diff --git a/.changeset/scaffold-package-installers.md b/.changeset/scaffold-package-installers.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..081002a09
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/scaffold-package-installers.md
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+---
+"create-agent-bundle": minor
+---
+
+Adopt framework-generated package installers and prepack inventory validation
+in the publishable CLI and MCP scaffold templates.
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index bbf7c1904..a55a06e42 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -49,3 +49,4 @@ jobs:
           github-token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
         env:
           NPM_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.NPM_TOKEN }}
+          NPM_CONFIG_PROVENANCE: true
diff --git a/docs/preview-packages.md b/docs/preview-packages.md
index 9d92bb2b3..da52920cc 100644
--- a/docs/preview-packages.md
+++ b/docs/preview-packages.md
@@ -3,7 +3,11 @@
 Nothing is published to npm yet, deliberately: the current package names are
 placeholders, and npm publishing is deferred until the final name is chosen
 (it will then use [npm package provenance](https://docs.npmjs.com/generating-provenance-statements);
-the manifests and release workflow are already wired for it). Until then
+the publish step exports `NPM_CONFIG_PROVENANCE=true` and runs the packed
+release gates before `changeset publish`). Before enabling that path, the
+release owner must resolve the repository-wide `"access": "restricted"`
+policy for `agent-bundle`, which does not currently override it with
+`publishConfig.access`. Until then
 pkg.pr.new is the release channel. Every CI package-preview run publishes real,
 installable tarballs of all three publishable workspace packages to [pkg.pr.new](https://pkg.pr.new)
 — a free continuous-release registry keyed by commit SHA and pull request.
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 882a0e96a..eaf992893 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@
     "test:host-install:session:claude": "pnpm build && AGENT_BUNDLE_HOST_INSTALL_CLAUDE_SESSION=1 pnpm test:host-install:session",
     "changeset": "changeset",
     "version-packages": "changeset version",
-    "release": "pnpm build && changeset publish",
+    "release": "pnpm check:release && changeset publish",
     "preview:publish": "pkg-pr-new publish --previewVersion --peerDeps --no-compact --no-template './packages/agent-bundle' './packages/rsc-runtime' './packages/create-agent-bundle'",
     "pack:dry-run": "pnpm build && npm pack ./packages/agent-bundle --dry-run --json",
     "audit:release": "pnpm lint:package && attw --pack --profile esm-only packages/agent-bundle && node scripts/audit-packed-release.mjs",
diff --git a/packages/agent-bundle/README.md b/packages/agent-bundle/README.md
index a279dda25..c8da14932 100644
--- a/packages/agent-bundle/README.md
+++ b/packages/agent-bundle/README.md
@@ -520,8 +520,8 @@ then Hooks and Scripts, then the interactive MCP App.
 
 Run the complete local delivery gate with `pnpm check && pnpm check:release`.
 `pnpm check:release` is release-only: its exact package-script components are
-`pnpm pack:dry-run`, `pnpm audit:release`, and `pnpm test:packed`, and it does not replace
-`pnpm check`.
+`pnpm pack:dry-run`, `pnpm audit:release`, and `pnpm test:packed:release`, and it does not replace
+`pnpm check`. `pnpm release` runs that release gate before `changeset publish`.
 Native Claude/Codex smokes stay intentionally opt-in and skipped in ordinary CI.
 npm publishing is deferred until the release owner picks the final package name/scope and
 license; pkg.pr.new previews are the interim channel, and the first npm release will use npm
diff --git a/packages/create-agent-bundle/templates/cli-tool/README.md b/packages/create-agent-bundle/templates/cli-tool/README.md
index db844a2fa..c8b32ef87 100644
--- a/packages/create-agent-bundle/templates/cli-tool/README.md
+++ b/packages/create-agent-bundle/templates/cli-tool/README.md
@@ -16,8 +16,14 @@ npm run check      # validate + build + typecheck + test
 
 # after a build
 node dist/bin/my-agent-plugin.js World
+
+# after publishing/installing the package
+npx my-agent-plugin-install install cursor
 ```
 
+Installing the npm package does not mutate any host; run the generated
+`my-agent-plugin-install install <host>` command explicitly.
+
 ## Layout
 
 - `agent-bundle.config.ts` — the one typed config; the CLI is also declared
diff --git a/packages/create-agent-bundle/templates/cli-tool/package_json b/packages/create-agent-bundle/templates/cli-tool/package_json
index 3203b454c..ecfffcf92 100644
--- a/packages/create-agent-bundle/templates/cli-tool/package_json
+++ b/packages/create-agent-bundle/templates/cli-tool/package_json
@@ -8,10 +8,12 @@
   },
   "files": [
     "dist",
+    "artifact",
     "README.md"
   ],
   "bin": {
-    "my-agent-plugin": "./dist/bin/my-agent-plugin.js"
+    "my-agent-plugin": "./dist/bin/my-agent-plugin.js",
+    "my-agent-plugin-install": "./dist/bin/my-agent-plugin-install.js"
   },
   "exports": {
     ".": {
@@ -23,6 +25,7 @@
     "build": "agent-bundle build --json --output artifact",
     "check": "npm run validate && npm run build && npm run typecheck && npm run test",
     "dev": "agent-bundle dev",
+    "prepack": "agent-bundle prepack --json --output artifact",
     "test": "rstest tests",
     "typecheck": "tsc -p tsconfig.json --noEmit",
     "validate": "agent-bundle validate --json"
diff --git a/packages/create-agent-bundle/templates/mcp-server/README.md b/packages/create-agent-bundle/templates/mcp-server/README.md
index c5e7b29d8..392189ddf 100644
--- a/packages/create-agent-bundle/templates/mcp-server/README.md
+++ b/packages/create-agent-bundle/templates/mcp-server/README.md
@@ -15,14 +15,21 @@ npm run test             # plain module tests
 npm run test:routes      # route-unit pool
 npm run test:projection  # in-memory MCP projection pool
 npx agent-bundle mcp list --server status --target portable --artifact artifact
+
+# after publishing/removing "private" and installing the package
+npx my-agent-plugin install cursor
 ```
 
+Installing the npm package does not mutate any host; run the generated
+`my-agent-plugin install <host>` command explicitly.
+
 ## Layout
 
 - `agent-bundle.config.ts` — plugin identity, targets, and project policy.
 - `src/mcp/status/tools/report-status.tsx` — the complete MCP tool route.
 - `src/scripts/check-status.ts` — an artifact script with a generated process envelope.
-- `src/status.ts` — shared domain logic covered by `tests/`.
+- `src/status.ts` — shared domain logic covered by `tests/` and published as
+  the package library export.
 - `rstest.route-unit.config.ts`, `rstest.projection.config.ts` — the two
   framework-generated test pools (see below).
 
diff --git a/packages/create-agent-bundle/templates/mcp-server/agent-bundle.config.ts b/packages/create-agent-bundle/templates/mcp-server/agent-bundle.config.ts
index 0bafe8bc3..82340a92b 100644
--- a/packages/create-agent-bundle/templates/mcp-server/agent-bundle.config.ts
+++ b/packages/create-agent-bundle/templates/mcp-server/agent-bundle.config.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { defineConfig } from 'agent-bundle';
 
 export default defineConfig({
+  lib: './src/status.ts',
   plugin: {
     description: 'A stdio MCP server plugin scaffolded from the mcp-server template.',
     name: 'my-agent-plugin',
diff --git a/packages/create-agent-bundle/templates/mcp-server/package_json b/packages/create-agent-bundle/templates/mcp-server/package_json
index 953e47234..9988ec984 100644
--- a/packages/create-agent-bundle/templates/mcp-server/package_json
+++ b/packages/create-agent-bundle/templates/mcp-server/package_json
@@ -7,10 +7,25 @@
   "engines": {
     "node": ">=22.19.0"
   },
+  "files": [
+    "dist",
+    "artifact",
+    "README.md"
+  ],
+  "bin": {
+    "my-agent-plugin": "./dist/bin/my-agent-plugin.js"
+  },
+  "exports": {
+    ".": {
+      "types": "./dist/status.d.ts",
+      "import": "./dist/status.js"
+    }
+  },
   "scripts": {
     "build": "agent-bundle build --json --output artifact",
     "check": "npm run validate && npm run build && npm run typecheck && npm run test && npm run test:routes && npm run test:projection",
     "dev": "agent-bundle dev",
+    "prepack": "agent-bundle prepack --json --output artifact",
     "test": "rstest tests --exclude \"tests/{route-unit,projection}/**\"",
     "test:projection": "rstest --config rstest.projection.config.ts",
     "test:routes": "rstest --config rstest.route-unit.config.ts",
diff --git a/packages/create-agent-bundle/tests/scaffold-packed-matrix.e2e.test.ts b/packages/create-agent-bundle/tests/scaffold-packed-matrix.e2e.test.ts
index 74cbc121d..3ccf68225 100644
--- a/packages/create-agent-bundle/tests/scaffold-packed-matrix.e2e.test.ts
+++ b/packages/create-agent-bundle/tests/scaffold-packed-matrix.e2e.test.ts
@@ -1,12 +1,13 @@
 import { execFile as executeFile } from 'node:child_process';
-import { readFile, stat } from 'node:fs/promises';
+import { mkdtemp, readFile, rm, stat } from 'node:fs/promises';
+import { tmpdir } from 'node:os';
 import { join } from 'node:path';
 import { pathToFileURL } from 'node:url';
 import { promisify } from 'node:util';
 
 import { afterAll, expect, it } from '@rstest/core';
 
-import { installedEnvironment, npmInstallArguments } from '../../agent-bundle/tests/support/shared-pack.ts';
+import { installedEnvironment, npmInstallArguments, packOutputFromJson } from '../../agent-bundle/tests/support/shared-pack.ts';
 import { cleanupScaffoldFixture, expectCleanValidate, npmRun, scaffoldProject } from './support/scaffold-fixture.ts';
 
 const execFile = promisify(executeFile);
@@ -32,6 +33,7 @@ it.concurrent('scaffolds the mcp-server template and serves the conventional ent
 
   const checked = await npmRun(projectRoot, 'check');
   await expectCleanValidate(projectRoot);
+  await npmRun(projectRoot, 'prepack');
 
   // The template's own harness pools ran inside `check`, and they are asserted
   // positively — a silent `check` would also pass if the pools were dropped or
@@ -86,6 +88,7 @@ it.concurrent('scaffolds the cli-tool template with a framework-built bin, lib,
   const checked = await npmRun(projectRoot, 'check');
   expect(checked).toContain('tests/cli.test.ts');
   await expectCleanValidate(projectRoot);
+  await npmRun(projectRoot, 'prepack');
 
   // The src/cli.ts convention produced the executable package bin.
   const bin = join(projectRoot, 'dist', 'bin', 'greeter.js');
@@ -105,4 +108,21 @@ it.concurrent('scaffolds the cli-tool template with a framework-built bin, lib,
   await expect(execFile(process.execPath, [
     join(projectRoot, 'artifact', 'portable', 'scripts', 'greeter.mjs'), 'World',
   ], { cwd: projectRoot, env: installedEnvironment() })).resolves.toMatchObject({ stdout: 'Hello, World!\n' });
+
+  const packDestination = await mkdtemp(join(tmpdir(), 'create-agent-bundle-cli-pack-'));
+  try {
+    const { stdout } = await execFile('npm', [
+      'pack', '--json', '--ignore-scripts', '--pack-destination', packDestination,
+    ], { cwd: projectRoot, env: installedEnvironment() });
+    // packOutputFromJson handles both npm pack --json shapes (array and
+    // package-keyed object), unlike a bare array destructure.
+    const packedPaths = packOutputFromJson(stdout).files.map((file) => file.path);
+    expect(packedPaths).toContain('artifact/agent-bundle.manifest.json');
+    expect(packedPaths).toContain('artifact/portable/plugin.json');
+    expect(packedPaths).toContain('artifact/codex/.codex-plugin/plugin.json');
+    expect(packedPaths).toContain('artifact/claude/.claude-plugin/plugin.json');
+    expect(packedPaths).toContain('dist/bin/greeter-install.js');
+  } finally {
+    await rm(packDestination, { force: true, recursive: true });
+  }
 }, 600_000);
diff --git a/packages/create-agent-bundle/tests/scaffold.test.ts b/packages/create-agent-bundle/tests/scaffold.test.ts
index ba1200cda..2c3b447ec 100644
--- a/packages/create-agent-bundle/tests/scaffold.test.ts
+++ b/packages/create-agent-bundle/tests/scaffold.test.ts
@@ -99,6 +99,64 @@ describe('scaffold', () => {
     }
   });
 
+  it('scaffolds publishable package fields for templates with package builds', async () => {
+    const [cliTool, mcpServer] = await Promise.all([
+      scaffoldTemplate('cli-tool', { pluginName: 'greeter' }),
+      scaffoldTemplate('mcp-server', { pluginName: 'status-plugin' }),
+    ]);
+    try {
+      const cliManifest = JSON.parse(await readFile(join(cliTool.root, 'package.json'), 'utf8')) as {
+        readonly bin: Record<string, string>;
+        readonly files: readonly string[];
+        readonly scripts: Record<string, string>;
+      };
+      expect(cliManifest.files).toEqual(['dist', 'artifact', 'README.md']);
+      expect(cliManifest.bin).toEqual({
+        greeter: './dist/bin/greeter.js',
+        'greeter-install': './dist/bin/greeter-install.js',
+      });
+      expect(cliManifest.scripts.prepack).toBe('agent-bundle prepack --json --output artifact');
+
+      const mcpManifest = JSON.parse(await readFile(join(mcpServer.root, 'package.json'), 'utf8')) as {
+        readonly bin: Record<string, string>;
+        readonly exports: Record<string, { readonly import: string; readonly types: string }>;
+        readonly files: readonly string[];
+        readonly private: boolean;
+        readonly scripts: Record<string, string>;
+      };
+      expect(mcpManifest.private).toBe(true);
+      expect(mcpManifest.files).toEqual(['dist', 'artifact', 'README.md']);
+      expect(mcpManifest.bin).toEqual({ 'status-plugin': './dist/bin/status-plugin.js' });
+      expect(mcpManifest.exports).toEqual({
+        '.': { types: './dist/status.d.ts', import: './dist/status.js' },
+      });
+      expect(mcpManifest.scripts.prepack).toBe('agent-bundle prepack --json --output artifact');
+      await expect(readFile(join(mcpServer.root, 'agent-bundle.config.ts'), 'utf8'))
+        .resolves.toContain("lib: './src/status.ts'");
+    } finally {
+      await Promise.all([
+        rm(cliTool.root, { force: true, recursive: true }),
+        rm(mcpServer.root, { force: true, recursive: true }),
+      ]);
+    }
+  });
+
+  it('leaves the skills-only template without package-build packaging fields', async () => {
+    const { root } = await scaffoldTemplate('minimal');
+    try {
+      const manifest = JSON.parse(await readFile(join(root, 'package.json'), 'utf8')) as {
+        readonly bin?: unknown;
+        readonly files?: unknown;
+        readonly scripts: Record<string, string>;
+      };
+      expect(manifest.bin).toBeUndefined();
+      expect(manifest.files).toBeUndefined();
+      expect(manifest.scripts.prepack).toBeUndefined();
+    } finally {
+      await rm(root, { force: true, recursive: true });
+    }
+  });
+
   for (const template of ['minimal', 'cli-tool'] as const) {
     it(`scaffolds the ${template} template without a runtime tarball`, async () => {
       const { root } = await scaffoldTemplate(template, { withRuntimeTarball: false });
@@ -135,7 +193,10 @@ describe('scaffold', () => {
       if (files.includes('src/mcp/status/tools/report-status.tsx')) {
         expect(manifest.dependencies?.['@agent-bundle/runtime']).toBe(runtimeSpecForFramework(frameworkSpec));
       }
-      expect(manifest.bin).toEqual({ 'status-plugin': './dist/bin/status-plugin.js' });
+      expect(manifest.bin).toEqual({
+        'status-plugin': './dist/bin/status-plugin.js',
+        'status-plugin-install': './dist/bin/status-plugin-install.js',
+      });
       const config = await readFile(join(root, 'agent-bundle.config.ts'), 'utf8');
       expect(config).toContain("name: 'status-plugin'");
       expect(config).toContain("'status-plugin': './src/cli.ts'");