diff --git a/.github/workflows/test.yml b/.github/workflows/test.yml
index 85a4e94..352a090 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/test.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/test.yml
@@ -39,11 +39,6 @@ jobs:
 
       - run: bun install --frozen-lockfile
 
-      # No unpublished @workbench/* scope may leak in — it does not exist on
-      # npm, so a leak makes the package uninstallable outside the monorepo.
-      - name: check-deps
-        run: bun run scripts/check-deps.ts
-
       # typecheck builds first: examples import @corbits/artifacts through the
       # published dist types, same path a consumer resolves.
       - name: typecheck
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index c9c0152..09f1fd9 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -89,6 +89,8 @@ always called out under their own heading.
 
 ### Changed
 
+- The `scripts/check-deps.ts` pretest is removed; typecheck and tests already
+  fail on an unresolvable `@workbench/*` import.
 - Minimum `@intx/*` is now **0.3.0**. (`@intx/*` lines before 0.3.0 do not
   install — older lines pin the unpublished `@intx/*@0.0.0` or ship raw
   TypeScript.)
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 14563bd..f5ceb62 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -35,8 +35,7 @@ reference host is where that change has to be shown working.
 ## Dependency rule
 
 No `@workbench/*` imports anywhere — it is an unpublished scope, and importing it would
-make this package uninstallable outside the project that defines it. Checked by
-`scripts/check-deps.ts`, which runs as `pretest` and again in CI.
+make this package uninstallable outside the project that defines it.
 
 ## Tests
 
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index d35fa6b..da38e1d 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -141,7 +141,7 @@ docker run -d --name corbits-artifact-pg -p 5457:5432 \
 export ALLOW_DESTRUCTIVE_ARTIFACT_TESTS=1
 
 bun run typecheck
-bun run test             # pretest dependency check, then unit + integration
+bun run test             # unit + integration
 bun run build            # dist/ (JS + .d.ts)
 bun run test:acceptance  # builds, then examples/reference-host
 ```
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 500e884..9229c43 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -55,9 +55,8 @@
     "typecheck": "tsc --noEmit",
     "build": "rm -rf dist && tsc -p tsconfig.build.json",
     "prepack": "bun run build",
-    "pretest": "bun run scripts/check-deps.ts",
-    "test": "bun run pretest && bun test src",
-    "test:coverage": "bun run pretest && bun test --coverage src",
+    "test": "bun test src",
+    "test:coverage": "bun test --coverage src",
     "test:package": "bun run test",
     "test:acceptance": "bun run build && bun test --cwd examples/reference-host"
   },
diff --git a/scripts/check-deps.ts b/scripts/check-deps.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index 869fd16..0000000
--- a/scripts/check-deps.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,19 +0,0 @@
-// The one dependency rule left: nothing here may import the unpublished
-// @workbench/* scope — it does not exist on npm, so a leak makes the package
-// uninstallable for everyone outside this repository.
-import { execSync } from "node:child_process";
-
-try {
-  const hits = execSync(
-    `grep -rn '@workbench/' src examples --include='*.ts' || true`,
-    { cwd: new URL("..", import.meta.url).pathname, encoding: "utf8" },
-  ).trim();
-  if (hits) {
-    console.error(`check-deps: unpublished @workbench/* import found:\n${hits}`);
-    process.exit(1);
-  }
-} catch (error) {
-  console.error(error);
-  process.exit(1);
-}
-console.log("check-deps: clean — no @workbench/* imports.");
diff --git a/tsconfig.json b/tsconfig.json
index ff999de..c1d60ec 100644
--- a/tsconfig.json
+++ b/tsconfig.json
@@ -10,5 +10,5 @@
     "noEmit": true,
     "types": ["node", "@types/bun"]
   },
-  "include": ["src", "scripts"]
+  "include": ["src"]
 }