diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/harmony-fleet-operator.yaml b/.gitea/workflows/harmony-fleet-operator.yaml
index 140d8c83..b287e8f5 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/harmony-fleet-operator.yaml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/harmony-fleet-operator.yaml
@@ -1,12 +1,19 @@
-name: Build and push harmony-fleet-operator image
+name: Release harmony-fleet-operator (image + chart)
 on:
   push:
-    branches:
-      - master
+    tags:
+      # Per-crate release tag. One tag → one image + one chart, both
+      # at the same version. Format: `harmony-fleet-operator-v0.1.0`.
+      - 'harmony-fleet-operator-v*'
   workflow_dispatch:
+    inputs:
+      version:
+        description: 'Version tag to release (e.g. v0.1.0). Required for manual runs.'
+        required: true
+        type: string
 
 jobs:
-  build_and_push:
+  release:
     container:
       image: hub.nationtech.io/harmony/harmony_composer:latest
     runs-on: dind
@@ -14,7 +21,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Checkout code
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
-      - name: Log in to hub.nationtech.io
+      - name: Log in to hub.nationtech.io (docker)
         uses: docker/login-action@v3
         with:
           registry: hub.nationtech.io
@@ -24,21 +31,52 @@ jobs:
       - name: Set up Docker Buildx
         uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@v3
 
-      # Build context is the workspace root because the operator's
-      # Cargo.toml has `path = "../../harmony"` deps. The multi-stage
-      # Dockerfile runs `cargo build` itself inside a pinned rust
-      # image, so no host-side cargo step is needed.
+      # helm is not in harmony_composer:latest at time of writing; pull
+      # the official installer. One-shot, no apt source needed.
       #
-      # TODO: add buildx layer caching. Each run currently recompiles
-      # the whole `harmony` workspace from scratch in the builder
-      # stage. Add `cache-from: type=gha` + `cache-to: type=gha,mode=max`
-      # below once build time becomes the bottleneck. If layer cache
-      # alone isn't enough, consider splitting the Dockerfile with
-      # cargo-chef (no other crate in this repo does that yet).
-      - name: Build and push
-        uses: docker/build-push-action@v6
-        with:
-          context: .
-          file: fleet/harmony-fleet-operator/Dockerfile
-          push: true
-          tags: hub.nationtech.io/harmony/harmony-fleet-operator:latest
+      # TODO: bake helm into harmony_composer so this step disappears.
+      - name: Install helm
+        run: |
+          curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/helm/helm/main/scripts/get-helm-3 | bash
+
+      - name: Log in to hub.nationtech.io (helm OCI)
+        run: |
+          echo "${{ secrets.HUB_BOT_PASSWORD }}" \
+            | helm registry login hub.nationtech.io \
+                --username "${{ secrets.HUB_BOT_USER }}" \
+                --password-stdin
+
+      # On tag-triggered runs, GITHUB_REF_NAME = the tag name. Strip
+      # the per-crate prefix to get the version the release binary
+      # wants (e.g. `harmony-fleet-operator-v0.1.0` → `v0.1.0`). On
+      # manual workflow_dispatch the operator passes `version`
+      # directly.
+      - name: Resolve version
+        id: ver
+        run: |
+          if [ "${{ github.event_name }}" = "workflow_dispatch" ]; then
+            VERSION="${{ inputs.version }}"
+          else
+            VERSION="${GITHUB_REF_NAME#harmony-fleet-operator-}"
+          fi
+          if [ -z "$VERSION" ] || [ "$VERSION" = "$GITHUB_REF_NAME" ]; then
+            echo "could not resolve version from ref '$GITHUB_REF_NAME'"
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          echo "version=$VERSION" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          echo "Releasing harmony-fleet-operator $VERSION"
+
+      # Same script a developer would run from their laptop in an
+      # outage. All build logic lives in Rust under
+      # fleet/harmony-fleet-deploy; CI is just a thin trigger.
+      #
+      # TODO (carried over from the previous workflow): add buildx
+      # layer caching. Each run currently recompiles the whole
+      # `harmony` workspace from scratch in the Dockerfile's builder
+      # stage. cargo-chef + `cache-from: type=gha` would help once
+      # build time becomes the bottleneck.
+      - name: Build and push image + chart
+        run: |
+          ./fleet/harmony-fleet-operator/release.sh \
+              hub.nationtech.io \
+              "${{ steps.ver.outputs.version }}"
diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index b27c5d2b..97d0345a 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -4107,6 +4107,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "tokio",
  "toml",
  "tracing",
+ "tracing-subscriber",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
diff --git a/ROADMAP/fleet_platform/dashboard_ingress.md b/ROADMAP/fleet_platform/dashboard_ingress.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..eb278e14
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ROADMAP/fleet_platform/dashboard_ingress.md
@@ -0,0 +1,92 @@
+# Fleet operator dashboard — make shippable and expose via Ingress
+
+## Context
+
+The operator binary has a server-side dashboard (axum + Maud + HTMX
+under `fleet/harmony-fleet-operator/src/frontend/`), but it is **not
+shippable today**. The k3d smoke-test of the release pipeline made
+this concrete: the chart correctly omits any `Service` or `Ingress`
+because there is no production-ready dashboard endpoint to point them
+at. Three blockers, in order of dependency.
+
+## Work to be done
+
+### 1. Build the production image with the dashboard included
+
+- [ ] Update `fleet/harmony-fleet-operator/Dockerfile` to build with
+      `--features web-frontend` (currently
+      `cargo build --release --locked -p harmony-fleet-operator`,
+      no features).
+- [ ] Confirm Tailwind CSS is embedded at build time inside the
+      builder stage. The crate doc says the CSS is embedded when
+      `tailwindcss` is on PATH at build time, otherwise the bundle is
+      empty and `--css-from` must be passed at runtime. Decide: ship
+      with embedded CSS (install `tailwindcss` in the builder stage)
+      or document the empty-bundle path.
+- [ ] Confirm the build still satisfies the cross-compile gating
+      added in PR #291 (`ci: fix Windows cross-compile by gating
+      unix-only harmony code`) — the `web-frontend` feature must not
+      pull in unix-only code on Windows targets if Windows is still a
+      CI target.
+
+### 2. Replace the mock-only `serve-web` with a real implementation
+
+- [ ] Implement `FleetService` against the real NATS + Kubernetes
+      backend (the operator currently uses
+      `MockFleetService::default()` and bails when `--mock` is
+      not passed: `main.rs:125` — `"serve-web without --mock is not
+      implemented yet (real FleetService impl pending)"`).
+- [ ] Decide the runtime topology: does the controller and the web
+      server share a Pod and a process? Two containers in one Pod?
+      Two separate Deployments? Current code suggests "same process,
+      different subcommand"; the chart will need to be updated
+      whichever way it goes.
+- [ ] Wire the Zitadel auth env vars (`FLEET_AUTH_*` from `dev.sh`)
+      through the chart's Pod env. These are
+      operator-environment-specific (like the existing
+      `FLEET_OPERATOR_CREDENTIALS_TOML` Secret) and should likely
+      stay out of the redistributable chart, mounted by the deploy
+      pipeline.
+- [ ] Decide on the `FLEET_OPERATOR_COOKIE_KEY_B64` lifecycle:
+      operator-generated on first boot? Deploy-time secret? Document.
+
+### 3. Expose the dashboard via Service + Ingress in the chart
+
+- [ ] Add a `Service` resource to `chart.rs` (ClusterIP, target port
+      18080 to match the default `serve-web --addr`).
+- [ ] Add an `Ingress` resource. Open questions:
+  - Ingress class: assume `traefik` (k3d default)? Make it
+    configurable via `ChartOptions`?
+  - Host: configurable via `ChartOptions` (e.g.,
+    `fleet.my-cluster.example.com`); no sensible default.
+  - TLS: cert-manager `ClusterIssuer` reference, or expect TLS to be
+    terminated upstream? Probably a `ChartOptions.tls_issuer:
+    Option<String>` knob — `None` means "no TLS section on the
+    Ingress."
+- [ ] Decide whether the Ingress is in scope for the chart at all,
+      or whether it should live in a separate `*-ingress` chart that
+      the deploy layer composes. The first path is simpler;
+      the second matches "small composable Scores" from ADR-023.
+- [ ] Smoke-test on k3d: install the chart, `curl` the dashboard
+      through the k3d LoadBalancer, confirm HTTP 200 and the page
+      renders.
+
+## Out of scope here
+
+- Decisions about who hosts the dashboard's auth (Zitadel-only or
+  multi-IdP) — that's a product question, not a chart question.
+- Operator HA. The current chart is `replicas: 1`. Multi-replica
+  needs leader election in the controller, which is its own work.
+- Dashboard observability (metrics endpoint, structured access
+  logs) — fold in when adding the Service.
+
+## Why this lives in its own roadmap
+
+These three items are dependency-chained (1 → 2 → 3) and each is
+non-trivial. Bundling them with the CI release pipeline would couple
+unrelated risks and make the PR un-reviewable. Keeping this file
+unnumbered (per
+[`ROADMAP/fleet_platform/v0_1_plan.md`](v0_1_plan.md) and
+[`v0_2_plan.md`](v0_2_plan.md) — numbered files are versioned
+milestones) signals that this is a free-floating workstream that
+slots into whichever milestone picks it up.
diff --git a/examples/fleet_e2e_demo/src/lib.rs b/examples/fleet_e2e_demo/src/lib.rs
index 81b4199c..71790221 100644
--- a/examples/fleet_e2e_demo/src/lib.rs
+++ b/examples/fleet_e2e_demo/src/lib.rs
@@ -675,10 +675,10 @@ key_json = """
         output_dir: PathBuf::new(), // unused on this code path
         image: OPERATOR_IMAGE_TAG.to_string(),
         image_pull_policy: "IfNotPresent".to_string(),
-        namespace: OPERATOR_NAMESPACE.to_string(),
         nats_url: format!("nats://{NATS_RELEASE}.{NATS_NAMESPACE}.svc.cluster.local:4222"),
         log_level: "info,kube_runtime=warn".to_string(),
         credentials: Some(OperatorCredentials { credentials_toml }),
+        chart_version: None,
     };
 
     // CRDs first — the operator watches them on startup.
@@ -693,7 +693,7 @@ key_json = """
 
     // RBAC.
     K8sResourceScore::single(
-        build_service_account(&opts),
+        build_service_account(),
         Some(OPERATOR_NAMESPACE.to_string()),
     )
     .interpret(&Inventory::autoload(), topology)
@@ -705,7 +705,7 @@ key_json = """
         .await
         .context("operator ClusterRole apply")?;
 
-    K8sResourceScore::single(build_cluster_role_binding(&opts), None)
+    K8sResourceScore::single(build_cluster_role_binding(OPERATOR_NAMESPACE), None)
         .interpret(&Inventory::autoload(), topology)
         .await
         .context("operator ClusterRoleBinding apply")?;
diff --git a/fleet/harmony-fleet-deploy/Cargo.toml b/fleet/harmony-fleet-deploy/Cargo.toml
index da44b0c6..2ed8ffe8 100644
--- a/fleet/harmony-fleet-deploy/Cargo.toml
+++ b/fleet/harmony-fleet-deploy/Cargo.toml
@@ -16,6 +16,16 @@ path = "src/lib.rs"
 name = "harmony-fleet-deploy"
 path = "src/main.rs"
 
+# Release tool: builds and pushes the image + hydrated helm chart for
+# one fleet component (operator today; agent and nats-callout will
+# join as their pipelines land). Driven by the per-component
+# release.sh wrappers and the .gitea CI workflows. App-scoped (not
+# component-scoped) so a single binary covers every fleet component
+# behind a `--component` flag.
+[[bin]]
+name = "harmony-fleet-release"
+path = "src/bin/fleet_release.rs"
+
 [dependencies]
 harmony = { path = "../../harmony", features = ["podman"] }
 harmony_cli = { path = "../../harmony_cli" }
@@ -40,3 +50,4 @@ thiserror = { workspace = true }
 tokio = { workspace = true, features = ["full"] }
 toml = { workspace = true }
 tracing = { workspace = true }
+tracing-subscriber = { workspace = true }
diff --git a/fleet/harmony-fleet-deploy/src/bin/fleet_release.rs b/fleet/harmony-fleet-deploy/src/bin/fleet_release.rs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..fa8ef3e0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/fleet/harmony-fleet-deploy/src/bin/fleet_release.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,270 @@
+//! `harmony-fleet-release` — build + push the image + helm chart for
+//! one fleet component at a tagged version.
+//!
+//! Invoked by the per-component `release.sh` wrappers (which prefill
+//! `--component`) and by the `.gitea/workflows/harmony-fleet-*.yaml`
+//! CI jobs. The same binary is the developer-laptop fallback during
+//! outages.
+//!
+//! Steps, in order, for the selected component:
+//!
+//! 1. `docker build` the canonical multi-stage Dockerfile against the
+//!    workspace root, tagged
+//!    `<registry>/<project>/<image>:<version>`.
+//! 2. `docker push` that image.
+//! 3. Hydrate the helm chart for the component, with the pushed image
+//!    reference baked into the manifest and `chart_version` set to
+//!    `<version>` so the OCI chart artifact lands at the matching tag.
+//! 4. `helm package` the chart directory into a tgz.
+//! 5. `helm push` the tgz to `oci://<registry>/<project>`.
+//!
+//! `docker` (not `podman`) because the existing build scripts and the
+//! gitea `dind` runner both use it. `docker login <registry>` and
+//! `helm registry login <registry>` are expected to have been run by
+//! the caller (CI's `docker/login-action`, dev's manual login).
+//!
+//! Adding a new component is a new variant on [`Component`] plus a
+//! match arm in [`Component::spec`] — no new binary, no new CLI for
+//! users to learn.
+
+use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
+use std::process::{Command, Stdio};
+
+use anyhow::{Context, Result, bail};
+use clap::{Parser, ValueEnum};
+use harmony_fleet_deploy::operator::chart::{ChartOptions, build_chart};
+use tracing::info;
+
+#[derive(Parser, Debug)]
+#[command(
+    name = "harmony-fleet-release",
+    about = "Build and push a fleet component's image + helm chart for a tagged release"
+)]
+struct Cli {
+    /// Which fleet component to release. Only `operator` is wired up
+    /// today; `agent` and `nats-callout` are reserved for their
+    /// upcoming pipelines and will bail with an unimplemented error
+    /// until then.
+    #[arg(long, value_enum)]
+    component: Component,
+
+    /// Registry host, e.g. `hub.nationtech.io`.
+    #[arg(long)]
+    registry: String,
+
+    /// Version tag for both image and chart, e.g. `v0.1.0`. A leading
+    /// `v` is stripped from the chart-version (helm rejects non-semver
+    /// chart versions, and the OCI tag stays whatever was passed).
+    #[arg(long)]
+    version: String,
+
+    /// Project/namespace under the registry. Both image and chart
+    /// land under this path.
+    #[arg(long, default_value = "harmony")]
+    project: String,
+
+    /// Build the image and package the chart but skip both pushes.
+    /// Useful for local smoke-tests on k3d (sideload the image, helm
+    /// install the local tgz) without polluting the production
+    /// registry. CI never sets this.
+    #[arg(long)]
+    no_push: bool,
+}
+
+/// The set of fleet components that a release can target. App-scoped
+/// CLI per ADR-023: one binary covers every component behind this
+/// flag, rather than a binary per component.
+#[derive(Copy, Clone, Debug, ValueEnum)]
+enum Component {
+    Operator,
+    /// Reserved — agent release pipeline not wired up yet.
+    Agent,
+    /// Reserved — nats-callout release pipeline not wired up yet.
+    #[value(name = "nats-callout")]
+    NatsCallout,
+}
+
+/// Per-component release recipe: where the image's Dockerfile lives
+/// (relative to the workspace root) and what to name the published
+/// image. Chart hydration is component-specific too; see
+/// [`hydrate_chart`].
+struct ComponentSpec {
+    image_name: &'static str,
+    dockerfile: &'static str,
+}
+
+impl Component {
+    fn spec(self) -> Result<ComponentSpec> {
+        match self {
+            Component::Operator => Ok(ComponentSpec {
+                image_name: "harmony-fleet-operator",
+                dockerfile: "fleet/harmony-fleet-operator/Dockerfile",
+            }),
+            Component::Agent => bail!(
+                "agent release pipeline is not wired up yet — see \
+                 ROADMAP/fleet_platform/ci_cd_setup.md"
+            ),
+            Component::NatsCallout => bail!(
+                "nats-callout release pipeline is not wired up yet — see \
+                 ROADMAP/fleet_platform/ci_cd_setup.md"
+            ),
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+fn main() -> Result<()> {
+    // Default to info so the release progress shows up without
+    // requiring RUST_LOG to be set; explicit RUST_LOG overrides.
+    tracing_subscriber::fmt()
+        .with_env_filter(
+            tracing_subscriber::EnvFilter::try_from_default_env()
+                .unwrap_or_else(|_| tracing_subscriber::EnvFilter::new("info")),
+        )
+        .with_writer(std::io::stderr)
+        .init();
+
+    let cli = Cli::parse();
+    let spec = cli.component.spec()?;
+
+    let workspace = workspace_root();
+    let image_ref = format!(
+        "{}/{}/{}:{}",
+        cli.registry, cli.project, spec.image_name, cli.version
+    );
+    let oci_repo = format!("oci://{}/{}", cli.registry, cli.project);
+
+    info!("docker build {image_ref}");
+    docker_build(&workspace, spec.dockerfile, &image_ref)?;
+
+    if cli.no_push {
+        info!("skipping docker push (--no-push)");
+    } else {
+        info!("docker push {image_ref}");
+        docker_push(&image_ref)?;
+    }
+
+    info!("generate chart (image={image_ref})");
+    // Keep the tempdir alive for the lifetime of main so the tgz path
+    // is still on disk when --no-push prints it for the caller.
+    let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().context("creating chart tempdir")?;
+    let chart_dir = hydrate_chart(cli.component, &image_ref, &cli.version, tmp.path())?;
+
+    info!("helm package {}", chart_dir.display());
+    let tgz = helm_package(&chart_dir, tmp.path())?;
+
+    if cli.no_push {
+        // Move the tgz out of the tempdir so it survives this process
+        // — otherwise the tempdir drop deletes it before the caller
+        // can `helm install` from it.
+        let dst = std::env::current_dir()?
+            .join(tgz.file_name().context("packaged chart has no filename")?);
+        std::fs::copy(&tgz, &dst).context("copying packaged chart to CWD")?;
+        info!(image = %image_ref, chart = %dst.display(), "built (no push)");
+    } else {
+        info!("helm push {} {oci_repo}", tgz.display());
+        helm_push(&tgz, &oci_repo)?;
+        info!(
+            image = %image_ref,
+            chart = %format!("{oci_repo}/{}:{}", spec.image_name, chart_version(&cli.version)),
+            "released"
+        );
+    }
+    Ok(())
+}
+
+/// Component-specific chart hydration. Each component owns its own
+/// `build_chart`-style entry point in `harmony_fleet_deploy`; this
+/// match keeps the release binary the only place that needs to know
+/// "which component → which chart builder".
+fn hydrate_chart(
+    component: Component,
+    image_ref: &str,
+    version: &str,
+    output_dir: &Path,
+) -> Result<PathBuf> {
+    match component {
+        Component::Operator => build_chart(&ChartOptions {
+            output_dir: output_dir.to_path_buf(),
+            image: image_ref.to_string(),
+            image_pull_policy: "IfNotPresent".to_string(),
+            chart_version: Some(chart_version(version)),
+            ..ChartOptions::default()
+        })
+        .context("building operator chart"),
+        // Agent and nats-callout already bailed in Component::spec();
+        // reaching here would mean a bug.
+        Component::Agent | Component::NatsCallout => {
+            unreachable!("Component::spec() returns Err for unwired components")
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+fn docker_build(workspace: &Path, dockerfile: &str, image_ref: &str) -> Result<()> {
+    run(Command::new("docker")
+        .args(["build", "-f", dockerfile, "-t", image_ref, "."])
+        .current_dir(workspace))
+}
+
+fn docker_push(image_ref: &str) -> Result<()> {
+    run(Command::new("docker").args(["push", image_ref]))
+}
+
+fn helm_package(chart_dir: &Path, out_dir: &Path) -> Result<PathBuf> {
+    let output = Command::new("helm")
+        .args([
+            "package",
+            chart_dir.to_str().context("chart_dir path not utf-8")?,
+            "-d",
+            out_dir.to_str().context("out_dir path not utf-8")?,
+        ])
+        .stderr(Stdio::inherit())
+        .output()
+        .context("spawning helm package")?;
+    if !output.status.success() {
+        bail!("helm package failed (status {})", output.status);
+    }
+    // helm prints the absolute path of the produced tgz on stdout
+    // ("Successfully packaged chart and saved it to: /path/to.tgz").
+    // The final whitespace-separated token is that path.
+    let stdout = String::from_utf8(output.stdout).context("helm package stdout not utf-8")?;
+    let tgz = stdout
+        .split_whitespace()
+        .last()
+        .map(PathBuf::from)
+        .context("helm package produced no path on stdout")?;
+    Ok(tgz)
+}
+
+fn helm_push(tgz: &Path, oci_repo: &str) -> Result<()> {
+    run(Command::new("helm").args([
+        "push",
+        tgz.to_str().context("tgz path not utf-8")?,
+        oci_repo,
+    ]))
+}
+
+fn run(cmd: &mut Command) -> Result<()> {
+    let status = cmd
+        .stdout(Stdio::inherit())
+        .stderr(Stdio::inherit())
+        .status()
+        .with_context(|| format!("spawning {:?}", cmd.get_program()))?;
+    if !status.success() {
+        bail!("{:?} failed (status {})", cmd.get_program(), status);
+    }
+    Ok(())
+}
+
+fn workspace_root() -> PathBuf {
+    // CARGO_MANIFEST_DIR is fleet/harmony-fleet-deploy → workspace is two up.
+    let root = PathBuf::from(env!("CARGO_MANIFEST_DIR"))
+        .join("..")
+        .join("..");
+    root.canonicalize().unwrap_or(root)
+}
+
+// Helm chart versions must be SemVer (no leading `v`). The OCI image
+// tag is left untouched — Harbor accepts arbitrary tag strings.
+fn chart_version(tag: &str) -> String {
+    tag.strip_prefix('v').unwrap_or(tag).to_string()
+}
diff --git a/fleet/harmony-fleet-deploy/src/operator/chart.rs b/fleet/harmony-fleet-deploy/src/operator/chart.rs
index ca9cf73d..779c246e 100644
--- a/fleet/harmony-fleet-deploy/src/operator/chart.rs
+++ b/fleet/harmony-fleet-deploy/src/operator/chart.rs
@@ -51,11 +51,6 @@ pub struct ChartOptions {
     /// sideloaded k3d images, `Never` if the image must already be
     /// present.
     pub image_pull_policy: String,
-    /// Namespace the operator Deployment runs in. `helm install
-    /// --create-namespace` creates it if absent; the chart itself
-    /// doesn't include a Namespace resource so the chart stays
-    /// reusable across namespaces.
-    pub namespace: String,
     /// NATS URL the operator connects to. For in-cluster NATS at
     /// `fleet-nats.fleet-system` the default `nats://fleet-nats.fleet-system:4222`
     /// works with no config.
@@ -67,6 +62,12 @@ pub struct ChartOptions {
     /// Secret entirely and lets the operator connect to NATS without
     /// auth — only sensible when there's no callout in front of NATS.
     pub credentials: Option<OperatorCredentials>,
+    /// Chart-level version written into `Chart.yaml`. `None` falls back
+    /// to the deploy crate's `CARGO_PKG_VERSION` — fine for in-process
+    /// uses (e2e harness, runtime operator Score). The release binary
+    /// sets this to the released tag so the OCI chart artifact lands
+    /// at `…/harmony-fleet-operator:<tag>` matching the image tag.
+    pub chart_version: Option<String>,
 }
 
 /// What the operator pod needs to authenticate to NATS via the auth
@@ -107,10 +108,14 @@ impl Default for ChartOptions {
             output_dir: PathBuf::from("/tmp/fleet-load-test/chart"),
             image: "localhost/harmony-fleet-operator:latest".to_string(),
             image_pull_policy: "IfNotPresent".to_string(),
-            namespace: "fleet-system".to_string(),
-            nats_url: "nats://fleet-nats.fleet-system:4222".to_string(),
+            // Deliberately uses a non-fleet-specific in-cluster DNS
+            // assuming NATS sits in the same namespace as the operator;
+            // the e2e harness and production overrides set this
+            // explicitly when their NATS lives elsewhere.
+            nats_url: "nats://fleet-nats:4222".to_string(),
             log_level: "info,kube_runtime=warn".to_string(),
             credentials: None,
+            chart_version: None,
         }
     }
 }
@@ -131,10 +136,17 @@ pub fn build_chart(opts: &ChartOptions) -> Result<PathBuf> {
     std::fs::create_dir_all(&opts.output_dir)
         .with_context(|| format!("creating {:?}", opts.output_dir))?;
 
-    let mut chart = HelmChart::new(
-        RELEASE_NAME.to_string(),
-        env!("CARGO_PKG_VERSION").to_string(),
-    );
+    // `HelmChart::new(name, app_version)` only sets appVersion — the
+    // chart-level `version` field defaults to `"0.1.0"` and has to be
+    // assigned directly. For a release artifact we want both to track
+    // the released tag (one tag → one image + chart at the same
+    // version), so set both.
+    let chart_version = opts
+        .chart_version
+        .clone()
+        .unwrap_or_else(|| env!("CARGO_PKG_VERSION").to_string());
+    let mut chart = HelmChart::new(RELEASE_NAME.to_string(), chart_version.clone());
+    chart.version = chart_version;
     chart.description = "IoT operator — Deployment CRD → NATS KV".to_string();
 
     chart.add_resource(HelmResourceKind::Crd(crd_with_keep_annotation(
@@ -144,12 +156,18 @@ pub fn build_chart(opts: &ChartOptions) -> Result<PathBuf> {
         Device::crd(),
     )));
 
-    chart.add_resource(HelmResourceKind::ServiceAccount(service_account(
-        &opts.namespace,
-    )));
+    chart.add_resource(HelmResourceKind::ServiceAccount(service_account()));
     chart.add_resource(HelmResourceKind::ClusterRole(cluster_role()));
+    // The CRB's subject must reference the ServiceAccount's namespace.
+    // Since the chart itself is namespace-neutral (helm assigns the
+    // release namespace to the SA + Deployment at install time), we
+    // emit a literal helm template token so helm substitutes the
+    // release namespace at the same moment. This is the one chart
+    // resource that can't be made namespace-neutral by simply omitting
+    // the field — `subjects[].namespace` is part of the resource
+    // identity and must point somewhere concrete after rendering.
     chart.add_resource(HelmResourceKind::ClusterRoleBinding(cluster_role_binding(
-        &opts.namespace,
+        "{{ .Release.Namespace }}",
     )));
     // Secret intentionally NOT included in the on-disk helm chart —
     // credentials are operator-environment-specific and out of scope
@@ -175,10 +193,13 @@ pub fn operator_secret(opts: &ChartOptions) -> Option<Secret> {
         SECRET_KEY_CREDENTIALS_TOML.to_string(),
         ByteString(creds.credentials_toml.as_bytes().to_vec()),
     );
+    // Namespace deliberately omitted — the caller passes the target
+    // namespace to `K8sResourceScore::single`, which injects it at
+    // apply time. Keeps the Secret manifest reusable across
+    // environments without baking a namespace into source.
     Some(Secret {
         metadata: ObjectMeta {
             name: Some(SECRET_NAME.to_string()),
-            namespace: Some(opts.namespace.clone()),
             ..Default::default()
         },
         data: Some(data),
@@ -201,11 +222,13 @@ fn crd_with_keep_annotation(mut crd: CustomResourceDefinition) -> CustomResource
     crd
 }
 
-fn service_account(namespace: &str) -> ServiceAccount {
+// Namespace-neutral: helm fills in the release namespace at install
+// time, and the direct-apply path (`K8sResourceScore::single(sa,
+// Some(ns))`) injects the namespace through its second argument.
+fn service_account() -> ServiceAccount {
     ServiceAccount {
         metadata: ObjectMeta {
             name: Some(SERVICE_ACCOUNT.to_string()),
-            namespace: Some(namespace.to_string()),
             ..Default::default()
         },
         ..Default::default()
@@ -325,10 +348,14 @@ fn operator_deployment(opts: &ChartOptions) -> K8sDeployment {
         });
     }
 
+    // Namespace deliberately omitted — same rationale as the
+    // ServiceAccount: helm fills in the release namespace at install
+    // time, and the direct-apply path injects it via
+    // `K8sResourceScore::single(.., Some(ns))`. Keeps the chart
+    // reusable without baking a namespace into source.
     K8sDeployment {
         metadata: ObjectMeta {
             name: Some(RELEASE_NAME.to_string()),
-            namespace: Some(opts.namespace.clone()),
             labels: Some(match_labels.clone()),
             ..Default::default()
         },
@@ -364,14 +391,20 @@ fn operator_deployment(opts: &ChartOptions) -> K8sDeployment {
 
 // Re-export the manifest builders so the e2e bring-up can apply the
 // operator inline (Score-style) without re-implementing the manifests.
-pub fn build_service_account(opts: &ChartOptions) -> ServiceAccount {
-    service_account(&opts.namespace)
+//
+// The SA + Deployment helpers return namespace-neutral manifests;
+// callers inject the target namespace through `K8sResourceScore::single`.
+// The CRB takes the SA's namespace as an explicit argument because the
+// CRB subject must reference a concrete namespace — there's no
+// kube-side "current namespace" for cluster-scoped resources.
+pub fn build_service_account() -> ServiceAccount {
+    service_account()
 }
 pub fn build_cluster_role() -> ClusterRole {
     cluster_role()
 }
-pub fn build_cluster_role_binding(opts: &ChartOptions) -> ClusterRoleBinding {
-    cluster_role_binding(&opts.namespace)
+pub fn build_cluster_role_binding(subject_namespace: &str) -> ClusterRoleBinding {
+    cluster_role_binding(subject_namespace)
 }
 pub fn build_operator_deployment(opts: &ChartOptions) -> K8sDeployment {
     operator_deployment(opts)
diff --git a/fleet/harmony-fleet-deploy/src/operator/score.rs b/fleet/harmony-fleet-deploy/src/operator/score.rs
index 44434e70..c57da2fe 100644
--- a/fleet/harmony-fleet-deploy/src/operator/score.rs
+++ b/fleet/harmony-fleet-deploy/src/operator/score.rs
@@ -65,7 +65,9 @@ impl FleetOperatorScore {
     pub fn new() -> Self {
         let defaults = ChartOptions::default();
         Self {
-            namespace: defaults.namespace,
+            // FleetOperatorScore's own default; the chart itself is
+            // namespace-neutral. Callers override via `.namespace(..)`.
+            namespace: "fleet-system".to_string(),
             release_name: "harmony-fleet-operator".to_string(),
             image: defaults.image,
             image_pull_policy: defaults.image_pull_policy,
@@ -146,10 +148,10 @@ impl<T: Topology + HelmCommand + K8sclient> Interpret<T> for FleetOperatorInterp
             output_dir: tmp.path().to_path_buf(),
             image: self.score.image.clone(),
             image_pull_policy: self.score.image_pull_policy.clone(),
-            namespace: self.score.namespace.clone(),
             nats_url: self.score.nats_url.clone(),
             log_level: self.score.log_level.clone(),
             credentials: self.score.credentials.clone(),
+            chart_version: None,
         };
 
         // Apply the credentials Secret BEFORE the helm install. The
diff --git a/fleet/harmony-fleet-operator/release.sh b/fleet/harmony-fleet-operator/release.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..ddffa459
--- /dev/null
+++ b/fleet/harmony-fleet-operator/release.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Build + push the harmony-fleet-operator image and helm chart at one
+# matching version. Invoked locally and by .gitea CI.
+#
+#   ./fleet/harmony-fleet-operator/release.sh <registry> <version>
+#   ./fleet/harmony-fleet-operator/release.sh hub.nationtech.io v0.1.0
+#
+# Expects `docker login <registry>` and `helm registry login <registry>`
+# to have already been run; both are cheap one-liners and let CI use the
+# same script unchanged.
+#
+# This is the operator-specific 1-line wrapper around the app-scoped
+# `harmony-fleet-release` binary. The wrapper exists so a tag like
+# `harmony-fleet-operator-v0.1.0` routes straight to the right
+# `--component` without the caller having to remember the flag. Agent
+# and nats-callout will get sibling `release.sh` scripts the same way.
+#
+# All heavy lifting (docker build/push, chart hydration, helm
+# package/push) is in the binary; this script just selects the
+# component.
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+REGISTRY="${1:?usage: release.sh <registry> <version>}"
+VERSION="${2:?usage: release.sh <registry> <version>}"
+
+cd "$(dirname "$0")/../.."
+
+exec cargo run --release -p harmony-fleet-deploy \
+    --bin harmony-fleet-release -- \
+    --component operator \
+    --registry "$REGISTRY" --version "$VERSION"