diff --git a/.github/workflows/test_lemonade_server.yml b/.github/workflows/test_lemonade_server.yml
index b02b981a6..a3ed71404 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/test_lemonade_server.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/test_lemonade_server.yml
@@ -7,9 +7,27 @@ on:
   workflow_call:
   push:
     branches: [ main ]
+    paths:
+      - 'src/gaia/llm/**'
+      - 'src/gaia/installer/**'
+      - 'setup.py'
+      - '.github/workflows/test_lemonade_server.yml'
+      - '.github/actions/install-lemonade/**'
+      - '.github/actions/setup-venv/**'
+      - 'installer/**'
+      - 'tests/test_lemonade*.py'
   pull_request:
     branches: [ main ]
     types: [opened, synchronize, reopened, ready_for_review]
+    paths:
+      - 'src/gaia/llm/**'
+      - 'src/gaia/installer/**'
+      - 'setup.py'
+      - '.github/workflows/test_lemonade_server.yml'
+      - '.github/actions/install-lemonade/**'
+      - '.github/actions/setup-venv/**'
+      - 'installer/**'
+      - 'tests/test_lemonade*.py'
   merge_group:
   workflow_dispatch:
     inputs:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/test_mcp.yml b/.github/workflows/test_mcp.yml
index a330e6018..986b7ddea 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/test_mcp.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/test_mcp.yml
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ on:
     branches: [ main ]
     paths:
       - 'src/gaia/mcp/**'
+      - 'src/gaia/cli.py'
       - 'tests/mcp/**'
       - 'setup.py'
       - '.github/workflows/test_mcp.yml'
@@ -21,6 +22,7 @@ on:
     types: [opened, synchronize, reopened, ready_for_review]
     paths:
       - 'src/gaia/mcp/**'
+      - 'src/gaia/cli.py'
       - 'tests/mcp/**'
       - 'setup.py'
       - '.github/workflows/test_mcp.yml'
diff --git a/.github/workflows/test_unit.yml b/.github/workflows/test_unit.yml
index cafd73051..68dc507c7 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/test_unit.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/test_unit.yml
@@ -39,17 +39,21 @@ permissions:
 
 jobs:
   unit-tests:
-    name: Run Unit Tests
+    name: Unit Tests (py${{ matrix.python-version }})
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     timeout-minutes: 30
     if: github.event_name != 'pull_request' || github.event.pull_request.draft == false || contains(github.event.pull_request.labels.*.name, 'ready_for_ci')
+    strategy:
+      fail-fast: false
+      matrix:
+        python-version: ['3.10', '3.11', '3.12']
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v6
 
       - name: Set up Python
         uses: actions/setup-python@v6
         with:
-          python-version: '3.12'
+          python-version: ${{ matrix.python-version }}
 
       - name: Install uv
         run: curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh
@@ -63,8 +67,8 @@ jobs:
           # keyring + httpx + respx are required by tests/unit/connections/
           # (issue #915). The in-memory keyring backend in tests/conftest.py
           # avoids the SecretService daemon prerequisite on Linux runners.
-          uv pip install --system pytest pytest-cov pytest-asyncio pytest-mock pyfakefs \
-                                  keyring httpx respx
+          uv pip install --system pytest pytest-cov pytest-asyncio pytest-mock pytest-timeout \
+                                  pyfakefs keyring httpx respx
           uv pip install --system -e ".[api]"
 
       - name: Validate packaging integrity
@@ -149,3 +153,44 @@ jobs:
           echo "Integration Tests:"
           echo "  - DatabaseMixin + Agent: Full agent lifecycle with database"
           echo "  - DatabaseAgent: Auto-registered database tools"
+
+  # Experimental macOS smoke test — validates core SDK imports and pure-Python
+  # unit tests on Darwin. continue-on-error until the full suite is macOS-clean.
+  unit-tests-macos:
+    name: Unit Tests (macOS smoke)
+    runs-on: macos-latest
+    if: github.event_name != 'pull_request' || github.event.pull_request.draft == false || contains(github.event.pull_request.labels.*.name, 'ready_for_ci')
+    continue-on-error: true
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
+
+      - name: Set up Python
+        uses: actions/setup-python@v6
+        with:
+          python-version: '3.12'
+
+      - name: Install uv
+        run: curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh
+
+      - name: Install dependencies
+        run: |
+          uv pip install --system pytest pytest-asyncio pytest-mock pytest-timeout \
+                                  pyfakefs keyring httpx respx
+          uv pip install --system -e ".[api]"
+
+      - name: Validate packaging integrity
+        run: |
+          echo "=== Validating Packaging Integrity ==="
+          echo "Checking setup.py packages, __init__.py files, and entry points"
+          echo ""
+          pytest tests/unit/test_packaging.py -v --tb=short
+          echo "✅ Packaging integrity checks passed"
+
+      - name: Run unit tests (macOS smoke)
+        env:
+          GAIA_MEMORY_DISABLED: "1"
+        run: |
+          echo "=== macOS Smoke Test ==="
+          echo "Running unit tests on macOS to catch platform-specific issues"
+          echo ""
+          pytest tests/unit/ -x --timeout=60 -v --tb=short
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_llamacpp_backend.py b/tests/unit/test_llamacpp_backend.py
index 1ab58db2e..ff82a36a3 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_llamacpp_backend.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_llamacpp_backend.py
@@ -587,13 +587,15 @@ def test_no_model_loaded_by_message(self):
 class TestLlamaServerCorruptDownload:
     """Verify _is_corrupt_download_error catches llama-server startup failures."""
 
-    def test_llama_server_failed_to_start(self):
-        """'llama-server failed to start' indicates corrupt model files."""
+    def test_llama_server_failed_to_start_is_not_corruption(self):
+        """'llama-server failed to start' is NOT a corruption signal — Lemonade
+        emits it for many non-corruption failures (resource limits, ctx_size,
+        port conflicts), so it must not trigger the delete+redownload path."""
         client = LemonadeClient(host="localhost", port=13305)
         error = Exception(
             "model_load_error: llama-server failed to start after loading model"
         )
-        assert client._is_corrupt_download_error(error) is True
+        assert client._is_corrupt_download_error(error) is False
 
     def test_incomplete_download(self):
         client = LemonadeClient(host="localhost", port=13305)