diff --git a/gitea/actions/local-ci-build/action.yml b/gitea/actions/local-ci-build/action.yml
index 58e2bcc..6f5f524 100644
--- a/gitea/actions/local-ci-build/action.yml
+++ b/gitea/actions/local-ci-build/action.yml
@@ -139,6 +139,15 @@ inputs:
     required: false
     default: 'false'
 
+  skip-artifact:
+    description: >
+      Set to "true" to skip artifact packaging and collection entirely.
+      Use for jobs that intentionally produce no output (lint, static analysis,
+      test-only). When absent (default), the build MUST produce artifact-source
+      or the job fails.
+    required: false
+    default: 'false'
+
 outputs:
   artifact-path:
     description: >
@@ -174,6 +183,7 @@ runs:
         INPUT_REPO_URL:              ${{ inputs.repo-url }}
         INPUT_EXTRA_GUEST_ENV_JSON:  ${{ inputs.extra-guest-env-json }}
         INPUT_USE_SHARED_CACHE:      ${{ inputs.use-shared-cache }}
+        INPUT_SKIP_ARTIFACT:         ${{ inputs.skip-artifact }}
       run: |
         #Requires -Version 5.1
         Set-StrictMode -Version Latest
@@ -254,9 +264,10 @@ runs:
             Configuration       = $env:INPUT_CONFIGURATION
         }
 
-        if ($env:INPUT_SUBMODULES    -eq 'true') { $params['Submodules']    = $true }
+        if ($env:INPUT_SUBMODULES       -eq 'true') { $params['Submodules']    = $true }
         if ($env:INPUT_USE_GIT_CLONE    -eq 'true') { $params['UseGitClone']    = $true }
         if ($env:INPUT_USE_SHARED_CACHE -eq 'true') { $params['UseSharedCache'] = $true }
+        if ($env:INPUT_SKIP_ARTIFACT    -eq 'true') { $params['SkipArtifact']   = $true }
         if ($resolvedTemplatePath)                   { $params['TemplatePath']   = $resolvedTemplatePath }
         if ($resolvedSnapshotName)                { $params['SnapshotName']  = $resolvedSnapshotName }
         if ($extraGuestEnv.Count -gt 0)           { $params['ExtraGuestEnv'] = $extraGuestEnv }
@@ -270,7 +281,7 @@ runs:
 
     # ── Upload build artifacts on success ─────────────────────────────────────
     - name: Upload artifacts
-      if: success()
+      if: success() && inputs.skip-artifact != 'true'
       uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
       with:
         name: ${{ steps.invoke-ci.outputs.artifact-name }}
diff --git a/scripts/Invoke-CIJob.ps1 b/scripts/Invoke-CIJob.ps1
index 6cd4f63..a2c1b07 100644
--- a/scripts/Invoke-CIJob.ps1
+++ b/scripts/Invoke-CIJob.ps1
@@ -105,6 +105,11 @@ param(
     # Requires Set-TemplateSharedFolders.ps1 to have been run on the template.
     [switch] $UseSharedCache,
 
+    # Skip artifact packaging (Invoke-RemoteBuild) and collection (Phase 6).
+    # Use for jobs that intentionally produce no output (lint, test-only, etc.).
+    # When absent, the build must produce GuestArtifactSource or the job fails.
+    [switch] $SkipArtifact,
+
     # Credential Manager target for Gitea PAT used by -UseGitClone (private repos).
     # Store with: New-StoredCredential -Target 'GiteaPAT' -UserName '<user>' -Password '<pat>' -Persist LocalMachine
     # Ignored when -UseGitClone is not set.
@@ -494,12 +499,17 @@ try {
     if ($GuestArtifactSource -ne '') { $remoteBuildParams['GuestArtifactSource'] = $GuestArtifactSource }
     if ($ExtraGuestEnv.Count -gt 0)  { $remoteBuildParams['ExtraGuestEnv']       = $ExtraGuestEnv }
     if ($UseSharedCache)             { $remoteBuildParams['UseSharedCache']       = $true }
+    if ($SkipArtifact)               { $remoteBuildParams['SkipArtifact']         = $true }
     & "$scriptDir\Invoke-RemoteBuild.ps1" @remoteBuildParams
     Write-JobEvent -Phase 'phase5.build' -Status 'success'
     $phaseTimings.Add([PSCustomObject]@{ Phase = 'Phase 5 - Remote build'; Sec = [int]((Get-Date) - $phaseStart).TotalSeconds })
     $phaseStart = Get-Date
 
     # ── Phase 6: Collect artifacts ────────────────────────────────────────
+    if ($SkipArtifact) {
+        Write-Host "`n[Phase 6/6] Artifact collection skipped (-SkipArtifact)."
+        Write-JobEvent -Phase 'phase6.artifacts' -Status 'skipped'
+    } else {
         Write-Host "`n[Phase 6/6] Collecting artifacts..."
         Write-JobEvent -Phase 'phase6.artifacts' -Status 'start'
         if ($GuestOS -eq 'Linux') {
@@ -520,7 +530,8 @@ try {
                 -HostArtifactDir   $jobArtifactDir `
                 -IncludeLogs
         }
-    Write-JobEvent -Phase 'phase6.artifacts' -Status 'success' -Data @{ dir = $jobArtifactDir }
+        Write-JobEvent -Phase 'phase6.artifacts' -Status 'success' -Data @{ dir = $jobArtifactDir }
+    }
     $elapsed = (Get-Date) - $startTime
     Write-JobEvent -Phase 'job' -Status 'success' -Data @{ elapsedSec = [int]$elapsed.TotalSeconds }
     $phaseTimings.Add([PSCustomObject]@{ Phase = 'Phase 6 - Artifacts'; Sec = [int]((Get-Date) - $phaseStart).TotalSeconds })
diff --git a/scripts/Invoke-RemoteBuild.ps1 b/scripts/Invoke-RemoteBuild.ps1
index 80ee488..6c180a4 100644
--- a/scripts/Invoke-RemoteBuild.ps1
+++ b/scripts/Invoke-RemoteBuild.ps1
@@ -126,6 +126,10 @@ param(
     # and VMware Tools HGFS driver present in the guest.
     [switch] $UseSharedCache,
 
+    # Skip artifact packaging entirely. Use for jobs that produce no output.
+    # When absent, missing GuestArtifactSource after a successful build is an error.
+    [switch] $SkipArtifact,
+
     # Guest OS type — Linux uses SSH instead of WinRM.
     [ValidateSet('Windows', 'Linux')]
     [string] $GuestOS = 'Windows',
@@ -427,7 +431,7 @@ try {
         # ── Custom build command (e.g. python, msbuild, cmake…) ──────────
         Write-Host "[Invoke-RemoteBuild] Running build command: $BuildCommand"
         $buildExit = Invoke-Command -Session $session -ScriptBlock {
-            param($workDir, $cmd, $artifactZip, $artifactSrc, $useCache, $extraEnv)
+            param($workDir, $cmd, $artifactZip, $artifactSrc, $useCache, $extraEnv, $skipArt)
             # Unbuffered Python output — lines appear in real-time instead of being held in buffer
             $env:PYTHONUNBUFFERED = '1'
             if ($useCache) {
@@ -442,14 +446,14 @@ try {
             & cmd /c "$cmd 2>&1" | ForEach-Object { Write-Host $_ }
             $exit = $LASTEXITCODE
 
-            if ($exit -eq 0) {
+            if ($exit -eq 0 -and -not $skipArt) {
                 $archiveDir = Split-Path $artifactZip -Parent
                 if (-not (Test-Path $archiveDir)) {
                     New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $archiveDir -Force | Out-Null
                 }
                 $srcPath = Join-Path $workDir $artifactSrc
                 if (-not (Test-Path $srcPath)) {
-                    throw "Artifact source directory not found: $srcPath. Build succeeded (exit 0) but produced no output. Check GuestArtifactSource."
+                    throw "Artifact source directory not found: $srcPath. Build succeeded (exit 0) but produced no output. Check GuestArtifactSource or set skip-artifact: 'true' in the workflow."
                 }
                 else {
                     $7zip = 'C:\Program Files\7-Zip\7z.exe'
@@ -465,7 +469,7 @@ try {
             }
 
             return $exit
-        } -ArgumentList $GuestWorkDir, $BuildCommand, $GuestArtifactZip, $GuestArtifactSource, $UseSharedCache.IsPresent, $ExtraGuestEnv
+        } -ArgumentList $GuestWorkDir, $BuildCommand, $GuestArtifactZip, $GuestArtifactSource, $UseSharedCache.IsPresent, $ExtraGuestEnv, $SkipArtifact.IsPresent
 
         if ($buildExit -ne 0) {
             throw "Build command failed (exit $buildExit)"
@@ -528,7 +532,11 @@ try {
         }
     }
 
-    Write-Host "[Invoke-RemoteBuild] Build succeeded. Artifact at $GuestArtifactZip"
+    if ($SkipArtifact) {
+        Write-Host '[Invoke-RemoteBuild] Build succeeded. Artifact packaging skipped (-SkipArtifact).'
+    } else {
+        Write-Host "[Invoke-RemoteBuild] Build succeeded. Artifact at $GuestArtifactZip"
+    }
 }
 finally {
     Remove-PSSession $session -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue