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+# automerge-gate behavior verification (TEMPORARY)
+
+This file exists only to produce a non-`.github/**` diff so that the
+`actionlint` workflow's `paths` filter excludes this PR.
+
+The associated PR is intentionally never merged. It is closed after
+observing that:
+
+- `actionlint` does NOT appear in `gh pr checks` (paths filter skipped it).
+- `all-passed` (the automerge-gate job) still completes with SUCCESS,
+  proving the gate ignores absent path-filtered workflows rather than
+  blocking on them.
+
+Delete this file by closing the PR and deleting the branch.