diff --git a/.githooks/pre-push b/.githooks/pre-push
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f40042d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.githooks/pre-push
@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Pre-push hook: run README corpus fidelity validation before pushing.
+# Install: git config core.hooksPath .githooks
+#
+# Skip with: git push --no-verify
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+# Only run corpus validation when source/test/config files changed
+REMOTE="$1"
+URL="$2"
+
+while read -r LOCAL_REF LOCAL_OID REMOTE_REF REMOTE_OID; do
+  if [ "$LOCAL_OID" = "0000000000000000000000000000000000000000" ]; then
+    # Branch deleted, nothing to validate
+    continue
+  fi
+
+  # Determine diff base
+  if [ "$REMOTE_OID" = "0000000000000000000000000000000000000000" ]; then
+    # New branch — diff against main
+    DIFF_BASE="origin/main"
+  else
+    DIFF_BASE="$REMOTE_OID"
+  fi
+
+  # Check if any runtime-affecting files changed
+  CHANGED=$(git diff --name-only "$DIFF_BASE" "$LOCAL_OID" -- \
+    'crates/**' \
+    'runtime-assets/**' \
+    'web/**' \
+    'index.html' \
+    'Cargo.toml' \
+    'Cargo.lock' \
+    2>/dev/null || true)
+
+  if [ -z "$CHANGED" ]; then
+    echo "[pre-push] No runtime files changed, skipping corpus validation."
+    exit 0
+  fi
+done
+
+echo "========================================"
+echo "[pre-push] Running README corpus validation"
+echo "========================================"
+
+# Prerequisites check
+for cmd in node npm cargo pdftoppm pdftotext; do
+  if ! command -v "$cmd" &>/dev/null; then
+    echo "[pre-push] ERROR: $cmd is required but not found."
+    exit 1
+  fi
+done
+
+# Ensure dependencies are installed
+npm ci --prefix crates/marknest/playwright-runtime --silent 2>/dev/null || true
+npm ci --prefix validation --silent 2>/dev/null || true
+
+# Resolve browser path
+if [ -z "${MARKNEST_BROWSER_PATH:-}" ]; then
+  BROWSER_PATH=$(node -e '
+    try {
+      const { chromium } = require("./crates/marknest/playwright-runtime/node_modules/playwright");
+      process.stdout.write(chromium.executablePath());
+    } catch { process.exit(1); }
+  ' 2>/dev/null || true)
+  if [ -n "$BROWSER_PATH" ] && [ -f "$BROWSER_PATH" ]; then
+    export MARKNEST_BROWSER_PATH="$BROWSER_PATH"
+  fi
+fi
+
+# Run corpus validation (smoke tier for speed, full tier via: CORPUS_TIER=all git push)
+TIER="${CORPUS_TIER:-smoke}"
+echo "[pre-push] Tier: $TIER"
+
+node validation/readme_corpus.mjs run --tier "$TIER" --force
+
+echo "========================================"
+echo "[pre-push] Corpus validation passed"
+echo "========================================"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/readme-corpus.yml b/.github/workflows/readme-corpus.yml
index 8b7df78..facbd16 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/readme-corpus.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/readme-corpus.yml
@@ -1,70 +1,29 @@
-name: README Corpus
+name: CI
 
 on:
   pull_request:
+    paths-ignore:
+      - "*.md"
+      - "docs/**"
+      - "LICENSE"
   workflow_dispatch:
 
 jobs:
-  validate-readme-corpus:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    timeout-minutes: 90
+  check:
+    runs-on: self-hosted
+    timeout-minutes: 30
 
     steps:
       - name: Check out repository
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
-        with:
-          lfs: true
 
-      - name: Install Rust toolchain
-        uses: dtolnay/rust-toolchain@stable
+      - name: Check formatting
+        run: cargo fmt --all -- --check
 
-      - name: Install Node.js
-        uses: actions/setup-node@v4
-        with:
-          node-version: "22"
-          cache: "npm"
-          cache-dependency-path: |
-            crates/marknest/playwright-runtime/package-lock.json
-            validation/package-lock.json
+      - name: Run workspace tests
+        run: cargo test
 
-      - name: Cache Rust build outputs
-        uses: Swatinem/rust-cache@v2
-
-      - name: Install PDF rasterization tools
-        run: sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y poppler-utils
-
-      - name: Pull Git LFS baselines
-        run: git lfs pull
-
-      - name: Install native renderer runtime
-        run: npm ci --prefix crates/marknest/playwright-runtime
-
-      - name: Install validation dependencies
-        run: npm ci --prefix validation
-
-      - name: Install Playwright Chromium for CI
-        run: npx --prefix crates/marknest/playwright-runtime playwright install --with-deps chromium
-
-      - name: Resolve Playwright browser path
-        id: playwright-browser
+      - name: Check WASM target
         run: |
-          path=$(node -e 'const { chromium } = require("./crates/marknest/playwright-runtime/node_modules/playwright"); process.stdout.write(chromium.executablePath());')
-          echo "path=$path" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
-
-      - name: Run Playwright print timeout guard
-        run: node --test crates/marknest/src/playwright_print.test.mjs
-        env:
-          MARKNEST_BROWSER_PATH: ${{ steps.playwright-browser.outputs.path }}
-
-      - name: Run full README corpus validation
-        run: node validation/readme_corpus.mjs run --tier all --force
-        env:
-          MARKNEST_BROWSER_PATH: ${{ steps.playwright-browser.outputs.path }}
-
-      - name: Upload corpus artifacts
-        if: always()
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
-        with:
-          name: readme-corpus-artifacts
-          path: validation/.runs
-          retention-days: 14
+          rustup target add wasm32-unknown-unknown 2>/dev/null || true
+          cargo check -p marknest-wasm --target wasm32-unknown-unknown