diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index d30da524..90118bcf 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -131,6 +131,12 @@ jobs:
     name: Build
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     needs: [lint, typecheck]
+    # The build must not depend on a live backend. `next build` prerenders
+    # routes (e.g. app/sitemap.ts reads the directory), so point the API base at
+    # an unreachable sentinel: the reads fail fast and degrade to static output,
+    # instead of hanging the build when staging is slow or down.
+    env:
+      NEXT_PUBLIC_API_BASE_URL: http://127.0.0.1:9999
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
diff --git a/.github/workflows/e2e.yml b/.github/workflows/e2e.yml
index af874a42..9373f100 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/e2e.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/e2e.yml
@@ -12,6 +12,13 @@ jobs:
   e2e:
     name: Playwright
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    # The Playwright suite mocks the backend (page.route) or skips live-only
+    # specs, so it must not reach staging. Build and serve against an unreachable
+    # sentinel API base: the app never talks to a real backend, and the mocked
+    # specs intercept requests to this origin. Keeps CI hermetic and staging
+    # outages from failing the build/tests.
+    env:
+      NEXT_PUBLIC_API_BASE_URL: http://127.0.0.1:9999
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
diff --git a/website/app/sitemap.ts b/website/app/sitemap.ts
index a50fd2dc..153de6a3 100644
--- a/website/app/sitemap.ts
+++ b/website/app/sitemap.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import type { MetadataRoute } from "next";
 
-import { createClient } from "@src/common/api-client";
+import { createReadOnlyClient } from "@src/common/api-client";
 import { profileHref } from "@src/common/profile-link";
 import { SITE_URL } from "@src/common/site";
 
@@ -48,7 +48,9 @@ const STATIC_ROUTES: Array<{
  */
 async function fetchProfileEntries(now: Date): Promise<MetadataRoute.Sitemap> {
 	try {
-		const client = createClient();
+		// Bounded, retry-free client: a directory outage at build time degrades
+		// to static routes within seconds instead of hanging `next build`.
+		const client = createReadOnlyClient();
 		const { agents } = await client.directory.listAgents({
 			limit: MAX_PROFILES,
 		});
diff --git a/website/e2e/smoke-mocked-backend.spec.ts b/website/e2e/smoke-mocked-backend.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..754db4c7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/website/e2e/smoke-mocked-backend.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+import { expect, test, type Route } from "@playwright/test";
+
+// Hermetic smoke test: the web app must boot and render its shell without any
+// live backend. Unlike the other e2e specs (gated behind E2E_LIVE / E2E_X402 /
+// API_URL against a real stack), this one ALWAYS runs in CI — it is the guard
+// that the build + app never depend on staging. Every backend call is
+// intercepted by Playwright before it can reach the network, so no real backend
+// is ever contacted; the assertions cover only static, data-independent shell
+// content that must render regardless.
+//
+// The app resolves its API base from NEXT_PUBLIC_API_BASE_URL (an unreachable
+// sentinel in CI, staging by default locally). We intercept that origin AND
+// staging explicitly, so a real backend is never contacted in any environment.
+const API_BASE =
+	process.env["NEXT_PUBLIC_API_BASE_URL"] ?? "https://staging-api.tiny.place";
+
+const BACKEND_GLOBS = [
+	`${API_BASE}/**`,
+	"**/staging-api.tiny.place/**",
+	"**/127.0.0.1:9999/**",
+];
+
+const CORS = {
+	"access-control-allow-origin": "*",
+	"access-control-allow-headers": "*",
+	"access-control-allow-methods": "*",
+};
+
+/**
+ * Simulate a backend that is simply not there: fulfil CORS preflights, and
+ * answer everything else with an empty, well-formed body. TanStack Query hooks
+ * degrade to empty/error states; the static shell renders regardless. We never
+ * abort (that races page teardown and flakes) — an explicit empty response is
+ * deterministic.
+ */
+function emptyBackend(route: Route): Promise<void> {
+	const request = route.request();
+	if (request.method() === "OPTIONS") {
+		return route.fulfill({ status: 204, headers: CORS });
+	}
+	// GraphQL clients expect a { data } envelope; REST callers tolerate {}.
+	const body = request.url().includes("/graphql") ? { data: {} } : {};
+	return route.fulfill({
+		status: 200,
+		headers: { ...CORS, "content-type": "application/json" },
+		body: JSON.stringify(body),
+	});
+}
+
+test.describe("mocked-backend smoke", () => {
+	test.beforeEach(async ({ page }) => {
+		// Intercepting these globs guarantees no request reaches a real backend:
+		// Playwright fulfils them before the network layer runs.
+		for (const glob of BACKEND_GLOBS) {
+			await page.route(glob, emptyBackend);
+		}
+	});
+
+	test("home shell renders with no live backend", async ({ page }) => {
+		await page.goto("/");
+
+		// Static hero copy: present regardless of any backend data. Its presence
+		// proves the layout + i18n + client bootstrap all work with the backend
+		// fully mocked out.
+		await expect(
+			page.getByText("Enter as a Human", { exact: false })
+		).toBeVisible();
+	});
+
+	test("static content route renders offline", async ({ page }) => {
+		// /terms is server-rendered static section content — a route with no
+		// backend dependency that must always serve.
+		const response = await page.goto("/terms");
+		expect(response?.status()).toBeLessThan(400);
+		await expect(page.locator("body")).toBeVisible();
+	});
+});
diff --git a/website/src/common/api-client.ts b/website/src/common/api-client.ts
index c1c62b7a..224d0c4f 100644
--- a/website/src/common/api-client.ts
+++ b/website/src/common/api-client.ts
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import {
 	type Signer,
 } from "@tinyhumansai/tinyplace";
 
-const API_BASE_URL =
+export const API_BASE_URL =
 	process.env["NEXT_PUBLIC_API_BASE_URL"] ?? "https://staging-api.tiny.place";
 
 /**
@@ -28,6 +28,23 @@ export function createClient(
 	});
 }
 
+/**
+ * Builds an unauthenticated client for build-time / crawler reads (sitemap,
+ * static metadata) with a hard time bound and no retries. The default client
+ * retries idempotent reads twice at a 30s timeout each (up to ~90s), which
+ * exceeds Next's per-route build timeout — a slow or down backend would then
+ * hang `next build` instead of degrading gracefully. Callers must still guard
+ * with try/catch and fall back to static content: this only bounds *how long*
+ * an outage is allowed to block, never whether it can.
+ */
+export function createReadOnlyClient(timeoutMs = 8000): TinyPlaceClient {
+	return new TinyPlaceClient({
+		baseUrl: API_BASE_URL,
+		timeoutMs,
+		retry: { retries: 0 },
+	});
+}
+
 /**
  * Builds a signer-less TinyPlace client authorized by a bearer onboarding grant.
  * The onboarding flow (agnostic of any logged-in wallet) uses this to act on the