diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c0bcf56
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+name: Publish PyPI package
+
+on:
+  release:
+    types: [published]
+
+permissions:
+  contents: read
+
+jobs:
+  publish:
+    if: ${{ !github.event.release.prerelease }}
+    runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
+    timeout-minutes: 15
+    environment:
+      name: pypi
+      url: https://pypi.org/p/grid-sdk
+    permissions:
+      contents: read
+      id-token: write
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@11d5960a326750d5838078e36cf38b85af677262 # v4
+        with:
+          ref: ${{ github.event.release.tag_name }}
+          fetch-depth: 0
+          fetch-tags: true
+          persist-credentials: false
+      - uses: actions/setup-python@a26af69be951a213d495a4c3e4e4022e16d87065 # v5
+        with:
+          python-version: "3.12"
+          cache: pip
+      - name: Verify release identity
+        shell: bash
+        env:
+          RELEASE_TAG: ${{ github.event.release.tag_name }}
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          version="$(python -c 'import tomllib; print(tomllib.load(open("pyproject.toml", "rb"))["project"]["version"])')"
+          module_version="$(python - <<'PY'
+          import ast
+          from pathlib import Path
+
+          tree = ast.parse(Path("src/grid_sdk/__init__.py").read_text())
+          for node in tree.body:
+              if not isinstance(node, ast.Assign):
+                  continue
+              if any(isinstance(target, ast.Name) and target.id == "__version__" for target in node.targets):
+                  print(ast.literal_eval(node.value))
+                  break
+          else:
+              raise SystemExit("__version__ assignment not found")
+          PY
+          )"
+          test "$module_version" = "$version" || {
+            echo "module version $module_version does not match project version $version" >&2
+            exit 1
+          }
+          test "$RELEASE_TAG" = "v$version" || {
+            echo "release tag $RELEASE_TAG does not match package version $version" >&2
+            exit 1
+          }
+          test "$(git rev-parse HEAD)" = "$(git rev-list -n 1 "$RELEASE_TAG")"
+      - name: Build and inspect distributions
+        run: |
+          python -m pip install build==1.6.0 twine==7.0.0
+          python -m build
+          python -m twine check dist/*
+      - name: Test built wheel
+        shell: bash
+        run: |
+          wheel="$(find dist -maxdepth 1 -name '*.whl' -print -quit)"
+          test -n "$wheel"
+          python -m pip install "$wheel" pytest pytest-asyncio respx httpx
+          pytest tests/ -v
+          python -c 'import grid_sdk; print(grid_sdk.__version__)'
+      - name: Publish with PyPI trusted publishing
+        uses: pypa/gh-action-pypi-publish@dc37677b2e1c63e2034f94d8a5b11f265b73ba33 # v1.14.2
diff --git a/.github/workflows/test.yml b/.github/workflows/test.yml
index e1fc1f2..78f010a 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/test.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/test.yml
@@ -6,15 +6,19 @@ on:
   pull_request:
     branches: [main]
 
+permissions:
+  contents: read
+
 jobs:
   pytest:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
+    timeout-minutes: 10
     strategy:
       matrix:
         python-version: ["3.9", "3.10", "3.11", "3.12"]
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-      - uses: actions/setup-python@v5
+      - uses: actions/checkout@11d5960a326750d5838078e36cf38b85af677262 # v4
+      - uses: actions/setup-python@a26af69be951a213d495a4c3e4e4022e16d87065 # v5
         with:
           python-version: ${{ matrix.python-version }}
           cache: pip
diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index 35739c6..366b17c 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -41,8 +41,8 @@ subclasses the official `openai` client, pre-points it at the Grid, reads the ke
 environment, and adds Grid-specific conveniences (`online_models()`, and `client.grid` for the
 native SYNCHRONOUS media endpoints: `/v1/images/generations` (video / img2img / ControlNet /
 LoRAs / styles) and `/v1/videos/generations` — the call returns the finished result, no
-submit/poll). The retired horde `/api/v2` async queue is NOT used. Published to PyPI as
-`grid-sdk`; importable as `grid_sdk`. Co-canonical peer of the JS SDK `../grid-sdk-js`
+submit/poll). The retired horde `/api/v2` async queue is NOT used. Its PyPI package name is
+`grid-sdk`; it is importable as `grid_sdk`. Co-canonical peer of the JS SDK `../grid-sdk-js`
 (npm `grid-ai`) — keep the two SDKs' surfaces aligned.
 
 ## Ownership
@@ -53,6 +53,9 @@ submit/poll). The retired horde `/api/v2` async queue is NOT used. Published to
 - **`pyproject.toml`** — setuptools build, `src/` layout, deps, pytest config.
 - **`.github/workflows/secret-scan.yml`, `.gitleaks.toml`, and `.gitleaksignore`** —
   checksum-verified complete-history secret scanning with exact historical fingerprints only.
+- **`.github/workflows/release.yml`** — release-published, tag-bound PyPI
+  trusted publishing. It uses GitHub OIDC and the protected `pypi`
+  environment; registry tokens do not belong in GitHub secrets.
 - `dist/`, `.venv/`, `*.egg-info/` — build/vendored artifacts; do not edit or document.
 
 ## Local Contracts
@@ -67,6 +70,9 @@ submit/poll). The retired horde `/api/v2` async queue is NOT used. Published to
   `DEFAULT_BASE_URL`. `AIPG`/`AsyncAIPG` are aliases of `Grid`/`AsyncGrid` and must stay so.
 - **Keep `__version__` (in `__init__.py`) in sync with `version` in `pyproject.toml`.**
 - Package metadata, source SPDX headers, and `LICENSE` all use MIT.
+- **Release identity:** publish only a non-prerelease GitHub Release whose
+  `v<version>` tag exactly matches `pyproject.toml` and `__version__`. The
+  release workflow tests the built wheel before OIDC publication.
 
 ## Work Guidance
 
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 0ccb913..391f24a 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -2,6 +2,10 @@
 
 Open-model, OpenAI-compatible inference across community-operated GPUs.
 
+> **Release status:** `grid-sdk` is staged for its initial PyPI publication.
+> The install command below becomes available when the first verified release
+> is published; until then, use the OpenAI SDK with the Grid base URL shown below.
+
 The Grid API speaks the OpenAI protocol, so this SDK is a thin layer over the
 official `openai` package: it points at the Grid, reads your key from the
 environment, and adds Grid-specific conveniences. Everything you know from the
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index e4a5109..b5502fe 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 [build-system]
-requires = ["setuptools>=68.0", "wheel"]
+requires = ["setuptools==82.0.1", "wheel==0.48.0"]
 build-backend = "setuptools.build_meta"
 
 [project]
@@ -8,7 +8,8 @@ version = "0.1.1"
 description = "Python SDK for AI Power Grid open-model, OpenAI-compatible inference."
 readme = "README.md"
 requires-python = ">=3.9"
-license = { text = "MIT" }
+license = "MIT"
+license-files = ["LICENSE"]
 authors = [{ name = "AI Power Grid" }]
 keywords = ["ai", "llm", "inference", "openai", "decentralized", "aipg"]
 dependencies = [