diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 025c278..b85d562 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -2,6 +2,9 @@
 
 Building toward 1.0.0 release. Using 0.x versions during active development.
 
+**Fixed:**
+- `PagesController` now reads the page slug from the route's `defaults: {page: ...}` (via `params[:page]`) instead of parsing `request.path`, fixing 404s for root-path pages (`bunko_page :home, path: "/"`) and pages with custom paths (`bunko_page :about, path: "about-us"`) (#57)
+
 ## [0.2.0] - 2025-11-14
 
 First functional release of Bunko - a lightweight Rails CMS based on the "one model, infinite collections" philosophy.
diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index 54c6e7f..9eea729 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -144,6 +144,14 @@ Integration tests run against a minimal Rails app in `test/dummy/`:
 - Tests use **Minitest** framework
 - CI runs on GitHub Actions (`.github/workflows/main.yml`) and executes `bundle exec rake`
 
+### Linking Work to GitHub Issues
+
+When working on a GitHub issue/ticket, always include a closing keyword so the issue closes automatically on merge:
+
+- Add `Closes #xx` (or `Fixes #xx`) to the **pull request description** — this is what GitHub uses to auto-close the issue when the PR merges
+- Also include it in the commit message body when the commit resolves the issue
+- Use one line per issue if a change resolves multiple issues (e.g., `Closes #12`, `Closes #34`)
+
 ## Current Features (Implemented)
 
 **Milestone 1 - Post Model Behavior:**
diff --git a/lib/tasks/templates/controllers/pages_controller.rb.tt b/lib/tasks/templates/controllers/pages_controller.rb.tt
index 3772490..f6b280a 100644
--- a/lib/tasks/templates/controllers/pages_controller.rb.tt
+++ b/lib/tasks/templates/controllers/pages_controller.rb.tt
@@ -2,10 +2,16 @@
 
 class PagesController < ApplicationController
   def show
-    # Extract page slug from request path (not user-controllable params)
-    # This prevents path traversal attacks via query string manipulation
-    # e.g., GET /about?page=../../admin/users
-    page_slug = request.path.split("/").reject(&:empty?).last
+    # The page slug comes from the route's defaults (bunko_page sets
+    # defaults: {page: ...}). Route defaults are path parameters, which
+    # take precedence over query string params in Rails, so
+    # e.g. GET /about?page=../../admin/users cannot override the slug.
+    page_slug = params[:page].to_s
+
+    # Format guard in case this action is wired up without a :page default
+    unless page_slug.match?(/\A[a-z0-9-]+\z/)
+      raise ActiveRecord::RecordNotFound, "Page not found"
+    end
 
     @post = Post.published.find_by(
       post_type: PostType.find_by(name: "pages"),
diff --git a/test/controllers/pages_controller_test.rb b/test/controllers/pages_controller_test.rb
index db6f8e4..b329e48 100644
--- a/test/controllers/pages_controller_test.rb
+++ b/test/controllers/pages_controller_test.rb
@@ -149,4 +149,92 @@ class PagesControllerTest < ActionDispatch::IntegrationTest
     assert_match "Our privacy policy", response.body
     assert_no_match "Our terms", response.body
   end
+
+  # Regression tests for slug derivation (GitHub issue #57)
+  # The slug must come from the route's defaults, not from request.path
+
+  test "bunko_page with root path renders the home page" do
+    Post.create!(
+      title: "Home",
+      slug: "home",
+      content: "Welcome to the home page",
+      post_type: @pages_type,
+      status: "published",
+      published_at: 1.day.ago
+    )
+
+    draw_dummy_routes_with do
+      bunko_page :home, path: "/"
+    end
+
+    get "/"
+    assert_response :success
+    assert_match "Welcome to the home page", response.body
+  ensure
+    Rails.application.reload_routes!
+  end
+
+  test "bunko_page with custom path finds post by page name, not path" do
+    Post.create!(
+      title: "About",
+      slug: "about",
+      content: "All about the company",
+      post_type: @pages_type,
+      status: "published",
+      published_at: 1.day.ago
+    )
+
+    draw_dummy_routes_with do
+      bunko_page :about, path: "company-info"
+    end
+
+    get "/company-info"
+    assert_response :success
+    assert_match "All about the company", response.body
+  ensure
+    Rails.application.reload_routes!
+  end
+
+  test "query param cannot override route default on custom-path page" do
+    Post.create!(
+      title: "About",
+      slug: "about",
+      content: "All about the company",
+      post_type: @pages_type,
+      status: "published",
+      published_at: 1.day.ago
+    )
+
+    draw_dummy_routes_with do
+      bunko_page :about, path: "about-us"
+    end
+
+    get "/about-us?page=privacy-policy"
+    assert_response :success
+    # Route default (page: "about") wins over the query string param
+    assert_match "All about the company", response.body
+    assert_no_match "Our privacy policy", response.body
+  ensure
+    Rails.application.reload_routes!
+  end
+
+  private
+
+  # Redraws the dummy app's routes with extra routes prepended, so tests can
+  # exercise bunko_page options (root path, custom paths) the committed routes
+  # file doesn't use. The shared nav partial links to every collection, so the
+  # full set from test/dummy/config/routes.rb must stay present.
+  def draw_dummy_routes_with(&extra)
+    Rails.application.routes.draw do
+      instance_exec(&extra)
+
+      root "blog#index"
+      bunko_collection :blog
+      bunko_collection :docs
+      bunko_collection :articles
+      bunko_collection :videos
+      bunko_collection :long_reads
+      bunko_collection :all_content
+    end
+  end
 end
diff --git a/test/dummy/app/controllers/legal/pages_controller.rb b/test/dummy/app/controllers/legal/pages_controller.rb
index 33584a3..57570c9 100644
--- a/test/dummy/app/controllers/legal/pages_controller.rb
+++ b/test/dummy/app/controllers/legal/pages_controller.rb
@@ -3,10 +3,17 @@
 module Legal
   class PagesController < ApplicationController
     def show
-      # Extract page slug from request path (not user-controllable params)
-      # This prevents path traversal attacks via query string manipulation
-      # e.g., GET /legal/privacy-policy?page=../../admin/users
-      page_slug = request.path.split("/").reject(&:empty?).last
+      # The page slug comes from the route's defaults (bunko_page sets
+      # defaults: {page: ...}). Route defaults are path parameters, which
+      # take precedence over query string params in Rails, so
+      # e.g. GET /legal/privacy-policy?page=../../admin/users cannot
+      # override the slug.
+      page_slug = params[:page].to_s
+
+      # Format guard in case this action is wired up without a :page default
+      unless page_slug.match?(/\A[a-z0-9-]+\z/)
+        raise ActiveRecord::RecordNotFound, "Page not found"
+      end
 
       @post = Post.published.find_by(
         post_type: PostType.find_by(name: "pages"),