diff --git a/.github/actions/publish-mcp/action.yml b/.github/actions/publish-mcp/action.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..4655b7aa07
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/actions/publish-mcp/action.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+name: Publish MCP Registry metadata
+description: Validate and publish one released server.json, preserving an identical existing version
+inputs:
+  directory:
+    description: Directory containing the released server.json
+    default: .
+runs:
+  using: composite
+  steps:
+    - name: Install MCP Registry publisher
+      shell: bash
+      working-directory: ${{ inputs.directory }}
+      env:
+        MCP_PUBLISHER_VERSION: v1.8.0
+        MCP_PUBLISHER_SHA256_LINUX_AMD64: 1370446bbe74d562608e8005a6ccce02d146a661fbd78674e11cc70b9618d6cf
+      run: |
+        archive="mcp-publisher_linux_amd64.tar.gz"
+        curl -fsSLo "${archive}" \
+          "https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/registry/releases/download/${MCP_PUBLISHER_VERSION}/${archive}"
+        echo "${MCP_PUBLISHER_SHA256_LINUX_AMD64}  ${archive}" | sha256sum --check --strict
+        tar xzf "${archive}" mcp-publisher
+        chmod +x mcp-publisher
+    - name: Validate MCP Registry metadata
+      shell: bash
+      working-directory: ${{ inputs.directory }}
+      run: ./mcp-publisher validate
+    - name: Check existing registry version
+      id: registry
+      shell: bash
+      working-directory: ${{ inputs.directory }}
+      run: node "${GITHUB_ACTION_PATH}/registry-state.mjs"
+    - name: Authenticate to MCP Registry
+      if: steps.registry.outputs.exists != 'true'
+      shell: bash
+      working-directory: ${{ inputs.directory }}
+      run: ./mcp-publisher login github-oidc
+    - name: Publish MCP Registry metadata
+      if: steps.registry.outputs.exists != 'true'
+      shell: bash
+      working-directory: ${{ inputs.directory }}
+      run: ./mcp-publisher publish
diff --git a/.github/actions/publish-mcp/registry-state.d.mts b/.github/actions/publish-mcp/registry-state.d.mts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..f26edc81b9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/actions/publish-mcp/registry-state.d.mts
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+export function registryPublicationState(
+  server: Readonly<{ name: string; version: string } & Record<string, unknown>>,
+  request?: (url: URL, init: RequestInit) => Promise<Response>,
+): Promise<"present" | "absent">;
diff --git a/.github/actions/publish-mcp/registry-state.mjs b/.github/actions/publish-mcp/registry-state.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e3a32867b4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/actions/publish-mcp/registry-state.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,89 @@
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import { appendFile, readFile } from "node:fs/promises";
+import { resolve } from "node:path";
+import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
+
+/** Exact-version routes currently return false 404s; enumerate the filtered listing. */
+export async function registryPublicationState(server, request = fetch) {
+  assert.equal(typeof server?.name, "string");
+  assert.equal(typeof server?.version, "string");
+  const cursors = new Set();
+  let cursor;
+  const matches = [];
+  do {
+    const url = new URL(
+      "https://registry.modelcontextprotocol.io/v0.1/servers",
+    );
+    url.search = new URLSearchParams({
+      search: server.name,
+      version: server.version,
+      include_deleted: "true",
+      limit: "100",
+    }).toString();
+    if (cursor !== undefined) url.searchParams.set("cursor", cursor);
+    const response = await request(url, {
+      signal: AbortSignal.timeout(30_000),
+    });
+    if (!response.ok)
+      throw new Error(`Registry lookup failed: HTTP ${response.status}`);
+    const page = await response.json();
+    assert(Array.isArray(page?.servers), "Registry response omitted servers");
+    assert(
+      page.metadata && typeof page.metadata === "object",
+      "Registry response omitted metadata",
+    );
+    for (const entry of page.servers) {
+      assert(
+        typeof entry?.server?.name === "string" &&
+          typeof entry.server.version === "string",
+        "Malformed registry server record",
+      );
+      if (
+        entry.server.name === server.name &&
+        entry.server.version === server.version
+      )
+        matches.push(entry);
+    }
+    cursor = page.metadata.nextCursor;
+    if (cursor !== undefined) {
+      assert(
+        typeof cursor === "string" && cursor.length > 0 && !cursors.has(cursor),
+        "Registry returned a non-advancing cursor",
+      );
+      cursors.add(cursor);
+    }
+  } while (cursor !== undefined);
+  assert(
+    matches.length <= 1,
+    "Registry returned ambiguous exact-version records",
+  );
+  if (matches.length === 0) return "absent";
+  assert.equal(
+    matches[0]._meta?.["io.modelcontextprotocol.registry/official"]?.status,
+    "active",
+    "Existing registry version is not active",
+  );
+  assert.deepEqual(
+    matches[0].server,
+    server,
+    "Existing registry version differs from released metadata",
+  );
+  return "present";
+}
+
+if (
+  process.argv[1] !== undefined &&
+  resolve(process.argv[1]) === fileURLToPath(import.meta.url)
+) {
+  const state = await registryPublicationState(
+    JSON.parse(await readFile("server.json", "utf8")),
+  );
+  assert(process.env.GITHUB_OUTPUT, "GITHUB_OUTPUT is required");
+  await appendFile(
+    process.env.GITHUB_OUTPUT,
+    `exists=${state === "present"}\n`,
+  );
+  process.stdout.write(
+    `Registry version is ${state}; ${state === "present" ? "preserving identical published metadata" : "publication may proceed"}.\n`,
+  );
+}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-recovery.yml b/.github/workflows/release-recovery.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..befb77310d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-recovery.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,105 @@
+name: Recover published release
+
+on:
+  workflow_dispatch:
+    inputs:
+      version:
+        description: Existing npm and GitHub release version
+        required: true
+        type: string
+      release_run_id:
+        description: Original Release run with successful exact-source qualification and npm publication
+        required: true
+        type: string
+
+concurrency:
+  group: release-recovery-${{ inputs.version }}
+  cancel-in-progress: false
+
+jobs:
+  verify:
+    name: Verify existing published package
+    if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main'
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    timeout-minutes: 30
+    permissions:
+      contents: read
+      actions: read
+    outputs:
+      source_sha: ${{ steps.release.outputs.source_sha }}
+      version: ${{ steps.release.outputs.version }}
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@d23441a48e516b6c34aea4fa41551a30e30af803 # v6.1.0
+        with:
+          fetch-depth: 0
+          persist-credentials: false
+      - uses: actions/setup-node@249970729cb0ef3589644e2896645e5dc5ba9c38 # v6.5.0
+        with:
+          node-version-file: .nvmrc
+          package-manager-cache: false
+      - run: npm ci
+      - name: Validate original release authority
+        id: release
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
+          RECOVERY_VERSION: ${{ inputs.version }}
+          RECOVERY_RUN_ID: ${{ inputs.release_run_id }}
+        run: node scripts/ci/release-recovery.mjs resolve
+      - name: Check out released metadata
+        uses: actions/checkout@d23441a48e516b6c34aea4fa41551a30e30af803 # v6.1.0
+        with:
+          ref: ${{ steps.release.outputs.source_sha }}
+          path: .cache/release-source
+          persist-credentials: false
+      - name: Download original qualified package
+        uses: actions/download-artifact@d3f86a106a0bac45b974a628896c90dbdf5c8093 # v4.3.0
+        with:
+          name: verified-release-package
+          run-id: ${{ steps.release.outputs.run_id }}
+          github-token: ${{ github.token }}
+          path: .cache/verified-package
+      - name: Restore original verifier runtime
+        uses: actions/download-artifact@d3f86a106a0bac45b974a628896c90dbdf5c8093 # v4.3.0
+        with:
+          name: rea-test-runtime
+          run-id: ${{ steps.release.outputs.run_id }}
+          github-token: ${{ github.token }}
+          path: .
+      - name: Match published npm bytes to the qualified package
+        env:
+          RECOVERY_VERSION: ${{ steps.release.outputs.version }}
+          RECOVERY_RUN_ID: ${{ steps.release.outputs.run_id }}
+          RECOVERY_RUN_ATTEMPT: ${{ steps.release.outputs.run_attempt }}
+          RECOVERY_SOURCE_SHA: ${{ steps.release.outputs.source_sha }}
+          RECOVERY_SOURCE_DIRECTORY: .cache/release-source
+          RECOVERY_ARTIFACT_DIRECTORY: .cache/verified-package
+        run: node scripts/ci/release-recovery.mjs verify
+      - name: Verify published CLI, MCP and update
+        env:
+          RECOVERY_VERSION: ${{ steps.release.outputs.version }}
+        run: node scripts/verify-published-package.mjs "$RECOVERY_VERSION"
+      - name: Validate released registry metadata
+        working-directory: .cache/release-source
+        run: npm run mcp-registry:check
+
+  publish-mcp:
+    name: Finish MCP Registry publication
+    needs: verify
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    timeout-minutes: 10
+    permissions:
+      contents: read
+      id-token: write
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@d23441a48e516b6c34aea4fa41551a30e30af803 # v6.1.0
+        with:
+          persist-credentials: false
+      - name: Check out verified released metadata
+        uses: actions/checkout@d23441a48e516b6c34aea4fa41551a30e30af803 # v6.1.0
+        with:
+          ref: ${{ needs.verify.outputs.source_sha }}
+          path: .cache/release-source
+          persist-credentials: false
+      - uses: ./.github/actions/publish-mcp
+        with:
+          directory: .cache/release-source
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index 66d1221e9e..ddfbbd00bd 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -371,8 +371,6 @@ jobs:
             published_version="$(npm view --prefer-online "rea-agents@${version}" version --json 2>/dev/null || true)"
             if [ "${published_version}" = "\"${version}\"" ]; then
               echo "rea-agents@${version} is visible on npm after attempt ${attempt}/${max_attempts}; verifying the published CLI."
-              npm exec --yes --package="rea-agents@${version}" -- rea --help
-              npm exec --yes --package="rea-agents@${version}" -- rea --llms
               node "${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}/scripts/verify-published-package.mjs" "${version}"
               exit 0
             else
@@ -406,23 +404,4 @@ jobs:
       - name: Verify package and registry metadata versions
         run: npm run mcp-registry:check
 
-      - name: Install MCP Registry publisher
-        env:
-          MCP_PUBLISHER_VERSION: v1.8.0
-          MCP_PUBLISHER_SHA256_LINUX_AMD64: 1370446bbe74d562608e8005a6ccce02d146a661fbd78674e11cc70b9618d6cf
-        run: |
-          archive="mcp-publisher_linux_amd64.tar.gz"
-          curl -fsSLo "${archive}" \
-            "https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/registry/releases/download/${MCP_PUBLISHER_VERSION}/${archive}"
-          echo "${MCP_PUBLISHER_SHA256_LINUX_AMD64}  ${archive}" | sha256sum --check --strict
-          tar xzf "${archive}" mcp-publisher
-          chmod +x mcp-publisher
-
-      - name: Validate MCP Registry metadata
-        run: ./mcp-publisher validate
-
-      - name: Authenticate to MCP Registry
-        run: ./mcp-publisher login github-oidc
-
-      - name: Publish MCP Registry metadata
-        run: ./mcp-publisher publish
+      - uses: ./.github/actions/publish-mcp
diff --git a/docs/releasing.md b/docs/releasing.md
index 60fdb23cfd..644edbe7ae 100644
--- a/docs/releasing.md
+++ b/docs/releasing.md
@@ -18,6 +18,36 @@ both publication jobs and the published-package canary; a merged PR or GitHub
 tag alone does not establish that publication finished. Retry failed jobs in
 the original run after a partial publication.
 
+### Recover an already published npm release
+
+Rerunning a job uses its original workflow and source revision. When a verifier
+or publishing workflow needs a code fix, land that fix on main first, then use
+the separate recovery workflow instead of repeating release creation:
+
+```bash
+gh workflow run release-recovery.yml --ref main \
+  -f version=6.5.0 -f release_run_id=38564502044
+```
+
+Select the existing version and its original automatic Release run. Recovery
+requires that run's successful exact-source CI gate and npm publish step. It
+uses the existing release tag, original qualified tarball and verifier runtime;
+expired or missing artifacts stop recovery. The archive's source, version,
+original run/attempt and Node version must match, and its SHA-512 must equal
+npm's published integrity. The corrected controller runs the public CLI, MCP
+catalog/session and previous-version update canary against that released runtime.
+The installation completes before MCP's handshake begins; dependency lifecycle
+scripts are disabled as in the installed-package verifier.
+
+Only after verification succeeds does recovery publish the released
+`server.json` to MCP Registry. It does not create tags or GitHub releases,
+publish npm bytes, or change dist-tags. Both publication paths share the same
+MCP publisher: a paginated registry lookup preserves an identical active
+version, refuses conflicting/inactive metadata, and fails on lookup errors.
+The original failed run remains a historical failure; the recovery run records
+the new verification and remaining registry publication. Manual frozen-branch
+releases are outside this recovery path.
+
 For a release that needs an independently frozen application checkpoint, use
 the optional manual path below. It retains explicit prepare and publish phases.
 
diff --git a/scripts/ci/plan.mjs b/scripts/ci/plan.mjs
index fdfc3518c5..a3155feb6d 100644
--- a/scripts/ci/plan.mjs
+++ b/scripts/ci/plan.mjs
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ const GUARDED_WORKFLOWS = new Set([
   ".github/workflows/pr-readiness.yml",
   ".github/workflows/ci-full-pr.yml",
   ".github/workflows/release.yml",
+  ".github/workflows/release-recovery.yml",
   ".github/workflows/real-ghidra-windows.yml",
   ".github/workflows/sqlite-runtime.yml",
   ".github/workflows/ci-timings.yml",
diff --git a/scripts/ci/release-recovery.d.mts b/scripts/ci/release-recovery.d.mts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..266f15b62b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/ci/release-recovery.d.mts
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+export function selectRecoveryRelease(input: {
+  repository: string;
+  version: string;
+  run: unknown;
+  jobs: unknown;
+  release: unknown;
+  tagSha: string;
+}): {
+  version: string;
+  source_sha: string;
+  run_id: number;
+  run_attempt: number;
+};
+
+export function verifyRecoveryPackage(input: {
+  directory: string;
+  sourceSha: string;
+  runId: number;
+  runAttempt: number;
+  version: string;
+  integrity: string;
+}): Promise<{
+  version: string;
+  sourceSha: string;
+  runId: number;
+  runAttempt: number;
+  integrity: string;
+}>;
diff --git a/scripts/ci/release-recovery.mjs b/scripts/ci/release-recovery.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..cb5046ba00
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/ci/release-recovery.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,216 @@
+import { execFile } from "node:child_process";
+import { createHash } from "node:crypto";
+import { createReadStream } from "node:fs";
+import { appendFile, readFile } from "node:fs/promises";
+import { join, resolve } from "node:path";
+import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
+import { promisify } from "node:util";
+import { valid } from "semver";
+import { z } from "zod";
+
+import { validateVerifiedPackage } from "./verified-package.mjs";
+
+const execute = promisify(execFile);
+const sha = z.string().regex(/^[a-f0-9]{40}$/u);
+const positive = z.coerce
+  .number()
+  .int()
+  .positive()
+  .max(Number.MAX_SAFE_INTEGER);
+const versionSchema = z
+  .string()
+  .refine(
+    (value) => valid(value) === value && !value.includes("+"),
+    "Expected an exact release version without build metadata",
+  );
+const repositorySchema = z.string().regex(/^[\w.-]+\/[\w.-]+$/u);
+
+/** Require the original release's successful qualification and npm write. */
+export function selectRecoveryRelease({
+  repository,
+  version,
+  run,
+  jobs,
+  release,
+  tagSha,
+}) {
+  repositorySchema.parse(repository);
+  versionSchema.parse(version);
+  sha.parse(tagSha);
+  const original = z
+    .object({
+      id: positive,
+      run_attempt: positive,
+      path: z.literal(".github/workflows/release.yml"),
+      event: z.literal("pull_request"),
+      status: z.literal("completed"),
+      repository: z.object({ full_name: z.literal(repository) }),
+      head_repository: z.object({ full_name: z.literal(repository) }),
+    })
+    .parse(run);
+  z.object({
+    tag_name: z.literal(`rea-agents-${version}`),
+    draft: z.literal(false),
+    published_at: z.string().min(1),
+  }).parse(release);
+  const parsedJobs = z
+    .array(
+      z.object({
+        name: z.string(),
+        status: z.string(),
+        conclusion: z.string().nullable(),
+        steps: z
+          .array(
+            z.object({ name: z.string(), conclusion: z.string().nullable() }),
+          )
+          .default([]),
+      }),
+    )
+    .parse(jobs);
+  const requireJob = (name) => {
+    const matches = parsedJobs.filter((job) => job.name === name);
+    if (matches.length !== 1 || matches[0].status !== "completed")
+      throw new Error(`Expected one completed original job: ${name}`);
+    return matches[0];
+  };
+  for (const name of [
+    "Release reviewed main merge",
+    "Qualify exact release revision / CI required",
+  ])
+    if (requireJob(name).conclusion !== "success")
+      throw new Error(`Original release did not pass ${name}`);
+  const publish = requireJob("Publish to npm");
+  const writes = publish.steps.filter((step) => step.name === "Publish");
+  if (writes.length !== 1 || writes[0].conclusion !== "success")
+    throw new Error("Original npm publication did not succeed");
+  return {
+    version,
+    source_sha: tagSha,
+    run_id: original.id,
+    run_attempt: original.run_attempt,
+  };
+}
+
+/** Bind existing npm bytes to the original qualified archive, without rebuilding it. */
+export async function verifyRecoveryPackage({
+  directory,
+  sourceSha,
+  runId,
+  runAttempt,
+  version,
+  integrity,
+}) {
+  const tarball = await validateVerifiedPackage({
+    directory,
+    sourceSha,
+    runId,
+    runAttempt,
+    packageVersion: version,
+    nodeVersion: process.version,
+  });
+  const hash = createHash("sha512");
+  for await (const chunk of createReadStream(tarball)) hash.update(chunk);
+  if (integrity !== `sha512-${hash.digest("base64")}`)
+    throw new Error(
+      "Published npm integrity differs from the original qualified package",
+    );
+  return { version, sourceSha, runId, runAttempt, integrity };
+}
+
+async function command(program, args, cwd) {
+  return (
+    await execute(program, args, { cwd, maxBuffer: 16 * 1024 * 1024 })
+  ).stdout.trim();
+}
+
+async function main() {
+  const [operation, ...extra] = process.argv.slice(2);
+  if (extra.length || !["resolve", "verify"].includes(operation))
+    throw new Error(
+      "Usage: node scripts/ci/release-recovery.mjs resolve|verify",
+    );
+  const version = versionSchema.parse(process.env.RECOVERY_VERSION);
+  const runId = positive.parse(process.env.RECOVERY_RUN_ID);
+  if (operation === "resolve") {
+    if (process.env.GITHUB_REF !== "refs/heads/main")
+      throw new Error("Run release recovery from main");
+    const repository = repositorySchema.parse(process.env.GITHUB_REPOSITORY);
+    const api = async (path) =>
+      JSON.parse(await command("gh", ["api", `repos/${repository}/${path}`]));
+    const run = await api(`actions/runs/${runId}`);
+    const pages = z
+      .array(z.object({ jobs: z.array(z.unknown()) }))
+      .parse(
+        JSON.parse(
+          await command("gh", [
+            "api",
+            "--paginate",
+            "--slurp",
+            `repos/${repository}/actions/runs/${runId}/attempts/${positive.parse(run.run_attempt)}/jobs?per_page=100`,
+          ]),
+        ),
+      );
+    const release = await api(`releases/tags/rea-agents-${version}`);
+    const tagSha = await command("git", [
+      "rev-parse",
+      "--verify",
+      `refs/tags/rea-agents-${version}^{commit}`,
+    ]);
+    const selection = selectRecoveryRelease({
+      repository,
+      version,
+      run,
+      jobs: pages.flatMap((page) => page.jobs),
+      release,
+      tagSha,
+    });
+    await appendFile(
+      z.string().min(1).parse(process.env.GITHUB_OUTPUT),
+      Object.entries(selection)
+        .map(([key, value]) => `${key}=${value}\n`)
+        .join(""),
+    );
+    process.stdout.write(`${JSON.stringify(selection)}\n`);
+    return;
+  }
+  const sourceDirectory = z
+    .string()
+    .min(1)
+    .parse(process.env.RECOVERY_SOURCE_DIRECTORY);
+  const sourceSha = sha.parse(process.env.RECOVERY_SOURCE_SHA);
+  if (
+    (await command("git", ["rev-parse", "HEAD"], sourceDirectory)) !== sourceSha
+  )
+    throw new Error("Recovery checkout differs from the released source");
+  z.object({ version: z.literal(version) }).parse(
+    JSON.parse(await readFile(join(sourceDirectory, "package.json"), "utf8")),
+  );
+  const integrity = z
+    .string()
+    .parse(
+      JSON.parse(
+        await command("npm", [
+          "view",
+          `rea-agents@${version}`,
+          "dist.integrity",
+          "--json",
+          "--registry=https://registry.npmjs.org",
+        ]),
+      ),
+    );
+  const result = await verifyRecoveryPackage({
+    directory: z.string().min(1).parse(process.env.RECOVERY_ARTIFACT_DIRECTORY),
+    sourceSha,
+    runId,
+    runAttempt: positive.parse(process.env.RECOVERY_RUN_ATTEMPT),
+    version,
+    integrity,
+  });
+  process.stdout.write(`${JSON.stringify(result)}\n`);
+}
+
+if (
+  process.argv[1] !== undefined &&
+  resolve(process.argv[1]) === fileURLToPath(import.meta.url)
+)
+  await main();
diff --git a/scripts/ci/scopes.mjs b/scripts/ci/scopes.mjs
index 7ea5063ce4..17a0c8e0ff 100644
--- a/scripts/ci/scopes.mjs
+++ b/scripts/ci/scopes.mjs
@@ -90,6 +90,13 @@ export const SCOPES = {
   ],
   // Four-host installed-package matrix and the Windows curated lane.
   package: [
+    ".github/actions/publish-mcp/**",
+    ".github/workflows/release-recovery.yml",
+    "scripts/ci/release-recovery.mjs",
+    "scripts/ci/verified-package.mjs",
+    "scripts/verify-published-package.mjs",
+    "tests/boundary/filesystem/releaseRecovery.test.ts",
+    "tests/boundary/filesystem/mcpRegistryPublication.test.ts",
     "src/windows/**",
     "native/windows/**",
     "src/process/capture/FilesystemSnapshot.ts",
diff --git a/scripts/ci/verified-package.mjs b/scripts/ci/verified-package.mjs
index 1053760b26..87d74bab84 100644
--- a/scripts/ci/verified-package.mjs
+++ b/scripts/ci/verified-package.mjs
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ export async function retainVerifiedPackage({
 }
 
 /** Validate a retained package against the current checkout and workflow attempt. */
-async function validateVerifiedPackage({
+export async function validateVerifiedPackage({
   directory,
   sourceSha,
   runId,
diff --git a/tests/boundary/filesystem/mcpRegistryPublication.test.ts b/tests/boundary/filesystem/mcpRegistryPublication.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..71d03f9cc1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/boundary/filesystem/mcpRegistryPublication.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+import { expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { registryPublicationState } from "../../../.github/actions/publish-mcp/registry-state.mjs";
+
+const server = {
+  name: "io.github.fixture/rea",
+  version: "6.5.0",
+  description: "Released metadata",
+};
+const record = {
+  server,
+  _meta: { "io.modelcontextprotocol.registry/official": { status: "active" } },
+};
+const page = (servers: unknown[], metadata = {}) =>
+  Response.json({ servers, metadata });
+
+it("finds an identical existing version after paging past substring matches", async () => {
+  const urls: URL[] = [];
+  const result = await registryPublicationState(server, async (url: URL) => {
+    urls.push(url);
+    return urls.length === 1
+      ? page([{ server: { ...server, name: `${server.name}-other` } }], {
+          nextCursor: "next",
+        })
+      : page([record]);
+  });
+  expect(result).toBe("present");
+  expect(urls[0]?.searchParams.get("search")).toBe(server.name);
+  expect(urls[0]?.searchParams.get("version")).toBe(server.version);
+  expect(urls[0]?.searchParams.get("include_deleted")).toBe("true");
+  expect(urls[1]?.searchParams.get("cursor")).toBe("next");
+});
+
+it("permits publication only after a complete successful lookup finds no exact match", async () => {
+  await expect(
+    registryPublicationState(server, async () => page([])),
+  ).resolves.toBe("absent");
+  await expect(
+    registryPublicationState(
+      server,
+      async () => new Response("unavailable", { status: 503 }),
+    ),
+  ).rejects.toThrow("HTTP 503");
+  await expect(
+    registryPublicationState(server, async () =>
+      Response.json({ metadata: {} }),
+    ),
+  ).rejects.toThrow("omitted servers");
+  await expect(
+    registryPublicationState(server, async () =>
+      page([], { nextCursor: "same" }),
+    ),
+  ).rejects.toThrow("non-advancing cursor");
+});
+
+it("refuses changed, inactive or ambiguous published metadata", async () => {
+  await expect(
+    registryPublicationState(server, async () =>
+      page([{ ...record, server: { ...server, description: "Different" } }]),
+    ),
+  ).rejects.toThrow("differs from released metadata");
+  await expect(
+    registryPublicationState(server, async () =>
+      page([
+        {
+          ...record,
+          _meta: {
+            "io.modelcontextprotocol.registry/official": { status: "deleted" },
+          },
+        },
+      ]),
+    ),
+  ).rejects.toThrow("not active");
+  await expect(
+    registryPublicationState(server, async () => page([record, record])),
+  ).rejects.toThrow("ambiguous");
+});
diff --git a/tests/boundary/filesystem/releaseRecovery.test.ts b/tests/boundary/filesystem/releaseRecovery.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..05689d5024
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/boundary/filesystem/releaseRecovery.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,207 @@
+import { createHash } from "node:crypto";
+import { readFile, writeFile } from "node:fs/promises";
+import { join } from "node:path";
+import { expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { parse } from "yaml";
+import { z } from "zod";
+
+import {
+  selectRecoveryRelease,
+  verifyRecoveryPackage,
+} from "../../../scripts/ci/release-recovery.mjs";
+import { createTestTempDirectory } from "../../fixtures/temporaryDirectory.js";
+
+const sourceSha = "a".repeat(40);
+const job = (name: string, conclusion = "success") => ({
+  name,
+  status: "completed",
+  conclusion,
+  steps: [],
+});
+const selection = () => ({
+  repository: "fixture/rea",
+  version: "6.5.0",
+  tagSha: sourceSha,
+  run: {
+    id: 123,
+    run_attempt: 1,
+    path: ".github/workflows/release.yml",
+    event: "pull_request",
+    status: "completed",
+    repository: { full_name: "fixture/rea" },
+    head_repository: { full_name: "fixture/rea" },
+  },
+  release: {
+    tag_name: "rea-agents-6.5.0",
+    draft: false,
+    published_at: "2026-10-14T12:32:45Z",
+  },
+  jobs: [
+    job("Release reviewed main merge"),
+    job("Qualify exact release revision / CI required"),
+    {
+      ...job("Publish to npm", "failure"),
+      steps: [{ name: "Publish", conclusion: "success" }],
+    },
+  ],
+});
+
+it("recovers a failed post-publication run using its successful original qualification", () => {
+  expect(selectRecoveryRelease(selection())).toEqual({
+    version: "6.5.0",
+    source_sha: sourceSha,
+    run_id: 123,
+    run_attempt: 1,
+  });
+});
+
+it.each(["failure", "skipped", "cancelled"])(
+  "refuses recovery when original qualification was %s",
+  (conclusion) => {
+    const input = selection();
+    input.jobs[1]!.conclusion = conclusion;
+    expect(() => selectRecoveryRelease(input)).toThrow("did not pass");
+  },
+);
+
+it("refuses absent or ambiguous qualification and unsuccessful npm publication", () => {
+  const missing = selection();
+  missing.jobs.splice(1, 1);
+  expect(() => selectRecoveryRelease(missing)).toThrow(
+    "Expected one completed",
+  );
+  const duplicate = selection();
+  duplicate.jobs.push(job("Qualify exact release revision / CI required"));
+  expect(() => selectRecoveryRelease(duplicate)).toThrow(
+    "Expected one completed",
+  );
+  const unpublished = selection();
+  unpublished.jobs[2]!.steps[0]!.conclusion = "failure";
+  expect(() => selectRecoveryRelease(unpublished)).toThrow(
+    "publication did not succeed",
+  );
+});
+
+it("refuses foreign runs, unrelated workflows and unpublished releases", () => {
+  const foreign = selection();
+  foreign.run.head_repository.full_name = "outside/rea";
+  expect(() => selectRecoveryRelease(foreign)).toThrow();
+  const unrelated = selection();
+  unrelated.run.path = ".github/workflows/ci.yml";
+  expect(() => selectRecoveryRelease(unrelated)).toThrow();
+  const draft = selection();
+  draft.release.draft = true;
+  expect(() => selectRecoveryRelease(draft)).toThrow();
+  const wrongTag = selection();
+  wrongTag.release.tag_name = "rea-agents-6.6.0";
+  expect(() => selectRecoveryRelease(wrongTag)).toThrow();
+});
+
+it("requires npm bytes to match the retained archive and original source/run", async () => {
+  const directory = await createTestTempDirectory("rea-release-recovery-");
+  const archive = "original qualified archive";
+  await writeFile(join(directory, "package.tgz"), archive);
+  await writeFile(
+    join(directory, "manifest.json"),
+    JSON.stringify({
+      schemaVersion: 1,
+      sourceSha,
+      runId: 123,
+      runAttempt: 1,
+      platform: "linux",
+      architecture: "x64",
+      packageVersion: "6.5.0",
+      nodeVersion: process.version,
+      sha256: createHash("sha256").update(archive).digest("hex"),
+    }),
+  );
+  const input = {
+    directory,
+    sourceSha,
+    runId: 123,
+    runAttempt: 1,
+    version: "6.5.0",
+    integrity: `sha512-${createHash("sha512").update(archive).digest("base64")}`,
+  };
+  await expect(verifyRecoveryPackage(input)).resolves.toMatchObject({
+    version: "6.5.0",
+    sourceSha,
+  });
+  await expect(
+    verifyRecoveryPackage({ ...input, integrity: "sha512-wrong" }),
+  ).rejects.toThrow("npm integrity differs");
+  await expect(
+    verifyRecoveryPackage({ ...input, sourceSha: "b".repeat(40) }),
+  ).rejects.toThrow("source SHA mismatch");
+  await expect(verifyRecoveryPackage({ ...input, runId: 456 })).rejects.toThrow(
+    "workflow run ID mismatch",
+  );
+});
+
+it("limits recovery to verification and dependent MCP publication from the released source", async () => {
+  const step = z.object({
+    uses: z.string().optional(),
+    run: z.string().optional(),
+    with: z.record(z.string(), z.unknown()).optional(),
+  });
+  const workflow = z
+    .object({
+      on: z.record(z.string(), z.unknown()),
+      jobs: z.object({
+        verify: z.object({
+          if: z.string(),
+          permissions: z.record(z.string(), z.string()),
+          steps: z.array(step),
+        }),
+        "publish-mcp": z.object({
+          needs: z.string(),
+          permissions: z.record(z.string(), z.string()),
+          steps: z.array(step),
+        }),
+      }),
+    })
+    .parse(
+      parse(await readFile(".github/workflows/release-recovery.yml", "utf8")),
+    );
+  expect(Object.keys(workflow.on)).toEqual(["workflow_dispatch"]);
+  expect(workflow.jobs.verify.if).toBe("github.ref == 'refs/heads/main'");
+  expect(workflow.jobs.verify.permissions).toEqual({
+    contents: "read",
+    actions: "read",
+  });
+  const steps = workflow.jobs.verify.steps;
+  for (const name of ["verified-release-package", "rea-test-runtime"])
+    expect(
+      steps.find((candidate) => candidate.with?.name === name)?.with,
+    ).toMatchObject({
+      "run-id": "${{ steps.release.outputs.run_id }}",
+      "github-token": "${{ github.token }}",
+    });
+  const digest = steps.findIndex(
+    (candidate) =>
+      candidate.run === "node scripts/ci/release-recovery.mjs verify",
+  );
+  const canary = steps.findIndex((candidate) =>
+    candidate.run?.includes("verify-published-package.mjs"),
+  );
+  expect(digest).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(0);
+  expect(canary).toBeGreaterThan(digest);
+  const publisher = workflow.jobs["publish-mcp"];
+  expect(publisher.needs).toBe("verify");
+  expect(
+    publisher.steps.find(
+      (candidate) => candidate.with?.path === ".cache/release-source",
+    )?.with?.ref,
+  ).toBe("${{ needs.verify.outputs.source_sha }}");
+  expect(
+    publisher.steps.find(
+      (candidate) => candidate.uses === "./.github/actions/publish-mcp",
+    )?.with,
+  ).toEqual({ directory: ".cache/release-source" });
+  for (const candidate of [...steps, ...publisher.steps]) {
+    expect(candidate.run ?? "").not.toMatch(
+      /npm publish|git tag|gh release create/u,
+    );
+    expect(candidate.uses ?? "").not.toContain("release-please");
+  }
+});