diff --git a/SPEC.md b/SPEC.md
index ca69686..8e225d8 100644
--- a/SPEC.md
+++ b/SPEC.md
@@ -1231,8 +1231,32 @@ The self-test is not decoration. It replays both real incidents as positive cont
 cosmetic tolerances as negative controls, so the tempting "fix" for a noisy checker — loosening it
 until it stops complaining — fails the suite instead of passing quietly.
 
+**DEC-081 — Callers pin a release tag and pass secrets explicitly, never `secrets: inherit`.**
+The caller templates used `@main` with `secrets: inherit`, and the reach of that was six times what
+it first appeared: **24 repos**, not four — including `agent-zero-new-plugin-template`, so every
+future plugin inherited it too.
+*Why the tag matters.* `@main` is not merely mutable; it means **every merge to the devkit goes live
+in 24 repos' CI immediately and unreviewed**. That is not hypothetical — three fleet-wide regressions
+in this SPEC came from exactly that path (DEC-079 closed 18 sync PRs, four already green; DEC-073 left
+every consumer's green e2e shipping zero traces; DEC-075 made every Dependabot PR structurally red).
+A tag is movable by the same principal who could push `main`, so it is not a security boundary against
+an insider — what it changes is the **default**: `main` advances automatically on every merge, a tag
+only on a deliberate act. Forgetting to bump fails *safe* (stale but working), never open.
+*Why explicit secrets.* `inherit` forwards every repo- and org-level secret, including ones added
+later and ones the workflow never declares — so a change to the devkit would execute with the full
+secret set of all 24 consumers. The reusable workflow declares exactly three, all `required: false`,
+so an explicit list is a strict superset of what it consumes and breaks nothing. It also closes an
+unverifiable gap: org-level secrets cannot be enumerated without `admin:org`, and `inherit` would
+forward those too. `devkit-sync.caller.yml` already passed secrets explicitly; this brings the other
+caller into line rather than inventing a new convention.
+*Rated honestly.* Confidentiality risk is **low** — the org has one member, zero forks, no outside
+collaborators, and the credential that could leak is a read-only package token plus an App key whose
+job disappeared when the devkit went public. The real cost is **integrity and blast radius**: one
+unreviewed merge changes CI in 24 repos with no canary and no rollback boundary. Fixed as change
+management, not as a breach.
+
 > **Numbering note:** DEC-070–072 were originally introduced as code comments only. They are now
-> written up above, so this section documents an unbroken 070–080. The lesson is worth keeping: a
+> written up above, so this section documents an unbroken 070–081. The lesson is worth keeping: a
 > decision that exists only as a code comment is invisible to anyone reading the SPEC, and all three
 > of these were load-bearing (a gate's timeout budget, the image the whole fleet pulls, and a wait
 > that was flaking half the runs).
diff --git a/templates/devkit-sync.caller.yml b/templates/devkit-sync.caller.yml
index d2a8497..bc11a0f 100644
--- a/templates/devkit-sync.caller.yml
+++ b/templates/devkit-sync.caller.yml
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ permissions:
 
 jobs:
   sync:
-    uses: agent-zero-plugins/agent-zero-plugin-development-testkit/.github/workflows/devkit-sync.yml@main
+    uses: agent-zero-plugins/agent-zero-plugin-development-testkit/.github/workflows/devkit-sync.yml@v2.1.6
     with:
       devkit-submodule-path: "tests/_testkit"
     secrets:
diff --git a/templates/plugin-e2e.caller.yml b/templates/plugin-e2e.caller.yml
index b1f7566..587c7c9 100644
--- a/templates/plugin-e2e.caller.yml
+++ b/templates/plugin-e2e.caller.yml
@@ -8,9 +8,19 @@
 # (.devkit.yml `plugin_dir` → else canonical usr/plugins/<name>), so this
 # template is identical across all repos.
 #
-# Needs the shared sync-App secrets to clone the private devkit submodule, and
-# (DEC-055) GHCR_PULL_TOKEN to pull the private fork image. `secrets: inherit`
-# forwards all repo secrets, so new shared secrets need no caller change.
+# Needs (DEC-055) GHCR_PULL_TOKEN to pull the private fork image; the sync-App
+# pair is legacy/optional since the devkit went public (DEC-075).
+#
+# SECRETS ARE PASSED EXPLICITLY, not via `secrets: inherit` (DEC-081).
+# `inherit` forwards EVERY repo- and org-level secret to the reusable workflow —
+# including secrets added later and secrets the workflow never declares. The
+# reusable workflow declares exactly the three below, all `required: false`, so
+# this list is complete. Adding a shared secret later means editing this template
+# and re-running `make link-workflows`, which is the same cadence as every other
+# devkit asset (devkit-sync.caller.yml already pays exactly this cost).
+#
+# The `uses:` ref is pinned to a RELEASE TAG, not `@main`. With `@main`, every
+# merge to the devkit went live in 24 consumers' CI immediately and unreviewed.
 name: plugin-e2e
 
 on:
@@ -30,7 +40,10 @@ permissions:
 
 jobs:
   e2e:
-    uses: agent-zero-plugins/agent-zero-plugin-development-testkit/.github/workflows/plugin-e2e.yml@main
-    secrets: inherit
+    uses: agent-zero-plugins/agent-zero-plugin-development-testkit/.github/workflows/plugin-e2e.yml@v2.1.6
+    secrets:
+      GHCR_PULL_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GHCR_PULL_TOKEN }}
+      SKILLS_SYNC_APP_CLIENT_ID: ${{ secrets.SKILLS_SYNC_APP_CLIENT_ID }}
+      SKILLS_SYNC_APP_PRIVATE_KEY: ${{ secrets.SKILLS_SYNC_APP_PRIVATE_KEY }}
     with:
       capture-all-traces: ${{ inputs.capture_all_traces || false }}