diff --git a/.dockerignore b/.dockerignore
index a17ab263..fc992f14 100644
--- a/.dockerignore
+++ b/.dockerignore
@@ -70,3 +70,5 @@ exp/
 templates/
 scripts/
 README.md
+.claude/
+.pr-body.md
diff --git a/.github/runners/Dockerfile b/.github/runners/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..94e6fc86
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/runners/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+# syntax=docker/dockerfile:1
+#
+# FlowMesh self-hosted GitHub Actions runner image.
+#
+# Bases on myoung34/github-runner with the uv wheel cache pre-populated
+# for the project's --all-extras dep set. CI workflows that run
+# ``uv sync --all-extras --frozen`` warm-hit this cache instead of
+# re-downloading every wheel on each run.
+#
+# Build context MUST be the repository root (FlowMesh is a private repo;
+# we COPY from the build context rather than git-cloning at build time
+# to avoid auth at build time):
+#
+#   cd <FlowMesh checkout>
+#   git checkout main && git pull
+#   docker build \
+#     --build-arg UV_VERSION=0.11.8 \
+#     -t flowmesh-oss-ci-runner:0.11.8-$(date +%Y%m%d) \
+#     -t flowmesh-oss-ci-runner:latest \
+#     -f .github/runners/Dockerfile \
+#     .
+#
+# Refresh cadence:
+#   - uv.lock changed on main → rebuild to refresh the cache.
+#   - UV_VERSION bumped → rebuild AND update setup-uv's ``version:``
+#     input in the workflows to match (see .github/runners/README.md).
+#
+# A stale cache is slower, not unsafe — uv falls through to network
+# for any wheel not already cached in the image.
+FROM myoung34/github-runner:latest
+
+# Pinned uv version. Workflows MUST pin setup-uv@v7's ``version:``
+# input to the same value or the cache layout written here may not
+# match what CI reads back.
+ARG UV_VERSION=0.11.8
+ENV UV_CACHE_DIR=/root/.cache/uv
+
+# Install pinned uv into a shared location.
+RUN curl -LsSf "https://astral.sh/uv/${UV_VERSION}/install.sh" \
+      | env UV_INSTALL_DIR=/usr/local/bin sh \
+ && uv --version
+
+# Pre-populate the uv cache by sync'ing the project's full --all-extras
+# dep set against the FlowMesh source in the build context. Only the
+# resulting $UV_CACHE_DIR survives in the final image — the source tree
+# and the temporary venv are deleted.
+COPY . /tmp/flowmesh
+RUN cd /tmp/flowmesh \
+ && uv sync --all-extras --frozen \
+ && cd / \
+ && rm -rf /tmp/flowmesh
diff --git a/.github/runners/README.md b/.github/runners/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e2612e6c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/runners/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+# FlowMesh self-hosted runner image
+
+`Dockerfile` here builds a custom GitHub Actions runner image based on `myoung34/github-runner` with the uv wheel cache pre-populated for the project's `--all-extras` install. CI workflows that run `uv sync --all-extras --frozen` warm-hit this cache instead of redownloading every wheel.
+
+## Build
+
+Build context is the repo root, so run from the top of your FlowMesh checkout:
+
+```bash
+git checkout main && git pull
+docker build \
+  --build-arg UV_VERSION=0.11.8 \
+  -t flowmesh-oss-ci-runner:0.11.8-$(date +%Y%m%d) \
+  -t flowmesh-oss-ci-runner:latest \
+  -f .github/runners/Dockerfile \
+  .
+```
+
+The two tags give a date-stamped reference for rollback plus a moving `:latest` for the runner systemd units. Build it on a `linux/amd64` host so the cached wheels are platform-correct for the runners (which are also `linux/amd64`).
+
+## Deploy to a runner host
+
+Update the runner systemd unit's `docker run` command to use the new image. Where you currently have:
+
+```
+ExecStart=/usr/bin/docker run --rm \
+    ... \
+    myoung34/github-runner:latest
+```
+
+change the image reference:
+
+```
+ExecStart=/usr/bin/docker run --rm \
+    ... \
+    flowmesh-oss-ci-runner:latest
+```
+
+Reload + restart the units:
+
+```bash
+sudo systemctl daemon-reload
+sudo systemctl restart 'flowmesh-oss-ci-cuda-runner@*.service'
+sudo systemctl restart 'flowmesh-oss-ci-gpu-runner@*.service'
+```
+
+## Refresh cadence
+
+Rebuild the image when:
+
+- **`uv.lock` changed on `main`.** New / updated wheels won't be in the image; CI will fall through to network for those. Not unsafe, just slower until the rebuild.
+- **`UV_VERSION` bumped.** uv's cache layout changes across minor versions; a mismatch between the image-time uv and CI-time uv (set by `setup-uv@v7`'s `version:` input) can leave the cache unused. After bumping, update both `--build-arg UV_VERSION=...` here AND every `setup-uv@v7` invocation in `.github/workflows/*.yml` to match.
+
+A stale cache is never unsafe — uv falls through to network for any wheel not in the image. The cost of staleness is install time, not correctness.
+
+## Workflow side
+
+Every `setup-uv@v7` invocation in CI must pin its `version:` to the same `UV_VERSION` the image was built with, and should keep `enable-cache: false` (the runner image already supplies the cache; GHA cache would override it):
+
+```yaml
+- uses: astral-sh/setup-uv@94527f2e458b27549849d47d273a16bec83a01e9  # v7
+  with:
+    version: "0.11.8"
+    enable-cache: false
+```