diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index bd36cb3..ba47e27 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -10,8 +10,8 @@ main  ◄── release PR ◄── develop ◄── feat/123-short-name
                                   ◄── chore/125-config-change
 ```
 
-- `main` is the release line. Protected: 15 required status checks, code-owner approval, no force pushes.
-- `develop` is the integration branch. Same gates, less strict (PRs don't need rebases).
+- `main` is the release line. Protected: **21 required status checks**, code-owner approval, no force pushes. (One additional non-required check, `Draft next release` from release-drafter, runs informationally on PRs to `main` and shows up in the rollup but is not gated.)
+- `develop` is the integration branch. Same 21 gates, less strict (PRs don't need rebases).
 - Feature branches are short-lived and named `<type>/<issue-number>-<kebab-title>`. Open one issue per branch so the project board stays usable.
 
 ## Commit messages
@@ -43,6 +43,18 @@ The subject is **lowercase** after the colon. Title Case prose (`Add the thing`)
    - **Screenshots** (UI changes only)
 5. Wait for green CI + a code-owner review before merging.
 
+### Solo-owner merge policy
+
+This repo runs with a single code owner (`* @constk` in `CODEOWNERS`). GitHub forbids a PR author from approving their own PR, so the standard "1 code-owner review" gate cannot be satisfied without an admin override. While in this state, the **intended workflow is**:
+
+```sh
+gh pr merge <N> --admin --squash --delete-branch
+```
+
+…for `feat:` / `fix:` / `chore:` PRs, and `--admin --merge` (preserves history) for `release:` PRs. The `enforce_admins: false` line in `.github/branch-protection/{develop,main}.json` is the documented escape hatch — admin merge here is the policy, not a deviation from it.
+
+When a second collaborator joins, drop the `--admin` flag and adopt standard PR review. Update this section + `CODEOWNERS` in the same PR.
+
 ## Local pre-push gate
 
 ```sh
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 58ab761..c1f5158 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [project]
 name = "harness-python-react"
-version = "0.2.8"
+version = "0.2.9"
 description = "Production-quality LLM-driven coding harness — Python (FastAPI) backend, Vite + React + TypeScript frontend."
 readme = "README.md"
 requires-python = ">=3.14"
diff --git a/uv.lock b/uv.lock
index 9eb1613..8fe0b4f 100644
--- a/uv.lock
+++ b/uv.lock
@@ -328,7 +328,7 @@ wheels = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "harness-python-react"
-version = "0.2.8"
+version = "0.2.9"
 source = { virtual = "." }
 dependencies = [
     { name = "fastapi" },