diff --git a/ci-runner.sh b/ci-runner.sh
index 6a10925..98af173 100755
--- a/ci-runner.sh
+++ b/ci-runner.sh
@@ -140,6 +140,50 @@ if [ "$ERROR_COUNT" != "0" ] && [ "$ERROR_COUNT" != "" ]; then
   echo "TEST COLLECTION ERRORS"
 fi
 
+# ─── Auto-Escalation ───
+# If a tag-targeted run fails, escalate to full light suite.
+# If light fails too, escalate to heavy. Captures results at each level.
+ESCALATION_LOG=""
+if [ "$OVERALL" = "fail" ] && [[ "$RUN_MODE" == tag:* ]]; then
+  ESCALATION_LOG="Escalated from ${RUN_MODE} (${PASS_COUNT} passed, ${FAIL_COUNT} failed)"
+  echo ""
+  echo "--- ESCALATING: ${RUN_MODE} failed → running full light suite ---"
+  LIGHT_OUTPUT=$($PYTHON -m pytest "$WORKTREE/backend/tests/" --tb=line -q $TIMEOUT_FLAG 2>&1)
+  LIGHT_PASS=$(echo "$LIGHT_OUTPUT" | grep -oP '\d+ passed' | grep -oP '\d+' || echo 0)
+  LIGHT_FAIL=$(echo "$LIGHT_OUTPUT" | grep -oP '\d+ failed' | grep -oP '\d+' || echo 0)
+  LIGHT_SKIP=$(echo "$LIGHT_OUTPUT" | grep -oP '\d+ skipped' | grep -oP '\d+' || echo 0)
+  LIGHT_DESELECTED=$(echo "$LIGHT_OUTPUT" | grep -oP '\d+ deselected' | grep -oP '\d+' || echo 0)
+  echo "Light suite: $LIGHT_PASS passed, $LIGHT_FAIL failed, $LIGHT_SKIP skipped"
+
+  if [ "$LIGHT_FAIL" = "0" ] || [ -z "$LIGHT_FAIL" ]; then
+    ESCALATION_LOG="$ESCALATION_LOG → light PASSED ($LIGHT_PASS passed)"
+    RUN_MODE="tag:${TAG}→light"
+    PASS_COUNT="$LIGHT_PASS"; FAIL_COUNT="0"; SKIP_COUNT="$LIGHT_SKIP"
+    DESELECTED_COUNT="$LIGHT_DESELECTED"; OVERALL="pass"
+  else
+    ESCALATION_LOG="$ESCALATION_LOG → light FAILED ($LIGHT_PASS passed, $LIGHT_FAIL failed)"
+    echo ""
+    echo "--- ESCALATING: light failed → running heavy suite ---"
+    export RUN_HEAVY_TESTS=1
+    HEAVY_OUTPUT=$($PYTHON -m pytest "$WORKTREE/backend/tests/" --tb=line -q $TIMEOUT_FLAG 2>&1)
+    HEAVY_PASS=$(echo "$HEAVY_OUTPUT" | grep -oP '\d+ passed' | grep -oP '\d+' || echo 0)
+    HEAVY_FAIL=$(echo "$HEAVY_OUTPUT" | grep -oP '\d+ failed' | grep -oP '\d+' || echo 0)
+    echo "Heavy suite: $HEAVY_PASS passed, $HEAVY_FAIL failed"
+
+    if [ "$HEAVY_FAIL" = "0" ] || [ -z "$HEAVY_FAIL" ]; then
+      ESCALATION_LOG="$ESCALATION_LOG → heavy PASSED ($HEAVY_PASS passed)"
+      RUN_MODE="tag:${TAG}→light→heavy"
+      PASS_COUNT="$HEAVY_PASS"; FAIL_COUNT="0"; OVERALL="pass"
+    else
+      ESCALATION_LOG="$ESCALATION_LOG → heavy FAILED ($HEAVY_PASS passed, $HEAVY_FAIL failed)"
+      RUN_MODE="tag:${TAG}→light→heavy"
+      PASS_COUNT="$HEAVY_PASS"; FAIL_COUNT="$HEAVY_FAIL"
+      TEST_OUTPUT="$HEAVY_OUTPUT"
+    fi
+  fi
+  echo "Escalation: $ESCALATION_LOG"
+fi
+
 # ─── Test Count Baseline Check ───
 # Baseline check only applies to full suite runs (light), not tag-targeted runs
 BASELINE=$(python3 -c "import json; print(json.load(open('$CONFIG')).get('test_count_baseline', 0))")
@@ -186,6 +230,12 @@ else
   SUITE_INFO="Mode: ${RUN_MODE} | ${DESELECTED_COUNT} not in scope"
 fi
 
+# Append escalation info if escalation occurred
+if [ -n "$ESCALATION_LOG" ]; then
+  SUITE_INFO="${SUITE_INFO}
+Escalation: ${ESCALATION_LOG}"
+fi
+
 echo ""
 echo "========================="
 echo "Result: $OVERALL"