diff --git a/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/bug_report.yml b/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/bug_report.yml
index 430aa729..b3ec6793 100644
--- a/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/bug_report.yml
+++ b/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/bug_report.yml
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ body:
         - Connector (SQL Server)
         - Connector (SQLite)
         - Python semantic layer
-        - Python daemon
+        - KTX daemon
         - Docs
         - Other
     validations:
diff --git a/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/feature_request.yml b/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/feature_request.yml
index 5b2f8502..f4304878 100644
--- a/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/feature_request.yml
+++ b/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/feature_request.yml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ body:
         - Connectors
         - Context engine
         - Python semantic layer
-        - Python daemon
+        - KTX daemon
         - Docs
         - Other
     validations:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index d00a8fdd..a1b0e56b 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -69,27 +69,6 @@ jobs:
       - name: Install Python dependencies
         run: uv sync --all-packages
 
-      - name: Prepare next prerelease branch
-        if: ${{ inputs.release_kind == 'rc' }}
-        run: |
-          set -euo pipefail
-
-          source_sha="$(git rev-parse HEAD)"
-          git config user.name "github-actions[bot]"
-          git config user.email "41898282+github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
-
-          if git ls-remote --exit-code --heads origin "${KTX_PRERELEASE_BRANCH}" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-            git fetch origin "${KTX_PRERELEASE_BRANCH}"
-            git checkout -B "${KTX_PRERELEASE_BRANCH}" "origin/${KTX_PRERELEASE_BRANCH}"
-            git merge --no-edit "${source_sha}"
-          else
-            git checkout -B "${KTX_PRERELEASE_BRANCH}" "${source_sha}"
-          fi
-
-          git push --set-upstream origin "HEAD:${KTX_PRERELEASE_BRANCH}"
-        env:
-          KTX_PRERELEASE_BRANCH: next
-
       - name: Prepare npm package root for release verification
         run: |
           set -euo pipefail
@@ -112,36 +91,16 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Dry-run semantic release
         if: ${{ !inputs.publish_live }}
-        run: |
-          set -euo pipefail
-
-          if [ "${KTX_RELEASE_KIND}" = "rc" ]; then
-            export GITHUB_REF="refs/heads/${KTX_PRERELEASE_BRANCH}"
-            export GITHUB_REF_NAME="${KTX_PRERELEASE_BRANCH}"
-            export GITHUB_SHA="$(git rev-parse HEAD)"
-          fi
-
-          pnpm run semantic-release:dry-run
+        run: pnpm run semantic-release:dry-run
         env:
           GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
           KTX_RELEASE_KIND: ${{ inputs.release_kind }}
-          KTX_PRERELEASE_BRANCH: next
           FORCE_RELEASE: ${{ inputs.force_release }}
 
       - name: Create semantic release
         if: ${{ inputs.publish_live }}
-        run: |
-          set -euo pipefail
-
-          if [ "${KTX_RELEASE_KIND}" = "rc" ]; then
-            export GITHUB_REF="refs/heads/${KTX_PRERELEASE_BRANCH}"
-            export GITHUB_REF_NAME="${KTX_PRERELEASE_BRANCH}"
-            export GITHUB_SHA="$(git rev-parse HEAD)"
-          fi
-
-          pnpm run semantic-release
+        run: pnpm run semantic-release
         env:
           GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
           KTX_RELEASE_KIND: ${{ inputs.release_kind }}
-          KTX_PRERELEASE_BRANCH: next
           FORCE_RELEASE: ${{ inputs.force_release }}
diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index a5447c9d..f6ce3d98 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ KTX is a pnpm + uv workspace.
 - LLM package: `packages/llm`
 - Database connectors: `packages/connector-*`
 - Python semantic layer: `python/ktx-sl`
-- Python daemon: `python/ktx-daemon`
+- KTX daemon: `python/ktx-daemon`
 - Examples and fixtures: `examples/`
 - Workspace scripts: `scripts/`
 - Local agent skills and internal planning docs are private overlays. Do not
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ shared contracts or package exports are affected.
   test file
 - TypeScript dead-code tooling/config changes: `pnpm run dead-code`
 - Python semantic layer: `uv run pytest python/ktx-sl/tests -q`
-- Python daemon: `uv run pytest python/ktx-daemon/tests -q`
+- KTX daemon: `uv run pytest python/ktx-daemon/tests -q`
 - Python files: also run `uv run pre-commit run --files [FILES]` when
   pre-commit is configured
 
diff --git a/codecov.yml b/codecov.yml
index 0ff83e2f..a599cd3d 100644
--- a/codecov.yml
+++ b/codecov.yml
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ component_management:
       paths:
         - python/ktx-sl/semantic_layer/**
     - component_id: py_daemon
-      name: Python daemon
+      name: KTX daemon
       paths:
         - python/ktx-daemon/src/ktx_daemon/**
 
diff --git a/docs-site/content/agents-setup.md b/docs-site/content/agents-setup.md
index 24614ea8..4fcaeb3f 100644
--- a/docs-site/content/agents-setup.md
+++ b/docs-site/content/agents-setup.md
@@ -146,7 +146,7 @@ Success requires (canonical shape - supersedes the example in the docs):
 
 Do **not** run `--deep` ingest in this flow - that requires LLM time and is out of scope.
 
-### Optional: directly probe the embeddings daemon
+### Optional: directly probe the KTX daemon
 
 If the user asks for stronger verification that `sentence-transformers` is actually serving (not just that setup said "ok"), do all of:
 
@@ -155,7 +155,7 @@ If the user asks for stronger verification that `sentence-transformers` is actua
 3. `curl -sS http://127.0.0.1:<port>/health` → expect HTTP 200 with `{"status":"healthy",…}`.
 4. `curl -sS -X POST http://127.0.0.1:<port>/embeddings/compute -H 'content-type: application/json' -d '{"text":"hello"}'` → expect `{"embedding": [...384 floats...]}`.
 
-Discover the port from setup's log line `Started KTX local embeddings daemon: http://127.0.0.1:<port>` or from the daemon's OpenAPI at `GET /openapi.json`. Note: the routes are `/health` and `/embeddings/compute` - not `/healthz` or `/embeddings`.
+Discover the port from setup's log line `Started KTX daemon: http://127.0.0.1:<port>` or from the daemon's OpenAPI at `GET /openapi.json`. Note: the routes are `/health` and `/embeddings/compute` - not `/healthz` or `/embeddings`.
 
 ## Phase 6 - Final report
 
@@ -167,7 +167,7 @@ KTX SETUP COMPLETE
 Project:     <path>
 LLM:         <backend> / <model>
 Embeddings:  <backend> / <model>
-Runtime:     managed Python ✓ (if sentence-transformers daemon was started)
+Runtime:     managed Python ✓ (if the KTX daemon was started)
 
 Connections:
   - <name> (<driver>)  status=ok  schemas=[…]  tables=<N>
diff --git a/docs-site/content/docs/cli-reference/ktx-admin.mdx b/docs-site/content/docs/cli-reference/ktx-admin.mdx
index c7df5461..966eac5a 100644
--- a/docs-site/content/docs/cli-reference/ktx-admin.mdx
+++ b/docs-site/content/docs/cli-reference/ktx-admin.mdx
@@ -44,8 +44,8 @@ directory. Use it from any directory to generate editor or agent schema files.
 | Subcommand | Description |
 |-----------|-------------|
 | `install` | Install the bundled Python runtime wheel into the managed runtime |
-| `start` | Start the KTX-managed Python HTTP daemon |
-| `stop` | Stop the KTX-managed Python HTTP daemon |
+| `start` | Start the KTX daemon |
+| `stop` | Stop the KTX daemon |
 | `status` | Show managed Python runtime status and readiness checks |
 
 ## `admin runtime` Options
diff --git a/docs-site/content/docs/community/contributing.mdx b/docs-site/content/docs/community/contributing.mdx
index 63b08cd6..bf66f546 100644
--- a/docs-site/content/docs/community/contributing.mdx
+++ b/docs-site/content/docs/community/contributing.mdx
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ documentation, connector coverage, and examples.
 | Context engine | `packages/context`, including project config, ingest orchestration, and semantic search |
 | Connectors | `packages/connector-*`, plus connector-specific tests and integration docs |
 | Python semantic layer | `python/ktx-sl` for planning and SQL generation |
-| Python daemon | `python/ktx-daemon` for the portable runtime API |
+| KTX daemon | `python/ktx-daemon` for the portable runtime API |
 | Documentation | `docs-site/content/docs` for public docs and `docs-site/tests` for docs behavior |
 
 ## Development setup
diff --git a/docs/release.md b/docs/release.md
index 4042863c..00362c99 100644
--- a/docs/release.md
+++ b/docs/release.md
@@ -2,25 +2,24 @@
 
 This runbook covers the maintainer workflow for publishing `@kaelio/ktx` to
 npm through GitHub Actions. The workflow uses semantic-release to choose the
-next version, update release metadata, publish the package, create the GitHub
-release, and commit prerelease files back to the `next` branch.
+next version, update release metadata in the CI workspace, publish the
+package, and create the GitHub release. No files are ever committed back to
+the repository — the git tag and the published npm artifact are the source of
+truth for any released version.
 
 ## Release channels
 
-KTX has two npm release channels:
+`main` is the bleeding-edge branch. Every release runs from `main`; the
+dispatcher chooses the channel:
 
-- `rc` publishes prereleases such as `0.1.0-rc.2` to the npm `next` tag.
-- `stable` publishes normal releases such as `0.1.0` to the npm `latest` tag.
+- `rc` publishes prereleases such as `0.3.0-rc.1` to the npm `next` tag.
+- `stable` publishes normal releases such as `0.3.0` to the npm `latest` tag.
 
-Run rc releases from the source branch you want to publish. The workflow
-creates or updates the `next` prerelease branch from that source branch before
-running semantic-release, because semantic-release requires a dedicated
-prerelease branch in addition to the stable `main` branch. You can publish an
-rc from `main` when you want to validate the current stable branch before a
-stable release.
+Tag history on `main` interleaves rc and stable tags
+(`v0.2.0 → v0.3.0-rc.1 → v0.3.0-rc.2 → v0.3.0 → …`). semantic-release uses the
+prerelease tags to graduate to the next stable cleanly.
 
-Run stable releases only from `main`. The workflow rejects stable releases from
-other branches.
+The workflow rejects releases from any branch other than `main`.
 
 ## Prerequisites
 
@@ -59,16 +58,15 @@ publishing to npm.
 
 1. Open **Actions** in GitHub.
 2. Select **KTX Release**.
-3. Select the branch to release from.
+3. Select `main`.
 4. Set **release_kind** to `rc` or `stable`.
 5. Set **publish_live** to `false`.
 6. Optional: Set **force_release** to `true` when you need a patch release even
    if semantic-release doesn't find a releasable commit.
 7. Run the workflow.
 
-The dry-run uses the same semantic-release configuration as a live release. For
-rc releases, it can create or update the `next` branch. It doesn't publish to
-npm and doesn't commit release files.
+The dry-run uses the same semantic-release configuration as a live release. It
+doesn't publish to npm and doesn't push any tags.
 
 ## Publish an rc release
 
@@ -77,16 +75,15 @@ promoting to `latest`.
 
 1. Open **Actions** in GitHub.
 2. Select **KTX Release**.
-3. Select the source branch to release from, including `main` when needed.
+3. Select `main`.
 4. Set **release_kind** to `rc`.
 5. Leave **publish_live** set to `true`.
 6. Optional: Set **force_release** to `true`.
 7. Run the workflow.
 
-The workflow merges the selected source branch into `next`, publishes
-`@kaelio/ktx` with `--access public --tag next`, runs the published package
-smoke test, creates a GitHub release, and commits `CHANGELOG.md`,
-`package.json`, and `release-policy.json` on `next`.
+The workflow publishes `@kaelio/ktx` with `--access public --tag next`, runs
+the published package smoke test, creates a GitHub release, and pushes the
+`vX.Y.Z-rc.N` tag.
 
 ## Publish a stable release
 
@@ -101,26 +98,28 @@ Publish a stable release from `main` after you have validated an rc package.
 7. Run the workflow.
 
 The workflow publishes `@kaelio/ktx` with `--access public --tag latest`, runs
-the published package smoke test, and creates a GitHub release. Stable releases
-don't commit release metadata back to `main`, because `main` is protected and
-requires changes through pull requests.
+the published package smoke test, creates a GitHub release, and pushes the
+`vX.Y.Z` tag. semantic-release graduates from the most recent rc tag, so the
+prior rc lineage is consumed cleanly.
 
 ## Release metadata
 
 semantic-release calls `scripts/update-public-release-version.mjs` during the
-prepare step before `@semantic-release/npm` publishes the package. That script
-updates:
+prepare step before the exec publish command runs. That script updates the
+following files **inside the CI runner only**:
 
 - `package.json` with the semantic-release version.
 - `release-policy.json` with `publicNpmPackageVersion`, npm publish settings,
   and the published package smoke-test version.
 
-The artifact packaging and readiness scripts read `publicNpmPackageVersion`
-from `release-policy.json`, so manual version edits in build scripts aren't
-needed for rc releases. The semantic-release npm plugin publishes the generated
-`dist/public-npm-package` tree and writes the release tarball under
-`dist/artifacts/npm`. Stable releases use the updated metadata during the
-workflow run, but that generated metadata isn't committed back to `main`.
+The artifact packaging, readiness, and smoke-test scripts read
+`publicNpmPackageVersion` from `release-policy.json` within the same CI run.
+Nothing reads these files at runtime — the daemon and CLI rely on the
+published `package.json` (for the installed `@kaelio/ktx` package) or
+`packages/cli/package.json` (for dev-tree runs from this repo, which always
+report `0.0.0-private`). Because the metadata mutation never has to survive
+the run, no commit is pushed back to `main`. The git tag plus the published
+npm artifact carry the version forward.
 
 The bundled Python runtime wheel also derives its version from
 `publicNpmPackageVersion`. Stable npm versions are reused as-is, and rc
diff --git a/examples/README.md b/examples/README.md
index e84d9330..f18440b2 100644
--- a/examples/README.md
+++ b/examples/README.md
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ warehouse credential.
 
 `postgres-historic/` is a manual Docker-backed smoke for Postgres
 query-history ingest via `pg_stat_statements`. It verifies setup, staged
-query-history artifacts, managed daemon batch SQL analysis, bounded pattern
+query-history artifacts, KTX daemon batch SQL analysis, bounded pattern
 WorkUnit shards, and no-WorkUnit idempotency for unchanged bucketed table
 inputs and pattern shards.
 
diff --git a/examples/package-artifacts/README.md b/examples/package-artifacts/README.md
index ed72f13f..7fa39fb3 100644
--- a/examples/package-artifacts/README.md
+++ b/examples/package-artifacts/README.md
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ generated local project.
 The managed Python runtime smoke requires `uv` on `PATH`, isolates
 `KTX_RUNTIME_ROOT`, verifies `ktx admin runtime status`, runs `ktx sl query --yes` to
 install the core runtime from the bundled wheel, checks `ktx admin runtime status`,
-starts and reuses the managed daemon, and stops it.
+starts and reuses the KTX daemon, and stops it.
 
 The artifact manifest contains the public `@kaelio/ktx` npm tarball and the
 bundled `kaelio-ktx` runtime wheel. The smoke does not install standalone
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 71970b58..7d1b054a 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -48,10 +48,8 @@
   },
   "devDependencies": {
     "@biomejs/biome": "^2.4.15",
-    "@semantic-release/changelog": "^6.0.3",
     "@semantic-release/commit-analyzer": "^13.0.1",
     "@semantic-release/exec": "^7.1.0",
-    "@semantic-release/git": "^10.0.1",
     "@semantic-release/github": "^12.0.8",
     "@semantic-release/npm": "^13.1.5",
     "@semantic-release/release-notes-generator": "^14.1.1",
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/admin-reindex.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/admin-reindex.test.ts
index eb75c651..54ac5e7a 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/admin-reindex.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/admin-reindex.test.ts
@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@ describe('admin reindex Commander routing', () => {
         force: true,
         json: true,
         output: 'plain',
-        cliVersion: '0.1.0-rc.1',
+        cliVersion: '0.0.0-private',
       },
       io.io,
     );
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/cli-program.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/cli-program.test.ts
index 2e5333c9..91e2ed8f 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/cli-program.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/cli-program.test.ts
@@ -14,8 +14,6 @@ function stubPackageInfo(): KtxCliPackageInfo {
   return {
     name: '@ktx/cli',
     version: '0.0.0-test',
-    packageVersion: '0.0.0-private',
-    runtimeVersion: '0.0.0-test',
     contextPackageName: '@ktx/context',
   };
 }
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/cli-runtime.ts b/packages/cli/src/cli-runtime.ts
index a2d4765c..523945f5 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/cli-runtime.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/cli-runtime.ts
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ import type { KtxSlArgs } from './sl.js';
 import type { KtxSqlArgs } from './sql.js';
 import { profileMark, profileSpan } from './startup-profile.js';
 import type { KtxTextIngestArgs } from './text-ingest.js';
-import { resolveKtxRuntimeVersion } from './release-version.js';
+import { assertCliVersion } from './release-version.js';
 
 profileMark('module:cli-runtime');
 
@@ -20,8 +20,6 @@ const requirePackageJson = createRequire(import.meta.url);
 export interface KtxCliPackageInfo {
   name: string;
   version: string;
-  packageVersion: string;
-  runtimeVersion: string;
   contextPackageName: '@ktx/context';
 }
 
@@ -66,16 +64,9 @@ export function packageInfoFromJson(packageJson: unknown): KtxCliPackageInfo {
     throw new Error('Invalid KTX CLI package metadata');
   }
 
-  const runtimeVersion = resolveKtxRuntimeVersion({
-    packageName: packageJson.name,
-    packageVersion: packageJson.version,
-  });
-
   return {
     name: packageJson.name,
-    version: runtimeVersion,
-    packageVersion: packageJson.version,
-    runtimeVersion,
+    version: assertCliVersion(packageJson.version, `${packageJson.name}/package.json`),
     contextPackageName: '@ktx/context',
   };
 }
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/runtime-commands.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/runtime-commands.ts
index 12af875c..ef0d06cc 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/runtime-commands.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/runtime-commands.ts
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ export function registerRuntimeCommands(program: Command, context: KtxCliCommand
 
   runtime
     .command('start')
-    .description('Start the KTX-managed Python HTTP daemon')
+    .description('Start the KTX daemon')
     .addOption(createRuntimeFeatureOption())
     .option('--force', 'Restart even when a matching daemon is already running', false)
     .action(async (options: { feature: RuntimeFeature; force?: boolean }, command: CommandWithGlobalOptions) => {
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ export function registerRuntimeCommands(program: Command, context: KtxCliCommand
 
   runtime
     .command('stop')
-    .description('Stop the KTX-managed Python HTTP daemon')
+    .description('Stop the KTX daemon')
     .option('--all', 'Stop all KTX daemon processes recorded or discoverable on this machine', false)
     .action(async (options: { all?: boolean }, command: CommandWithGlobalOptions) => {
       await runRuntimeArgs(context, {
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/context-build-view.ts b/packages/cli/src/context-build-view.ts
index 74aee915..7f47e33f 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/context-build-view.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/context-build-view.ts
@@ -706,7 +706,7 @@ function failedStepDetail(result: KtxPublicIngestTargetResult): string | null {
 const INTERNAL_FAILURE_LINE_RE =
   /^(Report|Run|Job|Status|Adapter|Connection|Sync|Mode|Dry run|Diff|Tasks|Work units|Failed tasks|Saved memory|Provenance rows):\s*/;
 const ACTIONABLE_FAILURE_LINE_RE =
-  /^(Missing bundled Python runtime manifest|KTX Python runtime is required|KTX managed daemon|Error:|Failed\b|Could not\b|Cannot\b)/;
+  /^(Missing bundled Python runtime manifest|KTX Python runtime is required|KTX daemon HTTP|Error:|Failed\b|Could not\b|Cannot\b)/;
 
 function trimErrorPrefix(line: string): string {
   return line.replace(/^Error:\s*/, '');
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/index.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/index.test.ts
index 9a7fceeb..53a7b593 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/index.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/index.test.ts
@@ -45,9 +45,7 @@ describe('getKtxCliPackageInfo', () => {
   it('identifies the CLI package and its context dependency', () => {
     expect(getKtxCliPackageInfo()).toEqual({
       name: '@ktx/cli',
-      version: '0.1.0-rc.1',
-      packageVersion: '0.0.0-private',
-      runtimeVersion: '0.1.0-rc.1',
+      version: '0.0.0-private',
       contextPackageName: '@ktx/context',
     });
   });
@@ -70,8 +68,6 @@ describe('getKtxCliPackageInfo', () => {
     ).toEqual({
       name: '@kaelio/ktx',
       version: '0.1.0',
-      packageVersion: '0.1.0',
-      runtimeVersion: '0.1.0',
       contextPackageName: '@ktx/context',
     });
   });
@@ -118,7 +114,7 @@ describe('runKtxCli', () => {
 
     await expect(runKtxCli(['--version'], testIo.io)).resolves.toBe(0);
 
-    expect(testIo.stdout()).toBe('@ktx/cli 0.1.0-rc.1\n');
+    expect(testIo.stdout()).toBe('@ktx/cli 0.0.0-private\n');
     expect(testIo.stderr()).toBe('');
   });
 
@@ -282,7 +278,7 @@ describe('runKtxCli', () => {
     expect(unknownIo.stderr()).toContain("unknown option '--query'");
   });
 
-  it('routes runtime management commands with the release runtime version', async () => {
+  it('routes runtime management commands with the CLI package version', async () => {
     const runtime = vi.fn(async () => 0);
     const installIo = makeIo();
     const startIo = makeIo();
@@ -308,7 +304,7 @@ describe('runKtxCli', () => {
       1,
       {
         command: 'install',
-        cliVersion: '0.1.0-rc.1',
+        cliVersion: '0.0.0-private',
         feature: 'local-embeddings',
         force: true,
       },
@@ -318,7 +314,7 @@ describe('runKtxCli', () => {
       2,
       {
         command: 'start',
-        cliVersion: '0.1.0-rc.1',
+        cliVersion: '0.0.0-private',
         projectDir: expect.any(String),
         feature: 'local-embeddings',
         force: true,
@@ -329,7 +325,7 @@ describe('runKtxCli', () => {
       3,
       {
         command: 'stop',
-        cliVersion: '0.1.0-rc.1',
+        cliVersion: '0.0.0-private',
         projectDir: expect.any(String),
         all: false,
       },
@@ -339,7 +335,7 @@ describe('runKtxCli', () => {
       4,
       {
         command: 'stop',
-        cliVersion: '0.1.0-rc.1',
+        cliVersion: '0.0.0-private',
         projectDir: expect.any(String),
         all: true,
       },
@@ -349,7 +345,7 @@ describe('runKtxCli', () => {
       5,
       {
         command: 'status',
-        cliVersion: '0.1.0-rc.1',
+        cliVersion: '0.0.0-private',
         json: true,
       },
       statusIo.io,
@@ -422,7 +418,7 @@ describe('runKtxCli', () => {
       expect.objectContaining({
         command: 'query',
         projectDir: tempDir,
-        cliVersion: '0.1.0-rc.1',
+        cliVersion: '0.0.0-private',
         runtimeInstallPolicy: 'prompt',
         query: expect.objectContaining({ measures: ['orders.order_count'], dimensions: [] }),
       }),
@@ -437,7 +433,7 @@ describe('runKtxCli', () => {
     ).resolves.toBe(0);
     expect(sl).toHaveBeenLastCalledWith(
       expect.objectContaining({
-        cliVersion: '0.1.0-rc.1',
+        cliVersion: '0.0.0-private',
         runtimeInstallPolicy: 'auto',
       }),
       autoIo.io,
@@ -453,7 +449,7 @@ describe('runKtxCli', () => {
     ).resolves.toBe(0);
     expect(sl).toHaveBeenLastCalledWith(
       expect.objectContaining({
-        cliVersion: '0.1.0-rc.1',
+        cliVersion: '0.0.0-private',
         runtimeInstallPolicy: 'never',
       }),
       noInputIo.io,
@@ -589,7 +585,7 @@ describe('runKtxCli', () => {
           skipAgents: false,
           inputMode: 'auto',
           yes: false,
-          cliVersion: '0.1.0-rc.1',
+          cliVersion: '0.0.0-private',
           skipLlm: false,
           skipEmbeddings: false,
           databaseSchemas: [],
@@ -719,7 +715,7 @@ describe('runKtxCli', () => {
         inputMode: 'disabled',
         depth: 'fast',
         queryHistory: 'default',
-        cliVersion: '0.1.0-rc.1',
+        cliVersion: '0.0.0-private',
         runtimeInstallPolicy: 'never',
       },
       testIo.io,
@@ -746,7 +742,7 @@ describe('runKtxCli', () => {
         inputMode: 'auto',
         depth: 'deep',
         queryHistory: 'default',
-        cliVersion: '0.1.0-rc.1',
+        cliVersion: '0.0.0-private',
         runtimeInstallPolicy: 'prompt',
       },
       testIo.io,
@@ -823,7 +819,7 @@ describe('runKtxCli', () => {
           json: false,
           inputMode: 'disabled',
           queryHistory: 'default',
-          cliVersion: '0.1.0-rc.1',
+          cliVersion: '0.0.0-private',
           runtimeInstallPolicy: 'never',
         },
         testIo.io,
@@ -1128,7 +1124,7 @@ describe('runKtxCli', () => {
         command: 'run',
         projectDir: tempDir,
         inputMode: 'disabled',
-        cliVersion: '0.1.0-rc.1',
+        cliVersion: '0.0.0-private',
         anthropicApiKeyEnv: 'ANTHROPIC_API_KEY', // pragma: allowlist secret
         llmModel: 'claude-sonnet-4-6',
         skipLlm: false,
@@ -1167,7 +1163,7 @@ describe('runKtxCli', () => {
         command: 'run',
         projectDir: tempDir,
         inputMode: 'disabled',
-        cliVersion: '0.1.0-rc.1',
+        cliVersion: '0.0.0-private',
         llmBackend: 'vertex',
         vertexProject: 'local-gcp-project',
         vertexLocation: 'us-east5',
@@ -1204,7 +1200,7 @@ describe('runKtxCli', () => {
         command: 'run',
         projectDir: tempDir,
         inputMode: 'disabled',
-        cliVersion: '0.1.0-rc.1',
+        cliVersion: '0.0.0-private',
         llmBackend: 'claude-code',
         llmModel: 'opus',
         skipLlm: false,
@@ -1312,7 +1308,7 @@ describe('runKtxCli', () => {
         projectDir: '/tmp/project',
         inputMode: 'disabled',
         yes: true,
-        cliVersion: '0.1.0-rc.1',
+        cliVersion: '0.0.0-private',
         skipLlm: true,
         skipEmbeddings: true,
         databaseDrivers: ['postgres'],
@@ -1653,7 +1649,7 @@ describe('runKtxCli', () => {
         queryFile: '/tmp/query.json',
         execute: false,
         format: 'json',
-        cliVersion: '0.1.0-rc.1',
+        cliVersion: '0.0.0-private',
         runtimeInstallPolicy: 'auto',
       },
       autoIo.io,
@@ -1667,7 +1663,7 @@ describe('runKtxCli', () => {
         queryFile: '/tmp/query.json',
         execute: false,
         format: 'json',
-        cliVersion: '0.1.0-rc.1',
+        cliVersion: '0.0.0-private',
         runtimeInstallPolicy: 'never',
       },
       neverIo.io,
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/ingest.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/ingest.test.ts
index 8dbad0e9..d3451e0c 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/ingest.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/ingest.test.ts
@@ -1334,7 +1334,7 @@ describe('runKtxIngest', () => {
     );
   });
 
-  it('passes managed daemon options to adapters and pull-config options when no explicit daemon URL is set', async () => {
+  it('passes KTX daemon options to adapters and pull-config options when no explicit daemon URL is set', async () => {
     const projectDir = join(tempDir, 'managed-daemon-ingest-project');
     await initKtxProject({ projectDir });
     await writeWarehouseConfig(projectDir);
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/managed-local-embeddings.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/managed-local-embeddings.test.ts
index 85fa00c9..fead0655 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/managed-local-embeddings.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/managed-local-embeddings.test.ts
@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ describe('managedLocalEmbeddingProjectConfig', () => {
 });
 
 describe('managedLocalEmbeddingHealthConfig', () => {
-  it('uses the active managed daemon URL for the immediate health check', () => {
+  it('uses the active KTX daemon URL for the immediate health check', () => {
     expect(
       managedLocalEmbeddingHealthConfig({
         baseUrl: 'http://127.0.0.1:61234',
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ describe('managedLocalEmbeddingHealthConfig', () => {
 });
 
 describe('ensureManagedLocalEmbeddingsDaemon', () => {
-  it('ensures the local-embeddings feature and starts the managed daemon', async () => {
+  it('ensures the local-embeddings feature and starts the KTX daemon', async () => {
     const io = makeIo();
     const ensureRuntime = vi.fn(async () => runtime());
     const startDaemon = vi.fn(async () => daemonResult('started'));
@@ -169,7 +169,7 @@ describe('ensureManagedLocalEmbeddingsDaemon', () => {
       features: ['local-embeddings'],
       force: false,
     });
-    expect(io.stderr()).toContain('Started KTX local embeddings daemon: http://127.0.0.1:61234');
+    expect(io.stderr()).toContain('Started KTX daemon: http://127.0.0.1:61234');
   });
 
   it('reuses an already running daemon without reporting a new start', async () => {
@@ -184,6 +184,6 @@ describe('ensureManagedLocalEmbeddingsDaemon', () => {
       startDaemon: vi.fn(async () => daemonResult('reused')),
     });
 
-    expect(io.stderr()).toContain('Using KTX local embeddings daemon: http://127.0.0.1:61234');
+    expect(io.stderr()).toContain('Using KTX daemon: http://127.0.0.1:61234');
   });
 });
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/managed-local-embeddings.ts b/packages/cli/src/managed-local-embeddings.ts
index f485a942..d9a1c309 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/managed-local-embeddings.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/managed-local-embeddings.ts
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ export async function ensureManagedLocalEmbeddingsDaemon(
   });
 
   const verb = daemon.status === 'started' ? 'Started' : 'Using';
-  options.io.stderr.write(`${verb} KTX local embeddings daemon: ${daemon.baseUrl}\n`);
+  options.io.stderr.write(`${verb} KTX daemon: ${daemon.baseUrl}\n`);
 
   return {
     baseUrl: daemon.baseUrl,
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/managed-python-daemon.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/managed-python-daemon.test.ts
index 8797fb8f..d56a27b1 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/managed-python-daemon.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/managed-python-daemon.test.ts
@@ -125,7 +125,7 @@ function daemonOptionsBase(root: string) {
   } as const;
 }
 
-describe('managed Python daemon lifecycle', () => {
+describe('KTX daemon lifecycle', () => {
   let tempDir: string;
 
   beforeEach(async () => {
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/managed-python-daemon.ts b/packages/cli/src/managed-python-daemon.ts
index bcf7b446..e36435c3 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/managed-python-daemon.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/managed-python-daemon.ts
@@ -325,7 +325,7 @@ async function waitForHealth(input: {
     return;
   }
   lastDetail = finalHealth.detail;
-  throw new Error(`KTX Python daemon failed to start: ${lastDetail}. stderr: ${input.state.stderrLog}`);
+  throw new Error(`KTX daemon failed to start: ${lastDetail}. stderr: ${input.state.stderrLog}`);
 }
 
 async function removeState(layout: ManagedPythonDaemonLayout): Promise<void> {
@@ -705,7 +705,7 @@ export async function startManagedPythonDaemon(
     );
     child.unref();
     if (!child.pid) {
-      throw new Error(`KTX Python daemon did not report a pid. stderr: ${layout.daemonStderrPath}`);
+      throw new Error(`KTX daemon did not report a pid. stderr: ${layout.daemonStderrPath}`);
     }
     const state: ManagedPythonDaemonState = {
       schemaVersion: 1,
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/managed-python-http.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/managed-python-http.test.ts
index 84d70cf8..73cae844 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/managed-python-http.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/managed-python-http.test.ts
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ describe('createManagedPythonDaemonBaseUrlResolver', () => {
       features: ['core'],
       force: false,
     });
-    expect(testIo.stderr()).toContain('Started KTX Python daemon: http://127.0.0.1:61234');
+    expect(testIo.stderr()).toContain('Started KTX daemon: http://127.0.0.1:61234');
   });
 
   it('reports daemon reuse without reinstalling after the first resolved URL', async () => {
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ describe('createManagedPythonDaemonBaseUrlResolver', () => {
 
     expect(ensureRuntime).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
     expect(startDaemon).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
-    expect(testIo.stderr()).toContain('Using existing KTX Python daemon: http://127.0.0.1:61234');
+    expect(testIo.stderr()).toContain('Using existing KTX daemon: http://127.0.0.1:61234');
   });
 });
 
@@ -104,8 +104,8 @@ describe('createManagedDaemonHttpJsonRunner', () => {
   });
 });
 
-describe('managed daemon ingest ports', () => {
-  it('creates a Looker table parser backed by the managed daemon runner', async () => {
+describe('KTX daemon ingest ports', () => {
+  it('creates a Looker table parser backed by the KTX daemon runner', async () => {
     const requestJson = vi.fn(async () => ({
       results: {
         'model.explore': {
@@ -135,7 +135,7 @@ describe('managed daemon ingest ports', () => {
     });
   });
 
-  it('creates a SQL analysis port backed by the managed daemon runner', async () => {
+  it('creates a SQL analysis port backed by the KTX daemon runner', async () => {
     const requestJson = vi.fn(async () => ({
       fingerprint: 'select-orders',
       normalized_sql: 'SELECT * FROM public.orders WHERE id = ?',
@@ -157,7 +157,7 @@ describe('managed daemon ingest ports', () => {
     });
   });
 
-  it('routes SQL batch analysis through the managed daemon runner', async () => {
+  it('routes SQL batch analysis through the KTX daemon runner', async () => {
     const requestJson = vi.fn(async () => ({
       results: {
         orders: {
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/managed-python-http.ts b/packages/cli/src/managed-python-http.ts
index 8496a9c9..e45caabb 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/managed-python-http.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/managed-python-http.ts
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ function normalizedBaseUrl(baseUrl: string): string {
 function parseJsonObject(raw: string, path: string): Record<string, unknown> {
   const parsed = JSON.parse(raw) as unknown;
   if (!parsed || typeof parsed !== 'object' || Array.isArray(parsed)) {
-    throw new Error(`KTX managed daemon HTTP ${path} returned non-object JSON`);
+    throw new Error(`KTX daemon HTTP ${path} returned non-object JSON`);
   }
   return parsed as Record<string, unknown>;
 }
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ export async function postManagedDaemonJson(
           const text = Buffer.concat(chunks).toString('utf8');
           const statusCode = response.statusCode ?? 0;
           if (statusCode < 200 || statusCode >= 300) {
-            reject(new Error(`KTX managed daemon HTTP ${path} failed with ${statusCode}: ${text}`));
+            reject(new Error(`KTX daemon HTTP ${path} failed with ${statusCode}: ${text}`));
             return;
           }
           try {
@@ -142,7 +142,7 @@ export function createManagedPythonDaemonBaseUrlResolver(
       force: false,
     });
     const verb = daemon.status === 'started' ? 'Started' : 'Using existing';
-    options.io.stderr.write(`${verb} KTX Python daemon: ${daemon.baseUrl}\n`);
+    options.io.stderr.write(`${verb} KTX daemon: ${daemon.baseUrl}\n`);
     cachedBaseUrl = daemon.baseUrl;
     return cachedBaseUrl;
   };
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/print-command-tree.ts b/packages/cli/src/print-command-tree.ts
index 6c9de751..be643546 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/print-command-tree.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/print-command-tree.ts
@@ -14,8 +14,6 @@ function stubPackageInfo(): KtxCliPackageInfo {
   return {
     name: '@ktx/cli',
     version: '0.0.0-docs',
-    packageVersion: '0.0.0-private',
-    runtimeVersion: '0.0.0-docs',
     contextPackageName: '@ktx/context',
   };
 }
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/public-ingest.ts b/packages/cli/src/public-ingest.ts
index 2c0a2856..3b49f629 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/public-ingest.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/public-ingest.ts
@@ -679,7 +679,7 @@ function createCapturedPublicIngestIo(): CapturedPublicIngestIo {
 const INTERNAL_STATUS_LINE_RE =
   /^(Report|Run|Job|Status|Adapter|Connection|Sync|Diff|Tasks|Work units|Failed tasks|Saved memory|Provenance rows):\s*/;
 const ACTIONABLE_FAILURE_LINE_RE =
-  /^(Missing bundled Python runtime manifest|KTX Python runtime is required|KTX managed daemon|Error:|Failed\b|Could not\b|Cannot\b)/;
+  /^(Missing bundled Python runtime manifest|KTX Python runtime is required|KTX daemon HTTP|Error:|Failed\b|Could not\b|Cannot\b)/;
 const RUNTIME_BACKED_RETRY_LINE_RE = /^Then retry the runtime-backed KTX command\.?$/;
 
 function trimErrorPrefix(line: string): string {
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/release-version.ts b/packages/cli/src/release-version.ts
index 77bcb833..145349f0 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/release-version.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/release-version.ts
@@ -1,55 +1,9 @@
-import { existsSync, readFileSync } from 'node:fs';
-import { dirname, join, parse } from 'node:path';
-import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url';
-
 const semverPattern =
   /^(0|[1-9]\d*)\.(0|[1-9]\d*)\.(0|[1-9]\d*)(?:-([0-9A-Za-z-]+(?:\.[0-9A-Za-z-]+)*))?(?:\+[0-9A-Za-z-]+(?:\.[0-9A-Za-z-]+)*)?$/;
 
-function isPlainObject(value: unknown): value is Record<string, unknown> {
-  return typeof value === 'object' && value !== null && !Array.isArray(value);
-}
-
-function assertReleaseVersion(value: unknown, source: string): string {
+export function assertCliVersion(value: unknown, source: string): string {
   if (typeof value !== 'string' || !semverPattern.test(value)) {
-    throw new Error(`Invalid KTX release version in ${source}`);
+    throw new Error(`Invalid KTX CLI version in ${source}`);
   }
   return value;
 }
-
-function findReleasePolicyPath(startDir: string): string | undefined {
-  let current = startDir;
-  const root = parse(current).root;
-  while (true) {
-    const candidate = join(current, 'release-policy.json');
-    if (existsSync(candidate)) {
-      return candidate;
-    }
-    if (current === root) {
-      return undefined;
-    }
-    current = dirname(current);
-  }
-}
-
-function readSourceReleaseVersion(startDir = dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url))): string | undefined {
-  const policyPath = findReleasePolicyPath(startDir);
-  if (!policyPath) {
-    return undefined;
-  }
-  const policy = JSON.parse(readFileSync(policyPath, 'utf8')) as unknown;
-  if (!isPlainObject(policy)) {
-    throw new Error(`Invalid KTX release policy: ${policyPath}`);
-  }
-  return assertReleaseVersion(policy.publicNpmPackageVersion, policyPath);
-}
-
-export function resolveKtxRuntimeVersion(input: {
-  packageName: string;
-  packageVersion: string;
-  startDir?: string;
-}): string {
-  if (input.packageName === '@kaelio/ktx') {
-    return assertReleaseVersion(input.packageVersion, `${input.packageName}/package.json`);
-  }
-  return readSourceReleaseVersion(input.startDir) ?? input.packageVersion;
-}
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/runtime-requirements.ts b/packages/cli/src/runtime-requirements.ts
index 1e35d90e..8594de7a 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/runtime-requirements.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/runtime-requirements.ts
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@ export function resolveProjectRuntimeRequirements(
     requirements.push({
       feature: 'core',
       reason: 'database-introspection',
-      detail: 'Database introspection fallback uses the Python daemon.',
+      detail: 'Database introspection fallback uses the KTX daemon.',
     });
   }
 
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/runtime.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/runtime.test.ts
index e4a7883f..266359e4 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/runtime.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/runtime.test.ts
@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ describe('runKtxRuntime', () => {
     expect(io.stderr()).toBe('');
   });
 
-  it('starts the managed Python daemon and prints the base URL', async () => {
+  it('starts the KTX daemon and prints the base URL', async () => {
     const io = makeIo();
     const deps: KtxRuntimeDeps = {
       startDaemon: vi.fn(async (): Promise<ManagedPythonDaemonStartResult> => ({
@@ -160,14 +160,14 @@ describe('runKtxRuntime', () => {
       features: ['local-embeddings'],
       force: true,
     });
-    expect(io.stdout()).toContain('Started KTX Python daemon');
+    expect(io.stdout()).toContain('Started KTX daemon');
     expect(io.stdout()).toContain('url: http://127.0.0.1:61234');
     expect(io.stdout()).toContain('pid: 4242');
     expect(io.stdout()).toContain('features: core, local-embeddings');
     expect(io.stdout()).toContain('stderr: /work/proj/.ktx/runtime/daemon.stderr.log');
   });
 
-  it('stops the managed Python daemon', async () => {
+  it('stops the KTX daemon', async () => {
     const io = makeIo();
     const deps: KtxRuntimeDeps = {
       stopDaemon: vi.fn(async (): Promise<ManagedPythonDaemonStopResult> => ({
@@ -208,11 +208,11 @@ describe('runKtxRuntime', () => {
     ).resolves.toBe(0);
 
     expect(deps.stopDaemon).toHaveBeenCalledWith({ cliVersion: '0.2.0', projectDir: '/work/proj' });
-    expect(io.stdout()).toContain('Stopped KTX Python daemon');
+    expect(io.stdout()).toContain('Stopped KTX daemon');
     expect(io.stdout()).toContain('pid: 4242');
   });
 
-  it('stops all discovered Python daemons and reports the summary', async () => {
+  it('stops all discovered KTX daemons and reports the summary', async () => {
     const io = makeIo();
     const deps: KtxRuntimeDeps = {
       stopAllDaemons: vi.fn(async (): Promise<ManagedPythonDaemonStopAllResult> => ({
@@ -231,7 +231,7 @@ describe('runKtxRuntime', () => {
     ).resolves.toBe(0);
 
     expect(deps.stopAllDaemons).toHaveBeenCalledWith({ cliVersion: '0.2.0', projectDir: '/work/proj' });
-    expect(io.stdout()).toContain('Stopped 2 KTX Python daemons');
+    expect(io.stdout()).toContain('Stopped 2 KTX daemons');
     expect(io.stdout()).toContain('pid: 4242 source: state url: http://127.0.0.1:61234');
     expect(io.stdout()).toContain('pid: 5252 source: process url: http://127.0.0.1:8765');
   });
@@ -259,7 +259,7 @@ describe('runKtxRuntime', () => {
       runKtxRuntime({ command: 'stop', cliVersion: '0.2.0', projectDir: '/work/proj', all: true }, io.io, deps),
     ).resolves.toBe(1);
 
-    expect(io.stderr()).toContain('Stopped 0 KTX Python daemons; failed 1');
+    expect(io.stderr()).toContain('Stopped 0 KTX daemons; failed 1');
     expect(io.stderr()).toContain('pid: 4242 source: state url: http://127.0.0.1:61234');
     expect(io.stderr()).toContain('process scan: ps failed');
   });
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/runtime.ts b/packages/cli/src/runtime.ts
index 5630163f..ad978bd5 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/runtime.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/runtime.ts
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ function writeInstallResult(io: KtxCliIo, result: ManagedPythonRuntimeInstallRes
 
 function writeDaemonStart(io: KtxCliIo, result: ManagedPythonDaemonStartResult): void {
   const verb = result.status === 'reused' ? 'Using existing' : 'Started';
-  io.stdout.write(`${verb} KTX Python daemon\n`);
+  io.stdout.write(`${verb} KTX daemon\n`);
   io.stdout.write(`url: ${result.baseUrl}\n`);
   io.stdout.write(`pid: ${result.state.pid}\n`);
   io.stdout.write(`version: ${result.state.version}\n`);
@@ -68,10 +68,10 @@ function writeDaemonStart(io: KtxCliIo, result: ManagedPythonDaemonStartResult):
 
 function writeDaemonStop(io: KtxCliIo, result: ManagedPythonDaemonStopResult): void {
   if (result.status === 'already-stopped') {
-    io.stdout.write('KTX Python daemon already stopped\n');
+    io.stdout.write('KTX daemon already stopped\n');
     return;
   }
-  io.stdout.write('Stopped KTX Python daemon\n');
+  io.stdout.write('Stopped KTX daemon\n');
   io.stdout.write(`pid: ${result.state?.pid ?? 'unknown'}\n`);
   io.stdout.write(`state: ${result.layout.daemonStatePath}\n`);
 }
@@ -94,11 +94,11 @@ function writeDaemonStopAll(io: KtxCliIo, result: ManagedPythonDaemonStopAllResu
     result.failed.length === 0 &&
     result.scanErrors.length === 0
   ) {
-    io.stdout.write('No KTX Python daemons found\n');
+    io.stdout.write('No KTX daemons found\n');
     return 0;
   }
   if (failed === 0) {
-    io.stdout.write(`Stopped ${result.stopped.length} KTX Python daemons\n`);
+    io.stdout.write(`Stopped ${result.stopped.length} KTX daemons\n`);
     if (result.stale.length > 0) {
       io.stdout.write(`Cleaned ${result.stale.length} stale daemon states\n`);
     }
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ function writeDaemonStopAll(io: KtxCliIo, result: ManagedPythonDaemonStopAllResu
     return 0;
   }
   io.stderr.write(
-    `Stopped ${result.stopped.length} KTX Python daemons; failed ${result.failed.length}${
+    `Stopped ${result.stopped.length} KTX daemons; failed ${result.failed.length}${
       result.stale.length > 0 ? `; cleaned stale ${result.stale.length}` : ''
     }\n`,
   );
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/scan.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/scan.test.ts
index 8fa51130..9863be12 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/scan.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/scan.test.ts
@@ -376,7 +376,7 @@ describe('runKtxScan', () => {
     expect(io.stdout()).not.toContain('/~');
   });
 
-  it('passes managed daemon options to local ingest adapters when no explicit daemon URL is set', async () => {
+  it('passes KTX daemon options to local ingest adapters when no explicit daemon URL is set', async () => {
     await initKtxProject({ projectDir: tempDir });
     const createLocalIngestAdapters = vi.fn(() => []);
     const runLocalScan = vi.fn(
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/setup-embeddings.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/setup-embeddings.test.ts
index 36df256a..cbbb5562 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/setup-embeddings.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/setup-embeddings.test.ts
@@ -361,7 +361,7 @@ describe('setup embeddings step', () => {
     );
 
     expect(result.status).toBe('failed');
-    expect(io.stderr()).toContain('Recent local embeddings daemon stderr:');
+    expect(io.stderr()).toContain('Recent KTX daemon stderr:');
     expect(io.stderr()).toContain('daemon traceback line 6');
     expect(io.stderr()).toContain('daemon traceback line 45');
     expect(io.stderr()).not.toContain('daemon traceback line 5');
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@ describe('setup embeddings step', () => {
     );
 
     expect(result.status).toBe('failed');
-    expect(io.stderr()).not.toContain('Recent local embeddings daemon stderr:');
+    expect(io.stderr()).not.toContain('Recent KTX daemon stderr:');
   });
 
   it('uses fixed OpenAI defaults and only asks for credentials when OpenAI is selected', async () => {
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/setup-embeddings.ts b/packages/cli/src/setup-embeddings.ts
index 442b67bc..a114d3ac 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/setup-embeddings.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/setup-embeddings.ts
@@ -312,7 +312,7 @@ function localEmbeddingSetupMessage(message: string, stderrTail: string[] = []):
     'The first run may download Python packages and the all-MiniLM-L6-v2 model.',
   ];
   if (stderrTail.length > 0) {
-    lines.push('Recent local embeddings daemon stderr:', ...stderrTail);
+    lines.push('Recent KTX daemon stderr:', ...stderrTail);
   }
   return lines.join('\n');
 }
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/setup-runtime.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/setup-runtime.test.ts
index 1d739423..b1e3411f 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/setup-runtime.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/setup-runtime.test.ts
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ describe('runKtxSetupRuntimeStep', () => {
     expect(io.stderr()).toContain('ktx admin runtime install --yes');
   });
 
-  it('starts the managed local embeddings daemon for configured sentence-transformers embeddings', async () => {
+  it('starts the KTX daemon for configured sentence-transformers embeddings', async () => {
     const io = makeIo();
     const ensureLocalEmbeddings = vi.fn(async () => ({
       baseUrl: 'http://127.0.0.1:61234',
diff --git a/pnpm-lock.yaml b/pnpm-lock.yaml
index 5dbc325a..39334edc 100644
--- a/pnpm-lock.yaml
+++ b/pnpm-lock.yaml
@@ -15,18 +15,12 @@ importers:
       '@biomejs/biome':
         specifier: ^2.4.15
         version: 2.4.15
-      '@semantic-release/changelog':
-        specifier: ^6.0.3
-        version: 6.0.3(semantic-release@25.0.3(typescript@6.0.3))
       '@semantic-release/commit-analyzer':
         specifier: ^13.0.1
         version: 13.0.1(semantic-release@25.0.3(typescript@6.0.3))
       '@semantic-release/exec':
         specifier: ^7.1.0
         version: 7.1.0(semantic-release@25.0.3(typescript@6.0.3))
-      '@semantic-release/git':
-        specifier: ^10.0.1
-        version: 10.0.1(semantic-release@25.0.3(typescript@6.0.3))
       '@semantic-release/github':
         specifier: ^12.0.8
         version: 12.0.8(semantic-release@25.0.3(typescript@6.0.3))
@@ -2326,22 +2320,12 @@ packages:
   '@sec-ant/readable-stream@0.4.1':
     resolution: {integrity: sha512-831qok9r2t8AlxLko40y2ebgSDhenenCatLVeW/uBtnHPyhHOvG0C7TvfgecV+wHzIm5KUICgzmVpWS+IMEAeg==}
 
-  '@semantic-release/changelog@6.0.3':
-    resolution: {integrity: sha512-dZuR5qByyfe3Y03TpmCvAxCyTnp7r5XwtHRf/8vD9EAn4ZWbavUX8adMtXYzE86EVh0gyLA7lm5yW4IV30XUag==}
-    engines: {node: '>=14.17'}
-    peerDependencies:
-      semantic-release: '>=18.0.0'
-
   '@semantic-release/commit-analyzer@13.0.1':
     resolution: {integrity: sha512-wdnBPHKkr9HhNhXOhZD5a2LNl91+hs8CC2vsAVYxtZH3y0dV3wKn+uZSN61rdJQZ8EGxzWB3inWocBHV9+u/CQ==}
     engines: {node: '>=20.8.1'}
     peerDependencies:
       semantic-release: '>=20.1.0'
 
-  '@semantic-release/error@3.0.0':
-    resolution: {integrity: sha512-5hiM4Un+tpl4cKw3lV4UgzJj+SmfNIDCLLw0TepzQxz9ZGV5ixnqkzIVF+3tp0ZHgcMKE+VNGHJjEeyFG2dcSw==}
-    engines: {node: '>=14.17'}
-
   '@semantic-release/error@4.0.0':
     resolution: {integrity: sha512-mgdxrHTLOjOddRVYIYDo0fR3/v61GNN1YGkfbrjuIKg/uMgCd+Qzo3UAXJ+woLQQpos4pl5Esuw5A7AoNlzjUQ==}
     engines: {node: '>=18'}
@@ -2352,12 +2336,6 @@ packages:
     peerDependencies:
       semantic-release: '>=24.1.0'
 
-  '@semantic-release/git@10.0.1':
-    resolution: {integrity: sha512-eWrx5KguUcU2wUPaO6sfvZI0wPafUKAMNC18aXY4EnNcrZL86dEmpNVnC9uMpGZkmZJ9EfCVJBQx4pV4EMGT1w==}
-    engines: {node: '>=14.17'}
-    peerDependencies:
-      semantic-release: '>=18.0.0'
-
   '@semantic-release/github@12.0.8':
     resolution: {integrity: sha512-tej5AAgK5X9wHRoDmYhecMXEHEkFeGOY1XsEblKxu8pIQwahzf1STYyr7iPU6Lpbg6C5I3N2w/ocXrBo+L7jhw==}
     engines: {node: ^22.14.0 || >= 24.10.0}
@@ -3623,10 +3601,6 @@ packages:
     resolution: {integrity: sha512-CRT1WTyuQoD771GW56XEZFQ/ZoSfWid1alKGDYMmkt2yl8UXrVR4pspqWNEcqKvVIzg6PAltWjxcSSPrboA4iA==}
     engines: {node: '>=18.0.0'}
 
-  execa@5.1.1:
-    resolution: {integrity: sha512-8uSpZZocAZRBAPIEINJj3Lo9HyGitllczc27Eh5YYojjMFMn8yHMDMaUHE2Jqfq05D/wucwI4JGURyXt1vchyg==}
-    engines: {node: '>=10'}
-
   execa@8.0.1:
     resolution: {integrity: sha512-VyhnebXciFV2DESc+p6B+y0LjSm0krU4OgJN44qFAhBY0TJ+1V61tYD2+wHusZ6F9n5K+vl8k0sTy7PEfV4qpg==}
     engines: {node: '>=16.17'}
@@ -4106,10 +4080,6 @@ packages:
     resolution: {integrity: sha512-/MVmHp58WkOypgFhCLk4fzpPcFQvTJ/e6LBI7irpIO2HfxUbpmYoHF+KzipzJpxxzJu7aJNWQ0xojJ/dzV2G5g==}
     engines: {node: '>= 20'}
 
-  human-signals@2.1.0:
-    resolution: {integrity: sha512-B4FFZ6q/T2jhhksgkbEW3HBvWIfDW85snkQgawt07S7J5QXTk6BkNV+0yAeZrM5QpMAdYlocGoljn0sJ/WQkFw==}
-    engines: {node: '>=10.17.0'}
-
   human-signals@5.0.0:
     resolution: {integrity: sha512-AXcZb6vzzrFAUE61HnN4mpLqd/cSIwNQjtNWR0euPm6y0iqx3G4gOXaIDdtdDwZmhwe82LA6+zinmW4UBWVePQ==}
     engines: {node: '>=16.17.0'}
@@ -4490,9 +4460,6 @@ packages:
   lodash.uniqby@4.7.0:
     resolution: {integrity: sha512-e/zcLx6CSbmaEgFHCA7BnoQKyCtKMxnuWrJygbwPs/AIn+IMKl66L8/s+wBUn5LRw2pZx3bUHibiV1b6aTWIww==}
 
-  lodash@4.18.1:
-    resolution: {integrity: sha512-dMInicTPVE8d1e5otfwmmjlxkZoUpiVLwyeTdUsi/Caj/gfzzblBcCE5sRHV/AsjuCmxWrte2TNGSYuCeCq+0Q==}
-
   logform@2.7.0:
     resolution: {integrity: sha512-TFYA4jnP7PVbmlBIfhlSe+WKxs9dklXMTEGcBCIvLhE/Tn3H6Gk1norupVW7m5Cnd4bLcr08AytbyV/xj7f/kQ==}
     engines: {node: '>= 12.0.0'}
@@ -4909,10 +4876,6 @@ packages:
     resolution: {integrity: sha512-z9nC87iaZXXySbWWtTHfCFJyFvKaUAW6lODhikG7ILSbVgmwuFjUqkgnheHvAUcGedO29e2QGBRXMUD64aurqQ==}
     engines: {node: '>=20'}
 
-  npm-run-path@4.0.1:
-    resolution: {integrity: sha512-S48WzZW777zhNIrn7gxOlISNAqi9ZC/uQFnRdbeIHhZhCA6UqpkOT8T1G7BvfdgP4Er8gF4sUbaS0i7QvIfCWw==}
-    engines: {node: '>=8'}
-
   npm-run-path@5.3.0:
     resolution: {integrity: sha512-ppwTtiJZq0O/ai0z7yfudtBpWIoxM8yE6nHi1X47eFR2EWORqfbu6CnPlNsjeN683eT0qG6H/Pyf9fCcvjnnnQ==}
     engines: {node: ^12.20.0 || ^14.13.1 || >=16.0.0}
@@ -5085,10 +5048,6 @@ packages:
     resolution: {integrity: sha512-tkAQEw8ysMzmkhgw8k+1U/iPhWNhykKnSk4Rd5zLoPJCuJaGRPo6YposrZgaxHKzDHdDWWZvE/Sk7hsL2X/CpQ==}
     engines: {node: '>=18'}
 
-  p-reduce@2.1.0:
-    resolution: {integrity: sha512-2USApvnsutq8uoxZBGbbWM0JIYLiEMJ9RlaN7fAzVNb9OZN0SHjjTTfIcb667XynS5Y1VhwDJVDa72TnPzAYWw==}
-    engines: {node: '>=8'}
-
   p-reduce@3.0.0:
     resolution: {integrity: sha512-xsrIUgI0Kn6iyDYm9StOpOeK29XM1aboGji26+QEortiFST1hGZaUQOLhtEbqHErPpGW/aSz6allwK2qcptp0Q==}
     engines: {node: '>=12'}
@@ -5707,10 +5666,6 @@ packages:
     resolution: {integrity: sha512-vavAMRXOgBVNF6nyEEmL3DBK19iRpDcoIwW+swQ+CbGiu7lju6t+JklA1MHweoWtadgt4ISVUsXLyDq34ddcwA==}
     engines: {node: '>=4'}
 
-  strip-final-newline@2.0.0:
-    resolution: {integrity: sha512-BrpvfNAE3dcvq7ll3xVumzjKjZQ5tI1sEUIKr3Uoks0XUl45St3FlatVqef9prk4jRDzhW6WZg+3bk93y6pLjA==}
-    engines: {node: '>=6'}
-
   strip-final-newline@3.0.0:
     resolution: {integrity: sha512-dOESqjYr96iWYylGObzd39EuNTa5VJxyvVAEm5Jnh7KGo75V43Hk1odPQkNDyXNmUR6k+gEiDVXnjB8HJ3crXw==}
     engines: {node: '>=12'}
@@ -8558,14 +8513,6 @@ snapshots:
 
   '@sec-ant/readable-stream@0.4.1': {}
 
-  '@semantic-release/changelog@6.0.3(semantic-release@25.0.3(typescript@6.0.3))':
-    dependencies:
-      '@semantic-release/error': 3.0.0
-      aggregate-error: 3.1.0
-      fs-extra: 11.3.5
-      lodash: 4.18.1
-      semantic-release: 25.0.3(typescript@6.0.3)
-
   '@semantic-release/commit-analyzer@13.0.1(semantic-release@25.0.3(typescript@6.0.3))':
     dependencies:
       conventional-changelog-angular: 8.3.1
@@ -8580,8 +8527,6 @@ snapshots:
     transitivePeerDependencies:
       - supports-color
 
-  '@semantic-release/error@3.0.0': {}
-
   '@semantic-release/error@4.0.0': {}
 
   '@semantic-release/exec@7.1.0(semantic-release@25.0.3(typescript@6.0.3))':
@@ -8596,20 +8541,6 @@ snapshots:
     transitivePeerDependencies:
       - supports-color
 
-  '@semantic-release/git@10.0.1(semantic-release@25.0.3(typescript@6.0.3))':
-    dependencies:
-      '@semantic-release/error': 3.0.0
-      aggregate-error: 3.1.0
-      debug: 4.4.3
-      dir-glob: 3.0.1
-      execa: 5.1.1
-      lodash: 4.18.1
-      micromatch: 4.0.8
-      p-reduce: 2.1.0
-      semantic-release: 25.0.3(typescript@6.0.3)
-    transitivePeerDependencies:
-      - supports-color
-
   '@semantic-release/github@12.0.8(semantic-release@25.0.3(typescript@6.0.3))':
     dependencies:
       '@octokit/core': 7.0.6
@@ -10034,18 +9965,6 @@ snapshots:
     dependencies:
       eventsource-parser: 3.0.8
 
-  execa@5.1.1:
-    dependencies:
-      cross-spawn: 7.0.6
-      get-stream: 6.0.1
-      human-signals: 2.1.0
-      is-stream: 2.0.1
-      merge-stream: 2.0.0
-      npm-run-path: 4.0.1
-      onetime: 5.1.2
-      signal-exit: 3.0.7
-      strip-final-newline: 2.0.0
-
   execa@8.0.1:
     dependencies:
       cross-spawn: 7.0.6
@@ -10642,8 +10561,6 @@ snapshots:
     transitivePeerDependencies:
       - supports-color
 
-  human-signals@2.1.0: {}
-
   human-signals@5.0.0: {}
 
   human-signals@8.0.1: {}
@@ -10983,8 +10900,6 @@ snapshots:
 
   lodash.uniqby@4.7.0: {}
 
-  lodash@4.18.1: {}
-
   logform@2.7.0:
     dependencies:
       '@colors/colors': 1.6.0
@@ -11671,10 +11586,6 @@ snapshots:
 
   normalize-url@9.0.0: {}
 
-  npm-run-path@4.0.1:
-    dependencies:
-      path-key: 3.1.1
-
   npm-run-path@5.3.0:
     dependencies:
       path-key: 4.0.0
@@ -11818,8 +11729,6 @@ snapshots:
 
   p-map@7.0.4: {}
 
-  p-reduce@2.1.0: {}
-
   p-reduce@3.0.0: {}
 
   p-timeout@6.1.4: {}
@@ -12619,8 +12528,6 @@ snapshots:
 
   strip-bom@3.0.0: {}
 
-  strip-final-newline@2.0.0: {}
-
   strip-final-newline@3.0.0: {}
 
   strip-final-newline@4.0.0: {}
diff --git a/scripts/local-embeddings-runtime-smoke.mjs b/scripts/local-embeddings-runtime-smoke.mjs
index 6c9c6ed0..6b1787be 100644
--- a/scripts/local-embeddings-runtime-smoke.mjs
+++ b/scripts/local-embeddings-runtime-smoke.mjs
@@ -346,7 +346,7 @@ export async function runLocalEmbeddingsRuntimeSmoke(options = {}) {
       900_000,
     );
     validateEmbeddingResponse(embeddingResponse, 384);
-    process.stdout.write('KTX local embeddings daemon computed a 384-dimensional embedding\n');
+    process.stdout.write('KTX daemon computed a 384-dimensional embedding\n');
 
     const setup = await run(commands[5].command, commands[5].args, {
       cwd: installDir,
@@ -369,7 +369,7 @@ export async function runLocalEmbeddingsRuntimeSmoke(options = {}) {
     });
     requireSuccess(commands[6].label, stop);
     daemonStarted = false;
-    requireOutput(commands[6].label, stop, /Stopped KTX Python daemon/);
+    requireOutput(commands[6].label, stop, /Stopped KTX daemon/);
 
     process.stdout.write('KTX local embeddings runtime smoke verified\n');
   } finally {
diff --git a/scripts/local-embeddings-runtime-smoke.test.mjs b/scripts/local-embeddings-runtime-smoke.test.mjs
index 1b5cbfdd..ca14e0df 100644
--- a/scripts/local-embeddings-runtime-smoke.test.mjs
+++ b/scripts/local-embeddings-runtime-smoke.test.mjs
@@ -129,13 +129,13 @@ describe('localEmbeddingsSmokeCommands', () => {
 describe('parseDaemonBaseUrl', () => {
   it('extracts the daemon URL from runtime start output', () => {
     assert.equal(
-      parseDaemonBaseUrl('Started KTX Python daemon\nurl: http://127.0.0.1:61234\nfeatures: local-embeddings\n'),
+      parseDaemonBaseUrl('Started KTX daemon\nurl: http://127.0.0.1:61234\nfeatures: local-embeddings\n'),
       'http://127.0.0.1:61234',
     );
   });
 
   it('rejects output without a daemon URL', () => {
-    assert.throws(() => parseDaemonBaseUrl('Started KTX Python daemon\n'), /Daemon URL was not printed/);
+    assert.throws(() => parseDaemonBaseUrl('Started KTX daemon\n'), /Daemon URL was not printed/);
   });
 });
 
diff --git a/scripts/package-artifacts.mjs b/scripts/package-artifacts.mjs
index 96a04bf0..18a098bb 100644
--- a/scripts/package-artifacts.mjs
+++ b/scripts/package-artifacts.mjs
@@ -804,19 +804,19 @@ try {
   const runtimeStart = await run('pnpm', ['exec', 'ktx', 'admin', 'runtime', 'start']);
   requireSuccess('ktx admin runtime start', runtimeStart);
   daemonStarted = true;
-  requireOutput('ktx admin runtime start', runtimeStart, /Started KTX Python daemon/);
+  requireOutput('ktx admin runtime start', runtimeStart, /Started KTX daemon/);
   requireOutput('ktx admin runtime start', runtimeStart, /url: http:\\/\\/127\\.0\\.0\\.1:\\d+/);
   requireOutput('ktx admin runtime start', runtimeStart, /features: core/);
 
   const runtimeStartReuse = await run('pnpm', ['exec', 'ktx', 'admin', 'runtime', 'start']);
   requireSuccess('ktx admin runtime start reuse', runtimeStartReuse);
-  requireOutput('ktx admin runtime start reuse', runtimeStartReuse, /Using existing KTX Python daemon/);
+  requireOutput('ktx admin runtime start reuse', runtimeStartReuse, /Using existing KTX daemon/);
   requireOutput('ktx admin runtime start reuse', runtimeStartReuse, /features: core/);
 
   const runtimeStop = await run('pnpm', ['exec', 'ktx', 'admin', 'runtime', 'stop']);
   requireSuccess('ktx admin runtime stop', runtimeStop);
   daemonStarted = false;
-  requireOutput('ktx admin runtime stop', runtimeStop, /Stopped KTX Python daemon/);
+  requireOutput('ktx admin runtime stop', runtimeStop, /Stopped KTX daemon/);
   process.stdout.write('ktx admin runtime daemon lifecycle verified\\n');
 
   const structuralScan = await run('pnpm', ['exec', 'ktx', 'ingest', 'warehouse',
diff --git a/scripts/package-artifacts.test.mjs b/scripts/package-artifacts.test.mjs
index 384eeb65..0104b836 100644
--- a/scripts/package-artifacts.test.mjs
+++ b/scripts/package-artifacts.test.mjs
@@ -502,7 +502,7 @@ describe('verification snippets', () => {
     assert.match(source, /status: ready/);
     assert.match(source, /ktx admin runtime start/);
     assert.match(source, /ktx admin runtime start reuse/);
-    assert.match(source, /Using existing KTX Python daemon/);
+    assert.match(source, /Using existing KTX daemon/);
     assert.match(source, /ktx admin runtime stop/);
     assert.doesNotMatch(source, /ktx admin runtime prune/);
     assert.doesNotMatch(source, /staleRuntimeDir/);
diff --git a/scripts/release-workflow.test.mjs b/scripts/release-workflow.test.mjs
index e6f8350a..20b437c7 100644
--- a/scripts/release-workflow.test.mjs
+++ b/scripts/release-workflow.test.mjs
@@ -21,15 +21,14 @@ describe('release workflow', () => {
     assert.doesNotMatch(workflow, /Prepare first stable release floor/);
     assert.doesNotMatch(workflow, /git tag v0\.0\.0/);
     assert.doesNotMatch(workflow, /KTX_STABLE_RELEASE_FLOOR_TAG/);
-    assert.match(workflow, /Prepare next prerelease branch/);
-    assert.match(workflow, /git checkout -B "\$\{KTX_PRERELEASE_BRANCH\}"/);
+    assert.doesNotMatch(workflow, /Prepare next prerelease branch/);
+    assert.doesNotMatch(workflow, /KTX_PRERELEASE_BRANCH/);
+    assert.doesNotMatch(workflow, /GITHUB_REF="refs\/heads\//);
     assert.match(workflow, /Prepare npm package root for release verification/);
     assert.match(workflow, /dist\/public-npm-package\/package\.json/);
-    assert.match(workflow, /GITHUB_REF="refs\/heads\/\$\{KTX_PRERELEASE_BRANCH\}"/);
     assert.match(workflow, /pnpm run semantic-release:dry-run/);
     assert.match(workflow, /pnpm run semantic-release$/m);
     assert.match(workflow, /KTX_RELEASE_KIND: \$\{\{ inputs.release_kind \}\}/);
-    assert.match(workflow, /KTX_PRERELEASE_BRANCH: next/);
     assert.match(workflow, /FORCE_RELEASE: \$\{\{ inputs.force_release \}\}/);
     assert.doesNotMatch(workflow, /NODE_AUTH_TOKEN/);
     assert.doesNotMatch(workflow, /^  push:/m);
diff --git a/scripts/semantic-release-config.cjs b/scripts/semantic-release-config.cjs
index fb1f959d..d1f17bbf 100644
--- a/scripts/semantic-release-config.cjs
+++ b/scripts/semantic-release-config.cjs
@@ -74,54 +74,22 @@ const releaseNoteTypes = [
   { type: 'major', section: 'BREAKING CHANGES', hidden: false },
 ];
 
-function currentBranch(env) {
-  return env.GITHUB_REF_NAME || env.INPUT_BRANCH || 'main';
-}
-
 function releaseKind(env) {
   return env.KTX_RELEASE_KIND || env.INPUT_RELEASE_KIND || 'rc';
 }
 
-function prereleaseBranch(env) {
-  return env.KTX_PRERELEASE_BRANCH || env.INPUT_PRERELEASE_BRANCH || 'next';
-}
-
 function releaseTag(kind) {
   return kind === 'rc' ? 'next' : 'latest';
 }
 
-function releaseChangelogPlugins(kind) {
-  return kind === 'rc' ? ['@semantic-release/changelog'] : [];
-}
-
-function releaseGitPlugins(kind) {
-  if (kind !== 'rc') {
-    return [];
-  }
-
-  return [
-    [
-      '@semantic-release/git',
-      {
-        assets: ['CHANGELOG.md', 'package.json', 'release-policy.json'],
-        message: 'chore(release): ${nextRelease.version} [skip ci]\n\n${nextRelease.notes}',
-      },
-    ],
-  ];
-}
-
 function releaseBranches(env = process.env) {
-  const branch = currentBranch(env);
   const kind = releaseKind(env);
 
   if (kind === 'rc') {
-    return ['main', { name: prereleaseBranch(env), prerelease: 'rc', channel: 'next' }];
+    return [{ name: 'main', prerelease: 'rc', channel: 'next' }];
   }
 
   if (kind === 'stable') {
-    if (branch !== 'main') {
-      throw new Error(`Stable KTX releases must run from main, got ${branch}`);
-    }
     return ['main'];
   }
 
@@ -157,7 +125,6 @@ function createReleaseConfig(env = process.env) {
           },
         },
       ],
-      ...releaseChangelogPlugins(kind),
       [
         '@semantic-release/exec',
         {
@@ -172,7 +139,6 @@ function createReleaseConfig(env = process.env) {
           ].join(' && '),
         },
       ],
-      ...releaseGitPlugins(kind),
       [
         '@semantic-release/github',
         {
@@ -188,7 +154,6 @@ function createReleaseConfig(env = process.env) {
 
 module.exports = {
   createReleaseConfig,
-  prereleaseBranch,
   releaseBranches,
   releaseKind,
   releaseTag,
diff --git a/scripts/semantic-release-config.test.mjs b/scripts/semantic-release-config.test.mjs
index c62f0fdf..be4dcc38 100644
--- a/scripts/semantic-release-config.test.mjs
+++ b/scripts/semantic-release-config.test.mjs
@@ -9,21 +9,16 @@ function releaseExecOptions(config) {
   return config.plugins.find((plugin) => Array.isArray(plugin) && plugin[0] === '@semantic-release/exec' && plugin[1].prepareCmd)[1];
 }
 
-function releaseExecIndex(config) {
-  return config.plugins.findIndex((plugin) => Array.isArray(plugin) && plugin[0] === '@semantic-release/exec' && plugin[1].prepareCmd);
-}
-
 function pluginNames(config) {
   return config.plugins.map((plugin) => (Array.isArray(plugin) ? plugin[0] : plugin));
 }
 
 describe('semantic-release config', () => {
-  it('configures rc releases on a dedicated next prerelease branch', () => {
+  it('configures rc releases as a prerelease on main', () => {
     assert.equal(releaseKind({ KTX_RELEASE_KIND: 'rc' }), 'rc');
     assert.equal(releaseTag('rc'), 'next');
     assert.deepEqual(releaseBranches({ KTX_RELEASE_KIND: 'rc', GITHUB_REF_NAME: 'main' }), [
-      'main',
-      { name: 'next', prerelease: 'rc', channel: 'next' },
+      { name: 'main', prerelease: 'rc', channel: 'next' },
     ]);
 
     const config = createReleaseConfig({ KTX_RELEASE_KIND: 'rc', GITHUB_REF_NAME: 'main' });
@@ -42,14 +37,6 @@ describe('semantic-release config', () => {
     );
     assert.match(releaseExecOptions(config).publishCmd, /pnpm run release:published-smoke/);
     assert.doesNotMatch(JSON.stringify(config.plugins), /release:npm-publish/);
-    const releaseFilePluginNames = pluginNames(config).filter(
-      (plugin) => plugin === '@semantic-release/changelog' || plugin === '@semantic-release/git',
-    );
-    assert.deepEqual(releaseFilePluginNames, ['@semantic-release/changelog', '@semantic-release/git']);
-
-    const names = pluginNames(config);
-    assert.ok(names.indexOf('@semantic-release/changelog') < releaseExecIndex(config));
-    assert.ok(names.indexOf('@semantic-release/git') > releaseExecIndex(config));
   });
 
   it('configures stable releases only from main with latest tag', () => {
@@ -69,18 +56,22 @@ describe('semantic-release config', () => {
     assert.equal(config.plugins.includes('./scripts/semantic-release-version-policy.cjs'), false);
   });
 
-  it('does not commit release files back to protected main during stable releases', () => {
-    const config = createReleaseConfig({ KTX_RELEASE_KIND: 'stable', GITHUB_REF_NAME: 'main' });
-
-    assert.equal(pluginNames(config).includes('@semantic-release/git'), false);
-    assert.equal(pluginNames(config).includes('@semantic-release/changelog'), false);
+  it('never commits release files back to the repo', () => {
+    for (const kind of ['rc', 'stable']) {
+      const config = createReleaseConfig({ KTX_RELEASE_KIND: kind, GITHUB_REF_NAME: 'main' });
+      assert.equal(pluginNames(config).includes('@semantic-release/git'), false, `${kind}: @semantic-release/git`);
+      assert.equal(pluginNames(config).includes('@semantic-release/changelog'), false, `${kind}: @semantic-release/changelog`);
+    }
   });
 
-  it('rejects stable releases from non-main branches', () => {
-    assert.throws(
-      () => releaseBranches({ KTX_RELEASE_KIND: 'stable', GITHUB_REF_NAME: 'feature/release-test' }),
-      /Stable KTX releases must run from main, got feature\/release-test/,
-    );
+  it('produces a loadable config regardless of GITHUB_REF_NAME', () => {
+    // Knip and other tooling load .releaserc.cjs on PR runners where
+    // GITHUB_REF_NAME is the merge ref. semantic-release itself enforces the
+    // main-only rule by refusing to publish when the current branch does not
+    // match a configured release branch, so the config must not throw at load.
+    for (const kind of ['rc', 'stable']) {
+      assert.doesNotThrow(() => releaseBranches({ KTX_RELEASE_KIND: kind, GITHUB_REF_NAME: '180/merge' }));
+    }
   });
 
   it('keeps the force-release patch escape hatch', () => {