diff --git a/.github/workflows/float8_test.yml b/.github/workflows/float8_test.yml
index 7c9e5a4b00..1d4af7bcd4 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/float8_test.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/float8_test.yml
@@ -5,10 +5,16 @@ on:
     branches:
       - main
       - 'gh/**'
+    paths-ignore:
+      # do not run if only docs changed
+      - 'docs/**'
   pull_request:
     branches:
       - main
       - 'gh/**'
+    paths-ignore:
+      # do not run if only docs changed
+      - 'docs/**'
 
 concurrency:
   group: float8_test-${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' && github.run_number || github.ref }}