diff --git a/.github/workflows/gated-pipeline.yml b/.github/workflows/gated-pipeline.yml
index 08a5fd7c9..3aae366eb 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/gated-pipeline.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/gated-pipeline.yml
@@ -444,16 +444,15 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           set -o pipefail
           cd frontends/nextjs
-          npx eslint . 2>&1 | tee /tmp/lint-out.txt || true
-          # Count errors in local src/ only (skip workspace transitive errors)
+          npx eslint . 2>&1 | tee /tmp/lint-out.txt
+          # Count errors only (warnings are tolerated, errors are not)
           LOCAL_ERRORS=$(grep -cE "  error  " /tmp/lint-out.txt 2>/dev/null || echo "0")
-          echo "Total lint issues: $LOCAL_ERRORS"
-          # Allow up to 1500 issues (pre-existing workspace type-safety warnings)
-          if [ "$LOCAL_ERRORS" -gt 1500 ]; then
-            echo "::error::Too many lint errors ($LOCAL_ERRORS > 1500 threshold)"
+          echo "Total lint errors: $LOCAL_ERRORS"
+          if [ "$LOCAL_ERRORS" -gt 0 ]; then
+            echo "::error::Lint errors found ($LOCAL_ERRORS errors, threshold is 0)"
             exit 1
           fi
-          echo "Lint: passed with $LOCAL_ERRORS issues (within threshold)"
+          echo "Lint: passed with 0 errors"
 
       - name: Record validation result
         if: always()
@@ -661,6 +660,7 @@ jobs:
     name: "Gate 2: Testing - Starting"
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     needs: [gate-1-complete, container-build-apps]
+    if: ${{ !inputs.skip_tests }}
     steps:
       - name: Gate 2 checkpoint
         run: |
@@ -684,6 +684,7 @@ jobs:
     name: "Gate 2.1: Unit Tests"
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     needs: gate-2-start
+    if: ${{ !inputs.skip_tests }}
     steps:
       - name: Checkout code
         uses: actions/checkout@v6
@@ -755,6 +756,7 @@ jobs:
     name: "Gate 2.2: E2E Tests"
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     needs: gate-2-start
+    if: ${{ !inputs.skip_tests }}
     steps:
       - name: Checkout code
         uses: actions/checkout@v6
@@ -813,6 +815,7 @@ jobs:
     name: "Gate 2.3: DBAL Daemon E2E"
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     needs: gate-2-start
+    if: ${{ !inputs.skip_tests }}
     steps:
       - name: Checkout code
         uses: actions/checkout@v6
@@ -1569,7 +1572,7 @@ jobs:
     name: "Gate 7 App: ${{ matrix.image }}"
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     needs: [container-base-tier1]
-    if: github.event_name != 'issues' && github.event_name != 'issue_comment' && !failure()
+    if: github.event_name != 'issues' && github.event_name != 'issue_comment' && needs.container-base-tier1.result == 'success'
     strategy:
       fail-fast: false
       matrix:
diff --git a/e2e/global.setup.ts b/e2e/global.setup.ts
index b32309d13..27773f363 100644
--- a/e2e/global.setup.ts
+++ b/e2e/global.setup.ts
@@ -13,6 +13,20 @@ const __dirname = dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url))
 
 let environment: Awaited<ReturnType<DockerComposeEnvironment['up']>> | undefined
 
+async function waitForServer(url: string, timeoutMs = 60000): Promise<void> {
+  const deadline = Date.now() + timeoutMs
+  while (Date.now() < deadline) {
+    try {
+      const res = await fetch(url, { method: 'GET' })
+      if (res.ok || res.status === 401 || res.status === 405) return // server is up
+    } catch {
+      // not ready yet
+    }
+    await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 1000))
+  }
+  throw new Error(`Server at ${url} did not become ready within ${timeoutMs}ms`)
+}
+
 async function globalSetup() {
   // ── 1. Start smoke stack via Testcontainers ──────────────────────────────
   console.log('[setup] Starting smoke stack via Testcontainers...')
@@ -32,14 +46,14 @@ async function globalSetup() {
   ;(globalThis as Record<string, unknown>).__TESTCONTAINERS_ENV__ = environment
 
   // ── 2. Wait for dev servers (started by Playwright webServer config) ─────
-  await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 2000))
-
   // ── 3. Seed database ────────────────────────────────────────────────────
   // workflowui uses basePath: '/workflowui', so the setup route is at /workflowui/api/setup
   const setupUrl = process.env.PLAYWRIGHT_BASE_URL
     ? new URL('/workflowui/api/setup', process.env.PLAYWRIGHT_BASE_URL.replace(/\/workflowui\/?$/, '')).href
     : 'http://localhost:3000/workflowui/api/setup'
 
+  await waitForServer(setupUrl)
+
   try {
     const response = await fetch(setupUrl, { method: 'POST' })
     if (!response.ok) {
diff --git a/frontends/nextjs/src/app/api/bootstrap/route.ts b/frontends/nextjs/src/app/api/bootstrap/route.ts
index a1a46559c..cac371f6b 100644
--- a/frontends/nextjs/src/app/api/bootstrap/route.ts
+++ b/frontends/nextjs/src/app/api/bootstrap/route.ts
@@ -74,6 +74,12 @@ export async function POST(request: NextRequest) {
     return limitResponse
   }
 
+  const setupSecret = process.env.SETUP_SECRET
+  const authHeader = request.headers.get('Authorization')
+  if (!setupSecret || authHeader !== `Bearer ${setupSecret}`) {
+    return NextResponse.json({ error: 'Unauthorized' }, { status: 401 })
+  }
+
   const results = { packages: 0, pages: 0, skipped: 0, errors: 0 }
 
   // Seed InstalledPackage records
diff --git a/frontends/nextjs/src/app/api/setup/route.ts b/frontends/nextjs/src/app/api/setup/route.ts
index 377e34c7a..07c3a1173 100644
--- a/frontends/nextjs/src/app/api/setup/route.ts
+++ b/frontends/nextjs/src/app/api/setup/route.ts
@@ -4,8 +4,15 @@
  */
 
 import type { NextRequest } from 'next/server'
+import { NextResponse } from 'next/server'
 import { POST as bootstrap } from '@/app/api/bootstrap/route'
 
 export async function POST(request: NextRequest) {
+  const setupSecret = process.env.SETUP_SECRET
+  const authHeader = request.headers.get('Authorization')
+  if (!setupSecret || authHeader !== `Bearer ${setupSecret}`) {
+    return NextResponse.json({ error: 'Unauthorized' }, { status: 401 })
+  }
+
   return bootstrap(request)
 }