diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index c6f95c86ef..676e969c19 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -249,6 +249,17 @@ jobs:
       - name: Run silent-skip-gate tests
         run: bash scripts/check-silent-skips.test.sh
 
+  # Deep plugin-contract lane and the heaviest suite (Node + Python installs,
+  # every plugins/**/*.test.sh, manifest + catalog validation). A PR whose diff
+  # is confined to the docs-only allowlist (scripts/docs-only-paths.txt) cannot
+  # affect any of it, so those runs report an honest evaluated-and-not-applicable
+  # success. The job NEVER skips — a skipped required lane's result is not
+  # `success` (the ci-status aggregate rejects it) and a workflow skipped by a
+  # path filter leaves its required check Pending
+  # (troubleshooting-required-status-checks). Only the inner install/test steps
+  # are gated; the detector self-test runs unconditionally so a broken detector
+  # cannot mask a regression behind a docs-only short-circuit, and detection is
+  # fail-closed toward running the full suite.
   plugin-gate:
     runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
     timeout-minutes: 15
@@ -257,19 +268,32 @@ jobs:
         uses: actions/checkout@9c091bb21b7c1c1d1991bb908d89e4e9dddfe3e0 # v7.0.0
         with:
           persist-credentials: false
+          # Full history so the PR base ref resolves for the docs-only diff.
+          fetch-depth: 0
+      - name: Test the docs-only detector
+        run: bash scripts/check-docs-only.test.sh
+      - name: Detect a docs-only diff
+        id: scope
+        if: github.event_name == 'pull_request'
+        env:
+          BASE_REF: ${{ github.base_ref }}
+        run: scripts/check-docs-only.sh "origin/$BASE_REF"
       - name: Set up Node
+        if: steps.scope.outputs.docs_only != 'true'
         uses: actions/setup-node@48b55a011bda9f5d6aeb4c2d9c7362e8dae4041e # v6.4.0
         with:
           node-version-file: .node-version
           cache: npm
           cache-dependency-path: package-lock.json
       - name: Set up Python
+        if: steps.scope.outputs.docs_only != 'true'
         uses: actions/setup-python@ece7cb06caefa5fff74198d8649806c4678c61a1 # v6.3.0
         with:
           python-version: '3.14'
           cache: pip
           cache-dependency-path: .github/requirements-ci.txt
       - name: Install and verify ShellCheck toolchain
+        if: steps.scope.outputs.docs_only != 'true'
         # This canonical action also makes the exact ShellCheck version
         # available to the later bash-format contract tests in this same job.
         uses: melodic-software/ci-workflows/.github/actions/shellcheck@c2654182bc2d78f7909795df78304d482aa69226 # c265418 2026-07-13
@@ -283,6 +307,7 @@ jobs:
       # and Ruff are declared here so hosted and local runs exercise the same
       # contract suites instead of inheriting different image tool inventories.
       - name: Install locked plugin test toolchains
+        if: steps.scope.outputs.docs_only != 'true'
         run: |
           npm ci
           python -m pip install --user --only-binary=:all: --require-hashes \
@@ -290,15 +315,24 @@ jobs:
           echo "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/node_modules/.bin" >> "$GITHUB_PATH"
           echo "$HOME/.local/bin" >> "$GITHUB_PATH"
       - name: Run plugin contract tests
+        if: steps.scope.outputs.docs_only != 'true'
         run: scripts/run-plugin-tests.sh
       - name: Validate plugin and catalog manifests
+        if: steps.scope.outputs.docs_only != 'true'
         run: scripts/validate-plugins.sh
+      - name: Report not applicable to a docs-only diff
+        if: steps.scope.outputs.docs_only == 'true'
+        run: echo "Diff is within the docs-only allowlist (scripts/docs-only-paths.txt); the plugin contract suite cannot be affected — reporting success."
 
   # The miro plugin ships a bundled Node MCP server — the marketplace's first.
   # Its TypeScript source is the source of truth; dist/index.min.js is committed
   # generated output. This lane rebuilds from source with the pinned toolchain
   # and fails on any drift, then runs the bundle over stdio so a build that
   # compiles but cannot serve MCP is caught here, not on a consumer's machine.
+  # Every step reads only plugins/miro/**, so a docs-only diff cannot affect it;
+  # it uses the same never-skip, self-test-first, fail-closed docs-only gate as
+  # plugin-gate. (Scoping this lane to plugins/miro/** specifically — skipping it
+  # on any non-miro diff — is a broader, separately-tracked optimization.)
   miro-plugin:
     runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
     timeout-minutes: 15
@@ -307,28 +341,45 @@ jobs:
         uses: actions/checkout@9c091bb21b7c1c1d1991bb908d89e4e9dddfe3e0 # v7.0.0
         with:
           persist-credentials: false
+          # Full history so the PR base ref resolves for the docs-only diff.
+          fetch-depth: 0
+      - name: Test the docs-only detector
+        run: bash scripts/check-docs-only.test.sh
+      - name: Detect a docs-only diff
+        id: scope
+        if: github.event_name == 'pull_request'
+        env:
+          BASE_REF: ${{ github.base_ref }}
+        run: scripts/check-docs-only.sh "origin/$BASE_REF"
       - name: Set up Node
+        if: steps.scope.outputs.docs_only != 'true'
         uses: actions/setup-node@48b55a011bda9f5d6aeb4c2d9c7362e8dae4041e # v6.4.0
         with:
           node-version-file: .node-version
           cache: npm
           cache-dependency-path: plugins/miro/package-lock.json
       - name: Install dependencies
+        if: steps.scope.outputs.docs_only != 'true'
         run: npm ci
         working-directory: plugins/miro
       - name: Typecheck
+        if: steps.scope.outputs.docs_only != 'true'
         run: npm run typecheck
         working-directory: plugins/miro
       - name: Lint
+        if: steps.scope.outputs.docs_only != 'true'
         run: npm run lint
         working-directory: plugins/miro
       - name: Test
+        if: steps.scope.outputs.docs_only != 'true'
         run: npm test
         working-directory: plugins/miro
       - name: Verify the committed bundle matches source
+        if: steps.scope.outputs.docs_only != 'true'
         run: npm run verify-bundle
         working-directory: plugins/miro
       - name: Smoke-test the bundled MCP server over stdio
+        if: steps.scope.outputs.docs_only != 'true'
         working-directory: plugins/miro
         run: |
           printf '%s\n%s\n' \
@@ -337,6 +388,9 @@ jobs:
             | MIRO_API_TOKEN=ci-smoke-token timeout 10 node dist/index.min.js > smoke-out.json
           grep -q '"miro_create_board"' smoke-out.json
           rm -f smoke-out.json
+      - name: Report not applicable to a docs-only diff
+        if: steps.scope.outputs.docs_only == 'true'
+        run: echo "Diff is within the docs-only allowlist (scripts/docs-only-paths.txt); the miro plugin build cannot be affected — reporting success."
 
   # Skill-regression net: the only lane that invokes the skill-quality checker.
   # On a PR it runs the static contract gate (trigger-keyword preservation vs
diff --git a/scripts/check-docs-only.sh b/scripts/check-docs-only.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..bf0081a9ca
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/check-docs-only.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,88 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Detect whether a PR's diff is confined to durably-inert documentation paths, so
+# the heavy code lanes can report an HONEST evaluated-and-not-applicable success
+# instead of running their full suites on a diff that cannot affect them.
+#
+#   scripts/check-docs-only.sh <base-ref>
+#
+# Emits `docs_only=true|false` to $GITHUB_OUTPUT (and stdout). "true" means every
+# path changed vs <base-ref> matches an allowlist prefix in
+# scripts/docs-only-paths.txt — a small POSITIVE set of paths proven to feed no
+# code lane. The allowlist (not a blocklist) is the design's safety property: any
+# path NOT on it, including a brand-new code input, forces docs_only=false and the
+# full suite runs. See that file for the inertness-proof contract.
+#
+# This never SKIPS a required job (a skipped required job's result is not
+# `success`, which the ci-status aggregate rejects, and GitHub leaves a
+# workflow-skipped required check Pending — troubleshooting-required-status-checks).
+# The lane still runs and still reports success; only its inner expensive steps
+# are gated on this output, with an explicit not-applicable log line.
+#
+# Fail-closed toward RUNNING the full suite: an unresolvable base ref, a missing
+# or empty allowlist, or an empty diff all emit docs_only=false with a stderr
+# note — never a skip we cannot justify. Exit status is 0 for the normal has-code
+# case (a code PR is not an error) and for every fail-closed path; non-zero only
+# on usage error (no base-ref argument) or an unwritable output file.
+#
+# DOCS_ONLY_ALLOWLIST overrides the allowlist path (test injection).
+set -uo pipefail
+
+cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/.." || exit 2
+
+emit() {
+  printf 'docs_only=%s\n' "$1"
+  if [[ -n "${GITHUB_OUTPUT:-}" ]]; then
+    printf 'docs_only=%s\n' "$1" >>"$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+  fi
+}
+
+BASE="${1:?usage: check-docs-only.sh <base-ref>}"
+ALLOWLIST="${DOCS_ONLY_ALLOWLIST:-scripts/docs-only-paths.txt}"
+
+if [[ ! -f "$ALLOWLIST" ]]; then
+  echo "check-docs-only: allowlist not found ($ALLOWLIST) — running full suite" >&2
+  emit false
+  exit 0
+fi
+
+if ! git rev-parse --verify --quiet "${BASE}^{commit}" >/dev/null; then
+  echo "check-docs-only: base ref '$BASE' is not a resolvable commit — running full suite" >&2
+  emit false
+  exit 0
+fi
+
+# Active prefixes: strip inline comments and surrounding blank lines.
+mapfile -t prefixes < <(sed -E 's/#.*//; s/^[[:space:]]+//; s/[[:space:]]+$//' "$ALLOWLIST" | grep -v '^$')
+
+if [[ ${#prefixes[@]} -eq 0 ]]; then
+  echo "check-docs-only: allowlist has no active entries — running full suite" >&2
+  emit false
+  exit 0
+fi
+
+mapfile -t changed < <(git diff --name-only "$BASE")
+
+if [[ ${#changed[@]} -eq 0 ]]; then
+  echo "check-docs-only: no changed paths vs '$BASE' — running full suite" >&2
+  emit false
+  exit 0
+fi
+
+for path in "${changed[@]}"; do
+  matched=0
+  for prefix in "${prefixes[@]}"; do
+    if [[ "$path" == "$prefix"* ]]; then
+      matched=1
+      break
+    fi
+  done
+  if [[ $matched -eq 0 ]]; then
+    echo "check-docs-only: '$path' is outside the docs-only allowlist — running full suite" >&2
+    emit false
+    exit 0
+  fi
+done
+
+echo "check-docs-only: all ${#changed[@]} changed path(s) within the docs-only allowlist" >&2
+emit true
+exit 0
diff --git a/scripts/check-docs-only.test.sh b/scripts/check-docs-only.test.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..c0b26b123f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/check-docs-only.test.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,135 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Unit tests for check-docs-only.sh. Each scenario builds a throwaway git repo
+# with the REAL shipped allowlist (scripts/docs-only-paths.txt), commits a base
+# tree, commits a change, and asserts the emitted docs_only flag. Using the real
+# allowlist makes these tests the honesty proof the #532 liveness convention
+# wants: the README / protocol / taxonomy cases below fail the moment someone
+# widens the allowlist to cover a doc a code lane actually reads.
+set -uo pipefail
+
+SELF_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+SCRIPT="$SELF_DIR/check-docs-only.sh"
+ALLOWLIST="$SELF_DIR/docs-only-paths.txt"
+
+PASS=0
+FAIL=0
+fail() {
+  echo "FAIL: $*" >&2
+  FAIL=$((FAIL + 1))
+}
+ok() {
+  echo "ok: $*"
+  PASS=$((PASS + 1))
+}
+
+mk_repo() {
+  local dir
+  dir="$(mktemp -d)"
+  git -C "$dir" init -q
+  git -C "$dir" config user.email t@t.test
+  git -C "$dir" config user.name test
+  git -C "$dir" config commit.gpgsign false
+  git -C "$dir" config core.autocrlf false
+  mkdir -p "$dir/scripts"
+  cp "$SCRIPT" "$dir/scripts/check-docs-only.sh"
+  cp "$ALLOWLIST" "$dir/scripts/docs-only-paths.txt"
+  # A committed base tree spanning every path class the assertions touch.
+  mkdir -p "$dir/docs/topics/example" "$dir/docs" "$dir/plugins/p1/skills/alpha" \
+    "$dir/plugins/miro" "$dir/.github/workflows"
+  printf 'seed\n' >"$dir/docs/topics/example/PLAN.md"
+  printf 'seed\n' >"$dir/README.md"
+  printf 'seed\n' >"$dir/docs/PLUGIN-ARTIFACT-PROTOCOL.md"
+  printf 'seed\n' >"$dir/docs/CATALOG-TAXONOMY.md"
+  printf 'seed\n' >"$dir/docs/MIGRATION-PLAYBOOK.md"
+  printf 'seed\n' >"$dir/plugins/p1/skills/alpha/SKILL.md"
+  printf 'seed\n' >"$dir/plugins/miro/index.ts"
+  printf 'seed\n' >"$dir/.github/workflows/ci.yml"
+  printf 'seed\n' >"$dir/package-lock.json"
+  git -C "$dir" add -A >/dev/null
+  git -C "$dir" commit -qm base
+  printf '%s' "$dir"
+}
+
+# assert_flag <label> <expected true|false> <repo-relpath-to-touch...>
+# Commits an edit to each given path, runs the detector against the base sha,
+# and asserts the emitted docs_only value.
+assert_flag() {
+  local label="$1" expected="$2"
+  shift 2
+  local repo base p out
+  repo="$(mk_repo)"
+  base="$(git -C "$repo" rev-parse HEAD)"
+  for p in "$@"; do
+    mkdir -p "$repo/$(dirname "$p")"
+    printf 'changed %s\n' "$RANDOM" >"$repo/$p"
+  done
+  git -C "$repo" add -A >/dev/null
+  git -C "$repo" commit -qm change >/dev/null
+  out="$(cd "$repo" && bash scripts/check-docs-only.sh "$base" 2>/dev/null)"
+  if [[ "$out" == "docs_only=$expected" ]]; then
+    ok "$label -> $expected"
+  else
+    fail "$label: expected docs_only=$expected, got '$out'"
+  fi
+  rm -rf "$repo"
+}
+
+# --- the honest win: a diff confined to docs/topics/ ------------------------
+assert_flag "docs/topics-only" true "docs/topics/example/PLAN.md"
+assert_flag "docs/topics new nested file" true "docs/topics/new-precedent/NOTES.md"
+
+# --- the grep payoff: docs a code lane actually consumes are NOT docs-only --
+assert_flag "README.md (catalog --check reads it)" false "README.md"
+assert_flag "docs/PLUGIN-ARTIFACT-PROTOCOL.md (validator reads it)" false "docs/PLUGIN-ARTIFACT-PROTOCOL.md"
+assert_flag "docs/CATALOG-TAXONOMY.md (catalog reads it)" false "docs/CATALOG-TAXONOMY.md"
+
+# --- conservative: any non-topics doc, and every code class, run full ------
+assert_flag "non-topics docs/ file" false "docs/MIGRATION-PLAYBOOK.md"
+assert_flag "plugin SKILL.md is code" false "plugins/p1/skills/alpha/SKILL.md"
+assert_flag "plugin source" false "plugins/miro/index.ts"
+assert_flag "scripts/ change" false "scripts/run-plugin-tests.sh"
+assert_flag ".github/ workflow change" false ".github/workflows/ci.yml"
+assert_flag "toolchain lockfile" false "package-lock.json"
+assert_flag "sibling of an allowed prefix (docs/topics-archive/)" false "docs/topics-archive/old.md"
+assert_flag "mixed docs+code" false "docs/topics/example/PLAN.md" "plugins/p1/skills/alpha/SKILL.md"
+
+# --- fail-closed paths: emit false, exit 0 (run full, never block) ---------
+repo="$(mk_repo)"
+out="$(cd "$repo" && bash scripts/check-docs-only.sh "does-not-exist" 2>/dev/null)"
+rc=$?
+if [[ "$out" == "docs_only=false" && $rc -eq 0 ]]; then
+  ok "unresolvable base ref -> false, exit 0"
+else
+  fail "bad base ref: expected docs_only=false exit 0, got '$out' rc=$rc"
+fi
+rm -rf "$repo"
+
+repo="$(mk_repo)"
+base="$(git -C "$repo" rev-parse HEAD)"
+: >"$repo/empty-allowlist.txt"
+printf 'changed\n' >"$repo/docs/topics/example/PLAN.md"
+git -C "$repo" add -A >/dev/null && git -C "$repo" commit -qm change >/dev/null
+out="$(cd "$repo" && DOCS_ONLY_ALLOWLIST=empty-allowlist.txt bash scripts/check-docs-only.sh "$base" 2>/dev/null)"
+if [[ "$out" == "docs_only=false" ]]; then
+  ok "empty allowlist -> false (fail-closed)"
+else
+  fail "empty allowlist: expected docs_only=false, got '$out'"
+fi
+rm -rf "$repo"
+
+# --- GITHUB_OUTPUT is written for the step to consume ----------------------
+repo="$(mk_repo)"
+base="$(git -C "$repo" rev-parse HEAD)"
+printf 'changed\n' >"$repo/docs/topics/example/PLAN.md"
+git -C "$repo" add -A >/dev/null && git -C "$repo" commit -qm change >/dev/null
+gho="$(mktemp)"
+(cd "$repo" && GITHUB_OUTPUT="$gho" bash scripts/check-docs-only.sh "$base" >/dev/null 2>&1)
+if grep -qx 'docs_only=true' "$gho"; then
+  ok "writes docs_only to GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+else
+  fail "GITHUB_OUTPUT missing docs_only=true, got: $(cat "$gho")"
+fi
+rm -rf "$repo" "$gho"
+
+printf '\nPASS=%d FAIL=%d\n' "$PASS" "$FAIL"
+((FAIL == 0))
diff --git a/scripts/docs-only-paths.txt b/scripts/docs-only-paths.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..548c7ce84e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/docs-only-paths.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+# Docs-only allowlist — path prefixes that feed NO code lane, so a PR whose diff
+# is confined to them lets the heavy lanes (plugin-gate, miro-plugin) report an
+# honest evaluated-and-not-applicable success instead of running their full
+# suites. Consumed by scripts/check-docs-only.sh.
+#
+# ALLOWLIST, NOT BLOCKLIST — by design. A blocklist ("skip on any doc the
+# validators don't currently read") silently turns false-green the day a
+# validator starts reading a new doc. This positive list fails safe: any path
+# NOT listed here — including a brand-new code input — forces the full suite to
+# run. That is why the seed is deliberately narrow.
+#
+# Adding an entry is a two-part proof, enforced by the self-test:
+#   1. The prefix must feed no code lane. Today the only lanes this gate wraps
+#      are plugin-gate (runs hermetic plugins/**/*.test.sh, then validates
+#      manifests + catalog: reads README.md, docs/PLUGIN-ARTIFACT-PROTOCOL.md,
+#      docs/CATALOG-TAXONOMY.md) and miro-plugin (reads only plugins/miro/**).
+#      NONE of those read the paths below — that is the inertness proof.
+#   2. A matching case in scripts/check-docs-only.test.sh must pin it.
+#
+# Prefixes match by literal string prefix; keep the trailing slash so
+# docs/topics/ never matches a sibling like docs/topics-archive/.
+
+# Operator precedent-codification & session working docs. Read by humans and by
+# the docs-hygiene audit skills' OWN runtime (never by a CI lane); the audit
+# lanes here scan changed files in place, not this tree.
+docs/topics/