diff --git a/.github/workflows/publish.yml b/.github/workflows/publish.yml
index c4ec672..17177b6 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/publish.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/publish.yml
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ jobs:
           tar -tzf "$TARBALL" | grep -q "package/dist/index.js"
           mkdir -p /tmp/wizard-smoke
           npm install --prefix /tmp/wizard-smoke "$PWD/$TARBALL"
+          # exits non-zero when invoked without config — that's expected; we only verify the bin is executable
           /tmp/wizard-smoke/node_modules/.bin/coval-wizard 2>&1 || true
           rm -f "$TARBALL"
 
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-please.yml b/.github/workflows/release-please.yml
index e4c3894..b09adb9 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release-please.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-please.yml
@@ -3,12 +3,13 @@ name: Auto Release
 on:
   push:
     branches: [main]
+  workflow_dispatch: # manual dry-run: detects bump type without creating a release
 
 permissions:
   contents: write
 
 concurrency:
-  group: auto-release
+  group: auto-release-${{ github.ref }}-${{ github.event_name }}
   cancel-in-progress: false
 
 jobs:
@@ -28,7 +29,7 @@ jobs:
 
           if [ -z "$LAST_TAG" ]; then
             COMMITS=$(git log --format="%s")
-            BASE_VERSION=$(node -p "require('./package.json').version")
+            BASE_VERSION=$(jq -r '.version' package.json)
           else
             COMMITS=$(git log --format="%s" "${LAST_TAG}..HEAD")
             BASE_VERSION="${LAST_TAG#v}"
@@ -43,11 +44,14 @@ jobs:
           while IFS= read -r msg; do
             # Strip [LINEAR-XXX] / [SIM-123] style prefixes
             clean=$(echo "$msg" | sed 's/^\[[A-Za-z]*-[0-9]*\] //')
-            if [[ "$clean" =~ ^[a-z]+(\([^)]*\))?!: ]]; then
+            re_major='^[a-z]+(\([^)]*\))?!:'
+            re_feat='^feat(\([^)]*\))?:'
+            re_fix='^(fix|perf)(\([^)]*\))?:'
+            if [[ "$clean" =~ $re_major ]]; then
               TYPE="major"; break
-            elif [[ "$clean" =~ ^feat(\([^)]*\))?: ]] && [[ "$TYPE" != "major" ]]; then
+            elif [[ "$clean" =~ $re_feat ]] && [[ "$TYPE" != "major" ]]; then
               TYPE="minor"
-            elif [[ "$clean" =~ ^(fix|perf)(\([^)]*\))?: ]] && [[ "$TYPE" == "none" ]]; then
+            elif [[ "$clean" =~ $re_fix ]] && [[ "$TYPE" == "none" ]]; then
               TYPE="patch"
             fi
           done <<< "$COMMITS"
@@ -64,12 +68,13 @@ jobs:
             major) V="$((M+1)).0.0" ;;
             minor) V="$M.$((N+1)).0" ;;
             patch) V="$M.$N.$((P+1))" ;;
+            *) echo "Unexpected bump type: ${{ steps.release.outputs.type }}"; exit 1 ;;
           esac
           echo "value=$V" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
           echo "tag=v$V" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
 
       - name: Create GitHub release
-        if: steps.release.outputs.type != 'none'
+        if: steps.release.outputs.type != 'none' && github.event_name == 'push'
         env:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
         run: |
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 4cd7d5e..29f492a 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@ Releases are fully automatic on every merge to `main`. No manual version bumps o
    |---|---|---|
    | `feat:` | minor (`1.x.0`) | `feat: add gemini support` |
    | `fix:` / `perf:` | patch (`1.0.x`) | `fix: handle 403 as invalid key` |
-   | `feat!:` / `fix!:` | major (`x.0.0`) | `feat!: redesign CLI interface` |
+   | `feat!:` / `fix!:` | major (`x.0.0`) | `feat!: redesign CLI` |
    | `chore:` / `ci:` / `docs:` | no release | — |
 
 2. **Linear ticket prefixes are stripped automatically.** A PR titled `[SIM-123] feat: add something` is treated identically to `feat: add something`.