644
--- a/src/specify_cli/workflows/_commands.py
+++ b/src/specify_cli/workflows/_commands.py
@@ -154,14 +154,21 @@ _MAX_WORKFLOW_YAML_BYTES = 5 * 1024 * 1024  # 5 MiB
 _DOWNLOAD_CHUNK_SIZE = 65536
 
 
-def _read_response_within_limit(response, max_bytes: int = _MAX_WORKFLOW_YAML_BYTES) -> bytes:
+def _read_response_within_limit(response, max_bytes: int | None = None) -> bytes:
     """Read *response* fully, enforcing *max_bytes* via bounded streaming.
 
     A ``Content-Length`` header is checked up front to fail fast, but it is
     never trusted alone: the actual bytes read are also counted as they
     stream in, so a chunked or ``Content-Length``-less response that lies
     about (or omits) its size still cannot exceed the limit.
+
+    ``max_bytes`` defaults to ``None`` (resolved to the module-level
+    ``_MAX_WORKFLOW_YAML_BYTES`` at call time, not at function-definition
+    time) so tests can override the effective limit via monkeypatching the
+    module attribute.
     """
+    if max_bytes is None:
+        max_bytes = _MAX_WORKFLOW_YAML_BYTES
     content_length = None
     getheader = getattr(response, "getheader", None)
     if callable(getheader):
@@ -910,6 +917,7 @@ def workflow_add(
             _wf_url_extra_headers = {"Accept": "application/octet-stream"}
 
         import tempfile
+        tmp_path: Path | None = None
         try:
             with _open_url(
                 download_url,
@@ -933,11 +941,17 @@ def workflow_add(
                     )
                     raise typer.Exit(1)
                 with tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile(suffix=".yml", delete=False) as tmp:
-                    tmp.write(_read_response_within_limit(resp))
+                    # Assign tmp_path immediately: NamedTemporaryFile(delete=False)
+                    # creates the file on disk right away, before any bytes are
+                    # written, so a failure in the size-limited read below must
+                    # still be able to find and remove it.
                     tmp_path = Path(tmp.name)
+                    tmp.write(_read_response_within_limit(resp))
         except typer.Exit:
             raise
         except Exception as exc:
+            if tmp_path is not None:
+                tmp_path.unlink(missing_ok=True)
             console.print(f"[red]Error:[/red] Failed to download workflow: {_escape_markup(str(exc))}")
             raise typer.Exit(1)
         try:
diff --git a/tests/test_workflows.py b/tests/test_workflows.py
index 4242146ca..85339b95b 100644
--- a/tests/test_workflows.py
+++ b/tests/test_workflows.py
@@ -7675,7 +7675,7 @@ steps:
             )
         assert result.exit_code != 0
         assert result.exception is None or isinstance(result.exception, SystemExit)
-        assert result.output.strip() != ""
+        assert "exceedingthe100-byteworkflowsizelimit" in "".join(result.output.split())
 
     def test_add_from_url_rejects_oversized_streamed_body_without_content_length(
         self, project_dir, monkeypatch
@@ -7705,7 +7705,77 @@ steps:
             )
         assert result.exit_code != 0
         assert result.exception is None or isinstance(result.exception, SystemExit)
-        assert result.output.strip() != ""
+        assert "exceedsthe100-byteworkflowsizelimit" in "".join(result.output.split())
+
+    def test_add_from_url_oversized_streamed_body_leaves_no_temp_file(
+        self, project_dir, monkeypatch, tmp_path
+    ):
+        """A rejected --from download (oversized streamed body, no
+        Content-Length) must not leave the 0-byte NamedTemporaryFile behind:
+        the file is created on disk as soon as it is opened (delete=False),
+        before any bytes are written, so a failure inside the size-limit
+        check must still clean it up rather than merely erroring out."""
+        import tempfile as tempfile_mod
+        from unittest.mock import patch
+        from typer.testing import CliRunner
+        from specify_cli import app
+        from specify_cli.workflows import _commands as wf_commands
+
+        monkeypatch.chdir(project_dir)
+        monkeypatch.setattr(wf_commands, "_MAX_WORKFLOW_YAML_BYTES", 100)
+        scratch_tmp = tmp_path / "scratch-tmp"
+        scratch_tmp.mkdir()
+        monkeypatch.setattr(tempfile_mod, "tempdir", str(scratch_tmp))
+        oversized_body = b"x" * 500  # no Content-Length header at all
+        runner = CliRunner()
+        with patch(
+            "specify_cli.authentication.http.open_url",
+            side_effect=lambda url, timeout=None, extra_headers=None, redirect_validator=None: self._FakeResponse(
+                oversized_body, url
+            ),
+        ):
+            result = runner.invoke(
+                app,
+                ["workflow", "add", "align-wf", "--from", "https://example.com/workflow.yml"],
+            )
+        assert result.exit_code != 0
+        assert "exceedsthe100-byteworkflowsizelimit" in "".join(result.output.split())
+        leaked = list(scratch_tmp.glob("*.yml"))
+        assert leaked == [], f"leaked temp files: {leaked}"
+
+    def test_add_from_url_oversized_content_length_leaves_no_temp_file(
+        self, project_dir, monkeypatch, tmp_path
+    ):
+        """Same guarantee for the fail-fast Content-Length rejection path:
+        it must not even leave a 0-byte temp file behind."""
+        import tempfile as tempfile_mod
+        from unittest.mock import patch
+        from typer.testing import CliRunner
+        from specify_cli import app
+        from specify_cli.workflows import _commands as wf_commands
+
+        monkeypatch.chdir(project_dir)
+        monkeypatch.setattr(wf_commands, "_MAX_WORKFLOW_YAML_BYTES", 100)
+        scratch_tmp = tmp_path / "scratch-tmp"
+        scratch_tmp.mkdir()
+        monkeypatch.setattr(tempfile_mod, "tempdir", str(scratch_tmp))
+        small_body = b"id: align-wf\n"  # small actual body; Content-Length lies
+        runner = CliRunner()
+        with patch(
+            "specify_cli.authentication.http.open_url",
+            side_effect=lambda url, timeout=None, extra_headers=None, redirect_validator=None: self._FakeResponse(
+                small_body, url, headers={"Content-Length": "1000"}
+            ),
+        ):
+            result = runner.invoke(
+                app,
+                ["workflow", "add", "align-wf", "--from", "https://example.com/workflow.yml"],
+            )
+        assert result.exit_code != 0
+        assert "exceedingthe100-byteworkflowsizelimit" in "".join(result.output.split())
+        leaked = list(scratch_tmp.glob("*.yml"))
+        assert leaked == [], f"leaked temp files: {leaked}"
+
 
     def test_add_from_url_installs(self, project_dir, monkeypatch):
         from unittest.mock import patch
@@ -8207,7 +8277,7 @@ steps:
 
         assert result.exit_code != 0
         assert result.exception is None or isinstance(result.exception, SystemExit)
-        assert result.output.strip() != ""
+        assert "exceedingthe100-byteworkflowsizelimit" in "".join(result.output.split())
         dest_dir = project_dir / ".specify" / "workflows" / "align-wf"
         assert not dest_dir.exists()
         assert not WorkflowRegistry(project_dir).is_installed("align-wf")
@@ -8250,7 +8320,7 @@ steps:
 
         assert result.exit_code != 0
         assert result.exception is None or isinstance(result.exception, SystemExit)
-        assert result.output.strip() != ""
+        assert "exceedsthe100-byteworkflowsizelimit" in "".join(result.output.split())
         dest_dir = project_dir / ".specify" / "workflows" / "align-wf"
         assert not dest_dir.exists()
         assert not WorkflowRegistry(project_dir).is_installed("align-wf")