diff --git a/scripts/sync-algolia.mjs b/scripts/sync-algolia.mjs
index ceb491f0..d79e95c7 100644
--- a/scripts/sync-algolia.mjs
+++ b/scripts/sync-algolia.mjs
@@ -11,9 +11,23 @@ if (!adminApiKey) {
   process.exit(0);
 }
 
+// Preview builds (pull requests) re-index the whole site on every push and
+// burn through the Algolia operation quota; only sync production deploys.
+const branch = process.env.CF_PAGES_BRANCH;
+if (branch && branch !== "main") {
+  console.log(`Algolia sync skipped: preview build (branch ${branch})`);
+  process.exit(0);
+}
+
 const content = await readFile("dist/public/algolia-index.json", "utf8");
 const documents = JSON.parse(content);
 const client = algoliasearch(appId, adminApiKey);
 
-await sync(client, { indexName, documents });
-console.log(`Algolia sync: wrote ${documents.length} documents to ${indexName}`);
+// A search-index hiccup must never block publishing the docs themselves.
+try {
+  await sync(client, { indexName, documents });
+  console.log(`Algolia sync: wrote ${documents.length} documents to ${indexName}`);
+} catch (error) {
+  console.warn(`Algolia sync failed, deploying without re-indexing search: ${error}`);
+  process.exit(0);
+}