diff --git a/.github/workflows/dep-check.yml b/.github/workflows/dep-check.yml
index 87f48ba..eec5ed5 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/dep-check.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/dep-check.yml
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ on:
           TOOL is a semver artifact, so a behaviour change is a version bump somebody reviewed.
           The pin lives here rather than in eleven callers.
         type: string
-        default: '0.11.0'
+        default: '0.11.1'
       run-floor-check:
         description: |
           Also run the suite against the BOTTOM of every declared sibling range, not only
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index ff2a0ed..9778996 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -8,6 +8,24 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+
+## [0.11.1] - 2026-09-07
+
+### Fixed
+
+- **A `workspace:` range no longer reads as a moved contract (usetheokit/theokit#659).** 0.11.0
+  compared the workspace manifest against the published one key by key, and `pnpm pack` rewrites
+  `workspace:^` to the version it resolves to — so the two differ on that key in EVERY package that
+  depends on a sibling. `contractMoved` was therefore true almost everywhere, handing a local tarball
+  to nearly every sibling and undoing the narrowness the comparison exists to keep. Measured on the
+  `usetheokit/theokit` workspace, where three packages were substituted with no contract having moved.
+
+  A local protocol (`workspace:`, `link:`, `file:`, `portal:`) is a placeholder rather than a
+  contract, and whether the version it resolves to is published is already the question the
+  unpublished branch answers. Those keys are skipped.
+
+  0.11.0 is published and should not be used: its substitution is broad where it was meant to be
+  narrow. The failure it causes is a weaker check, never a false block.
 ## [0.11.0] - 2026-09-07
 
 ### Fixed
diff --git a/packages/dep-check/package.json b/packages/dep-check/package.json
index 9a1d42e..49764af 100644
--- a/packages/dep-check/package.json
+++ b/packages/dep-check/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@theokit/dep-check",
-  "version": "0.11.0",
+  "version": "0.11.1",
   "description": "The ecosystem dependency gate: does a package's declared range still describe the sibling it ships against? Four checks, kept apart by what they need to answer and therefore by whether they may fail a build.",
   "type": "module",
   "engines": {
diff --git a/packages/dep-check/src/checks.mjs b/packages/dep-check/src/checks.mjs
index b0d0499..b9000ff 100644
--- a/packages/dep-check/src/checks.mjs
+++ b/packages/dep-check/src/checks.mjs
@@ -333,7 +333,16 @@ function contractMoved(local, publishedManifest) {
 
 function sameRanges(a = {}, b = {}) {
   const keys = new Set([...Object.keys(a), ...Object.keys(b)]);
-  for (const k of keys) if (a[k] !== b[k]) return false;
+  for (const k of keys) {
+    // A local protocol is a PLACEHOLDER, not a contract. `pnpm pack` rewrites `workspace:^` to the
+    // version it resolves to, so the workspace manifest and the published one differ on that key in
+    // every package that depends on a sibling. Comparing them raw made `contractMoved` true almost
+    // everywhere, which hands a local tarball to almost everything and undoes the narrowness this
+    // comparison exists to keep. Whether the resolved version is published is already the question
+    // the branch above answers.
+    if (LOCAL_PROTOCOL.test(a[k] ?? "") || LOCAL_PROTOCOL.test(b[k] ?? "")) continue;
+    if (a[k] !== b[k]) return false;
+  }
   return true;
 }
 
diff --git a/packages/dep-check/test/checks.test.mjs b/packages/dep-check/test/checks.test.mjs
index 5aee5ca..202c79c 100644
--- a/packages/dep-check/test/checks.test.mjs
+++ b/packages/dep-check/test/checks.test.mjs
@@ -287,6 +287,27 @@ describe("unpublishedSiblings — what check D cannot get from the registry yet"
     expect(out[0].reason).toBe("contract-moved");
   });
 
+  it("test_a_workspace_protocol_range_is_not_a_moved_contract", () => {
+    // The workspace manifest says `workspace:^` and the published one says the version pnpm
+    // rewrote it to at pack time. Comparing those two raw strings finds a difference in EVERY
+    // package that depends on a sibling, which would hand a local tarball to almost everything and
+    // undo the narrowness the test above protects. A local protocol is a placeholder, not a
+    // contract — the version it resolves to is already the `unpublished` branch's job.
+    const ws = [
+      {
+        name: "@theokit/agents",
+        version: "13.0.0",
+        dir: "/w/packages/agents",
+        manifest: { dependencies: { "@theokit/presenter": "workspace:^", "@theokit/sdk": "^5.0.0" } },
+      },
+    ];
+    const pub = { "@theokit/agents": ["13.0.0"] };
+    const manifests = {
+      "@theokit/agents": { "13.0.0": { dependencies: { "@theokit/presenter": "0.9.0", "@theokit/sdk": "^5.0.0" } } },
+    };
+    expect(unpublishedSiblings({ references: [{ dep: "@theokit/agents" }], workspace: ws, published: pub, manifests })).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
   it("test_leaves_a_published_version_alone_when_the_local_contract_is_identical", () => {
     // The narrowness is the point (#659). Substituting whenever a package is in the workspace would
     // stop testing what a consumer resolves — the reason the skip exists at all. Only a contract