diff --git a/src/workers/continuum-core/tests/no_cpu_fallback_contract.rs b/src/workers/continuum-core/tests/no_cpu_fallback_contract.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3b443651b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/workers/continuum-core/tests/no_cpu_fallback_contract.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+//! Regression test for the no-CPU-fallback alpha contract (#1262 → #1275).
+//!
+//! Continuum's documented contract per `project_continuum_alpha_product_bar_sensory_personas.md`
+//! and `docs/architecture/SENSORY-PERSONA-ALPHA-CONTRACT.md` is **NO silent CPU fallback**:
+//! standard personas use `SiliconResidencyRequirement::GpuOrUnifiedMemoryOnly` and the model
+//! resolver is supposed to refuse rather than fall through to CPU.
+//!
+//! The contract is enforced at runtime by `inference::model::select_best_device` (panics if
+//! no GPU device is available) and by `inference::ort_providers` (CPU-fallback comment block
+//! at line ~119). This test asserts those invariants by inspection of the source files —
+//! a future PR that removes the loud-fail panic, weakens the message, or adds a silent
+//! CPU branch will fail this test.
+//!
+//! This is a **forbidden-strings ratchet** following the established pattern from lane F
+//! PR-2 (#1129 — TS persona forbidden-strings) applied to the Rust inference layer.
+//!
+//! Audit context:
+//!   https://github.com/CambrianTech/continuum/issues/1262#issuecomment-4461757997
+
+const SELECT_BEST_DEVICE_SOURCE: &str =
+    include_str!("../src/inference/model.rs");
+
+const ORT_PROVIDERS_SOURCE: &str =
+    include_str!("../src/inference/ort_providers.rs");
+
+const LLAMACPP_ADAPTER_SOURCE: &str =
+    include_str!("../src/inference/llamacpp_adapter.rs");
+
+#[test]
+fn select_best_device_panics_loudly_on_no_gpu() {
+    // The function MUST contain an explicit panic with a message that tells
+    // the user why we won't fall through to CPU. If a future PR removes the
+    // panic, weakens the message, or replaces it with a silent fallback
+    // (e.g. `Device::Cpu` return), this test fails and the no-CPU-fallback
+    // alpha contract is preserved.
+
+    assert!(
+        SELECT_BEST_DEVICE_SOURCE.contains("panic!(\"No GPU device available for inference. CPU fallback is disabled.\")"),
+        "select_best_device must loud-fail with the documented message. \
+         If you changed it, update both this test and the alpha contract docs \
+         (docs/architecture/SENSORY-PERSONA-ALPHA-CONTRACT.md). \
+         A silent fallthrough to Device::Cpu was the bug #1262 was filed for."
+    );
+
+    // Belt-and-suspenders: verify the function explicitly returns Device early
+    // for both Cuda and Metal cases (the only legitimate non-panic exits).
+    assert!(
+        SELECT_BEST_DEVICE_SOURCE.contains("Device::new_cuda(0)"),
+        "select_best_device must try CUDA before panicking"
+    );
+    assert!(
+        SELECT_BEST_DEVICE_SOURCE.contains("Device::new_metal(0)"),
+        "select_best_device must try Metal before panicking"
+    );
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn ort_providers_documents_no_cpu_fallback_contract() {
+    // ort_providers.rs carries the same contract for the ORT consumer
+    // (embedding / TTS / STT / vision via ONNX Runtime). The doc string
+    // must remain present so the architectural rule is discoverable from
+    // source alone.
+
+    assert!(
+        ORT_PROVIDERS_SOURCE.contains("CPU fallback is forbidden"),
+        "ort_providers.rs must document 'CPU fallback is forbidden' for the ORT consumer. \
+         If you removed the comment, the no-CPU-fallback rule is no longer self-documenting \
+         from source — surface the rule in another way before removing the comment."
+    );
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn llamacpp_adapter_uses_loud_fail_for_no_local_model() {
+    // The production adapter must use the typed `NoLocalModelLoadable` error
+    // (shipped in #1093 / lane A PR-2) rather than a silent fallthrough when
+    // no local GGUF is on disk.
+
+    assert!(
+        LLAMACPP_ADAPTER_SOURCE.contains("NoLocalModelLoadable"),
+        "LlamaCppAdapter must use the typed NoLocalModelLoadable error for missing-model cases. \
+         If you replaced it with a silent skip / Result::Ok-with-None / log-and-continue, \
+         the no-fallback alpha contract is violated and the user gets 1 tok/sec CPU instead \
+         of a clear 'install missing artifact' error."
+    );
+}