diff --git a/.github/actions/preview-delivery/action.yml b/.github/actions/preview-delivery/action.yml
index 162f305..a5b618d 100644
--- a/.github/actions/preview-delivery/action.yml
+++ b/.github/actions/preview-delivery/action.yml
@@ -437,8 +437,9 @@ runs:
           heroku releases --app "$APP_NAME" --json |
             jq -r '.[0].version // empty'
         )"
-        test "$guard_release" != "$before_guard_release"
-        wait_for_release "$APP_NAME" "$guard_release"
+        if [ "$guard_release" != "$before_guard_release" ]; then
+          wait_for_release "$APP_NAME" "$guard_release"
+        fi
 
         if [ "$HAS_DEPLOYED_RELEASE" = true ]; then
           configure_app
@@ -453,8 +454,9 @@ runs:
           heroku releases --app "$APP_NAME" --json |
             jq -r '.[0].version // empty'
         )"
-        test "$web_release" != "$before_web_release"
-        wait_for_release "$APP_NAME" "$web_release"
+        if [ "$web_release" != "$before_web_release" ]; then
+          wait_for_release "$APP_NAME" "$web_release"
+        fi
 
         before_postgrest_release="$(
           heroku releases --app "$POSTGREST_APP_NAME" --json |
@@ -465,8 +467,9 @@ runs:
           heroku releases --app "$POSTGREST_APP_NAME" --json |
             jq -r '.[0].version // empty'
         )"
-        test "$postgrest_release" != "$before_postgrest_release"
-        wait_for_release "$POSTGREST_APP_NAME" "$postgrest_release"
+        if [ "$postgrest_release" != "$before_postgrest_release" ]; then
+          wait_for_release "$POSTGREST_APP_NAME" "$postgrest_release"
+        fi
 
         if [ "$HAS_POSTGREST_RELEASE" = true ]; then
           configure_postgrest
diff --git a/.github/actions/production-delivery/action.yml b/.github/actions/production-delivery/action.yml
index 2936c76..deb5a3b 100644
--- a/.github/actions/production-delivery/action.yml
+++ b/.github/actions/production-delivery/action.yml
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ inputs:
     description: Exact canonical production branch ID
     required: true
   neon_parent_branch_id:
-    description: Exact durable checkpoint branch ID
+    description: Exact parent branch ID, or literal null for project-root production
     required: true
   neon_project_id:
     description: Neon project containing the production branch
@@ -547,8 +547,9 @@ runs:
           heroku releases --app "$APP_NAME" --json |
             jq -r '.[0].version // empty'
         )"
-        test "$guard_release" != "$before_guard_release"
-        wait_for_release "$APP_NAME" "$guard_release"
+        if [ "$guard_release" != "$before_guard_release" ]; then
+          wait_for_release "$APP_NAME" "$guard_release"
+        fi
 
         if [ "$HAS_DEPLOYED_RELEASE" = true ]; then
           configure_app
@@ -563,8 +564,12 @@ runs:
           heroku releases --app "$APP_NAME" --json |
             jq -r '.[0].version // empty'
         )"
-        test "$web_release" != "$before_web_release"
-        wait_for_release "$APP_NAME" "$web_release"
+        if [ "$web_release" != "$before_web_release" ]; then
+          wait_for_release "$APP_NAME" "$web_release"
+        else
+          test -n "$previous_release"
+          web_release="$previous_release"
+        fi
 
         before_postgrest_release="$(
           heroku releases --app "$POSTGREST_APP_NAME" --json |
@@ -575,8 +580,12 @@ runs:
           heroku releases --app "$POSTGREST_APP_NAME" --json |
             jq -r '.[0].version // empty'
         )"
-        test "$postgrest_release" != "$before_postgrest_release"
-        wait_for_release "$POSTGREST_APP_NAME" "$postgrest_release"
+        if [ "$postgrest_release" != "$before_postgrest_release" ]; then
+          wait_for_release "$POSTGREST_APP_NAME" "$postgrest_release"
+        else
+          test -n "$previous_postgrest_release"
+          postgrest_release="$previous_postgrest_release"
+        fi
 
         if [ "$HAS_POSTGREST_RELEASE" = true ]; then
           configure_postgrest
diff --git a/docs/40-deployment/neon.md b/docs/40-deployment/neon.md
index 81436cf..7c2f779 100644
--- a/docs/40-deployment/neon.md
+++ b/docs/40-deployment/neon.md
@@ -39,7 +39,9 @@ outputs and are never written to logs or artifacts.
 `preview-base` is a normal Neon branch because schema-only branching is incompatible with
 the legacy `authenticated` web role on the current runtime branch. Its one-time bootstrap
 copies the source branch internally, immediately truncates every known application table,
-and verifies the database remains at the repository head.
+resets the cloned database identity from `production` to `runtime`, and verifies the database
+remains at the repository head. The identity reset is limited to this guarded, data-free
+baseline; canonical production remains immutable.
 Production is not mutated, and production rows never enter a PR-owned branch.
 
 The current Neon free-v3 plan has a protected-branch quota of zero, so provider protection
@@ -99,10 +101,11 @@ it neither applies nor verifies the schema transition.
 
 ## Production Branch
 
-The canonical production branch is named `production`. It is a no-TTL child of the durable
-pre-cutover checkpoint, not a rename or in-place migration of `staging`. Its initial
-manifest preserved every application-table row count and changed only the Alembic head to
-the convergence revision.
+The canonical production branch is named `production`. Since the 2026-08-13 project-root
+migration it is the no-TTL root and default branch of the active Neon project. It was restored
+from a directly encrypted custom archive whose value-free source and target manifests and
+normalized schema dumps matched exactly. GitHub stores the expected parent identity as the
+literal value `null` so the delivery guard can distinguish this topology from a missing value.
 
 Native runtime and PostgREST use role-specific URLs derived from the pooled branch
 coordinate. The protected GitHub lifecycle process alone receives the direct owner
@@ -119,29 +122,20 @@ The current Neon plan cannot protect this branch. GitHub environment isolation,
 branch-ID/parent guards, serialized release execution, the durable checkpoint, and the
 encrypted archive are required compensating controls.
 
-## Retained Lineage And Retired Branches
+## Current Topology And Retired Project
 
-There is no active Neon staging or develop environment:
+There is no active Neon staging or develop environment. The active topology is intentionally
+small:
 
-- the stale `develop` branch was deleted on 2026-07-24;
-- the historical staging branch was renamed to
-  `archive/staging-lineage-20250824` (`br-broad-bread-a1j7v4ct`) and its compute endpoint was
-  deleted;
-- the archived branch remains storage-only because Neon refuses to delete a branch while it
-  is the ancestor of retained children, including `backup/pre-cutover-20260723` and therefore
-  canonical `production`;
-- `master` remains the provider-required default root and is not an application environment.
+- root/default `production` is the sole canonical runtime branch;
+- one fresh no-TTL `backup/peer-contract-*` child is the production recovery checkpoint;
+- `preview-base` is the sanitized no-TTL child of production;
+- only open, trusted pull requests own seven-day `preview/core-py/pr-<number>` children.
 
-The retained recovery surface is deliberate:
-
-- `backup/pre-cutover-20260723` preserves the pre-cutover lineage;
-- `backup/peer-contract-20260724-052651` and
-  `backup/peer-contract-20260724-054730` are no-TTL production recovery branches;
-- `preview-base` is the data-free parent for repository-qualified PR branches.
-
-No runtime, workflow, credential, or documented command may address the archived staging
-lineage. Removing it later requires first replacing or deleting every retained descendant;
-that is a recovery-retention decision, not routine environment cleanup.
+The former project, including its provider-required `master` root and historical staging
+lineage, was soft-deleted after production and all open-PR consumers were proven on the new
+project. Its GitHub API keys were revoked. Neon retains the deleted project for its provider
+recovery window only; no runtime, workflow, or credential may address it.
 
 ## Operational Implication
 
diff --git a/scripts/sanitize_preview_base.py b/scripts/sanitize_preview_base.py
index 2c97f19..b415792 100644
--- a/scripts/sanitize_preview_base.py
+++ b/scripts/sanitize_preview_base.py
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
 
 from migrations.metadata import get_target_metadata
 from migrations.settings import MigrationSettings
-from app.database_contract import PROTOCOL_SCHEMA
+from app.database_contract import INTERNAL_SCHEMA, PROTOCOL_SCHEMA
 
 
 SANITIZE_GUARD = "ALLOW_PREVIEW_BASE_SANITIZE"
@@ -41,6 +41,14 @@ def validate_application_tables(actual: set[str], expected: set[str]) -> None:
     raise ValueError("; ".join(details))
 
 
+def validate_source_environment(environment: str) -> None:
+  """Allow only a production clone or an already-sanitized preview baseline."""
+  if environment not in {"production", "runtime"}:
+    raise ValueError(
+      "preview base must inherit production or already have runtime identity"
+    )
+
+
 def sanitize_preview_base(database_url: str) -> tuple[str, ...]:
   """Truncate known application tables while preserving Alembic lineage."""
   if os.getenv(SANITIZE_GUARD) != "1":
@@ -81,11 +89,29 @@ def sanitize_preview_base(database_url: str) -> tuple[str, ...]:
       if current_heads != expected_heads:
         raise ValueError("preview base is not at the repository Alembic head")
 
+      source_environment = connection.execute(
+        text(
+          f'SELECT environment FROM "{INTERNAL_SCHEMA}".contract_state '
+          "WHERE singleton FOR UPDATE"
+        )
+      ).scalar_one()
+      validate_source_environment(source_environment)
+
       quoted_tables = ", ".join(
         f'"{PROTOCOL_SCHEMA}"."{table}"' for table in sorted(expected_tables)
       )
       connection.execute(text(f"TRUNCATE TABLE {quoted_tables} RESTART IDENTITY CASCADE"))
 
+      environment_update = connection.execute(
+        text(
+          f'UPDATE "{INTERNAL_SCHEMA}".contract_state '
+          "SET environment = 'runtime', updated_at = CURRENT_TIMESTAMP "
+          "WHERE singleton"
+        )
+      )
+      if environment_update.rowcount != 1:
+        raise RuntimeError("preview base environment identity was not reset")
+
       for table in sorted(expected_tables):
         remaining = connection.execute(
           text(f'SELECT count(*) FROM "{PROTOCOL_SCHEMA}"."{table}"')
diff --git a/tasks/neon-project-root-migration/packet.md b/tasks/neon-project-root-migration/packet.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..313609d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tasks/neon-project-root-migration/packet.md
@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+# Neon Project Root Migration
+
+- **Objective**: migrate canonical production, the sanitized `preview-base`, and every active
+  repository-owned PR preview from Neon project `small-feather-66252738` into one new Neon
+  project whose root/default branch is canonical `production`; rotate the project-scoped Neon
+  API key, synchronize GitHub and runtime coordinates, verify the cutover, then retire the old
+  project.
+- **Guardrails**: do not expose credentials or production values; preserve every production
+  application row, schema object, role contract, and runtime consumer; keep `preview-base`
+  data-free; rebuild previews only for open trusted PRs; retain an encrypted verified backup
+  and a working rollback path until the new production and previews pass; do not delete the old
+  project before every cutover gate is proven.
+- **Verification**: encrypted custom archive plus checksum; matching value-free manifests and
+  Alembic head; empty provider schema diff; passing checked-in readiness; exact role/catalog
+  checks; successful core and PostgREST production probes; successful preview delivery for all
+  open trusted PRs; GitHub variables point only to the new identities; old API key no longer
+  authenticates after rotation; final Neon inventory contains the new project and not the old
+  project.
+- **Current Truth**: migration completed on 2026-08-13. Active project
+  `proud-sky-36728055` has root/default `production`, one no-TTL recovery child, sanitized
+  `preview-base`, and seven-day branches for open PRs 45 and 52. GitHub and every Heroku
+  consumer reference the new project. The old project is soft-deleted and recoverable until
+  2026-08-20T11:39:39Z; both old project keys are revoked.
+- **Next Step**: keep the encrypted archive through the old-project recovery window, review the
+  local automation hardening diff, and commit only after an explicit human command.
+
+## Impact Handshake
+
+- **Address and Object**: Neon organization `org-falling-queen-46920568`; retired project
+  `small-feather-66252738`; active project `proud-sky-36728055`; GitHub repository
+  `InKCre/core-py` repository/environment secrets and variables; canonical deployment truth in
+  `docs/40-deployment/`; exact workflow/config references discovered by the audit.
+- **State Diff**: old immutable-root project owns production and previews -> new project root
+  owns canonical production, sanitized `preview-base`, and rebuilt active previews; all consumers
+  reference the new project/key/branch identities; old project is deleted only after verification.
+- **Operation**: create and restore provider resources, rotate a project API key, update external
+  configuration, rebuild disposable preview branches, cut over runtime connections, update local
+  deployment truth, and finally delete the old project.
+- **Blast Radius Forecast**: Neon production and preview databases; GitHub preview and production
+  workflows; core/PostgREST/Render/Heroku runtime connections; recovery checkpoints; operational
+  documentation and tests that encode branch topology.
+- **Invariants Check**: no product behavior change; no loss or leakage of production data; no
+  plaintext backup at rest; no credential in logs/files/task material; no closed-PR preview
+  recreation; no old-project deletion while any runtime or workflow still depends on it.
+- **Verification**: pre/post manifests, checksums, schema and role checks, readiness/probes,
+  provider and GitHub inventories, active-preview workflow results, and explicit rollback probes.
+- **Uncertainty**: no unresolved uncertainty affects the completed cutover. PR 45 remains on the
+  single-Core delivery shape captured by its original event and will gain the current PostgREST
+  preview on its next synchronize event.
+
+## Completion Evidence
+
+- New provider topology:
+  - `production`: `br-old-recipe-azsvonnw`, root/default, ready, no TTL
+  - recovery: `br-hidden-bar-azrlrdel`, direct child of production, ready, no TTL
+  - `preview-base`: `br-summer-violet-azswiwfq`, direct child of production, ready, no TTL,
+    zero application rows before preview bootstrap
+  - PR 45: `br-spring-waterfall-azfql7jo`, child of `preview-base`, seven-day TTL
+  - PR 52: `br-jolly-water-azqn2jbk`, child of `preview-base`, seven-day TTL
+- GitHub repository secret `NEON_API_KEY` was rotated to project-scoped key metadata ID
+  `3263246`. Repository and production-environment project IDs now reference the new project;
+  production branch parent is the literal `null`; production branch and recovery IDs match the
+  active topology.
+- Encrypted production archive:
+  `/Volumes/WorkSSD/Development/InKCre/backups/core-py/2026-08-13/project-root-migration/production-final-cutover-20260813.dump.age`
+  with SHA-256 `d770e13746e891ad45560b86faec54b80e6f9fc6bb070281b6e82f14d36c1da5`.
+  No plaintext archive was written at rest.
+- Final source and target value-free manifests matched byte-for-byte. Normalized schema-only
+  dumps matched with SHA-256
+  `0fb3e9568ae6af80a675feb1fbd321c260d6e62f58f12bf4f3ab2dd01f970836`.
+- Production and both Core previews returned HTTP 200 for liveness and readiness. Production
+  and PR 52 PostgREST passed authenticated read/write, guarded Extension mutation, wrong-secret,
+  anonymous-denial, and cleanup probes against their exact deployed source contracts.
+- Database and application reruns for PRs 45 and 52 completed successfully after rebuilding
+  their disposable resources. PR 45 intentionally retains its original single-Core preview
+  shape; the next synchronize event will converge it to the latest two-app workflow.
+- Production workflow run `31695670276` proved the new Neon branch/key/recovery guards,
+  migration, readiness, and manifest transition. Its release step rejected Heroku's successful
+  same-image no-op; independent production probes passed and the local action now treats that
+  response idempotently.
+- Old API key metadata IDs `2586162` and `3262801` were revoked. Deleting the old project
+  also removed the repository-level Neon settings managed by its integration, so key
+  `3263094` was replaced and revoked after those settings were restored explicitly. The old project
+  `small-feather-66252738` is absent from active inventory and present only in recoverable
+  inventory through 2026-08-20T11:39:39Z.
diff --git a/tests/migrations/test_sanitize_preview_base.py b/tests/migrations/test_sanitize_preview_base.py
index 29781c8..499775f 100644
--- a/tests/migrations/test_sanitize_preview_base.py
+++ b/tests/migrations/test_sanitize_preview_base.py
@@ -2,7 +2,10 @@
 
 import pytest
 
-from scripts.sanitize_preview_base import validate_application_tables
+from scripts.sanitize_preview_base import (
+  validate_application_tables,
+  validate_source_environment,
+)
 
 
 APPLICATION_TABLES = {"blocks", "relations"}
@@ -26,3 +29,14 @@ def test_table_allowlist_rejects_missing_table():
       {"blocks"},
       APPLICATION_TABLES,
     )
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("environment", ["production", "runtime"])
+def test_source_environment_accepts_production_clone_and_idempotent_rerun(environment):
+  validate_source_environment(environment)
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("environment", ["preview", "development", "absent"])
+def test_source_environment_rejects_other_identities(environment):
+  with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="must inherit production"):
+    validate_source_environment(environment)
diff --git a/tests/test_delivery_release_idempotency.py b/tests/test_delivery_release_idempotency.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..54fe192
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_delivery_release_idempotency.py
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+"""Static guards for repeat delivery of an already-running Heroku image."""
+
+from pathlib import Path
+
+
+PROJECT_ROOT = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[1]
+
+
+def test_preview_treats_same_images_as_success():
+  delivery = (PROJECT_ROOT / ".github/actions/preview-delivery/action.yml").read_text(
+    encoding="utf-8"
+  )
+
+  assert 'if [ "$guard_release" != "$before_guard_release" ]; then' in delivery
+  assert 'if [ "$web_release" != "$before_web_release" ]; then' in delivery
+  assert 'if [ "$postgrest_release" != "$before_postgrest_release" ]; then' in delivery
+  assert 'test "$guard_release" != "$before_guard_release"' not in delivery
+  assert 'test "$web_release" != "$before_web_release"' not in delivery
+  assert 'test "$postgrest_release" != "$before_postgrest_release"' not in delivery
+
+
+def test_production_reuses_last_deployed_release_when_heroku_returns_noop():
+  delivery = (PROJECT_ROOT / ".github/actions/production-delivery/action.yml").read_text(
+    encoding="utf-8"
+  )
+
+  assert 'web_release="$previous_release"' in delivery
+  assert 'postgrest_release="$previous_postgrest_release"' in delivery
+  assert 'test "$guard_release" != "$before_guard_release"' not in delivery
+  assert 'test "$web_release" != "$before_web_release"' not in delivery
+  assert 'test "$postgrest_release" != "$before_postgrest_release"' not in delivery