diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 0bad79aa5..56fe776ce 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -67,6 +67,8 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # v6
+        with:
+          fetch-depth: 0
 
       - name: Validate tracked files are not ignored
         shell: bash
@@ -80,6 +82,12 @@ jobs:
           fi
           echo "No tracked files match .gitignore rules."
 
+      - name: Validate newly introduced commit subjects
+        env:
+          BASE_SHA: ${{ github.event.pull_request.base.sha || github.event.before }}
+          HEAD_SHA: ${{ github.event.pull_request.head.sha || github.sha }}
+        run: python3 scripts/validate_release_commit_subjects.py "$BASE_SHA" "$HEAD_SHA"
+
   python-contract:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
@@ -90,10 +98,14 @@ jobs:
           python-version: "3.11"
 
       - name: Install pytest
-        run: python -m pip install --upgrade pip pytest
+        run: python -m pip install --upgrade pip pytest PyYAML
 
-      - name: Validate Python provenance stubs and documentation
-        run: python -m pytest -q python/tests/test_relation_provenance_contract.py
+      - name: Validate Python provenance, documentation, and release contracts
+        run: >-
+          python -m pytest -q
+          python/tests/test_relation_provenance_contract.py
+          python/tests/test_docs_contract.py
+          python/tests/test_release_changelog_generation.py
 
   # The CAVIAR and maritime example suites on CPU (review follow-up:
   # previously no workflow ran any of them; the maritime suites were
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-plz.yml b/.github/workflows/release-plz.yml
index 52d96f612..21b39b86b 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release-plz.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-plz.yml
@@ -98,6 +98,7 @@ jobs:
             python3 \
             python3-dev \
             python3-pip
+          python3 -m pip install --no-cache-dir tomli==2.2.1
 
       - name: Checkout repository
         uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # v6
@@ -158,6 +159,22 @@ jobs:
         if: github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch'
         run: bash scripts/preflight_release_publish.sh
 
+      - name: Prepare unpublished changelog regeneration
+        if: github.event_name != 'workflow_dispatch'
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          python3 scripts/prepare_release_changelog.py
+
+          unexpected=()
+          while IFS= read -r entry; do
+            [[ "$entry" == " M CHANGELOG.md" ]] || unexpected+=("$entry")
+          done < <(git status --porcelain=v1 --untracked-files=all)
+          if ((${#unexpected[@]} != 0)); then
+            echo "Changelog preparation changed unexpected repository paths:" >&2
+            printf '  %s\n' "${unexpected[@]}" >&2
+            exit 1
+          fi
+
       - name: Run release-plz
         id: release
         run: |
@@ -209,6 +226,7 @@ jobs:
               --git-token "$GITHUB_TOKEN" \
               --repo-url "https://github.com/${GITHUB_REPOSITORY}" \
               --config release-plz.toml \
+              --allow-dirty \
               -o json)
             echo "release_pr_output: $release_pr_output"
 
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 9bd6ad56c..de9dd2ae0 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -3,322 +3,196 @@
 All notable changes to this project are documented in this file.
 
 ## [Unreleased]
+## xlog-cli [0.12.0](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/compare/xlog-cli-v0.11.0...xlog-cli-v0.12.0) - 2026-08-16
 
-## [0.12.0](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/compare/xlog-cli-v0.11.0...xlog-cli-v0.12.0) - 2026-08-06
 
 ### Added
 
-- *(logic)* warn when imported-module pragmas are ignored ([#189](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/189))
+- *(logic)* warn when imported-module pragmas are ignored (#189)
 
 ### Fixed
 
-- *(logic)* preserve predicate unions and recursive epistemic semantics ([#195](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/195))
-- *(cli)* evaluate imported rules in probabilistic programs ([#193](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/193))
+- *(cli)* align explain with normalized execution (#225)
+- *(runtime)* preserve epistemic constraint diagnostics (#213)
+- *(logic)* classify modal dependencies before single-pass planning, routing through Generate-Propagate-Test for acyclic programs, founded least fixpoints for positive FAEEL cycles, greatest compatible exact-tuple fixpoints for supported positive Gelfond-1991 possibility cycles, and GPU-backed WFS for supported cycles through negation; compute a GPU upper bound and reevaluate against frozen relation snapshots until concrete tuples converge, so disjoint tuple domains cannot manufacture support; return the empty founded extension for unseeded FAEEL cycles, including `p() :- possible p().` (#195)
+- *(cli)* evaluate imported rules in probabilistic programs (#193)
 - *(cli)* drop the epistemic-evidence tests that need an untracked fixture
 
 ### Other
 
-- align runtime contracts and release status ([#191](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/191))
-- truth-align public claims and complete discovery metadata ([#176](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/176))
+- realign the public documentation with v0.12.0 (#203)
+- *(deps)* bump arrow from 53.4.1 to 59.2.0 (#207)
+- align runtime contracts and release status (#191)
+- truth-align public claims and complete discovery metadata (#176)
+## xlog-gpu [0.12.0] - 2026-08-16
 
-## [0.12.0](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/compare/xlog-gpu-v0.11.0...xlog-gpu-v0.12.0) - 2026-08-06
 
 ### Added
 
-- *(logic)* warn when imported-module pragmas are ignored ([#189](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/189))
-- *(python)* [**breaking**] make n-ary provenance native and delta-safe ([#188](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/188))
+- *(pyxlog)* condition exact queries on accepted epistemic evidence (#201)
+- *(logic)* warn when imported-module pragmas are ignored (#189)
+- *(python)* [**breaking**] make n-ary provenance native and delta-safe (#188)
 
 ### Fixed
 
-- *(logic)* preserve predicate unions and recursive epistemic semantics ([#195](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/195))
+- *(cli)* align explain with normalized execution (#225)
+- *(runtime)* preserve epistemic constraint diagnostics (#213)
+- *(logic)* classify modal dependencies before single-pass planning, routing through Generate-Propagate-Test for acyclic programs, founded least fixpoints for positive FAEEL cycles, greatest compatible exact-tuple fixpoints for supported positive Gelfond-1991 possibility cycles, and GPU-backed WFS for supported cycles through negation; compute a GPU upper bound and reevaluate against frozen relation snapshots until concrete tuples converge, so disjoint tuple domains cannot manufacture support; return the empty founded extension for unseeded FAEEL cycles, including `p() :- possible p().` (#195)
 
 ### Other
 
-- align runtime contracts and release status ([#191](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/191))
-- truth-align public claims and complete discovery metadata ([#176](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/176))
+- *(logic)* share ground-term encoding (#231)
+- realign the public documentation with v0.12.0 (#203)
+- align runtime contracts and release status (#191)
+- truth-align public claims and complete discovery metadata (#176)
+## xlog-prob [0.12.0] - 2026-08-16
 
-## [0.12.0](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/compare/xlog-prob-v0.11.0...xlog-prob-v0.12.0) - 2026-08-06
 
 ### Added
 
-- *(pyxlog)* expose exact log-evidence and the CNF variable to fact mapping ([#180](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/180))
+- *(pyxlog)* expose exact log-evidence and the CNF variable to fact mapping (#180)
 
 ### Fixed
 
-- *(logic)* preserve predicate unions and recursive epistemic semantics ([#195](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/195))
-- *(cli)* evaluate imported rules in probabilistic programs ([#193](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/193))
+- *(prob)* [**breaking**] remove unreachable exact GPU compiler (#233)
+- *(prob)* align circuit log-sum-exp semantics across CPU and GPU (#230)
+- *(cuda)* [**breaking**] remove unselectable dense D4 frontier (#236)
+- *(prob)* [**breaking**] remove unused CSR CNF module (#235)
+- *(cli)* align explain with normalized execution (#225)
+- *(prob)* restore G91 evidence GPU coverage (#200)
+- *(logic)* classify modal dependencies before single-pass planning, routing through Generate-Propagate-Test for acyclic programs, founded least fixpoints for positive FAEEL cycles, greatest compatible exact-tuple fixpoints for supported positive Gelfond-1991 possibility cycles, and GPU-backed WFS for supported cycles through negation; compute a GPU upper bound and reevaluate against frozen relation snapshots until concrete tuples converge, so disjoint tuple domains cannot manufacture support; return the empty founded extension for unseeded FAEEL cycles, including `p() :- possible p().` (#195)
+- *(cli)* evaluate imported rules in probabilistic programs (#193)
 
 ### Other
 
-- align runtime contracts and release status ([#191](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/191))
+- realign the public documentation with v0.12.0 (#203)
+- align runtime contracts and release status (#191)
 - *(prob)* make MC benches measure real inference and fail loudly on evaluate errors
-- truth-align public claims and complete discovery metadata ([#176](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/176))
+- truth-align public claims and complete discovery metadata (#176)
+## xlog-solve [0.12.0] - 2026-08-16
 
-## [0.12.0](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/compare/xlog-solve-v0.11.0...xlog-solve-v0.12.0) - 2026-08-06
 
 ### Fixed
 
-- *(logic)* preserve predicate unions and recursive epistemic semantics ([#195](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/195))
+- *(logic)* classify modal dependencies before single-pass planning, routing through Generate-Propagate-Test for acyclic programs, founded least fixpoints for positive FAEEL cycles, greatest compatible exact-tuple fixpoints for supported positive Gelfond-1991 possibility cycles, and GPU-backed WFS for supported cycles through negation; compute a GPU upper bound and reevaluate against frozen relation snapshots until concrete tuples converge, so disjoint tuple domains cannot manufacture support; return the empty founded extension for unseeded FAEEL cycles, including `p() :- possible p().` (#195)
 
 ### Other
 
-- align runtime contracts and release status ([#191](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/191))
+- realign the public documentation with v0.12.0 (#203)
+- align runtime contracts and release status (#191)
 - serialize GPU-state-sharing test binaries
 - *(solve)* align production-gate message asserts with the host-to-device wording
-- truth-align public claims and complete discovery metadata ([#176](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/176))
+- truth-align public claims and complete discovery metadata (#176)
+## xlog-runtime [0.12.0] - 2026-08-16
 
-## [0.12.0](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/compare/xlog-runtime-v0.11.0...xlog-runtime-v0.12.0) - 2026-08-06
 
 ### Added
 
-- *(python)* [**breaking**] make n-ary provenance native and delta-safe ([#188](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/188))
-- feat!(runtime): mark the output stats structs non_exhaustive
+- *(python)* [**breaking**] make n-ary provenance native and delta-safe (#188)
+- *(runtime)* [**breaking**] mark the output stats structs non_exhaustive
+- *(runtime)* expose epistemic uncertainty over accepted world views
 
 ### Fixed
 
-- *(logic)* preserve predicate unions and recursive epistemic semantics ([#195](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/195))
+- *(runtime)* [**breaking**] remove dormant epistemic export (#228)
+- *(cli)* align explain with normalized execution (#225)
+- *(runtime)* preserve epistemic constraint diagnostics (#213)
+- *(logic)* classify modal dependencies before single-pass planning, routing through Generate-Propagate-Test for acyclic programs, founded least fixpoints for positive FAEEL cycles, greatest compatible exact-tuple fixpoints for supported positive Gelfond-1991 possibility cycles, and GPU-backed WFS for supported cycles through negation; compute a GPU upper bound and reevaluate against frozen relation snapshots until concrete tuples converge, so disjoint tuple domains cannot manufacture support; return the empty founded extension for unseeded FAEEL cycles, including `p() :- possible p().` (#195)
 
 ### Other
 
-- align runtime contracts and release status ([#191](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/191))
-- *(runtime)* batch same-head rule unions into one multiway pass per head ([#183](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/183))
-- apply rustfmt to the TIER-2 epistemic sources
-- Merge TIER-2 epistemic possible-source probes into main
-- truth-align public claims and complete discovery metadata ([#176](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/176))
+- realign the public documentation with v0.12.0 (#203)
+- align runtime contracts and release status (#191)
+- *(runtime)* batch same-head rule unions into one multiway pass per head (#183)
+- format accepted-world-view epistemic exports
+- truth-align public claims and complete discovery metadata (#176)
+## xlog-logic [0.12.0] - 2026-08-16
 
-## [0.12.0](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/compare/xlog-logic-v0.11.0...xlog-logic-v0.12.0) - 2026-08-06
 
 ### Added
 
-- *(logic)* warn when imported-module pragmas are ignored ([#189](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/189))
+- *(logic)* warn when imported-module pragmas are ignored (#189)
+- *(runtime)* expose epistemic uncertainty over accepted world views
 
 ### Fixed
 
-- *(logic)* preserve predicate unions and recursive epistemic semantics ([#195](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/195))
-- *(cli)* evaluate imported rules in probabilistic programs ([#193](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/193))
+- *(logic)* [**breaking**] remove dormant type and name scaffolding (#234)
+- *(cli)* align explain with normalized execution (#225)
+- *(runtime)* preserve epistemic constraint diagnostics (#213)
+- *(logic)* classify modal dependencies before single-pass planning, routing through Generate-Propagate-Test for acyclic programs, founded least fixpoints for positive FAEEL cycles, greatest compatible exact-tuple fixpoints for supported positive Gelfond-1991 possibility cycles, and GPU-backed WFS for supported cycles through negation; compute a GPU upper bound and reevaluate against frozen relation snapshots until concrete tuples converge, so disjoint tuple domains cannot manufacture support; return the empty founded extension for unseeded FAEEL cycles, including `p() :- possible p().` (#195)
+- *(cli)* evaluate imported rules in probabilistic programs (#193)
 - *(logic)* reject cross-predicate schema mismatches at compilation
 
 ### Other
 
-- align runtime contracts and release status ([#191](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/191))
-- apply rustfmt to the TIER-2 epistemic sources
-- Merge TIER-2 epistemic possible-source probes into main
-- truth-align public claims and complete discovery metadata ([#176](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/176))
+- *(logic)* share ground-term encoding (#231)
+- align strict Clippy with current stable (#237)
+- realign the public documentation with v0.12.0 (#203)
+- align runtime contracts and release status (#191)
+- format accepted-world-view epistemic exports
+- truth-align public claims and complete discovery metadata (#176)
+## xlog-stats [0.12.0] - 2026-08-16
 
-## [0.12.0](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/compare/xlog-stats-v0.11.0...xlog-stats-v0.12.0) - 2026-08-06
 
 ### Fixed
 
-- *(logic)* preserve predicate unions and recursive epistemic semantics ([#195](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/195))
+- *(logic)* classify modal dependencies before single-pass planning, routing through Generate-Propagate-Test for acyclic programs, founded least fixpoints for positive FAEEL cycles, greatest compatible exact-tuple fixpoints for supported positive Gelfond-1991 possibility cycles, and GPU-backed WFS for supported cycles through negation; compute a GPU upper bound and reevaluate against frozen relation snapshots until concrete tuples converge, so disjoint tuple domains cannot manufacture support; return the empty founded extension for unseeded FAEEL cycles, including `p() :- possible p().` (#195)
 
 ### Other
 
-- align runtime contracts and release status ([#191](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/191))
-- truth-align public claims and complete discovery metadata ([#176](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/176))
+- realign the public documentation with v0.12.0 (#203)
+- align runtime contracts and release status (#191)
+- truth-align public claims and complete discovery metadata (#176)
+## xlog-cuda [0.12.0] - 2026-08-16
 
-## [0.12.0](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/compare/xlog-cuda-v0.11.0...xlog-cuda-v0.12.0) - 2026-08-06
 
 ### Added
 
-- *(python)* [**breaking**] make n-ary provenance native and delta-safe ([#188](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/188))
+- *(induce)* bounded exact n-ary rule induction — enumeration, reference scorer, CUDA kernel, device-resident engine (#240)
+- *(python)* [**breaking**] make n-ary provenance native and delta-safe (#188)
 
 ### Fixed
 
-- *(logic)* preserve predicate unions and recursive epistemic semantics ([#195](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/195))
+- *(prob)* align circuit log-sum-exp semantics across CPU and GPU (#230)
+- *(cuda)* remove dormant RawCudaView recorder contract (#229)
+- *(cuda)* [**breaking**] remove unselectable dense D4 frontier (#236)
+- *(logic)* classify modal dependencies before single-pass planning, routing through Generate-Propagate-Test for acyclic programs, founded least fixpoints for positive FAEEL cycles, greatest compatible exact-tuple fixpoints for supported positive Gelfond-1991 possibility cycles, and GPU-backed WFS for supported cycles through negation; compute a GPU upper bound and reevaluate against frozen relation snapshots until concrete tuples converge, so disjoint tuple domains cannot manufacture support; return the empty founded extension for unseeded FAEEL cycles, including `p() :- possible p().` (#195)
 
 ### Other
 
-- align runtime contracts and release status ([#191](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/191))
-- *(runtime)* batch same-head rule unions into one multiway pass per head ([#183](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/183))
+- align strict Clippy with current stable (#237)
+- realign the public documentation with v0.12.0 (#203)
+- *(deps)* bump arrow from 53.4.1 to 59.2.0 (#207)
+- align runtime contracts and release status (#191)
+- *(runtime)* batch same-head rule unions into one multiway pass per head (#183)
 - *(cuda)* retain freed mempool blocks so drop-and-reuse tests observe reuse on large-VRAM GPUs
-- truth-align public claims and complete discovery metadata ([#176](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/176))
+- truth-align public claims and complete discovery metadata (#176)
+## xlog-ir [0.12.0] - 2026-08-16
 
-## [0.12.0](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/compare/xlog-ir-v0.11.0...xlog-ir-v0.12.0) - 2026-08-06
 
 ### Fixed
 
-- *(logic)* preserve predicate unions and recursive epistemic semantics ([#195](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/195))
+- *(logic)* classify modal dependencies before single-pass planning, routing through Generate-Propagate-Test for acyclic programs, founded least fixpoints for positive FAEEL cycles, greatest compatible exact-tuple fixpoints for supported positive Gelfond-1991 possibility cycles, and GPU-backed WFS for supported cycles through negation; compute a GPU upper bound and reevaluate against frozen relation snapshots until concrete tuples converge, so disjoint tuple domains cannot manufacture support; return the empty founded extension for unseeded FAEEL cycles, including `p() :- possible p().` (#195)
 
 ### Other
 
-- align runtime contracts and release status ([#191](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/191))
-- truth-align public claims and complete discovery metadata ([#176](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/176))
+- realign the public documentation with v0.12.0 (#203)
+- align runtime contracts and release status (#191)
+- truth-align public claims and complete discovery metadata (#176)
+## xlog-core [0.12.0] - 2026-08-16
 
-## [0.12.0](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/compare/xlog-core-v0.11.0...xlog-core-v0.12.0) - 2026-08-06
 
 ### Fixed
 
-- *(logic)* preserve predicate unions and recursive epistemic semantics ([#195](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/195))
+- *(runtime)* preserve epistemic constraint diagnostics (#213)
+- *(logic)* classify modal dependencies before single-pass planning, routing through Generate-Propagate-Test for acyclic programs, founded least fixpoints for positive FAEEL cycles, greatest compatible exact-tuple fixpoints for supported positive Gelfond-1991 possibility cycles, and GPU-backed WFS for supported cycles through negation; compute a GPU upper bound and reevaluate against frozen relation snapshots until concrete tuples converge, so disjoint tuple domains cannot manufacture support; return the empty founded extension for unseeded FAEEL cycles, including `p() :- possible p().` (#195)
 
 ### Other
 
-- align runtime contracts and release status ([#191](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/191))
-- truth-align public claims and complete discovery metadata ([#176](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/176))
-
-## [0.12.0](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/compare/xlog-cli-v0.11.0...xlog-cli-v0.12.0) - 2026-08-06
-
-### Added
-
-- *(logic)* warn when imported-module pragmas are ignored ([#189](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/189))
-
-### Fixed
-
-- *(logic)* preserve predicate unions and recursive epistemic semantics ([#195](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/195))
-- *(cli)* evaluate imported rules in probabilistic programs ([#193](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/193))
-- *(cli)* drop the epistemic-evidence tests that need an untracked fixture
-
-### Other
-
-- align runtime contracts and release status ([#191](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/191))
-- truth-align public claims and complete discovery metadata ([#176](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/176))
-
-## [0.12.0](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/compare/xlog-gpu-v0.11.0...xlog-gpu-v0.12.0) - 2026-08-06
-
-### Added
-
-- *(logic)* warn when imported-module pragmas are ignored ([#189](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/189))
-- *(python)* [**breaking**] make n-ary provenance native and delta-safe ([#188](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/188))
-
-### Fixed
-
-- *(logic)* preserve predicate unions and recursive epistemic semantics ([#195](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/195))
-
-### Other
-
-- align runtime contracts and release status ([#191](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/191))
-- truth-align public claims and complete discovery metadata ([#176](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/176))
-
-## [0.12.0](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/compare/xlog-prob-v0.11.0...xlog-prob-v0.12.0) - 2026-08-06
-
-### Added
-
-- *(pyxlog)* expose exact log-evidence and the CNF variable to fact mapping ([#180](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/180))
-
-### Fixed
-
-- *(logic)* preserve predicate unions and recursive epistemic semantics ([#195](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/195))
-- *(cli)* evaluate imported rules in probabilistic programs ([#193](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/193))
-
-### Other
-
-- align runtime contracts and release status ([#191](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/191))
-- *(prob)* make MC benches measure real inference and fail loudly on evaluate errors
-- truth-align public claims and complete discovery metadata ([#176](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/176))
-
-## [0.12.0](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/compare/xlog-solve-v0.11.0...xlog-solve-v0.12.0) - 2026-08-06
-
-### Fixed
-
-- *(logic)* preserve predicate unions and recursive epistemic semantics ([#195](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/195))
-
-### Other
-
-- align runtime contracts and release status ([#191](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/191))
-- serialize GPU-state-sharing test binaries
-- *(solve)* align production-gate message asserts with the host-to-device wording
-- truth-align public claims and complete discovery metadata ([#176](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/176))
-
-## [0.12.0](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/compare/xlog-runtime-v0.11.0...xlog-runtime-v0.12.0) - 2026-08-06
-
-### Added
-
-- *(python)* [**breaking**] make n-ary provenance native and delta-safe ([#188](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/188))
-- feat!(runtime): mark the output stats structs non_exhaustive
-
-### Fixed
-
-- *(logic)* preserve predicate unions and recursive epistemic semantics ([#195](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/195))
-
-### Other
-
-- align runtime contracts and release status ([#191](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/191))
-- *(runtime)* batch same-head rule unions into one multiway pass per head ([#183](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/183))
-- apply rustfmt to the TIER-2 epistemic sources
-- Merge TIER-2 epistemic possible-source probes into main
-- truth-align public claims and complete discovery metadata ([#176](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/176))
-
-## [0.12.0](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/compare/xlog-logic-v0.11.0...xlog-logic-v0.12.0) - 2026-08-06
-
-### Added
-
-- *(logic)* warn when imported-module pragmas are ignored ([#189](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/189))
-
-### Fixed
-
-- *(logic)* preserve predicate unions and recursive epistemic semantics ([#195](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/195))
-- *(cli)* evaluate imported rules in probabilistic programs ([#193](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/193))
-- *(logic)* reject cross-predicate schema mismatches at compilation
-
-### Other
-
-- align runtime contracts and release status ([#191](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/191))
-- apply rustfmt to the TIER-2 epistemic sources
-- Merge TIER-2 epistemic possible-source probes into main
-- truth-align public claims and complete discovery metadata ([#176](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/176))
-
-## [0.12.0](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/compare/xlog-stats-v0.11.0...xlog-stats-v0.12.0) - 2026-08-06
-
-### Fixed
-
-- *(logic)* preserve predicate unions and recursive epistemic semantics ([#195](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/195))
-
-### Other
-
-- align runtime contracts and release status ([#191](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/191))
-- truth-align public claims and complete discovery metadata ([#176](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/176))
-
-## [0.12.0](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/compare/xlog-cuda-v0.11.0...xlog-cuda-v0.12.0) - 2026-08-06
-
-### Added
-
-- *(python)* [**breaking**] make n-ary provenance native and delta-safe ([#188](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/188))
-
-### Fixed
-
-- *(logic)* preserve predicate unions and recursive epistemic semantics ([#195](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/195))
-
-### Other
-
-- align runtime contracts and release status ([#191](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/191))
-- *(runtime)* batch same-head rule unions into one multiway pass per head ([#183](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/183))
-- *(cuda)* retain freed mempool blocks so drop-and-reuse tests observe reuse on large-VRAM GPUs
-- truth-align public claims and complete discovery metadata ([#176](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/176))
-
-## [0.12.0](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/compare/xlog-ir-v0.11.0...xlog-ir-v0.12.0) - 2026-08-06
-
-### Fixed
-
-- *(logic)* preserve predicate unions and recursive epistemic semantics ([#195](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/195))
-
-### Other
-
-- align runtime contracts and release status ([#191](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/191))
-- truth-align public claims and complete discovery metadata ([#176](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/176))
-
-## [0.12.0](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/compare/xlog-core-v0.11.0...xlog-core-v0.12.0) - 2026-08-06
-
-### Fixed
-
-- *(logic)* preserve predicate unions and recursive epistemic semantics ([#195](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/195))
-
-### Other
-
-- align runtime contracts and release status ([#191](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/191))
-- truth-align public claims and complete discovery metadata ([#176](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/pull/176))
-
-### Changed
-
-- Epistemic execution classifies modal dependencies before single-pass planning.
-  Acyclic programs use Generate-Propagate-Test; positive FAEEL cycles run to an
-  ordinary founded least fixpoint; supported positive exact-tuple
-  Gelfond-1991 possibility cycles run to a greatest compatible tuple fixpoint;
-  and supported cycles through negation use the GPU-backed WFS plan. The
-  Gelfond-1991 route computes a GPU upper bound, then reevaluates against frozen
-  relation snapshots until the concrete tuples converge, so predicate-level
-  recursion cannot manufacture support across disjoint tuple domains.
-- An unseeded FAEEL modal cycle, including `p() :- possible p().`, executes to an
-  empty founded extension instead of returning an unsupported-construct error.
-
+- realign the public documentation with v0.12.0 (#203)
+- *(deps)* bump arrow from 53.4.1 to 59.2.0 (#207)
+- align runtime contracts and release status (#191)
+- truth-align public claims and complete discovery metadata (#176)
 ## [0.11.0](https://github.com/BrainyBlaze/xlog/compare/xlog-cli-v0.10.0...xlog-cli-v0.11.0) - 2026-07-29
 
 ### Added
diff --git a/docs/architecture/release-process.mdx b/docs/architecture/release-process.mdx
index 932be0a45..2aef961cc 100644
--- a/docs/architecture/release-process.mdx
+++ b/docs/architecture/release-process.mdx
@@ -62,6 +62,36 @@ Workspace packages that are not published to crates.io:
 
 `pyxlog` ships as a Python package on PyPI, not as a crates.io Rust crate.
 
+## Release Automation Ownership
+
+XLOG versions the publishable crates and the Python package together, so release
+worthiness is a whole-workspace release-worthiness gate. The
+`.github/workflows/release-plz.yml` owns this gate: on a push to `main`, it looks
+for release-worthy Conventional Commits since the latest CLI tag before creating
+or updating the rolling release pull request.
+`release-plz.toml` does not decide release worthiness; it describes the shared
+version group, publication targets, generated changelog, release pull request,
+and tag formats after the workflow has admitted the workspace release.
+
+The workspace has a single authoritative Git tag, owned by `xlog-cli` and named
+`xlog-cli-v{{ version }}`. The shared changelog therefore uses package-labelled
+headings for all generated crate sections, while only the `xlog-cli` heading has
+a compare link. The preparation step removes unpublished sections for the
+current workspace version before regeneration, including sections written with
+the earlier unlabelled heading format. This keeps repeated automation runs
+convergent without changing sections once the authoritative tag exists.
+Release-plz attributes commits from the packaged file set for each crate, so a
+commit that changes a shared packaged file can appear in several package
+sections. Repeated appearances reflect package attribution; regeneration does
+not append another copy of an existing current-version section.
+
+A push to `main` can prepare a release pull request, but it cannot publish a
+release. Publication is a manual `workflow_dispatch` from the reviewed release
+commit. The operator must set `confirm_gpu_validation` and provide the GPU host,
+commit, and evidence after the complete release validation command has passed.
+Only that manual path invokes registry publication and creates the CLI tag; the
+Python wheel and GitHub release assets then use the same tag.
+
 ## CUDA Artifact Model
 
 XLOG runs GPU kernels, and those compiled kernels are not checked into the tree.
diff --git a/python/tests/test_docs_contract.py b/python/tests/test_docs_contract.py
index 571aa7510..3fc61dc4d 100644
--- a/python/tests/test_docs_contract.py
+++ b/python/tests/test_docs_contract.py
@@ -256,3 +256,17 @@ def compile(source: str, device: int = 0) -> CompiledLogicProgram: ...
     )
     assert "## LogicProgram" in result.stdout
     assert "compile(source: str, device: int = 0)" in result.stdout
+
+
+def test_release_process_documents_automation_ownership_and_single_tag_policy() -> None:
+    page = read("docs/architecture/release-process.mdx")
+
+    assert "whole-workspace release-worthiness gate" in page
+    assert "`.github/workflows/release-plz.yml` owns this gate" in page
+    assert "`release-plz.toml` does not decide release worthiness" in page
+    assert "single authoritative Git tag" in page
+    assert "`xlog-cli-v{{ version }}`" in page
+    assert "package-labelled" in page
+    assert "manual `workflow_dispatch`" in page
+    assert "confirm_gpu_validation" in page
+    assert "docs-internal" not in page
diff --git a/python/tests/test_release_changelog_generation.py b/python/tests/test_release_changelog_generation.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c2ac0db3f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/python/tests/test_release_changelog_generation.py
@@ -0,0 +1,385 @@
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import importlib.util
+import re
+import subprocess
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+from types import ModuleType
+
+try:
+    import tomllib
+except ModuleNotFoundError:  # pragma: no cover - Python 3.10 local fallback
+    import tomli as tomllib
+
+
+ROOT = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[2]
+
+EPISTEMIC_RELEASE_BEHAVIORS = (
+    "Generate-Propagate-Test for acyclic programs",
+    "founded least fixpoints for positive FAEEL cycles",
+    "greatest compatible exact-tuple fixpoints for supported positive Gelfond-1991 possibility cycles",
+    "GPU-backed WFS for supported cycles through negation",
+    "GPU upper bound and reevaluate against frozen relation snapshots until concrete tuples converge",
+    "disjoint tuple domains cannot manufacture support",
+    "empty founded extension for unseeded FAEEL cycles",
+)
+
+
+def _load_script(name: str) -> ModuleType:
+    path = ROOT / "scripts" / name
+    assert path.exists(), f"missing release helper: {path}"
+    spec = importlib.util.spec_from_file_location(path.stem, path)
+    assert spec is not None
+    assert spec.loader is not None
+    module = importlib.util.module_from_spec(spec)
+    sys.modules[spec.name] = module
+    spec.loader.exec_module(module)
+    return module
+
+
+def _legacy_release_section(
+    package: str,
+    version: str,
+    *,
+    previous: str = "0.11.0",
+    date: str = "2026-08-16",
+    entry: str = "- generated entry",
+) -> str:
+    return (
+        f"## [{version}](https://example.invalid/org/repo/compare/"
+        f"{package}-v{previous}...{package}-v{version}) - {date}\n\n"
+        f"### Fixed\n\n{entry}\n\n"
+    )
+
+
+def _package_release_section(
+    package: str,
+    version: str,
+    *,
+    linked: bool = False,
+    previous: str = "0.11.0",
+    date: str = "2026-08-16",
+    entry: str = "- generated entry",
+) -> str:
+    link = ""
+    if linked:
+        link = (
+            "(https://example.invalid/org/repo/compare/"
+            f"{package}-v{previous}...{package}-v{version})"
+        )
+    return f"## {package} [{version}]{link} - {date}\n\n### Fixed\n\n{entry}\n\n"
+
+
+def test_unpublished_cleanup_accepts_legacy_and_package_labelled_sections() -> None:
+    helper = _load_script("prepare_release_changelog.py")
+    current = "0.12.0"
+    changelog = (
+        "# Changelog\n\n## [Unreleased]\n\n"
+        + _legacy_release_section("xlog-core", current, entry="- legacy core")
+        + _package_release_section("xlog-cli", current, linked=True, entry="- new cli")
+        + _package_release_section("xlog-core", current, entry="- new core")
+        + _legacy_release_section("xlog-cli", "0.11.0", previous="0.10.0")
+    )
+
+    updated, removed = helper.remove_unpublished_release_sections(
+        changelog,
+        version=current,
+        packages={"xlog-cli", "xlog-core"},
+        release_tag_exists=False,
+    )
+
+    assert removed == 3
+    assert "legacy core" not in updated
+    assert "new cli" not in updated
+    assert "new core" not in updated
+    assert "xlog-cli-v0.10.0...xlog-cli-v0.11.0" in updated
+
+    second, removed_again = helper.remove_unpublished_release_sections(
+        updated,
+        version=current,
+        packages={"xlog-cli", "xlog-core"},
+        release_tag_exists=False,
+    )
+    assert second == updated
+    assert removed_again == 0
+
+
+def test_package_labelled_parser_rejects_cross_package_compare_links() -> None:
+    helper = _load_script("prepare_release_changelog.py")
+    mismatched = (
+        "## xlog-core [0.12.0](https://example.invalid/org/repo/compare/"
+        "xlog-cli-v0.11.0...xlog-cli-v0.12.0) - 2026-08-16\n"
+    )
+
+    assert helper.release_sections(mismatched) == []
+
+
+def test_published_release_cleanup_is_a_noop() -> None:
+    helper = _load_script("prepare_release_changelog.py")
+    changelog = _package_release_section("xlog-cli", "0.12.0", linked=True)
+
+    updated, removed = helper.remove_unpublished_release_sections(
+        changelog,
+        version="0.12.0",
+        packages={"xlog-cli"},
+        release_tag_exists=True,
+    )
+
+    assert updated == changelog
+    assert removed == 0
+
+
+def test_release_context_uses_one_authoritative_tag() -> None:
+    helper = _load_script("prepare_release_changelog.py")
+    context = helper.load_release_context(
+        ROOT / "Cargo.toml", ROOT / "release-plz.toml"
+    )
+
+    assert context.version == "0.12.0"
+    assert context.authoritative_package == "xlog-cli"
+    assert context.release_tag == "xlog-cli-v0.12.0"
+    assert len(context.changelog_packages) == 10
+
+
+def test_changelog_template_labels_packages_and_links_only_authoritative_tag() -> None:
+    config = tomllib.loads((ROOT / "release-plz.toml").read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+    body = config["changelog"]["body"]
+
+    assert "## {{ package }} [{{ version }}]" in body
+    assert 'package == "xlog-cli"' in body
+    assert "({{ release_link }})" in body
+    assert body.count("{{ release_link }}") == 1
+
+
+def test_release_pr_template_uses_workspace_targets_for_git_only_packages() -> None:
+    config = tomllib.loads((ROOT / "release-plz.toml").read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+    body = config["workspace"]["pr_body"]
+
+    assert "## Workspace release" in body
+    assert "{% if version" not in body
+    assert "workspace target" in body
+    assert 'release.package == "pyxlog"' in body
+    assert 'release.package != "pyxlog"' in body
+    assert "crates.io baseline" in body
+    assert "registry baseline" not in body
+    assert "published separately to PyPI" in body
+    assert "initial release" not in body.lower()
+
+
+def test_historical_subject_normalization_uses_behavioral_release_notes() -> None:
+    config = tomllib.loads((ROOT / "release-plz.toml").read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+    preprocessors = config["changelog"]["commit_preprocessors"]
+    replacements = {entry["replace"] for entry in preprocessors}
+
+    assert (
+        "feat(runtime): expose epistemic uncertainty over accepted world views"
+        in replacements
+    )
+    assert "format accepted-world-view epistemic exports" in replacements
+
+
+def test_generator_restores_recursive_epistemic_behavior_after_cleanup() -> None:
+    helper = _load_script("prepare_release_changelog.py")
+    historical_notes = "\n".join(
+        f"- {behavior}" for behavior in EPISTEMIC_RELEASE_BEHAVIORS
+    )
+    changelog = (
+        "# Changelog\n\n## [Unreleased]\n\n"
+        + _legacy_release_section("xlog-logic", "0.12.0", entry=historical_notes)
+        + _legacy_release_section("xlog-cli", "0.11.0", previous="0.10.0")
+    )
+
+    cleaned, removed = helper.remove_unpublished_release_sections(
+        changelog,
+        version="0.12.0",
+        packages={"xlog-logic"},
+        release_tag_exists=False,
+    )
+
+    assert removed == 1
+    assert all(behavior not in cleaned for behavior in EPISTEMIC_RELEASE_BEHAVIORS)
+
+    config = tomllib.loads((ROOT / "release-plz.toml").read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+    exact_subject = (
+        "fix(logic): preserve predicate unions and recursive epistemic semantics (#195)"
+    )
+    preprocessors = config["changelog"]["commit_preprocessors"]
+
+    def normalize(message: str) -> str:
+        for preprocessor in preprocessors:
+            message = re.sub(preprocessor["pattern"], preprocessor["replace"], message)
+        return message
+
+    normalized_subject = normalize(exact_subject)
+    assert normalized_subject.startswith("fix(logic): ")
+    assert normalized_subject.endswith(" (#195)")
+    assert all(
+        behavior in normalized_subject for behavior in EPISTEMIC_RELEASE_BEHAVIORS
+    )
+
+    commit_with_body = exact_subject + "\n\n* preserve the squash commit body"
+    normalized_commit = normalize(commit_with_body)
+    assert normalized_commit.splitlines()[0] == normalized_subject
+    assert normalized_commit.endswith("* preserve the squash commit body")
+
+    near_matches = (
+        "fix(runtime): preserve predicate unions and recursive epistemic semantics (#195)",
+        "docs(logic): preserve predicate unions and recursive epistemic semantics (#195)",
+        "fix(logic): preserve predicate unions and recursive epistemic semantics (#194)",
+        exact_subject + " follow-up",
+        "revert: " + exact_subject,
+        "docs: quote a historical subject\n\n" + exact_subject,
+    )
+    assert all(normalize(candidate) == candidate for candidate in near_matches)
+
+
+def _git(repo: Path, *args: str) -> str:
+    proc = subprocess.run(
+        ["git", *args],
+        cwd=repo,
+        check=True,
+        capture_output=True,
+        text=True,
+    )
+    return proc.stdout.strip()
+
+
+def test_commit_subject_validator_rejects_only_misplaced_breaking_bang() -> None:
+    validator = _load_script("validate_release_commit_subjects.py")
+    commits = [
+        ("a" * 40, "feat(runtime)!: valid breaking subject"),
+        ("b" * 40, "fix: ordinary subject"),
+        ("c" * 40, "feat!(runtime): malformed breaking subject"),
+        ("d" * 40, "custom-type!(scope): malformed custom type"),
+    ]
+
+    issues = validator.find_malformed_subjects(commits)
+
+    assert [(issue.sha, issue.subject) for issue in issues] == commits[2:]
+
+
+def test_commit_subject_cli_checks_exactly_base_exclusive_range(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    script = ROOT / "scripts" / "validate_release_commit_subjects.py"
+    assert script.exists()
+    repo = tmp_path / "repo"
+    repo.mkdir()
+    _git(repo, "init")
+    _git(repo, "config", "user.name", "Release Test")
+    _git(repo, "config", "user.email", "release-test@example.invalid")
+    _git(repo, "commit", "--allow-empty", "-m", "feat!(runtime): historical malformed")
+    base = _git(repo, "rev-parse", "HEAD")
+    _git(repo, "commit", "--allow-empty", "-m", "feat(runtime)!: valid breaking")
+    valid_head = _git(repo, "rev-parse", "HEAD")
+
+    valid = subprocess.run(
+        [sys.executable, str(script), base, valid_head],
+        cwd=repo,
+        check=False,
+        capture_output=True,
+        text=True,
+    )
+    assert valid.returncode == 0, valid.stderr or valid.stdout
+    assert "1 newly introduced commit subject" in valid.stdout
+
+    _git(repo, "commit", "--allow-empty", "-m", "fix!(parser): malformed new commit")
+    invalid_head = _git(repo, "rev-parse", "HEAD")
+    invalid = subprocess.run(
+        [sys.executable, str(script), valid_head, invalid_head],
+        cwd=repo,
+        check=False,
+        capture_output=True,
+        text=True,
+    )
+    assert invalid.returncode == 1
+    assert invalid_head in invalid.stderr
+    assert "fix!(parser): malformed new commit" in invalid.stderr
+    assert "feat!(runtime): historical malformed" not in invalid.stderr
+
+
+def test_workflows_prepare_generation_and_lint_exact_event_range() -> None:
+    release_workflow = (ROOT / ".github/workflows/release-plz.yml").read_text(
+        encoding="utf-8"
+    )
+    prepare_command = "python3 scripts/prepare_release_changelog.py"
+    generator_command = "release-plz release-pr"
+    tomli_install = "python3 -m pip install --no-cache-dir tomli==2.2.1"
+    assert tomli_install in release_workflow
+    assert release_workflow.index(tomli_install) < release_workflow.index(
+        prepare_command
+    )
+    assert prepare_command in release_workflow
+    assert release_workflow.index(prepare_command) < release_workflow.index(
+        generator_command
+    )
+    assert (
+        "--allow-dirty" in release_workflow[release_workflow.index(generator_command) :]
+    )
+    assert "git status --porcelain=v1 --untracked-files=all" in release_workflow
+    assert '[[ "$entry" == " M CHANGELOG.md" ]]' in release_workflow
+
+    ci_workflow = (ROOT / ".github/workflows/ci.yml").read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+    git_hygiene_job = ci_workflow.split("  git-hygiene:\n", 1)[1].split(
+        "  python-contract:\n", 1
+    )[0]
+    assert "fetch-depth: 0" in git_hygiene_job
+    assert (
+        "BASE_SHA: ${{ github.event.pull_request.base.sha || github.event.before }}"
+        in git_hygiene_job
+    )
+    assert (
+        "HEAD_SHA: ${{ github.event.pull_request.head.sha || github.sha }}"
+        in git_hygiene_job
+    )
+    assert (
+        'python3 scripts/validate_release_commit_subjects.py "$BASE_SHA" "$HEAD_SHA"'
+        in git_hygiene_job
+    )
+
+    python_contract_job = ci_workflow.split("  python-contract:\n", 1)[1].split(
+        "  caviar-examples:\n", 1
+    )[0]
+    dependency_install = "python -m pip install --upgrade pip pytest PyYAML"
+    pytest_command = "python -m pytest -q"
+    assert dependency_install in python_contract_job
+    assert pytest_command in python_contract_job
+    assert python_contract_job.index(dependency_install) < python_contract_job.index(
+        pytest_command
+    )
+    pytest_invocation = python_contract_job[python_contract_job.index(pytest_command) :]
+    for test_path in (
+        "python/tests/test_relation_provenance_contract.py",
+        "python/tests/test_docs_contract.py",
+        "python/tests/test_release_changelog_generation.py",
+    ):
+        assert test_path in pytest_invocation
+
+
+def test_current_changelog_uses_package_sections_and_one_cli_link() -> None:
+    helper = _load_script("prepare_release_changelog.py")
+    context = helper.load_release_context(
+        ROOT / "Cargo.toml", ROOT / "release-plz.toml"
+    )
+    changelog = (ROOT / "CHANGELOG.md").read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+    current = [
+        section
+        for section in helper.release_sections(changelog)
+        if section.version == context.version
+    ]
+
+    assert {section.package for section in current} == context.changelog_packages
+    assert len(current) == len(context.changelog_packages)
+    current_text = "".join(
+        changelog[section.start : section.end] for section in current
+    )
+    compare_targets = re.findall(r"/compare/([^)]*)", current_text)
+    assert compare_targets == [f"xlog-cli-v0.11.0...{context.release_tag}"]
+    assert "feat!(runtime):" not in current_text
+    assert (
+        "- *(runtime)* [**breaking**] mark the output stats structs non_exhaustive"
+        in current_text
+    )
+    assert re.search(r"\b[A-Z]+-[0-9]+\b", current_text) is None
+    assert "expose epistemic uncertainty over accepted world views" in current_text
+    assert "format accepted-world-view epistemic exports" in current_text
+    assert all(behavior in current_text for behavior in EPISTEMIC_RELEASE_BEHAVIORS)
diff --git a/release-plz.toml b/release-plz.toml
index 4f3bc0302..51db1a76a 100644
--- a/release-plz.toml
+++ b/release-plz.toml
@@ -6,6 +6,19 @@ changelog_path = "CHANGELOG.md"
 max_analyze_commits = 5000
 pr_branch_prefix = "release-plz-"
 pr_labels = ["release"]
+pr_body = """
+## Workspace release
+
+This pull request prepares one shared XLOG workspace release.
+
+### Package targets
+
+{% for release in releases %}
+- `{{ release.package }}`: workspace target `{{ release.next_version }}`{% if release.previous_version != release.next_version and release.package != "pyxlog" and release.package != "xlog-neural" and release.package != "xlog-induce" %} (crates.io baseline `{{ release.previous_version }}`){% endif %}{% if release.package == "pyxlog" %}; Python artifacts are published separately to PyPI{% elif release.package == "xlog-neural" or release.package == "xlog-induce" %}; workspace-only package, not published to crates.io{% endif %}
+{% endfor %}
+
+Review the generated `CHANGELOG.md` for package-specific changes. Publication remains a separate maintainer action after the complete GPU release gate passes.
+"""
 # Release worthiness is enforced as ONE workspace-level gate in
 # .github/workflows/release-plz.yml, not per package: a per-package
 # `release_commits` filter over a shared [workspace.package].version
@@ -15,6 +28,31 @@ pr_labels = ["release"]
 git_release_enable = false
 git_tag_enable = false
 
+[changelog]
+# Package labels distinguish the ten sections in the shared changelog. Only
+# xlog-cli owns a Git tag, so only its heading receives a compare link.
+body = """
+## {{ package }} [{{ version }}]{% if package == "xlog-cli" and release_link %}({{ release_link }}){% endif %} - {{ timestamp | date(format="%Y-%m-%d") }}
+
+{% for group, commits in commits | group_by(attribute="group") %}
+### {{ group | upper_first }}
+
+{% for commit in commits %}
+{%- if commit.scope -%}
+- *({{commit.scope}})* {% if commit.breaking %}[**breaking**] {% endif %}{{ commit.message }}{%- if commit.links %} ({% for link in commit.links %}[{{link.text}}]({{link.href}}) {% endfor -%}){% endif %}
+{% else -%}
+- {% if commit.breaking %}[**breaking**] {% endif %}{{ commit.message }}
+{% endif -%}
+{% endfor -%}
+{% endfor %}
+"""
+commit_preprocessors = [
+  { pattern = '^([A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9-]*)!\(([^()]+)\):', replace = '${1}(${2})!:' },
+  { pattern = '^Merge [A-Z][A-Z0-9-]* epistemic possible-source probes into main$', replace = 'feat(runtime): expose epistemic uncertainty over accepted world views' },
+  { pattern = 'apply rustfmt to the [A-Z][A-Z0-9-]* epistemic sources', replace = 'format accepted-world-view epistemic exports' },
+  { pattern = '(?m)\Afix\(logic\): preserve predicate unions and recursive epistemic semantics \(#195\)$', replace = 'fix(logic): classify modal dependencies before single-pass planning, routing through Generate-Propagate-Test for acyclic programs, founded least fixpoints for positive FAEEL cycles, greatest compatible exact-tuple fixpoints for supported positive Gelfond-1991 possibility cycles, and GPU-backed WFS for supported cycles through negation; compute a GPU upper bound and reevaluate against frozen relation snapshots until concrete tuples converge, so disjoint tuple domains cannot manufacture support; return the empty founded extension for unseeded FAEEL cycles, including `p() :- possible p().` (#195)' },
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "xlog-core"
 release = true
@@ -69,8 +107,8 @@ git_release_enable = true
 git_tag_enable = true
 git_tag_name = "xlog-cli-v{{ version }}"
 git_release_name = "xlog-cli v{{ version }}"
-# The shared workspace CHANGELOG.md contains one "## [x.y.z]" heading per crate
-# in the version group, which can leave "{{ changelog }}" empty at release time.
+# The shared CHANGELOG.md uses one package-labelled "## package [x.y.z]" heading
+# per crate, which can leave "{{ changelog }}" empty at release time.
 # Keep the install/docs footer so the GitHub release body is never blank.
 git_release_body = """
 {{ changelog }}
diff --git a/scripts/prepare_release_changelog.py b/scripts/prepare_release_changelog.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0fe237618
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/prepare_release_changelog.py
@@ -0,0 +1,244 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""Remove generated sections for the current unpublished workspace version."""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import argparse
+import re
+import subprocess
+from dataclasses import dataclass
+from pathlib import Path
+
+try:
+    import tomllib
+except ModuleNotFoundError:  # pragma: no cover - Python 3.10 local fallback
+    import tomli as tomllib
+
+
+RELEASE_HEADING = re.compile(
+    r"^## (?:(?P<package>[A-Za-z0-9][A-Za-z0-9_-]*) )?"
+    r"\[(?P<version>[^\]]+)\](?:\((?P<url>[^)]+)\))?"
+    r" - (?P<date>\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2})\s*$"
+)
+
+
+@dataclass(frozen=True)
+class ReleaseContext:
+    version: str
+    changelog_packages: frozenset[str]
+    authoritative_package: str
+    release_tag: str
+
+
+@dataclass(frozen=True)
+class ReleaseSection:
+    version: str
+    package: str
+    start: int
+    end: int
+
+
+def _load_toml(path: Path) -> dict:
+    with path.open("rb") as handle:
+        return tomllib.load(handle)
+
+
+def load_release_context(manifest_path: Path, config_path: Path) -> ReleaseContext:
+    manifest = _load_toml(manifest_path)
+    config = _load_toml(config_path)
+    try:
+        version = manifest["workspace"]["package"]["version"]
+    except KeyError as exc:
+        raise ValueError(
+            f"{manifest_path} must define workspace.package.version"
+        ) from exc
+
+    workspace = config.get("workspace", {})
+    changelog_packages: set[str] = set()
+    tag_packages: list[tuple[str, str]] = []
+    for package in config.get("package", []):
+        if not package.get("release", workspace.get("release", True)):
+            continue
+        if package.get("changelog_update", workspace.get("changelog_update", True)):
+            changelog_packages.add(package["name"])
+        if package.get("git_tag_enable", workspace.get("git_tag_enable", True)):
+            tag_template = package.get("git_tag_name", workspace.get("git_tag_name"))
+            if not tag_template:
+                raise ValueError(
+                    f"release tag package {package['name']} needs git_tag_name"
+                )
+            tag_packages.append((package["name"], tag_template))
+
+    if not changelog_packages:
+        raise ValueError(f"{config_path} enables no package changelogs")
+    if len(tag_packages) != 1:
+        raise ValueError(
+            f"{config_path} must enable exactly one authoritative release tag; "
+            f"found {len(tag_packages)}"
+        )
+    authoritative_package, tag_template = tag_packages[0]
+    if "{{ version }}" not in tag_template:
+        raise ValueError("the authoritative git_tag_name must contain {{ version }}")
+
+    return ReleaseContext(
+        version=version,
+        changelog_packages=frozenset(changelog_packages),
+        authoritative_package=authoritative_package,
+        release_tag=tag_template.replace("{{ version }}", version),
+    )
+
+
+def _parse_compare_url(url: str, version: str) -> str | None:
+    if "/compare/" not in url:
+        return None
+    comparison = url.rsplit("/compare/", 1)[1]
+    if comparison.count("...") != 1:
+        return None
+    previous, current = comparison.split("...", 1)
+    if "-v" not in previous or "-v" not in current:
+        return None
+    previous_package, _ = previous.rsplit("-v", 1)
+    current_package, current_version = current.rsplit("-v", 1)
+    if previous_package != current_package or current_version != version:
+        return None
+    return current_package
+
+
+def _parse_release_heading(line: str) -> tuple[str, str] | None:
+    match = RELEASE_HEADING.fullmatch(line.rstrip("\n"))
+    if match is None:
+        return None
+    version = match.group("version")
+    labelled_package = match.group("package")
+    url = match.group("url")
+
+    if url is None:
+        if labelled_package is None:
+            return None
+        return version, labelled_package
+
+    linked_package = _parse_compare_url(url, version)
+    if linked_package is None:
+        return None
+    if labelled_package is not None and labelled_package != linked_package:
+        return None
+    return version, labelled_package or linked_package
+
+
+def release_sections(changelog: str) -> list[ReleaseSection]:
+    lines = changelog.splitlines(keepends=True)
+    offsets: list[int] = []
+    offset = 0
+    for line in lines:
+        offsets.append(offset)
+        offset += len(line)
+
+    heading_lines = [
+        index for index, line in enumerate(lines) if line.startswith("## ")
+    ]
+    sections: list[ReleaseSection] = []
+    for heading_index, line_index in enumerate(heading_lines):
+        parsed = _parse_release_heading(lines[line_index])
+        if parsed is None:
+            continue
+        next_line = (
+            heading_lines[heading_index + 1]
+            if heading_index + 1 < len(heading_lines)
+            else len(lines)
+        )
+        end = offsets[next_line] if next_line < len(lines) else len(changelog)
+        version, package = parsed
+        sections.append(
+            ReleaseSection(
+                version=version,
+                package=package,
+                start=offsets[line_index],
+                end=end,
+            )
+        )
+    return sections
+
+
+def remove_unpublished_release_sections(
+    changelog: str,
+    *,
+    version: str,
+    packages: set[str] | frozenset[str],
+    release_tag_exists: bool,
+) -> tuple[str, int]:
+    if release_tag_exists:
+        return changelog, 0
+
+    stale_sections = [
+        section
+        for section in release_sections(changelog)
+        if section.version == version and section.package in packages
+    ]
+    if not stale_sections:
+        return changelog, 0
+
+    pieces: list[str] = []
+    cursor = 0
+    for section in stale_sections:
+        pieces.append(changelog[cursor : section.start])
+        cursor = section.end
+    pieces.append(changelog[cursor:])
+    return "".join(pieces), len(stale_sections)
+
+
+def _tag_exists(repository: Path, tag: str) -> bool:
+    proc = subprocess.run(
+        ["git", "rev-parse", "--verify", "--quiet", f"refs/tags/{tag}^{{commit}}"],
+        cwd=repository,
+        check=False,
+        capture_output=True,
+        text=True,
+    )
+    if proc.returncode not in (0, 1):
+        detail = proc.stderr.strip() or proc.stdout.strip() or "git failed"
+        raise RuntimeError(f"could not inspect release tag {tag}: {detail}")
+    return proc.returncode == 0
+
+
+def _parse_args(argv: list[str] | None = None) -> argparse.Namespace:
+    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser()
+    parser.add_argument("--repository", type=Path, default=Path("."))
+    parser.add_argument("--manifest", type=Path, default=Path("Cargo.toml"))
+    parser.add_argument("--config", type=Path, default=Path("release-plz.toml"))
+    parser.add_argument("--changelog", type=Path, default=Path("CHANGELOG.md"))
+    return parser.parse_args(argv)
+
+
+def main(argv: list[str] | None = None) -> int:
+    args = _parse_args(argv)
+    repository = args.repository.resolve()
+    manifest = repository / args.manifest
+    config = repository / args.config
+    changelog_path = repository / args.changelog
+    context = load_release_context(manifest, config)
+    original = changelog_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+    tag_exists = _tag_exists(repository, context.release_tag)
+    updated, removed = remove_unpublished_release_sections(
+        original,
+        version=context.version,
+        packages=context.changelog_packages,
+        release_tag_exists=tag_exists,
+    )
+    if updated != original:
+        changelog_path.write_text(updated, encoding="utf-8")
+
+    if tag_exists:
+        print(
+            f"Release tag {context.release_tag} exists; preserved published "
+            f"{context.version} changelog sections."
+        )
+    else:
+        print(
+            f"Removed {removed} generated changelog section(s) for unpublished "
+            f"workspace version {context.version}."
+        )
+    return 0
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    raise SystemExit(main())
diff --git a/scripts/validate_release_commit_subjects.py b/scripts/validate_release_commit_subjects.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..931ecf4e7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/validate_release_commit_subjects.py
@@ -0,0 +1,88 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""Reject malformed Conventional Commit breaking markers in a Git range."""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import argparse
+import re
+import subprocess
+import sys
+from dataclasses import dataclass
+from pathlib import Path
+
+
+MISPLACED_BREAKING_BANG = re.compile(r"^[A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9-]*!\([^()]+\):")
+
+
+@dataclass(frozen=True)
+class SubjectIssue:
+    sha: str
+    subject: str
+
+
+def find_malformed_subjects(
+    commits: list[tuple[str, str]],
+) -> list[SubjectIssue]:
+    return [
+        SubjectIssue(sha=sha, subject=subject)
+        for sha, subject in commits
+        if MISPLACED_BREAKING_BANG.match(subject)
+    ]
+
+
+def _run_git(repository: Path, *args: str) -> str:
+    proc = subprocess.run(
+        ["git", *args],
+        cwd=repository,
+        check=False,
+        capture_output=True,
+        text=True,
+    )
+    if proc.returncode != 0:
+        detail = proc.stderr.strip() or proc.stdout.strip() or "git failed"
+        raise RuntimeError(f"git {' '.join(args)} failed: {detail}")
+    return proc.stdout.strip()
+
+
+def newly_introduced_subjects(
+    repository: Path, base: str, head: str
+) -> list[tuple[str, str]]:
+    _run_git(repository, "rev-parse", "--verify", f"{base}^{{commit}}")
+    _run_git(repository, "rev-parse", "--verify", f"{head}^{{commit}}")
+    revision_output = _run_git(repository, "rev-list", "--reverse", head, f"^{base}")
+    revisions = [line for line in revision_output.splitlines() if line]
+    return [
+        (revision, _run_git(repository, "show", "-s", "--format=%s", revision))
+        for revision in revisions
+    ]
+
+
+def _parse_args(argv: list[str] | None = None) -> argparse.Namespace:
+    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser()
+    parser.add_argument("base", help="base commit excluded from validation")
+    parser.add_argument("head", help="head commit included in validation")
+    parser.add_argument("--repository", type=Path, default=Path("."))
+    return parser.parse_args(argv)
+
+
+def main(argv: list[str] | None = None) -> int:
+    args = _parse_args(argv)
+    commits = newly_introduced_subjects(args.repository.resolve(), args.base, args.head)
+    issues = find_malformed_subjects(commits)
+    if issues:
+        print(
+            "Malformed breaking Conventional Commit subjects place `!` before "
+            "the scope; use `type(scope)!:` instead:",
+            file=sys.stderr,
+        )
+        for issue in issues:
+            print(f"  {issue.sha} {issue.subject}", file=sys.stderr)
+        return 1
+
+    noun = "subject" if len(commits) == 1 else "subjects"
+    print(f"Validated {len(commits)} newly introduced commit {noun}.")
+    return 0
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    raise SystemExit(main())