Scope logic lives in `scripts/ci-changed-scope.mjs` and is covered by unit tests in `src/scripts/ci-changed-scope.test.ts`.

CI workflow edits validate the Node CI graph plus workflow linting, but do not force Windows, Android, or macOS native builds by themselves; those platform lanes stay scoped to platform source changes.

Windows Node checks are scoped to Windows-specific process/path wrappers, npm/pnpm/UI runner helpers, package manager config, and the CI workflow surfaces that execute that lane; unrelated source, plugin, install-smoke, and test-only changes stay on the Linux Node lanes so they do not reserve a 16-vCPU Windows worker for coverage that is already exercised by the normal test shards.

The separate `install-smoke` workflow reuses the same scope script through its own `preflight` job. It computes `run_install_smoke` from the narrower changed-smoke signal, so Docker/install smoke runs for install, packaging, container-relevant changes, bundled extension production changes, and the core plugin/channel/gateway/Plugin SDK surfaces that the Docker smoke jobs exercise. Test-only and docs-only edits do not reserve Docker workers. Its QR package smoke forces the Docker `pnpm install` layer to rerun while preserving the BuildKit pnpm store cache, so it still exercises installation without redownloading dependencies on every run. Its gateway-network e2e reuses the runtime image built earlier in the job, so it adds real container-to-container WebSocket coverage without adding another Docker build. Local `test:docker:all` prebuilds one shared `scripts/e2e/Dockerfile` built-app image and reuses it across the E2E container smoke runners; the reusable live/E2E workflow mirrors that pattern by building and pushing one SHA-tagged GHCR Docker E2E image before the Docker matrix, then running the matrix with `OPENCLAW_SKIP_DOCKER_BUILD=1`. QR and installer Docker tests keep their own install-focused Dockerfiles. A separate `docker-e2e-fast` job runs the bounded bundled-plugin Docker profile under a 120-second command timeout: setup-entry dependency repair plus synthetic bundled-loader failure isolation. The full bundled update/channel matrix remains manual/full-suite because it performs repeated real npm update and doctor repair passes.

The separate `install-smoke` workflow reuses the same scope script through its own `preflight` job. It computes `run_install_smoke` from the narrower changed-smoke signal, so Docker/install smoke runs for install, packaging, container-relevant changes, bundled extension production changes, and the core plugin/channel/gateway/Plugin SDK surfaces that the Docker smoke jobs exercise. Test-only and docs-only edits do not reserve Docker workers. Its QR package smoke forces the Docker `pnpm install` layer to rerun while preserving the BuildKit pnpm store cache, so it still exercises installation without redownloading dependencies on every run. Its gateway-network e2e reuses the runtime image built earlier in the job, so it adds real container-to-container WebSocket coverage without adding another Docker build. Local `test:docker:all` prebuilds one shared live-test image and one shared `scripts/e2e/Dockerfile` built-app image, then runs the live/E2E smoke lanes in parallel with `OPENCLAW_SKIP_DOCKER_BUILD=1`; tune the default concurrency of 4 with `OPENCLAW_DOCKER_ALL_PARALLELISM`. Startup- or provider-sensitive lanes run exclusively after the parallel pool. The reusable live/E2E workflow mirrors the shared-image pattern by building and pushing one SHA-tagged GHCR Docker E2E image before the Docker matrix, then running the matrix with `OPENCLAW_SKIP_DOCKER_BUILD=1`. QR and installer Docker tests keep their own install-focused Dockerfiles. A separate `docker-e2e-fast` job runs the bounded bundled-plugin Docker profile under a 120-second command timeout: setup-entry dependency repair plus synthetic bundled-loader failure isolation. The full bundled update/channel matrix remains manual/full-suite because it performs repeated real npm update and doctor repair passes.

Local changed-lane logic lives in `scripts/changed-lanes.mjs` and is executed by `scripts/check-changed.mjs`. That local gate is stricter about architecture boundaries than the broad CI platform scope: core production changes run core prod typecheck plus core tests, core test-only changes run only core test typecheck/tests, extension production changes run extension prod typecheck plus extension tests, and extension test-only changes run only extension test typecheck/tests. Public Plugin SDK or plugin-contract changes expand to extension validation because extensions depend on those core contracts. Release metadata-only version bumps run targeted version/config/root-dependency checks. Unknown root/config changes fail safe to all lanes.