diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index a788f5f..19098d6 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -126,6 +126,27 @@ jobs:
           ref: ${{ inputs.tag }}
           fetch-depth: 0
 
+      # Runs before the download so a wrong, unfinished, or foreign run is
+      # rejected without its archives ever reaching the runner.
+      - name: Verify prepare run
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
+          PREPARE_RUN_ID: ${{ inputs.prepare_run_id }}
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          [[ "$PREPARE_RUN_ID" =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]] || {
+            echo "::error::prepare_run_id must be numeric"
+            exit 1
+          }
+          gh api \
+            -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
+            -H "X-GitHub-Api-Version: 2022-11-28" \
+            "repos/${GITHUB_REPOSITORY}/actions/runs/${PREPARE_RUN_ID}" \
+            >"$RUNNER_TEMP/prepare-run.json"
+          bash scripts/ci/verify_prepare_run.sh \
+            "$RUNNER_TEMP/prepare-run.json" \
+            "$(git rev-parse HEAD)"
+
       - name: Download fsck artifacts
         uses: actions/download-artifact@v8
         with:
@@ -135,6 +156,13 @@ jobs:
           path: ./artifacts
           merge-multiple: true
 
+      - name: Verify release artifacts
+        env:
+          VERSION: ${{ needs.validate-version.outputs.version }}
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          bash scripts/ci/verify_release_artifacts.sh ./artifacts "$VERSION"
+
       - name: Create GitHub Release
         uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v3
         with:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/test.yml b/.github/workflows/test.yml
index 10825f8..fccb97a 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/test.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/test.yml
@@ -102,6 +102,12 @@ jobs:
             exit 1
           fi
 
+      - name: Shellcheck release scripts
+        run: shellcheck scripts/ci/*.sh
+
+      - name: Release artifact verification
+        run: bash scripts/ci/test_release_verifiers.sh
+
   # ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
   test:
     name: Test (${{ matrix.os }})
diff --git a/scripts/ci/test_release_verifiers.sh b/scripts/ci/test_release_verifiers.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..de87e7d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/ci/test_release_verifiers.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,178 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Regression tests for the release verifiers.
+#
+# Generated data only — no network, no tracked fixtures, no assertions about
+# workflow YAML layout. Every negative case asserts the reason for the
+# rejection, so a verifier that breaks in an unrelated way (bad arity, missing
+# jq, a typo in a guard) cannot pass by merely exiting nonzero.
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+repo_root="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/../.." && pwd)"
+verify_run="$repo_root/scripts/ci/verify_prepare_run.sh"
+verify_artifacts="$repo_root/scripts/ci/verify_release_artifacts.sh"
+
+work_dir="$(mktemp -d)"
+trap 'rm -rf "$work_dir"' EXIT
+
+version="0.2.0-beta.1"
+commit="0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef01234567"
+other_commit="ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff"
+artifacts="$work_dir/artifacts"
+log="$work_dir/verifier.log"
+failures=0
+
+report_log() {
+  sed 's/^/       /' "$log" >&2
+}
+
+expect_ok() {
+  local label="$1"
+  shift
+  if "$@" >"$log" 2>&1; then
+    printf 'ok   %s\n' "$label"
+  else
+    printf 'FAIL %s: expected success\n' "$label" >&2
+    report_log
+    failures=$((failures + 1))
+  fi
+}
+
+expect_failure() {
+  local label="$1" want="$2"
+  shift 2
+  if "$@" >"$log" 2>&1; then
+    printf 'FAIL %s: expected failure, got success\n' "$label" >&2
+    failures=$((failures + 1))
+  elif grep -qF -- "$want" "$log"; then
+    printf 'ok   %s\n' "$label"
+  else
+    printf 'FAIL %s: expected message containing: %s\n' "$label" "$want" >&2
+    report_log
+    failures=$((failures + 1))
+  fi
+}
+
+# A successful prepare run for $commit, optionally mutated by a jq filter.
+write_run() {
+  local out="$1" filter="${2:-.}"
+  jq -n --arg head_sha "$commit" \
+    '{head_sha: $head_sha,
+      path: ".github/workflows/release-prepare.yml",
+      event: "push",
+      status: "completed",
+      conclusion: "success"}' |
+    jq "$filter" >"$out"
+}
+
+seed_artifacts() {
+  rm -rf "$artifacts"
+  mkdir -p "$artifacts"
+  local label
+  for label in linux-x64 linux-arm64 macos-arm64 macos-x64; do
+    : >"$artifacts/pagedb-fsck-${version}-${label}.tar.gz"
+  done
+  : >"$artifacts/pagedb-fsck-${version}-windows-x64.zip"
+}
+
+# ── prepare-run provenance ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+run_json="$work_dir/run.json"
+write_run "$run_json"
+
+expect_ok "prepare run: successful tag build" \
+  bash "$verify_run" "$run_json" "$commit"
+
+expect_failure "prepare run: different tag commit" "run head_sha is" \
+  bash "$verify_run" "$run_json" "$other_commit"
+
+write_run "$work_dir/failed.json" '.conclusion = "failure"'
+expect_failure "prepare run: unsuccessful conclusion" "run conclusion is 'failure'" \
+  bash "$verify_run" "$work_dir/failed.json" "$commit"
+
+write_run "$work_dir/in-progress.json" '.status = "in_progress" | .conclusion = null'
+expect_failure "prepare run: still running" "run status is 'in_progress'" \
+  bash "$verify_run" "$work_dir/in-progress.json" "$commit"
+
+write_run "$work_dir/other-workflow.json" '.path = ".github/workflows/test.yml"'
+expect_failure "prepare run: different workflow" "run path is" \
+  bash "$verify_run" "$work_dir/other-workflow.json" "$commit"
+
+write_run "$work_dir/dispatched.json" '.event = "workflow_dispatch"'
+expect_failure "prepare run: not a tag push" "run event is 'workflow_dispatch'" \
+  bash "$verify_run" "$work_dir/dispatched.json" "$commit"
+
+write_run "$work_dir/truncated.json" 'del(.conclusion)'
+expect_failure "prepare run: absent field" "run conclusion is '<absent>'" \
+  bash "$verify_run" "$work_dir/truncated.json" "$commit"
+
+printf 'not json' >"$work_dir/garbage.json"
+expect_failure "prepare run: malformed metadata" "not valid JSON" \
+  bash "$verify_run" "$work_dir/garbage.json" "$commit"
+
+expect_failure "prepare run: absent metadata file" "missing workflow-run metadata" \
+  bash "$verify_run" "$work_dir/nonexistent.json" "$commit"
+
+expect_failure "prepare run: malformed commit" "invalid release commit" \
+  bash "$verify_run" "$run_json" "HEAD"
+
+# ── release attachment set ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+seed_artifacts
+expect_ok "artifacts: exact release set" \
+  bash "$verify_artifacts" "$artifacts" "$version"
+
+seed_artifacts
+: >"$artifacts/unexpected.txt"
+expect_failure "artifacts: extra attachment" "unexpected release attachment: unexpected.txt" \
+  bash "$verify_artifacts" "$artifacts" "$version"
+
+seed_artifacts
+: >"$artifacts/.hidden"
+expect_failure "artifacts: hidden attachment" "unexpected release attachment: .hidden" \
+  bash "$verify_artifacts" "$artifacts" "$version"
+
+# Renamed rather than deleted: the attachment count stays at five, so this
+# reaches the by-name check instead of tripping a coarser cardinality guard.
+seed_artifacts
+mv "$artifacts/pagedb-fsck-${version}-windows-x64.zip" "$artifacts/pagedb-fsck-${version}-windows-x86.zip"
+expect_failure "artifacts: missing archive at full count" \
+  "missing release archive: pagedb-fsck-${version}-windows-x64.zip" \
+  bash "$verify_artifacts" "$artifacts" "$version"
+
+seed_artifacts
+rm "$artifacts/pagedb-fsck-${version}-macos-x64.tar.gz"
+expect_failure "artifacts: absent archive" \
+  "missing release archive: pagedb-fsck-${version}-macos-x64.tar.gz" \
+  bash "$verify_artifacts" "$artifacts" "$version"
+
+seed_artifacts
+rm "$artifacts/pagedb-fsck-${version}-linux-x64.tar.gz"
+ln -s /etc/hostname "$artifacts/pagedb-fsck-${version}-linux-x64.tar.gz"
+expect_failure "artifacts: symlinked archive" "is not a regular file" \
+  bash "$verify_artifacts" "$artifacts" "$version"
+
+seed_artifacts
+rm "$artifacts/pagedb-fsck-${version}-linux-arm64.tar.gz"
+mkdir "$artifacts/pagedb-fsck-${version}-linux-arm64.tar.gz"
+expect_failure "artifacts: directory in place of archive" "is not a regular file" \
+  bash "$verify_artifacts" "$artifacts" "$version"
+
+seed_artifacts
+expect_failure "artifacts: version mismatch" "missing release archive" \
+  bash "$verify_artifacts" "$artifacts" "9.9.9"
+
+expect_failure "artifacts: malformed version" "invalid release version" \
+  bash "$verify_artifacts" "$artifacts" "not-a-version"
+
+expect_failure "artifacts: absent directory" "missing artifact directory" \
+  bash "$verify_artifacts" "$work_dir/nonexistent" "$version"
+
+# ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+if test "$failures" -ne 0; then
+  printf 'release artifact verification: %d test(s) failed\n' "$failures" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+printf 'release artifact verification: tests passed\n'
diff --git a/scripts/ci/verify_prepare_run.sh b/scripts/ci/verify_prepare_run.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..5ac4108
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/ci/verify_prepare_run.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Gate the maintainer-supplied Release Prepare run before any of its artifacts
+# are downloaded. The run must be a successful, tag-pushed execution of the
+# release prepare workflow for the exact commit the release tag resolves to.
+#
+# Provenance only. Nothing here inspects archives; the published attachment set
+# is checked separately by verify_release_artifacts.sh once it is on disk.
+# Archive contents are trusted on the strength of this gate — a run pinned to
+# the tag commit, the prepare workflow file, and a successful conclusion — so
+# there is deliberately no digest comparison anywhere in the release path.
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+usage='usage: verify_prepare_run.sh <run.json> <commit>'
+
+die() {
+  printf 'prepare run: %s\n' "$*" >&2
+  exit 1
+}
+
+run_json="${1:?$usage}"
+commit="${2:?$usage}"
+
+test -f "$run_json" || die "missing workflow-run metadata: $run_json"
+[[ "$commit" =~ ^[0-9a-f]{40}$ ]] || die "invalid release commit: $commit"
+jq -e . "$run_json" >/dev/null 2>&1 ||
+  die "workflow-run metadata is not valid JSON: $run_json"
+
+# Checked field-by-field rather than as one boolean so a rejection names the
+# field that disagreed — the maintainer needs to know whether they picked the
+# wrong run, the wrong tag, or a run that has not finished.
+fields=(head_sha path event status conclusion)
+expected=(
+  "$commit"
+  ".github/workflows/release-prepare.yml"
+  push
+  completed
+  success
+)
+
+index=0
+while IFS= read -r actual; do
+  test "$index" -lt "${#fields[@]}" || die "unexpected workflow-run metadata shape"
+  test "$actual" = "${expected[$index]}" ||
+    die "run ${fields[$index]} is '$actual', expected '${expected[$index]}'"
+  index=$((index + 1))
+done < <(
+  jq -r '[.head_sha, .path, .event, .status, .conclusion]
+         | map(if . == null then "<absent>" else tostring end)
+         | .[]' "$run_json"
+)
+
+test "$index" -eq "${#fields[@]}" || die "incomplete workflow-run metadata: $run_json"
+
+printf 'prepare run: ok\n'
diff --git a/scripts/ci/verify_release_artifacts.sh b/scripts/ci/verify_release_artifacts.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..89a5e68
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/ci/verify_release_artifacts.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Verify the downloaded release attachments are exactly the archive set the
+# Release Prepare workflow publishes for this version — every expected archive
+# present, nothing else alongside them.
+#
+# Provenance of the producing run is established beforehand by
+# verify_prepare_run.sh; this script only decides what gets attached.
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+usage='usage: verify_release_artifacts.sh <artifact-dir> <version>'
+
+die() {
+  printf 'release artifacts: %s\n' "$*" >&2
+  exit 1
+}
+
+artifact_dir="${1:?$usage}"
+version="${2:?$usage}"
+
+test -d "$artifact_dir" || die "missing artifact directory: $artifact_dir"
+[[ "$version" =~ ^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+(-[A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9-]*\.[0-9]+)?$ ]] ||
+  die "invalid release version: $version"
+
+# Mirrors the build matrix in .github/workflows/release-prepare.yml. Adding a
+# release target means changing both lists in the same commit.
+expected=(
+  "pagedb-fsck-${version}-linux-x64.tar.gz"
+  "pagedb-fsck-${version}-linux-arm64.tar.gz"
+  "pagedb-fsck-${version}-macos-arm64.tar.gz"
+  "pagedb-fsck-${version}-macos-x64.tar.gz"
+  "pagedb-fsck-${version}-windows-x64.zip"
+)
+
+# Both directions are checked by name. A count comparison would be shorter but
+# would let one absence and one intruder cancel out, and it reports "wrong
+# number of files" where the useful message is which file.
+for archive in "${expected[@]}"; do
+  path="$artifact_dir/$archive"
+  # Symlinks are rejected ahead of the existence test so a dangling link is
+  # reported as what it is rather than as an absent archive.
+  if test -L "$path" || { test -e "$path" && test ! -f "$path"; }; then
+    die "release archive is not a regular file: $archive"
+  elif test ! -e "$path"; then
+    die "missing release archive: $archive"
+  fi
+done
+
+shopt -s nullglob dotglob
+entries=("$artifact_dir"/*)
+shopt -u nullglob dotglob
+
+for entry in "${entries[@]}"; do
+  name="${entry##*/}"
+  known=""
+  for archive in "${expected[@]}"; do
+    if test "$name" = "$archive"; then
+      known=1
+      break
+    fi
+  done
+  test -n "$known" || die "unexpected release attachment: $name"
+done
+
+printf 'release artifacts: ok\n'