Makes tagging a release prep the norm

CLAUDE.md

@@ -62,7 +62,8 @@ irreversible step, and report.
 | `bd close <id>` | never for a mirrored bead whose other half is not merged to its own repo's `origin/main`; a mirrored bead whose other half has ALSO landed may be closed by the campaign conductor under a consent naming this exception, both halves together, each verified against its remote; otherwise the work is on `origin/main`, verified against the remote | for a bead whose description carries a `mirrors:` line while its other half is unlanded, campaign consent included; and otherwise at commit time, or on a local commit that has not been pushed |
 | `bd dolt push` | bead state changed locally **and** the git side of the same change has already reached `origin` | as a way to publish beads for work that is not on `origin/main` yet; and inside a campaign that spans mirrored trackers - the conductor pushes those atomically |
 | a version bump on a release bead's branch | an operator-authorized release bead, inside a campaign carrying the operator's explicit consent | on any other bead, on main, or when the operator has not named this repo's release bead |
-| a release (tag, `mix hex.publish`, GitHub release) | never | always - publishing is the operator's, in every campaign |
+| tagging a release prep | the release bead's version bump is merged to `origin/main`; the tag names that version at the merged commit | before the bump is on `origin/main`; a tag naming any other version or commit |
+| a release (`mix hex.publish`, GitHub release) | never | always - publishing is the operator's, in every campaign |
 
 The organizing principle is that the human gate belongs where an action stops
 being reversible. A commit on a per-bead branch is undone with
@@ -93,12 +94,12 @@ subagent's sense of being authorized. A subagent that cannot quote them
 reports and stops. (Recorded 2026-09-05 by the operator.)
 
 A relay unlocks nothing the rows above forbid outright: closing a mirrored
-bead whose other half has not landed, and a release - a tag, a
-`mix hex.publish`, a GitHub release - stay forbidden however the consent
-arrives. The two recorded exceptions below are the only widenings, and a
-relay does not widen either past its own row: the version bump stays a
-release-bead bump with no tag and no publish, and the campaign merge stays a
-merge of one PR meeting every condition its consent names.
+bead whose other half has not landed, and a release - a `mix hex.publish`,
+a GitHub release - stay forbidden however the consent arrives. The recorded
+exceptions below are the only widenings, and a relay does not widen any of
+them past its own row: the version bump stays a release-bead bump with no
+publish, its tag stays the tag of that merged prep, and the campaign merge
+stays a merge of one PR meeting every condition its consent names.
 
 A version bump is the recorded exception: on a release bead the operator has
 named (in the campaign plan or their own words), the bump commit is release
@@ -111,6 +112,18 @@ clean with a positive control, any named review gate passed), the conductor's
 merge executes the operator's own authorization - the consent's text is what
 may be done and nothing more. (Recorded 2026-09-01 by the operator.)
 
+**Release preps.** The version bump and the tag of a release prep are the
+family norm, not a grant a campaign consent has to name. On a release bead
+the operator has named (in the campaign plan or their own words), the prep -
+the version bump and the changelog promotion - lands through the rows above;
+once it is merged to `origin/main`, the conductor or the session that owns
+the release bead tags that merged commit with the new version and pushes the
+tag. Publishing (`mix hex.publish`, a docs republish included) is the
+operator's one release step, in every campaign, and no consent or relay
+delegates it. Merging the prep follows this file's merge row, and nothing
+else this file reserves for the operator changes. (Recorded 2026-09-25 by
+the operator.)
+
 Widening this section is a decision for the user to make and record here. An
 agent may draft the change; it does not adopt it.