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+# Releasing agentling
+
+The pipeline is small: bump the version, validate, dry-run on TestPyPI, publish
+to PyPI, then tag and cut a GitHub release. Versions on PyPI and TestPyPI are
+**permanent and non-reusable**, which is why the dry run matters.
+
+## 1. Prepare
+
+- [ ] On `main`, working tree clean (release from `main` after the PR merges).
+- [ ] Bump `version` in `pyproject.toml`.
+- [ ] Add a `## [x.y.z]` section to `CHANGELOG.md`.
+- [ ] The gate is green:
+
+  ```bash
+  uv run pytest
+  uv run ruff check src tests examples
+  uv run ruff format --check src tests examples
+  uv run mypy src tests examples
+  ```
+
+## 2. Build and write the release notes
+
+```bash
+rm -rf dist && uv build
+uv run --with twine twine check dist/*
+```
+
+Write the version's summary once and reuse it for the tag and the GitHub
+release. Keep it in step with the `CHANGELOG.md` entry:
+
+```bash
+cat > /tmp/vX.Y.Z-notes.md <<'EOF'
+vX.Y.Z — <one-line theme>
+
+<short paragraph>
+
+Highlights:
+- ...
+
+Full changelog: CHANGELOG.md
+EOF
+```
+
+## 3. Handle the token securely
+
+Never put a token on the command line or in a file (shell and git history are
+forever). Read it into an env var at a silent prompt; uv reads
+`UV_PUBLISH_TOKEN`:
+
+```bash
+read -rs UV_PUBLISH_TOKEN && export UV_PUBLISH_TOKEN
+# Verify without revealing it (length + harmless prefix only):
+echo "length: ${#UV_PUBLISH_TOKEN} | prefix: ${UV_PUBLISH_TOKEN:0:5}"   # want ~150-200 and 'pypi-'
+```
+
+TestPyPI and PyPI use **separate** tokens. `unset UV_PUBLISH_TOKEN` before
+switching between them, and again when done. The first-ever upload of a new
+project needs an account-scoped token; use a project-scoped token afterward.
+
+## 4. Dry run on TestPyPI
+
+```bash
+uv publish --publish-url https://test.pypi.org/legacy/
+```
+
+Install it back in a throwaway environment. agentling has real dependencies, so
+`--extra-index-url` is required (TestPyPI does not host them):
+
+```bash
+uv venv /tmp/testpypi
+uv pip install --python /tmp/testpypi \
+  --index-url https://test.pypi.org/simple/ \
+  --extra-index-url https://pypi.org/simple/ \
+  agentling
+/tmp/testpypi/bin/python -c "import agentling; print(agentling.__version__)"
+unset UV_PUBLISH_TOKEN && rm -rf /tmp/testpypi
+```
+
+## 5. Publish to PyPI
+
+```bash
+read -rs UV_PUBLISH_TOKEN && export UV_PUBLISH_TOKEN   # PyPI token this time
+uv publish                                             # default target is real PyPI
+unset UV_PUBLISH_TOKEN
+```
+
+Confirm a clean-environment install:
+
+```bash
+uv venv /tmp/pypi
+uv pip install --python /tmp/pypi agentling
+/tmp/pypi/bin/python -c "import agentling; print(agentling.__version__)"
+rm -rf /tmp/pypi
+```
+
+## 6. Tag and release
+
+Use an **annotated** tag so the tag itself carries the summary (`git show
+vX.Y.Z` prints it), and reuse the same notes file for the GitHub release:
+
+```bash
+git tag -a vX.Y.Z -F /tmp/vX.Y.Z-notes.md
+git push origin vX.Y.Z                                 # tags are not pushed by a normal push
+gh release create vX.Y.Z --title "vX.Y.Z" --notes-file /tmp/vX.Y.Z-notes.md
+```
+
+## Checklist
+
+- [ ] Version bumped in `pyproject.toml`
+- [ ] `CHANGELOG.md` updated
+- [ ] Gate green; `uv build` + `twine check` pass
+- [ ] TestPyPI dry run installs and imports
+- [ ] Published to PyPI; installs from a clean environment
+- [ ] Annotated tag pushed; GitHub release created
+- [ ] `UV_PUBLISH_TOKEN` unset