diff --git a/scripts/schema-snapshot.sh b/scripts/schema-snapshot.sh
index 0bf6998..5911724 100755
--- a/scripts/schema-snapshot.sh
+++ b/scripts/schema-snapshot.sh
@@ -152,7 +152,46 @@ if [[ "${copy_exit}" -ne 0 ]]; then
 fi
 
 # -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-# Step 5 — Report success
+# Step 5 — Strip ghost-collection entries
+#
+# Directus's `schema snapshot` auto-discovers every table in the public schema
+# and registers it in the snapshot YAML, regardless of whether the table is
+# Directus-managed.  This includes db-init-owned tables (positions hypertable,
+# migrations_applied guard table) which we intentionally do NOT want Directus
+# to manage.
+#
+# On a fresh CI Postgres, db-init creates these tables before schema-apply
+# runs.  If the snapshot includes them, schema-apply tries to "Create" them
+# again as Directus collections — fails with "Invalid payload. Collection
+# X already exists" because the underlying table already exists from db-init.
+#
+# Filter them out post-snapshot.  Only the `collections:` section is affected
+# (these tables have no fields/relations registered in directus_fields /
+# directus_relations, so they only appear at the top of the YAML).
+#
+# Add new ghost names to this list when introducing more db-init-only tables.
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+GHOST_COLLECTIONS=( "migrations_applied" "positions" )
+
+log_info "stripping ghost-collection entries from snapshot"
+
+for ghost in "${GHOST_COLLECTIONS[@]}"; do
+  # awk pattern: skip the `  - collection: <ghost>` line and all its indented
+  # children (meta:, schema:, etc. — 4-space indent) until the next sibling
+  # `  - ` or top-level section header.
+  awk -v ghost="${ghost}" '
+    BEGIN { skip = 0 }
+    $0 == "  - collection: " ghost { skip = 1; next }
+    skip && /^  - / { skip = 0 }
+    skip && /^[^ ]/ { skip = 0 }
+    !skip { print }
+  ' "${HOST_SNAPSHOT_PATH}" > "${HOST_SNAPSHOT_PATH}.tmp" \
+    && mv "${HOST_SNAPSHOT_PATH}.tmp" "${HOST_SNAPSHOT_PATH}"
+done
+
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Step 6 — Report success
 # -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 # Compute the size of the written file for the one-line success log.
diff --git a/snapshots/schema.yaml b/snapshots/schema.yaml
index 65aaaaa..a614861 100644
--- a/snapshots/schema.yaml
+++ b/snapshots/schema.yaml
@@ -158,30 +158,6 @@ collections:
       versioning: false
     schema:
       name: events
-  - collection: migrations_applied
-    meta:
-      accountability: all
-      archive_app_filter: true
-      archive_field: null
-      archive_value: null
-      collapse: open
-      collection: migrations_applied
-      color: null
-      display_template: null
-      group: null
-      hidden: false
-      icon: null
-      item_duplication_fields: null
-      note: null
-      preview_url: null
-      singleton: false
-      sort: null
-      sort_field: null
-      translations: null
-      unarchive_value: null
-      versioning: false
-    schema:
-      name: migrations_applied
   - collection: organization_devices
     meta:
       accountability: all
@@ -282,30 +258,6 @@ collections:
       versioning: false
     schema:
       name: organizations
-  - collection: positions
-    meta:
-      accountability: all
-      archive_app_filter: true
-      archive_field: null
-      archive_value: null
-      collapse: open
-      collection: positions
-      color: null
-      display_template: null
-      group: null
-      hidden: false
-      icon: null
-      item_duplication_fields: null
-      note: null
-      preview_url: null
-      singleton: false
-      sort: null
-      sort_field: null
-      translations: null
-      unarchive_value: null
-      versioning: false
-    schema:
-      name: positions
   - collection: vehicles
     meta:
       accountability: all