diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/auto-merge.yml b/.gitea/workflows/auto-merge.yml
index ce60b37d..7fb34560 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/auto-merge.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/auto-merge.yml
@@ -1,10 +1,22 @@
-# Placeholder — auto-merge is handled by nexus-merge-bot.sh
-# Gitea Actions requires a runner to be registered.
-# When a runner is available, this can replace the bot.
-name: stub
-on: workflow_dispatch
+name: Auto-Merge
+
+on:
+  pull_request:
+    types: [labeled]
+
 jobs:
-  noop:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+  merge:
+    runs-on: hermes-runner  # Must match actual runner label
     steps:
-      - run: echo "See nexus-merge-bot.sh"
+      - name: Checkout
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Run merge bot
+        run: |
+          #!/bin/bash
+          echo "Running auto-merge bot..."
+          ./nexus-merge-bot.sh
+          if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
+            echo "Merge bot failed"
+            exit 1
+          fi
diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/ci-health-check.yml b/.gitea/workflows/ci-health-check.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..728eb16b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/ci-health-check.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+name: CI Health Check
+
+on:
+  schedule:
+    - cron: "0 */5 * * *"  # Every 5 minutes
+  workflow_dispatch:
+
+jobs:
+  check-runners:
+    runs-on: hermes-runner  # Must match actual runner label
+    steps:
+      - name: Check runner status
+        run: |
+          #!/bin/bash
+          set -e
+          echo "Checking CI runner status..."
+          if ! gitea-runner status --label hermes-runner; then
+            echo "CRITICAL: No runners available for hermes-runner label"
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          echo "CI system healthy"
diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml b/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml
index babe5c8d..bf1b77e2 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ on:
 
 jobs:
   deploy:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    runs-on: hermes-runner  # Must match actual runner label
     steps:
       - name: Checkout
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
@@ -19,8 +19,14 @@ jobs:
           username: ${{ secrets.DEPLOY_USER }}
           key: ${{ secrets.DEPLOY_SSH_KEY }}
           script: |
+            #!/bin/bash
+            set -e
             cd ~/the-nexus || git clone http://143.198.27.163:3000/Timmy_Foundation/the-nexus.git ~/the-nexus
             cd ~/the-nexus
             git fetch origin main
             git reset --hard origin/main
             ./deploy.sh main
+            if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
+              echo "Deployment failed"
+              exit 1
+            fi
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 2556e45e..769e943d 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -2,3 +2,4 @@ node_modules/
 test-results/
 nexus/__pycache__/
 tests/__pycache__/
+.aider*