diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index 9960640f7..adbc7ed71 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -31,3 +31,4 @@ Detailed guidance lives in `docs/contributing/`. Read only the file relevant to
 | [Design Decisions](docs/contributing/design-decisions.md) | Understanding architectural principles and key decisions |
 | [Vouch System](docs/contributing/vouch-system.md) | Working with the contributor vouch gate or PR workflows |
 | [Tier Conventions](docs/contributing/tier-conventions.md) | Using the term "tier" in code or docs — covers the three distinct tier contexts |
+| [CI Workflows](docs/contributing/ci-workflows.md) | Adding or modifying GitHub Actions workflows under `.github/workflows/` |
diff --git a/docs/contributing/ci-workflows.md b/docs/contributing/ci-workflows.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..73aae798a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/contributing/ci-workflows.md
@@ -0,0 +1,134 @@
+# CI Workflows
+
+Conventions for GitHub Actions workflows under `.github/workflows/`. Use this checklist when adding or modifying workflows.
+
+## Concurrency groups
+
+- [ ] Use `${{ github.workflow }}` as the workflow identifier — never duplicate the workflow name as a hardcoded string prefix.
+- [ ] Standard pattern for branch/PR workflows:
+  ```yaml
+  concurrency:
+    group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.event.pull_request.number || github.ref }}
+    cancel-in-progress: true
+  ```
+- [ ] For `pull_request_target` workflows, use a PR-number-scoped group for that event and fall back to the standard pattern for other triggers:
+  ```yaml
+  concurrency:
+    group: >-
+      ${{ github.event_name == 'pull_request_target'
+          && format('{0}-{1}', github.workflow, github.event.pull_request.number)
+          || format('{0}-{1}', github.workflow, github.ref) }}
+  ```
+- [ ] Never cancel in-progress runs on the default branch (`refs/heads/main`). Gate `cancel-in-progress` when the workflow triggers on `push` to `main`.
+
+**Why:** A hardcoded prefix like `my-workflow-${{ github.workflow }}` is redundant — `github.workflow` already resolves to the workflow `name:` field. The duplication creates a confusing group key and wastes characters.
+
+## Timeout policy
+
+- [ ] Every non-reusable workflow job must set `timeout-minutes`.
+- [ ] Use the minimum reasonable value for the job's workload.
+- [ ] Add a comment explaining the choice when it is not obvious:
+  ```yaml
+  jobs:
+    build:
+      runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
+      # Stub is near-instant; headroom for the real test suite.
+      timeout-minutes: 15
+  ```
+- [ ] Reusable workflows (`on: workflow_call`) should document timeout expectations in a comment but leave `timeout-minutes` to the caller, since the caller controls the runner and workload context.
+
+**Why:** GitHub Actions defaults to a 6-hour timeout. A runaway job without `timeout-minutes` consumes runner capacity silently. Explicit timeouts make resource usage visible and catch hangs early.
+
+## Trigger completeness
+
+- [ ] Path-filtered workflows (`on.push.paths` or `on.pull_request.paths`) must include `merge_group:` as a trigger.
+- [ ] Since `merge_group` does not support `on.paths`, add a path-relevance guard step that skips the job when no relevant files changed:
+  ```yaml
+  on:
+    push:
+      branches: [main]
+      paths:
+        - "src/**"
+        - ".github/workflows/my-workflow.yml"
+    pull_request:
+      paths:
+        - "src/**"
+        - ".github/workflows/my-workflow.yml"
+    merge_group:
+
+  jobs:
+    build:
+      steps:
+        - name: Check for relevant changes
+          id: changes
+          if: github.event_name == 'merge_group'
+          env:
+            GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
+            REPO: ${{ github.repository }}
+            MERGE_GROUP_BASE: ${{ github.event.merge_group.base_sha }}
+            MERGE_GROUP_HEAD: ${{ github.event.merge_group.head_sha }}
+          # SYNC-WITH: push.paths / pull_request.paths filters above
+          run: |
+            FILES=$(gh api "repos/${REPO}/compare/${MERGE_GROUP_BASE}...${MERGE_GROUP_HEAD}" \
+              --jq '.files[].filename') || {
+              echo "::warning::Failed to fetch merge group files — running as a precaution"
+              echo "relevant=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+              exit 0
+            }
+            FILE_COUNT=$(echo "$FILES" | wc -l)
+            if [ "$FILE_COUNT" -ge 300 ]; then
+              echo "::warning::Compare API returned $FILE_COUNT files (possible truncation) — running as a precaution"
+              echo "relevant=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+              exit 0
+            fi
+            if echo "$FILES" | grep -qE '^src/|^\.github/workflows/my-workflow\.yml$'; then
+              echo "relevant=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+            else
+              echo "::notice::No relevant files changed — skipping"
+              echo "relevant=false" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+            fi
+
+        - uses: actions/checkout@3d3c42e5aac5ba805825da76410c181273ba90b1 # v7.0.1
+          if: steps.changes.outputs.relevant != 'false'
+  ```
+- [ ] Mark the path-relevance grep with `# SYNC-WITH: push.paths` so reviewers can verify the path list stays in sync with the `on:` filter.
+- [ ] On API failure or file-count truncation (>= 300), default to running the job — false positives are cheaper than false negatives.
+
+**Why:** The merge queue creates temporary merge commits that do not match `on.push` or `on.pull_request` triggers. Without `merge_group:`, a path-filtered workflow is skipped entirely in the merge queue, which can block merges if the workflow is a required status check.
+
+## Checkout pin
+
+- [ ] Pin `actions/checkout` to a full SHA, not a tag.
+- [ ] Use the repo-standard version and SHA. Current pin:
+  ```yaml
+  uses: actions/checkout@3d3c42e5aac5ba805825da76410c181273ba90b1 # v7.0.1
+  ```
+- [ ] When bumping the pin, update all workflow files in the same PR. Use `pinact` (available in CI) to verify SHA-to-tag consistency.
+- [ ] Apply the same SHA-pinning convention to all third-party actions (e.g., `actions/setup-go`, `actions/upload-artifact`). Include a `# vX.Y.Z` comment after the SHA for human readability.
+
+**Why:** Tag-only references are mutable — a compromised or force-pushed tag can inject arbitrary code into every workflow that references it. SHA pins are immutable and auditable. The version comment preserves discoverability for Dependabot/Renovate.
+
+## Reusable workflow contracts
+
+- [ ] Document required `inputs` and `secrets` at the top of the reusable workflow file in a comment block.
+- [ ] Use descriptive `description:` fields on each input — callers read these when wiring up `workflow_call`.
+- [ ] Specify `type:` (`string`, `boolean`, `number`) and `required:` on every input.
+- [ ] Document expected `outputs` and their semantics when the reusable workflow produces values consumed by the caller.
+- [ ] When changing a reusable workflow's inputs or outputs, check all callers. Search for the workflow filename across the repo:
+  ```bash
+  grep -r "uses:.*reusable-<name>.yml" .github/workflows/
+  ```
+
+**Why:** Reusable workflows are implicit contracts. Undocumented inputs lead to misconfigured callers, broken dispatches, and silent failures. Treating them as documented APIs prevents drift.
+
+## Permissions
+
+- [ ] Set `permissions: {}` at the workflow level and grant only the permissions each job needs at the job level.
+- [ ] Never use `permissions: write-all` or omit permissions (which defaults to the repo's broad default token permissions).
+- [ ] Separate jobs that need elevated permissions (e.g., `pull-requests: write`) from jobs that check out untrusted code.
+
+## Additional conventions
+
+- [ ] Always include the workflow file itself in its own `paths:` filter so changes to the workflow trigger its own CI.
+- [ ] Use `ubuntu-24.04` (specific version), not `ubuntu-latest`, for reproducible builds.
+- [ ] Environment variables that hold secrets must use `${{ secrets.NAME }}` — never hardcode sensitive values or use environment variables with defaults for secrets.