diff --git a/releases/v1.6.1/RELEASE_NOTES.md b/releases/v1.6.1/RELEASE_NOTES.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7bd7795
--- /dev/null
+++ b/releases/v1.6.1/RELEASE_NOTES.md
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+## What's New in 1.6.1
+
+### Auto-updates
+
+Scarf now ships with [Sparkle](https://sparkle-project.org). On launch (and daily thereafter) it checks an EdDSA-signed appcast at [awizemann.github.io/scarf/appcast.xml](https://awizemann.github.io/scarf/appcast.xml). When a new version is available you'll get an in-app update prompt — no more manually downloading zips and dragging into Applications.
+
+You can disable automatic checks or trigger a manual one from **Settings → General → Updates**, the menu bar icon, or the **Scarf → Check for Updates…** menu item.
+
+### Notarized & Developer ID signed
+
+This is the first release that's properly Developer ID signed and notarized by Apple. Gatekeeper accepts it on first launch — no more right-click → Open dance, no more "Scarf cannot be opened because the developer cannot be verified" warnings.
+
+### Fixes
+
+- Chat works correctly when no terminal hermes session is running, and surfaces the real error when it can't reach the agent (b6df…)
+
+### Under the hood
+
+- Tracked `Info.plist` (replacing auto-generation) so signing-relevant keys live in version control
+- New `UpdaterService` wraps Sparkle and is injected via SwiftUI `.environment()`
+- One-command release pipeline at [scripts/release.sh](https://github.com/awizemann/scarf/blob/main/scripts/release.sh) handles archive → sign → notarize → staple → appcast → GitHub release → tag
+
+---
+
+**Migrating from 1.6.0:** unzip and replace your existing `Scarf.app` in `/Applications`. After this release, future updates install in-place via Sparkle.
diff --git a/scripts/release.sh b/scripts/release.sh
index c2d1e47..8bdf6d2 100755
--- a/scripts/release.sh
+++ b/scripts/release.sh
@@ -2,7 +2,18 @@
 #
 # Scarf release pipeline — local, manual, repeatable.
 #
-# Usage:   ./scripts/release.sh 1.7.0
+# Usage:
+#   ./scripts/release.sh 1.7.0              # full release: build, sign, notarize,
+#                                           # appcast push, GitHub release, tag
+#   ./scripts/release.sh 1.7.0 --draft      # everything builds + notarizes, but the
+#                                           # GitHub release is created as draft, the
+#                                           # appcast is NOT updated, and main is NOT
+#                                           # tagged. Promote later with --promote.
+#
+# Release notes:
+#   If `releases/v<VERSION>/RELEASE_NOTES.md` exists, it is committed alongside the
+#   version bump and used as the GitHub release body. Otherwise a minimal autogenerated
+#   note is used.
 #
 # Prerequisites (one-time setup):
 #   1. Developer ID Application cert installed in login Keychain.
@@ -19,8 +30,20 @@
 #
 set -euo pipefail
 
+# ---------- arg parsing ----------
+VERSION=""
+DRAFT=0
+for arg in "$@"; do
+  case "$arg" in
+    --draft) DRAFT=1 ;;
+    -h|--help) sed -n '2,30p' "$0"; exit 0 ;;
+    -*) printf '[ERR] unknown flag: %s\n' "$arg" >&2; exit 1 ;;
+    *) [[ -z "$VERSION" ]] && VERSION="$arg" || { printf '[ERR] unexpected arg: %s\n' "$arg" >&2; exit 1; } ;;
+  esac
+done
+[[ -n "$VERSION" ]] || { printf 'usage: ./scripts/release.sh <marketing-version> [--draft]\n' >&2; exit 1; }
+
 # ---------- config ----------
-VERSION="${1:?usage: ./scripts/release.sh <marketing-version>  e.g. 1.7.0}"
 TEAM_ID="3Q6X2L86C4"
 BUNDLE_ID="com.scarf.app"
 SCHEME="scarf"
@@ -81,6 +104,11 @@ NEW_BUILD=$((CUR_BUILD + 1))
 sed -i '' -E "s/MARKETING_VERSION = [0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+;/MARKETING_VERSION = ${VERSION};/g" "$PBXPROJ"
 sed -i '' -E "s/CURRENT_PROJECT_VERSION = [0-9]+;/CURRENT_PROJECT_VERSION = ${NEW_BUILD};/g" "$PBXPROJ"
 git add "$PBXPROJ"
+# Include release notes in the bump commit if user prepared them ahead of time.
+NOTES_FILE="$RELEASE_DIR/RELEASE_NOTES.md"
+if [[ -f "$NOTES_FILE" ]]; then
+  git add "$NOTES_FILE"
+fi
 git commit -m "chore: Bump version to ${VERSION}"
 
 # ---------- build ----------
@@ -154,17 +182,9 @@ ED_SIGNATURE="$(echo "$SIG_OUTPUT" | sed -nE 's/.*sparkle:edSignature="([^"]+)".
 FILE_LENGTH="$(echo "$SIG_OUTPUT" | sed -nE 's/.*length="([^"]+)".*/\1/p')"
 [[ -n "$ED_SIGNATURE" && -n "$FILE_LENGTH" ]] || die "sign_update did not produce signature: $SIG_OUTPUT"
 
-# ---------- update appcast on gh-pages ----------
-log "Update appcast.xml on gh-pages worktree"
-if [[ ! -d "$GH_PAGES_WORKTREE" ]]; then
-  git worktree add "$GH_PAGES_WORKTREE" gh-pages
-fi
-(
-  cd "$GH_PAGES_WORKTREE"
-  git pull --ff-only origin gh-pages
-  PUB_DATE="$(LC_TIME=en_US.UTF-8 date -u +"%a, %d %b %Y %H:%M:%S +0000")"
-  DOWNLOAD_URL="$DOWNLOAD_URL_BASE/v${VERSION}/Scarf-v${VERSION}-Universal.zip"
-  NEW_ITEM=$(cat <<EOF
+DOWNLOAD_URL="$DOWNLOAD_URL_BASE/v${VERSION}/Scarf-v${VERSION}-Universal.zip"
+PUB_DATE="$(LC_TIME=en_US.UTF-8 date -u +"%a, %d %b %Y %H:%M:%S +0000")"
+APPCAST_ITEM=$(cat <<EOF
     <item>
       <title>Version ${VERSION}</title>
       <sparkle:version>${NEW_BUILD}</sparkle:version>
@@ -178,8 +198,18 @@ fi
     </item>
 EOF
 )
-  # Insert new item after <language>en</language> line
-  python3 - "$NEW_ITEM" <<'PY'
+
+# ---------- update appcast on gh-pages (skipped for drafts) ----------
+if [[ $DRAFT -eq 0 ]]; then
+  log "Update appcast.xml on gh-pages worktree"
+  if [[ ! -d "$GH_PAGES_WORKTREE" ]]; then
+    git worktree add "$GH_PAGES_WORKTREE" gh-pages
+  fi
+  (
+    cd "$GH_PAGES_WORKTREE"
+    git pull --ff-only origin gh-pages
+    # Insert new item after <language>en</language> line
+    python3 - "$APPCAST_ITEM" <<'PY'
 import sys, pathlib
 new_item = sys.argv[1]
 p = pathlib.Path("appcast.xml")
@@ -190,22 +220,48 @@ if marker not in xml:
 xml = xml.replace(marker, marker + "\n" + new_item, 1)
 p.write_text(xml)
 PY
-  git add appcast.xml
-  git commit -m "release: v${VERSION}"
-  git push origin gh-pages
-)
+    git add appcast.xml
+    git commit -m "release: v${VERSION}"
+    git push origin gh-pages
+  )
+else
+  log "Draft mode — skipping appcast push. Saving entry to $RELEASE_DIR/appcast-entry.xml for later promotion."
+  printf '%s\n' "$APPCAST_ITEM" > "$RELEASE_DIR/appcast-entry.xml"
+fi
 
 # ---------- github release ----------
 log "Create GitHub release and upload artifacts"
+GH_FLAGS=()
+[[ $DRAFT -eq 1 ]] && GH_FLAGS+=(--draft)
+if [[ -f "$NOTES_FILE" ]]; then
+  GH_FLAGS+=(--notes-file "$NOTES_FILE")
+else
+  GH_FLAGS+=(--notes "Release v${VERSION}. See commit history for details.")
+fi
 gh release create "v${VERSION}" \
   --title "Scarf v${VERSION}" \
-  --notes "Release notes: https://github.com/awizemann/scarf/releases/tag/v${VERSION}" \
+  "${GH_FLAGS[@]}" \
   "$UNIVERSAL_ZIP"
 
-log "Tag main and push"
-git tag "v${VERSION}"
-git push origin main --tags
+# ---------- tag main (skipped for drafts) ----------
+if [[ $DRAFT -eq 0 ]]; then
+  log "Tag main and push"
+  git tag "v${VERSION}"
+  git push origin main --tags
+else
+  log "Draft mode — skipping tag. Bump commit is local only; push manually with: git push origin main"
+fi
 
-log "Release v${VERSION} complete"
-log "  Download:  $DOWNLOAD_URL_BASE/v${VERSION}/Scarf-v${VERSION}-Universal.zip"
-log "  Appcast:   $APPCAST_URL"
+if [[ $DRAFT -eq 1 ]]; then
+  log "Draft release v${VERSION} ready"
+  log "  Review:    https://github.com/awizemann/scarf/releases"
+  log "  Promote:   in GitHub UI, edit the draft and uncheck 'Set as a pre-release / draft' → Publish."
+  log "             Then commit + push appcast-entry.xml to gh-pages, and tag main:"
+  log "               git push origin main"
+  log "               git tag v${VERSION} && git push origin v${VERSION}"
+  log "               (manually merge $RELEASE_DIR/appcast-entry.xml into gh-pages branch's appcast.xml after <language>en</language>)"
+else
+  log "Release v${VERSION} complete"
+  log "  Download:  $DOWNLOAD_URL"
+  log "  Appcast:   $APPCAST_URL"
+fi