diff --git a/.github/workflows/clusterfuzzlite.yml b/.github/workflows/clusterfuzzlite.yml
index b70a6263..d5d2a918 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/clusterfuzzlite.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/clusterfuzzlite.yml
@@ -2,6 +2,10 @@ name: clusterfuzzlite
 
 on:
   pull_request:
+    paths-ignore:
+      - "docs/**"
+      - "manual/**"
+      - "**.md"
   workflow_dispatch:
 
 permissions:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/container-image.yml b/.github/workflows/container-image.yml
index 4b027fba..01e41aa7 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/container-image.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/container-image.yml
@@ -2,6 +2,10 @@ name: container-image
 
 on:
   pull_request:
+    paths-ignore:
+      - "docs/**"
+      - "manual/**"
+      - "**.md"
   push:
     tags:
       - 'v*'
diff --git a/tests/test_ci_path_filter_contract.py b/tests/test_ci_path_filter_contract.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ac117468
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_ci_path_filter_contract.py
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+"""Contracts for documentation-only GitHub Actions filtering."""
+
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import pytest
+
+
+_DOC_ONLY_PATHS = {"docs/**", "manual/**", "**.md"}
+
+
+def _event_block(workflow: str, event: str) -> list[str]:
+    """Return one peer event block from the workflow's top-level ``on`` mapping."""
+    lines = workflow.splitlines()
+    marker = f"  {event}:"
+    try:
+        start = lines.index(marker)
+    except ValueError as exc:
+        raise AssertionError(f"missing workflow event: {event}") from exc
+
+    block: list[str] = []
+    for line in lines[start + 1 :]:
+        if line.startswith("  ") and not line.startswith("    "):
+            break
+        block.append(line)
+    return block
+
+
+def _paths_ignore(block: list[str]) -> set[str]:
+    """Read the ``paths-ignore`` list from one event block without quote coupling."""
+    try:
+        start = block.index("    paths-ignore:")
+    except ValueError as exc:
+        raise AssertionError("event is missing paths-ignore") from exc
+
+    entries: set[str] = set()
+    for line in block[start + 1 :]:
+        if not line.startswith("      - "):
+            break
+        entries.add(line.removeprefix("      - ").strip().strip("'\""))
+    return entries
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "workflow_path",
+    (
+        ".github/workflows/clusterfuzzlite.yml",
+        ".github/workflows/container-image.yml",
+    ),
+)
+def test_pr_filters_ignore_all_documentation_assets(workflow_path: str) -> None:
+    """PR filters skip Markdown, generated docs, and non-Markdown manual assets."""
+    workflow = Path(workflow_path).read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+    pull_request = _event_block(workflow, "pull_request")
+
+    assert _paths_ignore(pull_request) == _DOC_ONLY_PATHS
+
+
+def test_tagged_container_release_does_not_claim_path_filtering() -> None:
+    """Tag pushes retain their release trigger without an ineffective path filter."""
+    workflow = Path(".github/workflows/container-image.yml").read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+    push_section = _event_block(workflow, "push")
+
+    assert "    paths-ignore:" not in push_section
+    assert "    tags:" in push_section
+    assert "      - 'v*'" in push_section