diff --git a/.github/release.yml b/.github/release.yml
index 6131b608..1c58aaf0 100644
--- a/.github/release.yml
+++ b/.github/release.yml
@@ -7,7 +7,8 @@
 # Notes are built per merged PR and categorized by the PR's LABELS, which is
 # robust to this repo's squash-merge + free-form PR titles (commit-title regexes
 # would miss most of them). A PR lands in the FIRST category whose label it
-# carries; anything unlabeled falls through to "Other Changes".
+# carries; anything not matched by an earlier category (unlabeled, or labeled
+# but uncategorized) falls through to the "Other Changes" catch-all.
 changelog:
   exclude:
     labels:
diff --git a/RELEASE_NOTES.md b/RELEASE_NOTES.md
index b1d41b2e..16c3e028 100644
--- a/RELEASE_NOTES.md
+++ b/RELEASE_NOTES.md
@@ -1,16 +1,14 @@
-# Release Notes Template
+# Release Notes
 
-This file is a template for release notes. When running the GitHub Actions workflow, this file will be replaced with auto-generated content.
+Generated by GitHub, not from this file (nothing in the release pipeline reads
+it). GoReleaser uses `changelog.use: github-native`, so notes come from GitHub's
+API, categorized by PR **label** via [`.github/release.yml`](.github/release.yml):
+Features (`enhancement`), Bug Fixes (`bug`), Documentation (`documentation`),
+Other (anything not matched above), excluded (`automated`/bots/etc). Label your PR to influence
+them — title wording is ignored.
 
-## CLI Binaries
+Build binaries locally without publishing:
 
-Download the appropriate archive for your platform from the release assets.
-
-## For Local Testing
-
-When running GoReleaser locally, use:
 ```bash
 goreleaser release --clean --skip=validate --skip=publish --snapshot
 ```
-
-The `--snapshot` flag will skip release creation and just build the binaries.
diff --git a/docs/development/setup/local-development.md b/docs/development/setup/local-development.md
index c19d97e6..d6fd48ad 100644
--- a/docs/development/setup/local-development.md
+++ b/docs/development/setup/local-development.md
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ Unit tests are colocated as `*_test.go` next to the code they cover.
 # Build for your current platform (produces openframe-<os>-<arch>)
 make build
 
-# Build for all platforms
+# Cross-compile all six release platforms (matches .goreleaser.yml)
 make build-all
 
 # Or build directly
@@ -84,11 +84,14 @@ k3d cluster delete openframe-test
 ## Lint and Format
 
 ```bash
-make lint          # golangci-lint run ./...
-gofmt -w .
-goimports -w .
+make fmt     # gofmt -w over the tree
+make vet     # go vet ./...
+make lint    # golangci-lint run ./...
+make tidy    # fail if `go mod tidy` would change go.mod/go.sum
 ```
 
+These mirror the CI gates — run them before pushing.
+
 ## Development Workflow
 
 ```bash
@@ -96,6 +99,7 @@ goimports -w .
 git fetch upstream && git checkout main && git merge upstream/main
 
 # Create a branch, make changes, then before committing:
+make fmt vet tidy
 make test
 make lint