diff --git a/.github/workflows/pip-release.yml b/.github/workflows/pip-release.yml
index 40ddc320..3896fd0f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/pip-release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/pip-release.yml
@@ -13,29 +13,26 @@
 #   1. cut tag `v1.99.0-pip`  → publishes the tombstone wheel first
 #   2. cut tag `v2.0.0-pip`   → publishes the PyO3 v2 wheel matrix
 #
-# Publishes via PyPI **Trusted Publishing (OIDC)** — ADR-184 P1. The
-# publish jobs mint a short-lived OIDC token from `id-token: write` and
-# the `pypi` GitHub environment; the `pypa/gh-action-pypi-publish` action
-# exchanges it for a per-run PyPI upload token. There is NO static
-# `PYPI_API_TOKEN` secret in the publish steps anymore — a manually
-# rotated token is exactly the failure mode (silent expiry → 403) this
-# migration removes.
+# Publishes via the `PYPI_API_TOKEN` GitHub Actions secret (API-token
+# auth). This is the ACTIVE, working publish path — the token is sourced
+# fresh from GCP Secret Manager per the runbook in
+# docs/integrations/pypi-release.md (GCP Secret Manager → gh secret set),
+# which also keeps KICS from flagging the secret name as a generic-secret
+# literal here.
 #
-# BLOCKING MANUAL PREREQUISITE (ADR-184 §3.1 — cannot be automated):
-#   A human with owner rights must register a Trusted Publisher on
-#   pypi.org for EACH project (wifi-densepose, and ruview as a pending
-#   publisher) with:
-#     Owner=ruvnet  Repository=RuView  Workflow=pip-release.yml  Environment=pypi
-#   Until BOTH entries exist, the publish steps fail with a
-#   "no trusted publisher configured" error (not a 403). Do NOT re-add a
-#   `password:` to "fix" that — doing so silently disables OIDC again.
-#   Fallback (ADR-184 §3.2): if OIDC is declined, restore `password:
-#   ${{ secrets.PYPI_API_TOKEN }}` on the publish steps per the token
-#   runbook in docs/integrations/pypi-release.md.
-#
-# TestPyPI dry-run: the test.pypi.org publish steps also dropped their
-# `password:` — they require a SEPARATE trusted-publisher entry on
-# test.pypi.org (same Environment=pypi) before that path will work.
+# TODO(ADR-184 P1b): migrate to PyPI OIDC Trusted Publishing to remove
+# this rotatable/expire-able credential. That switch is GATED on a manual
+# pypi.org step no CLI/agent can perform: the repo owner must register a
+# Trusted Publisher on pypi.org for owner=ruvnet / repo=RuView /
+# workflow=pip-release.yml (BOTH the wifi-densepose and ruview projects;
+# ruview as a pending publisher) — see docs/adr/ADR-184-*.md. Do NOT grant
+# the OIDC id-token write permission before that registration exists, or
+# publishing fails with "no trusted publisher configured" — a silent
+# regression the `Verify fix markers` guard `RuView#786-pypi-token-auth`
+# exists to catch (it forbids that permission string in this file). When
+# the owner confirms both entries are live, do the OIDC switch as a
+# dedicated follow-up commit (drop `password:`, add the OIDC id-token
+# permission + `environment: pypi`) so there is no capability gap between.
 #
 # Q3 (witness hash v2 — open in ADR-117 §11.3) MUST be resolved
 # before the first v2.0.0 publish. When v2 lands, add a parallel
@@ -241,15 +238,6 @@ jobs:
   publish-v2:
     name: Publish v2 wheels
     needs: [build-wheels, build-sdist]
-    # ADR-184 P1: OIDC Trusted Publishing. `id-token: write` mints the
-    # OIDC token; `environment: pypi` binds this job to the pypi.org
-    # trusted-publisher entry (see §3.1 blocking manual step in header).
-    permissions:
-      id-token: write
-      contents: read
-    environment:
-      name: pypi
-      url: https://pypi.org/p/wifi-densepose
     if: |
       always() &&
       needs.build-wheels.result == 'success' &&
@@ -269,38 +257,28 @@ jobs:
           mkdir -p dist
           find dist-staging -type f \( -name '*.whl' -o -name '*.tar.gz' \) -exec cp -v {} dist/ \;
           ls -lh dist/
-      # ADR-184 P1: Trusted Publishing (OIDC) — no `password:`. Needs a
-      # test.pypi.org trusted-publisher entry (Environment=pypi) to work.
+      # API-token auth (active path). See TODO(ADR-184 P1b) in the header
+      # before replacing `password:` with the OIDC id-token permission.
       - name: Publish to TestPyPI (dry-run target)
         if: github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' && inputs.publish_to == 'testpypi'
         uses: pypa/gh-action-pypi-publish@release/v1
         with:
           repository-url: https://test.pypi.org/legacy/
+          password: ${{ secrets.PYPI_API_TOKEN }}
           packages-dir: dist
           skip-existing: true
-      # ADR-184 P1: Trusted Publishing (OIDC) — no `password:`. INERT until
-      # the pypi.org trusted publisher is registered (header §3.1); until
-      # then this step fails "no trusted publisher configured", not 403.
       - name: Publish to PyPI
         if: |
           startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/v2.') ||
           (github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' && inputs.publish_to == 'pypi')
         uses: pypa/gh-action-pypi-publish@release/v1
         with:
+          password: ${{ secrets.PYPI_API_TOKEN }}
           packages-dir: dist
 
   publish-tombstone:
     name: Publish v1.99 tombstone
     needs: [build-tombstone]
-    # ADR-184 P1: OIDC Trusted Publishing. `id-token: write` mints the
-    # OIDC token; `environment: pypi` binds this job to the pypi.org
-    # trusted-publisher entry (see §3.1 blocking manual step in header).
-    permissions:
-      id-token: write
-      contents: read
-    environment:
-      name: pypi
-      url: https://pypi.org/p/wifi-densepose
     if: |
       always() &&
       needs.build-tombstone.result == 'success' &&
@@ -314,22 +292,21 @@ jobs:
         with:
           name: tombstone
           path: dist
-      # ADR-184 P1: Trusted Publishing (OIDC) — no `password:`. Needs a
-      # test.pypi.org trusted-publisher entry (Environment=pypi) to work.
+      # API-token auth (active path). See TODO(ADR-184 P1b) in the header
+      # before replacing `password:` with the OIDC id-token permission.
       - name: Publish to TestPyPI (dry-run target)
         if: github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' && inputs.publish_to == 'testpypi'
         uses: pypa/gh-action-pypi-publish@release/v1
         with:
           repository-url: https://test.pypi.org/legacy/
+          password: ${{ secrets.PYPI_API_TOKEN }}
           packages-dir: dist
           skip-existing: true
-      # ADR-184 P1: Trusted Publishing (OIDC) — no `password:`. INERT until
-      # the pypi.org trusted publisher is registered (header §3.1); until
-      # then this step fails "no trusted publisher configured", not 403.
       - name: Publish to PyPI
         if: |
           startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/v1.99') ||
           (github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' && inputs.publish_to == 'pypi')
         uses: pypa/gh-action-pypi-publish@release/v1
         with:
+          password: ${{ secrets.PYPI_API_TOKEN }}
           packages-dir: dist