diff --git a/.github/workflows/bench.yml b/.github/workflows/bench.yml
index 1962e16..2dc70cb 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/bench.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/bench.yml
@@ -21,8 +21,18 @@ concurrency:
 on:
   push:
     branches: [main]
+    paths-ignore:
+      - '**/*.md'
+      - 'safety/**'
+      - 'scripts/mythos/**'
+      - 'tools/*.py'
   pull_request:
     branches: [main]
+    paths-ignore:
+      - '**/*.md'
+      - 'safety/**'
+      - 'scripts/mythos/**'
+      - 'tools/*.py'
 
 env:
   CARGO_TERM_COLOR: always
diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 68ad02c..b5bb966 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -7,8 +7,23 @@ concurrency:
 on:
   push:
     branches: [main]
+    # Skip CI on docs/safety-only changes — they don't affect code
+    # behavior. Reduces meld's draw on the shared smithy rust-cpu
+    # fleet. Conservative exclusion: anything that could affect
+    # cargo build/test/clippy/fmt outputs (.rs, Cargo.{toml,lock},
+    # workflows themselves) still triggers.
+    paths-ignore:
+      - '**/*.md'
+      - 'safety/**'
+      - 'scripts/mythos/**'
+      - 'tools/*.py'
   pull_request:
     branches: [main]
+    paths-ignore:
+      - '**/*.md'
+      - 'safety/**'
+      - 'scripts/mythos/**'
+      - 'tools/*.py'
 
 env:
   CARGO_TERM_COLOR: always
diff --git a/.github/workflows/fuzz.yml b/.github/workflows/fuzz.yml
index 7ace677..69ccd59 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/fuzz.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/fuzz.yml
@@ -23,8 +23,18 @@ concurrency:
 on:
   push:
     branches: [main]
+    paths-ignore:
+      - '**/*.md'
+      - 'safety/**'
+      - 'scripts/mythos/**'
+      - 'tools/*.py'
   pull_request:
     branches: [main]
+    paths-ignore:
+      - '**/*.md'
+      - 'safety/**'
+      - 'scripts/mythos/**'
+      - 'tools/*.py'
 
 env:
   CARGO_TERM_COLOR: always
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 36ffa9d..9094164 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -4,6 +4,20 @@ All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+### Changed
+
+- **CI workflows now skip on docs/safety-only changes**
+  (`.github/workflows/{bench,fuzz,ci}.yml`). Adds conservative
+  `paths-ignore` filters to bench, fuzz, and ci workflows: PRs that
+  only edit Markdown, `safety/`, `scripts/mythos/`, or
+  `tools/*.py` skip the rust-cpu-hungry jobs (~9 jobs saved per
+  docs-only PR). The LS-N gate, mythos-gate, and mythos-auto
+  workflows are untouched — they need to keep firing on those very
+  paths (`safety/stpa/loss-scenarios.yaml` is what the LS-N gate
+  reads). Substantive code PRs are unaffected. Pulls meld's
+  footprint on the shared smithy fleet down without losing
+  regression signal on real changes.
+
 ### Fixed
 
 - **LS-A-8 regression coverage** (`meld-core/src/adapter/fact.rs`).