diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ecd75fe
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,256 @@
+name: CI/CD Pipeline with Secure Ephemeral PiP
+
+on:
+  push:
+    branches: [main]
+  pull_request:
+    branches: [main]
+
+env:
+  REGISTRY: ${{ secrets.REGISTRY_HOST }}
+  APP_NAME: ${{ secrets.APP_NAME }}
+  IMAGE_TAG: ${{ github.sha }}
+  RUN_ID: ${{ github.run_id }}
+  # Required pinned digests (fail if missing)
+  RUST_IMG_DIGEST: ${{ secrets.RUST_IMG_DIGEST }}         # e.g., docker.io/library/rust@sha256:...
+  NODE_IMG_DIGEST: ${{ secrets.NODE_IMG_DIGEST }}         # e.g., docker.io/library/node@sha256:...
+  POSTGRES_IMG_DIGEST: ${{ secrets.POSTGRES_IMG_DIGEST }} # e.g., docker.io/library/postgres@sha256:...
+  PODMAN_CLIENT_IMG_DIGEST: ${{ secrets.PODMAN_CLIENT_IMG_DIGEST }} # e.g., quay.io/podman/stable@sha256:...
+  SELINUX_ZLABEL: "" # set to ":z" if SELinux is enforcing
+
+jobs:
+  test-backend:
+    runs-on: [self-hosted, ci]
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Verify pinned digests provided
+        run: |
+          for v in RUST_IMG_DIGEST NODE_IMG_DIGEST POSTGRES_IMG_DIGEST PODMAN_CLIENT_IMG_DIGEST; do
+            [ -n "${!v}" ] || { echo "Missing $v"; exit 1; }
+            echo "${!v}" | grep -Eq '^.+@sha256:[0-9a-f]{64}' || { echo "$v must be a digest ref"; exit 1; }
+          done
+
+      - name: Setup ephemeral PiP container
+        env:
+          PODMAN_CLIENT_IMG_DIGEST: ${{ env.PODMAN_CLIENT_IMG_DIGEST }}
+        run: |
+          chmod +x ./secure_pip_setup.sh
+          ./secure_pip_setup.sh
+
+      - name: Wait for PiP readiness
+        env:
+          PIP_NAME: ci-pip-${{ env.RUN_ID }}
+        run: |
+          chmod +x ./pip_ready.sh
+          ./pip_ready.sh
+
+      - name: Setup SSH with pinned known_hosts (per-step)
+        env:
+          GIT_SSH_COMMAND: 'ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=yes -o UserKnownHostsFile=$HOME/.ssh/known_hosts'
+        run: |
+          mkdir -p ~/.ssh && chmod 700 ~/.ssh
+          install -m 600 /dev/null ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
+          printf '%s' "${{ secrets.SSH_PRIVATE_KEY }}" > ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
+          install -m 644 /dev/null ~/.ssh/known_hosts
+          printf '%s\n' "${{ secrets.SSH_KNOWN_HOSTS }}" > ~/.ssh/known_hosts
+          # git commands in this step will use $GIT_SSH_COMMAND
+
+      - name: Create internal integration network
+        run: podman exec ci-pip-${{ env.RUN_ID }} podman network create --internal integ-${{ env.RUN_ID }}
+
+      - name: Start PostgreSQL on internal network (digest-pinned)
+        run: |
+          podman exec ci-pip-${{ env.RUN_ID }} podman run -d \
+            --name test-postgres \
+            --network integ-${{ env.RUN_ID }} \
+            -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=testpassword \
+            -e POSTGRES_USER=testuser \
+            -e POSTGRES_DB=testdb \
+            "${POSTGRES_IMG_DIGEST}"
+
+      - name: Wait for PostgreSQL to be ready
+        run: |
+          podman exec ci-pip-${{ env.RUN_ID }} sh -lc '
+            i=0; until podman exec test-postgres pg_isready -h 127.0.0.1 -p 5432 -U testuser >/dev/null 2>&1; do
+              i=$((i+1)); [ $i -gt 60 ] && { echo "pg not ready"; exit 1; }; sleep 1
+            done'
+
+      - name: Run backend unit tests
+        env:
+          WORKSPACE: ${{ github.workspace }}
+        run: |
+          podman exec ci-pip-${{ env.RUN_ID }} sh -lc '
+            podman run --rm \
+              -v "$WORKSPACE":/workspace${SELINUX_ZLABEL} \
+              -w /workspace \
+              "'"${RUST_IMG_DIGEST}"'" \
+              sh -c "cargo test --lib -- --test-threads=1"'
+
+      - name: Run backend integration tests
+        env:
+          WORKSPACE: ${{ github.workspace }}
+          RUN_ID: ${{ env.RUN_ID }}
+        run: |
+          podman exec ci-pip-${{ env.RUN_ID }} sh -lc '
+            podman run --rm \
+              --network integ-'"$RUN_ID"' \
+              -v "$WORKSPACE":/workspace'"${SELINUX_ZLABEL}"' \
+              -w /workspace \
+              -e DATABASE_URL=postgres://testuser:testpassword@test-postgres:5432/testdb \
+              "'"${RUST_IMG_DIGEST}"'" \
+              sh -c "cargo test --test '"'"'*'"'"' -- --test-threads=1"'
+
+      - name: Cleanup test resources
+        if: always()
+        run: |
+          podman exec ci-pip-${{ env.RUN_ID }} podman rm -f test-postgres 2>/dev/null || true
+          podman exec ci-pip-${{ env.RUN_ID }} podman network rm integ-${{ env.RUN_ID }} 2>/dev/null || true
+
+      - name: Per-job cleanup (PiP container)
+        if: always()
+        run: podman rm -f ci-pip-${{ env.RUN_ID }} 2>/dev/null || true
+
+  test-frontend:
+    runs-on: [self-hosted, ci]
+    needs: test-backend
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Verify pinned digests provided
+        run: |
+          for v in NODE_IMG_DIGEST PODMAN_CLIENT_IMG_DIGEST; do
+            [ -n "${!v}" ] || { echo "Missing $v"; exit 1; }
+            echo "${!v}" | grep -Eq '^.+@sha256:[0-9a-f]{64}' || { echo "$v must be a digest ref"; exit 1; }
+          done
+
+      - name: Setup ephemeral PiP container
+        env:
+          PODMAN_CLIENT_IMG_DIGEST: ${{ env.PODMAN_CLIENT_IMG_DIGEST }}
+        run: |
+          chmod +x ./secure_pip_setup.sh
+          ./secure_pip_setup.sh
+
+      - name: Wait for PiP readiness
+        env:
+          PIP_NAME: ci-pip-${{ env.RUN_ID }}
+        run: |
+          chmod +x ./pip_ready.sh
+          ./pip_ready.sh
+
+      - name: Run frontend tests (digest-pinned)
+        env:
+          WORKSPACE: ${{ github.workspace }}
+        run: |
+          podman exec ci-pip-${{ env.RUN_ID }} sh -lc '
+            podman run --rm \
+              -v "$WORKSPACE":/workspace'"${SELINUX_ZLABEL}"' \
+              -w /workspace \
+              "'"${NODE_IMG_DIGEST}"'" \
+              sh -c "npm ci && npm run test"'
+
+      - name: Per-job cleanup (PiP container)
+        if: always()
+        run: podman rm -f ci-pip-${{ env.RUN_ID }} 2>/dev/null || true
+
+  build-backend:
+    runs-on: [self-hosted, ci]
+    needs: test-frontend
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Setup ephemeral PiP container
+        env:
+          PODMAN_CLIENT_IMG_DIGEST: ${{ env.PODMAN_CLIENT_IMG_DIGEST }}
+        run: |
+          chmod +x ./secure_pip_setup.sh
+          ./secure_pip_setup.sh
+
+      - name: Wait for PiP readiness
+        env:
+          PIP_NAME: ci-pip-${{ env.RUN_ID }}
+        run: |
+          chmod +x ./pip_ready.sh
+          ./pip_ready.sh
+
+      - name: Login to Forgejo Container Registry securely
+        env:
+          REGISTRY_HOST: ${{ env.REGISTRY }}
+          REGISTRY_USERNAME: ${{ secrets.REGISTRY_USERNAME }}
+          REGISTRY_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.REGISTRY_TOKEN }}
+        run: |
+          podman exec -i ci-pip-${{ env.RUN_ID }} sh -lc \
+            'podman login "$REGISTRY_HOST" -u "$REGISTRY_USERNAME" --password-stdin' <<<"${REGISTRY_TOKEN}"
+
+      - name: Build backend image
+        env:
+          REGISTRY: ${{ env.REGISTRY }}
+          APP_NAME: ${{ env.APP_NAME }}
+          IMAGE_TAG: ${{ env.IMAGE_TAG }}
+        run: |
+          podman exec ci-pip-${{ env.RUN_ID }} sh -lc \
+            'cd /workspace/backend && podman build -t "$REGISTRY/$APP_NAME/backend:$IMAGE_TAG" .'
+
+      - name: Push backend image
+        env:
+          REGISTRY: ${{ env.REGISTRY }}
+          APP_NAME: ${{ env.APP_NAME }}
+          IMAGE_TAG: ${{ env.IMAGE_TAG }}
+        run: |
+          podman exec ci-pip-${{ env.RUN_ID }} sh -lc \
+            'podman push "$REGISTRY/$APP_NAME/backend:$IMAGE_TAG"'
+
+      - name: Per-job cleanup (PiP container)
+        if: always()
+        run: podman rm -f ci-pip-${{ env.RUN_ID }} 2>/dev/null || true
+
+  build-frontend:
+    runs-on: [self-hosted, ci]
+    needs: test-frontend
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Setup ephemeral PiP container
+        env:
+          PODMAN_CLIENT_IMG_DIGEST: ${{ env.PODMAN_CLIENT_IMG_DIGEST }}
+        run: |
+          chmod +x ./secure_pip_setup.sh
+          ./secure_pip_setup.sh
+
+      - name: Wait for PiP readiness
+        env:
+          PIP_NAME: ci-pip-${{ env.RUN_ID }}
+        run: |
+          chmod +x ./pip_ready.sh
+          ./pip_ready.sh
+
+      - name: Login to Forgejo Container Registry securely
+        env:
+          REGISTRY_HOST: ${{ env.REGISTRY }}
+          REGISTRY_USERNAME: ${{ secrets.REGISTRY_USERNAME }}
+          REGISTRY_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.REGISTRY_TOKEN }}
+        run: |
+          podman exec -i ci-pip-${{ env.RUN_ID }} sh -lc \
+            'podman login "$REGISTRY_HOST" -u "$REGISTRY_USERNAME" --password-stdin' <<<"${REGISTRY_TOKEN}"
+
+      - name: Build frontend image
+        env:
+          REGISTRY: ${{ env.REGISTRY }}
+          APP_NAME: ${{ env.APP_NAME }}
+          IMAGE_TAG: ${{ env.IMAGE_TAG }}
+        run: |
+          podman exec ci-pip-${{ env.RUN_ID }} sh -lc \
+            'cd /workspace/frontend && podman build -t "$REGISTRY/$APP_NAME/frontend:$IMAGE_TAG" .'
+
+      - name: Push frontend image
+        env:
+          REGISTRY: ${{ env.REGISTRY }}
+          APP_NAME: ${{ env.APP_NAME }}
+          IMAGE_TAG: ${{ env.IMAGE_TAG }}
+        run: |
+          podman exec ci-pip-${{ env.RUN_ID }} sh -lc \
+            'podman push "$REGISTRY/$APP_NAME/frontend:$IMAGE_TAG"'
+
+      - name: Per-job cleanup (PiP container)
+        if: always()
+        run: podman rm -f ci-pip-${{ env.RUN_ID }} 2>/dev/null || true
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/pip_ready.sh b/pip_ready.sh
old mode 100644
new mode 100755
index 56cd677..611cf25
--- a/pip_ready.sh
+++ b/pip_ready.sh
@@ -1,59 +1,30 @@
-#!/bin/bash
-set -euo pipefail
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -Eeuo pipefail
 
-# pip_ready.sh - Socket-only readiness probe for PiP container
-# Checks if PiP container can connect to host Podman via UNIX socket
+RUN_ID="${RUN_ID:-${GITHUB_RUN_ID:-local}}"
+PIP_NAME="${PIP_NAME:-ci-pip-${RUN_ID}}"
+TIMEOUT="${TIMEOUT:-30}"
+SLEEP="${SLEEP:-2}"
 
-RUN_ID="${GITHUB_RUN_ID:-local}"
-PIP_CONTAINER_NAME="ci-pip-${RUN_ID}"
-MAX_RETRIES=15
-RETRY_DELAY=2
+echo "Probing PiP readiness for ${PIP_NAME} (up to ${TIMEOUT}s)..."
 
-# Function to check PiP socket connectivity only
-check_pip_ready() {
-    echo "🔍 Checking PiP container socket connectivity..."
-    
-    # Check if container exists and is running
-    if ! podman inspect "${PIP_CONTAINER_NAME}" --format '{{.State.Status}}' 2>/dev/null | grep -q running; then
-        echo "❌ PiP container not running"
-        return 1
-    fi
-    
-    # Test basic Podman command connectivity (socket only)
-    if ! podman exec "${PIP_CONTAINER_NAME}" podman info --format json >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-        echo "⚠️  PiP container running but socket connectivity failed"
-        return 1
-    fi
-    
-    # Test version command (socket connectivity verification)
-    if ! podman exec "${PIP_CONTAINER_NAME}" podman version >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-        echo "⚠️  PiP container socket connection unstable"
-        return 1
-    fi
-    
-    echo "✅ PiP container ready with socket connectivity"
-    return 0
-}
+if ! podman inspect "$PIP_NAME" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  echo "ERROR: ${PIP_NAME} not found." >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
 
-# Main readiness check with retries
-attempt=1
-while [[ ${attempt} -le ${MAX_RETRIES} ]]; do
-    if check_pip_ready; then
-        echo "🎉 PiP container is ready for CI operations!"
-        exit 0
-    fi
-    
-    echo "⏳ PiP socket connectivity not ready yet (attempt ${attempt}/${MAX_RETRIES}), retrying in ${RETRY_DELAY}s..."
-    sleep ${RETRY_DELAY}
-    attempt=$((attempt + 1))
+end=$((SECONDS + TIMEOUT))
+while (( SECONDS < end )); do
+  if podman exec "$PIP_NAME" podman version >/dev/null 2>&1 \
+     && podman exec "$PIP_NAME" podman info >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    echo "PiP readiness OK."
+    exit 0
+  fi
+  sleep "$SLEEP"
 done
 
-# If we reach here, all retries failed
-echo "❌ ERROR: PiP container failed to establish socket connectivity after ${MAX_RETRIES} attempts"
-echo "📋 Container status:"
-podman ps -a --filter "name=${PIP_CONTAINER_NAME}" --format "table {{.Names}}\t{{.Status}}\t{{.Ports}}" || true
-
-echo "📋 Container logs:"
-podman logs "${PIP_CONTAINER_NAME}" 2>/dev/null || echo "No logs available"
-
+echo "ERROR: PiP not ready. Diagnostics:" >&2
+podman ps >&2 || true
+podman logs "$PIP_NAME" >&2 || true
+podman exec "$PIP_NAME" podman info >&2 || true
 exit 1
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/podman-host-socket.service b/podman-host-socket.service
index c21835f..e3e1dfc 100644
--- a/podman-host-socket.service
+++ b/podman-host-socket.service
@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@ After=default.target
 [Service]
 Type=simple
 Environment="XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=/run/user/%U"
+ExecStartPre=/usr/bin/mkdir -p ${XDG_RUNTIME_DIR}/podman-host
+ExecStartPre=/usr/bin/chmod 770 ${XDG_RUNTIME_DIR}/podman-host
 ExecStart=/usr/bin/podman system service --time=0 unix://${XDG_RUNTIME_DIR}/podman-host/podman.sock
 Restart=always
 RestartSec=2
diff --git a/secure_pip_setup.sh b/secure_pip_setup.sh
old mode 100644
new mode 100755
index 7c4a199..b572e6c
--- a/secure_pip_setup.sh
+++ b/secure_pip_setup.sh
@@ -1,63 +1,57 @@
-#!/bin/bash
-set -euo pipefail
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -Eeuo pipefail
 
-# secure_pip_setup.sh - Secure PiP client container setup
-# Creates ephemeral PiP container that connects to host Podman via UNIX socket
-
-# Configuration
-RUN_ID="${GITHUB_RUN_ID:-local}"
+RUN_ID="${RUN_ID:-${GITHUB_RUN_ID:-local}}"
 PIP_CONTAINER_NAME="ci-pip-${RUN_ID}"
-SOCKET_PATH="${XDG_RUNTIME_DIR:-/run/user/$(id -u)}/podman-host/podman.sock"
-PODMAN_IMAGE="quay.io/podman/stable@sha256:abc123def4567890abcdef1234567890abcdef1234567890abcdef1234567890"
+RUNTIME_DIR="${XDG_RUNTIME_DIR:-/run/user/$(id -u)}"
+SOCKET_PATH="${SOCKET_PATH:-${RUNTIME_DIR}/podman-host/podman.sock}"
 WORKSPACE="${GITHUB_WORKSPACE:-$PWD}"
+PIP_UID="${PIP_UID:-1000}"
+PIP_GID="${PIP_GID:-1000}"
 
-# Clean up any existing container for this run
-echo "🧹 Cleaning up any existing PiP container for run ${RUN_ID}..."
-podman rm -f "${PIP_CONTAINER_NAME}" 2>/dev/null || true
-
-# Verify the systemd-managed socket exists
-echo "🔍 Checking for systemd-managed Podman socket..."
-if [[ ! -S "${SOCKET_PATH}" ]]; then
-    echo "❌ ERROR: Podman socket not found at ${SOCKET_PATH}"
-    echo "   Ensure the podman-host-socket.service is running:"
-    echo "   sudo -u ci-service systemctl --user enable --now podman-host-socket.service"
-    exit 1
+# Require pinned client image digest
+PODMAN_CLIENT_IMG_DIGEST="${PODMAN_CLIENT_IMG_DIGEST:-}"
+if [[ -z "${PODMAN_CLIENT_IMG_DIGEST}" ]]; then
+  echo "ERROR: PODMAN_CLIENT_IMG_DIGEST (e.g., quay.io/podman/stable@sha256:...) is required and must be a digest." >&2
+  exit 1
 fi
 
-# Set secure permissions on socket (in case they were reset)
-echo "🔒 Setting secure socket permissions..."
-chmod 660 "${SOCKET_PATH}" 2>/dev/null || true
+# Clean any previous container for this run
+podman rm -f "${PIP_CONTAINER_NAME}" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
 
-# Create ephemeral PiP container as client only (no inner daemon)
-echo "🐳 Creating secure PiP client container with workspace mount..."
+# Verify systemd-managed UNIX socket exists
+if [[ ! -S "${SOCKET_PATH}" ]]; then
+  echo "ERROR: Podman UNIX socket not found at ${SOCKET_PATH}." >&2
+  echo "Start it with: systemctl --user enable --now podman-host-socket.service" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+# Tighten socket perms (best-effort)
+chmod 660 "${SOCKET_PATH}" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+
+# Create ephemeral PiP client (no network, least privilege)
 podman run -d \
   --name "${PIP_CONTAINER_NAME}" \
+  --user ${PIP_UID}:${PIP_GID} \
+  -e HOME=/tmp \
   --security-opt=no-new-privileges \
   --cap-drop=ALL \
   --read-only \
   --network=none \
   --tmpfs /run:rw,size=64M \
   --tmpfs /tmp:rw,size=256M \
-  -v "${SOCKET_PATH}:/var/run/podman.sock" \
-  -v "${WORKSPACE}:/workspace:rw" \
+  -v "${SOCKET_PATH}:/var/run/podman.sock${SELINUX_ZLABEL:-}" \
+  -v "${WORKSPACE}:/workspace:rw${SELINUX_ZLABEL:-}" \
   -e CONTAINER_HOST="unix:///var/run/podman.sock" \
-  "${PODMAN_IMAGE}" \
+  "${PODMAN_CLIENT_IMG_DIGEST}" \
   sleep infinity
 
-# Wait for container to start
-echo "⏳ Waiting for PiP container to start..."
+# Brief wait and health check
 sleep 3
-
-# Verify container is running
 if ! podman inspect "${PIP_CONTAINER_NAME}" --format '{{.State.Status}}' | grep -q running; then
-    echo "❌ ERROR: PiP container failed to start"
-    podman logs "${PIP_CONTAINER_NAME}" || true
-    kill ${HOST_PODMAN_PID} 2>/dev/null || true
-    exit 1
+  echo "ERROR: PiP container failed to start" >&2
+  podman logs "${PIP_CONTAINER_NAME}" >&2 || true
+  exit 1
 fi
 
-echo "🎉 Secure PiP client container setup complete!"
-echo "   Container: ${PIP_CONTAINER_NAME}"
-echo "   Socket: ${SOCKET_PATH}"
-echo "   Workspace: ${WORKSPACE} → /workspace"
-echo "   Security: No network, no capabilities, read-only rootfs, client-only"
\ No newline at end of file
+echo "PiP container ready: ${PIP_CONTAINER_NAME}"
\ No newline at end of file