diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 93cba94..487c18c 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -18,11 +18,14 @@ This website is built from the `HEAD` of the `main` branch of the theme reposito
 Code changes to `main` that are *not* in the latest release:
 
 - Added: `nav_enabled` site, layout, and page-level variable to selectively show or hide the side/mobile menu by [@kevinlin1] in [#1441]. The minimal layout was reimplemented using this feature, and now has support for the site-wide search bar and auxiliary links.
+- Fixed: protect `search-data.json` file from front matter default for layout by [@mattxwang] in [#1468]
 
 Docs changes made since the latest release:
 
 - Docs: Explained the `nav_enabled` variables as an alternative to using the minimal layout [@kevinlin1] in [#1441].
 
+[#1468]: https://github.com/just-the-docs/just-the-docs/pull/1468
+
 ## Release v0.8.2
 
 Hi everyone! This patch release fixes a bug where a default layout with unrestricted `scope` (`path: ""`) breaks JavaScript functionality. Users who do not use a default layout with unrestricted `scope` should not be affected. This should be a straightforward upgrade for all users. Thank you to [@pdmosses] for triaging and fixing the bug!
diff --git a/assets/js/zzzz-search-data.json b/assets/js/zzzz-search-data.json
index 370dbe5..a04b791 100644
--- a/assets/js/zzzz-search-data.json
+++ b/assets/js/zzzz-search-data.json
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 ---
+layout: null
 permalink: /assets/js/search-data.json
 ---
 {
diff --git a/lib/tasks/search.rake b/lib/tasks/search.rake
index d1f9fd4..38b3717 100644
--- a/lib/tasks/search.rake
+++ b/lib/tasks/search.rake
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ namespace :search do
 
     File.open('assets/js/zzzz-search-data.json', 'w') do |f|
       f.puts '---
+layout: null
 permalink: /assets/js/search-data.json
 ---
 {