diff --git a/.github/docker/Dockerfile.ci b/.github/docker/Dockerfile.ci
index 60986d66..beb4bb0d 100644
--- a/.github/docker/Dockerfile.ci
+++ b/.github/docker/Dockerfile.ci
@@ -72,6 +72,18 @@ RUN npm i -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
 # Playwright system deps (Chromium) — needed for browse E2E tests
 RUN npx playwright install-deps chromium
 
+# Linux has neither Helvetica nor Arial. make-pdf's print CSS stacks fall back
+# to Liberation Sans (metric-compatible Arial clone, SIL OFL 1.1) so PDFs don't
+# render in DejaVu Sans. playwright install-deps happens to pull this in today,
+# but the dep is implicit and could change — install explicitly so upgrades
+# can't silently regress rendering.
+RUN for i in 1 2 3; do \
+      apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends fonts-liberation fontconfig && break || \
+      (echo "fonts-liberation install retry $i/3"; sleep 10); \
+    done \
+    && fc-cache -f \
+    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+
 # Pre-install dependencies (cached layer — only rebuilds when package.json changes)
 COPY package.json /workspace/
 WORKDIR /workspace
@@ -84,7 +96,9 @@ RUN npx playwright install chromium \
 
 # Verify everything works
 RUN bun --version && node --version && claude --version && jq --version && gh --version \
-    && npx playwright --version
+    && npx playwright --version \
+    && fc-match "Liberation Sans" | grep -qi "Liberation" \
+        || (echo "ERROR: fonts-liberation not installed — make-pdf PDFs will render in DejaVu Sans" && exit 1)
 
 # At runtime: checkout overwrites /workspace, but node_modules persists
 # if we move it out of the way and symlink back
diff --git a/make-pdf/SKILL.md b/make-pdf/SKILL.md
index a22cc89e..06e4d6a0 100644
--- a/make-pdf/SKILL.md
+++ b/make-pdf/SKILL.md
@@ -470,6 +470,10 @@ left-aligned body, Helvetica throughout, curly quotes and em dashes, optional
 cover page and clickable TOC, diagonal DRAFT watermark when you need it.
 Copy-paste from the PDF produces clean words, never "S a i l i n g".
 
+On Linux, install `fonts-liberation` for correct rendering — Helvetica and Arial
+aren't present by default, and Liberation Sans is the standard metric-compatible
+fallback. CI and Docker builds install it automatically via Dockerfile.ci.
+
 ## MAKE-PDF SETUP (run this check BEFORE any make-pdf command)
 
 ```bash
diff --git a/make-pdf/SKILL.md.tmpl b/make-pdf/SKILL.md.tmpl
index 38668290..a3b0c362 100644
--- a/make-pdf/SKILL.md.tmpl
+++ b/make-pdf/SKILL.md.tmpl
@@ -39,6 +39,10 @@ left-aligned body, Helvetica throughout, curly quotes and em dashes, optional
 cover page and clickable TOC, diagonal DRAFT watermark when you need it.
 Copy-paste from the PDF produces clean words, never "S a i l i n g".
 
+On Linux, install `fonts-liberation` for correct rendering — Helvetica and Arial
+aren't present by default, and Liberation Sans is the standard metric-compatible
+fallback. CI and Docker builds install it automatically via Dockerfile.ci.
+
 {{MAKE_PDF_SETUP}}
 
 ## Core patterns
diff --git a/make-pdf/src/print-css.ts b/make-pdf/src/print-css.ts
index a9f15563..14d78bd5 100644
--- a/make-pdf/src/print-css.ts
+++ b/make-pdf/src/print-css.ts
@@ -5,8 +5,11 @@
  * Mirror those CSS rules here. The HTML references were approved via
  * /plan-design-review with explicit design decisions locked in the plan:
  *
- *   - Helvetica only (system font, no bundled webfonts — dodges the
- *     per-glyph Tj bug that breaks copy-paste extraction).
+ *   - Helvetica first, with Liberation Sans as a metric-compatible Linux
+ *     fallback (Helvetica and Arial aren't installed on most Linux distros;
+ *     Liberation Sans ships via the fonts-liberation package and Playwright's
+ *     install-deps). No bundled webfonts — dodges the per-glyph Tj bug that
+ *     breaks copy-paste extraction.
  *   - All paragraphs flush-left. No first-line indent, no justify, no
  *     p+p indent. text-align: left everywhere. 12pt margin-bottom.
  *   - Cover page has the same 1in margins as every other page. No flexbox
@@ -15,8 +18,8 @@
  *   - `@page :first` suppresses running header/footer but does NOT override
  *     the 1in margin.
  *   - No <link>, no external CSS/fonts — everything inlined.
- *   - CJK fallback: Helvetica, Arial, Hiragino Kaku Gothic ProN, Noto Sans
- *     CJK JP, Microsoft YaHei, sans-serif.
+ *   - CJK fallback: Helvetica, Liberation Sans, Arial, Hiragino Kaku Gothic
+ *     ProN, Noto Sans CJK JP, Microsoft YaHei, sans-serif.
  */
 
 export interface PrintCssOptions {
@@ -81,13 +84,13 @@ function pageRules(size: string, margin: string, opts: PrintCssOptions): string
     `  size: ${size};`,
     `  margin: ${margin};`,
     runningHeader
-      ? `  @top-center { content: "${runningHeader}"; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; color: #666; }`
+      ? `  @top-center { content: "${runningHeader}"; font-family: Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; color: #666; }`
       : ``,
     showPageNumbers
-      ? `  @bottom-center { content: counter(page) " of " counter(pages); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; color: #666; }`
+      ? `  @bottom-center { content: counter(page) " of " counter(pages); font-family: Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; color: #666; }`
       : ``,
     showConfidential
-      ? `  @bottom-right { content: "CONFIDENTIAL"; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; color: #aaa; letter-spacing: 0.05em; }`
+      ? `  @bottom-right { content: "CONFIDENTIAL"; font-family: Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; color: #aaa; letter-spacing: 0.05em; }`
       : ``,
     `}`,
     ``,
@@ -104,7 +107,7 @@ function rootTypography(): string {
   return [
     `html { lang: en; }`,
     `body {`,
-    `  font-family: Helvetica, Arial, "Hiragino Kaku Gothic ProN", "Noto Sans CJK JP", "Microsoft YaHei", sans-serif;`,
+    `  font-family: Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, "Hiragino Kaku Gothic ProN", "Noto Sans CJK JP", "Microsoft YaHei", sans-serif;`,
     `  font-size: 11pt;`,
     `  line-height: 1.5;`,
     `  color: #111;`,
diff --git a/make-pdf/test/render.test.ts b/make-pdf/test/render.test.ts
index 89a92537..4d643e7e 100644
--- a/make-pdf/test/render.test.ts
+++ b/make-pdf/test/render.test.ts
@@ -326,6 +326,23 @@ describe("printCss", () => {
     const css = printCss({ pageNumbers: true });
     expect(css).toMatch(/@bottom-center\s*\{\s*content:\s*counter\(page\)/);
   });
+
+  test("font stacks include Liberation Sans adjacent to Helvetica", () => {
+    const css = printCss({ confidential: true });
+    // Body stack
+    expect(css).toMatch(/font-family:\s*Helvetica,\s*"Liberation Sans",\s*Arial/);
+    // At least one @page margin box (running header / page number / CONFIDENTIAL)
+    // should also have the updated stack.
+    const marginBoxStacks = css.match(/@(top|bottom)-(center|right)\s*\{[^}]*Liberation Sans/g) ?? [];
+    expect(marginBoxStacks.length).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(1);
+  });
+
+  test("all four original Helvetica stacks now include Liberation Sans", () => {
+    const css = printCss({ runningHeader: "Running Title", confidential: true });
+    // Count: body (1) + running header (1) + page numbers (1) + confidential (1) = 4
+    const occurrences = (css.match(/"Liberation Sans"/g) ?? []).length;
+    expect(occurrences).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(4);
+  });
 });
 
 // ─── render() — pageNumbers / footerTemplate data flow ───────────────