diff --git a/.github/workflows/auto-label.yml b/.github/workflows/auto-label.yml
index 8570cfe7e..e37543730 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/auto-label.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/auto-label.yml
@@ -2,6 +2,9 @@ name: Auto Label
 on:
   pull_request:
     types: [opened, reopened, synchronized]
+permissions:
+  issues: write
+  pull-requests: read
 jobs:
   label:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
diff --git a/.github/workflows/issue-triage.yml b/.github/workflows/issue-triage.yml
index c8649bfbe..c2bba3c4b 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/issue-triage.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/issue-triage.yml
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@ name: Issue Triage
 on:
   issues:
     types: [opened]
+permissions:
+  issues: write
 jobs:
   triage:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
diff --git a/.github/workflows/pr-checks.yml b/.github/workflows/pr-checks.yml
index 9abb9b837..2d241eb2b 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/pr-checks.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/pr-checks.yml
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ on:
     types: [opened, reopened, synchronize, edited]
 permissions:
   issues: write
+  pull-requests: write
 jobs:
   validate:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
@@ -17,7 +18,7 @@ jobs:
             if (pr.title.length < 10) {
               issues.push('❌ PR title too short (minimum 10 characters)');
             }
-            if (!/^(feat|fix|docs|style|refactor|test|chore|perf|ci|build|revert)(\(.+\))?:/.test(pr.title)) {
+            if (!/^([\u{1F300}-\u{1F9FF}\u{2600}-\u{26FF}\u{2700}-\u{27BF}]\s*)?(feat|fix|docs|style|refactor|test|chore|perf|ci|build|revert)(\(.+\))?:|^(⚡\s*)?Performance improvement/u.test(pr.title)) {
               issues.push('⚠️ PR title should follow conventional commits format');
             }
 
diff --git a/src/youtube_extension/backend/deployment_manager.py b/src/youtube_extension/backend/deployment_manager.py
index 27c35f3df..b1b3834d7 100644
--- a/src/youtube_extension/backend/deployment_manager.py
+++ b/src/youtube_extension/backend/deployment_manager.py
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Any, Optional
 
-import requests
+import httpx
 
 from youtube_extension.backend.deploy import deploy_project as _adapter_deploy
 
@@ -493,43 +493,45 @@ async def _create_github_repository(self, repo_name: str, project_config: dict[s
             "Accept": "application/vnd.github.v3+json"
         }
 
-        # Get user info
-        user_response = requests.get("https://api.github.com/user", headers=headers)
-        if user_response.status_code != 200:
-            raise Exception(f"Failed to get GitHub user info: {user_response.text}")
-
-        user_data = user_response.json()
-        username = user_data["login"]
-
-        # Create repository
-        repo_data = {
-            "name": repo_name,
-            "description": f"Generated by UVAI from YouTube tutorial - {project_config.get('title', 'Unknown')}",
-            "private": False,
-            "auto_init": True,
-            "has_issues": True,
-            "has_projects": True,
-            "has_wiki": False
-        }
+        # Use httpx.AsyncClient for non-blocking HTTP requests
+        async with httpx.AsyncClient() as client:
+            # Get user info
+            user_response = await client.get("https://api.github.com/user", headers=headers)
+            if user_response.status_code != 200:
+                raise Exception(f"Failed to get GitHub user info: {user_response.text}")
+
+            user_data = user_response.json()
+            username = user_data["login"]
+
+            # Create repository
+            repo_data = {
+                "name": repo_name,
+                "description": f"Generated by UVAI from YouTube tutorial - {project_config.get('title', 'Unknown')}",
+                "private": False,
+                "auto_init": True,
+                "has_issues": True,
+                "has_projects": True,
+                "has_wiki": False
+            }
 
-        response = requests.post(
-            "https://api.github.com/user/repos",
-            headers=headers,
-            json=repo_data
-        )
+            response = await client.post(
+                "https://api.github.com/user/repos",
+                headers=headers,
+                json=repo_data
+            )
 
-        if response.status_code not in [201, 422]:  # 422 if repo already exists
-            raise Exception(f"Failed to create GitHub repository: {response.text}")
+            if response.status_code not in [201, 422]:  # 422 if repo already exists
+                raise Exception(f"Failed to create GitHub repository: {response.text}")
 
-        if response.status_code == 422:
-            # Repository already exists, get its info
-            repo_response = requests.get(f"https://api.github.com/repos/{username}/{repo_name}", headers=headers)
-            if repo_response.status_code == 200:
-                repo_info = repo_response.json()
+            if response.status_code == 422:
+                # Repository already exists, get its info
+                repo_response = await client.get(f"https://api.github.com/repos/{username}/{repo_name}", headers=headers)
+                if repo_response.status_code == 200:
+                    repo_info = repo_response.json()
+                else:
+                    raise Exception(f"Repository exists but can't access it: {repo_response.text}")
             else:
-                raise Exception(f"Repository exists but can't access it: {repo_response.text}")
-        else:
-            repo_info = response.json()
+                repo_info = response.json()
 
         return {
             "repo_name": repo_name,
@@ -549,30 +551,27 @@ async def _upload_to_github(self, project_path: str, repo_name: str) -> dict[str
             "Accept": "application/vnd.github.v3+json"
         }
 
-        # Get user info
-        user_response = requests.get("https://api.github.com/user", headers=headers)
-        user_data = user_response.json()
-        username = user_data["login"]
+        async with httpx.AsyncClient() as client:
+            # Get user info
+            user_response = await client.get("https://api.github.com/user", headers=headers)
+            user_data = user_response.json()
+            username = user_data["login"]
 
-        uploaded_files = []
-        project_path_obj = Path(project_path)
+            uploaded_files = []
+            project_path_obj = Path(project_path)
 
-        # Directories to exclude from GitHub upload (standard .gitignore patterns)
-        EXCLUDED_DIRS = {'node_modules', '.next', '.git', '__pycache__', '.vercel', 'dist', '.turbo'}
+            # Directories to exclude from GitHub upload (standard .gitignore patterns)
+            EXCLUDED_DIRS = {'node_modules', '.next', '.git', '__pycache__', '.vercel', 'dist', '.turbo'}
 
-        def should_skip_path(path: Path) -> bool:
-            """Check if any parent directory is in the exclusion list"""
-            return any(part in EXCLUDED_DIRS for part in path.parts)
+            def should_skip_path(path: Path) -> bool:
+                """Check if any parent directory is in the exclusion list"""
+                return any(part in EXCLUDED_DIRS for part in path.parts)
 
-        # Upload each file
-        for file_path in project_path_obj.rglob("*"):
-            # Skip excluded directories and dotfiles
-            if should_skip_path(file_path.relative_to(project_path_obj)):
-                continue
-            if file_path.is_file() and not file_path.name.startswith('.'):
-                try:
-                    relative_path = file_path.relative_to(project_path_obj)
+            # Read all files to upload concurrently to improve performance further
+            upload_tasks = []
 
+            async def upload_file(client, file_path, relative_path):
+                try:
                     # Read file content
                     with open(file_path, 'rb') as f:
                         content = f.read()
@@ -587,15 +586,36 @@ def should_skip_path(path: Path) -> bool:
                     }
 
                     upload_url = f"https://api.github.com/repos/{username}/{repo_name}/contents/{relative_path}"
-                    response = requests.put(upload_url, headers=headers, json=file_data)
+                    response = await client.put(upload_url, headers=headers, json=file_data)
 
                     if response.status_code in [201, 200]:
-                        uploaded_files.append(str(relative_path))
+                        return str(relative_path)
                     else:
                         logger.warning(f"Failed to upload {relative_path}: {response.text}")
-
+                        return None
                 except Exception as e:
                     logger.warning(f"Error uploading {file_path}: {e}")
+                    return None
+
+            # Collect tasks
+            for file_path in project_path_obj.rglob("*"):
+                # Skip excluded directories and dotfiles
+                if should_skip_path(file_path.relative_to(project_path_obj)):
+                    continue
+                if file_path.is_file() and not file_path.name.startswith('.'):
+                    relative_path = file_path.relative_to(project_path_obj)
+                    upload_tasks.append(upload_file(client, file_path, relative_path))
+
+            # Run uploads concurrently with a semaphore to avoid overwhelming the GitHub API
+            # Secondary rate limit for GitHub is generally not strictly documented for concurrent writes but 10-20 concurrent requests is a safe maximum.
+            semaphore = asyncio.Semaphore(10)
+
+            async def run_with_semaphore(coro):
+                async with semaphore:
+                    return await coro
+
+            results = await asyncio.gather(*(run_with_semaphore(task) for task in upload_tasks))
+            uploaded_files = [res for res in results if res is not None]
 
         return {
             "files_uploaded": len(uploaded_files),