diff --git a/src/commands/provision.ts b/src/commands/provision.ts
index 3f29055..6cb6659 100644
--- a/src/commands/provision.ts
+++ b/src/commands/provision.ts
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ type Derived = {
   templateOwner: string;
   templateRepo: string;
   cloneUrl: string;
+  templateCloneUrl: string;
 };
 
 type ProvisionReport = {
@@ -70,8 +71,8 @@ export async function provision(
     throw new Error(`Local root path does not exist: ${env.WP_LOCAL_ROOT_PATH}`);
   }
 
-  await ensureGiteaRepo(context, env, slug, derived, report);
-  await ensureSiteDirectory(context, env, slug, derived, report);
+  const repoAvailable = await ensureGiteaRepo(context, env, slug, derived, report);
+  await ensureSiteDirectory(context, env, derived, repoAvailable, report);
   await checkGitFreshness(context, derived.sitePath);
   await ensureDatabase(context, derived.dbName, report);
   await ensureCore(context, env, derived.sitePath, report);
@@ -102,6 +103,7 @@ function resolveDerived(env: ProvisionEnv, slug: string): Derived {
     templateOwner,
     templateRepo,
     cloneUrl: `ssh://${env.WPOP_GITEA_SSH_USER}@${host}:${env.WPOP_GITEA_SSH_PORT}/${env.WPOP_GITEA_OWNER}/${slug}.git`,
+    templateCloneUrl: `ssh://${env.WPOP_GITEA_SSH_USER}@${host}:${env.WPOP_GITEA_SSH_PORT}/${templateOwner}/${templateRepo}.git`,
   };
 }
 
@@ -144,24 +146,30 @@ async function confirm(context: WPopContext, slug: string, derived: Derived): Pr
   return Boolean(response.confirmed);
 }
 
+/**
+ * Ensures the per-site Gitea repo exists. Returns `true` when the repo is
+ * available to clone from (it already existed or was just created), `false`
+ * when the user declined creation — in which case the caller falls back to
+ * cloning the template directly so the local site is still provisioned.
+ */
 async function ensureGiteaRepo(
   context: WPopContext,
   env: ProvisionEnv,
   slug: string,
   derived: Derived,
   report: ProvisionReport,
-): Promise<void> {
+): Promise<boolean> {
   if (context.dryRun) {
     consola.info(
       `[dry-run] Would ensure Gitea repo ${derived.owner}/${slug} exists (create from ${env.WPOP_GITEA_TEMPLATE} if missing)`,
     );
-    return;
+    return true;
   }
 
   const exists = await giteaRepoExists(env.giteaBaseUrl, env.giteaToken, derived.owner, slug);
   if (exists) {
     consola.info(`Gitea repo ${derived.owner}/${slug} already exists`);
-    return;
+    return true;
   }
 
   if (!context.yes) {
@@ -172,7 +180,11 @@ async function ensureGiteaRepo(
       initial: true,
     });
     if (!response.confirmed) {
-      throw new Error(`Gitea repo ${derived.owner}/${slug} is required but was not created`);
+      consola.warn(
+        `Skipping Gitea repo ${derived.owner}/${slug}; provisioning local site from template ${env.WPOP_GITEA_TEMPLATE}`,
+      );
+      report.steps.push("gitea:skip");
+      return false;
     }
   }
 
@@ -184,13 +196,14 @@ async function ensureGiteaRepo(
     name: slug,
   });
   report.steps.push("gitea:create");
+  return true;
 }
 
 async function ensureSiteDirectory(
   context: WPopContext,
   env: ProvisionEnv,
-  slug: string,
   derived: Derived,
+  repoAvailable: boolean,
   report: ProvisionReport,
 ): Promise<void> {
   if (!context.dryRun && existsSync(derived.sitePath)) {
@@ -202,11 +215,22 @@ async function ensureSiteDirectory(
     return;
   }
 
-  consola.info(`Cloning ${derived.cloneUrl} into ${derived.sitePath}`);
-  await run(context, "git", ["clone", derived.cloneUrl, derived.sitePath], {
+  const cloneUrl = repoAvailable ? derived.cloneUrl : derived.templateCloneUrl;
+  consola.info(`Cloning ${cloneUrl} into ${derived.sitePath}`);
+  await run(context, "git", ["clone", cloneUrl, derived.sitePath], {
     cwd: env.WP_LOCAL_ROOT_PATH,
   });
   report.steps.push("git:clone");
+
+  // When provisioning from the template (the per-site repo was not created),
+  // drop the origin remote so the clone is not tied to the template repo.
+  if (!repoAvailable) {
+    await run(context, "git", ["remote", "remove", "origin"], {
+      cwd: derived.sitePath,
+      reject: false,
+    });
+    report.steps.push("git:detach-template");
+  }
 }
 
 async function checkGitFreshness(context: WPopContext, sitePath: string): Promise<void> {