diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index 86233d9a..181164e8 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -68,7 +68,12 @@ for the architecture, the GitHub App credential setup, and the Observe-first ado
   private metadata into this repository. The `platform` and `ksail` Repository
   resources host workflow-built Pages sites that the GitHub App cannot write, so each declares the
   deprecated `pages` field exactly as GitHub reports it. Declaring the whole list replaces stale
-  provider state and leaves no Pages diff for an update to send (issue #232). After a repository's one-time
+  provider state and leaves no Pages diff for an update to send (issue #232). KHoist's newly
+  bootstrapped site has no observed Pages block, so an enforced declaration instead retries a
+  forbidden Pages PUT. Keep only its Pages bootstrap expectation in `initProvider.pages`, retain
+  the homepage and repository settings in `forProvider`, and verify the Pages expectation through
+  the read-only repository drift check (#614). Do not expand the managed App's Pages permissions.
+  After a repository's one-time
   `archived: true` update lands, move it to exactly `Observe`: GitHub makes archived repositories
   read-only, and retaining `Update` or `LateInitialize` lets newly exposed provider fields create a
   permanent update loop. `tests/repository-update-policy.sh` pins both invariants. Verify
diff --git a/deploy/repositories/data-product-controller.yaml b/deploy/repositories/data-product-controller.yaml
index c5fd106d..a701b4a0 100644
--- a/deploy/repositories/data-product-controller.yaml
+++ b/deploy/repositories/data-product-controller.yaml
@@ -5,19 +5,20 @@ metadata:
   annotations:
     crossplane.io/external-name: data-product-controller
 spec:
-  # The adopted repository is Synced/Ready. Apply the shared repository policy.
+  # Keep ordinary settings management on the adopted repository.
   managementPolicies: ["Observe", "Create", "Update"]
+  # Pages was bootstrapped separately. Preserve its initial declaration without
+  # asking the managed App to write Pages; the drift audit still verifies it.
+  initProvider:
+    pages:
+      - buildType: workflow
+        cname: khoist.devantler.tech
   forProvider:
     name: data-product-controller
     visibility: public
     archived: false
     description: "A cloud-native controller for composable, self-describing data products."
     homepageUrl: https://khoist.devantler.tech/
-    # Bootstrap is a maintainer prerequisite; see khoist-pages-bootstrap.md.
-    # Match the workflow site's live shape exactly, without a branch source (#232).
-    pages:
-      - buildType: workflow
-        cname: khoist.devantler.tech
     # Issues are used here; an undeclared bool takes the provider default (false) on update (#311).
     hasIssues: true
   providerConfigRef:
diff --git a/khoist-pages-bootstrap.md b/khoist-pages-bootstrap.md
index 5877fa30..f65f7d85 100644
--- a/khoist-pages-bootstrap.md
+++ b/khoist-pages-bootstrap.md
@@ -27,6 +27,13 @@ The intended settings are:
 | Custom domain | `khoist.devantler.tech` |
 | Homepage | `https://khoist.devantler.tech/` |
 
+The bootstrap expectation is declared in `initProvider.pages`. The managed App
+does not enforce it after adoption; the read-only repository drift check still
+compares its build type and domain with the Pages API and fails on a mismatch or
+an unreadable site. The homepage and ordinary repository settings remain enforced
+in `forProvider`. Existing KSail/platform Pages adoptions retain their separate
+observed-state declarations from #232.
+
 There is no branch `source` block for a workflow-built site. A checked-in `CNAME`
 file does not configure an Actions-built site's custom domain.
 
@@ -35,9 +42,11 @@ Confirm `build_type: workflow` and the exact `cname`. The REST response may reta
 a legacy `source` branch even for workflow builds. The pinned provider's
 [`flattenPages` implementation](https://github.com/integrations/terraform-provider-github/blob/v6.13.0/github/resource_github_repository.go)
 normalizes that field to absent for workflow builds, so the declaration must omit it.
-Once those settings match, the reviewed declaration preserves the provider's shape while retaining
-the repository's existing management policies. Verify successful reconciliation
-without Pages permission errors before treating configuration adoption as complete.
+The initial forProvider declaration in #615 still retried a Pages PUT: this new
+site had no observed provider Pages state to match. The bootstrap-only declaration
+avoids taking ongoing Pages write ownership. Verify successful repository
+reconciliation and the independent Pages drift check before treating adoption as
+complete; a matching manifest alone does not prove either result.
 
 ## Publication ownership
 
diff --git a/scripts/check-repository-drift.sh b/scripts/check-repository-drift.sh
index ffe6cb45..c9aabd71 100755
--- a/scripts/check-repository-drift.sh
+++ b/scripts/check-repository-drift.sh
@@ -67,9 +67,16 @@ yq -N -o=json -I=0 '
   {
     "repo": (.metadata.annotations["crossplane.io/external-name"] // .metadata.name),
     "resource": .metadata.name,
-    "declared": .spec.forProvider
+    "declared": .spec.forProvider,
+    "bootstrapPages": .spec.initProvider.pages
   }
-' "$render" >"$work/declared.jsonl" || abort "failed to read Repository resources from the render"
+' "$render" | jq -c '
+  if .bootstrapPages != null then
+    if .declared | has("pages") then
+      error("Pages must have one declaration owner")
+    else .declared.pages = .bootstrapPages end
+  else . end | del(.bootstrapPages)
+' >"$work/declared.jsonl" || abort "failed to read Repository resources from the render"
 
 declared_count="$(grep -c . "$work/declared.jsonl" || true)"
 # deploy/ manages the whole org; a render that yields almost nothing means the
@@ -91,7 +98,8 @@ readonly KEY_PROGRAM='
 readonly SETTINGS_KEYS='["allow_auto_merge", "allow_squash_merge", "allow_merge_commit",
   "allow_rebase_merge", "allow_update_branch", "delete_branch_on_merge",
   "web_commit_signoff_required"]'
-readonly SETTINGS_QUERY='query RepositorySettings($owner: String!, $name: String!) {
+SETTINGS_QUERY=$(cat <<'GRAPHQL'
+query RepositorySettings($owner: String!, $name: String!) {
   repository(owner: $owner, name: $name) {
     id nameWithOwner isPrivate
     allow_auto_merge: autoMergeAllowed
@@ -102,7 +110,10 @@ readonly SETTINGS_QUERY='query RepositorySettings($owner: String!, $name: String
     delete_branch_on_merge: deleteBranchOnMerge
     web_commit_signoff_required: webCommitSignoffRequired
   }
-}'
+}
+GRAPHQL
+)
+readonly SETTINGS_QUERY
 
 complete_repository_settings() {
   local entry="$1" live="$2" repo="$3" declared_settings missing settings
diff --git a/tests/repository-drift.sh b/tests/repository-drift.sh
index d802e324..b96bc385 100644
--- a/tests/repository-drift.sh
+++ b/tests/repository-drift.sh
@@ -263,6 +263,31 @@ expect_status "$work/pages-unmapped" 2 "a declared Pages key this check cannot c
 grep -Fq 'pages.source' "$work/pages-unmapped/stderr" ||
   fail "the uncomparable Pages key must be named"
 
+# Bootstrap-only Pages settings are still audited, although Crossplane must not
+# attempt to enforce them through an App that cannot write Pages.
+seed_bootstrap_pages() {
+  DECLARED=$'  initProvider:\n    pages:\n      - buildType: workflow\n        cname: pages.example.invalid\n' \
+    perl -0pi -e 's/^(spec:\n)/$1$ENV{DECLARED}/m or die "no fixture spec\n"' "$1/render.yaml"
+}
+bootstrap_pages_fixture() {
+  local dir="$1" live_pages="$2"
+  pages_fixture "$dir" "" "$live_pages"
+  seed_bootstrap_pages "$dir"
+}
+bootstrap_pages_fixture "$work/bootstrap-pages" "$live_cname"
+expect_status "$work/bootstrap-pages" 0 "matching bootstrap-only Pages settings"
+bootstrap_pages_fixture "$work/bootstrap-pages-drift" '{"build_type":"workflow","cname":"other.example.invalid"}'
+expect_status "$work/bootstrap-pages-drift" 1 "a changed bootstrap-only Pages domain"
+grep -Fq 'DRIFT fixture-repo-1.pages' "$work/bootstrap-pages-drift/stdout" ||
+  fail "bootstrap-only Pages drift must still name the pages field"
+bootstrap_pages_fixture "$work/bootstrap-pages-missing" ""
+expect_status "$work/bootstrap-pages-missing" 2 "an unreadable bootstrap-only Pages site"
+
+# Two owners for Pages are ambiguous; do not silently hide either declaration.
+pages_fixture "$work/pages-two-owners" "$cname_pages" "$live_cname"
+seed_bootstrap_pages "$work/pages-two-owners"
+expect_status "$work/pages-two-owners" 2 "both managed and bootstrap-only Pages settings"
+
 # Exercise the real gh transport path, including the REST omissions observed
 # with an installation token. The fake accepts only the expected read requests.
 transport="$work/transport"
diff --git a/tests/repository-update-policy.sh b/tests/repository-update-policy.sh
index 2b809b70..2fbfb14d 100755
--- a/tests/repository-update-policy.sh
+++ b/tests/repository-update-policy.sh
@@ -71,18 +71,23 @@ active_count="$(printf '%s\n' "$active_repositories" | grep -c . || true)"
 # With `pages` matching GitHub exactly, an update carries no Pages change, so both
 # are managed with Observe/Create/Update like every other active repository.
 declare_pages() {
-  local name="$1" want_cname="$2" want_homepage="${3:-}" got
+  local name="$1" want_cname="$2" want_homepage="${3:-}" owner="${4:-forProvider}" got
   got="$(
     yq -N -o=json -I=0 "
       select(.kind == \"Repository\" and .metadata.name == \"$name\") |
       {
         \"policies\": (.spec.managementPolicies | sort | join(\",\")),
-        \"pages\": .spec.forProvider.pages,
+        \"pages\": .spec.$owner.pages,
+        \"managedPages\": (.spec.forProvider | has(\"pages\")),
         \"homepage\": .spec.forProvider.homepageUrl
       }
     " "$render"
   )"
   [[ -n "$got" ]] || fail "$name Repository resource is missing"
+  if [[ "$owner" == initProvider ]]; then
+    [[ "$(yq -N '.managedPages' <<<"$got")" == "false" ]] ||
+      fail "$name bootstrap-only Pages must not be enforced through forProvider: $got"
+  fi
   if [[ -n "$want_homepage" ]]; then
     [[ "$(yq -N '.homepage' <<<"$got")" == "$want_homepage" ]] ||
       fail "$name must declare homepageUrl: $want_homepage, as GitHub reports it: $got"
@@ -90,7 +95,7 @@ declare_pages() {
   [[ "$(yq -N '.policies' <<<"$got")" == "Create,Observe,Update" ]] ||
     fail "$name must be managed with Observe/Create/Update now that its Pages state is declared: $got"
   [[ "$(yq -N '.pages | length' <<<"$got")" == "1" ]] ||
-    fail "$name must declare exactly one forProvider.pages entry: $got"
+    fail "$name must declare exactly one $owner.pages entry: $got"
   [[ "$(yq -N '.pages[0].buildType' <<<"$got")" == "workflow" ]] ||
     fail "$name Pages must declare buildType: workflow, as GitHub reports it: $got"
   [[ "$(yq -N '.pages[0] | has("source")' <<<"$got")" == "false" ]] ||
@@ -105,7 +110,9 @@ declare_pages() {
 }
 declare_pages ksail ksail.devantler.tech
 declare_pages platform ""
-declare_pages data-product-controller khoist.devantler.tech https://khoist.devantler.tech/
+# A first Pages site has no observed provider block to adopt (#614). Enforcing
+# it would retry an unsupported Pages PUT. Keep its seed explicit and audit it.
+declare_pages data-product-controller khoist.devantler.tech https://khoist.devantler.tech/ initProvider
 
 # LateInitialize copies live-only values into forProvider, and everything in
 # forProvider is sent on update PATCHes, so LateInitialize is what turns a