diff --git a/.github/CODEOWNERS b/.github/CODEOWNERS
index 356094dc..e53888b3 100644
--- a/.github/CODEOWNERS
+++ b/.github/CODEOWNERS
@@ -1,7 +1,14 @@
-# Global code ownership for AssetOverflow/core.
+# Code ownership for AssetOverflow/core — ADVISORY ONLY (see ADR-0221).
 #
-# This repository is public, but changes to protected branches must remain
-# review-gated by the repository owner. Pair this file with GitHub branch
-# protection requiring CODEOWNERS review on `main`.
+# This repository is public with a single maintainer. Public exclusion is
+# provided by repository WRITE ACCESS — non-collaborators can open PRs but can
+# never merge — NOT by a review requirement. Per ADR-0221, branch protection on
+# `main` is required-status-checks-only: required_approving_review_count = 0 and
+# require_code_owner_reviews = false. This file therefore only auto-requests
+# review / assigns ownership; it does NOT gate merges.
+#
+# Do NOT re-enable required code-owner review on this solo-maintainer repo: every
+# PR is authored by the only owner, and GitHub forbids self-approval, so it
+# creates an unsatisfiable deadlock that forces --admin on every merge (ADR-0221).
 
 * @AssetOverflow
diff --git a/docs/decisions/ADR-0221-codeowners-review-topology.md b/docs/decisions/ADR-0221-codeowners-review-topology.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..0d34d495
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/decisions/ADR-0221-codeowners-review-topology.md
@@ -0,0 +1,113 @@
+# ADR-0221 — Branch protection for a solo-maintainer public repo (required-checks-only)
+
+Status: accepted (applied 2026-06-15)
+Date: 2026-06-15
+Relates: PR #699 (original `main` branch protection), ADR-0220 / #772 (the PR that
+surfaced the deadlock), `.github/CODEOWNERS`
+
+> Repo-governance decision, not an engine-architecture one. No runtime code
+> changes. It records *why* `main` is protected with required status checks only —
+> no required approvals, no required code-owner review — and explicitly warns
+> future agents not to "fix" this by re-adding a human-review gate.
+
+## Context — the deadlock that prompted this
+
+`main` was protected (PR #699) with:
+
+```
+required_approving_review_count: 1
+require_code_owner_reviews:       true
+.github/CODEOWNERS:               * @AssetOverflow
+required status checks:           verify pinned lane SHAs, smoke, Sourcery
+```
+
+The repo is **public but has a single maintainer**, and every PR is authored by
+`@AssetOverflow` (the owner/agent token). GitHub forbids a PR author from
+approving their own PR, so the required approval could **never** be collected:
+`reviewDecision` was permanently `REVIEW_REQUIRED`, `mergeStateStatus` `BLOCKED`,
+and the only way to merge anything — even an all-green PR — was an `--admin`
+override. Observed on #772 (2026-06-15), which had to be admin-merged.
+
+## The misconception this ADR corrects
+
+The required review was assumed to be the boundary that keeps non-maintainers
+from merging. **It is not.** Merging into any branch — protected or not —
+requires repository **write access**. The public are not collaborators, so they
+can open PRs from forks but can **never** merge them. Public-exclusion is
+provided entirely by the collaborator/write-access model.
+
+So the `required_approving_review_count: 1` + `require_code_owner_reviews: true`
+pair added **zero** exclusion. All it did was create an unsatisfiable
+self-approval gate that forced `--admin` on every merge — silently normalizing
+the exact bypass the protection was meant to discourage.
+
+## Decision
+
+Protect `main` with **required status checks only**:
+
+```
+require a pull request before merging:  true     # so CI runs on every change
+required_approving_review_count:        0
+require_code_owner_reviews:             false
+required status checks (strict):        verify pinned lane SHAs, smoke, Sourcery
+enforce_admins:                         false     # a real emergency break-glass remains
+restrict who can push:                  none      # write-access already gates merge
+```
+
+`.github/CODEOWNERS` (`* @AssetOverflow`) is retained as **advisory only** — with
+`require_code_owner_reviews: false` it auto-requests review / assigns ownership
+but does not gate merges.
+
+### Why this is the correct shape here
+
+- The real quality gate is **CI** (pinned-lane SHAs + smoke + the pre-push diff),
+  per the repo's pre-push-verification doctrine. That gate is fully preserved.
+- A GitHub approval from the *sole* maintainer on their *own* PR is impossible
+  and semantically empty; requiring it only blocks the legitimate merger.
+- Result: the maintainer/agents open a PR → CI must go green → **merge normally**.
+  No approval, **no `--admin`**, no second account. The public still cannot merge.
+
+## DO NOT re-add (explicit guard for future agents)
+
+Do **not** re-introduce `required_approving_review_count >= 1` or
+`require_code_owner_reviews: true` believing it adds a security boundary. It does
+**not** — write access already excludes the public — and it re-creates the
+self-approval deadlock that re-normalizes `--admin`. If a genuine second-party
+review is ever wanted, it requires provisioning a **real** second write-capable
+reviewer (a distinct human/account) **first**; never impose a self-approval
+requirement on a single-identity repo.
+
+## Applied
+
+2026-06-15, via:
+
+```bash
+gh api -X PATCH repos/AssetOverflow/core/branches/main/protection/required_pull_request_reviews \
+  -F required_approving_review_count=0 -F require_code_owner_reviews=false
+```
+
+Before → after: `required_approvals 1 → 0`, `require_code_owner_reviews true →
+false`. Required status checks unchanged. This governance PR is the first merged
+through the now-working normal path — its own clean merge is the proof.
+
+## Break-glass log (auditable, not precedent)
+
+- **#772 — 2026-06-15** — admin-merged as a one-time exception under the old
+  deadlocked config (all checks green; only unmet requirement was an
+  impossible self-approval). Authorized. **Not precedent.** With this ADR's
+  config, routine `--admin` is retired.
+
+## What this does NOT change
+
+- No engine/runtime code. Required status checks unchanged.
+- PR C (the ADR-0220 identity/provenance hash split) stays blocked on ADR-0220
+  ratification — independent of this governance fix.
+
+## Consequences
+
+- Approval-free, check-gated normal merges for the maintainer/agents.
+- `--admin` retired for routine work (emergency break-glass still available via
+  `enforce_admins: false`).
+- If collaborators are added later and merges should be restricted to specific
+  accounts, enable **"Restrict who can push"** (the `restrictions` list) — that is
+  the correct lever, **not** required reviews.