diff --git a/.github/workflows/cgo.yml b/.github/workflows/cgo.yml
index f66f00fcc1..d8cfc04734 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cgo.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cgo.yml
@@ -257,7 +257,7 @@ jobs:
           GO_TEST_AREA: ${{ matrix.area }}
           TEST_SHARD: ${{ matrix.shard }}
           TEST_SHARD_COUNT: ${{ matrix.shards }}
-          GO_TEST_MODE: ${{ github.event_name == 'pull_request' && '-short' || '-count=1' }}
+          GO_TEST_MODE: ${{ (github.event_name == 'schedule' || github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch') && '-count=1' || '-short' }}
           POSTGRES_URL: postgresql://postgres@127.0.0.1:${{ job.services.postgres.ports['5432'] }}/cao_server_test?sslmode=disable
           CAO_TEST_POSTGRES_URL: postgresql://postgres@127.0.0.1:${{ job.services.postgres.ports['5432'] }}/cao_server_test?sslmode=disable
         run: |
@@ -626,6 +626,7 @@ jobs:
         env:
           TEST_SHARD: ${{ matrix.shard }}
           TEST_SHARD_COUNT: ${{ strategy.job-total }}
+          GO_TEST_MODE: ${{ (github.event_name == 'schedule' || github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch') && '-count=1' || '-short' }}
         run: |
           set -euo pipefail
           pattern=$(go -C server test -p 1 -list '^(Test|Example|Fuzz)' ./... |
@@ -637,7 +638,7 @@ jobs:
                 }
               }')
           test -n "$pattern"
-          go -C server test -p 1 -run "^($pattern)$" ./...
+          go -C server test -p 1 -run "^($pattern)$" ./... "$GO_TEST_MODE"
       - name: Build dashboard and server
         if: matrix.shard == 0
         run: |
diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci-daily.yml b/.github/workflows/ci-daily.yml
index bbc4622f74..0cd37aab9c 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci-daily.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci-daily.yml
@@ -163,6 +163,7 @@ jobs:
     permissions:
       contents: read
       actions: read
+      issues: write
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@3d3c42e5aac5ba805825da76410c181273ba90b1 # v7.0.1
         with:
@@ -171,12 +172,13 @@ jobs:
         uses: actions/github-script@3a2844b7e9c422d3c10d287c895573f7108da1b3 # v9.0.0
         env:
           SUITES: ${{ toJSON(needs) }}
+          REPORT_FAILURE: ${{ github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' && needs.revision.result == 'success' }}
         with:
           script: |
             const { writeFileSync, appendFileSync } = require('node:fs')
             const { pathToFileURL } = require('node:url')
             const { resolve } = require('node:path')
-            const { buildCIReport } = await import(pathToFileURL(resolve('scripts/ci-report.mjs')).href)
+            const { buildCIReport, reportCIFailure } = await import(pathToFileURL(resolve('scripts/ci-report.mjs')).href)
             const jobs = await github.paginate(github.rest.actions.listJobsForWorkflowRun, {
               ...context.repo, run_id: context.runId, filter: 'latest', per_page: 100,
             })
@@ -186,6 +188,7 @@ jobs:
             writeFileSync('ci-daily-report.json', JSON.stringify(report, null, 2) + '\n')
             writeFileSync('ci-daily-report.md', report.markdown)
             appendFileSync(process.env.GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY, report.markdown)
+            if (process.env.REPORT_FAILURE === 'true') await reportCIFailure(github, context.repo, report)
             if (report.status !== 'success') core.setFailed('Daily validation failed or is incomplete; see the suite report.')
       - name: Retain daily report
         if: always()
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 8fc3dc83b5..28e05986b4 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -144,7 +144,7 @@ and authenticated compatibility tests, bootstrap, and service-backed integration
 run after merge rather than on the PR critical path. A green PR is intentionally
 not a claim that every integration or performance scenario passed.
 
-Main pushes select full suites through each workflow's path filters. Root
+Main pushes select suites through each workflow's path filters. Root
 contract areas are further selected by `scripts/ci-test-plan.mjs`; documentation-only
 changes omit root integration/load/API checks. Unknown paths or an unavailable
 comparison base widen selection. Fast contract checks run concurrently with units;
@@ -153,8 +153,12 @@ the existing `test` aggregate check requires both to succeed.
 Go core tests partition the sorted package list across four jobs, each with its
 own PostgreSQL service. Each job compiles and runs only its assigned packages,
 serially (`-p 1`) to stay within PostgreSQL's lock budget. Storage tests retain
-four test-name shards within their single package. Both retain short mode on
-PRs and uncached full execution after merge.
+four test-name shards within their single package.
+PRs and main pushes use `-short`, including the service-backed
+dashboard Go suite. The 16 core tests measured at 10 seconds or more in the
+investigated CI run (cross-module CLI build, fleet simulation, PostgreSQL
+ingestion/publication, read conformance, and query benchmarks) skip in short
+mode. Daily and manual Go runs omit `-short` and retain these scenarios.
 
 `Daily full validation` (`.github/workflows/ci-daily.yml`) runs at 06:37 UTC
 and can be dispatched manually on main. It reuses the complete contract,
@@ -169,7 +173,11 @@ The daily run publishes an Actions summary and a 30-day `ci-daily-report`
 artifact (Markdown and JSON), including every suite's outcome, total completed
 runner-minutes, and the 20 slowest jobs. Per-suite traces, profiles, and detailed
 reports remain attached to the same run. Failed, cancelled, or skipped suites
-make the aggregate report incomplete. Campaign lifecycle API-quota exhaustion
+make the aggregate report incomplete. A failed or incomplete daily run on main
+opens a `Daily full validation failed` issue, or updates the existing open bot
+issue with the latest failing revision, suite outcomes, and job links. Successful
+runs do not open issues or automatically close an investigation.
+Campaign lifecycle API-quota exhaustion
 also fails daily/manual full runs; main pushes retain infrastructure-incomplete
 warnings instead of blocking on shared quota.
 These measurements exclude queue time and billing multipliers. Use them to
diff --git a/scripts/ci-report.mjs b/scripts/ci-report.mjs
index 8a1140d6da..a6cee2c1fc 100644
--- a/scripts/ci-report.mjs
+++ b/scripts/ci-report.mjs
@@ -36,3 +36,20 @@ export function buildCIReport(suites, jobs, url, sha) {
   ].join("\n");
   return { status, sha, url, suites: results, runnerMinutes, jobs: timedJobs, markdown };
 }
+
+export async function reportCIFailure(github, repo, report) {
+  if (report.status === "success") return;
+  const marker = "<!-- cao-daily-validation-failure -->";
+  const title = "Daily full validation failed";
+  const body = `${marker}\n\n${report.markdown}`;
+  const issues = await github.paginate(github.rest.issues.listForRepo, {
+    ...repo, state: "open", creator: "github-actions[bot]", per_page: 100,
+  });
+  const existing = issues.find((issue) =>
+    !issue.pull_request && issue.body?.includes(marker));
+  if (existing) {
+    await github.rest.issues.update({ ...repo, issue_number: existing.number, body });
+  } else {
+    await github.rest.issues.create({ ...repo, title, body });
+  }
+}
diff --git a/server/cmd/cao-dashboard/adx_setup_test.go b/server/cmd/cao-dashboard/adx_setup_test.go
index 78cef713a1..e7d0695105 100644
--- a/server/cmd/cao-dashboard/adx_setup_test.go
+++ b/server/cmd/cao-dashboard/adx_setup_test.go
@@ -13,6 +13,9 @@ import (
 )
 
 func TestADXSetupSettingsMatchRuntime(t *testing.T) {
+	if testing.Short() {
+		t.Skip("slow cross-module CLI build; covered by daily full validation")
+	}
 	// The extension and server are separate modules; exercise the actual CLI
 	// output through the runtime parsers instead of duplicating their contract.
 	binary := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "gh-cao")
diff --git a/server/cmd/cao-dashboard/benchmark_queries_test.go b/server/cmd/cao-dashboard/benchmark_queries_test.go
index 1205b441bd..c2fe826adf 100644
--- a/server/cmd/cao-dashboard/benchmark_queries_test.go
+++ b/server/cmd/cao-dashboard/benchmark_queries_test.go
@@ -236,6 +236,9 @@ func TestBuildBenchmarkMeasurementReturnsMeasurement(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestBenchmarkQueriesWithDeployedSubset(t *testing.T) {
+	if testing.Short() {
+		t.Skip("slow PostgreSQL benchmark; covered by daily full validation")
+	}
 	url := os.Getenv("POSTGRES_URL")
 	if url == "" {
 		t.Skip("POSTGRES_URL is not set")
@@ -299,6 +302,9 @@ func TestBenchmarkQueriesWithDeployedSubset(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestBenchmarkCleanupPreservesOtherNamespaces(t *testing.T) {
+	if testing.Short() {
+		t.Skip("slow PostgreSQL benchmark; covered by daily full validation")
+	}
 	url := os.Getenv("POSTGRES_URL")
 	if url == "" {
 		t.Skip("POSTGRES_URL is not set")
diff --git a/server/cmd/cao-dashboard/main_test.go b/server/cmd/cao-dashboard/main_test.go
index d2fd1d798b..99b5e83873 100644
--- a/server/cmd/cao-dashboard/main_test.go
+++ b/server/cmd/cao-dashboard/main_test.go
@@ -26,6 +26,9 @@ import (
 )
 
 func TestServeWithExistingPostgresOperationalTables(t *testing.T) {
+	if testing.Short() {
+		t.Skip("slow PostgreSQL server integration; covered by daily full validation")
+	}
 	endpoint := os.Getenv("POSTGRES_URL")
 	if endpoint == "" {
 		t.Skip("POSTGRES_URL is not set")
diff --git a/server/internal/adxingest/postgres_integration_test.go b/server/internal/adxingest/postgres_integration_test.go
index cb97b99eca..5f322184f2 100644
--- a/server/internal/adxingest/postgres_integration_test.go
+++ b/server/internal/adxingest/postgres_integration_test.go
@@ -53,6 +53,9 @@ func publishSession(t *testing.T, data *postgresx.Store, tokens int) {
 }
 
 func TestPostgresSimulatorDurableRestartAndCanonicalReplacement(t *testing.T) {
+	if testing.Short() {
+		t.Skip("slow PostgreSQL ingestion integration; covered by daily full validation")
+	}
 	data := testutil.Postgres(t, t.Context(), "POSTGRES_URL")
 	publishSession(t, data, 0)
 	endpoint := os.Getenv("POSTGRES_URL")
diff --git a/server/internal/collectnative/audit_engine_postgres_test.go b/server/internal/collectnative/audit_engine_postgres_test.go
index 665af90197..578743c63f 100644
--- a/server/internal/collectnative/audit_engine_postgres_test.go
+++ b/server/internal/collectnative/audit_engine_postgres_test.go
@@ -25,6 +25,9 @@ func (engineAuditProvider) Jobs(_ context.Context, run collectnative.Run, visit
 }
 
 func TestNativeLegacyEngineAndGatewayPostgresPublication(t *testing.T) {
+	if testing.Short() {
+		t.Skip("slow PostgreSQL publication integration; covered by daily full validation")
+	}
 	for _, test := range []struct{ engine, content string }{
 		{"codex", "thinking\ntool github.read({})\ntokens used\n60,001"},
 		{"claude", `prefix {'usage':{'input_tokens':60000,'output_tokens':1},'cost':0.25}`},
diff --git a/server/internal/dashboardstore/conformance_test.go b/server/internal/dashboardstore/conformance_test.go
index e447a412e3..79a3f96ee2 100644
--- a/server/internal/dashboardstore/conformance_test.go
+++ b/server/internal/dashboardstore/conformance_test.go
@@ -22,6 +22,9 @@ type readFixture struct {
 }
 
 func TestReadContract(t *testing.T) {
+	if testing.Short() {
+		t.Skip("slow PostgreSQL read conformance; covered by daily full validation")
+	}
 	repositories := []model.Row{
 		{"id": "repo:1", "owner": "octo", "name": "one"},
 		{"id": "repo:2", "owner": "octo", "name": "two"},
diff --git a/server/internal/ingest/audit_curation_integration_test.go b/server/internal/ingest/audit_curation_integration_test.go
index c0192d683f..cf566736ba 100644
--- a/server/internal/ingest/audit_curation_integration_test.go
+++ b/server/internal/ingest/audit_curation_integration_test.go
@@ -19,6 +19,9 @@ import (
 )
 
 func TestUnchangedArtifactRevisionCuratesExistingAudits(t *testing.T) {
+	if testing.Short() {
+		t.Skip("slow PostgreSQL ingestion integration; covered by daily full validation")
+	}
 	ctx, store, config := ingestTestStoreConfig(t)
 	options := Options{DatabaseQueriesPath: "../../../dashboard/site/src/data/queries/database.json"}
 	directory, _ := testutil.RecentSnapshot(t, "../../testdata/deployed-subset")
@@ -47,6 +50,9 @@ func TestUnchangedArtifactRevisionCuratesExistingAudits(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestAuditCurationValidatesEveryTransportedRecord(t *testing.T) {
+	if testing.Short() {
+		t.Skip("slow PostgreSQL ingestion integration; covered by daily full validation")
+	}
 	ctx, store := ingestTestStore(t)
 	directory := scratchDirectory(t)
 	recent, _ := testutil.RecentSnapshot(t, "../../testdata/deployed-subset")
@@ -111,6 +117,9 @@ func TestAuditCurationValidatesEveryTransportedRecord(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestUnsupportedAuditEvidencePreservesPublishedIngestion(t *testing.T) {
+	if testing.Short() {
+		t.Skip("slow PostgreSQL ingestion integration; covered by daily full validation")
+	}
 	ctx, store := ingestTestStore(t)
 	directory, _ := testutil.RecentSnapshot(t, "../../testdata/deployed-subset")
 	first, err := Run(ctx, store, directory, Options{DatabaseQueriesPath: "../../../dashboard/site/src/data/queries/database.json"})
@@ -134,6 +143,9 @@ func TestUnsupportedAuditEvidencePreservesPublishedIngestion(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestAuditCurationDoesNotHideTransportedOrphan(t *testing.T) {
+	if testing.Short() {
+		t.Skip("slow PostgreSQL ingestion integration; covered by daily full validation")
+	}
 	ctx, store := ingestTestStore(t)
 	options := Options{DatabaseQueriesPath: "../../../dashboard/site/src/data/queries/database.json"}
 	recent, _ := testutil.RecentSnapshot(t, "../../testdata/deployed-subset")
diff --git a/server/internal/ingest/ingest_test.go b/server/internal/ingest/ingest_test.go
index 04eaddb729..51b1980f64 100644
--- a/server/internal/ingest/ingest_test.go
+++ b/server/internal/ingest/ingest_test.go
@@ -62,6 +62,9 @@ func TestValidateManifestFailsClosed(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestLocalIngestionReceiptsRejectForeignTransactions(t *testing.T) {
+	if testing.Short() {
+		t.Skip("slow PostgreSQL ingestion integration; covered by daily full validation")
+	}
 	for _, row := range []model.Row{
 		{"id": "unrelated", "kind": "local-dashboard-ingestion"},
 		{"id": "local-dashboard-ingestion", "kind": "unrelated"},
diff --git a/server/internal/ingest/reclamation_integration_test.go b/server/internal/ingest/reclamation_integration_test.go
index 6d0c3ce6ec..91363ba04f 100644
--- a/server/internal/ingest/reclamation_integration_test.go
+++ b/server/internal/ingest/reclamation_integration_test.go
@@ -57,6 +57,9 @@ func ingestTestStoreConfig(t *testing.T) (context.Context, *postgresx.Store, *pg
 }
 
 func TestFreshNativeIngestionReuseForceAndQueries(t *testing.T) {
+	if testing.Short() {
+		t.Skip("slow PostgreSQL ingestion integration; covered by daily full validation")
+	}
 	ctx, store := ingestTestStore(t)
 	options := Options{DatabaseQueriesPath: "../../../dashboard/site/src/data/queries/database.json"}
 	directory, _ := testutil.RecentSnapshot(t, "../../testdata/deployed-subset")
diff --git a/server/internal/ingest/recovery_integration_test.go b/server/internal/ingest/recovery_integration_test.go
index bb28e0bac7..87aa7678a2 100644
--- a/server/internal/ingest/recovery_integration_test.go
+++ b/server/internal/ingest/recovery_integration_test.go
@@ -13,6 +13,9 @@ import (
 )
 
 func TestEmptyPostgresRebuildAndFailedIngestionPreservesCurrentData(t *testing.T) {
+	if testing.Short() {
+		t.Skip("slow PostgreSQL ingestion integration; covered by daily full validation")
+	}
 	ctx, store := ingestTestStore(t)
 	directory, _ := testutil.RecentSnapshot(t, "../../testdata/deployed-subset")
 	options := Options{DatabaseQueriesPath: "../../../dashboard/site/src/data/queries/database.json"}
diff --git a/server/internal/simulator/dashboard_read_test.go b/server/internal/simulator/dashboard_read_test.go
index 7a4a416a05..22f2b6a387 100644
--- a/server/internal/simulator/dashboard_read_test.go
+++ b/server/internal/simulator/dashboard_read_test.go
@@ -108,6 +108,9 @@ func newDashboardReadFixture(t *testing.T) dashboardReadFixture {
 }
 
 func TestDashboardReadSyntheticScenario(t *testing.T) {
+	if testing.Short() {
+		t.Skip("slow PostgreSQL dashboard scenario; covered by daily full validation")
+	}
 	fixture := newDashboardReadFixture(t)
 	app, err := server.New(t.Context(), fixture.services, fixture.config)
 	if err != nil {
diff --git a/server/internal/webhookgateway/stress_test.go b/server/internal/webhookgateway/stress_test.go
index eccca5067d..d510b541f2 100644
--- a/server/internal/webhookgateway/stress_test.go
+++ b/server/internal/webhookgateway/stress_test.go
@@ -314,6 +314,9 @@ func runFleetStress(t *testing.T, repositories, developers, days int) {
 }
 
 func TestGitHubSimulatorFleetSmoke(t *testing.T) {
+	if testing.Short() {
+		t.Skip("slow fleet simulation; covered by daily full validation")
+	}
 	runFleetStress(t, 10, 10, 2)
 }
 
diff --git a/tests/unit/cao-ci-tiers.test.mjs b/tests/unit/cao-ci-tiers.test.mjs
index e52df76fb4..a4be86cf50 100644
--- a/tests/unit/cao-ci-tiers.test.mjs
+++ b/tests/unit/cao-ci-tiers.test.mjs
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import { spawnSync } from "node:child_process";
 import test from "node:test";
 import { parse } from "yaml";
 import { changedFiles, testPlan } from "../../scripts/ci-test-plan.mjs";
-import { buildCIReport } from "../../scripts/ci-report.mjs";
+import { buildCIReport, reportCIFailure } from "../../scripts/ci-report.mjs";
 import { unitTestAreas } from "../../scripts/run-unit-area.mjs";
 
 const load = (name) => parse(readFileSync(`.github/workflows/${name}`, "utf8"));
@@ -61,6 +61,13 @@ test("daily calls every suite at the same revision and reports even on failure",
     assert.equal(job.secrets, undefined, "test suites do not inherit deployment secrets");
   }
   assert.equal(daily.jobs.report.if, "always()");
+  assert.equal(daily.jobs.report.permissions.issues, "write");
+  assert.equal(daily.permissions.issues, undefined);
+  const publish = daily.jobs.report.steps.find((step) => step.name === "Publish suite outcomes and slowest jobs");
+  assert.equal(publish.env.REPORT_FAILURE,
+    "${{ github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' && needs.revision.result == 'success' }}");
+  assert.match(publish.with.script, /if \(process\.env\.REPORT_FAILURE === 'true'\) await reportCIFailure/);
+  assert.match(publish.with.script, /if \(report\.status !== 'success'\) core\.setFailed/);
   assert.deepEqual(daily.jobs.deployed.with, { full: true });
   assert.deepEqual(daily.jobs["company-stress"].with, { preset: "large" });
   assert.equal(daily.jobs["worker-memory"].needs, "revision");
@@ -117,3 +124,72 @@ test("daily reporting counts runner time, ranks slow jobs, and rejects incomplet
   assert.equal(buildCIReport({ suite: { result: "success" } }, jobs, "", "").status, "incomplete");
   assert.equal(buildCIReport({ suite: { result: "success" } }, [jobs[0]], "", "").status, "success");
 });
+
+test("daily validation opens one failure issue and updates it with the latest evidence", async () => {
+  const repo = { owner: "octo", repo: "control" };
+  const calls = [];
+  const open = [{ number: 1, title: "Daily full validation failed", body: "unrelated" }];
+  const github = {
+    rest: {
+      issues: {
+        listForRepo: Symbol("list"),
+        create: async (request) => {
+          calls.push(["create", request]);
+          open.push({ number: 2, ...request });
+        },
+        update: async (request) => calls.push(["update", request]),
+      },
+    },
+    paginate: async (method, request) => {
+      assert.equal(method, github.rest.issues.listForRepo);
+      assert.deepEqual(request, { ...repo, state: "open", creator: "github-actions[bot]", per_page: 100 });
+      return open;
+    },
+  };
+  const report = buildCIReport({ server: { result: "failure" } }, [], "https://example.com/run", "first-sha");
+  await reportCIFailure(github, repo, report);
+  assert.equal(calls.length, 1);
+  assert.equal(calls[0][0], "create");
+  assert.equal(calls[0][1].title, "Daily full validation failed");
+  assert.ok(calls[0][1].body.includes(report.markdown));
+  const latest = buildCIReport({ server: { result: "cancelled" } }, [], "https://example.com/retry", "next-sha");
+  await reportCIFailure(github, repo, latest);
+  assert.deepEqual(calls[1], ["update", {
+    ...repo, issue_number: 2, body: `<!-- cao-daily-validation-failure -->\n\n${latest.markdown}`,
+  }]);
+  // A copied marker in a PR must not turn a pull request into the failure tracker.
+  open[1].pull_request = {};
+  await reportCIFailure(github, repo, latest);
+  assert.equal(calls[2][0], "create");
+});
+
+test("successful daily validation does not call the issue API", async () => {
+  const job = {
+    name: "server", status: "completed", conclusion: "success",
+    started_at: "2026-01-01T00:00:00Z", completed_at: "2026-01-01T00:00:30Z",
+  };
+  const report = buildCIReport({ server: { result: "success" } }, [job], "", "");
+  assert.equal(report.status, "success");
+  await reportCIFailure({}, {}, report);
+});
+
+test("daily failure reporting propagates issue API errors", async () => {
+  const error = new Error("issue API unavailable");
+  const report = buildCIReport({ server: { result: "failure" } }, [], "", "");
+  for (const operation of ["list", "create", "update"]) {
+    const github = {
+      rest: {
+        issues: {
+          listForRepo: Symbol("list"),
+          create: async () => { throw error; },
+          update: async () => { throw error; },
+        },
+      },
+      paginate: async () => {
+        if (operation === "list") throw error;
+        return operation === "create" ? [] : [{ number: 2, body: "<!-- cao-daily-validation-failure -->" }];
+      },
+    };
+    await assert.rejects(reportCIFailure(github, {}, report), error);
+  }
+});
diff --git a/tests/unit/cao-go-ci-plan.test.mjs b/tests/unit/cao-go-ci-plan.test.mjs
index c5548c62f3..f72756d1a8 100644
--- a/tests/unit/cao-go-ci-plan.test.mjs
+++ b/tests/unit/cao-go-ci-plan.test.mjs
@@ -84,7 +84,8 @@ test("Go unit jobs partition every package exactly once, including future packag
   const prefix = "github.com/githubnext/gh-cao/server/";
   const step = jobs["server-tests"].steps.find((step) => step.name === "Unit tests");
   const covered = [];
-  for (const area of goTestAreas) {
+  const matrix = goTestPlan([], true).matrix.include.filter(({ area, shard }) => area !== "storage" || shard === 0);
+  for (const { area, shard, shards } of matrix) {
     const result = spawnSync("bash", ["-c", `
       go() {
         if [[ "$3" == "list" ]]; then printf '%s\\n' "$MOCK_PACKAGES";
@@ -95,7 +96,8 @@ test("Go unit jobs partition every package exactly once, including future packag
       encoding: "utf8",
       env: {
         ...process.env, MOCK_PACKAGES: packages.map((name) => prefix + name).join("\n"),
-        GO_TEST_AREA: area, GO_TEST_MODE: "-short", TEST_SHARD: "0", TEST_SHARD_COUNT: "1",
+        GO_TEST_AREA: area, GO_TEST_MODE: "-short", TEST_SHARD: String(shard),
+        TEST_SHARD_COUNT: area === "core" ? String(shards) : "1",
       },
     });
     assert.equal(result.status, 0, result.stderr);
@@ -107,7 +109,8 @@ test("Go unit jobs partition every package exactly once, including future packag
   assert.deepEqual(covered.sort(), packages.sort());
   assert.match(step.env.POSTGRES_URL, /job\.services\.postgres/);
   assert.match(step.env.CAO_TEST_POSTGRES_URL, /job\.services\.postgres/);
-  assert.match(step.env.GO_TEST_MODE, /'-short' \|\| '-count=1'/);
+  assert.equal(step.env.GO_TEST_MODE,
+    "${{ (github.event_name == 'schedule' || github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch') && '-count=1' || '-short' }}");
 });
 
 test("Go unit selection propagates package-list and test failures", () => {
@@ -124,13 +127,14 @@ test("Go unit selection propagates package-list and test failures", () => {
   }
 });
 
-test("storage-only changes select four shards without duplicating other areas", () => {
+test("core and storage select four shards while other areas retain a single job", () => {
   const shards = [0, 1, 2, 3].map((shard) => ({ area: "storage", shard, shards: 4 }));
   assert.deepEqual(goTestPlan(["server/internal/postgresx/schema_test.go"]).matrix.include, shards);
   const matrix = goTestPlan([], true).matrix.include;
   assert.deepEqual(matrix.filter(({ area }) => area === "storage"), shards);
-  assert.deepEqual(matrix.filter(({ area }) => area === "core"),
-    [0, 1, 2, 3].map((shard) => ({ area: "core", shard, shards: 4 })));
+  const core = shards.map((shard) => ({ ...shard, area: "core" }));
+  assert.deepEqual(goTestPlan(["server/internal/query/query_test.go"]).matrix.include, core);
+  assert.deepEqual(matrix.filter(({ area }) => area === "core"), core);
   assert.deepEqual(matrix.filter(({ area }) => !["storage", "core"].includes(area)),
     ["http", "hosted-cli"].map((area) => ({ area, shard: 0, shards: 1 })));
   const step = jobs["server-tests"].steps.find((step) => step.name === "Unit tests");
diff --git a/tests/unit/workflow-contract-ci-triggers.test.mjs b/tests/unit/workflow-contract-ci-triggers.test.mjs
index 50dd20db3c..33ce125712 100644
--- a/tests/unit/workflow-contract-ci-triggers.test.mjs
+++ b/tests/unit/workflow-contract-ci-triggers.test.mjs
@@ -127,11 +127,13 @@ test("Go dashboard integration shards complete test coverage across isolated ser
   assert.deepEqual(tests.env, {
     TEST_SHARD: "${{ matrix.shard }}",
     TEST_SHARD_COUNT: "${{ strategy.job-total }}",
+    GO_TEST_MODE: "${{ (github.event_name == 'schedule' || github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch') && '-count=1' || '-short' }}",
   });
   assert.match(tests.run, /set -euo pipefail/);
   assert.match(tests.run, /test -n "\$pattern"/);
   assert.match(tests.run, /go -C server test -p 1 -run "\^\(\$pattern\)\$" \.\/\.\.\./);
-  assert.doesNotMatch(tests.run, /-timeout|-short|-skip/);
+  assert.match(tests.run, /go -C server test .* "\$GO_TEST_MODE"/);
+  assert.doesNotMatch(tests.run, /-timeout|-skip/);
   assert.equal(tests["continue-on-error"], undefined);
   assert.equal(tests.if, undefined);
   for (const name of [
@@ -152,14 +154,14 @@ test("Go dashboard integration shards complete test coverage across isolated ser
   const mock = [
     "go() {",
     '  if [[ "$*" == *" -list "* ]]; then printf "%s\\n" "$MOCK_LIST";',
-    '  else printf "%s\\n" "$7"; fi',
+    '  else [[ "${!#}" == "$GO_TEST_MODE" ]] || return 42; printf "%s\\n" "$7"; fi',
     "}",
   ].join("\n");
   for (const shard of job.strategy.matrix.shard) {
     const result = spawnSync("bash", ["-c", `${mock}\n${tests.run}`], {
       encoding: "utf8",
       env: {
-        ...process.env, MOCK_LIST: output, TEST_SHARD: String(shard),
+        ...process.env, MOCK_LIST: output, TEST_SHARD: String(shard), GO_TEST_MODE: "-count=1",
         TEST_SHARD_COUNT: String(job.strategy.matrix.shard.length),
       },
     });
@@ -174,7 +176,7 @@ test("Go dashboard integration shards complete test coverage across isolated ser
   const empty = spawnSync("bash", ["-c", `${mock}\n${tests.run}`], {
     encoding: "utf8",
     env: {
-      ...process.env, MOCK_LIST: "ok example/empty", TEST_SHARD: "0",
+      ...process.env, MOCK_LIST: "ok example/empty", TEST_SHARD: "0", GO_TEST_MODE: "-short",
       TEST_SHARD_COUNT: String(job.strategy.matrix.shard.length),
     },
   });
@@ -182,7 +184,7 @@ test("Go dashboard integration shards complete test coverage across isolated ser
   const failed = spawnSync("bash", ["-c", `go() { return 23; }\n${tests.run}`], {
     encoding: "utf8",
     env: {
-      ...process.env, TEST_SHARD: "0",
+      ...process.env, TEST_SHARD: "0", GO_TEST_MODE: "-short",
       TEST_SHARD_COUNT: String(job.strategy.matrix.shard.length),
     },
   });