docs(readme): add publish-template-image.yml section

The README documents the four validator workflows but omits
publish-template-image.yml — which is arguably the most consequential
workflow in this repo (it's the GHCR publish gate that would have
caught the 2026-04-27 RuntimeCapabilities outage if it had existed
then, and is what the runtime-publish cascade fans out to today).

Adds:
- Caller-side usage example matching the validator-section format
- Trigger table (push/dispatch/cascade) verified against the workflow's
  consumers in the template repos
- Inputs table (runtime_name, runtime_version) verified against the
  workflow's on.workflow_call.inputs block
- Pipeline order: lint → static import smoke → boot smoke → push,
  with the load-bearing detail that GHCR push only happens after
  all three gates pass
- Smoke timeout calibration explainer (90s inner / 120s outer) with
  link to PR #33 and the wedge-coverage rationale, so future readers
  don't lower the timeouts and silently blind the gate
- Cross-link to molecule-core/workspace/smoke_mode.py and to
  publish-runtime.yml for the cascade trigger

Doc-only. No workflow or code changes.

.gitea/actions/audit-force-merge/action.yml

@@ -1,55 +0,0 @@
-name: 'Audit force-merge'
-description: >-
-  §SOP-6 force-merge audit. Detects PRs merged with required-status-checks
-  not green at HEAD SHA and emits incident.force_merge JSON to runner
-  stdout. Vector docker_logs source ships the line to Loki on
-  molecule-canonical-obs (per reference_obs_stack_phase1).
-
-# Why a composite action and not a reusable workflow:
-# Gitea 1.22.6 does NOT support cross-repo `uses: org/repo/.gitea/
-# workflows/X.yml@ref`. Cross-repo reusable workflows landed in
-# go-gitea/gitea PR #32562 in Gitea 1.26.0 (Oct 2025). On 1.22.x the
-# clone fails because act_runner mints a caller-scoped GITEA_TOKEN.
-# Composite actions resolve via the actions-fetch path which works
-# cross-repo on 1.22 against a public callee — that's us. Re-evaluate
-# this choice when the operator host upgrades to Gitea ≥ 1.26.
-
-inputs:
-  gitea-token:
-    description: >-
-      PAT for sop-tier-bot (or equivalent read-only audit identity).
-      Needs read:user,read:repository,read:issue scopes — admin scope
-      is intentionally NOT required.
-    required: true
-  gitea-host:
-    description: 'Gitea host'
-    required: false
-    default: 'git.moleculesai.app'
-  repo:
-    description: 'owner/name; typically ${{ github.repository }}'
-    required: true
-  pr-number:
-    description: 'PR number; typically ${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}'
-    required: true
-  required-checks:
-    description: >-
-      Newline-separated required-status-check context names. Mirror
-      of branch protection's status_check_contexts. Declared at the
-      caller because /branch_protections requires admin scope which
-      this audit identity intentionally does not hold (least-privilege).
-      When the required-check set changes, update both branch
-      protection AND this input.
-    required: true
-
-runs:
-  using: composite
-  steps:
-    - name: Detect force-merge + emit audit event
-      shell: bash
-      env:
-        GITEA_TOKEN: ${{ inputs.gitea-token }}
-        GITEA_HOST: ${{ inputs.gitea-host }}
-        REPO: ${{ inputs.repo }}
-        PR_NUMBER: ${{ inputs.pr-number }}
-        REQUIRED_CHECKS: ${{ inputs.required-checks }}
-      run: bash "$GITHUB_ACTION_PATH/audit.sh"

.gitea/actions/audit-force-merge/audit.sh

@@ -1,118 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env bash
-# audit-force-merge — detect a §SOP-6 force-merge on a closed PR, emit
-# `incident.force_merge` to stdout as structured JSON.
-#
-# Invoked by the `audit-force-merge` composite action defined alongside
-# this script (action.yml). Caller workflows fire on
-# `pull_request_target: closed` and gate on `merged == true`. See
-# action.yml for the supported inputs.
-#
-# Vector's docker_logs source picks up runner stdout; the JSON gets
-# shipped to Loki on molecule-canonical-obs, indexable by event_type.
-# Query example:
-#
-#   {host="operator"} |= "event_type" |= "incident.force_merge" | json
-#
-# A force-merge is detected when a merged PR had at least one of the
-# caller-declared required-status-check contexts in a state other than
-# "success" at the PR HEAD. That's exactly what the Gitea
-# force_merge:true API call lets through, so it's a faithful detector
-# of the override path.
-#
-# Required env (set by the composite action via inputs):
-#   GITEA_TOKEN, GITEA_HOST, REPO, PR_NUMBER, REQUIRED_CHECKS
-#
-# REQUIRED_CHECKS is newline-separated context names. Declared by the
-# caller (mirror of branch protection's status_check_contexts) rather
-# than fetched from /branch_protections, which requires admin scope —
-# the audit identity is intentionally read-only (least-privilege; see
-# memory/feedback_least_privilege_via_workflow_env).
-
-set -euo pipefail
-
-: "${GITEA_TOKEN:?required}"
-: "${GITEA_HOST:?required}"
-: "${REPO:?required}"
-: "${PR_NUMBER:?required}"
-: "${REQUIRED_CHECKS:?required (newline-separated context names)}"
-
-OWNER="${REPO%%/*}"
-NAME="${REPO##*/}"
-API="https://${GITEA_HOST}/api/v1"
-AUTH="Authorization: token ${GITEA_TOKEN}"
-
-# 1. Fetch the PR. If not merged, no-op.
-PR=$(curl -sS -H "$AUTH" "${API}/repos/${OWNER}/${NAME}/pulls/${PR_NUMBER}")
-MERGED=$(echo "$PR" | jq -r '.merged // false')
-if [ "$MERGED" != "true" ]; then
-  echo "::notice::PR #${PR_NUMBER} closed without merge — no audit emission."
-  exit 0
-fi
-
-MERGE_SHA=$(echo "$PR" | jq -r '.merge_commit_sha // empty')
-MERGED_BY=$(echo "$PR" | jq -r '.merged_by.login // "unknown"')
-TITLE=$(echo "$PR" | jq -r '.title // ""')
-BASE_BRANCH=$(echo "$PR" | jq -r '.base.ref // "main"')
-HEAD_SHA=$(echo "$PR" | jq -r '.head.sha // empty')
-
-if [ -z "$MERGE_SHA" ]; then
-  echo "::warning::PR #${PR_NUMBER} merged=true but no merge_commit_sha — cannot evaluate force-merge."
-  exit 0
-fi
-
-# 2. Required status checks declared in the workflow env.
-REQUIRED="$REQUIRED_CHECKS"
-if [ -z "${REQUIRED//[[:space:]]/}" ]; then
-  echo "::notice::REQUIRED_CHECKS empty — force-merge not applicable."
-  exit 0
-fi
-
-# 3. Status-check state at the PR HEAD (where checks ran). The merge
-#    commit doesn't get its own checks; we evaluate the PR's last
-#    commit, which is what branch protection compared against.
-STATUS=$(curl -sS -H "$AUTH" \
-  "${API}/repos/${OWNER}/${NAME}/commits/${HEAD_SHA}/status")
-declare -A CHECK_STATE
-while IFS=$'\t' read -r ctx state; do
-  [ -n "$ctx" ] && CHECK_STATE[$ctx]="$state"
-done < <(echo "$STATUS" | jq -r '.statuses // [] | .[] | "\(.context)\t\(.status)"')
-
-# 4. For each required check, was it green at merge? YAML block scalars
-#    (`|`) leave a trailing newline; skip blank/whitespace-only lines.
-FAILED_CHECKS=()
-while IFS= read -r req; do
-  trimmed="${req#"${req%%[![:space:]]*}"}"   # ltrim
-  trimmed="${trimmed%"${trimmed##*[![:space:]]}"}"  # rtrim
-  [ -z "$trimmed" ] && continue
-  state="${CHECK_STATE[$trimmed]:-missing}"
-  if [ "$state" != "success" ]; then
-    FAILED_CHECKS+=("${trimmed}=${state}")
-  fi
-done <<< "$REQUIRED"
-
-if [ "${#FAILED_CHECKS[@]}" -eq 0 ]; then
-  echo "::notice::PR #${PR_NUMBER} merged with all required checks green — not a force-merge."
-  exit 0
-fi
-
-# 5. Emit structured audit event.
-NOW=$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)
-FAILED_JSON=$(printf '%s\n' "${FAILED_CHECKS[@]}" | jq -R . | jq -s .)
-
-# Print as a single-line JSON so Vector's parse_json transform can pick
-# it up cleanly from docker_logs.
-jq -nc \
-  --arg event_type "incident.force_merge" \
-  --arg ts "$NOW" \
-  --arg repo "$REPO" \
-  --argjson pr "$PR_NUMBER" \
-  --arg title "$TITLE" \
-  --arg base "$BASE_BRANCH" \
-  --arg merged_by "$MERGED_BY" \
-  --arg merge_sha "$MERGE_SHA" \
-  --argjson failed_checks "$FAILED_JSON" \
-  '{event_type: $event_type, ts: $ts, repo: $repo, pr: $pr, title: $title,
-    base_branch: $base, merged_by: $merged_by, merge_sha: $merge_sha,
-    failed_checks: $failed_checks}'
-
-echo "::warning::FORCE-MERGE detected on PR #${PR_NUMBER} by ${MERGED_BY}: ${#FAILED_CHECKS[@]} required check(s) not green at merge time."

.github/workflows/auto-promote-branch.yml

@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ name: Auto-promote branch (reusable)
 #     administration: read     # read branch protection (REQUIRED — see below)
 #   jobs:
 #     promote:
-#       uses: molecule-ai/molecule-ci/.github/workflows/auto-promote-branch.yml@v1
+#       uses: Molecule-AI/molecule-ci/.github/workflows/auto-promote-branch.yml@v1
 #       with:
 #         from-branch: staging
 #         to-branch: main

.github/workflows/auto-promote-staging-pr.yml

@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ name: Auto-promote staging → main (PR-based, reusable)
 #     pull-requests: write
 #   jobs:
 #     promote:
-#       uses: molecule-ai/molecule-ci/.github/workflows/auto-promote-staging-pr.yml@v1
+#       uses: Molecule-AI/molecule-ci/.github/workflows/auto-promote-staging-pr.yml@v1
 #       with:
 #         gates: "ci.yml,e2e-staging-canvas.yml,e2e-api.yml,codeql.yml"
 #         force: ${{ github.event.inputs.force == 'true' }}
@@ -230,7 +230,7 @@ jobs:
             cat > "$BODY_FILE" <<EOFBODY
           Automated promotion of \`${SOURCE_BRANCH}\` (\`${TARGET_SHA:0:8}\`) to \`${TARGET_BRANCH}\`. Required gates green at this SHA: ${GATES_CSV}.
 
-          This PR is auto-generated by a thin caller of \`molecule-ai/molecule-ci/.github/workflows/auto-promote-staging-pr.yml\` whenever every required gate completes green on the same source-branch SHA. It exists because protected branches require status checks "set by the expected GitHub apps" — direct \`git push\` from a workflow can't satisfy that, only PR merges through the queue can.
+          This PR is auto-generated by a thin caller of \`Molecule-AI/molecule-ci/.github/workflows/auto-promote-staging-pr.yml\` whenever every required gate completes green on the same source-branch SHA. It exists because protected branches require status checks "set by the expected GitHub apps" — direct \`git push\` from a workflow can't satisfy that, only PR merges through the queue can.
 
           Merge queue lands this; no human action needed unless gates fail.
           EOFBODY

.github/workflows/auto-promote-staging.yml

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ name: Auto-promote staging → main
 # `auto-promote-branch.yml` workflow factored out for org-wide reuse.
 # Other repos consume the same reusable workflow via:
 #
-#   uses: molecule-ai/molecule-ci/.github/workflows/auto-promote-branch.yml@v1
+#   uses: Molecule-AI/molecule-ci/.github/workflows/auto-promote-branch.yml@v1
 #
 # Excluded by policy: molecule-core + molecule-controlplane stay
 # manual per CEO directive 2026-04-24. Those repos do NOT call the

.github/workflows/disable-auto-merge-on-push.yml

@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ name: Disable auto-merge on push
 #     pull-requests: write
 #   jobs:
 #     disable-auto-merge-on-push:
-#       uses: molecule-ai/molecule-ci/.github/workflows/disable-auto-merge-on-push.yml@v1
+#       uses: Molecule-AI/molecule-ci/.github/workflows/disable-auto-merge-on-push.yml@v1
 #
 # False-positive behavior: if a CI bot pushes (e.g. dependency-update
 # rebase, secret rotation), this also disables auto-merge for that

.github/workflows/publish-template-image.yml

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 name: Publish Workspace Template Image
 
-# Reusable workflow for every molecule-ai/molecule-ai-workspace-template-*
+# Reusable workflow for every Molecule-AI/molecule-ai-workspace-template-*
 # repo. Builds the template's Dockerfile on main and pushes to GHCR as
 # `ghcr.io/molecule-ai/workspace-template-<runtime>:latest` (plus a
 # per-commit `sha-<7>` tag). Auto-derives <runtime> from the caller repo
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ name: Publish Workspace Template Image
 #     packages: write
 #   jobs:
 #     publish:
-#       uses: molecule-ai/molecule-ci/.github/workflows/publish-template-image.yml@v1
+#       uses: Molecule-AI/molecule-ci/.github/workflows/publish-template-image.yml@v1
 #       secrets: inherit
 #
 # Runner choice (2026-04-22): ubuntu-latest

.github/workflows/validate-org-template.yml

@@ -15,10 +15,10 @@ jobs:
       # 5 org-template repos as the validator evolved. Single source of
       # truth eliminates that drift class entirely. Mirrors the same
       # pattern already used by validate-workspace-template.yml.
-      # Direct git-clone — see validate-plugin.yml for the rationale.
-      # Anonymous fetch of public molecule-ci, no actions/checkout idiosyncrasies.
-      - name: Fetch molecule-ci canonical scripts
-        run: git clone --depth 1 https://git.moleculesai.app/molecule-ai/molecule-ci.git .molecule-ci-canonical
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          repository: Molecule-AI/molecule-ci
+          path: .molecule-ci-canonical
       - uses: actions/setup-python@v5
         with:
           python-version: "3.11"

.github/workflows/validate-plugin.yml

@@ -15,19 +15,10 @@ jobs:
       # 20+ plugin repos as the validator evolved. Single source of
       # truth eliminates that drift class entirely. Mirrors the same
       # pattern already used by validate-workspace-template.yml.
-      # Direct git-clone instead of actions/checkout@v4 because:
-      # (a) actions/checkout@v4 sends Authorization: basic <github.token> by default,
-      #     and Gitea 404s the cross-repo authenticated request (different from
-      #     GitHub which falls back to anon-public-read).
-      # (b) Passing token: '' triggers actions/checkout's runtime "Input required
-      #     and not supplied: token" error — the input is documented as
-      #     required:false but the action's runtime calls getInput with
-      #     required:true on its auth-helper path.
-      # Anonymous git clone of public molecule-ci has neither problem.
-      # See molecule-ci#1 (lowercase fix) + #2 (token:'' attempt) +
-      # the post-merge CI run on plugin-molecule-careful-bash@663bf72.
-      - name: Fetch molecule-ci canonical scripts
-        run: git clone --depth 1 https://git.moleculesai.app/molecule-ai/molecule-ci.git .molecule-ci-canonical
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          repository: Molecule-AI/molecule-ci
+          path: .molecule-ci-canonical
       - uses: actions/setup-python@v5
         with:
           python-version: "3.11"

.github/workflows/validate-workspace-template.yml

@@ -54,10 +54,10 @@ jobs:
       # template repos as the validator evolved. Single source of truth
       # eliminates that drift class entirely — every template runs the
       # same canonical contract check on every CI run.
-      # Direct git-clone — see validate-plugin.yml for the rationale.
-      # Anonymous fetch of public molecule-ci, no actions/checkout idiosyncrasies.
-      - name: Fetch molecule-ci canonical scripts
-        run: git clone --depth 1 https://git.moleculesai.app/molecule-ai/molecule-ci.git .molecule-ci-canonical
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          repository: Molecule-AI/molecule-ci
+          path: .molecule-ci-canonical
       - uses: actions/setup-python@v5
         with:
           python-version: "3.11"
@@ -133,10 +133,10 @@ jobs:
     if: github.event.pull_request.head.repo.fork != true
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-      # Direct git-clone — see validate-plugin.yml for the rationale.
-      # Anonymous fetch of public molecule-ci, no actions/checkout idiosyncrasies.
-      - name: Fetch molecule-ci canonical scripts
-        run: git clone --depth 1 https://git.moleculesai.app/molecule-ai/molecule-ci.git .molecule-ci-canonical
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          repository: Molecule-AI/molecule-ci
+          path: .molecule-ci-canonical
       - uses: actions/setup-python@v5
         with:
           python-version: "3.11"

.molecule-ci/scripts/validate-org-template.py

@@ -2,47 +2,19 @@
 """Validate a Molecule AI org template repo."""
 import os, sys, yaml
 
-# Support custom YAML tags used by org templates. Two shapes:
-#
-#   - `!include teams/pm.yaml`  → scalar string referencing another YAML
-#     file in the same repo. Platform inlines at load time.
-#
-#   - `!external\n  repo: ...\n  ref: ...\n  path: ...`  → mapping
-#     referencing a workspace tree to fetch from another repo. Platform
-#     fetches into a content-addressable cache at load time
-#     (internal#77 / molecule-core#105).
-#
-# Both shapes resolve at platform load time, not at validation time.
-# The validator treats them as opaque references — it does NOT chase
-# them down. We mark each parsed value with a sentinel subtype so the
-# `validate_workspace` walk knows to skip them rather than tripping
-# the "missing 'name'" branch.
-class IncludeRef(str):
-    """`!include path/to.yaml` — opaque reference, skipped by validator."""
-
-class ExternalRef(dict):
-    """`!external` mapping — opaque reference, skipped by validator."""
-
+# Support !include and other custom YAML tags used by org templates.
+# These resolve at platform load time, not at validation time — we just
+# need to parse past them without crashing.
 class PermissiveLoader(yaml.SafeLoader):
     pass
 
-def _include_constructor(loader, node):
-    return IncludeRef(loader.construct_scalar(node))
-
-def _external_constructor(loader, node):
-    return ExternalRef(loader.construct_mapping(node))
-
 def _generic_constructor(loader, tag_suffix, node):
-    # Fallback for unknown tags. Preserve the parsed shape so legacy
-    # docs that lean on tags we have not modeled yet still parse.
     if isinstance(node, yaml.MappingNode):
         return loader.construct_mapping(node)
     if isinstance(node, yaml.SequenceNode):
         return loader.construct_sequence(node)
     return loader.construct_scalar(node)
 
-PermissiveLoader.add_constructor("!include", _include_constructor)
-PermissiveLoader.add_constructor("!external", _external_constructor)
 PermissiveLoader.add_multi_constructor("!", _generic_constructor)
 
 errors = []
@@ -61,13 +33,7 @@ if not org.get("workspaces") and not org.get("defaults"):
     errors.append("org.yaml must have at least 'workspaces' or 'defaults'")
 
 def validate_workspace(ws, path=""):
-    # `!include path/to.yaml` parses as IncludeRef (str subclass).
-    # `!external {repo, ref, path}` parses as ExternalRef (dict subclass).
-    # Both are opaque references — skip without chasing.
-    if isinstance(ws, (IncludeRef, ExternalRef)):
-        return []
-    # Legacy unknown-tag scalars (handled by _generic_constructor) stay
-    # as plain strings; they are not workspace dicts either.
+    # !include tags resolve to strings at parse time; skip non-dicts
     if not isinstance(ws, dict):
         return []
     ws_errors = []
@@ -93,11 +59,6 @@ if errors:
 def count_ws(nodes):
     c = 0
     for n in nodes:
-        # Skip opaque references — we do not know how many workspaces
-        # they expand to without resolving them, and resolution is the
-        # platform's job, not the validator's.
-        if isinstance(n, (IncludeRef, ExternalRef)):
-            continue
         if not isinstance(n, dict):
             continue
         c += 1
@@ -105,4 +66,4 @@ def count_ws(nodes):
     return c
 
 total = count_ws(org.get("workspaces", []))
-print(f"✓ org.yaml valid: {org['name']} ({total} direct workspaces; external refs not counted)")
+print(f"✓ org.yaml valid: {org['name']} ({total} workspaces)")

README.md

@@ -37,6 +37,26 @@ jobs:
     uses: Molecule-AI/molecule-ci/.github/workflows/validate-org-template.yml@v1
 ```
 
+### Workspace template repos publishing to GHCR
+
+```yaml
+# .github/workflows/publish-image.yml
+name: publish-image
+on:
+  push:
+    branches: [main]
+  workflow_dispatch:
+permissions:
+  contents: read
+  packages: write
+jobs:
+  publish:
+    uses: Molecule-AI/molecule-ci/.github/workflows/publish-template-image.yml@v1
+    secrets: inherit
+```
+
+Also fires from the runtime-publish cascade (`repository_dispatch`) so a fresh `molecule-ai-workspace-runtime` PyPI release auto-rebuilds every template image.
+
 ### Any repo with auto-merge enabled
 
 PR-time guards (currently: disable auto-merge on follow-up push). Consume from a thin caller:
@@ -108,6 +128,48 @@ Together they cover the full lifecycle of "auto-merge enabled → new commits ar
 
 **False-positive note:** if a CI bot pushes (dependency update, secret rotation), this also disables auto-merge. That's intentional — the operator who originally enabled auto-merge gets notified and re-engages, which is exactly the verify-after-machine-edits behavior we want.
 
+## publish-template-image
+
+Builds + publishes Docker template images for workspace runtimes to GHCR (`ghcr.io/molecule-ai/workspace-template-<runtime>:latest` plus a per-commit `:sha-<7>` tag). Auto-derives `<runtime>` from the caller repo name (`molecule-ai-workspace-template-<runtime>`).
+
+**Triggers** (caller-side `on:` block):
+
+| Event | When | Source |
+|---|---|---|
+| `push` to `main` | Template Dockerfile / config / adapter changes | Caller commit |
+| `workflow_dispatch` | Manual rebuild | Operator |
+| `repository_dispatch` (cascade) | New `molecule-ai-workspace-runtime` PyPI release | molecule-core `publish-runtime.yml` fans out to every template repo |
+
+**Inputs** (all optional):
+
+| Input | Default | Purpose |
+|---|---|---|
+| `runtime_name` | derived from repo name | Override only when image should diverge from `molecule-ai-workspace-template-<runtime>` convention |
+| `runtime_version` | empty (Dockerfile pin wins) | Forwarded as `RUNTIME_VERSION` build-arg → unique cache key per version. Cascade builds set this to the just-published wheel version so each rebuild gets a fresh `pip install`. |
+
+**Secrets:** `secrets: inherit` (uses caller's `GITHUB_TOKEN` for GHCR push — no custom secrets needed).
+
+**Outputs:** `image` (full ref pushed) and `sha` (short tag).
+
+**Pipeline order** (each step is a publish gate — fail = no GHCR push):
+
+1. **Lint** — bare imports of runtime modules (e.g. `from plugins import ...` instead of `from molecule_runtime.plugins import ...`). Module list pulled live from the latest wheel's `_runtime_modules.json` so the lint never drifts from the rewriter. Catches the 2026-04-27 5-template ImportError outage class.
+2. **Static import smoke** — boots the image and `import`s every `/app/*.py`, exercising adapter-level module-load failures and runtime version skew.
+3. **Boot smoke** (`MOLECULE_SMOKE_MODE=1`) — actually runs `executor.execute()` against stub deps + stub creds, catching **lazy imports** buried inside `async def execute(...)` bodies that the static smoke can't see (the a2a-sdk v0→v1 migration shipped 5 such regressions). Also consults `runtime_wedge.is_wedged()` to upgrade provisional PASS to FAIL when an adapter marked the runtime wedged.
+4. **Push to GHCR** — only after all three gates pass.
+
+**Smoke timeout calibration** (load-bearing — do not lower without re-testing with an injected wedge):
+
+- `MOLECULE_SMOKE_TIMEOUT_SECS=90` — inner timeout. Outlasts claude-agent-sdk's 60s `initialize()` handshake so the adapter's wedge-catch arm runs **before** smoke gives up. Lowering this back to the original 10s blinds the gate to PR-25-class init-wedge bugs.
+- `timeout 120` outer wrapper — runner-level safety net; surfaces `exit 124` (smoke_mode itself wedged) as a distinct error from `exit 1` (adapter ImportError / wedge).
+- 90s/120s pair landed in [PR #33](https://github.com/Molecule-AI/molecule-ci/pull/33) (2026-05-02) for SDK-init-wedge coverage. The workflow's inline comment is the source of truth — read it before changing.
+
+**Cross-references:**
+
+- Boot-smoke contract + wedge protocol: `molecule-core/workspace/smoke_mode.py` docstring
+- Cascade trigger (runtime publish → template rebuild fan-out): `molecule-core/.github/workflows/publish-runtime.yml`
+- Why this gate exists at all (original outage post-mortem): the 2026-04-27 `RuntimeCapabilities` ImportError that shipped to `:latest` because the old smoke only inspected the entrypoint string
+
 ## License
 
 Business Source License 1.1 — © Molecule AI.