diff --git a/pkg/ctxutil/spec_test.go b/pkg/ctxutil/spec_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..34fcc8cc476
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/ctxutil/spec_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+//go:build !integration
+
+package ctxutil_test
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+
+	"github.com/github/gh-aw/pkg/ctxutil"
+)
+
+// TestSpec_PublicAPI_OrBackground validates the documented behavior of
+// OrBackground as described in the ctxutil README.md specification.
+func TestSpec_PublicAPI_OrBackground(t *testing.T) {
+	type key string
+	const testKey key = "spec-key"
+
+	t.Run("returns context.Background() when ctx is nil", func(t *testing.T) {
+		var nilCtx context.Context
+
+		got := ctxutil.OrBackground(nilCtx)
+		assert.NotNil(t, got, "OrBackground should never return a nil context")
+		assert.Equal(t, context.Background(), got, "OrBackground should fall back to context.Background() for a nil input")
+	})
+
+	t.Run("returns the context unchanged when ctx is non-nil", func(t *testing.T) {
+		ctx := context.WithValue(context.Background(), testKey, "value")
+
+		got := ctxutil.OrBackground(ctx)
+
+		assert.Same(t, ctx, got, "OrBackground should return the exact same non-nil context instance")
+		assert.Equal(t, "value", got.Value(testKey), "OrBackground should preserve values carried by the input context")
+	})
+
+	t.Run("preserves cancellation of the input context", func(t *testing.T) {
+		ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
+
+		got := ctxutil.OrBackground(ctx)
+		cancel()
+
+		assert.ErrorIs(t, got.Err(), context.Canceled, "OrBackground should not detach the input context from its cancellation")
+	})
+}