diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-publish-oci.yml b/.github/workflows/release-publish-oci.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0ec79d7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-publish-oci.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,313 @@
+name: release-publish-oci
+
+# The standard release pipeline for service repos that ship an OCI image
+# (scopes-lambda and the family of service repos modeled on it):
+#
+#   preflight ──▶ release-please ──▶ docker build+push ECR ──▶ finalize
+#                                                              (artifact register +
+#                                                               release metadata + publish)
+#
+# Everything runs in ONE workflow run, chained on `release_created`. This is
+# deliberate: release-please creates tags/releases with GITHUB_TOKEN, and
+# GitHub never triggers workflows from bot-token events — a separate
+# `on: push: tags` publish workflow silently does not fire. Chaining removes
+# the cross-workflow trigger entirely, so no PAT / GitHub App token is needed.
+# (Historical footnote: the manual workaround — delete + re-push the tag —
+# does trigger the tag workflow, but deleting a tag flips its GitHub release
+# to Draft, which is how orphaned draft releases appear.)
+#
+# Recovery / backfill: pass `existing_tag` to skip release-please and run
+# publish + finalize for a tag that already exists — completes a release whose
+# publish failed, or backfills a pre-pipeline tag. Callers typically expose it
+# via a small workflow_dispatch wrapper (see below).
+#
+# The finalize job appends the artifact block (image, digest, artifact id) to
+# the release body so consumers can review and copy the exact pinned image,
+# and force-publishes the release (repairs any draft state).
+#
+# Caller (the whole per-repo file):
+#
+#   name: release
+#   on:
+#     push:
+#       branches: [main]
+#     workflow_dispatch:
+#       inputs:
+#         existing_tag:
+#           description: 'Publish + finalize an existing tag (recovery/backfill)'
+#           required: true
+#           type: string
+#   permissions:
+#     contents: write
+#     pull-requests: write
+#     id-token: write
+#   jobs:
+#     release:
+#       uses: nullplatform/actions-nullplatform/.github/workflows/release-publish-oci.yml@main
+#       with:
+#         image_name: scopes/lambda
+#         existing_tag: ${{ inputs.existing_tag || '' }}
+#       secrets:
+#         aws_role_arn: ${{ secrets.AWS_ROLE_ARN_ECR_PUSH }}
+#         artifact_np_api_key: ${{ secrets.ARTIFACT_NP_API_KEY }}
+#
+# Artifact registration additionally reads the NP_ARTIFACT_NRN repository (or
+# organization) variable — the owner NRN for the registered artifact.
+#
+# Nested `uses: ./.github/workflows/...` below resolves against THIS repo at
+# the ref the caller pinned: per GitHub's reusable-workflows docs, the path
+# form runs the called workflow "from the same commit as the calling
+# workflow" — and for these nested calls the calling workflow is this file.
+# The explicit {owner}/{repo}@{ref} form would instead float the inner calls
+# to whatever ref is named there, breaking version pinning of this workflow.
+
+on:
+  workflow_call:
+    inputs:
+      image_name:
+        description: 'Image name under the registry (e.g. scopes/lambda)'
+        required: true
+        type: string
+      context:
+        description: 'Docker build context'
+        required: false
+        type: string
+        default: '.'
+      dockerfile:
+        description: 'Dockerfile path relative to context'
+        required: false
+        type: string
+        default: 'Dockerfile'
+      platforms:
+        description: 'Target platforms for the multi-arch build'
+        required: false
+        type: string
+        default: 'linux/amd64,linux/arm64'
+      ecr_registry:
+        description: 'ECR registry URL prefix'
+        required: false
+        type: string
+        default: 'public.ecr.aws/nullplatform'
+      aws_region:
+        description: 'AWS region for ECR'
+        required: false
+        type: string
+        default: 'us-east-1'
+      build_args:
+        description: 'Docker build arguments (newline-separated)'
+        required: false
+        type: string
+        default: ''
+      also_tag_latest:
+        description: 'Also tag and push the image as latest'
+        required: false
+        type: boolean
+        default: false
+      release-type:
+        description: 'Release Please release type (kebab-case inherited from release.yml)'
+        required: false
+        type: string
+        default: 'simple'
+      update_readme_versions:
+        description: 'Update ref=vX.Y.Z references in READMEs after release'
+        required: false
+        type: boolean
+        default: false
+      existing_tag:
+        description: 'Skip release-please and publish + finalize this existing tag (recovery/backfill)'
+        required: false
+        type: string
+        default: ''
+      register_artifact:
+        description: 'Register the image as a nullplatform oci_image artifact (requires artifact_np_api_key + NP_ARTIFACT_NRN)'
+        required: false
+        type: boolean
+        default: true
+      artifact_visible_to:
+        description: 'Visibility selector for the registered artifact'
+        required: false
+        type: string
+        default: 'organization=*'
+      np_cli_version:
+        description: 'np CLI version/channel for artifact registration (alpha-packages until artifact create reaches stable)'
+        required: false
+        type: string
+        default: 'alpha-packages'
+    secrets:
+      aws_role_arn:
+        description: 'AWS IAM Role ARN for OIDC auth against ECR'
+        required: true
+      artifact_np_api_key:
+        description: 'nullplatform API key for artifact registration (required while register_artifact is true)'
+        required: false
+    outputs:
+      release_created:
+        description: 'true when a release was cut on this run'
+        value: ${{ jobs.release.outputs.release_created }}
+      tag_name:
+        description: 'Tag of the created release (or existing_tag in recovery mode)'
+        value: ${{ inputs.existing_tag || jobs.release.outputs.tag_name }}
+      image_digest:
+        description: 'OCI image-index digest of the published image'
+        value: ${{ jobs.publish.outputs.image_digest }}
+
+permissions:
+  contents: write
+  pull-requests: write
+  id-token: write
+
+jobs:
+  # Fails BEFORE release-please cuts anything when the caller forgot
+  # `id-token: write`: a called workflow can only narrow the caller's token,
+  # so without it the ECR OIDC login dies after the release already exists.
+  # The runner only exposes the token-exchange endpoint when the permission
+  # is granted, which makes it cheaply detectable.
+  preflight:
+    name: Preflight
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
+    steps:
+      - name: Verify caller grants id-token permission
+        run: |
+          if [ -z "$ACTIONS_ID_TOKEN_REQUEST_URL" ]; then
+            echo "::error::the calling workflow must grant 'id-token: write' (required for the ECR push). Add it to the caller's permissions block."
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          echo "id-token permission present"
+
+  release:
+    needs: preflight
+    if: ${{ inputs.existing_tag == '' }}
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/release.yml
+    with:
+      release-type: ${{ inputs.release-type }}
+      update_readme_versions: ${{ inputs.update_readme_versions }}
+
+  publish:
+    needs: [preflight, release]
+    if: ${{ !cancelled() && needs.preflight.result == 'success' && (needs.release.outputs.release_created == 'true' || inputs.existing_tag != '') }}
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/docker-build-push-ecr.yml
+    with:
+      image_name: ${{ inputs.image_name }}
+      context: ${{ inputs.context }}
+      dockerfile: ${{ inputs.dockerfile }}
+      platforms: ${{ inputs.platforms }}
+      ecr_registry: ${{ inputs.ecr_registry }}
+      aws_region: ${{ inputs.aws_region }}
+      build_args: ${{ inputs.build_args }}
+      also_tag_latest: ${{ inputs.also_tag_latest }}
+      tag: ${{ inputs.existing_tag || needs.release.outputs.tag_name }}
+    secrets:
+      aws_role_arn: ${{ secrets.aws_role_arn }}
+
+  finalize-release:
+    name: Register artifact & finalize release
+    needs: [release, publish]
+    if: ${{ !cancelled() && needs.publish.result == 'success' }}
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
+    env:
+      GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
+      TAG: ${{ inputs.existing_tag || needs.release.outputs.tag_name }}
+      # The tag docker-build-push-ecr ACTUALLY pushed (it strips monorepo
+      # prefixes) — the Image row must reference this, not the git tag.
+      IMAGE_TAG: ${{ needs.publish.outputs.image_tag }}
+      DIGEST: ${{ needs.publish.outputs.image_digest }}
+      ECR_REGISTRY: ${{ inputs.ecr_registry }}
+      IMAGE_NAME: ${{ inputs.image_name }}
+    steps:
+      - name: Register oci_image artifact
+        id: artifact
+        if: ${{ inputs.register_artifact }}
+        env:
+          NULLPLATFORM_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.artifact_np_api_key }}
+          NP_ARTIFACT_NRN: ${{ vars.NP_ARTIFACT_NRN }}
+          VISIBLE_TO: ${{ inputs.artifact_visible_to }}
+          NP_CLI_VERSION: ${{ inputs.np_cli_version }}
+        run: |
+          set -o pipefail
+          # register_artifact is a declared choice: missing wiring is an error,
+          # not a silent skip (a typo'd secret name must not produce a green run).
+          if [ -z "$NULLPLATFORM_API_KEY" ]; then
+            echo "::error::register_artifact is true but the artifact_np_api_key secret is empty or not passed"
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          if [ -z "$NP_ARTIFACT_NRN" ]; then
+            echo "::error::register_artifact is true but the NP_ARTIFACT_NRN variable is not set"
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          curl -fsSL https://cli.nullplatform.com/install.sh | VERSION="$NP_CLI_VERSION" sh
+
+          # np artifact create expects host-only --registry; the repository is
+          # the registry path plus the image name.
+          REG_HOST="${ECR_REGISTRY%%/*}"
+          REG_PATH="${ECR_REGISTRY#*/}"
+          if [ "$REG_PATH" = "$ECR_REGISTRY" ]; then
+            REPOSITORY="$IMAGE_NAME"
+          else
+            REPOSITORY="$REG_PATH/$IMAGE_NAME"
+          fi
+
+          # stdout only into the capture: stderr stays on the run log, so CLI
+          # warnings can never corrupt the JSON parse.
+          OUTPUT=$(np artifact create \
+            --nrn "$NP_ARTIFACT_NRN" \
+            --type oci_image \
+            --registry "$REG_HOST" \
+            --repository "$REPOSITORY" \
+            --digest "$DIGEST" \
+            --visible-to "$VISIBLE_TO" \
+            --format json)
+          echo "$OUTPUT"
+          ARTIFACT_ID=$(echo "$OUTPUT" | jq -r '.id // empty' || true)
+          if [ -z "$ARTIFACT_ID" ]; then
+            # Created (the command succeeded) but the id was not in the output:
+            # keep the run green and say so, never claim "not registered".
+            echo "::warning::artifact created but no id found in CLI output; release will say 'registered (id unavailable)'"
+            ARTIFACT_ID="registered (id unavailable)"
+          fi
+          echo "artifact_id=$ARTIFACT_ID" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+
+      - name: Append artifact metadata & publish release
+        # Runs even when registration failed: the release must still get its
+        # metadata and leave draft state; the failed step keeps the job red.
+        if: ${{ !cancelled() }}
+        env:
+          ARTIFACT_ID: ${{ steps.artifact.outputs.artifact_id }}
+          REGISTER_RESULT: ${{ steps.artifact.outcome }}
+        run: |
+          IMAGE="$ECR_REGISTRY/$IMAGE_NAME"
+          case "$REGISTER_RESULT" in
+            success) ID_ROW="${ARTIFACT_ID}" ;;
+            skipped) ID_ROW="not registered (register_artifact: false)" ;;
+            *)       ID_ROW="registration failed — see run log" ;;
+          esac
+
+          # Direct lookup first; drafts are not resolvable via releases/tags,
+          # so fall back to listing (upsert also covers backfilled tags that
+          # never had a release).
+          RELEASE_ID=$(gh api "repos/$GITHUB_REPOSITORY/releases/tags/$TAG" --jq '.id' 2>/dev/null || true)
+          if [ -z "$RELEASE_ID" ]; then
+            RELEASE_ID=$(gh api "repos/$GITHUB_REPOSITORY/releases" --paginate \
+              --jq "[.[] | select(.tag_name==\"$TAG\")][0].id // empty")
+          fi
+
+          # shellcheck disable=SC2016  # backticks are markdown, not command substitution
+          SECTION=$(printf '## Artifact\n\n|  |  |\n|---|---|\n| Image | `%s` |\n| Digest | `%s` |\n| Pinned reference | `%s` |\n| Artifact ID | `%s` |' \
+            "$IMAGE:$IMAGE_TAG" "$DIGEST" "$IMAGE@$DIGEST" "$ID_ROW")
+
+          if [ -z "$RELEASE_ID" ]; then
+            gh release create "$TAG" --title "$TAG" --notes "$SECTION" --verify-tag
+            echo "created release $TAG"
+            exit 0
+          fi
+
+          BODY=$(gh api "repos/$GITHUB_REPOSITORY/releases/$RELEASE_ID" --jq '.body // ""')
+          # Idempotent: skip the append when this digest is already recorded.
+          if ! printf '%s' "$BODY" | grep -qF "$DIGEST"; then
+            BODY=$(printf '%s\n\n%s' "$BODY" "$SECTION")
+          fi
+          # draft=false also repairs releases orphaned into draft state by a
+          # tag delete/re-push.
+          printf '%s' "$BODY" > body.md
+          gh api -X PATCH "repos/$GITHUB_REPOSITORY/releases/$RELEASE_ID" \
+            -F draft=false -F "body=@body.md" > /dev/null
+          echo "release $TAG published with artifact metadata"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index 9a8d5a5..f8d669a 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-name: tofu-release
+# Historically "tofu-release"; renamed when service repos (via
+# release-publish-oci) started consuming it too. Only the display name
+# changed — inputs, jobs, and defaults are untouched.
+name: release
 
 on:
   workflow_call:
@@ -13,6 +16,17 @@ on:
         required: false
         type: boolean
         default: true
+    # Exposed so callers can chain publish/register jobs in the SAME workflow
+    # run. Chaining here is the standard: release-please creates tags with
+    # GITHUB_TOKEN, and GitHub never triggers workflows from bot-token events,
+    # so a separate `on: push: tags` publish workflow silently does not fire.
+    outputs:
+      release_created:
+        description: 'true when release-please cut a release on this run'
+        value: ${{ jobs.release.outputs.release_created }}
+      tag_name:
+        description: 'Tag of the created release (e.g. v1.2.3)'
+        value: ${{ jobs.release.outputs.tag_name }}
 
 permissions:
   contents: write
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index a106048..c175b24 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ This repository provides reusable GitHub Actions workflows for CI/CD, security s
 | [tofu-test](#tofu-test) | 🚀 Build & Deploy | Runs OpenTofu test suites for infrastructure modules |
 | [Changelog and Release](#changelog-and-release) | 📦 Release & Changelog | Automated version bumping and changelog generation |
 | [tofu-release](#tofu-release) | 📦 Release & Changelog | Creates releases for Terraform modules with version updates |
+| [release-publish-oci](#release-publish-oci) | 📦 Release & Changelog | Chained release: release-please, ECR image publish, artifact registration, release metadata |
 | [tofu-pre-release](#tofu-pre-release) | 📦 Release & Changelog | Previews changelog in pull requests before release |
 | [readme-ai-generator-v2](#readme-ai-generator-v2) | 📚 Documentation | AI-powered README generation for projects |
 | [tofu-docs](#tofu-docs) | 📚 Documentation | Generates Terraform module documentation |
@@ -389,6 +390,65 @@ Validates that Node.js projects build successfully using pnpm. Only runs the bui
 
 <!-- ACTIONS-END -->
 
+## 📦 Release & Changelog
+
+### release-publish-oci
+
+The standard release pipeline for service repos that ship an OCI image. Chains release-please, the ECR image publish, nullplatform artifact registration, and release finalization (artifact metadata appended to the body, release force-published) in a single workflow run — so the GitHub limitation that bot-token events never trigger workflows is structurally irrelevant, and no PAT is needed. Supports `existing_tag` for recovery/backfill of already-created tags.
+
+**Inputs**
+
+| Name | Description | Required | Default |
+|------|-------------|----------|---------|
+| image_name | Image name under the registry (e.g. scopes/lambda) | Yes | - |
+| context | Docker build context | No | . |
+| dockerfile | Dockerfile path relative to context | No | Dockerfile |
+| platforms | Target platforms for the multi-arch build | No | linux/amd64,linux/arm64 |
+| ecr_registry | ECR registry URL prefix | No | public.ecr.aws/nullplatform |
+| aws_region | AWS region for ECR | No | us-east-1 |
+| build_args | Docker build arguments (newline-separated) | No | '' |
+| also_tag_latest | Also tag and push the image as latest | No | false |
+| release-type | Release Please release type | No | simple |
+| update_readme_versions | Update ref=vX.Y.Z references in READMEs after release | No | false |
+| existing_tag | Skip release-please; publish + finalize this existing tag | No | '' |
+| register_artifact | Register the image as a nullplatform oci_image artifact | No | true |
+| artifact_visible_to | Visibility selector for the registered artifact | No | organization=* |
+| np_cli_version | np CLI version/channel for artifact registration | No | alpha-packages |
+
+**Secrets**
+- `aws_role_arn` (required): AWS IAM Role ARN for OIDC auth against ECR
+- `artifact_np_api_key`: nullplatform API key (required while `register_artifact` is true)
+
+Also reads the `NP_ARTIFACT_NRN` repository/organization variable (artifact owner NRN), and requires the caller to grant `contents: write`, `pull-requests: write`, and `id-token: write` (a preflight job fails fast when `id-token` is missing).
+
+**Usage**
+
+```yaml
+name: release
+on:
+  push:
+    branches: [main]
+  workflow_dispatch:
+    inputs:
+      existing_tag:
+        description: 'Publish + finalize an existing tag (recovery/backfill)'
+        required: true
+        type: string
+permissions:
+  contents: write
+  pull-requests: write
+  id-token: write
+jobs:
+  release:
+    uses: nullplatform/actions-nullplatform/.github/workflows/release-publish-oci.yml@main
+    with:
+      image_name: scopes/lambda
+      existing_tag: ${{ inputs.existing_tag || '' }}
+    secrets:
+      aws_role_arn: ${{ secrets.AWS_ROLE_ARN_ECR_PUSH }}
+      artifact_np_api_key: ${{ secrets.ARTIFACT_NP_API_KEY }}
+```
+
 ## Notes
 
 ### AI-Powered Documentation