diff --git a/.work-item.toml b/.work-item.toml
index 3ad1bcf..3aa3c0e 100644
--- a/.work-item.toml
+++ b/.work-item.toml
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ main_branch = "main"
 [workflow]
 branch_prefix = "us"
 require_ci = false
-required_tests = ["python3 -m unittest discover -s tests -v"]
+required_tests = ["scripts/python -m unittest discover -s tests -v"]
 
 [safety]
 max_file_bytes = 5000000
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 12213b2..d7c6b3b 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -12,8 +12,8 @@ Requirements: Python 3.11+, Git, and an authenticated `tea` login named `domvers
 scripts/work-item next
 scripts/work-item claim
 scripts/work-item status
-scripts/work-item submit --test "python3 -m unittest discover -s tests -v"
-scripts/work-item submit --test "python3 -m unittest discover -s tests -v" --yes
+scripts/work-item submit --test "scripts/python -m unittest discover -s tests -v"
+scripts/work-item submit --test "scripts/python -m unittest discover -s tests -v" --yes
 scripts/work-item complete --merge
 scripts/work-item block --reason "precise blocking condition"
 ```
@@ -28,5 +28,5 @@ machine-readable source of truth; the Gitea Project board is the visual view.
 ## Tests
 
 ```bash
-python3 -m unittest discover -s tests -v
+scripts/python -m unittest discover -s tests -v
 ```
diff --git a/scripts/python b/scripts/python
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..d9bca48
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/python
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+set -eu
+
+for python in python3.13 python3.12 python3.11; do
+    if command -v "$python" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+        exec "$python" "$@"
+    fi
+done
+
+echo "photoanalyzer: Python 3.11 or newer is required" >&2
+exit 2
diff --git a/scripts/work-item b/scripts/work-item
index b9a0888..86d29d4 100755
--- a/scripts/work-item
+++ b/scripts/work-item
@@ -1,11 +1,5 @@
 #!/bin/sh
 set -eu
 
-for python in python3.13 python3.12 python3.11; do
-    if command -v "$python" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-        exec "$python" -m work_item "$@"
-    fi
-done
-
-echo "work-item: Python 3.11 or newer is required" >&2
-exit 2
+SCRIPT_DIR=$(CDPATH= cd -- "$(dirname -- "$0")" && pwd)
+exec "$SCRIPT_DIR/python" -m work_item "$@"
diff --git a/tests/test_cli_e2e.py b/tests/test_cli_e2e.py
index 8a12b99..7db1478 100644
--- a/tests/test_cli_e2e.py
+++ b/tests/test_cli_e2e.py
@@ -219,5 +219,16 @@ class CliEndToEndTests(unittest.TestCase):
         self.assertIn("Provider fixture unavailable", self.state()["comments"][-1]["body"])
 
 
+class InterpreterWrapperTests(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_wrapper_selects_supported_python(self) -> None:
+        result = run(
+            [str(SOURCE_ROOT / "scripts" / "python"), "-c", "import sys; print(sys.version_info[:2])"],
+            cwd=SOURCE_ROOT,
+        )
+        major, minor = eval(result.stdout.strip(), {"__builtins__": {}})
+        self.assertEqual(major, 3)
+        self.assertGreaterEqual(minor, 11)
+
+
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     unittest.main()