diff --git a/.github/workflows/golangci-lint.yml b/.github/workflows/golangci-lint.yml
index 99181d8c9..2c386f246 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/golangci-lint.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/golangci-lint.yml
@@ -51,6 +51,15 @@ jobs:
       - name: Install dependencies
         if: matrix.os == 'ubuntu-latest'
         run: sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y -q libgtk-3-dev libayatana-appindicator3-dev libgl1-mesa-dev xorg-dev libpcap-dev
+      - name: Stub Wails frontend bundle
+        # client/ui-wails/main.go has //go:embed all:frontend/dist. The
+        # directory is produced by `pnpm run build` and is gitignored, so
+        # lint-only runs (no frontend toolchain) need a placeholder file
+        # for the embed pattern to match.
+        shell: bash
+        run: |
+          mkdir -p client/ui-wails/frontend/dist
+          touch client/ui-wails/frontend/dist/.embed-placeholder
       - name: golangci-lint
         uses: golangci/golangci-lint-action@4afd733a84b1f43292c63897423277bb7f4313a9 # v8.0.0
         with: