diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/build-image.yaml b/.gitea/workflows/build-image.yaml
index 61dc506..22bcf04 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/build-image.yaml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/build-image.yaml
@@ -5,6 +5,11 @@ name: Build and publish Docker image
 'on':
   push:
     branches: [main]
+    paths-ignore:
+      - 'docs/**'
+      - '**/*.md'
+      - 'dev/**'
+      - 'DB/**'
   workflow_dispatch:
 
 concurrency:
diff --git a/docs/image-build.md b/docs/image-build.md
index 8c8b8d0..76271c0 100644
--- a/docs/image-build.md
+++ b/docs/image-build.md
@@ -43,11 +43,15 @@ pull requests do not trigger this workflow.
 
 | Event | Behavior |
 | --- | --- |
-| Push to `main` | Build and push `:latest` |
+| Push to `main` | Build and push `:latest`, unless only ignored paths changed |
 | Manual run on `main` | Build and push `:latest` |
 | Manual run on another branch or tag | Job skipped |
 | Pull request or tag push | No workflow run |
 
+Pushes changing only `docs/**`, `**/*.md`, `dev/**`, or `DB/**` skip the workflow.
+Mixed changes still build if any file is outside those paths. Manual runs are
+unaffected by path filters.
+
 The workflow has three steps: checkout, registry login, and `docker build` /
 `docker push`. It does not publish version/commit tags or multi-platform images.
 Use a runner with the same architecture as your deployment server.