diff --git a/.github/workflows/ctx-pipeline-receive.yml b/.github/workflows/ctx-pipeline-receive.yml
index 208c7a7..1b2b76d 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ctx-pipeline-receive.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ctx-pipeline-receive.yml
@@ -92,6 +92,59 @@ jobs:
           token: ${{ secrets.DOCS_READ_TOKEN }}
           path: .docs-src
           persist-credentials: false
+          # Full history: the monotonicity guard below needs ancestry.
+          fetch-depth: 0
+
+      # Reject out-of-order deliveries: an older dispatch arriving after a
+      # newer import must not roll skills back. The incoming commit must
+      # descend from the last imported one. Fail-closed semantics: only a
+      # genuinely absent prior state proceeds (bootstrap); a state that
+      # exists but cannot be validated FAILS the run — silence here is how
+      # rollbacks happen.
+      - name: Monotonicity guard
+        run: |
+          # True absence only — a directory, FIFO, or broken symlink at this
+          # path is NOT absence; it falls through and fails validation below.
+          if [ ! -e .ctx-gen/state.json ] && [ ! -L .ctx-gen/state.json ]; then
+            echo "no prior import state — bootstrap import proceeds"
+            exit 0
+          fi
+          # Present but not a regular file (dir/FIFO/symlink): fail before
+          # node — require() on a dir can execute code, on a FIFO can hang.
+          if [ ! -f .ctx-gen/state.json ] || [ -L .ctx-gen/state.json ]; then
+            echo "::error::state.json exists but is not a regular file — failing closed"
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          # Exactly one distinct recorded docsCommit, and it must look like a
+          # commit hash. Disagreement or garbage = corrupt state: fail, don't guess.
+          last=$(node -e '
+            const s = require("./.ctx-gen/state.json");
+            const entries = Object.values(s);
+            if (entries.length === 0) { console.error("state.json is present but empty — not a bootstrap; reset it explicitly if intended"); process.exit(1); }
+            // EVERY entry must carry the same valid commit — a partial state
+            // (some entries missing docsCommit) is corruption, not a quorum.
+            const commits = entries.map(v => v && v.docsCommit);
+            if (commits.some(c => !/^[0-9a-f]{40}$/.test(c || ""))) { console.error("state entry missing or malformed docsCommit — state is partial/corrupt"); process.exit(1); }
+            const distinct = [...new Set(commits)];
+            if (distinct.length > 1) { console.error("state.json records conflicting docsCommit values: " + distinct.join(", ")); process.exit(1); }
+            console.log(distinct[0]);
+          ') || { echo "::error::import state exists but cannot be validated — failing closed (fix or explicitly reset .ctx-gen/state.json)"; exit 1; }
+          incoming=$(git -C .docs-src rev-parse HEAD)
+          if ! git -C .docs-src cat-file -e "$last" 2>/dev/null; then
+            echo "::error::last imported commit $last is not present in the docs checkout — cannot establish ordering (incomplete fetch or rewritten history); failing closed"
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          rc=0
+          git -C .docs-src merge-base --is-ancestor "$last" "$incoming" || rc=$?
+          if [ "$rc" = 1 ]; then
+            echo "::notice::stale delivery: incoming $incoming does not descend from last imported $last — skipping (a newer import already covers this)"
+            echo "SKIP_IMPORT=1" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+          elif [ "$rc" != 0 ]; then
+            echo "::error::merge-base failed with status $rc — cannot establish ordering; failing closed"
+            exit 1
+          fi
+
+
 
       - name: Resolve docs commit
         id: docs
@@ -99,6 +152,7 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Import changed skills
         id: import
+        if: env.SKIP_IMPORT != '1'
         run: node scripts/ctx-receive.mjs --docs .docs-src --docs-commit "${{ steps.docs.outputs.sha }}"
 
       - name: Open or update the rolling sync PR