diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 977b367..063f3db 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -5,6 +5,44 @@ All notable changes to Cortex will be documented in this file.
 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/),
 and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
+## [1.0.0] — 2026-04-27
+
+First production release. Cortex ships 22 widget builders, 180+ tests, a coordinated theme system, real GitHub data integrations, and the `cortex compose` command for one-image profile setups.
+
+### Added — widgets (22 total)
+- 🧠 **brain-anatomical** — anatomically-accurate neon brain, 200+ Wikimedia paths
+- 🌅 **synthwave-banner** — 80s retro-futurist hero (4 palettes)
+- 🌌 **skill-galaxy** — constellation of skills as named stars (3 backgrounds)
+- 📡 **skill-radar** — polar chart with translucent breathing polygon
+- 🚇 **code-roadmap** — metro/subway-style multi-line career map
+- 🟩 **activity-heatmap** — 7×52 contribution grid with neon glow (4 palettes)
+- 🧊 **stat-cubes** — isometric 3D blocks with label/value faces
+- 🏆 **achievement-wall** — beveled trophy cabinet with hex medallions
+- 🧬 **code-dna** — twin spiral strands with language base-pair rungs
+- 🌍 **skill-globe** — stylized 2D globe with neon contribution pins
+- ✨ **particle-cloud** — labelled particles orbiting a glowing core
+- 🎵 **now-playing** — Spotify-style "currently coding in" card
+- 🎖️ **badges** — compact skill strip (4 shapes × 3 layouts × 4 animations)
+- Plus original suite: tech-cards, current-focus, yearly-highlights, header-banner, footer-banner, animated-divider, github-icon, about-typing, motto-typing
+
+### Added — system features
+- **`brand.theme`** (outrun · sunset · midnight · minimal · cyberpunk · rose) — propagates as default colors to every widget. One line changes the whole palette.
+- **Reduced-motion accessibility** — `@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce)` opt-out injected into 8 builders.
+- **Real GitHub data integrations** — `cubes.from_github` and `heatmap.from_github` flags pull live stats / contribution calendar via the GraphQL API. Graceful fallback on missing token or API error.
+- **`cortex compose`** CLI — stack any subset of the 22 widgets into a single composite SVG.
+- **`cortex.sources` package** — pure-data helpers for auto-population (`stats_cubes_from_github`, `contribution_grid_from_github`, `top_languages_from_github`).
+
+### Performance
+- Heatmap SVG: 51KB → 45KB (–12%) via `<symbol>` / `<use>` cell dedup.
+- Badges marquee: 23KB → 12KB (–47%) via `<g id>` / `<use>` loop dedup.
+
+### CI
+- New `health-check.yml` — daily build smoke + size-delta tracking, Monday code-debt audit + community signal sweep.
+- CI matrix: Python 3.10 / 3.11 / 3.12, ruff lint + format, pytest, ajv JSON Schema validation, README link check.
+
+### Breaking changes
+- None. Fully backward-compatible with v0.x widget configs.
+
 ## [Unreleased]
 
 ### Added — Phase B.1 theming surface (foundation for inline directives + web playground)
diff --git a/action.yml b/action.yml
index a1acbf1..8230892 100644
--- a/action.yml
+++ b/action.yml
@@ -75,13 +75,20 @@ runs:
         python-version: "3.12"
         cache: "pip"
 
-    # ── 2. Install Cortex CLI (the @cortex/cli npm package) ───────────────
+    # ── 2. Install Cortex from the action's pinned ref ────────────────────
+    # Install directly from this repo so the action works without a separate
+    # PyPI release pipeline. ``github.action_ref`` resolves to the tag the
+    # user pinned in ``uses: AbdullahBakir97/cortex@v1.0.0`` so they get the
+    # CLI matching their action version. Falls back to ``main`` if unset.
     - name: Install Cortex
       shell: bash
+      env:
+        CORTEX_REF: ${{ github.action_ref }}
       run: |
-        pip install --no-cache-dir requests==2.32.3 PyYAML==6.0.2
-        # In v1, ship as a Python package; later move to compiled binary for speed.
-        pip install --no-cache-dir cortex-profile==1.0.0
+        REF="${CORTEX_REF:-main}"
+        pip install --no-cache-dir \
+          "git+https://github.com/AbdullahBakir97/cortex.git@${REF}#subdirectory=packages/cortex-core" \
+          "git+https://github.com/AbdullahBakir97/cortex.git@${REF}#subdirectory=packages/cortex-cli"
 
     # ── 3. Validate the user's cortex.yml ─────────────────────────────────
     - name: Validate config
@@ -140,8 +147,6 @@ runs:
         if git diff --cached --quiet; then
           echo "No profile changes — skipping commit."
         else
-          git commit -m "chore(cortex): refresh profile assets
-
-Auto-generated by Cortex v1 — see .github/cortex.yml for config."
+          git commit -m "chore(cortex): refresh profile assets" -m "Auto-generated by Cortex v1 — see .github/cortex.yml for config."
           git push
         fi
diff --git a/packages/cortex-cli/cortex_cli/__init__.py b/packages/cortex-cli/cortex_cli/__init__.py
index d5549e2..4bedf6e 100644
--- a/packages/cortex-cli/cortex_cli/__init__.py
+++ b/packages/cortex-cli/cortex_cli/__init__.py
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 """Cortex CLI — thin command-line wrapper around cortex-core."""
 
-__version__ = "0.1.0"
+__version__ = "1.0.0"
diff --git a/packages/cortex-cli/pyproject.toml b/packages/cortex-cli/pyproject.toml
index 1d4a43c..e3f39f7 100644
--- a/packages/cortex-cli/pyproject.toml
+++ b/packages/cortex-cli/pyproject.toml
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ build-backend = "hatchling.build"
 
 [project]
 name            = "cortex-profile"
-version         = "0.1.0"
+version         = "1.0.0"
 description     = "Command-line interface for Cortex — turn your GitHub into a cinematic neon brain skill atlas."
 readme          = "README.md"
 requires-python = ">=3.10"
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ license         = { text = "MIT" }
 authors         = [{ name = "Abdullah Bakir", email = "abdullah.bakir.1997@gmail.com" }]
 keywords        = ["github", "profile", "readme", "svg", "cli", "brain", "neon"]
 classifiers     = [
-    "Development Status :: 3 - Alpha",
+    "Development Status :: 5 - Production/Stable",
     "Environment :: Console",
     "License :: OSI Approved :: MIT License",
     "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10",
diff --git a/packages/cortex-core/cortex/__init__.py b/packages/cortex-core/cortex/__init__.py
index 57ba67d..83f3995 100644
--- a/packages/cortex-core/cortex/__init__.py
+++ b/packages/cortex-core/cortex/__init__.py
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ def build_variants(config, output_dir="assets/variants"):  # type: ignore[no-unt
     return _bv(config, output_dir)
 
 
-__version__ = "0.2.1"
+__version__ = "1.0.0"
 
 
 def build_all(config: Config, output_dir: str = "assets") -> dict[str, str]:
diff --git a/packages/cortex-core/pyproject.toml b/packages/cortex-core/pyproject.toml
index 0c4d4ce..1467930 100644
--- a/packages/cortex-core/pyproject.toml
+++ b/packages/cortex-core/pyproject.toml
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ build-backend = "hatchling.build"
 
 [project]
 name            = "cortex-core"
-version         = "0.2.1"
+version         = "1.0.0"
 description     = "SVG generators, GitHub API clients, and marker rewriting for the Cortex profile system."
 readme          = "README.md"
 requires-python = ">=3.10"
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ license         = { text = "MIT" }
 authors         = [{ name = "Abdullah Bakir", email = "abdullah.bakir.1997@gmail.com" }]
 keywords        = ["github", "profile", "readme", "svg", "brain", "neon"]
 classifiers     = [
-    "Development Status :: 3 - Alpha",
+    "Development Status :: 5 - Production/Stable",
     "License :: OSI Approved :: MIT License",
     "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10",
     "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11",