diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index f543719..3499e82 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -7,6 +7,12 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+## [0.3.12] - 2026-09-20
+
+### Fixed
+
+- Make `operator` optional for encoded-key item deletion so user tokens can use the token owner, matching ordinary-key deletion. Consumer tokens still require an explicit operator.
+
 ## [0.3.11] - 2026-08-28
 
 ### Added
diff --git a/apollo-openapi.yaml b/apollo-openapi.yaml
index 45f420b..90a7757 100644
--- a/apollo-openapi.yaml
+++ b/apollo-openapi.yaml
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ info:
     <pre><code class="language-bash">curl -X GET "http://localhost:8070/openapi/v1/apps" \
     -H "Authorization: your_token_here"</code></pre>
 
-  version: 0.3.11
+  version: 0.3.12
 security:
   - ApiKeyAuth: []
 tags:
@@ -1336,8 +1336,8 @@ paths:
             type: string
         - name: operator
           in: query
-          description: ''
-          required: true
+          description: 操作人用户名；user-token 模式使用 token 所属用户，consumer-token 模式必须提供
+          required: false
           schema:
             type: string
       responses:
diff --git a/tests/test_user_token_contract.py b/tests/test_user_token_contract.py
index 9805471..9f67690 100644
--- a/tests/test_user_token_contract.py
+++ b/tests/test_user_token_contract.py
@@ -17,6 +17,20 @@ def setUp(self):
   def _load_spec(self, spec_file):
     return yaml.safe_load((self.repo_root / spec_file).read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
 
+  def test_plain_and_encoded_item_delete_allow_token_owner_as_operator(self):
+    for spec_file in SPEC_FILES:
+      spec = self._load_spec(spec_file)
+      for resource in ("items", "encodedItems"):
+        path = ("/openapi/v1/envs/{env}/apps/{appId}/clusters/{clusterName}"
+                "/namespaces/{namespaceName}/" + resource + "/{key}")
+        with self.subTest(spec=spec_file, resource=resource):
+          operation = spec["paths"][path]["delete"]
+          operator = next(parameter for parameter in operation["parameters"]
+                          if parameter["name"] == "operator")
+          self.assertEqual("query", operator["in"])
+          self.assertFalse(operator.get("required", False))
+          self.assertEqual("string", operator["schema"]["type"])
+
   def test_user_token_management_paths_use_generated_contract(self):
     for spec_file in SPEC_FILES:
       spec = self._load_spec(spec_file)