fix(ci): cap heavy builds at two runners with the omni-build label

.github/workflows/ci.yml

@@ -606,12 +606,12 @@ jobs:
     # Dynamic runner: when the release captain flips the USE_VPS_RUNNER repo var to
     # 'true' (scripts/vps/release-runner-up.sh does it after the self-hosted VM is
     # online), the heavy jobs run on the dedicated 32-core VPS runners (label
-    # omni-release) instead of queueing on the 20-concurrent-job hosted pool.
+    # omni-build) instead of queueing on the 20-concurrent-job hosted pool.
     # Safety: fork PRs NEVER reach the self-hosted runner — the expression falls
     # back to ubuntu-latest unless the PR head repo is this repository (push /
     # dispatch events are own-origin by definition). Any failure path (VM down,
     # var unset/false) also falls back to ubuntu-latest.
-    runs-on: ${{ (vars.USE_VPS_RUNNER == 'true' && (github.event_name != 'pull_request' || github.event.pull_request.head.repo.full_name == github.repository)) && fromJSON('["self-hosted","omni-release"]') || 'ubuntu-latest' }}
+    runs-on: ${{ (vars.USE_VPS_RUNNER == 'true' && (github.event_name != 'pull_request' || github.event.pull_request.head.repo.full_name == github.repository)) && fromJSON('["self-hosted","omni-build"]') || 'ubuntu-latest' }}
     needs: changes
     # The .113 pool runs ONE next-build with room to spare and two at the edge: the
     # box has 31 GB and a single next-build peaks at 14–16 GB RSS. On 2026-08-28

.github/workflows/nightly-release-green.yml

@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ jobs:
     # this runs on the dedicated VPS runner — clean env (no operator OMNIROUTE_API_KEY,
     # no local noauth CLIs => zero machine-specific false positives) and no contention.
     # Nightly cron normally finds the var false (VM off) and falls back to hosted.
-    runs-on: ${{ (vars.USE_VPS_RUNNER == 'true' && fromJSON('["self-hosted","omni-release"]')) || 'ubuntu-latest' }}
+    runs-on: ${{ (vars.USE_VPS_RUNNER == 'true' && fromJSON('["self-hosted","omni-build"]')) || 'ubuntu-latest' }}
     env:
       JWT_SECRET: ci-nightly-secret-with-sufficient-length-for-validation
       API_KEY_SECRET: ci-nightly-api-key-secret-long
@@ -217,7 +217,7 @@ jobs:
     # On a push, only run for a push to main — a push to release/* is handled by
     # release-green above. Schedule/dispatch always run (they also sweep main).
     if: ${{ github.event_name != 'push' || github.ref_name == 'main' }}
-    runs-on: ${{ (vars.USE_VPS_RUNNER == 'true' && fromJSON('["self-hosted","omni-release"]')) || 'ubuntu-latest' }}
+    runs-on: ${{ (vars.USE_VPS_RUNNER == 'true' && fromJSON('["self-hosted","omni-build"]')) || 'ubuntu-latest' }}
     env:
       JWT_SECRET: ci-nightly-secret-with-sufficient-length-for-validation
       API_KEY_SECRET: ci-nightly-api-key-secret-long

.github/workflows/npm-publish.yml

@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ jobs:
     # mid-"Creating an optimized production build" while v3.8.48 had still fit in 16min.
     # This job never runs on `pull_request`, so the fork-safety clause is always true here;
     # it is kept verbatim so the expression stays greppable against ci.yml.
-    runs-on: ${{ (vars.USE_VPS_RUNNER == 'true' && (github.event_name != 'pull_request' || github.event.pull_request.head.repo.full_name == github.repository)) && fromJSON('["self-hosted","omni-release"]') || 'ubuntu-latest' }}
+    runs-on: ${{ (vars.USE_VPS_RUNNER == 'true' && (github.event_name != 'pull_request' || github.event.pull_request.head.repo.full_name == github.repository)) && fromJSON('["self-hosted","omni-build"]') || 'ubuntu-latest' }}
     outputs:
       version: ${{ steps.resolve.outputs.version }}
       tag: ${{ steps.resolve.outputs.tag }}

changelog.d/maintenance/ci-omni-build-runner-label.md

@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+- Every CI job that runs a `next build` (`build`, the npm `publish`, both release-green
+  validations) now targets the `omni-build` runner label, which only two of the eight
+  self-hosted runners carry. The box holds one build comfortably and two at the edge; a
+  third now queues on GitHub instead of being OOM-killed by the kernel.

docs/ops/RUNNER_BOX.md

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ title: Self-Hosted Runner Box Operations
 
 # Self-Hosted Runner Box Operations (.113 pool)
 
-The self-hosted pool (`self-hosted, omni-release` labels) runs on the **.113** box.
+The self-hosted pool (`self-hosted, omni-release` on all eight runners; `omni-build` on two) runs on the **.113** box.
 Measured 2026-08-28 (v3.8.50 postmortem, Parte III):
 
 | resource  | value                                                            | what it means for scheduling                                                                                                                  |
@@ -49,10 +49,14 @@ a time, only when idle**, with the idle check and the restart in the same comman
 
 ## Operating rules
 
-- **Heavy-build ceiling: 2 at a time.** The listener ceiling (`MAX_ACTIVE_RUNNERS=8`
-  in cron) is a proxy until jobs are split by label — `omni-build` on 2 runners for
-  Build/publish/heavy shards, `omni-light` on the rest — which is an operator
-  decision, not something cron should enforce by killing listeners.
+- **Heavy-build ceiling: 2 at a time — enforced by label.** Every job that runs a
+  `next build` (`ci.yml` `build`, `npm-publish.yml` `publish`, both `nightly-release-green`
+  validations) targets `[self-hosted, omni-build]`, and only **two** runners carry that
+  label (`omniroute-113-5`, `omniroute-113-6`, added through the runners API — no
+  re-registration). The other six keep `omni-release` and take nothing heavy; GitHub
+  queues a third build instead of the kernel killing one. Pair with the `heavy-build-*`
+  concurrency lanes in `ci.yml`. To add capacity, label another runner — never raise
+  the count past what 31 GB holds (one next-build ≈ 14–16 GB).
 - **Never clean `/tmp` or `_work` by hand while any runner is busy.** A
   check-then-delete with a gap between the two is how a live Build job lost its
   `_work` on 2026-08-27. The janitor does the check and the removal in one step;