diff --git a/.github/settings.yml b/.github/settings.yml
index bc9fc5e..d223212 100644
--- a/.github/settings.yml
+++ b/.github/settings.yml
@@ -24,6 +24,17 @@ repository:
   delete_branch_on_merge: true
   allow_update_branch: true
 
+# Labels that should exist in every repo.
+#
+# NOT YET APPLIED. `apply-settings.py` acts on `repository`, `branches` and `rulesets`
+# only, so these labels are still created per repo by hand with `gh label create`. This
+# block is the canonical set; teaching the reconciler to apply it is the remaining work on
+# https://github.com/swimblocks/.github/issues/46, which stays open until it lands.
+labels:
+  - name: no-issue
+    color: ededed
+    description: Change small enough to skip the issue-first rule; rationale is in the PR body
+
 # Branch protection for public repos is handled via GitHub Rulesets (see `rulesets:` below),
 # which support bypass actors so org owners and repo admins can force-push without extra steps
 # — just `git push origin main --force`. GitHub records the bypass in the audit log.
diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index b8a793e..1bfade8 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -47,7 +47,12 @@ gcloud auth application-default login
 For **every** change:
 
 1. **Open a GitHub issue first.** Describe the change. This is the unit of work.
-2. **Branch** off `main`, named `<issue-number>-<short-slug>`.
+   - *Exception:* a change small enough to explain itself — a typo, a doc clarification,
+     recording a decision already made — may go straight to a PR. Label it `no-issue` and
+     end the description with `NO-ISSUE: <short reason>`. Use a real issue whenever the
+     change needs discussion or has acceptance criteria.
+2. **Branch** off `main`, named `<issue-number>-<short-slug>` (or a descriptive slug, for a
+   `no-issue` PR).
 3. **Make focused commits.** Coherent, single-purpose. Run `ruff check .` and `pytest -q`
    locally before pushing.
 4. **Hand off for local review — do not open the PR.** Nobody opens a pull request carrying
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 005de91..907cf5e 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -29,7 +29,10 @@ explicitly overrides it.
 ## Workflow: issue → branch → PR → squash-merge
 
 1. **Open an issue first.** Describe the problem or feature. This is the unit of work.
-2. **Branch** off `main`, named `<issue-number>-<short-slug>` (e.g. `42-fix-date-parsing`).
+   See [the `no-issue` exception](#the-no-issue-exception) for changes small enough to
+   skip this.
+2. **Branch** off `main`, named `<issue-number>-<short-slug>` (e.g. `42-fix-date-parsing`),
+   or a descriptive slug when there is no issue.
 3. **Do the work.** Keep commits coherent. Run tests + lint locally before pushing.
 4. **Read the change before it becomes a PR.** A pull request is a claim that its author
    stands behind the change, so nobody opens one carrying work the author hasn't actually
@@ -43,6 +46,7 @@ explicitly overrides it.
      PR description. A question written into a PR reads as though the author is asking their
      reviewers, which sponsors a question they never asked.
 5. **Open a PR** whose description includes `Closes #<issue-number>` and explains the *why*.
+   A `no-issue` PR has no number to close, and carries the `NO-ISSUE:` trailer instead.
 6. **CI must be green** (lint + tests) before merge.
 7. **Hand off for merge.** Agents do **not** self-merge: after CI is green, post the PR link
    and stop.
@@ -53,6 +57,27 @@ explicitly overrides it.
    deletes the branch. The squash commit message should carry the meaningful detail, not just
    the PR title.
 
+### The `no-issue` exception
+
+A change small enough to explain itself — a typo, a doc clarification, recording a decision
+already made — may go straight to a PR. Label it `no-issue` and end the description with a
+trailer saying why:
+
+```
+NO-ISSUE: Clarifying Documentation
+```
+
+The ceremony in step 1 is worth paying whenever a change needs a decision recorded, argued,
+or found again later. It is pure overhead when the change carries its own justification in
+one paragraph. The label and the trailer are what keep the exception **visible and
+auditable** rather than silent: every PR that skipped the issue says so, in a form you can
+search for.
+
+Use a real issue whenever the change needs discussion, has acceptance criteria, or is
+something a future reader would look for in the tracker. Changes to the rules in this file
+are always in that category — a policy that nobody can find the reasoning for is a policy
+that gets re-litigated.
+
 ### Solo-admin merge path
 
 Until a second code owner exists, the author satisfying `require_code_owner_reviews` on their