diff --git a/.husky/pre-commit b/.husky/pre-commit
index e6a4980b..127cb2d5 100644
--- a/.husky/pre-commit
+++ b/.husky/pre-commit
@@ -12,8 +12,14 @@ if [ -n "$changed_schema" ]; then
   pnpm --filter drop exec prisma generate || exit 1
 fi
 
-# Whole-repo type-safety + style gate (prettier --check + eslint, no auto-fix).
-pnpm --filter drop lint || exit 1
+# Staged-files style gate (prettier + cargo fmt --check + shellcheck — see
+# server/lint-staged.config.js). ESLint intentionally NOT here: Nuxt3
+# type-aware rules load the full tsconfig regardless of staged subset, so
+# lint-staged gives no timing win for ESLint. Full-repo lint runs via
+# `pnpm --filter drop lint` only in CI (ci.yml), not on commit.
+pnpm --filter drop lint-staged || exit 1
+
+# Typecheck must be full-repo (Nuxt type graph). Not staged-scoped.
 pnpm --filter drop typecheck || exit 1
 
 # Whole-repo shellcheck — all git-tracked .sh files, not just staged ones.
@@ -39,6 +45,28 @@ if [ -n "$tracked_tests" ]; then
   fi
 fi
 
+# Block focused tests leaking into CI (.only / it.only / describe.only).
+# Vitest + Playwright both treat `.only` as a hard focus filter — a single
+# .only in a 200-file test suite means CI runs one spec and reports green.
+focused=$(echo "$tracked_tests" | xargs grep -nE '(\(it|describe|test)\.only\(|fdescribe\(|fit\(' 2>/dev/null || true)
+if [ -n "$focused" ]; then
+  echo "BLOCKED: Focused test detected — remove .only / fit / fdescribe before committing:"
+  echo "$focused"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+# Warn (non-blocking) on skipped tests and assertion-less test files.
+skipped=$(echo "$tracked_tests" | xargs grep -nE '(\(it|describe|test)\.skip\(|xit\(|xdescribe\(' 2>/dev/null || true)
+if [ -n "$skipped" ]; then
+  echo "WARNING: Skipped test(s) detected (consider removing .skip before commit):"
+  echo "$skipped"
+fi
+for tf in $tracked_tests; do
+  if ! grep -q 'expect\|assert' "$tf" 2>/dev/null; then
+    echo "WARNING: $tf has no expect/assert calls — test does not assert anything."
+  fi
+done
+
 # Whole-repo cargo fmt --check across all three rust workspaces (no auto-fix;
 # forces developer to format manually if any .rs file drifts).
 if command -v cargo >/dev/null 2>&1; then
diff --git a/server/lint-staged.config.js b/server/lint-staged.config.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..66e9ebaa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/lint-staged.config.js
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+// lint-staged config — polyglot; runs only on staged files at pre-commit.
+//
+// Scope rule: prettier for web/JS/TS, cargo fmt --check for Rust (no auto-fix
+// on commit; dev runs `cargo fmt` manually), shellcheck for shell. ESLint is
+// intentionally NOT here — Nuxt3 type-aware rules load the full tsconfig
+// regardless of staged subset, so lint-staged offers no timing win for eslint
+// (the full-repo pnpm --filter drop lint command remains in pre-commit).
+//
+// Husky swap (see .husky/pre-commit): `pnpm --filter drop lint` replaced with
+// `pnpm --filter drop lint-staged` so this config runs on staged files only.
+export default {
+  "*.{ts,js,vue,mjs,cjs,tsx,jsx}": "prettier --write",
+  "*.{yml,yaml,json,md}": "prettier --write",
+  "*.rs": (filepath) => {
+    // File-level passthrough so cargo fmt --check runs on the changed crate only.
+    // lint-staged passes the absolute path; derive `--manifest-path` from it.
+    const normalized = filepath.replace(/\\/g, "/");
+    const match = normalized.match(
+      /^(.*\/)(torrential|cli|desktop\/src-tauri)(\/|$)/,
+    );
+    const crate = match ? match[2] : "torrential";
+    return `cargo fmt --all --manifest-path ${crate}/Cargo.toml -- --check`;
+  },
+  "*.sh": "shellcheck --severity=warning",
+};