diff --git a/MIGRATIONS.md b/MIGRATIONS.md
index b1fae563c..7b1238690 100644
--- a/MIGRATIONS.md
+++ b/MIGRATIONS.md
@@ -4,6 +4,31 @@ Breaking changes and upgrade notes for downstream projects.
 
 ---
 
+## Config: `docs.excludeModules` — doc-only module exclusion (2026-06-29)
+
+New opt-in `config.docs.excludeModules` (default `[]` → **no behavior change**). It drops a module's `doc/*.yml` (OpenAPI) + `doc/guides/*.md` (guide tree) from the public spec (`/api/spec.json`) and guide tree (`/api/public/docs`), **independent of module runtime activation** — so it works even for **core** modules (`core`/`auth`/`users`/`home`), which `filterByActivation` never filters.
+
+Why: a module's `activated` flag gates both its routes/models **and** its doc contribution, and core modules bypass that filter entirely. So a core module's sample docs/guides were always served, with no opt-out. A project whose own guides reuse the sample slugs (e.g. `welcome`/`quickstart`, shipped by `home`) collided on duplicate slugs and could only fix it by deleting stack files — which conflicts with keeping stack files byte-identical and recurs on every sync.
+
+### What changed (this repo)
+
+- **New config knob** `config.docs.excludeModules: []` (`config/defaults/development.config.js`, in the existing `docs:` block).
+- **New helper** `filterByDocExclusion(files, config)` (`lib/helpers/config.js`, next to `filterByActivation`) — drops doc files of listed modules, **no `CORE_MODULES` bypass**; missing/empty/non-array list = no-op.
+- **`config/index.js`** — second filter pass applies `filterByDocExclusion` to the `openapi` + `guides` file keys only, after the activation filter. Runtime file keys (routes/models/policies/...) are unaffected.
+
+### Action required for downstream projects (`/update-stack`)
+
+- All changes are devkit-owned stack files → arrive via `/update-stack`. Default `[]`: **no action = no behavior change** (sample guides remain a working tutorial).
+- A project that keeps a module runtime-active but does **not** want its sample docs/guides in the public spec/tree (e.g. it ships its own guides under the same slugs) sets it in `config/defaults/{project}.config.js`:
+
+  ```js
+  docs: { excludeModules: ['home'] }
+  ```
+
+  Non-core demo modules can instead be dropped wholesale via `config.{module}.activated = false` (existing mechanism); `excludeModules` is for modules that must stay active.
+
+---
+
 ## Config rename: `swagger` → `openapi` (2026-06-16)
 
 The mis-named `config.swagger` namespace is renamed to `config.openapi`: it gates the OpenAPI JSON spec served at `/api/spec.json`, and there is no Swagger-UI (the Redoc UI was decommissioned earlier). Pure rename, no behavior change.
diff --git a/config/defaults/development.config.js b/config/defaults/development.config.js
index acdd74e87..badc71e93 100644
--- a/config/defaults/development.config.js
+++ b/config/defaults/development.config.js
@@ -25,6 +25,12 @@ const config = {
     guideSections: [
       { title: 'Get Started', prefixMin: 0, prefixMax: 9 },
     ],
+    // Modules whose doc/*.yml (OpenAPI) + doc/guides/*.md are excluded from the
+    // public spec (/api/spec.json) and guide tree (/api/public/docs), independent
+    // of module activation — works even on core modules (core/auth/users/home).
+    // Empty = include all (the sample guides stay a working tutorial). A project
+    // overrides this (e.g. ['home']) when its own guides reuse the sample slugs.
+    excludeModules: [],
   },
   api: {
     protocol: 'http',
diff --git a/config/index.js b/config/index.js
index 0a29d4e29..47a88be3f 100644
--- a/config/index.js
+++ b/config/index.js
@@ -164,6 +164,15 @@ const initGlobalConfig = async () => {
       config.files[key] = configHelper.filterByActivation(config.files[key], config);
     }
   }
+  // Exclude doc files (OpenAPI YAML + guides) for modules listed in
+  // config.docs.excludeModules — independent of runtime activation, so it works
+  // even for core modules. Empty/missing list = no-op.
+  const docFileKeys = ['openapi', 'guides'];
+  for (const key of docFileKeys) {
+    if (config.files[key]) {
+      config.files[key] = configHelper.filterByDocExclusion(config.files[key], config);
+    }
+  }
   // Init Secure SSL if can be used
   configHelper.initSecureMode(config);
   // Print a warning if config.domain is not set
diff --git a/lib/helpers/config.js b/lib/helpers/config.js
index 51ddd53eb..f1322235d 100644
--- a/lib/helpers/config.js
+++ b/lib/helpers/config.js
@@ -203,6 +203,38 @@ const filterByActivation = (files, config) => files.filter((file) => {
   return moduleConfig.activated !== false;
 });
 
+/**
+ * Filter documentation file paths by `config.docs.excludeModules`.
+ *
+ * Drops a module's `doc/*.yml` (OpenAPI) and `doc/guides/*.md` files from the
+ * resolved file lists, INDEPENDENT of runtime module activation — so it works
+ * even for core modules (`core`/`auth`/`users`/`home`), which `filterByActivation`
+ * never filters out. This lets a project keep a module running (e.g. `home`
+ * serves `/api/health`) while dropping only its sample docs/guides — typically
+ * to avoid a guide-slug collision with the project's own guides.
+ *
+ * Applied only to the `openapi` + `guides` file keys (see `config/index.js`);
+ * runtime file keys (routes/models/policies/...) are unaffected. As a safeguard
+ * the filter only ever drops files under a module's `doc/` directory, so even if
+ * called with a broader list it never removes a module's runtime files. A missing
+ * or empty `config.docs.excludeModules` is a no-op.
+ *
+ * @param {string[]} files - array of file paths
+ * @param {object} config - merged configuration object
+ * @returns {string[]} filtered file paths
+ */
+const filterByDocExclusion = (files, config) => {
+  const excluded = config.docs?.excludeModules;
+  if (!Array.isArray(excluded) || excluded.length === 0) return files; // no-op
+  const excludedSet = new Set(excluded);
+  return files.filter((file) => {
+    if (!file.includes('/doc/')) return true; // only ever drop doc files, never runtime files
+    const moduleName = extractModuleName(file);
+    if (!moduleName) return true; // not a module file, keep it
+    return !excludedSet.has(moduleName); // drop listed modules' doc files (incl. core)
+  });
+};
+
 /**
  * Initialize global configuration files by resolving asset glob patterns.
  *
@@ -238,5 +270,6 @@ export default {
   initSecureMode,
   initGlobalConfigFiles,
   filterByActivation,
+  filterByDocExclusion,
   CORE_MODULES,
 };
diff --git a/lib/helpers/tests/config.filterByDocExclusion.unit.tests.js b/lib/helpers/tests/config.filterByDocExclusion.unit.tests.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..fd936d50e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/helpers/tests/config.filterByDocExclusion.unit.tests.js
@@ -0,0 +1,104 @@
+/**
+ * Unit tests for filterByDocExclusion in config helper.
+ *
+ * filterByDocExclusion drops a module's doc files (OpenAPI YAML + guides) from
+ * the resolved file lists based on `config.docs.excludeModules`, independent of
+ * runtime module activation — so it works even for core modules.
+ */
+import configHelper from '../config.js';
+
+const { filterByDocExclusion } = configHelper;
+
+describe('filterByDocExclusion', () => {
+  const files = [
+    'modules/core/doc/index.yml',
+    'modules/home/doc/openapi.yml',
+    'modules/home/doc/guides/00-welcome.md',
+    'modules/home/doc/guides/01-quickstart.md',
+    'modules/tasks/doc/tasks.yml',
+    'modules/tasks/doc/guides/00-tasks.md',
+    'modules/billing/doc/billing.yml',
+  ];
+
+  it('should return all files unchanged when excludeModules is missing (no docs config)', () => {
+    expect(filterByDocExclusion(files, {})).toEqual(files);
+  });
+
+  it('should return all files unchanged when docs exists but excludeModules is missing', () => {
+    expect(filterByDocExclusion(files, { docs: { guideSections: [] } })).toEqual(files);
+  });
+
+  it('should return all files unchanged when excludeModules is empty (default)', () => {
+    expect(filterByDocExclusion(files, { docs: { excludeModules: [] } })).toEqual(files);
+  });
+
+  it('should drop OpenAPI yml + guides of an excluded CORE module (no activation bypass)', () => {
+    const config = { docs: { excludeModules: ['home'] } };
+    const result = filterByDocExclusion(files, config);
+    expect(result).not.toContain('modules/home/doc/openapi.yml');
+    expect(result).not.toContain('modules/home/doc/guides/00-welcome.md');
+    expect(result).not.toContain('modules/home/doc/guides/01-quickstart.md');
+    // Other modules' docs untouched
+    expect(result).toContain('modules/core/doc/index.yml');
+    expect(result).toContain('modules/tasks/doc/tasks.yml');
+    expect(result).toContain('modules/billing/doc/billing.yml');
+  });
+
+  it('should drop docs of multiple excluded modules', () => {
+    const config = { docs: { excludeModules: ['home', 'tasks'] } };
+    const result = filterByDocExclusion(files, config);
+    expect(result).not.toContain('modules/home/doc/openapi.yml');
+    expect(result).not.toContain('modules/home/doc/guides/00-welcome.md');
+    expect(result).not.toContain('modules/tasks/doc/tasks.yml');
+    expect(result).not.toContain('modules/tasks/doc/guides/00-tasks.md');
+    expect(result).toEqual([
+      'modules/core/doc/index.yml',
+      'modules/billing/doc/billing.yml',
+    ]);
+  });
+
+  it('should keep non-module files (no modules/ in path)', () => {
+    const mixedFiles = [
+      'config/defaults/development.config.js',
+      'lib/helpers/config.js',
+      'modules/home/doc/guides/00-welcome.md',
+    ];
+    const config = { docs: { excludeModules: ['home'] } };
+    const result = filterByDocExclusion(mixedFiles, config);
+    expect(result).toContain('config/defaults/development.config.js');
+    expect(result).toContain('lib/helpers/config.js');
+    expect(result).not.toContain('modules/home/doc/guides/00-welcome.md');
+  });
+
+  it('should be a no-op when excludeModules is not an array (defensive)', () => {
+    expect(filterByDocExclusion(files, { docs: { excludeModules: 'home' } })).toEqual(files);
+    expect(filterByDocExclusion(files, { docs: { excludeModules: null } })).toEqual(files);
+  });
+
+  it('should not drop a module whose name is a prefix of an excluded name', () => {
+    const prefixFiles = ['modules/home-extras/doc/home-extras.yml'];
+    const config = { docs: { excludeModules: ['home'] } };
+    expect(filterByDocExclusion(prefixFiles, config)).toEqual(prefixFiles);
+  });
+
+  it('should only ever drop files under a module doc/ dir, never runtime files of an excluded module', () => {
+    const runtimeFiles = [
+      'modules/home/routes/home.route.js',
+      'modules/home/models/home.mongoose.js',
+      'modules/home/doc/openapi.yml',
+      'modules/home/doc/guides/00-welcome.md',
+    ];
+    const config = { docs: { excludeModules: ['home'] } };
+    const result = filterByDocExclusion(runtimeFiles, config);
+    // runtime files of the excluded module are kept
+    expect(result).toContain('modules/home/routes/home.route.js');
+    expect(result).toContain('modules/home/models/home.mongoose.js');
+    // only its doc files are dropped
+    expect(result).not.toContain('modules/home/doc/openapi.yml');
+    expect(result).not.toContain('modules/home/doc/guides/00-welcome.md');
+  });
+
+  it('should handle empty file array', () => {
+    expect(filterByDocExclusion([], { docs: { excludeModules: ['home'] } })).toEqual([]);
+  });
+});