diff --git a/config/build/env_vars_release.yaml b/config/build/env_vars_release.yaml
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+# Per-script environment variable configuration for the RELEASE-FIDELITY
+# validation run (Heart's workspace-validation.yml, mode=release — the M3
+# wheel-based release-fidelity path). Distinct from env_vars.yaml, which is the
+# `smoke` profile used by the per-PR CI gate.
+#
+# The `release` profile runs REAL searches (PYAUTO_TEST_MODE="0" — each
+# script's own n_like_max caps keep this bounded) at full resolution.
+# Spec + acceptance table: PyAutoHeart/docs/release_validation.md.
+#
+# "defaults" are applied to every script on top of the inherited environment.
+# Every var this profile cares about is given an EXPLICIT value in "defaults"
+# (not left absent) — the runner only ever *sets* keys it's given, it never
+# clears unrelated inherited env vars, so an absent key silently falls through
+# to whatever the calling process already had (a leftover smoke-mode "1" from
+# an earlier step, a developer's local shell, ...). Pinning everything here
+# — including PYAUTO_SMALL_DATASETS="0" / PYAUTO_FAST_PLOTS="0" for full-res,
+# real plots — makes the profile self-contained regardless of the caller's
+# environment.
+#
+# "overrides" then only ever `set:` a var to flip it away from this profile's
+# own default for specific scripts — never `unset:` a var that "defaults"
+# already pins, since unsetting just re-exposes the same inherited-env gap
+# `defaults` exists to close. In practice that leaves PYAUTO_DISABLE_JAX as
+# the only var any override here still needs to touch (PYAUTO_TEST_MODE="0"
+# and the full-res/real-plot defaults already satisfy every other unset the
+# smoke profile's env_vars.yaml needs).
+#
+# Pattern convention (same as no_run.yaml):
+#   - Patterns containing '/' do a substring match against the file path
+#     including extension (so patterns may end in `.py` to anchor against
+#     the script form, e.g. `imaging/visualization.py` matches only the
+#     `.py` script, not `imaging/visualization_jax.py`).
+#   - Patterns without '/' match the file stem exactly.
+
+defaults:
+  PYAUTO_TEST_MODE: "0"                # real searches (each script caps its own n_like_max)
+  PYAUTO_SMALL_DATASETS: "0"           # full-res grids/masks (release fidelity, not smoke)
+  PYAUTO_FAST_PLOTS: "0"               # real plots (release fidelity, not smoke)
+  PYAUTO_DISABLE_JAX: "1"              # force use_jax=False by default; JAX-specific folders re-enable below
+  PYAUTO_SKIP_WORKSPACE_VERSION_CHECK: "1"  # TestPyPI dev version won't match the workspace pin
+  JAX_ENABLE_X64: "True"               # enable 64-bit precision in JAX
+  NUMBA_CACHE_DIR: "/tmp/numba_cache"   # writable cache dir for numba
+  MPLCONFIGDIR: "/tmp/matplotlib"       # writable config dir for matplotlib
+
+overrides:
+  # JAX likelihood/gradient scripts test JIT compilation — need JAX enabled
+  # (already full-res/real-plots by default above).
+  - pattern: "jax_likelihood_functions/"
+    set: { PYAUTO_DISABLE_JAX: "0" }
+  - pattern: "jax_grad/"
+    set: { PYAUTO_DISABLE_JAX: "0" }
+  # visualization_jax scripts (imaging/interferometer/ellipse/quantity) and
+  # modeling_visualization_jit scripts (imaging/interferometer/ellipse)
+  # exercise the jit-cached fit_for_visualization path and must run with JAX
+  # enabled — PYAUTO_DISABLE_JAX="1" would silently flip use_jax flags off.
+  # PYAUTO_TEST_MODE="0" (real Nautilus run) and full-res/real-plots are
+  # already this profile's defaults.
+  - pattern: "imaging/visualization_jax"
+    set: { PYAUTO_DISABLE_JAX: "0" }
+  - pattern: "ellipse/visualization_jax"
+    set: { PYAUTO_DISABLE_JAX: "0" }
+  - pattern: "ellipse/modeling_visualization_jit"
+    set: { PYAUTO_DISABLE_JAX: "0" }
+  - pattern: "imaging/modeling_visualization_jit"
+    set: { PYAUTO_DISABLE_JAX: "0" }
+  - pattern: "interferometer/visualization_jax"
+    set: { PYAUTO_DISABLE_JAX: "0" }
+  - pattern: "interferometer/modeling_visualization_jit"
+    set: { PYAUTO_DISABLE_JAX: "0" }
+  - pattern: "quantity/visualization_jax"
+    set: { PYAUTO_DISABLE_JAX: "0" }