diff --git a/.github/workflows/github-governance.yml b/.github/workflows/github-governance.yml
index 262ada2..d0b7964 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/github-governance.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/github-governance.yml
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ jobs:
           persist-credentials: false
 
       - name: Plan repository governance (read only)
-        uses: LibreCodeCoop/github-governance@07896408fd605204d1c7c95c71b0f5785fcf8287 # public planning support; pin immutable commit
+        uses: LibreCodeCoop/github-governance@76fcdc8ae250c81aeb055533c2741385ac9f0b7b # public planning support; pin immutable commit
         with:
           token: ${{ github.token }}
           organization: ${{ inputs.repository == '' && 'LibreCodeCoop' || '' }}
@@ -82,13 +82,14 @@ jobs:
           owner: LibreCodeCoop # zizmor: ignore[github-app] governance is explicitly organization-scoped
           repositories: ${{ inputs.repository }}
           permission-administration: write
-          # Needed to identify Nextcloud apps via appinfo/info.xml and inspect default branches.
-          permission-contents: read
+          # Content classification uses the caller's short-lived, read-only GITHUB_TOKEN.
+          # The privileged GitHub App must not require Contents permission.
 
       - name: Apply repository governance
-        uses: LibreCodeCoop/github-governance@07896408fd605204d1c7c95c71b0f5785fcf8287 # public planning support; pin immutable commit
+        uses: LibreCodeCoop/github-governance@76fcdc8ae250c81aeb055533c2741385ac9f0b7b # public planning support; pin immutable commit
         with:
           token: ${{ steps.app-token.outputs.token }}
+          contents-token: ${{ github.token }}
           organization: ${{ inputs.repository == '' && 'LibreCodeCoop' || '' }}
           repository: ${{ inputs.repository != '' && format('LibreCodeCoop/{0}', inputs.repository) || '' }}
           config: ${{ github.workspace }}/governance.config.json
diff --git a/docs/repository-governance.md b/docs/repository-governance.md
index 2874fe1..f164ce7 100644
--- a/docs/repository-governance.md
+++ b/docs/repository-governance.md
@@ -130,9 +130,11 @@ with `repository` set to the target repository, `apply=true` and the default
 
 The normal full-reconciliation mode remains possible only by setting
 `onboard_only=false` during an explicitly approved manual run. It must not be
-used merely to get an onboarding job green. The Apply token needs repository
-Administration (write) and Contents (read) and should be scoped to the named
-repository. The GitHub App must be installed on that repository. Private and
+used merely to get an onboarding job green. The Apply GitHub App token needs
+repository Administration (write) only and should be scoped to the named
+repository. The separate caller `GITHUB_TOKEN` supplies read-only public
+repository content classification; it is never used for administration or
+mutations. The GitHub App must be installed on that repository. Private and
 archived repositories are outside the configured public discovery scope.
 
 **Nextcloud translation bot safeguard.** For repositories with
diff --git a/tests/test_governance_ci_gate_contract.py b/tests/test_governance_ci_gate_contract.py
index 0502dea..d1d4361 100644
--- a/tests/test_governance_ci_gate_contract.py
+++ b/tests/test_governance_ci_gate_contract.py
@@ -52,7 +52,9 @@ def test_common_governance_onboarding_is_scoped_and_approval_gated(self) -> None
         from pathlib import Path
         workflow = (ROOT / '.github/workflows/github-governance.yml').read_text()
         self.assertIn('onboard-only:', workflow)
-        self.assertIn('permission-contents: read', workflow)
+        self.assertIn('permission-administration: write', workflow)
+        self.assertNotIn('permission-contents: read', workflow)
+        self.assertIn('contents-token: ${{ github.token }}', workflow)
         self.assertIn('environment: ruleset-sync', workflow)
         self.assertIn('onboard_only:', workflow)
         self.assertIn("cron: '17 6 * * *'", workflow)