diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index fe2ecf0..28a4481 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ its status — there is no other source of truth.
 ├── install.py            ← Wires the project via the agent adapter (see below)
 ├── start.sh              ← One-command start: install + port handling + board
 ├── stop.sh               ← Safe stop: refuses while agents run (--force overrides)
-├── update.sh             ← Replace core/ from the distribution repo; local/ survives
+├── update.sh             ← Replace core/ from the published release; local/ survives
 ├── tasks/                ← Task state, nothing else. Works as a plain folder
 │   ├── backlog/…done/    ←   kanban even if manager/ is deleted or ignored.
 │   └── archive/          ← Archived cards: out of the flow, never deleted
@@ -110,11 +110,17 @@ Commands arm on first click and run on the second.
 
 ## Updating
 
-`./.task-manager/update.sh` fetches the distribution repo (`BENCH_SOURCE`
-in `local/.env`), replaces `manager/core/` wholesale plus the top-level
-scripts, and touches nothing else — tasks, driver, prompt overrides, `.env`
-and state all survive. Then re-run `install.py` (idempotent re-wire) and
-restart the board.
+`./.task-manager/update.sh` downloads the latest GitHub Release of the
+distribution repo (`BENCH_REF=v3` pins a tag; the source is stamped into
+the script at build time, `BENCH_SOURCE` in `local/.env` overrides it),
+replaces `manager/core/` wholesale plus the top-level files named in the
+artifact's `manager/core/release-manifest`, and touches nothing else —
+tasks, driver, prompt overrides, `.env` and state all survive. No release
+published → it says so and changes nothing; developers working on bench
+itself update their clone with git instead. Then re-run `install.py`
+(idempotent re-wire) and restart the board. Releases are cut from the
+bench repo with `release.sh` (never shipped in the artifact): it builds
+the tarball from the manifest, tags `v<VERSION>` and publishes via `gh`.
 
 ## Installing into a project
 
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 17f1a10..62b3e7a 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -9,13 +9,14 @@ branch, and an archive that is never a delete.
 ## Install into a repo
 
 ```bash
-git clone <this repo> .task-manager && rm -rf .task-manager/.git
+mkdir .task-manager && curl -L \
+  https://github.com/12vectors/bench/releases/latest/download/bench.tar.gz \
+  | tar -xz -C .task-manager
 ./.task-manager/start.sh        # wires the project (idempotent) and serves
 ```
 
-The first `start.sh` clears the distribution's own cards from `tasks/`,
-`plans/` and `reference/` (printing each removal), so a fresh install
-starts with an empty board.
+No token, no clone: releases are curated artifacts that never contained
+bench's own cards or settings, so the board starts empty by construction.
 
 Commit `.task-manager/` into the host repo — core is vendored on purpose,
 so clones work offline and updates show up in the host's own diffs.
@@ -23,16 +24,33 @@ so clones work offline and updates show up in the host's own diffs.
 ## Update
 
 ```bash
-# in manager/local/.env:  BENCH_SOURCE=<this repo's git url>
-./.task-manager/update.sh              # latest
-BENCH_REF=v1 ./.task-manager/update.sh # a specific release tag
+./.task-manager/update.sh              # latest release
+BENCH_REF=v2 ./.task-manager/update.sh # an exact release tag
 ```
 
-Updates replace `manager/core/` and the top-level scripts wholesale and
-touch nothing else — tasks, plans, reference, and everything under
-`manager/local/` (your driver, commands, prompt overrides, settings,
-state) survive every update. Then `python3 .task-manager/install.py` and
-restart the board.
+The artifact is stamped with the repo it was built from, so updating
+needs no configuration; `BENCH_SOURCE=<owner/repo>` in
+`manager/local/.env` overrides the stamp. Updates replace
+`manager/core/` and the top-level scripts wholesale and touch nothing
+else — tasks, plans, reference, and everything under `manager/local/`
+(your driver, commands, prompt overrides, settings, state) survive every
+update. Then `python3 .task-manager/install.py` and restart the board.
+If the source repo has no published release yet, `update.sh` says so and
+changes nothing.
+
+## Working on bench itself
+
+```bash
+git clone git@github.com:12vectors/bench.git && cd bench && ./start.sh
+```
+
+A clone carries bench's own cards and local/ content — that is dev mode,
+not an install. (Installing from a clone anyway works: `install.py`
+clears the shipped cards on its first boot in a host repo.) Releases are
+built by `./release.sh` from the manifest at
+`manager/core/release-manifest`: tag = `v<VERSION>`, one stable asset
+name (`bench.tar.gz`), contents at the tarball root — the two things the
+install one-liner above depends on.
 
 ## The three-layer law
 
diff --git a/manager/core/.env.example b/manager/core/.env.example
index b3e4790..1fe11ac 100644
--- a/manager/core/.env.example
+++ b/manager/core/.env.example
@@ -46,7 +46,9 @@ BOARD_WATCH_INTERVAL=2
 BOARD_EVENTS_CAP=800
 BOARD_HISTORY_CAP=300
 
-# Where update.sh fetches the task-manager distribution from (a git URL).
+# Where update.sh fetches the task-manager's releases from (owner/repo, or
+# any GitHub URL). Normally unset: the shipped update.sh is stamped at
+# build time with the repo it came from, and this overrides the stamp.
 # Updates replace manager/core/ and the top-level scripts; they never touch
 # tasks/, plans/, reference/ or manager/local/.
 BENCH_SOURCE=