diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index dd04a2bb42..46ceab84eb 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -80,6 +80,28 @@ jobs:
       - name: Run full workspace tests
         run: cargo nextest run --workspace --profile ci
 
+  npm-package:
+    name: npm package
+    if: github.event_name != 'pull_request' || github.event.action != 'closed'
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    timeout-minutes: 10
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout repository
+        uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # v6.0.2
+        with:
+          persist-credentials: false
+
+      - name: Install Node.js
+        uses: actions/setup-node@49933ea5288caeca8642d1e84afbd3f7d6820020 # v4.4.0
+        with:
+          node-version: 24.15.0
+
+      - name: Test npm launcher
+        run: npm test --prefix npm
+
+      - name: Test release packaging scripts
+        run: python3 -m unittest discover --start-directory scripts/tests --verbose
+
   protocol-smoke:
     name: CDP and WebDriver smoke
     if: github.event_name != 'pull_request' || github.event.action != 'closed'
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index 9b60f340e4..f542033c5d 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -17,6 +17,11 @@ on:
         required: true
         default: false
         type: boolean
+      publish_npm:
+        description: Publish @lexmount/moli after creating a non-draft release
+        required: true
+        default: false
+        type: boolean
 
 concurrency:
   group: release-${{ inputs.version }}
@@ -52,9 +57,16 @@ jobs:
         shell: bash
         env:
           INPUT_VERSION: ${{ inputs.version }}
+          INPUT_DRAFT: ${{ inputs.draft }}
+          INPUT_PUBLISH_NPM: ${{ inputs.publish_npm }}
         run: |
           set -euo pipefail
 
+          if [[ "$INPUT_DRAFT" == true && "$INPUT_PUBLISH_NPM" == true ]]; then
+            echo "npm publishing cannot be enabled for a draft release." >&2
+            exit 1
+          fi
+
           version="${INPUT_VERSION#v}"
           semver_pattern='^(0|[1-9][0-9]*)\.(0|[1-9][0-9]*)\.(0|[1-9][0-9]*)(-[0-9A-Za-z-]+(\.[0-9A-Za-z-]+)*)?(\+[0-9A-Za-z-]+(\.[0-9A-Za-z-]+)*)?$'
           if [[ ! "$version" =~ $semver_pattern ]]; then
@@ -215,6 +227,85 @@ jobs:
           compression-level: 0
           retention-days: 7
 
+  package-npm:
+    name: Package npm CLI
+    needs:
+      - validate
+      - build-linux
+      - build-macos
+      - build-windows
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    timeout-minutes: 15
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout repository
+        uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # v6.0.2
+        with:
+          persist-credentials: false
+
+      - name: Install Node.js
+        uses: actions/setup-node@49933ea5288caeca8642d1e84afbd3f7d6820020 # v4.4.0
+        with:
+          node-version: 24.15.0
+
+      - name: Download native release artifacts
+        uses: actions/download-artifact@3e5f45b2cfb9172054b4087a40e8e0b5a5461e7c # v8.0.1
+        with:
+          pattern: release-*
+          path: dist
+          merge-multiple: true
+
+      - name: Test npm launcher
+        run: npm test --prefix npm
+
+      - name: Build npm packages
+        run: >-
+          python3 scripts/package_npm.py
+          --version "${{ needs.validate.outputs.version }}"
+          --input-dir dist
+          --output-dir dist/npm
+
+      - name: Validate npm publish contents
+        run: >-
+          python3 scripts/publish_npm.py
+          dist/npm/npm-packages.json
+          --main-tag latest
+          --dry-run
+
+      - name: Smoke-test packaged Linux CLI
+        shell: bash
+        env:
+          RELEASE_VERSION: ${{ needs.validate.outputs.version }}
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+
+          smoke_dir=$(mktemp -d "${RUNNER_TEMP}/moli-npm-smoke.XXXXXX")
+          trap 'rm -rf "$smoke_dir"' EXIT
+          manifest=dist/npm/npm-packages.json
+          main_tarball=$(jq -r '.main.filename' "$manifest")
+          linux_tarball=$(jq -r \
+            '.platforms[] | select(.target == "x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu") | .filename' \
+            "$manifest")
+          main_root="$smoke_dir/node_modules/@lexmount/moli"
+          platform_root="$smoke_dir/node_modules/@lexmount/moli-linux-x64"
+          mkdir -p "$main_root" "$platform_root"
+          tar -xzf "dist/npm/$main_tarball" -C "$main_root" --strip-components=1
+          tar -xzf "dist/npm/$linux_tarball" -C "$platform_root" --strip-components=1
+
+          reported_version=$(node "$main_root/bin/moli.js" --version)
+          if [[ "$reported_version" != "moli $RELEASE_VERSION" ]]; then
+            echo "Unexpected packaged CLI version: $reported_version" >&2
+            exit 1
+          fi
+
+      - name: Upload npm packages
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@043fb46d1a93c77aae656e7c1c64a875d1fc6a0a # v7.0.1
+        with:
+          name: npm-packages
+          path: dist/npm/
+          if-no-files-found: error
+          compression-level: 0
+          retention-days: 7
+
   publish:
     name: Create GitHub Release
     needs:
@@ -222,6 +313,7 @@ jobs:
       - build-linux
       - build-macos
       - build-windows
+      - package-npm
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     timeout-minutes: 15
     permissions:
@@ -302,3 +394,56 @@ jobs:
           printf 'Created %s\n' "$release_url"
           printf '### Release created\n\n[%s](%s)\n' \
             "$RELEASE_TAG" "$release_url" >> "$GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY"
+
+  publish-npm:
+    name: Publish npm CLI
+    if: ${{ inputs.publish_npm && !inputs.draft }}
+    needs:
+      - validate
+      - package-npm
+      - publish
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    timeout-minutes: 15
+    environment: npm
+    permissions:
+      contents: read
+      id-token: write
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout repository
+        uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # v6.0.2
+        with:
+          persist-credentials: false
+
+      - name: Install Node.js
+        uses: actions/setup-node@49933ea5288caeca8642d1e84afbd3f7d6820020 # v4.4.0
+        with:
+          node-version: 24.15.0
+          registry-url: https://registry.npmjs.org
+
+      - name: Download npm packages
+        uses: actions/download-artifact@3e5f45b2cfb9172054b4087a40e8e0b5a5461e7c # v8.0.1
+        with:
+          name: npm-packages
+          path: dist/npm
+
+      - name: Verify trusted-publishing client versions
+        shell: bash
+        run: |
+          node --version
+          npm --version
+
+      - name: Publish platform packages, then launcher
+        shell: bash
+        env:
+          RELEASE_PRERELEASE: ${{ inputs.prerelease }}
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+
+          main_tag=latest
+          if [[ "$RELEASE_PRERELEASE" == true ]]; then
+            main_tag=next
+          fi
+          python3 scripts/publish_npm.py \
+            dist/npm/npm-packages.json \
+            --main-tag "$main_tag" \
+            --trusted-publishing
diff --git a/docs/RELEASING.md b/docs/RELEASING.md
index c23a843306..75148abb0f 100644
--- a/docs/RELEASING.md
+++ b/docs/RELEASING.md
@@ -14,6 +14,15 @@ version marker, and third-party license notices. The workflow also publishes
 `moli-installer.sh` and `moli-installer.ps1`. Skills are maintained separately
 in the repository and are not included in release assets.
 
+The workflow also assembles an npm CLI package set from those same native
+archives. The public launcher is `@lexmount/moli@<version>`. Its optional
+dependencies select one of four platform versions such as
+`@lexmount/moli@<version>-linux-x64`, so npm downloads only the binary for the
+host operating system and architecture. The launcher exposes the `moli`
+command and forwards arguments, standard I/O, signals, and exit status to the
+native executable. Linux npm installs currently require x86-64 glibc; Linux
+ARM64 and musl are not advertised as supported targets.
+
 Stable names are intentional: the latest non-prerelease asset is always
 available at
 `https://github.com/lexmount/moli/releases/latest/download/<asset-name>`.
@@ -56,7 +65,9 @@ treats the Windows/MSVC combination as untested.
 1. Open **Actions** in GitHub and choose the **Release** workflow.
 2. Select **Run workflow** and choose the Git ref containing the release.
 3. Enter the version (with or without a leading `v`).
-4. Choose whether the release should be a prerelease or a draft, then run it.
+4. Choose whether the release should be a prerelease or a draft.
+5. Enable npm publishing only after the npm trusted publisher described below
+   is configured, then run the workflow.
 
 The workflow validates the selected commit, builds all four native artifacts
 in parallel, verifies the expected archives, creates the corresponding
@@ -65,3 +76,68 @@ and two installers. It stops without creating a release if any platform fails,
 if the requested version does not match the manifest, or if the tag already
 exists. A published, non-prerelease release is explicitly marked as the latest
 release so the stable installer URLs switch to it immediately.
+
+Before creating the GitHub Release, the workflow builds five npm tarballs and
+smoke-tests the Linux launcher against the real packaged binary. npm publishing
+is disabled by default and is never attempted for draft releases. For a stable
+release the launcher receives the `latest` dist-tag; for a prerelease it
+receives `next`. Native platform versions are published first under
+platform-specific dist-tags, and the launcher is published last so users never
+receive a package whose required binary versions are incomplete.
+
+## Configure npm publishing
+
+The unscoped `moli` package name is already owned by another publisher, so the
+release uses the public scoped package `@lexmount/moli`. Confirm that the npm
+organization or user controlling `@lexmount` can publish public packages before
+enabling the workflow option.
+
+An npm Trusted Publisher can only be attached after the package exists. For the
+first npm release, leave npm publishing disabled when running the Release
+workflow, download its `npm-packages` artifact, sign in to npm interactively,
+and publish the verified package set from the extracted artifact:
+
+```sh
+npm login
+python3 scripts/publish_npm.py /path/to/npm-packages/npm-packages.json \
+  --main-tag latest
+```
+
+Use `--main-tag next` instead when bootstrapping from a prerelease. The script
+publishes the four native versions first and the launcher last. It is safe to
+retry: versions whose registry integrity matches the artifact are skipped.
+After this one-time publication, configure Trusted Publishing for subsequent
+releases.
+
+Configure an npm Trusted Publisher for the `lexmount/moli` GitHub repository
+with these values:
+
+- Workflow filename: `release.yml`
+- Environment: `npm`
+- Allowed action: `npm publish`
+
+The publish job runs on a GitHub-hosted runner with Node 24, npm 11.5.1 or
+newer, and the `id-token: write` permission. The publish script checks these
+minimum versions before touching the registry. It does not use a long-lived
+npm token, and npm generates provenance automatically for the public package.
+Add any required reviewers or branch/tag restrictions to the GitHub `npm`
+environment. After the first successful publication, installation is:
+
+```sh
+npm install --global @lexmount/moli
+moli --version
+```
+
+For local package validation, place all four native archives in `dist/`, then
+run:
+
+```sh
+python3 scripts/package_npm.py --version 1.0.0
+python3 scripts/publish_npm.py dist/npm/npm-packages.json --dry-run
+```
+
+The package manifest records the SHA-512 integrity of every tarball. A retried
+publish skips an existing version only when the registry reports the same
+integrity; a mismatch stops the release. npm does not allow a published
+name/version pair to be replaced, so release versions must be bumped before
+publishing changed contents.
diff --git a/npm/bin/moli.js b/npm/bin/moli.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..ee4054f0ce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/npm/bin/moli.js
@@ -0,0 +1,96 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+
+import { spawn } from "node:child_process";
+import { existsSync, realpathSync } from "node:fs";
+import { createRequire } from "node:module";
+import path from "node:path";
+import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
+
+import {
+  assertSupportedLibc,
+  platformDefinitionFor,
+} from "../lib/platform.js";
+
+const require = createRequire(import.meta.url);
+const packageRoot = realpathSync(
+  path.join(path.dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url)), ".."),
+);
+
+function executableFor(definition) {
+  let vendorRoot;
+  try {
+    const packageJson = require.resolve(`${definition.package}/package.json`);
+    vendorRoot = path.join(path.dirname(packageJson), "vendor");
+  } catch {
+    // This fallback makes source checkouts and assembled package smoke tests
+    // possible without weakening the normal optional-dependency lookup.
+    vendorRoot = path.join(packageRoot, "vendor");
+  }
+
+  const executable = path.join(
+    vendorRoot,
+    definition.target,
+    "bin",
+    definition.binary,
+  );
+  if (existsSync(executable)) {
+    return executable;
+  }
+
+  throw new Error(
+    `Missing optional dependency ${definition.package}. ` +
+      "Reinstall @lexmount/moli without omitting optional dependencies.",
+  );
+}
+
+async function run() {
+  const definition = platformDefinitionFor(process.platform, process.arch);
+  const runtimeReport = process.report?.getReport?.();
+  assertSupportedLibc(definition, runtimeReport?.header?.glibcVersionRuntime);
+  const child = spawn(executableFor(definition), process.argv.slice(2), {
+    stdio: "inherit",
+  });
+
+  const forwardedSignals =
+    process.platform === "win32"
+      ? ["SIGINT", "SIGTERM"]
+      : ["SIGINT", "SIGTERM", "SIGHUP"];
+  const signalHandlers = new Map();
+  for (const signal of forwardedSignals) {
+    const handler = () => {
+      if (!child.killed) {
+        child.kill(signal);
+      }
+    };
+    signalHandlers.set(signal, handler);
+    process.on(signal, handler);
+  }
+
+  let result;
+  try {
+    result = await new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+      child.once("error", reject);
+      child.once("exit", (exitCode, signal) => {
+        resolve(signal ? { signal } : { exitCode: exitCode ?? 1 });
+      });
+    });
+  } finally {
+    for (const [signal, handler] of signalHandlers) {
+      process.off(signal, handler);
+    }
+  }
+
+  if ("signal" in result) {
+    process.kill(process.pid, result.signal);
+    return;
+  }
+  process.exitCode = result.exitCode;
+}
+
+try {
+  await run();
+} catch (error) {
+  const message = error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error);
+  console.error(`moli: ${message}`);
+  process.exitCode = 1;
+}
diff --git a/npm/lib/platform.js b/npm/lib/platform.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..edd7943744
--- /dev/null
+++ b/npm/lib/platform.js
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+import { readFileSync } from "node:fs";
+
+const definitions = JSON.parse(
+  readFileSync(new URL("../platforms.json", import.meta.url), "utf8"),
+);
+
+export const PLATFORM_DEFINITIONS = Object.freeze(
+  definitions.map((definition) => Object.freeze(definition)),
+);
+
+export function platformDefinitionFor(platform, arch) {
+  const definition = PLATFORM_DEFINITIONS.find(
+    (candidate) =>
+      candidate.platform === platform && candidate.arch === arch,
+  );
+  if (!definition) {
+    throw new Error(`Unsupported platform: ${platform} (${arch})`);
+  }
+  return definition;
+}
+
+export function assertSupportedLibc(definition, glibcVersionRuntime) {
+  if (
+    definition.libc?.includes("glibc") &&
+    (typeof glibcVersionRuntime !== "string" || glibcVersionRuntime.length === 0)
+  ) {
+    throw new Error(
+      `Unsupported libc for ${definition.platform} (${definition.arch}): ` +
+        "this Moli package requires glibc",
+    );
+  }
+}
diff --git a/npm/package.json b/npm/package.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..05b94706b1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/npm/package.json
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+{
+  "name": "@lexmount/moli",
+  "version": "0.0.0-development",
+  "private": true,
+  "description": "npm launcher sources for the Moli CLI",
+  "license": "MIT OR Apache-2.0",
+  "type": "module",
+  "bin": {
+    "moli": "bin/moli.js"
+  },
+  "engines": {
+    "node": ">=18"
+  },
+  "scripts": {
+    "test": "node --test"
+  }
+}
diff --git a/npm/platforms.json b/npm/platforms.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..5aee44404c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/npm/platforms.json
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+[
+  {
+    "id": "linux-x64",
+    "platform": "linux",
+    "arch": "x64",
+    "target": "x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu",
+    "package": "@lexmount/moli-linux-x64",
+    "archive": "moli-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.gz",
+    "binary": "moli",
+    "libc": [
+      "glibc"
+    ]
+  },
+  {
+    "id": "darwin-x64",
+    "platform": "darwin",
+    "arch": "x64",
+    "target": "x86_64-apple-darwin",
+    "package": "@lexmount/moli-darwin-x64",
+    "archive": "moli-x86_64-apple-darwin.tar.gz",
+    "binary": "moli"
+  },
+  {
+    "id": "darwin-arm64",
+    "platform": "darwin",
+    "arch": "arm64",
+    "target": "aarch64-apple-darwin",
+    "package": "@lexmount/moli-darwin-arm64",
+    "archive": "moli-aarch64-apple-darwin.tar.gz",
+    "binary": "moli"
+  },
+  {
+    "id": "win32-x64",
+    "platform": "win32",
+    "arch": "x64",
+    "target": "x86_64-pc-windows-msvc",
+    "package": "@lexmount/moli-win32-x64",
+    "archive": "moli-x86_64-pc-windows-msvc.zip",
+    "binary": "moli.exe"
+  }
+]
diff --git a/npm/tests/launcher.test.mjs b/npm/tests/launcher.test.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..475f6b9b13
--- /dev/null
+++ b/npm/tests/launcher.test.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,131 @@
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import { cp, chmod, mkdir, mkdtemp, rm, writeFile } from "node:fs/promises";
+import os from "node:os";
+import path from "node:path";
+import { spawn, spawnSync } from "node:child_process";
+import test from "node:test";
+import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
+
+import { platformDefinitionFor } from "../lib/platform.js";
+
+const npmSourceRoot = fileURLToPath(new URL("..", import.meta.url));
+
+async function createLauncherFixture(context, binarySource) {
+  const fixtureRoot = await mkdtemp(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "moli-npm-launcher-"));
+  context.after(() => rm(fixtureRoot, { recursive: true, force: true }));
+
+  await cp(path.join(npmSourceRoot, "bin"), path.join(fixtureRoot, "bin"), {
+    recursive: true,
+  });
+  await cp(path.join(npmSourceRoot, "lib"), path.join(fixtureRoot, "lib"), {
+    recursive: true,
+  });
+  await cp(
+    path.join(npmSourceRoot, "platforms.json"),
+    path.join(fixtureRoot, "platforms.json"),
+  );
+
+  const definition = platformDefinitionFor(process.platform, process.arch);
+  const fakeBinary = path.join(
+    fixtureRoot,
+    "vendor",
+    definition.target,
+    "bin",
+    definition.binary,
+  );
+  await mkdir(path.dirname(fakeBinary), { recursive: true });
+  await writeFile(fakeBinary, binarySource, "utf8");
+  await chmod(fakeBinary, 0o755);
+  return {
+    fixtureRoot,
+    launcher: path.join(fixtureRoot, "bin", "moli.js"),
+  };
+}
+
+test(
+  "launcher forwards arguments, stdio, and exit status",
+  { skip: process.platform === "win32" },
+  async (context) => {
+    const { launcher } = await createLauncherFixture(
+      context,
+      [
+        "#!/usr/bin/env node",
+        "const result = {",
+        "  args: process.argv.slice(2),",
+        "};",
+        "process.stdout.write(JSON.stringify(result));",
+        "process.stderr.write('native stderr');",
+        "process.exit(Number(process.env.MOLI_TEST_EXIT_CODE));",
+        "",
+      ].join("\n"),
+    );
+
+    const result = spawnSync(
+      process.execPath,
+      [launcher, "argument with spaces", "--flag"],
+      {
+        encoding: "utf8",
+        env: { ...process.env, MOLI_TEST_EXIT_CODE: "23" },
+      },
+    );
+
+    assert.equal(result.status, 23);
+    assert.equal(result.stderr, "native stderr");
+    assert.deepEqual(JSON.parse(result.stdout), {
+      args: ["argument with spaces", "--flag"],
+    });
+  },
+);
+
+test(
+  "launcher forwards termination signals and exits with the same signal",
+  { skip: process.platform === "win32" },
+  async (context) => {
+    const { launcher } = await createLauncherFixture(
+      context,
+      [
+        "#!/usr/bin/env node",
+        "process.stdout.write('ready\\n');",
+        "setInterval(() => {}, 1000);",
+        "",
+      ].join("\n"),
+    );
+    const child = spawn(process.execPath, [launcher], {
+      stdio: ["ignore", "pipe", "pipe"],
+    });
+    context.after(() => {
+      if (child.exitCode === null && child.signalCode === null) {
+        child.kill("SIGKILL");
+      }
+    });
+
+    await new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+      child.once("error", reject);
+      child.stdout.once("data", (chunk) => {
+        assert.equal(chunk.toString(), "ready\n");
+        resolve();
+      });
+    });
+    const exited = new Promise((resolve) => {
+      child.once("exit", (...result) => resolve(result));
+    });
+    child.kill("SIGTERM");
+    const [exitCode, signal] = await exited;
+
+    assert.equal(exitCode, null);
+    assert.equal(signal, "SIGTERM");
+  },
+);
+
+test("launcher reports a missing optional dependency clearly", () => {
+  const result = spawnSync(
+    process.execPath,
+    [path.join(npmSourceRoot, "bin", "moli.js"), "--version"],
+    { encoding: "utf8" },
+  );
+
+  assert.equal(result.status, 1);
+  const definition = platformDefinitionFor(process.platform, process.arch);
+  assert.match(result.stderr, new RegExp(`Missing optional dependency ${definition.package}`));
+  assert.match(result.stderr, /without omitting optional dependencies/);
+});
diff --git a/npm/tests/platform.test.mjs b/npm/tests/platform.test.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..36eb88def3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/npm/tests/platform.test.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import test from "node:test";
+
+import {
+  PLATFORM_DEFINITIONS,
+  assertSupportedLibc,
+  platformDefinitionFor,
+} from "../lib/platform.js";
+
+test("maps every supported Node platform to one native target", () => {
+  const expected = new Map([
+    ["linux:x64", "x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu"],
+    ["darwin:x64", "x86_64-apple-darwin"],
+    ["darwin:arm64", "aarch64-apple-darwin"],
+    ["win32:x64", "x86_64-pc-windows-msvc"],
+  ]);
+
+  assert.equal(PLATFORM_DEFINITIONS.length, expected.size);
+  for (const [key, target] of expected) {
+    const [platform, arch] = key.split(":");
+    assert.equal(platformDefinitionFor(platform, arch).target, target);
+  }
+});
+
+test("keeps package aliases and release assets unique", () => {
+  for (const field of ["id", "target", "package", "archive"]) {
+    const values = PLATFORM_DEFINITIONS.map((definition) => definition[field]);
+    assert.equal(new Set(values).size, values.length, `${field} must be unique`);
+  }
+});
+
+test("rejects unsupported platforms without falling back to a wrong binary", () => {
+  assert.throws(
+    () => platformDefinitionFor("linux", "arm64"),
+    /Unsupported platform: linux \(arm64\)/,
+  );
+  assert.throws(
+    () => platformDefinitionFor("freebsd", "x64"),
+    /Unsupported platform: freebsd \(x64\)/,
+  );
+});
+
+test("rejects musl before attempting to run the glibc Linux package", () => {
+  const linux = platformDefinitionFor("linux", "x64");
+  assert.doesNotThrow(() => assertSupportedLibc(linux, "2.36"));
+  assert.throws(
+    () => assertSupportedLibc(linux, undefined),
+    /this Moli package requires glibc/,
+  );
+
+  const darwin = platformDefinitionFor("darwin", "arm64");
+  assert.doesNotThrow(() => assertSupportedLibc(darwin, undefined));
+});
diff --git a/scripts/package_npm.py b/scripts/package_npm.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..0b186a56b3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/package_npm.py
@@ -0,0 +1,568 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""Build npm launcher and native platform packages from Moli release archives."""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import argparse
+import base64
+import hashlib
+import json
+import re
+import shutil
+import subprocess
+import sys
+import tarfile
+import tempfile
+import tomllib
+import zipfile
+from dataclasses import dataclass
+from pathlib import Path
+from typing import Any
+
+
+REPO_ROOT = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent
+MANIFEST_PATH = REPO_ROOT / "moli" / "Cargo.toml"
+NPM_SOURCE_DIR = REPO_ROOT / "npm"
+PLATFORMS_PATH = NPM_SOURCE_DIR / "platforms.json"
+PACKAGE_NAME = "@lexmount/moli"
+SEMVER_PATTERN = re.compile(
+    r"^(0|[1-9][0-9]*)\."
+    r"(0|[1-9][0-9]*)\."
+    r"(0|[1-9][0-9]*)"
+    r"(?:-[0-9A-Za-z-]+(?:\.[0-9A-Za-z-]+)*)?"
+    r"(?:\+[0-9A-Za-z-]+(?:\.[0-9A-Za-z-]+)*)?$"
+)
+
+
+class NpmPackageError(RuntimeError):
+    """An npm package input or build step was invalid."""
+
+
+@dataclass(frozen=True)
+class PlatformDefinition:
+    id: str
+    platform: str
+    arch: str
+    target: str
+    package: str
+    archive: str
+    binary: str
+    libc: tuple[str, ...] = ()
+
+
+def normalize_version(raw_version: str) -> str:
+    version = raw_version.removeprefix("v")
+    if not SEMVER_PATTERN.fullmatch(version):
+        raise NpmPackageError(f"invalid semantic version: {raw_version}")
+    return version
+
+
+def manifest_version() -> str:
+    with MANIFEST_PATH.open("rb") as manifest_file:
+        manifest = tomllib.load(manifest_file)
+    try:
+        version = manifest["package"]["version"]
+    except (KeyError, TypeError) as error:
+        raise NpmPackageError(
+            f"package.version is missing from {MANIFEST_PATH}"
+        ) from error
+    if not isinstance(version, str):
+        raise NpmPackageError(
+            f"package.version in {MANIFEST_PATH} is not a string"
+        )
+    return version
+
+
+def resolve_repo_path(raw_path: str) -> Path:
+    path = Path(raw_path).expanduser()
+    if not path.is_absolute():
+        path = REPO_ROOT / path
+    return path.resolve()
+
+
+def load_platforms() -> list[PlatformDefinition]:
+    try:
+        raw_platforms = json.loads(PLATFORMS_PATH.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+    except (OSError, json.JSONDecodeError) as error:
+        raise NpmPackageError(f"could not read {PLATFORMS_PATH}: {error}") from error
+    if not isinstance(raw_platforms, list) or not raw_platforms:
+        raise NpmPackageError(f"{PLATFORMS_PATH} must contain a non-empty array")
+
+    platforms: list[PlatformDefinition] = []
+    for index, raw in enumerate(raw_platforms):
+        if not isinstance(raw, dict):
+            raise NpmPackageError(f"platform entry {index} must be an object")
+        raw_libc = raw.get("libc", [])
+        if not isinstance(raw_libc, list):
+            raise NpmPackageError(f"platform entry {index} libc must be an array")
+        try:
+            definition = PlatformDefinition(
+                id=raw["id"],
+                platform=raw["platform"],
+                arch=raw["arch"],
+                target=raw["target"],
+                package=raw["package"],
+                archive=raw["archive"],
+                binary=raw["binary"],
+                libc=tuple(raw_libc),
+            )
+        except (KeyError, TypeError) as error:
+            raise NpmPackageError(f"invalid platform entry {index}: {error}") from error
+        values = (
+            definition.id,
+            definition.platform,
+            definition.arch,
+            definition.target,
+            definition.package,
+            definition.archive,
+            definition.binary,
+            *definition.libc,
+        )
+        if not all(isinstance(value, str) and value for value in values):
+            raise NpmPackageError(
+                f"platform entry {index} contains an empty or non-string value"
+            )
+        expected_package = f"{PACKAGE_NAME}-{definition.id}"
+        if definition.package != expected_package:
+            raise NpmPackageError(
+                f"platform entry {index} package must be {expected_package}"
+            )
+        platforms.append(definition)
+
+    for field in ("id", "target", "package", "archive"):
+        values = [getattr(platform, field) for platform in platforms]
+        if len(values) != len(set(values)):
+            raise NpmPackageError(f"platform definitions contain duplicate {field} values")
+    node_platforms = [(platform.platform, platform.arch) for platform in platforms]
+    if len(node_platforms) != len(set(node_platforms)):
+        raise NpmPackageError(
+            "platform definitions contain duplicate platform/architecture pairs"
+        )
+    return platforms
+
+
+def platform_version(version: str, platform_id: str) -> str:
+    core, separator, build = version.partition("+")
+    variant = f"{core}-{platform_id}"
+    if separator:
+        variant = f"{variant}+{build}"
+    if not SEMVER_PATTERN.fullmatch(variant):
+        raise NpmPackageError(f"invalid npm platform version: {variant}")
+    return variant
+
+
+def repository_metadata() -> dict[str, str]:
+    return {
+        "type": "git",
+        "url": "git+https://github.com/lexmount/moli.git",
+    }
+
+
+def copy_project_file(destination: Path, relative_path: str) -> None:
+    source = REPO_ROOT / relative_path
+    if not source.is_file():
+        raise NpmPackageError(f"required npm package file is missing: {source}")
+    shutil.copy2(source, destination / source.name)
+
+
+def copy_package_metadata(destination: Path, *, third_party: bool) -> None:
+    for relative_path in ("README.md", "LICENSE", "LICENSE-APACHE", "LICENSE-MIT"):
+        copy_project_file(destination, relative_path)
+    if not third_party:
+        return
+
+    notices_root = destination / "third_party"
+    notices_root.mkdir()
+    for name in ("licenses", "notices"):
+        source = REPO_ROOT / "third_party" / name
+        if not source.is_dir():
+            raise NpmPackageError(
+                f"required third-party license directory is missing: {source}"
+            )
+        shutil.copytree(source, notices_root / name)
+
+
+def write_json(path: Path, value: Any) -> None:
+    path.write_text(
+        json.dumps(value, indent=2, ensure_ascii=False) + "\n", encoding="utf-8"
+    )
+
+
+def main_package_manifest(
+    version: str, platforms: list[PlatformDefinition]
+) -> dict[str, Any]:
+    optional_dependencies = {
+        platform.package: f"npm:{PACKAGE_NAME}@{platform_version(version, platform.id)}"
+        for platform in platforms
+    }
+    return {
+        "name": PACKAGE_NAME,
+        "version": version,
+        "description": (
+            "A structured-first headless browser engine for AI agents"
+        ),
+        "license": "MIT OR Apache-2.0",
+        "type": "module",
+        "bin": {"moli": "bin/moli.js"},
+        "engines": {"node": ">=18"},
+        "files": [
+            "bin",
+            "lib",
+            "platforms.json",
+            "README.md",
+            "LICENSE",
+            "LICENSE-APACHE",
+            "LICENSE-MIT",
+        ],
+        "repository": repository_metadata(),
+        "homepage": "https://github.com/lexmount/moli",
+        "bugs": {"url": "https://github.com/lexmount/moli/issues"},
+        "publishConfig": {"access": "public"},
+        "optionalDependencies": optional_dependencies,
+    }
+
+
+def platform_package_manifest(
+    version: str, definition: PlatformDefinition
+) -> dict[str, Any]:
+    manifest: dict[str, Any] = {
+        "name": PACKAGE_NAME,
+        "version": platform_version(version, definition.id),
+        "description": f"Moli native binary for {definition.id}",
+        "license": "MIT OR Apache-2.0",
+        "engines": {"node": ">=18"},
+        "os": [definition.platform],
+        "cpu": [definition.arch],
+        "files": [
+            "vendor",
+            "README.md",
+            "LICENSE",
+            "LICENSE-APACHE",
+            "LICENSE-MIT",
+            "third_party",
+        ],
+        "repository": repository_metadata(),
+        "homepage": "https://github.com/lexmount/moli",
+        "bugs": {"url": "https://github.com/lexmount/moli/issues"},
+        "publishConfig": {"access": "public"},
+    }
+    if definition.libc:
+        manifest["libc"] = list(definition.libc)
+    return manifest
+
+
+def extract_platform_binary(
+    archive_path: Path,
+    version: str,
+    definition: PlatformDefinition,
+    destination: Path,
+) -> None:
+    package_root = f"moli-v{version}-{definition.target}"
+    binary_member = f"{package_root}/{definition.binary}"
+    version_member = f"{package_root}/VERSION"
+    try:
+        if archive_path.suffix == ".zip":
+            with zipfile.ZipFile(archive_path, mode="r") as archive:
+                archived_version = archive.read(version_member)
+                with archive.open(binary_member, mode="r") as source, destination.open(
+                    "wb"
+                ) as output:
+                    shutil.copyfileobj(source, output)
+        else:
+            with tarfile.open(archive_path, mode="r:gz") as archive:
+                version_entry = archive.getmember(version_member)
+                binary_entry = archive.getmember(binary_member)
+                if not version_entry.isfile() or not binary_entry.isfile():
+                    raise NpmPackageError(
+                        f"release archive contains a non-file package member: {archive_path}"
+                    )
+                version_source = archive.extractfile(version_entry)
+                binary_source = archive.extractfile(binary_entry)
+                if version_source is None or binary_source is None:
+                    raise NpmPackageError(
+                        f"could not read package members from {archive_path}"
+                    )
+                with version_source:
+                    archived_version = version_source.read()
+                with binary_source, destination.open("wb") as output:
+                    shutil.copyfileobj(binary_source, output)
+    except (KeyError, OSError, tarfile.TarError, zipfile.BadZipFile) as error:
+        raise NpmPackageError(f"could not unpack {archive_path}: {error}") from error
+
+    try:
+        decoded_version = archived_version.decode("utf-8").strip()
+    except UnicodeDecodeError as error:
+        raise NpmPackageError(
+            f"release archive VERSION is not UTF-8: {archive_path}"
+        ) from error
+    if decoded_version != version:
+        raise NpmPackageError(
+            f"release archive version mismatch for {archive_path.name}: "
+            f"expected {version}, got {decoded_version or '<empty>'}"
+        )
+    destination.chmod(0o644 if definition.platform == "win32" else 0o755)
+
+
+def package_integrity(path: Path) -> str:
+    digest = hashlib.sha512()
+    with path.open("rb") as package_file:
+        for chunk in iter(lambda: package_file.read(1024 * 1024), b""):
+            digest.update(chunk)
+    return "sha512-" + base64.b64encode(digest.digest()).decode("ascii")
+
+
+def npm_pack(package_dir: Path, output_dir: Path) -> dict[str, Any]:
+    command = [
+        "npm",
+        "pack",
+        "--json",
+        "--pack-destination",
+        str(output_dir),
+    ]
+    try:
+        result = subprocess.run(
+            command,
+            cwd=package_dir,
+            check=True,
+            text=True,
+            stdout=subprocess.PIPE,
+            stderr=subprocess.PIPE,
+        )
+    except FileNotFoundError as error:
+        raise NpmPackageError("npm is required to build npm packages") from error
+    except subprocess.CalledProcessError as error:
+        detail = error.stderr.strip() or error.stdout.strip()
+        raise NpmPackageError(f"npm pack failed: {detail}") from error
+
+    try:
+        payload = json.loads(result.stdout)
+    except json.JSONDecodeError as error:
+        raise NpmPackageError(f"npm pack returned invalid JSON: {error}") from error
+    if not isinstance(payload, list) or len(payload) != 1 or not isinstance(payload[0], dict):
+        raise NpmPackageError("npm pack did not describe exactly one package")
+
+    packed = payload[0]
+    required_fields = (
+        "name",
+        "version",
+        "filename",
+        "integrity",
+        "shasum",
+        "size",
+        "unpackedSize",
+        "files",
+    )
+    if any(field not in packed for field in required_fields):
+        raise NpmPackageError("npm pack output is missing required metadata")
+    for field in ("name", "version", "filename", "integrity", "shasum"):
+        if not isinstance(packed[field], str) or not packed[field]:
+            raise NpmPackageError(f"npm pack output contains invalid {field}")
+    if Path(packed["filename"]).name != packed["filename"]:
+        raise NpmPackageError("npm pack output filename must not contain a path")
+    tarball = output_dir / packed["filename"]
+    if not tarball.is_file():
+        raise NpmPackageError(f"npm pack did not create {tarball}")
+    actual_integrity = package_integrity(tarball)
+    if packed["integrity"] != actual_integrity:
+        raise NpmPackageError(
+            f"npm package integrity mismatch for {tarball.name}: "
+            f"expected {packed['integrity']}, got {actual_integrity}"
+        )
+    return packed
+
+
+def packed_file_paths(packed: dict[str, Any]) -> set[str]:
+    files = packed["files"]
+    if not isinstance(files, list):
+        raise NpmPackageError("npm pack file metadata must be an array")
+    paths: set[str] = set()
+    for file in files:
+        if not isinstance(file, dict) or not isinstance(file.get("path"), str):
+            raise NpmPackageError("npm pack returned invalid file metadata")
+        paths.add(file["path"])
+    return paths
+
+
+def compact_pack_metadata(packed: dict[str, Any]) -> dict[str, Any]:
+    return {
+        field: packed[field]
+        for field in (
+            "name",
+            "version",
+            "filename",
+            "integrity",
+            "shasum",
+            "size",
+            "unpackedSize",
+        )
+    }
+
+
+def build_main_package(
+    stage: Path,
+    output_dir: Path,
+    version: str,
+    platforms: list[PlatformDefinition],
+) -> dict[str, Any]:
+    shutil.copytree(NPM_SOURCE_DIR / "bin", stage / "bin")
+    shutil.copytree(NPM_SOURCE_DIR / "lib", stage / "lib")
+    shutil.copy2(PLATFORMS_PATH, stage / "platforms.json")
+    (stage / "bin" / "moli.js").chmod(0o755)
+    copy_package_metadata(stage, third_party=False)
+    write_json(stage / "package.json", main_package_manifest(version, platforms))
+
+    packed = npm_pack(stage, output_dir)
+    if packed["name"] != PACKAGE_NAME or packed["version"] != version:
+        raise NpmPackageError("npm packed an unexpected main package identity")
+    expected_files = {
+        "bin/moli.js",
+        "lib/platform.js",
+        "platforms.json",
+        "package.json",
+    }
+    missing = expected_files - packed_file_paths(packed)
+    if missing:
+        raise NpmPackageError(
+            f"main npm package is missing files: {', '.join(sorted(missing))}"
+        )
+    return compact_pack_metadata(packed)
+
+
+def build_platform_package(
+    stage: Path,
+    output_dir: Path,
+    input_dir: Path,
+    version: str,
+    definition: PlatformDefinition,
+) -> dict[str, Any]:
+    archive_path = input_dir / definition.archive
+    if not archive_path.is_file():
+        raise NpmPackageError(f"required release archive is missing: {archive_path}")
+
+    binary = stage / "vendor" / definition.target / "bin" / definition.binary
+    binary.parent.mkdir(parents=True)
+    extract_platform_binary(archive_path, version, definition, binary)
+    copy_package_metadata(stage, third_party=True)
+    write_json(stage / "package.json", platform_package_manifest(version, definition))
+
+    packed = npm_pack(stage, output_dir)
+    expected_version = platform_version(version, definition.id)
+    if packed["name"] != PACKAGE_NAME or packed["version"] != expected_version:
+        raise NpmPackageError(
+            f"npm packed an unexpected package identity for {definition.id}"
+        )
+    expected_binary = f"vendor/{definition.target}/bin/{definition.binary}"
+    if expected_binary not in packed_file_paths(packed):
+        raise NpmPackageError(
+            f"platform npm package is missing binary: {expected_binary}"
+        )
+    metadata = compact_pack_metadata(packed)
+    metadata.update(
+        {
+            "alias": definition.package,
+            "target": definition.target,
+            "distTag": definition.id,
+        }
+    )
+    return metadata
+
+
+def build_packages(
+    *, version: str, input_dir: Path, output_dir: Path
+) -> dict[str, Any]:
+    declared_version = manifest_version()
+    if version != declared_version:
+        raise NpmPackageError(
+            f"requested version {version} does not match "
+            f"moli/Cargo.toml ({declared_version})"
+        )
+    if not input_dir.is_dir():
+        raise NpmPackageError(f"release input directory does not exist: {input_dir}")
+    if output_dir.exists():
+        raise NpmPackageError(f"npm output path already exists: {output_dir}")
+    output_dir.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+
+    platforms = load_platforms()
+    for definition in platforms:
+        archive_path = input_dir / definition.archive
+        if not archive_path.is_file():
+            raise NpmPackageError(f"required release archive is missing: {archive_path}")
+
+    with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory(
+        prefix=".moli-npm-", dir=output_dir.parent
+    ) as temporary:
+        work_dir = Path(temporary)
+        packed_dir = work_dir / "packed"
+        packed_dir.mkdir()
+
+        platform_packages: list[dict[str, Any]] = []
+        for definition in platforms:
+            with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory(
+                prefix=f"{definition.id}-", dir=work_dir
+            ) as platform_stage:
+                platform_packages.append(
+                    build_platform_package(
+                        Path(platform_stage),
+                        packed_dir,
+                        input_dir,
+                        version,
+                        definition,
+                    )
+                )
+
+        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory(prefix="main-", dir=work_dir) as main_stage:
+            main_package = build_main_package(
+                Path(main_stage), packed_dir, version, platforms
+            )
+
+        release_manifest = {
+            "schemaVersion": 1,
+            "package": PACKAGE_NAME,
+            "version": version,
+            "main": main_package,
+            "platforms": platform_packages,
+        }
+        write_json(packed_dir / "npm-packages.json", release_manifest)
+        packed_dir.rename(output_dir)
+    return release_manifest
+
+
+def parse_args() -> argparse.Namespace:
+    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description=__doc__)
+    parser.add_argument("--version", required=True, help="release version, with optional v")
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--input-dir",
+        default="dist",
+        help="directory containing native release archives (default: dist)",
+    )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--output-dir",
+        default="dist/npm",
+        help="new directory for npm tarballs (default: dist/npm)",
+    )
+    return parser.parse_args()
+
+
+def main() -> int:
+    args = parse_args()
+    try:
+        version = normalize_version(args.version)
+        output_dir = resolve_repo_path(args.output_dir)
+        manifest = build_packages(
+            version=version,
+            input_dir=resolve_repo_path(args.input_dir),
+            output_dir=output_dir,
+        )
+        print(f"Created npm package set for {manifest['package']}@{version}")
+        for platform in manifest["platforms"]:
+            print(f"Created: {output_dir / platform['filename']}")
+        print(f"Created: {output_dir / manifest['main']['filename']}")
+        print(f"Created: {output_dir / 'npm-packages.json'}")
+        return 0
+    except NpmPackageError as error:
+        print(f"npm package error: {error}", file=sys.stderr)
+        return 1
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    raise SystemExit(main())
diff --git a/scripts/publish_npm.py b/scripts/publish_npm.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e869525af9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/publish_npm.py
@@ -0,0 +1,348 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""Publish a verified Moli npm package set, with the launcher published last."""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import argparse
+import base64
+import hashlib
+import json
+import re
+import shlex
+import subprocess
+import sys
+import tarfile
+from pathlib import Path
+from typing import Any
+
+
+DIST_TAG_PATTERN = re.compile(r"^[A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9._-]*$")
+TOOL_VERSION_PATTERN = re.compile(
+    r"^v?(0|[1-9][0-9]*)\."
+    r"(0|[1-9][0-9]*)\."
+    r"(0|[1-9][0-9]*)"
+    r"(?:-[0-9A-Za-z.-]+)?$"
+)
+MINIMUM_TRUSTED_NPM_VERSION = (11, 5, 1)
+MINIMUM_TRUSTED_NODE_VERSION = (22, 14, 0)
+MAXIMUM_PACKAGE_JSON_SIZE = 1024 * 1024
+
+
+class NpmPublishError(RuntimeError):
+    """An npm package set was invalid or could not be published safely."""
+
+
+def package_integrity(path: Path) -> str:
+    digest = hashlib.sha512()
+    with path.open("rb") as package_file:
+        for chunk in iter(lambda: package_file.read(1024 * 1024), b""):
+            digest.update(chunk)
+    return "sha512-" + base64.b64encode(digest.digest()).decode("ascii")
+
+
+def load_manifest(path: Path) -> dict[str, Any]:
+    try:
+        manifest = json.loads(path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+    except (OSError, json.JSONDecodeError) as error:
+        raise NpmPublishError(
+            f"could not read npm package manifest {path}: {error}"
+        ) from error
+    if not isinstance(manifest, dict) or manifest.get("schemaVersion") != 1:
+        raise NpmPublishError("unsupported npm package manifest schema")
+    if not isinstance(manifest.get("package"), str) or not isinstance(
+        manifest.get("version"), str
+    ):
+        raise NpmPublishError("npm package manifest is missing package identity")
+    if not isinstance(manifest.get("main"), dict) or not isinstance(
+        manifest.get("platforms"), list
+    ):
+        raise NpmPublishError("npm package manifest is missing package entries")
+    if not manifest["platforms"]:
+        raise NpmPublishError("npm package manifest contains no platform packages")
+    return manifest
+
+
+def validate_dist_tag(tag: str) -> str:
+    if not DIST_TAG_PATTERN.fullmatch(tag):
+        raise NpmPublishError(f"invalid npm dist-tag: {tag}")
+    return tag
+
+
+def tool_version(command: str) -> tuple[int, int, int]:
+    try:
+        result = subprocess.run(
+            [command, "--version"],
+            check=True,
+            text=True,
+            stdout=subprocess.PIPE,
+            stderr=subprocess.PIPE,
+        )
+    except FileNotFoundError as error:
+        raise NpmPublishError(
+            f"{command} is required to publish npm packages"
+        ) from error
+    except subprocess.CalledProcessError as error:
+        detail = error.stderr.strip() or error.stdout.strip()
+        raise NpmPublishError(
+            f"could not determine {command} version: {detail}"
+        ) from error
+
+    raw_version = result.stdout.strip()
+    match = TOOL_VERSION_PATTERN.fullmatch(raw_version)
+    if match is None:
+        raise NpmPublishError(f"could not parse {command} version: {raw_version}")
+    return tuple(int(component) for component in match.groups())
+
+
+def require_trusted_publishing_toolchain() -> None:
+    requirements = (
+        ("node", MINIMUM_TRUSTED_NODE_VERSION),
+        ("npm", MINIMUM_TRUSTED_NPM_VERSION),
+    )
+    for command, minimum in requirements:
+        actual = tool_version(command)
+        if actual < minimum:
+            minimum_display = ".".join(str(component) for component in minimum)
+            actual_display = ".".join(str(component) for component in actual)
+            raise NpmPublishError(
+                f"npm trusted publishing requires {command} >= {minimum_display}; "
+                f"found {actual_display}"
+            )
+
+
+def validate_package_entry(
+    entry: dict[str, Any], package_dir: Path
+) -> tuple[Path, str, str]:
+    for field in ("name", "version", "filename", "integrity"):
+        if not isinstance(entry.get(field), str) or not entry[field]:
+            raise NpmPublishError(f"npm package entry has invalid {field}")
+    filename = entry["filename"]
+    if Path(filename).name != filename:
+        raise NpmPublishError(
+            f"npm package filename must not contain a path: {filename}"
+        )
+    tarball = package_dir / filename
+    if not tarball.is_file():
+        raise NpmPublishError(f"npm package tarball is missing: {tarball}")
+    actual_integrity = package_integrity(tarball)
+    if actual_integrity != entry["integrity"]:
+        raise NpmPublishError(
+            f"npm package integrity mismatch for {filename}: "
+            f"expected {entry['integrity']}, got {actual_integrity}"
+        )
+
+    try:
+        with tarfile.open(tarball, mode="r:gz") as archive:
+            package_json_entry = archive.getmember("package/package.json")
+            if (
+                not package_json_entry.isfile()
+                or package_json_entry.size > MAXIMUM_PACKAGE_JSON_SIZE
+            ):
+                raise NpmPublishError(
+                    f"npm package has an invalid package/package.json: {filename}"
+                )
+            package_json = archive.extractfile(package_json_entry)
+            if package_json is None:
+                raise NpmPublishError(
+                    f"npm package is missing package/package.json: {filename}"
+                )
+            with package_json:
+                identity = json.load(package_json)
+    except (
+        KeyError,
+        OSError,
+        UnicodeDecodeError,
+        tarfile.TarError,
+        json.JSONDecodeError,
+    ) as error:
+        raise NpmPublishError(
+            f"could not read npm package identity from {filename}: {error}"
+        ) from error
+    if not isinstance(identity, dict):
+        raise NpmPublishError(f"npm package identity is invalid in {filename}")
+    if (
+        identity.get("name") != entry["name"]
+        or identity.get("version") != entry["version"]
+    ):
+        raise NpmPublishError(
+            f"npm package identity mismatch for {filename}: expected "
+            f"{entry['name']}@{entry['version']}"
+        )
+    return tarball, entry["name"], entry["version"]
+
+
+def npm_view_integrity(name: str, version: str) -> str | None:
+    try:
+        result = subprocess.run(
+            ["npm", "view", f"{name}@{version}", "dist.integrity", "--json"],
+            check=False,
+            text=True,
+            stdout=subprocess.PIPE,
+            stderr=subprocess.PIPE,
+        )
+    except FileNotFoundError as error:
+        raise NpmPublishError("npm is required to publish npm packages") from error
+    if result.returncode != 0:
+        if "E404" in result.stderr or "E404" in result.stdout:
+            return None
+        detail = result.stderr.strip() or result.stdout.strip()
+        raise NpmPublishError(f"npm view failed for {name}@{version}: {detail}")
+    try:
+        integrity = json.loads(result.stdout)
+    except json.JSONDecodeError as error:
+        raise NpmPublishError(
+            f"npm view returned invalid JSON for {name}@{version}: {error}"
+        ) from error
+    if not isinstance(integrity, str) or not integrity:
+        raise NpmPublishError(f"npm view returned no integrity for {name}@{version}")
+    return integrity
+
+
+def run_checked(command: list[str], description: str) -> None:
+    print("+ " + shlex.join(command), flush=True)
+    try:
+        subprocess.run(command, check=True)
+    except FileNotFoundError as error:
+        raise NpmPublishError("npm is required to publish npm packages") from error
+    except subprocess.CalledProcessError as error:
+        raise NpmPublishError(
+            f"{description} failed with exit code {error.returncode}"
+        ) from error
+
+
+def publish_package(
+    entry: dict[str, Any],
+    package_dir: Path,
+    *,
+    dist_tag: str,
+    dry_run: bool,
+) -> None:
+    tarball, name, version = validate_package_entry(entry, package_dir)
+    dist_tag = validate_dist_tag(dist_tag)
+
+    if dry_run:
+        command = [
+            "npm",
+            "publish",
+            str(tarball),
+            "--access",
+            "public",
+            "--tag",
+            dist_tag,
+            "--dry-run",
+        ]
+        run_checked(command, f"npm publish dry run for {name}@{version}")
+        return
+
+    published_integrity = npm_view_integrity(name, version)
+    if published_integrity is not None:
+        if published_integrity != entry["integrity"]:
+            raise NpmPublishError(
+                f"refusing to reuse {name}@{version}: registry integrity differs"
+            )
+        print(f"Already published with matching integrity: {name}@{version}")
+    else:
+        command = [
+            "npm",
+            "publish",
+            str(tarball),
+            "--access",
+            "public",
+            "--tag",
+            dist_tag,
+        ]
+        run_checked(command, f"npm publish for {name}@{version}")
+
+
+def publish_package_set(
+    manifest_path: Path,
+    *,
+    main_tag: str,
+    trusted_publishing: bool,
+    dry_run: bool,
+) -> None:
+    if trusted_publishing and not dry_run:
+        require_trusted_publishing_toolchain()
+
+    manifest = load_manifest(manifest_path)
+    package_dir = manifest_path.parent
+    package_name = manifest["package"]
+    version = manifest["version"]
+
+    platform_entries: list[tuple[dict[str, Any], str]] = []
+    for entry in manifest["platforms"]:
+        if not isinstance(entry, dict):
+            raise NpmPublishError("npm platform package entry must be an object")
+        if entry.get("name") != package_name:
+            raise NpmPublishError("npm platform package name does not match package set")
+        dist_tag = entry.get("distTag")
+        if not isinstance(dist_tag, str):
+            raise NpmPublishError("npm platform package is missing its dist-tag")
+        validate_dist_tag(dist_tag)
+        validate_package_entry(entry, package_dir)
+        platform_entries.append((entry, dist_tag))
+
+    platform_versions = [entry["version"] for entry, _ in platform_entries]
+    if len(platform_versions) != len(set(platform_versions)):
+        raise NpmPublishError("npm platform package versions must be unique")
+
+    main = manifest["main"]
+    if main.get("name") != package_name or main.get("version") != version:
+        raise NpmPublishError("main npm package identity does not match package set")
+    validate_dist_tag(main_tag)
+    validate_package_entry(main, package_dir)
+
+    for entry, dist_tag in platform_entries:
+        publish_package(
+            entry,
+            package_dir,
+            dist_tag=dist_tag,
+            dry_run=dry_run,
+        )
+
+    publish_package(
+        main,
+        package_dir,
+        dist_tag=main_tag,
+        dry_run=dry_run,
+    )
+
+
+def parse_args() -> argparse.Namespace:
+    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description=__doc__)
+    parser.add_argument("manifest", help="path to npm-packages.json")
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--main-tag",
+        default="latest",
+        help="dist-tag for the launcher package (default: latest)",
+    )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--trusted-publishing",
+        action="store_true",
+        help="require a supported Node/npm OIDC toolchain before publishing",
+    )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--dry-run",
+        action="store_true",
+        help="validate every tarball with npm publish --dry-run",
+    )
+    return parser.parse_args()
+
+
+def main() -> int:
+    args = parse_args()
+    try:
+        publish_package_set(
+            Path(args.manifest).resolve(),
+            main_tag=args.main_tag,
+            trusted_publishing=args.trusted_publishing,
+            dry_run=args.dry_run,
+        )
+        return 0
+    except NpmPublishError as error:
+        print(f"npm publish error: {error}", file=sys.stderr)
+        return 1
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    raise SystemExit(main())
diff --git a/scripts/release.py b/scripts/release.py
index 615b349573..b229ac0a58 100755
--- a/scripts/release.py
+++ b/scripts/release.py
@@ -153,7 +153,14 @@ def strip_and_sign(binary: Path, target: str) -> tuple[int, int]:
 
 
 def binary_reported_version(binary: Path) -> str:
-    return run_checked([str(binary), "version"], capture_output=True).stdout.strip()
+    output = run_checked([str(binary), "--version"], capture_output=True).stdout.strip()
+    match = re.fullmatch(r"moli\s+(\S+)", output)
+    if match is None:
+        raise ReleaseError(
+            "packaged binary returned an unexpected `--version` response: "
+            f"{output or '<empty>'}"
+        )
+    return match.group(1)
 
 
 def copy_release_materials(package_dir: Path) -> None:
diff --git a/scripts/tests/__init__.py b/scripts/tests/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e69de29bb2
diff --git a/scripts/tests/test_package_npm.py b/scripts/tests/test_package_npm.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..aa4947c979
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/tests/test_package_npm.py
@@ -0,0 +1,233 @@
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import io
+import json
+import subprocess
+import sys
+import tarfile
+import tempfile
+import tomllib
+import unittest
+import zipfile
+from pathlib import Path
+
+
+REPO_ROOT = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[2]
+PACKAGE_SCRIPT = REPO_ROOT / "scripts" / "package_npm.py"
+PUBLISH_SCRIPT = REPO_ROOT / "scripts" / "publish_npm.py"
+PLATFORMS = json.loads(
+    (REPO_ROOT / "npm" / "platforms.json").read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+)
+
+
+def current_version() -> str:
+    with (REPO_ROOT / "moli" / "Cargo.toml").open("rb") as manifest_file:
+        return tomllib.load(manifest_file)["package"]["version"]
+
+
+def add_tar_bytes(archive: tarfile.TarFile, name: str, value: bytes, mode: int) -> None:
+    member = tarfile.TarInfo(name)
+    member.size = len(value)
+    member.mode = mode
+    archive.addfile(member, io.BytesIO(value))
+
+
+def write_release_archive(directory: Path, platform: dict[str, object], version: str) -> None:
+    target = str(platform["target"])
+    binary = str(platform["binary"])
+    archive_path = directory / str(platform["archive"])
+    package_root = f"moli-v{version}-{target}"
+    binary_contents = f"fixture binary for {target}\n".encode()
+    if archive_path.suffix == ".zip":
+        with zipfile.ZipFile(archive_path, mode="w") as archive:
+            archive.writestr(f"{package_root}/VERSION", f"{version}\n")
+            archive.writestr(f"{package_root}/{binary}", binary_contents)
+        return
+
+    with tarfile.open(archive_path, mode="w:gz") as archive:
+        add_tar_bytes(
+            archive,
+            f"{package_root}/VERSION",
+            f"{version}\n".encode(),
+            0o644,
+        )
+        add_tar_bytes(
+            archive,
+            f"{package_root}/{binary}",
+            binary_contents,
+            0o755,
+        )
+
+
+def read_tgz_json(path: Path, member: str) -> dict[str, object]:
+    with tarfile.open(path, mode="r:gz") as archive:
+        source = archive.extractfile(member)
+        if source is None:
+            raise AssertionError(f"missing {member} in {path}")
+        return json.load(source)
+
+
+class PackageNpmTests(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_builds_launcher_and_one_native_package_per_supported_platform(self) -> None:
+        version = current_version()
+        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory(prefix="moli-npm-package-test-") as raw:
+            root = Path(raw)
+            input_dir = root / "release"
+            output_dir = root / "npm"
+            input_dir.mkdir()
+            for platform in PLATFORMS:
+                write_release_archive(input_dir, platform, version)
+
+            result = subprocess.run(
+                [
+                    sys.executable,
+                    str(PACKAGE_SCRIPT),
+                    "--version",
+                    version,
+                    "--input-dir",
+                    str(input_dir),
+                    "--output-dir",
+                    str(output_dir),
+                ],
+                cwd=REPO_ROOT,
+                check=False,
+                text=True,
+                stdout=subprocess.PIPE,
+                stderr=subprocess.PIPE,
+            )
+            self.assertEqual(result.returncode, 0, result.stderr)
+
+            package_set = json.loads(
+                (output_dir / "npm-packages.json").read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+            )
+            self.assertEqual(package_set["package"], "@lexmount/moli")
+            self.assertEqual(package_set["version"], version)
+            self.assertEqual(len(package_set["platforms"]), len(PLATFORMS))
+
+            main_tarball = output_dir / package_set["main"]["filename"]
+            main_manifest = read_tgz_json(main_tarball, "package/package.json")
+            self.assertEqual(main_manifest["version"], version)
+            self.assertEqual(main_manifest["bin"], {"moli": "bin/moli.js"})
+            expected_aliases = {
+                package["alias"]: (
+                    f"npm:@lexmount/moli@{package['version']}"
+                )
+                for package in package_set["platforms"]
+            }
+            self.assertEqual(
+                main_manifest["optionalDependencies"], expected_aliases
+            )
+            with tarfile.open(main_tarball, mode="r:gz") as archive:
+                launcher = archive.getmember("package/bin/moli.js")
+                self.assertNotEqual(launcher.mode & 0o111, 0)
+
+            platform_by_target = {
+                str(platform["target"]): platform for platform in PLATFORMS
+            }
+            for package in package_set["platforms"]:
+                platform = platform_by_target[package["target"]]
+                tarball = output_dir / package["filename"]
+                manifest = read_tgz_json(tarball, "package/package.json")
+                self.assertEqual(manifest["name"], "@lexmount/moli")
+                self.assertEqual(manifest["os"], [platform["platform"]])
+                self.assertEqual(manifest["cpu"], [platform["arch"]])
+                if "libc" in platform:
+                    self.assertEqual(manifest["libc"], platform["libc"])
+
+                binary_member = (
+                    f"package/vendor/{platform['target']}/bin/{platform['binary']}"
+                )
+                with tarfile.open(tarball, mode="r:gz") as archive:
+                    member = archive.getmember(binary_member)
+                    source = archive.extractfile(member)
+                    self.assertIsNotNone(source)
+                    assert source is not None
+                    self.assertEqual(
+                        source.read(),
+                        f"fixture binary for {platform['target']}\n".encode(),
+                    )
+                    if platform["platform"] != "win32":
+                        self.assertNotEqual(member.mode & 0o111, 0)
+
+            publish_dry_run = subprocess.run(
+                [
+                    sys.executable,
+                    str(PUBLISH_SCRIPT),
+                    str(output_dir / "npm-packages.json"),
+                    "--main-tag",
+                    "latest",
+                    "--dry-run",
+                ],
+                cwd=REPO_ROOT,
+                check=False,
+                text=True,
+                stdout=subprocess.PIPE,
+                stderr=subprocess.PIPE,
+            )
+            self.assertEqual(publish_dry_run.returncode, 0, publish_dry_run.stderr)
+
+    def test_rejects_an_incomplete_release_before_creating_output(self) -> None:
+        version = current_version()
+        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory(prefix="moli-npm-package-test-") as raw:
+            root = Path(raw)
+            input_dir = root / "release"
+            output_dir = root / "npm"
+            input_dir.mkdir()
+            for platform in PLATFORMS[:-1]:
+                write_release_archive(input_dir, platform, version)
+
+            result = subprocess.run(
+                [
+                    sys.executable,
+                    str(PACKAGE_SCRIPT),
+                    "--version",
+                    version,
+                    "--input-dir",
+                    str(input_dir),
+                    "--output-dir",
+                    str(output_dir),
+                ],
+                cwd=REPO_ROOT,
+                check=False,
+                text=True,
+                stdout=subprocess.PIPE,
+                stderr=subprocess.PIPE,
+            )
+            self.assertNotEqual(result.returncode, 0)
+            self.assertIn("required release archive is missing", result.stderr)
+            self.assertFalse(output_dir.exists())
+
+    def test_refuses_to_overwrite_an_existing_output_path(self) -> None:
+        version = current_version()
+        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory(prefix="moli-npm-package-test-") as raw:
+            root = Path(raw)
+            input_dir = root / "release"
+            output_dir = root / "npm"
+            input_dir.mkdir()
+            output_dir.mkdir()
+            for platform in PLATFORMS:
+                write_release_archive(input_dir, platform, version)
+
+            result = subprocess.run(
+                [
+                    sys.executable,
+                    str(PACKAGE_SCRIPT),
+                    "--version",
+                    version,
+                    "--input-dir",
+                    str(input_dir),
+                    "--output-dir",
+                    str(output_dir),
+                ],
+                cwd=REPO_ROOT,
+                check=False,
+                text=True,
+                stdout=subprocess.PIPE,
+                stderr=subprocess.PIPE,
+            )
+            self.assertNotEqual(result.returncode, 0)
+            self.assertIn("npm output path already exists", result.stderr)
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    unittest.main()
diff --git a/scripts/tests/test_publish_npm.py b/scripts/tests/test_publish_npm.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..4fc1c78f0f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/tests/test_publish_npm.py
@@ -0,0 +1,178 @@
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import base64
+import hashlib
+import json
+import subprocess
+import sys
+import tarfile
+import tempfile
+import unittest
+from io import BytesIO
+from pathlib import Path
+from unittest.mock import patch
+
+
+SCRIPTS_DIR = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[1]
+sys.path.insert(0, str(SCRIPTS_DIR))
+
+import publish_npm  # noqa: E402
+
+
+def integrity(value: bytes) -> str:
+    digest = hashlib.sha512(value).digest()
+    return "sha512-" + base64.b64encode(digest).decode("ascii")
+
+
+def write_package(path: Path, name: str, version: str) -> None:
+    package_json = json.dumps({"name": name, "version": version}).encode()
+    member = tarfile.TarInfo("package/package.json")
+    member.size = len(package_json)
+    with tarfile.open(path, mode="w:gz") as archive:
+        archive.addfile(member, BytesIO(package_json))
+
+
+class PublishNpmTests(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_publishes_all_platform_packages_before_the_launcher(self) -> None:
+        manifest = {
+            "schemaVersion": 1,
+            "package": "@lexmount/moli",
+            "version": "1.0.0",
+            "platforms": [
+                {
+                    "name": "@lexmount/moli",
+                    "version": "1.0.0-linux-x64",
+                    "filename": "linux.tgz",
+                    "integrity": "unused",
+                    "distTag": "linux-x64",
+                },
+                {
+                    "name": "@lexmount/moli",
+                    "version": "1.0.0-darwin-arm64",
+                    "filename": "darwin.tgz",
+                    "integrity": "unused",
+                    "distTag": "darwin-arm64",
+                },
+            ],
+            "main": {
+                "name": "@lexmount/moli",
+                "version": "1.0.0",
+                "filename": "main.tgz",
+                "integrity": "unused",
+            },
+        }
+        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory(prefix="moli-npm-publish-test-") as raw:
+            package_dir = Path(raw)
+            for entry in [*manifest["platforms"], manifest["main"]]:
+                tarball = package_dir / entry["filename"]
+                write_package(tarball, entry["name"], entry["version"])
+                entry["integrity"] = publish_npm.package_integrity(tarball)
+            manifest_path = package_dir / "npm-packages.json"
+            manifest_path.write_text(json.dumps(manifest), encoding="utf-8")
+            calls: list[tuple[str, str]] = []
+
+            def record(entry, _package_dir, *, dist_tag, dry_run):
+                self.assertFalse(dry_run)
+                calls.append((entry["version"], dist_tag))
+
+            with (
+                patch.object(
+                    publish_npm, "require_trusted_publishing_toolchain"
+                ) as require_toolchain,
+                patch.object(publish_npm, "publish_package", side_effect=record),
+            ):
+                publish_npm.publish_package_set(
+                    manifest_path,
+                    main_tag="latest",
+                    trusted_publishing=True,
+                    dry_run=False,
+                )
+            require_toolchain.assert_called_once_with()
+
+        self.assertEqual(
+            calls,
+            [
+                ("1.0.0-linux-x64", "linux-x64"),
+                ("1.0.0-darwin-arm64", "darwin-arm64"),
+                ("1.0.0", "latest"),
+            ],
+        )
+
+    def test_rejects_changed_tarball_contents(self) -> None:
+        original = b"original package"
+        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory(prefix="moli-npm-publish-test-") as raw:
+            package_dir = Path(raw)
+            tarball = package_dir / "package.tgz"
+            tarball.write_bytes(b"changed package")
+            entry = {
+                "name": "@lexmount/moli",
+                "version": "1.0.0",
+                "filename": tarball.name,
+                "integrity": integrity(original),
+            }
+            with self.assertRaisesRegex(
+                publish_npm.NpmPublishError, "integrity mismatch"
+            ):
+                publish_npm.validate_package_entry(entry, package_dir)
+
+    def test_rejects_tarball_paths_outside_the_package_directory(self) -> None:
+        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory(prefix="moli-npm-publish-test-") as raw:
+            entry = {
+                "name": "@lexmount/moli",
+                "version": "1.0.0",
+                "filename": "../package.tgz",
+                "integrity": "unused",
+            }
+            with self.assertRaisesRegex(
+                publish_npm.NpmPublishError, "must not contain a path"
+            ):
+                publish_npm.validate_package_entry(entry, Path(raw))
+
+    def test_rejects_package_identity_mismatch(self) -> None:
+        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory(prefix="moli-npm-publish-test-") as raw:
+            package_dir = Path(raw)
+            tarball = package_dir / "package.tgz"
+            write_package(tarball, "@lexmount/not-moli", "1.0.0")
+            entry = {
+                "name": "@lexmount/moli",
+                "version": "1.0.0",
+                "filename": tarball.name,
+                "integrity": publish_npm.package_integrity(tarball),
+            }
+            with self.assertRaisesRegex(
+                publish_npm.NpmPublishError, "identity mismatch"
+            ):
+                publish_npm.validate_package_entry(entry, package_dir)
+
+    def test_trusted_publishing_rejects_old_npm(self) -> None:
+        versions = {"node": (24, 15, 0), "npm": (11, 5, 0)}
+        with (
+            patch.object(publish_npm, "tool_version", side_effect=versions.__getitem__),
+            self.assertRaisesRegex(
+                publish_npm.NpmPublishError,
+                r"npm trusted publishing requires npm >= 11\.5\.1; found 11\.5\.0",
+            ),
+        ):
+            publish_npm.require_trusted_publishing_toolchain()
+
+    def test_trusted_publishing_rejects_old_node(self) -> None:
+        versions = {"node": (22, 13, 9), "npm": (11, 18, 0)}
+        with (
+            patch.object(publish_npm, "tool_version", side_effect=versions.__getitem__),
+            self.assertRaisesRegex(
+                publish_npm.NpmPublishError,
+                r"npm trusted publishing requires node >= 22\.14\.0; found 22\.13\.9",
+            ),
+        ):
+            publish_npm.require_trusted_publishing_toolchain()
+
+    def test_tool_version_accepts_node_prefix_and_prerelease(self) -> None:
+        completed = subprocess.CompletedProcess(
+            ["node", "--version"], 0, stdout="v24.15.0-rc.1\n", stderr=""
+        )
+        with patch.object(publish_npm.subprocess, "run", return_value=completed):
+            self.assertEqual(publish_npm.tool_version("node"), (24, 15, 0))
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    unittest.main()
diff --git a/scripts/tests/test_release.py b/scripts/tests/test_release.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..83c620a990
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/tests/test_release.py
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import subprocess
+import sys
+import unittest
+from pathlib import Path
+from unittest.mock import patch
+
+
+SCRIPTS_DIR = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[1]
+sys.path.insert(0, str(SCRIPTS_DIR))
+
+import release  # noqa: E402
+
+
+class ReleaseVersionTests(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_reads_standard_cli_version_flag(self) -> None:
+        completed = subprocess.CompletedProcess(
+            args=[], returncode=0, stdout="moli 1.2.3\n", stderr=""
+        )
+        with patch.object(release, "run_checked", return_value=completed) as run:
+            version = release.binary_reported_version(Path("/tmp/moli"))
+
+        self.assertEqual(version, "1.2.3")
+        run.assert_called_once_with(["/tmp/moli", "--version"], capture_output=True)
+
+    def test_rejects_an_unexpected_version_response(self) -> None:
+        completed = subprocess.CompletedProcess(
+            args=[], returncode=0, stdout="1.2.3\n", stderr=""
+        )
+        with patch.object(release, "run_checked", return_value=completed):
+            with self.assertRaisesRegex(
+                release.ReleaseError, "unexpected `--version` response"
+            ):
+                release.binary_reported_version(Path("/tmp/moli"))
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    unittest.main()