diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/check.yml b/.gitea/workflows/check.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index 7bd1487a..00000000
--- a/.gitea/workflows/check.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,128 +0,0 @@
-# Server-side mirror of the local `siftlode check` gate (E1 S3 / DX-1), so `main` is always green
-# independent of any one machine. Two jobs match the two local lanes:
-#   frontend — tsc (3 projects) + eslint + prettier --check + knip (both modes) + vitest + vite build
-#              + npm audit of the production dependencies
-#   backend  — ruff + basedpyright + the full pytest suite (pure-logic + the DB-backed lane) against
-#              a real Postgres + pip-audit of the lock
-#
-# They are declared side by side but they DO NOT run in parallel: the lab has a single act_runner
-# with one slot, so they queue. Measured across runs #86-#91 — the backend job starts at the exact
-# second the frontend one ends, every time, and the pair costs ~4 + ~6 = **~10 minutes from the
-# push**. Anything that waits on this gate has to budget for the sum, not the max; the ops
-# `release` read-back timed out on its first real run for believing otherwise.
-#
-# Runner: the lab act_runner (LXC 115) mounts the Docker socket, so service containers work. The backend
-# runs pytest NATIVELY against a `postgres` service (not the local docker-compose.test.yml, whose
-# bind-mount is unreliable under a mounted-socket runner); fidelity is kept by installing the SAME pinned
-# requirements, Postgres 16, and ffmpeg, and by setting SIFTLODE_TEST_REQUIRE_DB=1 so a DB/ffmpeg that
-# failed to come up is a hard error, never a silent skip.
-#
-# The frontend container's node major is NOT free: it must equal the prod build image's and the dev
-# machine's, because vitest/tsc read the engine's own Intl and web-API implementations and those split
-# between majors. `.nvmrc` is the single source of truth and
-# `frontend/src/lib/nodeEngine.contract.test.ts` fails this gate if any of them drift apart.
-name: gate
-
-# Branch pushes only. A release pushes `main` and then the `v<ver>` tag, and a bare `on: [push]`
-# treated the tag as a second push of the IDENTICAL commit — every release ran this whole gate
-# twice, to the same verdict, for nothing (runs #81-#90 are five such pairs). `branches: ['**']`
-# keeps every branch covered and drops tag refs.
-#
-# It has to be `branches`, NOT the `tags-ignore` this obviously wants to be. Gitea's matchPushEvent
-# requires EVERY named filter to match, and each one bails on the wrong ref kind: `tags-ignore`
-# starts with `if !refName.IsTag() { break }`, so a filter meant to skip tags rejects every BRANCH
-# push and the gate stops running entirely. `branches` bails the same way on a tag, which is the
-# direction we want. (Measured in go-gitea v1.27.3 modules/actions/workflows.go, not assumed — it
-# differs from GitHub, where `tags-ignore` alone leaves branches unfiltered.)
-#
-# If that filter were ever wrong the gate would not run at all — which is why `siftlode release`
-# now ends by reading the verdict back for the sha it pushed, and says so out loud when there is
-# no run for it. A gate that silently stops running is the failure this repo already lived through.
-on:
-  push:
-    branches: ["**"]
-  pull_request:
-
-jobs:
-  frontend:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    container: node:24-bookworm
-    defaults:
-      run:
-        working-directory: frontend
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-      - run: npm ci
-      - run: npm run typecheck
-      - run: npm run lint
-      - run: npm run format:check
-      - run: npm run knip
-      - run: npm run test
-      # The production bundle (E32): before this, `vite build` — and devOnlyGuard, which fails it if
-      # dev-only code reaches the bundle — first ran inside the image build, after main was pushed.
-      - run: npx vite build
-      # What ships to the browser: a known CVE at high or above in a production dependency fails.
-      # (The dev tooling's own advisories are burned down by hand; see docs/gates.md.)
-      - run: npm audit --omit=dev --audit-level=high
-
-  backend:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    # A combined python+node image: python 3.12 (matches the prod Dockerfile) for the tests, and node
-    # so the JS actions (checkout) run. actions/setup-python is NOT usable here — the runner can't reach
-    # GitHub's python-versions download, so it must be baked into the image.
-    #
-    # This node runs the checkout action, never our code, so it is deliberately OUTSIDE the engine
-    # contract the frontend job is held to — it tracks `.nvmrc` as hygiene (node 20 went EOL in April
-    # 2026), but a missing upstream tag here must never be able to block the gate.
-    container: nikolaik/python-nodejs:python3.12-nodejs24
-    services:
-      postgres:
-        image: postgres:16-alpine
-        env:
-          POSTGRES_USER: siftlode
-          POSTGRES_PASSWORD: siftlode
-          POSTGRES_DB: siftlode_test
-        options: >-
-          --health-cmd "pg_isready -U siftlode -d siftlode_test"
-          --health-interval 2s
-          --health-timeout 3s
-          --health-retries 30
-    env:
-      DATABASE_URL: postgresql+psycopg://siftlode:siftlode@postgres:5432/siftlode_test
-      SIFTLODE_TEST_REQUIRE_DB: "1"
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-      # ffmpeg for the poster/thumbnail tests; postgresql-client for the readiness wait below.
-      - run: apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends ffmpeg postgresql-client
-      - name: Wait for Postgres
-        run: until pg_isready -h postgres -U siftlode -d siftlode_test; do sleep 1; done
-      - run: pip install --no-cache-dir -r backend/requirements.lock -r backend/requirements-dev.txt
-      - name: ruff
-        run: python -m ruff check --config backend/ruff.toml backend scripts
-      - name: ruff format --check
-        run: python -m ruff format --check --config backend/ruff.toml backend scripts
-      # The ninth lane (E27 S3). Run from backend/ so it resolves exactly as the local lane does —
-      # pyrightconfig.json's include/extraPaths are relative to the config, but the baseline is
-      # found relative to the working directory. New errors fail; the ~200 pre-existing ones are in
-      # .basedpyright/baseline.json and burn down epic by epic. Matching is per (file, rule, column
-      # span) plus a count, so a new error of the SAME shape in a file where a sibling was just
-      # fixed is absorbed — burn the hot files down first.
-      #
-      # The second step is not redundant. basedpyright TIGHTENS the baseline in place when the count
-      # drops, with no --writebaseline, and CI throws its workspace away — so without this a
-      # burn-down is green here and red on the developer's `siftlode check`, which has the same
-      # guard. Two gates over one tree must not answer differently.
-      - name: basedpyright
-        run: python -m basedpyright --project pyrightconfig.json
-        working-directory: backend
-      - name: basedpyright baseline is committed
-        run: git diff --exit-code -- backend/.basedpyright/baseline.json
-      - name: pytest
-        run: python -m pytest
-        working-directory: backend
-      # Dependency CVE audit over the pinned lock. BLOCKING since E32: it ran advisory-only, and when
-      # it was finally read it had three urllib3 advisories with a fix available (bumped in the same
-      # change). An advisory without a fix is answered with `--ignore-vuln <id>` here, a reason and a
-      # date in the comment, and a line in docs/gates.md.
-      - name: pip-audit
-        run: pip install --no-cache-dir pip-audit && pip-audit -r backend/requirements.lock
diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index 4eb2e8ee..99230748 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -13,14 +13,14 @@ router-free navigation provider.
 ## The gate — never merge or ship red
 
 The local gate is **ruff (`check` + `format --check`) + basedpyright (backend) + the lock check + typecheck (3 tsc projects) +
-eslint + prettier --check + knip (both modes) + vitest + vite build + pytest**, then a coverage report (no threshold). It runs
+eslint + prettier --check + knip (both modes) + vitest + vite build + pytest + pip-audit + npm audit**, then a coverage report (no threshold). It runs
 before every `release` merges and on every `publish`, which **refuses to build on failure — there is deliberately no `--skip`
 flag**; a release also requires the Playwright suite, and the image must pass a Trivy scan before it is pushed. Run it and get it
 green **before** any merge, release, or handing work to review.
 
-- Full gate (agents with the private ops dispatcher): `siftlode check`.
-- Directly, without the dispatcher: the commands in [`docs/development.md`](docs/development.md) § The gate (frontend lanes, `ruff` over `backend scripts`, basedpyright in the test image, and `pytest` — the DB-lane needs Postgres).
-- **A gate with any real hit is never switched off or narrowed** — not a lint rule, a compiler flag, a lane or a release step. Fix the sites, or suppress each one inline naming its invariant (`-- why`, lint-enforced). What stays narrowed is in [`docs/gates.md`](docs/gates.md), and a contract test fails when a narrowing is missing from it. The effective ESLint config of every file and the CI/lane lines are pinned in `frontend/src/lib/gates.snapshot.json`: a new code file or any gate change fails until you regenerate it (`GATE_SNAPSHOT=update`, see gates.md) — then read that diff as a gate change. A comment saying "X is enforced by Y" is checked by running Y (E32: one such comment hid 95 functions the React Compiler skipped).
+- Full gate: `bash scripts/check.sh` (`lint` for the static lanes only); the private ops dispatcher's `siftlode check` runs the same script. Single lanes: [`docs/development.md`](docs/development.md) § The gate.
+- **There is no CI** (owner, 2026-10-04): this gate, run here, is the only one — green before every hand-over, and `release` refuses to merge without it.
+- **A gate with any real hit is never switched off or narrowed** — not a lint rule, a compiler flag, a lane or a release step. Fix the sites, or suppress each one inline naming its invariant (`-- why`, lint-enforced). What stays narrowed is in [`docs/gates.md`](docs/gates.md), and a contract test fails when a narrowing is missing from it. The effective ESLint config of every file and the gate/lane lines are pinned in `frontend/src/lib/gates.snapshot.json`: a new code file or any gate change fails until you regenerate it (`GATE_SNAPSHOT=update`, see gates.md) — then read that diff as a gate change. A comment saying "X is enforced by Y" is checked by running Y (E32: one such comment hid 95 functions the React Compiler skipped).
 - **The backend type lane runs in the test image, not on the host** — `requirements.lock` cannot be installed on Windows (uvloop), and a type checker without the real packages reports nonsense. It fails on NEW errors only; the pre-existing ones sit in `backend/.basedpyright/baseline.json` and burn down epic by epic. Fixed some? Regenerate with `--writebaseline`.
 - New DB-backed test? It must actually run, not silently skip — assume `SIFTLODE_TEST_REQUIRE_DB=1`.
 
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index c1c69b2a..2b9f9f77 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ ARG BUILD_DATE=
 
 # Stage 1: build the frontend SPA
 # The major is pinned to `.nvmrc` and held there by frontend/src/lib/nodeEngine.contract.test.ts:
-# this image, the CI gate's image and the dev machine must be ONE engine (see that test for why).
+# this image and the dev machine the gate runs on must be ONE engine (see that test for why).
 FROM node:24-alpine AS frontend
 WORKDIR /fe
 # Deps first, keyed on the lockfile, so editing app source never re-resolves node_modules.
@@ -79,8 +79,8 @@ RUN printf 'Types: deb\nURIs: http://deb.debian.org/debian\nSuites: bookworm\nCo
     && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
 
 # Install from the PINNED lock (requirements.lock, generated from requirements.txt) so the image is
-# byte-reproducible and the exact versions are the ones pip-audit scanned in CI — not whatever floats
-# up from the floor ranges on build day. Regenerate the lock when requirements.txt changes (see its header).
+# byte-reproducible and the exact versions are the ones the gate's pip-audit scanned — not whatever
+# floats up from the floor ranges on build day. Regenerate the lock when requirements.txt changes (see its header).
 # pip itself is removed once it has installed the lock (E32): nothing runs it at runtime, and it carries
 # its own VENDORED copies of urllib3, msgpack and setuptools, which Trivy reports as the image's own —
 # an attack surface and a CVE stream for a tool the running app never calls.
diff --git a/backend/requirements-dev.txt b/backend/requirements-dev.txt
index b82f6104..6480647e 100644
--- a/backend/requirements-dev.txt
+++ b/backend/requirements-dev.txt
@@ -9,8 +9,10 @@
 # writes is keyed to the diagnostics THIS version produces.
 # pytest-cov: the coverage REPORT the gate prints (E32 D4) — a number to read, deliberately with no
 # threshold; "every regression test seen red" is the bar, not a percentage.
+# pip-audit: the gate's audit of requirements.lock (scripts/check.sh), blocking at any severity.
 basedpyright==1.40.1
 pytest==8.4.2
 pytest-cov==7.1.0
 ruff==0.15.21
 httpx2==2.13.0
+pip-audit==2.10.1
diff --git a/backend/requirements.lock b/backend/requirements.lock
index eb3457d1..2611fa16 100644
--- a/backend/requirements.lock
+++ b/backend/requirements.lock
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 # Pinned dependency lock for reproducible builds (SEC-5). GENERATED — do not hand-edit.
 # Source of truth is requirements.txt (the floor ranges); regenerate after editing it with:
 #   docker run --rm -v "$PWD":/b python:3.12-slim sh -c 'pip install -q -r /b/requirements.txt && pip freeze --exclude pip --exclude setuptools --exclude wheel' | sort
-# The prod Dockerfile + Dockerfile.test + CI install THIS file; pip-audit scans it in CI (blocking
-# since E32). A security fix may be ONE pin bumped in place instead of a full regeneration, which
-# would move every other package too — then `pip install -r requirements.lock && pip check` must
+# The prod Dockerfile + Dockerfile.test install THIS file; the gate's pip-audit (scripts/check.sh)
+# scans it, blocking since E32. A security fix may be ONE pin bumped in place instead of a full
+# regeneration, which would move every other package too — then `pip install -r requirements.lock && pip check` must
 # pass. In place so far: urllib3 2.7.0 -> 2.8.0 (PYSEC-2026-4175/4176/4177, E32).
 APScheduler==3.11.3
 Authlib==1.7.2
diff --git a/backend/tests/conftest.py b/backend/tests/conftest.py
index 3c25394f..05c88c34 100644
--- a/backend/tests/conftest.py
+++ b/backend/tests/conftest.py
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ _MISSING = object()
 
 # A would-be silent skip (no DB, or no ffmpeg) is a hard error unless the run says otherwise — the
 # suite must not print green while the DB-backed / ffmpeg tests were quietly not run. ON by default
-# since E32: as an opt-in only the compose lane and CI set, a hand-run `pytest` skipped ~60 DB tests
+# since E32: as an opt-in only the compose lane set, a hand-run `pytest` skipped ~60 DB tests
 # and still passed. `SIFTLODE_TEST_REQUIRE_DB=0` is the explicit "pure-logic only" run.
 _REQUIRE_FULL = os.getenv("SIFTLODE_TEST_REQUIRE_DB", "1") != "0"
 
diff --git a/backend/tests/test_python_engine_contract.py b/backend/tests/test_python_engine_contract.py
index 49a940aa..f7298c8a 100644
--- a/backend/tests/test_python_engine_contract.py
+++ b/backend/tests/test_python_engine_contract.py
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ independent literal, there was no `.python-version`, no `requires-python`, and r
 
 **The contract is a chain, and it is split across two test files because no single runner can see
 every link.** This suite runs inside the test image, which mounts `backend/` and nothing else, so it
-cannot read the repo-root Dockerfile or the workflow. It therefore holds the link it CAN see, and the
+cannot read the repo-root Dockerfile. It therefore holds the link it CAN see, and the
 one that matters most here:
 
     the interpreter actually running  ==  backend/pyrightconfig.json  ==  backend/ruff.toml
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ one that matters most here:
 and `frontend/src/lib/pythonEngine.contract.test.ts` — which runs on the host, with the whole tree —
 holds the rest of the chain:
 
-    /.python-version  ==  pyrightconfig.json  ==  ruff.toml  ==  Dockerfile  ==  Dockerfile.test  ==  check.yml
+    /.python-version  ==  pyrightconfig.json  ==  ruff.toml  ==  Dockerfile  ==  Dockerfile.test
 
 Together they close the loop. To move the version: edit `/.python-version`, then follow the failures
 in both files. Every place they name is a place that would otherwise have been forgotten.
diff --git a/docs/development.md b/docs/development.md
index 090f54ac..03b8cfae 100644
--- a/docs/development.md
+++ b/docs/development.md
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ How to run Siftlode locally and pass the gate. Conventions for the backend code
 
 ## Node
 
-One major, everywhere. `.nvmrc` pins it; the CI container, the `Dockerfile`'s frontend build stage,
+One major, everywhere. `.nvmrc` pins it; the `Dockerfile`'s frontend build stage,
 `frontend/package.json`'s `engines` and `@types/node` must all match it — and so must the machine you
 run the gate on. `frontend/src/lib/nodeEngine.contract.test.ts` fails the gate the moment any of them
 drift apart, including when yours is the odd one out. `nvm use` in the repo root picks it up.
@@ -38,9 +38,20 @@ decisions and the chosen patterns, rendered with the app's real CSS. It never re
 
 ## The gate
 
-A change is done when all of this is green. CI runs the same checks server-side
-(`.gitea/workflows/check.yml`), so "main is always green". What each gate deliberately does NOT
-check — and why — is the [gate register](gates.md); a test fails when a narrowing is missing from it.
+A change is done when this is green, from the repo root:
+
+```bash
+bash scripts/check.sh        # every lane
+bash scripts/check.sh lint   # the static lanes only (no tests, build or audits) — the quick loop
+```
+
+It runs every lane even after one fails and names each red one at the end. What it runs, and why
+each lane runs where it does, is in the script's comments; `frontend/src/lib/gates.contract.test.ts`
+holds its lines, so a lane dropped or narrowed there fails a test. What each gate deliberately does
+NOT check — and why — is the [gate register](gates.md). There is no CI: the gate runs here, and a
+release runs it (plus e2e and the CVE scan) before anything is merged.
+
+The lanes, for running one by hand:
 
 **Backend**
 
@@ -58,6 +69,10 @@ docker compose -f backend/docker-compose.test.yml run --rm --no-deps --build tes
 # coverage total. The backend tree is bind-mounted, so it always tests your working files.
 docker compose -f backend/docker-compose.test.yml up --build --abort-on-container-exit --exit-code-from test
 docker compose -f backend/docker-compose.test.yml down -v
+
+# the lock against the advisory databases, at any severity
+docker compose -f backend/docker-compose.test.yml run --rm --no-deps test \
+  pip-audit -r requirements.lock --no-deps --disable-pip
 ```
 
 A missing database or ffmpeg is a hard error, not a skip — so the gate can't print green while the
@@ -75,6 +90,7 @@ npm run format:check  # prettier
 npm run knip          # unused files/exports/deps — and unused by what SHIPS (--production)
 npm run test          # vitest (incl. the compiler, size/complexity and gate-register contracts)
 npx vite build        # the production bundle (devOnlyGuard fails it on dev-only code)
+npm audit --omit=dev --audit-level=high   # what ships to the browser, at high or above
 ```
 
 Coverage is reported, never enforced: `npm run test -- --coverage`, and the pytest lane's last line.
diff --git a/docs/gates.md b/docs/gates.md
index b1d7b907..f1ebf3b8 100644
--- a/docs/gates.md
+++ b/docs/gates.md
@@ -14,10 +14,10 @@ name its invariant. Whatever is left narrowed is listed here, and
 not an oversight; a narrowing missing from here is a test failure.
 
 **The snapshot.** ESLint's effective config for every code file `eslint .` reaches, and the lines
-that run the lanes (`.gitea/workflows/check.yml`, `backend/docker-compose.test.yml`,
+that run the lanes (`scripts/check.sh`, `backend/docker-compose.test.yml`,
 `backend/Dockerfile.test`, the npm scripts, `vitest.config.ts`, `.prettierignore`), are committed in
 [`frontend/src/lib/gates.snapshot.json`](../frontend/src/lib/gates.snapshot.json). The test fails on
-ANY difference — a rule, an option, a glob that moves one file to another config, a new ignore, a CI
+ANY difference — a rule, an option, a glob that moves one file to another config, a new ignore, a gate
 flag. So a change to a gate is always a diff of that file in review, never a shape a detector failed
 to model (E32 review: three rounds of a cleverer detector each found a bypass of the last one's
 fixes). Regenerate it with `GATE_SNAPSHOT=update npx vitest run src/lib/gates.contract.test.ts`
@@ -117,17 +117,17 @@ project checks needs a row.
 | Scope | Narrowed | Why | Measured |
 | --- | --- | --- | --- |
 | check | e2e (Playwright) not in `check` | It needs the :8080 stack built from the tree (minutes). It runs in `check-full`, and `release` rebuilds the stack and requires it (E32 D2) — nothing ships without it. | 5 specs × 3 engines |
-| CI | no e2e, no Trivy | The lab runner has no browser stack, and Trivy's DB download is not reachable from it. Both run in `release` / `publish` on the dev machine, before anything is pushed. | — |
+| pushes | no server-side gate (no CI) | Owner decision 2026-10-04. The gate (`scripts/check.sh`) runs on the dev machine before work is handed over, and `release` runs it, then e2e, before anything is merged and Trivy before the image is pushed — the CI only repeated that, after the merge. Its runner shared the git host's container, and one run there starved Gitea of memory until it stopped answering. What it added — a fresh `npm ci` on Linux — the image build does at publish. | — |
 | coverage | no threshold | Owner decision E32 D4: reported on both sides, never enforced. "Every regression test seen red" is the bar; a percentage invites tests written to move it. | frontend 80% / backend 78% of lines (E32 S1) |
 | CVE gate | HIGH/CRITICAL with a fix available only | `--ignore-unfixed` + `--severity HIGH,CRITICAL`: a finding with no fix cannot be acted on by an upgrade; it shows in the scan output. A fixable one fails the publish, and the only way past it is `.trivyignore.yaml`. | 0 open (E32 S1) |
-| npm audit (CI) | `--omit=dev --audit-level=high` | What ships to the browser, at high or above. The dev toolchain's advisories were burned down by hand in E32 S1 (18 → 0). | 0 |
+| npm audit | `--omit=dev --audit-level=high` | What ships to the browser, at high or above. The dev toolchain's advisories were burned down by hand in E32 S1 (18 → 0). | 0 |
 | React Compiler | the functions it skips, pinned | `components/compilerCoverage.contract.test.ts` — the list may only shrink. End state: only VirtualGrid (TanStack Virtual, an IncompatibleLibrary) remains. | 93 (E32 S1) → 29 (E32 S3) → 1, VirtualGrid (E32 S4) |
 | size / complexity | today's offenders as ceilings | `src/lib/sourceSize.contract.test.ts`, `backend/tests/test_source_size.py`: listed files and functions may not grow, nothing new may cross the limit, an entry back under it must be deleted. A function is held by its name, not its rank in the file. | files >800 lines: 13 FE / 9 BE; functions over the limit: 64 FE / 32 BE (E32 review) |
 | size / complexity | shipped code only — not tests, test kits, e2e or `scripts/` | The ratchet guards what runs in production. A test file is long because it is a list of cases, and a test kit is test code; splitting either moves lines without making anything easier to change. `scripts/` is release and seed tooling, not in the image. | outside it: tests >800 lines 2 FE / 5 BE; functions over the limit 2 FE test code (`gates.contract.test.ts` `eslintNarrowings` 23, E32 review round 3; `compilerSkips.testkit.ts` 25), 1 BE test (11), 1 script (`e2e_seed.py` `main` 13) |
 
 ## Accepted findings
 
-Entries in `.trivyignore.yaml` (CVE gate) and `--ignore-vuln` flags on CI's `pip-audit` step. Each
+Entries in `.trivyignore.yaml` (CVE gate) and `--ignore-vuln` flags on the gate's `pip-audit` lane (`scripts/check.sh`). Each
 must have a row here (Scope `accepted`) with its reason and its expiry; the test fails on an entry
 without one, and on a `.trivyignore.yaml` entry with no `statement` or no `expired_at`.
 
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/gates.contract.test.ts b/frontend/src/lib/gates.contract.test.ts
index b826c17d..ed065311 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/gates.contract.test.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/gates.contract.test.ts
@@ -105,7 +105,7 @@ function restrictedEntries(entry: Linter.RuleEntry | undefined): Set<string> {
 // the lines that run the lanes. Any change fails until the snapshot is regenerated, so a narrowing
 // arrives as a diff of `gates.snapshot.json` in review instead of slipping past a detector. (Three
 // review rounds kept finding shapes the detector this replaced did not model — a `basePath` global
-// ignore, a widened glob filed under a narrow row, a substring check on a CI line. A comparison
+// ignore, a widened glob filed under a narrow row, a substring check on a gate line. A comparison
 // against everything has no shape to miss.)
 //
 // Regenerate:  GATE_SNAPSHOT=update npx vitest run src/lib/gates.contract.test.ts
@@ -285,7 +285,7 @@ function meaningful(path: string): string[] {
     });
 }
 const lanes = () => ({
-  ".gitea/workflows/check.yml": meaningful(".gitea/workflows/check.yml"),
+  "scripts/check.sh": meaningful("scripts/check.sh"),
   "backend/docker-compose.test.yml": meaningful("backend/docker-compose.test.yml"),
   "backend/Dockerfile.test": meaningful("backend/Dockerfile.test"),
   "frontend/package.json scripts": (
@@ -485,19 +485,17 @@ describe("the gate register (docs/gates.md)", () => {
   });
   // Every ruff lane passes `--config backend/ruff.toml`, which makes ruff ignore any other config
   // file it would discover (measured: a nested `ruff.toml` selecting the `D` rules changed nothing).
-  // So that flag is what makes this file the whole configuration. The snapshot holds every CI line;
-  // these two are spelled out here because the reason is (round 3: a substring check let an extra
-  // `--config "lint.extend-ignore=…"` override through).
-  it("runs every CI ruff step on backend/ruff.toml and nothing else", () => {
-    const steps = read(".gitea/workflows/check.yml")
+  // So that flag is what makes this file the whole configuration. The snapshot holds every line of
+  // the gate script; these two are spelled out because the reason is (round 3: a substring check let
+  // an extra `--config "lint.extend-ignore=…"` override through).
+  it("runs both ruff lanes on backend/ruff.toml and nothing else", () => {
+    const lanes = read("scripts/check.sh")
       .split("\n")
-      .filter((l) => /\bruff\b/.test(l) && !l.trim().startsWith("#"))
+      .filter((l) => /python -m ruff (check|format)/.test(l))
       .map((l) => l.trim());
-    expect(steps).toEqual([
-      "- name: ruff",
-      "run: python -m ruff check --config backend/ruff.toml backend scripts",
-      "- name: ruff format --check",
-      "run: python -m ruff format --check --config backend/ruff.toml backend scripts",
+    expect(lanes).toEqual([
+      "ruff_check() { ruff_pinned && python -m ruff check --config backend/ruff.toml backend scripts; }",
+      "ruff_format() { ruff_pinned && python -m ruff format --check --config backend/ruff.toml backend scripts; }",
     ]);
   });
 
@@ -577,9 +575,9 @@ describe("the gate register (docs/gates.md)", () => {
         expires: /\n\s*expired_at:\s*\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}/.test(chunk),
       }));
     expect(entries.filter((e) => !e.statement || !e.expires).map((e) => e.id)).toEqual([]);
-    const pipIgnores = read(".gitea/workflows/check.yml")
+    const pipIgnores = read("scripts/check.sh")
       .split("\n")
-      .filter((l) => !l.trim().startsWith("#")) // the step's comment explains the flag; it is not one
+      .filter((l) => !l.trim().startsWith("#")) // the lane's comment explains the flag; it is not one
       .flatMap((l) => [...l.matchAll(/--ignore-vuln[ =](\S+)/g)].map((m) => m[1]!));
     const found = [...entries.map((e) => e.id), ...pipIgnores].map((id): [string, string] => [
       "accepted",
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/gates.snapshot.json b/frontend/src/lib/gates.snapshot.json
index 502789dc..00f878f1 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/gates.snapshot.json
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/gates.snapshot.json
@@ -2222,68 +2222,6 @@
     }
   },
   "lanes": {
-    ".gitea/workflows/check.yml": [
-      "name: gate",
-      "on:",
-      "  push:",
-      "    branches: [\"**\"]",
-      "  pull_request:",
-      "jobs:",
-      "  frontend:",
-      "    runs-on: ubuntu-latest",
-      "    container: node:24-bookworm",
-      "    defaults:",
-      "      run:",
-      "        working-directory: frontend",
-      "    steps:",
-      "      - uses: actions/checkout@v4",
-      "      - run: npm ci",
-      "      - run: npm run typecheck",
-      "      - run: npm run lint",
-      "      - run: npm run format:check",
-      "      - run: npm run knip",
-      "      - run: npm run test",
-      "      - run: npx vite build",
-      "      - run: npm audit --omit=dev --audit-level=high",
-      "  backend:",
-      "    runs-on: ubuntu-latest",
-      "    container: nikolaik/python-nodejs:python3.12-nodejs24",
-      "    services:",
-      "      postgres:",
-      "        image: postgres:16-alpine",
-      "        env:",
-      "          POSTGRES_USER: siftlode",
-      "          POSTGRES_PASSWORD: siftlode",
-      "          POSTGRES_DB: siftlode_test",
-      "        options: >-",
-      "          --health-cmd \"pg_isready -U siftlode -d siftlode_test\"",
-      "          --health-interval 2s",
-      "          --health-timeout 3s",
-      "          --health-retries 30",
-      "    env:",
-      "      DATABASE_URL: postgresql+psycopg://siftlode:siftlode@postgres:5432/siftlode_test",
-      "      SIFTLODE_TEST_REQUIRE_DB: \"1\"",
-      "    steps:",
-      "      - uses: actions/checkout@v4",
-      "      - run: apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends ffmpeg postgresql-client",
-      "      - name: Wait for Postgres",
-      "        run: until pg_isready -h postgres -U siftlode -d siftlode_test; do sleep 1; done",
-      "      - run: pip install --no-cache-dir -r backend/requirements.lock -r backend/requirements-dev.txt",
-      "      - name: ruff",
-      "        run: python -m ruff check --config backend/ruff.toml backend scripts",
-      "      - name: ruff format --check",
-      "        run: python -m ruff format --check --config backend/ruff.toml backend scripts",
-      "      - name: basedpyright",
-      "        run: python -m basedpyright --project pyrightconfig.json",
-      "        working-directory: backend",
-      "      - name: basedpyright baseline is committed",
-      "        run: git diff --exit-code -- backend/.basedpyright/baseline.json",
-      "      - name: pytest",
-      "        run: python -m pytest",
-      "        working-directory: backend",
-      "      - name: pip-audit",
-      "        run: pip install --no-cache-dir pip-audit && pip-audit -r backend/requirements.lock"
-    ],
     "backend/Dockerfile.test": [
       "FROM python:3.12-slim",
       "WORKDIR /app",
@@ -2366,6 +2304,77 @@
       "    },",
       "  },",
       "});"
+    ],
+    "scripts/check.sh": [
+      "set -u",
+      "cd \"$(dirname \"$0\")/..\" || exit 2",
+      "mode=\"${1:-all}\"",
+      "case \"$mode\" in all | lint) ;; *) echo \"usage: scripts/check.sh [lint]\" >&2; exit 2 ;; esac",
+      "export MSYS_NO_PATHCONV=1 # Git Bash: do not rewrite the in-container paths below",
+      "TESTCOMPOSE=backend/docker-compose.test.yml",
+      "failed=()",
+      "lane() { # lane <name> <command…> — run it, remember a failure, never stop",
+      "  local name=\"$1\"",
+      "  shift",
+      "  echo \">> $name…\"",
+      "  \"$@\" || failed+=(\"$name\")",
+      "}",
+      "ruff_pinned() {",
+      "  local pin host",
+      "  pin=\"$(sed -n 's/^ruff==\\([0-9.]*\\).*/\\1/p' backend/requirements-dev.txt)\"",
+      "  host=\"$(python -m ruff --version 2>/dev/null | awk '{print $2}')\"",
+      "  [ -n \"$pin\" ] && [ \"$host\" = \"$pin\" ] && return 0",
+      "  echo \"ruff ${host:-missing} on the host, ${pin:-nothing} pinned — python -m pip install ruff==$pin\" >&2",
+      "  return 1",
+      "}",
+      "ruff_check() { ruff_pinned && python -m ruff check --config backend/ruff.toml backend scripts; }",
+      "ruff_format() { ruff_pinned && python -m ruff format --check --config backend/ruff.toml backend scripts; }",
+      "basedpyright() {",
+      "  local before",
+      "  before=\"$(git hash-object backend/.basedpyright/baseline.json)\"",
+      "  docker compose -f \"$TESTCOMPOSE\" run --rm --no-deps --build test \\",
+      "    python -m basedpyright --project pyrightconfig.json || return 1",
+      "  if [ \"$(git hash-object backend/.basedpyright/baseline.json)\" != \"$before\" ]; then",
+      "    echo \"this run rewrote backend/.basedpyright/baseline.json (errors were fixed) — commit it\" >&2",
+      "    return 1",
+      "  fi",
+      "  git diff HEAD --quiet -- backend/.basedpyright/baseline.json && return 0",
+      "  echo \"backend/.basedpyright/baseline.json is uncommitted — commit it\" >&2",
+      "  return 1",
+      "}",
+      "frontend() { (cd frontend && \"$@\"); }",
+      "lane \"ruff\" ruff_check",
+      "lane \"ruff format --check\" ruff_format",
+      "lane \"basedpyright (new errors only)\" basedpyright",
+      "lane \"lock check (frontend/node_modules == package-lock.json)\" node scripts/check-node-modules.mjs",
+      "lane \"tsc (src + configs + e2e)\" frontend npm run --silent typecheck",
+      "lane \"eslint (warnings fail too)\" frontend npm run --silent lint",
+      "lane \"prettier --check\" frontend npm run --silent format:check",
+      "lane \"knip (unused, and unused by what ships)\" frontend npm run --silent knip",
+      "pytest_lane() { # the full suite against a throwaway Postgres; --pull keeps the base image current",
+      "  docker compose -f \"$TESTCOMPOSE\" build --pull -q test || return 1",
+      "  local rc=0",
+      "  docker compose -f \"$TESTCOMPOSE\" up --build --abort-on-container-exit --exit-code-from test || rc=1",
+      "  docker compose -f \"$TESTCOMPOSE\" down -v >/dev/null 2>&1",
+      "  return $rc",
+      "}",
+      "pip_audit() {",
+      "  docker compose -f \"$TESTCOMPOSE\" run --rm --no-deps test \\",
+      "    pip-audit -r requirements.lock --no-deps --disable-pip",
+      "}",
+      "if [ \"$mode\" = all ]; then",
+      "  lane \"vitest (+ coverage report)\" frontend npm run --silent test -- --coverage",
+      "  lane \"vite build\" frontend npx vite build --logLevel warn",
+      "  lane \"pytest (pure-logic + DB lane)\" pytest_lane",
+      "  lane \"pip-audit (backend lock)\" pip_audit",
+      "  lane \"npm audit (production dependencies)\" frontend npm audit --omit=dev --audit-level=high",
+      "fi",
+      "if [ ${#failed[@]} -eq 0 ]; then",
+      "  echo \">> gate ($mode): green ✓\"",
+      "  exit 0",
+      "fi",
+      "echo \">> gate ($mode): RED — ${failed[*]}\" >&2",
+      "exit 1"
     ]
   }
 }
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/nodeEngine.contract.test.ts b/frontend/src/lib/nodeEngine.contract.test.ts
index 90ae85bf..02a98dca 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/nodeEngine.contract.test.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/nodeEngine.contract.test.ts
@@ -48,18 +48,6 @@ it("builds the shipped bundle on the pinned engine", () => {
   ).toBe(pinned);
 });
 
-it("runs the server gate on the pinned engine", () => {
-  // The frontend job only — the backend job's node runs the checkout action, never our code, so it is
-  // deliberately not part of this contract (see the note in check.yml).
-  expect(
-    majorIn(
-      readRoot(".gitea/workflows/check.yml"),
-      /^\s*container: node:(\d+)-bookworm$/m,
-      "check.yml",
-    ),
-  ).toBe(pinned);
-});
-
 it("declares the pinned engine to npm and to tsc", () => {
   expect(pkg.engines?.node).toBe(`${pinned}.x`);
   // Types a major ahead of the runtime make tsc green over APIs the shipped engine does not have —
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/pythonEngine.contract.test.ts b/frontend/src/lib/pythonEngine.contract.test.ts
index b2637f03..e4b5b709 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/pythonEngine.contract.test.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/pythonEngine.contract.test.ts
@@ -11,12 +11,12 @@ import { expect, it } from "vitest";
 //
 // It lives in the FRONTEND suite for one boring reason: this is the only runner that can see the
 // whole repository. The backend suite runs inside the test image, which mounts `backend/` alone, so
-// it cannot read the repo-root Dockerfile or the workflow. It holds the other half of the chain —
+// it cannot read the repo-root Dockerfile. It holds the other half of the chain —
 // including "the interpreter running these tests IS the pinned one", which only it can assert:
 //
 //   backend/tests/test_python_engine_contract.py :  running interpreter == pyrightconfig == ruff.toml
 //   here                                         :  .python-version == pyrightconfig == ruff.toml
-//                                                   == Dockerfile == Dockerfile.test == check.yml
+//                                                   == Dockerfile == Dockerfile.test
 //
 // To move the version: edit `.python-version`, then follow the failures in both files.
 const readRoot = (rel: string) => readFileSync(new URL(`../../../${rel}`, import.meta.url), "utf8");
@@ -55,18 +55,6 @@ it("tests on the pinned version", () => {
   ).toBe(pinned);
 });
 
-it("runs the server gate on the pinned version", () => {
-  // The backend job's container. Its NODE is deliberately outside the Node contract (it only runs
-  // the checkout action), but its PYTHON runs our code and our tests, so it is inside this one.
-  expect(
-    versionIn(
-      readRoot(".gitea/workflows/check.yml"),
-      /^\s*container: nikolaik\/python-nodejs:python(\d+)\.(\d+)-nodejs\d+$/m,
-      "check.yml",
-    ),
-  ).toBe(pinned);
-});
-
 it("type-checks against the pinned version", () => {
   // A type checker aimed at another version green-lights APIs the shipped interpreter does not have
   // — the same defect as the image split, moved to check time.
diff --git a/scripts/check.sh b/scripts/check.sh
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..562d8f50
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/check.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,108 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# The gate — every lane, in one place, run from the repo root (E32, after CI went: the lab runner
+# duplicated what this already ran before every release, and one CI run starved the git host of
+# memory until it stopped answering). The release dispatcher calls this; so can anyone with Docker
+# and the pinned toolchain. `frontend/src/lib/gates.contract.test.ts` holds its lines, so a lane
+# dropped or narrowed here fails a test like any other gate change.
+#
+#   bash scripts/check.sh        every lane (what a release requires, before e2e and the CVE scan)
+#   bash scripts/check.sh lint   the static lanes only: no tests, no build, no audits
+#
+# Each lane runs even when an earlier one failed, and the summary names every red one: a gate that
+# stops at the first failure hides the second until the first is fixed. The backend lanes run in the
+# test image (backend/Dockerfile.test): requirements.lock will not install on Windows (uvloop), and a
+# type checker or auditor without the real packages reports nonsense.
+set -u
+cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." || exit 2
+mode="${1:-all}"
+case "$mode" in all | lint) ;; *) echo "usage: scripts/check.sh [lint]" >&2; exit 2 ;; esac
+
+export MSYS_NO_PATHCONV=1 # Git Bash: do not rewrite the in-container paths below
+TESTCOMPOSE=backend/docker-compose.test.yml
+failed=()
+lane() { # lane <name> <command…> — run it, remember a failure, never stop
+  local name="$1"
+  shift
+  echo ">> $name…"
+  "$@" || failed+=("$name")
+}
+
+# --- static lanes ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+# Host ruff, held to the pin in requirements-dev.txt: a newer ruff silently changes what "formatted"
+# means. `--config backend/ruff.toml` on both: it makes that file the WHOLE configuration (ruff then
+# ignores every other config it would discover) and gives scripts/ the backend's rule set.
+ruff_pinned() {
+  local pin host
+  pin="$(sed -n 's/^ruff==\([0-9.]*\).*/\1/p' backend/requirements-dev.txt)"
+  host="$(python -m ruff --version 2>/dev/null | awk '{print $2}')"
+  [ -n "$pin" ] && [ "$host" = "$pin" ] && return 0
+  echo "ruff ${host:-missing} on the host, ${pin:-nothing} pinned — python -m pip install ruff==$pin" >&2
+  return 1
+}
+ruff_check() { ruff_pinned && python -m ruff check --config backend/ruff.toml backend scripts; }
+ruff_format() { ruff_pinned && python -m ruff format --check --config backend/ruff.toml backend scripts; }
+
+# New errors only: the pre-existing ones are in backend/.basedpyright/baseline.json. basedpyright
+# TIGHTENS that file by itself when errors go, and the tree is bind-mounted read-write, so a green run
+# can leave it rewritten: that fails here until it is committed, or the next run's stack reads stale.
+basedpyright() {
+  local before
+  before="$(git hash-object backend/.basedpyright/baseline.json)"
+  docker compose -f "$TESTCOMPOSE" run --rm --no-deps --build test \
+    python -m basedpyright --project pyrightconfig.json || return 1
+  if [ "$(git hash-object backend/.basedpyright/baseline.json)" != "$before" ]; then
+    echo "this run rewrote backend/.basedpyright/baseline.json (errors were fixed) — commit it" >&2
+    return 1
+  fi
+  git diff HEAD --quiet -- backend/.basedpyright/baseline.json && return 0
+  echo "backend/.basedpyright/baseline.json is uncommitted — commit it" >&2
+  return 1
+}
+
+frontend() { (cd frontend && "$@"); }
+
+lane "ruff" ruff_check
+lane "ruff format --check" ruff_format
+lane "basedpyright (new errors only)" basedpyright
+# every frontend lane judges the HOST node_modules: this proves it is the tree the lock pins
+lane "lock check (frontend/node_modules == package-lock.json)" node scripts/check-node-modules.mjs
+lane "tsc (src + configs + e2e)" frontend npm run --silent typecheck
+lane "eslint (warnings fail too)" frontend npm run --silent lint
+lane "prettier --check" frontend npm run --silent format:check
+lane "knip (unused, and unused by what ships)" frontend npm run --silent knip
+
+# --- tests, build, audits --------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+pytest_lane() { # the full suite against a throwaway Postgres; --pull keeps the base image current
+  docker compose -f "$TESTCOMPOSE" build --pull -q test || return 1
+  local rc=0
+  docker compose -f "$TESTCOMPOSE" up --build --abort-on-container-exit --exit-code-from test || rc=1
+  docker compose -f "$TESTCOMPOSE" down -v >/dev/null 2>&1
+  return $rc
+}
+# Every pinned backend package against the advisory databases, at any severity — the lock is a full
+# `pip freeze`, so it is audited as written, without a resolver. An advisory with no fix is answered
+# with `--ignore-vuln <id>` here and a row in docs/gates.md (the register test reads this line).
+pip_audit() {
+  docker compose -f "$TESTCOMPOSE" run --rm --no-deps test \
+    pip-audit -r requirements.lock --no-deps --disable-pip
+}
+
+if [ "$mode" = all ]; then
+  # --coverage prints the summary: read, never a threshold (E32 D4)
+  lane "vitest (+ coverage report)" frontend npm run --silent test -- --coverage
+  # the production bundle, and devOnlyGuard, which fails it when dev-only code reaches it
+  lane "vite build" frontend npx vite build --logLevel warn
+  lane "pytest (pure-logic + DB lane)" pytest_lane
+  lane "pip-audit (backend lock)" pip_audit
+  # what ships to the browser, at high or above; the dev toolchain is burned down by hand
+  lane "npm audit (production dependencies)" frontend npm audit --omit=dev --audit-level=high
+fi
+
+if [ ${#failed[@]} -eq 0 ]; then
+  echo ">> gate ($mode): green ✓"
+  exit 0
+fi
+echo ">> gate ($mode): RED — ${failed[*]}" >&2
+exit 1