diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-publish.yml b/.github/workflows/release-publish.yml
index 8e25410..d499a78 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release-publish.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-publish.yml
@@ -274,6 +274,14 @@ jobs:
             echo "Publishing ${dir}"
             publish_one "${dir%/}"
           done
+          # The meta publish runs its prepublishOnly hook ON PURPOSE — unlike
+          # sdk-publish it must NOT use --ignore-scripts. `napi prepublish`
+          # injects the per-platform optionalDependencies (absent from the
+          # committed package.json) and copies the addons; skipping it ships a
+          # meta with no optionalDependencies and no native binary for
+          # consumers. The immutable-Release write that hook used to attempt is
+          # disabled at its source via `--no-gh-release` in the prepublishOnly
+          # script (crates/akua-napi/package.json).
           echo "Publishing meta @akua-dev/native"
           publish_one crates/akua-napi
 
diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index 64613ed..61a0dc7 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ That's it. akua does **not** specify `App`, `Environment`, `Cluster`, `Secret`,
 
 **Embedded-engine builds + feature wiring** (these cost real time when missed): the engine wasm assets (`crates/{helm,kustomize}-engine-wasm/assets/*.wasm`) are **gitignored** — a fresh clone or `git worktree` can't compile `akua-core` until `task build:engines` runs (or you copy the built assets in). The Go engine source (`crates/helm-engine-wasm/go-src/`) rebuilds via `task build:helm-engine-wasm` (Go→wasip1) — a *different* artifact from the Rust render-worker's `task build:render-worker`; when you change Go engine code, rebuild the engine, not the worker. And a new `akua-core` feature is **dead in the shipped binary/SDK** unless it's added to the `akua-core` dep `features = [...]` in **both** `crates/akua-cli/Cargo.toml` and `crates/akua-napi/Cargo.toml` — otherwise it silently compiles to its `#[cfg(not(feature))]` stub there even though `cargo test -p akua-core --features …` passes.
 
-**Releases are tag-triggered and expensive — batch them.** A pushed `v*` tag fires the full build matrix (Windows + macOS jobs dominate at ~30min and can't be self-hosted), npm publishing, and container publishing. Accumulate fixes on `main` and cut **one** tag when a human explicitly asks — never tag per change/chunk. The release derives its version from the tag (`scripts/set-cargo-version.sh` + a smoke-test guard asserting `akua -V == tag`); the committed `Cargo.toml` version is a dev placeholder, so don't expect hand-bumping it to affect a release. Tags are immutable: never delete and re-push one. Follow [docs/releasing.md](docs/releasing.md) for the release and fail-closed recovery contract.
+**Releases are tag-triggered and expensive — batch them.** A pushed `v*` tag fires the full build matrix (Windows + macOS jobs dominate at ~30min and can't be self-hosted), npm publishing, and container publishing. Accumulate fixes on `main` and cut **one** tag when a human explicitly asks — never tag per change/chunk. The release derives its version from the tag (`scripts/set-cargo-version.sh` + a smoke-test guard asserting `akua -V == tag`); the committed `Cargo.toml` version is a dev placeholder, so don't expect hand-bumping it to affect a release. Tags are immutable: never delete and re-push one. The `@akua-dev/native` publish must not use `--ignore-scripts`; see [docs/releasing.md](docs/releasing.md) for the release contract and fail-closed recovery procedure.
 
 **Project domain is `akua.dev`.** Reverse-DNS namespaces (OCI annotations, Java-style package roots, anything following the `org.kcllang.*` shape) use **`dev.akua.*`** — *not* `org.akua.*`. The npm scope is `@akua-dev` because npm scopes have to be unique on the registry and bare `@akua` was taken; the scope name doesn't follow the reverse-DNS rule.
 
diff --git a/crates/akua-napi/package.json b/crates/akua-napi/package.json
index e6dcbba..b7b2cda 100644
--- a/crates/akua-napi/package.json
+++ b/crates/akua-napi/package.json
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@
 	"scripts": {
 		"build": "napi build --platform --release",
 		"build:debug": "napi build --platform",
-		"prepublishOnly": "napi prepublish -t npm",
+		"prepublishOnly": "napi prepublish -t npm --no-gh-release",
 		"artifacts": "napi artifacts",
 		"version": "napi version"
 	},
diff --git a/docs/releasing.md b/docs/releasing.md
index 83fc7d0..c17db49 100644
--- a/docs/releasing.md
+++ b/docs/releasing.md
@@ -25,6 +25,13 @@ prerelease, and do not update the container's `latest` tag.
 Do not delete and re-push a release tag. If a tagged run fails, use the SHA-bound
 recovery path below after correcting and reviewing the workflow on `main`.
 
+The `@akua-dev/native` meta-package must publish with lifecycle scripts enabled. Its
+`prepublishOnly` hook runs `napi prepublish -t npm --no-gh-release`: `napi prepublish`
+injects the generated per-platform `optionalDependencies` and copies the native
+addons into the package, while `--no-gh-release` prevents the hook from uploading
+assets to the immutable GitHub Release. Do not add `--ignore-scripts` to the native
+publish; that flag is only valid for the separately staged SDK publish.
+
 ## npm trusted publisher contract
 
 npm trusted-publisher configuration is external registry state. Source code can
diff --git a/scripts/check-release-workflows.sh b/scripts/check-release-workflows.sh
index ad7e9bc..8b8d290 100644
--- a/scripts/check-release-workflows.sh
+++ b/scripts/check-release-workflows.sh
@@ -15,6 +15,22 @@ line_in_job() {
 	' "$file"
 }
 
+command_line_in_job() {
+	local file="$1"
+	local job="$2"
+	local pattern="$3"
+
+	awk -v job="$job" -v pattern="$pattern" '
+		$0 ~ "^  " job ":$" { in_job = 1; next }
+		in_job && $0 ~ /^  [A-Za-z0-9_-]+:$/ { exit }
+		in_job {
+			command = $0
+			sub(/^[[:space:]]+/, "", command)
+			if (command !~ /^#/ && index(command, pattern)) { print NR; exit }
+		}
+	' "$file"
+}
+
 assert_before() {
 	local file="$1"
 	local job="$2"
@@ -46,13 +62,26 @@ assert_job_contains() {
 	local pattern="$3"
 	local line
 
-	line="$(line_in_job "$file" "$job" "$pattern")"
+	line="$(command_line_in_job "$file" "$job" "$pattern")"
 	if [[ -z "$line" ]]; then
 		echo "ERROR: $file job '$job' is missing '$pattern'" >&2
 		exit 1
 	fi
 }
 
+assert_job_excludes() {
+	local file="$1"
+	local job="$2"
+	local pattern="$3"
+	local line
+
+	line="$(command_line_in_job "$file" "$job" "$pattern")"
+	if [[ -n "$line" ]]; then
+		echo "ERROR: $file job '$job' still contains forbidden text '$pattern'" >&2
+		exit 1
+	fi
+}
+
 assert_file_contains() {
 	local file="$1"
 	local pattern="$2"
@@ -273,6 +302,14 @@ assert_before ".github/workflows/release-publish.yml" \
 	"native-publish" \
 	"publish_one crates/akua-native-engines-npm" \
 	"publish_one crates/akua-napi"
+if [[ "$(jq -r '.scripts.prepublishOnly' crates/akua-napi/package.json)" != \
+	"napi prepublish -t npm --no-gh-release" ]]; then
+	echo "ERROR: native meta prepublish must preserve package injection while disabling GitHub Release uploads" >&2
+	exit 1
+fi
+assert_job_excludes ".github/workflows/release-publish.yml" \
+	"native-publish" \
+	"--ignore-scripts"
 assert_job_contains ".github/workflows/release-publish.yml" \
 	"sdk-publish" \
 	"needs: [detect-version, native-publish]"