diff --git a/include/linux/sched/ext.h b/include/linux/sched/ext.h
index 6d8bcd1490af..771553bfd72a 100644
--- a/include/linux/sched/ext.h
+++ b/include/linux/sched/ext.h
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ enum scx_consts {
 	SCX_EXIT_MSG_LEN	= 1024,
 
 	SCX_SLICE_DFL		= 20 * NSEC_PER_MSEC,
+	SCX_SLICE_INF		= U64_MAX,	/* infinite, implies nohz */
 };
 
 /*
diff --git a/kernel/sched/core.c b/kernel/sched/core.c
index 957ae28a6e3f..a89706a9fdaa 100644
--- a/kernel/sched/core.c
+++ b/kernel/sched/core.c
@@ -1232,13 +1232,16 @@ bool sched_can_stop_tick(struct rq *rq)
 		return true;
 
 	/*
-	 * If there are no DL,RR/FIFO tasks, there must only be CFS tasks left;
-	 * if there's more than one we need the tick for involuntary
-	 * preemption.
+	 * If there are no DL,RR/FIFO tasks, there must only be CFS or SCX tasks
+	 * left. For CFS, if there's more than one we need the tick for
+	 * involuntary preemption. For SCX, ask.
 	 */
 	if (!scx_switched_all() && rq->nr_running > 1)
 		return false;
 
+	if (scx_enabled() && !scx_can_stop_tick(rq))
+		return false;
+
 	/*
 	 * If there is one task and it has CFS runtime bandwidth constraints
 	 * and it's on the cpu now we don't want to stop the tick.
diff --git a/kernel/sched/ext.c b/kernel/sched/ext.c
index 6cf088dd9d09..b5adb46731c8 100644
--- a/kernel/sched/ext.c
+++ b/kernel/sched/ext.c
@@ -488,7 +488,8 @@ static void update_curr_scx(struct rq *rq)
 	account_group_exec_runtime(curr, delta_exec);
 	cgroup_account_cputime(curr, delta_exec);
 
-	curr->scx.slice -= min(curr->scx.slice, delta_exec);
+	if (curr->scx.slice != SCX_SLICE_INF)
+		curr->scx.slice -= min(curr->scx.slice, delta_exec);
 }
 
 static void dispatch_enqueue(struct scx_dispatch_q *dsq, struct task_struct *p,
@@ -1411,6 +1412,20 @@ static void set_next_task_scx(struct rq *rq, struct task_struct *p, bool first)
 		SCX_CALL_OP(SCX_KF_REST, running, p);
 
 	watchdog_unwatch_task(p, true);
+
+	/*
+	 * @p is getting newly scheduled or got kicked after someone updated its
+	 * slice. Refresh whether tick can be stopped. See scx_can_stop_tick().
+	 */
+	if ((p->scx.slice == SCX_SLICE_INF) !=
+	    (bool)(rq->scx.flags & SCX_RQ_CAN_STOP_TICK)) {
+		if (p->scx.slice == SCX_SLICE_INF)
+			rq->scx.flags |= SCX_RQ_CAN_STOP_TICK;
+		else
+			rq->scx.flags &= ~SCX_RQ_CAN_STOP_TICK;
+
+		sched_update_tick_dependency(rq);
+	}
 }
 
 static void put_prev_task_scx(struct rq *rq, struct task_struct *p)
@@ -1993,6 +2008,26 @@ int scx_check_setscheduler(struct task_struct *p, int policy)
 	return 0;
 }
 
+#ifdef CONFIG_NO_HZ_FULL
+bool scx_can_stop_tick(struct rq *rq)
+{
+	struct task_struct *p = rq->curr;
+
+	if (scx_ops_disabling())
+		return false;
+
+	if (p->sched_class != &ext_sched_class)
+		return true;
+
+	/*
+	 * @rq can dispatch from different DSQs, so we can't tell whether it
+	 * needs the tick or not by looking at nr_running. Allow stopping ticks
+	 * iff the BPF scheduler indicated so. See set_next_task_scx().
+	 */
+	return rq->scx.flags & SCX_RQ_CAN_STOP_TICK;
+}
+#endif
+
 /*
  * Omitted operations:
  *
@@ -2152,7 +2187,7 @@ static void scx_ops_disable_workfn(struct kthread_work *work)
 	struct rhashtable_iter rht_iter;
 	struct scx_dispatch_q *dsq;
 	const char *reason;
-	int i, kind;
+	int i, cpu, kind;
 
 	kind = atomic_read(&scx_exit_kind);
 	while (true) {
@@ -2250,6 +2285,10 @@ static void scx_ops_disable_workfn(struct kthread_work *work)
 	scx_task_iter_exit(&sti);
 	spin_unlock_irq(&scx_tasks_lock);
 
+	/* kick all CPUs to restore ticks */
+	for_each_possible_cpu(cpu)
+		resched_cpu(cpu);
+
 forward_progress_guaranteed:
 	/*
 	 * Here, every runnable task is guaranteed to make forward progress and
diff --git a/kernel/sched/ext.h b/kernel/sched/ext.h
index d246e5c2d3c7..ec253c8ad2be 100644
--- a/kernel/sched/ext.h
+++ b/kernel/sched/ext.h
@@ -102,6 +102,7 @@ int scx_fork(struct task_struct *p);
 void scx_post_fork(struct task_struct *p);
 void scx_cancel_fork(struct task_struct *p);
 int scx_check_setscheduler(struct task_struct *p, int policy);
+bool scx_can_stop_tick(struct rq *rq);
 void init_sched_ext_class(void);
 
 __printf(2, 3) void scx_ops_error_kind(enum scx_exit_kind kind,
@@ -162,6 +163,7 @@ static inline void scx_post_fork(struct task_struct *p) {}
 static inline void scx_cancel_fork(struct task_struct *p) {}
 static inline int scx_check_setscheduler(struct task_struct *p,
 					 int policy) { return 0; }
+static inline bool scx_can_stop_tick(struct rq *rq) { return true; }
 static inline void init_sched_ext_class(void) {}
 static inline void scx_notify_sched_tick(void) {}
 
diff --git a/kernel/sched/sched.h b/kernel/sched/sched.h
index fc8e23f94e0a..e3fb35b4b7ad 100644
--- a/kernel/sched/sched.h
+++ b/kernel/sched/sched.h
@@ -673,12 +673,18 @@ struct cfs_rq {
 };
 
 #ifdef CONFIG_SCHED_CLASS_EXT
+/* scx_rq->flags, protected by the rq lock */
+enum scx_rq_flags {
+	SCX_RQ_CAN_STOP_TICK	= 1 << 0,
+};
+
 struct scx_rq {
 	struct scx_dispatch_q	local_dsq;
 	struct list_head	watchdog_list;
 	unsigned long		ops_qseq;
 	u64			extra_enq_flags;	/* see move_task_to_local_dsq() */
 	u32			nr_running;
+	u32			flags;
 	cpumask_var_t		cpus_to_kick;
 	cpumask_var_t		cpus_to_preempt;
 	struct irq_work		kick_cpus_irq_work;
diff --git a/tools/sched_ext/scx_central.bpf.c b/tools/sched_ext/scx_central.bpf.c
index e3f7a7afa5cb..de0577961987 100644
--- a/tools/sched_ext/scx_central.bpf.c
+++ b/tools/sched_ext/scx_central.bpf.c
@@ -13,7 +13,26 @@
  *    through per-CPU BPF queues. The current design is chosen to maximally
  *    utilize and verify various SCX mechanisms such as LOCAL_ON dispatching.
  *
- * b. Preemption
+ * b. Tickless operation
+ *
+ *    All tasks are dispatched with the infinite slice which allows stopping the
+ *    ticks on CONFIG_NO_HZ_FULL kernels running with the proper nohz_full
+ *    parameter. The tickless operation can be observed through
+ *    /proc/interrupts.
+ *
+ *    Periodic switching is enforced by a periodic timer checking all CPUs and
+ *    preempting them as necessary. Unfortunately, BPF timer currently doesn't
+ *    have a way to pin to a specific CPU, so the periodic timer isn't pinned to
+ *    the central CPU.
+ *
+ * c. Preemption
+ *
+ *    Kthreads are unconditionally queued to the head of a matching local dsq
+ *    and dispatched with SCX_DSQ_PREEMPT. This ensures that a kthread is always
+ *    prioritized over user threads, which is required for ensuring forward
+ *    progress as e.g. the periodic timer may run on a ksoftirqd and if the
+ *    ksoftirqd gets starved by a user thread, there may not be anything else to
+ *    vacate that user thread.
  *
  *    SCX_KICK_PREEMPT is used to trigger scheduling and CPUs to move to the
  *    next tasks.
@@ -32,6 +51,8 @@ char _license[] SEC("license") = "GPL";
 
 enum {
 	FALLBACK_DSQ_ID		= 0,
+	MS_TO_NS		= 1000LLU * 1000,
+	TIMER_INTERVAL_NS	= 1 * MS_TO_NS,
 };
 
 const volatile bool switch_partial;
@@ -40,7 +61,7 @@ const volatile u32 nr_cpu_ids = 1;	/* !0 for veristat, set during init */
 const volatile u64 slice_ns = SCX_SLICE_DFL;
 
 u64 nr_total, nr_locals, nr_queued, nr_lost_pids;
-u64 nr_dispatches, nr_mismatches, nr_retries;
+u64 nr_timers, nr_dispatches, nr_mismatches, nr_retries;
 u64 nr_overflows;
 
 struct user_exit_info uei;
@@ -53,6 +74,23 @@ struct {
 
 /* can't use percpu map due to bad lookups */
 bool RESIZABLE_ARRAY(data, cpu_gimme_task);
+u64 RESIZABLE_ARRAY(data, cpu_started_at);
+
+struct central_timer {
+	struct bpf_timer timer;
+};
+
+struct {
+	__uint(type, BPF_MAP_TYPE_ARRAY);
+	__uint(max_entries, 1);
+	__type(key, u32);
+	__type(value, struct central_timer);
+} central_timer SEC(".maps");
+
+static bool vtime_before(u64 a, u64 b)
+{
+	return (s64)(a - b) < 0;
+}
 
 s32 BPF_STRUCT_OPS(central_select_cpu, struct task_struct *p,
 		   s32 prev_cpu, u64 wake_flags)
@@ -72,9 +110,22 @@ void BPF_STRUCT_OPS(central_enqueue, struct task_struct *p, u64 enq_flags)
 
 	__sync_fetch_and_add(&nr_total, 1);
 
+	/*
+	 * Push per-cpu kthreads at the head of local dsq's and preempt the
+	 * corresponding CPU. This ensures that e.g. ksoftirqd isn't blocked
+	 * behind other threads which is necessary for forward progress
+	 * guarantee as we depend on the BPF timer which may run from ksoftirqd.
+	 */
+	if ((p->flags & PF_KTHREAD) && p->nr_cpus_allowed == 1) {
+		__sync_fetch_and_add(&nr_locals, 1);
+		scx_bpf_dispatch(p, SCX_DSQ_LOCAL, SCX_SLICE_INF,
+				 enq_flags | SCX_ENQ_PREEMPT);
+		return;
+	}
+
 	if (bpf_map_push_elem(&central_q, &pid, 0)) {
 		__sync_fetch_and_add(&nr_overflows, 1);
-		scx_bpf_dispatch(p, FALLBACK_DSQ_ID, SCX_SLICE_DFL, enq_flags);
+		scx_bpf_dispatch(p, FALLBACK_DSQ_ID, SCX_SLICE_INF, enq_flags);
 		return;
 	}
 
@@ -107,13 +158,13 @@ static bool dispatch_to_cpu(s32 cpu)
 		 */
 		if (!bpf_cpumask_test_cpu(cpu, p->cpus_ptr)) {
 			__sync_fetch_and_add(&nr_mismatches, 1);
-			scx_bpf_dispatch(p, FALLBACK_DSQ_ID, SCX_SLICE_DFL, 0);
+			scx_bpf_dispatch(p, FALLBACK_DSQ_ID, SCX_SLICE_INF, 0);
 			bpf_task_release(p);
 			continue;
 		}
 
 		/* dispatch to local and mark that @cpu doesn't need more */
-		scx_bpf_dispatch(p, SCX_DSQ_LOCAL_ON | cpu, SCX_SLICE_DFL, 0);
+		scx_bpf_dispatch(p, SCX_DSQ_LOCAL_ON | cpu, SCX_SLICE_INF, 0);
 
 		if (cpu != central_cpu)
 			scx_bpf_kick_cpu(cpu, 0);
@@ -181,12 +232,89 @@ void BPF_STRUCT_OPS(central_dispatch, s32 cpu, struct task_struct *prev)
 	}
 }
 
+void BPF_STRUCT_OPS(central_running, struct task_struct *p)
+{
+	s32 cpu = scx_bpf_task_cpu(p);
+	u64 *started_at = ARRAY_ELEM_PTR(cpu_started_at, cpu, nr_cpu_ids);
+	if (started_at)
+		*started_at = bpf_ktime_get_ns() ?: 1;	/* 0 indicates idle */
+}
+
+void BPF_STRUCT_OPS(central_stopping, struct task_struct *p, bool runnable)
+{
+	s32 cpu = scx_bpf_task_cpu(p);
+	u64 *started_at = ARRAY_ELEM_PTR(cpu_started_at, cpu, nr_cpu_ids);
+	if (started_at)
+		*started_at = 0;
+}
+
+static int central_timerfn(void *map, int *key, struct bpf_timer *timer)
+{
+	u64 now = bpf_ktime_get_ns();
+	u64 nr_to_kick = nr_queued;
+	s32 i, curr_cpu;
+
+	curr_cpu = bpf_get_smp_processor_id();
+	if (curr_cpu != central_cpu) {
+		scx_bpf_error("Central timer ran on CPU %d, not central CPU %d",
+			      curr_cpu, central_cpu);
+		return 0;
+	}
+
+	bpf_for(i, 0, nr_cpu_ids) {
+		s32 cpu = (nr_timers + i) % nr_cpu_ids;
+		u64 *started_at;
+
+		if (cpu == central_cpu)
+			continue;
+
+		/* kick iff the current one exhausted its slice */
+		started_at = ARRAY_ELEM_PTR(cpu_started_at, cpu, nr_cpu_ids);
+		if (started_at && *started_at &&
+		    vtime_before(now, *started_at + slice_ns))
+			continue;
+
+		/* and there's something pending */
+		if (scx_bpf_dsq_nr_queued(FALLBACK_DSQ_ID) ||
+		    scx_bpf_dsq_nr_queued(SCX_DSQ_LOCAL_ON | cpu))
+			;
+		else if (nr_to_kick)
+			nr_to_kick--;
+		else
+			continue;
+
+		scx_bpf_kick_cpu(cpu, SCX_KICK_PREEMPT);
+	}
+
+	bpf_timer_start(timer, TIMER_INTERVAL_NS, BPF_F_TIMER_CPU_PIN);
+	__sync_fetch_and_add(&nr_timers, 1);
+	return 0;
+}
+
 int BPF_STRUCT_OPS_SLEEPABLE(central_init)
 {
+	u32 key = 0;
+	struct bpf_timer *timer;
+	int ret;
+
 	if (!switch_partial)
 		scx_bpf_switch_all();
 
-	return scx_bpf_create_dsq(FALLBACK_DSQ_ID, -1);
+	ret = scx_bpf_create_dsq(FALLBACK_DSQ_ID, -1);
+	if (ret)
+		return ret;
+
+	timer = bpf_map_lookup_elem(&central_timer, &key);
+	if (!timer)
+		return -ESRCH;
+
+	if (bpf_get_smp_processor_id() != central_cpu)
+		return -EINVAL;
+
+	bpf_timer_init(timer, &central_timer, CLOCK_MONOTONIC);
+	bpf_timer_set_callback(timer, central_timerfn);
+	ret = bpf_timer_start(timer, TIMER_INTERVAL_NS, BPF_F_TIMER_CPU_PIN);
+	return ret;
 }
 
 void BPF_STRUCT_OPS(central_exit, struct scx_exit_info *ei)
@@ -206,6 +334,8 @@ struct sched_ext_ops central_ops = {
 	.select_cpu		= (void *)central_select_cpu,
 	.enqueue		= (void *)central_enqueue,
 	.dispatch		= (void *)central_dispatch,
+	.running		= (void *)central_running,
+	.stopping		= (void *)central_stopping,
 	.init			= (void *)central_init,
 	.exit			= (void *)central_exit,
 	.name			= "central",
diff --git a/tools/sched_ext/scx_central.c b/tools/sched_ext/scx_central.c
index d832d55b756e..1e298590091f 100644
--- a/tools/sched_ext/scx_central.c
+++ b/tools/sched_ext/scx_central.c
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 	struct bpf_link *link;
 	__u64 seq = 0;
 	__s32 opt;
+	cpu_set_t *cpuset;
 
 	signal(SIGINT, sigint_handler);
 	signal(SIGTERM, sigint_handler);
@@ -70,9 +71,30 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 
 	/* Resize arrays so their element count is equal to cpu count. */
 	RESIZE_ARRAY(data, cpu_gimme_task, skel->rodata->nr_cpu_ids);
+	RESIZE_ARRAY(data, cpu_started_at, skel->rodata->nr_cpu_ids);
 
 	SCX_BUG_ON(scx_central__load(skel), "Failed to load skel");
 
+	/*
+	 * Affinitize the loading thread to the central CPU, as:
+	 * - That's where the BPF timer is first invoked in the BPF program.
+	 * - We probably don't want this user space component to take up a core
+	 *   from a task that would benefit from avoiding preemption on one of
+	 *   the tickless cores.
+	 *
+	 * Until BPF supports pinning the timer, it's not guaranteed that it
+	 * will always be invoked on the central CPU. In practice, this
+	 * suffices the majority of the time.
+	 */
+	cpuset = CPU_ALLOC(skel->rodata->nr_cpu_ids);
+	SCX_BUG_ON(!cpuset, "Failed to allocate cpuset");
+	CPU_ZERO(cpuset);
+	CPU_SET(skel->rodata->central_cpu, cpuset);
+	SCX_BUG_ON(sched_setaffinity(0, sizeof(cpuset), cpuset),
+		   "Failed to affinitize to central CPU %d (max %d)",
+		   skel->rodata->central_cpu, skel->rodata->nr_cpu_ids - 1);
+	CPU_FREE(cpuset);
+
 	link = bpf_map__attach_struct_ops(skel->maps.central_ops);
 	SCX_BUG_ON(!link, "Failed to attach struct_ops");
 
@@ -83,7 +105,8 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 		       skel->bss->nr_locals,
 		       skel->bss->nr_queued,
 		       skel->bss->nr_lost_pids);
-		printf("                    dispatch:%10lu mismatch:%10lu retry:%10lu\n",
+		printf("timer   :%10lu dispatch:%10lu mismatch:%10lu retry:%10lu\n",
+		       skel->bss->nr_timers,
 		       skel->bss->nr_dispatches,
 		       skel->bss->nr_mismatches,
 		       skel->bss->nr_retries);
