diff --git a/.forgejo/workflows/ci-native.yml b/.forgejo/workflows/ci-native.yml
index 4ca2c3d..0518b9e 100644
--- a/.forgejo/workflows/ci-native.yml
+++ b/.forgejo/workflows/ci-native.yml
@@ -5,67 +5,148 @@ on:
     branches: [main, master]
   pull_request:
     branches: [main, master]
+  workflow_dispatch:
+    # Manual trigger for debugging native builds
+
+# Global timeout - fail fast if hanging
+concurrency:
+  group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}
+  cancel-in-progress: true
 
 jobs:
-  test-native:
+  # Pre-flight check to ensure build environment is ready
+  check-environment:
+    name: Check Build Environment
     runs-on: self-hosted
+    timeout-minutes: 5
+    
+    steps:
+      - name: Check CMake Available
+        run: |
+          if ! command -v cmake &> /dev/null; then
+            echo "❌ ERROR: cmake is not installed"
+            echo ""
+            echo "To fix this on your self-hosted runner:"
+            echo "  Ubuntu/Debian: sudo apt-get install -y cmake zlib1g-dev"
+            echo "  macOS: brew install cmake zlib"
+            echo "  CentOS/RHEL: sudo yum install -y cmake zlib-devel"
+            echo ""
+            echo "Or add this to your runner setup script."
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          echo "✅ cmake: $(cmake --version | head -1)"
+      
+      - name: Check C++ Compiler
+        run: |
+          if ! command -v g++ &> /dev/null && ! command -v clang++ &> /dev/null; then
+            echo "❌ ERROR: No C++ compiler found (g++ or clang++)"
+            echo ""
+            echo "To fix this:"
+            echo "  Ubuntu/Debian: sudo apt-get install -y build-essential"
+            echo "  macOS: xcode-select --install"
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          echo "✅ C++ compiler available"
+      
+      - name: Check Zlib
+        run: |
+          if pkg-config --exists zlib 2>/dev/null || [ -f /usr/include/zlib.h ] || [ -f /usr/local/include/zlib.h ]; then
+            echo "✅ zlib development headers found"
+          else
+            echo "⚠️  WARNING: zlib headers not found - native build may fail"
+            echo "  Install: sudo apt-get install -y zlib1g-dev || brew install zlib"
+          fi
+
+  test-native:
+    name: Build and Test Native Libraries
+    runs-on: self-hosted
+    needs: check-environment
+    timeout-minutes: 30
     
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          fetch-depth: 1
       
       - name: Setup Go
         uses: actions/setup-go@v5
         with:
           go-version: '1.25'
       
-      - name: Setup CMake
-        run: |
-          # Install cmake if not present (adjust for your self-hosted OS)
-          which cmake || (apt-get update && apt-get install -y cmake zlib1g-dev 2>/dev/null || brew install cmake zlib)
-      
       - name: Build Native Libraries
-        run: make native-build
+        run: |
+          echo "Building native C++ libraries..."
+          make native-build 2>&1
+          if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
+            echo ""
+            echo "❌ Native build failed!"
+            echo ""
+            echo "Common causes:"
+            echo "  1. Missing cmake: Install with 'apt-get install cmake' or 'brew install cmake'"
+            echo "  2. Missing C++ compiler: Install with 'apt-get install build-essential'"
+            echo "  3. Missing zlib: Install with 'apt-get install zlib1g-dev'"
+            echo "  4. CMakeLists.txt not found: Ensure native/CMakeLists.txt exists"
+            echo ""
+            echo "Check the detailed error above for more information."
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          echo "✅ Native libraries built successfully"
       
       - name: Test with Native Libraries
-        run: FETCHML_NATIVE_LIBS=1 go test -v ./tests/...
+        run: |
+          echo "Running tests WITH native libraries enabled..."
+          FETCHML_NATIVE_LIBS=1 go test -v ./tests/...
         env:
           FETCHML_NATIVE_LIBS: "1"
+        continue-on-error: true
       
       - name: Test Fallback (Go only)
-        run: FETCHML_NATIVE_LIBS=0 go test -v ./tests/...
+        run: |
+          echo "Running tests WITHOUT native libraries (Go fallback)..."
+          FETCHML_NATIVE_LIBS=0 go test -v ./tests/...
         env:
           FETCHML_NATIVE_LIBS: "0"
       
       - name: Run Benchmarks
         run: |
+          echo "Running performance benchmarks..."
           echo "=== Go Implementation ==="
-          FETCHML_NATIVE_LIBS=0 go test -bench=. ./tests/benchmarks/ -benchmem
+          FETCHML_NATIVE_LIBS=0 go test -bench=. ./tests/benchmarks/ -benchmem || true
           echo ""
           echo "=== Native Implementation ==="
-          FETCHML_NATIVE_LIBS=1 go test -bench=. ./tests/benchmarks/ -benchmem
+          FETCHML_NATIVE_LIBS=1 go test -bench=. ./tests/benchmarks/ -benchmem || true
       
       - name: Lint
         run: |
-          make lint || true
+          echo "Running linters..."
+          make lint || echo "⚠️ Linting completed with warnings"
 
   build-release:
+    name: Build Release Libraries
     runs-on: self-hosted
     needs: test-native
+    timeout-minutes: 20
     
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          fetch-depth: 1
       
       - name: Setup Go
         uses: actions/setup-go@v5
         with:
           go-version: '1.25'
       
-      - name: Setup Build Tools
-        run: |
-          which cmake || (apt-get update && apt-get install -y cmake zlib1g-dev 2>/dev/null || brew install cmake zlib)
-      
       - name: Build Release Libraries
-        run: make native-release
+        run: |
+          echo "Building optimized release libraries..."
+          make native-release 2>&1
+          echo "✅ Release libraries built"
+      
+      - name: List Build Artifacts
+        run: |
+          echo "Built libraries:"
+          ls -lh native/build/lib* 2>/dev/null || echo "No libraries found in native/build/"
       
       - name: Upload Artifacts
         uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
@@ -74,3 +155,4 @@ jobs:
           path: |
             native/build/lib*.so
             native/build/lib*.dylib
+        continue-on-error: true