diff --git a/docs/operations-guide.md b/docs/operations-guide.md
index 19dde7a..8fae0cf 100644
--- a/docs/operations-guide.md
+++ b/docs/operations-guide.md
@@ -54,8 +54,8 @@ flowchart LR
   E[Edit main] --> V[pnpm run gate]
   V --> C[Commit]
   C --> P[Push main]
-  P --> G[Gitea Actions: gate + build]
-  G --> B[Force-push dist to pages]
+  P --> G[Gitea Actions: gate]
+  G -.manual dispatch.-> B[Build + force-push dist to pages]
   B --> S[Gitea Pages Server]
   S --> L[Live URL]
 ```
@@ -108,9 +108,16 @@ committing.
 
 ### 5. CI publication and its manual fallback
 
-On a successful `main` push, Gitea Actions builds `dist/` and force-pushes it to
-`pages`. This force-push is intentional: `pages` is machine-owned generated
-output, and no person or other workflow may write it.
+Gitea Actions builds `dist/` and force-pushes it to `pages`. This force-push is
+intentional: `pages` is machine-owned generated output, and no person or other
+workflow may write it.
+
+**For the duration of the Astro migration, publication is manual.** The
+`publish` job runs only from a `workflow_dispatch` with its `publish` input set
+to true — a push to `main` runs the gate and stops there. The reason: `dist/`
+currently holds three HTML files (`/summary/` plus the two `hands-on/` fixtures)
+against the ten pages the live branch serves, so publishing on every push would
+take the site down to a stub. Task 20 (cutover) makes it automatic again.
 
 This Gitea's act-runner registration is kept in an `emptyDir`. A pod restart
 silently removes the registration; if a site does not update, check and
@@ -135,7 +142,7 @@ git worktree remove /tmp/ai-for-dummies-pages
 
 ```bash
 curl -sS -o /dev/null -w '%{http_code}\n' \
-  "https://netcracker.pages.marcospaulo.dev.br/ai-for-dummies/summary/?v=$(git rev-parse --short HEAD)"
+  "https://netcracker.pages.marcospaulo.dev.br/ai-for-dummies/summary/"
 ```
 
 Also check a nested static asset; base-path problems usually appear on assets
@@ -143,9 +150,17 @@ first:
 
 ```bash
 curl -sS -o /dev/null -w '%{http_code}\n' \
-  "https://netcracker.pages.marcospaulo.dev.br/ai-for-dummies/hands-on/starter/?v=$(git rev-parse --short HEAD)"
+  "https://netcracker.pages.marcospaulo.dev.br/ai-for-dummies/hands-on/starter/"
 ```
 
+**The Pages Server caches for ten minutes** (`x-pages-cache: true`,
+`cache-control: public, max-age=600`), and the cache is keyed on the _path_. A
+`?v=$(git rev-parse …)` query string does **not** bust it — that idiom used to
+be in this guide and it never worked. After a publish, a URL can keep serving
+the previous content, or keep serving a file you just deleted, for up to ten
+minutes. Budget for that before concluding a deploy failed. Check
+`last-modified` and `etag` with `curl -I` to tell fresh from cached.
+
 The correct URL pattern is **owner subdomain + repository path**:
 
 ```text
diff --git a/plans/astro-refactor/HANDOVER.md b/plans/astro-refactor/HANDOVER.md
index 5160b4f..45132a3 100644
--- a/plans/astro-refactor/HANDOVER.md
+++ b/plans/astro-refactor/HANDOVER.md
@@ -78,10 +78,11 @@ tasks 05 and 06.
 
 ## Still open from task 01's own report
 
-- Real-host smoke test of `/ai-for-dummies/summary/` never ran — the branch is
-  not merged and CI has not published. **This is the #1 production-only failure
-  mode in the whole migration.** Do it before trusting any page work.
-- No Playwright locally, so screenshot comparison could not run in CI.
+- ~~Real-host smoke test of `/ai-for-dummies/summary/`~~ — **done**, see
+  "Resolved: the base path serves correctly on the real host" above.
+- No Playwright locally, so screenshot comparison still cannot run anywhere.
+  `visual-regression.mjs` also has no compare mode, so it is out of CI until it
+  grows one. See `.agents/rules/gates.md`.
 
 ## The decision that is still yours
 
@@ -94,24 +95,44 @@ external-CSS assertion. See `.agents/context/design-system.md`.
 
 ## Next steps, in order
 
-1. **Decide the font question** (see below). It blocks task 19 and it is the
+1. **Decide the font question** (see below). It blocks task 19 and it is now the
    only thing here that needs a human.
-2. Push `main` — nothing has left this machine yet. Safe now: the `publish` job
-   is `workflow_dispatch`-only, so pushing no longer overwrites the live site.
-   Watch that first CI run; the act-runner has never executed a job.
-3. Once CI is green, do the real-host smoke test of `/ai-for-dummies/summary/`.
-   **This is still the #1 production-only failure mode in the migration** and it
-   has not been done. Publish manually via the workflow's `publish` input, on a
-   throwaway basis, or accept the risk until task 20.
-4. Clean up the four merged worktrees and branches.
-5. Fan out phase 1 and 2:
+2. Fan out phase 1 and 2:
    ```bash
    .agents/scripts/launch.sh 05 content-guide   --base main
    .agents/scripts/launch.sh 06 content-review  --base main
    .agents/scripts/launch.sh 07 primitives      --base main
    ```
    All three are unblocked now that 02 and 04 are in `main`. After 07 lands,
-   08–11 run four at a time.
+   08-11 run four at a time. **Task 07 is the routing calibration point** -
+   judge it before committing to MiniMax for the other twelve.
+3. Clean up the four merged worktrees and branches in `~/Projects/af-task-0*`.
+   `~/Projects/af-task-02/before/` holds 29 MB of misplaced untracked
+   screenshots; delete or move them first.
+
+## Resolved: the base path serves correctly on the real host
+
+This was the #1 production-only failure mode and it is now **verified against
+the live Pages Server**, not just `pnpm run preview`.
+
+Method, which is reusable and costs no downtime: the Astro `dist/` was published
+to the `pages` branch **additively** — `_astro/` plus a single page at
+`_verify/summary/`, both paths previously unused, so no existing file was
+touched and all ten live pages stayed up throughout. Results:
+
+- `/ai-for-dummies/_verify/summary/` → 200, and it really is the Astro page
+  (`<title>AI For Dummies — Route map</title>`), not a 200-ing error page.
+- `/ai-for-dummies/_astro/chapters.PwjFDHFw.css` → 200 `text/css`. **This is the
+  actual base-path proof**: Astro emits base-prefixed _absolute_ asset URLs, and
+  the server resolves them.
+- `/ai-for-dummies/_verify/summary` (no trailing slash) → 307 to the slashed
+  form, which matches `trailingSlash: 'always'`.
+
+The probe was force-pushed away immediately; `pages` is back at `37a1e48`.
+
+Note for whoever publishes next: **the Pages Server caches for ten minutes**,
+keyed on path. A deleted file keeps serving 200 until the cache expires, and a
+`?v=<sha>` query does not bust it. See `docs/operations-guide.md` step 6.
 
 ## Carried over from the phase 0 review