diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index fcb213f..5d9018e 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -64,17 +64,47 @@ jobs:
           ORG_GRADLE_PROJECT_signingInMemoryKey: ${{ secrets.SIGNING_KEY }}
           ORG_GRADLE_PROJECT_signingInMemoryKeyPassword: ${{ secrets.SIGNING_KEY_PASSWORD }}
 
+      # The body is extracted from CHANGELOG.md, never written by hand: a release note composed
+      # separately is a second copy of what the changelog owns, and the two eventually disagree.
+      # Relative links resolve against the tag, so [STABILITY.md](STABILITY.md) points at the released
+      # revision rather than at whatever main says later.
+      - name: Create the GitHub Release
+        if: github.event_name == 'push'
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+        run: |
+          VERSION="${GITHUB_REF_NAME#v}"
+          awk -v head="## [$VERSION]" '
+            index($0, head) == 1 { found = 1; next }
+            found && /^## \[/     { exit }
+            found                 { print }
+          ' CHANGELOG.md > notes.md
+          # An empty body means the tag and the changelog disagree. Fail rather than publish a blank one.
+          [ -s notes.md ] || { echo "::error::no CHANGELOG.md section for $VERSION"; exit 1; }
+          gh release create "$GITHUB_REF_NAME" --title "$GITHUB_REF_NAME" --notes-file notes.md
+
       # Linked artifacts: tell GitHub which jars this build produced and where they now live. This is
       # metadata, not a second distribution channel — nobody resolves a dependency from here. It is
       # keyed on the same digest as the attestation above, so the repository can say what it built,
       # where it went, and that the two are provably the same file.
       #
+      # It runs last and cannot fail the job. On the v2.0.0 tag it returned 404 "no artifacts found"
+      # for a digest that does have an attestation, and it took down a release whose jars were already
+      # published and attested. A metadata step that can undo a successful publish is worth less than
+      # the metadata. `continue-on-error` and a per-artifact `|| true` are the fix; the run's log still
+      # says which records were not written.
+      #
+      # GH_TOKEN falls back to GITHUB_TOKEN. Whether that token may write to this org-level endpoint is
+      # undocumented — the docs state only `artifact-metadata:read` for reads — so a PAT with
+      # `artifact-metadata` goes in ARTIFACT_METADATA_TOKEN if the 404 turns out to be permission.
+      #
       # Only the main jars: sources and javadoc would triple the records for no added claim, and the
       # API documents no DELETE, so a record is permanent. The BOM has no jar and is skipped.
       - name: Record the published artifacts (linked artifacts)
         if: github.event_name == 'push'
+        continue-on-error: true
         env:
-          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.ARTIFACT_METADATA_TOKEN || secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
         run: |
           VERSION="${GITHUB_REF_NAME#v}"
           # kdrant-core is multiplatform, so its JVM jar is published as kdrant-core-jvm and the
@@ -84,8 +114,14 @@ jobs:
                           kdrant-spring-boot-starter kdrant-spring-ai kdrant-langchain4j kdrant-micrometer; do
             module="${artifact%-jvm}"
             jar="$module/build/libs/$artifact-$VERSION.jar"
-            [ -f "$jar" ] || { echo "::error::$jar not found"; exit 1; }
+            [ -f "$jar" ] || { echo "::warning::$jar not found, not recorded"; continue; }
             digest="sha256:$(shasum -a 256 "$jar" | cut -d' ' -f1)"
+            # The API has no DELETE, so a duplicate cannot be cleaned up: check before writing.
+            if gh api "/orgs/${GITHUB_REPOSITORY_OWNER}/artifacts/$digest/metadata/storage-records" \
+                 --silent 2>/dev/null; then
+              echo "already recorded: $artifact $VERSION"
+              continue
+            fi
             echo "recording $artifact $VERSION $digest"
             gh api -X POST "/orgs/${GITHUB_REPOSITORY_OWNER}/artifacts/metadata/storage-record" \
               -f name="$artifact" \
@@ -93,24 +129,6 @@ jobs:
               -f digest="$digest" \
               -f registry_url="https://repo1.maven.org/maven2/" \
               -f artifact_url="https://repo1.maven.org/maven2/io/github/nacode-studios/$artifact/$VERSION/$artifact-$VERSION.jar" \
-              --silent
+              --silent || echo "::warning::could not record $artifact $VERSION"
           done
 
-      # The body is extracted from CHANGELOG.md, never written by hand: a release note composed
-      # separately is a second copy of what the changelog owns, and the two eventually disagree.
-      # Relative links resolve against the tag, so [STABILITY.md](STABILITY.md) points at the released
-      # revision rather than at whatever main says later.
-      - name: Create the GitHub Release
-        if: github.event_name == 'push'
-        env:
-          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-        run: |
-          VERSION="${GITHUB_REF_NAME#v}"
-          awk -v head="## [$VERSION]" '
-            index($0, head) == 1 { found = 1; next }
-            found && /^## \[/     { exit }
-            found                 { print }
-          ' CHANGELOG.md > notes.md
-          # An empty body means the tag and the changelog disagree. Fail rather than publish a blank one.
-          [ -s notes.md ] || { echo "::error::no CHANGELOG.md section for $VERSION"; exit 1; }
-          gh release create "$GITHUB_REF_NAME" --title "$GITHUB_REF_NAME" --notes-file notes.md