diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index ec930af..8754545 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -6,7 +6,17 @@ This project follows a Keep a Changelog-style format and uses version tags for r
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+## [1.6.8] - 2026-08-09
+
 ### Changed
+- **Cutting a release REQUIRES a GitHub Release (`gh release create`), not just
+  a git tag.** `scripts/tag_release.sh` now creates both — it pushes the tag and
+  then creates the GitHub Release with the notes from the matching
+  `CHANGELOG.md` section (falling back to generated notes if the section is
+  missing). A bare `git tag` + push never surfaces on `/releases` or as `Latest`,
+  so a hand-tag-only release cut is now an explicit rule violation — codified in
+  `CLAUDE.md` → Release Process, with a manual-recovery playbook for when the
+  `gh release create` step fails.
 - **% readouts and the fan spinner tint by utilization color.** The headline %
   in each metric row (and the fan-glyph) now wears the same severity color as
   the sparkline that traces it — a 90% reading reads red, an idle 5% stays cool.
diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index 5eb32c5..1c9c9cf 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -49,6 +49,8 @@ This file is the single source of truth for repository guidelines, used by Claud
 
 `main` is **PR-only** (branch protection + `.githooks/pre-commit` redaction check and `.githooks/pre-push` guard; run `git config core.hooksPath .githooks` once). The Homebrew formula lives in the separate tap repo `binlecode/homebrew-actop` (not this repo); CI syncs it on tag and publishes to PyPI via OIDC. CI/CD mechanics are owned by the workflow files themselves (`.github/workflows/main-ci.yml`, `release-formula.yml`, `publish-pypi.yml`) — each carries its one-time setup inline.
 
+**RULE — cutting a release REQUIRES a GitHub Release, not just a tag.** A release is cut with `scripts/tag_release.sh`, which pushes the git tag **and** creates the GitHub Release for it via `gh release create` (release notes pulled from the matching `CHANGELOG.md` section). A bare `git tag` + push is **not** a release: it never surfaces on the `/releases` page or as `Latest`, and leaves the Releases history silently behind the code. Never cut a release by hand-tagging alone — if the `gh release create` step fails, finish it manually (see playbooks below) before calling the release cut done.
+
 ### Release steps
 
 ```bash
@@ -68,7 +70,7 @@ gh pr create --base main --fill
 gh pr merge --merge --delete-branch
 git checkout main && git pull --ff-only
 
-# 4. Tag the release (after the bump PR merges)
+# 4. Cut the release — tag + GitHub Release (RULE: tag alone is not a release)
 scripts/tag_release.sh "X.Y.Z"
 
 # 5. Monitor CI — wait for release-formula and publish-pypi to pass
@@ -86,6 +88,11 @@ brew update && brew upgrade binlecode/actop/actop    # Homebrew (tap repo synced
   git fetch origin && git checkout main && git pull --ff-only origin main
   scripts/tag_release.sh "X.Y.Z"
   ```
+- **`gh release create` fails or is skipped (auth/permissions):** the tag may be pushed but **no GitHub Release exists** — the release cut is not done until it does. Confirm `gh auth status` and re-run just the release step against the existing tag:
+  ```bash
+  gh release create "vX.Y.Z" --title "actop X.Y.Z" --notes "$(awk '/^## \['"X.Y.Z"'\]/ {f=1; next} f && /^## \[/ {exit} f' CHANGELOG.md)"
+  ```
+  Never leave a release cut as a bare tag — verify it appears on `/releases` before moving on.
 - **`release-formula` fails with tag/version mismatch:** tag `vX.Y.Z` doesn't match `pyproject.toml` in the tag commit. Fix in a new PR, merge, then create a **new** tag (never reuse the old tag).
 - **`release-formula` fails at tap checkout/push:** missing or under-scoped `HOMEBREW_TAP_TOKEN`. Confirm the secret exists on `binlecode/actop` and the PAT has **Contents: Read/write** on `binlecode/homebrew-actop`. Re-run the failed job.
 - **`publish-pypi` fails with OIDC / trusted-publisher error:** verify the trusted publisher on pypi.org matches repo `binlecode/actop`, workflow `publish-pypi.yml`, environment `pypi`; confirm the run is from a `v*` tag (the `pypi` environment's deploy policy is tag-only). `skip-existing` makes re-runs safe. **Break-glass:** publish that version manually with the token-driven Flow B (`twine upload --skip-existing`), then restore OIDC for subsequent releases.
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index eac6c58..ceffb77 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ build-backend = "setuptools.build_meta"
 
 [project]
 name = "actop"
-version = "1.6.7"
+version = "1.6.8"
 description = "Apple Silicon (M1–M4) power, GPU, ANE & memory-bandwidth monitor — sudoless TUI + Python API for profiling local LLM / MLX / CoreML inference"
 readme = "README.md"
 license = { text = "MIT" }
diff --git a/scripts/tag_release.sh b/scripts/tag_release.sh
index c848fcc..7c45f93 100755
--- a/scripts/tag_release.sh
+++ b/scripts/tag_release.sh
@@ -24,6 +24,13 @@ Behavior:
   - Verifies tag does not already exist locally/remotely
   - Verifies local main is in sync with origin/main (no-op push)
   - Creates and pushes tag vX.Y.Z
+  - Creates the GitHub Release for vX.Y.Z (gh release create) with the notes
+    from the matching CHANGELOG.md section
+
+RULE: a release cut REQUIRES the GitHub Release, not just the git tag. This
+script always creates both; a bare `git tag` + push is NOT a release (it never
+surfaces on /releases or as Latest). If the gh step fails, fix auth and finish
+the release manually before moving on.
 
 This tag push triggers release-formula.yml (syncs the formula in the tap repo
 binlecode/homebrew-actop) and publish-pypi.yml (publishes to PyPI via OIDC).
@@ -122,5 +129,26 @@ git tag "${TAG}"
 echo "Pushing tag ${TAG}..."
 git push origin "${TAG}"
 
-echo "Done. Tag ${TAG} pushed."
+echo "Creating GitHub Release ${TAG}..."
+if ! command -v gh >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  echo "Error: gh CLI not found — the GitHub Release (required for a release cut) was not created." >&2
+  echo "The tag was pushed, but the release is incomplete. Install gh and run:" >&2
+  echo "  gh release create \"${TAG}\" --title \"actop ${VERSION}\" --notes \"\$(awk '/^## \\[${VERSION}\\]/ {f=1; next} f && /^## \\[/ {exit} f' CHANGELOG.md)\"" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+RELEASE_NOTES="$(awk -v ver="${VERSION}" '
+  $0 ~ "^## \\[" ver "\\]( -.*)?$" { f=1; next }
+  f && /^## \[/ { exit }
+  f { print }
+' CHANGELOG.md)"
+
+if [[ -z "$RELEASE_NOTES" ]]; then
+  echo "No CHANGELOG.md section found for ${VERSION}; using generated notes."
+  gh release create "${TAG}" --generate-notes
+else
+  gh release create "${TAG}" --title "actop ${VERSION}" --notes "${RELEASE_NOTES}"
+fi
+
+echo "Done. Tag ${TAG} pushed and GitHub Release created."
 echo "Release formula workflow should start from this tag push."