diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 9c2f70a..0b1bfb5 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -136,7 +136,14 @@ volumes:
   # Override via .env if your existing volumes are named differently:
   #   POSTGRES_DATA_VOLUME=neuro-api_postgres-data
   #   OLLAMA_DATA_VOLUME=neuro-ollama_ollama-data
+  # postgres_data is owned by THIS stack — created on first up, no external flag.
   postgres_data:
     name: ${POSTGRES_DATA_VOLUME:-neuro-gateway_postgres_data}
+  # ollama_data is intentionally ADOPTED from another stack (e.g. neuro-api /
+  # neuro-ollama). external: true tells compose "yes, that volume belongs to a
+  # different project — use it as-is". This silences the project-namespace
+  # warning. The volume MUST already exist (create with `docker volume create
+  # <name>` if you ever deploy fresh and the foreign one isn't there).
   ollama_data:
+    external: true
     name: ${OLLAMA_DATA_VOLUME:-neuro-gateway_ollama_data}