diff --git a/docs/build-manual.py b/docs/build-manual.py
index 3e95e86..c62d7b3 100644
--- a/docs/build-manual.py
+++ b/docs/build-manual.py
@@ -11,8 +11,6 @@ import argparse
 import sys
 from pathlib import Path
 
-import yaml
-
 import manualtools as mt
 
 DOCS = Path(__file__).parent
@@ -25,17 +23,17 @@ def build_concat(root: Path) -> str:
     Each file contributes `# {manTitle or title}` at a level matching its
     depth, and its body headings are demoted by the same amount.
 
-    The root `index.md` (the LANDING page) may carry a `pandoc` key in its
-    frontmatter — the original document's pandoc metadata block
-    (title/section/header/date/author). If present, it is re-emitted
-    verbatim as the leading `---`-fenced block, ahead of every heading.
+    `root / "_pandoc.yml"` (if present) holds the original document's
+    pandoc metadata block (title/section/header/date/author) as raw text,
+    with no frontmatter fences and no Astro-visible frontmatter key. When
+    present, its contents are re-emitted byte-for-byte as the leading
+    `---`-fenced block, ahead of every heading.
     """
     chunks: list[str] = []
-    index_fm, _ = mt.parse(root / "index.md")
-    pandoc_meta = index_fm.get("pandoc")
-    if pandoc_meta:
-        header = yaml.safe_dump(pandoc_meta, sort_keys=False, allow_unicode=True).rstrip()
-        chunks.append(f"---\n{header}\n---")
+    pandoc_path = root / "_pandoc.yml"
+    if pandoc_path.exists():
+        raw = pandoc_path.read_text().rstrip("\n")
+        chunks.append(f"---\n{raw}\n---")
     for path, depth in mt.walk(root):
         fm, body = mt.parse(path)
         if not fm.get("man", True):
diff --git a/docs/manual/_pandoc.yml b/docs/manual/_pandoc.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..057b2b4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/manual/_pandoc.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+title: FISH-CONFIG
+section: 7
+header: Fish Shell Configuration User Manual
+date: June 2026
+author: Rootiest
diff --git a/docs/manual/index.md b/docs/manual/index.md
index 2889163..7e19354 100644
--- a/docs/manual/index.md
+++ b/docs/manual/index.md
@@ -4,12 +4,6 @@ description: Reference manual for the rootiest fish configuration.
 manTitle: DESCRIPTION
 sidebar:
   order: 3
-pandoc:
-  title: FISH-CONFIG
-  section: 7
-  header: Fish Shell Configuration User Manual
-  date: June 2026
-  author: Rootiest
 helpKeywords:
 - description
 - autopair
diff --git a/docs/split-manual.py b/docs/split-manual.py
index aa45f03..9188e4f 100644
--- a/docs/split-manual.py
+++ b/docs/split-manual.py
@@ -50,6 +50,23 @@ def load_keywords() -> dict[str, list[str]]:
     return mapping
 
 
+def extract_raw_frontmatter(path: Path) -> str | None:
+    """Return the raw text between a file's opening `---` fences, or None.
+
+    Unlike `mt.parse`, this does not round-trip the block through
+    `yaml.safe_load`/`yaml.safe_dump` — it hands back the exact original
+    bytes (minus the fence lines themselves) so a later verbatim re-emit
+    doesn't have to worry about quoting-style or scalar-coercion drift.
+    """
+    text = path.read_text()
+    if not text.startswith("---\n"):
+        return None
+    end = text.find("\n---\n", 4)
+    if end == -1:
+        return None
+    return text[4:end]
+
+
 def _trim_blank_lines(text: str) -> str:
     """Drop leading/trailing blank lines without touching interior indentation.
 
@@ -91,10 +108,16 @@ def main() -> int:
 
     keywords = load_keywords()
     # SRC starts with a pandoc metadata block (title/section/header/date/
-    # author) consumed by the man-page build. mt.parse() peels it off so it
-    # isn't silently dropped; it gets stashed on the LANDING (index.md) page
-    # under "pandoc" and re-emitted verbatim by build-manual.py --concat.
-    pandoc_meta, src_body = mt.parse(SRC)
+    # author) consumed by the man-page build. It has no purpose as an Astro
+    # page's frontmatter (index.md is also a website content page, and
+    # Starlight errors on any custom frontmatter key outside the fixed
+    # man/site/manTitle/helpKeywords schema), so it is extracted as raw text
+    # and written to docs/manual/_pandoc.yml instead of being folded into
+    # index.md's frontmatter. The leading underscore keeps Astro content
+    # collections from treating it as a page. build-manual.py --concat
+    # reads it back and re-emits it byte-for-byte.
+    pandoc_raw = extract_raw_frontmatter(SRC)
+    _, src_body = mt.parse(SRC)
     sections = split_h1(src_body)
     order = 0
     # `position` tracks each heading's place in the *original* document,
@@ -127,11 +150,11 @@ def main() -> int:
                 "manTitle": heading,
                 "sidebar": {"order": position},
             }
-            if pandoc_meta:
-                fm["pandoc"] = pandoc_meta
             if kw:
                 fm["helpKeywords"] = kw
             (OUT / "index.md").write_text(mt.serialize(fm, body))
+            if pandoc_raw is not None:
+                (OUT / "_pandoc.yml").write_text(pandoc_raw.rstrip("\n") + "\n")
             continue
 
         order += 1