diff --git a/src/routes/idaa/(idaa)/+layout.svelte b/src/routes/idaa/(idaa)/+layout.svelte
index 2c843fbe..f3b56b88 100644
--- a/src/routes/idaa/(idaa)/+layout.svelte
+++ b/src/routes/idaa/(idaa)/+layout.svelte
@@ -299,15 +299,26 @@ $effect(() => {
  *   Network error / AbortError → wait 3s, retry once
  */
 async function verify_novi_uuid(uuid: string, is_retry: boolean = false) {
+    // WHY: Check presence of novi_idaa_api_key to detect whether this site has IDAA
+    // configured. The key itself is no longer used for auth (the Aether server holds it),
+    // but its absence means either (a) this is not the IDAA site / dev domain, or (b)
+    // site_cfg_json hasn't finished loading yet. In both cases: skip and wait for the
+    // next Effect 2 trigger. This also guards the 'ghost' account_id state (domain-not-found
+    // fallback gives site_cfg_json = {}) — prevents a spurious API call with a bad account_id.
+    const site_cfg = $ae_loc.site_cfg_json || {};
+    if (!site_cfg.novi_idaa_api_key) {
+        console.warn('IDAA Layout: Novi not configured for this site (or site_cfg_json still loading) — skipping verification.');
+        verify_in_flight = false;
+        return;
+    }
+
     const account_id = $ae_loc.account_id;
     const api_key = $ae_api.api_secret_key;
     const api_url = $ae_api.base_url;
 
-    if (!account_id || !api_key || !api_url) {
-        // Aether config not yet available (SWR race on startup — site_cfg_json loads async).
-        // Do not clear $idaa_loc: that would destroy a valid cached session and cause a
-        // re-auth loop on the next Effect 2 run. Access is denied naturally when
-        // $idaa_loc starts with novi_verified=false (its default).
+    if (!account_id || account_id === 'ghost' || !api_key || !api_url) {
+        // Aether config not yet available. Do not clear $idaa_loc: that would destroy a
+        // valid cached session and cause a re-auth loop on the next Effect 2 run.
         console.warn('IDAA Layout: Aether API config not yet available — skipping verification (will retry when config loads).');
         verify_in_flight = false;
         return;