diff --git a/.github/scripts/check-release-governance.mjs b/.github/scripts/check-release-governance.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a351620b72
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/scripts/check-release-governance.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+
+import fs from 'node:fs';
+import path from 'node:path';
+import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url';
+import { parse } from 'yaml';
+
+const repoRoot = path.resolve(path.dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url)), '../..');
+const readWorkflow = (filename) =>
+  parse(fs.readFileSync(path.join(repoRoot, '.github/workflows', filename), 'utf8'));
+const workflow = readWorkflow('publish.yml');
+
+const fail = (message) => {
+  process.stderr.write(`release governance check failed: ${message}\n`);
+  process.exitCode = 1;
+};
+
+const triggers = workflow.on;
+if (!triggers || typeof triggers !== 'object') {
+  fail('publish.yml must declare structured triggers');
+} else {
+  const push = triggers.push;
+  if (!push || typeof push !== 'object') {
+    fail('publish.yml must retain stable tag publishing');
+  } else {
+    if ('branches' in push || 'branches-ignore' in push) {
+      fail('publish.yml must not publish from branch pushes');
+    }
+    const tags = Array.isArray(push.tags) ? push.tags : [];
+    if (!tags.includes('v*') || !tags.includes('!v*-rc.*')) {
+      fail('publish.yml must accept stable tags and reject self-produced RC tags');
+    }
+  }
+  if (!('workflow_dispatch' in triggers)) {
+    fail('publish.yml must retain an explicit manual RC trigger');
+  }
+  if ('pull_request' in triggers || 'pull_request_target' in triggers) {
+    fail('publish.yml must never publish from pull request events');
+  }
+}
+
+const publishJob = workflow.jobs?.publish;
+const environment =
+  typeof publishJob?.environment === 'string'
+    ? publishJob.environment
+    : publishJob?.environment?.name;
+if (environment !== 'internal-release') {
+  fail('the publish job must require the internal-release environment');
+}
+
+for (const filename of [
+  'ci.yml',
+  'codeql.yml',
+  'gitleaks.yml',
+  'dependency-review.yml',
+  'workflow-lint.yml',
+]) {
+  const candidate = readWorkflow(filename);
+  const pullRequest = candidate.on?.pull_request;
+  if (!pullRequest || typeof pullRequest !== 'object') {
+    fail(`${filename} must run for pull requests`);
+    continue;
+  }
+  const branches = Array.isArray(pullRequest.branches) ? pullRequest.branches : [];
+  if (!branches.includes('main')) {
+    fail(`${filename} must run for main-targeted pull requests`);
+  }
+  if ('paths' in pullRequest || 'paths-ignore' in pullRequest) {
+    fail(`${filename} must not omit required checks through path filters`);
+  }
+}
+
+if (!process.exitCode) {
+  process.stdout.write('release governance check passed\n');
+}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci-quality.yml b/.github/workflows/ci-quality.yml
index 0106049ae3..069e44e82d 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci-quality.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci-quality.yml
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ jobs:
           cache: npm
           cache-dependency-path: package-lock.json
       - run: npm ci
+      - run: npm run check:release-governance
       - run: npx prettier --check .
 
   lint:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 36421d8890..ec32cc96db 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@ name: CI
 on:
   pull_request:
     branches: [main, 'reconcile/**']
-    paths-ignore: ['**.md', 'docs/**', 'LICENSE']
   workflow_call:
 
 permissions:
@@ -16,9 +15,9 @@ permissions:
 # prefix that could resolve to the caller's name would share a concurrency group
 # with the caller → deadlock. A literal prefix is immune. Direct `pull_request`
 # invocations use `CI-<ref>`; invocations from a reusable-workflow caller fall
-# into a per-run-unique group that never serializes with the caller. `push` to
-# main is handled by publish.yml (RC mode), which calls this workflow once
-# before publishing.
+# into a per-run-unique group that never serializes with the caller. A manual
+# RC dispatch or stable tag in publish.yml calls this workflow once before the
+# protected release job can begin.
 concurrency:
   group: ${{ github.event_name == 'pull_request' && format('CI-{0}', github.ref) || format('CI-nested-{0}', github.run_id) }}
   cancel-in-progress: ${{ github.event_name == 'pull_request' }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/codeql.yml b/.github/workflows/codeql.yml
index 04d6d8dd26..4c7b7aa53d 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/codeql.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/codeql.yml
@@ -3,13 +3,12 @@ name: CodeQL
 # Static analysis (SAST) for TypeScript/JavaScript and Python sources.
 # Findings upload to the GitHub Security tab as SARIF.
 #
-# Advisory only on first introduction — see docs/plans/2026-05-03-001-feat-automated-security-scans-plan.md.
-# Promote to a required check after baseline triage (operator decision).
+# Required on every main-targeted pull request. Scheduled and main-push runs
+# continue to catch findings that appear between pull requests.
 
 on:
   pull_request:
     branches: [main]
-    paths-ignore: ['**.md', 'docs/**', 'LICENSE']
   push:
     branches: [main]
   schedule:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/publish.yml b/.github/workflows/publish.yml
index 62679fe7c1..fb9d452883 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/publish.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/publish.yml
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ name: Publish
 # double-publish race this unification closes.
 #
 # Two release modes, both routed through this file:
-#   • Release candidate (rc)  — triggered by push to `main` or workflow_dispatch.
+#   • Release candidate (rc)  — triggered only by workflow_dispatch on `main`.
 #       The RC path computes the next rc version, applies it in-CI, pushes a
 #       detached release commit with v<X.Y.Z>-rc.<N> + rc/<SHA> marker
 #       atomically, then publishes to npm with --tag rc and creates a GitHub
@@ -28,11 +28,6 @@ name: Publish
 
 on:
   push:
-    branches: [main]
-    paths-ignore:
-      - '**.md'
-      - 'docs/**'
-      - 'LICENSE'
     tags:
       # Negative-globbed exclusion of RC tags this workflow itself produces
       # (see the SELF-TRIGGER INVARIANT in the header comment).
@@ -65,9 +60,9 @@ on:
 # Workflow-level deny-all; each job declares the minimum it needs.
 permissions: {}
 
-# Distinct refs (refs/heads/main, refs/tags/v*) run in parallel. The
-# release-PR-skip in rc-guard is the load-bearing invariant that prevents
-# an RC main-push and a stable tag-push colliding on the same release commit.
+# Manual RC dispatches and stable tag pushes use distinct refs and may run in
+# parallel. The release-PR skip remains a defense against a manually dispatched
+# RC colliding with a stable tag on the same release commit.
 concurrency:
   group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}
   cancel-in-progress: false
@@ -118,9 +113,6 @@ jobs:
               ;;
             push)
               case "${GH_REF}" in
-                refs/heads/main)
-                  MODE="rc"
-                  ;;
                 refs/tags/v*)
                   # The trigger filter already excluded v*-rc.* tags. Anything
                   # reaching here is either a stable semver or a malformed v*.
@@ -280,6 +272,8 @@ jobs:
     if: ${{ always() && needs.ci.result == 'success' && (needs.route.outputs.mode == 'stable' || needs.rc-guard.outputs.should_run == 'true') }}
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     timeout-minutes: 20
+    environment:
+      name: internal-release
     permissions:
       # contents: write — RC path needs it for `git push --atomic` (v-tag +
       # marker). Stable path runs in the same job and inherits the grant; it
diff --git a/.github/workflows/workflow-lint.yml b/.github/workflows/workflow-lint.yml
index 302ba9d597..2cec04abaf 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/workflow-lint.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/workflow-lint.yml
@@ -6,14 +6,12 @@ name: Workflow Lint
 #   - zizmor: security misconfigurations — unpinned actions, dangerous
 #     `${{ }}` interpolation, missing per-job permissions, etc.
 #
-# Scoped to PRs that touch .github/** only — keeps off the typical PR
-# critical path.
+# Runs on every main-targeted PR because both jobs are required merge gates.
+# Path filtering would leave unrelated PRs waiting on checks that never start.
 
 on:
   pull_request:
     branches: [main]
-    paths:
-      - '.github/**'
 
 permissions:
   contents: read
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index 0969cc7a73..da02f5a889 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -15,7 +15,8 @@
         "husky": "^9.1.7",
         "lint-staged": "^15.5.0",
         "prettier": "^3.8.0",
-        "prettier-plugin-tailwindcss": "^0.7.0"
+        "prettier-plugin-tailwindcss": "^0.7.0",
+        "yaml": "2.8.3"
       }
     },
     "node_modules/@babel/code-frame": {
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 8a732cb149..fbec2025bf 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
     "prepare": "husky",
     "format": "prettier --write .",
     "format:check": "prettier --check .",
+    "check:release-governance": "node .github/scripts/check-release-governance.mjs",
     "lint": "eslint .",
     "lint:fix": "eslint --fix .",
     "gitnexus:refresh": "gitnexus analyze --embeddings --skills",
@@ -20,7 +21,8 @@
     "husky": "^9.1.7",
     "lint-staged": "^15.5.0",
     "prettier": "^3.8.0",
-    "prettier-plugin-tailwindcss": "^0.7.0"
+    "prettier-plugin-tailwindcss": "^0.7.0",
+    "yaml": "2.8.3"
   },
   "lint-staged": {
     "*.{ts,tsx}": [