diff --git a/.github/instructions/changelog-commits.instructions.md b/.github/instructions/changelog-commits.instructions.md
index afecd70..e51d622 100644
--- a/.github/instructions/changelog-commits.instructions.md
+++ b/.github/instructions/changelog-commits.instructions.md
@@ -281,9 +281,8 @@ required so tooling reliably detects and surfaces the change.
 ### How semantic-release reads commits
 
 This project uses `semantic-release` to calculate versions, create GitHub
-releases, and update `changelog.md` from Conventional Commits. Registry
-publishing stays outside `semantic-release` in `publish.yml`. The default rules
-for this repo are:
+releases, and update `changelog.md` from Conventional Commits. The default
+rules for this repo are:
 
 - `fix` → patch version bump
 - `feat` → minor version bump
@@ -330,8 +329,7 @@ What you can and should do manually:
    creates the release commit and tag, and publishes the GitHub Release.
 4. The published release event triggers `publish.yml`, which runs `deno ci`
    against the tagged commit and then publishes to **JSR**
-   (`deno eval` rewrites `deno.json.version` in the ephemeral checkout, then
-   `deno publish`) and **npm**
+   (`deno publish --set-version <version>`) and **npm**
    (`RELEASE_VERSION=<version> deno task build:npm` followed by
    `npm publish`) in parallel. Re-running a publish job for an already-published
    version should be safe.
@@ -340,8 +338,7 @@ What you can and should do manually:
 
    To publish manually:
    - Verify the release commit: `deno task release:verify`
-   - JSR: update `deno.json.version` to the release version, then run
-     `deno ci && deno publish`
+    - JSR: `deno ci && deno publish --set-version <version>`
    - npm: `deno ci && RELEASE_VERSION=<version> deno task build:npm && cd npm && npm publish --access public`
 
 ### Writing changelog entries
diff --git a/.github/workflows/publish.yml b/.github/workflows/publish.yml
index 7807ece..f4c3c53 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/publish.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/publish.yml
@@ -154,25 +154,8 @@ jobs:
       - name: Install locked dependencies
         run: deno task deps:ci
 
-      - name: Update deno.json with release version
-        env:
-          RELEASE_VERSION: ${{ needs.resolve-publish.outputs.version }}
-        run: >-
-          deno eval
-          'const releaseVersion = Deno.env.get("RELEASE_VERSION");
-          if (!releaseVersion) {
-            throw new Error("Expected RELEASE_VERSION to be set.");
-          }
-
-          const denoJson = JSON.parse(await Deno.readTextFile("deno.json"));
-          denoJson.version = releaseVersion;
-          await Deno.writeTextFile(
-            "deno.json",
-            `${JSON.stringify(denoJson, null, 2)}\n`,
-          );'
-
       - name: Publish to JSR
-        run: deno publish
+        run: deno publish --set-version "${{ needs.resolve-publish.outputs.version }}"
 
   publish-npm:
     name: Publish to npm
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index 0dcab44..15d18c9 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -64,6 +64,7 @@ jobs:
           --package=semantic-release
           --package=@semantic-release/changelog
           --package=@semantic-release/commit-analyzer
+          --package=@semantic-release/exec
           --package=@semantic-release/git
           --package=@semantic-release/github
           --package=@semantic-release/release-notes-generator
diff --git a/readme.md b/readme.md
index 477ac3c..463679b 100644
--- a/readme.md
+++ b/readme.md
@@ -782,10 +782,6 @@ interface TrimSides {
 This project uses [Conventional Commits](https://www.conventionalcommits.org/)
 for automated versioning, GitHub releases, and changelog generation via
 [`semantic-release`](https://semantic-release.gitbook.io/semantic-release/).
-`semantic-release` only decides the release version, updates
-[`changelog.md`](./changelog.md), and creates the GitHub Release. Registry
-publishing stays in [`.github/workflows/publish.yml`](./.github/workflows/publish.yml),
-which publishes the tagged release to JSR and npm.
 
 | Prefix                       | Version effect |
 | ---------------------------- | -------------- |
diff --git a/scripts/build_npm.ts b/scripts/build_npm.ts
index c0adc20..f9c0094 100644
--- a/scripts/build_npm.ts
+++ b/scripts/build_npm.ts
@@ -11,11 +11,6 @@
 import { build, emptyDir } from "jsr:@deno/dnt";
 import { format, parse } from 'jsr:@std/semver';
 import denoJson from "../deno.json" with { type: "json" };
-
-// semantic-release remains the release authority for GitHub tags and changelog
-// entries, so the tagged commit still carries the pre-release deno.json
-// version. npm publishing therefore takes the resolved release version from the
-// workflow and injects it here, while local builds still default to deno.json.
 const packageVersion = resolvePackageVersion();
 
 await emptyDir("./npm");