diff --git a/.github/workflows/lint-backend.yml b/.github/workflows/lint-backend.yml
index f8955faed..702afff87 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/lint-backend.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/lint-backend.yml
@@ -2,12 +2,7 @@ name: Lint Backend
 
 on:
   pull_request:
-    paths:
-      - 'src/**/*.py'
-      - 'tests/**/*.py'
-      - 'pyproject.toml'
-      - 'uv.lock'
-      - '.github/workflows/lint-backend.yml'
+  merge_group:
 
 # Cancel in-flight runs on the same PR when a new push lands.
 concurrency:
@@ -15,7 +10,40 @@ concurrency:
   cancel-in-progress: true
 
 jobs:
+  changes:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    outputs:
+      run: ${{ steps.decision.outputs.run }}
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - uses: dorny/paths-filter@v3
+        id: filter
+        if: github.event_name == 'pull_request'
+        with:
+          filters: |
+            relevant:
+              - 'src/**/*.py'
+              - 'tests/**/*.py'
+              - 'pyproject.toml'
+              - 'uv.lock'
+              - '.github/workflows/lint-backend.yml'
+      - id: decision
+        run: |
+          # Skip on merge_group: lint runs on changed files only, so
+          # re-running on the queued ref would just re-check the same set
+          # the PR already passed. The required job below still reports
+          # green so the merge queue is not blocked.
+          if [ "${{ github.event_name }}" = "merge_group" ]; then
+            echo "run=false" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          elif [ "${{ steps.filter.outputs.relevant }}" = "true" ]; then
+            echo "run=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          else
+            echo "run=false" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          fi
+
   lint:
+    needs: changes
+    if: needs.changes.outputs.run == 'true'
     name: Ruff and mypy on changed files
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
 
@@ -87,3 +115,17 @@ jobs:
           if [ "${#test_files[@]}" -gt 0 ]; then
             uv run mypy "${test_files[@]}"
           fi
+
+  required:
+    needs: lint
+    if: always()
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - name: Verify lint result
+        run: |
+          result="${{ needs.lint.result }}"
+          if [ "$result" = "failure" ] || [ "$result" = "cancelled" ]; then
+            echo "lint job did not succeed: $result"
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          echo "lint result: $result (success or skipped — passing)"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/lint-frontend.yml b/.github/workflows/lint-frontend.yml
index 0e7a9d70c..5d0f8a7d9 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/lint-frontend.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/lint-frontend.yml
@@ -2,12 +2,36 @@ name: Frontend Lint
 
 on:
   pull_request:
-    paths:
-      - 'frontend/**'
-      - '.github/workflows/lint-frontend.yml'
+  merge_group:
 
 jobs:
+  changes:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    outputs:
+      run: ${{ steps.decision.outputs.run }}
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - uses: dorny/paths-filter@v3
+        id: filter
+        if: github.event_name == 'pull_request'
+        with:
+          filters: |
+            relevant:
+              - 'frontend/**'
+              - '.github/workflows/lint-frontend.yml'
+      - id: decision
+        run: |
+          if [ "${{ github.event_name }}" = "merge_group" ]; then
+            echo "run=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          elif [ "${{ steps.filter.outputs.relevant }}" = "true" ]; then
+            echo "run=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          else
+            echo "run=false" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          fi
+
   biome:
+    needs: changes
+    if: needs.changes.outputs.run == 'true'
     name: Biome
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
@@ -48,3 +72,16 @@ jobs:
       - name: TypeScript type check
         working-directory: frontend
         run: npm run typecheck
+  required:
+    needs: biome
+    if: always()
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - name: Verify biome result
+        run: |
+          result="${{ needs.biome.result }}"
+          if [ "$result" = "failure" ] || [ "$result" = "cancelled" ]; then
+            echo "biome job did not succeed: $result"
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          echo "biome result: $result (success or skipped — passing)"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/test-e2e.yml b/.github/workflows/test-e2e.yml
index 630024dd1..bb9a41d1a 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/test-e2e.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/test-e2e.yml
@@ -2,18 +2,16 @@ name: E2E Tests
 
 on:
   pull_request:
-    paths:
-      - 'src/**'
-      - 'frontend/**'
-      - 'tests/**'
-      - 'scripts/**'
-      - 'flows/**'
-      - 'docker-compose.yml'
-      - 'Dockerfile*'
-      - 'Makefile'
-      - '.github/workflows/test-e2e.yml'
+  merge_group:
   workflow_dispatch:
 
+# Serialize E2E and Integration on the same PR/queue ref. They share runner
+# pool and Docker resources; running them concurrently inflates the flake
+# rate. Different PRs have different refs and run in parallel as usual.
+concurrency:
+  group: heavy-tests-${{ github.ref }}
+  cancel-in-progress: false
+
 env:
   NODE_VERSION: "22"
   PYTHON_VERSION: "3.13"
@@ -23,7 +21,40 @@ env:
   PLAYWRIGHT_VERSION: "1.57.0"
 
 jobs:
+  changes:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    outputs:
+      run: ${{ steps.decision.outputs.run }}
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - uses: dorny/paths-filter@v3
+        id: filter
+        if: github.event_name == 'pull_request'
+        with:
+          filters: |
+            relevant:
+              - 'src/**'
+              - 'frontend/**'
+              - 'tests/**'
+              - 'scripts/**'
+              - 'flows/**'
+              - 'docker-compose.yml'
+              - 'Dockerfile*'
+              - 'Makefile'
+              - '.github/workflows/test-e2e.yml'
+      - id: decision
+        run: |
+          if [ "${{ github.event_name }}" = "merge_group" ] || [ "${{ github.event_name }}" = "workflow_dispatch" ]; then
+            echo "run=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          elif [ "${{ steps.filter.outputs.relevant }}" = "true" ]; then
+            echo "run=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          else
+            echo "run=false" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          fi
+
   e2e:
+    needs: changes
+    if: needs.changes.outputs.run == 'true'
     runs-on:
       labels: ["self-hosted", "linux", "ARM64", "langflow-ai-arm64-40gb-ephemeral-sudo"]
     env:
@@ -99,7 +130,7 @@ jobs:
 
 
       - name: Run Playwright tests
-        working-directory: frontend
+        uses: nick-fields/retry@v3
         env:
           CI: "true"
           OPENSEARCH_HOST: localhost
@@ -108,7 +139,18 @@ jobs:
           OPENSEARCH_PASSWORD: ${{ env.OPENSEARCH_PASSWORD }}
           GOOGLE_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID: ""
           GOOGLE_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET: ""
-        run: npx playwright test
+        with:
+          timeout_minutes: 60
+          max_attempts: 2
+          retry_on: error
+          command: |
+            cd frontend
+            npx playwright test
+          on_retry_command: |
+            # Services are still up — Playwright handles its own fixture
+            # lifecycle. Just clear stale artifacts so the retry's report
+            # isn't contaminated by the first attempt's output.
+            rm -rf frontend/test-results frontend/playwright-report || true
 
       - name: Collect service logs on failure
         if: failure()
@@ -150,3 +192,17 @@ jobs:
           docker rm -f openrag-backend-proxy 2>/dev/null || true
           make clean || true
           docker system prune -f || true
+
+  required:
+    needs: e2e
+    if: always()
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - name: Verify e2e result
+        run: |
+          result="${{ needs.e2e.result }}"
+          if [ "$result" = "failure" ] || [ "$result" = "cancelled" ]; then
+            echo "e2e job did not succeed: $result"
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          echo "e2e result: $result (success or skipped — passing)"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/test-integration.yml b/.github/workflows/test-integration.yml
index 562582e38..4bcf82410 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/test-integration.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/test-integration.yml
@@ -2,14 +2,7 @@ name: Integration Tests
 
 on:
   pull_request:
-    paths:
-      - 'src/**.py'
-      - 'tests/**.py'
-      - 'pyproject.toml'
-      - 'uv.lock'
-      - 'sdks/**'
-      - 'flows/**'
-      - '.github/workflows/test-integration.yml'
+  merge_group:
   workflow_dispatch:
     inputs:
       use_local_images:
@@ -18,8 +11,46 @@ on:
         type: boolean
         default: true
 
+# Serialize E2E and Integration on the same PR/queue ref. They share runner
+# pool and Docker resources; running them concurrently inflates the flake
+# rate. Different PRs have different refs and run in parallel as usual.
+concurrency:
+  group: heavy-tests-${{ github.ref }}
+  cancel-in-progress: false
+
 jobs:
+  changes:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    outputs:
+      run: ${{ steps.decision.outputs.run }}
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - uses: dorny/paths-filter@v3
+        id: filter
+        if: github.event_name == 'pull_request'
+        with:
+          filters: |
+            relevant:
+              - 'src/**.py'
+              - 'tests/**.py'
+              - 'pyproject.toml'
+              - 'uv.lock'
+              - 'sdks/**'
+              - 'flows/**'
+              - '.github/workflows/test-integration.yml'
+      - id: decision
+        run: |
+          if [ "${{ github.event_name }}" = "merge_group" ] || [ "${{ github.event_name }}" = "workflow_dispatch" ]; then
+            echo "run=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          elif [ "${{ steps.filter.outputs.relevant }}" = "true" ]; then
+            echo "run=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          else
+            echo "run=false" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          fi
+
   tests:
+    needs: changes
+    if: needs.changes.outputs.run == 'true'
     runs-on:
       labels: ["self-hosted", "linux", "ARM64", "langflow-ai-arm64-40gb-ephemeral-sudo"]
     env:
@@ -54,7 +85,7 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Checkout
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
-        
+
       - name: Verify workspace
         run: |
           echo "Current directory: $(pwd)"
@@ -78,6 +109,7 @@ jobs:
         run: uv sync
 
       - name: Run integration tests
+        uses: nick-fields/retry@v3
         env:
           OPENSEARCH_HOST: localhost
           OPENSEARCH_PORT: 9200
@@ -89,16 +121,42 @@ jobs:
           GOOGLE_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET: ""
           # Disable startup ingest noise unless a test enables it
           DISABLE_STARTUP_INGEST: "true"
+        with:
+          timeout_minutes: 45
+          max_attempts: 2
+          retry_on: error
+          command: |
+            # For PRs and merge_group, always build locally since we're
+            # testing new code. For workflow_dispatch, use the input
+            # (defaults to true).
+            USE_LOCAL="${{ inputs.use_local_images }}"
+            if [ "${{ github.event_name }}" != "workflow_dispatch" ] || [ "$USE_LOCAL" != "false" ]; then
+              echo "Running tests with locally built images..."
+              make test-ci-local
+            else
+              echo "Running tests with DockerHub images..."
+              make test-ci
+            fi
+            echo "Keys directory after tests:"
+            ls -la keys/ || echo "No keys directory"
+          on_retry_command: |
+            # Heavyweight reset between attempts — the make target brings
+            # up the full docker-compose stack, and stale containers /
+            # volumes from the first attempt will poison the retry.
+            echo "Integration test attempt failed; tearing down before retry..."
+            docker compose -f docker-compose.yml down -v --remove-orphans || true
+            docker run --rm -v $(pwd):/work alpine sh -c "rm -rf /work/opensearch-data /work/config /work/langflow-data /work/keys /work/data /work/flows /work/openrag-documents" || true
+
+  required:
+    needs: tests
+    if: always()
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - name: Verify tests result
         run: |
-          # For PRs, always build locally since we're testing new code
-          # For workflow_dispatch, use the input (defaults to true)
-          USE_LOCAL="${{ inputs.use_local_images }}"
-          if [ "${{ github.event_name }}" == "pull_request" ] || [ "$USE_LOCAL" != "false" ]; then
-            echo "Running tests with locally built images..."
-            make test-ci-local
-          else
-            echo "Running tests with DockerHub images..."
-            make test-ci
+          result="${{ needs.tests.result }}"
+          if [ "$result" = "failure" ] || [ "$result" = "cancelled" ]; then
+            echo "tests job did not succeed: $result"
+            exit 1
           fi
-          echo "Keys directory after tests:"
-          ls -la keys/ || echo "No keys directory"
+          echo "tests result: $result (success or skipped — passing)"