diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index ff24c56..310c86f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ jobs:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v7
 
       - name: Set up Python
-        uses: actions/setup-python@v6
+        uses: actions/setup-python@v7
         with:
           python-version: ${{ matrix.python }}
           cache: pip
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ jobs:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v7
 
       - name: Set up Python
-        uses: actions/setup-python@v6
+        uses: actions/setup-python@v7
         with:
           python-version: "3.12"
           cache: pip
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index 4ea986b..93dc8f6 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ jobs:
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v7
 
-      - uses: actions/setup-python@v6
+      - uses: actions/setup-python@v7
         with:
           python-version: "3.12"
           cache: pip
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ jobs:
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v7
 
-      - uses: actions/setup-python@v6
+      - uses: actions/setup-python@v7
         with:
           python-version: "3.12"
           cache: pip
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index f6a3661..a066607 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -87,6 +87,10 @@ agentdrive = ["*.yaml", "*.json", "genomes/**/*", "mission_control/static/**/*"]
 [tool.ruff]
 line-length = 100
 target-version = "py311"
+# Ruff 0.16+ formats fenced Python inside Markdown. Specs under src/ (e.g.
+# LOOM_DREAMING_SPEC.md) are documentation, not source — keep them out of
+# format/lint so CI does not fail on example snippets.
+extend-exclude = ["**/*.md"]
 
 [tool.ruff.lint]
 # Focused ruleset — bugs we genuinely want caught, not stylistic noise.