diff --git a/assets/js/critical/sidebar-active.js b/assets/js/critical/sidebar-active.js
index 42129a3e..b4227822 100644
--- a/assets/js/critical/sidebar-active.js
+++ b/assets/js/critical/sidebar-active.js
@@ -2,6 +2,20 @@
 // (section, version, language, variant) and cached, so the server no longer emits per-page
 // `active` classes or an expanded collapse trail; this script applies them from the current
 // location. It runs in the critical bundle so the highlight lands before first paint.
+//
+// Matching is exact first, nearest-ancestor second: a link whose path equals the current
+// path always wins, and only when no link matches exactly does the longest link that is a
+// path ancestor of the current page take over (flagged `aria-current="true"` rather than
+// "page"). The ancestor pass is what keeps the trail highlighted for pages the menu cannot
+// contain - a page built with `build.list = never`, or one generated by a content adapter,
+// is absent from the page collections the menu is built from, so it has no entry of its own.
+// Without the fallback nothing matched at all and the sidebar rendered with no active item
+// and every group collapsed. Ancestor matching compares against `path + "/"`, so
+// `/docs/guides` never claims `/docs/guides-advanced/`, and it skips links to the site root,
+// which would otherwise claim every page on the site.
+//
+// Ancestor matching is a property of the link's href, so it needs no opt-in marker in the
+// markup: every link in the nav is a candidate. Do not reintroduce one.
 (function () {
   'use strict'
 
@@ -15,7 +29,10 @@
     var best = null
     var bestLength = -1
     var bestExact = false
-    nav.querySelectorAll('a[href]').forEach(function (link) {
+    // The brand logo is inside the <nav> but is not a menu entry: it points at the site
+    // home, so as an ancestor candidate it would match every page under it and light up
+    // the logo whenever nothing better was found.
+    nav.querySelectorAll('a[href]:not(.sidebar-brand)').forEach(function (link) {
       var href = link.getAttribute('href')
       if (!href || href.charAt(0) === '#') return
       var url
@@ -28,8 +45,11 @@
           bestLength = path.length
           bestExact = true
         }
-      } else if (!bestExact && link.getAttribute('data-sidebar-match') === 'prefix') {
-        var prefix = path === '/' ? '/' : path + '/'
+      } else if (!bestExact && path !== '/') {
+        // A link to the site root is an ancestor of every page, so it carries no locality:
+        // honouring it would light up a "Home"/"Overview" entry on pages that sit outside
+        // the menu entirely. Such a link still wins when it matches the path exactly.
+        var prefix = path + '/'
         if (pathname.indexOf(prefix) === 0 && path.length > bestLength) {
           best = link
           bestLength = path.length
diff --git a/layouts/_partials/assets/sidebar.html b/layouts/_partials/assets/sidebar.html
index f11358f6..7fb29a66 100644
--- a/layouts/_partials/assets/sidebar.html
+++ b/layouts/_partials/assets/sidebar.html
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@
     <li class="mb-1">
         <a class="sidebar-item text-decoration-none rounded w-100"
            {{- if $collapsible }} data-sidebar-label="{{ $groupTitle }}"{{ end }}
-           {{ with $href }}href="{{ . }}" data-sidebar-match="prefix"{{ end }}>
+           {{ with $href }}href="{{ . }}"{{ end }}>
             {{- with $pre -}}
                 {{- if hasPrefix . "<i" -}}
                     {{ . | safeHTML }}
@@ -220,7 +220,6 @@
     {{- $data        := .menu -}}
     {{- $pre         := .pre -}}
     {{- $collapsible := .collapsible | default false -}}
-    {{- $prefixMatch := .prefixMatch | default false -}}
     {{- $filename    := .filename -}}
     {{- $title = partial "utilities/TitleCase.html" (dict "page" $page "text" $title) -}}
     {{- $titleText   := $title -}}
@@ -259,9 +258,6 @@
                     {{- if and $collapsible $title $link -}}
                         {{- $link = $link | replaceRE `(<a)\s` (printf `${1} data-sidebar-label="%s" ` ($title | htmlEscape)) -}}
                     {{- end -}}
-                    {{- if and $prefixMatch $link -}}
-                        {{- $link = $link | replaceRE `(<a)\s` `${1} data-sidebar-match="prefix" ` -}}
-                    {{- end -}}
                     {{ if $link }}
                         {{ print $link | safeHTML }}
                     {{ else }}
@@ -274,9 +270,6 @@
         <li>
             {{ $class := "sidebar-item text-decoration-none rounded small w-100" }}
             {{ $link := partial "assets/link.html" (dict "href" $href "text" $itemText "class" $class "page" $page "exact" true "icon-mode" "svg") }}{{/* icon-mode "svg": same reason as the icon call sites - see the header comment. */}}
-            {{- if and $prefixMatch $link -}}
-                {{- $link = $link | replaceRE `(<a)\s` `${1} data-sidebar-match="prefix" ` -}}
-            {{- end -}}
             {{ if $link }}
                 {{ print $link | safeHTML }}
             {{ else }}
@@ -391,7 +384,6 @@
                                 "menu"        $args.menu
                                 "pre"         .pre
                                 "collapsible" $collapsible
-                                "prefixMatch" true
                                 "filename"    $args.filename
                             ) }}
                         {{- end -}}