diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yaml b/.github/workflows/ci.yaml
index 0c7164e..60c1150 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yaml
@@ -2,21 +2,22 @@ name: ci
 
 # Self-CI for this org `.github` repo.
 #
-# The org ruleset "main branch protection" requires the `ci / ci` status check on
-# every repo. Consumer repos satisfy it via a short caller workflow that invokes
-# the reusable workflows here. This repo only HOUSES those reusable workflows
-# (all `workflow_call`-only), so nothing emitted `ci / ci` and every PR sat
-# permanently "Expected — Waiting for status to be reported" and could not merge.
+# This repo is on the org "CI complete" ruleset, which requires the
+# `ci-complete` status check on `main`. Consumer repos satisfy that ruleset
+# with a caller workflow that fans out to the reusable workflows housed here
+# and ends in a caller-owned `ci-complete` aggregator. This repo only HOUSES
+# those reusable workflows (all `workflow_call`-only), so it needs its own
+# portions and aggregator or every PR would sit permanently
+# "Expected — Waiting for status to be reported" and could not merge.
 #
-# This workflow produces that check by linting the workflow files with actionlint
-# — genuinely useful CI for a repo whose whole product is GitHub Actions YAML.
+# The portions are genuinely useful CI for a repo whose whole product is
+# GitHub Actions YAML: the isolation-checker unit tests and actionlint over
+# every workflow file. They run in parallel; `ci-complete` requires both.
 #
 # Naming is load-bearing: the ruleset matches the required status check against
 # the JOB's check-run name, NOT "workflow / job". For a normal (non-reusable) job
-# the check-run name IS the job name, so the job must be named literally "ci / ci"
-# to emit that exact context. (A job named "ci" emits the context "ci" — which the
-# PR UI cosmetically *displays* as "ci / ci" but does NOT satisfy the requirement.)
-# This mirrors the org's aggregator-job convention.
+# the check-run name IS the job name, so the aggregator is named literally
+# "ci-complete". Do not put the portion job names in a ruleset.
 #
 # actionlint is pinned to a tagged release and installed by downloading the
 # release tarball and verifying its SHA256 — not `curl | bash` — to keep the
@@ -47,9 +48,10 @@ permissions:
   contents: read
 
 jobs:
-  ci:
-    name: ci / ci
+  isolation-tests:
+    name: isolation-tests
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    timeout-minutes: 10
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@3d3c42e5aac5ba805825da76410c181273ba90b1  # v7.0.1
 
@@ -57,6 +59,13 @@ jobs:
         run: python3 scripts/test_check_app_terraform_isolation.py
         shell: bash
 
+  actionlint:
+    name: actionlint
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    timeout-minutes: 10
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@3d3c42e5aac5ba805825da76410c181273ba90b1  # v7.0.1
+
       - name: Install actionlint
         env:
           ACTIONLINT_VERSION: 1.7.12
@@ -73,3 +82,19 @@ jobs:
           shellcheck --version
           ./actionlint -color
         shell: bash
+
+  ci-complete:
+    name: ci-complete
+    needs: [isolation-tests, actionlint]
+    if: always() && !cancelled()
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    timeout-minutes: 5
+    steps:
+      - name: Require portions
+        env:
+          ISOLATION_TESTS: ${{ needs.isolation-tests.result }}
+          ACTIONLINT: ${{ needs.actionlint.result }}
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          test "${ISOLATION_TESTS}" = success
+          test "${ACTIONLINT}" = success
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 42dc097..55d2d35 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ CI callers keep a `merge_group` trigger so native GitHub merge queues still run
 Two org rulesets. A repo is on exactly one of them:
 
 - **main branch protection** requires `ci / ci` for unconverted remaining-lane repos.
-- **CI complete** requires `ci-complete` for converted HCP callers. It targets no repos until a cutover includes the repo and excludes it from the old ruleset in the same window.
+- **CI complete** requires `ci-complete` for converted HCP callers and for this repo. A repo joins it only when a cutover includes the repo and excludes it from the old ruleset in the same window.
 
 The formatter GitHub App is not on the main-branch bypass list.
 
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ The formatter GitHub App is not on the main-branch bypass list.
 
 **`.github/workflows/labeler.yaml`** — This repo's own thin caller of `callable-labeler.yaml`, so the labeler runs on `.github`'s own PRs.
 
-**`.github/workflows/ci.yaml`** — Self-CI for this repo: actionlint (checksum-verified install) over all workflow files, emitting the required `ci / ci` status context. Its shellcheck integration is enabled, so `run:` bodies are shell-linted too; the two deploy steps that rely on intentional word-splitting (`sam deploy … $PARAMS`, `cdk deploy $STACKS`) carry a per-line, commented `# shellcheck disable=SC2086` rather than being quoted or globally exempted.
+**`.github/workflows/ci.yaml`** — Self-CI for this repo: parallel `isolation-tests` (the isolation-checker unit tests) and `actionlint` (checksum-verified install) portions, plus a `ci-complete` aggregator that emits the status context the CI complete ruleset requires. Its shellcheck integration is enabled, so `run:` bodies are shell-linted too; the two deploy steps that rely on intentional word-splitting (`sam deploy … $PARAMS`, `cdk deploy $STACKS`) carry a per-line, commented `# shellcheck disable=SC2086` rather than being quoted or globally exempted.
 
 ### Workflow templates (`workflow-templates/`)