diff --git a/.github/actionlint.yaml b/.github/actionlint.yaml
deleted file mode 100644
index 8641cab3..00000000
--- a/.github/actionlint.yaml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,3 +0,0 @@
-self-hosted-runner:
-  labels:
-    - blacksmith-*
diff --git a/.github/workflows/verify.yml b/.github/workflows/verify.yml
index 5c2e998b..d3b25c46 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/verify.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/verify.yml
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ jobs:
     # PR/manual checks use macOS because static.ts needs plutil. Direct pushes
     # require mise run verify locally; a green release job does not prove tests.
     if: ${{ github.event_name == 'pull_request' || github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' }}
-    runs-on: blacksmith-6vcpu-macos-latest
+    runs-on: macos-26
     timeout-minutes: 20
     permissions:
       contents: read
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ jobs:
   release:
     name: GitHub Release
     if: ${{ github.event_name == 'push' && github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' && !contains(github.event.head_commit.message, '[skip ci]') }}
-    runs-on: blacksmith-2vcpu-ubuntu-2404-arm
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04-arm
     timeout-minutes: 15
     environment: release
     permissions:
diff --git a/docs/github-pipelines.md b/docs/github-pipelines.md
index 5ef58676..d0fa9901 100644
--- a/docs/github-pipelines.md
+++ b/docs/github-pipelines.md
@@ -7,9 +7,15 @@ creates tag-only GitHub Releases.
 
 | Workflow | Trigger | Contract |
 | --- | --- | --- |
-| Verify | Push to `main`, pull request, manual dispatch | Run every deterministic domain in parallel through `./scripts/verify/run.ts --skip-security` on macOS. Pushes to `main` skip this job and run only release evaluation. |
+| Verify | Push to `main`, pull request, manual dispatch | Run every deterministic domain with bounded concurrency through `./scripts/verify/run.ts --skip-security` on macOS. Pushes to `main` skip this job and run only release evaluation. |
 | Scan | Pull request, weekly schedule, manual dispatch | Call the shared `uinaf/.github` scan workflow: Gitleaks, TruffleHog, Actionlint, and Zizmor against full Git history. |
 
+This public repository uses standard GitHub-hosted runners: `macos-26` for
+native macOS repository checks and `ubuntu-24.04-arm` for release evaluation.
+Both jobs retain ARM64 execution. The verification runner admits at most four
+checks at once, reserving one logical CPU where available because checks spawn
+their own workers.
+
 CI does not use path filters. Repository checks and secret scans do not run
 on push: pull requests verify and scan before merge, and the weekly schedule
 scans history. Direct pushes require `mise run verify` locally before pushing.
diff --git a/scripts/verify/run.ts b/scripts/verify/run.ts
index 0e80b11a..f6ad136c 100755
--- a/scripts/verify/run.ts
+++ b/scripts/verify/run.ts
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 import { NodeServices } from "@effect/platform-node";
 import { Clock, Console, Effect, FileSystem, Schema } from "effect";
 import { dirname, resolve } from "node:path";
+import { availableParallelism } from "node:os";
 import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
 import { CommandRunner } from "../lib/command.ts";
 import { CliFailure, fail, runMain } from "../lib/program.ts";
@@ -44,7 +45,7 @@ const usageText = `Usage:
   scripts/verify/run.ts [--skip-security] [--domain NAME ...]
   scripts/verify/run.ts --list [--json]
 
-Without --domain, runs every deterministic check in parallel. The full-history
+Without --domain, runs every deterministic check with bounded concurrency. The full-history
 secret scan runs afterwards unless --skip-security is set. A focused domain
 omits complete-only parity checks; request --domain security explicitly for
 secret scans.
@@ -126,7 +127,10 @@ const runCheck = Effect.fn("runCheck")(function*(check: Check, timeoutMs = 300_0
   return { check, durationMs: finished - started, ...result };
 });
 
-export const runChecks = Effect.fn("runChecks")(function*(checks: readonly Check[], timeoutMs = 300_000) {
+// Checks can spawn their own workers; reserve capacity for their children and reporting.
+const checkConcurrency = Math.max(1, Math.min(4, availableParallelism() - 1));
+
+export const runChecks = Effect.fn("runChecks")(function*(checks: readonly Check[], timeoutMs = 300_000, concurrency = checkConcurrency) {
   const results = yield* Effect.forEach(checks, (check) => runCheck(check, timeoutMs).pipe(
     Effect.tap((result) => Effect.gen(function*() {
       const seconds = (result.durationMs / 1000).toFixed(2);
@@ -140,7 +144,7 @@ export const runChecks = Effect.fn("runChecks")(function*(checks: readonly Check
         process.stderr.write(`FAILED: ${result.check.id} exited ${result.status} (${seconds}s)\n`);
       });
     })),
-  ), { concurrency: "unbounded" });
+  ), { concurrency });
   return results.every((result) => result.status === 0);
 });
 
diff --git a/scripts/verify/runner.test.ts b/scripts/verify/runner.test.ts
index 07eff244..4ec6aac8 100644
--- a/scripts/verify/runner.test.ts
+++ b/scripts/verify/runner.test.ts
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ test("verification reports completed checks before a stalled child and cleans it
       `], output: "failure" },
       { id: "success", domain: "static", command: [process.execPath, "-e", ""], output: "success" },
       { id: "stalled", domain: "static", command: [process.execPath, "-e", `require('node:fs').writeFileSync(${JSON.stringify(pidFile)}, String(process.pid)); process.stdout.write('progress before stall\\n'); process.stderr.write('warning before stall\\n'); setTimeout(() => process.exit(8), 9000)`], output: "timeout" },
-    ], 1500).pipe(Effect.provide(CommandRunner.layer), Effect.provide(NodeServices.layer)));
+    ], 1500, 3).pipe(Effect.provide(CommandRunner.layer), Effect.provide(NodeServices.layer)));
     assert.equal(result, false);
     assert.equal(failedBeforeTermination, true);
     assert.ok(output.join("").indexOf("FAILED: quick") < output.join("").indexOf("FAILED: stalled"));
@@ -55,3 +55,29 @@ test("verification reports completed checks before a stalled child and cleans it
     rmSync(root, { recursive: true, force: true });
   }
 });
+
+test("verification bounds active checks and drains queued checks after failure", async () => {
+  let active = 0;
+  let peak = 0;
+  const completed: string[] = [];
+  const runner = CommandRunner.of({
+    run: (command) => Effect.gen(function*() {
+      active += 1;
+      peak = Math.max(peak, active);
+      yield* Effect.yieldNow;
+      active -= 1;
+      completed.push(command);
+      return { status: command === "first" ? 7 : 0, stdout: "", stderr: "" };
+    }),
+  });
+  const checks = ["first", "second", "third", "fourth"].map((id) => ({
+    id, domain: "static", command: [id] as [string], output: id,
+  }));
+  const result = await Effect.runPromise(runChecks(checks, 300_000, 2).pipe(
+    Effect.provideService(CommandRunner, runner),
+  ));
+  assert.equal(result, false);
+  assert.equal(peak, 2);
+  assert.equal(active, 0);
+  assert.deepEqual(completed.sort(), ["first", "fourth", "second", "third"]);
+});