diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 51ddf403..c8b332a9 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -133,22 +133,24 @@ jobs:
   # Image does not wait for it. Image is the long pole, and chaining it after
   # Growth would roughly double a push's wall time.
   #
-  # The length follows the ref. CI runs on push, so a pull request arrives as
-  # pushes to its branch, and a branch runs bounded: about ten seconds a test.
-  # Main runs full, where a slow leak has the time to show. A release waits
-  # for main's CI run on the tagged commit, so full growth gates every
-  # release. That puts this job on the release path: at full length it must
-  # finish within about three minutes.
+  # Main only, at full length, where a slow leak has the time to show. A pull
+  # request skips it: a leak check spends minutes on every push, and main
+  # catches a leak before any release. A release waits for main's CI run on
+  # the tagged commit, so full growth gates every release. That puts this
+  # job on the release path: it must finish within about three minutes.
+  # `make test-growth GROWTH=bounded` runs it locally in about ten seconds a
+  # test.
   #
   # No -race; the Makefile's test-growth says why.
   growth:
     name: Growth
     needs: [go, integration]
+    if: github.event_name == 'push'
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     env:
       SQLFLOW_DUCKDB_LIB: ${{ github.workspace }}/bin/libduckdb.so
       GOTOOLCHAIN: local
-      GROWTH: ${{ github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' && 'full' || 'bounded' }}
+      GROWTH: full
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
@@ -277,8 +279,10 @@ jobs:
           pattern: report-*
           merge-multiple: true
 
+      # A pull request runs no growth pass, so its growth cells keep their
+      # committed status. Main runs every level and checks all of them.
       - name: Check the coverage matrix
-        run: make coverage-check
+        run: make coverage-check COVERAGE_NOT_RUN="${{ github.event_name != 'push' && '--not-run growth' || '' }}"
 
       # The report carries every test name and count, which left the committed
       # page so that a PR adding a test changes nothing under docs/coverage.
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 8b3a4e98..338e9ad5 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -105,6 +105,11 @@ schema:
 	@echo "regenerated turbostats/wire/schema/bundle.schema.json and response.schema.json"
 	@echo "regenerated internal/cli/testdata/config_example.golden and serve_example.golden"
 
+# The levels this run skipped, as --not-run flags. A pull request runs no
+# growth pass, so CI passes --not-run growth there: a growth cell keeps its
+# committed status rather than reading missing. Empty runs every level.
+COVERAGE_NOT_RUN ?=
+
 # Renders everything from reports that already exist. Runs no tests.
 #
 # Under docs/coverage: the status directory and the page, which are committed.
@@ -116,7 +121,7 @@ coverage-write:
 		--go .coverage/go.json \
 		--go-integration .coverage/go-integration.json \
 		--go-growth .coverage/go-growth.json \
-		--pytest .coverage/pytest.json --write
+		--pytest .coverage/pytest.json $(COVERAGE_NOT_RUN) --write
 
 # Renders the page from the committed status files and registries. Reads no
 # report, so it runs anywhere, and it is what resolves a merge conflict on
@@ -150,7 +155,7 @@ coverage-check: coverage-write
 		--go .coverage/go.json \
 		--go-integration .coverage/go-integration.json \
 		--go-growth .coverage/go-growth.json \
-		--pytest .coverage/pytest.json --check
+		--pytest .coverage/pytest.json $(COVERAGE_NOT_RUN) --check
 	@# The Package field sits between Action and Test in go test -json, so
 	@# the pattern spans it. Without it the list below printed nothing.
 	@! grep -sq '"Action":"fail"' $(GO_REPORTS) || { \
diff --git a/scripts/coverage_matrix/cli.py b/scripts/coverage_matrix/cli.py
index b1fa2de7..f7d801ec 100644
--- a/scripts/coverage_matrix/cli.py
+++ b/scripts/coverage_matrix/cli.py
@@ -8,14 +8,15 @@
 from .features import build, snapshot
 from .invariants import build_invariants, snapshot_invariants
 from .page import write_page
-from .registries import (COVERAGE_DIR, MATRIX_JSON, MATRIX_MD, REPO,
+from .registries import (COVERAGE_DIR, LEVELS, MATRIX_JSON, MATRIX_MD, REPO,
                          REPORT_MD, STATUS_DIR, TYPES_PAGE,
                          load_features, load_integrations,
                          load_invariants, load_lattice,
                          validate_registries)
 from .report import render_report
 from .suites import parse_go, parse_pytest
-from .statusfiles import read_status, status_from_snapshot, write_status
+from .statusfiles import (keep_levels, read_status, status_from_snapshot,
+                          write_status)
 from .types import validate_types
 
 
@@ -27,6 +28,9 @@ def main():
     ap.add_argument("--go-growth",
                     help="go test -json output from the growth pass")
     ap.add_argument("--pytest", help="pytest result json from the conftest hook")
+    ap.add_argument("--not-run", action="append", default=[], choices=LEVELS,
+                    help="a level this run did not run; its missing cells "
+                         "are no gap. A pull request runs no growth pass")
     ap.add_argument("--write", action="store_true",
                     help="write the status directory, the page, and the report")
     ap.add_argument("--check", action="store_true",
@@ -83,8 +87,14 @@ def main():
         {"unit": go_invariants, "integration": it_invariants,
          "growth": gr_invariants, "release": py_invariants})
     snap.update(snapshot_invariants(invariants, integrations, built))
+    # A level the run skipped has no report, so every cell at it reads
+    # missing. That says nothing about the change; main runs the level.
+    for key in ("gaps", "invariant_gaps"):
+        snap[key] = [g for g in snap[key]
+                     if not (g["level"] in args.not_run and g["status"] == "missing")]
 
-    status = status_from_snapshot(snap)
+    status = keep_levels(status_from_snapshot(snap), read_status(STATUS_DIR),
+                         args.not_run)
     report = render_report(snap)
 
     if args.write:
diff --git a/scripts/coverage_matrix/statusfiles.py b/scripts/coverage_matrix/statusfiles.py
index f60a1121..7e3118c2 100644
--- a/scripts/coverage_matrix/statusfiles.py
+++ b/scripts/coverage_matrix/statusfiles.py
@@ -38,6 +38,21 @@ def status_from_snapshot(snap):
     return {"features": features, "integrations": integrations}
 
 
+def keep_levels(status, committed, levels):
+    """status with each cell at levels taken from committed, where it has
+    one. A run that skipped a level has no report for it, so its cells
+    read missing; the committed status is the last run that had one."""
+    def merge(rows, old):
+        for rid, cells in rows.items():
+            for lvl in levels:
+                if lvl in old.get(rid, {}):
+                    cells[lvl] = old[rid][lvl]
+    merge(status["features"], committed.get("features", {}))
+    for iid, rows in status["integrations"].items():
+        merge(rows, committed.get("integrations", {}).get(iid, {}))
+    return status
+
+
 def render_status_file(rows, about):
     """One row per line, sorted by id, levels in a flow mapping.
 
diff --git a/tests/tooling/test_cli.py b/tests/tooling/test_cli.py
index 3ab12b3a..e88f7c83 100644
--- a/tests/tooling/test_cli.py
+++ b/tests/tooling/test_cli.py
@@ -63,6 +63,23 @@ def test_the_check_reads_the_growth_report(tmp_path):
     assert "handler.inferred_mem: unit is skipped" in both.stderr
 
 
+def test_a_level_not_run_is_no_gap(tmp_path):
+    """A pull request does not run the growth pass; main does. With
+    --not-run growth, a growth level with no report is no gap, and a gap
+    at a level that did run still fails the check."""
+    name = "TestGrowthInferredInvoke_DoesNotLeakNativeMemory"
+    marker = json.dumps({"Action": "output", "Test": name,
+                         "Output": "    x.go:1: COVERS handler.inferred_mem\n"})
+    unit = write(tmp_path, "go.json", "\n".join([
+        marker, json.dumps({"Action": "skip", "Test": name})]))
+
+    proc = run_check(unit, "--not-run", "growth")
+
+    assert "growth is missing" not in proc.stderr
+    assert "handler.inferred_mem: unit is skipped" in proc.stderr
+    assert proc.returncode == 1
+
+
 def test_the_check_exits_non_zero_on_an_unknown_marker(tmp_path):
     """Once the unknown-marker list left the reviewed page, failing is the
     only way it stays visible."""
diff --git a/tests/tooling/test_statusfiles.py b/tests/tooling/test_statusfiles.py
index 450fb683..df5962fa 100644
--- a/tests/tooling/test_statusfiles.py
+++ b/tests/tooling/test_statusfiles.py
@@ -6,7 +6,8 @@
     LEVELS, PASS, STATUS_DIR, load_features, load_integrations,
     load_invariants)
 from coverage_matrix.statusfiles import (
-    read_status, render_status_file, status_from_snapshot, write_status)
+    keep_levels, read_status, render_status_file, status_from_snapshot,
+    write_status)
 from samples import *  # noqa: F401,F403
 
 
@@ -148,4 +149,18 @@ def test_the_page_snapshot_reaches_the_same_gaps_as_the_full_snapshot():
     ps = page_of(status=status_from_snapshot(full), invariants=required)
 
     assert ps["gaps"] == full["gaps"]
-    assert ps["invariant_gaps"] == full["invariant_gaps"]
\ No newline at end of file
+    assert ps["invariant_gaps"] == full["invariant_gaps"]
+
+def test_a_level_not_run_keeps_its_committed_status():
+    """A pull request runs no growth pass, so every growth cell it
+    generates reads missing. The committed status stands for that level,
+    and every other level is the run's own."""
+    run = {"features": {"a": {"unit": "covered", "growth": "missing"}},
+           "integrations": {"kafka": {"inv": {"unit": "failing", "growth": "missing"}}}}
+    committed = {"features": {"a": {"unit": "missing", "growth": "covered"}},
+                 "integrations": {"kafka": {"inv": {"unit": "covered", "growth": "covered"}}}}
+
+    kept = keep_levels(run, committed, ["growth"])
+
+    assert kept["features"]["a"] == {"unit": "covered", "growth": "covered"}
+    assert kept["integrations"]["kafka"]["inv"] == {"unit": "failing", "growth": "covered"}