diff --git a/.github/workflows/deploy-doxygen.yml b/.github/workflows/deploy-doxygen.yml
index 1c11fa8..0d1893b 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/deploy-doxygen.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/deploy-doxygen.yml
@@ -40,13 +40,16 @@ jobs:
       - name: Generate documentation
         run: doxygen docs/Doxyfile
 
-      # enablement: true creates the Pages site on first run. The default (false)
-      # only *queries* for an existing site, so on a repository where Pages was
-      # never turned on the action fails with "Get Pages site failed ... HttpError:
-      # Not Found" and every step after it is skipped -- which is exactly what
-      # happened the first time this workflow ran on main. Provisioning here keeps
-      # the deploy self-contained instead of depending on someone having clicked
-      # through repository settings; it uses the `pages: write` scope granted above.
+      # This step currently FAILS, and that is expected -- Pages is deliberately not
+      # enabled for this repository pending the organization owner's approval. See
+      # docs/design/github-pages-deployment.md before trying to fix it.
+      #
+      # `enablement: true` does not rescue it: creating a Pages site requires admin
+      # repository permission, and `administration` is not a scope a workflow's
+      # `permissions:` block can grant to GITHUB_TOKEN, so the call comes back
+      # "Resource not accessible by integration". It is kept only so that no edit is
+      # needed here once Pages is switched on out-of-band -- at which point the
+      # initial Get succeeds and Create is never reached.
       - name: Configure Pages
         uses: actions/configure-pages@v4
         with:
diff --git a/docs/design/github-pages-deployment.md b/docs/design/github-pages-deployment.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..16b01db
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/design/github-pages-deployment.md
@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+# GitHub Pages Deployment — Deliberately Not Enabled
+
+_Decision recorded 2026-08-19 · applies to `ringbuffer-org/Zerr`_
+
+## Decision
+
+**GitHub Pages is not enabled for this repository, and the failing `Deploy Doxygen documentation`
+workflow is accepted rather than fixed.**
+
+Enabling Pages publishes a new page under the organization's website
+(`ringbuffer-org.github.io/Zerr`). That is the organization owner's call, and it should not happen
+as a side effect of a CI change. Enabling it requires notifying the owner first.
+
+Do not "fix" the red Doxygen job without that approval.
+
+## Current behaviour
+
+`Deploy Doxygen documentation` fails on every push to `main` touching `core/include/**` or
+`docs/**`, so `main` shows a recurring red X.
+
+Only the deploy fails. Doxygen itself is healthy:
+
+| Step | Result |
+| --- | --- |
+| Install Doxygen | success |
+| Generate documentation | **success** |
+| Configure Pages | **failure** |
+| Upload Pages artifact | skipped |
+| Deploy to GitHub Pages | skipped |
+
+The documentation builds correctly and is then discarded. Nothing is broken behind the failure —
+running `doxygen docs/Doxyfile` locally produces the full HTML under `docs/build/html`.
+
+## Why the workflow cannot fix this itself
+
+This was attempted and does not work. The findings, so nobody re-derives them:
+
+1. **Pages has never been enabled.** `GET /repos/ringbuffer-org/Zerr/pages` returns `404`.
+2. **`actions/configure-pages` defaults to `enablement: false`**, which only *queries* for an
+   existing site. With no site it fails:
+   `Get Pages site failed ... HttpError: Not Found`.
+3. **`enablement: true` also fails.** Creating a site hits `POST /repos/{owner}/{repo}/pages`,
+   which requires **admin** repository permission — and `administration` is not among the scopes a
+   workflow's `permissions:` block can grant to `GITHUB_TOKEN`. Verified in
+   [run 32303359056](https://github.com/ringbuffer-org/Zerr/actions/runs/32303359056):
+   `Create Pages site failed ... HttpError: Resource not accessible by integration`.
+
+The `enablement: true` currently in `deploy-doxygen.yml` is therefore inert. It is harmless — once a
+site exists the action's initial `Get` succeeds and it never reaches `Create` — and is left in place
+so the workflow needs no edit if Pages is enabled later.
+
+**No workflow-side change can resolve this.** The token category is wrong for the operation.
+
+## How to enable it, once approved
+
+Either one, then re-run the workflow:
+
+- **Repository settings** — Settings → Pages → Source: **GitHub Actions**
+- **API, with an admin-scoped token** —
+  `gh api -X POST repos/ringbuffer-org/Zerr/pages -f build_type=workflow`
+
+The workflow needs no changes; it will pass as written. Note that its `push` trigger is filtered to
+`core/include/**` and `docs/**`, so a config-only change will not re-trigger it — dispatch it
+manually (`gh workflow run "Deploy Doxygen documentation" --ref main`) to confirm.
+
+The published site would be `https://ringbuffer-org.github.io/Zerr/`.