diff --git a/.npmrc b/.npmrc
index 35cdb76..e72177a 100644
--- a/.npmrc
+++ b/.npmrc
@@ -1 +1,5 @@
 @mosaicstack:registry=https://git.mosaicstack.dev/api/packages/mosaicstack/npm/
+# Pin the pnpm store to the same path the ci-base image warms (Dockerfile.ci),
+# so the pipeline `pnpm install --prefer-offline` consumes the baked store
+# instead of repopulating a fresh one.
+store-dir=/root/.local/share/pnpm/store
diff --git a/.woodpecker/ci.yml b/.woodpecker/ci.yml
index 92bb311..46a839f 100644
--- a/.woodpecker/ci.yml
+++ b/.woodpecker/ci.yml
@@ -1,5 +1,9 @@
+# &node_image is the pre-baked CI base built by .woodpecker/ci-image.yml:
+# node:22-alpine + python3/make/g++/postgresql-client + pnpm + a warm pnpm
+# store. The install step resolves from the baked store (--prefer-offline)
+# instead of paying a ~731s cold fetch + native compile every run.
 variables:
-  - &node_image 'node:22-alpine'
+  - &node_image 'git.mosaicstack.dev/mosaicstack/stack/ci-base:latest'
   - &enable_pnpm 'corepack enable'
 
 when:
@@ -15,8 +19,9 @@ steps:
     image: *node_image
     commands:
       - corepack enable
-      - apk add --no-cache python3 make g++
-      - pnpm install --frozen-lockfile
+      # python3/make/g++ are baked into ci-base; --prefer-offline resolves from
+      # the baked pnpm store.
+      - pnpm install --frozen-lockfile --prefer-offline
 
   # Blocking gate: public framework package must contain no operator-specific
   # personal data or private $HOME defaults. Runs early (no node_modules needed).
@@ -64,8 +69,7 @@ steps:
       DATABASE_URL: postgresql://mosaic:mosaic@ci-postgres:5432/mosaic
     commands:
       - *enable_pnpm
-      # Install postgresql-client for pg_isready
-      - apk add --no-cache postgresql-client
+      # postgresql-client (pg_isready) is baked into ci-base.
       # Wait up to 60s for CI postgres to be ready; fail fast if it never comes up.
       - |
         ready=0
diff --git a/.woodpecker/publish.yml b/.woodpecker/publish.yml
index 8eb4685..9adc6e3 100644
--- a/.woodpecker/publish.yml
+++ b/.woodpecker/publish.yml
@@ -2,7 +2,9 @@
 # Runs only on main branch push/tag
 
 variables:
-  - &node_image 'node:22-alpine'
+  # Pre-baked CI base (see .woodpecker/ci-image.yml): node:22-alpine +
+  # toolchain + warm pnpm store. Kills the second cold install publish pays.
+  - &node_image 'git.mosaicstack.dev/mosaicstack/stack/ci-base:latest'
   - &enable_pnpm 'corepack enable'
   # Heavy kaniko image builds (~25 min) — gate them so a merge that only touches
   # the npm-only CLI (@mosaicstack/mosaic) or docs does NOT rebuild the platform
@@ -31,7 +33,8 @@ steps:
     image: *node_image
     commands:
       - corepack enable
-      - pnpm install --frozen-lockfile
+      # Resolve from the baked pnpm store instead of a cold network fetch.
+      - pnpm install --frozen-lockfile --prefer-offline
 
   build:
     image: *node_image
diff --git a/packages/mosaic/framework/tools/quality/templates/monorepo/.woodpecker.yml b/packages/mosaic/framework/tools/quality/templates/monorepo/.woodpecker.yml
index 13d19a1..2c37c5b 100644
--- a/packages/mosaic/framework/tools/quality/templates/monorepo/.woodpecker.yml
+++ b/packages/mosaic/framework/tools/quality/templates/monorepo/.woodpecker.yml
@@ -2,12 +2,20 @@
 when:
   - event: [push, pull_request, manual]
 
+# Dependencies are installed ONCE in the `install` step and every downstream
+# step depends on it, reusing the populated node_modules from the shared
+# workspace volume. Do NOT re-run `npm ci` per step — that pays the full cold
+# install (network fetch + native rebuilds) N times and is the dominant cost
+# in a pipeline.
+#
+# For best results, replace `&node_image` with a pre-baked CI base image that
+# ships your toolchain (python3/make/g++ for native modules) and a warm npm
+# cache, then keep `--prefer-offline` so installs resolve from the cache. See
+# the Mosaic Stack repo's Dockerfile.ci + .woodpecker/ci-image.yml for the
+# baked-image pattern.
 variables:
   - &node_image 'node:20-alpine'
   - &gitleaks_image 'ghcr.io/gitleaks/gitleaks:v8.24.0'
-  - &install_deps |
-    corepack enable
-    npm ci --ignore-scripts
 
 steps:
   # Secret scanning (runs in parallel with install, no deps)
@@ -17,15 +25,18 @@ steps:
       - gitleaks git --redact --verbose --log-opts="HEAD~1..HEAD"
     depends_on: []
 
+  # Single cached install. Every other step depends on this and reuses the
+  # node_modules it produces in the shared workspace.
   install:
     image: *node_image
     commands:
-      - *install_deps
+      - corepack enable
+      - npm ci --ignore-scripts --prefer-offline
+    depends_on: []
 
   security-audit:
     image: *node_image
     commands:
-      - *install_deps
       - npm audit --audit-level=high
     depends_on:
       - install
@@ -35,7 +46,6 @@ steps:
     environment:
       SKIP_ENV_VALIDATION: 'true'
     commands:
-      - *install_deps
       - npm run lint
     depends_on:
       - install
@@ -45,7 +55,6 @@ steps:
     environment:
       SKIP_ENV_VALIDATION: 'true'
     commands:
-      - *install_deps
       - npm run type-check
     depends_on:
       - install
@@ -55,7 +64,6 @@ steps:
     environment:
       SKIP_ENV_VALIDATION: 'true'
     commands:
-      - *install_deps
       - npm run test -- --coverage --coverageThreshold='{"global":{"branches":80,"functions":80,"lines":80,"statements":80}}'
     depends_on:
       - install
@@ -66,7 +74,6 @@ steps:
       SKIP_ENV_VALIDATION: 'true'
       NODE_ENV: 'production'
     commands:
-      - *install_deps
       - npm run build
     depends_on:
       - lint