diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index 655c506..b7787ee 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -15,6 +15,9 @@ permissions: {}
 concurrency:
   group: release-${{ github.event_name }}-${{ github.ref_name || inputs.tag }}
   cancel-in-progress: false
+  # Keep every pending run. A newer push would otherwise cancel the pending run of a checksum merge,
+  # and only that run publishes.
+  queue: max
 
 env:
   CARGO_TERM_COLOR: always
@@ -295,6 +298,36 @@ jobs:
             exit 1
           fi
 
+      # The BEAM binds every symbol of a NIF when it loads it, and only the enif_* functions come from
+      # the BEAM. Any other symbol that no library of the NIF defines fails the load. ldd -r binds the
+      # same way, and nm lists the symbols that macOS leaves to the load.
+      - name: Check that the NIF loads
+        shell: bash
+        env:
+          NIF: native/whisper_cpp_native/target/${{ matrix.target }}/release/libwhisper_cpp_native.${{ matrix.src_ext || matrix.lib_ext }}
+          INSTALL_CUDA: ${{ matrix.install_cuda }}
+          INSTALL_ROCM: ${{ matrix.install_rocm }}
+        run: |
+          if [ "$INSTALL_CUDA" = true ]; then
+            # The runner has no NVIDIA driver. The toolkit's stub of its library stands in for it.
+            ln -s /usr/local/cuda/lib64/stubs/libcuda.so "$RUNNER_TEMP/libcuda.so.1"
+            export LD_LIBRARY_PATH="$RUNNER_TEMP"
+          elif [ "$INSTALL_ROCM" = true ]; then
+            export LD_LIBRARY_PATH="$ROCM_PATH/lib"
+          fi
+          if [ "$RUNNER_OS" = macOS ]; then
+            REPORT="$(nm -m -u "$NIF")"
+            MISSING="$(grep 'dynamically looked up' <<< "$REPORT" | grep -v ' _enif_' || true)"
+          else
+            REPORT="$(ldd -r "$NIF" 2>&1)" || { echo "$REPORT"; exit 1; }
+            MISSING="$(grep -E 'not found|undefined symbol' <<< "$REPORT" | grep -v 'undefined symbol: enif_' || true)"
+          fi
+          if [ -n "$MISSING" ]; then
+            echo "$MISSING"
+            echo "::error::The NIF does not load: it needs the libraries or symbols above"
+            exit 1
+          fi
+
       - name: Create tarball
         shell: bash
         env:
@@ -325,7 +358,9 @@ jobs:
   tag:
     name: Create release tag
     runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
-    needs: detect
+    # Tag only after every NIF build passes. A failed build then leaves no tag, so the next push to
+    # main releases the same version.
+    needs: [detect, build]
     if: github.event_name == 'push' && needs.detect.outputs.should_release == 'true'
     permissions:
       contents: write # create and push the release tag
@@ -401,11 +436,17 @@ jobs:
       group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}-publish
       cancel-in-progress: false
     steps:
+      # The package holds the sources of the tag, which the NIF archives were built from, and the
+      # checksum file of the merge that publishes.
       - uses: actions/checkout@3d3c42e5aac5ba805825da76410c181273ba90b1 # v7.0.1
         with:
-          ref: ${{ needs.detect.outputs.sha }}
+          ref: refs/tags/${{ needs.detect.outputs.tag }}
+          fetch-depth: 0
           persist-credentials: false
 
+      - name: Take the checksum file of the merge
+        run: git checkout "$GITHUB_SHA" -- checksum-Elixir.WhisperCpp.Native.exs
+
       # Hex versions are immutable, so a package with checksums of other archives stays broken.
       - name: Compare the checksum file with the release
         env:
@@ -424,12 +465,19 @@ jobs:
           otp-version: "29.1.2"
 
       - name: Install dependencies
-        run: |
-          mix local.hex --force
-          mix local.rebar --force
-          mix deps.get
+        run: mix deps.get
+
+      # The compile downloads the precompiled NIF of this runner and checks it against the checksum
+      # file, as a consumer's build does.
+      - name: Load the precompiled NIF
+        run: mix run --no-start -e 'Code.ensure_loaded!(WhisperCpp.Native)'
 
-      # With no Hex credential in the job, Hex publishes through the workload identity. The docs
-      # compile downloads the precompiled NIF of this runner and checks it against the checksum file.
+      # With no Hex credential in the job, Hex publishes through the workload identity. A failed upload
+      # of the docs still exits 0, so the step reads the log.
       - name: Publish the package and its docs
-        run: mix hex.publish --yes
+        shell: bash
+        run: |
+          mix hex.publish --yes 2>&1 | tee "$RUNNER_TEMP/publish.log"
+          if grep -E 'Publishing (docs )?failed' "$RUNNER_TEMP/publish.log"; then
+            exit 1
+          fi
diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index 235b4bc..9eacf39 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -49,26 +49,31 @@ users never build Rust.
 
 1. Bump `@version` in `mix.exs`, add the `CHANGELOG.md` entry, and push to `main`.
 2. On each push to `main`, `release.yml` releases when no tag exists for the `mix.exs` version. It builds a tarball per
-   target and variant, creates the tag, and uploads the tarballs and `SHA256SUMS`. If a run stops before it creates the
-   tag, the next push retries the release.
+   target and variant, creates the tag, and uploads the tarballs and `SHA256SUMS`. A build fails when its NIF needs a
+   symbol that no library defines, because the BEAM could not load it. If a run stops before it creates the tag, the
+   next push retries the release.
 3. After the tag exists, a manual dispatch builds the tag's commit. It fails when the tag is missing or its `mix.exs`
    version differs, and it uploads only the assets the release does not have yet. It never replaces a published
    tarball, because a new tarball breaks the checksum file in the Hex package.
-4. Regenerate `checksum-Elixir.WhisperCpp.Native.exs` from the published assets, and open a PR with it. This keeps
-   the checksum of each tag reproducible from the repo:
-
-   ```bash
-   mix rustler_precompiled.download WhisperCpp.Native --all --no-config --ignore-unavailable --print
-   ```
-
+4. Regenerate `checksum-Elixir.WhisperCpp.Native.exs` from the published assets with `task checksum:download`, and
+   open a PR with it. This keeps the checksum of each tag reproducible from the repo. The task builds the NIF from
+   source first, because `mix rustler_precompiled.download` reads the version and the targets from the metadata of the
+   last compile. The task keeps that metadata in `_build`, where a compile in another checkout cannot change it. It
+   fails when an asset is missing.
 5. Merge the checksum PR. A push to `main` that changes the checksum file, for a version that has its tag, starts the
-   `Publish to Hex` job of `release.yml`. It compares the file with the release's `SHA256SUMS`, stops when they differ,
-   and runs `mix hex.publish --yes` in the GitHub environment `hex`, which only `main` can use. The job keeps no Hex
-   key: the package has a workload identity on hex.pm for `rubas/whisper_cpp`, workflow `release.yml`, environment
-   `hex`, and Hex trades the job's OIDC token for a short token that can only publish `whisper_cpp`.
+   `Publish to Hex` job of `release.yml`. It publishes the sources of the tag, which the NIFs were built from, with the
+   checksum file of the merge. It compares the file with the release's `SHA256SUMS`, stops when they differ, loads the
+   precompiled NIF of its runner, and runs `mix hex.publish --yes` in the GitHub environment `hex`, which only `main`
+   can use. The job keeps no Hex key: the package has a workload identity on hex.pm for `rubas/whisper_cpp`, workflow
+   `release.yml`, environment `hex`, and Hex trades the job's OIDC token for a short token that can only publish
+   `whisper_cpp`.
 6. The package has staged publishing on. The job ends with `Package staged for approval at <url>`, and an owner
-   approves the release on hex.pm with their 2FA within 7 days. A failed docs upload prints `Publishing failed` but
-   leaves the job green, so read the end of its log. When the job fails, fix the cause and re-run it.
+   approves the release on hex.pm with their 2FA within 7 days. The job fails when the log says `Publishing failed` or
+   `Publishing docs failed`, because `mix hex.publish` exits 0 when only the docs upload fails.
+7. When the job fails for a cause outside the repo, such as hex.pm or the workload identity, fix it and re-run the job.
+   It publishes the same tag. A cause in the tag needs a new patch version. A re-run keeps the workflow file of its run,
+   so after a fix of the job itself, release a new patch version, or a package owner runs `mix hex.publish` from the
+   tag with the checksum file of the merge.
 
-Merge nothing else to `main` between the version bump and the checksum PR, or the package holds sources that the NIFs
-were not built from. Hex versions are immutable, so change the checksum file only in the checksum PR of a release.
+A change that merges between the version bump and the checksum PR ships only with the next version. Hex versions are
+immutable, so change the checksum file only in the checksum PR of a release.
diff --git a/Taskfile.yml b/Taskfile.yml
index 18266fe..bb926b9 100644
--- a/Taskfile.yml
+++ b/Taskfile.yml
@@ -80,6 +80,18 @@ tasks:
     cmds:
       - mix hex.build
 
+  checksum:download:
+    desc: Write the checksum file from the NIF artefacts of the GitHub release of @version
+    # Without a source build, the compile fetches the NIF of this host, which the checksum file
+    # does not list yet. The download reads the version and the targets from the metadata of the
+    # last compile. A cache in this checkout keeps a compile in another checkout from changing it,
+    # and --force writes it.
+    env:
+      WHISPER_CPP_BUILD: "1"
+      RUSTLER_PRECOMPILED_GLOBAL_CACHE_PATH: "{{.ROOT_DIR}}/_build/rustler_precompiled"
+    cmds:
+      - mix do compile --force + rustler_precompiled.download WhisperCpp.Native --all --print
+
   build:cpu:
     desc: Source-build NIF with pure CPU backend
     cmds: