diff --git a/config.yaml b/config.yaml
index 3e185f8..4b147fd 100644
--- a/config.yaml
+++ b/config.yaml
@@ -440,3 +440,7 @@ pipeline:
     text: text_processor
   # mtime stability threshold for picking up files from acquired/
   mtime_stability_seconds: 10
+  # Language filter: skip non-English content before Gemini enrichment
+  language_filter: true           # Enable langdetect-based filtering
+  allowed_languages:              # ISO 639-1 codes allowed through enrichment
+    - en
diff --git a/lib/api.py b/lib/api.py
index 980578b..653c80f 100644
--- a/lib/api.py
+++ b/lib/api.py
@@ -2030,12 +2030,16 @@ def api_kiwix_upload():
     except Exception as e:
         logger.warning(f"kiwix-manage add failed: {e}")
 
-    # Scan for new entry
-    try:
-        from .zim_monitor import scan_zims
-        scan_zims()
-    except Exception as e:
-        logger.warning(f"scan_zims after upload failed: {e}")
+    # Scan for new entry (retry — monitorLibrary may need a moment to reload)
+    import time as _time
+    from .zim_monitor import scan_zims
+    for attempt in range(3):
+        try:
+            scan_zims()
+            break
+        except Exception as e:
+            logger.warning(f"scan_zims attempt {attempt+1} failed: {e}")
+            _time.sleep(2)
 
     # Refresh cache
     try:
diff --git a/lib/enricher.py b/lib/enricher.py
index d9540aa..e1e583c 100644
--- a/lib/enricher.py
+++ b/lib/enricher.py
@@ -27,6 +27,15 @@ from .utils import get_config, setup_logging
 from .status import StatusDB
 from .utils import resolve_text_dir
 
+try:
+    from langdetect import detect as _detect_lang
+    from langdetect.lang_detect_exception import LangDetectException
+    _HAS_LANGDETECT = True
+except ImportError:
+    _HAS_LANGDETECT = False
+
+ALLOWED_LANGUAGES = {'en'}  # Default: English only
+
 logger = setup_logging('recon.enricher')
 
 # Docs stuck in "enriching" longer than this get reset to "extracted" for retry
@@ -341,6 +350,42 @@ def validate_and_fix_concepts(concepts, key, config):
     return concepts
 
 
+def _check_language(text_dir, config):
+    """Check language of document text. Returns (is_allowed, detected_lang).
+
+    Reads first 1000 chars from first page file and uses langdetect.
+    Returns (True, lang) if language is allowed, (False, lang) if not.
+    Falls back to (True, 'unknown') if detection fails (benefit of the doubt).
+    """
+    if not _HAS_LANGDETECT:
+        return True, 'unknown'
+
+    # Check if language filter is enabled in config
+    pipeline_cfg = config.get('pipeline', {})
+    if not pipeline_cfg.get('language_filter', True):
+        return True, 'disabled'
+
+    allowed = set(pipeline_cfg.get('allowed_languages', ['en']))
+
+    # Read first page for detection
+    page_files = sorted([f for f in os.listdir(text_dir)
+                         if f.startswith('page_') and f.endswith('.txt')])
+    if not page_files:
+        return True, 'no_pages'
+
+    try:
+        with open(os.path.join(text_dir, page_files[0]), encoding='utf-8') as f:
+            sample = f.read(1500)
+        if len(sample.strip()) < 50:
+            return True, 'too_short'
+        lang = _detect_lang(sample)
+        return (lang in allowed), lang
+    except LangDetectException:
+        return True, 'detection_failed'
+    except Exception:
+        return True, 'error'
+
+
 def enrich_single(file_hash, db, config, key_rotator):
     doc = db.get_document(file_hash)
     if not doc:
@@ -359,6 +404,14 @@ def enrich_single(file_hash, db, config, key_rotator):
         db.mark_failed(file_hash, f"Text directory not found: {text_dir}")
         return False
 
+    # Language gate: skip non-English documents before burning Gemini quota
+    lang_ok, detected_lang = _check_language(text_dir, config)
+    if not lang_ok:
+        logger.info(f"Skipping {file_hash[:12]}... detected language '{detected_lang}' "
+                     f"(allowed: {config.get('pipeline', {}).get('allowed_languages', ['en'])})")
+        db.mark_failed(file_hash, f"Language filter: detected '{detected_lang}', not in allowed list")
+        return False
+
     db.update_status(file_hash, 'enriching')
 
     try: