diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index 7fb43f1..550c8be 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -37,6 +37,8 @@ SESSION_DOMAIN=null
 BROADCAST_CONNECTION=log
 FILESYSTEM_DISK=local
 QUEUE_CONNECTION=database
+# Must exceed ReplyOnMattermost / KitAgent timeout (200) so a 170s BlenderRun is not re-dispatched.
+DB_QUEUE_RETRY_AFTER=240
 
 CACHE_STORE=database
 # CACHE_PREFIX=
diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e42e499
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+name: CI
+
+# Convention-only on GitHub Free — this repo cannot require checks.
+# No Blender. No Playwright. Factory hands stay on Loki.
+
+on:
+  pull_request:
+  push:
+    branches: [main]
+
+jobs:
+  tests:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    timeout-minutes: 10
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Setup PHP
+        uses: shivammathur/setup-php@v2
+        with:
+          php-version: '8.4'
+          extensions: sqlite3
+          coverage: none
+
+      - name: Cache Composer dependencies
+        uses: actions/cache@v4
+        with:
+          path: vendor
+          key: composer-${{ hashFiles('composer.lock') }}
+          restore-keys: composer-
+
+      - name: Install dependencies
+        run: composer install --no-interaction --prefer-dist --optimize-autoloader
+
+      - name: Create bootstrap and storage dirs
+        run: mkdir -p bootstrap/cache storage/framework/{cache,sessions,testing,views} storage/logs
+
+      - name: Run tests
+        run: php artisan test --no-coverage
+        env:
+          APP_ENV: testing
+          APP_KEY: base64:NKGyM6eANyqn2+iiyggbXf6FNzgU98n3L/Sw1ze3v4U=
+          DB_CONNECTION: sqlite
+          DB_DATABASE: ':memory:'
+          QUEUE_CONNECTION: sync
+          CACHE_STORE: array
+          LOG_CHANNEL: 'null'
+
+  pint:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    timeout-minutes: 5
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Setup PHP
+        uses: shivammathur/setup-php@v2
+        with:
+          php-version: '8.4'
+          coverage: none
+
+      - name: Cache Composer dependencies
+        uses: actions/cache@v4
+        with:
+          path: vendor
+          key: composer-${{ hashFiles('composer.lock') }}
+          restore-keys: composer-
+
+      - name: Install dependencies
+        run: composer install --no-interaction --prefer-dist --optimize-autoloader
+
+      - name: Check code style
+        run: ./vendor/bin/pint --test
diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index 390c782..35f6471 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -8,4 +8,4 @@ Loki-native factory agent. Sibling to Lexi, not a citizen in her process.
 - Catalog ids only. Never invent a gameplay GLB URL.
 - Files under ~300 lines.
 
-Ship gate: `php artisan test`.
+Ship gate: `php artisan test` + `vendor/bin/pint --test`. GitHub Actions (PHP 8.4) runs both. Required checks are convention-only on GitHub Free. No Blender / Playwright in CI.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 862f981..df1369b 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -78,3 +78,14 @@ php artisan serve --host=0.0.0.0 --port=8788
 ```
 
 Needs an xAI or OpenRouter key in `.env` before `kit:ask` talks. Tools and prompt dump work without one.
+
+## Ship gate
+
+```bash
+php artisan test
+vendor/bin/pint --test
+```
+
+GitHub Actions (`.github/workflows/ci.yml`) runs the same pair on PHP 8.4. No Blender, no Playwright — factory hands stay on Loki. Required-status merge-block is convention-only on GitHub Free.
+
+Queue knobs: `DB_QUEUE_RETRY_AFTER=240` (default in `config/queue.php`). Job / `KitAgent` / `kit-queue.service` timeout is **200s** so a 170s `BlenderRun` is not killed or re-dispatched.
diff --git a/app/Agent/KitAgent.php b/app/Agent/KitAgent.php
index 055cb53..0bfded4 100644
--- a/app/Agent/KitAgent.php
+++ b/app/Agent/KitAgent.php
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
 use Laravel\Ai\Attributes\Timeout;
 use Stringable;
 
-#[Timeout(180)]
+#[Timeout(200)]
 class KitAgent extends BaseAgent
 {
     public function __construct(private readonly PromptBuilder $prompts) {}
diff --git a/app/Jobs/ReplyOnMattermost.php b/app/Jobs/ReplyOnMattermost.php
index 4ba0996..424492a 100644
--- a/app/Jobs/ReplyOnMattermost.php
+++ b/app/Jobs/ReplyOnMattermost.php
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ class ReplyOnMattermost implements ShouldQueue
 {
     use Queueable;
 
-    public int $timeout = 180;
+    public int $timeout = 200;
 
     public int $tries = 2;
 
diff --git a/app/Tools/YouTubeTranscript.php b/app/Tools/YouTubeTranscript.php
index a6dc7da..348d413 100644
--- a/app/Tools/YouTubeTranscript.php
+++ b/app/Tools/YouTubeTranscript.php
@@ -71,6 +71,7 @@ private function vttToText(string $vtt): string
             $line = trim($line);
             if (preg_match('/^(\d{2}:\d{2}:\d{2})\.\d+\s+-->/', $line, $m)) {
                 $time = $m[1];
+
                 continue;
             }
             if ($line === '' || str_starts_with($line, 'WEBVTT') || str_starts_with($line, 'NOTE') || preg_match('/^\d+$/', $line)) {
diff --git a/config/queue.php b/config/queue.php
index 79c2c0a..0251af3 100644
--- a/config/queue.php
+++ b/config/queue.php
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@
             'connection' => env('DB_QUEUE_CONNECTION'),
             'table' => env('DB_QUEUE_TABLE', 'jobs'),
             'queue' => env('DB_QUEUE', 'default'),
-            'retry_after' => (int) env('DB_QUEUE_RETRY_AFTER', 90),
+            'retry_after' => (int) env('DB_QUEUE_RETRY_AFTER', 240),
             'after_commit' => false,
         ],
 
diff --git a/tests/Feature/QueueTimeoutTest.php b/tests/Feature/QueueTimeoutTest.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4931173
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/Feature/QueueTimeoutTest.php
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+<?php
+
+test('database queue retry_after exceeds the 200s job timeout', function () {
+    expect((int) config('queue.connections.database.retry_after'))->toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(240);
+});
diff --git a/tests/Unit/.gitkeep b/tests/Unit/.gitkeep
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29