diff --git a/.github/workflows/audit-check.yml b/.github/workflows/audit-check.yml
index 515e41fd..ed347dde 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/audit-check.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/audit-check.yml
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ on:
   push:
     branches: [main, develop]
   schedule:
-    - cron: "0 0 * * 0"  # Weekly on Sunday
+    - cron: "0 0 * * 0" # Weekly on Sunday
 
 jobs:
   audit:
@@ -18,10 +18,10 @@ jobs:
 
     steps:
       - name: 📥 Checkout code
-        uses: actions/checkout@11bd71901bbe5b1630ceea73d27597364c9af683 # v4
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
       - name: 🟢 Setup Node.js
-        uses: actions/setup-node@49933ea5288caeca8642d1e84afbd3f7d6820020 # v4
+        uses: actions/setup-node@v4
         with:
           node-version: "20"
 
@@ -31,15 +31,15 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           npm install --prefer-offline --no-audit 2>&1 | head -20
           AUDIT_JSON=$(npm audit --json 2>/dev/null || echo '{"metadata":{"vulnerabilities":{"critical":0,"high":0,"moderate":0}}}')
-          
+
           CRITICAL=$(echo "$AUDIT_JSON" | jq '.metadata.vulnerabilities.critical // 0')
           HIGH=$(echo "$AUDIT_JSON" | jq '.metadata.vulnerabilities.high // 0')
           MODERATE=$(echo "$AUDIT_JSON" | jq '.metadata.vulnerabilities.moderate // 0')
-          
+
           echo "backend_critical=$CRITICAL" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
           echo "backend_high=$HIGH" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
           echo "backend_moderate=$MODERATE" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-          
+
           echo "### 🔍 Backend Audit Results" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
           echo "| Severity | Count |" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
           echo "|----------|-------|" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ jobs:
           echo "| High | $HIGH |" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
           echo "| Moderate | $MODERATE |" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
           echo "" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
-          
+
           if (( CRITICAL > 0 )); then
             echo "❌ **CRITICAL vulnerabilities detected**" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
             echo "::error::Critical vulnerabilities in backend: $CRITICAL"
@@ -65,15 +65,15 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           npm install --prefer-offline --no-audit 2>&1 | head -20
           AUDIT_JSON=$(npm audit --json 2>/dev/null || echo '{"metadata":{"vulnerabilities":{"critical":0,"high":0,"moderate":0}}}')
-          
+
           CRITICAL=$(echo "$AUDIT_JSON" | jq '.metadata.vulnerabilities.critical // 0')
           HIGH=$(echo "$AUDIT_JSON" | jq '.metadata.vulnerabilities.high // 0')
           MODERATE=$(echo "$AUDIT_JSON" | jq '.metadata.vulnerabilities.moderate // 0')
-          
+
           echo "frontend_critical=$CRITICAL" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
           echo "frontend_high=$HIGH" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
           echo "frontend_moderate=$MODERATE" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-          
+
           echo "### 🔍 Frontend Audit Results" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
           echo "| Severity | Count |" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
           echo "|----------|-------|" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ jobs:
           echo "| High | $HIGH |" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
           echo "| Moderate | $MODERATE |" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
           echo "" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
-          
+
           if (( CRITICAL > 0 )); then
             echo "❌ **CRITICAL vulnerabilities detected**" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
             echo "::error::Critical vulnerabilities in frontend: $CRITICAL"
@@ -95,10 +95,10 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: 💬 Comment on PR with audit summary
         if: github.event_name == 'pull_request' && always()
-        uses: actions/github-script@f28e40c7f34bde8b3046d885e986cb6290c5673b # v7
+        uses: actions/github-script@v7
         with:
           github-token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-          script: >-
+          script: |
             const backendCritical = '${{ steps.backend-audit.outputs.backend_critical }}' || '0';
             const backendHigh = '${{ steps.backend-audit.outputs.backend_high }}' || '0';
             const frontendCritical = '${{ steps.frontend-audit.outputs.frontend_critical }}' || '0';
diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 09aa0fc9..20cabdcf 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -221,6 +221,8 @@ jobs:
       - name: Backup / restore drill
         run: ./scripts/pg-backup-restore.sh drill
 
+  # Futurenet deploy is intentionally NOT part of this job.
+  # Use the manual "Futurenet Smoke (manual)" workflow_dispatch instead.
   contract:
     name: Contract (Rust)
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
diff --git a/.github/workflows/futurenet-smoke.yml b/.github/workflows/futurenet-smoke.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..63e722e5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/futurenet-smoke.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,88 @@
+name: Futurenet Smoke (manual)
+
+# Manual-only: never runs on push/pull_request so it cannot block PR CI.
+# Trigger via: Actions → "Futurenet Smoke (manual)" → Run workflow
+on:
+  workflow_dispatch:
+    inputs:
+      stellar_cli:
+        description: "stellar-cli version (e.g. 25.2.0)"
+        required: false
+        default: "25.2.0"
+
+# Prevent two smoke runs from racing on the same network identity.
+concurrency:
+  group: futurenet-smoke
+  cancel-in-progress: false
+
+jobs:
+  smoke:
+    name: Deploy & verify on Futurenet
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    timeout-minutes: 30
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Install system dependencies
+        run: |
+          sudo apt-get update -qq
+          sudo apt-get install -y libdbus-1-dev libudev-dev pkg-config
+
+      - name: Install Rust (stable)
+        uses: dtolnay/rust-toolchain@stable
+        with:
+          targets: wasm32-unknown-unknown,wasm32v1-none
+
+      - name: Rust cache
+        uses: Swatinem/rust-cache@v2
+        with:
+          workspaces: contract
+          prefix-key: futurenet-smoke
+
+      - name: Cache stellar CLI binary
+        id: stellar-cache
+        uses: actions/cache@v4
+        with:
+          path: ~/.cargo/bin/stellar
+          key: stellar-cli-${{ inputs.stellar_cli }}-${{ runner.os }}-v1
+
+      - name: Install Stellar CLI
+        if: steps.stellar-cache.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
+        run: cargo install stellar-cli --locked --version ${{ inputs.stellar_cli }}
+
+      - name: Deploy and verify on Futurenet
+        id: deploy
+        run: |
+          ./scripts/deploy.sh \
+            --network futurenet \
+            --source "ci-${{ github.run_id }}-${{ github.run_attempt }}" \
+            --out "./deployed-futurenet-smoke.json" \
+            --env-out "./.env.deployed-futurenet-smoke"
+        working-directory: contract
+
+      - name: Smoke summary
+        if: always()
+        run: |
+          echo "## Futurenet Smoke" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
+          echo "" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
+          if [[ "${{ steps.deploy.outcome }}" == "success" ]]; then
+            echo "✅ Deploy + post-deploy verification passed." >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
+            if [[ -f contract/deployed-futurenet-smoke.json ]]; then
+              echo "" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
+              echo '```json' >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
+              cat contract/deployed-futurenet-smoke.json >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
+              echo '```' >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
+            fi
+          else
+            echo "❌ Deploy step failed — check logs above." >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
+          fi
+
+      - name: Upload deployment artifacts
+        if: always()
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+        with:
+          name: futurenet-smoke-${{ github.run_id }}
+          path: |
+            contract/deployed-futurenet-smoke.json
+            contract/.env.deployed-futurenet-smoke
+          retention-days: 7
diff --git a/docs/release/FUTURENET_SMOKE_CHECKLIST.md b/docs/release/FUTURENET_SMOKE_CHECKLIST.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b7f4a8f3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/release/FUTURENET_SMOKE_CHECKLIST.md
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+# Futurenet Smoke – Manual Checklist
+
+This workflow is **manual-only** (`workflow_dispatch`). It never runs on push or
+pull_request, so it cannot block PR CI.
+
+## How to trigger
+
+1. Go to **Actions → Futurenet Smoke (manual) → Run workflow**.
+2. Optionally override the `stellar_cli` version (default `25.2.0`).
+3. Click **Run workflow**.
+
+## What it does
+
+| Step | Description |
+|------|-------------|
+| Build | Compiles all five contracts to WASM (`myfans-token`, `creator-registry`, `subscription`, `content-access`, `earnings`) |
+| Deploy | Deploys each contract to Futurenet using a fresh ephemeral identity (`ci-<run_id>-<attempt>`) |
+| Init | Initialises each contract in dependency order |
+| Smoke | Calls read-only methods (`admin`, `is-paused`, `has-access`) and asserts expected values |
+| Artifacts | Uploads `deployed-futurenet-smoke.json` and `.env.deployed-futurenet-smoke` (7-day retention) |
+
+## Pass criteria
+
+- All five contracts deploy without error.
+- `token.admin` returns the deployer public key.
+- `subscription.is-paused` returns `false`.
+- `content-access.has-access` returns `false` for the deployer self-check.
+- `earnings.admin` returns the deployer public key.
+- Artifacts are uploaded and downloadable from the run summary.
+
+## Concurrency
+
+Only one smoke run executes at a time (`concurrency: futurenet-smoke`,
+`cancel-in-progress: false`). A second trigger will queue until the first
+finishes.
+
+## Relationship to PR CI
+
+The `ci.yml` workflow (triggered on push/PR) only runs `cargo build` and
+`cargo test` for contracts — it does **not** deploy to any network. Futurenet
+deploy is intentionally gated behind this manual workflow.
+
+## Troubleshooting
+
+| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
+|---------|-------------|-----|
+| `stellar: command not found` | CLI cache miss + install failed | Re-run; cache will rebuild |
+| `Unable to locate wasm for package` | Build failed silently | Check the "Build" step logs |
+| `SMOKE FAIL: token.admin` | Init call failed or wrong contract deployed | Check "initializing" step logs |
+| Futurenet RPC timeout | Network instability | Re-trigger the workflow |