diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/auto-merge.yml b/.gitea/workflows/auto-merge.yml
index ce60b37..b25fce3 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/auto-merge.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/auto-merge.yml
@@ -1,10 +1,25 @@
 # 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 Bot
+on:
+  pull_request:
+    types: [opened, synchronize, reopened]
+  push:
+    branches:
+      - main
 jobs:
-  noop:
+  validate:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
-      - run: echo "See nexus-merge-bot.sh"
+      - name: Validate runner health
+        run: |
+          set -e
+          if ! curl -s "https://forge.alexanderwhitestone.com/api/v1/runners" | grep -q "active"; then
+            echo "❌ No active runners found"
+            exit 1 
+          fi
+      - name: Run merge bot
+        run: |
+          echo "Running auto-merge bot (placeholder for nexus-merge-bot.sh)"
+          # Actual implementation would run the bot here
diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml b/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml
index babe5c8..cb22aed 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@ on:
   push:
     branches:
       - main
+  pull_request:
+    types: [closed]
 
 jobs:
   deploy:
@@ -12,6 +14,13 @@ jobs:
       - name: Checkout
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
+      - name: Validate runner health
+        run: |
+          set -e
+          if ! curl -s "https://forge.alexanderwhitestone.com/api/v1/runners" | grep -q "active"; then
+            echo "❌ No active runners found"
+            exit 1 
+          fi
       - name: Deploy to host via SSH
         uses: appleboy/ssh-action@v1.0.3
         with:
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 2556e45..769e943 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -2,3 +2,4 @@ node_modules/
 test-results/
 nexus/__pycache__/
 tests/__pycache__/
+.aider*