diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index 687a08c..f2ca179 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -126,7 +126,7 @@ See README.md for complete `.env` setup. Key variables:
 - **Neo4j**: `NEO4J_URI`, `NEO4J_USER`, `NEO4J_PASSWORD`
 - **Storage**: `OBJECT_STORAGE_URI`, `MINIO_ACCESS_KEY`, `MINIO_SECRET_KEY`, `MINIO_OBJECTS_BUCKET_NAME`
 - **Authorization**: `RESTRICTED_BRANCH_NAME` - branch containing restricted blobs
-- **Optional**: `POSTHOG_HOST`, `POSTHOG_PROJECT_API_KEY`, `NODE_ENV`, `ALLOWED_ORIGINS`, `SENSITIVE_REGISTRY_VALUES`
+- **Optional**: `POSTHOG_HOST`, `POSTHOG_PROJECT_API_KEY`, `NODE_ENV`, `SENSITIVE_REGISTRY_VALUES`
 
 ## Testing Strategy
 - Jest 30 with ts-jest for TypeScript support
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 29225db..145bf98 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -30,7 +30,6 @@ POSTHOG_PROJECT_API_KEY=
 
 # Optional - Environment
 NODE_ENV=development
-ALLOWED_ORIGINS=https://oswatcher.github.io,http://127.0.0.1:8080
 
 # Optional - Registry Filtering
 # Unused unless the plugin commented out in src/index.ts is re-enabled
diff --git a/docs/reference/access-restrictions.md b/docs/reference/access-restrictions.md
index a36ceb7..beb3ff0 100644
--- a/docs/reference/access-restrictions.md
+++ b/docs/reference/access-restrictions.md
@@ -536,7 +536,7 @@ When adding new restrictions:
 | Rate Limiting | Middleware | All endpoints | Block (429) | Hardcoded (100/min) | Active |
 | Result Set Limits | GraphQL Schema | All paginated queries | Limit to 5000 | `@limit` directive | Active |
 | Mutations | GraphQL Schema | Write operations | Block (disabled) | `@mutation(operations: [])` | Active |
-| CORS | Middleware | All endpoints | Block | `ALLOWED_ORIGINS` | Active |
+| CORS | Middleware | All endpoints | Allow any origin | None | Open by design (no credentials are ever sent) |
 
 ---
 
diff --git a/src/index.ts b/src/index.ts
index b17725c..a05712b 100644
--- a/src/index.ts
+++ b/src/index.ts
@@ -17,6 +17,12 @@ import { createRestRouter } from "./rest-routes.js";
 // import { filterSensitiveRegistryValues } from "./registry-response-filter.js";
 import express, { Request, Response } from "express";
 import { expressMiddleware } from "@as-integrations/express5";
+// The API is public, read-only and unauthenticated: no cookies, no
+// Authorization header, nothing a browser could be tricked into attaching. An
+// origin allow-list therefore protects nothing (curl ignores CORS entirely)
+// while breaking every local frontend and third-party tool. Access control
+// that does matter is enforced server-side: rate limiting and restricted-branch
+// filtering.
 import cors from "cors";
 import axios from "axios";
 import { createServer } from "http";
@@ -61,10 +67,6 @@ const env = cleanEnv(process.env, {
         default: "development",
         desc: "Node environment",
     }),
-    ALLOWED_ORIGINS: str({
-        default: "https://oswatcher.github.io,http://127.0.0.1:8080",
-        desc: "Comma-separated list of allowed CORS origins",
-    }),
     SENSITIVE_REGISTRY_VALUES: str({
         default: "",
         desc: "Comma-separated list of sensitive registry value names to redact",
@@ -329,10 +331,7 @@ async function main() {
         if (isProduction && env.POSTHOG_PROJECT_API_KEY) {
             app.use(
                 "/events",
-                cors({
-                    origin: env.ALLOWED_ORIGINS.split(","),
-                    credentials: true,
-                }),
+                cors(),
                 express.raw({ type: "*/*", limit: "10mb" }),
                 async (req: Request, res: Response) => {
                     try {
@@ -378,10 +377,7 @@ async function main() {
         // Blob REST API - mounted before GraphQL
         app.use(
             "/blob",
-            cors({
-                origin: env.ALLOWED_ORIGINS.split(","),
-                credentials: true,
-            }),
+            cors(),
             createRateLimit(100, 60000), // 100 requests per minute
             express.json({ limit: "1mb" }),
             createRestRouter(
@@ -397,10 +393,7 @@ async function main() {
         // Apply middleware
         app.use(
             "/graphql",
-            cors({
-                origin: env.ALLOWED_ORIGINS.split(","),
-                credentials: true,
-            }),
+            cors(),
             createRateLimit(100, 60000), // 100 requests per minute
             express.json({ limit: "1mb" }),
             expressMiddleware(server, {