diff --git a/.github/shared-files.sha256 b/.github/shared-files.sha256
index e047d4e3..6600a55b 100644
--- a/.github/shared-files.sha256
+++ b/.github/shared-files.sha256
@@ -67,5 +67,5 @@ fcb6cd0e2a71205b918f545f2680d378c790b774b9852129c5f9c7f3f8eb9860  .github/workfl
 09230b04c5f14bdda50a0c862152ff197a656cbc3fd0d110899c5f8150f8aa9a  .github/workflows/publish.yml#check-snapshot
 51e987d59efd9887b43e345edc0e0f3db21686879e3ca6ea9f0fdbc493d37121  .github/workflows/publish.yml#check-tag
 a8637f88765da759a6eaba243d0d0d695053174df581ccbbcc5e5f3a475fc9e9  .github/workflows/publish.yml#verify-signing-key-gradle
-de7ae553e6ac327094bcedf3acacd8b0c9e25607f9556c99419abf1dde405493  .github/workflows/publish.yml#github-snapshot
-4232da9e0a0742e21b78c971642d99805b7365a025771f48fa26118849500ee9  .github/workflows/publish.yml#github-release
+f20f0a991ce68fa1dcc8ef4daffc5e5dea2093d9b578aa41d17f18a56555d79f  .github/workflows/publish.yml#github-snapshot
+ce90d90fcb1f2de35075b91c74411e9eb7d3b43e7965fd592744e914fd04c5db  .github/workflows/publish.yml#github-release
diff --git a/.github/workflows/publish.yml b/.github/workflows/publish.yml
index 569f53b4..8779f138 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/publish.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/publish.yml
@@ -635,7 +635,7 @@ jobs:
           MAVEN_GPG_PASSPHRASE: ${{ secrets.GPG_PASSPHRASE }}
       # Runs even when the deploy step failed: a Central publish-poll timeout reds the
       # job *after* the bundle was uploaded (and typically published server-side), while
-      # the signed jars + .asc files already exist in target/ (signing happens at
+      # the signed jars and poms + .asc files already exist in target/ (signing happens at
       # verify). Collecting on failure lets the github-snapshot job still attach them.
       - name: Collect signed artifacts
         if: ${{ !cancelled() }}
@@ -643,6 +643,9 @@ jobs:
           mkdir -p signed-snapshot-assets
           cp target/*.jar signed-snapshot-assets/ 2>/dev/null || true
           cp target/*.jar.asc signed-snapshot-assets/ 2>/dev/null || true
+          # maven-gpg writes target/<artifactId>-<version>.pom next to its .pom.asc; Central has both.
+          cp target/*.pom signed-snapshot-assets/ 2>/dev/null || true
+          cp target/*.pom.asc signed-snapshot-assets/ 2>/dev/null || true
       - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v7
         if: ${{ !cancelled() }}
         with:
@@ -676,21 +679,23 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           set -uo pipefail
           dir="snapshot-assets"
-          jars=$(find "$dir" -maxdepth 1 -name '*.jar' | sort)
-          if [ -z "$jars" ]; then
-            echo "::error::no jars in $dir -- the collection step produced nothing"
+          # Every attachable artifact type, not only jars: with '*.jar' alone the AARs were attached
+          # unsigned for months and nothing counted them, so the job reported success.
+          artifacts=$(find "$dir" -maxdepth 1 \( -name '*.jar' -o -name '*.aar' -o -name '*.pom' \) | sort)
+          if [ -z "$artifacts" ]; then
+            echo "::error::no artifacts in $dir -- the collection step produced nothing"
             echo "missing=-1" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
             exit 0
           fi
           missing=0
-          for jar in $jars; do
-            if [ ! -e "$jar.asc" ]; then
-              echo "::error::unsigned: $(basename "$jar") has no detached .asc"
+          for artifact in $artifacts; do
+            if [ ! -e "$artifact.asc" ]; then
+              echo "::error::unsigned: $(basename "$artifact") has no detached .asc"
               missing=$((missing + 1))
             fi
           done
           echo "missing=$missing" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
-          [ "$missing" -eq 0 ] && echo "all $(echo "$jars" | wc -l) jar(s) signed"
+          [ "$missing" -eq 0 ] && echo "all $(echo "$artifacts" | wc -l) artifact(s) signed"
           exit 0
       - name: Update snapshot pre-release
         env:
@@ -705,6 +710,35 @@ jobs:
           gh release upload snapshot snapshot-assets/* \
             --repo ${{ github.repository }} \
             --clobber
+      - name: Remove the assets this run did not upload
+        # `snapshot` is a rolling "latest" pre-release, and `gh release upload --clobber` replaces
+        # same-named assets but never removes any other, so every asset of every past version stayed
+        # forever: 208 on java-llama.cpp (109 of them from 5.0.x, 43 in shapes that no longer exist),
+        # and SpotBugs plugin jars an old collect step attached in 2026-05 on three repositories. A
+        # non-current asset on this release is noise by definition. The keep-set is what this run
+        # uploaded -- the files in the asset directory -- never a version pattern, which would have to
+        # be re-taught at every classifier added or dropped (how the stale shapes arose). AFTER the
+        # upload on purpose: a failed upload must not leave the release emptier than it was. And only
+        # here: a versioned v* release is history, github-release never deletes anything. Every
+        # deletion is printed by name, so the job log is the audit trail.
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          keep="$(ls -1 snapshot-assets | sort)"
+          current="$(gh release view snapshot --repo ${{ github.repository }} --json assets --jq '.assets[].name' | sort)"
+          stale="$(comm -13 <(printf '%s\n' "$keep") <(printf '%s\n' "$current"))"
+          if [ -z "$stale" ]; then
+            echo "nothing to remove: the release holds exactly the $(printf '%s\n' "$keep" | wc -l) asset(s) of this upload"
+            exit 0
+          fi
+          echo "removing $(printf '%s\n' "$stale" | wc -l) asset(s) that are not part of this upload:"
+          while IFS= read -r name; do
+            [ -n "$name" ] || continue
+            echo "  deleting $name"
+            gh release delete-asset snapshot "$name" --repo ${{ github.repository }} --yes
+          done <<< "$stale"
+          echo "kept the $(printf '%s\n' "$keep" | wc -l) asset(s) of this upload"
       - name: Fail if anything was attached unsigned
         # After the upload on purpose: the assets must exist even when the signature does not.
         if: ${{ always() && steps.signatures.outputs.missing != '0' }}
@@ -772,7 +806,7 @@ jobs:
           MAVEN_GPG_PASSPHRASE: ${{ secrets.GPG_PASSPHRASE }}
       # Runs even when the deploy step failed: a Central publish-poll timeout reds the
       # job *after* the bundle was uploaded (and typically published server-side), while
-      # the signed jars + .asc files already exist in target/ (signing happens at
+      # the signed jars and poms + .asc files already exist in target/ (signing happens at
       # verify). Collecting on failure lets the github-release job still attach them.
       - name: Collect signed artifacts
         if: ${{ !cancelled() }}
@@ -780,6 +814,9 @@ jobs:
           mkdir -p signed-release-assets
           cp target/*.jar signed-release-assets/ 2>/dev/null || true
           cp target/*.jar.asc signed-release-assets/ 2>/dev/null || true
+          # maven-gpg writes target/<artifactId>-<version>.pom next to its .pom.asc; Central has both.
+          cp target/*.pom signed-release-assets/ 2>/dev/null || true
+          cp target/*.pom.asc signed-release-assets/ 2>/dev/null || true
       - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v7
         if: ${{ !cancelled() }}
         with:
@@ -813,21 +850,23 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           set -uo pipefail
           dir="release-assets"
-          jars=$(find "$dir" -maxdepth 1 -name '*.jar' | sort)
-          if [ -z "$jars" ]; then
-            echo "::error::no jars in $dir -- the collection step produced nothing"
+          # Every attachable artifact type, not only jars: with '*.jar' alone the AARs were attached
+          # unsigned for months and nothing counted them, so the job reported success.
+          artifacts=$(find "$dir" -maxdepth 1 \( -name '*.jar' -o -name '*.aar' -o -name '*.pom' \) | sort)
+          if [ -z "$artifacts" ]; then
+            echo "::error::no artifacts in $dir -- the collection step produced nothing"
             echo "missing=-1" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
             exit 0
           fi
           missing=0
-          for jar in $jars; do
-            if [ ! -e "$jar.asc" ]; then
-              echo "::error::unsigned: $(basename "$jar") has no detached .asc"
+          for artifact in $artifacts; do
+            if [ ! -e "$artifact.asc" ]; then
+              echo "::error::unsigned: $(basename "$artifact") has no detached .asc"
               missing=$((missing + 1))
             fi
           done
           echo "missing=$missing" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
-          [ "$missing" -eq 0 ] && echo "all $(echo "$jars" | wc -l) jar(s) signed"
+          [ "$missing" -eq 0 ] && echo "all $(echo "$artifacts" | wc -l) artifact(s) signed"
           exit 0
       - name: Upload release assets
         uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v3
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index eb8fa924..b69ab8aa 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -60,6 +60,18 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
   `shared-files` job) warns where a dependency or plugin -- incl. annotation-processor paths and the
   Spotless formatter version -- is used in another version than in a sibling's default branch.
 
+### Fixed
+- **CI: the GitHub `snapshot` pre-release holds exactly the current build, and the release assets
+  include the pom.** `gh release upload --clobber` replaces same-named assets and never removes any
+  other, so the `snapshot` release accumulated: the six 1.8.0-SNAPSHOT jars next to the 1.9.0-SNAPSHOT ones, 6
+  of its 14 assets. `github-snapshot` now deletes every asset
+  the run did not upload, after the upload and each printed by name; versioned releases are never
+  pruned, and the next snapshot run clears the backlog by itself. The collect steps copy
+  `<artifactId>-<version>.pom` + `.pom.asc` as well (Central had them, the release did not), and
+  the signature check counts every attachable type (`*.jar`, `*.aar`, `*.pom`) instead of jars
+  alone. Shared job text with the two sibling repositories (`shared-files.sha256`), the convention
+  in `workspace/policies/fat-jar-release-assets.md`.
+
 ## [1.8.0] - 2026-08-29
 
 ### Added
diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index c2c01e5b..313a14de 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -742,6 +742,14 @@ split), attached with a detached GPG `.asc`. The publish jobs build + sign it of
 second `mvn -P release,assembly verify` (which stops before `deploy`, so `central-publishing` never
 uploads it). The cross-repo convention + per-repo shapes are documented in
 [`../workspace/policies/fat-jar-release-assets.md`](../workspace/policies/fat-jar-release-assets.md).
+The attach jobs are shared text with the two sibling Maven-only repositories
+(`publish.yml#github-snapshot` / `#github-release` in `shared-files.sha256`): the collect steps copy
+`<artifactId>-<version>.pom` + `.pom.asc` with the jars (maven-gpg writes both into `target/`), the
+signature check counts every attachable type (`*.jar`, `*.aar`, `*.pom`), and `github-snapshot` ends
+by deleting every asset of the `snapshot` pre-release that the run did not upload, each printed by
+name -- `gh release upload --clobber` never removed anything, so the release accumulated every past
+version. Versioned releases are never pruned. See the policy's "Attach first, then go red" and "The
+`snapshot` pre-release holds exactly the current upload".
 
 **BAF-specific smoke.** The cross-repo rule "no release asset is attached that CI has not run" is
 implemented here by the `smoke-fatjar` job (`needs: [build]`, gates both publish jobs): it downloads