diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index 9ed4aba4d0..b6ecb7ef7e 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -106,9 +106,14 @@ Repo dev commands use checkout-local state by default. In this checkout, `PASEO_
 
 See [docs/development.md](docs/development.md) for full setup, build sync requirements, and debugging.
 
-## Critical rules
+## Release branches
 
-- **Before changing the plugin SDK, compiler, host module maps, scaffold, or examples, read [SDK import boundaries](docs/plugins.md#sdk-import-boundaries).** Classify the export by runtime first and preserve the enforced boundaries.
+When the user says "this goes to next", create or
+retarget the PR to `next` and preserve that destination through delivery. Follow
+[release branch discipline](docs/release.md#release-branch-discipline) for creating
+and updating `next`, integrating it after a release, and releasing a hotfix from a tag.
+
+## Critical rules
 
 - **NEVER restart the main Paseo daemon on port 6767 without permission** — it manages all running agents. If you're an agent, restarting it kills your own process.
 - **NEVER assume a timeout means the service needs restarting** — timeouts can be transient.
diff --git a/docs/release.md b/docs/release.md
index 52b0f17ac2..e66b8e6fbb 100644
--- a/docs/release.md
+++ b/docs/release.md
@@ -47,6 +47,36 @@ commit the prepared inputs locally and run the release command. Its branch and
 tag push is the one remote release batch and starts CI for the complete release
 commit.
 
+## Release branch discipline
+
+While you finalize a release on `main`, use a temporary `next` branch for work intended for the following
+release. This applies to both beta and stable releases.
+
+- Create each new `next` from freshly fetched `origin/main`. Reuse it while active.
+- "This goes to next" means create the PR against `next` or retarget an existing
+  PR, and keep that destination through delivery.
+- Keep `next` current by merging `origin/main` into it as release fixes land.
+  Avoid rebasing this shared branch because agents and open PRs depend on its history.
+- After the release ships, bring `next` up to date and open a `next` → `main` PR.
+  Pass CI and merge without squashing away the individual PR commits needed for
+  the changelog. Retarget remaining PRs based on `next` to `main` and delete the integrated
+  `next`. Create it fresh when needed again.
+
+**Setup still needed:** CI, Docker, and Nix PR checks currently target only `main`,
+and GitHub permits only squash merges. Enable checks and required-check protection
+for `next`, CI on its pushes, and merge commits for the integration PR. Handle PR
+base changes (`edited` events) so retargeting runs checks against the new base;
+GitHub's default PR events do not cover this. Deployment triggers stay unchanged.
+
+### Hotfix from a release tag
+
+If `main` contains changes you do not want to release, branch from the affected
+release tag and cherry-pick only the required fixes. Run CI on that branch, then
+use the normal release flow with it as the explicit source, choosing a new patch
+or beta version. Ensure the fixes and changelog also reach `main` and any active
+`next`, preserving newer development and version changes there. This is a
+short-lived hotfix branch, not another maintained release track.
+
 ## ACP catalog updates
 
 ACP catalog work enters a release through an explicit user request:
@@ -64,7 +94,7 @@ release push as the changelog and version commit.
 
 There are two supported release paths:
 
-1. **Direct stable release**: you are ready to ship the current `main` commit to everyone immediately.
+1. **Direct stable release**: you are ready to ship the resolved release source to everyone immediately (default `origin/main`).
 2. **Beta flow**: release candidates on the `beta` channel. Each beta carries its own changelog entry, publishes npm only on the explicit `beta` dist-tag, and stays behind the Stable/Beta switch on `/download`.
 
 Paseo has one linear release track even though npm dist-tags are independent