diff --git a/STANDUP.md b/STANDUP.md
index a869ecd6..9811078a 100644
--- a/STANDUP.md
+++ b/STANDUP.md
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ Implement the Actions that satisfy [`WORKFLOW.md`][workflow] for the repo's type
 
 ## 4. Apply Settings, Rulesets, and Secrets
 
-Run `repo-config/configure.sh [owner/repo] [release|operational]` (the repo defaults to the current one, the model to the registry lookup) to apply the fleet settings and the two rulesets idempotently (import the JSON, never hand-build - see [`docs/repo-config-carry.md`][repo-config-carry]). Configure every required secret per [`spec/secrets.json`][secrets] (the registry `requiredSecrets[]` list plus the implicit baseline) in the right store(s) - Actions, and Dependabot where the mechanism needs it - and confirm no forbidden secret is present. The required check binds by name (`Check pull request workflow status job`) and turns green only after the PR workflow has run once.
+Run `repo-config/configure.sh [owner/repo] [release|operational]` (the repo defaults to the current one, the model to the registry lookup or, absent a registry, to the carried payload) to apply the fleet settings and the two rulesets idempotently (import the JSON, never hand-build - see [`docs/repo-config-carry.md`][repo-config-carry]). Configure every required secret per [`spec/secrets.json`][secrets] (the registry `requiredSecrets[]` list plus the implicit baseline) in the right store(s) - Actions, and Dependabot where the mechanism needs it - and confirm no forbidden secret is present. The required check binds by name (`Check pull request workflow status job`) and turns green only after the PR workflow has run once.
 
 ## 5. Verify - Run the Audit
 
diff --git a/docs/repo-config-carry.md b/docs/repo-config-carry.md
index afb5e1db..9e41a33d 100644
--- a/docs/repo-config-carry.md
+++ b/docs/repo-config-carry.md
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ The **process** for carrying the `repo-config/` baseline to a fleet repo, applyi
 Every fleet repo carries the `repo-config/` directory. The hub keeps the canonical copy. Rules for the carried copy:
 
 - **Carry only your model's `develop` variant.** A `release` repo carries `develop.json`. An `operational` repo carries `operational/develop.json` instead. `main.json` and `settings.json` are shared by both models. `configure.sh` aborts when the payload its model needs is missing rather than applying a partial configuration.
-- **Carried files reference no other fleet repo.** A carried file names no sibling fleet repo as an example and links none (any fleet repo may be private, so a cross-repo link 404s in a public carrier, and it couples the repos). See [AGENTS.md "Documentation Style Conventions"][agents-documentation-style]. To point at a current good example, name it in the onboarding/conformance issue or the hub-only [`reports/conformance-matrix.md`][conformance-matrix].
+- **Carried files name no fleet repo as an illustrative example.** A carried file adds no template-repo reference and names no sibling fleet repo as an example (any fleet repo may be private, so such a link 404s in a public carrier, and it couples the repos). A contextually relevant link a reader of *this* repo's content needs is fine. See [AGENTS.md "Documentation Style Conventions"][agents-documentation-style]. To point at a current good example, name it in the onboarding/conformance issue or the hub-only [`reports/conformance-matrix.md`][conformance-matrix].
 - **Adapted self-audit carry.** A downstream repo carries **locally adapted** `AUDIT.md` and `spec/secrets.json`, scoped to self-auditing its own rulesets, settings, and secrets against the committed `repo-config/` baseline - the standard shape, so the carried tooling is self-contained. The hub's fleet-wide audit remains authoritative. The adapted `AUDIT.md` is a settings diff, a normalized ruleset diff against the carried payloads (an operational carry swaps in `operational/develop.json`), and a names-only secrets check, all targeting the current repo - adapt this shape, don't invent. A current well-formed example is named in the onboarding/conformance issue.
 - **Adapted `spec/secrets.json` shape.** The repo-scoped adaptation carries `baseline` (the App pair, which every fleet repo needs for the merge-bot) plus a `mechanisms` entry for each publish mechanism the repo actually uses, and the `targetMechanisms` routing entries for those mechanisms. **A source-only repo whose publish targets all map to a null mechanism (nothing to route) carries just `baseline` (plus a `note`)** - it omits `targetMechanisms` and `mechanisms` entirely, because a lone `targetMechanisms` map with no `mechanisms` reads as a schema bug (the audit enumerates `baseline` + `mechanisms`, never `targetMechanisms`, so an all-null routing map is dead weight). A `release` repo that uses a real mechanism (e.g. `nuget-oidc`, `docker-hub`, `codecov`) carries that `mechanisms` entry **and** its `targetMechanisms`/`typeMechanisms` routing, which the audit then picks up.
 - **The regen snippet targets the current repo**, so it works unchanged in a carried copy.
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ Every fleet repo carries the `repo-config/` directory. The hub keeps the canonic
 
 **Configure by importing the JSON payloads, never by hand-building the rules** (hand reconstruction has gone wrong on past setups). The result must be **exactly two rulesets named `develop` and `main`** - the names are load-bearing (`AGENTS.md` and the workflows reference them). Only the `develop` *content* varies by model.
 
-First remove all legacy classic branch-protection rules and any stray rulesets, then run `configure.sh` (which picks the `develop` payload from the repo's `workflowModel` and applies `settings.json` alongside the rulesets):
+First remove all legacy classic branch-protection rules and any stray rulesets, then run `configure.sh` (which picks the `develop` payload from the repo's `workflowModel`, or infers it from the carried payload when no registry is present, and applies `settings.json` alongside the rulesets):
 
 ```sh
 repo-config/configure.sh [owner/repo] [release|operational]
diff --git a/registry/repos.json b/registry/repos.json
index ccd9e732..b6082239 100644
--- a/registry/repos.json
+++ b/registry/repos.json
@@ -178,20 +178,18 @@
             "url": "https://github.com/ptr727/KiCadLibrary",
             "status": "cataloged",
             "types": ["eda"],
-            "groundTruthBranch": "develop",
             "hasDevelop": true,
             "publish": [{ "target": "github-release", "mechanism": "none" }],
             "requiredSecrets": [],
             "consumerModel": "pull",
             "releaseTrigger": "two-phase",
-            "driftNotes": ["EDA/KiCad part library; delivers a github-release data zip.", "main is stale (data + README only): the full fleet CI, NBGV version.json, and the Python build/verify pipeline live only on develop (the recorded ground-truth branch) - promote to main to converge.", "Python tooling uses requirements-dev.txt, not pyproject.toml; no repo-config/ rulesets."]
+            "driftNotes": ["EDA/KiCad part library; delivers a github-release data zip.", "main is stale (data + README only): the full fleet CI, NBGV version.json, and the Python build/verify pipeline live only on develop - promote to main to converge.", "Python tooling uses requirements-dev.txt, not pyproject.toml; no repo-config/ rulesets."]
         },
         {
             "name": "EspDinIoT",
             "url": "https://github.com/ptr727/EspDinIoT",
             "status": "cataloged",
             "types": ["eda"],
-            "groundTruthBranch": "develop",
             "hasDevelop": true,
             "publish": [],
             "requiredSecrets": [],
@@ -247,13 +245,12 @@
             "url": "https://github.com/ptr727/PhotoCleaner",
             "status": "cataloged",
             "types": ["csharp", "console", "docker"],
-            "groundTruthBranch": "develop",
             "hasDevelop": true,
             "publish": [],
             "requiredSecrets": ["CODECOV_TOKEN"],
             "consumerModel": "pull",
             "releaseTrigger": "none",
-            "driftNotes": ["Work-in-progress: pre-CI (no .github/workflows, no version.json, no repo-config).", "Non-conformant: default/only branch is 'develop', no 'main' - must create main (should never be permanent).", "Dockerfile present but no docker build/push workflow, so no publish wired."]
+            "driftNotes": ["Work-in-progress: pre-CI (no .github/workflows, no version.json, no repo-config).", "Pre-conformance: main exists but the work-in-progress content lives on develop - promote to main to converge.", "Dockerfile present but no docker build/push workflow, so no publish wired."]
         },
         {
             "name": "MediaTools",
@@ -301,7 +298,6 @@
             "url": "https://github.com/ptr727/HolidayLights",
             "status": "cataloged",
             "types": ["source-only"],
-            "groundTruthBranch": "develop",
             "hasDevelop": true,
             "publish": [],
             "requiredSecrets": [],