diff --git a/.github/workflows/wiki-sync.yml b/.github/workflows/wiki-sync.yml
index 9a946fa..974c6c6 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/wiki-sync.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/wiki-sync.yml
@@ -17,14 +17,17 @@ jobs:
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
       - name: Checkout wiki
+        id: clone_wiki
         run: |
-          git clone "https://x-access-token:${{ github.token }}@github.com/${{ github.repository }}.wiki.git" .wiki-remote \
-          || (mkdir -p .wiki-remote \
-              && cd .wiki-remote \
-              && git init \
-              && git remote add origin "https://x-access-token:${{ github.token }}@github.com/${{ github.repository }}.wiki.git")
+          if git clone "https://x-access-token:${{ github.token }}@github.com/${{ github.repository }}.wiki.git" .wiki-remote 2>&1; then
+            echo "wiki_exists=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          else
+            echo "wiki_exists=false" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+            echo "Wiki not yet initialized — skipping sync. Initialize via GitHub web UI first."
+          fi
 
       - name: Sync wiki pages
+        if: steps.clone_wiki.outputs.wiki_exists == 'true'
         run: |
           cp .wiki/*.md .wiki-remote/
           cd .wiki-remote