diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/ci.yaml b/.gitea/workflows/ci.yaml
index f8ac898..c7a2aed 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/ci.yaml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/ci.yaml
@@ -316,9 +316,13 @@ jobs:
     # Auto test-deploy on a PR into development and on the push that merges it.
     # A PR into master is test-only (this job is skipped); prod deploy is manual.
     # Gates on `gate` (so a real test failure blocks the deploy) but runs even when
-    # some test jobs were path-skipped.
-    needs: [gate]
-    if: ${{ (github.event_name == 'push' && github.ref == 'refs/heads/development') || (github.event_name == 'pull_request' && github.base_ref == 'development') }}
+    # some test jobs were path-skipped. Skipped entirely when neither the Go nor the
+    # UI side changed (e.g. a docs-only change): the contour image is unchanged, so
+    # there is nothing to redeploy. `changes` still defaults both to true when the
+    # diff is uncomputable, and a workflow/deploy edit forces both true, so an
+    # ambiguous or infra change still deploys as a safety net.
+    needs: [changes, gate]
+    if: ${{ (needs.changes.outputs.go == 'true' || needs.changes.outputs.ui == 'true') && ((github.event_name == 'push' && github.ref == 'refs/heads/development') || (github.event_name == 'pull_request' && github.base_ref == 'development')) }}
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     defaults:
       run: