diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index 790ae7b..a270d63 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -8,10 +8,6 @@ on:
       version:
         description: 'Version to release (no leading v, e.g. 0.1.0)'
         required: true
-      npm_otp:
-        description: 'npm OTP (6-digit, optional — only needed when 2FA is required)'
-        required: false
-        default: ''
 
 permissions:
   contents: write   # create GitHub Releases + upload assets
@@ -91,48 +87,38 @@ jobs:
           retention-days: 7
 
   publish-npm:
-    name: Publish to npm
+    name: Publish to npm (Trusted Publishing)
     needs: build-binaries
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    # Skip cleanly if NPM_TOKEN isn't configured yet — the release still
-    # produces binaries + a GitHub Release so install.sh works. Re-tag a
-    # patch release once the token is set and this job fires.
-    if: ${{ !cancelled() }}
+    # Publishes via npm Trusted Publishing (OIDC) — no NPM_TOKEN, no 2FA/OTP.
+    # Requires a GitHub-Actions trusted publisher configured on each package at
+    # npmjs.com (org/repo = ashlrai/ashlr-stack, workflow file = release.yml)
+    # and npm >= 11.5.1 (installed below). The workflow-level `id-token: write`
+    # permission supplies the OIDC token npm exchanges for short-lived publish
+    # rights. continue-on-error keeps the GitHub Release flowing even if a
+    # package's trusted publisher isn't configured yet.
+    if: ${{ !cancelled() && needs.build-binaries.result == 'success' }}
     steps:
-      - name: Gate on NPM_TOKEN
-        id: gate
-        run: |
-          if [ -z "${{ secrets.NPM_TOKEN }}" ]; then
-            echo "⚠ NPM_TOKEN not configured — skipping npm publish."
-            echo "  Set it with: gh secret set NPM_TOKEN"
-            echo "  Binaries + GitHub Release will still be produced."
-            echo "enabled=false" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
-          else
-            echo "enabled=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
-          fi
-
-      - if: steps.gate.outputs.enabled == 'true'
-        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
         with:
-          fetch-depth: 0   # scripts/publish.sh uses git tag
+          fetch-depth: 0   # scripts/publish.sh inspects git tags
 
-      - if: steps.gate.outputs.enabled == 'true'
-        uses: oven-sh/setup-bun@v2
+      - uses: oven-sh/setup-bun@v2
         with:
           bun-version: latest
 
-      - if: steps.gate.outputs.enabled == 'true'
-        uses: actions/setup-node@v4
+      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
         with:
-          node-version: '20'
+          node-version: '22'
           registry-url: 'https://registry.npmjs.org/'
 
-      - if: steps.gate.outputs.enabled == 'true'
-        name: Install deps
+      - name: Upgrade npm (Trusted Publishing needs npm >= 11.5.1)
+        run: npm install -g npm@latest
+
+      - name: Install deps
         run: bun install --frozen-lockfile
 
-      - if: steps.gate.outputs.enabled == 'true'
-        name: Resolve version from tag
+      - name: Resolve version from tag
         id: ver
         run: |
           if [ -n "${{ github.event.inputs.version }}" ]; then
@@ -142,41 +128,35 @@ jobs:
             echo "version=${GITHUB_REF_NAME#v}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
           fi
 
-      - if: steps.gate.outputs.enabled == 'true'
-        name: Inject OAuth client IDs
+      - name: Inject OAuth client IDs
         env:
           OAUTH_SUPABASE_CLIENT_ID: ${{ secrets.OAUTH_SUPABASE_CLIENT_ID }}
           OAUTH_GITHUB_CLIENT_ID:   ${{ secrets.OAUTH_GITHUB_CLIENT_ID }}
         run: node scripts/inject-client-ids.mjs
 
-      - if: steps.gate.outputs.enabled == 'true'
-        name: Publish @ashlr/stack-core + @ashlr/stack-mcp + @ashlr/stack
+      - name: Publish @ashlr/stack-core + ashlr-stack-mcp + @ashlr/stack
         id: npm_publish
         continue-on-error: true
+        # No NODE_AUTH_TOKEN — npm detects the GitHub OIDC environment and uses
+        # the per-package trusted publisher. Provenance is attached automatically.
         env:
-          NODE_AUTH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.NPM_TOKEN }}
           NPM_CONFIG_PROVENANCE: 'true'
-          NPM_OTP: ${{ github.event.inputs.npm_otp }}
-        run: |
-          OTP_FLAG=''
-          if [ -n "$NPM_OTP" ]; then
-            OTP_FLAG="--otp=$NPM_OTP"
-          fi
-          bash scripts/publish.sh --version ${{ steps.ver.outputs.version }} --yes $OTP_FLAG
+        run: bash scripts/publish.sh --version ${{ steps.ver.outputs.version }} --yes
 
-      - if: steps.gate.outputs.enabled == 'true' && steps.npm_publish.outcome == 'failure'
-        name: Warn — npm publish failed (likely EOTP)
+      - if: steps.npm_publish.outcome == 'failure'
+        name: Warn — npm publish failed
         run: |
-          echo '::warning title=npm publish failed::npm publish step failed — this is often an OTP/EOTP error. Rotate to an Automation token (no 2FA required) at https://docs.npmjs.com/creating-and-viewing-access-tokens or re-run this workflow with a fresh OTP via the npm_otp input.'
+          echo '::warning title=npm publish failed::Trusted Publishing failed. Confirm each package (@ashlr/stack, @ashlr/stack-core, ashlr-stack-mcp) has a GitHub-Actions trusted publisher at npmjs.com pointing at ashlrai/ashlr-stack with workflow file release.yml, and that npm >= 11.5.1 ran above.'
 
-      - if: always() && steps.gate.outputs.enabled == 'true'
+      - if: always()
         name: Restore env.ts (never commit injected client IDs)
         run: git checkout -- packages/core/src/env.ts || true
 
   create-release:
     name: Create GitHub Release
-    # publish-npm skips gracefully when NPM_TOKEN is absent; binaries alone
-    # are enough to cut a GitHub Release and make install.sh work.
+    # publish-npm is continue-on-error, so even if Trusted Publishing isn't
+    # configured for a package yet, the binaries alone are enough to cut a
+    # GitHub Release and make install.sh work. Gated only on build success.
     needs: [build-binaries, publish-npm]
     if: ${{ !cancelled() && needs.build-binaries.result == 'success' }}
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
@@ -333,7 +313,5 @@ jobs:
           git config user.email "github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
           git add Formula/stack.rb
           git diff --cached --quiet && echo "No formula changes — already up to date." && exit 0
-          git commit -m "feat: stack v${VERSION}
-
-Assisted-By: ashlr-plugin <https://plugin.ashlr.ai>"
+          git commit -m "feat: stack v${VERSION}" -m "Assisted-By: ashlr-plugin <https://plugin.ashlr.ai>"
           git push
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 5efebcb..ec4f9f2 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -7,6 +7,11 @@
 - **Kebab-case flags now parse (`--dry-run`, `--keep-from`, `--all-orphans`, …)** — citty 0.1.6 silently dropped the documented kebab spelling of multi-word flags: a boolean arg with `default: false` shadowed the kebab-parsed value, so `--dry-run` was ignored while only `--dryRun` worked. For `stack add` this was high-severity — the documented "safe preview" form fell through to the **real** provisioning flow (live OAuth/network/vault writes). Raw argv is now normalized (`--dry-run` → `--dryRun`) before parsing, fixing every command at once while preserving camelCase, `--no-*` negation, and `--` passthrough. (`packages/cli/src/lib/normalize-args.ts`)
 - **`stack add` no longer hangs on interactive credential entry** — the CLI started a @clack spinner, then a provider's PAT/key-paste path wrote its prompt to stderr and blocked on stdin while the spinner repainted over the (now invisible) prompt. With no cached credential — e.g. a fresh repo — `stack add` appeared to hang forever. The host now owns prompting: a new `ProviderContext.prompt` plus a `spinnerBridge` helper pause the spinner around a masked @clack prompt, and all nine interactive providers route credential entry through a shared `promptSecret`. GitHub's device-code message goes through `ctx.log` for the same reason. (`packages/core/src/providers/_helpers.ts`, `packages/cli/src/ui.ts`)
 
+### CI / Release
+
+- **Release workflow no longer fails at startup** — a multi-line `git commit -m` message in the Homebrew-tap job terminated the YAML `run:` block scalar early, leaking an `Assisted-By` stray top-level key that GitHub's schema validator rejected. Every push since the v0.2 polish produced a 0-second startup failure, and the v0.2.0 npm publish never landed (npm stayed at 0.1.1). Collapsed the message to two `-m` flags. (`.github/workflows/release.yml`)
+- **npm publish migrated to Trusted Publishing (OIDC)** — replaces the long-lived `NPM_TOKEN` (which expired and hit EOTP under 2FA) with per-package GitHub-Actions trusted publishers. Nothing to rotate; provenance is attached automatically. Requires npm ≥ 11.5.1, installed in-workflow. (`.github/workflows/release.yml`)
+
 ### SEO + GEO content surface (major)
 
 - **29 programmatic provider pages** — new dynamic route at `/providers/[slug]` driven by `packages/core/src/catalog.ts`. Adding a provider to catalog auto-mints a page at build time. Each page: hero with brand logo, auth-flow explainer, secret-slot breakdown, MCP wiring status, `stack add` snippet, `stack recommend` trigger, related providers, templates that include it, FAQ, outbound dashboard + docs links. JSON-LD: TechArticle + BreadcrumbList + FAQPage.
diff --git a/packages/cli/package.json b/packages/cli/package.json
index 197d8ca..277438a 100644
--- a/packages/cli/package.json
+++ b/packages/cli/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@ashlr/stack",
-  "version": "0.2.0",
+  "version": "0.2.1",
   "description": "Ashlr Stack CLI — the control plane for your entire dev stack. One command to provision, wire, and operate every third-party service in your project. 29 providers, MCP-native.",
   "license": "MIT",
   "author": {
diff --git a/packages/core/package.json b/packages/core/package.json
index fcf993b..b045daa 100644
--- a/packages/core/package.json
+++ b/packages/core/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@ashlr/stack-core",
-  "version": "0.2.0",
+  "version": "0.2.1",
   "description": "Ashlr Stack core — provider adapters, .stack.toml config, Phantom integration. Shared logic behind the Stack CLI and MCP server.",
   "license": "MIT",
   "author": {
diff --git a/packages/mcp/package.json b/packages/mcp/package.json
index 37b4e31..79d2a23 100644
--- a/packages/mcp/package.json
+++ b/packages/mcp/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "ashlr-stack-mcp",
-  "version": "0.2.0",
+  "version": "0.2.1",
   "description": "MCP server for Ashlr Stack. Exposes 19 tools and 3 resources so Claude Code / Cursor / Windsurf / Codex can provision every third-party service in a project with one call.",
   "license": "MIT",
   "author": {