diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index b1ec53b..d63688f 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -25,6 +25,18 @@ The build emits `dist/`. A packed npm artifact can be made locally with:
 It validates the requested version against `package.json`, then writes an npm
 tarball and `SHA256SUMS` to `release/`.
 
+## Publish a GitHub Release
+
+```bash
+./scripts/publish-github-release.sh v0.1.0
+```
+
+This runs the same local packaging command, then requires a clean, up-to-date
+`main` and an authenticated [`gh`](https://cli.github.com/) CLI. It creates and
+pushes the annotated version tag when needed and uploads the npm tarball and
+`SHA256SUMS` to GitHub Releases. The requested version must match
+`package.json`.
+
 ## Contracts relevant to the alpha
 
 - Workspaces have durable UUID identities; paths are addresses, not identity.
diff --git a/scripts/publish-github-release.sh b/scripts/publish-github-release.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..d882eef
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/publish-github-release.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd)"
+VERSION="${1:-}"
+REPOSITORY="mirivlad/verstak-sdk"
+RELEASE_SCRIPT="${VERSTAK_RELEASE_SCRIPT:-$ROOT/scripts/release.sh}"
+RELEASE_DIR="${VERSTAK_RELEASE_DIR:-$ROOT/release}"
+GIT_BIN="${GIT_BIN:-git}"
+GH_BIN="${GH_BIN:-gh}"
+
+cd "$ROOT"
+
+if [[ -z "$VERSION" || ! "$VERSION" =~ ^[A-Za-z0-9][A-Za-z0-9._-]*$ ]]; then
+  echo "usage: $0 <version>" >&2
+  echo "example: $0 v0.1.0" >&2
+  exit 2
+fi
+if ! command -v "$GH_BIN" >/dev/null; then
+  echo "gh CLI is required to publish a GitHub Release" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+if [[ "$("$GIT_BIN" branch --show-current)" != "main" ]]; then
+  echo "GitHub releases must be published from main" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+if [[ -n "$("$GIT_BIN" status --porcelain)" ]]; then
+  echo "working tree must be clean before publishing a release" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+"$GH_BIN" auth status
+"$GIT_BIN" fetch origin main --tags
+HEAD="$("$GIT_BIN" rev-parse HEAD)"
+if [[ "$HEAD" != "$("$GIT_BIN" rev-parse origin/main)" ]]; then
+  echo "local main must match origin/main before publishing a release" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+"$RELEASE_SCRIPT" "$VERSION"
+
+shopt -s nullglob
+ASSETS=("$RELEASE_DIR"/*.tar.gz "$RELEASE_DIR"/*.tgz)
+if [[ -f "$RELEASE_DIR/SHA256SUMS" ]]; then
+  ASSETS+=("$RELEASE_DIR/SHA256SUMS")
+fi
+if [[ ${#ASSETS[@]} -eq 0 ]]; then
+  echo "no release assets found in $RELEASE_DIR" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+if "$GIT_BIN" rev-parse -q --verify "refs/tags/$VERSION" >/dev/null; then
+  if [[ "$("$GIT_BIN" rev-parse "${VERSION}^{commit}")" != "$HEAD" ]]; then
+    echo "existing tag $VERSION does not point at HEAD" >&2
+    exit 1
+  fi
+else
+  "$GIT_BIN" tag -a "$VERSION" -m "Release $VERSION"
+  "$GIT_BIN" push origin "refs/tags/$VERSION"
+fi
+
+if "$GH_BIN" release view "$VERSION" --repo "$REPOSITORY" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  "$GH_BIN" release upload "$VERSION" "${ASSETS[@]}" --repo "$REPOSITORY" --clobber
+else
+  "$GH_BIN" release create "$VERSION" "${ASSETS[@]}" \
+    --repo "$REPOSITORY" \
+    --title "Verstak Plugin SDK $VERSION" \
+    --generate-notes \
+    --latest \
+    --verify-tag
+fi
+
+echo "GitHub release:"
+"$GH_BIN" release view "$VERSION" --repo "$REPOSITORY" --json url --jq .url
diff --git a/scripts/test-publish-github-release.sh b/scripts/test-publish-github-release.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..7658f5e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/test-publish-github-release.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,91 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd)"
+PUBLISHER="$ROOT/scripts/publish-github-release.sh"
+VERSION="v0.0.0-test"
+REPOSITORY="mirivlad/verstak-sdk"
+ASSET_NAME="verstak-plugin-sdk-0.0.0-test.tgz"
+WORK="$(mktemp -d)"
+trap 'rm -rf "$WORK"' EXIT
+
+if [[ ! -x "$PUBLISHER" ]]; then
+  echo "publisher is missing or not executable: $PUBLISHER" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+mkdir -p "$WORK/bin" "$WORK/release" "$WORK/state"
+LOG="$WORK/log"
+export LOG
+
+cat > "$WORK/release.sh" <<'SCRIPT'
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+printf 'release:%s\n' "$1" >> "$LOG"
+printf 'package\n' > "$VERSTAK_RELEASE_DIR/verstak-plugin-sdk-${1#v}.tgz"
+printf 'checksum\n' > "$VERSTAK_RELEASE_DIR/SHA256SUMS"
+SCRIPT
+chmod +x "$WORK/release.sh"
+
+cat > "$WORK/bin/git" <<'SCRIPT'
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+if [[ "$PWD" != "${EXPECTED_ROOT:?}" ]]; then
+  echo "publisher did not enter repository root: $PWD" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+case "${1:-}" in
+  status) exit 0 ;;
+  branch) echo main ;;
+  fetch) printf 'fetch\n' >> "$LOG" ;;
+  rev-parse)
+    if [[ "${2:-}" == "-q" ]]; then
+      if [[ -f "$TEST_STATE/tag" ]]; then echo test-commit; exit 0; fi
+      exit 1
+    fi
+    echo test-commit
+    ;;
+  tag) touch "$TEST_STATE/tag"; printf 'tag:%s\n' "${3:-}" >> "$LOG" ;;
+  push) printf 'push:%s:%s\n' "${2:-}" "${3:-}" >> "$LOG" ;;
+  *) echo "unexpected git invocation: $*" >&2; exit 1 ;;
+esac
+SCRIPT
+chmod +x "$WORK/bin/git"
+
+cat > "$WORK/bin/gh" <<'SCRIPT'
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+case "${1:-}:${2:-}" in
+  auth:status) printf 'auth\n' >> "$LOG" ;;
+  release:view)
+    if [[ -f "$TEST_STATE/release" ]]; then echo https://github.example/release; else exit 1; fi
+    ;;
+  release:create) touch "$TEST_STATE/release"; printf 'create:%s\n' "$*" >> "$LOG" ;;
+  release:upload) printf 'upload:%s\n' "$*" >> "$LOG" ;;
+  *) echo "unexpected gh invocation: $*" >&2; exit 1 ;;
+esac
+SCRIPT
+chmod +x "$WORK/bin/gh"
+
+run_publisher() {
+  VERSTAK_RELEASE_SCRIPT="$WORK/release.sh" \
+  VERSTAK_RELEASE_DIR="$WORK/release" \
+  GIT_BIN="$WORK/bin/git" \
+  GH_BIN="$WORK/bin/gh" \
+  EXPECTED_ROOT="$ROOT" \
+  TEST_STATE="$WORK/state" \
+  "$PUBLISHER" "$VERSION"
+}
+
+run_publisher
+grep -Fqx "release:$VERSION" "$LOG"
+grep -Fqx "tag:$VERSION" "$LOG"
+grep -Fqx "push:origin:refs/tags/$VERSION" "$LOG"
+grep -F "release create $VERSION" "$LOG" >/dev/null
+grep -F "$ASSET_NAME" "$LOG" >/dev/null
+grep -F "SHA256SUMS" "$LOG" >/dev/null
+
+run_publisher
+grep -F "release upload $VERSION" "$LOG" >/dev/null
+
+echo "GitHub release publisher test passed"