diff --git a/.github/workflows/back-merge.yml b/.github/workflows/back-merge.yml
index 9bdf4af0..9bb593a3 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/back-merge.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/back-merge.yml
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ name: Back-merge
 # After a release on main, sync main back into next so its changelog, manifest,
 # and version bumps do not drift. No conflict -> push next directly (the App is
 # an "always" bypass actor on next). Conflict -> open a PR for a human.
+# Any other failure -> open a tracking issue so the drift is never silent.
 
 on:
   release:
@@ -50,3 +51,17 @@ jobs:
               --body "Automated back-merge hit conflicts (CHANGELOG / manifest / version files). Resolve manually, then merge into next." \
               --repo "${{ github.repository }}"
           fi
+
+      # Never let a back-merge fail silently: a rejected push or any other error
+      # opens a tracking issue so a human resyncs main into next.
+      - name: Open tracking issue on failure
+        if: failure()
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ steps.app-token.outputs.token }}
+        run: |
+          gh issue create \
+            --repo "${{ github.repository }}" \
+            --title "Back-merge main into next failed (run ${{ github.run_id }})" \
+            --label "back-merge-failed" \
+            --body "The automated back-merge of \`main\` into \`next\` failed, so \`next\` is drifting from the latest release. Resync manually by opening a PR from \`main\` into \`next\`. Run: ${{ github.server_url }}/${{ github.repository }}/actions/runs/${{ github.run_id }}" \
+          || echo "issue creation failed; check the run logs"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/promote.yml b/.github/workflows/promote.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..57aac7bc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/promote.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+name: Promote next to main
+
+# One intuitive button to ship `next` to `main` the RIGHT way: a rebase-merge
+# that preserves every conventional commit, so commitlint passes per commit and
+# release-please reads the scopes to bump each plugin. A squash here collapses
+# the commits into one (often non-conventional) message and breaks both, which
+# is exactly the failure this workflow prevents.
+#
+# Run it from the Actions tab (Run workflow). It opens the next -> main PR and
+# enables rebase auto-merge; CI gates it, then it merges itself.
+
+on:
+  workflow_dispatch:
+
+concurrency:
+  group: promote
+  cancel-in-progress: false
+
+permissions: {}
+
+jobs:
+  promote:
+    name: Open and rebase-merge next into main
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/create-github-app-token@bcd2ba49218906704ab6c1aa796996da409d3eb1 # v3.2.0
+        id: app-token
+        with:
+          app-id: ${{ secrets.AIDD_BOT_APP_ID }}
+          private-key: ${{ secrets.AIDD_BOT_PRIVATE_KEY }}
+
+      - name: Open or reuse the promote PR, enable rebase auto-merge
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ steps.app-token.outputs.token }}
+          REPO: ${{ github.repository }}
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          # Reuse an open next -> main PR if one exists, else open one with a
+          # conventional, squash-safe title.
+          PR=$(gh pr list --repo "$REPO" --base main --head next --state open --json number --jq '.[0].number' || true)
+          if [ -z "$PR" ]; then
+            PR=$(gh pr create --repo "$REPO" --base main --head next \
+              --title "chore: promote next to main" \
+              --body "Automated promotion of \`next\` to \`main\`. Merged by **rebase** to preserve conventional commits for release-please. Do not squash." \
+              | grep -oE '[0-9]+$')
+          fi
+          echo "Promote PR: #$PR"
+          # Rebase auto-merge: GitHub merges it once CI is green. Never squash.
+          gh pr merge "$PR" --repo "$REPO" --rebase --auto
diff --git a/.release-please-manifest.json b/.release-please-manifest.json
index b5092644..c2f81617 100644
--- a/.release-please-manifest.json
+++ b/.release-please-manifest.json
@@ -6,5 +6,5 @@
   "plugins/aidd-pm": "2.1.0",
   "plugins/aidd-orchestrator": "2.1.0",
   "plugins/aidd-refine": "2.1.0",
-  "plugins/aidd-ui": "4.0.0"
+  "plugins/aidd-ui": "0.1.0-alpha.0"
 }
diff --git a/docs/RELEASE.md b/docs/RELEASE.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..2ec5e5d9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/RELEASE.md
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+# Releasing
+
+The release pipeline is automated. A human (or an AI agent) only triggers the
+promotion; everything after that runs itself.
+
+## The flow
+
+```
+next  --(promote)-->  main  --(release-please)-->  version PR --(auto-merge)--> tags + GitHub releases
+                       |
+                       '--(back-merge)--> next   (keeps next in sync)
+```
+
+1. **Work lands on `next`** via normal PRs (rebase or squash into `next`, your choice).
+2. **Promote `next` to `main`.** Run the **Promote next to main** workflow (Actions tab -> Run workflow). It opens a `next -> main` PR and **rebase-merges** it.
+3. **release-please** runs on the push to `main`, opens a version PR (bumps + changelogs), and the CI **auto-merges that version PR** (`--squash --admin`). No human needed.
+4. **Tags and GitHub releases** are published per package and for the root.
+5. **Back-merge** fires on `release: published` and syncs `main` back into `next` so the changelog and version files do not drift.
+
+## The one rule: promote with REBASE, never squash
+
+`next -> main` carries many conventional commits (`feat(scope):`, `fix(scope):`).
+Two things depend on them:
+
+- **commitlint** checks every commit message. A squash collapses them into one
+  subject taken from the PR title; if that title is not a valid conventional
+  type (e.g. `release:`), commitlint fails on `main` and **release-please is
+  skipped** -- no release happens.
+- **release-please** reads each commit's type and scope to bump the right plugin
+  by the right amount. A squash hides them, so it cannot compute the versions.
+
+So always use the **Promote** workflow (it rebase-merges). If you merge by hand,
+use **Rebase and merge**, never **Squash**. The version PR that release-please
+opens is its own single commit and is fine to squash -- that one is automated.
+
+## If a release breaks (recovery)
+
+Symptom: after a promote, `main` CI is red on **Commitlint** and **Release
+Please** is skipped -- usually a squashed, non-conventional promote commit.
+
+1. An admin temporarily disables the `main protection` ruleset (Settings ->
+   Rules), force-pushes `main` back to the commit before the bad merge, then
+   re-enables the ruleset.
+2. Re-run the **Promote** workflow (rebase). release-please then cuts the
+   release normally.
+
+## Pinning a specific version
+
+To force a package to a chosen version on the next cut, set `release-as` for it
+in `release-please-config.json` (deterministic, overrides any `Release-As:`
+commit footer). Remove the pin afterwards so automatic bumps resume.
+
+## Back-merge failures
+
+If the back-merge cannot push `next`, it opens an issue labelled
+`back-merge-failed`. Resync by opening a `main -> next` PR. The root cause is the
+bot app needing an `always` bypass on the `next` ruleset; align that and the
+back-merge runs unattended.
diff --git a/plugins/aidd-ui/.claude-plugin/plugin.json b/plugins/aidd-ui/.claude-plugin/plugin.json
index 47026e16..bbb6bd9d 100644
--- a/plugins/aidd-ui/.claude-plugin/plugin.json
+++ b/plugins/aidd-ui/.claude-plugin/plugin.json
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "$schema": "https://json.schemastore.org/claude-code-plugin-manifest.json",
   "name": "aidd-ui",
-  "version": "4.0.0",
+  "version": "0.1.0-alpha.0",
   "description": "ALPHA, not ready for use. UI and UX concern for the AI-Driven Development framework. Use when the user wants to design, review, or improve a frontend interface. Do NOT use for backend-only or non-UI tasks.",
   "author": {
     "name": "AI-Driven Dev",
diff --git a/plugins/aidd-ui/CHANGELOG.md b/plugins/aidd-ui/CHANGELOG.md
index 573abc50..825c32f0 100644
--- a/plugins/aidd-ui/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/plugins/aidd-ui/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,19 +1 @@
 # Changelog
-
-## [4.0.0](https://github.com/ai-driven-dev/framework/compare/aidd-ui-v0.1.0-alpha.0...aidd-ui-v4.0.0) (2026-06-30)
-
-
-### Features
-
-* **aidd-ui:** scaffold alpha plugin (0.1.0-alpha.0) ([#319](https://github.com/ai-driven-dev/framework/issues/319)) ([a56792a](https://github.com/ai-driven-dev/framework/commit/a56792afb6584ba17115011721823a2439fb7759))
-
-
-### Miscellaneous
-
-* **framework:** release as 4.0.0 ([5b0fc9d](https://github.com/ai-driven-dev/framework/commit/5b0fc9d9116e37abe7ef5dbb5d06438f607475e8))
-* **framework:** trigger ci recheck after history rewrite ([391760e](https://github.com/ai-driven-dev/framework/commit/391760e19eb69fe80e098c3aefc3c527cda2169a))
-
-
-### Refactoring
-
-* conform remaining skills to the authoring contract ([#334](https://github.com/ai-driven-dev/framework/issues/334)) ([dcc232a](https://github.com/ai-driven-dev/framework/commit/dcc232a5a7a7bcdf0c477b36399fd4d412685022))
diff --git a/release-please-config.json b/release-please-config.json
index 85d6d3ac..1d887fb4 100644
--- a/release-please-config.json
+++ b/release-please-config.json
@@ -85,6 +85,7 @@
     },
     "plugins/aidd-ui": {
       "package-name": "aidd-ui",
+      "release-as": "0.1.0-alpha.0",
       "extra-files": [
         {
           "type": "json",