diff --git a/.werkator.yml b/.werkator.yml
index 70631bd..e13c322 100644
--- a/.werkator.yml
+++ b/.werkator.yml
@@ -19,19 +19,20 @@ watcher:
   # max commit age for new origin branches to be pulled automatically
   newBranchMaxAge: 5d
 
-# Per-branch build configuration.
-# Use "default" as the fallback for all branches not listed explicitly.
-branches:
+# Named build definitions. "default" is the base every other one inherits its
+# settings from — never its trigger.
+builds:
   default:
+    # When this build runs and for which branches. The only part a build does
+    # NOT inherit from the default — everything below it does.
+    trigger:
+      onPush: true          # build every new commit of the selected branches
     # run before each build
     cleanCommand: rm -rf build
-    # shell command for each build 
+    # shell command for each build
     buildCommand: ./gradlew --console=plain --no-daemon test
     # directories copied as build artifacts
-    artifactDirs:                                         
+    artifactDirs:
       - build/reports
     stdoutLog: build.stdout.log   # filename for captured stdout
     stderrLog: build.stderr.log   # filename for captured stderr
-    autoBuild:
-      enabled: false        # whether to rebuild on schedule
-      times: ["01:00"]      # UTC times HH:MM for scheduled builds
diff --git a/docs/prs/2026-08-31-PR#1-rename-gittally-to-werkator.md b/docs/prs/2026-08-31-PR#1-rename-gittally-to-werkator.md
index 6f2a3c9..b8a52be 100644
--- a/docs/prs/2026-08-31-PR#1-rename-gittally-to-werkator.md
+++ b/docs/prs/2026-08-31-PR#1-rename-gittally-to-werkator.md
@@ -148,6 +148,8 @@ The rollback section names the asymmetry: the new version reads both names, the
   The conversion has served its purpose with the vm2176 → vm4006 migration; what remains is the setup of a new instance: the preconditions, the credential prompt, and the machine configuration written mode 600.
   It also stops emitting a legacy `branches:` section, which [plan step 18](../plan/18-remove-branches-section.md) is about to reject outright.
 - Restored the real `GITTALLY_*` spelling in `docs/plan/00-legacy-analysis.md` and `docs/plan/13-nginx-tls.md`, which record what the old script read.
+- Migrated this repository's own `.werkator.yml` from the deprecated `branches` section to a `builds.default` definition with a `trigger` block.
+  Nothing about its build changes; it stops being the blocker for the precondition of [plan step 18](../plan/18-remove-branches-section.md), which requires that no configuration still in play carries the section, and which rejects it by name afterwards.
 
 ## Follow-up PRs