diff --git a/.agents/exploration/interleavethinker-fastvideo-integration.md b/.agents/exploration/interleavethinker-fastvideo-integration.md
index 9efedf9c1..845d44a81 100644
--- a/.agents/exploration/interleavethinker-fastvideo-integration.md
+++ b/.agents/exploration/interleavethinker-fastvideo-integration.md
@@ -1841,3 +1841,128 @@ Conclusion:
   FastVideo image-generation model/config, then decide whether the planner and
   critic should stay resident together or be unloaded/reloaded around the
   generator for tighter GPU memory budgets.
+
+## Stage 5 Execution: Native Interleave Run CLI
+
+Status: validated, pending commit/push.
+
+Scope for this implementation slice:
+
+- Add a first-class `fastvideo interleave-run` command that runs the complete
+  native orchestration path from a config file.
+- Reuse existing pieces rather than adding another execution framework:
+  - `InterleaveOrchestrator`;
+  - `FastVideoImageGeneratorBackend`;
+  - `NanoBananaImageGeneratorBackend`;
+  - `InterleaveThinkerPlannerProvider`;
+  - `InterleaveThinkerCriticProvider`;
+  - `SinglePromptPlanner` and `AcceptAllCritic` for lightweight smoke paths.
+- Add a typed interleave run config with blocks for:
+  - `generator`: regular FastVideo `GeneratorConfig` for local generation;
+  - `request`: regular `GenerationRequest` defaults for per-step generation;
+  - `image_backend`: FastVideo or Nano Banana backend selection;
+  - `planner`: single-prompt or InterleaveThinker planner backend;
+  - `critic`: none, accept-all, or InterleaveThinker critic backend;
+  - `interleave`: instruction, optional initial image, output directory, trace
+    path, and trace image payload policy.
+- Keep the command testable without loading GPU models by allowing runner tests
+  to inject a fake image backend.
+
+Expected files:
+
+- `fastvideo/entrypoints/interleave/config.py`
+- `fastvideo/entrypoints/interleave/runner.py`
+- `fastvideo/entrypoints/cli/interleave_run.py`
+- `fastvideo/entrypoints/cli/main.py`
+- `fastvideo/entrypoints/interleave/orchestrator.py`
+- `fastvideo/entrypoints/interleave/__init__.py`
+- `examples/interleave/interleave_run.yaml`
+- `examples/interleave/README.md`
+- `tests/local_tests/test_interleave_run_cli.py`
+- this handoff file
+
+Validation plan:
+
+- Local syntax and `git diff --check`.
+- Modal pytest for interleave entrypoint/provider/run CLI tests.
+- Modal pre-commit on changed non-excluded files.
+- Modal import/config smoke for `fastvideo interleave-run` using injected/fake
+  components in tests.
+- A later GPU smoke should run real planner + real critic + real FastVideo
+  generator once a small practical model/config is selected and GPU memory
+  residency is measured.
+
+Implemented changes:
+
+- Added `fastvideo/entrypoints/interleave/config.py` with typed config blocks:
+  - `InterleaveRunConfig`;
+  - `InterleaveRunStateConfig`;
+  - `InterleaveImageBackendConfig`;
+  - `InterleavePlannerConfig`;
+  - `InterleaveCriticConfig`.
+- Added `load_interleave_run_config(...)` with:
+  - FastVideo-style YAML/JSON loading;
+  - dotted CLI overrides for `interleave.`, `image_backend.`, `planner.`,
+    `critic.`, `request.`, and `generator.`;
+  - CLI convenience fields for prompt, input image, output directory, and trace
+    path;
+  - explicit-path binding for the nested `GenerationRequest` so per-step
+    generation defaults behave like existing `generate`/`serve` configs.
+- Added `fastvideo/entrypoints/interleave/runner.py` with:
+  - `run_interleave_config(...)`;
+  - `build_planner(...)`;
+  - `build_critic(...)`;
+  - `build_image_backend(...)`;
+  - trace path resolution and cleanup of local `VideoGenerator` instances.
+- Added `fastvideo interleave-run` in
+  `fastvideo/entrypoints/cli/interleave_run.py` and registered it in
+  `fastvideo/entrypoints/cli/main.py`.
+- Updated `SinglePromptPlanner` to accept a configurable retry count.
+- Exported the new config/runner API from `fastvideo.entrypoints.interleave`.
+- Added `examples/interleave/interleave_run.yaml` and updated the README with
+  native CLI usage plus the real InterleaveThinker planner/critic config block.
+- Added `tests/local_tests/test_interleave_run_cli.py` covering:
+  - config loading from YAML;
+  - CLI field overrides and dotted override normalization;
+  - rejection of unsupported override prefixes;
+  - full runner execution with an injected fake image backend;
+  - configurable fallback planner attempt count.
+
+Validation completed:
+
+- Local lightweight checks:
+  - `python -m py_compile` passed for the new/changed Python files.
+  - `git diff --check` passed.
+- Modal focused pytest:
+  - App URL: `https://modal.com/apps/hao-ai-lab/main/ap-XyjjWxk63VMMAgyefDV9iz`
+  - Command:
+    `pytest tests/local_tests/test_interleave_entrypoint.py
+    tests/local_tests/test_interleave_model_providers.py
+    tests/local_tests/test_interleave_run_cli.py -q`
+  - Result: `14 passed, 14 warnings in 15.93s`.
+- Modal pre-commit:
+  - App URL: `https://modal.com/apps/hao-ai-lab/main/ap-4lOvHURSxKqFmit8TqnhBe`
+  - Command:
+    `pre-commit run --files examples/interleave/README.md
+    examples/interleave/interleave_run.yaml
+    fastvideo/entrypoints/cli/interleave_run.py
+    fastvideo/entrypoints/cli/main.py
+    fastvideo/entrypoints/interleave/__init__.py
+    fastvideo/entrypoints/interleave/config.py
+    fastvideo/entrypoints/interleave/orchestrator.py
+    fastvideo/entrypoints/interleave/runner.py
+    tests/local_tests/test_interleave_run_cli.py`
+  - Result: yapf, ruff, codespell, mypy, filename check, and suggestion hooks
+    passed; PyMarkdown/actionlint skipped with no files to check.
+
+Conclusion:
+
+- FastVideo now has a native config-driven `interleave-run` entrypoint that can
+  wire planner, generator, and critic backends without hand-written scripts.
+- The default example provides a lightweight FastVideo image-backend smoke path;
+  the same config can switch to the real InterleaveThinker planner and critic
+  checkpoints.
+- Next step: run a GPU smoke with `fastvideo interleave-run` and a real
+  FastVideo image backend. Use fallback planner/accept-all critic first to
+  validate the CLI + generator path, then test real planner/critic residency or
+  a split-process `/edit` generator to avoid loading all models in one process.
diff --git a/examples/interleave/README.md b/examples/interleave/README.md
index 0e83878a8..b6aa178f2 100644
--- a/examples/interleave/README.md
+++ b/examples/interleave/README.md
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@ This directory contains two InterleaveThinker-oriented entrypoints:
 
 - `flux2_klein_interleave_serve.yaml`: run FastVideo as an
   InterleaveThinker-compatible generator service.
+- `interleave_run.yaml`: run the native planner -> generator -> critic loop
+  through `fastvideo interleave-run`.
 - `interleave_single_prompt.py`: run the native FastVideo interleave
   orchestrator with a fallback single-prompt planner and accept-all critic.
 
@@ -51,6 +53,57 @@ export EDIT_MODEL_NAME=klein
 
 The same app also exposes `/generate` and `/v1/interleave/edit` aliases.
 
+## Native Interleave Run CLI
+
+Run the native orchestrator from a config file:
+
+```bash
+FASTVIDEO_ATTENTION_BACKEND=TORCH_SDPA \
+  fastvideo interleave-run --config examples/interleave/interleave_run.yaml
+```
+
+Override common per-run fields from the CLI:
+
+```bash
+fastvideo interleave-run \
+  --config examples/interleave/interleave_run.yaml \
+  --prompt "create a clean product photo of a red ceramic mug" \
+  --output-dir outputs/interleave_mug \
+  --trace-path outputs/interleave_mug/trace.json
+```
+
+The example defaults to `planner.kind: single_prompt` and
+`critic.kind: accept_all` so it can smoke-test the FastVideo image backend
+without loading planner/critic checkpoints. To run the real InterleaveThinker
+loop, switch those blocks to `interleave_thinker` and set:
+
+```yaml
+planner:
+  kind: interleave_thinker
+  init_from: InterleaveThinker/InterleaveThinker-Planner-8B
+  processor_from: Qwen/Qwen3-VL-8B-Instruct
+  trainable: false
+  torch_dtype: bf16
+  device_map: cuda:0
+  attn_implementation: sdpa
+  max_new_tokens: 2048
+
+critic:
+  kind: interleave_thinker
+  init_from: InterleaveThinker/Critic-SFT-8B
+  processor_from: Qwen/Qwen3-VL-8B-Instruct
+  trainable: false
+  torch_dtype: bf16
+  device_map: cuda:0
+  attn_implementation: sdpa
+  max_new_tokens: 512
+```
+
+Loading the planner, critic, and image generator in one process can be memory
+intensive. On tighter GPUs, run the `/edit` compatibility service separately or
+load only the planner/critic in the native runner while the generator is served
+out-of-process.
+
 ## Nano Banana / Gemini API Backends
 
 The InterleaveThinker RL config can use closed-source Google models through
diff --git a/examples/interleave/interleave_run.yaml b/examples/interleave/interleave_run.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..317a66a20
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/interleave/interleave_run.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+# Native FastVideo interleave-run example.
+#
+# This default runs a lightweight one-step trace with the fallback planner and
+# accept-all critic. Switch planner.kind / critic.kind to interleave_thinker and
+# set the model fields below to run the real InterleaveThinker planner/critic.
+
+generator:
+  model_path: black-forest-labs/FLUX.2-klein-4B
+  engine:
+    num_gpus: 1
+    use_fsdp_inference: false
+    offload:
+      dit: false
+      vae: true
+      text_encoder: true
+      pin_cpu_memory: false
+  pipeline:
+    workload_type: t2i
+
+image_backend:
+  kind: fastvideo
+
+planner:
+  kind: single_prompt
+  max_attempts_per_step: 1
+  # Real planner example:
+  # kind: interleave_thinker
+  # init_from: InterleaveThinker/InterleaveThinker-Planner-8B
+  # processor_from: Qwen/Qwen3-VL-8B-Instruct
+  # trainable: false
+  # torch_dtype: bf16
+  # device_map: cuda:0
+  # attn_implementation: sdpa
+  # max_new_tokens: 2048
+
+critic:
+  kind: accept_all
+  # Real critic example:
+  # kind: interleave_thinker
+  # init_from: InterleaveThinker/Critic-SFT-8B
+  # processor_from: Qwen/Qwen3-VL-8B-Instruct
+  # trainable: false
+  # torch_dtype: bf16
+  # device_map: cuda:0
+  # attn_implementation: sdpa
+  # max_new_tokens: 512
+
+interleave:
+  output_dir: outputs/interleave_run
+  trace_path: outputs/interleave_run/trace.json
+  include_images_in_trace: false
+
+request:
+  prompt: a brushed steel espresso machine on a marble counter, morning window light
+  sampling:
+    num_frames: 1
+    fps: 1
+    height: 1024
+    width: 1024
+    num_inference_steps: 4
+    guidance_scale: 1.0
+    seed: 0
+  output:
+    save_video: true
+    return_frames: false
diff --git a/fastvideo/entrypoints/cli/interleave_run.py b/fastvideo/entrypoints/cli/interleave_run.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8597e1890
--- /dev/null
+++ b/fastvideo/entrypoints/cli/interleave_run.py
@@ -0,0 +1,107 @@
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+"""CLI entrypoint for native InterleaveThinker orchestration."""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import argparse
+import os
+from typing import cast
+
+from fastvideo.entrypoints.cli.cli_types import CLISubcommand
+from fastvideo.entrypoints.interleave.config import load_interleave_run_config
+from fastvideo.entrypoints.interleave.runner import run_interleave_config
+from fastvideo.logger import init_logger
+from fastvideo.utils import FlexibleArgumentParser
+
+logger = init_logger(__name__)
+_VALIDATED_INTERLEAVE_RUN_CONFIG_ATTR = "_fastvideo_validated_interleave_run_config"
+
+
+class InterleaveRunSubcommand(CLISubcommand):
+    """Runs a native planner -> generator -> critic interleave trace."""
+
+    def __init__(self) -> None:
+        self.name = "interleave-run"
+        super().__init__()
+
+    def cmd(self, args: argparse.Namespace) -> None:
+        run_config = getattr(args, _VALIDATED_INTERLEAVE_RUN_CONFIG_ATTR, None)
+        if run_config is None:
+            run_config = load_interleave_run_config(
+                args.config,
+                overrides=getattr(args, "_unknown", None),
+                prompt=args.prompt,
+                input_image=args.input_image,
+                output_dir=args.output_dir,
+                trace_path=args.trace_path,
+            )
+        logger.info("CLI interleave run config: %s", run_config)
+
+        result = run_interleave_config(run_config)
+        final_path = result.trace.final_image.file_path if result.trace.final_image is not None else None
+        if final_path:
+            print(f"Image: {final_path}")
+        print(f"Trace: {result.trace_path}")
+        print(f"Success: {result.trace.success}")
+
+    def validate(self, args: argparse.Namespace) -> None:
+        if not args.config:
+            raise ValueError("fastvideo interleave-run requires --config PATH; "
+                             "use a nested interleave config plus optional dotted overrides")
+        if not os.path.exists(args.config):
+            raise ValueError(f"Config file not found: {args.config}")
+        setattr(
+            args,
+            _VALIDATED_INTERLEAVE_RUN_CONFIG_ATTR,
+            load_interleave_run_config(
+                args.config,
+                overrides=getattr(args, "_unknown", None),
+                prompt=args.prompt,
+                input_image=args.input_image,
+                output_dir=args.output_dir,
+                trace_path=args.trace_path,
+            ),
+        )
+
+    def subparser_init(self, subparsers: argparse._SubParsersAction) -> FlexibleArgumentParser:
+        parser = subparsers.add_parser(
+            "interleave-run",
+            help="Run native InterleaveThinker planner/generator/critic orchestration",
+            usage="fastvideo interleave-run --config CONFIG [--prompt TEXT] [--dotted.override VALUE]",
+        )
+        parser.add_argument(
+            "--config",
+            type=str,
+            default="",
+            required=False,
+            help="Path to a nested interleave run config JSON or YAML file. Required.",
+        )
+        parser.add_argument(
+            "--prompt",
+            type=str,
+            default=None,
+            help="Override interleave.instruction for this run.",
+        )
+        parser.add_argument(
+            "--input-image",
+            type=str,
+            default=None,
+            help="Override interleave.initial_image_path for image-conditioned planning/editing.",
+        )
+        parser.add_argument(
+            "--output-dir",
+            type=str,
+            default=None,
+            help="Override interleave.output_dir.",
+        )
+        parser.add_argument(
+            "--trace-path",
+            type=str,
+            default=None,
+            help="Override interleave.trace_path.",
+        )
+        return cast(FlexibleArgumentParser, parser)
+
+
+def cmd_init() -> list[CLISubcommand]:
+    return [InterleaveRunSubcommand()]
diff --git a/fastvideo/entrypoints/cli/main.py b/fastvideo/entrypoints/cli/main.py
index c50fd142c..64996a56b 100644
--- a/fastvideo/entrypoints/cli/main.py
+++ b/fastvideo/entrypoints/cli/main.py
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@
 # adapted from vllm: https://github.com/vllm-project/vllm/blob/v0.7.3/vllm/entrypoints/cli/main.py
 from fastvideo.entrypoints.cli.cli_types import CLISubcommand
 from fastvideo.entrypoints.cli.generate import cmd_init as generate_cmd_init
+from fastvideo.entrypoints.cli.interleave_run import (
+    cmd_init as interleave_run_cmd_init, )
 from fastvideo.entrypoints.cli.interleave_serve import (
     cmd_init as interleave_serve_cmd_init, )
 from fastvideo.utils import FlexibleArgumentParser
@@ -17,6 +19,7 @@ def cmd_init() -> list[CLISubcommand]:
     commands = []
     commands.extend(generate_cmd_init())
     commands.extend(serve_cmd_init())
+    commands.extend(interleave_run_cmd_init())
     commands.extend(interleave_serve_cmd_init())
     commands.extend(router_serve_cmd_init())
     commands.extend(bench_cmd_init())
@@ -36,7 +39,7 @@ def main() -> None:
         cmds[cmd.name] = cmd
 
     args, unknown = parser.parse_known_args()
-    if unknown and args.subparser not in {"generate", "serve", "interleave-serve"}:
+    if unknown and args.subparser not in {"generate", "serve", "interleave-run", "interleave-serve"}:
         parser.error(f"unrecognized arguments: {' '.join(unknown)}")
     args._unknown = unknown
     if args.subparser in cmds:
diff --git a/fastvideo/entrypoints/interleave/__init__.py b/fastvideo/entrypoints/interleave/__init__.py
index 90a65471a..dfcbe08f2 100644
--- a/fastvideo/entrypoints/interleave/__init__.py
+++ b/fastvideo/entrypoints/interleave/__init__.py
@@ -1,6 +1,15 @@
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
 """InterleaveThinker-compatible FastVideo app layer."""
 
+from fastvideo.entrypoints.interleave.config import (
+    InterleaveCriticConfig,
+    InterleaveImageBackendConfig,
+    InterleavePlannerConfig,
+    InterleaveRunConfig,
+    InterleaveRunStateConfig,
+    load_interleave_run_config,
+    resolve_interleave_instruction,
+)
 from fastvideo.entrypoints.interleave.generator import (
     FastVideoImageGeneratorBackend,
     ImageGeneratorBackend,
@@ -16,6 +25,10 @@ from fastvideo.entrypoints.interleave.providers import (
     InterleaveThinkerCriticProvider,
     InterleaveThinkerPlannerProvider,
 )
+from fastvideo.entrypoints.interleave.runner import (
+    InterleaveRunResult,
+    run_interleave_config,
+)
 from fastvideo.entrypoints.interleave.schema import (
     CriticDecision,
     CriticInput,
@@ -42,9 +55,15 @@ __all__ = [
     "GeneratedImage",
     "ImageGeneratorBackend",
     "InterleaveAttempt",
+    "InterleaveCriticConfig",
     "InterleaveEditRequest",
     "InterleaveEditResponse",
+    "InterleaveImageBackendConfig",
     "InterleaveOrchestrator",
+    "InterleavePlannerConfig",
+    "InterleaveRunConfig",
+    "InterleaveRunResult",
+    "InterleaveRunStateConfig",
     "InterleaveThinkerCriticProvider",
     "InterleaveThinkerPlannerProvider",
     "InterleaveTrace",
@@ -53,6 +72,9 @@ __all__ = [
     "PlannerProvider",
     "SinglePromptPlanner",
     "build_app",
+    "load_interleave_run_config",
+    "resolve_interleave_instruction",
+    "run_interleave_config",
     "save_trace",
     "trace_to_dict",
 ]
diff --git a/fastvideo/entrypoints/interleave/config.py b/fastvideo/entrypoints/interleave/config.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f5149051d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/fastvideo/entrypoints/interleave/config.py
@@ -0,0 +1,209 @@
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+"""Typed config for native interleaved generation runs."""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from collections.abc import Mapping
+from copy import deepcopy
+from dataclasses import dataclass, field
+from pathlib import Path
+from typing import Any, Literal
+
+from fastvideo.api.overrides import apply_overrides, parse_cli_overrides
+from fastvideo.api.parser import load_raw_config, parse_config
+from fastvideo.api.request_metadata import bind_generation_request_raw
+from fastvideo.api.schema import GenerationRequest, GeneratorConfig
+
+
+@dataclass
+class InterleaveRunStateConfig:
+    instruction: str | None = None
+    initial_image_path: str | None = None
+    output_dir: str = "outputs/interleave_run"
+    trace_path: str | None = None
+    include_images_in_trace: bool = False
+
+
+@dataclass
+class InterleaveImageBackendConfig:
+    kind: Literal["fastvideo", "nano_banana"] = "fastvideo"
+    output_dir: str | None = None
+    model: str = "gemini-3.1-flash-image"
+    api_key: str | None = None
+    base_url: str | None = None
+    aspect_ratio: str | None = None
+    image_size: str | None = None
+    max_attempts: int = 3
+    retry_delay_s: float = 2.0
+
+
+@dataclass
+class InterleavePlannerConfig:
+    kind: Literal["single_prompt", "interleave_thinker"] = "single_prompt"
+    init_from: str | None = None
+    processor_from: str | None = None
+    load_backend: bool = True
+    trainable: bool = False
+    image_dir: str = ""
+    torch_dtype: str = "auto"
+    device_map: Any | None = None
+    attn_implementation: str | None = None
+    trust_remote_code: bool = False
+    use_cache: bool = False
+    max_prompt_length: int = 16384
+    max_response_length: int = 4096
+    lora: dict[str, Any] | None = None
+    num_generations: int = 1
+    temperature: float = 0.0
+    top_p: float = 1.0
+    max_new_tokens: int | None = None
+    max_attempts_per_step: int = 2
+
+
+@dataclass
+class InterleaveCriticConfig:
+    kind: Literal["none", "accept_all", "interleave_thinker"] = "accept_all"
+    init_from: str | None = None
+    processor_from: str | None = None
+    load_backend: bool = True
+    trainable: bool = False
+    image_dir: str = ""
+    torch_dtype: str = "auto"
+    device_map: Any | None = None
+    attn_implementation: str | None = None
+    trust_remote_code: bool = False
+    use_cache: bool = False
+    max_prompt_length: int = 16384
+    max_response_length: int = 4096
+    lora: dict[str, Any] | None = None
+    num_generations: int = 1
+    temperature: float = 0.0
+    top_p: float = 1.0
+    max_new_tokens: int | None = None
+
+
+@dataclass
+class InterleaveRunConfig:
+    interleave: InterleaveRunStateConfig = field(default_factory=InterleaveRunStateConfig)
+    image_backend: InterleaveImageBackendConfig = field(default_factory=InterleaveImageBackendConfig)
+    planner: InterleavePlannerConfig = field(default_factory=InterleavePlannerConfig)
+    critic: InterleaveCriticConfig = field(default_factory=InterleaveCriticConfig)
+    request: GenerationRequest = field(default_factory=GenerationRequest)
+    generator: GeneratorConfig | None = None
+
+
+_INTERLEAVE_RUN_OVERRIDE_PREFIXES = (
+    "interleave.",
+    "image_backend.",
+    "planner.",
+    "critic.",
+    "request.",
+    "generator.",
+)
+
+
+def load_interleave_run_config(
+    path: str | Path,
+    *,
+    overrides: list[str] | None = None,
+    prompt: str | None = None,
+    input_image: str | None = None,
+    output_dir: str | None = None,
+    trace_path: str | None = None,
+) -> InterleaveRunConfig:
+    raw = load_raw_config(path)
+    raw = _apply_interleave_cli_fields(
+        raw,
+        prompt=prompt,
+        input_image=input_image,
+        output_dir=output_dir,
+        trace_path=trace_path,
+    )
+    raw = _apply_interleave_overrides(raw, overrides)
+    config = parse_config(InterleaveRunConfig, raw)
+    bind_generation_request_raw(
+        config.request,
+        raw.get("request") if isinstance(raw.get("request"), Mapping) else {},
+    )
+    validate_interleave_run_config(config)
+    return config
+
+
+def resolve_interleave_instruction(config: InterleaveRunConfig) -> str:
+    if config.interleave.instruction:
+        return config.interleave.instruction
+    if isinstance(config.request.prompt, str) and config.request.prompt:
+        return config.request.prompt
+    if isinstance(config.request.prompt, list) and len(config.request.prompt) == 1:
+        prompt = config.request.prompt[0]
+        if isinstance(prompt, str) and prompt:
+            return prompt
+    raise ValueError("interleave-run requires interleave.instruction or a single request.prompt")
+
+
+def validate_interleave_run_config(config: InterleaveRunConfig) -> None:
+    resolve_interleave_instruction(config)
+    if config.image_backend.kind == "fastvideo" and config.generator is None:
+        raise ValueError("interleave-run with image_backend.kind=fastvideo requires a generator config")
+    if config.planner.kind == "interleave_thinker" and config.planner.max_new_tokens is not None:
+        _require_positive_int(config.planner.max_new_tokens, "planner.max_new_tokens")
+    _require_positive_int(config.planner.max_attempts_per_step, "planner.max_attempts_per_step")
+    if config.critic.kind == "interleave_thinker" and config.critic.max_new_tokens is not None:
+        _require_positive_int(config.critic.max_new_tokens, "critic.max_new_tokens")
+
+
+def _apply_interleave_cli_fields(
+    raw: Mapping[str, Any],
+    *,
+    prompt: str | None,
+    input_image: str | None,
+    output_dir: str | None,
+    trace_path: str | None,
+) -> dict[str, Any]:
+    merged = deepcopy(dict(raw))
+    interleave = merged.setdefault("interleave", {})
+    if not isinstance(interleave, dict):
+        raise ValueError("interleave must be a mapping")
+    if prompt is not None:
+        interleave["instruction"] = prompt
+    if input_image is not None:
+        interleave["initial_image_path"] = input_image
+    if output_dir is not None:
+        interleave["output_dir"] = output_dir
+    if trace_path is not None:
+        interleave["trace_path"] = trace_path
+    return merged
+
+
+def _apply_interleave_overrides(
+    raw: Mapping[str, Any],
+    overrides: list[str] | None,
+) -> dict[str, Any]:
+    if not overrides:
+        return deepcopy(dict(raw))
+
+    parsed = parse_cli_overrides(overrides)
+    for key in parsed:
+        if "." not in key:
+            raise ValueError("CLI overrides must use dotted config paths like --request.sampling.seed 42")
+        if not key.startswith(_INTERLEAVE_RUN_OVERRIDE_PREFIXES):
+            allowed = ", ".join(_INTERLEAVE_RUN_OVERRIDE_PREFIXES)
+            raise ValueError(f"Unsupported override path {key!r}. Allowed prefixes: {allowed}")
+    return apply_overrides(raw, parsed)
+
+
+def _require_positive_int(value: int, path: str) -> None:
+    if value <= 0:
+        raise ValueError(f"{path} must be > 0; got {value}")
+
+
+__all__ = [
+    "InterleaveCriticConfig",
+    "InterleaveImageBackendConfig",
+    "InterleavePlannerConfig",
+    "InterleaveRunConfig",
+    "InterleaveRunStateConfig",
+    "load_interleave_run_config",
+    "resolve_interleave_instruction",
+    "validate_interleave_run_config",
+]
diff --git a/fastvideo/entrypoints/interleave/orchestrator.py b/fastvideo/entrypoints/interleave/orchestrator.py
index 76822e56f..96c2f755f 100644
--- a/fastvideo/entrypoints/interleave/orchestrator.py
+++ b/fastvideo/entrypoints/interleave/orchestrator.py
@@ -39,12 +39,15 @@ class CriticProvider(Protocol):
 class SinglePromptPlanner:
     """Fallback planner that runs the instruction as one generator prompt."""
 
+    def __init__(self, *, max_attempts: int = 1) -> None:
+        self.max_attempts = max(1, int(max_attempts))
+
     def plan(self, request: PlannerInput) -> Sequence[PlannedInterleaveStep]:
         return [
             PlannedInterleaveStep(
                 prompt=request.instruction,
                 input_image_path=request.initial_image_path,
-                max_attempts=1,
+                max_attempts=self.max_attempts,
             )
         ]
 
diff --git a/fastvideo/entrypoints/interleave/runner.py b/fastvideo/entrypoints/interleave/runner.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4d380205e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/fastvideo/entrypoints/interleave/runner.py
@@ -0,0 +1,203 @@
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+"""Config-driven native InterleaveThinker orchestration runner."""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from collections.abc import Callable
+from dataclasses import dataclass
+from pathlib import Path
+from typing import Any
+
+from fastvideo.entrypoints.interleave.config import (
+    InterleaveCriticConfig,
+    InterleaveImageBackendConfig,
+    InterleavePlannerConfig,
+    InterleaveRunConfig,
+    resolve_interleave_instruction,
+)
+from fastvideo.entrypoints.interleave.generator import (
+    FastVideoImageGeneratorBackend,
+    ImageGeneratorBackend,
+    NanoBananaImageGeneratorBackend,
+)
+from fastvideo.entrypoints.interleave.orchestrator import (
+    AcceptAllCritic,
+    CriticProvider,
+    InterleaveOrchestrator,
+    PlannerProvider,
+    SinglePromptPlanner,
+)
+from fastvideo.entrypoints.interleave.providers import (
+    InterleaveThinkerCriticProvider,
+    InterleaveThinkerPlannerProvider,
+)
+from fastvideo.entrypoints.interleave.schema import InterleaveTrace
+from fastvideo.entrypoints.interleave.trace import save_trace
+from fastvideo.train.models.interleave_thinker import (
+    InterleaveThinkerCriticModel,
+    InterleaveThinkerPlannerModel,
+)
+
+
+@dataclass(frozen=True)
+class InterleaveRunResult:
+    trace: InterleaveTrace
+    trace_path: str
+
+
+def run_interleave_config(
+    config: InterleaveRunConfig,
+    *,
+    image_backend: ImageGeneratorBackend | None = None,
+) -> InterleaveRunResult:
+    """Run one native interleaved generation trace from a typed config."""
+
+    cleanup: Callable[[], None] = lambda: None
+    if image_backend is None:
+        image_backend, cleanup = build_image_backend(config)
+
+    try:
+        orchestrator = InterleaveOrchestrator(
+            planner=build_planner(config.planner),
+            generator=image_backend,
+            critic=build_critic(config.critic),
+        )
+        trace = orchestrator.run(
+            resolve_interleave_instruction(config),
+            initial_image_path=config.interleave.initial_image_path,
+            metadata={
+                "image_backend": config.image_backend.kind,
+                "planner": config.planner.kind,
+                "critic": config.critic.kind,
+            },
+        )
+        trace_path = resolve_trace_path(config)
+        save_trace(
+            trace,
+            trace_path,
+            include_images=config.interleave.include_images_in_trace,
+        )
+        return InterleaveRunResult(
+            trace=trace,
+            trace_path=str(trace_path),
+        )
+    finally:
+        cleanup()
+
+
+def resolve_trace_path(config: InterleaveRunConfig) -> Path:
+    if config.interleave.trace_path:
+        return Path(config.interleave.trace_path)
+    return Path(config.interleave.output_dir) / "trace.json"
+
+
+def build_planner(config: InterleavePlannerConfig) -> PlannerProvider:
+    if config.kind == "single_prompt":
+        return SinglePromptPlanner(max_attempts=config.max_attempts_per_step)
+
+    model = InterleaveThinkerPlannerModel(
+        **_actor_model_kwargs(config),
+    )
+    return InterleaveThinkerPlannerProvider(
+        model,
+        num_generations=config.num_generations,
+        temperature=config.temperature,
+        top_p=config.top_p,
+        max_new_tokens=config.max_new_tokens or config.max_response_length,
+        max_attempts_per_step=config.max_attempts_per_step,
+    )
+
+
+def build_critic(config: InterleaveCriticConfig) -> CriticProvider | None:
+    if config.kind == "none":
+        return None
+    if config.kind == "accept_all":
+        return AcceptAllCritic()
+
+    model = InterleaveThinkerCriticModel(
+        **_actor_model_kwargs(config),
+    )
+    return InterleaveThinkerCriticProvider(
+        model,
+        num_generations=config.num_generations,
+        temperature=config.temperature,
+        top_p=config.top_p,
+        max_new_tokens=config.max_new_tokens or config.max_response_length,
+    )
+
+
+def build_image_backend(config: InterleaveRunConfig) -> tuple[ImageGeneratorBackend, Callable[[], None]]:
+    image_config = config.image_backend
+    output_dir = image_config.output_dir or config.interleave.output_dir
+    if image_config.kind == "nano_banana":
+        return (
+            NanoBananaImageGeneratorBackend(
+                model=image_config.model,
+                api_key=image_config.api_key,
+                base_url=image_config.base_url,
+                output_dir=output_dir,
+                aspect_ratio=image_config.aspect_ratio,
+                image_size=image_config.image_size,
+                max_attempts=image_config.max_attempts,
+                retry_delay_s=image_config.retry_delay_s,
+            ),
+            lambda: None,
+        )
+    return _build_fastvideo_image_backend(config, image_config, output_dir)
+
+
+def _build_fastvideo_image_backend(
+    config: InterleaveRunConfig,
+    image_config: InterleaveImageBackendConfig,
+    output_dir: str,
+) -> tuple[ImageGeneratorBackend, Callable[[], None]]:
+    del image_config
+    if config.generator is None:
+        raise ValueError("FastVideo image backend requires config.generator")
+
+    from fastvideo import VideoGenerator
+
+    generator = VideoGenerator.from_config(config.generator)
+
+    def cleanup() -> None:
+        generator.shutdown()
+
+    return (
+        FastVideoImageGeneratorBackend(
+            generator,
+            output_dir=output_dir,
+            default_request=config.request,
+        ),
+        cleanup,
+    )
+
+
+def _actor_model_kwargs(config: InterleavePlannerConfig | InterleaveCriticConfig) -> dict[str, Any]:
+    kwargs: dict[str, Any] = {
+        "load_backend": config.load_backend,
+        "trainable": config.trainable,
+        "image_dir": config.image_dir,
+        "torch_dtype": config.torch_dtype,
+        "device_map": config.device_map,
+        "attn_implementation": config.attn_implementation,
+        "trust_remote_code": config.trust_remote_code,
+        "use_cache": config.use_cache,
+        "max_prompt_length": config.max_prompt_length,
+        "max_response_length": config.max_response_length,
+        "lora": config.lora,
+    }
+    if config.init_from is not None:
+        kwargs["init_from"] = config.init_from
+    if config.processor_from is not None:
+        kwargs["processor_from"] = config.processor_from
+    return kwargs
+
+
+__all__ = [
+    "InterleaveRunResult",
+    "build_critic",
+    "build_image_backend",
+    "build_planner",
+    "resolve_trace_path",
+    "run_interleave_config",
+]
diff --git a/tests/local_tests/test_interleave_run_cli.py b/tests/local_tests/test_interleave_run_cli.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..680ed7036
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/local_tests/test_interleave_run_cli.py
@@ -0,0 +1,153 @@
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import base64
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import pytest
+
+from fastvideo.entrypoints.interleave import (
+    GeneratedImage,
+    InterleaveEditRequest,
+    load_interleave_run_config,
+    resolve_interleave_instruction,
+    run_interleave_config,
+)
+from fastvideo.entrypoints.interleave.orchestrator import SinglePromptPlanner
+from fastvideo.entrypoints.interleave.schema import PlannerInput
+
+
+def test_interleave_run_config_loads_prompt_and_request_defaults(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    config_path = _write_run_config(tmp_path)
+
+    config = load_interleave_run_config(str(config_path))
+
+    assert resolve_interleave_instruction(config) == "draw a red mug"
+    assert config.generator is not None
+    assert config.generator.model_path == "black-forest-labs/FLUX.2-klein-4B"
+    assert config.request.sampling.width == 512
+    assert config.request.sampling.num_inference_steps == 4
+
+
+def test_interleave_run_config_accepts_cli_fields_and_dotted_overrides(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    config_path = _write_run_config(tmp_path)
+
+    config = load_interleave_run_config(
+        str(config_path),
+        prompt="draw a blue mug",
+        output_dir=str(tmp_path / "override_outputs"),
+        trace_path=str(tmp_path / "trace_override.json"),
+        overrides=[
+            "--request.sampling.seed",
+            "99",
+            "--planner.max-attempts-per-step",
+            "3",
+        ],
+    )
+
+    assert resolve_interleave_instruction(config) == "draw a blue mug"
+    assert config.interleave.output_dir == str(tmp_path / "override_outputs")
+    assert config.interleave.trace_path == str(tmp_path / "trace_override.json")
+    assert config.request.sampling.seed == 99
+    assert config.planner.max_attempts_per_step == 3
+
+
+def test_interleave_run_config_rejects_unknown_override_prefix(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    config_path = _write_run_config(tmp_path)
+
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="Unsupported override path"):
+        load_interleave_run_config(
+            str(config_path),
+            overrides=["--server.port", "9000"],
+        )
+
+
+def test_run_interleave_config_with_injected_backend_writes_trace(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    config_path = _write_run_config(tmp_path)
+    config = load_interleave_run_config(str(config_path))
+    backend = _FakeImageBackend(tmp_path / "generated.png")
+
+    result = run_interleave_config(config, image_backend=backend)
+
+    assert result.trace.success is True
+    assert result.trace.final_image is not None
+    assert result.trace.final_image.file_path == str(tmp_path / "generated.png")
+    assert Path(result.trace_path).exists()
+    trace_text = Path(result.trace_path).read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+    assert "draw a red mug" in trace_text
+    assert "image_base64" not in trace_text
+    assert backend.requests[0].prompt == "draw a red mug"
+
+
+def test_single_prompt_planner_uses_configured_attempt_count() -> None:
+    planner = SinglePromptPlanner(max_attempts=4)
+
+    steps = list(planner.plan(PlannerInput(instruction="draw a red mug")))
+
+    assert len(steps) == 1
+    assert steps[0].max_attempts == 4
+
+
+class _FakeImageBackend:
+
+    def __init__(self, output_path: Path) -> None:
+        self.requests: list[InterleaveEditRequest] = []
+        self.output_path = output_path
+
+    def generate(
+        self,
+        request: InterleaveEditRequest,
+        *,
+        request_id: str | None = None,
+    ) -> GeneratedImage:
+        del request_id
+        self.requests.append(request)
+        self.output_path.write_bytes(b"fake-image")
+        return GeneratedImage(
+            prompt=request.prompt,
+            image_base64=base64.b64encode(b"fake-image").decode("utf-8"),
+            file_path=str(self.output_path),
+            metadata={"backend": "fake"},
+        )
+
+
+def _write_run_config(tmp_path: Path) -> Path:
+    output_path = tmp_path / "generated.png"
+    config_path = tmp_path / "interleave_run.yaml"
+    config_path.write_text(
+        f"""
+generator:
+  model_path: black-forest-labs/FLUX.2-klein-4B
+  engine:
+    num_gpus: 1
+  pipeline:
+    workload_type: t2i
+
+image_backend:
+  kind: fastvideo
+
+planner:
+  kind: single_prompt
+  max_attempts_per_step: 1
+
+critic:
+  kind: accept_all
+
+interleave:
+  output_dir: {tmp_path}
+  trace_path: {tmp_path / "trace.json"}
+
+request:
+  prompt: draw a red mug
+  sampling:
+    width: 512
+    height: 512
+    seed: 7
+    num_inference_steps: 4
+  extensions:
+    test_output_path: {output_path}
+""",
+        encoding="utf-8",
+    )
+    return config_path