@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# Reusable: build binaries (standard + UI) on all platforms
+# Reusable: build release binaries on all supported platforms
 name: Build
 
 on:
@@ -12,6 +12,10 @@ on:
         description: 'Generate build provenance attestations for release artifacts'
         type: boolean
         default: false
+      ui_only:
+        description: 'Build only the UI runtime archives'
+        type: boolean
+        default: false
 
 permissions:
   contents: read
@@ -64,6 +68,7 @@ jobs:
           node-version: "22"
 
       - name: Build standard binary
+        if: ${{ !inputs.ui_only }}
         env:
           VERSION: ${{ inputs.version }}
           CC: ${{ matrix.cc }}
@@ -75,17 +80,16 @@ jobs:
             scripts/build.sh "CC=$CC" "CXX=$CXX"
           fi
 
-      - name: Ad-hoc sign macOS binary
-        if: startsWith(matrix.os, 'macos')
+      - name: Ad-hoc sign macOS standard binary
+        if: ${{ !inputs.ui_only && startsWith(matrix.os, 'macos') }}
         run: codesign --sign - --force build/c/codebase-memory-mcp
 
-      # Archive layout/name live in the ONE canonical script the local
-      # artifact-flow smoke lane also runs (venue-parity contract).
       - name: Archive standard binary (canonical package-release.sh)
+        if: ${{ !inputs.ui_only }}
         run: scripts/package-release.sh ${{ matrix.goos }} ${{ matrix.goarch }}
 
       - name: Attest standard binary provenance
-        if: ${{ inputs.attest }}
+        if: ${{ inputs.attest && !inputs.ui_only }}
         uses: actions/attest-build-provenance@0f67c3f4856b2e3261c31976d6725780e5e4c373 # v4.1.1
         with:
           subject-path: codebase-memory-mcp-${{ matrix.goos }}-${{ matrix.goarch }}.tar.gz
@@ -110,6 +114,8 @@ jobs:
         if: matrix.goos == 'linux' && matrix.goarch == 'amd64'
         run: scripts/security-ui.sh
 
+      # Archive layout/name live in the ONE canonical script the local
+      # artifact-flow smoke lane also runs (venue-parity contract).
       - name: Archive UI binary (canonical package-release.sh)
         run: scripts/package-release.sh ${{ matrix.goos }} ${{ matrix.goarch }} --variant ui
 
@@ -145,6 +151,7 @@ jobs:
           node-version: "22"
 
       - name: Build standard binary
+        if: ${{ !inputs.ui_only }}
         shell: msys2 {0}
         env:
           VERSION: ${{ inputs.version }}
@@ -155,14 +162,13 @@ jobs:
             scripts/build.sh CC=clang CXX=clang++
           fi
 
-      # Archive layout/name live in the ONE canonical script the local
-      # artifact-flow smoke lane also runs (venue-parity contract).
       - name: Archive standard binary (canonical package-release.sh)
+        if: ${{ !inputs.ui_only }}
         shell: msys2 {0}
         run: scripts/package-release.sh windows amd64 CC=clang CXX=clang++
 
       - name: Attest standard binary provenance
-        if: ${{ inputs.attest }}
+        if: ${{ inputs.attest && !inputs.ui_only }}
         uses: actions/attest-build-provenance@0f67c3f4856b2e3261c31976d6725780e5e4c373 # v4.1.1
         with:
           subject-path: codebase-memory-mcp-windows-amd64.zip
@@ -178,6 +184,8 @@ jobs:
             scripts/build.sh --with-ui CC=clang CXX=clang++
           fi
 
+      # Archive layout/name live in the ONE canonical script the local
+      # artifact-flow smoke lane also runs (venue-parity contract).
       - name: Archive UI binary (canonical package-release.sh)
         shell: msys2 {0}
         run: scripts/package-release.sh windows amd64 --variant ui CC=clang CXX=clang++
@@ -218,6 +226,7 @@ jobs:
           node-version: "22"
 
       - name: Build standard binary
+        if: ${{ !inputs.ui_only }}
         shell: msys2 {0}
         env:
           VERSION: ${{ inputs.version }}
@@ -229,11 +238,12 @@ jobs:
           fi
 
       - name: Archive standard binary (canonical package-release.sh)
+        if: ${{ !inputs.ui_only }}
         shell: msys2 {0}
         run: scripts/package-release.sh windows arm64 CC=clang CXX=clang++
 
       - name: Attest standard binary provenance
-        if: ${{ inputs.attest }}
+        if: ${{ inputs.attest && !inputs.ui_only }}
         uses: actions/attest-build-provenance@0f67c3f4856b2e3261c31976d6725780e5e4c373 # v4.1.1
         with:
           subject-path: codebase-memory-mcp-windows-arm64.zip
@@ -288,6 +298,7 @@ jobs:
           node-version: "22"
 
       - name: Build standard binary (static)
+        if: ${{ !inputs.ui_only }}
         env:
           VERSION: ${{ inputs.version }}
         run: |
@@ -297,16 +308,18 @@ jobs:
             scripts/build.sh CC=gcc CXX=g++ STATIC=1
           fi
 
-      - name: Verify static linking
+      - name: Verify standard static linking
+        if: ${{ !inputs.ui_only }}
         run: |
           file build/c/codebase-memory-mcp
           ldd build/c/codebase-memory-mcp 2>&1 | grep -q "not a dynamic executable" || ldd build/c/codebase-memory-mcp 2>&1 | grep -q "statically linked"
 
       - name: Archive standard binary (canonical package-release.sh)
+        if: ${{ !inputs.ui_only }}
         run: scripts/package-release.sh linux ${{ matrix.arch }}-portable
 
       - name: Attest standard binary provenance
-        if: ${{ inputs.attest }}
+        if: ${{ inputs.attest && !inputs.ui_only }}
         uses: actions/attest-build-provenance@0f67c3f4856b2e3261c31976d6725780e5e4c373 # v4.1.1
         with:
           subject-path: codebase-memory-mcp-linux-${{ matrix.arch }}-portable.tar.gz
@@ -321,6 +334,11 @@ jobs:
             scripts/build.sh --with-ui CC=gcc CXX=g++ STATIC=1
           fi
 
+      - name: Verify UI static linking
+        run: |
+          file build/c/codebase-memory-mcp
+          ldd build/c/codebase-memory-mcp 2>&1 | grep -q "not a dynamic executable" || ldd build/c/codebase-memory-mcp 2>&1 | grep -q "statically linked"
+
       - name: Archive UI binary (canonical package-release.sh)
         run: scripts/package-release.sh linux ${{ matrix.arch }}-portable --variant ui
 
 
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# Reusable: smoke test every binary (standard + UI, all platforms)
+# Reusable: smoke test shipped release binaries on all platforms
 name: Smoke
 
 on:
@@ -8,6 +8,10 @@ on:
         description: 'Smoke the shipped binaries on the broad platform matrix (extra OS versions) instead of the core set'
         type: boolean
         default: false
+      ui_only:
+        description: 'Smoke only the UI runtime archives'
+        type: boolean
+        default: false
 
 permissions:
   contents: read
@@ -30,6 +34,7 @@ jobs:
         id: set
         env:
           BROAD: ${{ inputs.broad_platforms }}
+          UI_ONLY: ${{ inputs.ui_only }}
         run: |
           CORE_UNIX='[
             {"os":"ubuntu-latest","goos":"linux","goarch":"amd64"},
@@ -72,13 +77,14 @@ jobs:
             WIN=$(jq -cn --argjson a "$CORE_WIN" '$a')
             PORTABLE=$(jq -cn --argjson a "$CORE_PORTABLE" '$a')
           fi
-          # Expand each OS entry over both variants into a FLAT include list so
-          # every {os,variant} runs as its own job. A {variant:[...],include:$LIST}
-          # matrix collapses under GitHub's include-merge (later os entries
-          # overwrite the variant combos last-wins), which silently dropped every
-          # OS except the last — e.g. only windows-11-arm ran, never windows-latest.
-          # Building the cartesian explicitly avoids that.
-          VARIANTS='["standard","ui"]'
+          # Keep the variant dimension explicit because the smoke wrappers use it
+          # to require and validate the UI pack. VT-focused dry runs select only
+          # UI; release compatibility retains both variants until migration.
+          if [ "$UI_ONLY" = "true" ]; then
+            VARIANTS='["ui"]'
+          else
+            VARIANTS='["standard","ui"]'
+          fi
           UNIX_M=$(jq -cn --argjson a "$UNIX" --argjson v "$VARIANTS" '{include:[$a[] as $o | $v[] as $t | ($o + {variant:$t})]}')
           WIN_M=$(jq -cn --argjson a "$WIN" --argjson v "$VARIANTS" '{include:[$a[] as $o | $v[] as $t | ($o + {variant:$t})]}')
           PORTABLE_M=$(jq -cn --argjson a "$PORTABLE" --argjson v "$VARIANTS" '{include:[$a[] as $o | $v[] as $t | ($o + {variant:$t})]}')
@@ -133,8 +139,8 @@ jobs:
           scripts/security-install.sh "$BIN"
           scripts/security-network.sh "$BIN"
 
-      - name: MCP robustness test (linux-amd64 standard only)
-        if: matrix.variant == 'standard' && matrix.goos == 'linux' && matrix.goarch == 'amd64'
+      - name: MCP robustness test (selected linux-amd64 runtime)
+        if: matrix.goos == 'linux' && matrix.goarch == 'amd64' && (inputs.ui_only || matrix.variant == 'standard')
         run: |
           BIN="$RUNNER_TEMP/cbm-artifact/codebase-memory-mcp"
           scripts/security-fuzz.sh "$BIN"
@@ -206,8 +212,8 @@ jobs:
           mkdir -p "$ARTIFACT_DIR"
           unzip -o "codebase-memory-mcp${SUFFIX}-windows-${ARCH}.zip" -d "$ARTIFACT_DIR"
           test -s "$ARTIFACT_DIR/codebase-memory-mcp.exe"
-          # ONE binary per platform: a payload sibling would mean the
-          # AV-flagged launcher stub came back.
+          # ONE executable per runtime set: a payload sibling would mean the
+          # removed launcher split came back.
           test ! -e "$ARTIFACT_DIR/codebase-memory-mcp.payload.exe"
           # Pre-flight the image from a profile-rooted directory: the shared
           # runner workspace is deliberately not a valid install root.
 
@@ -174,6 +174,37 @@ jobs:
         env:
           CCACHE_DIR: ${{ github.workspace }}/.ccache
 
+  # The package wrappers own their own runtime-set publication and lease-lock
+  # implementations. Run the same suites against both host families so Unix
+  # inode/flock behavior and Windows handle/link behavior are each gating,
+  # without adding Node/Go provisioning to every sanitizer/container leg.
+  test-package-wrappers:
+    strategy:
+      fail-fast: false
+      matrix:
+        os: [ubuntu-latest, windows-latest]
+    runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}
+    timeout-minutes: 30
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@3d3c42e5aac5ba805825da76410c181273ba90b1 # v7.0.1
+
+      - uses: actions/setup-go@b7ad1dad31e06c5925ef5d2fc7ad053ef454303e # v7.0.0
+        with:
+          go-version-file: pkg/go/go.mod
+          cache: false
+
+      - uses: actions/setup-node@820762786026740c76f36085b0efc47a31fe5020 # v7.0.0
+        with:
+          node-version: "22"
+
+      - uses: actions/setup-python@5fda3b95a4ea91299a34e894583c3862153e4b97 # v7.0.0
+        with:
+          python-version: "3.12"
+
+      - name: Test Go, npm, and PyPI runtime-set wrappers
+        shell: bash
+        run: scripts/ci/test-package-wrappers.sh
+
   # ThreadSanitizer data-race gate. The threaded production surfaces (watcher,
   # subprocess, httpd, pipeline, mcp, worker pool, diagnostics, the runnable
   # daemon-coordination paths) plus allocator concurrency all run under TSan
@@ -394,6 +425,7 @@ jobs:
             mingw-w64-clang-${{ matrix.pkg }}-ccache
             make
             git
+            zip
 
       - name: Create protected per-user temp root
         # One implementation, shared with _soak.yml and the VM leg
@@ -502,7 +534,7 @@ jobs:
         run: repo/scripts/ci/verify-shard-union.sh manifests
 
   # Windows product-surface regression guards. Distinct from test-windows above
-  # (the sanitizer C suite): these drive a real product binary + embedded HTTP UI
+  # (the sanitizer C suite): these drive a real product binary + external UI pack
   # over stdio / CLI / HTTP and fail if a Windows bug already fixed on main comes
   # back -- non-ASCII repo paths dropping definitions (#636/#357, fixed by #700),
   # the PreToolUse hook augmenter no-op on drive-letter cwd (#618, fixed by #619),
@@ -530,10 +562,6 @@ jobs:
         with:
           node-version: "22"
 
-      - name: Test npm wrapper failure handling
-        working-directory: pkg/npm
-        run: npm test
-
       - name: Compiler cache (content-verified)
         uses: actions/cache@55cc8345863c7cc4c66a329aec7e433d2d1c52a9 # v6.1.0
         with:
@@ -543,11 +571,12 @@ jobs:
             ccache-guards-${{ github.ref }}-
             ccache-guards-
 
-      - name: Build product binary with embedded UI
+      - name: Build product binary with external UI assets and guard seams
         shell: msys2 {0}
-        # --with-ui builds the frontend (npm) and embeds it, so the drive-picker
-        # guard's HTTP UI is available. Functional gate only (no sanitizers).
-        run: scripts/build.sh --with-ui CC=clang CXX=clang++
+        # --with-ui builds the frontend and its content-addressed asset pack, so
+        # the drive-picker guard's HTTP UI is available. Functional gate only
+        # (no sanitizers).
+        run: scripts/build.sh --with-ui CC=clang CXX=clang++ TEST_SEAMS=1
         env:
           CCACHE_DIR: ${{ github.workspace }}/.ccache
           CCACHE_MAXSIZE: 1500M
 
@@ -91,6 +91,7 @@ jobs:
     uses: ./.github/workflows/_build.yml
     with:
       attest: false
+      ui_only: true
 
   # ── Smoke test every binary ────────────────────────────────────
   # Run unless builds were skipped or a build leg FAILED. Every build leg
@@ -102,6 +103,7 @@ jobs:
     uses: ./.github/workflows/_smoke.yml
     with:
       broad_platforms: true
+      ui_only: true
 
   # ── Soak tests (optional, parallel with smoke) ────────────────
   soak:
@@ -149,22 +151,41 @@ jobs:
       # Same extraction the release verify job performs, so the bytes handed to
       # VirusTotal here are the bytes a user would download and run.
       - name: Extract archive artifacts
-        run: scripts/ci/extract-release-archives.sh assets binaries
+        run: |
+          scripts/ci/extract-release-archives.sh assets binaries \
+            --archive-scope=ui \
+            --expect-archives=8 \
+            --expect-binaries=8 \
+            --expect-packs=8 \
+            --expect-runtime-files=32
 
       - name: VirusTotal scan
         uses: crazy-max/ghaction-virustotal@936d8c5c00afe97d3d9a1af26d017cfdf26800a2 # v5.0.0
         id: virustotal
         with:
           vt_api_key: ${{ secrets.VIRUS_TOTAL_SCANNER_API_KEY }}
-          files: binaries/*
+          files: binaries/objects/*
+          request_rate: 4
 
-      # Same ZERO-tolerance gate as the release. A detection here is a real
-      # finding even when it is a false positive: it is what the release gate
-      # will do, so the dry run should say so now. Resolve it upstream (vendor
-      # false-positive submission for the exact hashes, then re-run) — never by
-      # loosening this gate.
+      # Same ZERO-tolerance gate as the release. Every artifact must arrive
+      # naturally clean; any malicious or suspicious verdict fails this run.
       - name: Wait for VirusTotal results
         env:
           VT_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.VIRUS_TOTAL_SCANNER_API_KEY }}
           VT_ANALYSIS: ${{ steps.virustotal.outputs.analysis }}
+          VT_EXPECTED_SCAN_SET: binaries/scan-set.tsv
+          VT_ASSOCIATIONS: binaries/associations.tsv
+          VT_RESULTS_PATH: binaries/vt-results.tsv
+          MIN_ENGINES: 50
         run: scripts/ci/check-virustotal.sh
+
+      - name: Preserve VirusTotal scope and result evidence
+        if: ${{ always() }}
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@043fb46d1a93c77aae656e7c1c64a875d1fc6a0a # v7.0.1
+        with:
+          name: virustotal-evidence-dry-run-${{ github.run_id }}
+          path: |
+            binaries/associations.tsv
+            binaries/scan-set.tsv
+            binaries/vt-results.tsv
+          if-no-files-found: warn