diff --git a/.github/workflows/continuous-integration.yml b/.github/workflows/continuous-integration.yml
index 6befcd555..120e1ab2f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/continuous-integration.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/continuous-integration.yml
@@ -82,3 +82,25 @@ jobs:
           source .venv/bin/activate
           coverage report --fail-under=70
         working-directory: backend
+
+  docker:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v7
+
+      - name: Build backend image
+        run: docker build -t kaapi-backend:ci ./backend
+
+      - name: Prepare env for compose validation
+        run: cp .env.test.example .env
+
+      - name: Validate compose files
+        env:
+          RABBITMQ_USER: ci
+          RABBITMQ_PASSWORD: ci
+          RABBITMQ_VHOST: ci
+        run: |
+          for f in docker-compose.yml docker-compose.dev.yml docker-compose.staging.yml; do
+            echo "Validating $f"
+            docker compose -f "$f" config -q
+          done
diff --git a/.github/workflows/create-release.yml b/.github/workflows/create-release.yml
index 856fa8b05..8a21f4f39 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/create-release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/create-release.yml
@@ -6,7 +6,32 @@ on:
       - "v[0-9]+.[0-9]+.[0-9]+" # Deploy only when tags like v1.0.0, v2.1.0, etc., are created
 
 jobs:
+  verify-ci:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    permissions:
+      contents: read
+      actions: read
+    steps:
+      - name: Confirm CI passed on the tagged commit
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          SHA="${{ github.sha }}"
+          echo "Checking Kaapi CI conclusion for ${SHA}"
+          CONCLUSION=$(gh api \
+            "repos/${{ github.repository }}/actions/runs?head_sha=${SHA}" \
+            --jq 'first(.workflow_runs[]
+                    | select(.name == "Kaapi CI" and .status == "completed")
+                    | .conclusion) // "missing"')
+          echo "Kaapi CI conclusion: ${CONCLUSION}"
+          if [ "${CONCLUSION}" != "success" ]; then
+            echo "::error::Kaapi CI has not passed for ${SHA} (conclusion: ${CONCLUSION}). Aborting release."
+            exit 1
+          fi
+
   build:
+    needs: verify-ci
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     environment: AWS_ENV_VARS
 
diff --git a/.github/workflows/deploy-staging.yml b/.github/workflows/deploy-staging.yml
index 90de78fe8..671514939 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/deploy-staging.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/deploy-staging.yml
@@ -1,8 +1,10 @@
 name: Deploy Kaapi staging to EC2
 
 on:
-  push:
+  workflow_run:
+    workflows: ["Kaapi CI"]
     branches: [main]
+    types: [completed]
   workflow_dispatch:
 
 concurrency:
@@ -13,6 +15,10 @@ jobs:
   deploy:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     environment: AWS_STAGING_ENV
+    # workflow_dispatch runs unconditionally; workflow_run only on a green CI.
+    if: >-
+      ${{ github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' ||
+          github.event.workflow_run.conclusion == 'success' }}
 
     permissions:
       id-token: write
@@ -42,19 +48,32 @@ jobs:
           echo "Sent SSM command: $CMD_ID"
 
       - name: Wait for SSM command to finish
+        timeout-minutes: 10
         env:
           INSTANCE_ID: ${{ secrets.STAGING_EC2_INSTANCE_ID }}
           CMD_ID: ${{ steps.ssm.outputs.cmd_id }}
+          POLL_INTERVAL: "10"
         run: |
-          WAIT_EXIT=0
-          aws ssm wait command-executed \
-            --command-id "$CMD_ID" \
-            --instance-id "$INSTANCE_ID" || WAIT_EXIT=$?
+          poll_status() {
+            aws ssm get-command-invocation \
+              --command-id "$CMD_ID" \
+              --instance-id "$INSTANCE_ID" \
+              --query "Status" \
+              --output text 2>/dev/null || echo "Pending"
+          }
+
+          STATUS=$(poll_status)
+          until [[ "$STATUS" =~ ^(Success|Failed|Cancelled|TimedOut)$ ]]; do
+            echo "Status: $STATUS — waiting ${POLL_INTERVAL}s"
+            sleep "$POLL_INTERVAL"
+            STATUS=$(poll_status)
+          done
 
+          echo "Final status: $STATUS"
           aws ssm get-command-invocation \
             --command-id "$CMD_ID" \
             --instance-id "$INSTANCE_ID" \
             --query '{Status:Status,Stdout:StandardOutputContent,Stderr:StandardErrorContent}' \
             --output json
 
-          exit $WAIT_EXIT
+          [[ "$STATUS" == "Success" ]]
diff --git a/.github/workflows/pr-title-check.yml b/.github/workflows/pr-title-check.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..2b7784a98
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/pr-title-check.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+name: PR Title Check
+
+on:
+  pull_request_target:
+    types: [opened, edited, reopened, synchronize]
+
+permissions:
+  pull-requests: read
+
+concurrency:
+  group: pr-title-${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}
+  cancel-in-progress: true
+
+jobs:
+  validate:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - name: Validate PR title follows Conventional Commits
+        env:
+          PR_TITLE: ${{ github.event.pull_request.title }}
+        run: |
+          # type(scope): summary  — scope optional, `!` marks a breaking change.
+          # Keep types in sync with what the PR formatter is allowed to emit.
+          PATTERN='^(feat|fix|chore|docs|refactor|perf|test|ci|build|style|revert)(\([a-z0-9 _/-]+\))?!?: .+'
+
+          echo "Checking PR title: $PR_TITLE"
+          if echo "$PR_TITLE" | grep -qE "$PATTERN"; then
+            echo "PR title is valid."
+            exit 0
+          fi
+
+          echo "::error title=Invalid PR title::'$PR_TITLE' is not in Conventional Commits format"
+          {
+            echo "### ❌ PR title is not in Conventional Commits format"
+            echo ""
+            echo "**Your title:** \`$PR_TITLE\`"
+            echo ""
+            echo "**Required format:** \`type(scope): short summary\`  (scope is optional)"
+            echo ""
+            echo "**Allowed types:** feat, fix, chore, docs, refactor, perf, test, ci, build, style, revert"
+            echo ""
+            echo "**Good examples:**"
+            echo "- \`feat(collection): Add new fields\`"
+            echo "- \`fix(auth): Correct token expiry check\`"
+            echo "- \`chore(ci): Add PR title check workflow\`"
+            echo ""
+            echo "Edit the PR title to match and this check re-runs automatically."
+          } >> "$GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY"
+          exit 1