diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 6a73ab00..e2487ed7 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ on:
     branches:
       - main
       - develop
+      - 2.0-dev
   pull_request:
     # Run CI for any incoming PR regardless of the base branch so
     # feature branches targeting `develop` (e.g. v1.7 prep) also
@@ -41,10 +42,53 @@ jobs:
             "-Dtest=EnginePdfBoundaryTest,CanonicalTemplateComposerPdfBoundaryTest,PdfRenderInterfaceGuardTest,DocumentationCoverageTest,DocumentationExamplesTest,CanonicalSurfaceGuardTest,TemplateComposeApiTest,VersionConsistencyGuardTest" \
             test
 
+  changes:
+    # Path-based change detection for selective CI on pull requests. Emits the
+    # reverse-dependency flags the heavy jobs gate on: `code` (any build input),
+    # `core` (the root graph-compose-core module — drives japicmp), and `perf`
+    # (modules the smoke benchmark exercises). Pushes/dispatch bypass these gates.
+    name: Detect changed paths
+    if: github.event_name != 'schedule'
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    outputs:
+      code: ${{ steps.filter.outputs.code }}
+      core: ${{ steps.filter.outputs.core }}
+      perf: ${{ steps.filter.outputs.perf }}
+    steps:
+      - name: Check out repository
+        uses: actions/checkout@v7
+
+      - name: Detect changed module paths
+        uses: dorny/paths-filter@v3
+        id: filter
+        with:
+          filters: |
+            code:
+              - '**/*.java'
+              - '**/pom.xml'
+              - '**/src/main/resources/**'
+              - '**/src/test/resources/**'
+              - '.mvn/**'
+              - 'mvnw'
+              - 'mvnw.cmd'
+              - '.github/workflows/ci.yml'
+            core:
+              - 'src/**'
+              - 'pom.xml'
+            perf:
+              - 'src/**'
+              - 'render-pdf/**'
+              - 'templates/**'
+              - 'benchmarks/**'
+              - 'pom.xml'
+
   build-and-test:
     name: Build and run tests (JDK ${{ matrix.java }})
-    if: github.event_name != 'schedule'
-    needs: architecture-and-documentation-guards
+    # Selective CI: on a pull request, skip the heavy reactor build + JDK matrix
+    # when only docs / non-build files changed (`code` is false). Pushes to the
+    # integration branches and manual dispatch always run the full gate.
+    if: github.event_name != 'schedule' && (github.event_name != 'pull_request' || needs.changes.outputs.code == 'true')
+    needs: [architecture-and-documentation-guards, changes]
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     strategy:
       # Don't cancel sibling matrix jobs on the first failure — a
@@ -87,8 +131,9 @@ jobs:
 
   examples-generation:
     name: Examples Generation Smoke Test
-    if: github.event_name != 'schedule'
-    needs: build-and-test
+    # Follows build-and-test: skipped for a docs-only PR, runs otherwise.
+    if: github.event_name != 'schedule' && (github.event_name != 'pull_request' || needs.changes.outputs.code == 'true')
+    needs: [build-and-test, changes]
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     env:
       JAVA_TOOL_OPTIONS: -Djava.awt.headless=true
@@ -174,8 +219,10 @@ jobs:
 
   binary-compat:
     name: Binary Compatibility (japicmp vs pom baseline)
-    if: github.event_name == 'pull_request'
-    needs: architecture-and-documentation-guards
+    # japicmp diffs the graph-compose-core public surface, so it only matters
+    # when the core module (root `src/**` or `pom.xml`) changed.
+    if: github.event_name == 'pull_request' && needs.changes.outputs.core == 'true'
+    needs: [architecture-and-documentation-guards, changes]
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     env:
       JAVA_TOOL_OPTIONS: -Djava.awt.headless=true
@@ -211,8 +258,10 @@ jobs:
 
   perf-smoke:
     name: Performance Smoke Check
-    if: github.event_name == 'pull_request'
-    needs: architecture-and-documentation-guards
+    # The smoke benchmark only exercises core + render-pdf + templates (built via
+    # the benchmarks module), so skip it when none of those changed.
+    if: github.event_name == 'pull_request' && needs.changes.outputs.perf == 'true'
+    needs: [architecture-and-documentation-guards, changes]
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     env:
       JAVA_TOOL_OPTIONS: -Djava.awt.headless=true
@@ -278,6 +327,24 @@ jobs:
           path: benchmarks/target/surefire-reports/**
           if-no-files-found: ignore
 
+  ci-gate:
+    name: CI Gate
+    # Single stable status check aggregating the selective jobs above. Green when
+    # every job that ran succeeded; a job legitimately skipped by the path filter
+    # counts as success. Point branch protection at "CI Gate" (plus the always-run
+    # "Architecture and Documentation Guards") instead of the individual, sometimes
+    # -skipped matrix legs so a docs-only PR is never left waiting on a check that
+    # never reports.
+    if: always() && github.event_name != 'schedule'
+    needs: [architecture-and-documentation-guards, build-and-test, examples-generation, binary-compat, perf-smoke]
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - name: Fail if any required job failed
+        if: contains(needs.*.result, 'failure') || contains(needs.*.result, 'cancelled')
+        run: |
+          echo "A required CI job failed or was cancelled: ${{ join(needs.*.result, ', ') }}"
+          exit 1
+
   benchmark-diff:
     name: Weekly Benchmark Diff
     if: github.event_name == 'schedule' || github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch'
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index fa8a550e..521adbe6 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -55,10 +55,14 @@ GraphCompose follows a fork → feature branch → pull request flow. Exte
    This runs the architecture-and-documentation guards plus the full test suite. The same gate runs in CI on every PR.
 5. **Push** your feature branch to your fork and open a pull request against `develop` on `DemchaAV/GraphCompose`. Reference any related issue and describe the user-visible change in the PR body.
 6. **CI runs automatically.** Active jobs:
-   - `Architecture and Documentation Guards` — fast canonical / engine-boundary guard tests, fail-first gate
+   - `Architecture and Documentation Guards` — fast canonical / engine-boundary guard tests, fail-first gate (always runs)
    - `Build and run tests (JDK 17)`, `(JDK 21)`, `(JDK 25)` — full `mvnw verify` in parallel matrix across the supported JVMs
    - `Examples Generation Smoke Test` — regenerates all 54 runnable examples and uploads the PDFs as a CI artifact
+   - `Binary Compatibility` — PR-only japicmp diff of the `graph-compose-core` surface
    - `Performance Smoke Check` — PR-only coarse benchmark to catch performance regressions
+   - `CI Gate` — single aggregate status check that is green when every job that ran passed
+
+   **Selective on pull requests:** a `dorny/paths-filter` step skips the heavy jobs when a PR touches nothing that affects the build — a **docs-only PR runs the guards only**; `Binary Compatibility` runs only when the core module changed, and the `Performance Smoke Check` only when core / render-pdf / templates changed. Pushes to `2.0-dev` / `main` (and manual dispatch) always run the full gate. Point branch protection at **`CI Gate`** + **`Architecture and Documentation Guards`** rather than the individual matrix legs, so a docs-only PR is not left waiting on a skipped check.
 
    The PR cannot merge into a protected branch until all required checks are green.
 7. **Address review comments**, then squash any fixup commits before merge. The maintainer merges through GitHub once review is complete.