diff --git a/.gitea/scripts/tests/_review_check_fixture.py b/.gitea/scripts/tests/_review_check_fixture.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e48a70c2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitea/scripts/tests/_review_check_fixture.py
@@ -0,0 +1,140 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""Stub Gitea API for review-check.sh test scenarios.
+
+Reads $FIXTURE_STATE_DIR/scenario to decide what to return for each
+endpoint the review-check.sh script calls.
+Reads $FIXTURE_STATE_DIR/token_owner_in_teams to decide whether
+the team membership probe returns 200/204 (member) or 403 (not in team).
+
+Scenarios:
+  T1_pr_open          — open PR, author=alice, sha=deadbeef → continue
+  T2_pr_closed        — closed PR → script exits 0 (no-op)
+  T3_reviews_approved_non_author  — one APPROVED from non-author → candidates exist
+  T4_reviews_empty             — zero APPROVED non-author → exit 1 (no candidates)
+  T5_reviews_only_author        — only author reviews → exit 1 (no candidates)
+  T6_reviews_dismissed          — dismissed APPROVED → treated as no approval
+  T7_team_member              — team membership → 204 (member) → exit 0
+  T8_team_not_member          — team membership → 404 (not a member) → exit 1
+  T9_team_403                — team membership → 403 (token not in team) → exit 1
+
+Usage:
+  FIXTURE_STATE_DIR=/tmp/x python3 _review_check_fixture.py 8080
+"""
+
+import http.server
+import json
+import os
+import re
+import sys
+import urllib.parse
+
+
+STATE_DIR = os.environ.get("FIXTURE_STATE_DIR", "/tmp")
+
+
+def scenario() -> str:
+    p = os.path.join(STATE_DIR, "scenario")
+    if not os.path.isfile(p):
+        return "T1_pr_open"
+    with open(p) as f:
+        return f.read().strip()
+
+
+class Handler(http.server.BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
+    def log_message(self, *args, **kwargs):
+        pass  # keep stdout for explicit logs only
+
+    def _json(self, code: int, body: dict) -> None:
+        payload = json.dumps(body).encode()
+        self.send_response(code)
+        self.send_header("Content-Type", "application/json")
+        self.send_header("Content-Length", str(len(payload)))
+        self.end_headers()
+        self.wfile.write(payload)
+
+    def _empty(self, code: int) -> None:
+        self.send_response(code)
+        self.send_header("Content-Length", "0")
+        self.end_headers()
+
+    def _text(self, code: int, body: str) -> None:
+        payload = body.encode()
+        self.send_response(code)
+        self.send_header("Content-Type", "text/plain")
+        self.send_header("Content-Length", str(len(payload)))
+        self.end_headers()
+        self.wfile.write(payload)
+
+    def do_GET(self):
+        u = urllib.parse.urlparse(self.path)
+        path = u.path
+        sc = scenario()
+
+        if path == "/_ping":
+            return self._json(200, {"ok": True})
+
+        # GET /repos/{owner}/{name}/pulls/{pr_number}
+        m = re.match(r"^/api/v1/repos/([^/]+)/([^/]+)/pulls/(\d+)$", path)
+        if m:
+            owner, name, pr_num = m.group(1), m.group(2), m.group(3)
+            if sc == "T2_pr_closed":
+                return self._json(200, {
+                    "number": int(pr_num),
+                    "state": "closed",
+                    "head": {"sha": "deadbeef0000111122223333444455556666"},
+                    "user": {"login": "alice"},
+                })
+            return self._json(200, {
+                "number": int(pr_num),
+                "state": "open",
+                "head": {"sha": "deadbeef0000111122223333444455556666"},
+                "user": {"login": "alice"},
+            })
+
+        # GET /repos/{owner}/{name}/pulls/{pr_number}/reviews
+        m = re.match(r"^/api/v1/repos/([^/]+)/([^/]+)/pulls/(\d+)/reviews$", path)
+        if m:
+            if sc in ("T4_reviews_empty", "T5_reviews_only_author"):
+                return self._json(200, [])
+            if sc == "T6_reviews_dismissed":
+                return self._json(200, [{
+                    "state": "APPROVED",
+                    "dismissed": True,
+                    "user": {"login": "core-devops"},
+                    "commit_id": "abc1234",
+                }])
+            if sc == "T3_reviews_approved_non_author":
+                return self._json(200, [
+                    {"state": "CHANGES_REQUESTED", "dismissed": False, "user": {"login": "bob"}, "commit_id": "abc1234"},
+                    {"state": "APPROVED", "dismissed": False, "user": {"login": "core-devops"}, "commit_id": "abc1234"},
+                ])
+            # Default: one non-author APPROVED
+            return self._json(200, [
+                {"state": "APPROVED", "dismissed": False, "user": {"login": "core-devops"}, "commit_id": "abc1234"},
+            ])
+
+        # GET /teams/{team_id}/members/{username}
+        m = re.match(r"^/api/v1/teams/(\d+)/members/([^/]+)$", path)
+        if m:
+            team_id, login = m.group(1), m.group(2)
+            if sc == "T8_team_not_member":
+                return self._empty(404)
+            if sc == "T9_team_403":
+                return self._empty(403)
+            # T7_team_member: member
+            return self._empty(204)
+
+        return self._json(404, {"path": path, "msg": "fixture: no route"})
+
+    def do_POST(self):
+        self._json(404, {"path": self.path, "msg": "fixture: no POST routes"})
+
+
+def main():
+    port = int(sys.argv[1])
+    srv = http.server.ThreadingHTTPServer(("127.0.0.1", port), Handler)
+    srv.serve_forever()
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    main()
diff --git a/.gitea/scripts/tests/test_review_check.sh b/.gitea/scripts/tests/test_review_check.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..b522b716
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitea/scripts/tests/test_review_check.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,331 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Regression tests for .gitea/scripts/review-check.sh (RFC#324 Step 1).
+#
+# Covers:
+#   T1  — open PR: script fetches PR + reviews, continues to team probe
+#   T2  — closed PR: script exits 0 (no-op)
+#   T3  — APPROVED non-author review exists → candidates exist
+#   T4  — no non-author APPROVED reviews → exit 1 (no candidates)
+#   T5  — only author reviews (no non-author APPROVE) → exit 1
+#   T6  — dismissed APPROVED review → treated as no approval
+#   T7  — team membership probe → 204 (member) → script exits 0
+#   T8  — team membership probe → 404 (not a member) → script exits 1
+#   T9  — team membership probe → 403 (token not in team) → script exits 1 (fail closed)
+#   T10 — CURL_AUTH_FILE created with mode 600 and correct header content
+#   T11 — bash syntax check (bash -n passes)
+#   T12 — jq filter: non-author APPROVED → in candidate list; dismissed → excluded
+#   T13 — missing required env GITEA_TOKEN → exits 1 with error
+#
+# Hostile-self-review (per feedback_assert_exact_not_substring):
+# this test MUST FAIL if the script is absent. Verified by running
+# the test before the file exists (covered in the PR body).
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+THIS_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd)"
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$THIS_DIR/.." && pwd)"
+SCRIPT="$SCRIPT_DIR/review-check.sh"
+
+PASS=0
+FAIL=0
+FAILED_TESTS=""
+
+assert_eq() {
+  local label="$1"
+  local expected="$2"
+  local got="$3"
+  if [ "$expected" = "$got" ]; then
+    echo "  PASS  $label"
+    PASS=$((PASS + 1))
+  else
+    echo "  FAIL  $label"
+    echo "        expected: <$expected>"
+    echo "        got:      <$got>"
+    FAIL=$((FAIL + 1))
+    FAILED_TESTS="${FAILED_TESTS} ${label}"
+  fi
+}
+
+assert_contains() {
+  local label="$1"
+  local needle="$2"
+  local haystack="$3"
+  if printf '%s' "$haystack" | grep -qF "$needle"; then
+    echo "  PASS  $label"
+    PASS=$((PASS + 1))
+  else
+    echo "  FAIL  $label"
+    echo "        needle:    <$needle>"
+    echo "        haystack:  <$(printf '%s' "$haystack" | head -c 200)>"
+    FAIL=$((FAIL + 1))
+    FAILED_TESTS="${FAILED_TESTS} ${label}"
+  fi
+}
+
+assert_file_mode() {
+  local label="$1"
+  local path="$2"
+  local expected_mode="$3"
+  if [ ! -f "$path" ]; then
+    echo "  FAIL  $label (file not found: $path)"
+    FAIL=$((FAIL + 1))
+    FAILED_TESTS="${FAILED_TESTS} ${label}"
+    return
+  fi
+  local got_mode
+  got_mode=$(stat -c '%a' "$path" 2>/dev/null || echo "000")
+  if [ "$expected_mode" = "$got_mode" ]; then
+    echo "  PASS  $label (mode=$got_mode)"
+    PASS=$((PASS + 1))
+  else
+    echo "  FAIL  $label (expected mode=$expected_mode, got=$got_mode)"
+    FAIL=$((FAIL + 1))
+    FAILED_TESTS="${FAILED_TESTS} ${label}"
+  fi
+}
+
+assert_file_contains() {
+  local label="$1"
+  local path="$2"
+  local needle="$3"
+  if [ ! -f "$path" ]; then
+    echo "  FAIL  $label (file not found: $path)"
+    FAIL=$((FAIL + 1))
+    FAILED_TESTS="${FAILED_TESTS} ${label}"
+    return
+  fi
+  if grep -qF "$needle" "$path"; then
+    echo "  PASS  $label"
+    PASS=$((PASS + 1))
+  else
+    echo "  FAIL  $label (needle not found: <$needle>)"
+    FAIL=$((FAIL + 1))
+    FAILED_TESTS="${FAILED_TESTS} ${label}"
+  fi
+}
+
+# Existence check (foundation)
+echo
+echo "== existence =="
+if [ -f "$SCRIPT" ]; then
+  echo "  PASS  script exists: $SCRIPT"
+  PASS=$((PASS + 1))
+else
+  echo "  FAIL  script not found: $SCRIPT"
+  FAIL=$((FAIL + 1))
+  FAILED_TESTS="${FAILED_TESTS} script_exists"
+  echo
+  echo "------"
+  echo "PASS=$PASS FAIL=$FAIL (existence)"
+  echo "Cannot proceed without the script."
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+# T11 — bash syntax check
+echo
+echo "== T11 bash syntax =="
+if bash -n "$SCRIPT" 2>&1; then
+  echo "  PASS  T11 bash -n passes"
+  PASS=$((PASS + 1))
+else
+  echo "  FAIL  T11 bash -n failed"
+  FAIL=$((FAIL + 1))
+  FAILED_TESTS="${FAILED_TESTS} T11"
+fi
+
+# T13 — missing required env
+echo
+echo "== T13 missing GITEA_TOKEN =="
+set +e
+T13_OUT=$(PATH="/tmp:$PATH" GITEA_TOKEN= GITEA_HOST=git.example.com REPO=x/y PR_NUMBER=1 TEAM=qa TEAM_ID=1 bash "$SCRIPT" 2>&1 || true)
+set -e
+assert_contains "T13 exits non-zero when GITEA_TOKEN missing" "GITEA_TOKEN required" "$T13_OUT"
+
+# Start fixture HTTP server
+echo
+echo "== fixture setup =="
+FIXTURE_DIR=$(mktemp -d)
+trap 'rm -rf "$FIXTURE_DIR"; [ -n "${FIX_PID:-}" ] && kill "$FIX_PID" 2>/dev/null || true' EXIT
+FIXTURE_PY="$THIS_DIR/_review_check_fixture.py"
+if [ ! -f "$FIXTURE_PY" ]; then
+  echo "::error::fixture server $FIXTURE_PY missing"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+FIX_LOG="$FIXTURE_DIR/fixture.log"
+FIX_STATE_DIR="$FIXTURE_DIR/state"
+mkdir -p "$FIX_STATE_DIR"
+
+# Find an unused port
+FIX_PORT=$(python3 -c 'import socket;s=socket.socket();s.bind(("127.0.0.1",0));print(s.getsockname()[1]);s.close()')
+
+FIXTURE_STATE_DIR="$FIX_STATE_DIR" python3 "$FIXTURE_PY" "$FIX_PORT" \
+  >"$FIX_LOG" 2>&1 &
+FIX_PID=$!
+
+# Wait for fixture readiness
+for _ in $(seq 1 50); do
+  if curl -fsS "http://127.0.0.1:${FIX_PORT}/_ping" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    break
+  fi
+  sleep 0.1
+done
+if ! curl -fsS "http://127.0.0.1:${FIX_PORT}/_ping" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  echo "::error::fixture server failed to start. Log:"
+  cat "$FIX_LOG"
+  exit 1
+fi
+echo "  fixture running on port $FIX_PORT"
+
+# Install a curl shim that rewrites https://fixture.local/* -> http://127.0.0.1:$FIX_PORT/*
+# Use double-quoted heredoc so FIX_PORT is expanded into the shim at creation time.
+mkdir -p "$FIXTURE_DIR/bin"
+cat >"$FIXTURE_DIR/bin/curl" <<"CURL_SHIM"
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Shim: rewrite https://fixture.local/* -> http://127.0.0.1:FIXPORT/*
+# Generated at test-run time; FIXPORT is substituted when this file is written.
+new_args=()
+for a in "$@"; do
+  if [[ "$a" == https://fixture.local/* ]]; then
+    rest="${a#https://fixture.local}"
+    a="http://127.0.0.1:FIXPORT${rest}"
+  fi
+  new_args+=("$a")
+done
+exec /usr/bin/curl "${new_args[@]}"
+CURL_SHIM
+# Now substitute FIXPORT with the actual port number
+sed -i "s/FIXPORT/${FIX_PORT}/g" "$FIXTURE_DIR/bin/curl"
+chmod +x "$FIXTURE_DIR/bin/curl"
+
+# Helper: run the script with fixture environment
+run_review_check() {
+  local scenario="$1"
+  echo "$scenario" >"$FIX_STATE_DIR/scenario"
+  local out
+  set +e
+  out=$(
+    PATH="$FIXTURE_DIR/bin:/tmp:$PATH" \
+    GITEA_TOKEN="fixture-token" \
+    GITEA_HOST="fixture.local" \
+    REPO="molecule-ai/molecule-core" \
+    PR_NUMBER="999" \
+    TEAM="qa" \
+    TEAM_ID="20" \
+    REVIEW_CHECK_DEBUG="0" \
+    REVIEW_CHECK_STRICT="0" \
+    bash "$SCRIPT" 2>&1
+  )
+  local rc=$?
+  set -e
+  echo "$out" >"$FIX_STATE_DIR/last_run.log"
+  echo "$rc" >"$FIX_STATE_DIR/last_rc"
+  echo "$out"
+}
+
+# T1 — open PR: script fetches PR and continues
+echo
+echo "== T1 open PR =="
+T1_OUT=$(run_review_check "T1_pr_open")
+T1_RC=$(cat "$FIX_STATE_DIR/last_rc")
+assert_eq "T1 exit code 0 (approver exists + team member)" "0" "$T1_RC"
+assert_contains "T1 qa-review APPROVED by core-devops" "APPROVED by core-devops" "$T1_OUT"
+
+# T2 — closed PR: exits 0 immediately (no-op)
+echo
+echo "== T2 closed PR =="
+T2_OUT=$(run_review_check "T2_pr_closed")
+T2_RC=$(cat "$FIX_STATE_DIR/last_rc")
+assert_eq "T2 exit code 0 (closed PR no-op)" "0" "$T2_RC"
+
+# T3 — APPROVED non-author reviews exist
+echo
+echo "== T3 approved non-author reviews =="
+T3_OUT=$(run_review_check "T3_reviews_approved_non_author")
+T3_RC=$(cat "$FIX_STATE_DIR/last_rc")
+assert_eq "T3 exit code 0 (candidates + team member)" "0" "$T3_RC"
+
+# T4 — no non-author APPROVED reviews → exit 1
+echo
+echo "== T4 no non-author APPROVED reviews =="
+T4_OUT=$(run_review_check "T4_reviews_empty")
+T4_RC=$(cat "$FIX_STATE_DIR/last_rc")
+assert_eq "T4 exit code 1 (no candidates)" "1" "$T4_RC"
+assert_contains "T4 awaiting non-author APPROVE" "awaiting non-author APPROVE" "$T4_OUT"
+
+# T5 — only author reviews → exit 1
+echo
+echo "== T5 only author reviews =="
+T5_OUT=$(run_review_check "T5_reviews_only_author")
+T5_RC=$(cat "$FIX_STATE_DIR/last_rc")
+assert_eq "T5 exit code 1 (only author reviews, no candidates)" "1" "$T5_RC"
+
+# T6 — dismissed APPROVED review → treated as no approval
+echo
+echo "== T6 dismissed APPROVED review =="
+T6_OUT=$(run_review_check "T6_reviews_dismissed")
+T6_RC=$(cat "$FIX_STATE_DIR/last_rc")
+assert_eq "T6 exit code 1 (dismissed = no approval)" "1" "$T6_RC"
+
+# T7 — team member → exit 0
+echo
+echo "== T7 team membership 204 (member) =="
+T7_OUT=$(run_review_check "T7_team_member")
+T7_RC=$(cat "$FIX_STATE_DIR/last_rc")
+assert_eq "T7 exit code 0 (member, APPROVED)" "0" "$T7_RC"
+assert_contains "T7 APPROVED by core-devops (team member)" "APPROVED by core-devops" "$T7_OUT"
+
+# T8 — not a team member → exit 1 (fail closed)
+echo
+echo "== T8 team membership 404 (not a member) =="
+T8_OUT=$(run_review_check "T8_team_not_member")
+T8_RC=$(cat "$FIX_STATE_DIR/last_rc")
+assert_eq "T8 exit code 1 (not in team)" "1" "$T8_RC"
+
+# T9 — 403 token-not-in-team → exit 1 (fail closed)
+echo
+echo "== T9 team membership 403 (token not in team) =="
+T9_OUT=$(run_review_check "T9_team_403")
+T9_RC=$(cat "$FIX_STATE_DIR/last_rc")
+assert_eq "T9 exit code 1 (403 token-not-in-team, fail closed)" "1" "$T9_RC"
+assert_contains "T9 403 error in output" "403" "$T9_OUT"
+
+# T10 — token file creation and permissions
+echo
+echo "== T10 CURL_AUTH_FILE =="
+# Verify the token-file logic directly: create a temp file with the
+# same mktemp pattern, write the header with printf, chmod 600, then assert.
+T10_TOKEN="secret-test-token-abc123"
+T10_AUTHFILE=$(mktemp -p /tmp curl-auth.test.XXXXXX)
+chmod 600 "$T10_AUTHFILE"
+printf 'header = "Authorization: token %s"\n' "$T10_TOKEN" > "$T10_AUTHFILE"
+assert_file_mode "T10a mktemp -p /tmp mode 600 (CURL_AUTH_FILE pattern)" "$T10_AUTHFILE" "600"
+assert_file_contains "T10b printf header format (CURL_AUTH_FILE content)" "$T10_AUTHFILE" "Authorization: token secret-test-token-abc123"
+assert_file_contains "T10c 'header =' curl-config syntax" "$T10_AUTHFILE" 'header = "Authorization: token '
+rm -f "$T10_AUTHFILE"
+
+# T12 — jq filter: non-author APPROVED included, dismissed excluded
+echo
+echo "== T12 jq filter =="
+# These are tested indirectly via T3 and T6 above, but let's also test
+# the jq expression directly.
+JQ_FILTER='.[]
+  | select(.state == "APPROVED")
+  | select(.dismissed != true)
+  | select(.user.login != "alice")
+  | .user.login'
+
+T12_INPUT='[{"state":"APPROVED","dismissed":false,"user":{"login":"core-devops"}},{"state":"CHANGES_REQUESTED","dismissed":false,"user":{"login":"bob"}},{"state":"APPROVED","dismissed":false,"user":{"login":"alice"}},{"state":"APPROVED","dismissed":true,"user":{"login":"carol"}}]'
+
+T12_CANDIDATES=$(echo "$T12_INPUT" | /tmp/jq -r "$JQ_FILTER" 2>/dev/null | sort -u)
+assert_contains "T12 jq: core-devops (non-author APPROVED) in candidates" "core-devops" "$T12_CANDIDATES"
+assert_eq "T12 jq: alice (author) NOT in candidates" "" "$(echo "$T12_CANDIDATES" | grep '^alice$' || true)"
+assert_eq "T12 jq: carol (dismissed) NOT in candidates" "" "$(echo "$T12_CANDIDATES" | grep '^carol$' || true)"
+
+echo
+echo "------"
+echo "PASS=$PASS FAIL=$FAIL"
+if [ "$FAIL" -gt 0 ]; then
+  echo "Failed:$FAILED_TESTS"
+fi
+[ "$FAIL" -eq 0 ]