diff --git a/system/machine/RPi5/hardware-configuration.nix b/system/machine/RPi5/hardware-configuration.nix
new file mode 100644
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--- /dev/null
+++ b/system/machine/RPi5/hardware-configuration.nix
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+# PLACEHOLDER hardware configuration for the Raspberry Pi 5.
+#
+# This file is NOT the real generated config -- it exists only so the host
+# evaluates in CI before the Pi is provisioned. The machine will not boot from
+# it as-is. On first install, regenerate this file on the device with
+#   nixos-generate-config --root /mnt
+# and replace this placeholder with the output (commit it). See ./README.md.
+#
+# Like every hardware-configuration.nix in this repo, this file is excluded from
+# the formatter and linters (see the pre-commit/treefmt excludes in flake.nix).
+{ modulesPath, ... }:
+{
+  imports = [ (modulesPath + "/installer/scan/not-detected.nix") ];
+
+  nixpkgs.hostPlatform = "aarch64-linux";
+
+  # The Raspberry Pi 5 boots from an SD card / USB with a FAT firmware partition
+  # and an ext4 root. Labels match the conventional sd-image layout; the real
+  # generated config will use by-uuid device paths instead.
+  fileSystems."/" = {
+    device = "/dev/disk/by-label/NIXOS_SD";
+    fsType = "ext4";
+  };
+
+  fileSystems."/boot/firmware" = {
+    device = "/dev/disk/by-label/FIRMWARE";
+    fsType = "vfat";
+  };
+
+  swapDevices = [ ];
+}