diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index 92eeb6b..e513dd0 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -197,13 +197,33 @@ Run `make check` before every push. It runs: lint → format-check → typecheck
 
 ## Release
 
-1. Bump version in `pyproject.toml`, `src/agentic_sidecar/__init__.py`, and `CHANGELOG.md`
-2. Commit: `git commit -am "release: vX.Y.Z"`
-3. Tag: create an annotated `vX.Y.Z` tag and use the latest `CHANGELOG.md`
-   release section as the tag description
-4. Push: `git push origin main --tags`
-
-The `release-pypi.yml` workflow triggers on the tag push and publishes to
-PyPI via Trusted Publishing (OIDC) — no API token/secret required, but the
-`pypi` GitHub Environment must exist and be configured as a Trusted
-Publisher on PyPI before the first release.
+Two phases, split by the merge to `main` — bumping happens before, tagging
+and releasing happen after:
+
+**1. Pre-release (on the feature branch, before merge):** Bump version in
+`pyproject.toml`, `src/agentic_sidecar/__init__.py`, and `CHANGELOG.md`
+(a dated release section under `[Unreleased]`). Commit as part of the
+branch's normal history; goes in with the rest of the PR.
+
+**2. Release (on `main`, once that branch has merged):** plain `git`, no
+`gh` CLI required.
+
+1. Pull the merge commit on `main`.
+2. Tag: create an annotated `vX.Y.Z` tag pointing at the merge commit,
+   using the CHANGELOG's release section as the tag message:
+   `git tag -a vX.Y.Z -F <file-with-that-section> --cleanup=verbatim`.
+   `--cleanup=verbatim` is required — git's default cleanup silently strips
+   lines starting with `#`, which would eat the CHANGELOG's `###` headers.
+3. Push the tag: `git push origin vX.Y.Z`.
+
+That's the whole release: `release-pypi.yml` triggers on the tag push and
+publishes to PyPI via Trusted Publishing (OIDC) — no API token/secret
+required, but the `pypi` GitHub Environment must exist and be configured
+as a Trusted Publisher on PyPI before the first release.
+
+Note this deliberately does not create a GitHub Release object (that's a
+`gh`/API-only action, not a `git` one) — the tag alone is enough to
+publish to PyPI, but it means the repo's Releases tab stays empty unless
+someone creates one by hand later (GitHub UI: Releases → Draft a new
+release → pick the existing tag). That's an accepted tradeoff here, not
+an oversight.