diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index eb28601..0620091 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -45,16 +45,16 @@ jobs:
         run: bash scripts/changelog-section.sh "$GITHUB_REF_NAME" CHANGELOG.md > /tmp/release-notes.md
 
       - name: build the package, once
+        # Just the build — check and tests already gated the merge commit
+        # this tag points at (ci.yml, with its age dependency); the release
+        # job's whole job is packaging that green tree.
         run: |
           npm ci
-          npm run check
           npm run build
-          npm test
 
       - name: assemble cast-${{ github.ref_name }}.tgz
         # The runnable tree and nothing else: bin/, dist/, production
-        # node_modules/, package.json. Pruned AFTER the tests so what ships
-        # is the tree that passed. Top-level dir named like a GitHub
+        # node_modules/, package.json. Top-level dir named like a GitHub
         # archive's, so the installer handles both shapes identically.
         run: |
           npm prune --omit=dev
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index ffda61a..d298f2f 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Changelog
 
-History before versioning lives in git. Feature PRs land their entry in
+History before 0.1.0 lives in git. Feature PRs land their entry in
 `## Unreleased` as part of the PR; a release PR stamps that section with
 the version and date (see cast#96 — the release flow shared with
 heavy-duty/box#83).
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ heavy-duty/box#83).
   `package.json` (the single source of truth — no separate `VERSION` file)
   plus the install root. On a bare `X.Y.Z` tag push, `release.yml` asserts
   the tag matches `package.json`, builds once in CI (`npm ci`, `npm run
-  build`, `npm test`, `npm prune --omit=dev`), tars the runnable tree into
+  build`, `npm prune --omit=dev`), tars the runnable tree into
   `cast-X.Y.Z.tgz`, and creates the GitHub release with that version's
   changelog section as the body and the tarball attached. The installer now
   defaults to the **latest release asset** — resolved via the