diff --git a/Gruntfile.js b/Gruntfile.js
index d196c51152658..8603635b28fbc 100644
--- a/Gruntfile.js
+++ b/Gruntfile.js
@@ -1589,13 +1589,9 @@ module.exports = function(grunt) {
 
 	grunt.registerTask( 'gutenberg:download', 'Downloads the built Gutenberg artifact.', function() {
 		const done = this.async();
-		const args = [ 'tools/gutenberg/download.js' ];
-		if ( grunt.option( 'force' ) ) {
-			args.push( '--force' );
-		}
 		grunt.util.spawn( {
 			cmd: 'node',
-			args,
+			args: [ 'tools/gutenberg/download.js' ],
 			opts: { stdio: 'inherit' }
 		}, function( error ) {
 			done( ! error );
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 5a390aac47174..4e9b800d7aad9 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@
 		"wicg-inert": "3.1.3"
 	},
 	"scripts": {
-		"postinstall": "npm run gutenberg:download",
+		"postinstall": "npm run gutenberg:verify",
 		"build": "grunt build",
 		"build:dev": "grunt build --dev",
 		"build:gutenberg": "grunt build:gutenberg",
@@ -140,6 +140,7 @@
 		"test:visual": "wp-scripts test-playwright --config tests/visual-regression/playwright.config.js",
 		"typecheck:php": "node ./tools/local-env/scripts/docker.js run --rm php composer phpstan",
 		"gutenberg:copy": "node tools/gutenberg/copy.js",
+		"gutenberg:verify": "node tools/gutenberg/utils.js",
 		"gutenberg:download": "node tools/gutenberg/download.js",
 		"vendor:copy": "node tools/vendors/copy-vendors.js",
 		"sync-gutenberg-packages": "grunt sync-gutenberg-packages",
diff --git a/tools/gutenberg/download.js b/tools/gutenberg/download.js
index f936136ffa25c..dcca072df39bd 100644
--- a/tools/gutenberg/download.js
+++ b/tools/gutenberg/download.js
@@ -4,7 +4,8 @@
  * Download Gutenberg Repository Script.
  *
  * This script downloads a pre-built Gutenberg tar.gz artifact from the GitHub
- * Container Registry and extracts it into the ./gutenberg directory.
+ * Container Registry and extracts it into the ./gutenberg directory. Any
+ * existing gutenberg directory is removed before extraction.
  *
  * The artifact is identified by the "gutenberg.sha" value in the root
  * package.json, which is used as the OCI image tag for the gutenberg-build
@@ -17,16 +18,13 @@ const { spawn } = require( 'child_process' );
 const fs = require( 'fs' );
 const { Writable } = require( 'stream' );
 const { pipeline } = require( 'stream/promises' );
-const path = require( 'path' );
 const zlib = require( 'zlib' );
-const { gutenbergDir, readGutenbergConfig, verifyGutenbergVersion } = require( './utils' );
+const { gutenbergDir, readGutenbergConfig } = require( './utils' );
 
 /**
  * Main execution function.
- *
- * @param {boolean} force - Whether to force a fresh download even if the gutenberg directory exists.
  */
-async function main( force ) {
+async function main() {
 	console.log( '🔍 Checking Gutenberg configuration...' );
 
 	/*
@@ -45,129 +43,115 @@ async function main( force ) {
 		process.exit( 1 );
 	}
 
-	// Skip download if the gutenberg directory already exists and --force is not set.
-	let downloaded = false;
-	if ( ! force && fs.existsSync( gutenbergDir ) ) {
-		console.log( '\nℹ️  The `gutenberg` directory already exists. Use `npm run grunt gutenberg:download -- --force` to download a fresh copy.' );
-	} else {
-		downloaded = true;
-
-		// Step 1: Get an anonymous GHCR token for pulling.
-		console.log( '\n🔑 Fetching GHCR token...' );
-		let token;
-		try {
-			const response = await fetch( `https://ghcr.io/token?scope=repository:${ ghcrRepo }:pull&service=ghcr.io` );
-			if ( ! response.ok ) {
-				throw new Error( `Failed to fetch token: ${ response.status } ${ response.statusText }` );
-			}
-			const data = await response.json();
-			token = data.token;
-			if ( ! token ) {
-				throw new Error( 'No token in response' );
-			}
-			console.log( '✅ Token acquired' );
-		} catch ( error ) {
-			console.error( '❌ Failed to fetch token:', error.message );
-			process.exit( 1 );
+	// Step 1: Get an anonymous GHCR token for pulling.
+	console.log( '\n🔑 Fetching GHCR token...' );
+	let token;
+	try {
+		const response = await fetch( `https://ghcr.io/token?scope=repository:${ ghcrRepo }:pull&service=ghcr.io` );
+		if ( ! response.ok ) {
+			throw new Error( `Failed to fetch token: ${ response.status } ${ response.statusText }` );
 		}
-
-		// Step 2: Get the manifest to find the blob digest.
-		console.log( `\n📋 Fetching manifest for ${ sha }...` );
-		let digest;
-		try {
-			const response = await fetch( `https://ghcr.io/v2/${ ghcrRepo }/manifests/${ sha }`, {
-				headers: {
-					Authorization: `Bearer ${ token }`,
-					Accept: 'application/vnd.oci.image.manifest.v1+json',
-				},
-			} );
-			if ( ! response.ok ) {
-				throw new Error( `Failed to fetch manifest: ${ response.status } ${ response.statusText }` );
-			}
-			const manifest = await response.json();
-			digest = manifest?.layers?.[ 0 ]?.digest;
-			if ( ! digest ) {
-				throw new Error( 'No layer digest found in manifest' );
-			}
-			console.log( `✅ Blob digest: ${ digest }` );
-		} catch ( error ) {
-			console.error( '❌ Failed to fetch manifest:', error.message );
-			process.exit( 1 );
+		const data = await response.json();
+		token = data.token;
+		if ( ! token ) {
+			throw new Error( 'No token in response' );
 		}
+		console.log( '✅ Token acquired' );
+	} catch ( error ) {
+		console.error( '❌ Failed to fetch token:', error.message );
+		process.exit( 1 );
+	}
 
-		// Remove existing gutenberg directory so the extraction is clean.
-		if ( fs.existsSync( gutenbergDir ) ) {
-			console.log( '\n🗑️  Removing existing gutenberg directory...' );
-			fs.rmSync( gutenbergDir, { recursive: true, force: true } );
+	// Step 2: Get the manifest to find the blob digest.
+	console.log( `\n📋 Fetching manifest for ${ sha }...` );
+	let digest;
+	try {
+		const response = await fetch( `https://ghcr.io/v2/${ ghcrRepo }/manifests/${ sha }`, {
+			headers: {
+				Authorization: `Bearer ${ token }`,
+				Accept: 'application/vnd.oci.image.manifest.v1+json',
+			},
+		} );
+		if ( ! response.ok ) {
+			throw new Error( `Failed to fetch manifest: ${ response.status } ${ response.statusText }` );
 		}
+		const manifest = await response.json();
+		digest = manifest?.layers?.[ 0 ]?.digest;
+		if ( ! digest ) {
+			throw new Error( 'No layer digest found in manifest' );
+		}
+		console.log( `✅ Blob digest: ${ digest }` );
+	} catch ( error ) {
+		console.error( '❌ Failed to fetch manifest:', error.message );
+		process.exit( 1 );
+	}
 
-		fs.mkdirSync( gutenbergDir, { recursive: true } );
+	// Remove existing gutenberg directory so the extraction is clean.
+	if ( fs.existsSync( gutenbergDir ) ) {
+		console.log( '\n🗑️  Removing existing gutenberg directory...' );
+		fs.rmSync( gutenbergDir, { recursive: true, force: true } );
+	}
+
+	fs.mkdirSync( gutenbergDir, { recursive: true } );
+
+	/*
+	 * Step 3: Stream the blob directly through gunzip into tar, writing
+	 * into ./gutenberg with no temporary file on disk.
+	 */
+	console.log( `\n📥 Downloading and extracting artifact...` );
+	try {
+		const response = await fetch( `https://ghcr.io/v2/${ ghcrRepo }/blobs/${ digest }`, {
+			headers: {
+				Authorization: `Bearer ${ token }`,
+			},
+		} );
+		if ( ! response.ok ) {
+			throw new Error( `Failed to download blob: ${ response.status } ${ response.statusText }` );
+		}
 
 		/*
-		 * Step 3: Stream the blob directly through gunzip into tar, writing
-		 * into ./gutenberg with no temporary file on disk.
+		 * Spawn tar to read from stdin and extract into gutenbergDir.
+		 * `tar` is available on macOS, Linux, and Windows 10+.
 		 */
-		console.log( `\n📥 Downloading and extracting artifact...` );
-		try {
-			const response = await fetch( `https://ghcr.io/v2/${ ghcrRepo }/blobs/${ digest }`, {
-				headers: {
-					Authorization: `Bearer ${ token }`,
-				},
-			} );
-			if ( ! response.ok ) {
-				throw new Error( `Failed to download blob: ${ response.status } ${ response.statusText }` );
-			}
-
-			/*
-			 * Spawn tar to read from stdin and extract into gutenbergDir.
-			 * `tar` is available on macOS, Linux, and Windows 10+.
-			 */
-			const tar = spawn( 'tar', [ '-x', '-C', gutenbergDir ], {
-				stdio: [ 'pipe', 'inherit', 'inherit' ],
-			} );
-
-			const tarDone = new Promise( ( resolve, reject ) => {
-				tar.on( 'close', ( code ) => {
-					if ( code !== 0 ) {
-						reject( new Error( `tar exited with code ${ code }` ) );
-					} else {
-						resolve();
-					}
-				} );
-				tar.on( 'error', reject );
+		const tar = spawn( 'tar', [ '-x', '-C', gutenbergDir ], {
+			stdio: [ 'pipe', 'inherit', 'inherit' ],
+		} );
+
+		const tarDone = new Promise( ( resolve, reject ) => {
+			tar.on( 'close', ( code ) => {
+				if ( code !== 0 ) {
+					reject( new Error( `tar exited with code ${ code }` ) );
+				} else {
+					resolve();
+				}
 			} );
+			tar.on( 'error', reject );
+		} );
 
-			/*
-			 * Pipe: fetch body → gunzip → tar stdin.
-			 * Decompressing in Node keeps the pipeline error handling
-			 * consistent and means tar only sees plain tar data on stdin.
-			 */
-			await pipeline(
-				response.body,
-				zlib.createGunzip(),
-				Writable.toWeb( tar.stdin ),
-			);
-
-			await tarDone;
-
-			console.log( '✅ Download and extraction complete' );
-		} catch ( error ) {
-			console.error( '❌ Download/extraction failed:', error.message );
-			process.exit( 1 );
-		}
-	}
+		/*
+		 * Pipe: fetch body → gunzip → tar stdin.
+		 * Decompressing in Node keeps the pipeline error handling
+		 * consistent and means tar only sees plain tar data on stdin.
+		 */
+		await pipeline(
+			response.body,
+			zlib.createGunzip(),
+			Writable.toWeb( tar.stdin ),
+		);
 
-	// Verify the downloaded version matches the expected SHA.
-	verifyGutenbergVersion();
+		await tarDone;
 
-	if ( downloaded ) {
-		console.log( '\n✅ Gutenberg download complete!' );
+		console.log( '✅ Download and extraction complete' );
+	} catch ( error ) {
+		console.error( '❌ Download/extraction failed:', error.message );
+		process.exit( 1 );
 	}
+
+	console.log( '\n✅ Gutenberg download complete!' );
 }
 
 // Run main function.
-const force = process.argv.includes( '--force' );
-main( force ).catch( ( error ) => {
+main().catch( ( error ) => {
 	console.error( '❌ Unexpected error:', error );
 	process.exit( 1 );
 } );
diff --git a/tools/gutenberg/utils.js b/tools/gutenberg/utils.js
index 4a04210f699d7..2b30befd38735 100644
--- a/tools/gutenberg/utils.js
+++ b/tools/gutenberg/utils.js
@@ -4,17 +4,20 @@
  * Gutenberg build utilities.
  *
  * Shared helpers used by the Gutenberg download script. When run directly,
- * verifies that the installed Gutenberg build matches the SHA in package.json.
+ * verifies that the installed Gutenberg build matches the SHA in package.json,
+ * and automatically downloads the correct version when needed.
  *
  * @package WordPress
  */
 
+const { spawnSync } = require( 'child_process' );
 const fs = require( 'fs' );
 const path = require( 'path' );
 
 // Paths.
 const rootDir = path.resolve( __dirname, '../..' );
 const gutenbergDir = path.join( rootDir, 'gutenberg' );
+const hashFilePath = path.join( gutenbergDir, '.gutenberg-hash' );
 
 /**
  * Read Gutenberg configuration from package.json.
@@ -38,10 +41,22 @@ function readGutenbergConfig() {
 	return { sha, ghcrRepo };
 }
 
+/**
+ * Trigger a fresh download of the Gutenberg artifact by spawning download.js.
+ * Exits the process if the download fails.
+ */
+function downloadGutenberg() {
+	const result = spawnSync( 'node', [ path.join( __dirname, 'download.js' ) ], { stdio: 'inherit' } );
+	if ( result.status !== 0 ) {
+		process.exit( result.status ?? 1 );
+	}
+}
+
 /**
  * Verify that the installed Gutenberg version matches the expected SHA in
- * package.json. Logs progress to the console and exits with a non-zero code
- * on failure.
+ * package.json. Automatically downloads the correct version when the directory
+ * is missing, the hash file is absent, or the hash does not match. Logs
+ * progress to the console and exits with a non-zero code on failure.
  */
 function verifyGutenbergVersion() {
 	console.log( '\n🔍 Verifying Gutenberg version...' );
@@ -54,18 +69,40 @@ function verifyGutenbergVersion() {
 		process.exit( 1 );
 	}
 
-	const hashFilePath = path.join( gutenbergDir, '.gutenberg-hash' );
+	// Check for conditions that require a fresh download.
+	if ( ! fs.existsSync( gutenbergDir ) ) {
+		console.log( 'ℹ️  Gutenberg directory not found. Downloading...' );
+		downloadGutenberg();
+	} else {
+		let installedHash = null;
+		try {
+			installedHash = fs.readFileSync( hashFilePath, 'utf8' ).trim();
+		} catch ( error ) {
+			if ( error.code !== 'ENOENT' ) {
+				console.error( `❌ ${ error.message }` );
+				process.exit( 1 );
+			}
+		}
+
+		if ( installedHash === null ) {
+			console.log( 'ℹ️  Hash file not found. Downloading expected version...' );
+			downloadGutenberg();
+		} else if ( installedHash !== sha ) {
+			console.log( `ℹ️  Hash mismatch (found ${ installedHash }, expected ${ sha }). Downloading expected version...` );
+			downloadGutenberg();
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Final verification — confirms the download (if any) produced the correct version.
 	try {
 		const installedHash = fs.readFileSync( hashFilePath, 'utf8' ).trim();
 		if ( installedHash !== sha ) {
-			console.error(
-				`❌ SHA mismatch: expected ${ sha } but found ${ installedHash }. Run \`npm run grunt gutenberg:download -- --force\` to download the correct version.`
-			);
+			console.error( `❌ SHA mismatch after download: expected ${ sha } but found ${ installedHash }.` );
 			process.exit( 1 );
 		}
 	} catch ( error ) {
 		if ( error.code === 'ENOENT' ) {
-			console.error( `❌ .gutenberg-hash not found. Run \`npm run grunt gutenberg:download\` to download Gutenberg.` );
+			console.error( '❌ .gutenberg-hash not found after download. This is unexpected.' );
 		} else {
 			console.error( `❌ ${ error.message }` );
 		}