diff --git a/.github/workflows/create-release.yml b/.github/workflows/create-release.yml
index 7223786d79..39b6394407 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/create-release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/create-release.yml
@@ -323,10 +323,31 @@ jobs:
           done < <(find "$IMG" -type f)
           codesign --verify --strict --verbose=2 "$IMG/runtime/bin/java"
           # Notarize: zip the signed image, submit, wait for Apple's verdict.
-          ditto -c -k --keepParent "$IMG" "$RUNNER_TEMP/amy-notarize.zip"
-          xcrun notarytool submit "$RUNNER_TEMP/amy-notarize.zip" \
-            --apple-id "$NOTARY_APPLE_ID" --password "$NOTARY_PASSWORD" \
-            --team-id "$NOTARY_TEAM_ID" --wait
+          # The notary service recursively inspects the lib/*.jar files, so any
+          # unsigned Mach-O embedded in them (secp256k1/jna/sqlite/skiko natives)
+          # can come back Invalid. Surface the per-file log so the first real run
+          # is diagnostic rather than a bare failure.
+          ZIP="$RUNNER_TEMP/amy-notarize.zip"
+          OUT="$RUNNER_TEMP/notary-submit.json"
+          ditto -c -k --keepParent "$IMG" "$ZIP"
+          if ! xcrun notarytool submit "$ZIP" \
+                --apple-id "$NOTARY_APPLE_ID" --password "$NOTARY_PASSWORD" \
+                --team-id "$NOTARY_TEAM_ID" --wait --output-format json > "$OUT"; then
+            echo "::warning::notarytool submit exited non-zero"
+          fi
+          cat "$OUT"
+          STATUS="$(jq -r '.status // "Unknown"' "$OUT" 2>/dev/null || echo Unknown)"
+          SUBMISSION_ID="$(jq -r '.id // empty' "$OUT" 2>/dev/null || true)"
+          if [ "$STATUS" != "Accepted" ]; then
+            echo "::error::Notarization status: $STATUS"
+            if [ -n "$SUBMISSION_ID" ]; then
+              echo "----- notary log -----"
+              xcrun notarytool log "$SUBMISSION_ID" \
+                --apple-id "$NOTARY_APPLE_ID" --password "$NOTARY_PASSWORD" \
+                --team-id "$NOTARY_TEAM_ID" || true
+            fi
+            exit 1
+          fi
 
       # jpackage pins libicu to the build host's version (libicu74 on
       # ubuntu-24.04). Rewrite the .deb so it installs across Debian/Ubuntu.
diff --git a/BUILDING.md b/BUILDING.md
index aefce7849b..1fcd052bca 100644
--- a/BUILDING.md
+++ b/BUILDING.md
@@ -281,6 +281,28 @@ Gatekeeper verifies notarization **online** on first run — fine for a CLI.
 Note the Homebrew-core jvm bundle (`amy-<version>-jvm.tar.gz`) is **not** signed:
 Homebrew removes the quarantine attribute on its own downloads.
 
+> **Validated (Developer ID `D77MCV9NZ7`):** signing every Mach-O in the bundled
+> JRE with hardened runtime + `amy.entitlements` lets `amy init` derive a key via
+> secp256k1 with no library-validation crash. Dropping `disable-library-validation`
+> reproduces `UnsatisfiedLinkError: … different Team IDs` on the runtime-extracted
+> `libsecp256k1-jni.dylib` — so that entitlement is load-bearing, not decorative.
+>
+> **Open risk — embedded jar natives.** The notary service unpacks `lib/*.jar`
+> recursively and checks every Mach-O for a signature + hardened runtime. Our
+> sign loop only touches loose files, so 9 unsigned natives ride along inside
+> jars on a macOS build: `secp256k1` (1, required at runtime), `jna` (2),
+> `sqlite` (2), and `skiko` (4, dead weight — Compose UI the CLI never renders).
+> Whether `notarytool` returns `Accepted` or `Invalid` on these is **unverified**
+> (the local validation had no notary creds). **Decide it with one run:** set the
+> six `MAC_*` secrets and trigger `create-release.yml` via `workflow_dispatch`
+> with `dry_run=true` — the sign+notarize step runs regardless of `dry_run` and
+> now prints the per-file notary log on a non-`Accepted` verdict. If it comes
+> back `Invalid`, the fix is to codesign the dylibs *inside* those jars before
+> zipping (and/or strip the unused `skiko`/Compose jars from the CLI image — the
+> `:commons` core/ui split the size budget already flags). The **desktop** app
+> bundles the same jars through Compose/jpackage notarization, so run a desktop
+> dry-run too; its in-jar handling differs and is likewise unverified.
+
 Generating the values:
 
 ```bash