diff --git a/.github/workflows/docker-lint.yml b/.github/workflows/docker-lint.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..f1673813e99
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/docker-lint.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+name: Docker / shell lint
+
+# Lints the container build inputs: Dockerfile (via hadolint) and any shell
+# scripts under docker/ (via shellcheck). These catch the class of regression
+# the behavioral docker-publish smoke test can't — unquoted variable
+# expansions, silently-failing RUN commands, etc.
+#
+# Rules and ignores are documented in .hadolint.yaml at the repo root.
+# shellcheck severity is pinned to `error` so SC1091-style "can't follow
+# sourced script" info-level warnings don't fail the job — the .venv
+# activate script doesn't exist at lint time.
+
+on:
+  push:
+    branches: [main]
+    paths:
+      - Dockerfile
+      - docker/**
+      - .hadolint.yaml
+      - .github/workflows/docker-lint.yml
+  pull_request:
+    branches: [main]
+    paths:
+      - Dockerfile
+      - docker/**
+      - .hadolint.yaml
+      - .github/workflows/docker-lint.yml
+
+permissions:
+  contents: read
+
+concurrency:
+  group: docker-lint-${{ github.ref }}
+  cancel-in-progress: true
+
+jobs:
+  hadolint:
+    name: Lint Dockerfile (hadolint)
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    timeout-minutes: 5
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout code
+        uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # v6.0.2
+
+      - name: hadolint
+        uses: hadolint/hadolint-action@54c9adbab1582c2ef04b2016b760714a4bfde3cf # v3.1.0
+        with:
+          dockerfile: Dockerfile
+          config: .hadolint.yaml
+          failure-threshold: warning
+
+  shellcheck:
+    name: Lint docker/ shell scripts (shellcheck)
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    timeout-minutes: 5
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout code
+        uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # v6.0.2
+
+      - name: shellcheck
+        uses: ludeeus/action-shellcheck@00cae500b08a931fb5698e11e79bfbd38e612a38 # v2.0.0
+        env:
+          # Severity = error: SC1091 (can't follow sourced script) is info-
+          # level and would otherwise fail when the venv activate script
+          # doesn't exist at lint time.
+          SHELLCHECK_OPTS: --severity=error
+        with:
+          scandir: ./docker
diff --git a/.hadolint.yaml b/.hadolint.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..295211278a7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.hadolint.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+# hadolint configuration for the Hermes Agent Dockerfile.
+# See https://github.com/hadolint/hadolint#configure for rules.
+#
+# We want hadolint to surface NEW Dockerfile lint regressions, but we
+# don't want to rewrite the existing image to silence rules that are
+# either intentional or pragmatic tradeoffs for this project. Each
+# ignore below has a one-line justification.
+failure-threshold: warning
+
+ignored:
+  # Pin versions in apt get install. We intentionally don't pin common
+  # tools (curl, git, openssh-client, etc.) — security updates flow in
+  # via the periodic base-image rebuild, and pinning would lock us to
+  # superseded patch releases. Same rationale as nearly every distro-
+  # base official image (python, node, debian).
+  - DL3008
+  # Use WORKDIR to switch to a directory. The image uses `(cd web && …)`
+  # / `(cd ../ui-tui && …)` inline subshells for one-off build steps
+  # because they don't affect later RUN commands; promoting them to
+  # full WORKDIR switches with restores would obscure intent.
+  - DL3003
+  # Multiple consecutive RUN instructions. The `touch README.md` + `uv
+  # sync` split is intentional — `touch` is cheap, `uv sync` is the
+  # expensive layer-cached step we want isolated, and merging them
+  # would invalidate the cache for trivial changes.
+  - DL3059
+  # Last USER should not be root. The entrypoint is responsible for
+  # gosu-dropping to the hermes user; running as root is required so
+  # usermod/groupmod can remap UIDs per HERMES_UID at runtime. Phase 2
+  # of the s6-overlay migration preserves this contract — /init runs
+  # as root, individual services drop via s6-setuidgid.
+  - DL3002
+
+# Require explicit base-image pins (SHA256) — we already do this.
+trustedRegistries:
+  - docker.io
+  - ghcr.io