diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 5a5b32659..47a5f39bc 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -18,17 +18,26 @@ Thanks for your interest in Corbits Workbench.
 
 ## The short version
 
-1. `bun install && bun run check` — everything must be green before and after
-   your change.
-2. Tests first: add failing tests, then the implementation, then docs.
-3. One logical change per commit; write messages for a public audience.
-4. Never commit secrets. `.env.example` is the only tracked env file.
-5. Never vendor code without a ledger row and kill date in
+1. `bun install` (or `bun run hooks:install`) sets a repo-local pre-push
+   hook. That hook is the local stand-in for the cheap CI jobs: lint,
+   typecheck, and unit tests. GitHub still runs walking-skeleton, e2e,
+   isolation, and database-backed suites. Skip the hook with
+   `git push --no-verify` or `SKIP_WORKBENCH_HOOKS=1`. Typecheck and
+   tests narrow to the packages your change touches; a change under
+   `package.json`, `bun.lock`, a shared tsconfig, `scripts/`, or
+   `.github/` falls back to checking every package instead, which takes
+   much longer — that's expected for those paths, not a hang.
+2. `bun run check` — everything must be green before and after your
+   change.
+3. Tests first: add failing tests, then the implementation, then docs.
+4. One logical change per commit; write messages for a public audience.
+5. Never commit secrets. `.env.example` is the only tracked env file.
+6. Never vendor code without a ledger row and kill date in
    [VENDORED.md](VENDORED.md).
-6. A package that owns its own product tables follows
+7. A package that owns its own product tables follows
    [docs/package-migrations.md](docs/package-migrations.md): literal SQL,
    a package-owned ledger table, applied transactionally.
-7. Security issues go through [SECURITY.md](SECURITY.md), never a public
+8. Security issues go through [SECURITY.md](SECURITY.md), never a public
    issue.
 
 This document will grow as the project does.
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 488b5629d..2bc054299 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@
     "typecheck": "bun run scripts/run-all.ts typecheck && bunx tsc -p tsconfig.json --noEmit && bunx tsc -p test/isolation/tsconfig.json --noEmit",
     "lint": "prettier --check --cache . && eslint --cache .",
     "format": "prettier --write .",
+    "hooks:install": "bun run scripts/hooks-install.ts",
+    "prepare": "bun run hooks:install",
     "build": "bun run scripts/run-all.ts build",
     "test": "bun test ./scripts/*.test.ts && bun run scripts/run-all.ts test",
     "test:e2e": "bun test scripts/e2e",
diff --git a/scripts/git-hooks/pre-push b/scripts/git-hooks/pre-push
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..ef62e1982
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/git-hooks/pre-push
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+# Local stand-in for the cheap CI jobs. Heavy suites stay on GitHub.
+set -eu
+
+if [ -n "${SKIP_WORKBENCH_HOOKS:-}" ] || [ -n "${CI:-}" ]; then
+  exit 0
+fi
+
+if git rev-parse --verify --quiet origin/main >/dev/null; then
+  export WORKBENCH_CHECK_SINCE=origin/main
+fi
+
+bun run lint
+bun run typecheck
+bun run test
diff --git a/scripts/hooks-install.test.ts b/scripts/hooks-install.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..85c7f9343
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/hooks-install.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,209 @@
+// Cheap-gate hook: skip env must not spawn lint, and the hook must not
+// invoke the heavy suites that stay on GitHub CI.
+import { describe, expect, test } from "bun:test";
+import { chmod, mkdtemp, readFile, rm, writeFile } from "node:fs/promises";
+import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
+import { join } from "node:path";
+
+const HOOK = join(import.meta.dir, "git-hooks", "pre-push");
+const INSTALLER = join(import.meta.dir, "hooks-install.ts");
+
+const HEAVY_SUITE_MARKERS = [
+  "test:e2e",
+  "walking-skeleton",
+  "check:structural",
+] as const;
+
+function ambientEnv(
+  overrides: Record<string, string> = {},
+): Record<string, string> {
+  const {
+    CI: _ci,
+    GITHUB_ACTIONS: _gha,
+    SKIP_WORKBENCH_HOOKS: _skip,
+    GIT_DIR: _gitDir,
+    GIT_WORK_TREE: _gitWorkTree,
+    GIT_CONFIG_GLOBAL: _global,
+    GIT_CONFIG_SYSTEM: _system,
+    ...rest
+  } = process.env;
+  const env: Record<string, string> = {};
+  for (const [key, value] of Object.entries(rest)) {
+    if (value !== undefined) env[key] = value;
+  }
+  return { ...env, GIT_CONFIG_NOSYSTEM: "1", ...overrides };
+}
+
+async function spawnCapture(
+  cmd: string[],
+  opts: { cwd?: string; env?: Record<string, string> },
+): Promise<{ code: number; stdout: string; stderr: string }> {
+  const child = Bun.spawn(cmd, {
+    ...(opts.cwd !== undefined ? { cwd: opts.cwd } : {}),
+    env: opts.env ?? ambientEnv(),
+    stdout: "pipe",
+    stderr: "pipe",
+  });
+  const [stdout, stderr, code] = await Promise.all([
+    new Response(child.stdout).text(),
+    new Response(child.stderr).text(),
+    child.exited,
+  ]);
+  return { code, stdout, stderr };
+}
+
+async function writeBunStub(dir: string, logPath: string): Promise<void> {
+  const bunPath = join(dir, "bun");
+  await writeFile(
+    bunPath,
+    `#!/bin/sh\nprintf '%s\\n' "$*" >> "${logPath}"\n`,
+    "utf-8",
+  );
+  await chmod(bunPath, 0o755);
+}
+
+describe("pre-push hook", () => {
+  test("exits 0 immediately when SKIP_WORKBENCH_HOOKS is set and does not spawn lint", async () => {
+    const work = await mkdtemp(join(tmpdir(), "pre-push-skip-"));
+    try {
+      await chmod(HOOK, 0o755);
+      const logPath = join(work, "bun.log");
+      await writeBunStub(work, logPath);
+      const result = await spawnCapture([HOOK], {
+        env: ambientEnv({
+          PATH: `${work}:${process.env.PATH ?? ""}`,
+          SKIP_WORKBENCH_HOOKS: "1",
+        }),
+      });
+      expect(result.code).toBe(0);
+      expect(await Bun.file(logPath).exists()).toBe(false);
+    } finally {
+      await rm(work, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    }
+  });
+
+  test("exits 0 immediately when CI is set and does not spawn lint", async () => {
+    const work = await mkdtemp(join(tmpdir(), "pre-push-ci-"));
+    try {
+      await chmod(HOOK, 0o755);
+      const logPath = join(work, "bun.log");
+      await writeBunStub(work, logPath);
+      const result = await spawnCapture([HOOK], {
+        env: ambientEnv({
+          PATH: `${work}:${process.env.PATH ?? ""}`,
+          CI: "true",
+        }),
+      });
+      expect(result.code).toBe(0);
+      expect(await Bun.file(logPath).exists()).toBe(false);
+    } finally {
+      await rm(work, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    }
+  });
+
+  test("runs lint, typecheck, and unit tests through bun, not e2e", async () => {
+    const work = await mkdtemp(join(tmpdir(), "pre-push-gates-"));
+    try {
+      await chmod(HOOK, 0o755);
+      const repo = join(work, "repo");
+      await spawnCapture(["git", "init", "--initial-branch=main", repo], {});
+      const logPath = join(work, "bun.log");
+      await writeBunStub(work, logPath);
+      const result = await spawnCapture([HOOK], {
+        cwd: repo,
+        env: ambientEnv({
+          PATH: `${work}:${process.env.PATH ?? ""}`,
+        }),
+      });
+      expect(result.code).toBe(0);
+      const log = await readFile(logPath, "utf-8");
+      expect(log).toContain("run lint");
+      expect(log).toContain("run typecheck");
+      expect(log).toContain("run test");
+      expect(log).not.toContain("test:e2e");
+      expect(log).not.toContain("walking-skeleton");
+      expect(log).not.toContain("check:structural");
+    } finally {
+      await rm(work, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    }
+  });
+
+  test("does not mention test:e2e or walking-skeleton as a command it runs", async () => {
+    const source = await readFile(HOOK, "utf-8");
+    for (const marker of HEAVY_SUITE_MARKERS) {
+      expect(source).not.toContain(marker);
+    }
+    expect(source).toContain("bun run lint");
+    expect(source).toContain("bun run typecheck");
+    expect(source).toContain("bun run test");
+    expect(source).toContain("WORKBENCH_CHECK_SINCE");
+    expect(source).toContain("origin/main");
+  });
+});
+
+describe("hooks:install", () => {
+  test("does not mention test:e2e or walking-skeleton as a command it runs", async () => {
+    const source = await readFile(INSTALLER, "utf-8");
+    for (const marker of HEAVY_SUITE_MARKERS) {
+      expect(source).not.toContain(marker);
+    }
+  });
+
+  test("sets repo-local core.hooksPath when CI is unset", async () => {
+    const work = await mkdtemp(join(tmpdir(), "hooks-install-"));
+    try {
+      await spawnCapture(["git", "init", "--initial-branch=main", work], {});
+      const result = await spawnCapture(["bun", "run", INSTALLER], {
+        cwd: work,
+        env: ambientEnv(),
+      });
+      expect(result.code).toBe(0);
+      const hooksPath = await spawnCapture(
+        ["git", "config", "--local", "--get", "core.hooksPath"],
+        { cwd: work, env: ambientEnv() },
+      );
+      expect(hooksPath.stdout.trim()).toBe("scripts/git-hooks");
+    } finally {
+      await rm(work, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    }
+  });
+
+  test("is a no-op in CI and does not set core.hooksPath", async () => {
+    const work = await mkdtemp(join(tmpdir(), "hooks-install-ci-"));
+    try {
+      await spawnCapture(["git", "init", "--initial-branch=main", work], {});
+      const result = await spawnCapture(["bun", "run", INSTALLER], {
+        cwd: work,
+        env: ambientEnv({ CI: "true" }),
+      });
+      expect(result.code).toBe(0);
+      const hooksPath = await spawnCapture(
+        ["git", "config", "--local", "--get", "core.hooksPath"],
+        { cwd: work, env: ambientEnv() },
+      );
+      expect(hooksPath.code).not.toBe(0);
+      expect(hooksPath.stdout.trim()).toBe("");
+    } finally {
+      await rm(work, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    }
+  });
+
+  test("is a no-op when GITHUB_ACTIONS is set", async () => {
+    const work = await mkdtemp(join(tmpdir(), "hooks-install-gha-"));
+    try {
+      await spawnCapture(["git", "init", "--initial-branch=main", work], {});
+      const result = await spawnCapture(["bun", "run", INSTALLER], {
+        cwd: work,
+        env: ambientEnv({ GITHUB_ACTIONS: "true" }),
+      });
+      expect(result.code).toBe(0);
+      const hooksPath = await spawnCapture(
+        ["git", "config", "--local", "--get", "core.hooksPath"],
+        { cwd: work, env: ambientEnv() },
+      );
+      expect(hooksPath.stdout.trim()).toBe("");
+    } finally {
+      await rm(work, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    }
+  });
+});
diff --git a/scripts/hooks-install.ts b/scripts/hooks-install.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a3af388ad
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/hooks-install.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+// Sets this checkout's local core.hooksPath to scripts/git-hooks so
+// `git push` runs lint, typecheck, and unit tests. No-op in CI so
+// `bun install` does not rewrite GitHub Actions git config.
+
+const HOOKS_PATH = "scripts/git-hooks";
+
+function flagSet(value: string | undefined): boolean {
+  return value !== undefined && value !== "";
+}
+
+function main(): void {
+  if (flagSet(process.env.CI) || flagSet(process.env.GITHUB_ACTIONS)) {
+    return;
+  }
+  if (Bun.which("git") === null) {
+    return;
+  }
+
+  const toplevel = Bun.spawnSync(["git", "rev-parse", "--show-toplevel"], {
+    stdout: "pipe",
+    stderr: "pipe",
+  });
+  if (toplevel.exitCode !== 0) {
+    return;
+  }
+
+  const root = toplevel.stdout.toString().trim();
+  const result = Bun.spawnSync(
+    ["git", "config", "--local", "core.hooksPath", HOOKS_PATH],
+    {
+      cwd: root,
+      stdout: "pipe",
+      stderr: "pipe",
+    },
+  );
+  if (result.exitCode !== 0) {
+    const detail =
+      `${result.stdout.toString()}${result.stderr.toString()}`.trim();
+    console.error(
+      detail.length > 0
+        ? `hooks:install failed: ${detail}`
+        : "hooks:install failed: git config core.hooksPath",
+    );
+    process.exit(result.exitCode ?? 1);
+  }
+}
+
+if (import.meta.main) {
+  main();
+}