diff --git a/.githooks/pre-push b/.githooks/pre-push
index bfaa0a3a..3d743e0d 100755
--- a/.githooks/pre-push
+++ b/.githooks/pre-push
@@ -1,6 +1,13 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 set -euo pipefail
 
+# Queue behind any other heavy build on this machine, in any project — this hook
+# runs the whole suite, and a second suite running alongside it OOM-killed the
+# gate three times on 2026-09-25. See scripts/host-build-lock.sh.
+ROOT="$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)"
+# shellcheck source=scripts/host-build-lock.sh
+source "$ROOT/scripts/host-build-lock.sh" "pre-push"
+
 cargo test --workspace
 cargo audit
 # License / bans / sources policy (advisories are already covered by cargo audit
diff --git a/scripts/check-all.sh b/scripts/check-all.sh
index c8ff540e..5bd5f2da 100755
--- a/scripts/check-all.sh
+++ b/scripts/check-all.sh
@@ -28,6 +28,11 @@ ROOT="$PWD"
 FAST=0
 [[ "${1:-}" == "--fast" ]] && FAST=1
 
+# Queue behind any other heavy build on this machine, in any project, rather
+# than race it for RAM. See the helper for why this is host-wide.
+# shellcheck source=scripts/host-build-lock.sh
+source "$ROOT/scripts/host-build-lock.sh" "check-all"
+
 FAILED=()
 run() {
     local name="$1"; shift
diff --git a/scripts/host-build-lock.sh b/scripts/host-build-lock.sh
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c3eba5aa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/host-build-lock.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-3.0-only
+# Copyright (C) 2026 Simon Keimer (DC0SK)
+#
+# Take the HOST-WIDE heavy-build lock, held until the calling script exits.
+# Sourced, not executed: `source scripts/host-build-lock.sh "<who>"`.
+#
+# Why host-wide and not per repo. A full `cargo test --workspace` here peaks at
+# several GB while it links, and nothing coordinates two of them on one machine.
+# On 2026-09-25 this repo's gate was OOM-killed three times while another
+# project's `cargo test --workspace` ran alongside it, and each kill looked like
+# a failure of the code under test. A lock per repo would not have helped, since
+# the two runs were in different repositories. The lock file is shared by every
+# project whose gate sources an equivalent of this, so they queue instead.
+#
+# Two rules that keep it from deadlocking:
+#   - a script takes it ONCE, near the top; nothing it calls takes it again;
+#   - do not wrap a script that takes it in `flock` yourself — the inner take
+#     would wait forever on the lock the outer one holds.
+#
+# Override the path with HEAVY_BUILD_LOCK (all projects must agree on it). If
+# `flock` is not installed, the gate runs unlocked and says so.
+
+_hbl_who="${1:-gate}"
+_hbl_path="${HEAVY_BUILD_LOCK:-${XDG_RUNTIME_DIR:-/tmp}/heavy-build.lock}"
+
+if command -v flock >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    exec 9>"$_hbl_path"
+    if ! flock -n 9; then
+        echo "$_hbl_who: another heavy build holds $_hbl_path — waiting for it to finish" >&2
+        flock 9
+        echo "$_hbl_who: lock acquired, continuing" >&2
+    fi
+else
+    echo "$_hbl_who: flock not installed — running WITHOUT the host-wide build lock" >&2
+fi