diff --git a/.github/CODEOWNERS b/.github/CODEOWNERS
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index 0000000..bcade6e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/CODEOWNERS
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+* @DTTerastar
diff --git a/.github/workflows/code-owner-approval.yml b/.github/workflows/code-owner-approval.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..32da8bc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/code-owner-approval.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+name: Code owner approval
+
+# Required status "Code owner approval": a code owner's own PR passes; anyone else's needs a code
+# owner to approve. Replaces branch protection's "Require review from Code Owners", which has no
+# exemption for the author. See https://github.com/DTTerastar/code-owner-approval
+
+on:
+  pull_request_target:
+    types: [opened, reopened, synchronize, ready_for_review]
+  workflow_run:
+    workflows: [Code owner review]
+    types: [completed]
+  workflow_dispatch: # re-checks every open PR
+  schedule:
+    - cron: '*/30 * * * *' # backstop if a review's relay didn't run
+
+# One run at a time per commit, so an older evaluation can't publish over a newer one. A queued
+# run is replaced by a newer one for the same commit, which is fine: each run reads the reviews fresh.
+concurrency:
+  group: code-owner-approval-${{ github.event.pull_request.head.sha || github.event.workflow_run.head_sha || 'all' }}
+
+permissions:
+  statuses: write
+  pull-requests: read
+  contents: read
+
+jobs:
+  evaluate:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: DTTerastar/code-owner-approval@v1
diff --git a/.github/workflows/code-owner-review.yml b/.github/workflows/code-owner-review.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..579bde6
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+++ b/.github/workflows/code-owner-review.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+name: Code owner review
+
+# Reviews have no pull_request_target event, so this only starts a workflow_run of
+# "Code owner approval", which runs the default branch's copy. No permissions, no code.
+
+on:
+  pull_request_review:
+    types: [submitted, edited, dismissed]
+
+permissions: {}
+
+jobs:
+  relay:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - run: echo "Review on PR ${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}, Code owner approval re-checks it"