diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 9438bf0d..7013f86f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -7,8 +7,41 @@ on:
     branches: [main]
 
 jobs:
+  # Detect which paths changed so downstream jobs can skip when only
+  # docs/markdown files were modified. Saves ~15 min of runner time per
+  # docs-only PR.
+  changes:
+    name: Detect changes
+    runs-on: [self-hosted, macos, arm64]
+    outputs:
+      platform: ${{ steps.filter.outputs.platform }}
+      canvas: ${{ steps.filter.outputs.canvas }}
+      python: ${{ steps.filter.outputs.python }}
+      scripts: ${{ steps.filter.outputs.scripts }}
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - uses: dorny/paths-filter@v3
+        id: filter
+        with:
+          filters: |
+            platform:
+              - 'platform/**'
+              - '.github/workflows/ci.yml'
+            canvas:
+              - 'canvas/**'
+              - '.github/workflows/ci.yml'
+            python:
+              - 'workspace-template/**'
+              - '.github/workflows/ci.yml'
+            scripts:
+              - 'tests/e2e/**'
+              - 'scripts/**'
+              - '.github/workflows/ci.yml'
+
   platform-build:
     name: Platform (Go)
+    needs: changes
+    if: needs.changes.outputs.platform == 'true'
     runs-on: [self-hosted, macos, arm64]
     defaults:
       run:
@@ -43,6 +76,8 @@ jobs:
 
   canvas-build:
     name: Canvas (Next.js)
+    needs: changes
+    if: needs.changes.outputs.canvas == 'true'
     runs-on: [self-hosted, macos, arm64]
     defaults:
       run:
@@ -67,6 +102,8 @@ jobs:
 
   shellcheck:
     name: Shellcheck (E2E scripts)
+    needs: changes
+    if: needs.changes.outputs.scripts == 'true'
     runs-on: [self-hosted, macos, arm64]
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
@@ -84,7 +121,8 @@ jobs:
   canvas-deploy-reminder:
     name: Canvas Deploy Reminder
     runs-on: [self-hosted, macos, arm64]
-    needs: canvas-build
+    needs: [changes, canvas-build]
+    if: needs.changes.outputs.canvas == 'true'
     # Only fires on direct pushes to main (i.e. after a PR merges).
     # PRs get canvas-build CI but no reminder — no deployment happens on PRs.
     if: github.event_name == 'push' && github.ref == 'refs/heads/main'
@@ -128,6 +166,8 @@ jobs:
 
   python-lint:
     name: Python Lint & Test
+    needs: changes
+    if: needs.changes.outputs.python == 'true'
     runs-on: [self-hosted, macos, arm64]
     defaults:
       run:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/e2e-api.yml b/.github/workflows/e2e-api.yml
index ed29a00d..8468ebaa 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/e2e-api.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/e2e-api.yml
@@ -15,8 +15,16 @@ name: E2E API Smoke Test
 on:
   push:
     branches: [main]
+    paths:
+      - 'platform/**'
+      - 'tests/e2e/**'
+      - '.github/workflows/e2e-api.yml'
   pull_request:
     branches: [main]
+    paths:
+      - 'platform/**'
+      - 'tests/e2e/**'
+      - '.github/workflows/e2e-api.yml'
 
 # Workflow-level concurrency: new runs queue rather than cancel.
 # `cancel-in-progress: false` is load-bearing — without it GitHub would still
diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index aedab50f..2db4a209 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -266,12 +266,27 @@ All five E2E scripts share `tests/e2e/_lib.sh` + `tests/e2e/_extract_token.py` h
 The MCP server now lives at **github.com/Molecule-AI/molecule-mcp-server** and is published as `@molecule-ai/mcp-server` on npm. Install: `npx @molecule-ai/mcp-server`. 87 tools for managing Molecule AI from any MCP client. Configured in `.mcp.json`. Env: `MOLECULE_URL` (default http://localhost:8080).
 
 ### CI Pipeline
-GitHub Actions (`.github/workflows/ci.yml`) runs on push to main and PRs:
+GitHub Actions (`.github/workflows/ci.yml`) runs on push to main and PRs.
+**Path-filtered:** each job only runs when its relevant files change (via
+`dorny/paths-filter`). Docs-only PRs (`docs/**`, `*.md`) skip all jobs,
+saving ~15 min of runner time. The path filters are:
+
+| Job | Triggers on |
+|-----|-------------|
+| **platform-build** | `platform/**` |
+| **canvas-build** | `canvas/**` |
+| **python-lint** | `workspace-template/**` |
+| **shellcheck** | `tests/e2e/**`, `scripts/**` |
+| **e2e-api** | `platform/**`, `tests/e2e/**` |
+
+All jobs also trigger on `.github/workflows/ci.yml` changes (self-test).
+
+Job details:
 - **platform-build**: Go build, vet, `go test -race` with coverage profiling (25% baseline threshold; `setup-go` uses module cache)
 - **canvas-build**: npm build, `vitest run` (no `--passWithNoTests` -- tests must exist and pass)
 - **python-lint**: `pytest --cov=. --cov-report=term-missing` (workspace-template tests; SDK + MCP now in standalone repos)
-- **e2e-api** (added 2026-04-13): spins up Postgres + Redis service containers, runs platform migrations via `docker exec`, then executes `tests/e2e/test_api.sh` against a locally-built binary (62/62 must pass)
-- **shellcheck** (added 2026-04-13): lints every `tests/e2e/*.sh` via the shellcheck marketplace action
+- **e2e-api** (`.github/workflows/e2e-api.yml`): spins up Postgres + Redis service containers, runs platform migrations via `docker exec`, then executes `tests/e2e/test_api.sh` against a locally-built binary (62/62 must pass)
+- **shellcheck**: lints every `tests/e2e/*.sh` via shellcheck on the self-hosted runner
 - **publish-platform-image** (`.github/workflows/publish-platform-image.yml`): on push to main touching `platform/**`, builds `platform/Dockerfile` (clones templates + plugins from GitHub via `manifest.json` at build time) and pushes to `ghcr.io/molecule-ai/platform:latest` + `:sha-<short>`. Tenant image uses `platform/Dockerfile.tenant` (combined Go + Canvas). Manual re-trigger via `workflow_dispatch`.
 
 **Standalone repo CI** — all 33 plugin + template repos call reusable workflows from `Molecule-AI/molecule-ci`: