diff --git a/config/repos.yaml b/config/repos.yaml
index ad6ef65..f6a53b2 100644
--- a/config/repos.yaml
+++ b/config/repos.yaml
@@ -90,6 +90,19 @@ required_workflows:
   workspaces_test: ["Smoke Tests"]                  # smoke_tests.yml
   howto: ["Smoke Tests", "Navigator Check"]         # smoke_tests.yml + navigator_check.yml
 
+# Version-skew policy: workspace pin vs installed library. Iterated directly
+# by heart/checks/version_skew.py — independent of polling (includes unpolled
+# repos like the assistant). An adopter replaces this with their own map.
+version_skew:
+  autofit_workspace: {library: PyAutoFit, package: autofit}
+  autogalaxy_workspace: {library: PyAutoGalaxy, package: autogalaxy}
+  autolens_workspace: {library: PyAutoLens, package: autolens}
+  HowToFit: {library: PyAutoFit, package: autofit}
+  HowToGalaxy: {library: PyAutoGalaxy, package: autogalaxy}
+  HowToLens: {library: PyAutoLens, package: autolens}
+  euclid_strong_lens_modeling_pipeline: {library: PyAutoLens, package: autolens}
+  autolens_assistant: {library: PyAutoLens, package: autolens}
+
 # Excluded — not polled. Listed here for documentation only.
 excluded:
   - admin_jammy           # personal tooling
diff --git a/heart/checks/version_skew.py b/heart/checks/version_skew.py
index 00366d3..0f330eb 100644
--- a/heart/checks/version_skew.py
+++ b/heart/checks/version_skew.py
@@ -50,17 +50,13 @@
 
 _VERSION_RE = re.compile(r'^__version__\s*=\s*["\']([^"\']+)["\']', re.MULTILINE)
 
-# workspace name -> (library repo dir, package dir holding __init__.py)
-WORKSPACE_LIBRARY = {
-    "autofit_workspace": ("PyAutoFit", "autofit"),
-    "autogalaxy_workspace": ("PyAutoGalaxy", "autogalaxy"),
-    "autolens_workspace": ("PyAutoLens", "autolens"),
-    "HowToFit": ("PyAutoFit", "autofit"),
-    "HowToGalaxy": ("PyAutoGalaxy", "autogalaxy"),
-    "HowToLens": ("PyAutoLens", "autolens"),
-    "euclid_strong_lens_modeling_pipeline": ("PyAutoLens", "autolens"),
-    "autolens_assistant": ("PyAutoLens", "autolens"),
-}
+def workspace_library(config_path: Path | str = CONFIG_PATH) -> dict[str, tuple[str, str]]:
+    """workspace name -> (library repo dir, package dir), from the policy
+    file's ``version_skew`` block. Strict: a missing block is a config bug
+    and fails loudly rather than silently checking nothing."""
+    cfg = yaml.safe_load(Path(config_path).read_text()) or {}
+    block = cfg["version_skew"]
+    return {ws: (spec["library"], spec["package"]) for ws, spec in block.items()}
 
 
 def read_library_version(repo: str, pkg: str, root: Path = PYAUTO_ROOT) -> str | None:
@@ -126,7 +122,7 @@ def compare(pinned: str | None, installed: str | None) -> str:
 
 def run(root: Path = PYAUTO_ROOT) -> dict[str, Any]:
     workspaces = []
-    for workspace, (repo, pkg) in WORKSPACE_LIBRARY.items():
+    for workspace, (repo, pkg) in workspace_library().items():
         yaml_v, txt_v = read_workspace_pin_sources(workspace, root)
         if yaml_v is None and txt_v is None:
             continue  # no pin (e.g. *_test workspaces) → not a skew candidate
diff --git a/heart/dashboard.py b/heart/dashboard.py
index 58d2e39..33742c8 100644
--- a/heart/dashboard.py
+++ b/heart/dashboard.py
@@ -67,8 +67,20 @@
 STALE_AFTER_SECONDS = 3600
 
 # Library repos, used to split the per-repo table into libraries vs workspaces
-# when a repo body carries no group label.
-DEFAULT_LIBRARIES = ("PyAutoConf", "PyAutoFit", "PyAutoArray", "PyAutoGalaxy", "PyAutoLens")
+# when a repo body carries no group label. Derived from the policy file
+# (config/repos.yaml `repos.libraries`) — dashboard cannot import readiness
+# (cycle), so it reads the same file directly.
+def _library_names() -> tuple:
+    import pathlib
+
+    import yaml
+
+    cfg_path = pathlib.Path(__file__).resolve().parents[1] / "config" / "repos.yaml"
+    cfg = yaml.safe_load(cfg_path.read_text()) or {}
+    return tuple(r["name"] for r in cfg["repos"]["libraries"])
+
+
+DEFAULT_LIBRARIES = _library_names()
 GATED_WORKSPACE_GROUPS = frozenset({"workspaces", "workspaces_test", "howto"})
 
 # The public Pages board (the badge's entry point). Kept here so every surface
diff --git a/heart/readiness.py b/heart/readiness.py
index d895a48..b70e5e4 100644
--- a/heart/readiness.py
+++ b/heart/readiness.py
@@ -92,7 +92,6 @@
 CONFIG_PATH = HEART_HOME / "config" / "repos.yaml"
 RELEASE_READY_FILE = state.HEART_STATE_DIR / "release_ready.json"
 
-DEFAULT_LIBRARIES = ("PyAutoConf", "PyAutoFit", "PyAutoArray", "PyAutoGalaxy", "PyAutoLens")
 
 # Workspace repo groups whose required-workflow conclusions on `main` HEAD are a
 # hard release gate (RED on failure). Libraries are gated separately (the lib
@@ -137,13 +136,14 @@
 
 
 def load_library_names(config_path: Path | str = CONFIG_PATH) -> list[str]:
-    """Return repos.libraries[].name, or DEFAULT_LIBRARIES if unavailable."""
-    try:
-        cfg = yaml.safe_load(Path(config_path).read_text()) or {}
-        libs = [r["name"] for r in cfg.get("repos", {}).get("libraries", [])]
-        return libs or list(DEFAULT_LIBRARIES)
-    except (OSError, yaml.YAMLError, KeyError, TypeError):
-        return list(DEFAULT_LIBRARIES)
+    """Return repos.libraries[].name from the policy file. Strict: the file
+    is in-repo and the group is load-bearing (the release gate) — a missing
+    or empty group is a config bug that must fail loudly."""
+    cfg = yaml.safe_load(Path(config_path).read_text()) or {}
+    libs = [r["name"] for r in cfg["repos"]["libraries"]]
+    if not libs:
+        raise ValueError(f"empty repos.libraries group in {config_path}")
+    return libs
 
 
 def _as_int(v: Any, default: int = 0) -> int:
@@ -164,7 +164,7 @@ def _as_int(v: Any, default: int = 0) -> int:
 
 # The library repos whose current `main` HEAD must match a validation report's
 # recorded commit_shas for the release-validation gate to go GREEN.
-_GATE_SHA_LIBS = DEFAULT_LIBRARIES
+_GATE_SHA_LIBS = tuple(load_library_names())
 
 
 def _sha_eq(a: Any, b: Any) -> bool:
diff --git a/tests/test_version_skew.py b/tests/test_version_skew.py
index 431b5b6..28424f6 100644
--- a/tests/test_version_skew.py
+++ b/tests/test_version_skew.py
@@ -115,5 +115,7 @@ def test_run_unknown_when_library_not_checked_out(tmp_path):
 
 def test_autolens_assistant_is_a_pinned_workspace():
     # Gap closed vs verify_workspace_versions.sh, which covers 8 workspaces.
-    assert "autolens_assistant" in vs.WORKSPACE_LIBRARY
-    assert vs.WORKSPACE_LIBRARY["autolens_assistant"] == ("PyAutoLens", "autolens")
+    # The map now lives in config/repos.yaml `version_skew` (the policy file).
+    mapping = vs.workspace_library()
+    assert "autolens_assistant" in mapping
+    assert mapping["autolens_assistant"] == ("PyAutoLens", "autolens")