diff --git a/.github/workflows/main.yml b/.github/workflows/main.yml
index d3fe46ae..f64fe027 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/main.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/main.yml
@@ -1,6 +1,12 @@
 name: Run install, format, lint, build, and test on every push
 
-on: [push]
+on:
+  push:
+  # A published GitHub release triggers the `publish` job below. The release's
+  # target commit determines which workflow runs — so this only publishes when a
+  # release is cut from a commit that carries this (v2) workflow.
+  release:
+    types: [published]
 
 jobs:
   build:
@@ -69,3 +75,47 @@ jobs:
       - name: Run Storybook play-function tests
         working-directory: ./clients/web
         run: npm run test:storybook
+
+  # Publish the single `@modelcontextprotocol/inspector` package to npm on a
+  # published GitHub release. v2 is not an npm workspace, so there is no
+  # `publish-all` / `--workspaces` (v1) — just one `npm publish`, whose `prepack`
+  # (`npm run build`) builds every client bundle into the `files` allowlist.
+  # `pack:verify` runs first as the pre-publish gate: it builds, packs the real
+  # tarball, installs it into a clean throwaway consumer, and drives the
+  # installed `mcp-inspector` bin (web/cli/tui) end to end — so a broken package
+  # is caught before it reaches npm rather than after.
+  publish:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    if: github.event_name == 'release'
+    environment: release
+    needs: build
+    permissions:
+      contents: read
+      # Required for npm provenance (`--provenance` mints a signed attestation
+      # via GitHub's OIDC token). The repo is public, so provenance is available.
+      id-token: write
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout code
+        uses: actions/checkout@v6
+
+      - name: Setup Node.js
+        uses: actions/setup-node@v6
+        with:
+          node-version: '22.x'
+          cache: 'npm'
+          registry-url: 'https://registry.npmjs.org'
+
+      - name: Install dependencies (root + all clients)
+        run: npm install
+
+      - name: Verify the publishable tarball end to end
+        # Builds, `npm pack`s, installs the tarball into a clean consumer, and
+        # drives the installed bin. Needs registry access to pull the tarball's
+        # runtime deps — available here. `smoke:tui` inside it self-skips on CI.
+        run: npm run pack:verify
+
+      - name: Publish to npm (single package, with provenance)
+        # `prepack` (`npm run build`) rebuilds the client bundles into the tarball.
+        run: npm publish --access public --provenance
+        env:
+          NODE_AUTH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.NPM_TOKEN }}
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index faaf675d..500a5641 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -148,6 +148,22 @@ The root `package.json` `"files"` allowlist is the source of truth for the tarba
 
 The `smoke:*` scripts run against the in-repo build tree, which is **not** the published package. `npm run pack:verify` (`scripts/pack-and-verify.mjs`) closes that gap: it builds, `npm pack`s the publishable tarball (asserting no source maps ship and that the runtime-required files are present), installs the tarball into a **clean throwaway consumer** — a fresh temp directory where it runs a real `npm install <tgz>` (pulls runtime deps, runs `postinstall`), exactly as `npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector` would — and drives the installed `mcp-inspector` bin end to end: `--help` dispatch, a real `--cli tools/list` over stdio, and a prod `--web` boot that must serve `/` from the shipped `dist`. It catches "works in `--dev`, breaks under `npx …`" path/packaging failures. It requires network access (the install pulls deps), so it is a local / release check, **not** part of the fast `validate`/`ci` loop.
 
+### Cutting a release
+
+Publishing is automated by the `publish` job in [`.github/workflows/main.yml`](.github/workflows/main.yml), gated on a **published GitHub release** (`github.event_name == 'release'`). On release it runs `npm run pack:verify` as the pre-publish gate, then `npm publish --access public --provenance` — a single `npm publish` (v2 is not an npm workspace, so there is no v1-style `publish-all`/`--workspaces`), with a signed provenance attestation via GitHub OIDC (`id-token: write`, `environment: release`, `NPM_TOKEN`).
+
+Because there is **one version number** (only the root `package.json` has one — the clients carry none, so there is nothing to keep in sync and no `check-version` step), the release flow is just:
+
+```bash
+npm version <major|minor|patch>   # bumps the root package.json + tags
+git push --follow-tags
+# then draft & publish a GitHub Release for that tag → triggers `publish`
+```
+
+The release's target commit selects which workflow runs, so this only publishes when a release is cut from a commit carrying this (v2) workflow.
+
+> **Docker / GHCR is not wired up yet.** v1 published a container image to GHCR, but v2 has no Dockerfile (its `client/server/cli` layout is gone). A v2 image + GHCR job is tracked separately in [#1646](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector/issues/1646).
+
 ## Contributing — `AGENTS.md` and `CLAUDE.md`
 
 **[`AGENTS.md`](./AGENTS.md) is the contract for changing this codebase, and it applies to humans and AI agents alike.** It is not agent-only boilerplate — it holds the project's real conventions: the issue-and-board workflow, branch/label rules, the TypeScript and Mantine/React standards, the testing and coverage requirements, and the mandatory pre-push gate. Read it before making changes, and keep it up to date when you change structure, tooling, or rules.