diff --git a/bot/test.sh b/bot/test.sh
index b615be00..168b0d5c 100755
--- a/bot/test.sh
+++ b/bot/test.sh
@@ -151,12 +151,13 @@ EESSI_REPOS_CFG_DIR_OVERRIDE=$(cfg_get_value "repository" "repos_cfg_dir")
 export EESSI_REPOS_CFG_DIR_OVERRIDE=${EESSI_REPOS_CFG_DIR_OVERRIDE:-${PWD}/cfg}
 echo "bot/test.sh: EESSI_REPOS_CFG_DIR_OVERRIDE='${EESSI_REPOS_CFG_DIR_OVERRIDE}'"
 
-# determine pilot version to be used from .repository.repo_version in ${JOB_CFG_FILE}
-# here, just set & export EESSI_PILOT_VERSION_OVERRIDE
+# determine EESSI version to be used from .repository.repo_version in ${JOB_CFG_FILE}
+# here, just set & export EESSI_VERSION_OVERRIDE
 # next script (eessi_container.sh) makes use of it via sourcing init scripts
 # (e.g., init/eessi_defaults or init/minimal_eessi_env)
-export EESSI_PILOT_VERSION_OVERRIDE=$(cfg_get_value "repository" "repo_version")
-echo "bot/test.sh: EESSI_PILOT_VERSION_OVERRIDE='${EESSI_PILOT_VERSION_OVERRIDE}'"
+REPOSITORY_VERSION=$(cfg_get_value "repository" "repo_version")
+export EESSI_VERSION_OVERRIDE=${REPOSITORY_VERSION}
+echo "bot/build.sh: EESSI_VERSION_OVERRIDE='${EESSI_VERSION_OVERRIDE}'"
 
 # determine CVMFS repo to be used from .repository.repo_name in ${JOB_CFG_FILE}
 # here, just set EESSI_CVMFS_REPO_OVERRIDE, a bit further down
diff --git a/eb_hooks.py b/eb_hooks.py
index 4775bd44..552ba466 100644
--- a/eb_hooks.py
+++ b/eb_hooks.py
@@ -405,7 +405,7 @@ def parse_hook_zen4_module_only(ec, eprefix):
         env_varname = EESSI_IGNORE_ZEN4_GCC1220_ENVVAR
         # TODO: create a docs page to which we can refer for more info here
         # TODO: then update the link to the known issues page to the _specific_ issue
-        # Need to escape newline character so that the newline character actually ends up in the module file
+        # Need to escape the newline character so that the newline character actually ends up in the module file
         # (otherwise, it splits the string, and a 2-line string ends up in the modulefile, resulting in syntax error)
         errmsg = "EasyConfigs using toolchains based on GCCcore-12.2.0 are not supported for the Zen4 architecture.\\n"
         errmsg += "See https://www.eessi.io/docs/known_issues/eessi-<EESSI_VERSION>/#gcc-1220-and-foss-2022b-based-modules-cannot-be-loaded-on-zen4-architecture"
diff --git a/install_scripts.sh b/install_scripts.sh
index 5ac2940e..cbe9bdb7 100755
--- a/install_scripts.sh
+++ b/install_scripts.sh
@@ -37,6 +37,31 @@ file_changed_in_pr() {
   ) && return 0 || return 1
 }
 
+sed_update_if_changed() {
+    # Usage: sed_update_if_changed 's/foo/bar/' file.txt
+    if [ "$#" -ne 2 ]; then
+        echo "Usage: sed_update_if_changed 'sed_command' file" >&2
+        return 1
+    fi
+
+    local sed_command="$1"
+    local file="$2"
+    local tmp_file="$(mktemp "${file}.XXXXXX")"
+
+    sed "$sed_command" "$file" > "$tmp_file" || {
+        rm -f "$tmp_file"
+        echo "sed command failed" >&2
+        return 1
+    }
+
+    if ! diff -q "$file" "$tmp_file" > /dev/null; then
+        # Use cat to retain existing permissions, set umask to world readable in case the target file does not yet exist. 
+        (umask 022 && cat "$tmp_file" > "$file")
+    fi
+    # Remove the temporary file
+    rm -f "$tmp_file"
+}
+
 compare_and_copy() {
     if [ "$#" -ne 2 ]; then
         echo "Usage of function: compare_and_copy <source_file> <destination_file>"
@@ -193,15 +218,15 @@ copy_files_by_list ${TOPDIR} ${INSTALL_PREFIX}/init/easybuild "${hook_files[@]}"
 # but that should be fine (no changes are made if version placeholder is not present anymore)
 
 # make sure that scripts in init/ and scripts/ use correct EESSI version
-sed -i "s/__EESSI_VERSION_DEFAULT__/${EESSI_VERSION}/g" ${INSTALL_PREFIX}/init/eessi_defaults
+sed_update_if_changed "s/__EESSI_VERSION_DEFAULT__/${EESSI_VERSION}/g" ${INSTALL_PREFIX}/init/eessi_defaults
 
 # replace placeholder for default EESSI version in Lmod init scripts
 for shell in $(ls ${INSTALL_PREFIX}/init/lmod); do
-    sed -i "s/__EESSI_VERSION_DEFAULT__/${EESSI_VERSION}/g" ${INSTALL_PREFIX}/init/lmod/${shell}
+    sed_update_if_changed "s/__EESSI_VERSION_DEFAULT__/${EESSI_VERSION}/g" ${INSTALL_PREFIX}/init/lmod/${shell}
 done
 
 # replace EESSI version used in comments in EESSI module
-sed -i "s@/<EESSI_VERSION>/@/${EESSI_VERSION}/@g" ${INSTALL_PREFIX}/init/modules/EESSI/${EESSI_VERSION}.lua
+sed_update_if_changed "s@/<EESSI_VERSION>/@/${EESSI_VERSION}/@g" ${INSTALL_PREFIX}/init/modules/EESSI/${EESSI_VERSION}.lua
 
 # replace EESSI version used in EasyBuild hooks
-sed -i "s@/<EESSI_VERSION>/@/${EESSI_VERSION}/@g" ${INSTALL_PREFIX}/init/easybuild/eb_hooks.py
+sed_update_if_changed "s@/eessi-<EESSI_VERSION>/@/eessi-${EESSI_VERSION}/@g" ${INSTALL_PREFIX}/init/easybuild/eb_hooks.py