diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/e2e-legacy-advisory.yml b/.gitea/workflows/e2e-legacy-advisory.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..aeeb83f07
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/e2e-legacy-advisory.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,242 @@
+name: E2E Legacy Advisory
+
+# Advisory lane for older/manual E2E scripts that are too broad or
+# environment-dependent for required PR CI. This intentionally does not run on
+# pull_request or push so it cannot block merges/deploys; scheduled/manual reds
+# still surface drift in scripts that would otherwise only be shellchecked.
+#
+# Gitea 1.22.6 rejects workflow_dispatch.inputs, so keep dispatch input-free.
+
+on:
+  schedule:
+    # Stagger after the staging smoke/canvas morning lanes.
+    - cron: '15 9 * * *'
+  workflow_dispatch:
+
+concurrency:
+  group: e2e-legacy-advisory
+  cancel-in-progress: false
+
+permissions:
+  contents: read
+
+env:
+  GITHUB_SERVER_URL: https://git.moleculesai.app
+
+jobs:
+  legacy-local-platform:
+    name: Legacy local-platform E2E
+    runs-on: docker-host
+    timeout-minutes: 45
+    env:
+      PG_CONTAINER: pg-e2e-legacy-${{ github.run_id }}-${{ github.run_attempt }}
+      REDIS_CONTAINER: redis-e2e-legacy-${{ github.run_id }}-${{ github.run_attempt }}
+      MOLECULE_ENV: development
+      BIND_ADDR: 127.0.0.1
+      MOLECULE_IN_DOCKER: "false"
+      A2A_TIMEOUT: "30"
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # v6.0.2
+
+      - uses: actions/setup-go@40f1582b2485089dde7abd97c1529aa768e1baff # v5
+        with:
+          go-version: 'stable'
+          cache: true
+          cache-dependency-path: workspace-server/go.sum
+
+      - name: Prepare local platform dependencies
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          docker pull postgres:16 >/dev/null
+          docker pull redis:7 >/dev/null
+          docker pull alpine:latest >/dev/null
+          docker network create molecule-core-net >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+
+      - name: Start Postgres
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          docker rm -f "$PG_CONTAINER" 2>/dev/null || true
+          docker run -d --name "$PG_CONTAINER" \
+            -e POSTGRES_USER=dev -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=dev -e POSTGRES_DB=molecule \
+            -p 0:5432 postgres:16 >/dev/null
+          PG_PORT=$(docker port "$PG_CONTAINER" 5432/tcp | awk -F: '/^0\.0\.0\.0:/ {print $2; exit}')
+          if [ -z "$PG_PORT" ]; then
+            PG_PORT=$(docker port "$PG_CONTAINER" 5432/tcp | head -1 | awk -F: '{print $NF}')
+          fi
+          if [ -z "$PG_PORT" ]; then
+            echo "::error::Could not resolve host port for $PG_CONTAINER"
+            docker port "$PG_CONTAINER" 5432/tcp || true
+            docker logs "$PG_CONTAINER" || true
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          echo "DATABASE_URL=postgres://dev:dev@127.0.0.1:${PG_PORT}/molecule?sslmode=disable" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+          for i in $(seq 1 30); do
+            docker exec "$PG_CONTAINER" pg_isready -U dev >/dev/null 2>&1 && exit 0
+            sleep 1
+          done
+          docker logs "$PG_CONTAINER" || true
+          exit 1
+
+      - name: Start Redis
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          docker rm -f "$REDIS_CONTAINER" 2>/dev/null || true
+          docker run -d --name "$REDIS_CONTAINER" -p 0:6379 redis:7 >/dev/null
+          REDIS_PORT=$(docker port "$REDIS_CONTAINER" 6379/tcp | awk -F: '/^0\.0\.0\.0:/ {print $2; exit}')
+          if [ -z "$REDIS_PORT" ]; then
+            REDIS_PORT=$(docker port "$REDIS_CONTAINER" 6379/tcp | head -1 | awk -F: '{print $NF}')
+          fi
+          if [ -z "$REDIS_PORT" ]; then
+            echo "::error::Could not resolve host port for $REDIS_CONTAINER"
+            docker port "$REDIS_CONTAINER" 6379/tcp || true
+            docker logs "$REDIS_CONTAINER" || true
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          echo "REDIS_URL=redis://127.0.0.1:${REDIS_PORT}" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+          for i in $(seq 1 15); do
+            docker exec "$REDIS_CONTAINER" redis-cli ping 2>/dev/null | grep -q PONG && exit 0
+            sleep 1
+          done
+          docker logs "$REDIS_CONTAINER" || true
+          exit 1
+
+      - name: Pick platform port
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          PLATFORM_PORT=$(python3 - <<'PY'
+          import socket
+          with socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_STREAM) as s:
+              s.bind(("127.0.0.1", 0))
+              print(s.getsockname()[1])
+          PY
+          )
+          echo "PORT=${PLATFORM_PORT}" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+          echo "BASE=http://127.0.0.1:${PLATFORM_PORT}" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+
+      - name: Build platform
+        working-directory: workspace-server
+        run: go build -o platform-server ./cmd/server
+
+      - name: Populate template manifests for dev-mode E2E
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          if command -v jq >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+            bash scripts/clone-manifest.sh manifest.json workspace-configs-templates org-templates plugins
+          else
+            echo "::warning::jq unavailable; dev-mode template assertion may fail if templates are absent"
+          fi
+
+      - name: Start platform
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          ./workspace-server/platform-server > workspace-server/platform.log 2>&1 &
+          echo $! > workspace-server/platform.pid
+          for i in $(seq 1 30); do
+            curl -sf "$BASE/health" >/dev/null && exit 0
+            sleep 1
+          done
+          cat workspace-server/platform.log || true
+          exit 1
+
+      - name: Run comprehensive E2E
+        run: bash tests/e2e/test_comprehensive_e2e.sh
+
+      - name: Run workspace abilities E2E
+        run: bash tests/e2e/test_workspace_abilities_e2e.sh
+
+      - name: Run dev-mode E2E
+        run: bash tests/e2e/test_dev_mode.sh
+
+      - name: Start stub A2A agents
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          cat > /tmp/molecule-stub-a2a.py <<'PY'
+          import json
+          from http.server import BaseHTTPRequestHandler, HTTPServer
+
+          class Handler(BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
+              def do_POST(self):
+                  length = int(self.headers.get("content-length", "0"))
+                  raw = self.rfile.read(length) if length else b"{}"
+                  try:
+                      req = json.loads(raw)
+                  except Exception:
+                      req = {}
+                  method = req.get("method")
+                  if method not in ("message/send", None):
+                      body = {"jsonrpc": "2.0", "id": req.get("id"), "error": {"code": -32601, "message": "method not found"}}
+                  else:
+                      body = {
+                          "jsonrpc": "2.0",
+                          "id": req.get("id", "stub"),
+                          "result": {
+                              "role": "agent",
+                              "parts": [{"kind": "text", "type": "text", "text": "stub agent response"}],
+                          },
+                      }
+                  data = json.dumps(body, separators=(",", ":")).encode()
+                  self.send_response(200)
+                  self.send_header("content-type", "application/json")
+                  self.send_header("content-length", str(len(data)))
+                  self.end_headers()
+                  self.wfile.write(data)
+              def log_message(self, *_):
+                  return
+
+          HTTPServer(("127.0.0.1", 18080), Handler).serve_forever()
+          PY
+          python3 /tmp/molecule-stub-a2a.py > /tmp/molecule-stub-a2a.log 2>&1 &
+          echo $! > /tmp/molecule-stub-a2a.pid
+
+      - name: Seed external agents for legacy A2A/activity scripts
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          create_agent() {
+            local name="$1" role="$2"
+            curl -sS -X POST "$BASE/workspaces" \
+              -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+              -d "{\"name\":\"${name}\",\"role\":\"${role}\",\"tier\":1,\"runtime\":\"external\",\"external\":true,\"url\":\"http://127.0.0.1:18080\"}" \
+              | python3 -c "import json,sys; print(json.load(sys.stdin)['id'])"
+          }
+          ECHO_ID=$(create_agent "Echo Agent" "Echo")
+          SEO_ID=$(create_agent "SEO Agent" "SEO")
+          curl -sS -X POST "$BASE/registry/register" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+            -d "{\"id\":\"$ECHO_ID\",\"url\":\"http://127.0.0.1:18080\",\"agent_card\":{\"name\":\"Echo Agent\",\"skills\":[{\"id\":\"echo\",\"name\":\"Echo\"}]}}" >/dev/null
+          curl -sS -X POST "$BASE/registry/register" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+            -d "{\"id\":\"$SEO_ID\",\"url\":\"http://127.0.0.1:18080\",\"agent_card\":{\"name\":\"SEO Agent\",\"skills\":[{\"id\":\"seo\",\"name\":\"SEO\"}]}}" >/dev/null
+
+      - name: Run activity E2E
+        run: bash tests/e2e/test_activity_e2e.sh
+
+      - name: Run A2A E2E
+        run: bash tests/e2e/test_a2a_e2e.sh
+
+      - name: Runtime-dependent legacy E2E preflight
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          if [ -f workspace-configs-templates/claude-code-default/.auth-token ] && docker image inspect workspace:latest >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+            bash tests/e2e/test_claude_code_e2e.sh
+            bash tests/e2e/test_chat_upload_e2e.sh
+          else
+            echo "::notice::Skipping test_claude_code_e2e.sh and test_chat_upload_e2e.sh: require workspace:latest plus workspace-configs-templates/claude-code-default/.auth-token"
+          fi
+
+      - name: Dump platform log on failure
+        if: failure()
+        run: cat workspace-server/platform.log || true
+
+      - name: Stop platform and stub agents
+        if: always()
+        run: |
+          if [ -f workspace-server/platform.pid ]; then
+            kill "$(cat workspace-server/platform.pid)" 2>/dev/null || true
+          fi
+          if [ -f /tmp/molecule-stub-a2a.pid ]; then
+            kill "$(cat /tmp/molecule-stub-a2a.pid)" 2>/dev/null || true
+          fi
+
+      - name: Stop service containers
+        if: always()
+        run: |
+          docker rm -f "$PG_CONTAINER" 2>/dev/null || true
+          docker rm -f "$REDIS_CONTAINER" 2>/dev/null || true
diff --git a/tests/e2e/test_a2a_e2e.sh b/tests/e2e/test_a2a_e2e.sh
index cf6f748d6..a7711aa0a 100644
--- a/tests/e2e/test_a2a_e2e.sh
+++ b/tests/e2e/test_a2a_e2e.sh
@@ -1,11 +1,14 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 set -euo pipefail
 
-BASE="http://localhost:8080"
+BASE="${BASE:-http://localhost:8080}"
 PASS=0
 FAIL=0
 TIMEOUT="${A2A_TIMEOUT:-120}"  # seconds per A2A call (override via A2A_TIMEOUT env var)
 
+# shellcheck source=_lib.sh
+source "$(dirname "$0")/_lib.sh"
+
 check() {
   local desc="$1"
   local expected="$2"
@@ -130,7 +133,7 @@ echo ""
 # ========================================
 echo "--- Test 6: Offline workspace ---"
 # Create a workspace but don't provision it
-R=$(curl -s -X POST "$BASE/workspaces" -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"name":"Offline Test","tier":1}')
+R=$(curl -s -X POST "$BASE/workspaces" -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"name":"Offline Test","tier":1,"runtime":"external","external":true}')
 OFFLINE_ID=$(echo "$R" | python3 -c "import sys,json; print(json.load(sys.stdin)['id'])")
 R=$(curl -s --max-time 10 -X POST "$BASE/workspaces/$OFFLINE_ID/a2a" \
   -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
diff --git a/tests/e2e/test_activity_e2e.sh b/tests/e2e/test_activity_e2e.sh
index b3a6b2b6c..8ae2156f9 100755
--- a/tests/e2e/test_activity_e2e.sh
+++ b/tests/e2e/test_activity_e2e.sh
@@ -215,7 +215,7 @@ echo ""
 echo "--- Activity Isolation ---"
 
 # Test 19: Create a second workspace to verify isolation
-R=$(curl -s -X POST "$BASE/workspaces" -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"name":"Activity Test Workspace","tier":1}')
+R=$(curl -s -X POST "$BASE/workspaces" -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"name":"Activity Test Workspace","tier":1,"runtime":"external","external":true}')
 TEMP_ID=$(echo "$R" | python3 -c "import sys,json; print(json.load(sys.stdin)['id'])")
 
 # Test 20: New workspace has empty activity
diff --git a/tests/e2e/test_comprehensive_e2e.sh b/tests/e2e/test_comprehensive_e2e.sh
index 92af762d2..96370e26c 100755
--- a/tests/e2e/test_comprehensive_e2e.sh
+++ b/tests/e2e/test_comprehensive_e2e.sh
@@ -76,8 +76,8 @@ echo "--- Section 2: Workspace CRUD ---"
 # create; sections that depend on container readiness (RT_* in 2b)
 # still run normally.
 R=$(curl -s -X POST "$BASE/workspaces" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-  -d '{"name":"Test PM","role":"Project Manager","tier":2}')
-check "Create PM" '"status":"provisioning"' "$R"
+  -d '{"name":"Test PM","role":"Project Manager","tier":2,"runtime":"external","external":true}')
+check "Create PM" '"status":"awaiting_agent"' "$R"
 PM_ID=$(echo "$R" | jq_extract "['id']")
 echo "  PM_ID=$PM_ID"
 RR=$(curl -s -X POST "$BASE/registry/register" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
@@ -86,8 +86,8 @@ PM_TOKEN=$(echo "$RR" | e2e_extract_token)
 
 # Create child workspace under PM
 R=$(curl -s -X POST "$BASE/workspaces" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-  -d "{\"name\":\"Test Dev\",\"role\":\"Developer\",\"tier\":2,\"parent_id\":\"$PM_ID\"}")
-check "Create Dev (child of PM)" '"status":"provisioning"' "$R"
+  -d "{\"name\":\"Test Dev\",\"role\":\"Developer\",\"tier\":2,\"parent_id\":\"$PM_ID\",\"runtime\":\"external\",\"external\":true}")
+check "Create Dev (child of PM)" '"status":"awaiting_agent"' "$R"
 DEV_ID=$(echo "$R" | jq_extract "['id']")
 RR=$(curl -s -X POST "$BASE/registry/register" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
   -d "{\"id\":\"$DEV_ID\",\"url\":\"http://localhost:9001\",\"agent_card\":{\"name\":\"Dev Agent\",\"skills\":[],\"version\":\"1.0.0\"}}")
@@ -95,16 +95,16 @@ DEV_TOKEN=$(echo "$RR" | e2e_extract_token)
 
 # Create sibling
 R=$(curl -s -X POST "$BASE/workspaces" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-  -d "{\"name\":\"Test QA\",\"role\":\"QA\",\"tier\":1,\"parent_id\":\"$PM_ID\"}")
-check "Create QA (sibling of Dev)" '"status":"provisioning"' "$R"
+  -d "{\"name\":\"Test QA\",\"role\":\"QA\",\"tier\":1,\"parent_id\":\"$PM_ID\",\"runtime\":\"external\",\"external\":true}")
+check "Create QA (sibling of Dev)" '"status":"awaiting_agent"' "$R"
 QA_ID=$(echo "$R" | jq_extract "['id']")
 curl -s -X POST "$BASE/registry/register" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
   -d "{\"id\":\"$QA_ID\",\"url\":\"http://localhost:9002\",\"agent_card\":{\"name\":\"QA\",\"skills\":[]}}" > /dev/null
 
 # Create unrelated workspace
 R=$(curl -s -X POST "$BASE/workspaces" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-  -d '{"name":"Test Outsider","role":"External","tier":1}')
-check "Create Outsider (unrelated)" '"status":"provisioning"' "$R"
+  -d '{"name":"Test Outsider","role":"External","tier":1,"runtime":"external","external":true}')
+check "Create Outsider (unrelated)" '"status":"awaiting_agent"' "$R"
 OUTSIDER_ID=$(echo "$R" | jq_extract "['id']")
 
 # List workspaces
@@ -130,19 +130,24 @@ check "PM position persisted" '"x":100' "$R"
 echo ""
 echo "--- Section 2b: Runtime Assignment ---"
 
+if [ "${RUN_SPAWNED_RUNTIME_LEGACY_E2E:-0}" != "1" ]; then
+  echo "  SKIP: spawned-runtime image checks require local runtime images; set RUN_SPAWNED_RUNTIME_LEGACY_E2E=1 to enable"
+  SKIP=$((SKIP + 5))
+else
+
 # Create workspace with explicit runtime
 R=$(curl -s -X POST "$BASE/workspaces" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-  -d '{"name":"RT Claude","role":"Test","tier":2,"runtime":"claude-code"}')
+  -d '{"name":"RT Claude","role":"Test","tier":2,"runtime":"claude-code","model":"sonnet"}')
 check "Create claude-code workspace" '"status":"provisioning"' "$R"
 RT_CC_ID=$(echo "$R" | jq_extract "['id']")
 
 R=$(curl -s -X POST "$BASE/workspaces" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-  -d '{"name":"RT Codex","role":"Test","tier":2,"runtime":"codex"}')
+  -d '{"name":"RT Codex","role":"Test","tier":2,"runtime":"codex","model":"openai:gpt-5"}')
 check "Create codex workspace" '"status":"provisioning"' "$R"
 RT_CX_ID=$(echo "$R" | jq_extract "['id']")
 
 R=$(curl -s -X POST "$BASE/workspaces" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-  -d '{"name":"RT Hermes","role":"Test","tier":2,"runtime":"hermes"}')
+  -d '{"name":"RT Hermes","role":"Test","tier":2,"runtime":"hermes","model":"openai:gpt-5"}')
 check "Create hermes workspace" '"status":"provisioning"' "$R"
 RT_HM_ID=$(echo "$R" | jq_extract "['id']")
 
@@ -235,6 +240,8 @@ sleep 0.3
 e2e_delete_workspace "$RT_HM_ID" "RT Hermes"
 sleep 0.3
 
+fi
+
 # ============================================================
 # Section 3: Registry & Heartbeat
 # ============================================================
diff --git a/tests/e2e/test_dev_mode.sh b/tests/e2e/test_dev_mode.sh
index 8406762bb..e7914c7a3 100755
--- a/tests/e2e/test_dev_mode.sh
+++ b/tests/e2e/test_dev_mode.sh
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ check_http "GET /workspaces (empty DB)" "200" "$R"
 # Create a workspace so tokens land in the DB.
 R=$(curl -s -w "\n%{http_code}" -X POST "$BASE/workspaces" \
   -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-  -d '{"name":"Dev-Mode-Test","tier":1}')
+  -d '{"name":"Dev-Mode-Test","tier":1,"runtime":"external","external":true}')
 CODE=$(echo "$R" | tail -n1)
 BODY=$(echo "$R" | sed '$d')
 check_http "POST /workspaces (create)" "201" "$CODE"
diff --git a/tests/e2e/test_workspace_abilities_e2e.sh b/tests/e2e/test_workspace_abilities_e2e.sh
index f097c8688..c9e7f66cb 100755
--- a/tests/e2e/test_workspace_abilities_e2e.sh
+++ b/tests/e2e/test_workspace_abilities_e2e.sh
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ except Exception:
 done
 
 R=$(curl -s -X POST "$BASE/workspaces" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-  -d '{"name":"Abilities Sender","tier":1}')
+  -d '{"name":"Abilities Sender","tier":1,"runtime":"external","external":true}')
 SENDER_ID=$(echo "$R" | python3 -c 'import json,sys;print(json.load(sys.stdin)["id"])' 2>/dev/null || true)
 [ -n "$SENDER_ID" ] || { echo "Failed to create sender workspace: $R"; exit 1; }
 SENDER_TOKEN=$(echo "$R" | e2e_extract_token)
@@ -113,7 +113,7 @@ ADMIN_TOKEN="${MOLECULE_ADMIN_TOKEN:-$SENDER_TOKEN}"
 ADMIN_AUTH="Authorization: Bearer $ADMIN_TOKEN"
 
 R=$(curl -s -X POST "$BASE/workspaces" -H "$ADMIN_AUTH" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-  -d '{"name":"Abilities Receiver","tier":1}')
+  -d '{"name":"Abilities Receiver","tier":1,"runtime":"external","external":true}')
 RECEIVER_ID=$(echo "$R" | python3 -c 'import json,sys;print(json.load(sys.stdin)["id"])' 2>/dev/null || true)
 [ -n "$RECEIVER_ID" ] || { echo "Failed to create receiver workspace: $R"; exit 1; }
 RECEIVER_TOKEN=$(echo "$R" | e2e_extract_token)