diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
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+# Minimal CI skeleton for the Theme Song Booth
+# Runs lightweight checks on every push to catch obvious breakage before
+# deployment. No tests yet, so the test job is a placeholder.
+
+stages:
+  - check
+  - test
+
+syntax:
+  stage: check
+  image: python:3.12-slim
+  before_script:
+    - pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements.txt
+  script:
+    - python -m py_compile app.py models.py config.py init_db.py
+  rules:
+    - if: '$CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == "push"'
+
+# Placeholder for future pytest tests. Currently skips gracefully when no
+# tests are present so the pipeline stays green while tests are being added.
+pytest:
+  stage: test
+  image: python:3.12-slim
+  before_script:
+    - pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements.txt pytest
+  script:
+    - |
+      if find . -type f -name "test_*.py" -o -name "*_test.py" | grep -q .; then
+        pytest
+      else
+        echo "No tests found; skipping."
+      fi
+  rules:
+    - if: '$CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == "push"'