diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 042ca6223..dd3362ac4 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -1,5 +1,10 @@
 [workspace]
 members = ["crates/openab-core", "crates/openab-gateway"]
+# Standalone crates at the repo root are NOT part of this workspace — each has
+# its own Cargo.lock and dedicated CI. Excluding them prevents cargo from
+# erroring ("current package believes it's in a workspace when it's not") when
+# tooling (e.g. `cargo fmt --check`) runs from inside their directories.
+exclude = ["agy-acp", "openab-agent", "openab-auth-proxy", "operator"]
 
 [package]
 name = "openab"