diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index bf9c424..48ec119 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -1,35 +1,71 @@
 name: release
 
-# Push a tag like v1.1.0 to publish a GitHub Release with personawriter.zip attached,
-# ready to upload in claude.ai / Claude Desktop (Settings -> Capabilities -> Skills).
+# Publishes a GitHub Release with personawriter.zip attached whenever main carries a version in
+# .claude-plugin/plugin.json that has no release yet. Bumping the version is all it takes;
+# the tag (v<version>) is created by the release. Other pushes to main are a no-op.
 on:
   push:
-    tags: ["v*"]
+    branches: [main]
+  workflow_dispatch:
 
 permissions:
   contents: write
 
+concurrency:
+  group: release
+  cancel-in-progress: false
+
 jobs:
   release:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v7
+
+      - name: Read version and check for an existing release
+        id: version
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
+        run: |
+          version=$(python3 -c "import json; print(json.load(open('.claude-plugin/plugin.json'))['version'])")
+          echo "tag=v$version" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          if gh release view "v$version" > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+            echo "Release v$version already exists, nothing to do."
+            echo "exists=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          else
+            echo "Releasing v$version."
+            echo "exists=false" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          fi
+
       - uses: actions/setup-python@v7
+        if: steps.version.outputs.exists == 'false'
         with:
           python-version: "3.13"
-      - run: python -m unittest discover tests
-      - name: Check tag matches plugin version
-        run: |
-          version=$(python -c "import json; print(json.load(open('.claude-plugin/plugin.json'))['version'])")
-          if [ "$GITHUB_REF_NAME" != "v$version" ]; then
-            echo "::error::Tag $GITHUB_REF_NAME does not match plugin.json version $version"
-            exit 1
-          fi
+
+      - name: Run tests (manifests, changelog entry, skill package, scripts)
+        if: steps.version.outputs.exists == 'false'
+        run: python -m unittest discover tests
+
       - name: Build skill zip
+        if: steps.version.outputs.exists == 'false'
         run: |
           cd skills
           zip -r ../personawriter.zip personawriter -x '*/__pycache__/*'
+
       - name: Publish release
+        if: steps.version.outputs.exists == 'false'
         env:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
-        run: gh release create "$GITHUB_REF_NAME" personawriter.zip --title "PersonaWriter $GITHUB_REF_NAME" --generate-notes
+          TAG: ${{ steps.version.outputs.tag }}
+        run: |
+          # release notes = this version's CHANGELOG section
+          python3 - "$TAG" > notes.md <<'EOF'
+          import re, sys
+          version = sys.argv[1][1:]
+          text = open("CHANGELOG.md", encoding="utf-8").read()
+          m = re.search(rf"^## {re.escape(version)}\s*\n(.*?)(?=^## |\Z)", text, re.S | re.M)
+          print(m.group(1).strip() if m else "")
+          EOF
+          gh release create "$TAG" personawriter.zip \
+            --target "$GITHUB_SHA" \
+            --title "PersonaWriter $TAG" \
+            --notes-file notes.md
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 7ebd290..4ca9587 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -19,6 +19,8 @@
 - New **Profile only** mode; Update mode also refreshes markers and anchors and works on style
   skills built elsewhere.
 - Generated skills get `markers.json`, the three-step drift check, and a "Rewriting a draft" section.
+- Releases publish automatically: when `main` carries a version without a release, the workflow
+  tests, tags and publishes `personawriter.zip`. No manual tags.
 - SKILL.md: intake strips non-author material, one voice per skill, a manual path when code
   cannot run, a 70+ score target in the proving step, and a "drift watch-list" in the guide.
 
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index ef0d5ef..966498f 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -43,6 +43,8 @@ python -m unittest discover tests -v
 
 ## Releasing (maintainers)
 
-Bump `version` in `.claude-plugin/plugin.json` and `.claude-plugin/marketplace.json`, update
-`CHANGELOG.md`, then push a tag: `git tag v1.2.0 && git push --tags`. The release workflow
-attaches `personawriter.zip` automatically.
+Bump `version` in `.claude-plugin/plugin.json` and `.claude-plugin/marketplace.json` and add a
+`## <version>` section to `CHANGELOG.md` (the tests check all three agree). When that reaches
+`main`, the release workflow sees a version without a release, runs the tests, creates the
+`v<version>` tag and publishes a GitHub Release with `personawriter.zip` and the changelog
+section as notes. No manual tagging. Pushes that don't change the version do nothing.