diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 5ef0829..6241a96 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -127,3 +127,48 @@ jobs:
           SOULSEEK_E2E_REQUIRED: "1"
           SOULSEEK_E2E_MODE: daemon
         run: cargo test -p soulseek-rs --test cli_e2e -- --nocapture --test-threads=1
+
+  # A mixed load of mock peers around one real client. Every ceiling this
+  # project has hit only showed under simultaneous searches, downloads,
+  # uploads and browses, and three of the four lost work silently, so the
+  # gate is the functional dimensions at 100%, never the throughput number.
+  stress:
+    name: Stress (soulfind)
+    timeout-minutes: 20
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Setup Rust
+        uses: dtolnay/rust-toolchain@stable
+
+      - uses: Swatinem/rust-cache@v2
+
+      - name: Install SQLite runtime/dev libraries
+        run: sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y libsqlite3-dev
+
+      - name: Install D toolchain (LDC)
+        uses: dlang-community/setup-dlang@v2
+        with:
+          compiler: ldc-latest
+
+      - name: Build soulfind server
+        run: |
+          git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/soulfind-dev/soulfind.git soulfind
+          dub build :server --root soulfind
+          test -x soulfind/bin/soulfind
+          echo "SOULFIND_BIN=$PWD/soulfind/bin/soulfind" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+
+      # An eighth of the local profile: soulfind on a four-core runner brings
+      # about 150 mock logins online, and the point is lost work, not load.
+      - name: Run the stress benchmark with the functional gate
+        env:
+          STRESS_REQUIRE_FUNCTIONAL: "1"
+          STRESS_PEERS: "128"
+          STRESS_SEARCHES: "32"
+          STRESS_DOWNLOADS: "128"
+          STRESS_LEECHERS: "64"
+          STRESS_BROWSES: "32"
+        run: |
+          ulimit -n 20000
+          cargo run --release -p soulseek-rs-lib --example stress
diff --git a/benchmarks/README.md b/benchmarks/README.md
index f8d7b71..248181d 100644
--- a/benchmarks/README.md
+++ b/benchmarks/README.md
@@ -32,6 +32,13 @@ with headroom, so the score still moves when transfer handling regresses.
 `--save` only overwrites `stress-baseline.json` when the run beats it, so the
 baseline ratchets upward. Without `--save` a run just prints the delta.
 
+## The gate
+
+`STRESS_REQUIRE_FUNCTIONAL=1` makes the run exit 1 when any of the four
+functional dimensions is below 100%. CI runs it that way on every pull request
+with an eighth of the default load; throughput never fails the gate because it
+measures the machine, not the client.
+
 ## Tuning the load
 
 Every knob is an env var; the defaults are in `Config::from_env`.
diff --git a/soulseek-rs-lib/Cargo.toml b/soulseek-rs-lib/Cargo.toml
index 34c8298..ebc7d14 100644
--- a/soulseek-rs-lib/Cargo.toml
+++ b/soulseek-rs-lib/Cargo.toml
@@ -21,3 +21,7 @@ workspace = true
 
 [target.'cfg(unix)'.dependencies]
 libc = "0.2.189"
+
+[[example]]
+name = "stress"
+test = true
diff --git a/soulseek-rs-lib/examples/stress.rs b/soulseek-rs-lib/examples/stress.rs
index a14f750..5c0d30e 100644
--- a/soulseek-rs-lib/examples/stress.rs
+++ b/soulseek-rs-lib/examples/stress.rs
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 //!   STRESS_FILE_KB    size of every transferred file
 //!   STRESS_TIMEOUT    seconds before the run is called off
 //!   STRESS_SAVE=1     store this run as the new baseline
+//!   STRESS_REQUIRE_FUNCTIONAL=1  exit 1 if any transfer, search or browse was lost
 
 use std::collections::HashMap;
 use std::io::{Read, Write};
@@ -766,6 +767,18 @@ struct Score {
     parts: Vec<(&'static str, f64, f64)>, // name, achieved 0-1, weight
 }
 
+/// The functional dimensions that fell short of 100%. Throughput is excluded:
+/// it measures how fast the machine is, the others measure whether the client
+/// silently lost work, which is the only failure a gate should stop on.
+fn gate_failures(score: &Score) -> Vec<String> {
+    score
+        .parts
+        .iter()
+        .filter(|(name, value, _)| *name != "throughput" && *value < 1.0)
+        .map(|(name, value, _)| format!("{name} {:.1}%", value * 100.0))
+        .collect()
+}
+
 fn compute_score(m: &Metrics, elapsed: Duration) -> Score {
     let bytes =
         Metrics::get(&m.bytes_downloaded) + Metrics::get(&m.bytes_uploaded);
@@ -1248,4 +1261,38 @@ fn main() {
 
     let _ = std::fs::remove_dir_all(&share_dir);
     let _ = std::fs::remove_dir_all(&download_dir);
+
+    let failures = gate_failures(&score);
+    if std::env::var("STRESS_REQUIRE_FUNCTIONAL").is_ok_and(|v| v == "1")
+        && !failures.is_empty()
+    {
+        eprintln!("stress: work was lost: {}", failures.join(", "));
+        std::process::exit(1);
+    }
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    fn score(parts: &[(&'static str, f64)]) -> Score {
+        Score {
+            total: 0.0,
+            parts: parts.iter().map(|&(n, v)| (n, v, 0.2)).collect(),
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn lost_work_fails_the_gate_but_slow_transfers_do_not() {
+        let clean =
+            score(&[("downloads", 1.0), ("uploads", 1.0), ("throughput", 0.1)]);
+        assert!(gate_failures(&clean).is_empty());
+
+        let lossy = score(&[
+            ("downloads", 0.98),
+            ("uploads", 1.0),
+            ("throughput", 1.0),
+        ]);
+        assert_eq!(gate_failures(&lossy), ["downloads 98.0%"]);
+    }
 }