diff --git a/.github/workflows/publish.yml b/.github/workflows/publish.yml
index dcec603..b840a5a 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/publish.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/publish.yml
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ permissions:
 jobs:
   integration:
     name: integration node v24 macos-15-intel
+    if: github.event.release.prerelease == false
     runs-on: macos-15-intel
 
     steps:
@@ -29,6 +30,7 @@ jobs:
 
   publish:
     name: publish to npmjs
+    if: github.event.release.prerelease == false
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     needs: integration
 
@@ -77,7 +79,36 @@ jobs:
       - name: verify cli runtime dependency tree
         run: npm ls --omit=dev --all --prefix packages/cli
 
+      - name: check appdmg npm package version
+        id: npm_appdmg
+        run: |
+          package_name="$(node -p "require('./package.json').name")"
+          package_version="$(node -p "require('./package.json').version")"
+
+          if npm view "${package_name}@${package_version}" version --json >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+            echo "exists=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          else
+            echo "exists=false" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          fi
+
+          echo "package=${package_name}@${package_version}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+
+      - name: check cli npm package version
+        id: npm_cli
+        run: |
+          package_name="$(node -p "require('./packages/cli/package.json').name")"
+          package_version="$(node -p "require('./packages/cli/package.json').version")"
+
+          if npm view "${package_name}@${package_version}" version --json >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+            echo "exists=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          else
+            echo "exists=false" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          fi
+
+          echo "package=${package_name}@${package_version}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+
       - name: pack appdmg package
+        if: steps.npm_appdmg.outputs.exists == 'false'
         id: pack_appdmg
         run: |
           mkdir -p dist/appdmg
@@ -87,6 +118,7 @@ jobs:
           echo "tarball=$tarball" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
 
       - name: pack cli package
+        if: steps.npm_cli.outputs.exists == 'false'
         id: pack_cli
         run: |
           mkdir -p dist/cli
@@ -99,11 +131,13 @@ jobs:
           echo "tarball=$tarball" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
 
       - name: attest npm package artifacts
+        if: steps.npm_appdmg.outputs.exists == 'false' || steps.npm_cli.outputs.exists == 'false'
         uses: actions/attest@v4
         with:
           subject-path: dist/**/*.tgz
 
       - name: upload npm package artifacts
+        if: steps.npm_appdmg.outputs.exists == 'false' || steps.npm_cli.outputs.exists == 'false'
         uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
         with:
           name: npm-packages
@@ -111,12 +145,14 @@ jobs:
           if-no-files-found: error
 
       - name: publish appdmg package
+        if: steps.npm_appdmg.outputs.exists == 'false'
         run: npm publish "$TARBALL" --provenance --access public
         env:
           TARBALL: ${{ steps.pack_appdmg.outputs.tarball }}
           NODE_AUTH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.NPM_TOKEN }}
 
       - name: publish cli package
+        if: steps.npm_cli.outputs.exists == 'false'
         run: npm publish "$TARBALL" --provenance --access public
         env:
           TARBALL: ${{ steps.pack_cli.outputs.tarball }}
diff --git a/docs/npm-publishing.md b/docs/npm-publishing.md
index 5b1ac55..a2fa0fb 100644
--- a/docs/npm-publishing.md
+++ b/docs/npm-publishing.md
@@ -31,8 +31,13 @@ Trusted Publishing works.
 Each publish workflow:
 
 - runs on a GitHub-hosted runner with `id-token: write`;
+- ignores GitHub prereleases so prerelease tags cannot publish the npm `latest`
+  dist-tag by accident;
 - installs with Node.js 24;
 - runs tests, audit, and runtime dependency checks;
+- checks whether the exact package version already exists on npm so rerunning a
+  partially successful release can continue with the remaining unpublished
+  packages;
 - creates the exact npm package tarball with `npm pack`;
 - creates a GitHub artifact attestation for that `.tgz`;
 - uploads the `.tgz` as a workflow artifact;