diff --git a/.githooks/pre-push b/.githooks/pre-push
index 99cd66f..793c69d 100755
--- a/.githooks/pre-push
+++ b/.githooks/pre-push
@@ -3,11 +3,16 @@
 # branch + pull request. This mirrors the server-side branch protection on
 # binlecode/actop and fails fast locally before a push is rejected by GitHub.
 #
+# Also nudges when a v* tag is being pushed directly (bare `git push origin
+# vX.Y.Z`) — use scripts/tag_release.sh instead; it creates the required
+# GitHub Release object alongside the tag.
+#
 # Enabled via:  git config core.hooksPath .githooks
 set -euo pipefail
 
 protected_branch="main"
 remote="${1:-}"
+warn_tag=0
 
 while read -r local_ref local_sha remote_ref remote_sha; do
   if [[ "$remote_ref" == "refs/heads/${protected_branch}" ]]; then
@@ -19,6 +24,19 @@ while read -r local_ref local_sha remote_ref remote_sha; do
     echo "" >&2
     exit 1
   fi
+  if [[ "$remote_ref" =~ ^refs/tags/v ]]; then
+    warn_tag=1
+  fi
 done
 
+if [[ $warn_tag -eq 1 ]]; then
+  echo "" >&2
+  echo "WARNING: you are pushing a v* tag directly." >&2
+  echo "Use scripts/tag_release.sh instead — it creates the required GitHub Release" >&2
+  echo "object alongside the tag. A bare tag push creates no release and leaves the" >&2
+  echo "project's /releases page incomplete." >&2
+  echo "" >&2
+  echo "Push anyway?  Proceeding…" >&2
+fi
+
 exit 0
diff --git a/.github/workflows/guard-release.yml b/.github/workflows/guard-release.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..63f7aca
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/guard-release.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+name: guard-release
+run-name: "guard-release | ${{ github.ref_name }}"
+
+# Post-push integrity guard: every tag push triggers a scan of all v* tags.
+# If any tag lacks a GitHub Release object the job fails — catching the
+# "silent link breakage" pattern where tags are pushed but release creation
+# never happens (e.g. bare `git tag` + push without `tag_release.sh`).
+
+on:
+  push:
+    tags:
+      - "v*"
+
+permissions:
+  contents: read
+
+jobs:
+  guard:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - name: Check all v* tags have a release object
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
+          GH_REPO: ${{ github.repository }}
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+
+          TAGS="$(gh api "repos/${GH_REPO}/git/refs/tags" --jq '.[].ref | ltrimstr("refs/tags/")' | grep '^v' | sort -V)"
+          RELEASES="$(gh api "repos/${GH_REPO}/releases" --jq '.[].tag_name' | sort -V | uniq)"
+
+          missing=()
+          while IFS= read -r tag; do
+            [[ -z "$tag" ]] && continue
+            # Normalise: strip ^{} deref suffix and skip non-annotated deref lines.
+            tag="${tag%^\{\}}"
+            [[ "$tag" =~ \^\{ ]] && continue
+            if ! printf '%s\n' "$RELEASES" | grep -qxF "$tag"; then
+              missing+=("$tag")
+            fi
+          done <<< "$TAGS"
+
+          if [[ ${#missing[@]} -gt 0 ]]; then
+            echo "" >&2
+            echo "GUARD FAILED: ${#missing[@]} tag(s) have no GitHub Release object:" >&2
+            printf '  - %s\n' "${missing[@]}" >&2
+            echo "" >&2
+            echo "Every v* tag must have a corresponding release. Create them with:" >&2
+            echo "  scripts/tag_release.sh" >&2
+            echo "Or backfill an existing tag:" >&2
+            echo "  gh release create <tag> --title \"actop <ver>\" --notes-from-tag" >&2
+            exit 1
+          fi
+
+          echo "All $(echo "$TAGS" | wc -l | tr -d ' ') v* tags have a release object."
diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index 1c9c9cf..cfc0523 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ This file is the single source of truth for repository guidelines, used by Claud
 - Do not run `python`, `pip`, or `pytest` from the global environment for this repo.
 
 ## Build, Test, and Development Commands
-- `git config core.hooksPath .githooks`: **run once per clone** to activate the local hooks (`pre-commit` secret redaction + `pre-push` `main` guard). Fresh clones have no hooks until this is set.
+- `git config core.hooksPath .githooks`: **run once per clone** to activate the local hooks (`pre-commit` secret redaction + `pre-push` `main` guard + `pre-push` bare-tag nudge). Fresh clones have no hooks until this is set.
 - `.venv/bin/python -m pip install -e ".[dev]"`: install editable + dev deps (ruff).
 - `.venv/bin/python -m actop.actop --help`: validate CLI parsing and flags.
 - `.venv/bin/python -m actop.actop --interval 2 --avg 30`: run the tool locally.
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ This file is the single source of truth for repository guidelines, used by Claud
 
 ## Release Process
 
-`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.
+`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`, `guard-release.yml`) — each carries its one-time setup inline. `guard-release.yml` is the post-push integrity gate: every tag push triggers a scan that verifies every `v*` tag has a corresponding GitHub Release object, catching the "silent link breakage" that caused the v0.8.7–v1.6.6 release-object gap.
 
 **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.
 
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index f944f41..75a0cdf 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 [![Python versions](https://img.shields.io/pypi/pyversions/actop.svg)](https://pypi.org/project/actop/)
 [![License: MIT](https://img.shields.io/github/license/binlecode/actop.svg)](LICENSE)
 [![CI](https://github.com/binlecode/actop/actions/workflows/main-ci.yml/badge.svg)](https://github.com/binlecode/actop/actions/workflows/main-ci.yml)
+[![Website](https://img.shields.io/badge/website-actop.pages.dev-58a6ff)](https://actop.pages.dev)
 
 **Watch your Apple Silicon Mac the way it actually works — and profile your own workloads from Python.**