diff --git a/cli/workflow_sync.php b/cli/workflow_sync.php
index a20ecbf..0860314 100644
--- a/cli/workflow_sync.php
+++ b/cli/workflow_sync.php
@@ -45,9 +45,6 @@ class WorkflowSyncCli extends CliFramework
     /** Prefix for custom workflows preserved during orphan cleanup. */
     private const CUSTOM_PREFIX = 'custom-';
 
-    /** Subdirectory name for custom workflows preserved during orphan cleanup. */
-    private const CUSTOM_DIR = 'custom';
-
     private int $updated = 0;
     private int $created = 0;
     private int $skipped = 0;
@@ -283,14 +280,15 @@ class WorkflowSyncCli extends CliFramework
 
             foreach ($workflows as $workflow) {
                 $filename = $workflow['name'];
+                $destPath = '.mokogitea/workflows/' . $filename;
+                $label = "{$repoFullName}/{$filename}";
+
                 // Skip platform-excluded workflows
                 if (in_array($filename, self::PLATFORM_EXCLUDES[$platform] ?? [], true)) {
                     fprintf(STDERR, "%-45s | %s\n", $label, 'EXCLUDED (platform)');
                     $this->skipped++;
                     continue;
                 }
-                $destPath = '.mokogitea/workflows/' . $filename;
-                $label = "{$repoFullName}/{$filename}";
 
                 // Get source content from template
                 $sourceContent = $this->getFileContent(
@@ -316,7 +314,7 @@ class WorkflowSyncCli extends CliFramework
             if ($this->getArgument('--delete-orphans', false)) {
                 $templateNames = array_map(fn($w) => $w['name'], $workflows);
                 $this->deleteOrphanWorkflows(
-                    $giteaUrl, $token, $org, $repoName, $branch, $templateNames
+                    $giteaUrl, $token, $org, $repoName, $branch, $templateNames, $platform
                 );
             }
         }
@@ -437,15 +435,15 @@ class WorkflowSyncCli extends CliFramework
         string $org,
         string $repoName,
         string $branch,
-        array $templateNames
+        array $templateNames,
+        string $platform
     ): void {
         $repoWorkflows = $this->listWorkflows($giteaUrl, $token, $org, $repoName, $branch);
         if ($repoWorkflows === null) {
             return;
         }
 
-        // Also list directories so we can preserve custom/
-        $allEntries = $this->listWorkflowEntries($giteaUrl, $token, $org, $repoName, $branch);
+        $platformExcludes = self::PLATFORM_EXCLUDES[$platform] ?? [];
 
         foreach ($repoWorkflows as $workflow) {
             $name = $workflow['name'];
@@ -462,6 +460,13 @@ class WorkflowSyncCli extends CliFramework
                 continue;
             }
 
+            // Keep if it's platform-excluded (legitimately skipped during sync)
+            if (in_array($name, $platformExcludes, true)) {
+                $label = "{$org}/{$repoName}/{$name}";
+                fprintf(STDERR, "%-45s | %s\n", $label, 'KEPT (platform-excluded)');
+                continue;
+            }
+
             // Delete orphan
             $filePath = '.mokogitea/workflows/' . $name;
             $label = "{$org}/{$repoName}/{$name}";
@@ -525,28 +530,6 @@ class WorkflowSyncCli extends CliFramework
         return $response['code'] === 200;
     }
 
-    /**
-     * List all entries (files + dirs) in .mokogitea/workflows/.
-     */
-    private function listWorkflowEntries(
-        string $giteaUrl,
-        string $token,
-        string $org,
-        string $repoName,
-        string $branch
-    ): array {
-        $response = $this->apiRequest(
-            $giteaUrl, $token, 'GET',
-            "/api/v1/repos/{$org}/{$repoName}/contents/.mokogitea/workflows?ref={$branch}"
-        );
-
-        if ($response['code'] !== 200) {
-            return [];
-        }
-
-        return json_decode($response['body'], true) ?: [];
-    }
-
     /**
      * List workflow files in a repo's .mokogitea/workflows/ directory.
      */