diff --git a/.mokogitea/workflows/auto-bump.yml b/.mokogitea/workflows/auto-bump.yml
index 77eeab5..bfbd29a 100644
--- a/.mokogitea/workflows/auto-bump.yml
+++ b/.mokogitea/workflows/auto-bump.yml
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
 # REPO: https://git.mokoconsulting.tech/MokoConsulting/moko-platform
 # PATH: /.mokogitea/workflows/auto-bump.yml
 # VERSION: 09.02.00
-# BRIEF: Auto patch-bump version on every push to dev
+# BRIEF: Auto patch-bump version on every push to dev (skips merge commits)
 
 name: "Universal: Auto Version Bump"
 
@@ -16,9 +16,9 @@ on:
   push:
     branches:
       - dev
-      - main
 
 env:
+  FORCE_JAVASCRIPT_ACTIONS_TO_NODE24: true
   GITEA_URL: ${{ vars.GITEA_URL || 'https://git.mokoconsulting.tech' }}
 
 permissions:
@@ -26,11 +26,12 @@ permissions:
 
 jobs:
   bump:
-    name: Patch Bump
+    name: Version Bump
     runs-on: release
     if: >-
       !contains(github.event.head_commit.message, '[skip ci]') &&
-      !contains(github.event.head_commit.message, '[skip bump]')
+      !contains(github.event.head_commit.message, '[skip bump]') &&
+      !startsWith(github.event.head_commit.message, 'Merge pull request')
 
     steps:
       - name: Checkout
@@ -56,18 +57,7 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Bump version
         run: |
-          BRANCH="${{ github.ref_name }}"
-
-          # main = minor bump, dev = patch bump
-          if [ "$BRANCH" = "main" ]; then
-            BUMP_TYPE="--minor"
-            BUMP_LABEL="minor"
-          else
-            BUMP_TYPE=""
-            BUMP_LABEL="patch"
-          fi
-
-          BUMP=$(php ${MOKO_CLI}/version_bump.php --path . $BUMP_TYPE 2>&1) || true
+          BUMP=$(php ${MOKO_CLI}/version_bump.php --path . 2>&1) || true
           echo "$BUMP"
 
           VERSION=$(php ${MOKO_CLI}/version_read.php --path . 2>/dev/null) || true
@@ -75,7 +65,7 @@ jobs:
 
           # Propagate to platform manifests
           php ${MOKO_CLI}/version_set_platform.php \
-            --path . --version "$VERSION" --branch "$BRANCH" 2>/dev/null || true
+            --path . --version "$VERSION" --branch dev 2>/dev/null || true
           php ${MOKO_CLI}/version_check.php --path . --fix 2>/dev/null || true
 
           # Commit if anything changed
@@ -88,7 +78,7 @@ jobs:
           git config --local user.name "gitea-actions[bot]"
           git remote set-url origin "https://jmiller:${{ secrets.GA_TOKEN }}@git.mokoconsulting.tech/${{ github.repository }}.git"
           git add -A
-          git commit -m "chore(version): ${BUMP_LABEL} bump to ${VERSION} [skip ci]" \
+          git commit -m "chore(version): patch bump to ${VERSION} [skip ci]" \
             --author="gitea-actions[bot] <gitea-actions[bot]@mokoconsulting.tech>"
-          git push origin "$BRANCH"
-          echo "Bumped to ${VERSION} (${BUMP_LABEL})" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
+          git push origin dev
+          echo "Bumped to ${VERSION}" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
diff --git a/.mokogitea/workflows/auto-release.yml b/.mokogitea/workflows/auto-release.yml
index 40a22fd..ef09563 100644
--- a/.mokogitea/workflows/auto-release.yml
+++ b/.mokogitea/workflows/auto-release.yml
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ jobs:
             --from auto --to release-candidate \
             --token "${{ secrets.GA_TOKEN }}" \
             --api-base "${API_BASE}" \
-            --branch "${{ github.event.pull_request.head.ref }}"
+            --branch "${{ github.event.pull_request.head.ref || 'dev' }}"
 
       - name: Cascade lesser channels
         continue-on-error: true
@@ -180,7 +180,17 @@ jobs:
             echo "::notice::No RC release — full build pipeline"
           fi
 
-      # Version bump handled by auto-bump.yml (minor on main, patch on dev)
+      - name: "Step 1b: Minor bump version"
+        id: bump
+        if: >-
+          steps.version.outputs.skip != 'true' &&
+          steps.rc.outputs.promote != 'true'
+        run: |
+          MOKO_API="/tmp/moko-platform-api/cli"
+          php ${MOKO_API}/version_bump.php --path . --minor 2>&1 || true
+          VERSION=$(php ${MOKO_API}/version_read.php --path .)
+          echo "version=${VERSION}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          echo "Bumped to: ${VERSION}"
 
       - name: Check if already released
         if: steps.version.outputs.skip != 'true'
@@ -207,7 +217,7 @@ jobs:
           steps.version.outputs.skip != 'true' &&
           steps.check.outputs.already_released != 'true'
         run: |
-          VERSION="${{ steps.version.outputs.version }}"
+          VERSION="${{ steps.bump.outputs.version || steps.version.outputs.version }}"
           php /tmp/moko-platform-api/cli/release_validate.php \
             --path . --version "$VERSION" --output-summary --github-output || true
 
@@ -218,7 +228,7 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           BRANCH="${{ steps.version.outputs.branch }}"
           IS_MINOR="${{ steps.version.outputs.is_minor }}"
-          PATCH="${{ steps.version.outputs.version }}"
+          PATCH="${{ steps.bump.outputs.version || steps.version.outputs.version }}"
           PATCH_NUM=$(echo "$PATCH" | awk -F. '{print $3}')
 
           # Check if branch exists
@@ -237,7 +247,7 @@ jobs:
           steps.version.outputs.skip != 'true' &&
           steps.check.outputs.already_released != 'true'
         run: |
-          VERSION="${{ steps.version.outputs.version }}"
+          VERSION="${{ steps.bump.outputs.version || steps.version.outputs.version }}"
           php /tmp/moko-platform-api/cli/version_set_platform.php \
             --path . --version "$VERSION" --branch main
 
@@ -245,7 +255,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: "Step 4: Update version badges"
         if: steps.version.outputs.skip != 'true'
         run: |
-          VERSION="${{ steps.version.outputs.version }}"
+          VERSION="${{ steps.bump.outputs.version || steps.version.outputs.version }}"
           php /tmp/moko-platform-api/cli/badge_update.php --path . --version "${VERSION}" 2>/dev/null || true
           php /tmp/moko-platform-api/cli/version_check.php --path . --fix 2>/dev/null || true
 
@@ -260,7 +270,7 @@ jobs:
             echo "No changes to commit"
             exit 0
           fi
-          VERSION="${{ steps.version.outputs.version }}"
+          VERSION="${{ steps.bump.outputs.version || steps.version.outputs.version }}"
           git config --local user.email "gitea-actions[bot]@mokoconsulting.tech"
           git config --local user.name "gitea-actions[bot]"
           # Set push URL with token for branch-protected repos
@@ -292,7 +302,7 @@ jobs:
           steps.version.outputs.skip != 'true' &&
           steps.rc.outputs.promote == 'true'
         run: |
-          VERSION="${{ steps.version.outputs.version }}"
+          VERSION="${{ steps.bump.outputs.version || steps.version.outputs.version }}"
           API_BASE="${GITEA_URL}/api/v1/repos/${GITEA_ORG}/${GITEA_REPO}"
           php /tmp/moko-platform-api/cli/release_promote.php \
             --from release-candidate --to stable \
@@ -307,7 +317,7 @@ jobs:
           steps.version.outputs.skip != 'true' &&
           steps.rc.outputs.promote != 'true'
         run: |
-          VERSION="${{ steps.version.outputs.version }}"
+          VERSION="${{ steps.bump.outputs.version || steps.version.outputs.version }}"
           RELEASE_TAG="${{ steps.version.outputs.release_tag }}"
           API_BASE="${GITEA_URL}/api/v1/repos/${GITEA_ORG}/${GITEA_REPO}"
           php /tmp/moko-platform-api/cli/release_create.php \
@@ -323,7 +333,7 @@ jobs:
           steps.version.outputs.skip != 'true' &&
           steps.rc.outputs.promote != 'true'
         run: |
-          VERSION="${{ steps.version.outputs.version }}"
+          VERSION="${{ steps.bump.outputs.version || steps.version.outputs.version }}"
           RELEASE_TAG="${{ steps.version.outputs.release_tag }}"
           API_BASE="${GITEA_URL}/api/v1/repos/${GITEA_ORG}/${GITEA_REPO}"
           php /tmp/moko-platform-api/cli/release_package.php \
@@ -335,7 +345,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: "Step 5: Write update stream"
         if: steps.version.outputs.skip != 'true'
         run: |
-          VERSION="${{ steps.version.outputs.version }}"
+          VERSION="${{ steps.bump.outputs.version || steps.version.outputs.version }}"
           SHA256="${{ steps.package.outputs.sha256_zip }}"
 
           # Fetch latest updates.xml from main so preserve logic has all channels
@@ -368,29 +378,15 @@ jobs:
       # -- STEP 8b: Update release description with changelog ----------------------
       - name: "Step 8b: Update release body"
         if: steps.version.outputs.skip != 'true'
+        continue-on-error: true
         run: |
-          VERSION="${{ steps.version.outputs.version }}"
+          VERSION="${{ steps.bump.outputs.version || steps.version.outputs.version }}"
           RELEASE_TAG="${{ steps.version.outputs.release_tag }}"
-          MOKO_CLI="/tmp/moko-platform-api/cli"
-
-          php ${MOKO_CLI}/release_body_update.php \
+          php /tmp/moko-platform-api/cli/release_body_update.php \
             --path . --version "${VERSION}" --tag "${RELEASE_TAG}" \
             --token "${{ secrets.GA_TOKEN }}" \
             --gitea-url "${GITEA_URL}" --org "${GITEA_ORG}" --repo "${GITEA_REPO}" \
-            2>/dev/null || {
-            # Fallback: simple body update if CLI not available
-            API_BASE="${GITEA_URL}/api/v1/repos/${GITEA_ORG}/${GITEA_REPO}"
-            RELEASE_ID=$(curl -sf -H "Authorization: token ${{ secrets.GA_TOKEN }}" \
-              "${API_BASE}/releases/tags/${RELEASE_TAG}" 2>/dev/null | \
-              python3 -c "import sys,json; print(json.load(sys.stdin).get('id',''))" 2>/dev/null || true)
-            if [ -n "$RELEASE_ID" ] && [ "$RELEASE_ID" != "None" ]; then
-              BODY="## ${VERSION} ($(date +%Y-%m-%d))\n\nChecksum files attached as \`*.sha256\` assets."
-              curl -sf -X PATCH -H "Authorization: token ${{ secrets.GA_TOKEN }}" \
-                -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-                "${API_BASE}/releases/${RELEASE_ID}" \
-                -d "{\"body\":\"${BODY}\"}" > /dev/null 2>&1
-            fi
-          }
+            2>&1 || true
           echo "Release body updated" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
 
       # -- STEP 9: Mirror to GitHub (stable only) --------------------------------
@@ -400,7 +396,7 @@ jobs:
           secrets.GH_TOKEN != ''
         continue-on-error: true
         run: |
-          VERSION="${{ steps.version.outputs.version }}"
+          VERSION="${{ steps.bump.outputs.version || steps.version.outputs.version }}"
           RELEASE_TAG="${{ steps.version.outputs.release_tag }}"
           GH_REPO="${{ vars.GH_MIRROR_REPO || github.repository }}"
           API_BASE="${GITEA_URL}/api/v1/repos/${GITEA_ORG}/${GITEA_REPO}"
@@ -433,7 +429,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: "Delete lesser pre-release channels"
         continue-on-error: true
         run: |
-          VERSION="${{ steps.version.outputs.version }}"
+          VERSION="${{ steps.bump.outputs.version || steps.version.outputs.version }}"
           API_BASE="${GITEA_URL}/api/v1/repos/${GITEA_ORG}/${GITEA_REPO}"
           php /tmp/moko-platform-api/cli/release_cascade.php \
             --stability stable \
@@ -475,7 +471,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Pipeline Summary
         if: always()
         run: |
-          VERSION="${{ steps.version.outputs.version }}"
+          VERSION="${{ steps.bump.outputs.version || steps.version.outputs.version }}"
           PLATFORM="${{ steps.platform.outputs.platform }}"
           if [ "${{ steps.version.outputs.skip }}" = "true" ]; then
             echo "## Release Skipped" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
diff --git a/.mokogitea/workflows/pre-release.yml b/.mokogitea/workflows/pre-release.yml
index a84e469..f0b1d88 100644
--- a/.mokogitea/workflows/pre-release.yml
+++ b/.mokogitea/workflows/pre-release.yml
@@ -52,28 +52,19 @@ jobs:
           fetch-depth: 0
           token: ${{ secrets.GA_TOKEN }}
 
-      - name: Setup tools
+      - name: Setup moko-platform tools
+        env:
+          MOKO_CLONE_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GA_TOKEN }}
+          MOKO_CLONE_HOST: git.mokoconsulting.tech/MokoConsulting
         run: |
-          # Update moko-platform CLI tools if available; install PHP if missing
-          if command -v moko-platform-update &> /dev/null; then
-            moko-platform-update
-          elif [ -d "/opt/moko-platform" ]; then
-            cd /opt/moko-platform && git pull origin main --quiet 2>/dev/null || true
-          else
-            if ! command -v php &> /dev/null; then
-              sudo apt-get update -qq
-              sudo apt-get install -y -qq php-cli php-mbstring php-xml php-zip php-curl >/dev/null 2>&1
-            fi
-            git clone --depth 1 --branch main --quiet \
-              "https://x-access-token:${{ secrets.GA_TOKEN }}@git.mokoconsulting.tech/MokoConsulting/moko-platform.git" \
-              /tmp/moko-platform-api
-          fi
-          # Set MOKO_CLI to whichever path exists
-          if [ -d "/opt/moko-platform/cli" ]; then
-            echo "MOKO_CLI=/opt/moko-platform/cli" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
-          else
-            echo "MOKO_CLI=/tmp/moko-platform-api/cli" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+          if ! command -v composer &> /dev/null; then
+            sudo apt-get update -qq && sudo apt-get install -y -qq php-cli php-mbstring php-xml php-zip php-curl composer >/dev/null 2>&1
           fi
+          git clone --depth 1 --branch main --quiet \
+            "https://x-access-token:${MOKO_CLONE_TOKEN}@${MOKO_CLONE_HOST}/moko-platform.git" \
+            /tmp/moko-platform-api
+          cd /tmp/moko-platform-api && composer install --no-dev --no-interaction --quiet
+          echo "MOKO_CLI=/tmp/moko-platform-api/cli" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
 
       - name: Detect platform
         id: platform
@@ -129,132 +120,37 @@ jobs:
           echo "tag=${TAG}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
           echo "zip_name=${ZIP_NAME}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
           echo "ext_element=${EXT_ELEMENT}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
-          echo "manifest=${MANIFEST}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
 
           echo "=== Pre-Release: ${EXT_ELEMENT} ${VERSION}${SUFFIX} ==="
 
-      - name: Build package
-        run: |
-          SOURCE_DIR="src"
-          [ ! -d "$SOURCE_DIR" ] && SOURCE_DIR="htdocs"
-          if [ ! -d "$SOURCE_DIR" ]; then
-            echo "::error::No src/ or htdocs/ directory"
-            exit 1
-          fi
-
-          MANIFEST="${{ steps.meta.outputs.manifest }}"
-          EXT_TYPE=""
-          if [ -n "$MANIFEST" ]; then
-            EXT_TYPE=$(sed -n 's/.*<extension[^>]*type="\([^"]*\)".*/\1/p' "$MANIFEST" | head -1)
-          fi
-
-          EXCLUDES="sftp-config* .ftpignore *.ppk *.pem *.key .env* *.local .build-trigger"
-
-          mkdir -p build/package
-
-          if [ "$EXT_TYPE" = "package" ] && [ -d "${SOURCE_DIR}/packages" ]; then
-            echo "=== Building Joomla PACKAGE (multi-extension) ==="
-            for ext_dir in "${SOURCE_DIR}"/packages/*/; do
-              [ ! -d "$ext_dir" ] && continue
-              EXT_NAME=$(basename "$ext_dir")
-              echo "  Packaging sub-extension: ${EXT_NAME}"
-              cd "$ext_dir"
-              zip -r "../../build/package/${EXT_NAME}.zip" . -x $EXCLUDES
-              cd "$OLDPWD"
-            done
-            # Copy top-level files (manifest XML, script PHP, etc.)
-            for f in "${SOURCE_DIR}"/*.xml "${SOURCE_DIR}"/*.php; do
-              [ -f "$f" ] && cp "$f" build/package/
-            done
-            # Copy top-level directories (language/, media/, etc.) — exclude packages/
-            for d in "${SOURCE_DIR}"/*/; do
-              [ ! -d "$d" ] && continue
-              DIRNAME=$(basename "$d")
-              [ "$DIRNAME" = "packages" ] && continue
-              cp -r "$d" "build/package/${DIRNAME}"
-              echo "  Included dir: ${DIRNAME}/"
-            done
-          else
-            echo "=== Building standard extension ==="
-            rsync -a \
-              --exclude='sftp-config*' \
-              --exclude='.ftpignore' \
-              --exclude='*.ppk' \
-              --exclude='*.pem' \
-              --exclude='*.key' \
-              --exclude='.env*' \
-              --exclude='*.local' \
-              --exclude='.build-trigger' \
-              "${SOURCE_DIR}/" build/package/
-          fi
-
-      - name: Create ZIP
-        id: zip
-        run: |
-          ZIP_NAME="${{ steps.meta.outputs.zip_name }}"
-          cd build/package
-          zip -r "../${ZIP_NAME}" .
-          cd ..
-
-          SHA256=$(sha256sum "${ZIP_NAME}" | cut -d' ' -f1)
-          echo "sha256=${SHA256}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
-          echo "ZIP: ${ZIP_NAME} (SHA: ${SHA256:0:16}...)"
-
-      - name: Create or replace Gitea release
+      - name: Create release
         id: release
         run: |
           TAG="${{ steps.meta.outputs.tag }}"
           VERSION="${{ steps.meta.outputs.version }}"
-          STABILITY="${{ steps.meta.outputs.stability }}"
-          SHA256="${{ steps.zip.outputs.sha256 }}"
-          ZIP_NAME="${{ steps.meta.outputs.zip_name }}"
-          EXT_ELEMENT="${{ steps.meta.outputs.ext_element }}"
-          TOKEN="${{ secrets.GA_TOKEN }}"
-          API="${GITEA_URL}/api/v1/repos/${GITEA_ORG}/${GITEA_REPO}"
-          BRANCH=$(git branch --show-current)
+          API_BASE="${GITEA_URL}/api/v1/repos/${GITEA_ORG}/${GITEA_REPO}"
+          php ${MOKO_CLI}/release_create.php \
+            --path . --version "$VERSION" --tag "$TAG" \
+            --token "${{ secrets.GA_TOKEN }}" --api-base "$API_BASE" \
+            --repo "${GITEA_REPO}" --branch dev --prerelease
 
-          BODY="## ${VERSION} ($(date +%Y-%m-%d))
-          **Channel:** ${STABILITY}
-          **SHA-256:** \`${SHA256}\`"
-
-          # Delete existing release
-          EXISTING_ID=$(curl -sS -H "Authorization: token ${TOKEN}" \
-            "${API}/releases/tags/${TAG}" | jq -r '.id // empty' 2>/dev/null)
-          if [ -n "$EXISTING_ID" ]; then
-            curl -sS -X DELETE -H "Authorization: token ${TOKEN}" \
-              "${API}/releases/${EXISTING_ID}" 2>/dev/null || true
-            curl -sS -X DELETE -H "Authorization: token ${TOKEN}" \
-              "${API}/tags/${TAG}" 2>/dev/null || true
-          fi
-
-          # Create release
-          RELEASE_ID=$(curl -sS -X POST -H "Authorization: token ${TOKEN}" \
-            -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-            "${API}/releases" \
-            -d "$(jq -n \
-              --arg tag "$TAG" \
-              --arg target "$BRANCH" \
-              --arg name "${EXT_ELEMENT} ${VERSION} (${STABILITY})" \
-              --arg body "$BODY" \
-              '{tag_name: $tag, target_commitish: $target, name: $name, body: $body, prerelease: true}'
-            )" | jq -r '.id')
-
-          echo "release_id=${RELEASE_ID}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
-
-          # Upload ZIP
-          curl -sS -X POST -H "Authorization: token ${TOKEN}" \
-            -H "Content-Type: application/octet-stream" \
-            "${API}/releases/${RELEASE_ID}/assets?name=${ZIP_NAME}" \
-            --data-binary "@build/${ZIP_NAME}"
-
-          echo "Released: ${EXT_ELEMENT} ${VERSION} (${STABILITY})"
+      - name: Build package and upload
+        id: package
+        run: |
+          VERSION="${{ steps.meta.outputs.version }}"
+          TAG="${{ steps.meta.outputs.tag }}"
+          API_BASE="${GITEA_URL}/api/v1/repos/${GITEA_ORG}/${GITEA_REPO}"
+          php ${MOKO_CLI}/release_package.php \
+            --path . --version "$VERSION" --tag "$TAG" \
+            --token "${{ secrets.GA_TOKEN }}" --api-base "$API_BASE" \
+            --repo "${GITEA_REPO}" --output /tmp || true
 
       - name: Update updates.xml
         if: steps.platform.outputs.platform == 'joomla'
         run: |
           VERSION="${{ steps.meta.outputs.version }}"
           STABILITY="${{ steps.meta.outputs.stability }}"
-          SHA256="${{ steps.zip.outputs.sha256 }}"
+          SHA256="${{ steps.package.outputs.sha256_zip }}"
 
           if [ ! -f "updates.xml" ]; then
             echo "No updates.xml -- skipping"
@@ -316,7 +212,7 @@ jobs:
           VERSION="${{ steps.meta.outputs.version }}"
           STABILITY="${{ steps.meta.outputs.stability }}"
           ZIP_NAME="${{ steps.meta.outputs.zip_name }}"
-          SHA256="${{ steps.zip.outputs.sha256 }}"
+          SHA256="${{ steps.package.outputs.sha256_zip }}"
           echo "## Pre-Release Complete" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
           echo "" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
           echo "| Field | Value |" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index cb8bf56..d6e4565 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ DEFGROUP: MokoStandards.Root
 INGROUP: MokoStandards
 REPO: https://git.mokoconsulting.tech/MokoConsulting/moko-platform
 PATH: /README.md
-VERSION: 09.03.00
+VERSION: 09.02.04
 BRIEF: Project overview and documentation
 -->